Chapter 7 Part IV

My phone's tracking data displayed the entrance of the electronics store. Not to be put off, Ichinose came running after me and stuck close. As we approached our destination, I was incredibly winded. I had to stop and catch my breath. Just as a precaution, I signaled Ichinose to be quiet.

"Please don't contact me anymore!"

"Why would you say something like that? You're my treasure… Ever since I first saw you in a magazine, I've loved you. Meeting you again here, I felt like it was destiny. I love you… I can't stop feeling this way about you!"

"Stop… Please, stop it!" Sakura shouted. She took something out of her bag. Letters. It looked like dozens…no, hundreds of letters. I wondered how many this man had sent.

"How do you know my room number? Why do you keep sending these?"

"Why? Of course I would know your room number and send you letters. It's because our hearts are connected."

Sakura had probably been suffering ever since she started school here. Her fan knew her identity, and she had to deal with his attention every day. However, Sakura had had enough and, thanks to her newfound courage, was going to break away. She'd decided to free herself from him here and now. Her resolve made sense now.

"Please stop it. It's bothering me!"

She tossed the bundle of letters to the floors, rejecting the man's unrequited love.

"Why… Why would you do something like that? Even after I wrote out my feelings to you!"

"D-don't come any closer!"

The man closed the distance between him and Sakura. He walked with an intensity that made it look as though he were about to attack. Latching onto Sakura's arm, he shoved her up against the store's shuttered door.

"I'll show you just how much I love you now… If I do that, then you'll understand, Sakura."

"No, let me go!"

Ichinose tugged on my sleeve. Apparently, we couldn't leave things alone any longer. I'd wanted to wait until we could catch him in the act with something definitive, but it looks like I had no choice. Taking Ichinose's arm, we strutted out like a delinquent couple. While walking by, we took pictures with our phones, our cameras clicking repeatedly.

"Ah, looks like we caught them! That old guy's doing something naughty!"

"Huh?!"

Sakura was completely dumbfounded after hearing me speak in the unfamiliar tone of a delinquent. It was incredibly embarrassing, but I dealt with it.

"Ooh, 'Adult harasses high school girl.' I can just see the headlines tomorrow; it'll be a huge scandal!"

"N-no! That's wrong. You're wrong!"

"Hmm, it certainly doesn't sound wrong. Does it? It kind of looks that way, don't you think?"

Ichinose tried to match my performance, but her tone was cruel. The man, now flustered, hurriedly pulled away from Sakura. But we were prepared with our cameras.

"Wrong? I don't think so. Whoa, look at all those letters! Gross. Are you a stalker?"

She pinched her nose as she picked up the letters, as if grabbing someone else's socks. She picked them up by their corners, using only her index finger and thumb.

"You're wrong. It's just…yeah, that. She said she wanted someone to teach her how to use a digital camera, so I said I'd teach her one-on-one. That's all."

"Hmmm."

I drew closer to the man, pressing him up against the shutter.

"Me and my girlfriend saw everything. So we took pictures. If you show your face to that girl again, or send her any more disgusting letters, we'll expose you. Got it?"

"Ha ha ha ha! What are you talking about? I really don't…know what you're talking about."

"You don't know what I'm talking about? You're not weaseling out of this, old man. If you so much as raise a hand at or even just ogle this idol, that'll be the end for you. I'll beat the shit out of you. Got it?"

"Eek!"

After he completely lost his will to fight, I deliberately gave him some time to escape.

"G-goodbye! I won't do that ever again!"

The store clerk raced back inside the store to get away from us. With the source of her terror gone, Sakura suddenly looked exhausted. She looked like she was going to topple over and collapse, so I hurriedly grabbed her arms and held her up.

"You did really well."

I'd preached at her a lot, but that was probably unnecessary now. She'd been trying to vanquish the suffering she'd faced on her own. I had to consider her feelings.

"Ayanokouji… kun. Why are you here?"

"I'm really glad that I exchanged contact information with you." I took out my phone, which showed Sakura's location.

"I guess I'm no good after all… I couldn't do anything by myself in the end."

"That's not true. It was really cool when you threw those letters to the ground." I pointed to the mess of multicolored paper scattered everywhere.

"Hey, hey. Who's this mystery person you mentioned? Some idol?" Ichinose tossed one of the disgusting letters to the ground, tilting her head in confusion.

"That's…"

Although I didn't want to hide anything from Ichinose, I hesitated to speak without Sakura's permission. However, Sakura met my eyes and gave me a slight nod.

