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“Ippai senobi shita~ bun mo~ Gungun sodattetai na~♪” Hajime hummed to himself as he lightly skipped down the halls of the Starmony Dorms. He’d received a strange message from Tori first thing in the morning.
I, Himemiya Tori, cordially invite you to the Himemiya Dorm for the great honor of assisting me with, uhhhh… Please, just come over, Hajime? Preferably as soon as possible!? If you have work today, I promise I can compensate you for at least three times the amount that you’d normally make in a month.
Hajime huffed fondly. Thank goodness I don’t have work today. Tori-kun is always so hard to convince when he wants to pay me back. The young rabbit halted his hopping as he landed in front of his friend’s dorm, and he gently rapped his knuckles on the door in a melodic tune.
The door slowly opened, and without warning, a hand reached out and pulled the unsuspecting boy inside.
“AH!?” Hajime stumbled into the dorm. “W-Wha— Tori-kun!? What happened to you!?”
Tori heaved out a shaky breath. His hair and clothes were disheveled, and he had a frantic, almost manic look in his eyes. “Babysitting.”
“Eh? Who…?”
“Hiya!”
“O-Oh!” Hajime turned to the cheery voice that caught his attention. “You’re… Hojo Raika, right? From the new unit, Spri?”
The small boy grinned brightly, bobbing side-to-side on the edge of his bed. “That’s me! Thank ya kindly fer rememberin’ my name!”
“So, Tori-kun, this is the problem you were talking about?”
Tori sighed. “Yeah, this troublemaker moved into the dorm with me and Yuzuru just yesterday. I know some of the others got saddled with the other members of Spri, but somehow, I feel like we ended up drawing the short straw.”
“How old are you, Hojo-kun?” Hajime asked.
“Uhm… Fifteen years old!”
“…Tori-kun, he’s only a year younger than when we first attended Yumenosaki Academy. I don’t think he needs a baby sitter.”
“Hajime, you don’t understand!” Tori insisted. “This kid is…!” He leaned close to Hajime’s ear. “A tad, uh, unaware of his surroundings. Yuzuru told me to make sure he’s comfortable, but he’s way more difficult to deal with than my little sister! Since you also have a younger sibling, I thought you would also be able to help… Also, I hate to admit it, but you have a lot more patience than I do.”
“Can’t you ask Fushimi-senpai to help you…?”
“N-No, of course not!” Tori crossed his arms, shrinking in on himself a little. “I told Yuzuru I could handle this kid myself, and if he gets hit by a car or something, I’ll never hear the end of it from him about how irresponsible I am!”
“I feel like that would be the least of his worries…”
“Point is! I would let Yuzuru down, and he’ll never trust me with anything this important again!”
“He only asked you to make Hojo-kun feel comfortable, so I don’t think—”
“And more importantly, I would fail to prove my capabilities as a Himemiya and a member of fine. How am I meant to stand as an idol and as a figure in my family if—”
“T-Tori-kun! Do you know where Hojo-kun went!?”
The noble whirled around to Hojo’s bed. “W-What!?” He rushed to the door. “There’s no way he could have left without either of us noticing, right!?”
“It looks like he just did…”
Tori slumped against the door, sliding to the ground with a pitiful thud. “Okay. Allow me a couple minutes to get dressed. We’re going to find this kid no matter what it takes.”
“Are ya lookin’ fer somethin’?”
Hajime perked up. “O-Oh! Yes, Kagehira-senpai. I was looking for someone, but I’m just taking a break right now.” He was resting in the Sky Garden, where strangely a lot of idols always seemed to run to when they needed to get away. He could understand given how calming the area was. Unfortunately, Hojo didn’t seem to have the same instincts, so Hajime decided he’d done enough running for the moment. I’m surprised my body could last twenty minutes…
Kagehira took the rest of the bench’s free space. “Who? Maybe I’ve seen ‘em.”
