"Uh...." I said.

"You kinda let your evil side take over, young Yamada..." Aqua-sensei said while adjusting her glasses.

"Gomen..."

I sat in seiza, and I was already looking down while sweat dropping a lot.

"Yamada, you probably didn't need to go a bit crazy or something, right..?" Sora giggled nervously while scratching her cheek.

"Um....I guess...?" I said while looking away.

"Well, can't say I blame it though." Yamada-sensei sighed.

He cracked his neck and stretched his arms.

"I mean, sometimes we do get in our feelings when we get too into a fight." He said.

I frowned and clenched my fists.

"I mean, it came from our high school experience..." He said while crossing his arms and looking upwards.

Back in 2nd year high school~

Yamada's POV

*RING*

"Hrrngh...!"

Finally, Filipino class is done!

"Fuck me, that's really grueling!"

I mean, I have to make a goddamn summary of the Ibong Adarna epic? I may have understood the whole story, but it's a pain...!

"Welp, time to go to the canteen now."

I got out of the classroom with 30 pesos, and I went down from the building.

"Now that I think about, I beat up a gang yesterday in the streets that had our uniforms and he said that he's bringing in more of his friends 'next time'...am I gonna get some bystanders ahead...?"

I hope not. Just leave me the fuck alone, you fucking pee-noise. I love the country, not your toxic attitudes.

"Hmm...a couple of guys at the side, huh...?"

I saw them staring at me with their glares.

"This is quite yabai. They're aiming for me, aren't they?"

I looked at the ones in the back. They look exactly like the ones I beat up yesterday.

"They haven't learnt their lesson, huh...?"

"Bai, are you the one that messed with my friend...?" A guy said while standing up and walking towards me.

Bai = a way to address a person that's about the same age as you (casually)

I saw the rest standing up, and I sighed.

"Yes. So what, huh?" I looked down at him.

He raised his hands, and pushed my chest hard, making me take a step back.

"So you think you're better than us just cause you speak ching chong lang long?"

"Hey, I speak Japanese, not Chinese, you fucking racist." 

I clenched my fist. My blood roiled, and I wanted to see blood on their faces with a few teeth knocked out that their dentist will be having a few problems with. Welp, same shit, different day.

"You think you're the smartest and the strongest? Well, who's gonna save you now? Yadamak?"

They looked at each other and laughed while cracking knuckles.

"Seems these guys understand some bisaya, huh?"

Damak = Dirty, untidy. It's a Bisaya (Cebuano) word

"And you guys? Your mothers are disappointed at you, and your fathers do nothing but drink alcohol." I snickered.

I can see pointed eyebrows, their top teeth biting their bottom lip, and their fists clenching, which are clearly shivering.

I cracked my neck, and started skipping like the martial artists.

"Okay then, you wanna fight? Come!" I said.

8 guys in total...Meh, easy peasy.

"Come here!" Guy 1 said.

I saw a fist incoming to my face. I grabbed the wrist, raised it up, grabbed both his arms, and literally flung him to some of his other mates.

I also saw an incoming fist from Guy 2, which I would've received to the face if I wasn't so quick with my hands. Luckily, I just caught it in the nick of time. I twisted his arm, forcing him to turn his back to me, released it, and did a back Taekwondo kick.

"GAH!" 

"OI! YAMADA IS BACK AT IT AGAIN!" I heard somebody shout.

"Eh? Hey, go live on Facebook!"

"Oh damn. Bai! Go get popcorn!"

Ah, fuck. I knew this would happen. Better end this quick. I still got a grudge against these guys, and I do want to see them limping.

I saw Guy 4 trying to stand up , but I did an axe kick, and let my heel chop his head. 

His face planted on the ground while he grunted a bit.

I saw Guy 3 and 5 trying to stand up, so I kicked Guy 3 with the tip of my right shoe to his nose, put my foot back into position, and side kicked Guy 5 with my right foot sword

"3 more."

I looked at the other 3 who were already standing.

"What? I thought you're tough? Mga bakla! Luslos! (You f#gs! Useless!)"

"PISTE-BOYSHIT KA! (MOTHERF-FUCK YOU!)" Guy 6 said.

