|Let’s play detective

The two girls finally made it with a few minutes till PE was over.

“I’m back..Sorry for worrying you guys.”

“Yeah, we were all so worried..”

Misaka’s amicable tone irked Wendy as it was quite unusual for her to speak in such a friendly manner. The statement was certainly not true and it reeked of sarcasm.

“Come on.. You can’t be serious..So Harry was worried sick for nothing???”

“Why did you single me out??”

“Hey, you know it’s true. Right, Shirou?”

All eyes fell on him. His plan of remaining silent throughout the conversation was a bust.

“I didn’t notice anything unusual.”

“That’s because you were busy cozying up to Misaka. You should have seen his parent side.”

His second attempt was neither successful nor unsuccessful. He resorted to playfully passing the conversation in a manner that left him as the lone spectator.

“Well, now that you mention it, he did seem really worried.”

“You too??”

“I told you, you would never get any girls if you show concern only when they are not around..”

“Shut it, Lucas..”

“Oh?? You don’t need to explain any further. I know how you feel.”

She formed a heart sign with her hands and winked.

“Quit giving people the wrong idea.”

Harry sighed in a brusque manner and Lucas grinned from ear to ear while Shirou and Misaka were already out of the conversation.

“Uhmm I don’t mean to spoil the mood or anything but why exactly are you guys talking to someone who isn’t really interested in a conversation??”

“What are you trying to say??”

“Scary…I didn’t mean any harm.He seems to be floating in a world that is not his.”

Shirou perfectly understood her message. She found it bizarre that he wasn’t trying to socially keep up or contribute to the conversation. Instead, he gave off the impression that he wanted out as soon as possible and that was Rinta’s round-about way of calling him ungrateful. He understood her a little better now.

“Knock it off, Rinta.”

{sigh}

“Yato kun, I’m pretty sure you don’t know my name but I’m Tenkawa Rinta. Nice to meet you.”

---So he’s the only one she listens to?

“Nice to meet you.”

“Anyway, where’s Wendy?”

“She left a while back.”

“I didn’t notice.”

Wendy and Nire were walking hand in hand to the spot he waited in the last time.It was behind the main school building so no one could see them. She had grabbed his hand, forcefully making him follow her.The wind blew violently under the cherry blossom tree. They stopped and their eyes met.

“We’re here..”

“Wendy.”

--Now that I am looking at her again, I just can’t stop acknowledging her beauty.. Why did I let myself be charmed by you?? It’s messing with me.

“Could we talk for a moment?”

“we are going to miss the next class.”

“We still have a few minutes. Besides, It’s really important.”

“The other day.”

“I’m really sorry about the other day. Eric made me really upset, to the point that I could not regain composure even if I wanted to.”

“So that’s why you walked past me without saying anything.”

“Walked past you?? I don’t remember that.”

“It’s fine. I understand now.”

To her surprise, the serene atmosphere came off as a double edged sword. His calmness caused her to slowly lose her composure. She wasn’t expecting him to be this understanding.

“Rinta told you everything,huh??”

“There was something you wanted to tell me, right??”

--Stop dodging the question!!!!!! Can’t you see??? Can’t you see it hurts??

“Answer my question first.”

“She did. But I’m not doing this for her.”

--Lies!!!!!

“If she didn’t make a scene, would you have remembered?”

“Well…”

--I’m sure you wouldn’t have remembered a single thing. I’m no different from the other people that you have turned down without a single thought. Even though we were friends, I was never special in your eyes.

With a long pause, he took a deep breath, almost like a transition of states and brought together all the courage he could summon.

“I love you, Wendy. I’ve loved you ever since we first met. I love you so much that I don’t know what to do about it. It’s probably late but I…..”

--Why am I trying so hard?

“I just wanted to know how you felt.”

“Umm…”

He looked down at his shaken hands. It wouldn’t have been difficult to guess what the answer was. He surely wasn’t that clueless.

“Nire, I’m sorry but I don’t feel the same way. I’ve always thought of you as a friend and I still do.”

“Do you love him?”

“What?”

“Do you love Yato??”

“I don’t.”

Nire’s straight face turned into a smile, a fake smile. He didn’t know what to feel.Pain????Anger???Relief????Happiness?? Did her answer serve as hope? Did it count as good news or bad news??

“The truth I’ve been running from finally slapped me in the face.”

“Sometimes we have to be brave and do things that we haven’t done before and that’s what you just did.”

“Thanks for that. I ended up dumping my feelings on you. That was selfish of me.”

