《Words on a Screen》


 Chapter One: Every Day The Same Screen

    ¡°...and that¡¯s it for today, guys!¡± Masumi¡¯s face was illuminated by the trio of screens that surrounded him. ¡°We took down the Bazelgeuse, got some new mats, and juuust got that weekly down! Tomorrow, I¡¯ll be back with something a little less violent and a little more fun. Keep an eye out for Low-Life!¡± The flanking screens captured his following salute, the smile on his shiny pink lips, and the flicker of his eyes to the little counters on the sides of those screens. Then the feed closed.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± The number zero lingered in Masumi¡¯s mind as he shut down the screens and his console whirred to a stop. His smile faltered, but only for a moment, as he straightened himself back up and walked up to the full-length mirror beside him.


    ¡°You¡¯re cute!¡± He told his reflection and swished his checkerboard skirt and felt an immediate rush of heat to his cheeks. ¡°People want to see you!¡± He met his own eyes and hurriedly looked away. ¡°Your...clothes are nice.¡± He whispered to himself and patted down his top. ¡°Your make-up is adorable.¡± He half-smiled. ¡°When people see you, they¡¯re going to like you.¡± He pulled his eyes back to his reflection and smiled at it. ¡°Low-Life wi-¡±


    There was a creak from below. Masumi glanced at the nearby clock and the sound of shuffling feet made its way to his room. He was frozen in place, his legs feuding over where to go and his brain screeching at the sight of himself.


    ¡°Bazelgeuse...¡± Masumi muttered bitterly and hurriedly stripped off his skirt. He tossed it into his bottom drawer and retrieved a pair of jeans, a hoodie, and a surgical mask. He threw himself around his room in an attempt to pull them all on before the people reached his door. He gritted his teeth as his arm got stuck in the hoodie, forced himself in front of the mirror and bit his bottom lip as his perfectly made-up eyes, his luscious brown locks, still stood out.


    The feet were on the other side of the door and he grabbed his hat, shoved it on, and tucked away as much hair as possible. Then the door opened.


    ¡°Good evening, Masumi.¡± A smile lightened up his mother¡¯s weary face. ¡°Have you finished,¡± She blinked at the sight of him. ¡°Did you just finish streaming?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± Masumi nodded vigorously and silently thanked his mask of shroud and shadow. ¡°Just now.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Good. I hope it went well.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m getting better.¡± Masumi laughed shakily and a few seconds of silence stretched out.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. We didn¡¯t spe...well, that¡¯s good. And your homework?¡±


    ¡°All done.¡± Masumi patted the neat stack of books on his academic desk. It was mostly bare, in sharp contrast to the one he used for streaming. The base of that one could scarcely be seen between screens, devices, and little figures.


    ¡°Superb.¡± Fujiko nodded. ¡°If you can improve, you might,¡± She held up a finger. ¡°Might get a bonus. How does that sound?¡±


    Images of a closet thoroughly filled with skirt, dresses, and similar attire flooded Masumi¡¯s mind.


    ¡°It sounds like I¡¯m going to make you very proud.¡± Masumi beamed.


    Fujiko couldn¡¯t hold back a laugh. ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky.¡± She cautioned. ¡°Now. Are those your new pajamas?¡±


    ¡°No. Sorry.¡± Masumi scratched the back of his head. ¡°My streaming went late. I¡¯ll just go ahead and bathe and then go to bed?¡± He started to shuffle towards his ofuro.


    ¡°Be quick about it. Goodnight, Masumi.¡± Fujiko said, then closed the door. Masumi let out a sigh of relief as he pulled off his disguise and tucked most of it away, then put his tight blue top in the bottom drawer. He reached into the depths of his closet and retrieved the colorful makeup box that was tucked among the rest of his secrets.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Masumi went through his nightly routine as quickly as he could manage. From the removal of his makeup, to the shower, to some light bathing and finally retiring to bed. The close-call with his parents had set his nerves on edge, but he¡¯d just managed to pull through. It was almost like his victory over the Bazelgeuse, the thrill of success, the chance for his whole life to be ruined...although he doubted a horde of cats would be able to save him from his parents.


    When he woke up, it was to an empty house. Masumi was free to go downstairs and prepare his bento box for school and do his makeup. He dared not put on much of it for school, for the sake of his reputation, or lack thereof, and their own rules. He could get away with subtle enhancements, making his skin a little more flawless and his lips a little more pink, but that was it.


    His hair was the biggest obstacle. He¡¯d grown it down to his shoulders, and it was brown, fluffy, and he liked to think naturally feminine. But he couldn¡¯t accentuate it, not if he didn¡¯t want the wrong kind of attention, not if he wanted to stay anonymous for his streaming. He could pass well enough to make people not think him and Low-Life were the same person, and that was the way he preferred it. So, he pulled on his blue cap, checked he had everything, and headed off to school.


    Masumi¡¯s commute to school was peaceful and didn¡¯t involve nearly as much effort as his parent¡¯s to their work. He could enjoy the natural beauty, the old houses, even if he was in a hurry. If he wasn¡¯t, he could take the scenic route that took him around the outer-edges of the town, up hills and along paths that provided him with a view of the countryside that he liked to think couldn¡¯t be matched.


    On the way to Retsuko Academy, Masumi spotted another couple of students riding their bikes down the hill. He hesitated for a moment, adjusting his grip on his handles, and slumped slightly before turning down a different street.


    Retsuko Academy was impressively large for its location, sprawled out as one large floor with a mildly labyrinthine design for all of the students from nearby towns it had to accommodate, as well as the nearby dorm building some students got to stay in. Masumi easily found his way through the halls, not taking much notice of anyone between going to the shoe rack and attending his homeroom.


    His spot was near the back, by the windows, and he had a view of the fields outside. He¡¯d often take the time to stare out and daydream, or else watch one of the other classes taking part in sports activities. Some were just filing out as his attention was suddenly seized.


    ¡°Sanada Masumi.¡± She called out, her pen lightly held between two manicured fingers. Like the rest of her, they longed to be glamorous and were held at bay by the school¡¯s dress code.


    ¡°Present.¡± Masumi answered and was swiftly moved on from. He spent the rest of class in the same state, only noticed when necessary and otherwise left to his own devices. There were other students who seized attention, like Hifumi who always made a point to volunteer answers, and Kiryu, whose jokes were mostly amusing to those who took joy in seeing somebody suffer a teacher¡¯s wrath.


    He only became aware of how separate he was when lunchtime rolled around and he was left in the cafeteria, eating alone with only his imagination to keep him company. There were sometimes glimmers of hope, of being able to approach a group and start a conversation, but his legs turned to jelly and his voice got stuck in his throat. It was better for everyone if he just stayed sat where he was and thought about the things he could change first. Like his streaming.


    Classes rolled through again and Masumi checked his schedule. The words Dance Club lit up his mind and he headed to the hall for just that.


    ¡°Hello, Masumi!¡± Yuna greeted him with bright eyes, the first one there and already in her dance gear. Other students were still shuffling in and headed off to the changing rooms, a couple who noticed the pair with little nods of their head. ¡°Let¡¯s get that dour look off your face!¡±


    ¡°I...I¡¯m dour?¡± Masumi frowned, while his gut tugged at the implication.


    ¡°You are now! Got you!¡± The older student laughed and Masumi felt some weight being lifted from his shoulders. ¡°Now go and get changed, we¡¯re doing ballroom style today! Did you remember your hair ties?¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, no, sorry.¡± Masumi lied and felt a blush come to his cheeks. He didn¡¯t want to be seen as any more feminine at school than he already did. Actually, he really wanted that, were it not for the judgment that would follow. The fact that he was in dance class alone was enough for some people to regard him as feminine.


    ¡°Silly boy! Here,¡± Yuna pulled a hair tie off of her arm and held it out to Masumi. ¡°You should cut that hair if you¡¯re not going to do anything with it! I think you¡¯d be dashing if you styled it.¡±


    Masumi bit his bottom lip as he tied up his hair and struggled to deal with the butterflies rising in his chest.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± He said, then walked off to get changed for the club itself. It went as well as usual, and he left with a smile. It was one of the few activities that left him feeling like he actually accomplished something with his time. He was doing well academically, he knew that, but there was little that filled him with as much life as the time spent twirling, moving, hopping with the other girls. He felt at home, and they seemed comfortable around him. That was all he really wanted.


    He returned to an expectantly empty house, a little worn out from the bike ride there, and immediately set to finishing his homework for the day. It was done almost as quickly as it had been handed out, helped along by some music to keep his errant thoughts occupied, and then it was time for dinner. He ably finished cooking for himself, a skill learned thanks to his other club, and then it was time to prepare for a few hours of streaming.


    That was his real favorite part of the day. Putting on the makeup and styling his hair always left him feeling like a new person, like Low-Life, and he hadn¡¯t had a few hours of talking to nobody to wear him down. There was potential in the night ahead, the chance that somebody was going to show up, and it was that hope that kept him going.


    He¡¯d settled for something a little more vibrant for his potential viewers, a red flowery dress that clung to his narrow torso and flared out with his hips. He¡¯d had it for a little while, and it fit him well. He accessorized it with a white jacket, something to help tighten up the view of his chest, and a white lower in his wavy brown locks. The urge to take a picture of himself looking so cute was overwhelming, but he knew that he¡¯d always have his archives. They, at least, had no potential to be seen by somebody casually looking through his phone.


    Masumi sat in his chair, pulled up the game of Kirby that he was going to entertain his viewers with, and finished the set-up right on time. The camera blinked on, the screens of his hosting sites lit up, and he threw up a salute and a smile.


    ¡°Welcome to the Low-Life! Today¡¯s the day we¡¯re going to tackle the jumps and bumps of Kirby. I¡¯m no good at platformers, so please help me if you can! Let¡¯s get started!¡± He begun and, just as he was moving through te third level of the day, he saw something he¡¯d never seen before.


    His viewer count had hit one.

 Chapter Two: First Words

    ¡°And that¡¯s, that¡¯s how you do that jump.¡± Masumi stammered and blushed in the moments after the one started to loom over him. His eyes couldn¡¯t find a place to rest on the screen in front of him, the gamepad in his hands, or the flanking screens where his first viewer resided. ¡°Momentum isn¡¯t a thing you have to deal with a lot in Star Allies in comparison to other platformers, it, uh,¡± He pinched himself on the thigh off-screen. ¡°It¡¯s about the gimmick! The allies. All these cute little things!¡±


    ¡°Ribbon¡¯s my favorite, she¡¯s just so cute!¡± He rambled as the screen moved on to the next stage and a hundred thoughts bounced around in his skull. What had been talking to an audience of himself turned into talking to an actual audience, that consisted of one person who might have been feeling just as awkward as he did. His eyes flicked to the sticky notes around his schedule book, organized in colors from most important to least.


    The bright yellow one, at the very top, read to always talk. A frown flickered across his face. He slid down to the next one. Never stop playing. He fiddled with some buttons, testing out the screen.


    ¡°I know she¡¯s not been in a lot of games, but that¡¯s what makes her special! I might be able to show you, you all her soon!¡± Another level started, and he went on autopilot as he scanned the rest of his reminders. The one on the other side, in bright red, said that he should always treat them like an audience. He nodded imperceptibly at his own advice. ¡°But maybe that¡¯s just because I like Kirby so much!¡± He giggled, and it was a little shakier than he liked. Low-Life couldn¡¯t be nervous.


    ¡°He¡¯s jolly all the time! He¡¯s cute and pink and he eats everything!¡± He scratched the side of his head and tried to focus on the leaping blob on screen, rather than the digit. ¡°That would normally make me jealous, because I¡¯ve got to stay in shape!¡± He put on a pout. It was picture-perfect, because he¡¯d practiced it so many times. ¡°But I just can¡¯t be mad at the little guy. If anyone else out there has a favorite character, let me know!¡±


    Masumi nodded with that slick invitation and watched his avatar skid beneath a rolling ball of doom. ¡°Close one there! The thing about this game is that the controls are so slick, but they need to be or you¡¯d be defeated too much staring at the graphics. Earlier I got a bit too fascinated by King Dedede and, well, Kirby took a few too many bruises!¡± He laughed softly and another tendril of dread crept along his mind.


    There was no guarantee that this would be a pleasant person. They could have been a troll looking to make small...or no-audience streamers upset, because they had nobody to back them up. They could have just been a rude person looking to insult him for not playing very well.


    ¡°But mostly this game is easy, compared to the last ones and Odyssey, definitely easier than that.¡± Masumi hurriedly explained. ¡°It¡¯s just a fun game that everyone can enjoy, and it¡¯s so nice to see all of your favorite characters.¡± His grip on the gamepad relaxed as he raised his shield against potential criticism and raised his Kirby over the head of the next obstacle. ¡°I might actually switch to something else soon. I heard it¡¯s short and I don¡¯t want to run through the whole thing in one session!¡±


    There was an unfamiliar beep and Masumi¡¯s eyes fluttered in confusion. He took a look at the screen to his right and saw a message pop up.


    Jellybeaner: What games do you have?


    Masumi felt a distinct fluttering in his chest at the sight of somebody actually talking to him. His eyes drifted from the screen to his notes, like they would provide some example of how to talk with another human being. The screen no longer being in his focus meant a cry from Kirby on the screen.


    ¡°Oops!¡± Masumi tittered as he struggled to regain control of the situation on screen and in his head. ¡°Got, um, distracted for a moment there, but that¡¯s okay! I¡¯ve been playing a challenge run of Pokemon, Jellybeaner, but that can get so stressful sometimes!¡± His fingers worked overtime to carry him and Kirby to the end of the level. ¡°Yesterday was challenge day and I¡¯m going for something to relax to on...relaxation day!¡± He hit the button on his soundboard, causing a little jingle to play on the screen, accompanied by a rain of cherry blossoms. He couldn¡¯t help but grin.


    Jellybeaner: Haha wow I was going to suggest something but that smile is too cute.


    The confidence granted by his own presenting was quickly muted by the rush of blood to his cheeks. And then the realization that it was going to be very visible on his guest¡¯s screen. He wasn¡¯t prepared to actually be complimented on his appearance. Let alone by the first person in one of their first messages before he¡¯d even done anything.


    ¡°Th-Thank you!¡± Masumi squeaked and hurriedly grabbed his water bottle in the hopes that it would help hide his face for just long enough to make his cheeks less pink. ¡°It¡¯s, that¡¯s, that¡¯s what we do here with Low-Life! Smile as much as you can.¡± He giggled and ran a palm over his chin. ¡°But, yes, uh, games! If you want to suggest something go ahead! I have mos- I have a few games and I might have it! You never know!¡± He put down his gamepad as the level he was on ended, almost without note.


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    Jellybeaner: I like Stardew Valley. It¡¯s relaxing.


    ¡°Oh, uh, me too!¡± Masumi beamed at the camera and shifted in his seat. ¡°It¡¯s one of my favorite ones to play, I¡¯ve got this one big farm and I planned it out and everything...¡± He reached out for one of his drawers and pulled it open, then shook his head and made his fluffy hair bounce. ¡°What am I doing?¡± He laughed at himself. ¡°I can just pull it up and show you! Sorry!¡± He bit his bottom lip as he got to work switching the feeds to the tune of various clicks and shuffles.


    Jellybeaner: You planned it on paper? That¡¯s cool. Takes some dedication.


    ¡°I love planning things like this!¡± Masumi gushed as the screen shifted to a view of his next game, and the muted relaxing soundtrack could be heard below his voice. ¡°I couldn¡¯t go into it like that, I didn¡¯t really know what was going on! But then I realized I had to design it if I wanted my farm to work properly, so I did that! And it looks good, too, or, I think it does!¡± He giggled nervously as a farm filled with pink trees, fields of flowers and vibrant crops filled the screen. He let his words hang in the hope of an opinion.


    Jellybeaner: That¡¯s a very pretty farm. Are you an artist?


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t do art, not as a thing more than anyone...else...does.¡± Masumi frowned off to the side for a moment. ¡°What I mean is, I¡¯m still in school, so I do art classes every week, but I don¡¯t draw or paint beyond that...except for my face!¡± He punctuated his explanation with a peace-sign pose.


    Jellybeaner: Haha. You look good at it. I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re not an artist you look delicate like one.


    ¡°Delicate?¡± Masumi couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve been called that before, but, it¡¯s a good thing too. Maybe?¡± He bit his bottom lip. ¡°I do like to dance! I think that¡¯s where my artist side really shows but, um, wow, I¡¯m talking about myself a lot and not the game!¡±


    Jellybeaner: Hey it¡¯s your show. You¡¯re the most interesting part.


    ¡°O-Oh, than-¡±


    Jellybeaner; Not in a creepy way haha


    ¡°Oh, no, of course not.¡± Masumi felt a tug in his guts, and he wasn¡¯t quite sure whether he¡¯d have preferred more compliments or that clarification. ¡°It¡¯s nice! I hope you¡¯re enjoying it too. Do you play this game?¡± There were a few nervous seconds that passed with the pour of a watering can.


    Jellybeaner: I want to, but I¡¯m busy a lot.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s too bad! Are you a student too?¡± Masumi asked, as one eye on the chat and the other on the screen. He was thankful for the fact that he didn¡¯t have to avoid anything deadly, so not focusing on the game like he was meant to wouldn¡¯t be as obvious. Or he hoped that would be the case. The balance of his attention only made it worse when his guest, this ¡°Jellybeaner¡± person took a while to respond.


    Jellybeaner: I do school and I work at a library. They¡¯re not too bad but I can¡¯t play games while I¡¯m there haha.


    ¡°Oh, definitely not!¡± Masumi laughed. ¡°We¡¯re not allowed to have our phones out inside so you can¡¯t play mobile games most of the time...¡± His thoughts flashed to how he probably could get away with it, since it wasn¡¯t like many people paid attention to him regardless. But he tried his best to flush it away with the new, good interactions he was having at the moment. ¡°But I get a lot of hours done anyway, since I do this all the time!¡±


    Jellybeaner: All the time? Wow. How do you find the time for homework?


    ¡°As much time as I can!¡± Masumi said. ¡°Except for Sundays, when I, um, spend time with family, I stream! Six until ten, when my, when I think it¡¯s a good time to stop so I can rest. That¡¯s important, you know!¡± He giggled nervously behind his hand. ¡°I do my homework as soon as I get home and it doesn¡¯t build up too much. And streaming here means I get to spend time with people without having to go anywhere!¡±


    Jellybeaner: Haha that¡¯s a good way to look at it. You must be a pro gamer.


    Masumi grinned and shook his head. ¡°Oh...no, I don¡¯t think I can say that! I¡¯ve been going for about a year now and there are people who play more than me, lots more! You should only watch me play fighting games if you want to see me get beaten. I normally play those on Tuesdays so, if that is what you like, that¡¯s when to catch me!¡±


    Jellybeaner: That sounds like fun. I¡¯ve only had blistered thumbs when I tried fighting games.


    ¡°Oh, me too!¡± Masumi said. ¡°I bought an arcade stick,¡± He reached below his desk and narrowly avoided bumping his head as he retrieved a rectangular white bow, with a speckled red pattern and the word ¡®Low-Life¡¯ scrawled across it. ¡°And it helps a lot!¡± He bit his tongue as he adjusted the focus to be able to capture it. ¡°But I have to take my nails off when I do that...when I have nails, I mean.¡± He wiggled his fingers on the pad. They were pink and cut to his natural shape.


    Jellybeaner: That looks pretty cool.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Masumi grinned as he tucked it back away. ¡°I bought it with the rest of my things. When I started I tried to game with fake nails and, um, my keyboard looked like something had been scratching it up.¡± He laughed nervously. ¡°Oh! And, one pinged off when I was gaming once and cut my cheek. I think that¡¯s in the archives, but, um, I¡¯d have to find them and there are a lot...¡±


    Jellybeaner: That¡¯s okay haha. I¡¯d rather see monsters getting hurt than the host.


    ¡°Then we should go to the mines!¡± Masumi decided, as his character hopped onto a railcart and the night stretched on¡­

 Chapter Three: Forked Stream

    Masumi hummed to himself as he returned home with a bag light on homework and fresh with mushi-pan. He deposited the latter in the fridge with a little sticky note inviting his parents to try some, and headed up to his room. He sat at his desk, scrolled through his playlist for the bubbliest tunes he could find, and pulled out a pen for the work ahead. He soared through the papers with ease, the promise of a wonderful evening just a couple of hours away.


    His dinner was filling and nutritious. He¡¯d went out of his way to stay healthy for the sake of his skin, as well as for his streaming. He¡¯d read up on all the streamers and how they manage before ever starting himself, and burning out was the opposite of what he wanted to do. He wasn¡¯t yet streaming full-time, like many of them were, but some day. It had to happen.


    It already had, and that was the thought that had Masumi perched on his bed with most of his makeup sprawled out before him and a few choice outfits hanging from his dresser door. His gaze lingered on the kimono he¡¯d purchased some time ago. He hadn¡¯t worn it on stream yet; it was for a special occasion. One guest...wasn¡¯t special enough, no matter how much it meant to him. One day, he was going to wear it, and everybody would be dazzled.


    He settled on a sporty collection of clothes, with tight leggings, an official Low-Life t-shirt, and an open hoodie. It was a combination he didn¡¯t wear often. As boisterous as Low-Life was, he didn¡¯t want to be seen as masculine in any sense of the word, and wearing tomboyish clothes like that wouldn¡¯t have done him any favors. But with the confidence boost of having had Jellybeaner show up for the last couple of days, as well as their compliments, he decided to pull it on and check himself out in the mirror.


    ¡°Low-Life!¡± Masumi declared, as he saluted the mirror and cocked his hips. He cycled through a few of his favorite poses, most of them that couldn¡¯t be seen while he was sitting at the stream, but made him smile all the same. He did the typical peace-sign pose, popped his leg, and couldn¡¯t stop the grins that followed.


    Masumi¡¯s session with the mirror ended only when he realized he still had to set up the stream. The boy speedily set up the curtain that shielded the rest of his room from view, checked that the cameras were working (With a few extra poses just to make sure they were focused right, and only for that reason), and tested the controls on the game for that day. Then he was ready, his eyes on the countdown and his controller in his hands as the seconds passed. Three two, one¡­


    ¡°Welcome to Low-Life!¡± Masumi saluted the camera and put on his most winning smile. ¡°Grab your blankets and put on your omamori, because today we¡¯ll be playing Zero! It¡¯s a little old and a lot scary, so it¡¯s perfect for our spooky Saturdays, don¡¯t you think? I don¡¯t want to spoil things for anyone watching, so let¡¯s get right in!¡± He invited, as he clicked through the menu and started the game proper.


    While the protagonist of the game explored the haunted mansion, Masumi kept one eye on the view counter for the now-familiar name of Jellybeaner. The first hour passed and that was to be expected, and he was having fun with the creeping horror of the game. The second hour passed and he assured himself that they were probably going to show up, he wasn¡¯t even halfway through. By the time the third had passed, he was doing his best to put all of his focus on the game and get used to talking to nobody.


    The end of the fourth hour came and Masumi signed off with a lethargic salute. He went through his nightly rituals like he always did, doing everything he could to remember the scares of the game and how he¡¯d managed to keep the stream going with all of the good hosting that he¡¯d done before. That he still looked cute, even if nobody was there to see it.


    But that shell was entirely stripped by the time he heard his parents get home, and he left his ofuro clad in his deep red jinbei just as there was a knock at his door.


    ¡°Hello, Masumi.¡± His father looked down at him, a gesture that had become significantly less looming as Masumi aged and realized just how short his father was. His father cocked his head, adjusted his glasses, and raised an eyebrow. ¡°You seem upset."


    ¡°Oh.¡± Masumi bit his bottom lip and shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s nothing important. Do you remember the viewer I told you about?¡± His father gave a sharp nod. ¡°They, um, didn¡¯t show up today, so I think I¡¯m back to the start...¡±


    ¡°And you will find another.¡± Hideki said.


    ¡°Maybe..¡±


    ¡°It is all we can hope for. You are due for a break, regardless. Would you like me to accompany you in Kyoto?¡±


    Masumi blinked. ¡°Oh, um, no, thank you, father. I think I¡¯d like to explore on my own. But thanks!¡± He did his best to smile up at the clean-cut man.


    ¡°The offer is there.¡± Hideki said, as he took a step back. ¡°Get some sleep and we¡¯ll go in the morning. It will all seem better then.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Masumi nodded. ¡°Goodnight, father.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Goodnight, Masumi.¡± Hideki turned his foot to walk away. ¡°Your moshi-pan is delicious.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± Masumi¡¯s eyes regained some of their luster. ¡°You had one already?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Hideki adjusted his partially-loosened tie. ¡°But I stole some from your mother¡¯s plate.¡±


    A little laugh escaped Masumi¡¯s lips. ¡°Goodnight.¡± He said, as he closed the door and padded over to his bed. Sleep came a little more easily than he¡¯d expected.


    Come morning, he had breakfast with his parents and shared a few details of the weeks they had. That of his parents didn¡¯t change a great deal, but it was one of the easier weeks and that meant they would join him on his Kyoto trip. They prepared some things for their picnic, then headed off to the local train for the trip ahead. Masumi kept his eyes on the rolling hills as the rails soared beneath them, and then they were in the city.


    With his heart still heavy from disappointment, Masumi decided to pay a visit to his favorite store in his favorite complex of Mina. He didn¡¯t stand out too much from the rest of the crowd, as he weaved his way into neat wide-open building that started to wander through the racks and shelves covered in all manner of women¡¯s clothing. Here, he walked with a little more confidence. At a glance, some people would mistake him for a girl anyway, and there was one person who helped put him at ease.


    ¡°Oh, who¡¯s this?¡± Came a husky voice from behind Masumi, as he spun around to face the owner of the voice. She stood at least a head higher than him, with a tight white blouse that clung to her a little too well, a lustrous pastel skirt, and lips cast in a sinfully dark hue. ¡°Is that...my favorite customer?¡± She put both hands to her cheeks and opened her mouth wide. ¡°It is! Little Sanada!¡±


    ¡°Hey, Miss Takahashi.¡± Masumi gave her a cursory smile. ¡°I¡¯m, um. I¡¯m just browsing.¡±


    ¡°Still at school and you¡¯re spending your free time hunting for your girlfriend¡¯s clothes.¡± Takahashi sighed dreamily. ¡°You¡¯re too good for her, Sanada. You should spend your time with me.¡± She put on a pout.


    ¡°My time?¡± Masumi met her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be rude, but, um, that¡¯s not how you say ¡®money¡¯.¡±


    ¡°You wound me, Sanada!¡± Takahashi placed a hand over her heart. ¡°That¡¯s just one of your amazing qualities. But, now that you mention it, there is this wonderful blue lingeri-¡±


    ¡°Stop that!¡± Masumi¡¯s cheeks suddenly turned pink. ¡°It-It¡¯s rude to bully young people!¡±


    ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m old?¡± Takahashi gasped and pointed a finger at Masumi. ¡°If you weren¡¯t so rich, that tongue of yours would put a serious dent in our relationship.¡±


    ¡°I-I have a girlfriend already!¡± Masumi protested.


    ¡°But I never get to see her.¡± Takahashi pointed out with a sly grin. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she come here herself?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s scared of creepy managers.¡± Masumi stuck his tongue out at the woman.


    ¡°I think she just doesn¡¯t want you see us side by side.¡± Takahashi booped the young man¡¯s nose. ¡°All those clothes I¡¯ve helped you choose, don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t noticed a certain something. Or, lack, of something?¡± She surreptitiously scratched the place below her blouse.


    ¡°W-Well...I...she...¡± Masumi resolved to stare at the shelf. ¡°She¡¯s not been feeling good lately. I wanted to buy her something to help her feel pretty. Can you help?¡±


    Takahashi smiled warmly and bobbed her head. ¡°I think we can find something suitable for your little lady friend. Did she like the last dress you bought her?¡± She asked, as she beckoned for Masumi to follow her along the shelves.


    ¡°Y-Yeah, the flowers especially were things she liked.¡± Masumi joined Takahashi¡¯s side and tried his best to follow her gaze along the shelves. ¡°I think she wants something very feminine this time. To, um, make her feel like she¡¯s very womanly.¡±


    ¡°Is that what she¡¯s after?¡± Takahashi glanced at the young man. ¡°It surprises me every time. Normally women who go after men like you are a bit more like tomboys.¡±


    ¡°Men like me?¡±


    ¡°You know, you¡¯re,¡± Takahashi put a finger to her full lips. ¡°Gentle. In your manners, in how you walk, and your size. Tomboys love boys like that for some reason, maybe because they hang around with so many normal boys. But who am I to judge?¡± She giggled. ¡°Femininity it is. I have an outfit I¡¯ve been keeping for myself, but...I¡¯ll let her use it.¡± They came upon a mannequin tucked in a corner of the store.


    Masumi was immediately enraptured by it. It was a red apron dress, pleated at the short skirt, with a white blouse and black ribbon around the neck that mimicked the upper half of Takahashi¡¯s outfit. But there was also a blue sash around the waist, and on its legs were a set of ornate stockings that carried a faintly gilded design. It was completed with a set of red slip-ons. He stared at it until Takahashi¡¯s fingers snapped in front of his face.


    ¡°Welcome back to the world of the conscious.¡± Takahashi grinned toothily. ¡°So, I take it that you¡¯ll be taking it?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes!¡± Masumi declared, as all of his worries were suddenly washed away by a pair of imaginary people. One was of him in the outfit, the other of Takahashi in the outfit, and his mind struggled between which image to choose. ¡°Please.¡± He added, still blushing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll find the ones in her sizes right away.¡± Takahashi winked at Masumi and strode off to the tune of clacking heels Masumi was left alone with the dress, and he faintly ran his fingers over the material. From the blouse to the dress to the stockings, all of it was perfect. He already planned his night out in his mind, and it didn¡¯t matter if he wasn¡¯t streaming that night. It was what he was going to wear and feel good about it.


    Takahashi called him over to the counter, the outfit already inside and wrapped up nicely. He was going to have to find a replacement bag, like always, but he took it with a smile on his face.


    ¡°Oh, the things I could have done with an allowance like that...¡± Takahashi lamented as Masumi left.

 Chapter Four: Return to Streamer

    Masumi¡¯s free night had passed and he was back to school, then back to streaming. He¡¯d sat down in his freshly-washed new dress, which was just the thing to put a smile back on his dreading face. If somebody else was going to show up, then they were going to see him at his most adorable, and perhaps then they¡¯d stick around.


    He started the stream with his signature salute and was joined by the too-familiar zero as he darted around a screen filled with other people from across the country and some lands beyond. He found himself getting invested, weaving his cart between a sea of shells and other reckless drivers. He was closing in on the leader, getting closer and closer to being in just the right spot to knock them ou-


    Boop.


    Masumi jumped in his seat, the controller slipped from his grip and he lashed his hand out in an attempt to grab it. He ended up just batting it to the floor, while his head flailed around in search of the sound, and he bumped his forehead on his desk. He let out a little squeal and put a hand to his hand, giving himself a chance to catch his breath until he retrieved the errant device and leaned back up to see the last-place marker flash across his screen.


    Another boop drew his attention away from the ache in his forehead and he looked to his monitors.


    Jellybeaner: You¡¯ve got this guy.


    Jellybeaner: Oh no. Are you okay?


    ¡°Wh-Huh?¡± Masumi blinked at the name in the chat box and felt his heart flutter. ¡°I...let me see!¡± He squeaked, glanced around for a mirror, then just leaned into the camera so that he could see his forehead in the monitor. ¡°Umm, I don¡¯t know, it looks okay?¡±


    Jellybeaner: No damage. Cuteness intact.


    It was like the last few days melted away. Masumi blushed bright pink and laughed softly. ¡°Oh...you!¡± He beamed at the camera and came to a dilemma. There was the elephant in his room. He wanted to ask them where they¡¯d been. But that would have been creepy, obsessive. And he definitely wasn¡¯t obsessed about the only person to take interest in the thing he was most passionate about. ¡°I, um, the message beep surprised me!¡±


    Jellybeaner: My bad. I didn¡¯t know that was a thing.


    ¡°That¡¯s okay! Really, that¡¯s, that¡¯s fine!¡± Masumi bit his bottom lip and wiggled the controls for a couple of moments. The option for a new race was highlighted, his thumb hovered over it for a moment, and then he went to adjust the options screen. ¡°Do you like my new outfit?¡± He blurted out.


