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Chapter 8: Investigation
"However, I think you might have seen one of my students."
"He just came back from visiting his parents' grave."
"He's the one who just left my office."
Hiratsuka Shizuka took out Kamiba Yuma's file. It indeed stated that his parents had passed away when he was young.
Such a pitiful child.
"Can I know his name, then?"
"After all, he's the first male I've ever seen lean on your shoulder."
"Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to attend your wedding in the future!"
Yukinoshita Haruno's joke made Hiratsuka Shizuka very angry.
She felt like this student of hers was once again implying that she couldn't find a man!
"Haruno! It seems I need to remind you of my iron fist!"
"Ah, no! I'm sorry, Shizuka-nee!"
Yukinoshita Haruno had no power to resist Hiratsuka Shizuka's force. She could only beg for mercy.
"Alright, Haruno, stop fooling around."
"I can't just casually reveal a student's private information. And don't you go causing trouble!"
"I haven't sunk to the point of preying on my students!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka warned Yukinoshita Haruno.
"Alright, Shizuka-nee. I'll go check on Yukino."
"She just got back from overseas. I don't know if she's adjusting to life here."
"Then you should go. School just started, and I have a lot of things to take care of!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka shooed Yukinoshita Haruno out. She still needed to get to know her new students.
Hiratsuka Shizuka was not only a Japanese literature teacher but also a guidance counselor. It was part of her responsibility to ensure her students grew up healthy.
"Hmph. You won't tell me? You think I can't find out?"
"Shizuka, you underestimate me too much!"
Yukinoshita Haruno glanced at her sister's classroom from the outside and then left.
"Yukino is paying attention in class."
Yukinoshita Haruno went straight to the grade-level director's office. The director received her politely.
"Director, I need to see the surveillance footage for First Year Class F. Is that possible?"
"Of course, Haruno-sama!"
Sobu High was a prestigious school, fully equipped with facilities.
"Blond hair. That's him!"
"I want to see all the footage related to him!"
"Huh? He even came in Yukino's car. Could he be the one who almost got hit?"
"What a coincidence."
Yukinoshita Haruno stared intently at the screen. She then saw the scene where Kamiba Yuma leaped three meters into the air, and the scene where he climbed the wall to get back.
"It's definitely him!"
"Haruno-sama, did this student offend you in some way?"
"No. Give me his file!"
"Also, as long as he doesn't go too far, don't stop him, no matter what he does."
"And report his actions to me. Be careful not to let him find out."
"If you do a good job, I believe the vice principal is retiring soon..."
"Yes, Haruno-sama! I will complete the mission!"
Yukinoshitara Haruno left with a copy of Kamiba Yuma's file.
"Kamiba Yuma, fifteen years old, orphan."
Yukinoshita Haruno put away the file. The information Sobu High had on Kamiba Yuma was incomplete.
She needed to know everything about him.
With the Yukinoshita family's influence in Chiba, finding this out would be a simple matter.
...
Kamiba Yuma didn't return to the classroom until class was over.
It wasn't that he didn't want to attend class. He just felt it would be bad to disturb his classmates' studies.
If he wasted one minute of each student's time, with over forty students, that would be equivalent to wasting an entire class period!
He couldn't bear such a heavy sin!
"Kamiba-kun, why are you just getting back?"
"How are you feeling? Are you better?"
Yuigahama Yui had neatly arranged Kamiba Yuma's books on his desk.
Sobu High let out for lunch at 11:30 AM, followed by lunch and a break.
Classes resumed at 1:00 PM and ended for the day at 3:30 PM.
Compared to schools in his previous life, it was practically heaven.
But this also came at a price.
If you wanted to get into a good university, you had to enroll in cram schools on your own.
And the cost was often very high.
"Yeah, I feel fine now."
"Thanks for organizing my books."
"You're welcome. By the way, do you want to eat lunch together?"
"No thanks, I didn't bring a bento. I'll just go to the school store and buy something."
"Aren't those people waiting for you? You should hurry over."
"Oh. Well, see you later!"
Yuigahama Yui picked up her pink bento box and walked toward the small clique of blond-haired guys and girls.
There was a buzz-cut boy over there who, in an attempt to get the group's attention, actually started talking about Kamiba Yuma.
"Yuigahama-san, I think it's better if you don't get too close to Kamiba-kun."
Ooka Azusa said it with great seriousness, as if he was afraid of Yuma.
"Oh, Ooka? Why do you say that? Do you know him?"
Seeing that someone was talking to him, and that it was Miura Yumiko, the center of the group, Ooka Azusa got very excited.
Hayama Hayato, Ebina Hina, and Tobe Kakeru also looked at Ooka Azusa curiously.
"Isn't it a bit bad to talk about Kamiba-kun like this?"
"It's fine. We just want to know a little about him."
"That's right. Kamiba-kun and I went to the same middle school."
"He didn't fit in. He was a weirdo. And he joined both the kendo club and the archery club."
"But he didn't respect his upperclassmen at all and wouldn't follow their arrangements."
"Later, he supposedly beat up the seniors in both the kendo and archery clubs."
"It was a huge incident at the time!"
"Wait, you're saying he fought the seniors from two clubs by himself, and won?"
"Yeah! Even though his personality is weird, he's a really good fighter!"
"He's like a monster!"
Ooka Azusa spoke as if he had been there himself.
...
As expected of the popular kids. They already had their own little clique.
In Japanese schools, people who didn't fit in had a hard time.
Of course, there were also people who could single-handedly isolate the entire class.
Sobu High let out early, so Kamiba Yuma usually treated the meal after school as his main meal.
Right now, he was just eating enough to fill his stomach.
There were quite a few people who, like Yuma, chose to buy food at the school store.
Kamiba Yuma tapped the shoulder of the person in front of him.
"Hey."
A pair of striking dead-fish eyes turned around.
"What is it?"
Hikigaya Hachiman recognized the person in front of him as a classmate. He didn't know why Kamiba Yuma was tapping his shoulder.
He didn't think Yuma would remember him, as he was used to being ignored.
"You're Hikigaya, right?"