"Kimura, his last name is Takashi, same as our principal," Akane hinted as she sat back into the swing set. "Far as I know, the principal is aware of everything he does, but for some reason, he can't lift a finger against his own grandkid.'
"You mean to say that he might have some dirt on his own old man?" Mizuki asked, standing between us two.
Turning her attention to the front, Akane drew a deep breath and nodded.
"That or the principal is getting something out of this transaction as well," I added, still unsure what to make of it.
"Yeah…Either way, I got kicked out of the track team cause they found some enhancement drugs stuffed in my locker," leaning forward, Akane began anxiously tapping her feet as she told us the rest of the story. "I tried to bring down Kimura and his ploys still, but then I got a letter. A letter telling me to get off his back and lay low or my sports scholarship, the only way for me to afford college, will be canceled."
"Why didn't you go to the cops?" growing increasingly curious I wanted to know everything.
Raising her head, she pursed her lips for a moment. Then turning her head towards me, Akane opened her mouth to speak once again.
"The principal, Hayato, I don't have any proof that he's involved in all this, and if I go to the cops, he'll not just kick me out of school, but also make sure I can't get admitted elsewhere," struggling to keep a straight face, Akane's lips curved into a nervous smile.
"You know that how? Was that in the letter too?" Her response to the question betrayed my expectations.
"No, Kimura, he beat me up before giving me that warning himself," the memories of her in bandages when Satori and I tried to help her a while back, all flooded back into my head.
'She never talked to me after that incident. I thought she was mad, but was she trying to keep us both out of the mess?' At the time, it seemed her anger was getting the best of her, but perhaps she thought she was doing us a favor by not getting us pulled up into what she thought were her problems.
"Again, is this real?" Looking between me and Mizuki who was in her demonic blue skin form, Akane still seemed quite skeptical. "Coming back from the dead, that too with a demon's help, It's all…"
Tilting her head, her face contorted into a bitter expression.
"A little too much, I guess?" Finishing her words, she kept glancing between us both while waiting for an answer.
"The less she knows the better Akira, we're already breaking the rules by letting her see me," leaning forward, Mizuki placed her nails under Akane's chin and slowly turned her face in her direction. "If anyone finds out a non-master human knows about me, everyone will begin trying to hunt us as well as her."
"Wh-what?!" Her face close enough to feel Mizuki's cold breath, Akane's whole demeanor tensed up.
"Akane, I'm here to help, and I know I look different but I'm the same Daichi you used to know," the moment I finished saying that, Mizuki let go of Akane's head and the two turned to face me.
Their doubts apparent on their faces, it was quite clear that neither of them bought what I'd just said.
"I hope not, you used to whine without action, but now it feels like you're actually being somewhat useful," Mizuki stated.
"I don't know, either, you can't expect me to trust you on your word alone when you've brought a literal demon by your side you know?" Akane added soon after.
"That's alright," getting off the swing set, I offered Akane my hand to get her up. "We can learn to trust each other again I'm sure."
Glaring at my hand for a moment, Akane swung back but took my hand to get up as the swing brought her forward. Receiving an agreeing nod from her, I knew we'd made at least some progress.
"Let's be off then, there's plenty of stuff that we need to do today," making our way out of the park, we joined with Hibiki who was waiting for us by the convenience store where Akane and I used to go to buy snacks for our trip to school.
Still a bit disheveled after the incident yesterday night, Hibiki didn't seem to be in the highest of spirits. Ruffling through her hair, I made the grumpy look on her face turn into shock. Groaning with discontent, she claws my bandaged arm away and handed in the other a plastic-wrapped sandwich.
"Don't mess with my hair," she complained, her cheeks puffed lightly.
"I was just trying to get that grumpy look off your face," breaking the sandwich into three nearly equal pieces, I handed one piece to Hibiki before turning to Akane. "This is Hibiki, she's a new friend of mine I guess."
"Nice to meet you, are you in our school too? What grade?" She asked.
While she questioned her, I grabbed one of her hands and forced the piece of sandwich on it. Visibly taken back, Akane blinked a few times while staring at me.
'Deja vu, I suppose?' I knew exactly what she was feeling because I was experiencing the same thing.
"I'm in the same grade as you," Hibiki's answer broke our glares.
"What?! Really?!" Shifting her attention back to Hibiki, Akane's eyes widened in shock. "But you're so-"
"Short?" her eyes half squinted, Hibiki glared at Akane as if daring her to say it.
"Uhm…Never mind," Akane replied, saving herself.
The rest of our path was filled with light chatter and introductions. Thankfully neither of the demons troubled Akane much, however, with the pieces of my plans finally lining up together, it was only a matter of time until not just her but all of us were surrounded by trouble.
"It's gonna take us a lot of preparation before we can take on Kimura. In the meantime, you should lay low while I gather more intel by punishing the bastards working for him before getting to uproot that parasitic bastard," partying ways with Akane at the school gates with those words, I headed on in with plans to fuck up Hero's life by recess.