    Jellybeaner: It¡¯s pretty. Where did you get it?


    ¡°Umm. I...ordered...it.¡± Masumi nodded vigorously. ¡°Let me show you the rest, hang on!¡± He pushed his chair out from under himself and adjusted the camera controls, so that more of himself was visible in the camera, right down to the stockings. Their garters were just hidden by the bottom of the pleated skirt, and he twirled in the spot to show off the back of the dress and finished with a well-practiced bent-over salute.


    Jellybeaner: Haha wow that suits you well. There should be a category for fashionable streamers.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t do it without help!¡± Masumi took one more moment to pander to the camera with a smoothing-out of his dress, then set it back to normal and slid into his seat. ¡°There¡¯s this, um, people who help me choose! Get that distinctive Low-Life style for all my viewers!¡± He grinned. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if I could fit in that category necessarily...¡±


    Jellybeaner: Girl are you serious? You could be a streamer idol.


    Masumi giggled and glanced away from the camera. ¡°Oh...that would be nice, wouldn¡¯t it? That¡¯s kind of what I plan on doing, eventually...I mean, I like streaming anyway, so I¡¯d do it no matter what! But if I can start doing this as a full-time job like some people do...that¡¯s the Low-Life dream! The Low-Life Dream for the Low-Life Stream! Yeah!¡± He pumped his fist, nudged his controller, and realized that the screen was still lingering on options.


    Jellybeaner: That would be cool. You¡¯d get to work on your own terms. I hear that a lot of idols don¡¯t get to do that.


    ¡°Oh, um, really?¡± Masumi reluctantly clicked on the next match. ¡°I haven¡¯t looked into that a lot. I just think that it¡¯s really fun to be able to entertain people no matter where they are! And talk with them! And play all these games and learn what they¡¯ve been doing and...you know, all the things that make this whole thing great!¡±


    Jellybeaner: Why did you decide to start streaming?


    ¡°Um, aside from those,¡± Masumi found the race starting on screen and his focus shifting. ¡°I was...shy. And I didn¡¯t like to talk to people. But it was easy to do it online whenever, y¡¯know? And I found that fun instead of really awkward, like it is in real life! You have to remember so many things and keep in mind who everyone is and how they relate and what you can and can¡¯t say, and it¡¯s tough! But I don¡¯t have to here, because I can be me and people can stay or go and it¡¯s up to them!¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Jellybeaner: Like there¡¯s no obligation on either side, so it¡¯s easier to relax.


    ¡°Right, that!¡± Masumi nodded as vigorously as he dared with his headphones on. ¡°And it means I can practice talking to people, even when there¡¯s nobody here, because that can be hard, too. It was embarrassing when I started, but now I can do it for hours if I want.¡±


    Jellybeaner: Has it helped with talking to people?


    ¡°Umm. Some, but, not a lot of the time.¡± Masumi admitted. ¡°It¡¯s, I¡¯m getting there! And I¡¯m having fun doing it, so it doesn¡¯t matter if it doesn¡¯t work really well yet, because I know it will!¡±


    Jellybeaner: Good for you. It¡¯s nice to know where you want to be.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± Masumi said, as he helped his character along to where they wanted to be: At the head of the race. ¡°Where do you want to be, Jellybeaner?¡± He asked, with a wait that was growing familiar between him asking questions of his guest.


    Jellybeaner; I want to be an investigative journalist.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a big job!¡± Masumi¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were still a student?¡±


    Jellybeaner; Haha. I am. I¡¯m interested in making sure everyone else has to do as they¡¯re told, no matter how old.


    Masumi giggled at the idea. ¡°You want to get revenge on teachers?¡±


    Jellybeaner: You could say that. Teachers, businessmen, politicians. Somebody has to make sure they¡¯re behaving.


    ¡°Why do you want to do that?¡± Masumi asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever met anyone who wants to do something like that! I mean, my school has a newsletter, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the same thing, is it?¡±


    Jellybeaner: It¡¯s not, but it¡¯s good practice for when they can. I hope to do it because there are a lot of problems with Japan as it is now. The idols I mentioned has problems, how education is run has problems, and it¡¯s frustrating that all of it is done behind closed doors where nobody else can see them. We¡¯re meant to trust these people with running everything in our lives. And most of us do. But they know everything and we only know some things and that makes it an unfair deal.


    ¡°Hang on, I¡¯ve got to finish this race before I can read all that!¡± Masumi said, as he turned a tight corner on the race and bit his tongue in concentration.


    Jellybeaner: Haha. No problem. Show ¡®em how it¡¯s done.


    Masumi finished the race in second place and gently put his controller down. ¡°Whew! That was a close one! Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve said...¡± He hummed as he read Jellybeaner¡¯s message, an old trick he¡¯d read about to make sure the viewer¡¯s knew he was still paying attention. ¡°That makes a lot of sense! It sounds like I could use you if I ever get a sponsorship or something!¡±


    Jellybeaner: No shady dealings with Low-Life or they will face the wrath of Jellybeaner.


    Masumi laughed and bobbed his head. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! And a fun topic, why did you choose the name Jellybeaner? There are all kinds of screen names out there and it¡¯s so interesting to find out why. It¡¯s like a name you get to choose for yourself. And, I mean, sometimes people just choose whatever, but I bet your story is cool.¡±


    Jellybeaner: Jellybeans are tasty and is sounds cute. Sorry to disappoint haha.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s okay! It works!¡± Masumi put a thumbs-up to the camera. ¡°And I¡¯m the same! It sounds cool in English, and it¡¯s easy to remember, and...okay, it doesn¡¯t quite fit after I looked up what it means, but that doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    Jellybeaner: What does it mean?


    ¡°It means somebody who¡¯s a delinquent! And I¡¯m not! One of those, I mean.¡± Masumi hastily added. ¡°I¡¯m a good girl.¡±


    Jellybeaner: Haha I believe you.


    ¡°Well, good! It also can mean life, like, a life in a videogame? So it kind of works for videogame streaming too! If you squint.¡± Masumi laughed shakily. ¡°Anyway! Would you like to join me in Mario Kart? Monday is Community Day, all about multiplayer games, so any of my viewers can join!¡± He waited patiently for a reply, with only some errant fidgeting.


    Jellybeaner: I¡¯d love to, but I¡¯m studying right now. I had to take extra shifts over the weekend and I¡¯m on catch-up.


    ¡°O-Oh.¡± Masumi did his best to hide his disappointment behind a smile. ¡°Well, studying is important and I¡¯m happy you can make it here anyway! If you ever get the chance to, you¡¯re welcome to join in! Just ask!¡± He invited, as her started up the next race. ¡°Just, I¡¯m curious, what do your parents think about the job you want?¡± He asked, and got a good couple of laps into the race before an answer popped up. Some small, irrational part of him wondered whether this would be another disappearance.


    Jellybeaner: They don¡¯t know. What about your parents and streaming?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re really supportive!¡± Masumi answered. ¡°They didn¡¯t get it at first, when I talked about it, but then I explained it like being a host on TV and they want me to do it. They bought me all the equipment and as long as I do my homework first, it¡¯s smooth sailing!¡± He paused. ¡°I, uh, don¡¯t know what would happen if I didn¡¯t do my homework, but it¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t mind doing it if I get to do this, y¡¯know?¡±


    Jellybeaner: I get it. Were they worried about you doing things on the internet?


    ¡°Yeah, actually! They bought me this book about online security, so that I¡¯ll know what¡¯s safe to do and what¡¯s not, before they gave me permission.¡± Masumi smiled. ¡°My mother even wrote up a little test on it for me to do, so they¡¯d know that I read it. But they¡¯ve been pretty hands-off since then? I¡¯m allowed to do my own thing and they ask me how it¡¯s going and that¡¯s all fine, so! Yeah!¡±


    Jellybeaner: They sound like wise people. What do they think of you spending all your money on games?


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not all my money! It¡¯s a lot, because I play so much, but I think most of it goes towards buying clothes and makeup and things like that. Umm, I¡¯m actually going to run out of space soon.¡± He shot a surreptitious glance off-screen. ¡°My current space is overflowing, so, um, yeah.¡±


    Jellybeaner: You have to throw some away? I can¡¯t think of anything I¡¯ve seen you in that wouldn¡¯t be a crime to throw away.


    ¡°Making me blush day isn¡¯t on the schedule, you know!¡±

 Chapter Five: Hall-Time

    Masumi was still faintly panting as he emerged from the showers in the school gym, hurriedly gathering up his clothes and finding his usual corner to get dressed in. His muscles ached in a way they usually didn¡¯t, not unless he¡¯d just emerged from dance class, and that left him walking with a little less vigor as he strolled through the changing room with a smile nonetheless on his face.


    He¡¯d just made it to the door when he felt a looming, lanky presence join his side.


    ¡°Sanada.¡± Rumbled the voice of the oft-delinquent Kiryu. ¡°You did good for once. And you were just the worst before. What¡¯s your secret?¡± He asked, as he held open the door for the slighter boy.


    ¡°Oh, um,¡± Masumi smiled up and walked through the door. ¡°I don¡¯t have one. I¡¯ve just been feeling it, I guess...¡± The door clattered closed behind Kiryu and the pair of them glanced down the hall to see the students approaching for the next class in the gym. It was a group of girls from the same year, quite literally overshadowed by the tallest girl, and her retinue of followers.


    ¡°Oh. How boring.¡± Kiryu said, as he followed Masumi¡¯s line of sight to the girls¡¯ class and shook his head. ¡°Dream on, Sanada. There¡¯s no way any of that group will be interested in a man they can fit in their bags.¡± He laughed. ¡°Since you didn¡¯t suck so much today, let me give you some advice.¡± He pointed down the hall, nakedly transparent in his pointing at some of the less-formed groups. ¡°You¡¯re better off with the stragglers. Trust me on this: I¡¯ve read all the romances in the library.¡±


    ¡°That...¡± Masumi frowned. ¡°Okay! What can you tell me, Kiryu?¡± He asked, as he tried to be a little more surreptitious than Kiryu in observing the other students. It was a little hard to focus with the short-haired girl bouncing around the largest group, seizing their attention with almost-yells and calls out. But, they were filing into their changing rooms, and a few others emerged.


    There was a girl with glasses who drew his eye, the red specs and ornately pulled-back ponytail. It was completely impractical, but beautiful all the same. She was joined by another student, taller than herself, who seemed to have taken the uniform rules as mere suggestions. Her blouse had been tugged out, her jacket undone, and he was sure that she was wearing some vibrant t-shirt beneath it all. It was just the kind of rebellious spirit he hoped to exhibit in Low-Life, though mostly in his actions rather than his fashion.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Kiryu snapped his fingers in front of Masumi¡¯s face. ¡°Pay attention if you¡¯re asking me for advice. If you¡¯re going to ask a girl to go out with you, you have to seem slick. Cool, like you could have any of the girls and you don¡¯t even care if they reject you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s, how does that work?¡± Masumi peered up at the taller boy. He was all too aware of the fact that the girls seemed eager to get to gym class, and that he and Kiryu would need to be back in their homeroom before long.


    ¡°You see, what you need to do ¨C You know what? I¡¯m going to show you.¡± Kiryu said, as he adjusted his uniform for maximum sleekness. Then he started jogging towards the girls. ¡°Hey, ladies. It¡¯s Kiryu! Kiryu¡¯s here. That¡¯s right!¡± He declared, as the last of the big group had made their way into the changing room. The smaller groups had reactions that mostly amounted to sighs or rolls of their eyes, as he waved, ran and...crumpled like a man made of paper.


    Masumi noticed a leg retracting from the doorway and the noisy girl from before grinning at the sight, before disappearing from his. The rest of the girls¡¯ reactions ranged from surprise to laughs to blushing at merely having been present for the fall.


    ¡°It¡¯s cool. It¡¯s fine. Gravity? Whatever.¡± Kiryu insisted, as he pulled himself to his hands and knees and rested against the wall. Masumi hesitated where he stood, until all of the girls were inside, then shuffled over to the fallen boy and leaned down to him.


    ¡°A-Are you okay?¡± Masumi whispered, as he noticed a trail of crimson down Kiryu¡¯s shirt. The boy stopped hiding his face against the wall and faced him with a smirk.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± Kiryu¡¯s thumbs-up was somewhat diminished by a crooked nose and blood that had poured over his mouth, down his shirt. ¡°That¡¯s how you prove you don¡¯t care, Sanada. Remember that!¡±


    ¡°Um, right, okay.¡± Masumi stared at the taller boy, who used the wall to help pull him to his feet. ¡°I think we should take you to the nurse, Kiryu.¡±


    ¡°What? Nah, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re bleeding...¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Kiryu looked down and saw some of the splatter on his shirt. ¡°It¡¯s nothin¡¯.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Okay...¡± Masumi walked down the hall with Kiryu, his expression steadily growing more set until a flicker of a smile came to it. ¡°Kiryu, this isn¡¯t the way to homeroom.¡±


    ¡°What? It totally is.¡± Kiryu sniffled, which did nothing to help the blood dripping down his face.


    ¡°No, you hit your head, and got turned around! It¡¯s okay, follow me.¡± He patted Kiryu¡¯s arm and led him down a few more twists and turns, until they were stood outside the nurse¡¯s office. ¡°You go in first. I want to see how you do an entrance from the other side!¡±


    Kiryu chuckled. ¡°You will learn, my young apprentice. You will learn.¡± He said, as he shoved open the door and strolled inside. ¡°Look out! Here co-¡± He paused as the door started to close and he realized that the room beyond was not, in fact, filled with classmates. ¡°Sanada, you traitor!¡± He cried out and span on his heel to grab for the handle.


    ¡°Not so fast!¡± The nurse¡¯s voice cracked like a whip. ¡°You¡¯re a mess. Sit down, shut up, and let me take a look at you.¡± She ordered him. Through the window, Masumi could just see Kiryu warily taking a seat and smiled to himself. It was for his own good. Probably.


    The rest of Masumi¡¯s day went through without much of note, save for an announcement that Kiryu had been sent to a hospital and would be missing the rest of their classes. Masumi spent his lunch thinking about the night ahead, the four-week anniversary of him getting his first viewer, and whether it was too weird to consider actually sharing that with Jellybeaner. He didn¡¯t come to a conclusion by dance class, as he emerged in his dancing clothes.


    ¡°Oh! You brought a hair tie! Finally!¡± Yuna laughed as she skipped up to Masumi. ¡°I thought i¡¯d have to start bringing a special hair tie just for you!¡±


    Masumi smiled. ¡°I, um, think it just set in! I didn¡¯t want to bother you all the time, so.¡± He gave a little tug at his now-ponytail. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°It looks good, like always! I love the little bangs!¡± Yuna used her fingers to mimic the shape. ¡°They¡¯re so...voluminous and fluffy! I wish I could have ones like that. But oh well. Next, I¡¯ve got to get you wearing ones that suit you! The black¡¯s lovely, but I¡¯m thinking...pink...flowers!¡± She snapped her fingers. ¡°That¡¯s it! You¡¯ll be bishonen!¡±


    ¡°I...¡± Masumi blinked. ¡°Are you just trying to make me into your ideal dance partner?¡±


    ¡°What? No, never!¡± Yuna gasped. ¡°Well, maybe! I think you¡¯d look ever so cute, especially with all the smiling you¡¯ve been doing lately! I can¡¯t look at you without seeing one!¡± She paused, as Masumi¡¯s cheeks started to turn pink. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s good! Smiling is good! I just wonder what it is that¡¯s doing it!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s, uh,¡± Masumi did his best to give a nonchalant shrug. ¡°Things have been going well, for me, recently. It¡¯s just, a lot of good things, so I¡¯m happy with it. It¡¯s not that big a deal, really...¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Yuna beamed, then span around so that she was by Masumi¡¯s side and they had a view of the rest of the club warming up for the dances ahead. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s a shame that we won¡¯t get to wear proper gowns? Well, I won¡¯t! For you it¡¯s suits. But it¡¯s not as good without gowns, is it? The swooshing is the best part!¡±


    Masumi¡¯s mind drifted off to a version of reality where the boys in dance club were clad in fine suits made of vibrant materials and the girls in gowns. He could already see who would choose what, from Yuna¡¯s bright and sparkly mermaid dress to the Club Head¡¯s elegant empire waist, to...what he would wear. Visions of himself flashed in varying outfits, but never quite settled on one. It morphed from a velvet sheath to a silk trumpet to..all kinds of wonderful things that he wished he could be home to dream about.


    ¡°Yeah, um, definitely!¡± Masumi nodded. ¡°So, um, we¡¯re doing ballroom again today?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Yuna beamed. ¡°I hope by the end of the year that everyone will be twirling and spinning and oh! Do you think you can lift me over your head? If you¡¯re going to be my partner, I want that!¡±


    Masumi glanced at Yuna. ¡°Oh, um, is that a thing that¡¯s happening now?¡±


    ¡°Yep! If you want!¡± Yuna nodded. ¡°I can find somebody else if you don¡¯t want to do it, but it would be fun! Like you¡¯re my little project! Oh, not that, that¡¯s rude, but something like that, yes?¡± She peered over at Masumi.


    ¡°Um...yes?¡± Masumi guessed.


    ¡°Fantastic!¡± Yuna said, just as the subtle orchestral music that signified the official start of club business filled the hall. ¡°Oh, here we go! You do remember the basics, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Masumi nodded and smiled. ¡°Yep, no problem!¡± He said, as he joined hands with Yuna and they got to the slow start of ballroom dancing. The lesson went as well as the last few had, and left him with a similar feeling of contentment that carried him all the way through homework and dinner.


    He¡¯d already planned his games out ¨C Slime Rancher, it was one that he knew would appeal to Jellybeaner. Mostly because the slimes had some resemblance to jellybeans, and it meant that they¡¯d be able to talk without him being distracted for half of the stream. If that got too boring at some point, he¡¯d switch back to Stardew Valley and finish what he liked to think of as their joint playthrough. Jellybeaner had some firm opinions about who he should marry, which had led to some ample banter about their respective tastes.


    The hardest part was his outfit, which he wanted to look special but hadn¡¯t been able to find anything that felt good enough. He¡¯d resolved to try to get more information out of Jellybeaner, about what she might like to see him wear. Which was difficult, because they seemed to like whatever he wore. He¡¯d briefly considered trying to dress poorly, to see whether that would be enough, before quickly reprimanding himself for trying to not seem as cute as possible.


    He settled for a colorful candy-themed loose top, over a white tank top, with a pair of skorts to go with it. He¡¯d be bare-legged, which suited him just fine. Covering up a little less and showing off a little more was just one of the ways he felt the attention just one viewer. His anxiety asked him whether he was going to end up wearing nothing at all if he ended up with enough viewers, but no amount of irrational thoughts could douse the flame of his confidence.


    With one final salute to himself in the mirror, Masumi sat down at his desk and started the stream. He¡¯d barely finished introducing himself when that familiar name popped up in the chat box. He grinned.

 Chapter Six: Name and a Dress

    Jellybeaner: Is it bad that I want to eat them?


    Masumi snickered at the response to his unveiling of the prismatic slimes on screen. ¡°That¡¯s evil! They¡¯re just happy little slimes!¡±


    Jellybeaner: Just a nibble.


    ¡°How would you like it if somebody nibbled on you, huh? ¡° Masumi chastised his guest with a wagging finger.


    Jellybeaner: I don¡¯t look cherry-flavored. Maybe a lick?


    ¡°I guess that wouldn¡¯t hurt them, but you have to, you have to get their permission.¡± Masumi said with as stern an expression as he could manage.


    Jellybeaner: If you insist. For the sake of argument, what if I didn¡¯t?


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to feel the wrath of Low-Life!¡± Masumi shook his fist at the camera and couldn¡¯t hold back the smile. ¡°This is an angry smile, not a happy one! Those exist now!¡±


    Jellybeaner: Oh no, not the wrath of Low-Life. You might give me diabetes.


    ¡°What? I¡¯m dangerous! I¡¯m the most dangerous streamer this side of Nagoya!¡± Masumi demonstrated his prowess by splashing some water on on an attacking slime, dissipating the black mass. ¡°See? Where I go, destruction follows!¡±


    Jellybeaner; That was badass. But it was also Beatrix. What has Low-Life done?


    ¡°I, uh. Uhhh. Umm.¡± Masumi bit his bottom lip as he concentrated, then snapped his fingers. ¡°My classmate¡¯s nose was broken today. There was blood everywhere!¡±


    Jellybeaner: That¡¯s nasty. You did that?


    ¡°Um, well, no, but! I was there when it happened!¡± Masumi defended himself. ¡°We were leaving gym class and he went to pick up some girls and I think he was tripped over, and I saw the whole thing! I didn¡¯t even flinch! So how about that?¡±


    Jellybeaner: Haha, very brave.


    Jellybeaner: You were leaving gym?


    ¡°Mmhm!¡± Masumi bobbed his head as he swallowed a mouthful of water. ¡°We were just leaving the changing rooms!¡±


    Jellybeaner: You were leaving the gym changing rooms with a boy?


    Masumi felt a sudden tug in his guts and stared over at the chat. ¡°Umm. Yes?¡± He squeaked.


    Jellybeaner: So you¡¯re a boy?


    ¡°I-I, well, it¡¯s not that,¡± Masumi¡¯s eyes tripled in size. His heart suddenly started pounding at his ribcage like a jackhammer, his cheeks turned as red as they¡¯d ever been, and his palms struggled to maintain a grip on his controller as they sweated. ¡°I, um, I am, that is to say, Low-Life, I, uhh,¡± He could feel his breathing getting away from him, and with it, all of his words. All of the joy of his last interactions with Jellybeaner seemed to be bound beneath the Sword of Damocles. ¡°I¡¯m...¡±


    Jellybeaner: That¡¯s adorable.


    And the blade was knocked away. The restraints came unbound and the overclocking of his body became a reboot. His eyes remained on the message while he steadily processed everything that had happened in the last few seconds. He wasn¡¯t hated. They weren¡¯t going away. His success wasn¡¯t going to become a victory. Those thoughts bounced in his mind, clearing out the cacophony of anxiety that had just been spawned.


    ¡°R-Really?¡± It came out as a whisper, as though it might frighten away his newfound hope.


    Jellybeaner: Yeah. If anything, it just makes you cuter.


    Masumi¡¯s blush was the only thing that remained of his once-imminent panic attack, and it felt like it was going to linger for a long time. The only words he could find where the ones he¡¯d already used.


    ¡°R-Really?¡±


    Jellybeaner: Haha, yes, really. But I am curious, why did you begin crossdressing?


    ¡°Oh, um.¡± Masumi furrowed his brow. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly why it was. I always liked feminine things, girly things, y¡¯know, the whole things that are...anyway. I thought they felt nice when I was little, and I look at girls and think they¡¯re really pretty. Like, all the time, that¡¯s what I would think or do and...I just sometimes thought that it would be nice to be like that. Like the idols on TV? To not be worrying about work or school or any of that stuff, but to be...fun. Fluffy. Carefree. Like, an ornament instead of a tool.¡±


    Jellybeaner: That¡¯s interesting. So what made you start doing it for streaming?


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°That¡¯s, um, that¡¯s easier.¡± Masumi tittered nervously. ¡°I told you before about, um, my parents and being safe and that kind of stuff? Well, I thought that I should do that, even if I¡¯m streaming, and I thought about how I could disguise myself, but still be on camera, because, like, that¡¯s how you do it if you want people to watch you, right? So I couldn¡¯t just not have my face on here and talk to people...¡±


    ¡°And then I thought about doing this. Being cute.¡± Masumi smiled at the camera. ¡°I...bought some things before and had tried them and some makeup, too, and I hadn¡¯t done it all at once before, but then I did, and I got in front of the camera, and I thought...wow, I¡¯m actually cute!¡±


    Jellybeaner: You were right about that.


    ¡°Th-Thanks. Um, where was I...right! And I didn¡¯t look like I normally did. Not exactly, not so anybody would recognize me, and it was just enough that they wouldn¡¯t notice if they spotted me on here and spotted me in real life, and that would be enough to help me safe. And that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been doing ever since! Bringing Low-Life to the internet!¡± He performed a salute for the camera and gave a little shrug of his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s been good, y¡¯know?¡±


    Jellybeaner: I do know. You¡¯ve been getting cuter just in the time I¡¯ve watched you. You totally pass.


    ¡°I was, um, worried about that for a little bit...¡± Masumi admitted. ¡°But everyone has always said that I look girly and I¡¯ve basically finished growing I think, so I¡¯m lucky!¡± He leaned back in his chair. ¡°And if you didn¡¯t even know before now, then I guess that¡¯s just proof, huh?¡±


    Jellybeaner: I think it is. Have you tried going out like that, to see if anyone notices?


    ¡°Oh...oh no, I couldn¡¯t!¡± Masumi giggled. ¡°My parents aren¡¯t here a lot, so I might be able to, but, um, there are neighbors around and they might see me leave, or come back, and if somebody does notice me it will...it will be not good! So I haven¡¯t. Do you think I could?¡±


    Jellybeaner: I do, but not if it¡¯s not comfortable for you. I didn¡¯t know your parents didn¡¯t know. Is that for the reasons I can guess?


    ¡°Yeah...¡± Masumi bit his lip. ¡°I don¡¯t know if they wouldn¡¯t like it, but I don¡¯t think they would, so I keep it a secret ¡®cause they work late and I normally have time to get everything off and hidden before they get home. And I do my own laundry and everything, so it works out okay! Eventually, I¡¯ll be able to move out and then I can do it as much as I want!¡±


    Jellybeaner: That would be great. Quick question, but should I still refer to you as a girl when we talk?


    ¡°I...I think I¡¯d like that.¡±


    Jellybeaner: Then I will. Where did you learn how to do your makeup? Because you¡¯ve got it down to an art.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s actually the easiest bit! I can go online and find all these tutorials about how to put it on, especially foreign ones, where there¡¯s a lot of information about how to do makeup to look like a girl if you¡¯re a boy. I don¡¯t need them, much, but every little helps! And I¡¯ve done a lot of practice by myself, testing it out, and I get to see how it looks on camera. I, um, don¡¯t watch myself back a lot in the archives, but I can if I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    Jellybeaner: How do you buy it without anyone noticing and you don¡¯t go out dressed like a girl?


    ¡°That one took me a while!¡± Masumi said. ¡°We take a train to the city and I just buy things there. I can go between places if it seems like somebody¡¯s getting suspicious, buying makeup and clothes, and they don¡¯t really ask me questions because I¡¯ve got the money for it. And when they do, I just say it¡¯s for my girlfriend and they act like it¡¯s all cute and help me out. Um, those who don¡¯t give me warnings about girls and focusing on my studies, anyway!¡±


    There was a pause.


    Jellybeaner: What does your girlfriend think about you doing this?


    ¡°O-Oh, I don¡¯t have one.¡± Masumi shifted in his seat. ¡°I, um, I¡¯m a little shy, like I said, and I don¡¯t...have the confidence to do that. It¡¯s just a lie I tell them so that they won¡¯t think I¡¯m being weird. I don¡¯t know if I had one what she would think of it, anyway, but, I¡¯d hope that she¡¯d be okay with it if I got one. I don¡¯t know if I could stop doing it now that I¡¯ve started...¡±


    Jellybeaner: I see.


    Jellybeaner: It¡¯s funny, because one of the students from the school I go to got a broken nose today, too.


    ¡°That¡¯s weird!¡± Masumi said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a fight, was it? Are you okay?¡±


    Jellybeaner: Haha. I¡¯m okay and it wasn¡¯t a fight. He tripped in the hall. While leaving gym class.


    Masumi frowned and shifted in his seat. He drummed his fingers on his forgotten controller and went over the conversation they¡¯d just been having. Before he could think of a reply, a private message appeared.


    Jellybeaner: Do you go to Retsuko Academy?


    Masumi nodded.


    Jellybeaner: Me too. I was wondering if you would like to meet. Properly.


    ¡°That...¡± Masumi concentrated on his feet for a few moments, then looked back up to the camera. ¡°That, um, would be nice, I think. It might be nice to see you, if, um, since, you¡¯ve seen me so many times, too.¡± He remembered back to his parent¡¯s talk on online safety. ¡°But it has to be at school. For safety and I trust you but it¡¯s what the rules are that my parents gave me, so, um, yeah.¡±


    Jellybeaner: That¡¯s okay. We can meet after classes are done and clubs are still on. Do you want to meet in the library?


    ¡°That would be good.¡± Masumi nodded rapidly and leaned forward in his chair again. ¡°But, um, we should trade emails so that we can message each other if we¡¯re running late!¡±


    Jellybeaner: Why not numbers?


    ¡°Um, safety...¡± Masumi mumbled. ¡°And then we can do numbers if we meet each other and it all goes okay, okay?¡±


    Jellybeaner: That sounds good to me, I didn¡¯t think of that haha.


    Then a private message popped up on Masumi¡¯s screen, containing Jellybeaner¡¯s email. His fingers excitedly tapped out a private respone and then it was done. He smiled broadly at the camera.


    ¡°Okay! And, we should have something so that we know who¡¯s who. There are going to be other students there and I¡¯ll be in my uniform and you¡¯ll be in yours and we might not even know that we¡¯re both there!¡±


    Jellybeaner; What about some yellow cloth wrapped around our right arms?


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s perfect. We probably won¡¯t get told off for that if we only put it on in the library. This is so good! I can¡¯t wait to meet you!¡±


    Jellybeaner: Haha same.


    Masumi sighed happily and stared off into space. He suddenly sat upright. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re still streaming! I kinda forgot there for a moment, there!¡± He laughed. ¡°Where were we? Slimes, that¡¯s right! What kind do you want me to get?¡±


    Jellybeaner: One of the ones that looks like a cat!


    ¡°You can your cats.¡± Masumi smiled. ¡°Why don¡¯t you have one if you like them so much?¡±


    Jellybeaner: Maybe I just want to see you dressed up as a catgirl haha.


    ¡°Yo-!¡± Masumi pouted. ¡°You can¡¯t just embarrass me when you can¡¯t answer a question!¡±


    Jellybeaner; You are already embarrassed.

 Chapter Seven: Cover to Cover

    Masumi found himself stood outside the door to the library, his hand hovering over the handle and his body refusing to go the rest of the way. Despite the smile just waiting to happen, the fact that he¡¯d been thinking about this moment all day, he found himself bumping up against a wall of anxiety.


    There was a chance that Jellybeaner wouldn¡¯t be there. There was a chance that Jellybeaner would think he was ugly without his makeup and his outfits. They might just not like him when he couldn¡¯t be exuberant in public. There were a million things that could go wrong¡­


    And he had to face all of them. It was what Low-Life would do. Masumi glanced either way down the hall, pulled the yellow armband out of his pack, and slid it on. He checked against, just to be sure, then performed his signature salute.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got this, Low-Life!¡± He told himself, as his voice cracked down to a whisper. The silence in the school corridors would easily carry his voice to some curious students. ¡°You¡¯re going to go in there and it¡¯s going to be great! It will be okay! Got it?¡± He inhaled, then nodded. ¡°Got it!¡±


    Masumi pushed open the door and took in the library. There were a couple of students lingering around the chest-high shelves lined up against one wall, a few others at the tables on the opposite wall, and the custodian stood behind his desk There wasn¡¯t a sliver of yellow in sight. He strolled down the length of the library, peering between the shelves in the hope that he¡¯d spot somebody crouching by the lower shelves, and still there was nothing. He got all the way to the other end and leaned against the desk. Still, there was nothing.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± The custodian leaned over his desk and followed Masumi¡¯s point of view over the library.


    Masumi jumped as he was shook out of his reverie. ¡°Oh, um. Sorry. It¡¯s ¨C I¡¯m looking...have you seen anyone with yellow on their arm? I¡¯m meeting a friend!¡± He flashed a nervous smile.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t, I¡¯m sorry. You¡¯re welcome to wait if you make yourself look busy.¡± The custodian gestured to one of the more vacant tables.


    ¡°Right! Right. Thank you.¡± Masumi bowed to the custodian and moved over to the nearest table, where he opened up his homework. It was the best spot to see anybody come in.


