Classroom of the Elite: Legacy

V.2-Ch.4.6

Furukawa

Advanced Nurturing High School; Keyaki Mall

The next day, immediately after class ended, I arrived at the mall with Ogawa on my side. The other day, she had tripped and dropped her camera on the ground, breaking it into pieces. And with Ogawa being so shy and nervous of others, I came along with her to go get her camera repaired.

As we were heading on our way to the electronics store, we suddenly heard a voice behind us. "Ah! Furukawa-kun~!" We turned and looked to see Kurino coming towards us, smiling and being happy as always. "Good afternoon!"

"Kurino," I greeted her.

"And...Ogawa-san? What are you two doing here together?" she asked.

"Ah! Um...!" Ogawa tried to speak up, but she nervously paused and went quiet.

"Ogawa broke her camera the other day and she needed to repair it. So I came along with her today to help her."

"Ah~, I see!" Kurino went over to Ogawa and looked at her camera. "It does seem quite broken..." Kurino looked up at us. "Hey, do you mind if I tag along? I want to help Ogawa-san too!"

"Y-You do? B-But...why?" Ogawa asked.

"Because you're my friend, Ogawa-san! I always want to help all of my friends as much as I can!"

I stared at her for a moment, analyzing her facial expression and body language. I was cautious of Kurino's other personality, but at the moment, it seems like she was in control for now.

I looked over at Ogawa. "What do you think?"

Ogawa was quiet for a moment, then she nodded. "A-Alright. T-Thank you, Kurino-san."

"It's no problem!" she said. "Now then, we should quickly head to the electronics store before it closes. Let's go!" Kurino grabbed Ogawa's hand.

"W-Wait~...!" Before Ogawa had a chance to speak, the two of them ran off. I sighed, then I walked and slowly followed behind them as they went further and further away.

Advanced Nurturing High School; Keyaki Mall; Electronics Store

Arriving at the store, Kurino and Ogawa went up to the front desk to speak with the clerk. Since Kurino was by her side, and she was a good talker, I decided to stay back and look around the store as she helped Ogawa with her broken camera.

As I walked around, I noticed multiple gaming consoles, T.V's, phones, desktops, and even some cameras. This store truly had everything involving electronics and the latest technology.

"How can I help you today?" the clerk asked.

"U-Um...can you repair my camera?" Ogawa laid her camera on the desk and the clerk took a look at it.

"Hmm...a few pieces of it came off, but it's still functional. There's not much damage, so I'd say we can fix this for you."

"Ah! That's great! Isn't it, Ogawa-san?" said Kurino.

Ogawa nodded and smiled. "Y-Yeah!"

I stared at the two of them, smiling and laughing together as they talked. Kurino, who was always so kind, was willing to help Ogawa when she needed it. As I looked at them, I began to remember a distant memory...

Years ago...

I was in a dark room, sitting alone at a table with multiple puzzle pieces in front of me with a light above me. I grabbed one piece at a time, putting them together and trying to complete the puzzle. As I did, it became bigger and the image became much clearer. However, as I went to grab another piece to connect it with the incomplete puzzle in front of me, I froze.

I stared at it, looking at the edges and the small pictures, trying to figure out my next move. But then...

"Oh, Hide-kun!"

I turned. "Naomi-san." She came closer to me and sat by my side, then looked down at the table.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"A puzzle," I replied.

"A puzzle?" Naomi came in closer and looked at the puzzle. "Hm...here, let me help you finish it!" Naomi grabbed the puzzle piece in my hand and looked closely at the incomplete puzzle. After carefully looking at it, she places it next to the incomplete puzzle, connecting it. "I got it!"

I stared at her, amazed by her intelligence. Just then, Naomi grabbed another puzzle piece from the pile and handed it to me.

"Here! You try!" she said with a bright and warm smile on her face.

I took it, then looked back at the incomplete puzzle. This time, I stared at it, carefully analyzing it and figuring out where to put it.

"Top left corner..." she whispered. Listening to her advice, I placed it and it fit. "You got it! He he he!" she giggled. "Hey, Hide-kun, do you want to finish this puzzle together? It'd be faster." I nodded and agreed with her. So together, the two of us helped each other with the puzzle pieces, connecting them one by one. And eventually, we finished the puzzle.

Present day...

Helping a friend...huh...? After talking with the clerk, Ogawa and Kurino came back to me. "How did it go?" I asked.

"It went well," said Kurino. "The clerk said her camera should be fully repaired by tomorrow. So we'll just have to wait!"

"I see. I hope it'll be fixed in time before the meeting..." I said.

"The meeting?" Kurino tilted her head, confused.

I nodded. "Ogawa is a witness. And the camera she's having repaired has the photos of the fight."

"Really?" she said, surprised. "Is that true, Ogawa-san?"

She nodded. "Y-Yeah, it is. I'm...sorry, for not speaking up sooner..."

Kurino shook her head. "No, it's fine! Don't worry about it! We're glad that you came up to speak for Tsukamoto-kun!"

"B-But...what if I can't speak?" said Ogawa.

"Don't be scared! Just take a deep breath and do your best when you talk. That's all you need to do!"

Hearing her words of encouragement, Ogawa nodded. "Um...thank you, Kurino-san. And thank you too, Furukawa-kun. If you two didn't come with me today, I don't think I would've gotten my camera fixed..."

"It's no problem!" said Kurino

"It was the least I could do," I said.

Ogawa nodded. "W-Well, anyways, I'll be leaving now. S-See ya!" Ogawa ran away from us and left, waving goodbye. Once she was gone, I turned away and was about to leave as well. But then...

"Hey, Furukawa..." Hearing the change in the tone of her voice, I stopped myself and looked back at her.

"It's you..."

Kurino giggled. "Yep, it's me!" Kurino's smile faded away and her face turned serious. "Looks like you're working on Tsukamoto's case. How's Horikita handling it?"

Instead of replying, I remained silent and stared at her.

Kurino chuckled. "Don't worry, Furukawa. I'm not going to do anything. Not yet..." Kurino came closer to me. "So? Aren't you going to tell me?"

I stared at her, looking into her devilish and dark-red eyes. "...She plans to speak for Tsukamoto during the deliberation meeting. And she wants me to be there with her."

"I see..." Kurino stared at me for a moment, then smiled and backed away. "Well, that's all I wanted to know! Bye-bye, Furukawa!" Kurino waved goodbye to me and left with a grin on her face.

I remained where I was as I stared at her going further away from me. I wanted to ask her a few questions, but I knew better not to ask them.