Chapter 13: Mai Looking for Shido

Finally, Itsuki finished her meal, and Mukuro finished hers as well. The three stood up and left the local park at the same time.

Just now, Shido saw Itsuki, and he recognized that she was the youngest sister of the quintemplates. He didn't think too much, just assuming that it was a coincidence that they had breakfast together in the local park.

The Nakano family was looking for a tutor for the quintemplates, and it wouldn't be Shido since he was not the top of the class.

Therefore, Shido continued being lovey-dovey with Mukuro, who returned with sweet smiles.

Mukuro acted more perfectly like a couple with Shido than any other Spirit. In fact, she already considered herself as his wife.

When they reached their home, Shido chatted with Mukuro for a little while more, then he had to stop and get ready to go to school.

"Nushi-sama…"

Mukuro said reluctantly.

"Be a good girl for me, okay?"

Shido kissed Mukuro's forehead, then gently smiled.

"I will go on a date with you this afternoon."

"Date?"

Mukuro opened her eyes wide, and could barely contain her excitement.

It was already not the first or second time, but the Spirits always loved the idea of going on dates with Shido. After all, it was those dates that connected them to Shido.

Shido nodded affirmatively, then waved goodbye to Mukuro and started walking toward the direction of the school.

After a few minutes, he was stopped near the intersection by an expensive black race car.

"Get in, Itsuka! We are running out of time."

Shido frowned, then he opened his eyes wide in surprise. A familiar figure rolled down the window and poked her head out, blowing the smoke of cigarettes.

Hiratsuka-sensei!

What does she want with me this time?

Shido hesitated for a bit. He knew she must be looking for him, since there was no way this encounter was a coincidence. But he still got in her car.

"That must be your girlfriend! Damn, I gotta say, she's even more beautiful in person!"

Hiratsuka praised earnestly. She admitted that Mukuro's beauty was beyond comparison. Judging from the lovey-dovey behavior from earlier, she was fully convinced that Shido had a girlfriend.

Damn it!

Why can't I find a partner!?

Hearing Hiratsuka's words, Shido affirmed it with a nod. It would be a good thing to make her realize that he didn't need to see Yukino, henceforth, not joining the Service Club.

But, he knew there must be something else that Hiratsuka wanted from him. Otherwise, she would not be waiting for him near his home and suddenly called him here.

Therefore, Shido stayed silent, waiting for Hiratsuka to speak first.

However, Hiratsuka stayed silent as well. They simply drove to school without further exchange of words until they arrived at school. When Shido was about to get off, Hiratsuka finally broke the silence:

"Itsuka, do you know Mai Sakurajima?"

Shido frowned and looked at Hiratsuka, unsure what she meant by that. But still, he replied casually:

"Of course, she's a famous child star. I have seen her on TV."

"Guess so, since she's really popular. Of course you'd know her."

Hiratsuka smiled, recalling what happened earlier morning, then casually asked:

"Mai called me earlier this morning, asking me for a favor!"

"What kind of favor?"

Shido asked cautiously.

He had a bad feeling about this. It was unexpected that Mai and Hiratsuka were this close.

Judging from the fact that these two were from different anime, Shido consciously believed that they would not have any interaction with one another. If any, it would be a teacher-student relationship.

But now, it seemed like that they were more than that since they exchanged words outside of school as well.

Shido suddenly realized that the bad feeling he got might have something to do with Mai finding out about yesterday.

After all, he only helped Mai last night, and then Hiratsuka asked him about Mai this morning…

As expected, Hiratsuka said:

"Mai told me that a high school boy did her a big favor last night. She needs me to find him so that she can thank him properly."

"Didn't she thank him last night?"

Shido played dumb and analyzed.

"No, that boy didn't let her see him. He simply helped her get food, left it at her feet, and left!"

Hiratsuka shook her head.

"Then there's no way to find that person."

Shido signed, but on the inside, he was relieved. He thought that he had his cover blown.

Even though Hiratsuka suspected him, there was no evidence at all. He would just deny everything, then she would have to give up.

Hiratsuka recalled more from the earlier conversation, then said,

"But I heard that boy was from Raizen high school, and he was going out with his girlfriend yesterday. From what I know, it's not common for boys in our high school to have a girlfriend..."

"So, Sakurajima-senpai knows about that boy and he was dating, but doesn't know what he looks like?"

Shido asked with a bizarre look on his face. He wasn't faking it, he was genuinely surprised that Mai learned all this without seeing him.

Then he had a moment of clarity: The proprietress from last night. She must have spilled the beans somehow, but Shido wouldn't blame her. After all, she couldn't see Mai either.

Hiratsuka stared at Shido for a while, then suddenly asked,

"Itsuka, I remembered you told me that you were going on a date yesterday. Did you go with your uniform on?"

Bingo!

But Shido determined to keep playing dumb. He simply replied,

"Yes, but we were in the shopping mall, and we never saw Sakurajima-senpai."

"Shopping mall?"

Hiratsuka frowned. She clearly remembered that Mai told her it was an outdoor mall, but not a shopping mall.

So it wasn't Shido? Or was he lying?

Hiratsuka pondered, eager to find the answer.

Her intuition told her it must be the latter. But she knew probing like this wouldn't help, so she signed and decided to leave the rest to Mai.

"Alright, I will leave this matter aside. By the way, do you happen to know Yukino Yukinoshita?"

"Yes, she is in the same grade as me. What business does she have with me?"

Shido wondered, but he nodded and asked.

"She came to me yesterday, and asked me about you."

Hiratsuka replied casually. She wanted to make Shido meet Yukino, but it went the other way for some reason.

"She knows me?"

Shido was a bit surprised.

"No idea, that's why I'm asking."

Hiratsuka shrugged.

"Maybe she likes me? Sensei, please tell her that I appreciate her feelings, but I already got a girlfriend!"

Shido gave a wry smile.

Although he had no idea why Yukino wanted to see him, he must make a plan to drive her away. And the easiest method was to make her hate him due to his arrogance.

"Alright, I will tell her that."

Hiratsuka smiled. She wanted to see Yukino's reaction to those words as well.

"So can I go now?"

Shido asked, with a bit of annoyance in his expression. Even though Hiratsuka gave him a ride, she had asked him way too many questions for way too long.

Hiratsuka nodded. She was a bit disappointed that she didn't get anything useful out of Shido. But there was one thing she learned: He is no ordinary boy!

Suddenly, Hiratsuak had a bold idea: Introduce Mai to the Service Club…

If Mai needed help finding this boy and Yukino was looking for him too, it would be great if those two worked together.

Also, neither of them had any friends. Meeting each other would be great for them too.

Shido walked toward the school gate after saying goodbye to Hiratsuka. When he got close, he saw Mai standing beside it and examining every passing male student carefully. It was obvious that she was looking for him!

He noticed that everyone else could see her right now. That meant she was visible. Of course, she was wearing her uniform, not the bunny girl outfit. Even so, every boy peeked at her while walking in.

Shido wanted to just walk in and ignore her, but then he thought: Isn't that giving me away?

Therefore, he walked in and pretended to peek at her like the rest of the boys. With this, Mai didn't suspect him.

Shido fastened his pace and headed toward his class safely.