Lee found Kenta and Miyuki playing with the fish at the koi pond. The middle-aged man quietly sat beside his nephew, who was too busy watching the cat balance herself on a big rock at the pond's edge to notice that the professor had joined them. 

"For a cat with no tail, Miyuki is surprisingly good at balancing herself, don't you think?" Lee remarked after a minute or two of complete silence. "You'd think having no tail would disadvantage her, but she seems to have adapted to her physical difference." 

"Oh, good evening, Uncle Lee. What are you doing out so late?" 

"I could ask you the same question, Kenta. Aren't you supposed to be in bed already?" 

The boy laughed nervously before saying bedtime during the weekends should be more flexible since he wouldn't have to get up as early as on the weekdays. 

"Compelling argument, but that's not really why I asked," Lee said. "I wanted to know why you're out here all by yourself when usually Akira is close by. Don't tell me you fought with her?"

"That's exactly what happened. She seems angrier than she's ever been, though. I can sense that this time she's very, very cross with me. I think she hates me now for not being on her side about the whole drama with Ezekiel not being from an affluent family," Kenta sighed while twirling a stray strand of his hair, "and I'm afraid that there's nothing I can do to help her see that just because Aunt Chiharu thinks Ezekiel isn't a good match for her doesn't mean she has to force the poor guy to drastically change. Actually, I have a question for you. Why does Aunt Chiharu think the way she does? Since when did she care about someone else's financial status? I mean, it's not like Akira has no clue what she's getting into when she started dating Ezekiel." 

"I have a feeling that Akira thinks differences in their economic backgrounds are no big deal," Lee answered calmly, "but that's a very naive outlook. Different economic backgrounds might not matter much when a couple is still in the casual dating stage, but I can guarantee that when the relationship is entering a more serious stage the couple is going to have to navigate the dreaded money talk. If in the future Ezekiel and Akira are not on the same page when it comes to, say, budgeting and spending, then it could spell disaster, do you get me?" 

"It's not like Akira can't start learning how to budget," Kenta shrugged, "and it's not Ezekiel's fault that he was born in a household where he has to be careful with every penny he spends." 

"True, but what I'm getting at is that there's no telling how Akira would adjust to a different lifestyle if or when she and her partner decide to have a place of their own. Would she be happy living with someone working a blue-collar job when she was raised by parents with white-collar professions?" Lee asked. "That's basically what Chiharu is worried about. I believe her worries are also intensified by the fact that she's terminally ill. You have to forgive her, Kenta." 

"Forgive her?" 

"Yeah. Chiharu's only looking out for Akira because she's not sure who would take care of our daughter when she eventually passes away. She doesn't want Akira to end up living a difficult life. No parents want that for their children, ever. I hope you understand where she's coming from," Lee gently squeezed Kenta's shoulder, "and please don't think badly of her." 

"I won't ever think badly of her," Kenta smiled, "but I think the way she phrased her concerns isn't the best. She's being too harsh on Ezekiel and that causes Akira a great deal of stress. I'm very afraid for her, honestly. I'm so afraid this drama is gonna drive a wedge between them. I mean, I know couples get into squabbles every now and then, but not every couple with a rift between them is strong enough to bounce back from their squabbling." 

"Speaking from experience?" Lee winked at the teen, whose expression turned slightly grim. 

"M-hm!" Kenta nodded. "Johan and I are in a weird place. On the one hand, we are each other's boyfriends technically, but on the other hand, we can't afford to act like it. For the time being, I'm trying to be patient with him because I get how hard it can be to build up the courage to defy social norms, but what if one day my patience runs out? What if another fight is on the horizon?" 

"I'm sorry I don't have any advice for you," the older man said, "because I've never been in your position. However, I think you're right that should ask yourself if waiting for Johan to be ready to openly admit his identity is worth it. There's indeed a saying that good things happen to those who wait, but I'm not sure if that is also applicable to romance." 

