In the end, and without much surprises on Mitsukuni's part, Takebayashi went back the class 3-E after defying Headmaster Asano's authority during a morning assembly. Perhaps Mitsukuni would have felt torn before when seeing the aftermath on Gakushu's side (mainly the accumulated paperwork and conflicting ideologies), but his mind was full of thoughts on his cousin— well, former cousin.

He was in such a good mood that the main building's humiliation didn't frazzle him. It was to the point where he straight up ignored both his childhood friends and friends in favor of spending time with the raven-haired adult.

It escalated enough that both Gakushu and Karma got worried. So there they were, seated at a café terrace, unusually somber looks on their faces as they pondered over Mitsukuni's attitude the past week. Well, they wouldn't meet up for such a thing usually, but Gakushu called up the meeting, claiming that Mitsukuni was subject to bad intentions.

At first, Karma didn't believe it. Although Mitsukuni looked and acted childish most of the time, they both knew there was more underneath than meet the eye. But after Gakushu ranted a few times, and with Mitsukuni's text messages dwindling, he would be a fool not to notice something was wrong.

Well, it wasn't that Karma didn't want to meet up or that he hadn't noticed the first signs. But with the underwear thief case (which they mistakenly pinned on Koro-sensei), and Itona's rehabilitation into their class, he didn't have much time to focus on anything unrelated to 3-E.

The redhead brought the cola glass to his mouth and silently sipped on it. The sugary soft drink flooded down his throat, permeating it in bubbles and leaving behind a strong aftertaste. He sat the glass on the wooden surface. He laced his fingers in front of him and narrowed his mercury-colored eyes.

"So, Gakushu, let's talk," he said, voice lacking its usual teasing edge, and lips stretched into a thin line as he broke the silence.

Gakushu gravely nodded, he brought the coffee-cup to his lips, purple eyes half-lidded before setting the ceramic coffee-cup down. "I think. Someone is leading Mitsukuni astray," he point-blankly said.

Karma raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Leading Mitsukuni astray?" he echoed, finding the idea both entertaining and impossible. "Our Mitsukuni?" he asked. "Is that even possible?"

The strawberry blond merely nodded.

Karma paused. He knew Gakushu well enough to know that he wasn't lying, but he also understood Mitsukuni enough to know that he wasn't the type to get swept by other's pace. On the contrary, he ordinarily imposed his rhythm.

"Are you sure it's not Mitsukuni converting someone to his ways instead?" he tried, feeling skeptical. "Did you even meet the other party— the one to 'lead Mitsukuni astray' I mean," he air quoted.

The remark made Gakushu purse his lips. "I didn't," he admitted, although reluctantly. The confession made Karma's doubts grow. "But," Gakushu quickly added, knowing that Karma didn't take his claims seriously. "I had Mitsukuni talk about him," this picked the redhead's attention.

"Oh? And how was he? Mitsukuni, I mean, when he spoke of him?"

The question brought a grim look to Gakushu's face. "He was excited, delighted, happy beyond words— I've never seen him like that, even the time we brought him to a cake buffet for his birthday can't compare," he told the redhead, and Karma could feel some grievance in his voice.

"Wait, wait, wait—" Karma interrupted. "Are you telling me that someone can make Mitsukuni happier than a cake buffet?" he questioned in mild disbelief.

Gakushu nodded, not uttering another word as he let reality sink into Karma.

"Oh my God," the redhead muttered, slumping into his seat and grabbing his drink. He took an absentminded sip of his cola. He couldn't taste the drink, only feel the cold liquid go down his throat. "I feel so betrayed," he moaned.

Gakushu picked up his coffee and finished it.

"And here I thought I—" he felt Gakushu glare at him, and corrected his words. "I mean, we would be the one to bring this side of him," he lamented. "As a childhood friend and self-proclaimed older brother, I declare that whoever this person is, we must get to the bottom of it!" he stated, slamming his fist on the table.

Gakushu raised an eyebrow. He snorted. "Don't overreact," he reminded, sweeping his gaze over the people who looked their way to have them turn around. "For the moment, we need to gather more intel on our opponent," he enunciated, sounding oddly serious and determined.

Karma had the same energy oozing from him. He gave a resolute nod, extending his hand to shake Gakushu's as if to seal a deal.

Gakushu firmly returned the handshake. Both finished their snack and drink, stood up, and paid their bill before exiting the café. They began to walk the streets to a nearby park. They weren't in Kunugigaoka's vicinity, knowing that it would do no good for either of them to be spotted together at the moment, and were quite a few bus-stops away from their houses.

"So, what do you know?" Karma asked, his hands stuffed in his pants pocket and his lanky body in a relaxed posture. His footsteps were oddly quiet, but with the bustling of the city, Gakushu didn't notice a thing.