He tried to raise his fist, but I feinted by doing a quick running movement, making him catch his left foot on his right, and just when he was going to fall on the ground, I uppercutted his jaw, feeling the hardness of it from my knuckles, and I can hear his teeth just clack each other audibly. Don't feel bad though. 

"Tell your dentist I did that shit to you, boi. You're gonna need prosthetics." I grinned.

I looked at Guy 7 and 8, and they already put their hands down in an uncertain way. Any moment right now, they could run if they want to.

"COME HERE!" I smiled widely.

"A-AH!! RUN, BAI!" Guy 7 said.

"OH NO, YOU'RE NOT!"

I ran as fast as I could while making sure to keep my momentum fast, and I lunged at Guy 8.

"Hahaha. HAHAHA!"

I turned him to his back, and I started punching his face. It's funny. At the start of the fight, he looked so tough and full of himself that he thought he was stronger than God himself. Now, he's just like a sissy that goes exactly like this:

4:33 in the video

https://youtu.be/OFQQALduhzA

"HAHAHA! FUCKING WEAK ASS SHIT! AHAHAHAHA!"

"Hey! Shirazaki Yamada!"

I took a deep breathe, and kept my fists still in the air while biting my bottom lip and tilted my head quickly.

I sighed, and waited for a few seconds before I stood up and dusted off my shirt.

"Shirazaki Yamada! The guidance counselor-"

"Yeah 3x, I get it. That stupid old guy wants me in the office. I'll do it myself!" 

Present~

"Well, enough flashbacks of the past, young Yamada." 

I looked up a bit, and saw a hand sticking out.

"We got one more thing to do."

"E-Eh?"

I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me towards him, making me stand up.

"Right now, everybody needs a ring."

I blinked twice.

"Damn, welp, there might be duplicates of the rings, but whatever. Should we go ham on the rings?"

He nodded.

"Everybody stay here for a bit. We'll be back in a jiffy." Yamada-sensei said.

He opened a portal to the "sleeping room".

"Quickly. They'll be needing the rings."

I nodded.

We stepped in, and he closed the portal, leaving the two of us in this virtual space.

The "sleeping room" was like those virtual rooms where there are pink neon lights that forms cubes around while it's mostly black in the inside, and there's also a couple stars around.

"Now...We need to quickly need to materialize some rings."

He showed some sort of floating whiteboard, and the list of gems according to their color, and what gems fall under that category.

Purple, yellow, orange, red, blue, green, white, black, and other colors.

"I'll do the 0th-5th gen. You'll do the rest." He said.

I nodded.

"This'll take a long time, but..."

I don't care. Everybody needs something to boost themselves.

"Ready, young Yamada?"

"Always ready."

"Let's materialize....now!"

After materializing the rings~

"Hey guys..." I sweated a bit.

"T-That's a lot of rings..." They sweat dropped.

"Well, deal with it, everybody. You need to have these rings." Yamada-sensei said.

I looked back, and saw the portal closing, leaving the "sleeping room" behind.

"Young Yamada."

"Nn."

I put the plastic bag down, and took a deep breathe.

"Everybody, raise the hand to your front for your rings."

Everybody rose their hands, but a huge majority of them were righties.

I then got the rings, and grouped it by 5. I started with the 0th gen, then the other gens going from there. Not all though, since there are a couple of members who already have rings.

After reaching the last, which are the Holostars, I told them: 

"Lower your hands now."

They did so, and I sighed while slouching a bit.

I tethered myself to Yamada-sensei and sucked his LF to fill myself up again.

"Now, I guess we all can go home after we take a bath, however..." Yamada-sensei said.

I looked at Yamada-sensei, and he looked at me right in the eyes.

"You got one more thing to do."

"E-Eh...? What is it?"

Again? Can't I have a rest from the training? I want to ready myself for the huge fight.

"Well, I'll tell you after you get your bath and massage." He chuckled.

"Eh....?"

Sept 28, 2020 3:10 PM

"*sigh*...Well, I got no choice."

The wind keeps hitting the side of my face while I'm closing my eyes, trying to ready myself for the work I'm about to involve myself into. 

I mean, I gotta ask some acquaintances to help the Hololivers to ensure more safety, and also to keep themselves safe too, huh...?

"Well, he did tell me he'll have some clones to cover for their streams."

1st on the list: Hoshikawa Sara.

