Airi Sakura is Easy to Handle

Why did she come out this morning, and why did she just summon the courage to do so...

She was completely trapped in a state of panic and regret.

"Ahem, actually, that's not what I wanted to ask. It's just... well... how should I put this?"

Toru Hasegawa scratched his head and crouched down sheepishly, but to his surprise, this action only made the soft sobbing sound even louder.

A man and a woman alone, no security cameras nearby, and she was exposing her vulnerable side right in front of him...

It would be impossible for Toru Hasegawa to claim he had no such thoughts in his heart; it was simply unavoidable.

After all, Airi Sakura looked so easy to bully right now.

But at this moment, he had more important things to do.

"I'll just be blunt, Sakura-san. Are you using those glasses to hide your true self?"

Like Superman's glasses, perhaps Airi Sakura had cast some kind of magic on hers as well.

This was merely a guess on Toru Hasegawa's part.

However, as soon as these words left his lips, Airi Sakura's sobbing stopped abruptly. She revealed her now red and swollen eyes, meeting the gaze of the boy she had only just met for a fleeting second: "You..."

She couldn't continue. Even though they had only just met, had he already reached this far?

Could this really be a fated encounter?

Had heaven arranged for her to make a change right here?

So, should she do it? Now, right here?!

Airi Sakura was still hesitating.

Meanwhile, Toru Hasegawa observed her favorability rating.

It had gone from 60 at the start, down to a low of 30, and now it was over 70.

Airi Sakura was indeed hiding her true self through an external accessory like those glasses.

He had won his gamble.

But...

Wasn't this a little too easy?

Toru Hasegawa felt a mix of amusement and frustration.

"You just need to be yourself," he said, adding, "Though, just waiting around won't lead to any good results."

It felt a bit awkward, but Toru Hasegawa continued to push forward, feeling that if he kept this up, it might actually work.

"Do you... really want to see?"

Having received clear feedback, Toru Hasegawa knew she would react. Sure enough, Airi Sakura said this in a voice thick with tears.

"If you're willing," Toru Hasegawa nodded, understanding that she was referring to the photos in her digital camera, which might hold the key to solving the mystery.

Airi Sakura stood up, removed the digital camera from its tripod, and handed it to Toru Hasegawa.

"Y-you can look at it yourself."

"...Um, how do I use this?" Toru Hasegawa was a bit bewildered once he had it in his hands; this was outside his area of expertise.

"Press here to enter playback mode, then toggle this side to browse."

Airi Sakura demonstrated how to use the digital camera in front of Toru Hasegawa.

"Oh, oh, I see."

After nodding in response, Toru Hasegawa began to focus on the contents of the girl's camera.

Then, he was dumbfounded.

The further he scrolled, the more shocked he became. Was this, this, this really the same Airi Sakura from a moment ago?

Not only was her face beaming with a cute smile, but she was also striking all sorts of bold poses.

And, of course, the glasses were nowhere to be seen.

Then.

So big...

Judging by the background, it looked like a dormitory room, which meant she was the type of girl who would act like this in a safe environment?

Toru Hasegawa didn't dare to scroll any further.

He was afraid of seeing something he shouldn't; everything up to this point was still manageable.

"...How is it?" the girl asked in a low voice from beside him.

"This is really... completely unrecognizable." Anyone who compared these photos to Airi Sakura herself would find it unbelievable. "Could it be that the glasses are actually some kind of sealing item?"

There were settings where putting on glasses could switch one's personality, after all.

However, observing the nervousness radiating from the girl's core, Toru Hasegawa knew she was different from Hayato Kito.

The latter was likely just suffering from a bout of chuunibyou, but the former surely had a reason for having to do this.

"In any case, this can be considered the first step you've taken toward change," he said, offering a standard word of encouragement.

However, Airi Sakura replied, "After seeing all this, you... didn't you think of anything?"

"Should I have thought of something?" Toru Hasegawa keenly sensed that there was an issue here.

The way she phrased it made it sound as if he were supposed to recall something. Could it be...?

"No, it's nothing. I'm just grateful that Toru-kun gave me the courage to do this," Airi Sakura immediately changed the subject.

