Chapter 28: "Not Exactly the Dream Team"

[Tsurumi Rumi POV]

My thumb hovered above the send button of my phone. My eyes roved over the text message I was about to send out.

To: HACHIMAN
From: RUMI

Re: I need help

"Chain mail. Friend. How do I stop it and help her? Call me asap."

I was at a loss for what to do. Shizuka had said how she had started the Service Club back at Soubu High school in Chiba, where students would go to this club and be assisted in solving their issues or obtaining goals. They dealt with social disasters all the time apparently. But no such club existed here.

A sigh left my lips and I leaned back in my seat and stared at the ceiling from my school desk.

Drama Club was cancelled again. This made it exactly one week since we last held an official meeting, when the chainmail had first started spreading. As expected, it did not stop there. By the end of the week, it had gotten to nearly everyone in school. Whispers could be heard at the end of the hallways as gossipers began their rounds. Each transfer of the rumor injected some new (and false) claim into the mix.

By now the story had turned into a Leviathan of a story with different versions, continuities, and retroactive continuities. Of course, the one thing that didn't change were the actors involved: Akari and the Director. In some sort of scandalous relationship that manipulation by him in some cases, coercion by her in others.

Haruko had turned into a sentinel for Akari. Never letting the girl out of her sight when they were at school, and always walking her home. I knew I shouldn't be relieved that Haruko was doing this, but I felt it regardless.

So I was considering asking Hachiman for help. I knew he would drop everything and call me immediately. That was just the kind of person he is. That's what I loved about him. But it made me feel even guiltier. As if I was taking advantage of his kind disposition.

It wouldn't be the first time.

"Excuse me! Tsurumi-san?" A familiar voice caused annoyance to bubble up in me. I turn around to see Ito walking towards me with Class Rep in tow.

"You can leave now, Ito." I say dismissively. "You don't have to escort the Class Rep anymore."

My rough rebuke does little to shake the growing smile on his face. "I'm just here to talk, Class Rep also wants to talk. We're all clubmates, so it isn't that far fetched, is it?"

Blasted logic.

"Tch, I guess not." I grumbled.

"Um, Tsurumi-chan, is Hanae-chan okay?" Asked the Class Rep in concern.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "I would be lying if I said that she was fine. At the very least, I'm thankful no one in school has harassed her."

"This situation has turned everything chaotic." Ito piped in. "The Director doesn't wish to continue holding meetings and auditions for roles because of the rumor mill being what it is."

"Obviously!" I huffed impatiently. "His reputation is on the line, any decision he makes will seem like it was influenced by something other than acting ability. If he chooses Akari, everyone else will just think the rumors are right. If he doesn't choose Akari, everyone will think he didn't choose her because of the rumors. He's in a lose-lose scenario. "

Ito whistled. "Wow, you really thought it through, huh? Amazing."

What the hell was this man saying? Was he stupid? Could I snap his spine over my knee?

"Why is this happening?" Asked Class Rep, and I was sure she was speaking to no one in particular.

"... I don't know." I answered back honestly.

Ito tried to offer an explanation with a flourish of a hand. "Perhaps someone was jealous they didn't get the main role? They're trying to do this to sabotage the play? Hanae-san was the randomly chosen unfortunate victim, probably. She made it to the final round of auditions."

As much as I hated Ito, I had to admit that his perspective made sense. Which upset me even more, knowing my friend was chosen as a sacrifice by chance.

Class Rep tilted her head. "We talked about what to do at the Student Council meeting. The teachers said they were investigating but it seemed like it would take a long time. Who might have started the chainmail?"

Ito shrugged his shoulders. "I was thinking it might be someone from the club."

"Does it matter?" I pointed out. "It'll be next to impossible to find the source anyway, that was the point of the chainmail. Has there been anything new?"

Class Rep and Ito shared a look before both denied there being anything after the original messages.

I looked back at my phone, rage building at my own inability to find a solution. Would it be right to rely on Hachiman?

I suddenly remembered the conversation I had with him the day before his birthday.

"... I want to do something… where I can protect justice… Just like Dad, Uncle Kenji… and you."

"Ha ha! What's up with that anime-like answer?"

"Stupid Hachiman!"

"I think that's a great idea. Just not too sure if it's a good idea to have me as a role model."

As cynical and creepy as he could be, Hachiman was a role model. In his own way, even before joining the military or becoming a detective, he was protecting justice. He was part of the Service Club, and Shizuka told her stories of some of the cases they solved.

Hachiman could solve problems, any problem. And if he couldn't, he had friends he could rely on to help him. I could still recall that Christmas event they had when I was in grade school. When Shizuka told me of the problems the Service Club had faced trying to get that event to fruition, I was astonished. It didn't seem like it was done so haphazardly. They were always doing something and it culminated in an event. Almost like magic.

It was a good time, I vividly remembered my interactions with Hachiman...

"Hachiman, it's fine. I don't need help. I can handle it by myself."

"Well maybe you can but..."

"It's fine."

Hold on… Subconscious, what exactly are you…?

"But you know...I can handle it myself even better."

Oh no.