"Hmm...I need to access Matsuri's memories first."

I started accessing Matsuri's memories, and find that one memory where she remembers Hoshikawa's place.

"Not that....not that....oh damn, Matsuri was very gay at that time, huh? Well, she's my girlfriend now...masturbation memories....ah, there it is!"

The memory of Hoshikawa's apartment. 

The memory first played where it was a hot Saturday, and traffic was as loud as it was any other day.

"Huh....so this is Hoshikawa's place, right...?" Matsuri said.

She looked up at an apartment that was about 5 stories tall. It had white walls and the windows facing out. 

"Well, time to go in..." Matsuri said.

She came in, pushing the glass door open, and entering the building.

"Welcome, ma'am!" The landlady said.

"H-Hello! Ano....do you know somebody here with the name 'Hoshikawa Sara'?"

"Hmm? Hoshikawa Sara...? Oh, she's in room 48."

"A-Arigatou-gozaimasu!"

Matsuri looked at her left, and saw the stairs. She started climbing the stairs while holding the wooden railings.

After about a few floors up, she finally saw something along the line of 4.

"Ah, found it!"

She found the exact number "45".

"Dewa..."

She went to her right, and entered the hallway.

After looking left and right, she found room 48 to her right.

"Ah! Found it!"

She went right in front of the door while smiling and fidgeting with her foot. One of her crushes invited her. Of course she'd be more than excited to go into Hoshikawa's room for the first time.

"H-Hoshikawa...?"

"...Ah, Matsuri-chan! Matte!"

Some footsteps could be heard, and something plastic fell onto a keyboard. The door opened after a few seconds, and the blondie brat from Nijisanji a.k.a Hoshikawa Sara can be seen while smiling.

"You finally came!" Hoshikawa smiled widely.

Masturi saw the inside of the room, and saw the floor. The usual floor in all households. The walls were also the typical walls of households, but she could see the door to the bathroom, and she also saw Hoshikawa's desk. 2 monitors, a headphone on the keyboard that had lights on it, a mic, a few acoustic panels, and her monitor is showing gameplay of APEX.

"So that's what her room looks like..." I thought.

"Welp, time to go...Yamada." I said to myself.

I stood up, and dusted my pants off.

"Hrrnghh...!" 

I did a few stretches on my arms, hips, and head, before hopping a bit.

"Welp, time to go now...!"

I looked down from the building and saw cars and motorcycles going on by in the street.

I looked to my right, and made a portal in front of room 48. I started running some lines in my mind.

"Hoshikawa. Can you help Matsuri?"

....too bland.

"Hoshikawa! Your life will depend on it, and so will Matsuri and everybody else! Please protect them!"

...TOO DRAMATIC.

You know what? Fuck it. I'll do it my way. No planning. Let's improvise!

I stepped in the portal, and closed it. Now, the crucial part...

"...Is Hoshikawa even here...?"

Whatever, I'll test it and see if she's in there.

"Hoshikawa...?"

"..."

I didn't hear a reply, but I did hear footsteps. It sounded normal though, not rushed. More like...."cautious". It sounded slow.

"Who is it?" Hoshikawa asked in some sort of tone that sounded like an innocent kid.

"It's me, Yamada."

"Ah, Yamada-kun?"

I saw the doorknob twist, and the door opened instantly. Way faster than I thought it would.

She was wearing a white undershirt, and a blue short short.

"Konnichiwa, Hoshikawa."

"Hey, Yamada-kun!"

We both looked down at her outfit, and she looked to her left while fidgeting with her right foot.

"If I knew you were gonna come here, I would've put on more appropriate clothing..."

"Well, sorry to intrude, Hoshikawa. I'll only be here for a few minutes and I'm off."

"Ah, hai! Come in too! Don't just stand there!" Hoshikawa said.

I nodded.

I stepped in the room, and she looked outside at the hallway to her left and right before closing the door and locking the doorknob.

"So, what's up?"

"Well, this is embarrassing..."

I put my hands together while closing one eye and slouching a bit.

"Gomen, can you please do one favor for me?"

"Eh? What favor?"

"Um...you see..."

I sighed, and stood erect.

"Don't get me wrong, okay? This might sound very strange, but please believe me."

"Well, it's Yamada-kun. I'm indebted to you for saving Matsuri-chan, you know?"

