It was early next morning.
The sun had yet to rise above the horizon, coating the entire schoolyard in a shallow shade of orange. It was apparent that it was raining all night since the grass was submerged under a layer of water. It was only a few minutes past my usual wake-up hour.
I could hear the gentle splashing of the water under my feet.
"Why are we out so early?" I asked Tobiichi.
"You're about to find out."
As we made our way through the yard, Tobiichi pointed to a building near the edge of the school boundaries.
"Around there, Fujimiya seems to be meeting with a boy every morning."
I looked over.
I guess Tobiichi's plan was to use this relationship against her. Considering the nature of parasocial relationships, this could cause havoc—well, I guess that wasn't the most accurate way of describing it, but the outcome is the same.
She suddenly stopped.
"You know, I thought about just exposing her relationship, but that wouldn't be very fun."
She smiled a little.
"I want to drive her into despair," she continued, "so I've got a different plan."
"Does it involve me?"
Tobiichi took her phone out of her pocket.
The two of us made our way around the corner. There was a vending machine placed right by the wall, and past that was Fujimiya, chatting with a boy.
From what I could see, the interaction looked less like one of romantic affection and more like an assistant and a director. Fujimiya was sipping from a straw as the boy held it by her face. Although both of them seemed happy, so I guess I couldn't really comment.
Flash. Snap.
Tobiichi showed no hesitation.
Fujimiya looked over at us in shock.
"What the hell was that? Did you just take a picture of me?!"
The boy got up and stood in front of her.
"And what if it was~?" teased Tobiichi.
"What is wrong with you? Why did you take a photo of me?"
Fujimiya was cowering behind the boy.
"You know why I did, Fujimiya. It's the student council's first order of business."
I made my way over to the vending machine and looked at some of the drinks. I was a little thirsty this early in the morning. I didn't even get to have my morning coffee since Tobiichi forced me to meet her.
$1.99—not a bad price.
"Delete that photo now! You can't just take photos of people without consent!"
Tobiichi sighed.
"Is that so. What are you going to do about it?"
Fujimiya tugged on the boy's shirt.
"—hey, get her phone…"
The boy began making his way over to Tobiichi.
"Oh? Don't tell me you're going to try to steal the phone out of my hands."
The boy looked up at her.
"Tobiichi Luna, please delete the photo."
Tobiichi laughed.
"Maybe I will. If you agree to play a game with me."
…
The was a slight clunk as the can of coffee dropped into the bottom of the vending machine. It was an old machine, so the little flap where you were supposed to reach your hand in ended up hitting the can. It caused an awkward action where you had to turn the can around with the tips of your fingers.
In the end, I managed to get my drink.
"—Kizutaka will be the witness. He's a member of the student council, after all."
Ah, looks like I was getting involved in something troublesome.
"What's the game?" asked the boy.
"It's simple. All you have to do is guess which hand the coin is in. If you get it right, I'll delete the picture. If you get it wrong, you'll tell me one of your Core Attributes."
The boy hesitated.
"T-that's not fair…"
Tobiichi smiled.
"How about this, I'll delete the photo regardless of which hand you pick. If you pick the correct hand, I'll tell you two of my Core Attributes. However, if you pick the wrong one, you'll tell me two of yours."
The boy still wasn't sure.
Fujimiya-san nudged him.
"—Come on! It's a good deal…"
"—but… I don't want to lose two Core Attributes…"
"—Just do it! Do you even care about me? It's a fifty-fifty chance. We get rid of the photo either way!"
The boy still hesitated.
Tobiichi walked forwards.
"Come on~. Don't you even care about your girlfriend?"
Tobiichi lifted both of her arms, showing her closed fists to the boy. He was clearly distressed, trying to think about what to do.
She smiled.
"Either choose a hand now, or you can turn around."
A second passed.
Then another.
Then another.
The boy did not choose a hand.
…
Eventually, he turned around.
Fujimiya looked up at him in anger.
"What the hell are you doing, Jun! Pick a hand!"
"N-no… I can't…"
She grabbed his collar.
"Come on! We can't let that photo get leaked! Jun, just pick a hand!"
He turned around.
"I can't. I don't want to lose two Core Attributes!"
Despite Fujimiya's pleas, he still refused to pick a hand.
Tobiichi giggled.
"Well, do you at least want to know which hand the coin was in?"
The two of them looked at her.
"S-she might not have put the coin in either hand. It might've been a trick the entire time. I bet she's scared of losing a Core Attribute as well!"
Jun was trying to justify himself to Fujimiya-san.
Tobiichi smiled before revealing her palms.
…
There was a coin in both of her hands.
…
"You were almost right. But instead, I had a coin in both of my hands~."
Jun looked up at her in horror.
"…What on earth…"
What was much worse was that he was being deathly glared at by Fujimiya-san.
"Jun-kun… she had a coin in both of her hands… and you didn't even pick a hand?!"
"N-no… I didn't know… how could I have known…? I'm sorry. I—"
Fujimiya pushed him away.
"Get away from me!"
Things looked like it could get physical.
I decided to have another sip of my coffee.