Chapter 4
by Need_More_SleepChapter 4: Gossip Among The Girls
At Martial Detective High School, general subject classes are divided by homerooms, but specialized courses are more like clubs, crossing classes and grades, which makes it easy for students to get to know one another.
In other words, news spreads quickly here, especially rumors!
Tohyama Kanako realized that if she didn’t come forward to clarify things, the rumor about her living with Aria would likely spread throughout the entire school in no time.
“Um, we didn’t…” Tohyama Kanako tried to explain.
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots interrupted her mid-sentence. She instinctively clutched her head, and the surrounding students did the same.
Martial Detective High had a rule: outside the shooting range, guns should only be fired when necessary.
Of course, what counted as “necessary” depended on the person. If a student fired a gun and didn’t hurt anyone, teachers generally wouldn’t intervene. As for the bullet holes left behind, nobody cared at all.
After all, this was an institution for training armed detectives. Gunfights were routine here, so one of Tokyo Martial Detective High School’s educational policies was to accustom students to gunfire just like soldiers.
Aria’s face flushed red once more as she drew her twin pistols and pulled the triggers. Arms outstretched like wings, she fired once toward the glass window and once toward the wall, leaving neat bullet marks.
The classroom was reinforced with bulletproof materials, so Tohyama Kanako and the other students worried only about stray bullets hitting them, not about structural damage.
“Huh? L-living together? W-we are NOT living together! We’re not that close! We… we…” Aria stumbled over her words, tongue-tied again as memories of the sports warehouse incident flashed in her mind.
‘Hey, Aria, is your imagination running wild? What exactly does “living together” make you think of? Why the hell are you using the word “close”? What are you even thinking?’
Tohyama Kanako grumbled inwardly and raised her backpack over her head to shield herself from Aria’s impulsive shooting, making sure her glasses stayed on in the process.
Seeing Aria’s embarrassed, fidgety expression, the girls’ suspicions only deepened. They were certain Aria was trying to cover something up, convinced that she and Tohyama Kanako had done… something.
Riko, who had been heckling, froze and sat back stiffly on her chair as if performing a mechanical dance. She clearly hadn’t anticipated Aria’s reaction to be so extreme.
The entire class went silent. The boys stared in disbelief, the girls wore chilling expressions, and even the teacher gave a wry smile.
“You all better listen carefully! If anyone says something stupid again, I’ll make a hole in them!” Aria gritted her teeth and delivered the threat.
The first homeroom meeting of the new semester had already started with gunfire. Tohyama Kanako could already imagine the kind of campus life she would have to endure with Aria around.
“Teacher! Is Shinichi still not coming to class this semester? Before the opening ceremony, Mouri from the next class came to ask.”
Perhaps trying to change the mood, the ever-helpful Mutou raised his hand to ask a question, diverting attention.
“Ah, ah. Kudo’s father called the school and requested an extended leave for him,” Takamagahara Yutori replied.
Hearing this, most of the students looked relieved, as if understanding why. At Martial Detective High, a long leave usually meant an important case was involved.
At the very least, it meant the person was still alive.
Thanks in part to Aria’s two gunshots, the morning general classes ended smoothly.
Once lunch break began, Tohyama Kanako immediately left the classroom to buy her lunch.
If she delayed even a little, Hotogi Shirayuki would have cornered her in the classroom.
Then Shirayuki would naturally produce two bentos, insist on eating together, and inevitably escalate to the “Open wide, ah~~” style of feeding.
Shirayuki would be gawked at by the jealous girls, while Tohyama Kanako would receive envious glances from the boys.
Under those circumstances, Tohyama Kanako felt she could never eat in peace!
She always felt that her childhood friend was showing off…
After buying lunch, Tohyama Kanako retreated to the science building rooftop to eat, her little sanctuary of peace.
A hot dog bun, a small instant salad, and a box of strawberry milk made up her entire lunch.
Carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, proteins, water, dietary fiber, sugars, everything was balanced in this small meal. If Shirayuki saw it, Tohyama Kanako knew she’d get lectured again.
As Tohyama Kanako enjoyed the warm spring breeze while eating, her rooftop solitude was disrupted.
A few girls had come up to the rooftop to chat and get some air.
From their voices, Tohyama Kanako recognized them as her classmates from the Assault Program.
Tohyama Kanako positioned herself in a corner, thinking she would remain unnoticed.
“The academic office just sent a notification. A second-year female student on a bicycle was attacked with an explosive. Could it be Kanako?”
“Very possible. She didn’t even attend the opening ceremony. I was looking forward to seeing her.”
“Poor Kanako! First the bike exploded, and now there’s that transfer student around her.”
‘Thanks for your concern, ladies. By the way, the one in the middle, what are you expecting?’ Tohyama Kanako thought.
“Yeah, yeah, I want to hug her and comfort her.”
‘Ah, you’ve gone too far!’ Tohyama Kanako thought. She couldn’t confront them directly, it would only make things more awkward.
“By the way, Aria has been investigating Kanako all morning.”
“Yeah, she even came to ask me what kind of Martial Detective Kanako is, her record, and stuff like that. I ignored her and just said casually, ‘Why don’t you ask the boys?’ to get rid of her.”
“When I passed the academic office, I saw her talking to a teacher. She must have been gathering information about Kanako.”
“What is she trying to do? Could she really have feelings for Kanako? S-rank from Assault Program is really something, huh?”
Although Tohyama Kanako didn’t want to eavesdrop, her name kept coming up, so she couldn’t avoid it.
From this, she learned that Aria was indeed collecting information about her.
“Maybe it’s because she’s from England. Aria doesn’t read the room at all. This morning she made things unpleasant over Kanako, and now she wants to strike up a conversation?”
“True, true. She’s quite popular with the boys.”
“Yes, yes! I heard when she arrived in her third semester of first year, a fan club was formed immediately. The photography club even took secret photos during PE classes, and they sold for a lot!”
“I’ve heard too. Aria’s photos in figure skating, cheerleading, and rhythmic gymnastics classes could fetch tens of thousands of yen.”
“Tch, no matter how popular, she can’t beat our princess! The photography club president said they caught a shot of her today without glasses. The negatives will be developed this afternoon and the final prints go online tonight. Limited quantity, first come, first served!”
“My wallet’s a bit tight this month.”
“Shall we split the cost and copy them?”
“Sure! Sure!”
“I know where there’s a high-resolution copier.”
Tohyama Kanako realized now that Aria even had a fan club.
Back in the third semester of first year, Tohyama Kanako hadn’t really attended classes seriously. She only heard from her childhood friend about this transfer student, and today was the first real encounter.
‘But who is this “princess” they keep talking about? Does anyone in school have that nickname?’ Tohyama Kanako wondered.
Beyond that, the three girls continued gossiping: how Aria had no friends, often skipped classes, pretended to nap during lunch, and ate alone in corners.
‘So she’s basically been isolated…’ Tohyama Kanako felt a mix of emotions.
Although she also ate lunch alone, it was by choice, unlike Aria’s situation.
Afternoon classes at Martial Detective High were specialized courses. Today being the first day of the semester, students only had to check in, show their faces, and they were free to leave.
Leaving school, Tohyama Kanako headed straight to the train station to go to work.
[To be continued.]
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