A Recording Studio, a Walk, and a Misunderstanding

Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo. 

"Tatsu-Chan, just a minute." Sumire said just before Tatsuo could press the button to call for the elevator. 

As Tatsuo said, shortly after Kasumi left to go to school, he had also gotten ready to leave. However, instead of going to school, he had planned to just go for a walk, maybe see if Sadao was working today. Either way, he had no intention of doing anything important. 

"Huh? What's up, Mom?" Tatsuo asked, turning back to see his mother approaching with a smile. 

"With everything that happened since you got back, the thing with Mai, and your cooking, I almost forgot." Sumire said as she arrived next to Tatsuo. She then grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the part of the penthouse where her office was set up. "I have something to show you. And I think you're gonna love it." 

Curious to know what his mother wanted to show him, Tatsuo let himself be dragged along until he and his mother arrived at a room that he remembered being used for storage. However, when Sumire opened the door, Tatsuo was completely dumbfounded. 

Inside the room, Tatsuo found everything that would be needed to make music professionally. There was a top of the line computer, a digital audio workstation, audio interface, MIDI controller, a few keyboards, the room had been sound proofed, there was a recording booth with a microphone hanging from the ceiling and a pair of headphones hanging on the wall, and anything else one would think to put in a home studio. 

"Holy... shit..." Tatsuo muttered in surprise. 

"While you were gone, Mai-Chan and I took it upon ourselves to convert this room for you." Sumire said while puffing out her chest proudly. "And I'm glad I decided to use this room instead of setting it up on the floor below us. That way, if you ever get the mood to record, I'll be able to watch without much effort." 

Hearing that, Tetsuo could only smile awkwardly at his mother. Even so, he pulled her into a tight hug. 

"Thanks, Mom." Tatsuo said as he lifted Sumire's petite body into the air and spun around with her in his arms. "This is great. Now, other than training and homework, I know how I'll be spending my time after school." 

Seeing how happy Tatsuo was, Sumire smiled brightly as she wrapped her arms around Tatsuo, as well. 

"I'll start playing with it after I get back from my walk." Tatsuo said as he put Sumire down. "*Sigh* Still, it would be nice to have someone work the boards and stuff for me, though." 

"Well, this is just for you to get some of the basics down whenever inspiration strikes you." Sumire said with a smile. "All the real recording will take place at Mommy's company, after all." 

"I guess that makes sense." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "Still, I should find some friends to work with me, too." 

"Well, it wouldn't be so bad if you had a friend who could work with you." Sumire said with a smile. 

"Yeah." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "Anyway, I'm gonna go out. I'll think about that later." 

"Okay~! See you when you get back, Tatsu-Chan." Sumire said with a smile and a wave. 

With that, Tatsuo left the apartment and made his way out of the building shortly afterwards. As for his walk, he really had no place in mind. He just planned on wandering around the area. First, he took a trip to the MgRonald's. However, he did not go inside, as he could not see Sadao at the counter from the front window. Though, that did not mean that he was not working at the moment, as he could have just stepped away. Still, he had no intention of interrupting their business just to see if he was. 

After that, Tatsuo made his way to a convenience store to buy a drink and a couple of rice balls. And nothing of note happened while he was there. For him, anyway. 

When Tatsuo left, because he was talking to the others in the [Dimensional Chat] on his smartphone, he did not notice a group of three students from his school approaching the convenience store. And these students were considered delinquents by the rest of the student body and teaching staff, as they tended to get into fights and skip school quite often. 

"Hey, isn't' that Soramoto? From Class 3-A?" One of the boys in the group of delinquents asked with a slight frown on his face. "You know, the kid that transferred in a couple months ago and took all the girls' attention for himself.?" 

"Hmm... It is." A second boy replied while watching Tatsuo walk away. "I wonder why an honor student like him isn't in school right now." 

"Maybe he's more like us than we thought." A third boy said. "Maybe all that politeness he shows at school is just an act." 

Unbeknownst to the third boy, he could not have been closer to the truth. As a trained assassin, Tatsuo's behavior at school really was an act. Though, none of the boys had any way of knowing that. 

"Either way, since he's not protected by the school rules right now, we should teach him a lesson." The first boy, who also appeared to be the leader of this group of delinquents, said while cracking his knuckles. "I mean, it's annoying that he's getting attention from all the girls. But how dare he actually make my goddess, Tsukamoto-San pay attention to him, too." 

