As the setting sun dyed the blue sky with its light orange, the three returned from their day of the hunt. It was the first time for Tetsuya to engage in combat, but for some reason, his body moves on its own as if it was all carved into his bones. In addition, he discovered that he has quite the talent in magic, being able to learn new spells quickly.

"That's a good days of work," Tetsuya stretches his back as the three walked out of the market after selling the dropped items from the goblins.

"You wanna go eat dinner?" Juliana asked the two of them.

"Sure," Tetsuya said with a smile.

Azura nodded in agreement.

"You two can go wait at my dorm suite," Juliana said to them. "I have to go buy ingredients for tonight."

"You're cooking?" Tetsuya asked.

"I might not look like it but I would say I am a pretty good cook."

"She's right," Azura agreed. "Juliana's cooking is above average."

"Alright then, we'll wait for you at your place then," Tetsuya said with excitement.

*

After they arrived at Loganel and Juliana's dorm suite, Azura turned the handle on the door and the door was opened. Inside, it was quiet aside from the meowing of Mazriel.

"Azura?" Laurina walked out of Loganel's room and emerged in the living room area.

"Hello, Laurina," Azura smiled and nodded to greet her. "How's Loganel doing?"

"Still asleep but condition is stable," Laurina said with a relieved voice. "I've told him to not go taking risks but he just doesn't listen."

"I'm sorry," Azura apologized, "he did it to buy us time to escape..."

"Don't worry Azura," Laurina said, walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault."

"..."

"Alright then," Laurina then stretched, "I'll head to my dorm room now, take care."

"Goodbye Laurina," Azura said as she watched Laurina leave the dorm suite and closed the door behind her, leaving just her and Tetsuya in the dorm.

"Who was that?" Tetsuya asked.

"Loganel's sister," Azura said, walking over to the couch and sitting down next to Mazriel. She then started gently stroking its fur.

The room was quiet for the next few minutes. Tetsuya day on the couch adjacent to Azura's. He was tense from being so nervous, and his face was red and heart racing. This is the first time that he is alone with Azura, whom he has a crush on. The ticking of the clock combined with the purring of Mazriel didn't help him relax either.

To avoid looking like a creep and staring at Azura, Tetsuya looked around the living room. He could see the traces of life that the occupants had left behind. The simple furnishing, he believed, was Loganel's idea since Juliana seemed like the type to decorate. He doesn't know Loganel so the only way he could know about his character is by inferring.

Suddenly, Azura stood up from the couch and walked past the couch Tetsuya was sitting in and into the hallway with the two bedrooms on either side. She mad a left turn and entered a room. Tetsuya followed her and realized that the room that they had entered belonged to the unconscious boy.

Azura was sitting on the chair that Laurina had used when she was taking care of Loganel during the day and Azura stared at the boy with guilt.

"What kind of person is he?" Tetsuya asked, standing idly by the door.

"He's...he's someone that lacks a desire to work, always seeking to go the easy way and has an eye that makes you feel like he's never giving it his all. Basically just someone who doesn't want to do anything that he doesn't have to."

"Wow..." Tetsuya was astonished by Azura's remark.

"But," Azura continued, "he's someone who can get things done when it comes to it. We...we pushed the burden of decision making during dire situations into him...He just somehow assumed that role himself without saying. He's... not hesitant like me."

"Do you consider him a nice person?"

"I would say so," Azura said, eyeing the boy that laid motionlessly on the bed with fatigue in her eyes. "I owe him a lot for my life."

"Well, we should leave him to his rest," Tetsuya said with a smile and admiration for the boy. "He deserves this rest."

"Yeah," Azura agreed, standing up and left the room with Tetsuya.

They then returned to the awkward silence of the living room. Tetsuya was still quite nervous around Azura when they were alone, and he realized that when they were in Loganel's room, he had fared better.

"So...what was your world like?" Azura finally broke the silence with her curiosity.

"Oh," Tetsuya was caught off guard by the sudden question but seeing that they finally have a topic to talk about, he seized the opportunity. "It's a beautiful place. My father is from this country Japan and my mother is from this country Russia, but I used to live in Tokyo."

"So is your appearance one of that of those that live in Japan or Russia?"

"I would say that I look almost a hundred percent Russian, maybe with a hint of Japanese," Tetsuya answered. "But back to the world I was from, it is a world of peace."

"Peace?" Azura tilted her head as she stared at him, making Tetsuya's heart to beat even faster.

"Yes," Tetsuya answered. "Peace. Even though there are some nations engaging in skirmishes and the occasional crime, the majority of the world is peaceful. There's no magic in my world but instead, we use technology, things like guns and--"

"Guns?"