I sighed relief.

"Then..."

I grabbed her shoulders while blinking twice and a slight grimace.

"...Can you protect Matsuri and the others?"

"...Wait, why?"

"Well...mind if I explain it, Hoshikawa?" I scratched the back of my head while looking down.

Please tell me she didn't think I'm weird...!

"Y-Yes, please. What might be the problem that I need to 'protect Matsuri and the others'?"

"Well...Here's the thing. Please listen carefully, okay?"

"Nn."

"So...around midnight, there's gonna be a movement where more criminals will go ham on the city, but that's just gonna be a distraction. The main target is gonna be the Hololivers. I want you to protect them. Maybe you have some Vtuber friends that are friends with them. Maybe somebody like Mari, Ruri, Hikari, Akane, Kanae, anybody that might know them."

"N-Nn, I'll do my best."

I sighed relief.

"Yokatta..."

"What about you though?"

"Me? Oh, I got way bigger issues at hand, but if you can, please protect them! I'll tell more information in the Hololive building. By the way, don't invite anybody who doesn't know the Hololivers personally at all. Just spare them the trouble."

"Ah, o-okay."

"Thank you very much, Hoshikawa!" I released her shoulders and bowed.

"You don't need to be too formal! I mean, you've went through the trouble of coming here and trying to help the Hololivers! Besides, I also gotta pay back my debt to you, and I also gotta help Matsuri!"

"Still, thank you, Hoshikawa!"

I looked to my right, and made a portal that went back to the top of the building where I came from earlier.

"Remember, come before midnight, and I shall explain more of the plan. Only invite the ones that know the Hololivers personally, and make sure to take care of yourselves along the way. Okay?"

She nodded.

"Wait, lemme give you something real quick...."

I closed my eyes and imagined a necklace. Exactly the one that I gave the Hololivers, but this time, the only difference is that the chain is silver.

I tethered her to the necklace, and I also tethered myself to it and gave the necklace 1 LF. I also imagined that the 1 LF keeps looping into itself while regenerating the lost LF, all within 1 second, making it a perpetual healing necklace. I then cut off my tether, and Hoshikawa was now the only one tethered to the necklace.

"And now I need to materialize it!"

I put my hand out, and I felt metal slowly form on my hands. I opened my eyes and I saw the silver necklace with the same pendant as the Hololivers.

"There we go..."

I stuck my hand out, and showed the silver necklace that was currently resting on my palm to her. The necklace that'll help her in advance.

"Here, wear it."

"E-Eh? What's this?"

She took it from my hand, and held it in the air while looking at it from top to bottom like she has never seen a necklace in her life.

"It's a necklace, obviously." I deadpanned.

"I meant what is its purpose?" She sweat dropped.

"Basically, you have a regeneration of 1 LF per second. It'll help you along the way."

"Eh?! Really?! Isn't this a bit too much?"

"Nah, if it was too much, I would've given you 10 LF per second."

"O-Okay, I'll stick with this then." She sweat dropped more.

She opened the claw of the chains, put it to her nape, and fidgeted with the claw until it locked into place.

She held the pendant out, and looked at it.

"...Kirei...."

"One last thing..."

I leaned closer to her face.

"I'm not doing this for myself and the Hololivers only. You all also got a company and a family to protect, along with yourselves. When it reaches 11:00 PM, a sensei of mine will make clones and send them to your homes to replace you all while streaming and to protect your families. For those that won't come, they can protect their families, and the others could protect the company. Remember that some of you will have to protect both or one of the two, okay?"

"Nn. I'll do what I can."

"Thank you."

I stepped through the portal, and looked back at her while waving.

"Bye, Yamada-kun!" She said her final words while waving before the portal closed.

"Now...."

Time for Ui-mama.

Ui's POV

"Hmm hm hm hm hmm...."

The water flowed from my hair to my neck, then to the rest of my body.

"Hm hm hmm...."

I got the soap and rubbed it on my body...

"..."

I looked down at my chest, and somehow, somewhere, I just got hit by this tidal wave of depression.

"...It's okay, Ui...there are people who like that type of size too...!"

My hands shivered while I grabbed my chest tight like I'm crushing somebody's head, and I have this sudden urge to kill everybody and see their corpses pile up.