At that moment, the convenience store door opened. And when the young man who walked through them heard that there was a boy getting close to Tsukamoto, he froze in shock while dropping the bag he was holding. A moment later, while not caring about the bag that fell to the ground, he dashed forward and grabbed the leader of the group of delinquents by his collar. 

"Hey, what did you just say?" The new boy asked aggressively while lifting the first boy off the ground by his collar. 

"Hey, who the hell are you?" The leader of the delinquent group asked angrily. 

A moment later, not only their leader, but the other two boys also got a good look at the new guy. He was a fairly tall young man standing at about 5'11" with tanned skin, neck-length black hair that he pulled back and held in place with a hair band, a thin mustache over his upper lip and a goatee on his chin. He also wore a pair of sun glasses that completely obscured his eyes. 

"Ha-Harima-Senpai!" The leader of the delinquent group shouted in surprise after recognizing the older boy in front of him. 

Harima-Senpai, or rather, Harima Kenji is known as the most ruthless delinquent in the area. Currently, he was a first year student at Yagami High, the same school where Kasumi, Yakumo's sister, Tenma, and her friends, Mikoto, Eri, and Akira attend. 

"Yeah, that's me." Kenji said in an impatient tone. "But that's not important. What did you say about a boy getting close to Tsukamoto-San?" 

Hearing Kenji mention Tsukamoto-San, the three delinquent boys could not help smiling deviously. With Harima-Senpai interested in this matter, Tatsuo was as good as dead as far as they were concerned. 

"Yeah, that handsome bastard transfer student has been getting close to her ever since he started school." One of the two delinquents said while pointing at Tatsuo, who was fairly far down the street by now. "From what I heard, they even walk home together." 

"Unforgiveable!" Kenji roared as he threw the boy, he was holding off the ground, away with force. "How dare he try to get close to her! I'll make him pay!" 

With that, Kenji, without looking back at the boy he just threw, ran over to a parked motorcycle. Then, he hopped onto it and started it up. 

*Vroom!* 

Then, without a moment of hesitation, he shot off in the direction where Tatsuo had gone. At the same time, the sound of the motorcycle drew Tatsuo's attention. And when he noticed that it was speeding in his direction, he stopped to think while inspecting his [Inventory]. 

'Hmm... I should get a motorcycle license when I turn sixteen.' Tatsuo thought to himself while looking at the motorcycle he made in the Arifureta Universe. 'I'll have to modify how this thing looks, though. It looks like a Liter bike. But if I remember correctly, I would only be able to ride a 400 cc bike until I'm eighteen. Oh well, I have some time to think about that.' 

*Vroom!* Screech!* 

Before Tatsuo could think any further, the motorcycle that drew his attention a moment ago pulled up in front of him, screeching to a stop as it did so. At the same time, its rider, Kenji, stared into Tatsuo's eyes while exuding an aura of hostility. 

'*Sigh* Something tells me this idiot is under a huge misunderstanding.' Tatsuo muttered internally while looking at the reflection in Kenji's sunglasses. And when he noticed the three delinquents from his school, he knew exactly what that misunderstanding was. 'And it's probably not those three's fault, but they definitely made things worse.' 

"Hey, kid!" Kenji barked. "I heard from a little birdie that you've been getting close to someone you shouldn't." 

"*Sigh* Let me guess, you're talking about those three back there, right?" Tatsuo asked while pointing back over his shoulder at the three delinquents. "And they probably said something about me and Tsukamoto, right?" 

Hearing that, Kenji was taken aback for a moment. However, his expression hardened quickly. 

"That's right." Kenji replied. "So, is what they said true?" 

"About me getting close to Tsukamoto? Yeah, but---" Tatsuo said, trying to explain his situation. 

However, before he could finish his explanation, Kenji leapt from his bike and threw a roundhouse kick at the side of Tatsuo's head. 

"Hey, what the hell is that for?" Tetsuo asked, as if he did not already know what was going through this moron's head, while ducking under the kick. 

"Didn't I tell you already?" Kenji asked as he followed up by swinging his other leg at Tatsuo's head. "You're getting too close to someone you shouldn't?" 

"You know, I was going to explain that you were under a misunderstanding, but I don't like being attacked out of the blue like that." Tatsuo said in an annoyed tone. 

At the same time, Tatsuo stepped back out of the range of Kenji's kick. He then took his Vale Tudo stance and started bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

"Oh, it looks like you've got some fight in you, Kid." Kenji said as he took a fighting stance of his own. "You know, if you weren't trying to get close to her, I would even have some respect for you." 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, just shut up and fight." Tatsuo replied, a hint of annoyance still leaking from his tone. 

