After-school hallways are full of energy, bustling with people in human-like forms, moving in and out. Freed from their classes, some students engage in casual chatter, others head toward their clubs, and some hastily head home. A variety of people exist, blending together like a mosaic. Normally, Sakuna would be heading home, silently blending in like a ninja or heading to the library to study or read.
But today, Sakuna was following Tashiro’s back. She encouraged herself internally to speak to him, but couldn’t muster the courage. If he reached the track and field club room, it would be too late to start a conversation.
Suddenly, the back of Tashiro’s head appeared in front of her. She almost bumped into him and reflexively exclaimed, “Whoa!” Tashiro turned around, startled, and asked, “Huh? Are you okay?”
“Ah, I’m fine. I was just distracted…”
“I suddenly stopped, so it’s my fault. Sorry.”
Tashiro smiled awkwardly, and Sakuna responded with a smile that felt almost like flattery. She didn’t really understand why she had to be so humble. But she couldn’t help it—her way of dealing with people was to remain inconspicuous and avoid making a scene. She couldn’t afford to make anyone uncomfortable.
Tashiro looked at Sakuna with a slightly puzzled expression, but quickly put on a forced smile and said, “Well then,” before attempting to walk away. Sakuna quickly called out, “Excuse me, can I ask you something?” Tashiro, surprised, turned to her and asked, “What is it?”
“Um, I’m Koizuka from the same class.”
“Yeah, I know…”
“Actually… there’s something I need to ask you.”
She chuckled nervously and looked away.
“What is it?”
“Well, you see… I have a friend from another school, or rather, an acquaintance, who’s really insisting I find something out, and I’m in a bit of a bind.”
She gave a brief introduction before continuing.
“There’s this person named Akizuki Takuji, you know him, right?”
“Akizuki-senpai? Yeah, I know him.”
“Well, they asked me to find out what kind of person he is…”
Tashiro stared at her with wide eyes, his expression a mix of confusion and concern. Sakuna tried to smile, but her cheeks twitched.
“I don’t know much about him, but I haven’t heard any good rumors…”
“I see. Do you know what kind of person he is, or if he’s violent?”
“I haven’t heard anything like that. He was basically a kind person. Well… he’s probably had some issues, though.”
“I see.”
“He used to say yes to anyone who confessed to him, but it seems like that’s not the case anymore. I’ve even seen him reject someone who confessed to him.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, so I don’t think your acquaintance has much of a chance. I heard he has a girlfriend now.”
Sakuna glanced down at Tashiro’s feet, which were pointed toward the clubroom. Tashiro had a friendly smile, but he seemed eager to finish the conversation and go to his club. Since she had already started talking, Sakuna wanted to get more information.
“Right… um, do you know anyone who might know more about him?”
“Well, I don’t know anyone in particular… but there’s a Twitter account that’s been obsessively posting about him. I found it through a friend.”
“Could you tell me the account?”
“Sure, it’s called ‘Akizuki Takuji, die.’ I think you can find it by searching.”
“Thank you!”
Sakuna quickly bowed her head, but Tashiro kept staring at her.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No… I mean, it’s fine, but… are you okay, Koizuka-san?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Tashiro looked at her with worry and concern on his face. He smiled awkwardly and said, “Well, if you’re fine, that’s good,” before quickly walking away. Sakuna also let out a sigh of relief.
(Talking to popular people is tiring…)
She thought as she pulled out her smartphone and opened Twitter. Using her writer’s account, “Koizuka Sakuya,” she searched for ‘Akizuki Takuji, die’ and immediately found the account.
The posts were filled with slander and insults directed at Akizuki Takuji. Photos of him with girls were posted, along with daily tweets about his past misdeeds.
(This is… bad…)
There were stories about him dating an intern teacher in middle school and forcing several women to have abortions—horrible things. If what was written was true, she couldn’t support Akizuki. At the very least, he should break up with Konoe.
(Well, not everything seems to be true…)
Among the photos was one of Akizuki in his school uniform with a girl whose face was obscured. Based on the description, it seemed like they were together now, but that was odd.
Students at Kamijo North High wear blazers, not school uniforms.
So, this must have been a photo from his middle school days. The way the post was written to lead people to believe it was current made Sakuna feel she shouldn’t take everything at face value.
(I have no choice… I’ll have to check it out myself…)
Reluctantly, she started heading toward the third-year classrooms.
