Time Of Our Lives; Kirisuna

Chapter 61: Friend or Foe

Kirito POV:

Satoru Katagiri. 

Considered to be one of the most charismatic of the third years and among the brightest minds in the school, he was here long before I transferred and was well-known for his upbeat and cheerful personality... which was why I never would've imagined I'd suspect him this much.

Little was known about his life before high school and even I could only get a handful of information.

He was an orphan. His parents were in so much debt that his mother abandoned him and his father was eventually killed by the debt collectors.

I didn't bother digging any deeper after I found out, but I recently thought that may have been a mistake. I should've pushed my conscience aside during my investigation last time and listened to my logic instead. Now we were here...

Because he proposed a bet to me, I had Argo do a background search, and I reviewed the data from the last time I investigated.

Since I only had a day I couldn't review all of it and she couldn't get back to me in time. So, for now, it was best to act as if I was clueless about him.

Thus, the second day of the school tour came, and when the bell for Social Studies period rang, Sosuke and I lined up everyone in the class in the hallway like last time.

Before we left for our destination, I approached Sosuke for a slight change in our plans.

"Sosuke, do you think you and Masayuki can handle today for me?"

"Sure, but can I ask why?"

"Sorry, I just need to talk to Emiko." I put my hands together, "Please~ I promise I'll do everything tomorrow so you can take a break then."

"It's all right. I'm sure it's important."

Incredibly important. To me at least.

Satoru arrived soon after and told me the locations he guessed we'd go to before we left.

"You're going to the library and swimming pool!" He said.

"Not bad. Say, what happens if you get some of them wrong?"

"Then it's a draw. Simple as that." He shrugged his shoulders.

I nodded and did one last check before Sosuke led the class, as Satoru said, to the library.

We arrived before class 1-A did so Ronye had no reason to scold us as Masayuki and Sosuke led us into the library's refreshing atmosphere.

While they presented it to everyone, I grabbed Emiko by the wrist and pulled her behind a few bookshelves. Once I confirmed no one had noticed our absence, I removed the hand I'd placed over Emiko's mouth.

"W-What's this about?" She asked, hugging herself.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna do anything strange. I'm just here to make a request."

"Request?"

I nodded, "Keep an eye on Masayuki for me and inform me about everyone he speaks to. Stay as close to him as possible until I tell you otherwise."

"M-M-Masayuki!?"

She raised her voice so I jabbed my hand over her mouth and clamped it shut.

Our eyes darted to the group as a few students in the back row looked around, but her voice must've been faint enough for no one to locate us.

Once their curiosity subsided and their attention returned to the presentation, Emiko and I let out a sigh of relief.

"S-Sorry about that..."