    Masumi found that focusing on his homework posed more of a challenge when he had to keep looking up at every shuffling of feet. The relative silence did nothing to help quell the dread that clawed its way out of the depths of his mind. His grip on his pencil tightened until his knuckles turned white, as he went over all the things he had to tell himself just to walk through the door. He was cute. They were going to show up. Everything was going to be okay. It had to be.


    The seconds ticked by and Masumi¡¯s quiet resolve was met with nothing. There was no problem to solve or monster to beat or mirror to face. In those moments, he was certain that he was going to be alone. He didn¡¯t know how long, but it could have been forever for him. The other students in the library didn¡¯t care that he was there, just like it didn¡¯t matter if he was anywhere else. That was some small comfort as hot tears started to form in the corners of his eyes and his breath hitched in his throat.


    The silence in the library was broken by a sudden tune from the depths of Masumi¡¯s pack. He startled in his seat and the custodian tapped his pencil against his desk.


    ¡°Phones outside.¡± The custodian said, crisply.


    Masumi clutched at his bag, his cheeks red hot, and stumbled out of his seat. ¡°S-Sorry...¡± He mumbled in the man¡¯s direction and hustled out of the library with his head hung low. The blurry corners of his eyes caught the sight of the other kids rolling their eyes before going right back to their work. Escaping into the corridor felt like the first rain of Summer.


    Masumi scrambled for his phone and pulled it open. The blinking email icon drew his finger to it, then popped up with a message. Its sender made his heart skip a beat.


    [email protected]</a>


    I¡¯m sorry. Work called and I had to take an emergency shift and I left my phone on all day and I only just got to charge it. Please don¡¯t be mad because I am sorry. If you would like to meet still come to the library in town and I will still be wearing the yellow armband. I hope I see you.


    Masumi bit his bottom lip and read the email over a few times, just to make sure that he wasn¡¯t missing anything. If what he read was right, then he wasn¡¯t being abandoned. His fingers danced over the keypad as he figured out what he should say to them, an outpouring of the first words that came to mind, until he realized two things. The first was that, if Jellybeaner was at work, she wouldn¡¯t see his message anyway.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The second was that he didn¡¯t know whether he could go and meet Jellybeaner. The rules that he¡¯d read, the rules that he set out, were to only meet somebody at school. That was for his own safety. But, on the other hand, the town library wasn¡¯t a dark, decrepit alley where he could be put in danger. There were always people there, and it was right in the middle of town. If he was going to get attacked, it would be somewhere much less secure.


    But if somebody was clever enough to lead him on for a month, they would have known that he wouldn¡¯t go to somewhere like a warehouse or the hills outside of town. They could have plotted it out so that they set out two safe locations and would jump him inbetween.


    ¡°Idiot...¡± Masumi muttered to himself as he walked down the corridor to the bike rack. Jellybeaner wasn¡¯t some criminal trying to capture him. Not with all they¡¯d talked about, not with the records that the police would find. They¡¯d spent too long building up trust.


    But that trust had been broken by Jellybeaner not showing up to the library. There was just enough of a crack for his good sense to slip in. Maybe he was being paranoid, but it was better to be paranoid and safe than not paranoid and not.


    He ran back down the hall to the school library, then hustled to the custodian. ¡°Do you need anything taken to the town library?¡± He asked, as he peered up at the lanky man.


    ¡°...yes?¡± The custodian said. ¡°I have some books used for last term. Are you volunteering to take them back?¡± Masumi nodded vigorously. ¡°Hm. Sign here.¡± He said, as he pulled out a notebook and pushed it over to Masumi. ¡°Just to be sure you¡¯ve taken responsibility.¡± He reached below the desk and retrieved a box stuffed with small books, then pushed it over to Masumi.


    ¡°Thank you! Er, I mean, you¡¯re welcome!¡± Masumi lifted the box and just about managed to fit it into the spare space in his bag. ¡°I¡¯m going there now! Right now! Um, write it down, that I¡¯m going straight there.¡±


    ¡°...okay.¡± The custodian said.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Masumi nodded, then hustled out of the school library and back along his original path. As he walked, he sent an email to each of his parents detailing the exact time of his departure and where he was going. There weren¡¯t many bikes left in the racks, but there was a pair of girls just getting theirs ready as he swung his leg over his own. ¡°I-I¡¯m going to the library!¡±


    ¡°Oh! Have fun!¡± One of the girls waved at him. Her friend raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°What? Being nice is not lame.¡±


    ¡°So lame.¡±


    ¡°I am not!¡±


    Masumi pulled his cap on and heard the pair bickering as he rode out of the school proper and pulled up his mental map of the town. None of the direct paths between the school and the library were viable if he wanted to stay safe. He¡¯d have go to the outskirts of town, then come at it from the back. There was no way somebody would think he¡¯d take such a circuitous route. And so he set off.


    As he rode, he had a lot of time to think about what he was doing. Whether he was actually concerned for his safety or just occupying himself with something so that the potential heartbreak would stop looming over him. Whether he was taking it all too seriously to begin with. It was just a new friend from school. His only friend, but still just a friend. Lots of people made and met them every day. And there he was, riding all the way around town just because one couldn¡¯t make it to a meeting.


    His body started to rebel against him just as he reached the other side of town and realized that he was only really halfway to the library. Away from the clear outskirts of town, he¡¯d have to take into account turns, people, stopping, actually paying attention to where he was going and avoiding anywhere that wasn¡¯t brightly-lit and surrounded by people. All with the extra weight of the books in his pack, which seemed to be growing heavier by the minute.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Low-Life.¡± Masumi breathed in and rolled down the hill. The rest of his trip went about as well as he¡¯d expected, with a few close calls where he might have rode straight into a wall or a person, or almost tipped right over after slamming too hard on the breaks. But those gave him something to pay attention to, so it was almost worth the aches in his legs and shoulders.


    He parked his bike in the racks outside of the library and took a few moments to center himself. He hadn¡¯t been attacked. He¡¯d arrived safely. The sight of the town library should have filled him with some sense of accomplishment, but instead it was like he was right back outside the school library. All of the things that could have gone wrong there could have gone wrong here, and just as easily. His first attempt at the door resulted in a detour for a snack and a drink from the vending machine.


    Now he was ready.


    The Yamamura was one of the oldest buildings in town, and one of the more beautiful. It was set up in three tiers, immediately opposite the doors that flanks the counter. Each tier had their own sections devoted to genres, with shelves of books and a few spots for reading, the largest by far at the very back. There were a few doors marked for employees only on each tier, presumably leading to the space below the tiers.


    Masumi scanned the tiers from the bottom floor and didn¡¯t spot anyone with yellow material around their arm. But if Jellybeaner was working, all hope wasn¡¯t lost. They¡¯d be out soon enough, and looking for him, or that was what he told himself. He couldn¡¯t go to them right away regardless.


    ¡°There are from Retsuko Academy.¡± Masumi pulled the box of books out of his pack and slid it onto the counter beside the entrance. ¡°They were borrowed for last term and, um, I volunteered to bring them here, so...there y¡¯go!¡±


    The woman behind the counter turned around to face Masumi. She was quite tall, with her long black hair tied in a braid and a neat uniform. Her face seemed solemn at first, then her eyes landed on Masumi and seemed to light up. Masumi¡¯s instinct was to shy away, until he saw the yellow ribbon wrapped around her right arm.

 Chapter Eight: Overdue

    ¡°Low-Life?¡± The stranger asked, her voice hushed and hopeful.


    ¡°Uhhh.¡± Masumi bit his bottom lip as he nodded. The voice made her seem even more familiar, though he couldn¡¯t quite place it.


    ¡°It¡¯s so nice to meet you.¡± A smile spread across her face. ¡°I feel like I should introduce myself properly. I¡¯m Shiro Yui. You can cal me Yui.¡±


    ¡°I, uh, I-¡± Masumi furrowed his brow in concentration. ¡°I know y-¡± His exclamation was suddenly halted by an upheld finger.


    ¡°We¡¯re in a library.¡± Yui reminded him, her smile sly.


    ¡°Right, sorry!¡± Masumi nodded and realized that he had nowhere to hide his blush. ¡°I-I know you! I¡¯ve seen you around school! You¡¯re, you¡¯ve got, you have people all around you all the time!¡±


    ¡°Do I?¡± Yui shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just lucky, I guess.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re...¡± Masumi let out a little whine and shook his head. ¡°Sorry, again, sorry, I didn¡¯t even- I¡¯m Sanada Masumi. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m meeting you for real life, in real life, I mean.¡± His eyes couldn¡¯t stop moving when he looked at Yui. Like he was searching for an imperfection or oddity that would prove he was dreaming. ¡°And you¡¯re so pretty...¡±


    ¡°Thank you. That¡¯s a high compliment, coming from Low-Life.¡± Yui laughed softly and leaned forward, balancing her elbows on the box of books. This made them somewhere closer to eye-level.


    ¡°I, em, that is, thanks.¡± Masumi adjusted his cap. ¡°You work here all the time?¡±


    ¡°When I can.¡± Yui bobbed her head. ¡°Sometimes I¡¯m working at other places, but most of the time it¡¯s here. I like the quiet. And it¡¯s a lot easier to study when you¡¯ve got all of the books.¡±


    Masumi nodded his agreement and his eyes fell to the box that Yui was leaning on. ¡°Oh! Um, I got those books, still! The custodian had me bring them...¡±


    ¡°I should probably sort these out right away. Why don¡¯t you come along?¡± Yui agreed and hefted the box into her arms. ¡°Mr Imai told you to bring them here?¡±


    ¡°He kinda did.¡± Masumi waited for Yui to stride around the counter and followed in her wake, before correcting himself and upping his pace to be by her side. ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°How unusual.¡± Yui said, as she opened one of the doors on the lower floor and stepped inside. Masumi could see shelf upon shelf of books in boxes. ¡°How did Mr Imai know you were coming here?¡± She took one of the books out and tucked the rest of the box in an empty space.


    ¡°I, um, asked, actually...¡± Masumi stepped back from his obvious peering inside the employee room to let Yui out.


    ¡°I see.¡± Yui turned the corner and started striding up the stairs. ¡°Thank you for helping; I¡¯m sure he appreciates not having to come himself.¡±


    Masumi regarded Yui as she slid the book into its appropriate place along the shelf. ¡°Um, yeah! I hope so. Um, so, do, um. Want to go somewhere? When you¡¯re done here?¡±


    ¡°That would be wonderful.¡± Yui beamed at Masumi. He wasn¡¯t used to being smiled at like that, at least, not by somebody his own age. ¡°Would you mind sticking around while I work? It¡¯s okay if you do; it¡¯s going to be a few hours and we might not be able to talk a lot.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s fine! That¡¯s okay!¡± Masumi nodded and patted his bag. ¡°I can do my homework, I normally do it at home, but here! I can do it here. It¡¯s what it¡¯s for, right?¡±


    ¡°It is? I thought people just liked to look at the pretty pictures.¡± Yui laughed. ¡°You¡¯re more than welcome to, Masumi. I¡¯ll try to find all the time I can so that we can actually talk at some point.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just...go over here.¡± Masumi said, as he placed a foot on the steps leading to the first tier. ¡°Is that okay?¡± He stared up at Yui.


    ¡°That¡¯ fine.¡± Yui said, and stepped down along with him. ¡°Sorry again, about this. I was told that somebody else had this shift, and then I suddenly got a message demanding I show up¡­ Telling them no wasn¡¯t something I could do. Not without losing the job.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind! It¡¯s fun.¡± Masumi said, as he sat himself down near the stairs and pulled his books out. ¡°And I¡¯ll get to see you work. That¡¯s, um, normally saved for the second date!¡± He said, with immediate backlash from his mind. He did his best to hide himself behind his bag while he pulled his books out.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Yui laughed. ¡°Right. It looks like somebody just came in, so I¡¯ll speak to you soon.¡± She headed down the stairs to greet the elderly man who¡¯d just wandered in. Masumi discretely watched her as he laid his homework out in front of him.


    The man approaching the counter was approaching his elder years, with a musty jacket and the kind of twitch in his eyes that told any passerby that they¡¯d personally offended him. Yui arrived at the counter just as he did, and slipped behind it with a polite smile.


    ¡°How can I help you, Mr Kikuchi?¡± The question had barely been asked when he started speaking.


    ¡°You can¡¯t, obviously. You never can. I bet you don¡¯t even know what kind of book I¡¯m looking for, do you?¡± He asked, then went on when she didn¡¯t reply. ¡°You ought to know by now, I¡¯ve been coming here long enough. You¡¯ve been working here for long enough. I suppose you¡¯re too busy, aren¡¯t you? How long does it take you to do that silly braid? That¡¯s time that could be spent working on being competent. I suppose that¡¯s not as important as being pretty.¡±


    Masumi¡¯s mouth fell open as he watched, while Yui simply observed the man. The fact that his rant was at conversational volume was the only thing stopping anyone else from paying attention, Masumi hoped.


    ¡°And look ¨C just look! Another youth coming in and stealing our spots.¡± Mr Kikuchi gestured vaguely in at the tiers, where a few students and young adults had filled the seats and were quietly minding their own business. ¡°It¡¯s not right, is it? A man can¡¯t even come into his local library in his local town and sit in his local seat. Can¡¯t sit where I normally sit, no, got to make way for all these delinquents.¡± He shook his head bitterly. ¡°You should do something about it!¡± He jabbed his finger in Yiu¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Take a seat, Mr Kikuchi.¡± Yui said.


    The old man remained where he was for a moment, then shuffled off towards one of the lower-most seats and pulled over one of the books that had been stacked in the middle. Masumi watched the unphased Yui tend to the computer that sat on the counter and...nothing more happen. He silently wondered about how often Yui had to deal with similar people with shocking manners, how it was unfair to treat her that way, and then remembered that he really ought to have been finishing his homework.


    Nothing more happened for a little while, with a few people filing in and out of the library while Yui tended to her work. This changed when the doors opened to reveal a young woman with short-cut hair and the kind of smile Masumi¡¯s parents often wore. She was flanked by a pair of small children, clad in yellow caps and colorful coats that could have made them stand out even in a field of fireworks.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Mrs Aono.¡± Yui greeted the trio. ¡°And Aono One, and Aono Two.¡± She gave an appropriately-sized bow to the little children. ¡°What are you looking for today?¡±


    ¡°The usual, please, Shiro.¡± Mrs Aono informed the librarian, as the pair of children wandered off to some of the lower tables and neatly took their seats. She sat near one of the employee doors, and Yui followed. Masumi tapped his pencil on his hand as he waited for her to emerge and she eventually did, with a spill-proof steaming cup in hand that she placed in front of the woman. ¡°Thank you so much.¡± She took a long sup of the cup.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Yui smiled at her. ¡°How is your art going?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you know. It¡¯s getting there.¡± Mrs Aono sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have any fuel if it weren¡¯t for this place and the daycare.¡±


    ¡°Happy to help.¡± Yui laughed. ¡°I found some books that you might be interested while organizing the shelves the other day. Would you like me to fetch them?¡±


    Mrs Aono regarded Yui with a warm look. ¡°I could just hug you right now.¡±


    ¡°How inappropriate.¡± Yui said, with a tone of feigned offense. ¡°The people would talk.¡±


    ¡°The peo...¡± Mrs Aono blinked. ¡°That is not what I meant and you know it. Go on, get on with your work if you¡¯re just going to make fun of an old woman.¡± They shared a laugh and parted ways while Masumi figured out his math homework, and their unusual interaction.


    A couple more hours passed and he finished his homework, while his stomach rebelled against the disruption of its schedule. He¡¯d already passed his usual streaming time, but he was sure that it would be worth it. The rest of the people in the library started to file out until it was only him and Yui. He tucked away the book he¡¯d been reading and stepped down the stairs as she shut down the computer behind the counter.


    ¡°So, um. Off we go?¡± Masumi offered Yui his brightest smile as she stepped out.


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan.¡± Yui returned the smile. ¡°I¡¯m going to lock the back doors and get changed out of the uniform, then we can go.¡±


    ¡°Got it! I¡¯ll do that!¡± Masumi called out, as Yui entered one of the employee areas and he was left with the duty of thinking about where they could go to eat. They couldn¡¯t go for a complete meal anywhere, not with the clock past eight and his parents arriving after ten. He pulled up his phone to flick through a few options, since he rarely visited any of the local food places, and was startled out of his browsing by the employee door opening.


    Yui emerged in a pair of jeans, with a green field jacket over her t-shirt. Masumi stared at her and she tilted her head at him.


    ¡°Do I have something on my face?¡± Yui asked.


    ¡°Oh, um, no! No, you look cute!¡± Masumi said. ¡°And I¡¯m not just saying that ¡®cause you call me it all the time, but, um, it¡¯s good. And kind of, um, tough?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s me all over.¡± Yui nodded, as she turned off the lights and led Masumi out of the front doors. ¡°Look out for the Yamamura Librarian; if you¡¯re overdue, so are her punches.¡±


    Masumi giggled as they stepped out into the street. ¡°That¡¯s silly!¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Yui shrugged. ¡°Did you find somewhere for us to eat?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes! I don¡¯t know if you like noodle bowls, but there¡¯s a place that does noodle bowls an-¡± Masumi was interrupted by a beeping from Yui¡¯s pocket. ¡°Is that your phone?¡±


    Yui¡¯s face fell and she nodded as she reached into her pocket. The screen lit up her face and she shook her head.


    ¡°This is not going to be pleasant.¡± Yui said. ¡°It¡¯s my curfew reminder. I¡¯ve got to be back in half an hour.¡±


    ¡°You have a curfew?¡± Masumi¡¯s heart sunk.


    ¡°I live in the dorms at school.¡± Yui said. ¡°And if I don¡¯t get back before then, it won¡¯t be good. I was so excited about going to eat with you that I forgot.¡± She scratched her forehead. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Masumi.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s, it¡¯s okay!¡± Masumi lied. ¡°We can always eat another time. And we can message each other now, so. It¡¯s okay!¡±


    ¡°Well...okay. Goodbye, Masumi. It was nice meeting you.¡±


    ¡°Bye! You too!¡± Masumi gave his signature salute to Yui, who smiled sadly as she turned away.

 Chapter Nine: Souped Up

    Masumi hummed to himself as he shifted between stations in the kitchen. Everything had been neatly laid out beforehand and he was flying through preparation. The door was left open, letting all of the savory scents of breakfast float up the stairs, and sunlight was just peeking through the windows.


    His flowery yukata flowed behind him as he served up the first of his breakfast, fried fish, among the three plates on the table. His fluffy hair was practically bouncing as he dished out the next lots, of steaming miso soup, stark and sticky white rice, and one bowl filled with avacado and natto. He was just pouring tea when his parents came down the stairs, similarly clad in their sleepwear, and took their seats at the breakfast table.


    ¡°Just in time!¡± Masumi greeted the pair of them with a smile as he took his seat and adjusted his yukata.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Hideki said, then took a sip of his tea. ¡°Your cooking gets better every day.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re welcome.¡± Masumi beamed at his father. ¡°We talked about combining breakfast flavors in Cooking Club this week, so I thought it would be a good time to try it out! And you like it, so, I think it¡¯s a success!¡±


    ¡°It certainly is.¡± Fujiko nodded, having swallowed a mouthful of fish and a few clumps of the other dishes before she¡¯d finished sitting down. ¡°We¡¯ll have to start making you prepare our breakfasts every day.¡±


    ¡°Wh-¡± Masumi¡¯s eyes opened as his esophagus closed. ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only teasing you.¡± Fujiko pointed at him with her chopsticks. ¡°But this is delicious. Are you still making your own bento boxes?¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, yes! It¡¯s good practice and the stuff from the stores doesn¡¯t taste very good, anyway.¡± Masumi paused. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s good for you, obviously, and you have to, so, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Relax.¡± Hideki glanced at Masumi. ¡°It¡¯s breakfast time.¡±


    Masumi slowly inhaled, then nodded slowly. ¡°You¡¯re right. Sorry. I¡¯m glad you like it.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so excited today, Masumi?¡± Fujiko squinted at him as though she could divine his mentality If she tried hard enough. ¡°Did you get another viewer?¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, no, that¡¯s not it.¡± Masumi bought himself some time with a long drink of his tea. ¡°I¡¯ve made a new friend, and, um, I want to spend time with them again. We haven¡¯t got to much, yet, because she¡¯s busy, but she¡¯s nice and interesting and I want to. So I think I might get to today? I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Are you dating?¡± Hideki asked.


    ¡°Hideki!¡± Fujiko chastised. ¡°Where are your manners?¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Hideki said, then looked back to Masumi. ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡±


    ¡°Shiro Yui.¡± Masumi answered after a moment of hesitation. It wasn¡¯t like they knew all the students who came to his school, and she didn¡¯t have a reputation as a delinquent. Not that he¡¯d heard.


    ¡°And are you dating?¡± Hideki asked and Fujiko rolled her eyes.


    ¡°No...¡± Masumi bit his lip. ¡°We haven¡¯t spent a lot of time together to even think about that, so, um, don¡¯t worry.¡± He offered them a practiced smile. ¡°Besides, she¡¯s, um, really beautiful. She could probably date anyone if she wanted to.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re worried you¡¯re small.¡± Hideki said.


    ¡°That¡¯s nothing to worry about, Masumi.¡± Fujiko assured him. ¡°Just look at me and your father.¡±


    ¡°Rude.¡± Hideki glanced at his wife.


    ¡°Maybe I was calling you beautiful.¡± Fujiko pointed at him.


    ¡°No.¡± Hideki shook his head. ¡°I am rugged. Powerful.¡±


    ¡°You should hear about your father¡¯s bad boy days.¡± Fujiko leaned towards Masumi. ¡°Sometimes he didn¡¯t finish his homework when he got it. Sometimes...he did it on the morning he had to hand it in.¡±


    Masumi gasped theatrically. ¡°No way! That can¡¯t be true!¡±


    ¡°Oh, but it is.¡± Fujiko said. ¡°Sometimes, when he put on his socks, he put his right sock on his left foot and his left sock on his right foot.¡±


    ¡°Father! You were almost a delinquent!¡± Masumi stared with wide eyes at Hideki.


    ¡°Please. Don¡¯t talk of those days.¡± Hideki said, his voice as dry as a desert. ¡°When I sleep, I still hear the screams.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Fujiko smiled as she shook her head. ¡°Anyway. The point is that not every girl is looking for that kind of boy. I¡¯m sure that there are lots of girls who¡¯d be interested in a boy who¡¯s as kind and gentle as you are, Masumi. Not to mention, you take care of yourself more than most people I know, even now.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, mother.¡± Masumi smiled sheepishly.


    ¡°And as soon as you¡¯re finished with school, you can start thinking about dating them.¡± Fujiko added. ¡°You said that she¡¯s busy a lot ¨C she works, does she?¡±


    ¡°And she goes to school.¡± Masumi bobbed his head. ¡°She¡¯s dedicated like that. And, um, she has a lot of friends at school. She wants to be a journalist, actually! I told her I think that¡¯s cool, because, um, it¡¯s not something you see a lot and it takes a lot of effort to do...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good aspiration.¡± Fujiko concurred, as she finished off her breakfast. ¡°Do you know what clubs she¡¯s part of?¡±


    ¡°Um, swimming and broadcasting. She¡¯s tall, so I think she¡¯s probably good at swimming? I haven¡¯t actually seen her do it.¡±


    ¡°An athlete.¡± Hideki nodded his approval.


    ¡°What an interesting friend you¡¯ve made.¡± Fujiko said, as she got to her feet. ¡°An athlete, a journalist, she works a part-time job...I¡¯d like to meet her.¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, that¡¯s, maybe?¡± Masumi stared off to the side. He¡¯d barely gotten to know Yui in person himself and she probably wouldn¡¯t like being introduced to his parents. Especially not if he just jumped it on her. Doubly especially not now that he¡¯d been made aware that people might think they were going out with each other.


    ¡°Not right now, obviously. We¡¯ve got cleaning to do. Do you want to grab your father¡¯s dishes?¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay!¡± Masumi nodded and stood up, collecting all of the dishes while his father stood up and stretched. ¡°Are you going to the city today?¡± He looked between them as he slipped into the kitchen.


    ¡°Not today.¡± Fujiko shook her head as they piled the dishes up and turned the taps. ¡°The week has been a little too busy for us. We were talking about paying a visit to the spa. Would you like to go to the spa?¡±


    ¡°Umm.¡± Masumi scratched his head. ¡°I don¡¯t...I don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve started a teenager section, so you won¡¯t have to worry about being around lots of us old people.¡± Fujiko smiled she passed over a plate for him to dry. ¡°I think some relaxation might do you good, since you work so hard.¡±


    ¡°That could be nice...¡± Masumi dutifully dried off the next dish. ¡°But, um, I was hoping that I might get to spend some time with Yui today and I kind of want to be available? Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your time, Masumi.¡± Fujiko said. ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t sort your day around something that might happen or not. Why don¡¯t you simply ask your friend if she¡¯s available, and come if she isn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°I guess I could do that. Do you think she¡¯ll be up?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know her, do I?¡± Fujiko shook her head. ¡°You should know.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Masumi laughed. ¡°Um, I¡¯ll just grab my ph-¡± Before he could finish his sentence, a beeping came from the living room. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s my phone!¡± He half-stepped away. ¡°Oh, um, I¡¯ll finish this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll finish for you. Go on and check your phone.¡± Fujiko said, nodding as Masumi raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Masumi darted out of the kitchen and into the living room, pulled his phone off of the charger and hurriedly swiped through the lockscreen to get to his messages.


    [email protected]</a>


    Would you like to meet at the ice cream store in town, for lunch?


    Masumi¡¯s fingers couldn¡¯t type quickly enough.


    [email protected]</a>


    Yes I will be there!


    As soon as the message was sent, Masumi soared up the stairs with a wide smile on his face and his yukata fluttering behind him. He headed straight for his bathroom, then ran back out to grab his makeup box, and went back in. What followed was a test of his skills to makeup himself for his lunch with Yui without going overtly into Lowlife mode. This time, he had more freedom, but he still couldn¡¯t go around like he wanted to.


    He eventually emerged with his makeup finished, accentuating his natural features as much as he dared and with his hair a little more free and flowing than he usually kept it. His next challenge was to find an outfit that did the same. After much searching, he came out with something that would fit. A pink and white dotted sweater, with skinny jeans and some black boots. He liked them because they accentuated his hips, which he was always after as Lowlife, and the outfit itself wasn¡¯t inherently feminine. It was perfect, and would probably cheer Yui up after how their last meeting ended.


    With his outfit complete, Masumi rushed down the stairs to head straight over. He made it halfway to the door before his mother called out to him and he strolled inside.


    ¡°Where are you going, Masumi?¡± Fujiko looked him up and down and cocked an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s a nice outfit.¡± She and Hideki had apparently dressed while he was, and had settled into the living room.


    ¡°Um, thanks!¡± Masumi blushed brightly. ¡°Yui told me that she wanted to meet for lunch at the ice cream parlor, so, um, I¡¯m ready now and I¡¯m going to go, head on over to there.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re meeting her for lunch?¡± Fujiko glanced at the clock. ¡°That¡¯s still a couple of hours away, Masumi. I think you¡¯ll be waiting for some time before she arrives.¡±


    Masumi stared at the clock and scratched his head. ¡°Um, yeah. That¡¯s true. I...got a little carried away. Do we need to go and buy anything? I¡¯m ready anyway and it¡¯s no problem!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we need anything.¡± Fujiko said. ¡°Have you done something with your hair? It looks lovely.¡± She said. ¡°And your skin...are you using products, Masumi?¡±


    Masumi stared back at his mother and failed to find a response that would save him from her analysis, as well as the silent gaze of his father.


    ¡°You¡¯re staring like you¡¯re about to meet your death.¡± Fujiko shook her head. ¡°It looks nice. And it¡¯s only expected that teenagers would go out of their way to look their best, considering what they¡¯re going through.¡± She glanced at Hideki, who nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure your friend is going to appreciate it, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Right, thank you!¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Fujiko captured Masumi in a web of conversation before he could back out of the door. ¡°What do you use on your hair? I can¡¯t get mine half as full and I¡¯m your mother! It¡¯s not fair.¡±


    ¡°I, um, I¡¯d have to look...¡± Masumi lied. ¡°Anyway, um, I¡¯d really like to get going now. I want to ride my bike around a few times and get that exercise done and then I¡¯ll be hungry by the time that it¡¯s time to have lunch, by, so, um. Bye!¡±


    ¡°Goodbye!¡± Masumi heard each of his parents call as he walked out to the street and breathed in the cool fresh air. The way it ruffled his hair relaxed him just enough to overcome the momentary panic of a few moments ago. He strolled over to his bike and hooked his leg over. ¡°You¡¯re going to be okay. You¡¯re not going to spend two hours worrying about nothing. You look cute. You¡¯ve got this.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much!¡± Said the woman who was strolling on the street beside.


    Masumi blinked. ¡°Oh. You¡¯re welcome.¡± He decided to avoid an awkward correction by riding off

 Chapter Ten: Anything But Vanilla

    With his bike parked and his hair only moderately ruffled by the wind, Masumi turned the corner to the ice cream parlor and came to a sudden stop.


    Yui was already standing outside the store, clad in the same green jacket as the day before, but she¡¯d traded in the jeans for sweatpants and her top was tankier. She looked just as good as she did the day before, with the long french braid the apparent ease with her surroundings.


    He silently chastised himself for being surprised at her presence and approached with an eager smile plain on his face.


    ¡°Hi!¡± Masumi greeted her with a bob of his head. ¡°It¡¯s me!¡±


    ¡°Like anyone also could look that good.¡± Yui smiled back at him, and her eyes were thankfully everywhere but on his blushing cheeks. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°You...that¡¯s not fair, I¡¯m not even here and you already...¡± Masumi shook his head and forced himself to stop pouting. ¡°Anyway! Thanks! You look nice today, too. I love your braid.¡±


    ¡°It gets the job done.¡± Yui twirled her braid around her finger. ¡°But you really do look good, Masumi. Do you dress like that every Sunday?¡±


    ¡°Um, kinda, but I...put a little more effort in for today.¡± Masumi tugged at the bottom of his sweater, longing for somewhere he could sit down and hide his fidgeting. ¡°It¡¯s our first real meeting!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Do you want to head inside?¡±


    ¡°Um, yes. Definitely.¡± Masumi shuffled through the door when Yui opened it for him. He made it a couple of steps inside before hustling back out, accidentally bumping into the tall girl. Unfortunately, she was built like...a tall teenage girl, which still proved an obstacle to Masumi¡¯s attempt at a rapid departure. So he awkwardly rebounded off of her. ¡°Sorry! Sorry!¡±


    Yui raised both her eyebrows at the panicking boy. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s, um. The store people here know me, and I don¡¯t know if they know you, but they do me, and if they see me here, with you, uh, my parents know that I have a friend and, if they knew that I went to here with you alone and they think we¡¯re dating, it would be, um, bad.¡±


    ¡°...sorry, can you repeat that?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh.¡± Masumi peered up at her. ¡°My parents told me not to date. And I think that if I go up there to get things for you, then it will look a lot like a date. So...could you buy the things and I take a seat and then they won¡¯t think that¡¯s what it is?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you¡¯d like.¡± Yui nodded, as she glanced back and carefully stepped forward. Masumi took the hint to stop blocking the doorway, and backed into the ice cream parlor proper. He quickly pulled himself around the nearest booth, hiding him from the counter. The girl stepped up beside him and smiled. ¡°So, ma¡¯m, what would you like to order? Do you favor something fruity? Chocolate for a change? Go mellow with matcha?¡±


    ¡°I love the amaretto truffle sundae here!¡± Masumi said. ¡°It¡¯s one of the tastiest things, like, ever, but I can¡¯t have much because, um, diet and everything. So a medium one of those! Please. Thanks.¡± He peered up at her. ¡°What will you have?¡±


    ¡°I like vanilla.¡± Yui shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll go and get your order.¡± She paused. ¡°Actually. Are you sure that you don¡¯t want to order yourself? I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t take a lot of notice, not with all of the people that are in here anyway.¡±


    Masumi took a peek at some of the other filled booths and tentatively shook his head. ¡°I, um. I don¡¯t want to take any chances...¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Yui paused. ¡°Do you have any money to buy these with? I only brought enough for what I¡¯d have and I don¡¯t think they¡¯d take kindly to me dashing home to get the rest.¡± She flashed a smile.


