Cheeky little rascals

Part 1

“You cheeky little rascals…”

An audible gulp was heard. It came from myself.

I had no clue what she was referring to when I told her the mysterious thing I saw up on the tree branch.

It was a symbol of some sort.

Made up of 2 paragonal lines, mirroring each other.

I could brush it off as some animal damage, but that wasn’t the case. The 2 lines were illuminated by a bright lime color, one that can only shine in certain levels of light.

It was drawn by glow-in-the-dark ink.

Someone had deliberately stroked that branch with visibility ink for night time.

“You’re making this like it’s some kind of big deal, what’s the rush?”

I hesitantly said.

“Money can make people become their true selves, and if we don’t be careful we might get caught up in one.”

There it was again, her serious tone.

By now, there was little to no way of getting out of this one. I could only see the light of day again if I followed her.

“Heh… I got it now. Izumi, here’s the situation. I have the flashlight for vision and you have the cat for the prize.”

I nodded.

“If we were to get separated from each other we wouldn’t get the prize nor would we be able to go to the owner’s house to collect the prize in the first place. Basically we need to rely on each other”

I nodded.

“If either one of us lags behind, both of us wouldn’t benefit. But that’s not true for them, where they can navigate using those marked lines on tree branches so they only need the cat.”

I nodded.

“They have some sort of system of reading those symbols and we don’t have the time to crack it. But hear me out.”

I nodded.

“We also use something only we can operate.”

I began tilting my head.

“I’m talking about our own bodies, specifically our legs. I think if we use them to their full potential, we would be able to get out of here and claim our prize.”

“Use their full potential, how…?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”

“...?”

“BY RUNNING AWAY!!!”

“Hey! Wait!”

She started dashing out of nowhere into the void of the night. I had no choice but to follow her with the only light source we have is the one she has right now in her right hand.

“They probably… huff… Probably wanted to attack us with water balloons or something to get the cat.. Huff… Cat out of your hands. But they’re still human! So run!”

And just like she said, tiny water explosions started bursting from behind us. It was unclear where they came from, but all I knew I had to do was run.

I feel like we’ve been running a lot today, and it’s even taking a toll on her as she's out of breath.

“Hurry… huff… through here- whoa!”

She stopped in the middle of her tracks to check up on me as I was relatively far behind, but then out of nowhere a water balloon popped on her head.

“Got’cha!”

Somewhere in the forest I could hear the faint sound of someone celebrating their tiny victory, but a small victory was enough to knock down the entire army, as she’s not the only victim.

My phone was also a victim.

The small wave of water gushed down on my tiny, defenseless phone with barrages of H2O. Shutting down the electronics, including the flashlight.

Mobile phones nowadays were made with some kind of water resistance, but mine wasn’t like that.

“Shit… Izumi! Just follow my voice! Come on!”

True enough, even by this distance I could still hear her constant panting and footsteps.

But there was another source of navigation.

The cat in my arms.

He still hated her, even by this distance, and with the environment being dark it wasn’t a problem for cats. They can just smell her from a mile and would still growel.

And luckily, the cat in my arms was focusing straight at her, I could tell her general direction by which way the cat was facing.

“Wait, are we off track?”

But there was a reason why we needed that flashlight.

“Ow!”

She slammed into a tree.

“Hya!”

She tripped over a tree root.

“Cold!”

All the while she was bombarded with water balloons.

Luck was on my side as I haven’t been hit once, by any sort of projectile.

Thank god I wasn’t the one holding the flashlight.

I quickly hid behind a tree to rest and scan our surroundings for information. However, with the only light source gone, it was too dark to see anything.

I sat down with my back against the tree hoping for the best. Not that I could do anything really.

Besides, the reason why she was the one that got bombarded was because she was the one making all the noises which causes her to be the most easily targeted one out of us.

But I still had to do something.

We could be waiting here until dawn breaks, neither of us knows how many water balloons were left, or were water balloons even the only weapon they have.

Until, I began to notice something.

