Game Gyaru

Chapter 103: Meeting

The following day, Hakuta got himself all dressed up to go to school. An odd statement considering he was in the middle of summer break, but this would also explain why he wasn't putting on his uniform either. Today he would be going to class for an entirely different reason than furthering his education. His meeting with the so-called masked gamer would take place right in his very own classroom.

Now that he thought about it, as the boy put on his shirt. They never said which classroom. They only just mentioned it would be 'the' classroom. And he agreed, just assuming it to be his own.

Was that his own fault being so presumptuous? Or perhaps, he had caught the person making an error instead. What if the reason they only referred to the classroom so definitively was due to being aware they were in the same class to begin with? He had no clue, but they would most certainly know him well enough, even if from a distance.

Hakuta rubbed under his chin as he stared at himself in the mirror. He couldn't believe it, but if his thought process was correct, then this meant the masked gamer was more than just someone who went to his school. They were his classmate this whole time!

"I can't believe it." He shook his head, audibly voicing out his disappointment. Not in the news, but in regards to how this person had been able to elude him so well. On the bright side, if he was correct, then this also aided heavily in narrowing down the line of suspects. Now removing his friends from the equation meant something meaningful.

His mind went through everyone he saw in that class nearly everyday. It was easy to eliminate outliers, such as the guys who were much taller than him. The masked gamer was about his height, but this still didn't get him to the answer he was seeking.

It wasn't like he could just walk up to any of them and asked them if they were truly the masked gamer. Aside from this getting a bunch of odd looks sent his way, they could easily just lie. It wasn't like Hakuta was a lie detector machine who knew if someone was being honest or not. That one video game he played with the detective certainly proved this fact.

Either way, he still had the plans on meeting them there. So the boy got himself prepared both mentally and physically as he put on his shoes and began to leave for the day.

"You're going somewhere?" Though he was stopped along the way when he ran into Shiuka on his way to the front door. It was a fair question for her to ask seeing as he had only made mention of staying home for most of the summer break. The idea of him going outside so suddenly definitely appeared out of character.

"I'm just going to go see someone." He answered, attempting to walk by her. She took a step into his path, blocking the boy so she could continue her line of questioning.

"Who?" He had been rather secretive about the person he was going to meet. Shiuka would've figured he'd mention the name of one of his friends, but failing to do so implied it wasn't either Yuusen nor Itsuki he was going to meet with. "Do I know them?"

"Only kind of." He told her. "Look, I don't want to be late and you're not my mom. So don't worry about me." Hakuta pressed on past her to finish their conversation. "I'll probably be back before evening. So it's not like I'm doing anything stupid."

"You better not." She put both hands on her waist to stand tall against him. "You promised this weekend we could hang out for the night. So you better not break it."

"Have no plans to." He replied, taking a step out of the door. "I'll see you later." He had a growing suspicion that she might have a growing suspicion on him. It was fair that he was being a bit private on this matter, but she shouldn't really care too much about what he did on his own. Sure, there was the one time he told Rouko about their secret, but other than that he had been a perfectly reasonable person.

Not to mention he didn't disturb her that much whenever she went out to go party or something. Though she did seem to go to fewer ones as his time living with her had gone on. Perhaps it was due to changes for them growing up through high school which led to her slight change in lifestyle.

Hakuta then took the usual trip to school that he always did when class was in session. Which as he went about halfway through, realized he didn't need to take the specific path he took. This one was done to avoid having to be seen going on the same way as Shiuka, but today she wasn't going to be going to school. It was too late at this point to change his path, so the boy simply enjoyed the scenic route as he made his way to the destination.

In the same amount of time where it would've taken to get there on a normal day. Hakuta arrived to the front gates of the school, wondering where the masked gamer was. He had no easy access to getting inside since he wasn't here on any officially business. In fact, he was surprised they wanted to see him here of all places. But the lack of people here was likely the reason, so they wouldn't have to deal with anyone intruding in on them when they were trying to keep their identity hidden.

As he stood by the gate, pondering what was to happen next. He heard a snapping noise which drew his attention. When he turned his head, Hakuta saw the masked gamer standing before him off to the side. They jangled some keys up to show him and beckoned him towards them.

He did what was silently asked as they used the keys to unlock a door that was off to the side. It was meant more for staff who might come in during off times so it would be easier to enter instead of the large gate meant for students when they would all flood in and out of the school.

They didn't say anything to him as they quietly entered. He wondered how someone like them would be able to procure a key such as this which would allow them entry so easily. But when he tried saying something to them, it was like they ignored his questions. Instead, they quietly walked deeper into the school. It was evident they were leading him somewhere and before he knew it, they were in his classroom.

"I see we apparently go to the same class." He said once they walked in, the boy closing the door behind them. "How long have you know that?"

"..." They were quiet at first, but appeared to react to his question. Then the masked gamer took out their phone and turned it on to something. "I've been aware since the first day here." They spoke, but whatever they turned their phone onto was a voice modifier so he only got obviously garbled audio.

"Of course you'd do this." He commented, taking a deep sigh. This person really was going above and beyond trying to make sure he couldn't take an educated guess on their identity.

"Of course I would." They replied to him. "I can't have anyone else finding out who I really am. It's something you wouldn't understand."

"You say that, but you know that being alone with me means your secret is at risk of being exposed at any moment."

"And that means I shouldn't have trusted you?"

"I'm saying you can trust me." He answered. "And I'll prove it to you right now." In a sudden move, Hakuta rushed the masked gamer. They were surprised by his attack and attempted to make an escape. But he caught them without any problem, grabbing the person by both arms. "I could take your mask off right now." They were surprisingly weak to him as the person struggled to escape his grasp.

He had noticed he had been able to take their mask off the moment he saw them in front of the school. They appeared to have their guard down, so he knew they did indeed trust him. But he wanted to show them that despite appearing to be obsessed on finding out who they were. He wasn't so far along that he would be willing to do anything to find out. They had to be the ones to reveal themselves to him. "Do you trust me now?"

"..." They didn't respond at first. Hakuta let go of their arms to allow them access to their phone once more so that they could use the voice modifier. It was at this moment that if they didn't trust him at all. They were more than free to run off out of the classroom. He wasn't even going to move a muscle to stop them. "I do."