*****
Hisao
*****
With the arrival of morning came the arrival of a new day. Me, Yuna and Omoyo had breakfast in the kitchen, just a normal one with eggs, toast and bacon. And once we were done eating, we grabbed our book bags, put on our shoes and walked out the door.
Outside, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and while there is the chatter of people, the road to school was otherwise quiet and peaceful. Both this morning's walk to school and the night that Omoyo spent at my house were so . . . normal that it was hard to believe that just yesterday afternoon, I had an intense psychic battle with the vice-president of my school's Student Council, a real action-packed comic book situation that felt like a dream.
But it wasn't a dream. That fight definitely happened. And because of that, I was really not looking forward to going to school. I never looked forward to going to school, but that time I really, really wasn't looking forward to it because it meant that I would be running into Shioyama, I mean Shikouyama. And the closer we got to school, the more dreadful my anticipation of meeting him got.
But as soon as we walked past the school gate, Omoyo noticed something weird.
"Hey," she said. "Don't you think something's weird?"
Yuna and I gave her blank stares, showing how clueless we were.
"Weird how?" I asked. I looked around, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It was just guys and gals all over, split into clusters of friends, chatting and greeting each other as they walked towards the main school building.
Yuna, however, typed into her phone. "Now that you mention it," she said, "There are a bunch of people standing around outside the school's walls, Two or three at each side, evenly spaced apart and doing nothing."
"The way you said it, it's like those people were guards or something," I said.
"They probably ARE guards," said Omoyo. "I'm getting tense feelings from all around the school at the perimeter walls. Whoever's loitering outside the school's on high alert."
"If they're guards, I kinda wish they'd be on high alert somewhere inside," I said. I happened to look over my shoulder and spotted Shikouyama glaring at me from far away.
Following my gaze, Omoyo saw who I was looking at and patted me on the back.
"Hey, don't worry," she said. "We're in school now and there are teachers around us. Even Shikouyama's not stupid enough to try something where the teachers could see him."
As if to prove her point, knowing that he was watching us, Omoyo flashed Shikouyama a hand sign. I won't say what kind, or describe it. Just know that it's a really bad hand sign that good boys and girls should never, ever do.
Well, Shikouyama saw the hand sign and turned really red in the face. He quickly turned his head and marched away, leaving the other Student Council members behind to carry out their morning duties, whatever those were. I am wholly ignorant of what the Student Council actually does normally. (But just to be clear, I AM sure it's not like they have war councils in their room like a demon king with his generals cooking up evil schemes in the dark. I'm not a delusional idiot like Mirai is.)
But despite what Omoyo said, I couldn't help but feel at unease the whole day at school. Whenever I was out in the hallway, I kept looking over my shoulders while maintaining my Psy-Armor at low enough settings that most people wouldn't notice it. I half-expected to be ambushed while drinking water or using the restroom. And even when school was over and nothing happened, I had my guard up as I made my way to the clubroom. I was doubly focused that time because Yuna was with me. There was no way I could let her get mixed up in my issues.
Yet it was those same issues that actually distracted me as I walked through the hallway towards the clubroom, and I ended up bumping into someone as I was about to turn the corner like I've always done almost every day for the last couple of months.
"Oof! Watch it!"
"S-sorry about that!" I stammered. And then I froze in surprise. "Wait, Omoyo?"
"O-Oota! A-and Yuna!" Omoyo cried out, looking flustered. "W-what are you doing here?"
"We were on our way to the clubroom like always," I replied. "What about you? I thought you weren't coming back anymore, so what are you doing here?"
"N-nothing!" Omoyo said. "I-I-I-I certainly wasn't t-trying to spy on the clubroom because I was worried about you guys or anything like that."
Now, admittedly, I'm not what people would call the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I wasn't fooled by Omoyo's lie. That's just how bad a liar she was.
"You're as terrible a liar as you are at spying."
All three of us jumped and turned around to see Kawatori casually leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her torso.
"What are you doing here, Kawatori?" Omoyo asked. She was really venomous and put herself in Kawatori's way to us.
"Easy there, Omoyo," Kawatori said. "Didn't I help you guys before? I did stop Shikouyama from attacking you, didn't I?"
"After watching us for so long," Omoyo pointed out.
"Well, yeah," Kawatori admitted. "But that's because I had to put up a water barrier. If I didn't, we'd all be answering to the police."
Omoyo kept a sour look on her face, but she fell quiet. I'm sure it was because she couldn't argue back anymore. But then, after a short pause, she said, "You still didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?"
"I heard that someone was acting weird around the third floor of the clubroom wing of the school and came to check it out," Kawatori said. "I'm guessing that's you, Omoyo. You really should learn to better blend into your surroundings if you're planning to spy on someone."
"I-I wasn't spying on anyone!" Omoyo said, shifting her gaze away. "I was . . . I was just tying my shoelaces. Yeah."
