"I wonder what kind of meeting they're having?" Akira thought aloud, curious about what a magician and a vampire would discuss with the director of Totsuki.
After they finished lunch, Ryuji and Iori separated from them and went to have an official meeting with Nakiri Senzaemon, while Akira, Yuki, and Erika went to look around for themselves.
"I'll tell you about it later. For now, let's enjoy our time. It's the first time both of you have been outside, after all," Yuki answered with a smile, hearing Akira talking to himself.
"Wait, this is your first time outside, too, Erika?" Akira asked in a fake shock, even though he knew this information from the manga, he had to act like this was his first time hearing it.
"Yes..." Erika responded softly with a downcast expression.
"Why?" Akira asked, even though he knew a lot about her from the anime, there were still gaps in his knowledge. And this Erika seemed a little different from her fictional counterpart, so he was curious to see if anything had changed.
"Sigh... Her situation is similar to yours," Yuki explained with a sigh, "Young vampires can't control their craving for blood, so they're kept isolated until they can manage it."
Erika remained silent, her mood dropping further.
"Yeah, that makes sense", Akira said, understanding the situation. Even young vampires are stronger than adult humans, and children usually don't have strong enough willpower, so a young vampire has a high possibility of going out of control.
"Oh, Akira, look, the game area! We're here!" Yuki called out, snapping him out of his thoughts as she pointed towards the game area.
"What… OHH!" Akira gasped in shock as he took in the scene. An entire floor packed with games, UFO catchers, arcade machines, and all sorts of flashy consoles and booths.
"There are so many games here! And look, Mother, there are so many anime figurines in the claw machines!" he exclaimed, eyes sparkling with excitement. "Come on, we have to win all of them!"
He'd always dreamed of trying places like this, even in his past life.
"Hmm, you take Erika-chan and go ahead. I'll wait in the lounge area," Yuki said, handing him some cash. "Here, use this for the games, but don't lose sight of each other, alright?"
"Sure, Mother! Come on, Erika, we've got to try everything!" Akira grinned as he took Erika's hand without hesitation.
"Huh?" Erika blinked in surprise, but before she could react, Akira had already pulled her toward the play area.
Yuki stood behind, watching them go with a warm smile.
"Look, it's Asuka and Rei figurines from Evangelion we have to get them", Akira exclaimed as he spotted a crane machine with figurines he liked inside, so he ran to it excitedly, still dragging Erika by her arm.
"Oh, right, Erika, if you see something you like, just tell me, I never played these before, but I am sure I'll win easily", Akira said, turning to Erika.
But for some reason, Erika didn't reply to him. She looked down with a red face and a little perplexed expression, as if she was a little shocked and embarrassed.
"What is it? Are you alright?", Akira asked with concern. "What's wrong?"
She stammered, barely above a whisper, "…Y-Your hand…"
Only then did Akira realize he was still holding her hand from earlier.
"Oh…sorry!" he quickly let go. "I got too excited…Hehe"
But Erika shook her head, still avoiding eye contact. "T-That's not it…"
"Then what is it?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Aren't you… scared of me?" she finally asked with a trembling voice.
"Why would I be scared of you?", Akira asked in confusion.
"I'm… I'm a half-vampire. I couldn't control my urges until recently. I thought… when people found out, they'd be afraid of me…", Erika said with a sad voice.
"Oh, that", Akira realised what she was thinking, "So, she is afraid that others will view her as a monster once they know she is part vampire". He thought.
Akira was never been a vampire, but he does know what it feels like to be different from others, what it feels like to be feared.
In his previous life, the only time Akira met children his age was in the white room, which is similar to the white room from Classroom of the Elite.
A secret and extremely strict facility created by the government, with the goal of producing the perfect human being.
It was a place where children were molded into tools, trained to serve without question. Every aspect of their lives was dictated by rigid rules, but the most terrifying one was this: the entire curriculum would be raised to match the ability of the highest-performing student.
If someone excelled, everyone's workload became hell. This didn't foster admiration, but it bred hostility. The top student wasn't a role model, they were a target. Sabotage was encouraged, and deception was just another skill to master.
The system worked as intended… until they put Akira inside.
He wasn't just good, he was unstoppable. From the start, he dominated every subject, every test, every physical challenge. He outpaced the teachers, shattered records set by so-called prodigies, and turned the program's competition into a one-sided slaughter. It was like pitting a pack of dogs against Godzilla.
They tried everything to stop him, bullying, traps, coordinated sabotage, but nothing worked. In the end, the administrators pulled him out within months just to protect the other children from being crushed completely.
Everyone feared him.
Not just because of his strength and intelligence, but also because he wasn't normal like them.
He was different.
Most of these children were taken from adoption centres or hospitals to be trained to become perfect, but Akira was born perfect, so they all considered him to be unnatural and a monster, but Akira never really cared what they thought, they were not worth his time.
