The Hidden Client (2)

"Sakura..."

Sakura had just sat down when she heard someone call her name. Like a startled bird, she hurriedly lowered her head.

"I don't know... I really don't know anything..."

"Um, actually, I'm not here to ask you about Sudo. There's just a small favor I was hoping you could help me with."

Sakura finally calmed down a little, but she still didn't really want to answer anyone's questions. She'd already been feeling uneasy these past couple of days. Strangers really were terrifying!

"It's like this: I noticed you have a camera, and I've been thinking about buying one lately, too. But I don't know much about them, so..."

"A camera? I...I don't really know much about them either..."

Shinjo rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Gaining the trust of someone with social anxiety was undoubtedly difficult. In that case, he'd have to try a different approach.

"Sakura, you bought your camera at that electronics store on the shopping street, right?"

Wasn't that obvious?

Of course not.

One important step in gaining someone's trust was making them feel you weren't a threat.

So you should ask as few questions with an ulterior motive as possible, and stick to simple questions that almost everyone knew the answer to—ones they could respond to with a nod or a shake of the head.

Sakura didn't think much of it and simply nodded in reply to Shinjo.

"Okay, thanks, Sakura. Oh, right! If you're thinking of going there soon, it'd be better to take a friend with you. There seem to be some unsavory people around there lately..."

"Huh?"

Sakura was just about to say something when she noticed Shinjo had apparently already returned to his seat.

[Shinjo... How did he know?! Could that person have already told him about me...]

But no one could answer all the questions swirling in her mind. As for asking Shinjo directly? She didn't have the courage to talk to anyone, let alone a boy.

The boy did seem a little different from the others, and probably fairly kind, but his girlfriend was no pushover.

Karuizawa, the fiercest girl in Class D aside from Suzune Horikita!

And so, Sakura spent the time until lunch consumed by anxiety and self-doubt. She watched as everyone else gradually went off to eat, until only she and Shinjo remained in the classroom.

If she wanted to ask him something, this was the perfect opportunity, wasn't it?

But...what were you supposed to say first when talking to someone?

Shinjo was waiting here alone precisely to create an environment where Sakura could feel as comfortable as possible. Still, letting her sit with it for a while was necessary if he wanted to put her at ease.

[But this girl's defenses are way too strong.]

Five minutes later, Sakura finally seemed to make up her mind. She slowly stood and took a step toward Shinjo!

[Forget it. I'll make the first move.]

"Sakura, is something the matter?"

"Ah...I...actually...I..."

"Don't be nervous. You wanted to ask me something, right? Take your time. If you're scared, we can text or write notes instead."

Tip number two for dealing with social anxiety: avoiding having to speak out loud might make things much easier!

These days, plenty of young people might not have social anxiety, but they still clearly preferred texting on social media to making phone calls.

It might be a habit, or it might be a form of self-protection.

Sakura's eyes lit up at once. She had to admit, it was a great idea.

She picked up the notebook beside her, tore out a page, and started writing.

Before long, a crumpled note landed on Shinjo's desk.

"Shinjo, what did you mean when you said there was someone suspicious at the electronics store?"

(After all, writing a note couldn't possibly come out all halting and hesitant, right? So there weren't a bunch of inexplicable ellipses. It made perfect sense!)

Shinjo followed her lead and picked up a pen to write beneath it:

"Actually, I recently got a tip that an employee there keeps giving the customers strange looks. I'm looking into it."

The two of them began talking normally by tossing notes back and forth.

"Shinjo, why are you investigating this?"

"It's a job that was supposed to be outsourced to the Student Council, but then they outsourced it to students. Anyway, it'd be pretty scary to have someone like that staying at the school, wouldn't it?"

Sakura fell silent after reading Shinjo's note. She knew who that person was, but she didn't want to tell anyone about it. If she did, the secret she'd kept hidden all this time would come out, too.

But she really didn't want to see that person again... For a moment, she was torn.

Shinjo didn't rush her. He was now absolutely certain that Sakura knew something, but she probably had her reasons for not wanting to speak up.

After a while, Sakura picked up her pen and thought for a moment. Then she tore off another sheet of paper and wrote a line on it:

"Shinjo, can I trust you?"

"If you don't want to talk about it, then you don't have to. But if you do tell me, I give you my word that I won't reveal your secret to anyone."

"Sh-Shinjo... Actually, I..."

"Actually, I've always been afraid of talking to people. I guess you could say I've always been afraid to look them in the eye..."

Then she tore off another sheet of paper and slowly began writing down her secret.

[Shinjo seems like someone I can trust... So... please... save me!]

To put it simply, Sakura's social anxiety meant she could only truly let herself be herself on social media.

Though she seemed quiet and reserved on the surface, her true dream was to become an idol loved by everyone.

But how could someone who couldn't even look people in the eye dress up and perform in front of a huge crowd? Singing or dancing—either one was impossible.

But thanks to the internet, she'd found another way to fulfill her dream in that magical haven.

Sakura loved that feeling. No one knew who she really was or what she was really like, and her cute appearance had even won her a huge following of devoted fans.

After coming to Advanced Nurturing Middle School, Sakura would sometimes sneak off to secluded places to take selfies, keeping her photos locked away in her camera. Meanwhile, the popular idol named Shizuku had vanished from public view.

Still, whenever she was alone, Sakura would dress up as she used to and take pictures with her camera.

But her good fortune didn't last. A little while ago, her camera was accidentally damaged. When she took it to the electronics store for repairs, one of the employees fiddled with it for a bit, then fixed her with a deeply perverted stare.

After that, the employee used the repair as an excuse to hold on to Sakura's camera. Somehow, he'd also gotten hold of her personal information.

So lately, every day when Sakura opened her shoe locker, she found photos of herself inside, covered in declarations from perverted fans.