"Go on, tell me. Maybe I really can help?"
Amakusa U, who'd been pushed away, grinned sleazily. At that moment, he really did look like a pervert.
Kamuro's cheeks flushed as she kept pushing Amakusa U away. For some reason, whenever he smiled, she remembered what had happened in the classroom that day, which made her both embarrassed and furious.
"No need!"
"Okay..." Amakusa U shrugged helplessly. Kamuro was so opposed to the idea that there wasn't much he could do.
Brrr—
A phone vibrated. Amakusa U could clearly feel that his own phone was sitting quietly in his pocket.
That meant it was Kamuro's phone.
Kamuro unzipped her schoolbag and took out her phone. The girls' uniforms had skirts, and those skirts didn't have pockets, so she had to keep her phone in her bag.
She checked the screen. The caller's name read: Emi Miyata.
The moment she saw the name, Kamuro answered without hesitation. A clear female voice came from the other end.
Amakusa U, who'd been pushed away and was standing some distance off, couldn't see the caller's name. Besides, even if he could've seen it, he wouldn't have looked.
But not looking was one thing. Listening was another.
"Ah, it's me, Kamuro." She held the phone to her ear as she spoke, walking farther away from Amakusa U.
"..."
"I haven't found it over here either..."
"..."
"Wait, Miyata, I have something to take care of over here."
Amakusa U, who had his ear pressed tightly against the phone, immediately broke into a cold sweat. Yes, it was Amakusa U.
Kamuro had the front of the phone pressed to her ear, while Amakusa U shamelessly came over and pressed his ear to the back.
Their faces were just one phone apart.
Covering the phone's microphone, Kamuro clenched her fist and shouted as she swung at Amakusa U.
"Die!"
Amakusa U dropped to the ground with a thud, both hands clutching his stomach as he spat saliva nonstop.
This time, there'd been nothing to protect his stomach.
Damn it! What a violent girl!
Wait, I clearly could've dodged that! Why didn't I? Could it be that I'm an M? No way! I refuse to admit it!
I'm just a gentleman who doesn't fight women!
Super Deduction.
After putting on his glasses, Amakusa U opened his phone's camera and checked his own stats.
A few large, gleaming words stood out.
[M trait (gradually developing)]
Amakusa U: ...
Amakusa U: Impossible! Absolutely impossible! (Meng De meme)
Amakusa U made a sharp motion as if to smash his phone on the ground. It was only for show, of course; he didn't let go of it.
After a round of denial, Amakusa U looked over at Kamuro, who was still on the phone.
Kamuro had been out shopping with Emi Miyata and Miki Yamamura when Emi had decided she wanted to buy a cat. While they were choosing one, an orange cat had escaped. Worried that something bad might happen to it if it wandered outside, they wanted to find it.
I see. Amakusa U now understood what had happened. It was certainly a tricky problem. After all, the school grounds were huge.
As for why Kamuro was looking in the bushes, Amakusa U thought she was adorably silly.
Why not put up a lost-cat notice? Offer a reward and someone's bound to help. What do you expect to find by wandering around aimlessly? There's no way they'll find it in a short while.
But... methods can change, and people can adapt.
On the phone...
"Nothing we can do, then? Sorry for the trouble, Kamuro."
"No, it's no trouble at all. What should we do next?"
"We should print out lost-cat notices and put them up. There's nothing else we can do. Looks like we probably won't find it today."
"I'll help too. Maybe I can find it."
At some point, Amakusa U had come back to Kamuro's side. He pointed at himself.
"Huh? Who? Kamuro?"
"No one. You must've heard wrong, Miyata."
As she spoke, Kamuro quickly covered the phone's microphone and looked at Amakusa U as if he were garbage. She made a zipping motion across her lips with her hand.
Her meaning was crystal clear: she wanted Amakusa U to shut up. Otherwise, she'd draw a line across her neck again.
Seeing this, Amakusa U could only shrug and obediently keep quiet. Otherwise, that violent girl really would punch him again.
The call ended soon after. Kamuro looked at Amakusa U and said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Go on, how do you want to die?"
Amakusa U cleared his throat. "I know eavesdropping was wrong, but I really can help you find the cat."
"Just you?"
Under Kamuro's doubtful gaze, Amakusa U confidently lifted his chin and puffed out his chest.
"Of course. Just me!"
"Heh. You think putting on those ridiculous glasses makes you a superhero?"
Amakusa U: ...
"Don't worry about it."
The appeal of superpowers—how could mere mortals like you understand? Laughable. Hahahaha.
But Kamuro soon caught on. How had Amakusa U known she was looking for a cat? A moment ago, he'd acted like he had no idea.
She hadn't mentioned exactly what she was looking for on the phone, and she didn't think Amakusa U could've heard her from that far away.
She'd already driven him off, after all.
"How... did you know I was looking for a cat?"
Why do people always get clever at exactly the wrong time, huh?!
Amakusa U felt a headache coming on. Then he looked at Kamuro with a rather tender expression and said:
"Actually... I can read minds."
Kamuro said nothing. She simply raised her hand and slowly clenched it into a fist.
"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll tell you." Amakusa U shook out his shirt. The fingers of his right hand took turns touching his thumb.
"I'm no expert, but I know a little fortune-telling."
Kamuro sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "Forget it. I knew you wouldn't have anything decent to say."
"Don't doubt me. Just wait, I'll tell your fortune."
With that, Amakusa U closed his eyes as if he were some great master. His right-hand fingers rapidly tapped against one another, and he muttered a bunch of incomprehensible nonsense.
"Let's see what you can come up with, then."
Kamuro crossed her arms and quietly watched Amakusa U's impromptu performance.
"Homage to Amitabha, abcdef, Great Lord Lao, hasten and obey my command, ma mi ma ni hong!"
After finishing his nonsensical incantation, Amakusa U let out a deep breath and tossed his hair with confidence.
"I've got it."
"And?"
Kamuro wanted to see what on earth Amakusa U could predict.
"Kamuro..."
"What?"
Amakusa U cupped his right elbow with his left hand, spread the fingers of his right hand against his face, and struck the pose of a detective who'd uncovered the truth.
"Your panties are blue and white striped!"
"..."
The silence was deafening. The quiet before the storm. Kamuro's cheeks began to turn red, and her fists clenched involuntarily.
"You... when did you see them?" Kamuro thought carefully for a moment.
"Ah, I know. It was then, when I was lying in the bushes..."
"Just tell me if I'm right." Amakusa U smugly rubbed the tip of his nose with a finger.
"Yeah... you're absolutely right..."
Her clenched fist began to tremble, shaking Kamuro's whole body.
"Of course~"
"A pervert like you deserves to die ten thousand times over! Die!"
Before you continue