Chapter Seven: Aiko's Mission
The next day at lunch, Aiko witnessed a crowd forming around two girls who were preparing to fight each other. The secret was that Aiko paid each of them 1,000 yen to pretend to fight long enough to get the principal out of his office. The two girls started shouting insults at one another—really, they were the best of friends—and Aiko offered to go tell the principal. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her over to the principal's office, where she breathlessly reported that a fight was breaking out in the courtyard. The principal, a stout older man, rose from his chair and hustled off to break up the fight, leaving his office mercifully unattended.
Aiko shut her eyes and concentrated as she tried to remember where those extra keys could be. She even sat down in one of the chairs facing the principal's desk and concentrated extra hard, then the sun shone in through the window blinds and she saw a small glimmer out of the corner of her eye. Looking over, she saw the key to the school gate, shining as if to tell her "Here I am!"
"There you are," she said gently, as if she were playing hide-and-seek, snatching up the key and stuffing it into the pocket of her skirt before getting up and leaving the office. Now, she left the office area, acting very casual, and went outside, passing the courtyard where she could hear the principal scolding the fighters for not acting ladylike, a comment she had personally heard from him many a time. She walked past where her friends sat, inconspicuously eating lunch, and gave them a quick thumbs-up sign as she passed. She looked over her shoulder once, twice, three times, and took off running towards the open gates. When she reached the threshold, she leapt onto the sidewalk and ran until she couldn't see the school anymore, at which point she started walking. Juuban Hardware was just nearby, so she didn't need to run, which was good because she was now wheezing for air.
She stepped into the air-conditioned store and felt the cool air on her sweaty skin for a moment before seeking out the key-making area, which was unattended. Frustrated, she marched around the rest of the store, looking for someone who looked like they might be an employee. Down one of the aisles, a man with long black hair in a thin ponytail was trying to figure out the difference between different kinds of screwdrivers, but looked to Aiko like he was pricing them or something similar. She smiled and walked over to him.
"Excuse me," she said sweetly. "Could you possibly make a key for me? I need it done really, really quickly." She held up the key and looked exasperated. The man turned to her and his eyes widened in recognition before he spoke.
"N-no, sorry, I don't work here," he replied bashfully. "But you look familiar to me somehow."
"Um, that's great, but I really need a key made," Aiko said.
"I saw a guy with an orange apron over there. He might be able to help you," the man said, pointing.
"Thanks!" Aiko exclaimed, turning on her heel and running away.
"Seiya! Come on, how long does it take to look at screwdrivers?" a man with long brown hair, also done up in a thin ponytail, called from the end of the aisle. Seiya, however, was still watching as Aiko ran around the store. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Taiki, I just thought I recognized that person," Seiya explained.
"Eh, she's probably just a fan or something," Taiki replied.
Aiko found the orange apron man, who was actually pricing different varieties of hammers using a price gun that made obnoxiously loud beeping noises.
"Excuse me," she began again. Beep. "Could you…" Beep. "Make me…" Beep. "A key?" Beep. "Please?" The beeping stopped.
"Sure!" the orange apron man said. "Right this way." He led Aiko to the key station, which required walking past Seiya and Taiki as they walked off towards another aisle.
"See? Look! Doesn't she look familiar?" Seiya insisted, pointing Aiko out to Taiki.
"No, not really," Taiki replied. "I think you might be losing it, Seiya."
The actual key-making process only took a few seconds, but Aiko was nervous the entire time, worried about getting back to school and replacing the key without being noticed. She had two copies made and, when it came time for payment, didn't want to bother with change, so she just flung the 500-yen bill at him, took her keys, and dashed off, literally bumping into Seiya on the way out.
"I swear she looks familiar!" he exclaimed as she ran back to school.
"Aiko!" Sayaka shouted as soon as Aiko arrived. "The principal went back to his office!"
"WHAT?" Aiko screamed. "I still have the original key!"
"I know, I know…" Sayaka made a little nervous noise. "What can we do?"
"I have an idea!" Natsumi exclaimed. "Sayaka! Why don't we pretend to fight each other? That'll make the principal leave his office again!"
"Good idea, Nacchi! High five!" Sayaka and Natsumi high-fived, exchanged a glance, and turned that high-five into some high-powered shoving and pushing. Aiko took this as her cue to run off towards the principal's office, where the two original fighters sat outside.
"There's another girl fight in the courtyard!" Aiko shouted in the principal's general direction. He sighed, got up from his chair, and walked off, muttering under his breath about today's youth the whole way. Aiko looked side-to-side and ducked inside, quickly replacing the original key where she found it before and leaving. "Thanks for doing that," she whispered to the original fighters as she walked off, exhaling and allowing her heart rate to calm down.
When Sayaka and Natsumi saw Aiko approach, they suddenly stopped fighting and started to apologize to one another. This satisfied the principal, who didn't want to take them to his office, too. He decided to just pretend this second fight had never happened and walked away slowly, whistling a tune.
"I got it," Aiko whispered. "I have two copies, actually."
"Hey, who's that guy by the gates?" Sayaka asked, pointing to the gates. Natsumi and Aiko both looked over their shoulders and saw Seiya walk over. "Ah, Aiko, looks like he's coming for you!"
"He's cute!" Natsumi squealed.
"You forgot your change," Seiya told Aiko, bringing out a few assorted bills and coins and giving them to Aiko.
"Um, thanks," Aiko said, pocketing the change.
"Do I know you from somewhere?" Seiya asked Aiko.
"I don't know?" Aiko asked.
"What's your name?"
"Hey, pal, step away now!" Natsumi said, playfully shoving Seiya. "Enough with the inquisition!"
"Natsumi?" Seiya asked. "Damn, you've grown."
"Do you know him?" Sayaka asked, now thoroughly confused.
"Oh my God! Seiya, it's you, isn't it?" Natsumi asked, which met with a nod. "Wow, wow, wow. My mom's talked about you a lot. It's nice to meet you!"
"We've met before, but you were a baby," Seiya answered. "Your mom's group and my group performed together. The Three Lights and the Starlight Girls tour. Ask her about it sometime."
"Hi, I'm Sayaka Sakamoto," Sayaka said politely, bowing.
"I'm Aiko Kaiou-Tenou," Aiko said, also bowing.
"That's how I recognize you!" Seiya exclaimed.
"How so?" Aiko asked curiously.
"Aiko, you've probably never been told this before but…" Seiya paused. "I'm your father." All three girls started laughing maniacally. "What's funny?"
"Sorry, Seiya-san, but Aiko has all the parents she needs," Sayaka said defensively. "Haruka and Michiru are more than enough."
"Yes, that's probably true, but can Haruka and Michiru have a child together?" Seiya asked, making Sayaka immediately want to eat her words. "Exactly. Michiru entrusted my help on that front because we were friends and she said I have the best genes out of all of the Three Lights. Yaten and Taiki still haven't forgiven her for that." He laughed.
"I can't believe Michiru never told me this!" Aiko exclaimed.
"She was probably just waiting until you were 18, I guess. But knowledge is power. Well, I gotta go. See you around, daughter." Seiya smiled at Aiko, turned around, and walked through the gates again.
"Your dad is a pop idol," Natsumi said quietly.
"So? Your mom is a pop idol," Aiko pointed out.
"Point taken. Come on, I'm sure you're hungry from all that running and discovering who your dad is and all of that. I saved some food for you," Sayaka said, putting her arm around Aiko.