“No, it was fine.”

“Anyway,let’s go.”

He walked away with her silently following behind him; there was a slight but sudden queasiness that he struggled to contain.

They all took a shower and headed back to class. It ended rather quickly and immediately, Shirou found himself on the way to the Principal’s office.

“I’m not getting this. You said you need me to tag along for the update of the school budget.Couldn’t you have just called on any of the student council members??”

---What is he trying to accomplish here??

Harry clicked his tongue sharply and turned around

“There’ll be no need for that. It’s only going to take a few minutes.”

“.………”

Aki Kojo, still feeling the exhaustion from earlier, decided to get a drink from the vending machine. He was known as a rather simplistic person compared to others in his class. His only redeeming qualities were his athletic abilities which seemed to be taking a sharp decline. If he wasn’t already in his final year, he might have been more focused on avoiding expulsion but at his stage, the rules were somewhat relaxed.His loyalty knew no bounds but when cornered, he would not hesitate to use the most self beneficial method available. Frankly speaking, he was a fool.

“I can’t believe PE drained me this much.That’s what I get when I compete with those two.”

Suddenly, Misaka grew tired of listening to him and revealed her presence; the coin in his hand fell off.

“What’s with that grim look on your face?? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“What do you want?”

“Oh I’m just thirsty, I really need a drink.”

With a smile she bent down and selected a drink, then opened it.

“Just so you know, you guys are busted.. That’s what you get for breaking school rules without having a proper escape plan.”

She slowly drank it and sneered at Kojo as his facial expression worsened with just a few words uttered. He has always been easy to read. That was something he considered a blessing but it also had it’s drawback as he was very easy to manipulate.This precise weakness was what Misaka was hoping to exploit and it worked like a charm.

“The meeting is already going on and we have solid evidence against everyone, especially you.”

“You’re lying.”

“Believe what you want but I’m sure my brother is going to do anything to save his ass, throwing you fools under the bus would be rather convenient.. I hope you understand the position you’re in. You still have time though.”

On the other hand, Eric appeared in front of the Principal with a smug look and restrained excitement.

“What’s your reason for summoning me??”

“Nagasime, I believe you said you wanted to meet me to discuss a very important issue.”

“It has to do with Akate and Yato.”

“Is that so?”

With his hands clasped, he gently placed his chin on top of them and gestured Harry to continue.

“I believe Yato is a victim of bullying. This time, however,as a group.”

“Yato, is this true?”

“No.”

---I didn’t ask for any of this.

“Akate, is this true?”

“No.”

“He hates reporting when it comes to violent acts like this but as the student council president, I simply can’t turn a blind eye to this. As you can see, his face looks a bit swollen. It was due to Eric and a few others that hit him multiple times and even knocked him unconscious. If not for Brent and I, he might have even ended up in the hospital.”

---Why the hell are you doing this?

"He could have gotten injured from something else. How are you so sure of all that happened. Were you there?

“No, but I asked Yato questions that I think would all point to Eric as the one involved.”

“But then how do you expect me to believe the story you just made?Do you have a witness??”

--Why is taking Misaka so long??

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Misaka and Kojo entered right on time as Harry turned to an offensive approach.

“What do you two need??”

“He is my witness as he was involved too.Shirou said he heard someone with a weird, rough voice. That was you, right?”

Kojo looked down in fear and didn’t say a word.

“You slipped up big time.”

Misaka was not sure at all of what she was saying but she knew Kojo had a very distinguishable voice due to his accent and rough speech pattern; she placed all her threats on that single detail, hoping it would loosen his lips. This was a detail that even Eric did not consider.

“.……”

“Yato, is it true that Aki happened to be there and joined in?”

“I don’t know. I heard someone that sounded a bit similar.”

“What do you have to say,Aki??”

“I…..”

Misaka and Harry both smiled, Shirou was fuming and Eric grunted with nothing but a disappointed look. Kojo could not even stand his ground in front of a baseless accusation.

“Don’t listen to them.He is being pressured or perhaps blackmailed. Where’s the proof??”

“I’m glad you asked.”

Misaka stepped up and took control of the conversation, the last thing Kojo said worked in her favour so it was essential to land the finishing blow before things dragged on for too long. Her only way of taking revenge on her dear older brother.

“First of all, the time that he got attacked makes Eric being the attacker quite plausible.You see, he came home late and claimed to be at an arcade. I monitored the time incase anything happened so you can trust in the accuracy of my words.”

