Akira immediately relaxed and replied casually.
"Yeah, that happened. I ran into Ryouta first, then ended up meeting your four childhood heavenly ki—uh, your four childhood friends too. Seems they still get along pretty well…"
He caught himself mid-sentence, realizing he'd touched a sore spot by mentioning how Hitomi had distanced herself from them, and quickly apologized.
"Ah, sorry, Class Rep. I didn't mean you aren't important or anything, it's just… um…"
Seeing how carefully Akira was considering her feelings, Hitomi wasn't upset at all. Instead, warmth spread through her chest.
"It's fine, Akira-kun. You don't have to worry about that. After all, I was the one who chose to distance myself… Besides, things didn't really end badly between us or anything."
"Right. I mean, Saionji-san even reached out to you first… So the reason she contacted you has something to do with the favor you're about to ask me? Something related to Takanashi-san?"
"Exactly. Actually, it's been quite a while since Mao and I talked. She suddenly reached out this time specifically because she wanted my help with Mirai-chan."
"So, did something happen to Takanashi-san?"
"Apparently, Mirai-chan suddenly stopped coming to school."
"Huh? Was she suspended or something?"
"No. I already asked the homeroom teacher for Class 1-B. He told me Mirai-chan never requested leave; she just abruptly stopped showing up. Her mother doesn't know why either—she even came to the school to ask, but the teachers were clueless. They said they'd look into it later… but honestly, I doubt anything will come of that."
Hoping the teachers would solve this was pointless. Not every teacher was as dedicated as Kozaikawa Motoko, who put 120% effort into caring for each student. Most preferred avoiding trouble, at best casually asking the class if anyone knew what happened.
That's why good teachers—who genuinely cared about students—were incredibly rare, making them precious blessings in a student's life. After all, aside from family, schools shaped young people the most.
Akira crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"If she just stopped coming all of a sudden… Could it be bullying?"
When students suddenly refused to attend school, bullying was often the culprit. Few stopped attending purely because they hated studying—at the very least, most aimed to get their high school diplomas.
Usually, it meant they'd suffered emotional trauma from bullying, given up hope, and chosen to shut themselves away at home. Sadly, this wasn't uncommon in Japan.
From what Akira had seen personally, though, open bullying didn't seem common at their school—at least not in Class 1-A. Maybe other classes were different.
Mentioning bullying caused Hitomi's expression to dim slightly as she answered uncertainly.
"Well…we don't know the details yet, but I think it probably involves bullying. Mao mentioned Mirai-chan got into a fight with some classmates off-campus."
"A physical fight between girls? Sounds serious."
Girls could be vicious when pushed to that point—not just simple slaps, but hair-pulling, scratching, biting, ripping clothes, and even kicking and punching were all on the table.
Akira suddenly recalled Takanashi Mirai's eyepatch. Apparently, it hadn't just been a chuuni fashion choice—she'd genuinely been injured.
"Mao said she only gathered everyone that day because her younger sister mentioned Mirai-chan's fight…"
"Wait, Saionji-san's sister attends our school?"
"Yeah. Mao has a twin sister named Makoto. Their parents divorced when they were younger, and Makoto went with their mother, so they ended up attending different schools. Despite that, they've stayed very close."
"I see… And this Makoto-san, is she friends with Takanashi-san?"
"Not exactly friends—they just happen to be classmates. Makoto's always been pretty distant and only played with us briefly as kids. But she knew Mirai was Mao's friend, so when she saw Mirai fighting, she told Mao about it."
"And that's when Saionji-san reached out to you?"
"Exactly. Mao really wants to help Mirai-chan, but she attends another school and can't do much herself, so she asked if I had any ideas."
"Got it."
Akira now clearly understood the situation.
Saionji Mao sure liked to meddle… or maybe she just cared deeply for her friends?
Most people, having drifted apart, wouldn't bother intervening even if they knew an old friend was struggling—everyone avoided trouble these days. Saionji Mao seemed genuinely kindhearted, someone who always reached out to help her friends.
"Mao also mentioned that shortly after their meeting, Mirai-chan stopped attending school completely. She worried something else might have happened afterward, so she asked me to look into it. But like I said earlier, nothing else seems to have come up."
"Oh…"
Akira suddenly remembered a possibility that sent a chill down his spine.
That day at the restaurant, Saionji Mao had asked Shion if she planned to return to school. Shion's response had been clear: she wouldn't, because attending school wouldn't help her become a seiyuu.
And Akira vaguely remembered someone mentioning Takanashi's mother was a professional seiyuu…
If Takanashi Mirai's mother was a voice actress, Mirai herself likely aspired to be one too. Maybe hearing Shion say schooling was useless for seiyuu careers inspired Mirai to abandon school entirely?
Crap. Did this end up being my fault somehow?
"So, Class Rep, are you asking me to investigate this incident?"
"No, rather than investigating what already happened, I think it's better to help Mirai-chan move forward. So, Akira-kun, I'm hoping you can use your exceptional persuasion skills to convince her to return to school."
"Oh, so you want me to play negotiator?"
"Yes. Also, Mirai-chan loves video games, anime, manga—that kind of stuff. I'm not very familiar with those topics, but you know quite a bit, right?"
"A little."
"Momo-chan's an expert too, but her personality isn't really suited for this kind of persuasion."
"True enough. So, in short, you want me to convince Takanashi Mirai—who's currently skipping school—to return?"
"Exactly."
"And…my reward?"
"Already prepared, of course."
With a sweet smile, Hitomi leaned close to Akira's ear and whispered enticingly:
"Your reward is… full use of me…for an entire day~"
---
T/N: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE TOO YABAI
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