"Sakura over here was an idol when she was in junior high. Her name was Shizuku."

"Huh?! Idol?! That's amazing! She's an entertainer! Ooh, shake my hand, shake my hand!" Ichinose was filled with childlike excitement.

"But I never appeared on TV or anything…"

"Even so, that's so amazing! I've never thought about becoming an idol or anything."

I didn't know about that. I thought that Ichinose had the face and figure for it… No, rather, I thought she had the necessary qualities.

"When did you realize, Ayanokouji-kun?" Sakura asked.

"A little while ago. Sorry. Several other people in class realized, too." Since she was going to find out eventually, I decided to just tell her.

"I think I'm actually glad about this, though… It's been hard to lie."

If this situation had given Sakura the ability to finally remove her mask, then it was a good thing.

"At any rate, you were way too brave. I was going to have to step in if something happened."

"Ha ha… Yeah, you're probably right. I was so scared."

The girl who had openly cried in front of me yesterday was now laughing in a rather peculiar way. She laughed while seemingly on the verge of tears.

"Ayanokouji-kun… Don't look at me with such strange eyes."

"Strange eyes?"

"Never mind, it's nothing." Sakura didn't clarify, but she wore a slightly happy smile on her face. "Do you think everyone would notice if I came to class without my glasses, and changed my hairstyle?"

"I think there's a possibility that people at school might panic when they notice…but I think it'll be fine."

I suddenly pictured a beautiful girl, with tons of spectators rushing forward to catch a glimpse of her. She had a gentle disposition, and qualities that would make boys naturally crowd around her.

"Whoa… You're so amazingly cute! You make a completely different impression without your glasses!"

It seemed as though Ichinose had looked up Shizuku on her phone. She seemed excited by what she found. Even though the incident with Sudou might have endangered our class and highlighted our lack of unity, at least it had given Sakura a chance to grow. Maybe it was all worth it, in the end.

Wait. I really wasn't the type of person to think like that. Or, perhaps, I should say that I didn't know what kind of person I was in the first place. Was this the real me? I felt a bit confused.

"Sorry. For being quiet for so long."

"It's nothing you have to apologize for. We don't have to talk about it. However, I think that now we have the type of relationship where we can talk about things. If you're suffering or if you feel lost, you can talk to me. You should consult Horikita and Kushida, too."

Behind me, Ichinose purposefully flopped over in an exaggerated manner.

"So, you're telling her 'You can talk to me.' I wonder what you mean?"

I had no answer for that.

"Okay. I understand," Sakura murmured.

"Ah, I'll help out too." Though Ichinose didn't know her too well, she still smiled at Sakura.

"I'm Ichinose, from Class B. It's nice to meet you, Sakura-san."

Sakura looked a little hesitant, but shook Ichinose's outstretched hand.

"By the way, didn't you want to tell me something in the special building a little while ago?" I asked, thinking back to my conversation with Ichinose.

"Ah yeah, that's right. There was something important I wanted to talk to you about."

Ichinose took a moment to catch her breath, and then adopted a serious look.

"I probably shouldn't be saying this right now, but…there was someone pulling the strings behind this whole Sudou incident."

"Pulling the strings?"

Because Ichinose looked so deadly serious, I didn't think this was just a hunch of hers.

"To tell the truth, there was a dispute between Class B and Class C students before. That time, though, the school didn't get involved. Someone named Ryuuen-kun masterminded that one."

"Ryuuen? I don't recognize the name."

"That's because he hasn't seen any reason to reveal himself just yet. There's no reason that you'd know him."

Ichinose, who always looked so bright, now appeared somber and grim.

"I'm the most vigilant of all the first-years here. I think he set up Sudou-kun to look like a liar, and instigated the dispute with Class B. This was all his handiwork. He doesn't hesitate to hurt other people for the sake of his own interests. He's a formidable opponent."

"When Class B had trouble, did you manage a peaceful resolution?"

"Somehow, yeah. However, if you looked at it like a game, I can't say whether I won or lost… Anyway, I think because what he devised was easier to see through this time, I've started to understand how this school is structured. You should be careful."

I didn't know who this Ryuuen was, but he was undoubtedly a very dangerous opponent. Someone who developed merciless strategies that could lead to our expulsion if we missed a single step.

"So if anything ever happens, you can come to me for help. Talk to me whenever you need it."

"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind."