Double date.

10 days 23 hours 39 minutes and 18 seconds remaining-

"Since this is our last match, I'll finish this quick so be prepared Ryuu," Ryota said as he held his sword sideways unlike taking a normal fighting stance. Not giving him a chance to react Ryota rushed over to him as he intentionally swung his sword right in front of Ryuu's defense giving him a chance to block but unlike what Ryuu expected, Ryota didn't back off instead with a smirk he directly kicked him seeing the opening making him falter backward.

Ryuu managed to balance himself quickly as he went on for offense, but with Ryota jumping around flexibly he managed to dodge the blow quite easily as he stepped on his sword giving himself the boost as he swung the wooden sword right for his neck only for him to stop right before he hit him.

"I win," Ryota said with a smirk when suddenly Ryuu kicked his own sword making Ryota lose balance as he quickly grabbed and tossed him to the ground using a judo move.

Ryuu keeping his wooden sword right on Ryota's neck smirked, "So I win right?"

Ryota wanted to fight back but he didn't have the energy to do so anymore as he laid back on the ground giving up.

"He's been getting really good." Raku's dad said as he sipped on his tea, "Though I did hear about his talent, I didn't really expect it to be so good."

"But he still lost though," Raku said looking at their matches since Ryota had only won 2 times out of 7 today.

"Fighting and sports are different after all." he explained, "If this was a real fight, Ryota would have already killed Ryuu more than just two times. His actions are getting better and it seems he's learning some new techniques as well. Just his fighting style is too hard to get used to even for Ryuu, such randomness and rash actions aren't really present in a proper duel after all."

"How long do you think it will take for him to defeat Ryuu completely?"

"He went from a novice to getting 2 wins on Ryuu in just twenty days so it wouldn't be long before he wins for real. Seeing how he is still a bit awkward with his technique, I am sure if he master's it, he would certainly be unstoppable with just his technique alone."

"But I kind of feel it's dirty using all these martial arts, after all, didn't it all start with just sword duels?"

"Hahaha, as long as Ryuu doesn't mind we have no say in this." The old man said, "And I can see, Ryuu is enjoying his matches with Ryota, after all, that technique is really intriguing."

"Time to go, Rakucchi." Ryota said coming over as he pulled Raku, "We need to get ready or else we're going to be late."

"Don't rush me, it's your fault anyway," Raku complained.

Ryuu and Raku's dad looked over at them laughing, "It's good to be young."

----------------------------------------

"Is hiding your face really necessary?" Raku asked as they waited by the mall for Onodera and Akane for a double date. According to Onodera and Raku it was just another normal friend gathering but Akane and Ryota knew otherwise.

These past days, all of them had become really close. Because of Onodera, Akane had been making moves on him constantly and had started giving him a lot of hints, which he decided to ignore them for now and wait. After all, he had gotten three more love letters just in the last two days, and he wasn't sure how much more he was going to get. Though he believed Akane could hold up her own, Ryota still didn't want to burden her. And he wasn't ready to give up his sense of freedom and wasn't planning on getting tied down. Maybe because his past self had affected his emotion, Ryota had become quite stubborn in the aspect of freedom and love.

"Obviously, I have to." Ryota complained, "I didn't think the picture would go so viral, according to my agent the company's sale has been rapidly increasing due to the whole advertisement and they want me to sign a deal with them, to be their ambassador."

"I don't know if I should be happy or pissed about having a famous friend." Raku sighed, "But with the way you're hiding it makes you look even more suspicious."

"If I remove it, then it would be more troublesome," Ryota said. Though both of them were dressed in casual outfits, Ryota had extra accessories that made him stand out. He was wearing a cap, a mask and sunglasses completely hiding his face and hair, making him look like a prison escapee. "Even the girls in our school have been annoying me because of that damn advertisement. If I knew it would get so troublesome so early on, I would've insisted on being a trainee for a long while."

"I heard you got asked out again."

"You should get used to it, after all, it's going to happen more often from now onwards, and don't you dare mention this in front of Akane-san."

"Worried she might get upset, are you?" Raku snickered.

"I am more worried about the girls who have been sending me those letters," Ryota said seriously. After all, he had managed to get a glimpse of Akane's scary side every now and then. But the fact that he didn't hate it or got scared of it was the real concerning part, it was as if he liked the way she behaves. 'I guess Michael was correct, I am getting more and more reckless with everything.'

Just as they were talking both Onodera and Akane arrived waving their hands at them. Onodera was wearing a blue floral dress that bought out her cuteness, and Akane was wearing a short check skirt and a white shirt which made her look jaw-droppingly hot as both Raku and Ryota were frozen staring at them.

It was a beautiful moment for all of them as even the old couple passing by them chuckled. Unlike Raku, Ryota was the first one to snap out of it as he walked over to Akane.

"How is it?" She asked blushing as she just bought the clothes yesterday under Ryota's advice.

"Gorgeous," Ryota said without any hesitation making Akane blush furiously but she looked extremely happy with Ryota's compliment.

"You look really cute, Onodera." Raku barely managed to mutter out awkwardly but Onodera seemed satisfied enough that she couldn't even look Raku in the face due to her shy nature.

"I don't want to be the one to ruin this moment but we should really get going," Ryota said making the two snap out of it.

Ryota and Akane walked in front holding each other's hand. Akane who made the move and Ryota who didn't really mind were the weirdly perfect couple in the scenario. If only she removed her violent side, Ryota wondered shaking his head. "I am sorry Akane-san, because of the whole thing going on, I can't even show my face in public."

"It's okay, Ryota-kun." Akane said, "I completely understand and I think it's better this way, with no one to bother us."

"Oh I don't think that's going to be possible," Ryota said as he pointed at the guys looking at Akane with their eyes wide open, "Seems like I should be getting jealous, huh."

Onodera and Raku who hadn't said a single thing to each other walked behind them. Seeing both of them flirt with one another they sighed wondering why they had been dragged along to their rendezvous, but then they secretly looked at one another and thought to themselves, 'I guess it isn't so bad, after all.'