"I wonder if he would do the same thing for me if I were the one with a homophobic dad." 

"You know him better than I do, Kenta. Does he seem to be the type to do so?"

"I don't know!" the boy buried his face in his hands. "But I won't hold it against him if, in this hypothetical scenario, he ditches me and go after someone else with no emotional baggage." 

"I see. Then, why don't you give yourself the same grace you'd give the hypothetical version of Johan? What stops you from ditching him and catching another fish in the sea?"

"I guess love isn't logical," the younger Kinoya said softly, "and maybe love has driven me crazy."

"You're not crazy!" Lee chuckled. "You're just a hopeless romantic, but I suppose you won't appreciate being called hopeless. Alright, then, you're a hopeful romantic." 

"Stop teasing me!" Kenta blushed. "Can't we talk about something else? About your work, for example? I reckon you still have professorship responsibilities even when not on campus?" 

"Eh, mostly paperwork and administrative duties. Boring things you won't care about." 

"Try me." 

"If you insist!" Lee grinned. "I have mainly been doing two separate stuff: reviewing the drafts of my graduate students' dissertations and assisting the admission committee in assessing the portfolio of the upcoming batches of undergraduate students." 

"Is there anyone whose application stands out? Anyone extraordinary?" 

"Why? Are you worried that your own portfolio isn't exceptional enough to compete with the rest of the incoming undergrads? Or are you trying to gauge what the admission committee is looking for?" Lee's eyes narrowed. "If it's the latter, then for fairness' sake I can't divulge it." 

"Just curious. The incoming students are gonna be my classmates if I do secure a seat at Blue Orchid, so is it so wrong to wonder about what kind of students they are?" 

"Well, there's this girl who wrote in her admission essay that she wants to study xenobiology because she wants to research if animals can feel psychological pain to the extent that humans do," Lee responded, "and it's fascinating because scientists know that animals do have emotions, but so far science has not solved the mystery of how animals process their emotions."

"And what's that girl gonna do once she cracks that mystery?" 

"She explained in the conclusion of her essay that if animals can, in fact, suffer from the same psychological issues humans suffer from, then the next step would be to develop drugs that can help the poor animals forget their pain, permanently."

"Is that even possible?" Kenta put a hand to his chin. "Forget possible, is it even safe to induce partial amnesia? Isn't it neurologically risky to attempt selective erasure of memories?"

"That certainly would be an ambitious project to undertake, yes!" Lee nodded. "However, it is an important idea to carry out because, if we succeed in developing the drugs, imagine how many animals who have suffered from animal cruelty can finally find relief from their trauma." 

"In theory, that does sound wonderful," Kenta said, "but so many things can go wrong."

"Yes, no experiment is fail-proof," the professor grimaced, "but that's why scientists have to be perseverant in going through decades of trials and errors. By the way, the girl I'm telling you about is confident that if this project is successful then the drugs can be further tested on humans. She said there's a chance this could be useful for those with PTSD, for instance." 

"But isn't human physiology very different compared to animal physiology?" 

"Yup. The drugs might need to be altered significantly before it is fit for human use." 

"I have a hypothetical scenario I want your opinion on," Kenta crossed his arms, "hypothetically speaking, what would happen if a human consumes a drug meant for animals?"

"That would depend on the dosage of the drug and the duration the person is taking the drug for," Lee speculated, "because how much and how long a drug is consumed can affect what side effects might arise out of improper drug usage. In general, abusing drugs would be a foolish thing to do, but you're smart enough to already figure it out." 

"And I guess it depends on how closely related to humans the animals the drugs are intended for are," Kenta continued hypothesizing, "so maybe a drug for a gorilla would be relatively harmless to be ingested by humans but a drug for a horse or a donkey would not be so harmless?" 

"Theoretically," Lee reminded his nephew, "but I'm surprised I don't bore you with discussions about animals. Wait, are you thinking that this project can be applied to plants too?"