"Something like bows; it shoots out a bullet at super fast speeds. There's also things like this," Tetsuya then reached into his pocket and took out his smartphone. "Even though it's useless in this world but I keep it around."

"What is this?" Azura looked at the mysterious device and carefully accepted it from Tetsuya with both hands. She then studied the device, turning it over and checking out the back.

"Check this out," Tetsuya said, getting up in order to relocate himself to sit next to Azura. He then leaned towards her as he brought his hand to the home button on his phone. Upon pressing it, the screen on the phone lit up, displaying his lock screen background.

Azura, surprised by the sudden illumination from the device in her hands, almost dropped it but managed to secure her grip on it in the end, preventing it from crashing down to the floor. "What is this?"

"This is what we call a phone," Tetsuya said, smiling as he observed Azura's face up close. He was pleased that he was able to attract her attention by talking about things as common as a smartphone. "You can have it if you want."

"I cannot accept it," Azura responded by shaking her head. "This must be something of value to you."

"It's fine. I have no use for it anymore," Tetsuya explained. "There's no service here, meaning that most of its functions are limited. I would more rather you take it, as a gift."

"If you insist," Azura smiled as she held the phone with both hands.

"Oh and it won't stay lit forever," Tetsuya added.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You see that bar at the top right corner, the bar will slowly drain and when the bar goes to zero, the phone will be unable to light up again if it isn't charged. Sadly, in this world, to my knowledge, there's no way to charge a phone."

Azura listened to his words, and then stared at the lit screen before her, her iris reflecting the faint glow of the phone. "Something as beautiful as this cannot be eternal..."

"Yeah, that sucks," Tetsuya relaxed and rested on the couch. "Aside from phones, we have buildings that are super tall, taller than all the buildings in this city. Our cities are filled with those tall buildings, something like a concrete jungle."

"The world you're from is interesting," Azura smiled, amused by the new information that she is receiving about this world that exists but in a place so far away that distance cannot be used to measure how far away it is. "A world of peace, where people could live their lives without fear of death at every corner...sounds like an utopia."

"After I defeat the Demon King, wanna go to my world and tour around?" Tetsuya suggested.

"If the opportunity arises, then sure," Azura smiled, looking at Tetsuya who now sat beside her on the couch.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps. It was Juliana who is returning from the market.

"She's about to be home," Azura said.

"Yeah," Tetsuya said, his voice laced with a hint of sadness. He wanted to be alone with Azura for a bit longer, he wanted to see her smile more. But all things come to an end, just like the life of the battery on the phone that he had gifted Azura.

"Tetsuya?" Azura said to him as she stood up and walked over to the doorway to prepare to welcome Juliana back, "if we have the time, can you tell me more about the world of yours?"

"Of course," said with a big, satisfied smile on his face. He was happy with the fact that he was able to keep a conversation with a girl that he has a certain affinity for and keep her interested and happy.

The door handle then turned, slowly opening and signifying the end of their time alone to reveal Juliana, who had a bag of fresh produce in her arms.

"Sorry for the wait," she said with an energetic smile. "You must be hungry. I'll start making food immediately."

"Alright, I've been starving," Tetsuya laughed as he and Azura followed Juliana over to the kitchen to observe her cooking.

In the living room area of the dorm suite, there was a happy and joyous atmosphere. They were all smiling and enjoying themselves. They delve into what appears to be their youth, searching for a fun time to pass time. In the end, always claiming that this is what is natural for people their age. Even the snow of Azura appeared to have been melted a bit by the boy that she had just met. This is the power of youth. It all revolved around charisma.

With this power of youth, happiness--or something similar--is created. This would then in turn lead to the human brain focusing on what is at hand and forgetting about all the worries that one has. This was the case for the lone boy who laid unconscious in the nearby room just down the short hallway a short distance from the kitchen.

The boy and the dark room that he occupied was a polar opposite from the living room kitchen, where the lights are turned on and happiness is had. Here, there was nothing. There was no warmth, for him at all. The warmth and kindness that was intended for the boy has been stolen by the new boy, leaving the boy who laid on the bed in a world of loneliness and cold, bone chilling frost.

This frost that covered the boy, would it one day be melted? Would it be possible for spring to even return from its slumber? No matter how long it is, it will come. Time always flows and never stops. The slumbering spring will one day return, melt the frost and waken the boy. One day, the boy's eyes will open again, but would it still retain its faint glimmer of joy after seeing what has happened when he's gone? Only time will tell.

Author's Note:

Hope everybody made it through finals week. And as for Net Neutrality, the fight will go on. Please vote and add to your reading list if you find the story entertaining or something. I don't know, you decide. Also, comment and I will respond to any questions you have.

Come on people, I'm feeling lonely...