“Hojo Raika. He’s one of the newest idols to join ES, from the unit Spri.”
“Hm… I’ve heard that name before… Ah! I think I saw ‘im!”
“Eh!? Where!?”
Kagehira grinned sheepishly. “The reason y’all prolly haven’t found ‘im ‘s ‘cause he’s hangin’ out at m’ dorm.”
“Your dorm? Why?”
“Prolly ‘cause he wants t’ hang out with Yume-kun. He’s also one o’ the other kids from Spri. Raika-kun seemed t’ like hangin’ out with ‘im fer some reason.”
Hajime flinched. “By ‘Yume-kun’, you mean Hanamura-kun, right?”
“Yeah? Have ya met ‘im already?”
The meek idol shuddered at the memory of their first meeting. “The first sentence he ever spoke to me was snapping angrily at me to shut up since I was getting in his way. Then he insulted Anzu-san and Tomoya-kun; he called Tomoya-kun plain! Can you believe that!? How can anyone look at Tomoya-kun and not realize how cool he is!?”
“Well… Tomoya-kun is pretty cool, but he does look—” Kagehira immediately backtracked when he glanced at Hajime’s expression. “I-I mean, yeah, tha’s crazy! There’s no way anyone with functionin’ eyes could call Tomoya-kun plain!”
“Thanks. I knew you’d agree with me, Kagehira-senpai ♪”
“Haha… Yeah… Don’t hurt me, plea—”
“What was that?”
“Nothin’.”
Hajime raised an eyebrow. “Okay…? So, has Hanamura-kun been giving you or Ritsu-onii-chan much trouble?”
“Uhh… nah. Yume-kun has a pretty tough exterior, but that makes ‘im a bit like Oshi-san, an’ I s’pose I’m used t’ dealin’ with that kinda personality ♪” Kagehira giggled. “We got lucky in that aspect, huh?”
“Fushimi-senpai grew up having to deal with Tori-kun’s antics, and Tori-kun’s gotten pretty responsible, so I’m sure that they’ll also be able to deal with Hojo-kun.” Hajime took a deep breath as he heaved himself off the bench. “At least we know where he is now.”
“I-I DON’ KNOW WHERE THEY ARE!” Kagehira shut his dorm door, eyes wide with panic. “They were jus’ here before I met up with ya, I swear!”
Hajime checked his phone. “Tori-kun isn’t answering any of my texts either.” He called Tori’s number, hoping that he would get a quicker response.
Bz—
“W-What…? I got hung up on right away!?”
“Maybe the connection cut ‘cause his phone’s outta battery?” Kagehira suggested. “That happened when Oshi-san would ferget t’ charge his phone with how little he uses it…”
Hajime gripped his phone tightly. “I hope that’s all… A-And, Tori-kun’s not a kid, so I’m sure he’s fine! But… we promised to keep in touch in case one of us found Hojo-kun.”
“You guys are missing someone too, huh?”
Kagehira and Hajime simultaneously jumped and squeaked.
“Ah, sorry for scaring you.” Yuuki chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “I couldn’t help but overhear. I’m actually looking for someone too. Do either of you know Esu-kun?”
Kagehira shook his head as Hajime answered, “The leader of Spri, right?”
Yuuki nodded. “Mhm. Akehoshi-kun and Isara-kun wanted to introduce him to me and Hidaka-kun since they all spent time in 4piece together, though Esu-kun insisted that we didn’t invite Yume-kun… Anyway, we didn’t get any response from Esu-kun at our meet-up time, and Sazanami-kun said Esu-kun wasn’t at their dorm, so I’m out here helping with the search.”
Hajime frowned worriedly. “And we’re searching for Hojo-kun and Hanamura-kun… You don’t think…?”
Yuuki nodded thoughtfully. “It’s possible.”
“Uhh… can someone explain t’ me what y’all are thinkin’?”
The blond pulled out his phone. “I’m asking Oogami-kun if he knows where Kanna-kun is.”