"Well, I have a name," Gakushu said. "Takashi."

"No surname?" Karma asked back.

Gakushu shook his head. "I've never heard it," his voice trailed off and he sighed. "Although I know Mitskuni is on nickname-basis with everyone, I don't know how to feel about this person being on first-name-basis with him," he admitted.

Karma nodded in understanding. "Yes, I don't know anyone who's on first-name-basis with him," he seconded. "This may be more difficult than we thought," he revealed. "What else do you know?"

Gakushu hummed, he pondered for a bit, his eyes narrowed and a hand to his chin. "Well, from what I got, it seems like they knew each other for a long time and recently got in touch—"

"Wouldn't it be strange if we didn't know him then?" Karma interrupted.

"That's what I thought too. But do you remember or know any Takashi that used to hang out with us or Mitsukuni?" he rhetorically inquired. "Because as much as I would like to, I do not," he confessed.

Karma couldn't answer the question. "Yeah, I don't have anyone that comes to mind either," he drawled. Silence settled between the two friends as they met a dead end. They heaved a collective heavy sigh. "Could it be one of his old stalkers?" Karma asked, sounding almost desperate.

The reflection made Gakushu choke on his saliva. He furiously glared at the redhead next to him. "Don't spout nonsense," he barked. "You could jinx us!"

Karma grimaced, he wanted to retort but stopped himself. Obviously, Gakushu wasn't in the mood to joke around. "Right, my bad," he apologized with an embarrassed sigh while rubbing the nape of his neck. "I'll be more careful," he added.

Gakushu gave him a sidelong glance. "Yeah," he said, somewhat defeated. He hadn't meant to snap at his childhood friend, it just happened. "I shouldn't have raised my voice either."

Karma merely hummed, a small smile tugging at his lips.

The two walked some more in silence until Gakushu who walked in front came to a sudden halt. Karma who hadn't anticipated it almost crashed into to him, but fortunately, his assassination training kicked in and he was able to dodge in the nick of time.

"What's the deal, Gakushu? Why did you stop?" he asked, his voice accusing as he raised an eyebrow. His eyes followed Gakushu's gaze and he paused. He slightly narrowed his mercury-colored eyes as if to get a better view, and knitted his brows into a frown.

Two figures sat at a sweet shop terrace. One small and one big, the small one with a familiar head of strawberry blond undoubtedly was his childhood friend, the ignorant subject of both males' worry: Kannazuki Mitsukuni.

From the looks of it, the blond wasn't the least bit uncomfortable as he chattered away with the stranger in front of him. A bright genuine smile— one Karma admitted he never saw, painted his lips. And although Karma couldn't make out every crease of his face, he easily guessed that the teen's honey-brown eyes shone in endearment.

"Mitsukuni?" Gakushu's distant voice brought Karma out of his daze. He blinked, and sure enough, no matter how he tried to look at the male, it was Mitsukuni and not a look-alike.

"Yeah, that should be him," the redhead agreed to Gakushu's word.

The confirmation made both males take a closer look at the taller man that sat beside their childhood friend. "Then, this should be Takashi," Gakushu enunciated, his purple eyes narrowing on the raven head.

Karma followed the strawberry blond's lead and began to scrutinize the unknown raven head whose back faced them. The man, probably taller than them, wore some casual clothes. A white t-shirt and presumably some pants. His brows drew together in a slight frown, something felt off to Karma.

The more he looked, the more he felt like he knew— at least saw this back once.

He couldn't quite put his finger on the place and time though and was left to his unanswered questions. Before he could ponder on the question, he felt someone tug at his arm. Gakushu grabbed his wrist and began to lead the way to the duo.

"Let's go greet them."

Karma wasn't allowed to answer or refute.

::

Takashi kept a slight smile on his face throughout the one-sided conversation. His icy-blue eyes never left Mitsukuni's smaller form as he attentively listened to the boy's life up until now. He sipped on his tea, some cakes on the table— it was the perfect illusion of their High School days at the Host Club.

To his left sat Reiko in her black cat form instead of Usa-chan who used to follow Mitsukuni around. Mitsukuni sat on the opposite side of him, a teacup in front of him, and a generous cake slice on his plate. He held a fork covered in frosting and ate with relish as he chattered away.

Mitsukuni's words were like forgotten music to Takashi's ears. He loved them and basked in them without any thoughts of embarrassment. He didn't know how much he missed those moments until he remembered them.

His eyes focused on Mitsukuni, he minutely stilled. His muscles grew taut, he felt observed. It was his instinct as a soldier that kicked in but he quickly restrained it. After all, it wasn't unusual for people to look at him, and the one doing the staring didn't hold any negative intention— at least that's the feeling he got.