The sounds of the water barrages stopped in its entirety, our enemy must now realize it was futile. In return, she also stopped on where she stood.

The deafening silence filled the forest. No birds nor any insects were audible. As creepy as it is, I could not hear anything. Not even a gust of wind.

I thought back to what happened earlier. The rate of fire from the balloons wasn't exactly slow, nor was it particularly fast either. The thrower was definitely one person, but were they alone?

Argh I can’t think!

I’m not used to thinking too fast or on the spot. Extensive research and taking my time to process and letting everything naturally sink in was my style.

What about you huh? What are you going to do?

I stared at her sitting down looking at every possible corner the enemy could show up, not moving a muscle. She must know the enemy was going for me, thus she’s staying put to avoid directing them my way.

I waited nervously for her next action. The cat in my arms panicked, my breath slowly becoming heavier and more audible.

In the next instant, she unhesitantly stood up from her crouching position.

“We give up”

She suddenly announced out of nowhere. Raising her 2 hands into the air like a criminal caught by the police.

Honestly, I was shocked. I don’t know what her intentions are, so I stayed calm and observed what happened next.

“Give up you say? Then release the cat, we’ll be taking it from you.”

A voice somewhere in the forest replied without revealing the body. The source was unknown as the thick trees reverberated the sounds it was making. And in addition, their voice sounded muffled, like a cloth was put over their mouth to avoid recognition.

I couldn’t even tell if it was a girl or a guy.

Also, they used “we” indicating there’s more. Maybe it’s a bluff, maybe it’s not. Who’s to say?

Too many unanswered questions makes this too risky. I was only a spectator to her actions. I couldn’t speak up or go over or else my location was compromised. It’s all on her, I wish her the best of luck.

“Izumi, come here. The cat is already trembling from all the fear, let it go.”

She said casually. It wasn’t what I would expect from her. That calm demeanor contrasts heavily with her high passionate aura just a few hours ago.

From the past few hours I thought she was the kind of person who would never give up on anything. She dragged me around like she was set for the biggest prize of her life.

“Oh, okay… sure…”

But, I didn’t go against her orders. She can’t black mail me now, but I was also concerned for the cat’s safety.

I walked slowly over to her, and when I reached next to her I released the cat out of my arms and walked it away from us, into nothingness that lay ahead.

“Good, good, we’ll be taking this little fellow and bringing him back to his owner for that money. So long, idiot-hi”

A single pair of footsteps bolted right out of the scene. And the person who was called ‘Idiot-hi’ was standing still next to me.

Suddenly all the tension from before disappeared. I didn’t know who that person was, but I had this feeling deep inside me I could trust they would simply return the cat to the owner for the money.

With the heavy weight on my shoulders now lifted I could start hearing clearly again. The noises that make up a lively forest were present again.

I then looked towards my partner in crime, I couldn’t tell what her expression was with how dark it was, but I know for sure it wasn’t cheerful.

“Sigh… It’s already getting late. You wanted to return home earlier, right? Sorry for disturbing you.”

Something about her was off, the way the energetic sun was being dimmed by an unknown force seemed odd and rather, that in and of itself was disturbing.

“I’m gonna get in trouble if I arrive late to class again.”

She stretched her arms and back for a little while.

“See you later!”

“Wait a minute.”

I stopped her before she left.

From the very start I wasn’t very interested in it. She was a very rude, and inconsiderate person. She spent my day like some currency without asking how I feel, nor did she compensate when we’re done.

But I would equally be an asshole if I didn’t ask for one thing after walking with her for hours.

“What’s your name?”

She froze for a moment and looked my way. Her eyes looked down as if pondering such a simple question.

“Oh that’s right I never told you!”

Her high energy came back to her at an instant for the last time today.

“I’m Asahi Akagi! Sorry for the delay, Izumi.”

She made another innocent smile, but this was different. It wasn’t the smug one looking down on her victims, nor was it to cover up a lie. It was genuinely innocent.