“…Who?”
Yuuki smiled patiently. “Oh, Kanna-kun is the last member of Spri. He’s actually the first one I met before the four of them even moved into the dorms. He acts like a robot from what I’ve seen of him, but in my opinion, he also has a pretty good sense of humor.”
Kagehira clutched his head in confusion. “Hah? Like a robot? With a sense o’ humor? How does that work? Ain’t robots… unfunny? Or ‘s he programmed with jokes!? But he’s human!”
Hajime rested a comforting hand on his senior’s back. “Maybe try not to think about it too much. I’m sure it’d make more sense if you actually met him yourself.”
“Think of it like Hidaka-kun’s sense of humor!” Yuuki helpfully supplied. “There’s always gotta be a— Oh, Oogami-kun got back to me fast!” The blond scanned his phone for a few seconds before scratching the back of his head with a frustrated frown. “Seems like Kanna-kun is also gone. Neither he nor Kazehaya-senpai have seen him since this morning, and Kanna-kun isn’t answering his phone either.”
Kagehira sighed. “Maybe this ‘s a sign that we should jus’ give up an’ wait fer ‘em t’ come back…”
“Um, b-but they might be in some sort of trouble, right?” Hajime nervously tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear. “Why are none of them answering their phones? Maybe Tori-kun not answering isn’t a coincidence either.”
“Y-Ya think they might be in danger!?” Kagehira paled. “A-Ain’t that a job fer the police or somethin’!?”
“Hold on.” Yuuki put a hand to his chin. “We don’t know for sure that the situation is that serious just yet. ES is highly protected, so I doubt something could have happened to all of them within the area. Not to say any of them wouldn’t have reason to leave ES, but that fact that only Spri plus one of the people looking for them is unaccounted must mean that there’s a specific reason for all of them to be gone rather than a coincidental incident. If we haven’t come across five whole idols, they’re probably around each other, and they’re probably outside of ES right now.”
“You’re good at deduction, Yuuki-senpai!”
“I… I’ve played a lot of ‘Gyakuten Saiban: Sono ‘Shinjitsu’, Igiari!’,” Yuuki sheepishly admitted.
“I see,” Hajime giggled.
“Have ya got any clue as t’ where outside ES we should search? There’s a lotta places t’ be.”
“I… I’ll ask Oogami-kun if he or Kazehaya-senpai have any clues as to where Kanna-kun would be. That’s our best lead right now.” Yuuki rapidly typed out a text and sent it off. “While we wait for him to reply, we should start making our way out of ES.” He grinned impishly. “The game’s already begun ♪ And there’s no way we’ll lose.”
“Right!” Hajime and Kagehira hurriedly scrambled after the gamer’s determined strides.
“Season Avenue, right?” Hajime asked.
“Yeah,” Yuuki confirmed. “Oogami-kun said Kanna-kun mentioned going here. We should carefully look through the windows of all the shops we pass by. If we don’t see them, we’ll double-check by making the same round on our walk back. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll have to go back to the drawing board.
The unlikely trio hastily made their way down the popular shopping street, keeping an eye out for at least one of the colorful quintet that had gone missing. It was still early in the afternoon, but if Spri and Tori weren’t around, Hajime had no idea how long it would take to find another lead. Please let this work…
“Uh, g-guys… I see somethin’…”
“Where, Kagehira-senpai?” Hajime squinted through the window of the jewelry shop they were passing by. “I don’t see—”
“A-Ahead o’ us.”
“W-What the heck is happening there!?” Yuuki exclaimed.
Hajime turned to face forward, where a small commotion had started further down the street. It looks like five people… Wait… “I-Is that them!? TORI-KUN!?” Without any more hesitation, the rabbit began bounding down the street toward his best friend, leaving his two companions behind.
Tori’s head snapped toward the voice, eyes wide. “H-Hajime!”
“Why didn’t you answer my phone!? I was so worried about you!”
