Oh, just hang on a second, I am busy flowering some wisdom to my lovely captain bald
"And that's why you never start off with a dick pic", yes, wisdom indeed.
"Sounds like you are talking from experience, Kaz" Kibe replied, ungratefully, the son of-
"Stop cursing me in your head"
"Wait, how the fuck you tell I was?"
"That's the intuition one gets after getting bald"
"Hey, don't call yourself Bald"
"Wait, isn't it supposed to be the other way around"
He's right... maybe drinking 3 litres of lemonade was not a good idea. Well I need to cut this short.
"Well, I need to go now, the hospital won't come running at me would it."
"Yeah, well give my greetings to them"
Oh yeah, and before you start wondering, no Mami didn't stab Kuri that night, or I may not even be in the streets right now, instead I would have been on the run, with a charge of murder on my head, but that's not what's happening right now. I am just visiting my grams, who recently was admitted because of her carelessness, and Kuri was on his bed, turns out he caught a cold, god bless his soul.
And with that, I have reached the hospital already, well it was nice talking to you guys.
After asking my way around for a few minutes, I eventually found my way to the old hag's room. Standing in front of her door, I knocked a few times
"Which, degenerate soul is messing my gameplay!!!", ofc she was not resting, instead she was here gambling her soul away with gacha cus playin COD with Kibe was out of option right now.
"Give a guess, I'll give you a hint, since I am such a kind soul. I am your most valuable thing in this world."
"The Shop?, Ohhhh, I get it, it's my favourite daughter in law" I could practically hear her grin. 'I am not playing this game anymore', thinking that I opened the door, and revealed myself in like a grand surprise
"Oh, it's you"
"It's me, indeed"
"So you finally decide to show yourself up, huh"
"Yeah all it took was for you was to get hospitalised, because you ate something raw"
"Sushi's not raw you moron, and what's with the getup, you look homeless"
"...Isn't it a grandma's job to compliment your looks, plus stop living in a delusion, the sushi you eat is raw"
"Well, one can only lie so much, I already lied so much to your mom about my son you know. She still thinks, he was the one who made the new recipie"
Oh, new lore... I am getting distracted
"Wait grandma, before I forget, look I bought you some homemade marble cake, I made it specially for you since I know just how much you despise hospital food."
"...You made this? You learned how to cook. HA I take all my words back, come here my favourite grandson"
"I am your only grandson, grams. Wait, I want to talk to you about something serious", I said with a serious expression which made her look at me attentively.
"Is anything wrong Kazuya?"
"Nothings really wrong grandma, it's just I was actually dating this girl a month before, but I was dissatisfied with her attitude towards me, so I broke up with her, and now I need some time to think about my relationship"
"Listen Kazuya, I hid this truth from you, but seeing you for these past few days, I can see you truly try to improve, and let me tell you even this cake you made is a proof that you are improving and so I now decide to finally tell you this."
"What is it grandma?"
"Seeing you grow up in front of me from a kid to a teenager, I saw you as a reckless kid, who was too impulsive and naive for this world, this is the sole reason, I wanted you to bring a girlfriend for yourself. But now looking at you, I am certain, you don't need any girl's help to fix yourself, because there is nothing to fix, the path you are going in now, I know that whatever you do, you'll be happy in this is all I wish for."
....
"So take your time Kazuya, and don't ever feel pressured about something like bringing great grand kids to me or something, it was already a hassle to raise you and your father, I ain't doin-"
I interrupt her by doing the manliest thing one can ever do. Embrace her. I didn't cry, because there was no need to. I just wanted to thank her for her words. I did that by showcasing myself. And if there's one thing I knew from my past life, then that you are never too old to want an embrace from your grandma.
After sometime, I finally left her embrace, we didn't talk about it, and had a silent agreement, this would stay between us.
"Oh, who is this young man, you are keeping from us Nagomi-chan" a voice came from the door, when I turned around, I saw Mrs. reliable Sayuri Ichinose.
I still clearly remember, that from all the people, I read in the manga, the one I felt would always stay true to her character was her, and I was right. Her death was something that actually hit.
"Oh Sayuri-chan, meet my grandson Kazuya"
"Nice to meet you Sayuri-san", I said while I went to mover her closer to grams.
"Call her by 'Ichinose-san' you moron"
"It's fine Nagomi, and thank you for carrying me to my friend", I only responded with a smile.
"Ok, I'll let you talk to your friend yourself, it's my que already" turning to leave, when suddenly-
"Wait up, an elder person has come to solely meet you, and you are just running away, I didn't raise an ungrateful brat"
I just turned around without sound, cause I knew, arguing with her was not worth it.
"Kazuya-kun, now that you are here, would you mind feed us"
"Yes, I do"
"Kazuya!!"
"No grandma, no whatever what, I am not gonna do it, I am not gonna feed you two with my hands and that is final" I said speaking like I gave the final verdict like a final boss.
