Chapter 3: The Meeting

Before long, the time for the meeting arrived. As soon as the bell rang, I quickly packed my things and rushed to Nakamura. 

"Speed up Nakamura! If we hesitate, we won't make it in time." 

"I know you're excited, but please calm down. We still have nearly half an hour until the appointment." 

"Going early is to scout the area and prepare mentally! Saichi must be eager to meet us too." 

"Only those with a history of mental illness would want to meet you. Isn't it just a simple appointment? Scouting the area and preparing mentally? Are you preparing for a battle or something?" 

"It's more than a battle! This meeting will be crucial for forming the team, so we have to prepare thoroughly. So hurry up!" 

"Alright, alright, I'm almost done. Oh and I forgot to tell you, actually yesterday..." 

Before Nakamura could finish, I quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the classroom. 

"Let's talk about it later; we need to get to class S first." 

Nakamura sighed in frustration and let me drag her along. 

_______________ 

In front of class S, alongside students greeting each other as they left, there was a group of girls huddled together in the hallway, their eyes sparkling as they watched someone in the classroom. Curious, I moved closer and began to overhear their whispers. 

"There's Sato! He looks so dapper today!" 

"He's not just smart and athletic, he's also handsome. Ah! He just glanced at me." 

"So cool! Even just reading a book, he looks so stylish. I wonder if Sato has a girlfriend." 

Following their gaze, I saw a boy engrossed in a book, surrounded by a group of other boys. It seemed he was quite a famous figure in the school. 

How should I put it? My first impression of him could be summed up in one word - cold. He had neatly trimmed black hair, with a long fringe covering his forehead. His delicate, scholarly face and high nose made him look not much different from Korean actors. Combined with the professional gaming headset draped around his neck, I had to say this guy… was pretty cool. But above all, what attracted me the most was his eyes. They were deep, sharp, and held an elusive mystery. 

While I was still lost in thought, Nakamura's voice pulled me back to reality. 

"Hasegawa, Saichi's real name is Sato Kaito, right? So could that boyfriend be the one we're looking for?" 

Hearing Nakamura mention it, I suddenly remembered that he indeed had the surname Sato. Calling him Saichi so much, I was starting to assume that was this guy's name. 

"You reminded me, so it's likely the right person. Let's go call him." 

We quickly approached Sato and overheard the desperate pleas of the boys surrounding him. 

"Please, Sato! You were the captain of the basketball team in middle school. Please help my club this weekend." 

"Don't listen to him, Sato! You'd be perfect for track and field. Just think about how many girls would be watching you compete. Just hearing it sounds exciting!" 

"Shut up! Sato would be perfect for the drama club. Look, you wouldn't have to do much physical activity, just memorize a few moves and lines. With you, the seats would always be full during performances." 

In response to their heartfelt pleas was just an indifferent gaze still glued to the pages of his book. It seemed that for Sato at that moment, everything happening around him was not worth his attention. 

I wasn't sure if I should break the current atmosphere, but since we were already in class, I decided to take the plunge. 

"Hey, Saichi! I'm here as promised." 

The eyes that were fixed on the book suddenly stopped and looked up at me, still holding a hint of coldness. Perhaps it was my different way of addressing him that caught his attention? After all, I was the only one calling him Saichi instead of Sato. 

Gently closing the book, Sato quickly stood up and walked towards me, not forgetting to turn back and respond to the boys who were desperately waiting for an answer. 

"Sorry, but I have an appointment with a friend."

The boys looked dejected, but they reluctantly accepted and quietly left. 

At that moment, Nakamura stepped closer and spoke first. 

"It must be tough for you being surrounded by both boys and girls. For our first meeting, I'm Nakamura Hiyori - Hasegawa's friend, the one who arranged this meeting today. Nice to meet you!" 

Hearing that, Sato smiled slightly and nodded. 

"I'm Sato Kaito, nice to meet you." 

The guy introducing himself so formally in front of me is really Saichi? Are you kidding me? Is this still the guy who curses at me all the time? 

"Wait a minute! You're Saichi, right? Is there some kind of mix-up?" 

Sato glanced at me, his tone not very friendly. 

"Don't call me Saichi in real life, I have a proper name and family name, you know."

"Calm down, then I'll call you Sato, okay? I'm Hasegawa Shino, the guy who often messes with you in the game, nice to meet you."

"More like the guy who gets messed with. There was even a match where you didn't dare to play and just quit the game."

"Forget that!"

Hearing that, Nakamura chuckled. Sato's words were not much different from Nakamura's teasing this morning, and I wanted to forget it. More importantly, this guy is harder to approach in real life than I thought. He's lively in the game, but why is he so reserved now? At least he's still able to poke fun at me, which is good, but I don't know whether to be happy or sad. How should I continue the conversation now?

"Anyway, we've introduced ourselves. Hasegawa and Sato, let's go to the café to discuss the main topic, shall we?" 

Great idea, Nakamura, you're truly the one I trust the most. I quickly chimed in with Nakamura.

"Right! Let's head to the café to talk about forming a team."

Sato, still maintaining his formal demeanor, nodded and followed us.

___________________

At the café.

"Then I'll ask you again. Sato, join us in forming a team."

Sato, sitting across from us, was just staring out the window with a distant look in his eyes.

"What if I say I don't want to?"

"Then I'll do everything I can to change your mind."

"It won't work."

"If you don't try, how will you know?"

We had been going back and forth like this for almost half an hour. Nakamura, sitting next to me, couldn't hold back anymore and spoke up.

"Sato, do you have a reason for not being able to join the team?"

"There are countless reasons, but you probably know I'm in class S. The workload and the curriculum are really tough."

"Then you just need to study less! Being in class S shows you're very smart, and judging by the expressions of the boys and girls from earlier, you must be well-rounded, so why worry?"