“I-I can explain, but first…!”
“The adults finally came ‘round… Y’all think we’re in trouble?”
“Why should Yume care? As long as Yume is with Esu—”
“R-Respect your seniors! Kanna, HELP ME!!!”
“What can I possibly do about the situation?”
Kagehira caught up to Hajime, Yuuki trailing behind. “What’s goin’ on here!?”
The blond’s eyes darted between everyone with analytical speed. “I’ll take Esu-kun. Kagehira-kun, you take Yume-kun. Tori-kun, you take Kanna-kun. And—”
“On it,” Hajime interrupted, already pulling Hojo out of the mass of chaos that had piled up in the middle of the street. He awkwardly waved to the passersby in hopes of letting them know that nothing was wrong, resisting the urge to cringe as they returned his assurances with skeptical, worried glances.
“…Am I in trouble?”
Hajime smiled comfortingly at Hojo. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“…”
“…?” Hajime’s smile faltered, but he maintained his stride, pulling his junior along back to ES. “Let’s just get back to the dorms first, okay? It’s probably been a long day for you, and I think we’d all benefit from some rest.”
“…Okay.”
“That was a lot,” Tori groaned, crashing face-first onto his mattress. “Thank goodness that Kanna kid was the only one not causing a commotion.
“It did seem like you all went on an adventure,” Hajime giggled, carefully positioning himself on the very edge of Fushimi’s bed. He softly smiled at the limp, drained form across from him. “Are you really okay though? When you wouldn’t answer… I tried really hard not to immediately jump to the worst-case scenario.”
Lifting his face off the comforter, Tori snorted. “Like a Himemiya would get into a situation like that. Don’t you have any confidence in me at all, Hajime?”
“O-Oh, yeah! I never doubted you!”
Tori’s smirk dampened into something almost self-deprecating. “It’s okay if you don’t, Hajime. Sometimes, I can’t believe in myself either…”
“…Tori-kun—”
“Umm…” a third voice piped up.
The duo suddenly turned to the middle schooler, whose legs were crossed on his own bed.
Hojo self-consciously rubbed his forearm, the sleeve of his shirt bunching up. “I’m causin’ y’all trouble, right? I ain’t that smart, but I still know when I’m bein’ a nuisance… I don’t wanna be a burden on anyone, an’ I think bein’ dumb is what’s causin’ the problem…”
Tori froze.
Hajime stood up and moved to Hojo’s bed, kneeling to reach eye level with the downtrodden child. “Can you explain exactly what happened?” He turned to his friend. “You too, Tori-kun. Kagehira-senpai, Yuuki-senpai, and I were all running around, and we have no idea how things escalated to that point.”
“If I’m being completely honest, I’m confused as to how things escalated as well.” Tori sat up, and he stared down the newbie idol. “Let us start with why you ran away in the first place.”
“Y’all were talkin’ about gettin’ in trouble ‘cause of me… I didn’t wanna trouble y’all with babysittin’ me, so I left… I thought it’d be the best if y’all didn’t hafta shoulder the responsibility…”
“T-That’s exactly what started this whole—!”
“Tori-kun.” Hajime lightly patted Hojo’s shoulder. “Thanks for trying to help out, but I promise you’re not a burden.” …Oh, his face says that he doesn’t believe me at all. “Um, can you tell us what happened next?”
“I went to the dorm I knew Yume-san was stayin’ at.” Hojo’s expression brightened. “Just bein’ able t’ see Ohana-san’s face is enough t’ make me feel much better. But then Yume-san wanted t’ leave, so I followed after ‘im.”
Tori looked like he wanted to say the obvious, but Hajime shook his head. It sounds like the reason Hanamura-kun wanted to leave was because Hojo-kun showed up… Poor kid… “And what happened after that?”