    ¡°Yeah, no problem!¡± Masumi reached into his bag and retrieved enough money for both of their dishes, then held it out to her. ¡°I¡¯ll get yours too.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Masumi.¡± Yui gently took the money from Masumi¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯ll go and get them. Be back soon.¡± As she headed to the counter, Masumi relaxed back into his seat with a furrow in his brow. He occupied himself by gently tapping on the table and keeping an eye on the other people in the parlor. The music was soft and their chatter similar, but the scent of all the sweet ice cream being distributed and the bright color of the seats did nothing to sate his craving.


    ¡°And here we are.¡± Yui returned with two glass bowls, one drizzled with a chocolate and truffle sauce over velvet-soft ice cream and the other with a couple of creamy vanilla scoops. She placed Masumi¡¯s in front of him with barely a sound, then took a seat on the opposite side and slid his change over to him. ¡°You looked like you were concentrating on something.¡± She pointed out, as she picked up her spoon.


    ¡°Mostly just being hungry.¡± Masumi admitted, and wasted no time in digging into his ice cream. His spoon took on little more than a sliver of ice cream, which he lavished in running over his tongue before swallowing. ¡°How¡¯s yours?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°It¡¯s tasty.¡± Yui concurred after a couple of hefty mouthfuls of her ice cream. ¡°I haven¡¯t visited here very often. I always seem to get surprised by how tasty it is, even though I know it will be.¡±


    ¡°I can be like that sometimes! Not with here, but, like, when it¡¯s something I¡¯m nervous about?¡± Masumi peered at Yui in search of understanding, but settled for her curiosity. ¡°It¡¯s, there are things I do a lot of times, and I still get worried when I¡¯m going to do them, even if I know it¡¯s going to be fine really and that nothing bad is going to happen to me. I guess that¡¯s kind of the opposite of what you said, huh?¡±


    ¡°No, I get it.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°I think everyone has that sometimes. It¡¯s something that happens when you stream, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly...¡± Masumi shifted some of his ice cream around with his spoon. ¡°It did happen a lot when nobody was showing up, and I¡¯d get worried all the time and think that nobody would like me. And it didn¡¯t exactly hurt, like, it wasn¡¯t a thing that happened to me, but it was a...lack of something. And I had to fill that space up with telling myself that it would be okay? I¡¯d always show up excited and I¡¯d leave it thinking wow...I must suck.¡±


    ¡°We both know that¡¯s not true.¡± Yui smiled over at Masumi, having taken the chance to devour more of her meal while he talked. ¡°You¡¯re in the dance club, aren¡¯t you? Do you deal with a lot of the same things there?¡±


    ¡°At first! But once I started to get into it, I really enjoyed it. It¡¯s really the best part of my week that isn¡¯t, um,¡± Masumi glanced to the side. ¡°When we talk and stuff.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one of my favorite parts of the week, too.¡± The warmth in her words could have melted their sundaes. ¡°I don¡¯t know that I deal with my concerns in the same way. It¡¯s a matter of organizing them, I suppose. I set out a particular plan for how I¡¯m going to get through my day and that helps, but it doesn¡¯t always work. I need things like your streams, and my friends, just to stop myself from going crazy.¡±


    ¡°Wow...you seem so composed that I didn¡¯t even think that I¡¯d help!¡± Masumi said. ¡°Like, yesterday when there was that grumpy old guy yelling at you and being mean and you didn¡¯t even let it phase you! You just...shut him down right there! It was awesome.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about Mr Kikuchi.¡± Yui leaned back in her seat. ¡°His wife used to work at the library and I don¡¯t think he dealt with it very well. I think that he doesn¡¯t like being there, but it¡¯s one of the ways that he can remind himself of her. It¡¯s contradictory, but that¡¯s what a lot of people are like. Perhaps the rest of his time is so sad that feeling bittersweet is an improvement.¡±


    ¡°I...wow.¡± Masumi stared into his bowl. ¡°I, um. I didn¡¯t know about that.¡±


    ¡°I probably shouldn¡¯t be sharing those things. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Yui pushed out a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sitting here with a cutie like you and I¡¯m talking about all the things that make us nervous or sad. Let¡¯s talk about something nicer, like why you¡¯re so worried about it seeming like we¡¯re dating.¡±


    ¡°Wh-¡± Masumi blinked wildly. ¡°You¡¯re just going to go right back to trying to make me blush, aren¡¯t you?!¡±


    ¡°I would never do something like that.¡± Yui clicked her tongue. ¡°But let¡¯s suppose I would. Am I not pretty enough?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re very pretty!¡± Masumi declared, and caught himself being loud. ¡°Um, it¡¯s just, like I said, it¡¯s because my parents don¡¯t want me to, and I think that¡¯s common, so I don¡¯t want them to think I am when I¡¯m not. And people will think oh, why is she spending time with that boy?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re sweet and I like talking with you?¡±


    ¡°W-Well, yeah, but they don¡¯t know that! They just see a boy and a girl eating alone and think they¡¯re kissing behind closed doors!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not an unreasonable assumption.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°I see what you mean. Now, I am pretty, is that what you said? Very pretty?¡±


    Masumi blushed as he nodded. Something about the smirk on Yui¡¯s lips made butterflies rise in his stomach.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good to know.¡± Yui finished off her ice cream bowl and pushed it to the side. ¡°How do I compare to the other girls you know?¡±


    ¡°Umm. I don¡¯t know.¡± Masumi glanced from his half-full bowl to Yui¡¯s empty one. ¡°I don¡¯t, haven¡¯t compared the girls I know. Do you want to have some of my bowl? It¡¯ll be weird eating if you¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, but thank you.¡± Yui said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you compare now? I won¡¯t mind and they¡¯re not here to hear us.¡±


    ¡°Well...um...¡± Masumi ate another spoonful of his sundae. ¡°Forty points out of forty points.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so flattering.¡± Yui laughed and scratched her neck. Masumi felt somewhat proud at the fact that he could see a faint pink in her cheeks. ¡°Does anyone else have such a high score?¡±


    ¡°Uhh.¡± Masumi thought hard for a few moments. ¡°There¡¯s this woman who helps me find clothes, who I told you about.¡±


    ¡°The one who flirts with you?¡±


    ¡°She just teases me...¡± Masumi said. ¡°But, um, yes. She¡¯s, like, um,¡± He made a vague gesture with his hands that curved at two points. ¡°And...yeah!¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll have to come with you to Kyoto next time.¡± Yui said. ¡°So I can see for myself.¡±


    ¡°So you can see for your...¡± Masumi frowned. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I like pretty people, like everyone else.¡± Yui explained. ¡°And if she¡¯s got forty points out of forty points...she must be beautiful. And it will give me a good idea of how you see me, since I can¡¯t fairly judge myself.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That makes sense.¡± Masumi finished off the last of his ice cream and bit his bottom lip. ¡°Um, just, uh, out of curiosity, how...how would you rate me?¡± He glanced up at her eyes.


    ¡°Out of forty?¡± Yui raised an eyebrow, then drew out her words. ¡°I...would rate you...out of forty points...forty one.¡±


    Masumi never thought that cheeks could go supernova, but his were. ¡°That¡¯s,..you can¡¯t break the scale like that!¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. Two, then.¡±


    ¡°T-Two out of forty?¡± Masumi¡¯s face fell.


    ¡°Forty two now.¡± Yui beamed at him. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be so cute when you¡¯re messed with. I can¡¯t resist.¡±


    ¡°Meanie...¡± Masumi couldn¡¯t hide his smile.

 Chapter Eleven: Bento Boxer

    Retsuko¡¯s cafeteria was bustling, the faint buzz of a hundred conversations filling it from wall to wall as they took shelter from the rain. Masumi¡¯s usual habit of finding somewhere to sit by himself had been interrupted by the slew of students, leaving him with a seat by the doors while conversations happened with all the students around him. He¡¯d already started on his bento box when he realized he probably could have gone elsewhere, but he was committed at that point. People would notice him moving away, and that would be worse than noticing he was quiet.


    He was pulled out of his food-based reverie when the doors of the cafeteria opened to the tune of many squeaking slippers. The group that entered was filled with a lot of people, but Masumi¡¯s eyes were only drawn to the person at the center of it. Like the rest of the wet students, Yui¡¯s hair was sticking to her head and her uniform held the dotted pattern of a brief spell in the rain. The collective paused in their various accusations and complaints when their eyes fell on the filled-up cafeteria.


    Masumi hurriedly turned his head away from the group, lest he make Yui uncomfortable by staring at her. Not that he was staring at her, just the group. It wasn¡¯t like it was illegal to look at groups of people ¨C they¡¯d never be able to convict him for that, not even in Tokyo.


    He tapped his chopstick on the edge of his bento box and silently chastised himself for panicking over the simple act of looking at something. He¡¯d done it too many times already. It was difficult not to notice Yui, now that he knew who she was, and her height didn¡¯t help matters.


    ¡°Masumi?¡± Yui asked, and the boy blinked as he turned his head to face her. She was standing right by his table, with the rest of her crowd dispersing among the other groups to fill in the few empty spaces. ¡°Hello.¡± She flashed a smile at him. ¡°Do you mind if I sit with you? Some of my friends decided that we wouldn¡¯t get rained on in the central garden and, suffice to say, that didn¡¯t turn out well.¡± She patted down her slightly-wet skirt.


    ¡°Yes, um, go ahead.¡± Masumi bobbed his agreement and gestured to the seat opposite him. It wasn¡¯t so much empty as half of it had been taken up by the other students wanting more personal space. They shuffled up the bench with only a few muttered complaints. ¡°Who said you wouldn¡¯t get wet?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not start that conversation.¡± Yui laughed softly as she took her seat and pulled a plastic bento box out of her pack. ¡°There¡¯s some debate over the answer and if I said who it was, somebody will come back to argue about it later.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s okay.¡± Masumi bit his bottom lip as he pondered just how he should act around Yui. He wanted to act how he normally did, but they were surrounded by other students. Not like the last two meetings, where he could act how he wanted. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to heat that up?¡±


    ¡°No, actually. I have this thermos pack. They were doing one of those bulk sales on television, so me and the rest of the dorm bought some together.¡± Yui smiled. ¡°What about yours? It looks fancy.¡±


    ¡°When I started making my own, my parents thought that I shouldn¡¯t have to reheat them as much, so they got me this.¡± Masumi tapped the side of his box again. ¡°It¡¯s like your thing, I think, but it¡¯s the box, and the segments are separated so I can have cold stuff stay cold and hot stuff hot, in the same box. Sorry, that¡¯s boring, isn¡¯t it?¡± He stopped himself from giggling. That was just a thing that had to happen. ¡°Um, what do you have there? It looks like...rice, mustard leaf, kelp, and...some kind of fish? Right?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got it in one. Salmon and cod roe.¡± Yui nodded, having taken a bite while Masumi was examining it. ¡°What do you have?¡± She peered over the desk, narrowed her eyes in concentration. ¡°Looks like...food.¡±


    Masumi nodded as he grinned. ¡°Yep. Um, do you actually want to know what it is, ¡®cause I can tell you, if you want.¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡± Yui said. ¡°It smells delicious.¡±


    ¡°Okay! It¡¯s skewered yuzu and sesame chicken, crab crystal rolls, tuna sashimi, salmon and avacado maki, vegetable maki, pickled vegetables with seaweed and edamame, and cucumber, sesame, and spring onion salad.¡±


    ¡°So I was close.¡± Yui said, her eyes wide as she took in the listing. ¡°That¡¯s amazing, Masumi. Did you make all of that just for your lunch today?¡±


    ¡°Um, not quite. I make all of my bento boxes for the week on Sunday afternoon, and it¡¯s the one recipe I have every day.¡± Masumi explained, as he nudged some of his food around in their compartments. ¡°That way, I can do things with a lot of preparation and I don¡¯t have to rush in the morning to do it, and it¡¯s all really tasty! Um, I mean, that¡¯s cocky, isn¡¯t it? Sorry, I mean, I think it¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°I believe you.¡± Yui laughed. ¡°It looks like something a chef would make their partner.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to try some?¡± Masumi gently nudged it in Yui¡¯s direction. ¡°Then you can tell me if it¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Yui¡¯s eyes flicked up just in time to catch Masumi¡¯s nod. ¡°Then I will.¡± She nodded, her chopticks hovering around the bento box until they settled on a particularly plump crab crystal roll. She put the whole thing in her mouth and made a few little sounds of joy as she chewed. Masumi watched her eagerly, until the whole thing was gone and she sighed contently. ¡°And the reward for the most delicious bento boxes in the world goes to Sanada Masumi.¡±


    ¡°Th-Thank you.¡± Masumi¡¯s cheeks blazed pink at the praise. ¡°I work really hard on them and, um, yeah. I can¡¯t believe you ate that whole roll in one bite!¡±


    ¡°I am a growing young woman.¡± Yui defended herself with a sly smile. ¡°You should take it as a compliment that I was so confident in your talents. If I hadn¡¯t liked it...well, this table would be a lot messier.¡±


    ¡°Gross.¡± Masumi shook his head. ¡°Do you want to try some more of it? I don¡¯t mind, really.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the offer, but I couldn¡¯t possibly eat any more of your lunch. It would be rude.¡± Yui said. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t think it is.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Masumi frowned, but only for a second. ¡°How about I make you a bento box of your own? That way you can taste as much as you want and you don¡¯t have to worry about taking my food.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Yui scratched her neck as she looked from Masumi to the bento box. ¡°You would really do that for me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! We have lots of ingredients anyway and I like cooking, and you¡¯re my friend, right? So it¡¯ll be fun to make you one!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Masumi. That would be wonderful.¡± Yui placed a hand over her heart. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d do something so kind. But start with just the one ¨C I don¡¯t want you to commit to making any more if it turns out to be too much work.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t, but okay.¡± Masumi said.


    Yui was about to speak when a presence suddenly made itself known beside their table, in the form of a short student with her hair cut short and her uniform ruffled.


    ¡°Yui!¡± The girl declared, as though Yui wasn¡¯t sat half a foot away from her. ¡°This is where you went, is it? You disappeared and I had to search through the entire cafeteria for you. Urgh. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve done this!¡±


    Yui blinked at the girl. ¡°I told everyone that I was going to sit with my friend. Perhaps you weren¡¯t listening.¡± She glanced at Masumi. ¡°Sanada Masumi, this is Mori Akira, and vice versa.¡± She gestured to the girl. ¡°She¡¯s in Theater Club, as they thought it would be a good place for somebody with such vast overreactions.¡±


    ¡°Hey there, Sanada.¡± Akira said, after a shared glare with Yui. ¡°It¡¯s not an overreaction when I¡¯m abandoned!¡± She huffed. ¡°Shift up, will ya? I haven¡¯t got anywhere to sit.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Yui said. ¡°And you¡¯re not sitting on my lap.¡±


    ¡°One time I asked.¡± Akira held up her finger. ¡°One time!¡±


    ¡°Um, you can sit with me if you want to, but there¡¯s not a lot of space...¡± Masumi offered, and adjusted his position on the bench.


    ¡°That¡¯s not enough for one cheek!¡± Akira shook her head. ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯ll squat.¡± She said, then did just that. Her shoulders were just slightly over the edge of the table, providing her with a long view of all of the food. ¡°What¡¯s the word?¡±


    ¡°Masumi offered to make me a bento box.¡± Yui said. ¡°I was telling him how kind it was.¡±


    ¡°Cool, cool.¡± Akira said. ¡°Is that what you do, Sanada, cooking and stuff like that?¡±


    Masumi bobbed his head as he tried to figure out where he recognized Akira from. It wasn¡¯t helped by the fact that she was squatting, and he, for one of the first times in his life, actually had to look down to speak to someone.


    ¡°It¡¯s a thing that I like.¡± Masumi said. ¡°I, um, do it a lot and I go to cooking club.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s smart, if you can handle it. The only reason I¡¯m not the size of a freaking CAR is that it¡¯s too much effort to cook.¡± Akira laughed.


    ¡°You told me that you got your breakfast from that fast food place around the corner.¡± Yui pointed an accusatory chopstick at Akira. ¡°That¡¯s not healthier than homecooked meals.¡±


    ¡°Pfft, what do you know?¡± Akira rolled her eyes. ¡°I work out all the time. There¡¯s baseball and all kinds of crap. I¡¯m active. I¡¯m even doing squats right now!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re doing a single very long squat.¡± Yui pointed out.


    ¡°Um, I mean, if she¡¯s still fit, then it must be working?¡± Masumi said, and immediately regretted his decision as both pairs of eyes turned to him. ¡°Wait...I know where I know you from.¡± He warily met Akira¡¯s eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you trip Kiryu down the hall the other day?¡±


    Akira broke out into a wide grin. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Could have been anyone. Could have been him. But it was funny!¡±


    ¡°Um.¡± Masumi glanced to the side. ¡°Well, uh, did you know he had to go to the hospital?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Akira¡¯s grin suddenly waned. ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°He broke his nose...¡± Masumi said. ¡°He has to wear a nose mask and everything until it¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°Urgh. Crap!¡± Akira banged her fist on the table and rose from her squatting position. ¡°Now I just feel like crap. I thought he just fell over. Great. Where is he?¡± She spun her head around in search of the tall boy.


    ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± Yui asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna...I don¡¯t know!¡± Akira glared at nothing in particular. ¡°Apologize in a way that isn¡¯t admitting to it. I¡¯ll slip him a few hundred yen. Yeah, that¡¯ll do.¡± She nodded. ¡°Later!¡± Then ran off to the rest of the cafeteria.


    ¡°She¡¯s not always like that.¡± Yui said to Masumi with a smile. ¡°But when she is, you¡¯ve got to make sure she doesn¡¯t run right over you.¡±


    ¡°She, um, it¡¯s nice that she went to say sorry.¡± Masumi said. ¡°I thought she might have just been proud of it, but she wasn¡¯t, so...that¡¯s nice.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Yui smiled as she took another bite out of her bento box. ¡°I see what you did there, by the way. Tricking her into going.¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what you mean...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad; I know you¡¯re shy, and she¡¯s the opposite. But I¡¯ve got my eye on you, Sanada Masumi.¡±


    Masumi watched the chopstick Yui was using to point between their eyes, then picked up one of the maki in his bento box and stuck it on the end. Yui stared at it for a moment, then at him, then ate it in one bite.


    ¡°You win this round.¡± Yui smirked. ¡°What is this, salmon?


    ¡°Yep.¡± Masumi nodded. ¡°And what if I don¡¯t just make you a bento box, but you come over for dinner? When, um, you¡¯re not working, I mean. That way, I can make it fresh for you, and my parents aren¡¯t around until late, so it works out.¡±


    ¡°How could I say no to an offer like that?¡± Yui swiped her finger over her lips, as though any remnant of the sushi might remain for her to taste. ¡°Would you like me to sneak over there, lest the neighbors spot our scandalous rendezvous?¡±


    ¡°Uh. No. Yes. Maybe?¡± Masumi furrowed his brow at his once-more loss of control. ¡°Just, um, don¡¯t look too pretty and it¡¯ll be fine!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want me to look pretty?¡± Yui leaned back in her chair.


    ¡°I mean, you¡¯re pretty anyway, but if you can try to, not, when you arrive, then we can use my makeup on you if you want and you can join me on the stream. Until curfew anyway, ¡®cause, I know that¡¯s a thing you have to deal with, and that¡¯s okay, and we can play games together!¡±


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll show up to your home as unattractive as I can be. We¡¯re talking messy hair, ruffled clothes, and not a single drop of makeup.¡±


    ¡°Okay! I¡¯ll send you my address!¡± He said, then paused as Yui started laughing. ¡°What? What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°Just...you.¡± Yui shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll be there.¡±

 Chapter Twelve: Prepare to Fry

    Masumi¡¯s kitchen was filled with the sound of music. He liked to try to match his preparation to the rhythm, and never did it feel more appropriate than when he was preparing dinner for his own guest. He¡¯d prepared his base layer of makeup and gotten changed into what he liked to think was the homiest of his Lowlife outfits, with a simple flowery blouse and skirt complete with an apron that made him feel like a stereotypical housewife. Something about that gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling in his core.


    He was just putting the last of the food into the stove when there was a firm rapping at the front door. He closed the door with a little bop of his hips, quickly washed his hands, and hurried over to the door before his guest could disappear. His hand was hovering over the handle when he turned to the nearby mirror and checked that everything was in place. He struck one pose before realizing that he hurried over for a reason and opened the door.


    It took Masumi a couple of seconds to recognize Yui. Not because she actually looked any different ¨C he could clearly see the same face he¡¯d had lunch with earlier in the day ¨C but because she¡¯d donned an over-sized hoodie whose hood would have hidden her from anyone taller than he was. Not to mention that it failed to flatter her figure in the same way a potato sack might have.


    ¡°You don¡¯t look ugly!¡± Masumi accused Yui, paused, then shook his head. ¡°I mean, hello! This is my house, please come in!¡± He stepped aside, still staring at Yui as she stepped inside and slipped off her shoes.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve noticed.¡± Yui said. ¡°I didn¡¯t have the time to do my homework, take off my makeup, and come over here, so I chose the next best thing. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± She reached for the bottom of her hoodie and pulled it off in one swift motion, unveiling the t-shirt and jeans beneath.


    ¡°No, um, that¡¯s okay.¡± Masumi took her hoodie and folded it up, then placed it on the table beside the coat rack. ¡°I...might¡¯ve been silly when I said you should show up ugly anyway. I¡¯m just happy you¡¯re here! I just put the stuff in the stove and it¡¯ll be a little while until it¡¯s done, so I¡¯m free!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Yui patted-down her clothes as she looked around the luxurious hallway that greeted her. The walls were a pleasant deep blue, the carpet thick and and cream, with rich darkwood girding the walls. There were various dark flowers on the tables all along the hall, with paintings of various landscapes and sunsets hung above them. ¡°Your home is amazing, Masumi. I expected it, given the houses in this area, but still.¡± She turned to look at him. ¡°How many rooms does this place have?¡±


    ¡°I, um, I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t think I ever counted...¡± Masumi bit his bottom lip. ¡°I can show you around if you want! Then you can count?¡± He smiled at her.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s do that.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°I¡¯m going to see your bedroom anyway, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Wh-Why?¡±


    ¡°For the stream.¡± Yui smiled.


    ¡°Oh, um, yes! Sorry!¡± Masumi decided not to blush. Unfortunately, he had little choice in the matter. ¡°Do you want to hold my hand when I show you around?¡± He offered his hand palm-up.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Yui took Masumi¡¯s hand in her larger one, lacing their slender fingers together. ¡°Lead the way, Low-Life.¡±


    Masumi beamed and led Yui along the hall, opening the first door to reveal the living room. It was just as opulent as the hall, with murals painted along the walls and low-hanging furniture on the tatami flooring. There was a large television that took up most of one wall, the sharp black contrasted on either side with vibrant potted plants.


    ¡°This is the living room! My parents spend most of their time here if they¡¯re too tired on a Sunday.¡± Masumi explained. ¡°I don¡¯t actually use it much, ¡®cause I like to study in my room, but I¡¯ve got to take care of the plants.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Yui nodded, as she was led through to the kitchen, then back out into the hallway.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°And that¡¯s the downstairs ofuro.¡± Masumi said, as he pulled the door aside to reveal the tiled room beyond. At the center of the marbled floor was a tub filled with crystal-clear water, while off to the side stood a pair of showers and along one wall stood various towels and shower supplies, all neatly organized in glass containers.


    ¡°The downstairs ofuro?¡± Yui asked, her eyes wide as she took in the sight of the beautifully-lit room. ¡°You mean you have more than one.¡±


    ¡°Yep! There¡¯s an upstairs one. It¡¯s not as big as this, and it¡¯s kind of just for me, since I got good grades in junior high school.¡± Masumi smiled, his head tilted as he watched Yui¡¯s continued amazement at his home. ¡°You¡¯ll see it when we go up the stairs. Do you want to go up there now?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯d like that.¡± Yui nodded, then followed Masumi as he led her by the hand. The upstairs seemed to leave her just as impressed as downstairs, as she was shown the spare room, the ofuro, and they skipped his parent¡¯s rooms as they arrived outside of his. ¡°It¡¯s unusual to think that this will be the first time I see your room.¡± She mused aloud. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you in it so often, but that green screen is always in the way.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s, um, nothing special. I don¡¯t really have the eye my parents have for designing this stuff. It¡¯s just the cool things...¡± Masumi said, as he slowly pulled the door open. His eyes weren¡¯t on his room, which he¡¯d thoroughly tidied as soon as he got home, but on Yui. Some unnoticed tension was eased out of his shoulders as a smile graced Yui¡¯s lips and she walked inside.


    ¡°I believe I¡¯ve found my favorite room.¡± Yui said, as Masumi released her hand and gave her free reign. ¡°You¡¯ve got your flowers on the walls, you¡¯ve got your videogame posters, the figures by the desk...¡± She shuffled over to Masumi¡¯s gaming desk, with its three monitors and an array of shelves stuffed to the brim with consoles and videogames of al sorts. ¡°What do you need three monitors for?¡± She asked, as as she ran her fingers over the back of the boy¡¯s chair.


    ¡°Well, um, I use one for the game I¡¯m playing and one for each of the sites I¡¯m streaming on.¡± Masumi explained, as he walked over to the chair and turned it around. Yui gratefully took a seat, though her legs were a little hunched thanks to how low it sat. ¡°It lets me see what¡¯s going on and whether one has any lag and how I¡¯m coming out on the stream.¡± He pointed to the camera that sat below the middle monitor. ¡°And it¡¯s good if I need to look something up real quick.¡±


    ¡°Low-Life using cheat guides to get through games?¡± Yui asked. ¡°I can already picture the scandals.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an entertainer, not a pro gamer!¡± Masumi pouted at Yui, which only seemed to make her smile. ¡°Do you, um, want to see some of my clothes? There are some I haven¡¯t worn yet and maybe I could wear them for dinner, if you want.¡±


    ¡°And then I can help you out with your makeup.¡± Yui nodded her agreement and rolled her chair after Masumi as he approached his closet. ¡°Oh, a full-length mirror. Somebody likes to take a good look at herself.¡±


    Masumi happily buried his head in the closet, hiding his rosy cheeks, as he pulled out some of the boxes that contained his clothing. He emerged to see Yui watching him, leaned quite far back in her chair with one leg folded over the other.


    ¡°What?¡± Masumi smiled on instinct.


    ¡°Nothing at all.¡± Yui said. ¡°Show me what you have.¡±


    ¡°Well, um, there¡¯s this!¡± Masumi opened one of the more ornate boxes to reveal a red yukata with an elegant white pattern that stretched from nape to hem. ¡°It¡¯s comfy and stuff and I thought I¡¯d use it for relaxing games, but I haven¡¯t done it yet. It could be fun to wear to dinner!¡± He said, as he laid it out against his body.


    ¡°That would look amazing on you.¡± Yui agreed with a nod of her head. ¡°I can just see you wearing it, with your pale makeup and we can even do your hair up. Perhaps with a pair of fluffy bangs...¡± She smiled and nodded once more. ¡°I think that will do nicely. Are you going to put it on now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! I think I will!¡± Masumi beamed at the praise and reached for his blouse ¨C then suddenly stopped. ¡°Oh, um, I should probably go somewhere else to get changed...¡±


    Yui laughed softly. ¡°I¡¯ve seen everything before, Masumi. Haven¡¯t you ever been to a sento?¡±


    ¡°W-Well, yeah, when I was younger, and this is different!¡± Masumi said. ¡°It¡¯s in my room and in private and I¡¯ll be really embarrassed...¡± He bit his lip. ¡°And I¡¯ll go so red that you won¡¯t be able to see me, because I¡¯ll blend in with the yukata!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to happen.¡± Yui said with some skepticism. ¡°But if you¡¯re more comfortable with that, okay. Where do you keep your makeup?¡± She asked, as she got to her feet and took a glance inside the closet.


    ¡°Oh, um, it¡¯s in a box near the back.¡± Masumi said, as he hurried into the hall and stripped out of his clothes. Putting on the yukata was much more involved, as he fiddled with it until it looked as perfect as it could without a mirror. He came back inside to find Yui browsing his makeup box. ¡°How do I look?¡± He struck a pose.


    Yui looked him over and nodded. ¡°You look even more delicious than your cooking.¡± She said, just as there was a ding from below.


    ¡°Dinner!¡± Masumi was broken out of his brief reverie and hustled out of the room.

 Chapter Thirteen: They Live

    ¡°I think this is going to work!¡± Masumi leaned back to appreciate his handiwork and tucked his eyeliner away.


    ¡°Are you certain?¡± Yui asked, as she peered into the mirror. Her braid had been dismantled, and subject to a very thorough brushing, so her long locks flowed around her face. Her base makeup had been removed entirely, replaced with some of Masumi¡¯s palest, and the rest of it was lit up with all the colors of the rainbow. ¡°I suppose looking like an actual jelly bean fits in with my persona.¡± She shut one eye to get a better look at the vibrant eyeshadow.


    ¡°It¡¯s perfect!¡± Masumi declared. ¡°And with the warpaint, nobody will recognize you! It¡¯s all about facial recognition disruption or...something like that! It¡¯s how camouflage works!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Yui turned her head around to get a look at the three-color stripes along each of her cheeks. ¡°And...I have to agree. You¡¯ve done a good job.¡± She smiled up at Masumi. ¡°Do you have a jacket, or something that might...make the rest of me look better? I don¡¯t think this boring t-shirt will do.¡±


    ¡°Umm...let me think. Yes!¡± Masumi delved back into his closet and came back clutching a long, pale grey coat. ¡°It¡¯s a bit big for me, so it¡¯ll be tight on you, but the contrast will work.¡± He waited for Yui to stand up, then put the coat on her. The smooth material stretched down to her mid-thigh, but the rest of it fit snugly. ¡°You look great!¡±


    Yui considered herself in the mirror, turned to see either side of herself, then nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s not bad. I might have to take this coat you¡¯re not looking.¡±


    ¡°I invite you to my home and feed you and then you steal from me?¡± Masumi gasped. ¡°That¡¯s exactly the kind of thing that gets you kicked out of the Low-Life army!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only stealing if I get caught.¡± Yui smiled down at him. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s almost six. Should we g-¡± She was interrupted by Masumi leaping across the room to get to his computers, his arms a blur as various machines burst to life. She followed behind him, doing her best to keep up with exactly what he was doing. ¡°Where should I sit?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh!¡± Masumi¡¯s eyes were illuminated by all of the screens, but his focus was on the little clock in the corner. ¡°Just, um, sit in my chair!¡± He instructed, and Yui moved it back to the desk before doing just that. She was right beside the working boy, who handed a controller to her and hefted his arcade stick into his arms. Then, he sat on Yui¡¯s lap.


    ¡°This is what we¡¯re doing?¡± Yui laughed, her breath tickling the top of Masumi¡¯s head.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time! Get ready!¡± Masumi said, as he clicked the last couple of buttons that would start the stream proper. The little red dot son his side-screens told him that they were live, and the camera was just zoomed out enough to capture both of them.


    ¡°Hello and welcome to the Low-Life!¡±


    ¡°And Jellybeaner!¡±


    Masumi and Yui saluted just about in unison.


    ¡°Today, we¡¯re doing something different, ¡®cause I¡¯ve got Jellybeaner here as a guest! She¡¯s going to be playing some games with me and doing commentary and all the usual Low-Life stuff! Since it¡¯s challenging games night, I¡¯m going to try to teach her how to play DBFZ! Have you played fighting games, Jellybeaner?¡± He twisted to the side so that he could get some glance at her face. The armrest, and a forearm hastily placed against his waist, were the only things stopping him from slipping off.


    ¡°No.¡± Yui shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve got delicate fingers.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right!¡± Masumi bit his lip as he held his joystick out to Yui. ¡±You¡¯re meant to have this and me that...thank you! Okay! What about Dragon Ball, do you know a lot about Dragon Ball?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± Yui did her best to meet Masumi¡¯s eyes which seemed to dart between her and the screens at great speed. ¡°I read a lot of books, but not a lot of manga. There are actually novelized versions of manga at the library, but I¡¯ve never looked at them. It seems pointless when they¡¯re about the spectacle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll learn as we go!¡± Masumi said, then addressed the camera. ¡°If anyone has any tips, let us know! You want to know too, right, Jellybeaner?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yui glanced down at Masumi¡¯s head. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°The camera.¡± Masumi whispered as he tucked his head to the side to look at Yui.


