The Hidden Client (Part 4)

"I have things to attend to, so I won't see you off."

"No... it's my fault for troubling you so much. Thank you for today... Shinjo-san."

"It was just a small favor, don't worry about it."

Shinjo waved his hand and walked away. As Sakura watched his retreating figure disappear, suddenly! She remembered something very important.

Just as she was about to take out her phone to send a text, a powerful hand suddenly covered her mouth, leaving her only able to make muffled "mmph, mmph" sounds.

Then, she could only feel herself being dragged in a certain direction; there was no one in sight, and she couldn't make a sound.

She wanted to struggle and resist, but with her thin arms and legs, how could she break free from this shackle-like grip?

"Don't struggle, my Shizuku! You belong to me... you belong to me!!"

Hearing the voice, Sakura immediately realized what was happening; she was being kidnapped by that perverted fan!

Already timid by nature, she was now so terrified that she burst into tears.

The man pressed Sakura firmly against the ground and took out a pre-prepared towel to gag her mouth, silencing her cries.

"Hehehehe... do you know? How much I love you?! You are my everything, and I am willing to sacrifice everything for you, including my life! But... suddenly one day, you started playing a hateful game of hide-and-seek with me!"

"From that day on, I fell into deep despair. Do you know... do you know how I've spent all this time?!!"

The man's expression gradually turned ferocious.

"But, I finally found you... this must be fate, right?! Little Shizuku! You are destined to be mine! Everything about you is mine!! Come now... let me get a good look at you... these clothes and such are really in the way!"

Just as he was about to tear open Sakura's uniform, a figure instantly appeared behind him, and a powerful whip-kick sent him flying.

"I'm sorry, but your good days might be over."

The man rolled twice on the ground and rubbed his eyes, only to realize that the one who had kicked him was none other than the meddlesome brat from before. He scrambled to his feet, gasping for air:

"It's you!!!!"

"Shi... Shinjo-san!"

Sakura sat up, crying. She wanted to stand, but found her legs had no strength at all; it seemed what had just happened was far too traumatic for her.

Shinjo looked at the man before him with neither joy nor sorrow. People like him weren't exactly rare; although they were base and despicable, such people emerged one after another.

"Do you intend to go to prison obediently... or..."

[Or would you rather be reincarnated directly? But to be honest, I really don't want someone like you to be reincarnated.]

The man laughed in extreme anger:

"Hahahaha! Do you think you're some kind of hero? Do you know what you just did? You used violence against a school employee! Do you know what the price is for a student to use violence?!"

"Haha! Playing that card, are we? Although it's a tactic I've seen a thousand times, I have to admit, it's sometimes quite effective. However, I personally feel that if I were to be punished by the school for using force to protect a female student from being molested by a guy like you, then I would really have to wonder if the school's leadership has developed some kind of antisocial disorder."

Seeing that his threat had no effect, the man changed his tone:

"Brat. Do you think I'm joking with you? You say I molested the female student next to you, heh, do you have any proof?"

"Well... actually, I have plenty of evidence, but the simplest one... would be an eyewitness, right?"

"What?! Is that all you've got? An eyewitness? You aren't talking about the person next to you, are you? She's your classmate, of course she'll testify for you..."

Before he could finish, a voice filled with rage came from behind him:

"What about me?!"

The man tried to turn his head to look, but he was met with a heavy, iron-like fist.

"Go to hell! You piece of trash!!"

Having suffered a heavy blow to the face, he was knocked flat onto the ground. The owner of that voice was none other than the top salesperson who had just disappeared inside the store.

Shinjo took out his phone and stepped forward, switching it to camera mode:

"Give me a hand."

The salesperson understood, grabbing the man's hair with one hand and lifting his head up.

"Say cheese... look here, cheese..."

Shinjo took a photo and sent it to Horikita Manabu:

"Molestation of a female student, caught in the act. One eyewitness from the digital store."

"Received."

Horikita Manabu replied with only two words, then swiftly led the Disciplinary Committee toward their location. Unlike the police in movies and TV shows, the Student Council's response was quite fast.

After understanding the sequence of events, the man was handcuffed by the teachers and security guards who had followed along.

"Remember to come to the Student Council tomorrow to give your statement."

With that, Horikita Manabu led his team away.

He handled things without the slightest hesitation; he was truly worthy of being called one of the most outstanding students in the school, Horikita-senpai.

After resting for a while, Sakura had returned to normal.

"Hey, let me ask just in case. You're the one who wrote the request letter, right?"

The top salesperson smiled upon hearing this; not denying it was as good as confirming it.

"Then, you must also know about her... about 'Shizuku', right?"

Sakura was startled when she heard this. She hadn't expected anyone else at this school to know her identity. Although the person before her had just saved her, she was currently suffering from a bit of fan-induced trauma.

"Yes, I wrote the request. You must be that Yorozuya, right?"

"Ah."

"Haha, and here I thought I had hidden it quite well. In fact, I've been a fan of little 'Shizuku' for a long time—or perhaps it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I was among the very first. My father passed away in a car accident when I was young, and my paternal grandparents didn't like us, feeling that we were the ones who had cursed my father to death."

"My maternal grandparents passed away early as well, so you could say my mother was my only family. But, just as I started university, the terrible news came that my mother had suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage... To be honest, I thought about ending my life during that time; after all, living no longer held any meaning for me."

"It was right then that I discovered little 'Shizuku'. Perhaps out of a lingering attachment to the world, I poured my thoughts and story out on a social forum. But... to my surprise, little 'Shizuku' and her fans all came to urge me to live on well in place of my parents."

"Somehow, I suddenly felt that if a person were forgotten by everyone in the world, would they truly be dead? So, with everyone's encouragement and persuasion, I finally stepped out of the shadows."

[Is this the power of an idol?]

At this moment, Sakura walked over as well. She actually had a deep impression of this person, but she hadn't realized at the time that things were so serious. She had simply acted out of politeness and habit, feeling that no one should be so negative, and had encouraged him by putting herself in his shoes.

"So after that, I started living properly. I came to work at this school precisely because I had no family left to look after. In fact, I should say that I recognized Sakura-san the very first time she came to buy a camera."

The rest of the story was very simple: he had wanted to protect the idol he supported, but he hadn't expected her to be targeted by a guy he worked with.

To protect Sakura's privacy, and because there was no concrete evidence to sanction that guy, he had anonymously commissioned the Yorozuya.