“I can actually explain this part,” Tori offered. “I managed to find the two kids in the dorm hallway, so I confronted them. Raika over here started mumbling out an explanation as to why he ran, and I leant closer to him to hear. And then, suddenly… both of them just took off running!? While yelling apologies too!? After that, I reached into my pocket to text you, but then I realized my phone wasn’t there. I thought I might have left it back in my dorm, but I couldn’t afford to lose my lead, so I ran after them. I only later found out that Raika pickpocketed my phone.”
Hojo’s nails dug into his pants. “I-I panicked… It was an accident…”
“You know you’re skilled when you’re an accidental expert kleptomaniac,” Tori quipped.
Hojo shrunk.
“I’m being completely serious,” the young heir assured. “That skill really is impressive. Dexterity is never a downside. And you didn’t steal my phone on purpose, did you?”
“N-No, but—”
“Then that’s that! It’s final!” Tori huffed. “Seriously. You should take what your seniors say more seriously! If I’m praising you, then accept the praise!”
“’K-Kay… Thank you…”
“Hmph!” Tori crossed his arms and turned his head away, though Hajime could still see his ears tinting a pink to match his hair.
Sweet in your own way, huh, Tori-kun? “So, what happened next, Hojo-kun?” Hajime kindly asked.
“A-Ah, yeah… Yume-san saw Esu-sama, an’ that’s why he ran away. Esu-sama started runnin’ too, askin’ me t’ help ‘im out, so while Yume-san chased ‘im, I started chasin’ after Yume-san. I got so distracted that I didn’t notice I stole somethin’ ‘til the phone started ringin’.”
Tori added, “And I was right behind Raika, so you can imagine how idiotic all of us looked. We were running all around the Seisoukan Apartment. From the halls to the courtyard, to the bicycle parking lot, then eventually outside of ES…”
“You all must’ve already left by the time Kagehira-senpai and I made our way back from the ES building to the Starmony Dorms,” Hajime mused. “That’s how you guys came across Kanna-kun at Season Avenue, right? I’m guessing the commotion is why Kanna-kun wasn’t answering his phone.”
Hojo nodded. “Kanna-sama was observin’ a bird in a tree or somethin’, an’ he was very much, ahh… not grateful t’ see us there. We stayed there fer a while runnin’ ‘round that tree, but…”
“I finally caught up,” Tori finished. “Thank goodness that Kanna kid was there; I had no chance of catching them if they didn’t stay put. I almost lost them a few times, but all the physical activity I get forced through seems to have paid off. After that, I was trying to calm them all down enough so I could get at least one person speaking at a time.”
“S-Sorry fer makin’ things difficult,” Hojo apologetically murmured.
“Wait, Hojo-kun. Do you still have Tori-kun’s phone?”
“N-No…?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, um…” Tori shamefully covered part of his face with one hand, taking out his phone with the other. “I got Raika to return my phone shortly after I joined the commotion.”
“Then why didn’t you call us!?” Hajime cried. “We were running around cluelessly!”
“I…” The heir guiltily smiled. “I got selfish. I thought I could handle the situation on my own. And I felt bad that I had inadvertently gotten you wrapped up in more than you signed up for.”
“Tori-kun…”
“I know, I know. Sorry, Vice President.” Tori huffed. “I’m supposed to be the Student Council president, but I can’t handle a small group of kids, three of which are middle schoolers, and the oldest being a first-year student at Yumenosaki. How am I supposed to lead if I’m unable to take charge of such a small situation!? Eichi-sama, heck, even that dummy Saru would’ve been able to handle it! I…”
He folded his legs up to his chest, hugging them. “I’ve still got a long way to go, it seems… It’s still a bit surreal being anyone’s senpai, honestly. Everyone that elected me did so because they believed I changed from that brat that gleefully stomped on them and laughed mockingly in their faces… From that stupid boy that didn’t know how to take responsibility… I need to prove that I’m capable. But… maybe I haven’t changed as much as I like to think I have. You, Spri, even Kagehira-senpai and Yuuki-senpai, all got mixed up in this mess. If I’d just done what was asked of me instead of opening my mouth, Raika wouldn’t have—”
“Tori-onii-san!”