"....YES. DEFINITELY, UI...!"

I continued showering, and once I was done, I wrapped a towel around my body....

"....Society is judgemental...."

"Ui? Are you there?" I heard a man's voice. Sounded familiar, but...

"W-Who is it?"

"It's Shirazaki Yamada. The one you met before."

"Ah, Yamada-kun! Matte, let me dress up first!"

Yamada's POV

I sighed, and looked to my left and right.

"This is embarrassing..."

I mean, most of my acquaintances are women....

"Literally, fuck you author for making me a harem protagonist."

"Oh c'mon! That's me, and plus it makes things more fun for me, Yamada-kun!~~"

"Shut up." I crossed my arms and twitched my eyebrows.

If I could, I'd summon a gay clone to literally fuck you. I wouldn't feel bad. Not even a millimeter of regret....Okay, that's fucked up, but I don't care.

I kept looking around, thinking of some possible lines for a song, and also the next target, which is Suisei's sister, Anemachi. I also thought up possible scenarios that could happen when we actually start jumping to the root universe.

"The root universe..."

Now that I think about it, this serves to be problematic. First, how the fuck did Aki (Not Akirose) get the affinity to use gifts? The only thing I can think of is that when I erased his memories, it added some of my power to him, making him able to use gifts...

"If I erase the root Hololivers' memories, this is gonna be hellish."

Every universe will have powers. I don't want that. 

"Well, I'll think about it later. One thing I could do is just rely purely on 'Time Manipulation'."

I finally heard footsteps rushing to the door.

The doorknob twisted, and I saw a blonde short-haired girl. She didn't wear pompoms, and her hair was still wet. Her combing looked rushed since there are some strands of hair sticking out.

She wore a blue shirt, and a short black short.

"Did I make you rush too fast?" I asked.

"N-No, not really. You can come in, you know?"

"Ah, yeah. Thank you."

I stepped in the room, and she closed the door while locking it.

"Um...so what might be the problem, Yamada-kun?"

"Well...you won't think I'm crazy for saying it?"

She shook her head left and right.

"You saved me once. I wanna be able to repay it!"

"Okay...Well then...I'll start explaining it, okay?"

She nodded.

I essentially explained the same thing, but this time, it wasn't Matsuri, but it focused on Subaru more. I also explained that a clone will come later on and replace her for her stream so she doesn't have to worry about a thing if she has a stream around this time.

"I'll do anything for Subaru! Please let me go to the Hololive building!"

"Arigatou. I'll also give you one more thing to help you."

I closed my eyes, and repeated the process that I did to make Hoshikawa's necklace.

I put my right palm out, and I got the same necklace. Silver chains but the same pendant as everybody else's.

"Here."

"Um...thank you....I guess."

"You get a regeneration of 1 LF per second."

"I CAN'T ACCEPT THIS!"

"Just do it, Ui. I'm concerned for everybody's safety. I wanna make sure you all are safe."

"R-Really?"

I nodded.

"Well...okay then."

She put the necklace on like Hoshikawa did, but this time, she looked down at the necklace.

"...It's nice..."

"Take care now, Ui. Remember, it takes place at midnight. I'll explain more of the plan there. Remember that a clone will come at 11:00 PM and replace you."

She nodded.

"You take care too, Yamada-kun!"

"Yup."

I made a portal to the top of the building, again.

I stepped through the portal, looked back at Ui, and waved bye at her. She also waved back while putting her other hand on her chest.

"...Chest...."

I shook my head left and right vigorously.

"Anyway, I guess I got one more to attend."

Anemachi's POV

"See the consequences of your own actions? Take a step back and look at all the damage.~ I won't be forcing you if you want violence, but think 'bout the words that came from your parents.~" My earphones played the very bassy and angry song of Yamada as I lay down on the bed while moving my knees inwards and outwards.

"I've been listening to this for the past days, yet I still can't imagine that guy being that serious or angry..."

Well, Suisei did say that Yamada can be scary if he wanted to, but I just can't imagine it.

I started moving my knees inwards and outwards even faster.

"...I should not have drank that much water in one go."

I put both my hands on my ears, and grabbed my earphones, hearing the song fade away, and just hearing buzzes and trap percussions being played, barely hearing his voice.

