Chapter 1743 - 242 - Shredica and Leon (2)

Note: This section is happening on Earth, and it is a flashback from when Leon was still alive in his previous world.

Tsubasa's POV

The day had been going strangely out of order for me for some reason or another, and lately, I had started feeling like I was becoming someone who was technically living his life, but wasn't really living it in the way that I used to.

I glanced at the time on my phone and realized that it was still ridiculously early in the morning, around six o'clock to be exact. I didn't have school today, so I figured there was nothing wrong with staying in bed for a while and actually letting myself relax without having to worry about rushing somewhere.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I finally had some free time to myself because everything had become surprisingly hectic lately, and I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had been able to spend an entire morning doing absolutely nothing without feeling guilty about it.

Besides, relaxing at six in the morning was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it?

While I was debating what I should do next, I eventually decided that the best possible choice was probably to go back to sleep and forget about everything until later. I had barely gotten comfortable again when the doorbell suddenly rang, immediately ruining whatever peaceful morning I had been trying to create for myself.

I decided to ignore it at first because it was far too early for anyone to reasonably expect me to answer the door, especially on a weekend when most normal people would probably still be asleep.

Unfortunately, whoever was standing outside apparently had a completely different understanding of what a reasonable morning looked like, because they kept pressing the doorbell again and again without showing any signs of stopping.

Eventually, I had no choice but to get out of bed, walk toward the front door, and find out exactly who had decided that six in the morning was the perfect time to visit me.

"What exactly are you doing here this early in the morning?" I asked the person standing outside while trying not to sound as irritated as I actually felt.

The person standing right in front of me was a woman around the same age as me, and she had long, raven-black hair that looked almost unnaturally dark under the morning light.

My own hair was black as well, but somehow hers managed to look even darker, which was honestly impressive considering I had never thought hair could get much blacker than mine.

She also had a fairly modest chest, although there was obviously nothing wrong with that, and it wasn't as though I had any particular complaint about it either.

It wasn't completely flat, but if I had to be honest with myself, I couldn't help thinking that she could have had a little more.

"You're staring at my chest again," she said while narrowing her eyes at me. "Do you seriously have nothing in your head besides breasts?"

"I wasn't really thinking about your breasts," I replied, although I immediately realized that whatever came out of my mouth next probably wasn't going to make my defense sound any better. "I was just thinking that you could be more... you know... bigger?"

Her expression immediately became noticeably colder after hearing that.

"You really are rude, aren't you?" she asked while glaring directly at me, making it very clear that she wasn't particularly impressed by my explanation.

"More importantly, what exactly are you doing here?" I asked while quickly changing the subject before she could continue complaining about me. "Why do you keep ringing my doorbell this early in the morning? You do know it's the weekend, right? Isn't this supposed to be the time when everyone gets to relax and enjoy themselves?"

"Well, unfortunately, I have nobody to enjoy it with, so I came here instead."

I stared at her for several seconds after hearing that answer because I honestly wasn't expecting her to respond with something so straightforward.

This woman's name was Chihara Akane, and she was one of my classmates. Lately, she had developed the strange habit of showing up at my apartment without much warning, although I still hadn't figured out exactly why she kept coming over so often.

It wasn't as though she had some important business to take care of whenever she visited, either, because most of the time she simply came over, sat around, talked with me, and somehow managed to make herself comfortable as though my apartment had become a second home.

I didn't particularly mind having her around, but I really wished she could at least choose a more reasonable time to visit instead of appearing at six in the morning and repeatedly attacking my doorbell like she was trying to wake the entire building.

"You could have at least allowed me to rest for a little while," I complained while rubbing my tired eyes. "Could you come back around ten instead?"

"There's absolutely no way I'm allowing that," she replied without even considering my suggestion. "You need to become productive, Tsubasa-kun, because sleeping through your entire weekend isn't going to accomplish anything."

I looked at her quietly for a moment while wondering whether arguing with her was even worth the effort.

At this point, I suppose it didn't really matter anymore because I was already completely awake, and even if she somehow decided to leave, there was probably no chance that I would manage to fall asleep again.

Once I had gotten out of bed, opened the door, and started having an argument about my sleeping habits before breakfast, my peaceful morning had already been completely destroyed.

Akane, meanwhile, didn't seem particularly bothered by any of that.

She walked straight into my apartment and immediately sat down on the couch as though it were the most natural thing in the world, making herself comfortable without waiting for an invitation.

She looked completely at ease, while I was left standing near the entrance wondering how my quiet morning had somehow turned into this.

"Here, I brought you something," she said while holding an item toward me with a small smile.

I looked down at what she was carrying before looking back at her with genuine confusion.

"What's this?" I asked while wondering what she could possibly have brought with her this early in the morning.

"Pizza," she answered casually.

"You ordered pizza first thing in the morning?" I asked.

"Well, it's cheap, so why not?" she replied with a shrug. "Besides, it's delicious, and you can have some too. I won't be able to finish the whole thing by myself anyway."

She opened the pizza box and revealed the food inside, and the smell immediately made the apartment feel a little less like the depressing early morning it had been a few minutes ago.

I still had absolutely no idea why she had decided that ordering pizza at six in the morning was a sensible idea, but since she had already gone through the trouble of bringing it here and was offering me some, I figured there wasn't much reason for me to refuse.

At least I wouldn't have to worry about figuring out breakfast for myself.

I sat down nearby while she started arranging the pizza, and before long, the apartment had become considerably less quiet than it had been when I first woke up.