But Hiko did not know these plot details.
So he assumed that perhaps the author needed the protagonist to reach high school before the story could properly unfold.
After all, the doctor, a top student, reincarnated, and once Ai was killed, there couldn't be any real development during the interim period. Otherwise, the protagonist wouldn't make it to high school, and the plot would drag.
If Hiko had known the later plot, he would have seen that Ai, who desperately maintained her image as a perfect idol all her life, never had any scandals exposed until her death. Yet her biological son, Aqua, traded the shocking news of her giving birth to children just to cover a female friend's fake scandal. And even that was only a minor scandal.
Aqua's flaws went far beyond a lack of intelligence.
He claimed to love his mother and vowed to avenge her. But not only did he fail to confirm the true identity of the killer, he later went on to shatter his mother's perfect image.
He was simply an idiot.
After so many years in the entertainment industry, he couldn't even gather presentable information to trade for news.
He was truly useless.
Even if the mastermind behind the scenes was eventually exposed and disgraced, it would still be hard to accept.
Moreover, that beast was a serial killer, there was absolutely no need to expose Ai's past.
If Aqua ultimately relied on his mother's secrets to expose the mastermind, thereby humiliating the killer, he might as well just find a block of tofu and bash his head in.
It wasn't just incompetence, he lacked self-awareness too.
He was completely incapable of taking on such a role, yet still insisted on handling everything alone, only to end up in one embarrassing situation after another. Even primitive humans knew to call on their companions to hunt together.
Forget about being a clown, he was the whole circus.
"Hiko? Hiko?" Kento noticed him spacing out and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, I just have some things to take care of at home," Hiko replied casually, covering for his distraction.
"That's a shame," Kento said regretfully. "Are you free tomorrow after school to hang out?"
Just then, the bell rang for the next class.
"I don't have any free time these days, and I'm not sure about later either. When I do, I'll treat you," Hiko said.
He felt he would have less and less time to spend with them, but he still needed to maintain the friendship at school.
"You said it, you'll treat us someday," Tetsuya grinned as he walked back to his seat.
The two returned to their seats.
The girls who had been surrounding Ai also went back.
(Did you make new friends?) Hiko wrote in his notebook and passed it to Ai.
Ai read it, then quickly wrote a reply before handing it back, it said: (They're all very enthusiastic. They said they want to hear the rest of the story.)
Hiko wrote back: (Don't you already know the rest of the story? Why didn't you tell them? And how do you like the new school?)
After receiving it, Ai wrote again and passed it over: (They said they envy me for hearing stories from you. It's only the first day, so I don't know much yet.)
'Envy?' Hiko didn't understand why she said that, but he changed the subject and asked other questions.
The two continued exchanging notes.
Time slipped by quickly. After class, only two girls came to talk to Ai, while Kento and Tetsuya wandered over to Hiko for a casual chat. Another class passed, and soon it was lunchtime.
"Buy me a few pieces of bread and some drinks," Hiko told Kento, who was about to go buy food.
Since Tetsuya wanted to pick as well, the two went together.
Normally, the three of them took turns buying lunch.
In practice, Kento went the most often, and Hiko the least.
By now, most of the class had already left to find somewhere to eat.
Ai, sitting next to him, opened her bento box. But the girls who had chatted with her earlier didn't come over.
"What happened?" Hiko asked.
"Nothing, we just didn't click," Ai said lightly, opening her box.
That was a lie.
'Didn't click? Or maybe she just don't want to talk to them?'
Hiko remembered every word spoken around him, and she had already said so herself.
He had expected rice and side dishes, but when she opened her bento, it held sandwiches instead.
"You don't need a lot of friends, one or two are enough," Hiko offered a piece of shallow, motivational comfort. "Being alone at school is always boring."
"Is that so? Isn't it enough to have you?" Ai asked casually, taking a small bite of her sandwich.
Hearing her calm tone, Hiko smiled. "Then I'm honored to be the only friend of a genius idol who will shine like a star in the future."
After lunch, classes resumed, and their time to chat lessened as they focused on their lessons.
Soon, the afternoon classes ended, and they prepared to leave.
Ai gathered the homework she'd been assigned and got ready to go to Ichigo-Pro to meet her group members and receive guidance.
Hiko said he wanted to observe the training, so he went along.
The two spoke a little on the way, but for the most part, they walked in silence.
Whenever he could use his phone, Hiko searched for the names his uncle had given him.
The results were either nonexistent or matched people who were too old, none of them fit after his elimination method.
"Does it really have to wait until the right moment?"
After dozens of searches, Hiko sighed inwardly.
He glanced at Ai walking beside him, her gray-black jacket and long pants making her look unremarkable.
She needed to learn how to dress up, this was far too plain.
But plain meant no attention. Wasn't that better?
Conflicting thoughts ran through his mind.
On the way to Ichigo-Pro, they passed shops selling snacks and pastries.
Hiko noticed Ai's eyes lingering on the sweets. She seemed to want them, but never stopped to buy.
Let's buy some and see.
"Come on, let's get something."
Without waiting for her response, Hiko walked ahead, stopping at a taiyaki[1] shop. He asked the owner to pack a large bag.
"Why are you buying so many taiyaki?" Ai asked curiously, watching him. "It's like you're stocking up."
"For you."
Hiko then asked the owner to pack a smaller bag separately, handed it to Ai, and said, "Since we're visiting, it's good to bring something along, especially the first time."
"But you bought way too many, didn't you?" Ai said, holding the sealed bag as she saw Hiko ask the shop owner to pile the rest into his cupped arms.
[1] Taiyaki is a popular Japanese street food snack that is a fish-shaped cake made from a waffle-like batter, typically filled with sweet red bean paste (anko), though other fillings like custard, chocolate, or ice cream are also common