I threw it to the side, and rolled to my left while pushing myself up, looking at the blue door.

I stood up, and went to the door, opening it, and seeing the living room while also seeing the window that showed the outside.

"Okay...time to go to the bathroom."

I went to another door that led to the toilet and I saw tiles everywhere, and the bathtub and shower head.

I closed the door, and walked towards the toilet. I faced to my back, and put both of my hands on my short, pulling it down to my feet, and sitting down.

"Hmm..."

When will Suisei come back, huh...?

"...I'm kinda jealous he has such a nice boyfriend."

"If I can't have Yamada-kun, at least somebody who is like him...!"

After humming "Anger Issues" for about a couple of seconds, I stood up, and put my short back on.

"Jeez, that took forever!"

I walked to the door, and opened it, seeing the kitchen counter, and light seeping through.

"...Wait, who-"

I saw a silhouette to my left in my peripheral vision, making me turn my head to my left suddenly.

"Oh, finally, you're done peeing." The brown-haired guy said while standing up and stretching a bit.

"Y-Yamada-kun?!" I blushed.

HE KNEW I WAS PEEING?! I'M KINDA HAPPY, NOT GONNA LIE, BUT ALSO A BIT WEIRDED OUT BY THE FACT HE KNOWS.

"Anemachi, um..Mind hearing me out?"

"E-Eh?"

"Sorry for the intrusion. I should've knocked first, but I really needed to tell you this without delay."

He started walking to me, and I took a few steps back.

"Why are you walking backwards?" He sweat dropped.

"I-I mean...are you..."

"I'm not planning anything." He chuckled.

He walked even closer to me, and right now, he's about a ruler away.

"Anemachi..."

He grabbed my shoulders and I yelped a bit.

"W-W-W-W-W-What is it...Yamada-kun?"

My heart started beating faster, and if it wasn't for me holding my shirt, my hands would be shaking like I had a mini seizure.

"M-M-M-MY MIND IS NOT READY FOR THIS! I MEAN, HE'S OLD ENOUGH FOR THAT, AND I'M EVEN OLDER THAN HIM, BUT...HOW AM I TELL MY PARENTS ABOUT THIS?! BESIDES, CAN IT EVEN FIT ME?!"

I closed my eyes, and prepared for him to "do" me.

"...This midnight, a clone will come that will replace Suisei."

I opened my eyes, and blinked twice.

"At that point, leave this house, and go to your parents' house. Protect them."

I looked at Yamada who was currently almost nose-to-nose to me. I blushed a bit and stepped back a bit.

"Anemachi, it might sound crazy, but basically, there's gonna be a crime movement that'll happen around midnight. We can't risk any lives being taken at that point. You need to protect your family."

"W-What about Suisei?!"

"Don't worry. She'll be accompanied by others too, but I'm more worried about you, Anemachi."

"M-More worried about me...?"

"Yup. Unlike the others, you most probably don't know any Vtuber friends other than the Hololivers. So you need to protect your family."

I saw him put his hand in his right pocket, and he showed me a silver necklace with a nice looking pendant. Simple, but it was alluring.

"Ooh..."

"This'll give you a regeneration of 2 LF per second."

"T-That's a lot, Yamada-kun! Are you sure?"

"I went through the trouble to keep you safe. I don't want anybody dying on my watch."

He unlocked the claw, and put his hands around my neck.

"Y-Yama-"

"Hold still, please."

"A-Ah..."

At any moment, I could yelp or moan, but his hands right now...it feels really warm.

"Done."

He pulled his hands away, and I looked down.

"...It looks beautiful..."

"Anemachi. Remember that you need to leave once a clone comes here to replace Suisei, and go to your parents' house to protect them. Okay?"

"I-I'll do my best!"

He smiled at me.

"Thank you."

I also smiled back.

"Well, I'll be going back now, Anemachi. Take care."

"Nn! Take care too, Yamada-kun!~"

I walked up to him, and raised myself up with the ball of my feet.

Chu~

Yamada's POV

"A-Anemachi...?!"

I grabbed my left cheek and widened my eyes while blushing a bit.

"As your girlfriend's sister, I also care about you too, you know?~"

"Ah, of course...you didn't need to do that though..."

"Teehee!~"

I sighed.

"I'll be going now."