“I actually went to the arcade and I have proof.”

he pulled out his phone and showed a picture of him with Itsuda and Kojo at an arcade.

“This was yesterday..”

“How do we know that this was yesterday?”

Eric grinned and showed the details containing the date and exact time of the picture. This wasn’t exactly the best form of evidence but desperate times called for desperate measures.

“But this photo was taken at 8:45 pm which means it’s not a valid alabi. Shirou, what time were you attacked??”

“Around 6:30pm.”

Upon realizing his blunder, Eric refuted the point.

“How can we really believe that. Is there any proof??”

“Yes there is.. I sent him a message at 6:29pm when he suddenly stopped. That was the time he was attacked. Shirou even confirmed it, I also have my phone with me if you want to check. At that time, you weren’t home yet. I was told ‘you had things to take care of’.Do you have anything to say about that??”

He uttered “I told the damn driver I was busy”, before she snapped him out of his thoughts.

“I can’t hear you.”

“I went to the cafe nearby with Itsuda and Kojo, too.”

She smiled even harder, almost chuckling, infact.It was just as fun as cutting off the arms and legs of your prey before ending it’s misery. She was supposed to end this as soon as possible but this sight was too fun to dismiss.

“The only cafe close by is the maid cafe and I already asked Wendy and Rinta as they were there with a few underclassmen but none of them spotted any of you. Though, if you have any proof of being there at this time then I will retract my statement.

“Eric just stop already.You’re making things worse.”

--At least you’re not so dumb that you can’t tell when you are at a dead end.

“Shut the hell up.”

“Akate, that’s enough. Do you have anything to say concerning the claim?”

Misaka whispered “Speak up already, you’re all caught” in Kojo’s ears, disassembling whatever form of courage he had left.

“It’s true, we did beat up Yato..Then we went to the arcade.”

“Kojo!!”

“It’s clear you have nothing left to say. Delaying your punishment would only increase the severity.I recall giving you an important task and you ended up doing the opposite. Violence of any form is against the school rules and wouldn’t be tolerated under any circumstances. Both of you would take a 2 weeks suspension starting tomorrow.”

“This is some bullshit.”

He walked away and tapped Harry’s shoulders.

“Good job, Sherlock.”

“You’re lucky it’s only 2 weeks.”

He reached for the door and turned around, almost forgetting something.He snapped his fingers and said “Oh and Itsuda is also an accomplice.” before walking out.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention.Yato, I’ll appreciate it if you kept this from your parents.”

“I will.”

“Good.You all may leave now.

They all nodded and left the room, the mission was complete and it ended in success. With the door closed, Rosario tilted his pen and sighed very heavily.

“Good grief. There was nothing I could have done there.He picked a fight with the wrong person.”

They left the office and immediately, Lucas, who was waiting outside, burst out in laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

“Did you see his face? I already knew the outcome after seeing storm off like that.”

“You were waiting??”

“Of course. Why would I miss something as fun as this??”

“Misaka,that was perfect timing.”

“What can I say, I’m a hard worker.”

“How was it?”

Wendy appeared from behind him, her eyes filled with curiosity.

“They all got what they deserved.”

Lucas replied with one hand over Shirou’s shoulders in a friendly manner that didn’t bother him. Shirou on the other hand was thinking of the most polite words to use.

“We all know the Principal has a bias towards Eric so we had to hit the nail right on the head if we had any chance of winning.”

“Shirou, you aren’t saying anything.”

“What do you want me to say??”

They were all puzzled by his reaction. He frowned and his tone went brusque.

“After I told you to keep this secret, were you really expecting a thank you?”

He stared down at the floor in anger. Misaka lowered her tone as she made a response.

“But he agreed not to tell your Mum about anything so it’s a win win for us, right?”

“Us? You mean yourselves. I never wanted anything to do with this. Your brother was the big bad guy that you all felt you needed to defeat due to personal reasons each of you had and I was the perfect cover, right?”

“No, we were just trying to help.”

“I was grateful for you guys helping me after I went unconscious but this is entirely different. I never asked for anyone to ‘save’ me by suspending three people. Who gave you the right to fight my battles for me?”

---What I’m saying is awful. Absolutely ungrateful considering all that they just did for me. But I won’t accept something like this.

“No need to fuss over stuff like this. I wasn’t there but I’m sure it’s the Principal and his intimidating looks that put you in a foul mood. All’s well that ends well right? Why don’t we go somewhere to celebrate?”