"Oh, I haven't thought that deeply but now that you mentioned it I guess it's possible that the idea is applicable to plants!" Kenta's eyes sparkled with excitement. "I've always suspected that plants have feelings too, it's just that they're not able to express it in a way perceivable to us."

"Please promise me that you won't try to take drugs meant for plants." 

"Uncle Lee, you know I'm not that stupid."

"I was just kidding!" the professor let out a hearty laughter. "But there are people out there who would do all kinds of daredevil stuff just for the thrill of being in danger's zone. It's ridiculous." 

"Lucky for you, I'm not a daredevil. Anyway, it's getting cold here, let's head back inside." 

***

Kenta just finished changing into his pajama and was about to climb onto the bed when a disheveled and distraught-looking Akira barged in through the unlocked door. 

"I'm still mad at you," the girl said before her cousin could ask what was going on, "but you're the only person I know who can probably answer my question." 

"Is this urgent?" Kenta groaned. "I'd love to help but it's, like, half past midnight." 

"This would decide whether Ezie and I can win the Mathlympic or not, so yes it's urgent." 

"Alright, what's your question? I'm too sleepy to do trigonometric problems or any calculations but I can take a quick glance at whatever stump you and give you some hints." 

"It's nothing to do with numbers or formulas," Akira answered, "but everything to do with Johan. I've heard that he and his teammate are who we are competing against." 

"If your question is whether or not I can convince Johan to drop out of the Mathlympic, then I'm sorry to disappoint you but my answer is no. I can't do that to him, not even for your sake." 

"That's not what I want you to do, silly!" Akira smacked Kenta with a pillow. "I just want to know what Johan's weaknesses are. I need to know my rival's secrets to beat him." 

"So you want me to find out what aspects of Mathematics he struggles with?" 

"Exactly!" Akira snapped her fingers. "If he's bad at binomial theorem, for example, or cubic equations, or whatever, then Ezie and I are gonna focus on those areas in hopes that we can get good at what our opponent is terrible at. What do you think of my strategy?" 

"This doesn't feel right, Akira." 

"What doesn't?" 

"Do you realize that you're asking me to make my boyfriend lose a competition? And do you realize that I would hate myself if he loses not because you defeat him fairly but because you know something about him you're not supposed to know about?"

"So you want me to lose instead? You love him more than you love your own cousin?"

"I love you both!" Kenta shouted pleadingly. "And because I love you both I can't possibly bear the guilt of betraying either of you. You two are precious to me and I don't want to see the two most important people in my life get hurt just because I betray one of them." 

"Why are you so loyal to Johan, anyway?" Akira rolled her eyes. "How can you still be loyal to him when you know at any point he could get a fake girlfriend like he said he might? Shouldn't your loyalty be reserved for someone who actually deserves it?" 

"For the same reasons you're loyal to Ezekiel! You want to stay with him because you see something special in him and I want to stay with Johan precisely because of that too." 

"Don't lump Ezie together with that future cheater!" 

"What did you just call him?" Kenta's voice turned uncharacteristically sharp. 

"Future cheater. I call him exactly what he will become." 

"Take it back!" Kenta barked. "I know you're bitter about him being your rival, but don't call him something he is not. He hasn't been cheating on me so far, so take back your insult." 

"No." Akira stared at him with a piercing look that could cut through steel. "I'm not taking that back. You know that it's just a matter of time until he cheats on you. You're just too weak to admit it to yourself, but the sooner you admit it the better. He's not worth pining for." 

"This isn't like you at all, Akira!" Kenta cried. "Why are you so mean to me?" 

"Because you're mean to me too!" the girl yelled. "Don't you think it's so mean of you to refuse to help me when I need you more than I ever did?" 

Kenta fell silent. A triumphant smile bloomed on Akira's face and, without uttering another word, she marched out of the room before her cousin could challenge her logic. 

With Akira out of earshot, Kenta finally let the tears he was holding fall freely.