    ¡°The camera¡­?¡± Yui raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Um, when you¡¯re streaming, you have to make sure to look at the camera.¡± Masumi said. ¡°It makes the audience feel invested, like you¡¯re having a conversation with them.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Yui looked into the camera. ¡°But since we¡¯re here together, doesn¡¯t that mean we have to engage with each other? Otherwise it will feel like we¡¯re not interacting properly.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯ve got to mix it up!¡± Masumi said, then flashed a smile to the camera and quietly cursed himself for his current failure to uphold a streaming standard. ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s the camera, sometimes it¡¯s us!¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I understand. And when I¡¯m playing a game?¡±


    ¡°Then, um, you¡¯ve got to do all three.¡± Masumi cleared his throat and sat upright again. ¡°Okay, now we¡¯re done conferring, it¡¯s time for Low-Life and Jellybeaner to take on DBFZ!¡± He flicked a switch, and their visages shifted to the corners of the screen while the game¡¯s main menu took up the rest. ¡°Oh...headphones! Hang on!¡± He reached beside the desk and grabbed the headphones, which he passed to Yui.


    ¡°Do I have to look at the camera now that it¡¯s small?¡± Yui asked, as she pulled the headphones on and her ears were suddenly filled with music.


    ¡°Um, no, it¡¯s mostly for reactions and stuff, but you can still look!¡± Masumi answered, as he hopped off of Yui¡¯s lap and started opening drawers beside his desk.


    ¡°What?¡± Yui asked.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to!¡±


    Yui lifted up the ears of one of her headphones. ¡°I can¡¯t hear you with these on.¡±


    ¡°Okay, hang on!¡± Masumi pulled out a second pair of headphones from among neat piles of other old devices, then plugged them into his system, put them on, and sat back on Yui¡¯s lap. He decided not to let the warmth and softness of her body be another distraction. He decided to try not to let that happen. ¡°Now can you hear me?¡± He asked, as he heard his voice in his headphones.


    ¡°Yeah. Why is that?¡± Yui peered at the screen.


    ¡°Mic.¡± Masumi pointed to the microphone that hung not too far from their faces. ¡°It¡¯s, kinda weird, ¡®cause we¡¯d be able to hear each other normally, but the headphones cancel most of it out, so it¡¯s fine! There ones are a bit old and don¡¯t work one hundred percent, but it¡¯s fine!¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°Am I meant to be navigating the menu?¡±


    ¡°Um, no, sorry. Hang on.¡± Masumi balanced his controller on his lap, took back his joystick, and started to move through the menus. ¡°So, um, Jellybeaner! Why don¡¯t you tell us a little bit about yourself?¡±


    Yui furrowed her brow. ¡°You already know a lot.¡±


    ¡°The audience!¡± Masumi pointed briefly to the camera.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m a student and I work a few part-time jobs.¡± She explained. There was a moment of silence before Masumi looked up at her with a smile and made a rolling motion. ¡°I like jellbeans, thus the name. My current studies are focused on the blocks that will take me to a career in investigative journalism. My strengths are a strong work ethic, a great deal of temperance, and my teamwork abilities.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...that¡¯s great!¡± Masumi¡¯s little chibi performed an excited emote on screen. ¡°Wow, look at that! Let¡¯s go through a few of these!¡± He said, as he started to go through emotes and quickly muted their mics. ¡°Um, more like you¡¯re talking to a friend, less like an interview! It¡¯s...being liked, not respected.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can do that from the beginning.¡± Yui pursed her painted lips. ¡°Perhaps if we get started with the game, I¡¯ll settle in and we can have some fun.¡±


    Masumi bit his bottom lip. ¡°S-Sorry. I¡¯m being a jerk, aren¡¯t I? Stupid...expecting you to just do all the th-¡± His imminent rant was halted by a finger on his lips.


    ¡°You¡¯re not being a jerk.¡± Yui corrected him. ¡°You¡¯re nervous and I¡¯m new to this and it¡¯s only expected that there will be some growing pains. Understand?¡± Masumi nodded. ¡°Good.¡± She retracted her finger and smiled at the boy. ¡°I¡¯m glad that worked on you, at least. I once tried it on Akira and she bit me.¡±


    Masumi giggled. ¡°What? No way did she bite you!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°The yellow team beat hers in baseball and she blamed it all on Airi. She was getting herself worked up about it, I tried to calm her down, and, chomp.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think that girl understands how easy it is to hurt people.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Masumi frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t think that I¡¯d ever go around biting people, even if it only hurt a little.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s one of those people who watch things like this.¡± Yui nodded at the screen. ¡°If it¡¯s about people fighting, there¡¯s a good chance she¡¯s seen it. The only reason she¡¯s in baseball club is because there weren¡¯t enough people interested in judo.¡±


    ¡°If she hurts people that much by accident, I don¡¯t want to know what she¡¯d do if she tried!¡± Masumi tittered behind his hand. ¡°Um, anyway! We should get back to the stream!¡± He turned their mics back on and his chibi darted across the screen. ¡°We¡¯re back, everyone! I¡¯m going to start teaching Jellybeaner the basics in sparring mode and then we can send her off for some fights! First, she¡¯s going to choose her characters!¡± He brought up the character select screen. ¡°You can choose three! There¡¯s Gok-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided.¡± Yui said.


    Masumi blinked. ¡°Wh-Okay!¡± He nodded. ¡°Who do you want to be your fighters?¡±


    ¡°I want the pink woman, the blonde woman, and the big fat one.¡± Yui said, then nodded. ¡°Those.¡±


    ¡°Why those ones?¡± Masumi tilted his head at the camera as he selected each one.


    ¡°Both of those women are beautiful, and the fat guy is funny.¡±


    ¡°Huh..that¡¯s as good a reason as any!¡± Masumi laughed. ¡°Do you want to change any of their colors? There are a few ones to choose from, so, um, let me know!¡±


    ¡°Can you make the fat guy yellow?¡±


    ¡°Done!¡± Masumi smiled. ¡°Why yellow?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m representing the rainbow. Blue on the Android, I didn¡¯t catch the full name, pink on the other Android, and yellow on the Buu.¡±


    ¡°Okay! Got it! They¡¯re Android 18, 21, and Majin Buu. You¡¯ll need to know these if you want me to tell you what they can do!¡± He passed the joystick back to Yui, then picked his own characters. The screen shifted again and they were set against a beautiful natural backdrop.


    ¡°This game is pretty.¡± Yui noted, as she hit a few buttons and watched the blonde on screen flick through animations.


    ¡°Okay! To start with, let¡¯s try hitting! Hit one!¡±


    ¡°...which one?¡± Yui asked.


    ¡°The...oh, okay. The leftmost button is one. They, um, normally go by numbers but I¡¯m familiar with the joystick so I know everything.¡±


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t taken you for a narcissist.¡±


    ¡°Shush, you!¡± Masumi grinned. ¡°Okay, how about this? You push each of the buttons and I¡¯ll tell you what they¡¯re called. Then I can start teaching you what to with them! How does that sound?¡±


    ¡°It sounds doable.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°But first, what exactly is a button?¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯re just being silly!¡± Masumi giggled, and, unnoticed by either of them, a viewer joined the stream.

 Chapter Fourteen: Student Relations

    ¡°And that is the last of tonight¡¯s Low-Life!¡± Masumi saluted the cameera, shut off the stream, and leaned back in his chair. His fingers were sore from the rapid mashing of buttons, his mind a little tired all the complications on the game, and his heart just a little let down that Yui couldn¡¯t make it to the stream that day. He fiddled with his fingers for a a couple of moments, until something shot back to the front of his mind.


    He wasn¡¯t completely without Yui. He clicked back to his stream archives and browsed through the last few results. There weren¡¯t many until the thumbnail of him and Yui playing on-stream together, with the rainbow makeup he¡¯d helped her put on, the elegant clothing she¡¯d helped him with, and the happy times they¡¯d had doing it. He knew it wouldn¡¯t be a frequent thing, but for what it was, it was one of the most enjoyable things they¡¯d done together.


    He would have been content with that, if it weren¡¯t for the number one beneath the stream. He furrowed his brow, leaned in closer, and his eyes shot wide open. There couldn¡¯t have been a viewer, because he was sitting on Yui the whole time. That meant that somebody else had to have been watching. That meant that he didn¡¯t even notice them. It would have felt good, at any other moment, for the idea that somebody was actually watching him with Yui felt somehow like an invasion of privacy.


    He tried his best to shake that thought from his mind, but it fed upon what he saw next: The fact that the view counts on his older videos had gone up, as well. He clicked on a few of them; they only went so far back, to the first one where Yui showed up. He bit his bottom lip and tapped his fingers along his desk. There was no way somebody had actually went through his archives watching them ¨C there just wasn¡¯t enough time for anybody to go through that many four hour streams. Much less the archives, when he knew they hadn¡¯t shown up to his live ones. That¡¯s what any normal person would do.


    They had to be looking for something. It was the only explanation. Somebody was going through his archives with Yui, they¡¯d figured out who he was and they were going to ruin his life, and all of the time he spent with Yui, and he was never going to be a good streamer¡­


    Masumi slapped his palm on his desk and ran a hand through his hair. There were any number of explanations for somebody looking at his archives, and he was just going to drive himself mad with worry. He was going to take a bath, relax, and go to bed. Everything would be fine in the morning.


    Night passed into morning and then into school. Masumi himself the subject of a few more eyes than he usually was. It wasn¡¯t anything solid, but when he walked through the halls, people seemed to be looking at him rather than to him. When he answered his call at register, there were more than a couple of hushed whispers on the other side of the classroom. He spent the first half of the day with his cap on whenever he thought he could get away with it, even though it barely seemed to change anything.


    When he sat down for lunch, he chose the same corner of the cafeteria he usually sat in and pulled out his bento box. He was just about to start eating when a throat was cleared beside him. He looked up, and his leaping heart was suddenly grounded when he laid eyes on his dance partner.


    ¡°Hello, Masumi!¡± Yuna waved at him with both hands and sat on the opposite side of the table. ¡°I saw you over here all alone and I thought that boy needs some company, and I know just where to find it! It¡¯s me!¡±


    ¡°Hello.¡± Masumi offered her a polite smile. ¡°It¡¯s, um, nice to see you. Do you, um, see me sitting often?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I have!¡± Yuna confirmed with a bob of her head, as she pulled out her bento box and slid it before her.


    ¡°Why, uh.¡± Masumi glanced across the cafeteria and caught a couple of eyes looking his way, before retreating back into their own personal space. ¡°Why have you only come to visit me now? I mean, I like it, but it¡¯s, um. I don¡¯t know why?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I thought you looked like a lonely boy and thought I would come to see you!¡± Yuna laughed and took a sip of her juice. ¡°There¡¯s no special reason. None at all!¡±


    ¡°Oh...okay.¡± Masumi took a bite of his tamagoyaki.


    ¡°But now that we¡¯re here and talking to each other like good friends, there is something I want to talk about!¡± Yuna declared, and shifted on her seat like it would bring her any closer to Masumi. ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve been spending a lot of time with Shiro Yui! Like in here, sometimes! And at the library she works at! I think that¡¯s interesting, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s interesting?¡±


    ¡°Um, I, uh, I don¡¯t know?¡± Masumi sweat suddenly building on his brow and adjusted his cap. ¡°I, um, friends spend time together sometimes...it¡¯s not that weird...¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Oh, okay, so you¡¯re friends! That¡¯s good! Everyone can do with a friend.¡± Yuna gave him a smile with teeth and pushed her juice box to the side. ¡°How did you be friends? You don¡¯t do the same things and you don¡¯t have the same friends and it¡¯s so strange that you¡¯re suddenly together! That¡¯s so interesting and I want to know all about it!¡±


    ¡°I met her at the library.¡± Masumi shrugged, as the practiced words rolled off his tongue. ¡°I was there to deliver something for the school library and decided to stay there so that I could finish my homework. She helped me with some of it after we got to talking and we thought that each other was good company and fun to talk to, so we did that, and now we¡¯re talking to each other more in other places. It¡¯s like how anyone becomes friends.¡±


    ¡°...oh.¡± Yuna took a long sip of her juice box. ¡°So that sounds normal and good for you! I know you¡¯re a good friend because you¡¯re like one of mine, only for dance club, but that counts! What kind of things do you and Shiro do together, because I don¡¯t think it¡¯s just the things at school, is it? I know her friends haven¡¯t been able to spend time with her, even on top of her work, so...spill the beans!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t...I can¡¯t spill the beans about things that don¡¯t exist.¡± Masumi looked Yuna in the eye. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just people liking gossip like normal. You know what they¡¯re like.¡±


    ¡°I guess I do, but I thought that maybe you¡¯d know more and we could talk, like friends do! So there¡¯s nothing special going on there?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± Masumi shook his head and did his best to keep believing it himself. ¡°We¡¯re just friends, like, um, like you and me are.¡± He held back a smirk at his smooth adaption to the scenario. That was the kind of slick move nobody would expect. Except perhaps Yui.


    ¡°Okay then, that¡¯s that and we¡¯re ready to move onto a new topic! Dance club!¡± Yuna decided, and the rest of Masumi¡¯s lunch was spent with his exuberant dance partner. It helped to distract him from the other students, and she talked for so long that he didn¡¯t have time to worry about Yui hearing him talk with her. Not that that would be a problem if she did.


    As he was returning to his homeroom, Masumi spotted a head of short black hair and sharp eyes peering at him from the cafeteria window. When he turned the corner, he thought he heard footsteps hurriedly turning around another one behind him. He shook his head, tried to dislodge the wary thoughts that crawled back as soon as they were dismissed, and headed into his next class. At least his homework wouldn¡¯t fill him with so much anxiety.


    The rest of the afternoon passed how his morning had, and he was hurrying to his bike with the kind of speed normally reserved for an urgent toilet break. He was almost free of one of his weirdest days at school. He could feel the bike¡¯s handles against his palm, the seat under his rear, and was just about to slot his foot into the pedal when¡­


    ¡°Hey, Sanada.¡± The voice rumbled, and Masumi looked to his side. There was a chest, so he had to look further up to meet Kiryu¡¯s gaze and his unmasked face. ¡°I hear you¡¯re dating Shiro. Seems like my advice paid off. You¡¯re welcome.¡±


    Masumi blinked up at Kiryu and tilted his head. ¡°Is your nose fixed?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Not that I even care. Made me look like a badass. Almost broke my nose again just so I could keep the look.¡± Kiryu said, then narrowed his eyes. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t change the subject on me, Sanada. Tell me about your girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°I, um, I don¡¯t want to talk about that.¡± Masumi said. ¡°It¡¯s, she¡¯s not, and um, it¡¯s not even a big deal, so. There?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me it¡¯s not a big deal. Nice try, Sanada, but you can¡¯t keep all the details to yourself. I helped you get your girlfriend and that means I get to know what you¡¯re doing. Those are the rules of the jungle.¡±


    ¡°Wh...according to who?¡± Masumi stared wide-eyed up at Kiryu.


    ¡°That guy...you know...¡± Kiryu scratched his jaw. ¡°Stop changing the subject. How did you do it?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, how did I do it?¡± Masumi slid his foot into one of the pedals. ¡°I just, I talked to her, like everyone does, and now we¡¯re friends. That¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± Kiryu folded his arms over his chest. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense that I can¡¯t...didn¡¯t have a new girlfriend this week, but you do. You¡¯re tiny, and that¡¯s cool, but look at me. You must have been blessed or something. Tell me your secrets.¡±


    Masumi bit his bottom lip and stared of at the road ahead, then looked back to Kiryu. ¡°Do y¡¯really wanna know?¡±


    Kiryu leaned in. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°She liked my bike skills.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Kiryu frowned. ¡°Your bike skills? You just ride it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, see, I can do things like this.¡± Masumi said, as he slammed his foot on his pedal and rode off with his sudden burst of speed. He could hear Kiryu yelling something behind him, but didn¡¯t bother to focus on it. He rode as fast and hard as he could back to his home, parked his bike, and dropped his bags by the door. He hurried up the stairs to his room, threw himself into his chair and started his computer. He clicked through to his archives and the settings there.


    Somebody was using the archives to find information on him and Yui. And they were spreading it through the school. It could have been Kiryu, it could have been Yuna, it could have been anyone who happened to stumble upon it. They had hours of conversations, most of which wandered into personal territory, and somebody was going to use it against him and Yui. He couldn¡¯t let them jeopardize whatever he and Yui had going.


    His finger hovered over his mouse, the option to delete every video between now and when Jellybeaner first started showing up for his streams. It was the only way. He took a deep breath to steady himself, took one last look at the videos, and clicked delete.

 Chaper Fifteen: Archive Corrupted

    Masumi danced as he finished the last preparations for his stream. To say they were true preparations was incorrect, because he¡¯d done most of that right after dinner. He was dancing in front of his mirror, clad in the bright yellow and pink outfit he¡¯d chosen to cheer himself up. The music in his ears kept him buoyant, while his moves did the same for his skirt. He kept having to tug it down, lest it ride too high and reveal the frilly underwear he¡¯d opted to put on with it.


    ¡°Stupid...¡± Masumi tugged it down as best he could, after a particularly rapid twirl had sent it flying up around his hips. He was just about to consider asking his dance club members about how they keep their skirts down, when he was distracted by the ring of his phone. He tiptoed over to it, took off his headphones, and peered at the name. He grinned broadly as he answered. ¡°Yui! Hi! Hello! It¡¯s me!¡±


    ¡°I know, I rang you.¡± Yui replied with the kind of tone that Masumi knew was always associated with a knowing smirk. ¡°I¡¯m doing that janitorial job at the hospital, so I won¡¯t be as active tonight. I just wanted to let you know.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay! I¡¯m playing horror today, so, um, don¡¯t be surprised if you hear me scream!¡± He giggled, as he sat in his chair and spun it around with a kick of his foot.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right there to keep you safe.¡± Yui promised. ¡°Or to calm you down during the scary parts. Are you doing one of the classics again?¡±


    ¡°Not quite! It¡¯s about those Alien movies, I know you haven¡¯t seen them, but, um, I haven¡¯t played it yet. It¡¯s meant to be really tense and I¡¯ve wanted to play it before, but, um, I was worried about it being too much...just, a little bit scared, y¡¯know?¡±


    ¡°Aww. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to save it for when I¡¯m there? You can cuddle right up to me.¡±


    Masumi blushed, and was all too thankful for the distance between them in that moment. ¡°That would, um, that would be nice...but, I¡¯ve got this! Low-Life is gonna stand up to the alien, no matter what!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got this.¡± Yui chuckled.


    ¡°I mean, um, technically I read that you can¡¯t fight it, so I can¡¯t actually stand up to it, but I¡¯m going to run away from it and hide and not just shut the game down! Yeah!¡± There was a whooping noise from the opposite end of the phone. ¡°Wh-What was that?¡±


    ¡°That was a cheering noise.¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, okay! Thank you!¡± Masumi laughed.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Now, I¡¯ve got a corridor to clean and it¡¯s coming up on stream time. I¡¯ll talk to you later if I can find the time, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay! Bye, Yui!¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, Masumi.¡± There was a click from the other end of the phone and Masumi set it down. He cracked his knuckles, winced, then started up his stream.


    ¡°Welcome to the Low-Life!¡± Masumi introduced himself with his regular enthusiasm and got stuck into the game as best he could. The slow start, padding around the ships and onto the space station, set him slightly on edge. It gave his head time to reflect on the day so far, his anxieties, and running his mouth only did so much to distract him. If anything, the tension in the game was enhanced by his real-life worries. And vice versa, as every little creak in the background set his hairs on end.


    He¡¯d just had the fright of his life when the little boop of a viewer joining came to his ears. His character rested in a locker and he rested back in his chair as the familiar name of Jellybeaner popped onto the screen.


    Jellybeaner


    You look shook.


    ¡°Um, yeah!¡± Masumi tittered nervously. ¡°It¡¯s, um, it¡¯s really scary¡­ How are you doing?¡±


    Jellybeaner


    I¡¯m curious about something.


    Masumi bit his bottom lip. He always hated it when people started with leading statements. Not that it was actually wrong, but it gave him all the fuel in the world to get nervous about.


    JellybeanerThe author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I came on here to get to the stream and I saw the archives. It says that there isn¡¯t anything for the last few months.


    ¡°That¡¯s, uh,¡±


    Jellybeaner


    And it¡¯s worrying. But I wanted to give you a chance to explain.


    ¡°It¡¯s, um, it¡¯s, there¡¯s just this...¡± Masumi stared off-screen for a few moments, then looked back into the camera. It felt all too much like Yui¡¯s eyes. ¡°Th-There were people talking about me, and, I didn¡¯t like that, so, there¡¯s, I wanted to get rid of it...¡±


    Jellybeaner


    I don¡¯t understand. What people were talking about you, and how? What does that have to do with your stream archives? Why are only the ones where I¡¯m here gone?


    ¡°I, people were talking about you, too!¡± Masumi felt the urge to defend himself, but couldn¡¯t grab all of the words to do it. ¡°And, it¡¯s, if there was no way for that to stop, then, stopping it first was good. Y-You don¡¯t have to worry about it¡­¡±


    Jellybeaner


    Nobody is talking about me. I have a lot to worry about when you delete records of all of the things we¡¯ve done together, including the stream.


    ¡°There are people, there are people who¡¯re talking about you and me and it¡¯s not, like, I can-¡± Masumi paused as he heard a couple of boops in his ear, the view counter go up by two. He froze in his chair. ¡°Um, bye guys! Stream is over for now, sorry!¡± He said, as he slammed every button that would turn his computer off and clutched at his heart, while his breaths became heavier and heavier. He scrunched his eyes shut and attempted to wrestle some kind of control over his own thoughts, but all he could think of was Yui¡¯s surely growing hatred of him.


    He put his headphones aside and his trembling fingers chose Yui¡¯s number. It rang until it got to her voicemail, and made his gut tug at itself. ¡°Um, this is Masumi, please, please ring me, I can explain. I want to. Please.¡± He left the message, then curled his legs up on his chair and stared at little device resting in his lap. It was the totem of all his anxieties and his inability to shut them out. They wouldn¡¯t have gotten so bad if he hadn¡¯t given into them before, if he didn¡¯t act on his silly impul-


    The phone rang and Masumi snapped it up. ¡°Hello? Yui? Is that Yui?¡±


    ¡°This is Yui.¡± Her voice brought enough comfort for Masumi¡¯s shoulders to stop tensing, but his heart still raced. What made it worse was that it lacked the calm he¡¯d come to associate with her. There was a breathy quality that set his nerves on edge. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time. But explain yourself if you want to.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Masumi paused and decided to find his words before he let them tumble out. ¡°It¡¯s...there have been people watching the streams. I noticed it on the stream we did together, and it upset me, because they¡¯re, like, for us, and, at least, initially.¡± He breathed in. ¡°Not, but, they felt like it, and people were watching, and it would have been okay, but it¡¯s, then they looked at other ones, older ones, and it¡¯s, somebody¡¯s reading our things...¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that somebody in the world might have seen us talking to each other, and that was a good enough reason to delete all of our memories. That is what you did, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°...yes.¡± Masumi bit his lip. ¡°It¡¯s, I can¡¯t just set them to private, I don¡¯t think, and I just...I panicked and I wanted it to stop and it¡¯s not just ¡®cause it was some person somewhere, it might¡¯ve been people who know me and us!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that would be a problem. It hasn¡¯t affected anything so far. And you left all of your old streams up, so it can¡¯t be because of protecting your identity.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...that¡¯s true, but, haven¡¯t you heard, um, there are people at school talking about us and they¡¯re looking at me, and, um, everyone looks at you anyway, but they were doing it to me, and whispering, and people keep coming up to me and asking about you, and I don¡¯t want that...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m your friend, Masumi. Why would that be something to be ashamed of?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s, I don¡¯t know how to answer them properly! I think and I think and I practice how to reply, but then they talk about other things and they might not believe me, and then they make things up, and I¡¯ll have rumors made about me, and I just want to go to school a-and not have to deal with people being like that all the time and being nervous...¡± Masumi¡¯s words hung there for long enough that he couldn¡¯t even hear Yui¡¯s breathing. ¡°Yui? Are you still there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Akira has just walked into the hospital.¡± Came Yui¡¯s voice, in a hushed whisper.


    ¡°Akira?¡± Masumi frowned. ¡°What is Akira doing there?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m going to find out.¡± Yui said.


    ¡°Yui, wai-¡± Masumi¡¯s objection was halted by the sound of the call ending. He stared at his phone and pushed it to the side. He wasn¡¯t going to get any more answers out of it tonight. He buried his head against his knees and did everything he could to stop himself from crying. Still, tears formed in the corners of his eyes and he peeled himself out of his chair. His movements were unsteady, and he stood with just enough strength to keep himself up.


    ¡°No games...¡± Masumi muttered, as he took in the sight of the trio of black screens. He didn¡¯t know what it was like to play games without an audience any more, and he couldn¡¯t just start his stream back up like nothing had happened. It wasn¡¯t about disappointing an audience that didn¡¯t exist, or that other people might see him. He just didn¡¯t have it in him to present any kind of persona that wasn¡¯t how he was in that moment. Low-Life couldn¡¯t help.


    He plodded over to the mirror and stared at himself. From his perfectly styled hair to the makeup that filled him with so much joy, it didn¡¯t help with how he felt in that moment. He was pretty, but he wasn¡¯t happy. He couldn¡¯t tell the future, but he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be happy. He couldn¡¯t even come up with the words to defend himself from himself, let alone the girl who never got upset, yet he¡¯d stll managed to.


    ¡°Look at you...¡± Masumi whispered, as he leaned up against the full-length mirror with all of his weight. His nose was almost touching that of his reflection. ¡°You can¡¯t stream right. You can¡¯t look right. You can¡¯t make any friends. You¡¯re trying to ruin things with the only one you have. You suck.¡± He lifted his palm and pressed it against his reflection¡¯s. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who¡¯s ever going to like you for who you are. You can be a good boy for your parents, you can be a cute thing for Yui to look at, but nobody wants Sanada Masumi.¡±


    He stared into his own eyes and found that he was starting to believe himself. There was a clock in the corner that told him it was still a few more hours until he¡¯d get ready for bed. Until his parents would get home, and he could paint a picture of himself that wasn¡¯t the mess he knew he was. There was time. He could just sit down and wallow in himself for a few hours. That would be a way of accepting himself, at least. Maybe he¡¯d be happier, if he could accept he was never meant to be.


    Masumi sunk to his knees and cried.

 Chapter Sixteen: Too Sweet

    Masumi did his best to breathe in the fresh air, take in the view of the village, and find some way to get comfortable on the wooden bench. Part of him was thankful that nobody else was at the overlook yet, while most of him was focused on the phone that sat in front of him. It shifted into standby and he tapped back through to the message.


    [email protected]</a>


    Meet me at the overlook. 9am.


    Then glanced back at the clock. Just a couple of minutes left until Schrodinger¡¯s box was opened. He counted down the seconds until he looked down the hill and saw Yui striding up the hill to the overlook, right on time. She was wearing her green jacket, with her hair done up in a french braid, and looked every bit the same as she usually did. Perhaps a little less likely to smile, but for all Masumi knew that was all in his head. That¡¯s where most of his problems seemed to come from.


    He hesitated to stand up, but did so eventually. She still loomed over him, cast against the cloudy sky, but it was polite.


    ¡°H-Hi.¡± Masumi greeted Yui and didn¡¯t attempt to smile. ¡°Um. You look nice today.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. You do, too.¡± Yui said, then lead her own way to the table and sat on the opposite side of the bench. She sat upright and watched as Masumi joined her, then nodded. ¡°To start with, I¡¯d like to apologize for how I acted last night. I was acting on instinct and...attempting to gain control of the situation, I suppose, rather than doing what I was saying I was. We shouldn¡¯t have had to come out here for you to be able to explain things.¡±


    Masumi stared wide-eyed at Yui. ¡°You¡¯re saying sorry to me?¡±


    Yui nodded.


    ¡°Oh...um...thank you.¡± Masumi bowed his head. ¡°Um...I¡¯m sorry for hurting your feelings. I don¡¯t think I was thinking when I did what I did. I mean, I was thinking, but it wasn¡¯t the kind of thinking that goes through the right way, like, it was the thoughts I have when I let...me get to myself. I shouldn¡¯t listen to me, but it¡¯s kind of hard to block out, y¡¯know?¡± He smiled nervously at Yui.


    ¡°I do know. That¡¯s why I shouldn¡¯t have acted how I did. It wasn¡¯t fair, when I know how nervous you can get.¡± Yui adjusted her jacket and looked to either side. ¡°So, I think I get why you deleted them, but I want to know it straight from your mouth. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve thought about it.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah, I have. It¡¯s...I like our friendship a lot, and I don¡¯t like the idea of other people getting in the way. And it feels like they¡¯re doing that, a lot, because people like you and that means they notice me, and that¡¯s not your fault, but it still makes me worry, like it normally does. And I don¡¯t get a screen or anything, like I want to, so I can separate that? And, so, people can find me and look at me wherever and then know things...and I really don¡¯t like that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about the rumors that are spreading.¡± Yui noted.


    Masumi bobbed his head. ¡°I, um. I thought you hadn¡¯t heard anything?¡±


    ¡°I since have.¡± Yui sighed. ¡°It seems that the reason people are talking about you more is that you¡¯re more vulnerable. People know me and know that I¡¯m not going to let rumors or gossip or peer pressure bother me, not as much. So the rumors have been happening, but out of my earshot. You don¡¯t have that benefit, so you¡¯re the target.¡±


    ¡°...yeah.¡± Masumi nodded. ¡°That makes sense. And there¡¯s been so much of that, and I noticed that people had been looking at our stream archives. I thought that deleting them would stop the rumors, or stop them from getting worse, or something like that, and I didn¡¯t even think about how it could hurt you or remove our memories and stuff. I was just thinking about me, and not even any kind of me in the future, just...¡± He bit his lip. ¡°I know that I wish I hadn¡¯t done it now, ¡®cause it would have been nice to still have our first stream together.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Yui smiled at Masumi. ¡°And you don¡¯t have to be worried about me hating you. You¡¯re...delicate, and I get that, and I¡¯ll be certain to keep an eye out for anyone who might hassle you. As long as you make a promise to tell me about these worries before you leap into acting on them.¡±


    ¡°Th-That makes sense.¡± Masumi smiled. It was like an instinct when he was Yui¡¯s. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll do that.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Yui said. ¡°It¡¯s a shame we don¡¯t have drinks to toast the agreement, but I suppose that¡¯s life. Do you have any other worries about this? About the viewers that have been showing up to your streams?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll keep showing up, or even if they¡¯re from school.¡± Masumi said. ¡°I know that I don¡¯t want to stop streaming just ¡®cause I got really worried and then we had an argument, and even if they are from school, maybe they¡¯ll like it.¡± There was some tone of hope in his voice. ¡°So I¡¯ll just treat it like I¡¯ve been practicing to this whole time. We, um, might have to be a little less familiar in chat, though. Not because I don¡¯t like it! But, um, it¡¯s not polite to do when other people are looking.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Yui laughed. ¡°No public displays of affection. Understood. Now that we¡¯ve got that nastiness behind us, there was something I wanted to talk with you about. It¡¯s...going to be difficult, because it¡¯s tied into a lot of my ow-¡±


    ¡°Aha! J¡¯accuse!¡± Came a cry from nearby. Both heads swiveled in the direction of the voice and their eyes landed on the source. It was Akira, clad in a long yellow jacket with a polta-dot top under suspenders. Her eyes were covered by sunglasses, but only for the moments it took her to sprint up to the table and lift them up, before slamming her palms on the edge of it. ¡°I knew it! The dating of the two of you has begun and it was I who saw it coming! Nobody believed little Akira, but now they¡¯ll see! Ohoho, yes, they¡¯ll know!¡±


    Masumi stared at Akira, because his voice had retreated into his throat and gave no signs of coming out.