"Nn! 'Till next time, Yamada-kun!~"

I opened a portal to the building...again, and I stepped through it.

I looked back and waved at Anemachi as she waved at me in advance. I waved back at her.

The portal started closing, and it disappeared.

"Now...I guess that's everybody." I said while sitting down, again, and looking at the blue sky with clouds around that's about to cover the hot sun.

"Not quite."

"Eh? But isn't that everybody?"

"There's still one more."

"Who is it?"

"Two words...2nd ex."

"....Ah, shit."

Here we go again.

"Welp, Philippines, here I come..."

Christina's POV

"Thank you po, ma'am."

Po = something you add in a sentence to show politeness

The middle-aged woman with a golden ring on her left hand got her cellophane with a middle-aged man beside her, and they went off, leaving me alone on the counter again.

"Christina! Christina!"

I looked at my left, seeing a girl wearing a blue shirt with something white printed on the left side of her chest, and wearing black slacks and shoes. She had brown hair going to her shoulders, and red lipstick on.

"Hmm?"

"The manager can let you switch shifts early for today."

"Eh? But it's still around 2!"

"Well, manager's orders, but isn't it great? You have more free time now!"

"Well...yeah..."

"Don't worry. You can go home now. I'll take care of everything!"

"R-Really? But I mean..."

"Ay sus (Ah, jesus), c'mon! Be happy you got free time!"

"Well, are you gonna be okay? You've also been busy like me..." I scratched the back of my head.

"It's okay! Now go! Change!"

"A-Alright..."

I walked towards the changing room for the staff, and I changed into my casual clothing. Yellow top, white knee length skirt, and a silver necklace.

I got my phone, and ordered for an Uber ride. I went outside the mall, and I waited for the Uber under a roof where I'm covered from the scorching sun.

"Jesus...well, typical Philippines. It's hot everyday."

Sometimes, I wish it'd rain though...

I thought about Iris, and our promise for dinner.

"We saved up enough money to go for something more extravagant. We promised to go to 'Vikings' or something...I mean, it's expensive as hell, but we both aren't allergic to seafood, and plus we both promised to do that."

I smiled and let out a little giggle while thinking about it.

My taxi finally arrived, so I entered the back, and it started taking me to the apartment that me and Iris decided to live in.

After I arrived in front of the apartment, I got out of the taxi, and it drove off.

I opened the door, and sighed a bit of relief. I'm finally out of the heat and inside the building. I can't wait to have some air on me once I arrive in the room.

I went up 3 floors up, and checked for my room. Room 37.

"34,35...36,37!"

I went in front of the door and knocked on it twice.

"Iris? Are you there?"

"Wait!"

After a while, I heard footsteps that went in a normal pace, and the doorknob twisted, making the door open, and I felt a sudden breeze coming out from the room that hit me in the face and my legs. I suddenly felt relaxed, and my back somehow felt less tense.

"You're quite early. I thought you would've came home around 4 PM."

"Well, I was given an early leave, and so I did."

I stepped in while raising my feet to get my shoes, and once I entered the room and finally feeling more coldness in the room, I put the shoes on the shoe rack, and I sat on the bed.

"So, how were you, Iris?"

"Ah, currently, I made a bit more money from trading and making music."

"Well, it's been a year since you created music. We're still starting off, but..."

We both giggled.

"We can make ends meet if this keeps going on." We smiled at each other.

I stood up, setting down my bag, and going near Iris. I looked at her dark brown eyes and her kind smile. She grabbed my hips, and I held her right cheek with my left hand.

"Can we go to Vikings tonight?" I asked.

"We promised that last week."

We giggled, and looked at each other in the eyes again, but this time, we were lost in our own "worlds" now.

We leaned in closer to each other, feeling our breathes getting stronger, and I put both of my hands on her cheeks while she wrapped her arms around my hips more. I can just feel her lips right now. It's so close yet it's not touching yet...

"Hello?" I heard a male voice through the door.

I stopped and retracted a bit. Iris did the same. We both looked at the door, wondering who it might be. The voice was familiar, but I didn't hear him properly the first time. I also didn't invite anybody to come to our room.

"Did you invite somebody?" I whispered.

She shook her head quickly.

I let go of her cheeks, and Iris slid her hand off of my hips as I made my way to the door.

