Hikari looked at Sato, her eyes wide with shock. "Umm, Sato, is that true?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Sato, utterly mortified by the entire class staring at him, shot to his feet. "What?! No! That was like... an accident! I didn't... I, huh—" He fumbled for the right words, his face burning.
Their teacher, sensing the escalating drama, intervened. "Okay, Sato, that's enough. Precious time is ticking. Now, take your seat, and please, girls, you can feel free to sit anywhere you want."
Sato slowly sank back into his chair, utterly bewildered. Hikari and Sakura, however, approached his row. Hikari noticed Kaito and another guy sitting next to Sato. She offered them a sweet smile. "Umm, would you mind if we could take this row with Sato? You would be seriously helping us."
Kaito, ever the opportunist, grinned, standing up. "Of course, knock yourselves out!" He winked at a mortified Sato before moving to another seat.
On the other side of the row, Sakura fixed the kid sitting next to Sato with a death glare. "Look, punk, she said move, or do you want me to move you myself?" The guy immediately scrambled to his feet, fear etched on his face. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he stammered, backing away.
Sakura then slid into the seat, placing Sato firmly in the middle of the two girls. She turned to him, a hint of a smirk on her lips. "So, I guess you did do it by accident that day. My bad for the slap; I hope we're good?" She crossed her leg over the desk, her mini-skirt riding up a little too high, revealing a distracting amount of leg. Sato, trying desperately not to look, kept his gaze fixed on her eyes, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Sure, some misunderstanding, no big deal," Sato forced a smile.
Sakura leaned in closer, her skin brushing his. "I was thinking I could make it up to you," she whispered, moving her mouth closer to his ear. Sato tensed, flustered, trying to compose himself as he felt the jealous stares of every guy in the classroom. "No need, really, you're good," he mumbled, but she continued, her voice a low purr. "I could treat you any way you like..." She then licked his ear, sending a jolt of alarm through Sato.
Just then, Hikari pulled Sato closer to her, pouting at Sakura. "Hey, he's my boyfriend!"
The entire class erupted in a unison scream of "BOYFRIEND?!"
Sato felt his life drain away, muttering to himself, I better just kill myself.
Ignoring the shocked students, Sakura responded to Hikari. "Relax, girl, just teasing him over there. But to be honest, what a catch you have there." She licked her lips playfully.
Hikari frowned. "Hey, you already have a boyfriend! Leave Sato to me!"
Sakura smiled. "I'm kidding, he's yours."
The teacher clapped her hands, trying to regain control. "Please, girls, could you settle down? We'll be learning math now, and we need no distractions. I know your actual day at school starts tomorrow, but you could still pay attention. You are here to observe the place."
As the teacher addressed the class, Sato, slowly regaining his composure, quietly asked Hikari, "Why are you here? I thought you couldn't head out."
Hikari beamed. "Yeah, but when I told Kenji what you said about the other Mafias finding me here being impossible, as they would least expect it here, and after some arguing, he allowed me! Plus, Dad doesn't know, so ta-da! I'm in school with you!"
Sato frowned at her. "Yeah, but I also said you should go to a school where not many people know your dad so you can make friends. Most of the people in Midorioka Academy know your dad."
Hikari looked unbothered. "I don't care. As long as I'm with you, that's all I need to care about."
Sato blushed slightly for a brief moment before regaining his composure. "Fine, but don't expect me to protect you if the other Mafia gangs come looking for you," he warned.
Hikari giggled. "Yeah, well, I doubt that."
"Hey, you lovebirds, pay attention!" Sakura said, whacking Sato on the head with her pen. Sato, stuck between them, prayed for this day to end.
A few minutes later, during break time, Sato's class was empty. He quietly opened the door, peered around to find no one there, then closed the door and sighed in relief. "Finally, I'm all alone again," he murmured, sinking into a chair. He put on his earpiece and pulled out his phone, relishing the quiet.
Suddenly, Hikari appeared in front of him. "What are you doing?" she asked, startling him.
Sato jumped, looking at her. "Where did you come from?"
Hikari smiled. "Well, I was looking for you and couldn't find you, so a guy—I believe his name was Kaito—asked me to try our class, and I'd find you."
Sato frowned. "Stupid Kaito," he muttered under his breath.
Then, Sakura walked into the class. "Hey, hey, hey! So, he was here?" she chirped, dropping her and Hikari's large lunchboxes onto Sato's desk. Hikari pulled a chair next to him, and Sakura sat next to Hikari. They opened their lunchboxes, revealing tons of food.
Hikari looked at Sato. "What did you bring for lunch?"
Sato pulled an apple from his bag. "Well, I normally eat apples, but sometimes I switch it up with an omelet."
Hikari and Sakura looked at him in shock. "No way that's true," Sakura said.
"You can join us if you want," Hikari offered.
Sato dismissed them. "Oh, no, it's not like I can't pack anything better; I just don't eat too much."
Hikari pushed her food between them. "You can eat with me if you want; I got enough food."
"Weren't you just telling me that food wouldn't be enough?" Sakura teased Hikari.
Hikari blushed, looking at Sakura. "Shut up!"
"You really don't have to, really," Sato began, but a voice from the window interrupted.
"How touching. Mind if I get in on this?" Kaito said, pulling himself through the window.
Sato frowned at him. "I thought you had a problem with eating in an empty class?"
Kaito stepped fully inside. "It's not empty now, is it?" He dropped his own lunchbox on a nearby table. "Ladies, my name is Kaito Aoki. As you can see, I'm the only one acquainted with Sato over here, as he has no other friends, so you shouldn't be worried about him cheating."
Hikari smiled sweetly at Kaito while Sato glared at him. "You enjoy doing this to me, don't you?"
Kaito nodded. "Yes, very much. And with that said, why don't you go get everyone here a drink? My treat!" He handed Sato some money.
"Yeah, thanks, dude! I'd kill for a strawberry drink!" Sakura added.
"Oh, and I'd love a cola drink," Hikari chimed in.
Sato stood up. "Fine," he mumbled, walking out.
Kaito sat down on Sato's vacated chair. "Now that he's gone, I believe we should discuss something," Kaito said with a mischievous smile.
Meanwhile, Sato was walking to the vending machine, tapping buttons to order drinks. "Kaito, that guy has it out for me, damn bastard," he muttered to himself. He wasn't paying attention and bumped into a figure, knocking both himself and the drinks to the ground. Sato looked up with anger, but his anger vanished when he saw it was a man in a black suit.
The man looked down at Sato. "Tanaka Sato, I believe. Where is Hikari Kuroda?" he asked.
Sato stared at him in shock, wondering how the man knew his name. This must be the Mafia gang looking for Hikari. But how did they know she would be here? I can't let him know Hikari is here. Should I...? Sato's body began to shake with fear.