Toru Hasegawa watched as her favorability rating remained fixed at 70, realizing he hadn't broken through that wall yet. He took a deep breath and struck while the iron was hot: "You wouldn't happen to be posting these photos online, would you?"

Were these photos just taken for her own amusement? That possibility was too slim.

Taking photos was meant for others to see!

Toru Hasegawa made a logical guess based on what she had just said.

As he spoke, he gestured slightly toward the digital camera in his hand and returned it to her.

"...No." Airi Sakura's explanation sounded incredibly pale to Toru Hasegawa.

"Oh, really? Since you've already shown me these photos, do you really think there's any turning back? Guys are actually quite skilled at finding these kinds of resources online, you know." He smiled slightly, intentionally acting flippant. "Let me think... on a blog? Or in a magazine? If I narrow down the search by your exact age, I should be able to find it right away, right? Sakura-san, you wouldn't want your business to be made public, would you? As long as you tell me here, I won't tell anyone else."

Why am I becoming so natural at saying things like this?

Toru Hasegawa was slightly caught in self-doubt, but the most pressing matter right now was the girl in front of him.

Airi Sakura was nearly frightened to the point of fainting. She tremblingly took back the digital camera he returned. At this very moment, her heart was filled with regret—

Why did she believe in the so-called encounter of fate? Those were just lies told in manga.

Even if she had maintained her usual silence, she should have been able to successfully weather this crisis.

"I... have experience as a gravure idol, and now... I still update my blog." Airi Sakura confessed her experience truthfully.

However, Toru Hasegawa's response caught her off guard: "So, what exactly do you intend to do?"

"Eh?"

"Because you still haven't admitted your true self, you've been running away... or rather, living behind a mask. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but you must be longing for change, right?" Toru Hasegawa dropped his previous flippant tone.

He was beginning to understand.

The extreme indifference within Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, the aloof stance of Suzune Horikita who claimed to need no friends, the naive desire of Kikyo Kushida to be friends with everyone, and...

The hypocritical life Airi Sakura lived behind a mask.

These were undoubtedly the true reasons they had been assigned to Class D.

As for Sudo and Ike... they also had their own obvious flaws.

Thinking of Ike, he remembered that in the chat group Ike had created, they had mentioned Sakura, calling her a gloomy, ugly girl—and incidentally, that she had a large chest.

It was indeed large...

Toru Hasegawa had to admit this; it was something he could confirm without needing to actually touch her.

"But..." Airi Sakura still wanted to struggle a bit.

Toru Hasegawa, of course, understood the difficulty of change itself. Unless one experienced some major event, it was too hard to achieve through words alone.

Besides, he wasn't anyone special to her.

"You don't have to tell me anything at all. This is all for your own sake, isn't it? Of course, if you need help, you can contact me anytime." Toru Hasegawa shook his head with a smile. "Sorry for what I said earlier. If you need points, I can give them to you. Digital cameras must be expensive, right?"

Why does this feel like I'm trying to convince a woman of the night to turn over a new leaf...?

After he finished speaking, Toru Hasegawa saw her favorability rating suddenly soar to 95, as if the previous drop had been a hallucination.

...She really was a bit too easy to handle.

"No, that's not necessary," Airi Sakura replied in a faint voice.

Toru Hasegawa reached out his hand: "Do you need me to pull you up?"

"Eek—!"

Airi Sakura felt her body inexplicably filled with strength. After she stood up, she stole a glance at Toru Hasegawa.

Only a few minutes had passed, yet she found that she had already started to like him a little.

I wonder if he has a girlfriend...

No, I can't think like that! As a girl, I should be more reserved!

Airi Sakura hurriedly dismissed the rather absurd thoughts in her mind.

On the other side, Toru Hasegawa was also feeling a bit awkward.

Can anyone relate to this!

I actually spouted nonsense to a girl I just met, and her favorability toward me just kept "shooting up."

Is this really not a galgame?

Am I dreaming?

My heart is racing, my hands are trembling.

And this restless feeling...

The two parted ways after leaving the Special Building together.

After all, time is a very important sediment.