"Fine, if that's what you want." Kenji replied as he lunged forward. 

Unfortunately for Kenji, Tatsuo could not even consider this a fight. Although Kenji was skilled for a delinquent. Compared to him, who had been trained to the limits of a human even before he started traveling to other worlds and became so much more, Kenji was just an average Joe. 

So, about a minute later, Kenji, with a bruise on his face, and his sunglasses knocked slightly askew, was sitting on the sidewalk while leaning against the wall of the nearest building. 

"Damn... Just who the hell are you?" Kenji asked while rubbing the bruise on his cheek. 

"The fact that you don't know me should say something." Tatsuo said while standing next to Kenji with his hands in his pockets. "I mean, not to brag, but no matter where I go, I attract people's attention." 

Although begrudgingly, Kenji had to admit that the bastard standing next to him was right. he was just too damn handsome. And that annoyed him more than the fact that he just got his ass kicked. 

"Well, it doesn't matter who you are." Kenji said as he picked himself up from the ground. "Just stay away from Tsukamoto-San. Otherwise, I'll never let you go." 

"*Sigh* Which Tsukamoto-San are you talking about?" Tatsuo asked in a tired tone. "You know there are two of them, right?" 

With that, Kenji froze in place once again, this time while adjusting his sunglasses. He then slowly turned his head to look at Tatsuo with a stupified expression. 

"What do you mean?" Kenji asked in a dumbfounded tone. 

"Yeah, I'm talking about the Tsukamoto Sisters." Tatsuo replied. "One is a third-year in middle school. I'm classmates with that one. And she's one of my best friends at school. Then, there's the older one. A first-year at Yagami High. I've met her before, too. But I wouldn't say we're close. She just helped me and Yakumo-Chan study for our exams... Kinda..." 

Kenji could only stare blankly after hearing the new information. It took a few moments for his brain to reboot. But when it did, he was completely smitten by Tatsuo's words. 

"*Sigh* That sounds just like Tenma-Chan." Kenji said in a lovestruck tone. "Oh, her kindness is so boundless. To think, even while getting ready for her own exams, she would take the time to help her younger sister and her sister's friend. She truly is the paragon of kindness. Her cuteness knows no bounds, as well. *Sigh* She really is the most beautiful girl in Yagami High." 

Hearing Kenji's outburst, it was Tatsuo's turn to stare blankly. Oh, how he wanted to retort every word that just came out of Kenji's mouth. First of all, Tenma was quite possibly the dumbest person Tatsuo had ever met. So, to say that she was helping anyone study was tough to acknowledge. 

Next, calling Tenma the most beautiful girl in Yagami High? Laughable. Tenma's three best friends, Mikoto, Eri, and Akira were all more beautiful than she was in Tatsuo's opinion. Not to mention, Tatsuo's elder sister, Kasumi attended the school, as well. And even if the conversation was not only for students, there was a certain teacher, Osakabe Ikoto-Sensei, Kenji's older cousin, that was definitely one of the most beautiful people on the planet. 

But Tatsuo decided not to bring any of that up. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all. And that turned out to be a good idea, as Kenji finally remembered how he ended up in this situation. He had been used to do those three's dirty work. Adn that was unforgiveable. 

Kenji then looked back towards the convenience store. And when he did, he saw the three younger delinquents looking in his direction. However, when they saw him turn to look at them, they all turned around and started running as fast as they could. 

"Hey! Where the hell do you three think you're going?" Kenji shouted as he dashed towards his motorcycle. "Don't think you'll get away with trying to use me like that!" 

*Vroom!* 

However, just before he pulled away, Kenji turned to look in Tatsuo's direction once again. 

"Hey, Kid! What's your name?" Kenji asked. 

"Soramoto Tatsuo." Tatsuo replied while rolling his eyes. 

"Alright, I'll remember it." Kenji replied. "And if you end up coming to Yagami High, I'll take care of you. No one will be able to bully you with Harima-Senpai around." 

"Sure, whatever you say." Tatsuo replied while rolling his eyes once again. "Thanks, I guess. But how are you supposed to protect me when you can't even beat me?" 

Kenji almost fell off his bike when he heard that. However, he quickly regained his balance. Then, he glared at Tatsuo with annoyance before twisting the accelerator and chasing after the three delinquents who had tried to use him. 

Meanwhile, Tatsuo only shrugged his shoulders while watching Kenji zoom off. He then pulled his smartphone out of his pocket and returned to chatting with the other members of the [Dimensional Chat] while continuing his walk.