“I almost forgot to apologize for your phone, I’m sorry it broke. Anyway, See you tomorrow! I’ll repay you somehow!”

She dashed off, waving back to politely exit the scene. I waved back as well.

With no obstacles out of the way now, we can theoretically go back home now. However, we both have mistakenly forgotten one crucial thing.

“Uuuuuh, do you know how to get out of here?”

We were stuck in the middle of a forest at night with no flashlight.

Oh dear.

Part 2

Arms dangling from both shoulders. Body felt like it weighed more than a ton. legs became cramped after running around all over the place. And eyes tired from sleep deprivation.

“Yo, good morning Izumi! Ready for- Gyah?!”

As I headed towards the kitchen to catch the smell of another fish for breakfast, Aunt -Who was cooking- greeted me before noticing my terrible condition.

Yesterday was a disaster.

Because of a certain incident last night, Asahi and I became lost and wandered around for hours before being able to return home. She was especially held back because for some god knows reason, she kept wearing those sunglasses from the 60s.

But thank god she didn’t follow me home like I thought she would. Asahi said the 3rd goodbye of the night before leaving for good.

But it only became worse when I ended up arriving at the house. All the way from the front entrance I could already smell the stench of beer and the tears of an old man. Weeping and crying at the interview he missed this morning, and his lost son.

Aunt was there beside him comforting him and told me it might be better to just take a bath and eat dinner immediately as dad is way too drunk to do anything.

I did as she told me to and hit the sack… Only to remember how horrible the mattress was.

And that’s how I became like this.

“There’s no way you could show up at school like that, wash your face before going or else they might need to make a new hygiene rule…”

“...Mondays.”

Despite being insulted, I had to agree to what she said. No way will this make for a good first impression.

“Oh that’s right. Aunt, you’re a former student at the school here right? What is it like there?”

“Oh that brings back so many memories!”

She instantly switched over to a cheerful mood when I mentioned her old school. Closing her hands together while turning over towards me.

“Don’t worry about minor details, besides only having 2 classes per grade, it’s all the same as any school in Japan. Things like clubs, festivals, field trips and such are of course there, but most importantly…”

I took a bite of a banana and listened to her build up.

“The experience of youth!”

She announced with the same passion as a sports commentator when the underdog team defeated the super star team.

“You mean like hanging around with friends, and stuff?”

“Oh no no no… Much more than that…”

Much more… how? In what?

I couldn’t tell what she was referring to as I finished my banana and began cleaning up the table to go and change, as well as to wash my face.

“Thank you for the food.”

While politely exiting the dinner table, Aunt was still giddy and smiling at something like a highschooler would. Well she is still a girl after all, I suppose old habits die hard.

After I was done changing and washing my face, I noticed how messy last night got me. Not only was there dirt everywhere, my hair became disorganized as well. A very annoying thing to take care of in the morning. Thankfully, I’m not a girl who has to do this everyday.

Girls, you have my new appreciation.

“Well then I’m heading out!”

“See ya later Izumi! And don’t worry, you’ll definitely find someone soon with that face of yours.”

Aunt said with a thumbs up to reassure me of… something. She must be talking about the conversation we had at breakfast, though I still have no idea what she meant.

With that, I stepped out into a new day in summer, and out of the blue I just remembered that I didn’t have time to prepare for my introduction.

Damn, why did I remember that all of a sudden

It should be fine. Just don’t panic. Surely nothing would go wrong.

Part 3

The moment of truth.

“Alright class, today, as you might know we have a transfer student joining us. It’s a guy so boys, you can stop it with that enthusiasm.”

The female teacher at the front of the class announced, hearing the sounds of several male students complaining and weeping at their chance of romance with a new transfer student.

I turned a blind eye towards their weirdly confident enthusiasm as I stood at the doorway nervously peering in at the thin glass in the door. Passing back and forth between the door and the hallway.

“Alright, now that that’s settled, you can come in now and introduce yourself please.”

