Kapitel 36: Unforeseen Confrontation

'Wha— me?! What is he talking about? Who's this guy anyways?' Hajime asked himself, trying to press the bag harder on his head so he won't have to address the gentleman. He couldn't stop the urge of looking between his arms, however, as he tried to get a good glimpse of the man and why he was talking to him. 'He even knows my full name, why?' He wondered.

The class, who was bombarding him with all sorts of questions suddenly grew quiet as they stared at the gentleman then at Hajime who seemed to know the guy. They started making assumptions as to what their relationship was supposed to be and some of them had the craziest of ideas.

"Is Hajime from a rich family?"

"No wonder he could act like that and not get expelled yet."

"Wow, he had us fooled, hook, line, and sinker."

"No way, he's actually rich?! Who would've thought."

'It's not like I even know him, who is this guy? Have we met before? Why is he looking for me?' Hajime was now becoming rather curious regarding the gentleman that kept on bugging him.

"Hajime, we need to talk." The man repeated, this time his voice sounded slightly stern. He knew that he didn't have all the time in the world so he was getting rather impatient.

Sleepily, Hajime removed the bag that covered his face and stared at the face of the gentleman, blinking twice. He wasn't going to blow his cover of faking his sleep so he forced a yawn out of his mouth before addressing the gentleman. "What do you want from me? Who are you? Have we met before?" Hajime asked. He wanted to get rid of his classmates' misunderstanding that he knew the guy, so he asked those three questions all at once, leaving the gentleman no chance to answer anything first.

In response, the man silently stared at Satoshi, up and down, as if inspecting his every being. Satoshi tried to keep his cool, and yet, for some reason, the man made him uncomfortable. He felt creeped out, so much so that he was prepared to throw some punches. Fortunately, he managed to maintain his composure, observing the man as well just as he observed him. 'He looks like he's in his forties, how could he look younger than his age though.' Hajime said to himself.

"You're a fine young man, no wonder." The man commented, giving Hajime the shivers.

"Well, that doesn't sound like a compliment at all, hearing that from you." He curtly responded.

Grab!

In an instant, the gentleman grabbed Hajime by the collar, lifting him a few millimeters off the ground before dragging him out of the classroom. Everyone including Akamine-sensei was shocked at the man's sudden reaction. They weren't able to stop him, however, and before they regained their senses, both the gentleman and Hajime were already out of the classroom, with the door sliding shut behind them. Hajime, on the other hand, couldn't resist at all. He could tell that the gentleman was strong and there wouldn't be any advantages if he retaliated. In the end, he helplessly flailed as he was dragged around. It may have appeared as an embarrassing moment but at that point, Hajime was only thinking about his own survival. Provoking the gentleman was out of the question. In the meantime, he would just wait it out until he finds an opportune time to escape.

The man grunted as he pulled at Hajime. Once they reached the staircase, the man pushed him against the wall, adjusting his cuffs soon after before letting out an exhale. "Now, let me ask you this once. And when I say once, you're going to have to answer me, truthfully."

"Sure, I mean, you pretty much dragged me out here. I'm sure you have your reasons." Hajime shrugged. One rule he learned the hard way was that a person shouldn't show any weakness no matter how cornered they were. That's why he still wore that confident look. Besides, he was slightly taller than the man, so he didn't really need to straighten his back to assert a bit of dominance.

"Where is the young miss, Kikuchi Megumi? Oh wait, let me ask more specifically— where have you taken her?" The man asked, his voice strong and biting.

"I ah- what?! What are you talking about? And who are you? Why are you looking for her?" Hajime returned his question with a set of his. "For a good-looking guy, you're quite rude you know. Isn't it basic manners to introduce yourself first before interrogating me?"

"Sigh~ I'm sorry about that. I don't have much time." The man responded. "I'm Franz Schwarz, personal driver, and butler of the Kikuchi household." He continued, flashing an ID towards Hajime which kind of proved his employment and identity.

"Nice to meet you, Franz-san, but I'm sorry, I don't know where she is at the moment," Hajime responded, even though he had an inkling as to where she might be.

For one, he doesn't know whether he could trust the guy or not, and second, what if he was actually a kidnapper looking for a quick buck by getting ahold of Megumi and asking for ransom? All those thoughts ran through Hajime's head like a roll of film being fed into a projector. The way things are right now, there was no way he'd tell some guy where Megumi's location might be.

Slide.

The door to the classroom opened and out came Akamine-sensei. Since the classroom was adjacent to the staircase, everyone in the class could hear what they were talking about and Akamine-sensei brought it upon herself to tell them the obvious.

"My class could hear you, Franz-san, can you take this somewhere else? Also, Hajime, you don't have to be wary of him, he is really an employee in the Kikuchi household. I've seen him drive Megumi to and from school every day." After warning them, Akamine-sensei returned to her class.

The two didn't need any telling twice. They unanimously agreed to exit the school and talk on the school grounds.

"Look, kid, just tell me where she is,"

"I really don't know where she is." Hajime continued. "But! I can help you find her if you want."