If they considered him a monster, sure, he thinks the same. He was designed to be better than everyone else, so compared to them, he is a monster, and he fully accepted who he was long ago.
But Erika is different. Aside from being a part vampire, she is just a normal girl, so she cares about what others think of her more.
Akira wanted to be her friend, but he had no idea how, he had never had a friend before. From the anime he used to watch, he'd learned that friends were supposed to be kind to each other, and right now, easing her worries felt like exactly what a real friend would do.
Still, he wasn't sure how to go about it. He had never held a conversation like this with a girl before, and the uncertainty made him hesitate. Even so, he decided that honesty was his best option. If it didn't work, at least he could say he had tried.
"I don't know about others, but I don't really fear you," he smiled. "As far as I'm concerned, you're cute, there is nothing scary about you."
Erika's face flushed a vivid red, steam practically rising from her head.
"W–Wha…?! C-cute?!" she stammered, whipping her gaze away so fast it was a miracle she didn't get whiplash. Her fingers fidgeted, shoulders trembling ever so slightly, yet the corner of her lips still curled into a shy smile.
Akira grinned, ignoring her reaction, and continued. "Besides, I'm way stronger than you think. If you ever lose control, I'll protect both you and everyone else, as long as I am here, you can be at ease."
"You'd… protect me?" she asked, voice small.
"Of course," he replied without hesitation.
"…Thank you," she whispered, her voice filled with a quiet happiness.
Akira clapped his hands together. "Alright! No more wasting time, we've got to win as much stuff as possible before we're called back!"
"Y-Yeah!" Erika nodded with a bright smile.
Seeing it, Akira couldn't help but smile too, thinking, "Looks like I've made my first friend".
From the lounge area, Yuki watched their interaction with a warm smile.
"As expected of my son," she murmured. "I was a little worried at first… but he'll be fine. And with him, our plan will unfold just as we hoped."
Her gaze shifted toward the window, a faint glimmer of hope flickering within. "If my husband can secure the deal," she thought, "everything will fall neatly into place."
Time passed as Akira and Erika ended up playing nearly every game in the arcade.
Akira had quickly figured out the rhythm and patterns of the crane machines, easily snatching up one prize after another. By the end of their spree, they had a small mountain of anime figurines, plushies, and game tokens stacked beside them like trophies of war. He even handed Erika a fluffy Eevee plush with a satisfied grin.
"Here, you said you liked Eevee, right? You can have it." He said with a smile.
Erika took it carefully, holding it close. "Thank you…"
"Don't worry about it", Akira said, trying his best to look as cool as possible.
Soon Evening came, as Akira and Erika walked out of the Arcade, trying their best to carry their loot. That's when they heard a familiar voice calling out from the edge of the floor.
"There you two are," Yuki approached them with a smile, her arms crossed gently as she watched the two of them carrying their prize bags. "Had fun?"
"Yes, we won everything, it was fun", Akira said, showing their loot.
"As long as you had fun", Yuki said with a smile and then looked at her watch, "Now it's about time for the real reason we are here, the main event".
"Huh? What main event?" Akira asked in confusion. "Are we having dinner here too?"
"No, the main event is a cooking competition for children organized by the Totsuki Culinary Institute. Senzaemon-san invited us mainly for that," his mother explained.
"A cooking competition? Is it a shokugeki?" Akira thought in excitement. He had always wanted to see them in real life.
"Alright then! What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Akira said, eagerly urging everyone along.
"Fine, fine! I never knew you were this interested in cooking," Yuki said with a smile.
"I'm not interested in cooking, I just want to see the competition," Akira replied, hurrying them forward.
They soon reached the competition venue, a huge stadium packed with people. It was crowded, but fortunately, they had access to a VIP spectator room. The luxurious room offered a perfect view of the stadium, something normal people couldn't easily afford. Once again, Akira wondered what exactly his family did for a living.
"Wow, there are so many people here. Is the cooking competition really this famous?" Erika asked, amazed. It felt almost like a sports event, with such a large audience.
"Of course! This competition is organized by the Totsuki Culinary Institute. All the participants are children of famous chefs and restaurant owners from around the world. If they do well and catch the attention of Totsuki's higher-ups, their future will be set," Yuki replied.
"I wonder what the prizes are for the winners," Akira mused.
"Most of the kids aren't here for the prize, but look over there," his mother said, pointing toward the prize display.
Akira followed his mother's finger toward the grand prize display at the far end of the stadium. Among the many luxurious items and culinary trophies was a glass case that caught his eye immediately.
His thoughts slowed, eyes widening. Inside, lined up in perfect formation, was a complete Gundam SEED PG model set: Strike, Freedom, Justice, Providence, even Astray, and others too.
"Mother," he said suddenly, turning to Yuki. "Let me enter the competition."
"What?" said both Yuki and Erika at the same time, staring at him in surprise.