That was my queue to enter. I took a small and steady breath just before opening the sliding door carefully and walked very formally and rather stiff into the class that I would be studying in for the rest of the year.

I could already feel the gazes of the 20 or so students here peering at my stiff marching. I could also hear some quiet murmurs, however I couldn’t process what they were saying.

My mind was too distracted with something else.

What seemed to be a 5 seconds walk felt like 5 minutes, the distance from the door entryway to the front wasn’t anything substantial, yet the tension I received made everything move in slow motion.

“Good morning, My name is Izumi Satori, and I…”

As soon as I focused back on reality, I wanted to go back to my dream world.

I’ve been planning this introduction for a while and I have braced myself for the worst. But of all the possibilities that could happen, luck wasn’t on my side this time. It was the worst possibility I could think of, yet here it is.

She’s here.

Only missing her coat and flat cap, and still wearing those American sunglasses, she’s here.

I became speechless and froze on sight when I saw the familiar appearance of the girl who blackmailed me yesterday.

She, on the other hand, upon seeing my face, slammed her hands hard onto her desk, making a loud bang. The noise of wood being slammed reverberated in the entire room as she stood up quickly, knocking her chair backwards and fell behind her and excitedly yelled at the entire class.

“Hey ho Izumi! I didn’t expect you to be the transfer student here! It’s a nice thing we get to see each other so soon.”

My Jaw dropped.

Time stopped as the inner workings of my brain tried to decipher what was going on. Getting called out by a girl in front of a yet unknown class is too embarrassing, what’s more, it turns out she was the same age as me. I thought people lost those kinds of childish behavior in Middle school.

“Ah, that’s great, so you two already know each other? Akagi-kun, be sure to show him around after class.”

“You got it!”

The teacher seemed happy I was already acquainted with someone in class.

We don’t know each other we don’t know each other we don’t know each other

Asahi and the teacher were the only ones in class to be delighted, the other students have a rather sentimental expression with the news being Asahi and I were somehow acquainted.

“...Oh no, she’s done it again…”

“I pray you all the best with handling Akagi-san, new guy!”

This time, I could hear their whispers in agony.

“Class, does anyone have any questions for Satori-kun?”

“...”

No one said a thing and kept hanging their heads low

“Well if no one has any, then you can take an empty seat at the back next to Akagi-kun.”

I forced myself to appear friendly in front of everyone. Getting called out by Asahi of all people was sure to be a death trap, but at least my first impression wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

Or at least I think so.

I excused myself to walk over by the far end of the class to the vacant desk. To my left was Asahi, who was eagerly waiting for me to sit down. I could practically see the stars forming in her pupils behind her sunglasses.

“Welcome to class 2-B my dear Izumi, are you ready to experience one of the most fulfillful lives any young person would have? Prepare for what awaits you ahead, where the unknown is at every corner, and unthinkable events unfold right under our very noses… Death comes around at any corner…”

“I think you’re in the wrong stage of school to be a second year in. Nice to meet you too, Asahi.”

“Oh so you do use my first name. Very well, this will make things easier for us.”

Trying to keep a straight face when this girl besides me made a presentation like she has eight-grade syndrome was harder than it looks.

Seriously, people usually drop this kind of stuff years ago.

And as soon as I finished organizing my books and writing tools down on my new desk the bell rang. That familiar sound echoed throughout the entire building as it signifies the first period.

With the homeroom teacher leaving to change for the first period teacher, I could feel some students glancing my way with concern in their eyes. They all faced forward with a shock the moment I stared back at them.

I couldn’t blame them with that kind of expression. With how she was last night there was no doubt Asahi has a bad reputation among her peers. Or everyone in general for that matter.

Yet the person in question herself seems to be ignoring these shady looks thrown at her in broad daylight. Instead, writing down something on her notepad happily without even a care for the first period.

But despite all the gossip and backdoor talking and peaking, I spotted someone different from the crowd. An odd one out.

