Chapter 86: Unexpected meeting.

*Some Days Later*

*Itan High School*

*First Recess*

Tadano: "Hey… what do you all think about going to the nearby pool?"

*Silence*

*cheers*

Najimi: "That's a great idea, Tadano-kun!!!" Najimi shouted excitedly.

Shouko nodded enthusiastically at the idea, with a pair of cat ears happily twitching on her head.

KomiCat was in full display...

Nene: "That sounds fun…" she said, interested.

Kaede: "Good idea… we can also show you our swimsuits∼" she said in her usual gentle tone.

However, a mischievous hand was rubbing my thigh.

Seeing her, I caught her giving me a playful smile before she continued picking from my bento.

One by one, the other members of the group agreed with the idea.

Kaede: "Now that I think about it, Shouko-chan, do you have a swimsuit other than the school one?" she asked curiously.

Shouko's mood seemed to dampen a bit as she timidly raised her notebook.

Shouko: "I-Is it bad to only have the school swimsuit?"

All the girls, including the very kind Amami and the innocent Inaka, rolled their eyes at Shouko's statement.

Then they gathered and surrounded Shouko.

Shouko trembled at their sudden actions.

Placing a hand on her shoulder with a serious face, Kaede spoke.

Kaede: "You wouldn't want to show such an embarrassing appearance in front of Hitohito-kun, right?"

Shouko: "!!!" She was surprised at the thought and, raising her pair of delicate fists, she nodded determinedly.

Kaede: "Good… after class, we'll find you a proper swimsuit, and all of us will help you," she said with a smile.

Then Najimi in the group raised her hand and, with an excited voice, said.

Najimi: "Alright, girls, I declare the mission of finding a cute swimsuit for Komi-san initiated!" she said while raising her fist in the air.

The rest of the girls raised their fists as well, nodding enthusiastically.

Yamai raised her hand and said.

Yamai: "I know a good shop that has cute swimsuits."

Kaede rolled her eyes but didn't insist.

Najimi nodded at Yamai's statement.

Najimi: "Decided! Good job, soldier Yamai… now everyone be ready, we'll meet at the school entrance after classes," she said, imitating a military general's attitude.

I smiled happily, watching the events unfold.

Shouko looked at me, somewhat worried.

I shook my head and just patted her head.

In a low voice, I said.

Tadano: "I look forward to seeing the final result∼" I said, teasingly licking her ear.

She blushed like a tomato and looked at me very embarrassed, holding her ear.

I laughed at her reaction, though it didn't last long before my cheeks were pinched by Kaede and Nene behind me.

Kaede and Nene: "Don't bully Shouko-chan!!!"

Tadano: "Alright… alright… let go, it hurts!" I said in a pitiful tone.

Both rolled their eyes at my attempt to appear pitiable and, instead of loosening their grip, they pulled harder.

Tadano: "AHHH!!!"

Both laughed amusedly seeing me like this.

When I looked around for help, I only found Shouko's amused expression.

Tadano: "Betrayal! These women are trying to kill their husband!!!"

Shinomiya: "You asked for it…"

Tomoya: "Didn't you like gathering girls? Then enjoy this too…"

Nagisa: "That's what you get for being a bad boy to Shouko-chan!"

Tadano: *Sigh*

…

After school, the girls all went together in Kaede's car, leaving the rest of the boys alone.

I looked at them.

They looked at me.

In a tacit understanding, we all went our separate ways.

It had been a while since I was alone, so I decided to stroll through the streets.

While doing so, I decided to use the free spin on the Premium Roulette.

Using the sink in a nearby park and a few prayers to the lady of luck, I pressed the button.

*Ding*

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Diamond-grade skill [Programming – Professional]]

[Programming – Professional]: "As long as something is technological or needs a line of code, you can handle it. Programs are just simple lines of code understandable to you. Given enough time, it's possible to create an artificial intelligence."

Tadano: "Hmm… While this could have many dubious uses, the most practical one currently is for creating games."

Shinomiya: "Oh! Are you thinking of…"

Tadano: "Exactly… why don't we bring an indisputable giant into this world… the Fate series?"

Shinomiya: "The novel is somewhat simple, and Grand Order is a goldmine waiting to be exploited…"

Tadano: "The animes and spin-offs too…"

I couldn't help but get excited about what awaited me.

As I walked, I noticed a very striking hair color.

A small girl with a bluish-purple hair color caught my attention.

She was nervously looking around.

She was pulling a small suitcase.

If her characteristic hair color didn't tell me who she was… seeing those beautiful violet eyes with a pair of shining six-pointed stars, I immediately knew who she was.

Tadano: "What the heck is Hoshino Ai doing in the middle of the city?… more importantly, we're not even close to Tokyo…"

Shinomiya: "I think you're forgetting something very important…"

Tadano: "???"

Shinomiya: "*Sigh* Remember… Hoshino Ai is an airhead."

Upon hearing that, I recalled.

On multiple occasions, Ai tends to get lost or forget her schedules.

That's why Ichigo often held her hand in the original work.