    ¡°Allow me to unravel that.¡± Yui said, utterly unperturbed as she held her fingers up and counted down. ¡°You know because we spoke, extensively on the matter last night. Everyone believed you, because rumors had already started to spread through the school. And, once more, they already know. So, what exactly is the point of this melodramatic display?¡± She raised an eyebrow at the shorter girl.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s fun and I wanted to see him squirm a bit. Duh.¡± Akira grinned at Masumi, who felt rather like he should be sprouting big round ears and a narrow tail.


    ¡°H-Hi.¡± Masumi said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± Yui chastised the leering girl. ¡°He¡¯s been through enough and he hasn¡¯t built up a tolerance to your stupid behavior.¡± She looked back to Masumi. ¡°Forgive her. She¡¯s the one who calmed me down enough to get through to my rational mind, believe it or not. She was showing up to the hospital because she¡¯s a creepy stalker, but the end result was something good for both of us, at least.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not creepy!¡± Akira put a hand on her hip. ¡°I¡¯m a stalker, but a virtuous one. I¡¯m like Cupid, if he was cool and not a weirdo baby.¡±


    ¡°She told me that she was following you around school.¡± Yui told Masumi. ¡°And that she was following me around my jobs, to see if I was actually going to them or simply meeting up with you. And asking other people about when they¡¯d seen you.¡±


    ¡°Um, that is.¡± Masumi frowned. ¡°That is kind of creepy.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not, because it was for a good cause!¡± Akira folded her arms over her chest and scowled. ¡°And it was clever, too! I even cross-referenced when this guy was streaming!¡±


    ¡°Y-You know about my streams?¡± Masumi blurted out, his voice shaky.


    ¡°Pfft, yeah?¡± Akira laughed. ¡°I¡¯m awesome like that. Not gonna lie, you¡¯re super cute in those outfits. You should show more skin, though.¡±


    ¡°Creepy. Stalker.¡± Yui said. ¡°And a pervert, to boot.¡±


    ¡°U-Um, yeah.¡± Masumi nodded. ¡°That is kind of...really...creepy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest; I¡¯m feeling kind of attacked right now.¡± Akira stood back to her full height and pulled her sunglasses back down. ¡°So, I¡¯m going to leave you two lovebirds alone and continue being not-creepy somewhere else. Later!¡± She shot fingerguns at the pair, then strolled off.


    Masumi gave a little wave while Yui watched the girl go, then shook her head.


    ¡°What, um, what does she do all day?¡± Masumi asked.


    ¡°Poke and prod at people as much as possible. She would actually be a good partner for when I get into journalism, but I have the feeling that she¡¯d end up getting both of us killed.¡±


    Masumi giggled. ¡°Oh, that wouldn¡¯t be any good. And, um, I don¡¯t know that she¡¯s that good at the journalism thing...¡± He paused as Yui looked over at him. ¡°Um, I mean, she said that we¡¯re lovebirds and stuff, and that¡¯s not what...I mean, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s, uh, what we do. We hang out and stuff and that¡¯s cool, but, um, we don¡¯t kiss or anything that proper people who are dating do, so I don¡¯t even know where she¡¯d get that idea.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Yui nodded as she leaned into the table and balanced her head on her palm. ¡°We don¡¯t do any of those things.¡± The wind ruffled Masumi¡¯s hair and he found himself unable to look away from the girl. ¡°Yet.¡±


    Masumi felt his cheeks burn bright pink, perhaps due to the sheer volume of images pouring into his head at those words. He¡¯d already been burned by acting on them too soon.


    ¡°What, um. What d¡¯you mean?¡±


    ¡°What I mean is that I know that I have feelings for you.¡± Yui said. ¡°And I think that you do for me, too. We probably wouldn¡¯t react so...viscerally to the things we do. So I think that it¡¯s only a matter of time until we do start kissing. I don¡¯t think that I have a problem with that.¡±


    ¡°I, um, I, uh, I don¡¯t...¡± Masumi giggled, wondering if he was getting lightheaded because of how fast his pulse was beating. ¡°It¡¯s, I think, that would be a good thing to start doing, eventually, yeah.¡± He nodded. ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± He bit his lip.


    ¡°Good.¡± Yui smiled and sat back in an upright position. ¡°Not now, of course.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Um, no, not now, that¡¯d be silly.¡± Masumi bobbed his head. ¡°Some other time, when it¡¯s...um...¡±


    ¡°Proper.¡±


    ¡°Proper, that! Yeah.¡±


    Yui laughed softly. ¡°Perhaps when we¡¯re somewhere more private...but for now, I have most of the day available and it¡¯s still morning. Would you like to do something for the rest of Sunday?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah, let me just think...¡± Masumi furrowed his brow and stared intently at the center of the table. ¡°Oh! My parents will be going to Kyoto soon! We can all go if you want and, um, if we¡¯re going to start kissing eventually then if they know you now then they might be more okay with it than if we just started doing it when you first show up!¡±


    Yui considered it for a moment, then nodded. ¡°I think that would be fun. You can show me where you get your clothes.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Masumi stumbled off of his chair. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter Seventeen: Call of Kyoto

    The pair rounded the corner of Masumi¡¯s area and saw the similarly-proportioned duo of the elder Sanadas.


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting.¡± Yui noted, as she and Masumi crossed the street to intercept their path. ¡°Does your family normally attract tall women?¡±


    ¡°I dunno, look at how tall I am and tell me.¡± Masumi glanced up at her with a smile that grew slightly less solid the closer they got to his parents. It was just fifty feet, then forty feet, and then they¡¯d been spotted and he could already see the arching eyebrows of his mother. ¡°Hi!¡±


    ¡°Hello Masumi, and stranger.¡± Fujiko appraised Yui like a fine jewel.


    ¡°Good morning, Mr and Mrs Sanada.¡± Yui bowed deeply to the pair. ¡°My name is Shiro Yui, and I go to school with Masumi.¡±


    ¡°Hello.¡± Hideki adjusted his glasses and glanced at Masumi.


    ¡°Um, yeah, this is Yui.¡± Masumi gestured to the girl.


    ¡°We know, she just said as much.¡± Fujiko pointed out.


    ¡°Right, uh, she¡¯s my friend and I asked her if she wanted to come to Kyoto with me and we thought we could meet you here instead of going there, so she could see you, and that¡¯s why we¡¯re here now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Shiro.¡± Fujiko said. ¡°We¡¯re on our way now, so I hope you haven¡¯t walked too far.¡± She gestured forwards, and the younger pair slipped behind them as they resumed their walk.


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Yui said. ¡°The overlook was far away, but I suppose these long legs are good for something. I was worried I might have to carry Masumi for the last block.¡±


    ¡°Fireman¡¯s carry.¡± Hideki said. ¡°Works every time.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s talking about himself1¡± Masumi said. ¡°Being, um, being carried, not me being carried. I don¡¯t, um, need that.¡±


    ¡°Are you calling your father unfit, Masumi? There¡¯s no shame in having to be carried.¡± Fujiko said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll gladly do it.¡± Yui offered. ¡°Although I was wondering if bridal style might be better.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Hideki shook his head. ¡°Bad for your back.¡±


    ¡°Yui¡¯s in the swimming club!¡± Masumi suddenly blurted, because the conversation was making him blush and Yui didn¡¯t seem to want to steer away from that.


    ¡°My, that¡¯s interesting.¡± Fujiko said. ¡°Why swimming, Shiro?¡±


    ¡°I have the body for it.¡± Yui shrugged. ¡°They were short on members, so I volunteered and they had enough. And the swimsuits are cute.¡±


    ¡°I guess those are as good reasons as any.¡± Fujiko nodded, as they crossed the street. ¡°How do you do at school?¡±


    ¡°I do well, but I¡¯m afraid I left my grading records at home.¡±


    Fujiko paused for a moment, then laughed. ¡°Indeed? Well, you¡¯ll have to remember to bring those next time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already made a note of it.¡± Yui concurred. ¡°I feel so foolish.¡±


    ¡°Anyone could do it.¡± Hideki said.


    Fujiko snapped her fingers ¡°Do your parents know you¡¯re going to Kyoto, Shiro? You¡¯re welcome to come with us, but I don¡¯t want to end up with a reputation for kidnapping.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m as free as a bird.¡± Yui replied. ¡°And with about as much money. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be window shopping for most of the trip.¡±


    ¡°Same.¡± Hideki nodded.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Masumi tell us that you work several part-time jobs?¡± Fujiko asked, with a glance back at Yui. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not one of those reckless spenders.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not, but there are a lot of expenses at the dorm. I have to pay for my cleaning supplies, my meals, clothes, books, and all of those things. My allowance only goes so far, and I like to keep money stored in case of an emergency.¡±


    ¡°Smart.¡± Hideki commented.


    Masumi, for the moment, was content to let his parents and Yui do the bulk of the talking. He was slightly worried that trying to contribute would alter things and pull attention back to him, while Yui seemed to be perfectly comfortable talking with them. The other problem was that he¡¯d already had these conversations with Yui and was just hearing these things for the second time. It was almost therapeutic, to see how well she was doing.Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Hideki¡¯s right, not a lot of kids your age know that.¡± Fujiko said. ¡°You¡¯re not from here, are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m from a couple of towns over.¡± Yui flashed a smile at Masumi, who gave her a nod and was thankful they weren¡¯t sitting at a table where his parents could see all their little interactions. ¡°When it was time to choose a senior high school, Retsuko Academy was the best option. I was worried about having to stay in the dorms at first, but they¡¯re not bad. And it¡¯s fun to spend time with the other students there.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that they have them.¡± Fujiko tucked some hair behind her ear. ¡°You won¡¯t find that in the cities; there¡¯s not enough space. Have you spent much time in cities before, Shiro?¡±


    ¡°Here and there, but not for particularly long. I¡¯m looking forward to doing so more often, if Masumi¡¯s willing.¡± Yui looked briefly at the boy, who simply nodded. ¡°There are a lot of things to love out in the country, but journalism¡¯s heart is in the cities where people meet, make deals, all of the things that I¡¯m interested in.¡±


    ¡°We can show you a few places.¡± Fujiko offered. ¡°We know the city like the back of our hands.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re not busy.¡± Hideki added.


    ¡°What would she be busy with?¡± Fujiko turned to her husband.


    ¡°Teenage things.¡±


    ¡°Oh, fine, we¡¯ll be able to show you them on the map while we¡¯re on the way.¡± Fujiko said. ¡°Then you and Masumi can run off and look at them, if you want to.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that very much, thank you.¡± Yui said. ¡°Perhaps you can tell me about a few now?¡±


    The rest of the trip to the train station was filled with details about Kyoto, most of it about business and socializing places that Yui wouldn¡¯t even be allowed entry to for a few years, but Masumi was content to listen all the same. They were allowed a little more privacy on the train, at least, if they whispered in the corner. The parts of their journey not spent chatting consisted of looking out of the train¡¯s windows, at the beautiful countryside rolling past them.


    Their arrival in Kyoto resulted in a quick split, with Masumi¡¯s parents going off to do their own thing while he led her through some of his favorite spots in Kyoto. They stuck close together through the bustling crowds, until they ended up in the place where the boy bought most of his clothes. He hesitated just outside, wondering whether it was truly the smartest idea to take Yui in, before deciding that nothing too bad could happen.


    ¡°Little Sanada!¡± Came the cry to the side of them. Yiu blinked as she looked, while Masumi rolled his head with a smile as he spotted the approaching Miss Takahashi. She looked as gorgeous as she ever did, like she stepped out of a painting every morning. ¡°You¡¯ve returned, and with a friend, no less!¡± She peered at the slightly taller Yui with both of her hands on her hips, then looked around her side and made a shrug. ¡°She¡¯s pretty enough, I suppose.¡±


    Masumi cleared his throat as Yui looked the woman up and down. ¡°Yui, this is Miss Takahashi. She, um, she¡¯s the one who helps me pick clothes for...my girlfriend. Miss Takahashi, this is Yui. She¡¯s, uh, a new friend I made.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Miss Takahashi.¡± Yui bowed briefly to the older woman. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet the person who makes Masumi¡¯s girlfriend so stylish.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the poor boy would be lost without me.¡± Miss Takahashi laughed. ¡°But what¡¯s this, you showing up with another girl, Sanada?¡± She pouted at the boy. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s cruel to lead me on for so long, and now you¡¯re disposing of me for some younger girl?¡±


    ¡°I-I, I¡¯m not replacing anyone!¡± Masumi said. ¡°She wanted to get some clothes for herself and I said that you¡¯re the best person to do it. I promise!¡±


    ¡°Hmm...¡± Miss Takahashi stepped a little closer to Yui, then whispered in a way that was clearly audible for anyone nearby. ¡°Just so you know, Sanada is mine, okay? Don¡¯t you go thinking about stealing him away from me, or I¡¯m going to be very angry with you.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of it.¡± Yui smirked at her. ¡°And I don¡¯t know if I could, if I wanted to. You¡¯ve got such plump lips, and with hips like that¡­I think anyone would struggle to compete.¡±


    Miss Takahashi blinked, then leaned back and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± She smiled. ¡°I¡¯m the most gorgeous thing to walk into this store and don¡¯t you forget it, young woman.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°But, why don¡¯t you pose like you just did, so I can be certain I won¡¯t forget?¡±


    Miss Takahashi looked between Masumi and Yui, though the boy was staring just as agog as her. She adjusted her blouse, turned her head to hide a growing blush, then started to walk. ¡°Anyway! Let¡¯s see what we can do for you! I think a new jacket would be perfect, so we can outline that lean frame of yours.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What was that?¡± Masumi whispered to Yui, as they both fell in line behind Miss Takahashi. He struggled to get her attention, as her eyes were on the curvaceous woman in front.


    ¡°It¡¯s fun to tease you, but I don¡¯t want somebody doing it when we¡¯re spending time together.¡± Yui told him. ¡°And the easiest way to stop somebody doing it, is to beat them at their own game.¡±


    ¡°O-Oh. So you¡¯re, um, pretending to a pervert to make her stop?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s most of the reason, but she is gorgeous.¡± Yui flashed Masumi a smile.


    Masumi furrowed his brow. ¡°So, um. You¡¯re really into girls that way?¡±


    ¡°I enjoy pretty things.¡± Yui shrugged her shoulders as they came upon the rows of jackets. ¡°Whether it¡¯s women or boys who dress up like them.¡± She reached up and tenderly brushed a strand of Masumi¡¯s fluffy brown hair.


    Masumi¡¯s blush went supernova and he nodded.


    ¡°And we¡¯ve arrived!¡± Miss Takahashi twirled around, some of her swagger restored, and gestured to the jackets. ¡°We have everything you could possibly want, and a few things beyond, as I bet Sanada has told you. I¡¯m thinking something flowing, elegant, to compliment your hair and swimmer¡¯s build. An overcoat!¡± She grabbed one from a nearby shelf and held it out. ¡°Just try it on and we¡¯ll tell you how it fits.¡±


    ¡°There may be a problem here.¡± Yui said, as she took off her field jacket and handed it to Masumi. ¡°I don¡¯t have any money to buy anything.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy it!¡± Masumi folded the jacket over his arm and watched as Yui pulled the coat on. It was long and gray, reaching down to her ankles with a large collar and dark buttons. It fit her like a glove.


    ¡°Thank you, Masumi.¡± Yui said, as she adjusted the coat a few times. ¡°This is fancier than the things I normally wear, but it feels quite pleasant. How does it look?¡±


    ¡°Fabulous!¡± Miss Takahashi clapped her hands together. ¡°You¡¯ll be the envy of the school, if you show up wearing that!¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah, I agree.¡± Masumi said, his smile wide and his eyes unable to find anywhere to rest on her elegant form. ¡°It suits you so well!¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll take it, in that case.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Miss Takahashi declared. ¡°And while you¡¯re being bankrolled by Sanada here, why don¡¯t we choose a few more outfits? I know that he¡¯s got the allowance for it.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m good, thank you.¡± Yui smiled at the enthusiastic saleswoman. ¡°The jacket is far too large a gift already.¡±


    ¡°Girls these days.¡± Miss Takahashi sighed. ¡°They don¡¯t know a good opportunity when it strikes them in the face. Oh well! Let¡¯s see if we can find something for your girlfriend, shall we, Sanada?¡±

 Chapter Eighteen: Cross-Dressed Lovers

    ¡°It feels so weird to be on school grounds!¡± Masumi smiled up at Yui as he said it. He hadn¡¯t been able to keep his eyes off of her for long, especially with how she looked in her new coat. The weather was cloudy and cool, but if anything, that just made her look cooler. ¡°It¡¯s like there¡¯s nobody here, like, when you¡¯re playing one of those games after the world has ended and you¡¯re just...alone. Y¡¯know?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Yui smiled at him as they approached the small building that sat adjacent to the sports fields, a little away from Retsuko Academy itself. It sat at one story, with wooden beams all across the outside and a slanted roof that creaked ever so slightly in the wind. ¡°But there may be other students inside, so you may want to keep your voice down until we get to my room.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± Masumi nodded. ¡°I wish we¡¯d gotten here earlier, ¡®cause I¡¯ll have to go back home soon...¡± He said, with a glance at the slowly dimming fields around them.


    ¡°We will have to make the most of the time we have.¡± Yui said, as she unlocked the front door of the building. The hallway beyond was just a few feet long, with a place for Masumi to leave his shoes before they walked through into the living room. The space was quite small, with a few chairs around a table and a kitchen up against one wall and a door on either side. ¡°These are the girls¡¯ dorms.¡± She introduced the right door with another key and the four doors beyond.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that many students lived here.¡± Masumi said. ¡°That means eight, right? If the boys have the same.¡±


    ¡°Not quite. The dorms can hold six of us; the last door is the bathroom. It has a sink, a shower, and a toilet, and that¡¯s for us to share.¡± Yui strolled to the far end of the hall and started to unlock the last door. ¡°The boys have the same on their side. It can be difficult to get access, especially in the morning, but you can always run to the school proper and use the bathrooms there. Supposing Mr Nimu has opened the doors.¡±


    ¡°Um, who¡¯s that?¡± Masumi did his best to peer around Yui, but he wasn¡¯t having much success.


    ¡°He¡¯s the school janitor.¡± Yui said, as she tilted her head as Masumi then placed her hand on the door. ¡°Have you ever been in a girl¡¯s room, Masumi?¡±


    ¡°Uhh, no. My mom doesn¡¯t count, right?¡± Masumi tilted his head.


    ¡°Not quite.¡± Yui laughed softly. ¡°Well, prepare yourself.¡± She said, then slowly pushed open the door to her bedroom and strolled inside. There wasn¡¯t much room for her to go, between the bed, the desk, and the wardrobe, so she span around and leaned against the desk beneath the window. Masumi slipped inside after her, closing the door behind him and taking in the room.


    ¡°It¡¯s, um. Small?¡± Masumi pointed out, as his eyes moved along the walls. There were posters all over them, of characters he didn¡¯t recognize, although all had similarities in that they were of adorable girls with flat chests and almost excessively feminine outfits.


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t noticed.¡± Yui stretched her arms and bumped her hand against the wardrobe. ¡°I know it¡¯s not much, but it is my home.¡±


    ¡°Your home?¡± Masumi asked, as he looked around for somewhere to sit and hesitated beside the bed. ¡°But don¡¯t you only stay here for the school terms? I mean, it¡¯s nice, and I like it, and these sheets are nice, but, um, what about your actual home?¡±


    ¡°This is my actual home.¡± Yui shifted away from the wall and sat beside Masumi on the bed. It sunk a little with her weight. ¡°I think there¡¯s something I should tell you, Masumi, that I don¡¯t typically tell people. And it¡¯s not something you should be worried about, not more than me, in any case, but you should be ready for it regardless.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re doing that thing.¡± Masumi furrowed his brow. ¡°When you talk weird.¡±


    ¡°Am I? Oh well.¡± Yui said. ¡°Are you prepared?¡±


    Masumi bit his lip and nodded silently. Despite her insistence to the contrary, he had a feeling it was going to be something to do with him.


    ¡°The reason this is my home is...I do not have another one.¡± Yui met Masumi¡¯s eyes with a steady gaze. ¡°I have not had a real home for as long as I can remember. I have moved from orphanage to orphanage, and school to school, whenever there has been space for me among the students and in free housing.¡±


    Masumi blinked slowly, as a hundred questions rushed to the forefront of his mind. He licked his lips and tenatively reached out to place his hand on Yui¡¯s. She turned it over and clasped his hand in hers ¨C and although she wasn¡¯t showing her emotions, he could feel the faint moisture on her palm.


    ¡°You¡¯re an orphan?¡± Masumi found himself asking. He knew it was stupid and obvious, but it was all he could say.


    ¡°My parents died in a car crash when I was very young.¡± Yui explained, her voice practiced. ¡°I do not know my extended family, if I have one, but I was quickly moved into orphanages and from there, into whatever educational facilities would have me. My only family has been the friends I¡¯ve made along the way.¡±


    ¡°But...you¡¯re popular.¡± Masumi frowned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m not aware of how unusual that is. Thus, the deception.¡± Yui smiled, but it was a little less sweet than Masumi had come to expect. ¡°I learned from a young age that people wouldn¡¯t take to me when they found out. The best I could expect was pity from my teachers, the officials who had to deal with me, and the worst...well, I¡¯m certain you can imagine how bad it could get. Suffice to say, I eventually decided that there was something I had to do about it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± Yui laughed. ¡°I simply lied about it, when I came here. I tell everyone that I wanted to be here, that my parents are simply elsewhere, and they believe me. I wish that it being so easy made me feel better about the fact that I have to lie about who I am, but it doesn¡¯t. The fact that all it would have taken to ensure that all of my friendships never happened is to have introduced myself as an orphan makes it...empty, somehow.¡±


    ¡°But, they still care about you, don¡¯t they?¡± Masumi asked, as he did his best to keep Yui¡¯s eyes drifting away from him. ¡°If you told them now, they¡¯d still like you. I still like you. I don¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps they would be better than I think, but I¡¯m not certain of it.¡± Yui said. ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t want to risk it, not while I¡¯ve still got so long here. Perhaps when we¡¯re all older and one¡¯s parents stop mattering, I can share. With those who¡¯d keep in contact with me. But, it¡¯s safer this way, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°I...maybe.¡± Masumi said. ¡°But, um. I know that I don¡¯t mind, so you, uh, don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± He offered her a smile. Part of him was happy that he had the opportunity to help Yui, to be somebody he trusts. But the rest of him was filled with the same kind of anxiety that rose in him when a test was coming up, when his empty streams had gotten to him. It was the knowledge that there was a problem and he was going to have to be the one to shoulder it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think I would.¡± Yui¡¯s smile was joined by a light in her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re remarkably blind to these kinds of things, Masumi. It¡¯s one of the things I like about you very much.¡±


    ¡°Um, what d¡¯you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well...you have a lot of money.¡± Yui said. ¡°You live in a big house, with your own ofuro, with a lot of games systems, monitors, an allowance that you can use to buy whatever you wish whenever you wish, a wardrobe deeper than any girl in these dorms...but you don¡¯t have any ego to go with it. Sometimes it doesn¡¯t seem as though you¡¯re aware of how lucky you are to have those things, or parents that can provide you with them.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡± Masumi said. ¡°Is that, um, that¡¯s a good thing, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a good thing. If you had even an inkling of cruelty in you, that ignorance could have emerged in any number of ways. You might have looked down on those who don¡¯t have money, or emerged with the kinds of beliefs that made me afraid to talk to people about who I am in the first place. That, because I have no parents, I must be lazy, or they were, or...¡± She sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to repeat them. But you should know how lovely you are, Masumi.¡±


    ¡°I, um, I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not a jerk, then!¡± Masumi smiled as brightly as he could manage.


    ¡°Me too.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°And, not just because you¡¯ve bought me things, like lunch, this coat...I appreciate them, but they¡¯re small compared to your nature. That¡¯s the best thing about you.¡±


    Masumi felt himself starting to blush, but couldn¡¯t look away. ¡°Thanks...um...so, the reason that you have all of your part-time jobs is to make money so you can spend time with other kids, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the main reason.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°I have no allowance to spend. And, the harder I work, the more people like me. If I were to tell people that I don¡¯t have the money to go out for ice cream or the arcade, then they¡¯d judge me. But when I tell them that I¡¯m working at the library, or the hospital, then they have a little more respect for me. It almost makes me sound like a sociopath, I¡¯m sure, but...¡±


    ¡°No, not at all!¡± Masumi shook his head, making his fluffy hair bounce. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault that you have to lie about things! If people are just going to make you miserable if you tell them the truth, then some white lying is okay! And as long as you tell people who care about you, then that¡¯s even better. You wouldn¡¯t even feel guilty if you were a sociopath, and that¡¯s a fact.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure that¡¯s the case...but, in lieu of a medical professional, I¡¯ll take it. Thank you.¡± Yui laughed softly and ran her thumb over the back of Masumi¡¯s hand. ¡°And thank you, again, for taking this so well. I¡¯ve wanted to tell you for a while. I think perhaps it was the reason I reacted so much to...recent events. I was planning on doing it, and then that happened.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡± Masumi squeezed the girl¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s all sorted out now and we can do the stuff that we were going to do anyway, and we¡¯re more comfortable, so that¡¯s good, right?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°But one more thing ¨C I appreciate how well you¡¯ve taken this. I¡¯ve watched you enough to know when you¡¯re nervous and you didn¡¯t start freaking out. Not even a little bit.¡±


    Yui giggled nervously. ¡°Um, well, not on the outside! But it¡¯s not your fault, it¡¯s jus-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just you. I know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Masumi looked down at their locked hands. ¡°But, um, just to be sure, there aren¡¯t any other dark secrets that¡¯ll come out today, right? I don¡¯t know if I have the strength for any more stuff.¡±


    ¡°Then I shall avoid mentioning the corpse in my wardrobe.¡±


    Masumi stuck his tongue out at her. ¡°Yeah, you do that.¡±


    ¡°But is it up to you to ignore the stench.¡±


    ¡°Stop that or I¡¯ll think you¡¯re serious!¡±


    ¡°And the spooky ghost that now haunts these halls.¡±


    ¡°Right! I¡¯m checking!¡± Masumi twisted around on the bed and crawled over to Yui¡¯s wardrobe, then pulled it open to reveal a perfectly ordinary collection of clothes with a few pairs of shoes on the bottom. ¡°See? No bodies in here. So you can stop teasing me with that!¡±


    Yui peered over the boy¡¯s shoulder and made a thinking noise. ¡°I suppose The Cleaner must have visited and taken it out for me. I must remember to leave a gift thanking it for its work.¡±


    ¡°It?¡± Masumi didn¡¯t turn to look at Yui, as his eyes were drawn to a pair of posters. There was one on either door and, much like the posters on the walls, featured a pair of cute girls posing for an imaginary camera.


    ¡°Nobody really knows from where The Cleaner came.¡± Yui said. ¡°Only that it exists, comes crawling out of the shadows to clean up after any of those with shadows in their heart. Some say that it was the old janitor of Retsuko Academy, who was slain by their last victim and now seeks to ensure no others meet the same fate as it...¡±


    ¡°How d¡¯you come up with this stuff?¡± Masumi laughed as he closed the door and unsteadily shifted his balance back to the bed proper.


    ¡°There are a lot of long nights in this dormitory.¡± Yui explained, as she turned around and crossed her legs. Even sitting, she loomed over him. ¡°If nobody is busy and there¡¯s not a lot of time left until we sleep, we gather in the main room and play games. Ghost stories are a particular favorite.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like fun!¡± Masumi smiled.


    ¡°It is. I have a reputation for the scariest stories. Perhaps because there are so many horrible things that happen in the real world.¡± Yui said. ¡°There are all too many tales of journalists going missing, and I¡¯d rather like to avoid that happening to me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, um, me too. You could take up self-defense classes! Like this girl here!¡± He tapped his finger on the wall beside the bed, which feaured a girl in a frilly dress performing a high-powered kick.


    ¡°I have considered it. Perhaps for college.¡± Yui shrugged. ¡°But perhaps not from her. She¡¯s far too delicate.¡±


    ¡°Whysat?¡± Masumi leaned back against his palms. ¡°Who are all of these characters, anyway? I don¡¯t know any of them and I don¡¯t think they¡¯re from games or anything...¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not.¡± Yui followed Masumi¡¯s gaze around the room. ¡°They¡¯re basically poster-girls made just for appearing in them. They¡¯re part of a relatively niche market, but they serve their purpose.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Although one of the things I like about them is that they¡¯re not really girls.¡±


    ¡°Monster-girls?¡± Masumi guessed.


    Yui smiled and shook her head. ¡°No, they¡¯re crossdressers.¡±


    Masumi¡¯s felt butterflies forming in his stomach as he took in the sight of Yui surrounded by posters of crossdressing. He shifted back into a properly seated position and bit his bottom lip.


    ¡°Um, why do you have a bunch of posters of them?¡±


    ¡°I enjoy them, because they¡¯re pretty.¡± Yui said. ¡°I¡¯ve liked them since before I started going to high school. I¡¯m not entirely sure why...I simply saw one one day, when I was allowed an orphanage allowance, and it was on sale, so I purchased it. They have these little cards with them that tell you about the characters, mine are tucked away somewhere, and I¡¯d read that a few times. I used to wonder what it would be like to have a friend who was like the boys in these posters.¡± She scratched her neck and shrugged. ¡°I used to think it was a silly idea, but...here you are.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Masumi nodded his head and looked at the wall above Yui¡¯s bed. There was another poster there, of a boy with flowing black locks clad in a long summer dress. He was enjoying his romp through a field of flowers. It was cute, Masumi could tell that, but something about it was unsettling his stomach. ¡°Do you, um, do you still collect them?¡±


    ¡°Not nearly as many now, no.¡± Yui admitted. ¡°I don¡¯t have the space for any more and I couldn¡¯t stand to take any of them down. And it¡¯s rare to find them on sale ¨C these ones are from discount boxes and things like that. I suppose I could afford a couple more if I kept some of my work money aside, and there weren¡¯t any emergency supplies for school, but...I think I¡¯d rather spend them on the things we do together.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± Masumi bobbed his head. ¡°Do you, um, do you have any more stuff like these?¡± He crawled around Yui so that he was at the edge of the bed and nodded at one of the posters. ¡°Y¡¯know, like, with crossdressing boys in them?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I do.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°Some of my books feature crossdressing boys, most of them fictional, although there are some non-fiction accounts about traditions of it around the world. Not a lot of it is interesting from a cuteness perspective, which disappointed a younger me very much.¡± She laughed as she leaned back. ¡°But it¡¯s interesting from a cultural perspective, I suppose. The best ones are the romances, and things like that.¡±


    ¡°How much of that kind of stuff is there?¡± Masumi asked with eyes wide. ¡°It¡¯s not the kind of thing that¡¯s that popular, is it?¡±


    ¡°No, not really. Most of it is modern ¨C from the last fifty years or so ¨C and I suppose I¡¯m lucky to have been born in the right time period to get all of this stuff.¡± Yui paused. ¡°I know that there are mangas that heavily feature it, but that would require a trip to Kyoto, or else using the school computers. And actually looking at it, well...the school has a filter on the internet.¡±


    ¡°A filter?¡± Masumi furrowed his brow, then blinked at Yui. ¡°You mean that there¡¯s a lot of...lewd mangas about boys who wear girl clothes?¡±


    ¡°Apparently.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°A lot of it is from the perspective of, well, yaoi. That¡¯s not the kind that I¡¯d be looking for, but it is one of the more popular kinds. And then there¡¯s the stuff about boys who enjoy crossdressing just for the, what did you say? Lewd?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Just for those aspects. I suppose I¡¯d want the ones that feature the kind of relationship we have. Where there¡¯s a cute boy who likes crossdressing and a girl who enjoys that sort of thing. I hope there is that sort of thing, when I can actually buy those sorts of things.¡± Yui shrugged.


    ¡°That sounds like it could be good, for you, to, um, read.¡± Masumi crossed his legs and let the silence hang for a second.


    ¡°...sorry, am I speaking too candidly?¡± Yui asked, and Masumi froze.