It was a girl with a small body. I've almost mistaken her to be someone from middle school, yet she’s here sitting peacefully in the uniforms we all used. Her short hair helps her concentrate with the front whiteboard easier, and a sitting posture that is elegant of a young lady. And an expression of seriousness in class like any good student should.

But the thing that stuck out the most was the pair of walking sticks next to her desk resting on the wall. Were they hers? Does she need them? None of that was my business so I quickly retracted my eyes away from her and into our class.

First period was Biology.

Biology was never my strong suit, but I have to try my best if I don’t want to embarrass myself here…

Part 4

The bell vibrated intensely to indicate it was the first recess.

I had managed to somehow go through class without falling asleep, and I was even a little proud of myself with how many notes I took in class.

“Alright, I’ll show you around the school grounds, come with me.”

Not even finished with her own packing, Asahi immediately invited me.

Despite my past history with her consisting of dragging me around everywhere, I didn’t sense any bad intention she had this time. And besides, I do need someone to take me on a tour around school.

“Yes, yes, just let me clean my desk for a little.”

“Oh you don’t need to put those away, the next period you’ll have to use that a lot. Trust me.”

“Okay, Okay! I get it, so don’t come over and forcefully do it for me!”

Asahi made another small scene as I heard multiple students of the class chuckle at our exchange. in the midst of the small exchange, I took a quick glance at the girl who sat next to a pair of walking sticks. I was really curious about her situation but I feel like if I pry on any further I’d feel uncomfortable for myself.

After we both finished organizing, Asahi suddenly gripped my arm and pulled me out of the classroom and into somewhere.

“Look, just outside of our class is the courtyard for the gym, over there are the hallways for the toilets. But the most important building is…”

“Will it be too much to ask for you to slow down?”

She was practically speed walking along the open hallways of the school. With so little space for an actual building the classes had an outdoor hallway that the student would take off their shoes at.

And after turning the first corner,

“That right there! That’s where I want to show you the most!”

She pointed her other arm towards a relatively small, 2 story building with a double door entryway and an open ended pathway with a roof above. You didn’t need to change your indoor shoes for your outdoor ones which was convenient.

“Ow ow… So, what’s that building for?”

Her grip strength was as brutal as ever.

“Come here, I can’t tell you yet until I’ve shown you what it looks like on the inside.”

“Ow ow ow!”

We continued our little speed walk

She made her appearance known with a loud entrance to the door and into the lobby, walking right up into the first flight of stairs visible. There didn’t seem to be any people around so the noise didn’t seem to disturbed anyone at least.

“This old building is for the club rooms. There are 6 rooms in total, and the one I want to show you is…”

On the second floor, with the door farthest away from the stairs, she twists the knob to enter.

“The Newspaper club!”

She made a grand “ta-da!” moment as she dragged me into the room and finally released her super grip strength.

On the first look, It wasn’t as full as I thought a ‘Newspaper club’ would be. There’s a desk on the far corner on the room with the nameplate “Director” on it,

As well as a longer desk with 4 chairs on them by the right wall with nothing on the desks, as well as a medium sized bookshelf filled with books of all kinds. ranging from geography, cartography, Chemistry books, but some are fiction novels as well.

Other than that, it was void of any activities I would expect.

“Currently, there’s only two members, the school here is stricter than it seems, and they won’t allow me to run a club with only two members, you need at least five.”

“...”

She began to tell me the current state of the so-called newspaper club.

“We just formed our new club a few weeks ago with my brilliant idea. I thought it was the greatest thing I have come up with by far, and it would be a shame if I see it go crashing down now.”

I know where this is going.

“Our activities are still limited to posting headlines on the school billboard every week, my partner is the one printing and writing at the moment, while I’m on the frontlines as a reporter. And two is never enough for the job.”

“...”

“That’s why, Izumi! Be our third man! With one more, I’m sure we can convince them to give us more time!”