"Haha...what's that supposed to mean? Are you an idiot?"

I WANT TO DIE.

Did I really say that? I cringed just thinking about it. He was trying to be nice and I threw it back in his face. I dumped my head into a nest made by my arms.

"Tsurumi-chan!?" "Tsurumi-san!?"

I waved off the concerned peanut gallery. "Sorry, just remembered something I'd rather not."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Ito asked with a serious face.

"Actually, there is." I gave him a sweet smile, which he mirrored with enthusiasm. "Would you be willing to stand still so I can overwrite this embarrassing memory with the catharsis of my fist breaking your nose?"

"Ha ha… Tsurumi-san's sense of humor is quite something…" Ito's face froze and he gave a strained laugh.

Who said I was joking?

My quip was stopped by the sudden sound of many cell phones vibrating around me. My eyes snapped to the Class Rep whose face blanched as she looked at her phone. She quickly placed the device on my desk so I could see. It was a new chain-mail, and this time it roped in a new actor.

HANAE AKARI IS USING THE DIRECTOR TO SEDUCE ITO.

Before I could say anything the door to our classroom was slammed aside, causing everyone in the room to go quiet and stare at the loud entrant. It's Kojima, and strangely without her retinue. She scanned the room before landing on Ito, Class Rep, and me sitting by the wall. There was righteous fury in those eyes.

"Hey you!" She stomped up to my desk side. "Where's your friend at?"

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, knowing full well that it would anger her. "I'm obviously not going to tell you."

"Huh!?" Kojima is clearly pissed and I could hear the air vibrate with her rage. "It's your fault they pulled Mitsu into the rumors. And you're gonna hang with him now and get him even closer? You're bad for him, stop bothering him!"

The amount of misunderstanding going on here has reached its peak limit and I snapped out a response.

"Look, I'd love for nothing more than to never be involved with your boyfriend here. But he's here on his own accord."

The retort I expected never came, as Kojima stammered. "B-boyfriend!?"

"Now, now, Kotori," Ito said warmly, in an attempt to placate the brunette, who had somehow devolved into a blushing mess after my words. "I was just here talking to Tsurumi-san about the things that are happening in the drama club. Nothing harmful to be sure."

"I-I see." Kojima morphed into a docile creature and began bashfully playing with a curl of hair. "I-I also don't like what's going on… the play being delayed means the auditions are going to be delayed too. This is going to ruin the production of the play."

Class Rep made a sound of appreciative wonderment. "Wow, Kojima-san really does care for the club, huh?"

I snorted mentally, yeah right, as if. She was just here for her boy-toy...

Kojima nodded her head. "I love the drama club. I've wanted to act ever since I was a kid."

"Kotori used to audition for every role since grade school." Ito adds in. Huh, so him and Kojima used to be childhood friends? Wait, before that…

"Really?" I asked, surprised. And here I was thinking she only did it for Ito.

"What was that for?" Kojima took a step back due to my outburst.

"I was suspecting that you were the one that started the rumor to sabotage Akari's role in the play."

Ouch. Shit. Forgot about the filter.

The demure Kojima disappeared and was replaced with what I could only describe as a lion. "Of course not! The point of auditioning is to get the best fit for the role. The play would be worse if I did nonsense like this. And anyway, your friend is probably the only other actor good enough to take the role, aside from me."

I blinked. What the hell? Kojima actually respects Akari?

"W-well… what could have made someone send this chainmail?" Asked the Class Rep nervously, suddenly aware she was surrounded by some of the most controversial people in school.

Ito rubbed his wrist. "The entire production of the play had been abnormal since the very start, when we had decided to make it a dramatic romance. There were more male and female club members auditioning than ever before. Nearly three times the number of female applicants than normal."

"A lot of the male auditioners were second years, though." Kojima explained as she took a seat at the empty table next to me. "They probably wanted to do so before as first years, but they all sat back and practiced in minor roles before gaining enough experience and confidence to go for the big roles."

"That does make sense." Ito relinquished. "But that doesn't explain why we had so many female auditioners. They came after the male auditions and I was selected, and many of those girls were first years as well."

Class Rep laughs awkwardly at the brazen display of Ito's lack of self-awareness.

"Can I break your nose? For real?" I asked.

"I feel the same way." Kojima agreed, leering at her childhood friend in a bizarre show of solidarity.

Ito backed down quickly, and apologized for something he didn't understand where he went wrong. What a guy…

"Well…" I started, coughing into my fist. "I think it's obvious now that it was one of those girls who didn't make the cut."

They were jealous of the two girls that made it to the end.

"But why Hanae-chan?" The Class Rep asked the million dollar question.

"If you think about it… Kojima has the stronger social group. Akari is the easier target, would be my guess."

Kojima huffed in frustration. "So how do we solve this? We can't go and interrogate every auditoner."

We fall into silence.

I reflected on the things I know. This was the perfect storm of disaster. A dramatic romance play was popular among teenage students. And to top it all off, the heart throb of the second years was playing the male lead.

"We need to do something quickly." Ito urged. "The play can't be delayed any longer, it's going to affect the rest of the year's forecast for the club. It might potentially force us to perform only one play instead of our usual two."

