Game Gyaru

Chapter 106: Web of Secrets

"Oh hey..." Ninka greeted them with a wry expression on her face. "What brings the two of you here on a nice summer day like today?" She attempted to play this off as nothing more than normal. Even though the situation was far from it.

"We both know you know." Ino cut her her attempts and went straight for the serious topic. "As in, we both know you figured me out."

"Wait, what are you even doing here in the first place?" Hakuta asked. She then meekly laughed in responding to them that it was a long story.

It all began with her living her life and enjoying one of the summer break days like any usual gyaru would do. Though today was not planned on being spent with either Shiuka or Rouko, she still wanted to go out. Which is what she had originally planned, but things took a turn when she saw a specific person.

This being Hakuta, walking around an odd route from her perspective. She was unaware this was the normal route he took going to school. Though regardless of whether she'd know about his planned destination, she still would've followed him. Not because she was suspicious of the boy about anything. There was no reason to be at this point. She simply followed him in an attempt to eventually catch up and talk to him.

This was where she got the surprise when he walked up right to the school's gates. It was summer break, so why would he want to go here of all places? That was when she saw him turn his attention, to which she looked over and was surprised to see the masked gamer.

Up to this point, she wasn't really in the know about how close his relationship to this apparently masked figure was. Not that Ninka cared, even if she was a bit jealous of this relationship. Though while she might not have cared about the individual in question, this didn't mean him sneaking around the school with someone else didn't pique her interest.

So when they went in through the door, she quietly followed the pair. Ninka was successful in avoiding their attention as she saw them walk into their classroom. Considering it was the masked gamer who had the keys, she wondered if this person was one of their classmates. For a moment, she wondered if he was aware of their identity this whole time and only pretended to be ignorant.

Though that thought process would be killed the instant she heard the distorted voice of the masked gamer. He truly had no clue and seemed to come here with the intention of finding out. Even if she didn't care deeply like he did, the girl couldn't resist getting in on some juicy secrets either.

After listening in on their conversation, where she couldn't help but get a bit envious that Hakuta was trying so hard with some random stranger he barely knew. Seriously, she thought, she was literally putting herself out to him and he was going around with other people instead. It may not have been dating, but she would've liked to see him at least give her a chance.

After a while, the conversation eventually hit the point where the masked gamer decided it was a good idea to reveal herself. Then they took off the mask to show that it was Ino all along. Hakuta was surprsed, but Ninka was even more shocked in comparison to him. In her emotional state, she accidentally audibly gave out her feelings loud enough for them to hear. She covered her mouth upon realizing the error, but by this point it was too late.

"And well... You two know the rest." Ninka finished up her side of the story to them.

"Wow..." Hakuta shook his head in dismay. Had he not fallen into the habit he developed for walking to school, then this could've all been avoided.

"I think we know the next point of subject that needs to be discussed." Now that she was aware of who know the truth about her. Ino was able to maintain composure in the face of potentially being exposed. "You can't let anyone know about who I am."

"Why does that matter?" Ninka responded in bewilderment. "I don't care if you're some masked figure going around beating people at some video games."

"You really feel that way?" Now it was Ino's turn to be confused.

"Is that weird?"

"Ninka, she's talking about this in relation to her dad." Hakuta wasn't given any explanation by the girl yet. Mostly because of the chase sequence they had to deal with first. However he could manage to piece together the pieces with all the clue given to him. "You know about his politics. She's trying to avoid a scandal." Though he would also agree with Ninka on this matter. This seemed a bit over the top.

"Who knows what the press might do." Ino explained herself. "Unfortunately my reputation precedes me, both as myself and as the 'TheMaskedDemon'. I'd rather not cause my father more trouble than he already gets as a part of his work."

"I guess it's kind of weird that you're real good at video games when that guy hates them so much." Ninka didn't fully understand the situation, but was able to grasp enough to understand she should keep it a secret. "But it's not like you got to worry about me. I won't blabber if that's what's got you so scared."

"How do I know I can trust you?" She didn't share the same faith in this girl that she had with Hakuta. Aside from him proving himself earlier, she also wasn't so keen on having a gyaru be aware of her true self. "Girls like you aren't exactly known for keeping to yourselves."

"Hey, I can keep a secret." Ninka took this insult as a challenge. "I know tons of things about Shiuka and Rouko you two don't even have a clue about. And they'd definitely kill me if they ever found out I told anyone about them."

"I'll take your word for it." Unlike with Ino, Hakuta had a lot more faith in the girl. If only because now he had yet another secret to keep from the others. One that wasn't his, but just as major as the one regarding himself. "I can't believe you really just spied on me so easily. Can't I have a little privacy in my life?" While it was unknown to the other two girls. He lamented about how Shiuka constantly bugged him while they were just living their lives at home. It had gotten worse over time as she became much more comfortable with his presence.

"Heh, guess someone's really turned into a teen boy now." Ninka made a dirty joke, which only got Ino to roll her eyes in disapproval.

"I'm going to ask that we end our little conversation for now." She told them. "I wasn't planning on staying here as long as I did. I do have plans with my family for later this evening and they're probably wondering where I've gone."

"Really?" Hakuta was disappointed he wouldn't be able to talk to her in detail about the gamer identity. It felt like a major letdown over such an important point to their lives. "We really can't-"

"No, not right now." She cut him off, beckoning Ninka to get out the thing she had been hiding in. "I'm really sorry it has to end like this for now. But I'm always up to talk with you again. You know how to find me."

"Okay." He had no choice but to tuck away his feelings on the matter for now. A shame, he thought, on how unsatisfying this had ended. "Let's get out of here then." After helping Ninka get out of the container, they put everything back to where it belonged and exited the school grounds. Ino used the key provided to her to lock up the door as they hung around the front.

"I suppose since the two of you are friends, I'm sure you don't mind me leaving you alone." She told them, though her tone seemed to indicate that she'd prefer they don't stick together after she left. "I'll talk to you later Hakuta."

"I'll see you later too..." He gave her a dejected farewell as she left him with Ninka. "Well, I guess you can get back to your day too."

"Huh?" She was visibly surprised to see him just walk away from her so easily once it was just the two of them. "Come on, I only followed you because I wanted to ask if we could hang out."

"That's fine." He answered in a monotone voice, continue his steps.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" What she said next made him stop in his tracks. "I wasn't trying to do anything bad to either of you. I'm sorry about what happened and I really do promise I'm not gonna tell anyone."

"...Still, I'm pretty upset." He responded. It was uncommon for him to feel this way towards someone. While he certainly always had his complaints about his own friends, and this included her at times. Hakuta never had any hatred towards a person. At least, not until now. "That is what you girls would call, 'pretty uncool'."