“O-Onii-san!?”
Hojo vigorously nodded. “Yeah, Tori-onii-san! I appreciate ya tryin’ t’ take responsibility, but… I should still be responsible fer my own actions, ya understand? Takin’ care o’ me is a burden ya put on yerself, but I’m an idol too! I know I’m dumb… but I don’t need ya worryin’ about me. I… I think that’s what ya were gettin’ at, right?”
“Raika’s right,” Hajime chimed in. “You don’t need to constantly watch over everyone to prove yourself. Besides, anyone would lose control of a situation like that. Have you seen Sakuma-senpai trying to deal with the Aoi twins!? Or even just Ritsu-onii-chan!? We trust you to be there for us when we need your support, and if you ever need help, that’s what the rest of us in the Student Council are there for. I know it’s probably hard to see any growth since you see yourself every day, but I’ve seen how much you’ve grown over these past two years. So… Don’t give up now! We’ve still got a long road ahead of us, Tori-kun! Let’s keep growing together!”
“You…” Tori’s wide eyes darted between Hajime and Hojo. “You two really mean that.” After a few moments of tense silence, he straightened his back and smirked. “Of course. A Himemiya does not give up after a small stumble. We’ll keep going, and we’ll keep growing!” The noble’s smile softened. “That means you too, Raika.”
Hojo startled at Tori’s words. “M-Me?”
“I promise to not be as hard on myself if you promise to not constantly think that you’re burdening us. Is that a deal?”
“…!” The young idol was obviously overwhelmed by the sudden proposal, but in the same way as Tori had just done, his conflicted expression blossomed into a playful, fanged grin. “Deal!”
“Bocchama, I…” Fushimi paused, shutting the dorm door behind him. “…have returned?”
“Hello, Fushimi-senpai!” Hajime greeted cheerfully. “I hope I’m not intruding.”
“No, of course not. In fact, I most likely would have offered to prepare some tea if I knew you were coming. If you do not mind me asking… what are the three of you doing?”
“A jigsaw puzzle!” Hojo exclaimed, gesturing to the half-finished puzzle, the rest of the pieces scattered around the three idols on the floor. “Tori-onii-san got it for me when we went shopping at Season Avenue!”
“Oh, ‘Onii-san’?” Fushimi teared up. “You really are growing up so much, Boccha—”
“Yeah, yeah.” Tori dismissively waved his butler off. “Also, I was way ahead of you with the tea. You can help yourself to some; it’s on the table.”
Hajime jumped as Fushimi stifled a sob. “D… Do you need me to get you some tissue?”
The butler gave a watery smile. “No need. But thank you.”
“Um…!” Hojo hesitated when all eyes landed on him, but with a gentle nudge from Tori, he steeled his determination. “Do ya wanna do this jigsaw puzzle with us?”
Fushimi’s eyes widened. “Oh… Yes, of course.” He smiled reminiscently. “I have not had an opportunity to do these sorts of activities as much as Bocchami has grown up. I would be delighted to help you out.”
“Yay!” Hojo cheered. “I did it, Tori-onii-san!”
“I will still have to get used to that,” Fushimi wetly commented.
“Stop embarrassing me!” Tori whined. “You’re not my mom!”
Hajime giggled. “I can kind of understand what he’s talking about though. We’re all proud to see how much you’ve grown.”
“T-Traitor!” Tori’s entire face flushed. “Everyone, stop being proud of me!” His blush deepened as everyone only started laughing at his comment, but even as he kept complaining, Tori’s seemingly uncontrollable grin couldn’t hide his true feelings.
Hajime fondly brought a hand to his heart. And as you keep growing, Tori-kun, I will as well, just like we promised! There’s no way I’ll give up and lose to you, so please, keep showing me how far we can go ♪