---Did he process everything I just said?

“So who’s in??”

“It depends on when I’m done reviewing the club budget.”

“I’ll have to inform the chauffeur ahead of time.”

“I’m free.”

“Then it’s all settled. I’ll pick the place though. But ultimately, it depends on you, Shirou.”

They all stared at him, waiting for his answer.

“Sure.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

The familiarity of those words opened up fractions of his memory. Something from his past. This trigger caused Shirou to fall to the knees in pain. A constant throbbing from all parts of his body especially his head.

“Shirou??”

“What’s wrong??”

Misaka and Wendy helped him get back up on his two feet

“I’m fine.”

“That’s a lie.”

“You should take a break.”

“Let’s take him to the nurse’s office.”

“That wouldn’t be necessary. Misaka, let’s go.It’s already time for club activities.”

“You’re sure you aren’t pushing yourself?”

“It’s just a minor headache.”

“.…….If you say so. Bye guys.”

They both walked to the kendo dojo, looking back on his words, everything made perfect sense. Although, once again, he was wrong about their…no…her intentions. The only reason she was willing to go that far was because it was Shirou involved. The plan she formulated was a last minute one that consisted of the main plan and a back up plan. The latter was eventually used due to Harry’s confrontation but at the very least, it was all for his sake. The fact he didn’t realize that hurt her quite a bit. The same could be said for Wendy.

“I better get going then.”

Eric walked across the hallway in a particularly relaxed manner, something that seemed forced. He spotted Itsuda on his right,who was busy talking to Sayaka.

“Could I borrow him for a bit?”

“Don’t be gone for too long,okay?”

Sayaka uttered this and gave Rinta a quick glance to know if she was acting according to plan. Rinta gave a thumbs up and stayed hidden.

“Why did I agree to do this again? Misaka told me to and I just did it.No questions asked. I’m so pathetic..”

Eric moved towards the stairway and slapped his own head in disgust. He had hoped to encounter him in a less pathetic state.

“What happened??”

“You bastard.”

He gave him a push which caused Itsuda to lose his balance and fall to the ground.”

“Oww..What did I do?”

“You’re even more stupid than I thought.. What did I ask you to do?? Why weren’t you with Kojo?”

“I told him to stay with me till it’s time for club activities then some girls showed up and he left saying he wanted to get something to drink.”

“And you had to let him go?”

“What should I have done?”

“You could have paid more attention, you dimwit. Misaka got to him first and pressured him. Now he snitched and we are all in a mess..Didn’t you notice he was gone for a while?”

“No way.He couldn’t have..”

“Oh but you were the exception.”

Itsuda uttered a sigh of relief and Eric, seeing his expression laughed to the humour of it.

“Thanks man, you’re a life saver.”

“I’m not sure you should be thanking me, after all I ratted you out.”

His sigh of relief was followed by a shock.

“Why??”

“You caused this.. Everything would have gone smoothly if you idiots followed the plan. Now I lost to him and also got suspended.. Why the hell would I allow you go scot-free?”

“You’re..you’re crazy.. “

In a panic, he held Eric by the collar with all disregard for the person in front of him.

“You know how my parents would react to this right??Why did you go out of your way to do this to me??I thought we were friends???”

“As I said before, you’re even more stupid than I thought..This is all your fault.. I planned things out, you ruined it and you’re here playing the victim .. Anyway, I’m out of here.”

He slapped his hands away and Itsuda clenched his fists and slammed the handrails in front of him, tear drops flowing from his distraught eyes

“You’re trash.”

Misaka and Shirou began sparring in the dojo and she won rather easily.

“Follow me.”

“Where are we going??”

“To the nurse’s office.”

“But I just said I’m..”

“If you want to lie, try not to lie over pointless things, it’s obvious that you’re not fine so stop being stubborn and come with me.”

In the nurse’s office, he sat with his legs crossed on the bed, reading a book he found close to the window. It was probably forgotten by the previous student that visited. He spent 1 hour there after being told to get some rest.

---Apparently, everything was normal.

He got up and dragged his feet all the way towards the exit.

“Wait, where are you going??”

“I’m feeling all better now.”

“You don’t seem better though.”

“Oh I’ve been born with a weak body so this is nothing. Thanks again for the bandages from earlier.”

“It’s my job so no need to thank me, just come here whenever you feel weak or tired. I’ll make sure you feel better right away.”

“Right away??”

“Don’t you trust me?”

---No not really and what is the point in me answering that?