"But it takes a while to find the source of the chainmail, if they ever do. Hiratsuka-sensei said that during homeroom." Countered the Class Rep with a hopeless voice. "Is there a way to resolve this without having to find the source? Like a way to fix things?"

"I wish a convenient solution like that existed…"

I stopped when something struck me.

Wait. Did we really have to find the source of this chainmail? Didn't we already have all the tools here? We knew the probable cause of the conflict, as well as the likely motive behind the chainmail.

Why bother trying to solve the root of the problem, when you can just get rid of all of it?

I look down at my phone and delete the message I was in the middle of drafting.

How can I say I want to be a protector of justice when I don't even try?

I deleted the draft.

"Hachiman, it's fine. I don't need help. I can handle it by myself."

"Well maybe you can but..."

I stood up, attracting the eyes of my unlikely crew. "I have a solution. But I'll need your help, especially yours Ito."

Ito's eyes widened and his lips curled into a smile. I'm absolutely disgusted, but my heart fluttered a bit at the sight. It wasn't a plastered smile like he wore all the time, it seemed different. Real.

"What do you have in mind, Tsurumi-san?"

I smirked. "Let's call this… 'True Love'."

Δ▼Δ

[Hikigaya Hachiman POV]

I sneezed in my office. Are the conditioners getting to me?

Yes, I was back in the office. Back at work, although more on managerial and desk duty. And of course not on the case I wanted the most, although Hiura and Shiba did go out of their way to slip me notes with status updates. They were welcome breaks between the dumps of paperwork I was receiving from our dearest District Attorney. Although, "welcome" was a bit of a stretch. News wasn't ideal.

The search net had spread beyond Roppongi to all of Minato. I knew it was only a matter of time until some sort of information popped up, but I was still apprehensive. So I was stuck here dealing with a flood of papers and reports I spent most of my day working on. The glare from the computer screen exhausted my eyes, since I had been working nonstop for hours. I even had lunch at my desk to make sure I didn't fall behind.

It was a boring day, filled with busy work. I'm beginning to suspect that Haruno might actually be skimping out on work in exchange for further torment on my person.

My desk phone rang. I slid my chair over and grabbed the receiver with a single hand. "Tokyo Metro PD, this is Detective Hikigaya speaking."

I heard giggling on the other end of the line. Was this a prank call?

"Hikigaya-kun, what an extremely uncharacteristic greeting. For a moment I mistook you for some doppelganger of the most utmost professional behavior."

"Oh it's just you, Yukinoshita." I deflated. "Why are you calling my work phone?"

"I had tried contacting your cell phone. However, none of my texts or calls were returned. I assumed you were busy at work, but it is far past the evening so…"

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw the tell-tale signs of missed calls and notifications of unread text messages. I should really get a new phone.

"Sorry about that. And yes, I was busy at work. Just finishing up now, in fact."

"Just finishing up now…?" The questioning tone was suddenly replaced with a stern one. "Hikigaya-kun."

"Y-yes!?" I instinctually straightened in my seat with the sudden revival of Drill Sergeant Yukinoshita.

"It is currently 9PM, when did you come into work?"

"Umm, 9AM?"

"Do you mean to tell me you worked 12 hours today?"

"... I guess… I had a lunch break though!"

"Knowing the current you, it was at your desk. While you were working."

Holy shit, is she an ESPer?!

"Hikigaya-kun, what did I say about overworking?"

"Hey! I still think that's true!"

"Hikigaya-kun, what did I say about overworking?

"Uh... a lot of things. All things considered. I listened." Maybe. Kinda.

"Dubious claim."

"Hey! I still think it's true!"

"You're failing to convince me."

"..."

"..."

"... sorry. Case hasn't made progress. It didn't feel right, going home."

I heard a tired sigh come out from her end. "Please take care of your health. Come home as soon as you can, I'll have dinner ready."

For a second, I had a vision of Yukinoshita wearing an apron, welcoming me home with a smile. On this hypothetical Yukinoshita was a shining ring on her finger. I honestly couldn't tell if this was a dream come true or a nightmare of a guaranteed lifetime of verbal abuse brought to fruition. It was terrifying either way.

"Yeah, I'll pack up right now."

"Oh, Hikigaya-kun. Before you leave, I was calling to ask if you're free this Saturday?"

I held the receiver between my head and shoulder as I rolled to my standing calendar at the edge of my desk. I trailed an index finger across the boxes.

"Yeah, I should be. Shiba should be in by tomorrow to take over. What's up?"

"Can you accompany me on a date?"

"... huh?"

Interlude: "Tsurumi Rumi"

Author's Note:

The middle of the Rumi Arc. The next chapter will be the resolution to this little escapade, and should be here soon. As stated previously, these aren't my best works but I can't be asked to rewrite this. We have 3 chapters left until the end of Arc 1.

Oh yeah, setting up a future chapter with that little vignette at the end.

-SouBU

(Editors: Xynovitch, thatguy8801, yahallo)

Revision Log:
10/15/2020 - Reworked last few lines for better cohesiveness.