Kawatori blinked and then pointed down.
"Your shoes are velcro," she said. "Anyway, if you don't have any business here, why don't you all come hang out with me on the roof? We can sit down and have a chat. I'll even treat you guys to drinks."
"Gee, thanks, but no thanks," Omoyo said.
Kawatori crossed her arms and said, "Really? Well if you're not up to it, then maybe Mirai will be. Let me go check right now. I'll also let him know that you're here."
Omoyo was suddenly flustered again.
"H-hey!" she cried out. "Hold it!"
She rushed over to Kawatori and put her hand on her shoulder. Kawatori had her hand on the doorknob but stopped.
"Fine," Omoyo said. "I'll take you up on that offer."
Kawatori had a frown on her face that looked like it said, "Way too easy." But she quickly straightened up and smiled, saying, "Great! Then let's go. What about you two? Want to come along?"
Yuna and I exchanged looks for a moment and then, we nodded.
"Sure," I said. "Who wouldn't pass up a chance for free drinks?"
"Huh? Are you sure about that?" asked Omoyo. "What about club? You guys were on your way to the clubroom, weren't you?"
"We don't have anything scheduled, so it's okay if we skip club today," Yuna said through her phone.
"Y-yeah, that's right," I said.
Omoyo looked really surprised and stared at me like she smelled something fishy. While Omoyo has no hope of becoming a master spy, I wasn't much of a great liar either. I'm sure she could see through me and realize that something was up.
Truth be told, while Omoyo was distracted by Kawatori, Yuna and I got a text message from Mirai asking us to keep Omoyo company today. He was really worried about Omoyo being on her own with the town all shook up by the tension between the Yamimura and Soushu families. If a fight ever broke out, she could get really hurt if she happened to be around one. After he told us all that in his message, there was no way that me and Yuna could refuse, especially since a fight did break out just yesterday.
So we all followed Kawatori to the roof. On our way, staying true to her word, she bought each of us a drink from the vending machine. After that, we got to the top floor, opened the door to the roof and stepped outside.
"So?" Omoyo said as she sat down with us on the base platform beneath the door. "What do you want to talk about? Just so you know, we really aren't in some kind of collaboration with Yamimura."
"I know," Kawatori said, snapping open her can of melon soda. "Mirai actually challenged Yamimura to a duel, and had Oota here do the fighting."
We all looked at Kawatori, shocked.
"Y-you know!?" I cried out. "How?"
"Easy," said Kawatori. "I just snuck up behind a bunch guys who're close to Yamimura and listened when they talked about the duel. I seriously can't believe you managed to beat Yamimura, of all people. He's like one of the Four Kings of this school."
I gave Kawatori a blank look, "The Four Kings?"
"It's just a silly nickname some guy who read too many comic books made up to call the strongest psychics in the school," Kawatori explained. "The Four Kings include Naoko, Yamimura, me, Eiji, and Aika Isaneko."
"Well, no surprise to hear Isaneko's one of the Four Kings," I muttered. And then I realized something. "Wait a minute. Soushu, Yamimura, you, Eiji, and Isaneko. That's five people. How are they the Four Kings when there's five of them?"
"Don't ask me," Kawatori said, shrugging. "I asked the same thing to the guy who came up with that nickname in the first place, but he just told me not to sweat the details. And what's weird is the name stuck, so now that's what every psychic in the school calls us now. But what's even weirder and stupider is both me and Eiji technically work under Naoko, so you can't actually call the two of us kings alongside her."
"That's what bothers you the most?" Omoyo exclaimed, incredulously.
"That nickname sounds like something that Mirai would come up with," I pointed out.
"That's because it was him," Kawatori said. "He was the one who came up with that nickname. I think it happened closer to the end of the last school year. And speaking of Mirai, did you break up with him or something?"
"Huh!?" I cried out. I was super surprised. "You and Mirai are DATING, Omoyo?"
Omoyo spat out her soda. It was the first time ever that I saw someone do a spit-take in real life and it went insanely far.
"NO!" she cried out. "We're not dating!"
"Oh," said Kawatori. "Then I suppose he's dating Isaneko then."
"No, he's NOT!" Omoyo said. "He's not dating anyone!"
"Do you know that for sure?" Kawatori asked. "He could just be hiding it from you."
Omoyo quickly fell silent and looked down. I would go so far as to say that she was upset. Kawatori must have thought so too, because she sounded really panicked as she said, "I was just kidding! There's no way anyone would date that loser!"
But that didn't help at all and Omoyo abruptly stood up.
"Sorry," she said softly. "I just remembered I have to do something, so I'll be going now."
"H-hey, wait!" Kawatori called out. But then Omoyo disappeared behind the door and closed it.
Yuna tapped me on my shoulder and then started pulling me towards the door.
"H-hey!" I cried out. "What is it, Yuna?"
