Who cried?

Chiho believed in following a simple life, there was no need to make her life any harder, but she wasn't an idiot. She got the main points of what Hikaru was saying and got a bit annoyed.

"You knew what I was asking, you could have just told me what about the steak that you liked then."

"Haha, I couldn't help it, but yes you're right." He said chuckling.

Chiho pouted and it reminded him of Aimi. Although Aimi's pout was more exaggerated, Chiho had a mild pout of her lips that looked more angry than comedic. It was kind of cute.

"How did you get so smart?"

"I'm not smart, to be honest. I just study hard."

"You know, being too modest is the height of arrogance."

Hikaru curved his eyebrows in surprise.

"Where did you hear that from?"

"Ah, I don't remember where I got it from."

"Well, it is true."

"..."

Hikaru wasn't lying when he said he wasn't that smart - in his standards. He was smarter than the average person but being number one in a low-tier school wasn't that big of a deal. Being the top in an elite school doesn't matter much too. Academic performance was some indicator of intelligence but not the ultimate factor. Any statistician would know it would be stupid to conclude that the variable "intelligence" was attributed to 100% of anyone variable.

The way modern education is designed is more about measuring one's ability to self-motivate, self-manage (one's mental health and environment), dealing with procrastination, time management and so on. Hikaru simply had a consistent and effective attitude, mental health and set of skills to study well and didn't procrastinate on his assignments. If Hikaru was compared to a true genius but the genius lacked in personal development, the one getting more out of life would be Hikaru.

At this point, he already possessed the skills required to become a billionaire in the business world quite easily. In fact, Hikaru's prediction was accurate. Little did he know that he was a trillionaire in an alternate reality. He would pull the rug on the world's leaders and destroy entire countries. He united them all into a One Earth Government and the world was at peace. A kind of dark peace that could only be granted by a dystopian world.

"I'm not one of those airhead girls from anime you know, I was just worried when Aimi disappeared."

"... I know you're not an idiot. On the bright side, you're more straight forward than anyone else I've met. I like that about you."

"Ah-ahh thanks."

Chiho looked away from his eyes and onto the steak, she was cutting. She looked cool on the surface but her heart was beating very fast. It was because of Hikaru's compliment but also because it takes guts to stick to her guns. Most people wouldn't be acting like their true self at this point in a date with the person of their dreams.

Chiho compared Hikaru's behaviour to the times she watched him in other social groups at school and noticed it was different. She thought that he would have answered her question briefly if he was talking to other students at school. Maybe he was being himself around her.

The thought that she may be seeing his true side made her blush. Perhaps this is his first real date and not one of those platonic dates he did for the girls he rejected.

However, Hikaru rejected her once before so why did he accept her now? He didn't explicitly say that it was a date.

'Even after he was treated so badly...'

That could be it. Sometimes a boy and girl meet through a negative event that gave them bad impressions of each other. In the Korean drama shows that she watched, the fight between characters can be emotional but once they express their feelings and talk about their tough upbringing, the characters' strong negative emotions can transform into strong positive emotions. In this way, dramatic situations can build bridges between two people.

'It could just be that he thinks I could be a close friend...'

However, that thought didn't dampen the mood much. Either way was good but having the chance with someone as good looking and smart as Hikaru was a miracle for someone like her.

Hikaru had finished his steak and his mind drifted off.

The sun was setting soon and so it's position and rays were at an angle that pierced easily through the Earth's atmosphere, making it extremely bright in the steak house as sunlight poured through the windows.

She noticed something glistening in the sun, there was a water droplet rolling down on Hikaru's cheek...

'Huh? Is he... crying?'

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Hikaru touched the tear on his face.

"I'm fine. I was just remembering something." He said as he wiped it and dried his hand on his shirt.

Did she do something wrong? She suddenly realised something.

"Hikaru..."

Seeing that he didn't react she continued.

"There are rumours about you not liking to be called by your last name."

"..."

"That is correct."

She could see skin bunching up around his eyes and he was frowning.

"Is the reason why you're crying to do with it?"

Hikaru's face relaxed as if the secret was out.

"Yes."

She thought back to the awkwardness and powerlessness that she saw in his father.

"Is it because-"

"Please, don't ask anymore."

"Okay. I'm sorry."

Hikaru was silent and looked elsewhere. He was acting nonchalant but Chiho could see the minute tension in his facial expressions. He was stressed and concerned.

***

He thought that the tears were from the memories and feelings of Haruto's mother, Tina. While he was absorbing or tapping into their minds, he could feel their emotions. It was almost like pressing a switch on a lifeless toy which would be animated and start dancing or singing. He was simulating their personalities in his mind like training an AI on a computer.

Tina was definitely dead. However, if her memories lived inside him, would she be alive? Not quite. They were just memories. However, if he ran a simulation of her personality derived from her memories and gave her control, she would be alive, he would become her if he wasn't careful.

However, if she wasn't given control, she was as alive as a sophisticated chatbot app, being that she isn't alive and conscious at all.

Then the tears last night were probably hers, but the one who cried tears now was none other than him...