“Sorry for the late response, but I will respectfully decline your generous offer. Until then, I wish you the best of luck in your harsh endeavor and overcome this situation quickly. If you would excuse me-”

“Tokyo Prefecture, Akiruno city, 405-1242 Tanazawa street-”

“Okay! Okay! I’ll join! I’ll join! Don’t continue that sentence!”

Her wide grin was back.

“Excellent! You’ll be my assistant for now before I can pinpoint your special attribute and distribute work evenly. Now then, any questions?”

“...How’d you know my address…”

“I saw more than your name when I had your phone.”

Figures, though when she admitted it herself it still sounds annoying.

“Any other questions?”

“Why’d you drag me exactly? Why not drag some other poor soul into your playhouse.”

“...Heh”

Was all she said, and her gaze moved from eye contact with me and into elsewhere to the side.

She has a look of someone confident in her eyes, like that was an obvious question that needed no answer, almost as if I was the idiot one.

“If that’s all, then I can handle the paperwork for your recruitment myself. Let’s return to the classroom for now.”

She toddled her way out of the room as I stood alone in the now empty and quiet room. This empty atmosphere feels strangely relaxing. The windows positioned to the west made sunlight enter in large volume.

Even the peak of the mountain where she said the sun would set was visible.

This seems like the ideal room to relax and kick back in.

I thought about her offer as I made my way back to the classroom. On the bright side, I have someone to hang out with and someone to talk to if I need any directions of some kind. Not to mention I get to access that pleasant room.

But on the dark side, it’s Asahi. Normally, I wouldn’t judge people after only a day, however, I have a feeling inside me that’s yelling the fact that her high energy may make me a little tired at times if I stuck around for too long.

But there’s no knowing what will happen in the future, right?

She may have a really bad first impression, but who knows what would or can happen.

Who knows how my life would differ if I followed her.

She calls herself to be the head of the newspaper club, As well as something like a reporter or journalist.

Maybe I’ll run into more trouble if I stick with her…

But who’s to say, she seemed reliable when we were chasing that cat and she might be smarter than I give her credit for. It wouldn’t surprise me either if she could also get out of sticky situations by herself.

…Fine, I’ll just accept her request.

If at some point it doesn’t become fun, or my life is in danger, I’ll just quit. She never said I have to stick to the club forever, afterall.

“Ah, that’s the last bell. Everyone, have a fun rest of your afternoon.”

Out of nowhere, my consciousness of reality went back to my senses, and the first thing I heard was the teacher at the front saying farewell for the day with students around me ready to pack and go home.

“Eh?”

It’s over already?

How long was I stuck in thought?

I didn’t even pay much attention to class at all, what subjects did we even have?

“Izumi, you go on ahead to the clubroom, I’ll introduce you to our other member later. I need to submit your application first.”

“Ah, sure…”

I began packing my bags just as everyone did. I took another glance at the girl next to the walking sticks before I walked off into the open corridor. She seemed to be busy, so I didn’t press her on any further.

I returned back to the empty clubroom and sat down on a nearby chair, closest to the door.

The stack of books on the shelf grabbed my attention. Its titles were diverse in genres and even languages. Atlases, foreign poems, newspapers, both local and from overseas, you name it.

I began to wonder if these precious books were brought in by Asahi or someone else, but then just before I was about to go up and reach for one book, I suddenly heard the door swing open and Asahi entered the room.

“Thanks for the wait!”

However, she wasn’t alone. In her arms, she was helping another person into the room.

It was the same girl with the walking sticks next to her in class. Her 2 hands were busy controlling the sticks, while Asahi helped her into the classroom by opening up the door and showing her way in.

Her gaze met mine as soon as she entered the now filled room. She didn’t seem surprised nor react in any certain way with my presence. In fact, throughout the entire day, her face seems almost emotionless.

“Good afternoon…”

Was all she said to greet. Her voice was small, yet loud enough to be heard from this distance.

“Good afternoon to you too.”

“Now let’s get to the introductions! Izumi, Sora-chan. Sora-chan, Izumi. Get along now!”