"Can you really say that with a straight face? Do you think you can maintain your academic performance without any effort? People say you can only try harder, there's never a way to try less."

"My bad, but you can still play the game at night, so you must have time to practice with us. Just a little time from you, it won't be much."

"Don't you understand? Your goal is the summer tournament, right? It's the summer tournament. Do you think you can become one of the two representatives of Japan for the Asian tournament just by half-hearted training? Not to mention becoming one of the four teams on the Tokyo stage, do you think the opponents in the regional qualifiers are easy to beat?"

"I don't want to try half-heartedly like that, nor do I want to strive for such a volatile goal. It's better for you to find someone else, I'm not suitable for your team."

"If you understand, then let's end it here. I have to go now." 

As Sato was about to stand up, I quickly held him back. At this moment, I realized that if I let go, all my efforts over the past year would be in vain. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I slowly spoke, my eyes firmly fixed on Sato.

"It's my fault, I'm sorry for expressing myself so lightly about such an important goal. Just one more time, please give me another chance to express my determination. After that, if you don't want to, I won't stop you."

Sato frowned, his dark eyes hard to read, but he still sat down to listen to me continue.

"The summer tournament has always been my dream, and to achieve it, besides myself, I need teammates I can truly trust. Setting aside the professional aspect, I genuinely want you to join my team, to take on the role of jungler and coordinate the matches, because I trust you. You are the one I can place my complete trust in during the toughest moments. If it's not you, then I don't need anyone else. The jungler for the team, all I want is you."

"You've never talked about this, but I know how passionate you are about the game. The way you meticulously observe situations to make decisions, or the increasingly unique strategies you've developed in each match, makes it hard for me to keep up. You must have researched a lot to find and execute them smoothly. And even that nickname, which sounds a bit silly, still clearly reflects your ambition. Let me guess… Saichi is a combination of Sato and Ichi, right? Sato number one?"

"What the hell are you adding to this! Don't make a joke out of my nickname!"

"No, it's an important part of my speech, it's called the art of leverage! But more importantly, please! Join the team and aim for the summer tournament with us. Even if we don't know how far we'll go, with you, I'm confident we can create something amazing."

I leaned forward, extending my hand towards Sato to show my determination, hoping he would shake my hand in return.

Nakamura saw this, her face struggling to hold back laughter until now was completely "the last straw," she laughed loudly as if she had never laughed in her life before. Holding her stomach, Nakamura tried to force out each word. 

"I can't believe you're a hidden comedian, Hasegawa! What was that about 'all I want is you,' or 'if it's not you, I don't need anyone else,' and then there's 'the art of leverage' or whatever. Come on, you've made me choke on water this whole time. Doesn't it sound like you're confessing to someone? It sounds just like those scenes in boy love novels." 

Shut up, you nasty thing. I tried my best to create such an emotional speech. This is embarrassing too, you know. Then I looked up at Sato, who seemed to be on the verge of laughing as well but was still trying to maintain his cool image. All good-looking guys are the same, it's infuriating to look at. 

"Good thing I know a bit about you from the game, otherwise I would have really run away thinking you had some dark intentions, Hasegawa." 

"Shut up! I poured all my courage into saying those flowery words. If you reject me now, it would truly be a crime." 

"I thought if I rejected you, you wouldn't stop me anymore? You forgot what you just said so quickly." 

"Not to mention 'poured all my courage' and then can't 'reject me' anymore. Oh Hasegawa! It's been a long time since I've seen such an entertaining movie. Thanks a lot!" 

Nakamura still couldn't stop laughing this whole time. You jerk, don't you feel sorry for this poor soul? Then I looked at Sato, whose eyes no longer seemed as deep as before, he sighed, seemingly having made up his mind. 

"Anyway, it would be a bit cruel to reject you now. Alright, I will join you and Nakamura in aiming for the upcoming summer tournament." 

"Welcome to team Sato! From now on, take care of me and Hasegawa, okay?" 

"Thanks, I hope to get your help too, Nakamura." 

"Wait a minute... so you really agree to join our team?" 

"You're so slow, a gentleman doesn't say things twice." 

Hearing that, the heavy stone weighing on my heart was finally lifted. At least the effort I put in wasn't in vain. But before I could rejoice for long, Sato asked a question that left me stunned. 

"So... where are the other members?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"What do you mean what? We need five people to participate, right? Don't tell me... we still don't have enough members?" 

Oh... I forgot we still need two more members, how do I explain this to Sato now? 

"Actually, this is a long story so... I'm sorry! Our team still needs two more people." 

"Haizz... I thought you had completed the lineup already. What now?" 

While I was unsure how to respond, my savior appeared, like a light dispelling the clouds that had been hanging over my heart. 

"If that's the case, you guys can rest assured. Yesterday I found two extremely quality players from our school, and after a chat, they agreed to meet us this Sunday afternoon." 

Oh! Why did I ever think of Nakamura as a grumpy old woman before? She must be an angel sent from heaven. Nakamura, please forgive the one who was blind to your beauty. 

"Really! Why didn't you tell me earlier, Nakamura?" 

"I was going to tell you after school today, but someone was too busy meeting Sato and dragged me away without listening to anything. I wonder who that is, Ha-se-ga-wa-Shi-no?" 

No, this is definitely a hellish demon, only the blind would see an angel. 

"But..." 

"Is there something wrong, Nakamura?" 

Nakamura, scratching her head and smiling sheepishly, spoke to me in a slightly apologetic tone. 

"Actually, the meeting here isn't for a conversation... it's for a duel."

"A duel?" 

Both Sato and I exclaimed in confusion. Seeing that, Nakamura began to explain to us everything that had happened yesterday.