April 10th, Monday.
Today was the day to report in at the University of Tokyo. Ichin and Utaha got up on time in the morning, washed up, had a light breakfast, and then drove out together.
Since the collage was close—right in Tokyo—and Utaha hadn't asked her parents to come along, the two of them could just go by themselves. They didn't have to live in the dorms or bring any luggage; all they needed to do was register, meet some classmates from their respective majors, and pick up their textbooks.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Utaha checked her makeup in a small mirror one last time before glancing at Ichin.
"Say, Ichin, what kind of classmates do you think we'll meet?"
"How would I know? All I know is that my major has a ton of guys and hardly any girls. I heard that when I went to talk to a professor about graduate employment prospects. As for you, I'm guessing the literature department will have more girls—at least the gender ratio there should be a bit better than mine."
"That's true."
"What's this? You never used to care about that sort of thing. Trying to expand your social circle?"
"Not really." Utaha shook her head. "But since we'll be spending the next four years together, I'm a little curious. I just hope I won't run into any troublesome people."
"Well, they all got into Todai, and everyone's eighteen already. The chance of running into an unpleasant personality should be pretty low—it's a small-probability event."
Chatting like this, they soon reached the university gates.
Ichin had already handled some paperwork during a visit over the break and had been assigned a parking spot, so they drove straight in without trouble—one of the perks of being an outstanding student.
Parking the car, Ichin noticed that quite a few students had driven themselves. Understandable—university meant newfound freedom, and some students from well-off families who hadn't shown it before could now live more freely.
After a quick look around, Ichin took Utaha's hand.
"Let's go get registered. We don't have class today—once we finish this morning, we can visit Yukino and check on Peppa and Sesame in the afternoon."
After Yukino started caring for Sesame, just as expected, the little white cat had become pregnant.
With a two-month gestation period for cats, more than a month had already passed—kittens would be arriving soon. And since it was the school break, Yukino spent most of her time at home caring for the expectant cat, eagerly awaiting the kittens' birth.
Still chatting about the cats, they arrived at the registration area. Most students were accompanied by parents, though there were also some who came alone. Couples like Ichin and Utaha were rare.
Since they were in different faculties, Ichin first accompanied Utaha to the literature department to register before heading to the computer science department himself.
The computer science faculty staff already knew him from before, so when they saw him, they happily helped with the process.
"All set, Ichin-kun. Next, you can go pick up your textbooks. I remember you have a car, right? Once you get your books, you should put them in the car before heading to the classroom—it's a bit of a walk."
"Got it. Thanks, sensei."
After thanking them, Ichin headed to the book distribution area with Utaha.
By the time they arrived, there was already quite a line. It took about ten minutes before it was their turn.
As the faculty member had said, there were a lot of books—especially for computer science, where each volume was large and heavy. Utaha's literature textbooks weren't much lighter in comparison.
Seeing her struggling under the weight, Ichin said,
"Give them to me, I'll carry them."
Utaha didn't insist, stacking her books on top of his.
"Thanks, Ichin~~"
"It's fine, not that heavy."
They stored the books in the car and then headed to the academic buildings, where they had to part ways.
Checking his watch, Ichin said,
"We'll definitely be done before noon. If you finish first, message me and wait somewhere—same goes for me. If you finish before I do, call Yukino and see about lunch. If she hasn't cooked yet, we can pick her up and eat out."
"Alright, I got it."
After splitting up, Ichin went to the third floor and found the classroom where his class was gathering.
Opening the door, he saw the expected lively scene—plenty of students had already arrived. Just as he'd heard, there were far more guys than girls.
Not that it mattered to him. Ignoring a few curious glances, he walked calmly to the back and took a seat.
Almost immediately, two guys in the row ahead turned around. The one on the left, wearing glasses, looked excited.
"It really is you, Ichin-kun! Hi, I'm Takahashi Satoshi!"
"And I'm Ozawa Shun."
"Nice to meet you." Ichin smiled and nodded. "Didn't think anyone here would know me."
"Of course we know you!" Takahashi said excitedly. "We've been gaming fans since we were kids. We've played both of the games you made, and we've already pre-ordered Persona!"
Ozawa nodded. "Yeah, we're really looking forward to it."
"Thanks, I appreciate it," Ichin said, pleasantly surprised to meet classmates who liked his company's work. "When Persona releases, I promise it won't disappoint."
A short chat revealed that the two were from the same high school and had been close friends for years. Like many gaming enthusiasts, they hadn't dated in high school and were a little socially awkward with girls.
Ichin also noticed they had no idea he had a girlfriend—they probably just followed his games and nothing else.
Soon, the rest of the class arrived, and the homeroom teacher and counselor entered for the first official meeting.
Naturally, it began with self-introductions.
Ichin kept it simple and low-key before sitting back down, pulling out his phone, and messaging Utaha—whose schedule seemed to be moving along at about the same pace as his.
*