Volume 2 - CH 3.6

Chapter 3: Mikage Saeka Beyond Reach

Part 6

“So, let’s get this straight, you mean to ask Mikage-san to show up to the confession, without telling her it is a confession”

“That’s it.”

Fujimiya made a shocked face. “That sounds troublesome.” She fell against the cushion. “And roundabout.”

“That’s the situation. There’s no straight way for this.”

“That may be so, but…”

“In the first place, the duty of the Angel is troublesome, not to mention roundabout. But someone has to do it, and I’m willing. Just find a way to get results, and I’ll do anything.”

Then I felt a stare from next to me. Minato had a straight face when I turned to her. She nodded. Unlike Fujimiya, she knows the full story as to why I obsess with getting the feeling across.

“That sounds like a dead end to me. Or do you have any more leads?”

“No…”

After all the great things I’ve said, the reality was that I couldn’t do anything. Hiura, Reiji, Minato, Fujimiya. If all these people’s wisdom didn’t help, we might need a change of perspective…

It was frustrating, but, “Yukito.”

“Hmm～～?”

“You’ve listened?”

“I wasn’t listening, but I heard everything alright. Looks like you’re having fun there.”

This was exactly why I avoided asking him.

“What do you think?”

“Dunno. I don’t know a single thing about that Mikage-san.”

“Any thought patterns? What’s your view on confession, why would you avoid one, whatever.”

“Hnghhh. I like getting confessions. It’s terrible that my halcyon days of getting confessed are coming to an end…” He swung his head left and right. “People change drastically when they’ve got lovers, speaking about youngsters these days.”

“…”

“But, one thing.” His eyes lost focus, as if recounting the past. “What if it’s not with Mikage-san herself?”

“Huh?”

Not Mikage herself?

“Ah!” As if seeing something, Minato let out a startled voice.

Yukito sniffled smugly. “What if her boyfriend told her not to accept confessions?”

“Aah, I see. I might be that…”

“But there’s no proof yet? Io?”

No, it fits. From the timeline, everything fits. Whether it would be his influence, or a direct request.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this boyfriend-san’s a jealous type.” Fujimiya spoke up.

“Jealous…”

“If I got a girlfriend like Mikage-san, I wouldn’t let anyone confess to her. She’s bound to say no, yes, but that’s pure anxiety, right?”

If Hibiki liked Mikage from the start, it would certainly make sense. That also explained why she dodged Hiura’s question. 

“Is that the case…”

“She’s like a celebrity without being a celebrity , haah～” Fujimiya smiled lazily.

But from that moment, my mind was already working on what I should do from now on.

◆　◆　◆

“Minato” 

We disbanded. Before she could get to the station, I secretly called out to Minato.

I needed to set up the stage for the next step.

“What is it?”

“Can I call you when you get home?”

“Heh? U-um, okay…”

“Sorry, and thanks. I’ll call you.”

I hadn’t thought I would have to use that in this case…

◆　◆　◆

After arriving home and finishing my meal and bath, I called Minato as planned. After ten seconds of ringing, Minato connected to the call.

–“H-hello?” For some reason, her voice felt meeker than in person.

“Yeah, thanks for answering.”

–“Um.” A monosyllable. “What’s the matter, then.”

“I need a favor. I could only ask this when we’re alone, hence the call.”

–“O-oh… and that is?” I could hear her faint gulp. Well, it wasn’t something big, so no need to worry…

“I want to tough Mikage’s face.”

–“Huh?”

“I’ll use my power this time too. You’re the only one who knows about it, so help me.”

–“Oh, that. I see,” she said dryly. Hey, why are you suddenly disinterested? “Okay. But, why use the power?”

“We talked about her boyfriend at the cafe, right?”

Why do I feel like there was an edge to her voice…

–“Yep, the jealous one…”

“Jealous or not, that’s for us to find out. The point is, I want to find this boyfriend and ask him instead. Compared to Mikage, he might be loose mounted”

–“I see, if you move correctly, she wouldn’t know that you’ve moving behind the scenes.”

“That’s a far shot, but that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Although there was one preliminary condition to clear: finding Hibiki.

After a thoughtful pause. –“But… don’t you know his identity already?”

“Only his nickname, otherwise, I’m as knowledgeable as any other Kuze High student. As it turns out, I can’t find any with that nickname.”

Until now, I had only operated on intra-school romances, so this was the first time this issue had been raised. Rather, everything was my first with Mikage. Troublesome.

–“That’s… strange…” she muttered.

“Right? If he’s a celebrity, there must have been some trace, a face to compare.”

–“You’re doing that? From all the young celebrities sprouting these days?”

“If that’s the only option. Still, meeting this boyfriend might be the key, I’ll do it.”

I had no illusions of how difficult a task that would be.

Nonetheless, Shida must confess. If this way was impossible then I will just try another…

Ah, didn’t Shida say that I seem to get reckless… Well, he was true. The recklessness was already off the charts now.

–“Okay, I’ll help.”

“Ooh… thank you.”

–“But why my help? You don’t seem to have trouble doing that by yourself?”

“Mikage’s not a normal average person. Her action patterns are irregular, and she has that weird sense of distance. You could never get too close to her.”

Naturally, there were those who were easy to touch and those who were not.

Minato, and many others were the former. Mikage, unfortunately, was the latter.

“And there are only three days left until he moves. Considering the time it would take to do the research and pin him down, I’d have to use the power by tomorrow. I can’t wait for that chance to come naturally.”

The day after tomorrow was the weekend. Approximately, the entire Saturday and Sunday were to locate his whereabouts. His house was near Mikage’s, so that narrowed down the scale. Likeness of his face would assist the process.

–“You know what, Shiho was right, you’re a detective in your own right.”

“Maybe, an affair detective, that might fit. None of my skills can solve a crime case, though.”

–“That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t being funny.” Rather, I’m serious.

–“I wonder what kind of person her boyfriend is.” Minato’s voice had a strange rhythm. “You said he had a one-sided love, right? I wonder how does it feels to like someone for years without saying it?”

“It was mutual since the start?”

–“Double one-sided love?”

[TN: The one mentioned before, a term for when people have mutual feelings, but neither knows it.]

“Ah, yep, that term”

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Hm, as expected of a fellow Shojo manga enthusiast.