Ten Minutes Later
"Hey Grandma, I heard you were here, I bought you your favouri-, what are you doing here"
I sighed, "Turns out, I was not the final boss"
"Oh, you two know each other?" both of them asked each other
"We are from the same Uni/ We are neighbors" We both said at the same time, then she looked at me in anger at revealing that, while I just looked away because I knew,
I Fucked Up
"What, you live in the same place", they both said with glee
"We are not living together grandma, we only have the same apartment complex" Chizuru said, to which I repeatedly and said, "Chizuru is speaking the truth, as I said NEIGHBOURS"
"You are already on first name basis" they both once again said with glee
"Why did you say MY name?"
"If I would call you Ichinose, then there would be confusion, or would you have me call your grandma by her name"
"Of course not"
"Then why are you overreacting"
"I ain't overreacting" , we would have both kept arguing, when suddenly
"They are so cute together, aren't they Nagomi"
"I agree, lets have them marry, then we can be sisters"
'...she just said that I can take my time, and now with this bullshit, I swear this old hag's age is catching up to her, this shows just how bad gacha is for you', I thought while nodding.
"Well, now that you two have eaten your cake, I am finally free to go, goodbye, and goodluck Chizuru", I said and left without any remorse, and regret, while Chizuru was looking at me in betrayal.
But I didn't turn back cause I was a firm believer of the survivor mentality.
The Next Day: 5:00 AM
I woke up early, like I had been doing for past one month, following my routine like a treasured chest.
First getting up, freshning up, eating half an apple, banana or some dates. Then going for a warm up jogging, sprinting and some stretches for a total of one hour, enough for some sweating and fully ready for the gym, then in gym follow the routine the gym trainer had given to us.
He was a nice and considerate guy, like how most consistent gym goers really were. Today is the dreaded leg day, which means my legs are going to burn like hell today.
Yet, I did the exercises without question, and whining because grown ups don't whine about fitness. After doing some reps, and the additional strength training exercise, I grabbed the towel to wipe my sweat when suddenly-
"Hey Kazuya-kun!", I looked over to see Umi coming over to greet me.
Yes, the Umi, a character I felt was quite annoying to look at in the manga because his sole purpose there was to be a rival, but right now as a real person, the guy was pretty chill. He was a bit oblivious sometimes, sometimes he doesn't know how to be empathetic, a trait that was so much in him, that I would've thought of him as autistic, if I didn't know better. But overall the guy was decent.
After all, everyone has there flaws, right? It's not about having them, but letting them judge how you act, that makes you good or bad. Of course, things were not this simple most of the time, but it was a good way to get a grasp on one's character.
"Umi, how you doin?"
"Not that good, how do you deal with the leg day, I never really see you complaining about it"
"I just endure it, knowing I would be awarded for my efforts, plus a tip, having an ice bath for two minutes, then staying on normal air, really relieves one's strained body"
"Really!", He exclaimed, his eyes litting up
"Yeah, I do it every night before having my dinner, It's good for keeping me motivated for the next day too"
"Well, thanks for the tip, I would tell you how it worked, after trying it out... actually I have something else to talk to you about as well"
"Well, speak up!", getting straight to the point
Hearing my words, he got past the hesitation, "You see, there's this girl I've been meeting up recently, and I think I like her but I am not sure, so I am hesitant of asking her out, because if she really is not the one for me, then I would just be wasting both of our time and effort, which I don't wanna do. I came to you, because you have already been in a relationship, as you told me, plus I would've gone to other friends of mine for advice, but thought your thoughts might me more reliable"
'...I didn't expect the guy to open up like that, plus I wasn't even aware that he sees me in such a good light, wait... is that girl he talking about chizuru, well if it is then it would be quite rough for the guy honestly, since she clearly didn't have her act together and is not someone you would want as your partner'
"Hmm, are you two close, and is the girl committed to anyone from your knowledge"
"I can say with certainty that she isn't seeing anyone, and I can also say that we are quite close", He said with full confidence
"How can you be so sure", I asked quite surprised, because majority always have second thought about this
"Except me, she doesn't interact with guys much in general, actually she's a bit of an introvert"
'Ok, so she's definitely not Chizuru, and if she's introverted, but still close to him, then it might be that she has feelings for him, but is hesitant because she doesn't want to mess up the there friendship. But its not certain, I mean she could also just see him as a friend only, and if that's the case and he asks her out, then it could backfire, because she might not deny him out of fear of losing her good friend, but they would definitely not have that sync that is necessary for a relationship to sustain, which could result in some harsh and possibly and unmendable gaps between them.'
Thinking this, I told Umi about my thoughts except for the last part, as it would not be wise to trouble him in this situation, what he needed was confidence to act, so after telling him everything, I said to ask her out, but also clarify that it was not a necessity and didn't need to force herself.
Hearing my advice, Umi's face brightened up, "Thank you for help Kazuya, really , with your words I now feel I know what to do, if she agrees to my request, then I would try my best, but if she doesn't we would still remain friends"
So after, I gave him my good luck, we finally parted ways, but not before asking him to tell the outcome to which agreed.
Now, after coming to my apartment, I was making my protein shake, and some chicken rice for evening when I got a text from someone... come on who am I kidding, we all know who it is
#Mami: Hey... you free today
#Kazuya: Oh, sorry but today I have my daily spiritual activation cycle.
#Mami: WHAT???
With that I put my phone away, but didn't ignore her message, I did something worse.
Put them on read!