Tadano: "…this girl is not only far from her target location but also lost in a completely different place."

Shinomiya: "That's Hoshino Ai for you."

…

*POV Ai*

Ai is very scared.

She didn't plan to travel in the first place.

Now she found herself in an unknown place and without money.

Ai's day until yesterday was routine.

After being influenced by the dazzling performance of the Wandering Musician, Ai had decided to start intensive practice.

After the morning meeting with the orphanage supervisor, she would sneak out and practice her singing and dancing in the TV store.

The uncle was kind and let her use an old TV in the back of the store.

In exchange, Ai would cheer in his store and attract customers.

This deal seemed fine to Ai.

She spent her days practicing and attracting customers.

The uncle was very kind and gave her a small salary.

Saving this money along with her occasional street performances gave Ai a considerable sum of money.

She was happy and felt motivated seeing more people attracted to the store by her actions.

However, all good things come to an end.

Yesterday, Ai was called by the supervisor.

Ai was very nervous on her way to the supervisor's office.

She wondered if her actions had been discovered.

To her dismay, it was something much worse.

Upon entering the door, she saw her.

Her mother was sitting in one of the chairs.

It was then that the supervisor informed her that her mother was there to pick her up.

Apparently, she had somehow managed to get out of jail and was now here to take her.

Her mother had a smug expression when she looked at her.

She knew it, her mother saw her as nothing more than a doll to vent her frustrations on.

Ai panicked, but using the acting skills she had been learning these days, she didn't reveal her discontent and instead showed a cheerful smile.

She was told that her mother would pick her up tomorrow afternoon, so Ai had to prepare her things to leave.

Ai obediently nodded and returned to her room.

Seeing that none of the other children who were her roommates were present, she approached a corner and sat down.

She started trembling and then cried silently.

Ai was very frustrated.

Ai was very unhappy.

Her bright future was about to be extinguished by the dark shadow of her mother.

Ai was aggrieved and unwilling.

However, she packed her things and put them in a suitcase that the uncle from the store had given her.

She planned to use this suitcase when she had the confidence to travel to Tokyo and fulfill her dream, but it seemed this wouldn't be possible.

In the midst of this spiral of sadness and negativity.

She then had a wild idea.

She would escape!

While it might be dangerous for someone as young as her to go to Tokyo, at this moment, any place was better than being by her mother's side.

With this in mind and a determined heart, she gathered her things into her small suitcase and quietly left the orphanage.

She went to the TV store again.

Ai had asked the uncle to keep her savings; she didn't trust leaving them at the orphanage as it was likely one of the children would find and take it.

Ai trusted the uncle of the store enough to leave her savings with him.

When she informed the uncle of her intention, his face saddened.

Uncle: "Are you sure about this, Ai-chan? It can be very dangerous…" he said with concern.

Ai: "I know, uncle, but I don't want to go back to my mother… I refuse to be mistreated like that again, I refuse to let my dreams wither away like that. You told me

 before that I have a talent for attracting people. Well, I want to use it, I want to become the best idol in the world, and when I'm number one, I'll come back to see you and buy you lots of TVs." said the little Ai with a dazzling smile.

The uncle initially wanted to convince her not to escape, but seeing her so determined and knowing a bit about the woman who was Ai's mother, he let it be. Instead, he gave her directions on which trains or buses to take.

Then he brought out a small piggy bank.

Ai's heart ached when he broke it, especially since it was such a cute piggy bank, but she hardened her heart and broke it.

After taking her savings, she put them in her pocket, and when she was about to leave, the uncle stopped her.

Before she could say anything, the uncle handed her an envelope.

Inside it were a few thousand yen.

Ai was surprised and wanted to refuse.

But the uncle pressed her hands and said.

Uncle: "Don't reject it… in any case, consider it an investment. I'll be one of your sponsors, and you'll pay me back when you're famous enough." he said with a smile.

Ai was very moved and nodded.

She would remember this uncle.

When she was famous enough, she would come back and buy his entire store.

She told herself before leaving.

…

The problems started when she went to the train station.

She took the train the uncle told her about, but during the trip, she got very sleepy and fell asleep.

When she woke up, she was at a station she didn't recognize.

Then she wanted to return, but with the crowd of people, she got lost.

Finally, by the afternoon of the next day, she was in an unknown place.

She had the bad luck that her pockets had a hole, and most of her savings had fallen out along the way.

This depressed her a lot.

Now hungry and with little money, she decided to buy something nearby the station.

But she got lost again.

Ai wanted to cry.

She didn't know if the remaining money would be enough to get to Tokyo or even rent a room to stay.

For starters, would they even rent a room to someone her age?

Ai started thinking about this and gradually began to panic.

When she was about to hit rock bottom, a hand rested on her shoulder.

Followed by a charming voice.

Tadano: "Are you okay, little one?"

…

Author's Note: "Here's a bit of backstory. Here's your chapter. I'm probably working myself to exhaustion when I publish this. I really hate weekends. Putting that aside, remember to drink plenty of water and that I love you very much. Sincerely, your favorite depressed author."

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