    ¡°I, um, maybe?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Yui sat upright. ¡°I apologize. I feel so comfortable with you that I suppose my mouth decided to run. I don¡¯t mean to upset you.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡± Masumi forced a smile. ¡°How, um. Have you known any other boys who do this kind of thing?¡±


    Yui shook her head. ¡°Just you.¡±


    ¡°Right, I guess it¡¯s not the kind of thing you even know about if you don¡¯t go looking for it...¡± Masumi stared at his hands in his laps and watched his fingers tap against one another. The butterflies in his stomach had only grown more ferocious and he was doing his best to distract himself from their murmuring. ¡°Is it, um, something you look for in boys, when you look at boys? If they¡¯d look good in a dress.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t, no. It¡¯s not something that dominates most of my thoughts.¡± Yui said. ¡°Sometimes it will happen, but when I look at boys normally I think...oh, that¡¯s a boy. And go on with my day. I assume that¡¯s what most people do.¡±


    Masumi giggled shakily. ¡°Yeah, that makes sense. So you, um, do you have a lot of lewd thoughts about this kind of thing?¡± He asked. ¡°If, um, you said that you were probably gonna buy those kinds of books when you could so that makes me think that maybe it¡¯s a thing that¡¯s going to happen.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure...¡± Yui scratched her neck as she looked at Masumi. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a lewd thing. Not a mostly lewd thing. It¡¯s nice to look at something so cute and think that you would like to cuddle with it.¡±


    ¡°But there are lewd parts, right?¡±


    ¡°I suppose there are...¡± Yui met Masumi¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not something I talk about with anyone. I assume you¡¯re the same.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah. That¡¯s not something I think anyone likes to talk about a lot...¡±


    ¡°So you understand how awkward it is.¡± Yui smiled earnestly. ¡°But...yes, I¡¯ve had thoughts like that. It¡¯s not something wrong, I hope.¡±


    ¡°No, um, that¡¯s, everyone does it.¡± Masumi said. ¡°You hear the things that people say in the locker room when getting changed and that¡¯s, um, so I hear a lot of that kind of thing, but from the side that¡¯s opposite to yours, I guess...¡±


    ¡°That happens in ours, too.¡± Yui smirked. ¡°I have no idea why it happens, but I suppose they enjoy it, and everyone¡¯s a little bit more excitable following exercise. Is it something you experience?¡±


    ¡°I, uh, is it...¡± Masumi cleared his throat. ¡°I...it¡¯s not all the time, and, like, I do it most nights out of the week, so I don¡¯t get, uh, excited about it a lot, but I do have those kinds of thoughts sometimes, but, like, I, uh...it¡¯s...embarrassing.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to talk about it.¡± Yui brushed her hand against Masumi¡¯s once more and he felt a tingle spread up his arm. ¡°If there is anything that you¡¯re entitled to your privacy regarding, it¡¯s that.¡±


    ¡°Right! Thank you.¡± Masumi offered her a smile and felt his cheeks turn bright pink. He returned the gesture by brushing his thumb against her hand. It was a nice feeling, but did nothing for the cacophony of worries bouncing around inside his skull.


    ¡°You look very cute when you blush.¡± Yui said, as she shifted a little bit closer to Masumi. He felt the mattress sink, moving him a little closer to the tall girl.


    ¡°Um, thank you.¡± Masumi bit his lip and turned his gaze up into hers.


    ¡°And when you bite your lips you just look even more adorable...¡±


    Masumi couldn¡¯t find the words to respond, so he just nodded. Yui was leaning in closer, their hands pressed more tightly against one another, and he could feel her breath scattering across his face just before their lips would touch.


    He threw himself off of the bed and scrambled back to his feet. Their hands lost their connection and Yui was behind him. He spun around t face her, and she was still sitting, staring at him as he breathed heavily.


    ¡°Masumi?¡± Yui asked, to break the silence that had just formed. ¡°Are you alright? I didn¡¯t mean to make you uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°I-I it¡¯s...you can¡¯t do that!¡± Masumi pointed a finger at Yui and shifted his weight from foot to foot. ¡°It¡¯s not okay, you can¡¯t just, just, try and...¡± His eyes flicked once more across the posters put up on all of Yui¡¯s walls, at the girl perched on the edge of her bed, then he reached for the door handle. He pulled it open and scampered down the hall. He could hear her voice behind him, but he wouldn¡¯t let himself listen.


    Her footsteps were coming up the hall as he threw himself into the small corridor at the front door, pulled his shoes on as quickly as he could manage, and ran away from the dormitories as fast as his legs could carry him. He couldn¡¯t see Yui, but he could feel her gaze on his back.

 Chapter Nineteen: Taking Stockings

    Masumi slumped into his front door, his lungs heaving and his mouth agape. His legs were aching like they never had before, but at least it was something to distract from the troubles building on his shoulders. It wasn¡¯t just the fact that Yui had done what she¡¯d done, it was how he¡¯d reacted, what that might hold for the future, and a hundred different voices that never agreed on anything, except for one.


    That it was all his fault.


    His parents were inside, he could hear music playing faintly through the door, and it wasn¡¯t quite their bedtime yet. He could go somewhere else and hope that they weren¡¯t there, but that wouldn¡¯t be enough. He wanted to go up to his bed, surround himself in his blankets, and hope that everything would go away with a little sleep. It had never worked before, but it was the kind of hope he had when nothing else seemed to be working out.


    He¡¯d just have to slip inside, go to his room, and mutter some excuse about having eaten if they challenged him on it. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but nothing was.


    Masumi slipped his key inside the lock and turned the handle with his trembling hand. He pushed himself through the crack he allowed himself, then closed it with a soft thunk. He hung his cap up by the door and slipped his shoes off, then crept towards the stairs as steadily as his legs could carry him.


    ¡°Masumi.¡± Fujiko¡¯s voice shook him from his stupor and he had only to glance to the right to see his mother standing in the doorway to the living room. Her arms were folded and her gaze set on him in a way that took him far back to his youth. ¡°Come in here; we need to talk.¡±


    ¡°Um, okay.¡± Masumi thought that she might turn away, walk inside herself, but he had no such luck. He could already feel his stomach twisting in on itself, the heavy weights in his heart as to what any of it could mean. He slunk to the door and his mother turned aside, letting him make his own way through. ¡°Is, uh, is something up?¡± He asked, his voice frail as he spotted his father sitting upright on the couch with several boxes on the table.


    ¡°You could say that, yes.¡± Fujiko waited for Masumi to sit on the seat on the opposite side of the table, and his mother sat beside his father. They were two sentinels with her eyes set on him, closer to the door than he was, with their tools already set out on the table. He kept his back as straight as he could, while the murmurs in his head grew to roars that made his heart pound and his palms sweat.


    The silence hung for a few moments and Masumi couldn¡¯t bear to look at his parents any more. His eyes fell to the table between them and he tapped his fingers on his knee until they were ready to talk. He couldn¡¯t have done it himself, because they¡¯d been waiting for him. They¡¯d laid out a trap and he¡¯d walked right into it.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t do the laundry today.¡± Fujiko pointed out, her voice lacking the stern playfulness that her chastising came with. There was some small hope that a lack of chores was all he was being punished for. ¡°So, I decided to do it when we got back from Kyoto. And I found some things that shouldn¡¯t have been there.¡±


    Masumi didn¡¯t need to see her pull one of the boxes over to her to know what was going to be inside. He could hear the whole world crashing around him as she unfolded the top of the box. One flap, then the other. Then her long fingers reaching inside, delicately grasping something, and then pulling it out. The garment unfolded itself as she held it beside her head.


    It was the dress Masumi had worn for Saturday¡¯s stream. His father¡¯s eyes were on him as his mother laid the dress out on the table, then pulled out a pair of thigh-high socks and laid them out beside the dress. Then she retrieved a pair of panties and put them down, too. She looked from them to Masumi¡¯s eyes and held his gaze.


    His mouth was dry. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing seemed to come out.


    ¡°I found these, and I thought that was unusual. Why would my son have women¡¯s clothing in the laundry? I know they¡¯re not mine, and I know they¡¯re not his only friend¡¯s, and I notice that they¡¯re the perfect size for him. Curious, I think, so I tel his father and he finds it just as confusing.¡± Fujiko explained, with her voice perfectly level. ¡°So, we decide to see if we might find any information in his bedroom. Just as any concerned parent might.¡±


    Masumi slumped back in his seat and felt hot tears building in his eyes.


    ¡°We check his work desk, and there¡¯s nothing there. We look at his gaming desk, and there¡¯s nothing there. And then we go to look at his wardrobe, and we find these.¡± Fujiko opened the next box, then tipped it on its side so that some of Masumi¡¯s girls¡¯ clothes spilled out onto the table. ¡°And these.¡± She tipped over the next box. ¡°And these.¡± She tipped over the first one. ¡°Plus, a makeup box. A very disorienting thing to find, don¡¯t you think, Masumi?¡±


    Masumi stayed silent.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°We¡¯re growing very concerned by this point. So we start to think of reasons why our son might be hoarding girl¡¯s clothing in the depths of his closet. We come up with all manner of ideas, then realized ¨C what does he spend most of his time doing? Streaming. We¡¯re growing very concerned now. We¡¯ve always tried to teach him about security on the internet, and if somebody¡¯s been making him put on girl¡¯s clothes, then he¡¯s not very safe at all.¡±


    ¡°We called our ISP.¡± Hideki added. Masumi startled silently as his dad¡¯s voice joined the gradual wear-down of his confidence. He¡¯d almost managed to forget he was there.


    ¡°There are some unusual things in his history, like makeup tutorials, fashion, similar. And we find out what his streaming name is, so we go to check what it is he¡¯s been doing. And we find that our son has been putting on girl¡¯s clothing for a very long time.¡± Fujiko folded her hands together on her lap. ¡°That he¡¯s been acting like a girl, doing his hair like a girl. How do you think that felt, Masumi?¡±


    Masumi didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°Answer your mother.¡± Hideki said.


    ¡°I-I...¡± Masumi bit his bottom lip and did his best to dab away his overflowing tears. ¡°I don¡¯t...I don¡¯t kn-know...¡±


    ¡°It was disappointing.¡± Fujiko said.


    ¡°Very bad.¡± Hideki added.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been raising you for so long and giving you all of the money you need to do what you¡¯re passionate about, we¡¯ve been good parents, we¡¯ve done our best to provide for you and support you in everything you do, Masumi. And then you go and spit in our faces.¡± There was venom in her voice, but Masumi was already too weak to fight back. ¡°Why would you do this? Is it because you hate us, Masumi?¡±


    ¡°N-No...¡± Masumi whimpered and wrapped his arms around himself. ¡°I-I...it¡¯s...I don¡¯t hate you...¡± He sniffled.


    ¡°No? And yet you¡¯ve gone and done this.¡± Fujiko picked up one of the skirts on the table and let it fall. ¡°You¡¯ve humiliated yourself live on the internet, doing your best to make sure as many people as possible see you do it, and you want us to believe that you¡¯re not doing it because you hate us? We raised you, Masumi! If anyone saw what you were doing, they¡¯d think you were a freak! And that we¡¯re freaks for raising you to act like that!¡±


    ¡°I...I just...like it...¡± Masumi exhaled, his voice so shaky he could barely form consonants.


    ¡°Nonsense.¡± Hideki shook his head once.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this.¡± Fujiko shook her head. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that it¡¯s not because you hate us, but because you like it?¡± She asked, her eyes narrowing upon Masumi¡¯s nod. ¡°Then you¡¯re a selfish little brat and a freak as well. What kind of boy goes around dressing like a girl? What kind of boy does something like that even when he knows how much it will hurt his parents?¡±


    Tears started to flow down Masumi¡¯s cheeks, his fingers dug into his skin, and he wished that he was anywhere but in that chair.


    ¡°So now we¡¯ve got to decide what to do about this, haven¡¯t we?¡± Fujiko glared at the boy. ¡°We¡¯d take you to a doctor if doing it wouldn¡¯t just draw more attention. So you¡¯re going to have to do what you should have done and the first place and gotten over whatever sickness makes you act like this!¡±


    Masumi bit deep enough to draw blood from his lower lip, and didn¡¯t dare to interrupt or contradict the bile that followed.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to give these away when we next go to Kyoto. You¡¯re going to stay with us the whole time. Your allowance is going to be cut until the end of the year. You¡¯re not allowed to stream any more - you¡¯re going to focus on your schoolwork and find something else to do with your spare time. Perhaps learning how to act like a regular boy. And if you even think about doing something like this again, we¡¯re going to find out, and we¡¯re going to find a boarding school where you won¡¯t even be able to keep your hair like that. Do you understand?¡±


    Masumi did his best to wipe away his tears, but they wouldn¡¯t stop flowing. He nodded.


    ¡°Do you understand, Masumi?¡± Hideki persisted.


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡± Masumi sobbed.


    ¡°Now go to your room.¡±


    Masumi hobbled out of his chair and made his way out of the room, up the stairs. He felt like he was being moved on strings, as he pulled himself slowly up the stairs and into his room. It didn¡¯t even feel like his any more ¨C any of the things he¡¯d wanted to keep private had been taken out. Any sense that he was safe there was gone. There was nothing in this house but parents who judged him, and nothing outside that would have made it worth it to wake up.


    He collapsed onto his bed in a heap and didn¡¯t even bother to pull his sheets up around him. He wasn¡¯t going to be able to do the thing he loved most, not with no money, not with all of his clothes, his makeup taken away. He¡¯d never learn how to talk to people, to stream and entertain them. He¡¯d end up alone, working in some salaryman job and being as miserable as the kind of people who¡¯d just taken his life away.


    Not that he could have blamed them. He was already doubting whether they were actually wrong about him, and no amount of rebellion could make those thoughts leave his head. There weren¡¯t any parents in Japan that would have disagreed with their decision, and barely any kids either.


    Everything he¡¯d been wanting for the last few months was gone. He didn¡¯t even have Yui any more. He¡¯d never see her name pop up on the stream again, to share a few hours of conversation. He¡¯d never be able to see her in person without being reminded of what happened between them, or when he¡¯d been able to stream, or the still-fresh moments when his parents tore that away from him.


    So Masumi cried. He cried until his throat was sore, his pillow was wet, and his body couldn¡¯t find the energy to stay awake.

 Chapter Twenty: Set To Loop

    When sunlight breached his windows, Masumi pulled himself out of his sheets and into his ofuro. His head was blank as he showered, brushing his teeth, went through all the motions of his usual routine and came down the stairs in his school uniform. He prepared his breakfast, sat down, ate half of it, and threw the rest away. He waited with the TV on until it was time to leave, then marched down the hall to his bike and the journey to Retsuko Academy.


    He rode straight to school without talking to much of anyone along the way. He stopped into a convenience store to pick up a bento box, then went back on his way. He parked his bike among the racks and kept his head down as he weaved his way through the corridors to his homeroom, then took his seat at the back and waited for the day to get on with itself. He stared down at his desk, tapping his fingers just to give them something to do until the teacher arrived.


    ¡°Sanada Masumi.¡± She called out.


    ¡°Present.¡±


    The rest of the classes passed through like a blur. He did what he was meant to do, copying down the notes, taking in the information, solving whatever problems were asked of him, and then it came time for lunch. He paused as he passed through his homeroom door, his gaze stretching down the corridor and through the endpoint of his journey, the cafeteria.


    Masumi found a quiet corner of the school, one of the corner corridors that nobody had much of a need for, and sat on the floor to eat his store-bought bento box. It was fine. He finished eating it, found somewhere to dispose of the box, and tossed it away. There was still time left, but he didn¡¯t know what to do with it, so he just waited until the seconds passed by and walked back to his homeroom.


    The class that followed was just like all of those in the morning, and then it came time for gym. He didn¡¯t know whether people were still whispering about him, or whether he was just blocking out the world well enough to keep them out of his head, but he got changed, did the minimum he could to get through, and then went back into the gym.


    Kiryu was there, doing his own thing with his friends, and seemed to pay as much attention to Masumi as he¡¯d wanted. The day was over and Masumi headed back home, spinning the pedals of the bike until he was back in the building that had become that much colder. He went to his room to finish his homework, then came downstairs to prepare his dinner and the rest of his lunches for the week. It wasn¡¯t anything special.


    Then he went back to his room, onto his bed, and found himself with nothing to occupy his thoughts. Any preparations he had to make were done, any work that needed to be finished was, and there was nobody but himself to keep him company. He stared at the wall opposite himself and tucked his legs under him. He could think of all of the things that he didn¡¯t want to do, all of the things that he¡¯d be punished for, but there wasn¡¯t even a crack to let the light in.


    Masumi closed his eyes and leaned against his wall, focused inwards, focused on anything that wasn¡¯t his life. He tried counting sheep, he tried remembering the paths he¡¯d taken through all of his games over the years, and by the end of it, he thought he¡¯d done a decent job of it. He opened his eyes and looked at the clock.


    Twenty minutes had passed.


    So he got back up and wandered outside of his house, then started walking. He could look at the houses no-doubt filled with families, the trees and grass and all the little animals that made their homes there, and when he got to the outskirts of town, he could look at the rolling green and the world that stretched far out across the horizon. They were pretty things, at least.


    Masumi got back home not long before he knew his parents would, and he knew even more that he didn¡¯t want to be awake when they got back. He had his bath, got into his clothes, then went back to bed and forced his eyes as tight as they would go. He heard when his mother checked in on his room and saw him sleeping. He heard them moving about for the rest of the night, until they went to bed, and then there was nothing. He didn¡¯t know when he went to sleep, but was thankful for its mercy.


    He went through the motions when dawn came back, brushed his teeth, found a corner to eat his lunch in, avoided anyone who might be able to recognize him. The only change came when he attended Dance Club. Yuna was there, but her attempts to get him talking were as successful as anyone could have hoped for. He gave her a few half-answers, then got on with the rest of the club. He was thankful that it didn¡¯t require much movement on his part, got changed back into his uniform then went home to spend the night alone again.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    The next few days followed the same pattern. There were small changes. Sometimes people tried to talk to him, and soon found themselves wishing they hadn¡¯t. Sometimes he found something to distract himself with, like a television show that filled some time or a happy memory that didn¡¯t immediately spoil. He spotted Yui a couple of times, the people that spent their time with her, and that always made his heart sink again. He¡¯d steeled himself against it, at least, but that wasn¡¯t much of a shield when it came down to how he was feeling.


    Masumi had just finished his Saturday classes when he climbed onto his bike, adjusted the gears, put his foot down on the pedal and...jerked forward to a stop. He pushed his foot down on the pedal, a frown creasing his pale brow, and didn¡¯t move an inch. He glanced back and found himself staring into the stony eyes of Akira. He glanced down, to see that she¡¯d just barely lifted up the back wheel of his bicycle.


    ¡°Mori...¡± Masumi said, with all the intensity of a light breeze. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m holding your bike up.¡± Akira said. ¡°Physically, anyway, that¡¯s what I¡¯m doing ¨C but I¡¯m also holding you up, in the figurative sense, ¡®cause I¡¯m stopping you from going. Want to guess why? Too late, spoilers, it¡¯s ¡®cause you¡¯re being a jerk and I want to know why.¡±


    ¡°I...I¡¯m just trying to go home.¡± Masumi couldn¡¯t bear to look at her any more and let his eyes fall down to the hand holding u the back of his bike. ¡°Please let go...¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Akira put her free hand on her hip. ¡°You¡¯re avoiding my friend and I want to know why you started being a jerk, ¡®cause it¡¯s making her feel bad and I¡¯m not going to let that sit for long. I know that some kind of crap went down between you two, and I know that she doesn¡¯t want to feel like that, and you¡¯re not giving her the chance to explain herself or anything that somebody who¡¯s not a jerk would do. So what¡¯s the deal, Sanada?¡±


    Masumi took a few steadying breaths. ¡°I...it¡¯s, it¡¯s...what¡¯s wrong with Yui?¡± He asked, as he swung his leg off of his bike and stood properly. Akira let go of the back and he walked to the nearest wall.


    ¡°She¡¯s sad, duh.¡± Akira watched Masumi walk, then placed herself between him and his bike. ¡°She said that she thinks she did something to upset you and make you uncomfortable or whatever, and then you ran off and didn¡¯t give her a chance to talk to you, and now she¡¯s been looking for you and she can¡¯t even do it, and you¡¯ve been ignoring her messages!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve not been looking...¡± Masumi muttered.


    ¡°Yeah, well, when you know that¡¯s what she¡¯s probably doing and you ignore that, then you¡¯re being an ass and you know it!¡± Akira pointed an accusatory finger at Masum¡¯s face.


    Masumi nodded slowly. ¡°How did you find me if she couldn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°I was stal-¡± Akira scratched her cheek. ¡°When I was investigating things, I learned your schedule, and now here I am!¡±


    ¡°If Yui wants to find me, why isn¡¯t she here?¡± Masumi asked. ¡°If she wanted to see me, she¡¯d do that, she wouldn¡¯t send you.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah, she didn¡¯t want me to come find you, but the second I see her crying I¡¯m allowed to ignore that kind of crap and solve this thing.¡± Akira nodded confidently. ¡°So, what¡¯s the deal, Sanada? You going to tell me or am I gonna have to nag you some more?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not...¡± Masumi breathed in slowly and his voice trembled. ¡°It¡¯s not Yui, it¡¯s everything, all the things. My parents found out about my streams and now I can¡¯t do that any more. I can¡¯t do anything that I wanted to do, and they took it all, and now I can¡¯t...¡± He clenched his fists tightly at his sides. ¡°Even if Yui hadn¡¯t been like she was, I¡¯d be doing this. ¡®Cause she wouldn¡¯t want to see me like it anyway, would she? She just wants to see me when I¡¯m all dressed up and now I¡¯m just...some boy.¡±


    ¡°...crap.¡± Akira said, her expression softening as she looked at Masumi. He¡¯d thought that admitting it might have helped with the ever-present dread, but it wasn¡¯t helping. His fingers shook and his shoulders started to hunch over, and before he knew it, he was crying again. He covered his face with his hands, tried to hide his eyes from Akira and bit his lips to silence his sobs. He didn¡¯t even know Akira and he was already crying in front of her, a pathetic me-


    Masumi froze up as he felt a pair of hands on him, then arms, and Akira¡¯s warmth against him. He could just make her out through the tears in his eyes. She was hugging him to her chest, and his body kept trembling, until he gave in and leaned into her hug. He cried as she patted his back and held him close, until his tears dried up. He stood there or a couple more seconds, and she slowly released him.


    ¡°Y-You hugged me...¡± Masumi said, as he wiped his tears on his sleeves and took in Akira.


    ¡°Yeah, well, you needed it.¡± Akira shrugged. ¡°Just count yourself lucky you were moping on the way here and got to the bikes slower than everyone else. I don¡¯t know all the crap that¡¯s going on with you and your parents, but it sounds like a bad deal and I did come here to help sort out whatever the problem is with you and Yui. And she seems to know more about this stuff than me, so here¡¯s what I¡¯m gonna do: I¡¯m gonna fix that problem, and then Yui can probably help you with yours. Got it?¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t...¡± Masumi¡¯s instinctive reaction was to tell Akira that there was no way she could fix the problems with him and Yui, or the problems with his parents, or anything that had happened in the last week. But then he looked at her confident pose, the determination in her voice¡­ ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Really? Cool. I was worried I was going to have to start punching some dudes when I got here, so that¡¯s good news for both of us.¡± Akira made a fist and flexed her fingers. ¡°So, let¡¯s go sort this out.¡± She said, as she climbed onto Masumi¡¯s bike. ¡°Get on the back. We¡¯re going for a ride.¡± And Masumi did.

 Chapter Twenty-One: Street Talk

    Masumi held tightly to Akira¡¯s surprisingly strong shoulders as she gave him a trip through town, in a style that was all too likely to send him flying off. He did his best to cling on, keep his feet firmly on the bike, and hope that he¡¯d get to hear what she had to say before he was sent flying into the pavement. If it was good for one thing, it was that he was too worried about staying alive to worry about how terrible it had become.


    ¡°And here we are!¡± Akira declared, as she slammed her fingers on the brakes and the bike skidded to a halt outside of the ice cream parlor. ¡°How¡¯s that for service? Didn¡¯t even take five minutes to get here.¡± She grinned as she pulled herself off of the bike and rested it against the wall.


    ¡°Y-Yeah, um.¡± Masumi clutched at his chest for a moment, just to check that his heart was still there, and looked over the building. ¡°Why are you so strong?¡±


    ¡°Baseball!¡± Akira mimicked swinging a bat at a ball. ¡°You¡¯ve got to stay in shape if you want to kick as much ass as I do. Anyway, let¡¯s grab some ice cream and we can get things rolling.¡± She waved Masumi to follow in her wake, and he shuffled after her. ¡°Sit there.¡± She pointed him to the nearest booth, and he sat down. His eyes were fixed on her back as she went up to the counter and came back with two bowls of ice cream, his covered with chocolate truffle sauce and hers the pale green of wasabi.


    ¡°This is what I had with Yui...¡± Masumi muttered, as he prodded at the ice cream with the soon and took a bite.


    ¡°That¡¯s the point!¡± Akira said, as she rested her spoon on the edge of the bowl. ¡°I¡¯ve got to remind you of all the good stuff so you¡¯ll stop focusing on all the crap that¡¯s going on in your head. That¡¯s your worst enemy here, you know, and that¡¯s what I¡¯m gonna knock out.¡±


    ¡°Um,¡± Masumi thought it his turn to speak, but only because Akira¡¯s mouth was suddenly filled with a huge chunk of ice cream. ¡°I don¡¯t think that ice cream will help. I know what¡¯s the problem and, um, it¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t have fun with Yui...¡±


    ¡°Then tell me what it is!¡± Akira said. ¡°¡¯Cause you just said you know what it is, and I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°W-Well, uh,¡± Masumi looked at the penetrating gaze of Akira and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s, she tried to kiss me.¡±


    ¡°And you didn¡¯t wanna be kissed?¡±


    ¡°Well...that¡¯s, it¡¯s not quite what, but I don¡¯t think in that moment it was the right thing to do.¡±


    ¡°And you ran away, right out of the building because of that?¡± Akira raised an eyebrow at the boy. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just say ¡®hey Yui, I don¡¯t want to kiss you right now, so let¡¯s take a rain check¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I was...it was uncomfortable for me.¡± Masumi furrowed his brow. ¡°I was really nervous and I felt like that was just going to make things worse.¡±


    ¡°So, it wasn¡¯t the only thing that was making you nervous and you ran away ¡®cause of something else. Right, see, that¡¯s something I can dig into! Tell me what upset you before she tried to kiss you. That¡¯s what she¡¯s upset about right now, because she can¡¯t figure it out. She thought things were going well and then, poof, off runs her boyfriend without so much as a goodbye.¡±


    Masumi breathed slowly as he took another bite of his meal. It was normally delicious and, if he let himself, he could enjoy it for a few seconds. But there was a bitterness to it, a distraction from how much he could have been enjoying the food.


    ¡°She...have you been to Yui¡¯s room?¡±


    ¡°Duh.¡±


    ¡°She has all of these posters over her walls and they¡¯re all of boys like me.¡± Masumi stared down at his bowl. ¡°And she¡¯s had them for a long time, she said, and that means that she¡¯s been thinking of boys like that for the same time, and she said that it¡¯s a sexual thing and not just a cute thing, because that¡¯s what she likes, and that means that she might not even like me because I¡¯m me, but because I¡¯m what she¡¯s looking for, and that¡¯s all she wants me for...¡±


    Akira licked her lips and tapped her spoon on her bowl .¡±Do you have anything y¡¯like that¡¯s sexual? Skintight leather, cat ears, armpits, that kinda thing?¡±


    Masumi blinked rapidly at Akira. ¡°Wh-What? No! I mean, I don¡¯t...think that I do...¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say you do.¡± Akira pointed a finger at Masumi. ¡°You like...snaggleteeth. That¡¯s not too weird, so we¡¯ll go with that. Then you meet this girl who has snaggleteeth and you really want to get at those snaggleteeth. They¡¯re the top tier of snaggleteeth, the kind that¡¯s gonna be featured in fetish magazines all over Japan. You picturing her/¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°Uh, no?¡±


    ¡°Well, do it. Now picture that she¡¯s a real pain in the ass. She talks crap about how you dress and she pushes you around, makes you do stuff for her, never pays for her meals when you go out and pinches you when you do something she doesn¡¯t like. That¡¯s a crappy friend. You wouldn¡¯t want to be her friend, would ya?¡±


    Masumi shook his head.


    ¡°Right! And that¡¯s not going to change just because she has snaggleteeth, I mean, at the least, you¡¯re going to try to spend as little time with her as possible, aren¡¯t you? You want to get in there, uh, lick the snaggleteeth? I don¡¯t know what you actually do if you have that, sorry. You¡¯ll do that, get out, and just do the bare basics to still get them ¨C if you don¡¯t cut things off completely. Right?¡±


    Masumi nodded slowly.


    ¡°Now, look at what Yui does. Yui spends as much of her time as she can with you. Sometimes she spends lunch with you when she can spend time with all those students that praise her all the time, and me, and I¡¯m great! When she¡¯s working, when she has a perfect excuse not to talk to you, she still watches your streams! And her Sundays might as well be called Masumi Days, because that¡¯s all she wants to do with them. You tell me that¡¯s how you act if you¡¯re only into somebody ¡®cause they¡¯re your fetish.¡±


    ¡°But...that¡¯s not fair.¡± Masumi said. He didn¡¯t want to argue, not in his heart, but his mind wouldn¡¯t accept such a simple answer. ¡°What if she¡¯s just a creep and does that to be a creep? She somehow found me streaming, and nobody watches me streaming, and I just happened to the one person she watched for a little while who turned out to also be her fetish? She could just be obsessed with crossdressing boys and now she¡¯s got me and she just wants to keep me forever to be her creep...target.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, if you want to worry about that, you can do it if you want.¡± Akira said, as she polished the last of her ice cream out of the bowl and pushed it away. ¡°But that¡¯s not how Yui talks about you. She talks about how you¡¯re sweet and kind and passionate about what you like. She doesn¡¯t talk about how great your butt is or how flat your chest is. Yeah, she says you¡¯re really cute, but that¡¯s ¡®cause you are. On top of all the other stuff. Just ¡®cause she appreciates that, doesn¡¯t mean she doesn¡¯t like the rest of you, a whole lot.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, bu-¡±


    ¡°Time¡¯s up for ice cream!¡± Akira declared, as she stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll give you some time to let that rock around in your head while we go to the next place. Come on!¡± She said, and Masumi hurried to finish the last of his ice cream and darted after her. He climbed onto the back of the bicycle, only slightly scowling because of the interruption, and clung tightly to her as she rode through town, out to the outskirts, then to the overlook and the bench that he¡¯d last met the pair of them.


    ¡°Why here?¡± Masumi asked Akira, as he shuffled over to the bench and looked out over the town. ¡°This isn¡¯t a good memory...¡±


    ¡°It is!¡± Akira declared, as she climbed onto the table and rested her feet on the seat. ¡°It¡¯s where you had the end of your first argument! You resolved it like real people who care about each other do, and it¡¯s a perfect example of her actually caring about you, not your dresses. Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°I-I guess?¡±


    ¡°The whole point of that argument was the fact that she was upset, ¡®cause you deleted all of the archives you spent together! If she just wanted to get to your butt, she wouldn¡¯t have been so upset. She¡¯d just try to stay in your good books and make you feel better about it. Or she¡¯d guilt you into making it up to her somehow. She wouldn¡¯t get angry and have me try to calm her down. She gives a crap about you because you¡¯re you, Masumi. Not because you look good in a dress.¡±


    Masumi didn¡¯t have an answer to that. The peace of the overlook was getting through to him, somehow. Perhaps it was the way the breeze ruffled his hair, or the feeling of detachment that came from being high over the rest of town, or just Akira¡¯s determination to solve things spreading to him.


    ¡°...okay.¡± Masumi eventually said. ¡°Yui¡¯s not a creep, because she cares about me. She doesn¡¯t just want me for her, um, fetish, because she spends so much time with me. So that means that I just ran away from her and hurt her for no reason, and I¡¯m a stupid idiot who can¡¯t control himself.¡±


    ¡°Kinda.¡± Akira said. ¡°But, whatever, because we can¡¯t all control ourselves all of the time. You can try to be kind and you won¡¯t always succeed, but y¡¯know what you do then? You make amends and then everyone¡¯s happy. Nobody¡¯s expecting you to be perfect all of the time, and Yui definitely doesn¡¯t. She just wants you to make you happy.¡±


    ¡°So, what do I do now?¡± Masumi turned around to face Akira.


    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know.¡± Akira said. ¡°I had a few more places to take you, didn¡¯t expect to work through all of this stuff so soon! I¡¯ve got mementos and a whole speech I didn¡¯t even get to give, but, saves me time, right?¡± She grinned at him. ¡°I¡¯ll tel you what ¨C I¡¯ll pick you up tomorrow and drop you off with Yui and then you¡¯ll have all of Sunday to get through the last bits of your problems.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be there?¡± Masumi asked.


    ¡°Nah. My job¡¯s done and I don¡¯t want to be there for personal couple stuff.¡± Akira shrugged. ¡°But I want to pick you up to make sure you¡¯re good for it. If your parents are being jerks like you say they are, you¡¯ll need the boost, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh...yeah.¡± Masumi¡¯s heart sank as he realized that there was still a whole night ahead of him before he¡¯d get to see Yui, and...even longer before things could get back to how they were. If they even could get back to that. ¡°I¡¯ll, um, be ready to meet you at around ten?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good for me.¡± Akira said. ¡°So, I¡¯ll drop you off now and then go tell Yui the good news.¡± She hopped off of the table and went towards the bike.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Masumi nodded and followed after her.


    ¡°This is a pretty sweet bike, by the way. Can I keep it? I did just fix your whole life.¡±


    ¡°Uh. No.¡±


    ¡°Worth a shot.¡± Akira shrugged. ¡°Next stop: Home.¡± Then she slammed her foot on the pedal, and sent the pair of them careening down the hill.

 Chapter Twenty-Two: Link to the Present

    The next morning, Masumi bright and early to prepare for the day ahead. His preparations quickly proved impossible, with all of his things locked away by his parents, and he found his time filled with nothing to do. He spent some of it preparing breakfast for himself, brushing his hair and treating it as best he could, and wearing whatever he felt most comfortable with. By the end, he was wearing things baggy enough to hide him completely...which he didn¡¯t necessarily dislike.


    He left a on the side, to let his parents know that he¡¯d gone outside, and felt some small satisfaction from the fact that they¡¯d have to make their own breakfast. They¡¯d done so for years before he got into cooking, but it was nice to have some way to disrupt their routine all the same. He waited a little way down the street, conscious of his upcoming meeting with Akira, and spent his time counting anything that went by, just to pass the time.


    Akira eventually arrived for him, and insisted on taking his bike for the trip. Her riding still rattled his teeth, but at least it got them there quickly enough. And there was soon revealed to be the school grounds. Akira parked near the back of the building, then hopped off and put her hands on her hips. ¡°She¡¯s in the pavilions, the ones the teachers use. I¡¯ll go now, so bye.¡± She gave him a little wave, and he waved back, but his eyes were entirely too set on his destination to worry about her passing footsteps.


    Yui was going to be around the corner, she was going to be sitting among the flowers, waiting for him, and he¡¯d have no more time to think about what he could say or what she could say or even if they were going to make things up to one another. It seemed like there was no time, all too suddenly. So he inhaled slowly, clenched his fists together, and forced himself to walk around the corner.


    And there she was. Yui was seat in the furthest pavilion, flanked by school walls and surrounded by the simple flowers that surrounded the wooden platform. She was wearing the coat, he noticed, the one that he¡¯d bought her, and she was reading a book that rested on her lap. It was easy to see her as a person, in those moments, rather than a creep he¡¯d shifted to in his memory or the giant he¡¯d built her up to beforehand.


    So Masumi made the long walk up to the pavilion and did his best not to jump when she heard his approach. Her eyes flicked up, he met them, and kept walking. She sat straight up, put her book to the side, and then he was before her.


    ¡°Hello, Masumi.¡± Yui said. Although she wasn¡¯t smiling, there was a warmth to her voice.


    ¡°Hi.¡± Masumi replied, then sat down on the bench. He didn¡¯t want to sit too close to her, but he didn¡¯t want to sit opposite, like rivals. So he did the thing that would do nothing and sat on the awkward inner corner.


    ¡°How are you?¡± Yui asked, as she clasped her hands together in her lap.


    ¡°I¡¯m, um. Not great.¡± Masumi admitted. He felt all of the things he¡¯d told Akira building on his tongue, just waiting to be unleashed on Yui. But he knew that she¡¯d probably been told already, that it wasn¡¯t the time. Most of all, he just wanted to bury the awkwardness.


    ¡°I heard that things weren¡¯t going well.¡± Yui said. ¡°I was sorry to hear it. I don¡¯t want to overbear you, so...if you want to say anything to me, please say it. I¡¯ll wait until you¡¯re finished and then we can talk about it.¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± Masumi bit his lip. ¡°I told a lot of it to Akira yesterday, the things about being a creep and obsessed and how that might be the kind of stuff you were doing, but she disagreed, and kinda convinced me that it wasn¡¯t, so I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s even the right stuff to bring up right now...¡±


    ¡°She did.¡± Yiu nodded. ¡°I have been thinking about it, as well. I can only say that I¡¯m sorry, Masumi. I think I know what happened, if you¡¯d like me to say?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°I believe that telling you so personal a thing, about my childhood, and how I grew up, must have unsettled you.¡± Yui explained. ¡°Even though it was a good thing, I know you haven¡¯t had many friends, and that people likely haven¡¯t said such things to you before. I think that you¡¯d have been nervous because of that. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°W-Well...¡± Masumi looked at Yui and nodded slowly. ¡°It sounds kinda pathetic when I say it, but...yeah. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever had something like that said to me and I didn¡¯t know what to say and I kind of wanted to move past it.¡±


    ¡°But it had already happened and that made the rest of our time there uncomfortable, for you.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°For me, I was just so happy to have had someone to share it with that I don¡¯t think I paid attention to how you felt about it. I know how you look when you¡¯re not comfortable or something, when it¡¯s awkward, and I know the difference between when it¡¯s something you¡¯re fine with being teased about and when you¡¯re genuinely anxious. But, I didn¡¯t notice, and instead I was candid when I should have been reserved, or at least more aware of you.¡±


    ¡°That, that sounds right.¡± Masumi nodded. Some part of him wished that he had more to offer than that. ¡°And then you tried to, um, tried to k-kiss me and that made all of it worse and I kinda panicked and just wanted to get away to get that stuff out of my head and then the rest of it came in and I thought that you were being creepy. And stuff.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Masumi.¡± Yui kept her hands on her lap and her legs crossed. ¡°I really am. I was too pleased with myself, let my emotions get away with me, and I tried to kiss you when you were vulnerable. I should have waited, or did more to check, instead of letting my feelings run away with me. You were perfectly justified in leaving.¡±


    Masumi felt his cheeks burning as he peered at Yui, at her earnest voice and her gentle posture. ¡°I, um, I didn¡¯t handle it well, though. When I was away, I could have talked to you or something, but, um, I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s hardly your fault, considering the other things you¡¯ve had to deal with.¡± Yui said. ¡°But it¡¯s true that I would have preferred it, so thank you.¡± She briefly bowed her head.


    Then there was nothing but the wind, as Masumi gave his thoughts time to stew and Yui waited. It stretched on for a few moments, until the boy finally found something to say.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be all sorry right from the start.¡± Masumi said. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be defensive or angrier or crying or something and then you¡¯ve just come up here and were reasonable and now I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± A soft laugh followed. ¡°I can be unreasonable, if you would prefer.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s, this is good. It¡¯s better, but, um, not what I expected when I came here.¡± Masumi said. ¡°Akira said that you were sad and all, but, yeah.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve had a lot of time to deal with sadness. I¡¯d rather focus on the good things and how I can keep them going.¡± Yui said. ¡°I don¡¯t know whether our relationship if something you want to keep going, after this. If you don¡¯t feel safe with me, or anything like that, please let me know now and¡­that, I probably will argue with, at least a little bit.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d be understandable.¡± Masumi shifted in his seat, moving to the part of the bench that was beside Yui rather than the awkward half-angle. ¡°But, um, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a thing that we can do. I mean, um, I like you still, and you¡¯re nice, and I know that I wish that what happened didn¡¯t happen so that what happened when I got home wasn¡¯t so bad.¡±


    ¡°I wish the same.¡± Yui said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I dislike more than having been a stupid idiot, as Akira would put it. I would very much like to be your girlfriend, even if it requires wearing a collar that you can shock me with if I get too kissy.¡± She smirked.


    ¡°You¡¯d look good in a collar.¡± Masumi said. ¡°You¡¯ve got the neck for it and your braid is already elegant and, um,¡± He paused. ¡°Sorry, right, um. If you can promise me that you¡¯ll try to pay more attention, and I promise that I¡¯ll let you know as soon as something is making me nervous, and that we¡¯ll try to handle it better when we break those promises, then I-I think that I would like you to be my girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°I promise.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°To both.¡±


    ¡°I promise too.¡± Masumi said, smiling back at Yui as some warmth filled the space that had been empty just a few minutes before. They gazed at one another and Yui leaned back.


    ¡°Now would be when I¡¯d kiss you, but I think I¡¯ve learned my lesson there.¡± Yui laughed.


    ¡°And we¡¯ve not got the shock collar yet.¡± Masumi giggled, and it sounded alien to him. Still, he didn¡¯t move away. ¡°But, um, there¡¯s still another problem that¡¯s gonna get in the way...¡±


    ¡°Your parents.¡±


    Masumi nodded.


    ¡°That is something we¡¯re going to have to deal with.¡± Yui said. ¡°I don¡¯t know them very well personally, but I think there¡¯s something we can do to get through to them. Ideally, we¡¯d be able to do something with reason and convincing them to let you do what you want.¡±


    ¡°Um, isn¡¯t that the only option?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Unless you¡¯d like to get the Yakuza involved.¡± Yui pointed out.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know any Yakuza!¡±


    ¡°Or do I?¡± Yui cocked an eyebrow at Masumi.


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Perhaps not. But I know that a certain Mr Chiba never uses the public baths...¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s in a wheelchair!¡±


    ¡°A wheelchair...or an instant getaway vehicle?¡± Yui mused aloud.


    ¡°A wheelchair.¡± Masumi prodded at Yui¡¯s arm. ¡°I thought you said you were going to stop teasing me!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember that, but if you say so.¡± Yui smiled at the blushing boy. ¡°But, yes, we¡¯ll have to convince your parents to let you keep streaming and dressing up. Have you tried anything?¡±


    Masumi sadly shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t spoken to them much since they told me I couldn¡¯t do it, I¡¯ve been going to sleep before they get back and I left before they woke up today. And they wouldn¡¯t let me talk when they were punishing me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s hardly fair.¡± Yui said. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to come up with a plan of attack, and you¡¯re going to need to tell me everything you know about them that might help convince them to our side.¡± She pulled herself to an upright position. ¡°Then, we can head over there today and gets things sorted out.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure it will be that easy?¡± Masumi leaned forward with Yui. ¡°They seem pretty set on it and I don¡¯t think they¡¯re just going to listen to another student...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that it will be easy. If it were easy, I¡¯d be able to stroll up there and do it right now. What we¡¯re doing is plotting,¡± There was a twinkle in Yui¡¯s eyes. ¡°The most difficult part of that is gathering information ¨C and we have the boy who knows the most about them, right here in this pavilion.¡±

 Chapter Twenty-Three: Face the Craven

    The Sanada House stood ahead of the pair, a great sentinel in the street that seemed to Masumi to be a dragon. But to his right was somebody who was willing to face it anyway, and the made her his Knight. The idea made him smile, but not more than the hand that squeezed his and the smirk that she shot his way.


    ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s talk to them.¡± Yui urged. Masumi nodded and shuffled ahead to the front door. He slipped in his key, turned it, took a deep breath, then pushed it open. He could hear some faint music playing in the living room, as he walked inside to take off his shoes. He turned to wave Yui in, but she was already beside him. She hesitated with pulling her coat off, then shrugged and hung it up by the door.


    They walked through to the living room, with Masumi just ahead of the tall girl. Fujiko and Hideki were there, his mother sitting on the chair with a book in her hand and her father on the floor with a puzzle cube in his. They both looked up at the new arrivals, with equal surprise in their eyes.


    ¡°H-Hi.¡± Masumi managed to stammer out, as Yui slipped by him and sat on the couch. ¡°Yui has come to visit.¡± He said, then hurried over to join her on the other seat on the couch. It always felt odd to look down on his father, but this time especially.


    ¡°Well, hello, Shiro.¡± Fujiko said, as the girl got comfortable on the couch. She gently put her book to the side. ¡°How are you?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, Mrs Sanada, I¡¯m not very good at all.¡± Yui sighed softly. ¡°I¡¯ve been very frustrated recently and nobody¡¯s been able to help me with the issue. I don¡¯t know many parents and I was wondering whether you two would be able to help me with this problem.¡± She smiled politely between the pair. Masumi could see her teeth.


    ¡°We¡¯d certainly be happy to help.¡± Fujiko nodded, as Hideki mused over his puzzle box for a moment, made one last move, then balanced it on a table. ¡°Would you like something to drink first?¡±


    ¡°No, thank you, Mrs Sanada.¡± Yui bowed her head to the woman. ¡°My problem is that my boyfriend has been forbidden to do what he loves by a pair of particularly foolish parents. Some might say cruelly, though I wouldn¡¯t dare say that to their faces. You see, he¡¯s an entertainer, and part of that involves dressing up like a girl.¡± The air in the room suddenly became a lot more dense, and Fujiko¡¯s gaze became fixed on the young woman.


    ¡°But they wouldn¡¯t listen to him, not for even a moment.¡± Yui shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s dreadful, when you think about it. What kind of parents would see their child being happy, making an effort for himself and his future, then go and forbid him from doing it because they¡¯re scared of how it reflects on them?¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Fujiko leaned forward in her chair and Masumi felt like his heart might sink. But something about having Yui beside him kept it afloat. ¡°So you¡¯ve come to our home to insult us, Shiro. That¡¯s what it sounds like to me.¡±


    ¡°And me.¡± Hideki nodded.


    ¡°No, you have done that quite well yourselves.¡± Yui crossed her legs where she sat. ¡°I put it to the two of you that what you¡¯ve decided for Masumi is wrong. It¡¯s wrong by moral, personal, and parenting standards. Let me see...one of the issues was that you were worried about how it would reflect on you, is it not?¡±


    ¡°This is none of your business.¡± Fujiko said. ¡°Masumi is our son and it is our job to decide what he is best for.¡±


    ¡°And you have decided that he is best for the kind of menial drudge work that nobody is happy doing.¡± Yui nodded. ¡°You would rather that he keep his head down and accomplish the bare basics of what¡¯s expected of a child in Japan. You were happy for him to become a streamer when all he was doing was playing games ¨C which was a good idea, and would have been one, if you hadn¡¯t stopped as soon as you saw something unusual and panicked.¡±


    ¡°It is not so-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not finished.¡± Yui said, firmly, and Fujiko¡¯s mouth hung agape. ¡°There is nothing so unusual about dressing up as Masumi does, and those that would raise concerns could easily be dismissed. What is Masumi doing, if not Onnagata for the modern age? Would you complain about somebody spearheading bringing traditional Japanese entertainment for today¡¯s youth? What about the maid cafes that feature similar boys, offshoots of our Host and Hostess Clubs? Would you say that those who participate in such things are insults to their parents?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Hideki shook his head.


    ¡°But that¡¯s not the same thing at all.¡± Fujiko said. ¡°Masumi is in no place to turn it into something like that. Perhaps eventually, he could, but not when he¡¯s just a boy.¡±


    ¡°The person in place to accomplish anything is the one who¡¯s willing to do it, Mrs Sanada. Japan was built on pride, and honor, and dedication, and you have shown none of that in your judgment of your own son. You are not proud of what he¡¯s done already, you do not approve of the dedication it took for him to last so long and master his craft, and you show absolutely no honor in your actions. You are sacrificing your son¡¯s future out of fear, and that is something nobody would approve of.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Fujiko pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Yui. ¡°Protecting our family¡¯s name is something everyone would approve of. That is what we were doing.¡±


    ¡°If that is what protecting your family¡¯s name is, then it should be Craven, not Sanada. Because that is exactly what what you¡¯ve done is ¨C cowardice. You saw something that worried you, instantly condemned it, and doomed Masumi to a miserable life. You might think that he could get by anyway. You might think that he¡¯ll be happier without doing it. You might think that you¡¯re sparing him from bullying, or failure, but that is not what you¡¯ve done.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve made him a mess.¡± Yui said. ¡°You made him cry. You made it so that he doesn¡¯t even enjoy cooking or dancing. For no reason, but your own damned pride. And what a waste that is, don¡¯t you think? Sixteen years of raising him, caring for him, and you¡¯re going to throw away the beautiful person you¡¯ve created thanks to a moment of cowardice. Not just your time, but the time of the teachers who¡¯ve taught him and the doctors who¡¯ve cared for him. One day, they¡¯d be able to see Masumi¡¯s success and be proud of it. With what you want, they would not even remember his name. Do you think that¡¯s fair to them?¡±


    Fujiko looked to Hideki, who looked to Masumi, then back to Yui. ¡°What does it matter what everyone else thinks? It¡¯s not right for a boy to do.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Yui asked, and let the question hang.


    ¡°Girls wear girls¡¯ clothes.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Boys shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s weird!¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Stop that!¡± Fujiko snapped at Yui.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stop it when you say something reasonable.¡± Yui said. ¡°But it¡¯s weird and I don¡¯t like it is not reasonable. There¡¯s no reason to that, it¡¯s just a gut instinct. The fact of the matter is that Masumi crossdressing does not hurt anyone ¨C it does not hurt his parents, it does not hurt his friends, and it does not hurt his teachers. I think I¡¯ve established that, haven¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Hideki nodded.


    ¡°Here¡¯s what it does do ¨C it gives him the confidence to interact with people, to get past his shyness and grow as a person. It helps him perform, establish a persona, and entertain people ¨C which he desperately wants to do. It helps him like his body more, when he puts on the makeup he wants to and the clothes that he wants to. It helps Masumi to feel like Masumi, instead of just another person, and most importantly of all, it makes him happy. Just that, just happy. That should be enough for any parent.¡±


    Fujiko and Hideki shared a long look and the music filled the room. Masumi was staring at Yui, who was watching his parents like they were a painting. He dared to hope, just for a few moments.


    ¡°What would your parents think?¡± Fujiko eventually said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. My parents are dead, Mrs Sanada.¡± Yui said, and the words struck both of his parents like a blade. ¡°They have been since I was a little girl. What I do know is that they missed out on the chance to raise me, to care for me, to be there when things got tough and help me grow into the kind of person they would be proud of. They were robbed of that chance, and I know that it hurts them as much as it hurts me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why what you¡¯re doing to Masumi makes me so very upset.¡± Yui said. ¡°You have the opportunity that my parents never did, and you¡¯re making the choice to throw it away like it means nothing. Not everyone is as lucky so lucky as you, Mr and Mrs Sanada. Not everyone gets the chance to make these choices. And it saddens me so much to see you making the wrong one.¡±


    Fujiko nodded slowly and looked to Hideki. ¡°I...think we may have been hasty in our decision.¡± She said, and Hideki nodded. ¡°It¡¯s...not fair that we should...well, regardless, Masumi, you can have your clothes back.¡± She said, and Masumi felt like his heart might flutter right out of his throat. ¡°You can start streaming again whenever you¡¯d like, have your allowance, the whole thing. Just make sure you do it safely and that will be enough for us.¡±


    ¡°R-Really?¡± Masumi spoke, the words coming out clumsily as he had not expected to speak so soon.


    ¡°Really.¡± Hideki said.


    The smile that spread across Masumi¡¯s face could have lit up the depths of the Earth. ¡°Thank you!¡± He said, as he wrapped his arms tightly around Yui and nuzzled into her neck. The other girl laughed and hugged him back, squeezing his slender body against hers until the overwhelming emotions had been squeezed out of the pair of them. The boy got to his feet, looked to both his parents, and bowed to them. ¡°And thank you. I-I¡¯m going to do my best.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...all we can ask for.¡± Fujiko said, her eyes having softened after she saw the hug that he and Yui shared. ¡°But there is one more thing that I¡¯m curious about. Yui, at the start, you mentioned that the boy you were worried about was your boyfriend. Is that the case?¡±


    Yui stood up as well, and their eyes met at equal heights. ¡°It is. I should warn you, I have a speech prepared for that, as well.¡±


    Hdeki chuckled and Fujiko rolled her eyes at the man. ¡°That won¡¯t be needed, but I like your forethought, I suppose. But please don¡¯t get up to any...funny business. You¡¯re far too young for that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Yui nodded.


    ¡°Uh, me too.¡± Masumi did the same.


    ¡°Good.¡± Fujiko nodded. ¡°The clothes are in our room, Masumi. I suppose that we¡¯ll get started on dinner, since you¡¯ll probably be busy?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah. I-I want to get changed into one of my outfits ¡®cause it¡¯s been too long and I¡¯m kinda nervous about it, so, um, yeah.¡± He bobbed his head. ¡°Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Off you go.¡±


    That was all the instruction they needed, and the pair hurried up the stairs as fast as their feet could take them.

 Epilogue

    ¡°...and then we do this bit here, and we¡¯re done!¡± Masumi beamed at his mother as he pulled back and put his makeup tools with the rest of them.


    ¡°Let me see.¡± Fujiko said, as she pulled up the mirror to look at herself. She was clad in a pale blue yukata, with white petals patterned across the cotton, and she could see her face reflected. It was perfectly pale, and made her skin look as flawless as it ever had. Her dark eyes shone out, while her inky black hair was held up and in place with nary a strand to spare. ¡°How did you get so good at this, Masumi?¡± She asked, then turned the mirror to include his face.


    Masumi had done his hair earlier, and was clad in a white yukata covered in an ornate red pattern and cinched in at the waist with a similarly-vibrant obi. His fluffy hair was mostly pinned up behind his head, but his fluffy bangs floated free and framed his similarly-ornate makeup. There was just a splash of red under his eyes and on his lips, painting them so they stood out even more against his pale skin.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing a lot.¡± Masumi shrugged, as he scooped his makeup box up. ¡°Every day, over and over, and then double that when Yui invited me to the festival.¡± He said, then shuffled to the side to pack the box away.


    ¡°You should consider becoming a cosmetician, between streams.¡± Fujiko said, as she stood up to admire herself in the full-length mirror across Masumi¡¯s bedroom. She ran her hands down her yukata, then up to her face, and gave a brief nod to herself.


    ¡°Oh, um, I don¡¯t know about that. I guess I¡¯d like to, but I¡¯m not that good yet.¡± Masumi leaned out and closed the door, robbing his mother of her mirror. ¡°D¡¯you really like it?¡±


    ¡°Of course I like it. I wouldn¡¯t say so if I didn¡¯t mean it.¡± Fujiko said. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go join your father now. Although, he might feel underdressed once he sees me.¡± She started to stride for the door and Masumi followed her, with one last look at his room to make sure that everything was in place.


    ¡°I did offer to do his styling, too.¡± Masumi pointed out as his mother headed for the stairs. ¡°But, you know father...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s going to surprise me.¡± Fujiko said, as they went down the stairs together, then turned to the living room where they saw Hideki. He was wearing his black and grey lined Yukata, with his freshly-polished glasses and neat her. ¡°We¡¯ll never be able to doubt your fondness for tradition, will, we Hideki?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Hideki shook his head. ¡°Can¡¯t miss the tenth year.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure nobody would mind, but...¡± Fujiko shook her head at her husband. ¡°How do I look?¡±


    ¡°Beautiful.¡± Hideki said, then his eyes flicked to Masumi. ¡°You too.¡±


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Masumi¡¯s cheeks were hurting with all the smiling he was doing, but he didn¡¯t mind in the slightest. ¡°D¡¯you think it¡¯ll be good enough for Yui? I mean, she said she¡¯d have Akira do her makeup, and I think I¡¯m actually more girly than her, but maybe that¡¯s just being judgmental?¡±


    ¡°Remind me.¡± Hideki said.


    ¡°She¡¯s the loud one who brought a baseball bat into the house.¡± Fujiko informed the man, as she sat down on the couch beside Hideki.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not that bad, and she didn¡¯t hit anything with it...¡± Masumi defended the girl, although he rather doubted Akira would have minded being called the loud one. He was distracted from his thoughts by a now-familiar rapping at the door. He squealed, cupped a hand over his mouth, then stared at Fujiko.


    ¡°Just go and answer it.¡± Fujiko said.


    ¡°Right!¡± Masumi nodded, then rushed over to the front door. His parents were out of sight, but he wouldn¡¯t have paid attention to them once the door was opened regardless. Yui was standing before him, in a resplendent black yukata with a golden dragon rampaging across it. The golden obi was hung low at her hips, and her signature braid had been pulled up. ¡°Y-Yui!¡± He breathed out, while his eyes roamed freely over her.


    ¡°Masumi.¡± Yui smiled at Masumi, and her eyes were eager to return the favor. ¡°Somehow, you look even more beautiful than before. Come here.¡± She smiled at him and leaned down, while he went on his tiptoes. Her fingers brushed the bottom of his jaw, cradling it as their lips met for a chaste kiss. His blood was pumping fast enough to outrun a bullet train. The tall girl smacked her lips. ¡°And you¡¯re strawberry-flavor, too.¡±


    Masumi giggled and blushed, though he didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were gonna kiss me right away...it was meant to be a surprise for later.¡±


    ¡°You can surprise me all over again later, then. I¡¯m told that there¡¯s a lot of kissing at the Summer festival and I wouldn¡¯t want to ignore tradition.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, definitely not! Not Shiro Yui.¡± Masumi snickered, as Yui stepped inside and he closed the door for her.


    ¡°You make it sound as though I¡¯m some sort of scoundrel.¡± Yui said, her voice dry like sand.


    ¡°I mean, look at your best friends...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking at one right now, and he¡¯s adorable.¡± Yui grinned at Masumi. ¡°So thank you, although I was hoping for fearsome, all things considered.¡± She gestured at the dragon coiled around her body.


    ¡°You look great!¡± Masumi nodded vigorously. ¡°I didn¡¯t really expect a dragon, but it suits you.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°I agree. And thank you again for giving me the money.¡± Yui said. ¡°Remember that you¡¯ll have to let me buy whatever you want at the festival.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that...¡± Masumi said, as he moved up to Yui¡¯s side to lead her through to the living room.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it and hear no more of it.¡± Yui said, with feigned hardness ¡°You¡¯ll just have to think of another way to make it up to me.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have no more of that talk, thank you.¡± Fujiko said, with much more realistic hardness, as the pair entered the room.


    ¡°Mr and Mrs Sanada, a pleasure, as always.¡± Yui bowed to the pair. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected you to still be here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they always go to the festival a little late.¡± Masumi explained, as Yui sat down on the chair, and he took his place on her lap. ¡°It gives the, uh, young people time to wear themselves out, mother says.¡±


    ¡°The plan loses its luster when they cluster under our roof.¡± Fujiko pointed out. ¡°But that¡¯s the idea, yes. Nice yukata, Yui.¡± She said, as she shifted in her seat in a way that clearly demonstrated her own to the girl.


    ¡°And so is yours.¡± Yui nodded, as Masumi leaned back against her and she wrapped her arms around his slender torso. ¡°And if I know Masumi how I think I do, that¡¯s his hand on your face, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°My...oh, yes.¡± Fujiko nodded. ¡°I decided to let him, eventually. Give the boy some practice.¡±


    ¡°She had me do it after she saw mine.¡± Masumi said aloud, to the mild amusement of his father. ¡°Something about not being outdone by her son, right, mother?¡±


    ¡°Children and their fantasies.¡± Fujiko clucked her tongue.


    ¡°When do you think we should leave, Masumi?¡± Yui asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Masumi said. ¡°I ordered a bike to ride while wearing kimonos and stuff, but it didn¡¯t arrive in time and we¡¯ll have to walk there...¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to leave soon, then.¡± Yui said. ¡°Are you going to wear your geta?¡±


    ¡°Not if we have to walk there.¡± Masumi shook his head. ¡°I can balance for a while, but if I have to rest so often we¡¯ll be late for sure. I¡¯ve got some zori that should match...¡±


    ¡°If you want to wear geta, you should be able to wear geta. I could carry you there.¡±


    Masumi giggled and shook his head. ¡°You can¡¯t carry me there in sandals!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to wear jikatabi. They¡¯re in my bag in the hall.¡± Yui nodded in its direction. ¡°And you¡¯ll look so cute, being carried there in my arms.¡±


    ¡°That would be nice...¡± Masumi bit his lip as he pictured the image of being carried to the festival by his gallant Yui.


    ¡°Or, since carrying shoes is an option anyone can use, you could carry your geta in your bag and walk there in regular shoes.¡± Fujiko pointed out to the pair, which reminded them that other people were present.


    ¡°Oh, um, yeah, I think I¡¯ll do that.¡± Masumi said, as he reluctantly slipped out of Yui¡¯s lap and was halfway up the stairs before he ran back down. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back!¡± He told Yui, who nodded and waved to him as he hurled himself back to his room. He soon emerged with the bag he¡¯d been planning to take with him, with his wooden sandals inside. He found Yui standing in the doorway to the living room, awaiting his return. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re going now, right.¡± He nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan.¡± Yui nodded, as she joined him by the shoe rack and swapped the ones there with her jikatabi, which she put on while Masumi found a pair of simple white shoes that wouldn¡¯t clash too much with his yukata.


    ¡°Do you have everything?¡± Fujiko called out, and Masumi nodded, before remembering that there was a wall between them.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got everything!¡± He yelled back.


    ¡°Phone, keys, wallet?¡±


    ¡°Yep, yep, and yep!¡± Masumi checked through his bag and peered up at Yui.


    ¡°We agreed that I¡¯d pay for everything.¡± Yui gently remined him.


    ¡°But, um, emergencies and stuff. And if Akira shows up you know she¡¯ll want to borrow money off of me for something or other...¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Yui smirked as she nodded. ¡°I can easily tell her to stop, if you want me to.¡±


    ¡°No, um, it¡¯s nice to have her have a reason to be nice to me.¡± Masumi said. ¡°I think if she didn¡¯t, she¡¯d talk like she does to you, and that¡¯s...not even Low-Life can compete with that.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re complying with a protection racket.¡± Yui laughed.


    ¡°No! Yes. But, um, she¡¯s funny, so it¡¯s nice to have her around even so.¡± He checked he had everything with him once more, then poke his head into the other room. ¡°Goodbye mother, father.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye Masumi, and you, Yui!¡± Fujiko said.


    ¡°Bye.¡± Hideki added.


    ¡°Goodbye Mr and Mrs Sanada!¡± Yui waved a hand into the room, then followed Masumi out into the street. The sun was already setting and night would soon claim them. She sighed pleasantly as they started to walk down the street, and reached down to hold Masumi¡¯s hand. He twined his fingers with her as they walked. ¡°It looks like tonight is going to be a good one.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s, um, the first festival I¡¯ve ever been to with someone.¡± Masumi admitted.


    ¡°I thought so.¡± Yui said. ¡°And it¡¯s the same for me. So we¡¯ll be new together.¡± She squeezed his hand warmly.


    ¡°What do you want to do first?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Yui said. ¡°Perhaps buying some kakigori to watch the fireworks with. Truth be told, I used to think they were wasteful. And I suppose I still do, considering the expense and the effort. But it will be nice to watch them with you.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s why they¡¯re there.¡± Masumi said. ¡°It¡¯s just fireworks, and just some pretty lights isn¡¯t really worth that much, but the experience you get with people...I think that¡¯s what makes it worth it, ¡®cause there are people who see them for the first time, or the first time with people they love, or just seeing them again. It¡¯s kinda amazing when you think of it like that.¡±


    Yui nodded appreciatively. ¡°That¡¯s a good way to look at it, Masumi. Now, promise me you won¡¯t embarrass me on the dance floor.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Masumi put a finger to his lips. ¡°Nope! It¡¯s payback time.¡±


    Yui gasped. ¡°What have I ever done to you?¡±


    ¡°You talked about making out in front of my parents!¡±


    ¡°That...is true.¡± Yui said. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll accept some mild embarrassment, but any more than that and I¡¯ll flash everyone your panties.¡±


    ¡°Y-You villain!¡± Masumi poked an accusatory finger at her arm, then laughed with her as they approached the colorful banners of the Summer Festival.