Tachibana Hina looked at Hiratsuka Shizuka, who seemed ready to explode into full berserker mode at any moment. She quickly flashed a calming smile and gestured gently, signaling her senior not to do anything rash. She pointed at herself, indicating she'd handle this situation.
"Hayato-kun, skipping class is wrong, but as long as you don't do it again in the future, everything will be fine." Her voice was soft and encouraging, like she was talking to a child who'd made a minor mistake. "But saying you have amnesia... that's really not good. Sensei believes you're a good kid at heart."
On the other end of the line, Hayato couldn't help but notice how young this teacher's voice sounded. She was treating him like an elementary school student.
Fresh out of university, probably. Maybe she just graduated and got hired this year?
This teacher probably doesn't have much experience dealing with high school students yet.
"Sensei, I'm serious. I really have amnesia. There are things I can't remember anymore."
Tachibana Hina found herself in a difficult position. Directly calling him a liar would obviously be inappropriate. That might trigger a rebellious response and push their teacher-student relationship into outright antagonism. She needed to tread carefully here.
"I think it has something to do with the murder case I witnessed after the concert."
Both women froze.
Wait, what? A murder case?
"When I came to, I realized there were a lot of things I couldn't remember anymore."
"Um, Hayato-kun, what you're saying..." Tachibana Hina's voice wavered with uncertainty.
This was getting harder to dismiss as a simple excuse.
"I'm telling the truth. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has my statement on record. There's an official transcript of my interview."
The police actually have a record of his statement? Then something really did happen.
Tachibana Hina's concern immediately shifted from discipline to the student's well-being. "Hayato-kun, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm not injured, sensei. Please don't worry. It's just that I can't remember a lot of things anymore."
At this point in the conversation, Tachibana Hina found herself leaning toward believing him. His story was too specific, too verifiable to be a simple lie.
She turned to Hiratsuka Shizuka with a helpless, seeking look.
Hiratsuka scratched her chin with her right hand, her expression somewhere between skeptical and convinced. After a moment, she gave a slight nod, indicating they should give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
"I understand your situation for the time being. What kind of help do you need right now? Should I come to Tokyo and pick you up to bring you back to school?"
A truly good teacher. She didn't even hesitate to offer to make the trip herself, despite how much trouble that would be.
"I can come to the school on my own. I still remember basic common sense and how things work. I just don't know where the school is located."
"Chiba. Chiba Sobu High School."
"..."
The sudden silence on the other end made Tachibana Hina's worry spike again.
"What's wrong, Hayato-kun? Is there a problem?"
"My head... some images just flashed through my mind. Can I ask if there's a teacher at the school named... Hiratsuka... Shizuka? It's not you, is it, sensei?!"
Sobu High. Of course, he knew it.
After Mai-senpai, there was Yukin,o too, right?
Hayato felt a surge of relief. He probably didn't need to worry about transferring schools after all. This was perfect.
"No, no, it's not me."
Tachibana Hina glanced at Hiratsuka Shizuka, thinking to herself that Hiratsuka-senpai must have really left a deep impression on this student. Otherwise, why would fragments of memory about her survive even through amnesia?
As for the person in question, Hiratsuka Shizuka herself didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
That impression definitely wasn't a good one.
"Hiratsuka-senpai is right here next to me. Let me have her talk to you."
As soon as those words left her mouth, Hiratsuka spoke up.
"I'm Hiratsuka Shizuka. If I find out you're faking this amnesia, don't blame me when my fist comes down on you."
That domineering, threatening tone was unmistakably Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"It's real, Hiratsuka-sensei. I'm not lying."
"Earlier on the phone, you said you were going to see Sakurajima Mai. You have amnesia, but you still want to track down a celebrity?"
"I want to see if she recognizes me. Maybe I can get information about myself from her."
The explanation made perfect sense, actually.
"Get back here. I'll be waiting for you at school."
A person with real amnesia who'd just gotten a lead would definitely rush back as soon as possible. Otherwise...
"I understand, sensei."
But the conversation wasn't over yet. At the very end, Hiratsuka added one more thing.
"I have connections at the Metropolitan Police Department. Whether what you're saying is true or false, I can find out with a single phone call. This is your last chance. If you come clean and admit you're lying now, I won't pursue it further."
"I'm telling the truth."
"I'll trust you for now. Do you have money on you? If not, I'll contact a friend in Tokyo to come pick you up."
"I have money. Thank you, sensei."
Just like in the anime, Hiratsuka Shizuka was fundamentally a good teacher at heart. Someone who genuinely cared about her students.
The call ended.
Hiratsuka Shizuka set her phone down on the office desk with a soft click.
"Hiratsuka-senpai, do you think what Hayato-kun said is true?"
"Don't know. But I can find out easily enough."
Hiratsuka immediately dialed another number. After a few rings, someone picked up.
"Miwako, I need your help with something. One of my exchange students claims he witnessed a murder case in Tokyo last night. He says he was questioned and gave an official statement. You don't need to tell me the specific details. I just want to know if this actually happened."
"Give me a few minutes. I'll ask around."
Five minutes later, Hiratsuka's phone rang.
"It did happen. The attacker died. The department's initial assessment is accidental death."
So Hayato wasn't lying after all.
"But..."
"But what?"
Sato Miwako asked if anyone else was nearby. Tachibana Hina immediately understood and quietly excused herself from the room.
"The death was suspicious. The manager of the idol group, someone named Saito, tried to stop the attacker and fell into some kind of terror-induced state. He still hasn't recovered. He's in the hospital right now."
"And according to the latest reports, someone tampered with the body. There are gaps in the surveillance footage. It's obvious someone investigated the corpse."
Even Hiratsuka Shizuka could smell something wrong at this point.
"You're saying..."
"Yeah. High probability."
"Thanks."
"No problem. Next time you're in Chiba, though, you're buying me yakiniku."
"Deal."
After ending the call, Hiratsuka Shizuka had formed a general hypothesis.
Hayato had probably been affected by a Mystery Object and lost portions of his memory as a result.
There must have been a battle between players at that concert venue. The surviving player chose to erase memories to avoid exposing their identity.
"At least he's alive and safe."
Compared to losing your life, losing a few memories was nothing.
Hiratsuka couldn't help but feel grateful for Hayato's luck. The player who'd won that fight clearly had standards and boundaries. They hadn't killed indiscriminately. Some players out there had absolutely no restraint. They'd murder, steal, and pillage without a second thought.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, how did it go?"
"What he said is probably true."
"I knew Hayato-kun wasn't lying."
Tachibana Hina felt relieved, though thinking about his amnesia still made her heart ache a little. She could only hope he'd recover his memories someday.
"Maybe this will give him a fresh start. A chance to become a good student."
Looking on the bright side, there were potential benefits to this situation.
"Hahaha... Good luck, Hiratsuka-senpai! I know you can do it!"
"You're not getting out of helping either."
...
In a hotel room somewhere in Tokyo, Hayato was now completely awake and alert.
"Sobu High, huh."
A grin spread across his face.
"This world really is a mashup of a bunch of different series."
He wondered what other surprises were waiting for him out there. The anticipation was building.
This was going to be interesting.