Chapter 69 Lunch Break

In front of Class 3-1's classroom, a certain fourth year lingered around the hallway whilst biting on her fingernails. There was a hint of anxiety on her expression as she paced back and forth, trying to muster up the courage to open the door to Class 3-1 and call out to someone.

Ever since Satoshi rejected her recommendation, she was appalled. She couldn't believe that someone as promising as Satoshi would reject an offer from the Eye-Goddess herself. Furthermore, he was keen on setting up his own agency which also meant that he wasn't interested in joining his parents' agency. With those things said, it was obvious that he was skipping a lot of steps when it comes to becoming a professional superhero. "Didn't he know that he should have an enormous amount of experience so he'd be able to set up his own agency? And also, he's just a teenager, shouldn't he think about joining an agency first?"

Because of that, Elimine decided to approach Satoshi a second time and ask him to join their agency. A day before, she already told Satoshi's parents about it, giving them a heads up before she asked him once again.

But now, she was unsure of how to time her approach, probably because Satoshi's classmates were inside the class and she didn't want to disturb them during their lunch break.

"Elimine-san? What are you doing here?" A girl suddenly spoke behind her, causing her to jump a few inches upwards in surprise. She momentarily froze as her legs weakened a little bit and all of those happened in just a split second. After catching herself and regaining her composure, she turned around, only to see that her cousin was there, Shiroi.

"Ah, Shiroi, by any chance," Elimine whispered while leaning a little towards Shiroi. "Is Satoshi inside?"

Shiroi couldn't tell whether her cousin was hiding something from her or not but she felt a tad bit jealous about it. She didn't show it on her expression though, because initially, she was just curious as to why Elimine was attempting a low profile when it was unnecessary.

"No, they were called over by the principal. Do you want me to relay something, big sis?" Shiroi asked.

"Ah, no, I'll just tell her later." She half-smiled before retreating. Just on her gait alone, it was obvious that she was nervous, and that whatever it is that she had to tell Satoshi, it's probably quite a sensitive topic.

With a tilt to her head, Shiroi wanted to figure out what her cousin was going to tell her childhood friend. But then again, she didn't have any idea so she just ignored it and got back to her classroom. There, Kuroe was waving at her enthusiastically, gesturing that she sit with her for lunch. "Was that Plume? Wow, you're really close, huh."

"She's my cousin," Shiroi responded, setting down her bento box so she and Kuroe could eat together.

"I see... must be nice." A sigh left Kuroe's lips before she ate another mouthful of rice. "The inter-high, huh, I wonder if we're going to win this year." She said to herself, wondering what she could've done better so she'd be chosen as a candidate. It would've been nice if she were chosen, or at least that's what she wished for back then. Right now, she's just passive about the topic with a hint of disappointment.

"Hopefully, Satoshi's pretty strong, you know," Shiroi told her a matter of factly while eating. Her tone implied that Satoshi had been quite formidable even then. Well, Kuroe doesn't really know anything about Satoshi's past since she could only read what someone's thinking at the moment. There were times when Satoshi thought about his past. Back then he didn't have any superpower so Kuroe was curious as to when he awakened such a powerful superpower.

"Shiroi, weird question but... what was Satoshi like back when you were kids? You're his childhood friend, right?" She asked out of the blue since she was genuinely curious herself. At least, if she heard it from Shiroi herself, then she'd be able to connect the pieces of the puzzle and have a vague idea as to what happened to Satoshi that made him the person he presently is.

The sudden question made Shiroi's cheeks redden as the edges of her lips curled upwards, forming into a smile that represented her nostalgia after reminiscing the past. In that instant, a flood of information about Satoshi's past was evident in her thoughts and Kuroe absorbed it like a sponge. It didn't take long before she knew Satoshi as Shiroi knew him.

"We... I don't really talk to him that much even back then when we were kids. He always talks in a stiff manner and sometimes his voice cracks as if he was nervous whenever he speaks. Even then, I've been saved by him countless times and he was always strong-willed. Even when he acts timidly at times, he doesn't fail to step up in appropriate times. It was only recently that he obtained, or rather, awakened his superpower. That awakening just caused him to become even stronger, and now he's become an unreachable individual, even for me."

Kuroe was just nodding all throughout Shiroi's monologue, all the while trying to suppress her lips from smiling. Ever since they met the two, she could tell that they get along really well, they just didn't know it because they brushed it off as being childhood friends. Kuroe knew otherwise.

"So... you like him, right?"

"Eh?!" Shiroi almost spat out the mouthful of rice she just put in her mouth. Fortunately, her impulse was to swallow it before the unthinkable transpired.

In return, Kuroe just laughed it off, shaking her hand in a gesture that she was just kidding. It was half-meant though since it was true. 'That Satoshi, I wonder what he's doing.' She asked herself, fully knowing that every candidate for the inter-high are undergoing a strategy meeting or something like that with the guidance of Principal Sai Tama.

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