Her half assed and rushed introduction didn’t cover anything I had in mind.

“Hello, I’m Izumi Satori, what’s your name?”

“... Aosora Kiyama, nice to meet you Satori-kun...”

“Likewise, Kiyama-san.”

“Come now! no need to be so formal and just use your guys’ first name already.”

My suspicion is correct, this girl doesn’t know about mannerism.

“...Satori-kun, you never finished your introduction this morning and got distracted by Akagi-san… I couldn't help but laugh, I’m sorry…”

“Huh?”

I guess I missed it or she’s just good at hiding it, but I never saw her laugh at that before. I’ve always seen her emotionless side of things.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. It was beyond my control anyway…”

I knew I messed up my introduction, but having someone tell me in my face that they laughed hurts a little.

“Ahem, now that you two finished your greetings, let’s get straight into business!”

I went back to the chair I was previously sitting on, and noticed Kiyama might have a hard time sitting down, so I pulled a chair next to me to let her sit.

“...Thank you…”

“No problem.”

She lowered herself to level with the chair to sit, meanwhile on the other side of the room on the desk with the titlecard “Director”, sat Asahi.

“Alright, as you might’ve guessed Izumi, I am the director, and I want you two to go and interview one of these potential stories for more info.”

“Oh, I thought you were the reporter.”

“Normally, yes, but I want to see your capabilities.”

“Alright then…”

She gathered her notebooks from her bag and flipped through a couple of pages until she found the one she was looking for.

“Okay let’s see here, which one of these do you guys find more interesting. ‘Is a witch lurking in our forests?’ Or ‘Potential gossip among the top two students in school.’ I can’t decide which one to cover in the next issue.”

“The witch one sounds interesting, how much info do you have on that story right now?”

“Nothing at the moment. I just heard this rumor going around a few days ago.”

“Then, wouldn’t you want something more mysterious as a more attractive story for the newspaper?”

“...If I may…”

In the middle, Kiyama raised her hands for permission, which the both of us granted.

“...The gossip of the top two students, who are male and female, might attract more people for any potential romantic development… As they are a hot topic when it comes to that kind of thing…”

Kiyama had a point. In this stage of life, people want to feel the once in a lifetime experience of being youthful. The moment where it’s gone forever when you become an adult.

Youthful…? I feel like I’ve heard that word thrown around somewhere today.

“True… Then I guess that settles it!”

“Are we going with the top two students one?”

“Nope! We’re going to do both!”

Why am I not surprised…

This might’ve been her very plan since the beginning.

“Izumi and Sora-chan, you both go out to ask people about the witch situation, and I will use my special journalistic abilities to gather this gossip.”

“You’re gonna do something illegal aren’t you?”

“Oh how little faith you have in me, my dear Izumi… It’s fine! Just trust me! It’s not illegal if you never get caught after all.”

My faith in you decreased, for the matter of fact.

“Sigh… So, why are people talking about a potential witch in the forest.”

“Hold on… It says some of the untamed cats have been going missing, and some have even found weird markings on trees like you would see in some kind of ritual. So many cats have gone missing, and the fact that someone even heard a ‘witch-like’ laughter deep in the woods at night made some people convince that”

“...That reminds me… My neighbor's cat suddenly went missing as well… It didn’t have a collar, but it kept going to their house and became their de facto pet… Their 11 year old daughter cried when Kazetsuke didn’t come for breakfast for several days…”

If someone’s beloved animal goes missing then that should be enough of a reason to go hunt for them. But Kazetsuke for a cat name, really?

“Alright, that settles it!”

Asahi stood up from her special seat and walked over towards us.

“We’re gonna investigate these two stories, and see if it’ll bring The Sunny Times more readers.”

Her high energy was back in action, with more enthusiasm as ever, and even pointed her finger up to the sky, symbolizing her rise to upcoming success. There’s no stopping her now.

“Mission, start!”

The director made it clear, this was our time to bring in more readers for…

Wait, what's The Sunny Times?

~~To be continued~~