Yuna glared at me and shoved her phone into my face. I was still clueless at first, but then I saw the text message on her phone and remembered why we were hanging out on the roof in the first place.
I quickly gulped down the rest of my soda and turned around to Kawatori.
"Sorry, Kawatori," I said. "We gotta go too. Come on, Yuna!"
"Huh?" Kawatori went. "Wait, not you too!"
Me and Yuna went back inside and raced down the stairs after Omoyo, leaving Kawatori frozen at the door as she reached her hand out to us.
I stood facing the door with my hand held out to it for a few seconds and then sighed, before sitting back down.
"Sorry, Naoko," I said. "I couldn't get anything out of them."
Naoko Soushu and Eiji Shikouyama stepped out from the wall they had been hiding behind.
"Hmph!" Eiji sniffed. "Where did all that confidence of yours go? Didn't you say you'd get to the bottom of Mirai's schemes faster than me? This was a complete waste of time!"
Angry, I snapped back, "Well, at least it's a hundred times better than trying to start a fight that'll ruin the student council's reputation, like you nearly did!"
Naoko clapped her hands and said, "That's enough, both of you!"
Both me and Eiji quickly shut up. The sharpness in Naoko's voice made me feel like I was a little kid again being scolded by my mom.
"Sorry," we both muttered to her.
Naoko gave a satisfied nod and said, "Good. Now, we might not have been able to get anything concrete, but we did figure something out about Mirai's club."
Me and Eiji exchanged looks and then said to Naoko, "We did?"
Naoko nodded.
"We know that those three are out of the loop of Mirai's plans," she said. "Except for Isaneko, it's safe to say that Mirai's nudging the others into doing what he wants, like they're chess pieces. But Omoyo, at least, suspects that Mirai is up to something same as us, and doesn't seem happy about it. And because of that, whatever Mirai's plan is must be unraveling right now."
Impressed with Naoko's deduction, I said, "Wow, Naoko! Impressive detective work!"
Pleased with my compliment, Naoko smiled. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
But then that idiot, Eiji ruined it when he went over to the edge of the roof, looked through the fence barrier and pointed at one of the men standing outside the school's walls.
"So, what's up with all those guys outside the school?" he said. "Are they security guards or something?"
Naoko's smile quickly faded and she replied, "Oh, those guys are my bodyguards. Mom ordered them to keep me safe."
Damn you, Eiji Shikouyama, I cursed in my thoughts. How dare you make Naoko frown like that? I swear, slapping you once isn't enough!
Eiji, of course, was ignorant of what I thought of him and kept blathering on.
"Is it because of the Piper?" he said. "But isn't this town supposed to be under the Shirogami Clan's protection? I know they've declined over the years, but with clairvoyance like theirs', their security should be foolproof!"
But Naoko shook her head and said, "Not anymore."
"What do you mean?" Eiji asked. "Is there something wrong with the Shirogami Clan?"
"Something wrong?" I stared at him, utterly dumbfounded at his ignorance. "Something wrong? There's not just something wrong with the Shirogami Clan. It's a major disaster! There was a coup."
Eiji looked at me and blinked. "A coo? You mean that Barbadian dish?"
"That's cou-cou!" I snapped. "I'm talking about a coup, not some food made with corn meal and okra. A coup d'etat! A rebellion and take-over!"
"You two know a surprising lot about Barbadian food," Naoko said. "But never mind that. Kawatori's right. I heard from my grandmother that some of the top dogs in the Shirogami Clan didn't like the way the current head was running things and got greedy. They tried to put her whole family under house arrest."
"Wait, what!?" Eiji cried out. "Don't tell me the mutiny won! I mean, this is the Shirogami Matriarch, we're talking about here! The one everyone, young and old, calls the Queen of Futuresight! The one who can control the future! We've all seen what she could do personally! Like that trick with the bouncy ball she showed us when we were kids!"
"Not even the great Lady Shirogami can do anything and everything," Naoko said. "But with that said, it's not a complete victory."
"What do you mean?" I asked. I knew about the coup, having heard the grownups whispering about it when they thought I wasn't listening. But I didn't know all the details.
"The matriarch escaped," said Naoko. "She and her family managed to get away before the rogues of the Shirogami Clan could catch them in one fell swoop. Those rogues managed to take over control of the clan, but without the matriarch, the source of the clan's power, or anyone who'd inherit her powers, they may as well have stolen a treasure chest without any actual treasure. Talk about a waste of effort! Am I right?"
"But she'll be back, right?" Eiji asked. "I mean, she's not going to just let those bad guys get away with stealing the entire clan, right?"
A really troubled look flashed on Naoko's face before she shook her head and replied, "I don't know. I just don't know."
I had never seen her look so distressed before. And that really upset me. To me, seeing such a sad look on Naoko was like looking at a bad omen. A really bad omen.
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