Soon enough, the eyes on his back faded and his whole attention once again went to Mitsukuni. They limited themselves to texting the past few days as he was preoccupied with 3-E, so this meeting was something they both anticipated. He saw the teen grin at him before scarfing down another cake and falling into peaceful silence.

Takashi mutely hummed. His eyes on the boy. He thought for some seconds about their first encounter this life around, and his eyes slightly narrowed, letting his brows crease.

"Mitsukuni," the blond perked up immediately, an eager look on his face as he looked up at the raven head. "About last time, why were you there?" he asked, finally resolving himself to take up the subject.

Mitsukuni slightly pouted at the question. He didn't want to answer, knowing that he shouldn't have done it and that Takashi would scold him with a silent glare.

"Mitsukuni," the raven repeated. This one word was more useful than a compilation of threat and reasoning.

"I— mou, Takashi—" noticing Takashi's silent look, Mitsukuni stopped himself. "I— I mean, isn't 3-E suspicious? Like, the students, they are too strong, too observant, their reflexes aren't normal! We're not in the army!" he whined, trying to act cute as he detailed his thoughts.

Takashi observed him, urging him to go on. Neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his words.

"And, I saw Takaoka teach them—" this made Takashi visibly stiffen. Was he the presence he felt when he first came to Kunugigaoka? "And, maybe, I broke into Ma-chan's bedroom and found some relevant evidence," his voice grew smaller as he told his former cousin of his escapade.

Takashi sighed. He could only thank the Gods that Mitsukuni at least hadn't suffered Takaoka's training and merely observed them from the sidelines. As for breaking into someone's house, he tried to comfort himself by thinking of the much worse schemes the Host Club perpetrated.

Mitsukuni observed Takashi, and he could understand in his eyes that the male wasn't about to scold him. He continued, knowing that Takashi waited for him to conclude. "I think, 3-E is receiving military training to kill someone?" he voiced, unconvinced by his words. "But their weapons aren't lethal, so maybe they aren't ready yet?"

Takashi listened. Some parts were right, others weren't but he wasn't about to reveal it to Mitsukuni. "Don't tell this to anyone," he said.

Mitsukuni wanted to refute his words, but seeing Takashi's serious look as well as taking the fact that Takashi probably would cover for him, he bit his words back. "Okay."

Mitsukuni took another bite of cake, he was about to speak when he noticed two familiar figures making their way to him. He widened his eyes, Takashi, sensing it looked back before raising an inquisitive eyebrow at the blond. "You can call them out."

The strawberry blond teen nodded. He stood up and waved at the duo, a grin on his face. "Ma-chan, Shu-chan!" he cried as the two got closer. He gave them both a hug and led them to take a seat at their table.

"Mitsukuni, what a coincidence," Gakushu opened with a polite smile. His eyes flickered to Takashi, minutely narrowing in distrust before he plastered a smile on his face. "This is 'Takashi'?" he asked.

Mitsukuni gave a nod. "Mhm, Takashi, Asano Gakushu. Shu-chan, Mori—" he cut himself off, finding out that he didn't know the male's surname yet. He felt a bit embarrassed. Fortunately, Takashi quickly covered for him.

"Shimamori Takashi."

Gakushu shook his hand, analyzing his posture. He didn't look like a thug, but appearances could be deceiving! He convinced himself, this guy must be bad news.

"Ma-chan, this is Shimamori Takashi. Takashi, Akabane Karma."

Takashi gave a curt nod, his eyes fell on the redhead. "I know."

Karma blinked, only regaining his bearing when he heard his name. "Sh-Shimamori-sensei?" he asked in disbelief. He speculated a lot, but wouldn't have guessed one of his teacher, a man issued from the army and tasked to teach them assassination, would be Mitsukuni's acquaintance.

Takashi nodded. "Akabane."

This felt surreal. "Wait, Karma, you know each other?" Gakushu asked after taking a seat next to Mitsukuni, leaving his partner in crime to seat next to the tall raven head.

Takashi was the one to answer. "Teacher," he said, not wasting another word.

"He's the assistant teacher of my class," Karma provided, seeing that the raven wasn't about to add anything. He wanted to ask how they met, but remembering that Mitsukuni once dropped by the military, he thought they must have met there.

Gakushu though wasn't aware that the man was a soldier, and asked.

This time, Takashi didn't answer, focusing back on his drink, he let Mitsukuni answer. "I met Takashi in a cake shop! He helped me buy a chocolate parfait after I lost my wallet!" he chirped, a childish smile on his face.

Gakushu nodded. It was a very Mitsukuni-kind of encounter. Had the protagonist of this encounter not been Mitsukuni, he wouldn't have believed it. "I see, you won't mind if we join you on your tea time?" the teen asked with a polite smile. The question was more out of courtesy than anything.

Takashi didn't answer, and only Mitsukuni who knew him best could read through his expressionless eyes: No.

He chuckled.