"Sino po? (Who is it?)"

"...It's me, Christina."

I widened my eyes and gasped a bit.

"Who is it?" Iris asked.

"...It's Yamada."

"Eh? Yamada?"

I opened the door quickly, and I saw a tall man with dark brown hair and eyes, skin whiter than any Filipino man I've seen in the Philippines, and he's wearing a dark blue shirt with black pants.

"Yamada?!" 

I started smiling like crazy. Even if I wanted to keep a straight face, I'd go back to smiling in seconds.

I can't believe he came back to the Philippines! It's been so long since I've seen him!

Yamada's POV

"Yo. It's a me. Mari-"

Christina pounced on me, and suddenly wrapped her arms around me, making me feel some squishy "things" on me.

"Y-Yabai...hope Iris doesn't get jealous."

"Yamada! You came back to the Philippines!"

"Y-Yeah..."

I feel obligated to hug her, but at the same time....only for this moment, I somehow forgot how to hug a girl.

Iris's POV

Huh....he's still a bit stiff around Christina, huh? Well, I guess he's just making sure I'm not jealous. I'm not really jealous though. Matter of fact, it's nice to see a familiar face, and it had to be the face of the guy that's not only Christina's ex, but also the guy I'm indebted to for protecting Christina.

Yamada's POV

"Um...please release me?" I asked.

"Ah, of course! I'm sorry! Come in, please! Make yourself at home!" Christina said as she released her arms from me.

My legs felt more free and I felt more AC on my body.

I quickly stepped in and closed the door.

"It's nice to see you again, Yamada." Iris said.

"Nice to see you too, Iris." I chuckled and smiled.

"Yamada, I've got so much to talk about with you." Christina said.

"I-I'm sorry, Christina. Maybe later?"

"Ah, yeah...sorry." Christina said.

I giggled.

"Don't mind it. You're acting exactly like how we were back in our 1st week of being together." I said.

"I-I guess I'm just, like, really really happy to see you." She held her left arm and looked away.

"Yamada, want food? We got some nice snacks here like puto, lumpia, ube-" I cut off Iris.

"Sorry, but I'm only here for one purpose. I won't bother you two for long."

"Ah, okay. What is it?" 

"Well..."

I faced my hand upwards and stuck my index finger out. I then waved it back and forth, and they huddled closer.

"Can you please help me in Japan this midnight?"

They blinked twice while deadpanning at us.

"Um...that's impossible." Iris said.

"Wait, now that I think about it, how did you come here to the Philippines? Surely, you came by riding an airplane-"

"Portals."

They widened their eyes and blinked twice.

"Eh? You can make that?"

I nodded and shushed them while putting my right index finger on my mouth.

"I've got an acquaintance of mine that'll make clones of you to protect your families here. Do you two mind if you'll help protect my friends? Don't worry. I'll ensure your safety."

They looked at each other, and looked back at me.

"Yamada, I'd love to help." Christina said.

"I can't say 'no' to you now, can I? I still gotta repay you for being with her back in high school."

I smiled, and sighed relief.

"Thank god. I thought you two wouldn't be okay with it."

"Though, Iris's gift involves her voice and I use my brain for my gift. Can we even help?"

"Oh, that's more than enough."

I looked at the AC.

"Well, you two can stay at my house for now."

"Are your parents there?" Christina asked.

"Nope."

"What about my stuff?" Iris asked.

"I'll make a portal that goes from here to my house in Japan."

"O-Okay...we'll do our best to help, Yamada!" Christina said.

"Don't forget about me!" Iris giggled.

I chuckled.

"Thank you."

I stood erect, and they both took a small step back.

"So, are you two ready?"

They nodded.

"I mean, you can just make a portal from here to Japan and from there to here, right?"

I nodded.

"Anytime, you can just come here and go back to my house."

"Well, let's get to it! How can we help?" Christina asked.

"Not so fast, Wonder Woman. I told you, it'll happen at midnight."

"Literally midnight?"

I nodded.

"That's quite long...!" They said while looking at the ceiling like when Japanese people go 'Mendokusai'.

"You can always back out, you know?" I deadpanned.

"No! We're gonna help, whether you like it or not!" They both shouted.

"Ah, okay..." I sweat dropped.

Whatever they say...