The group met up at Luck star restaurant, one filled with stamps of approval from Lucas.

“I love coming here for the milkshakes.You just gotta love them.. Quite nice, righhhht??”

“I agree.”

“Not really a fan.”

“I knew it, just like your personality, your taste is also as boring as you, Harry.”

Shirou gazed at Wendy and noticed something off putting about her.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No, I’m just thinking about how good this milkshake is.”

Lucas nodded in approval and held both of her hands and drew closer.

“You also love the impeccable texture with the creamy goodness. The blend of chocolate is just….mind blowing. If you could, you would take this everyday of your life, right?”

“Too close.”

“So how did you guys plan it out??”

“When I saw you unconscious, I called Harry for help. I was initially hesitant on whether I should treat you myself or take you to a hospital but Lucas thought it would be better if you were treated at my place. You were beaten up pretty badly but apart from your swollen face, that was all. Then he told Misaka about it. She had a feeling something was off so she already knew the culprit and had a very good idea of his movements. That was when we decided to try and get info from Eric and his crew by placing a phone in the changing room and if any one of them slipped up, we would have gotten the proof, fast and easy. After plan A failed, it was Misaka’s turn. She was in charge of the information gathering and distractions. Harry couldn’t do anything as he seemed to be the main person they were wary of. Misaka was underestimated and that was the perfect opportunity.That was a risky gamble but I’m glad it paid off.”

“It was more accurate to say he never knew I was a part of the plan. He thought I would spend some time overthinking who the culprit is before narrowing it down. I’m usually more logical when making a plan but we didn’t have any time to waste.”

Harry popped his head from the menu that he was engrossed in for the past five minutes.

“I find that hard to believe, with that scary face you had on all day.”

“Yeah. He asked me. I simply told him it was that time of the month.”

With that, they all nervously looked away while Wendy brought the conversation back to life.

“Anyway, Harry was the one best suited for the complaints. They did most of the work really.”

“That’s not true. Whatever you guys planned won’t have happened without you.”

“Hey, don’t give her all the credit. I worked really hard to pull it off. I was even expecting a reward.”

“A pat on the head??”

“Close.”

“Shirou, can you guess what she wants??”

“I really don’t know.”

“All I want…Is a date..”

Lucas choked on his milkshake and Shirou stared in shock. An expression that was commonplace on the table.

“Why is everyone so surprised?”

She tapped on the table with her finger in an attempt to gather everyone’s attention.

“Seems like I shouldn’t have said it out, afterall. Next time, I’ll say it a little quieter.”

She whispered in his ear. The warmth of her breath was the only thing Shirou could think of. Motionless, he came across an unwanted feeling of ecstasy.

“I wonder why Eric always has to be such a douche bag.”

“Lucas, I hope you know he is still my brother so there is a little part of me that gets mad when he is insulted.”

“But then isn’t it the truth??”

“I’m sure she has a brother complex.”

---Reminds me of someone I know.

“Wendy, did you say something??”

“You heard me loud and clear.”

“Says the person who is clueless when it comes to matters of the heart.”

“At least I don’t have a brother complex.”

“Oh you’re mistaken. There’s only one person I love and I’m sure the feeling is mutual.”

She closed up the distance between herself and Shirou. He suddenly turned beet red.

“Easy there, he’s already turning red.”

Upon seeing Shirou’s reaction,”Is he enjoying it?” were the first words that came to Wendy’s mind. Lucas slammed his head on the table and pretended to cry. Drawing attention away from Shirou and Misaka in a style that only he could flawlessly pull.

“Lucas??”

“How do you do it, Shirou. I’ve gotta know.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re like the MC of a rom-com who gets all the girls he wants while I’m that loner.. Why am I still single???”

“Uhhh??”

“Ignore him.”

“The pain!!!!!!”

{Ahem!!!!!}

“By the way, I have a question for you, Shirou.”

“What’s it about?”

“It’s about the incident at your old school.Many people in school dislike you because they already have a certain image of you but I….no…. we all want to know about that incident.”

“Don’t be insensitive.”

“Who cares about the rumours?”

“What are you getting at?”

“Why are you all getting defensive???We deserve to know…You consider us your friends, right??”

---I don’t have the answer to that question.

“…”

“We want to hear your side of the story.We need to know.”

“Harry sto--”

“My side of the story,huh? Give me a break.”

( “---” represents the thoughts of the main character. “--” represents the thoughts of any other character. “[]” represents an important event, most likely past events. “{}” represents various sounds made.)