Bab 73: An Errand

Fuuka Akamine, Rie Akamine-sensei's younger sister, was lazily rolling around the floor of Akamine-sensei's apartment. Her transfer to Dai Yama High School as a first-year high school student was still being processed by her guardian and her teacher which is none other than Akamine-sensei. She'll be coming to school next term, and until then, she had time to laze around and relax.

"I wonder what Hajime's doing right now?" She asked herself while eating a popsicle. A moment ago, she turned on the electric fan and pointed it at herself. There was air conditioning, but her sister specifically told her not to turn it on even though the early afternoon was arid hot. In the end, she opted to eat another popsicle after eating one.

"Yay! A winner! I'll stop by at the convenience store later." She giggled to herself, recalling the time when she first met Hajime. It wasn't even a once-in-a-lifetime meeting, just a normal day-to-day one. And yet, she held onto it as if it were special. She was undeniably totally head over heels to Hajime.

Ti-ring!

Thinking that it was probably her sister who just messaged her, Fuuka sighed as she got her phone from her pocket. 'She's probably going to ask me to run by the convenience store again or something.' She grumbled, pouting as she read the message which unsurprisingly really came from her sister.

[From: Rie To: Fuuka Message: Can you check up on Hajime later? Thanks, I'll be home late.]

"..." Fuuka blinked twice after reading the message. When she read the message for the first time, she didn't quite understand it at first, and that's why she squinted her eyes

"WHAT?!" Fuuka was lying down when she read the message and her surprise cause the phone to fall flat on her face. She shook her head and bolted upright as she grabbed both her cheeks with her hands. Flustered, she started causing a ruckus in the apartment, totally indifferent to the neighbors that could clearly hear her due to the thin walls that separated the living quarters.

She grabbed the phone from the floor and read the message for the third time, thinking that she just misread some things. But there it was, a message from her sister distinctly telling her to go visit Hajime at her place. 'Why did she say that? Now that I think about it, she did tell me that Hajime had been absent for two days now. Perhaps she's just worried. Mmm...'

"Yosh! Regardless of the reason, I'm going to visit Hajime.' She sang, skipping around the apartment while chuckling to her heart's content.

.....

"Oh, Megumi, are you going home?" Akamine-sensei called out just when the school bell rang for the second time of the day.

"Yes, Akamine-sensei. I'm sorry I won't be able to deliver the printouts to Hajime today." Megumi bowed. "I have a prior engagement this afternoon."

Akamine-sensei smiled as she waved her hand. "Don't sweat it out, I already assigned another student to take care of it. You can go on with your schedule without worrying about him at all."

"Ah, I see. By any chance, is it a guy from our class?" Megumi asked, pursing her lips.

"Eh? Why are you curious?" Akamine-sensei teased. "What if I told you it was a girl?"

"I-I-I just asked because I was curious, sensei, that's all there is to it. Please don't read into my curiosity too much!" This time, it was Megumi who started shaking her hands along with her head.

"Young miss, I'm afraid it's time to go home." Franz softly spoke from afar, bowing while standing right beside the doorway of the limousine.

"Ehehe~" Akamine-sensei smirked while giving Megumi a laugh that screamed her suspicions about their relationship. "Are you really just curious? Hehe~"

"Geh!" Megumi exclaimed, totally caught off-guard. Fortunately, she regained her composure, cleared her throat, and excused herself calmly.

"Take care!" Akamine-sensei waved at her in an exaggerated manner.

To say the least, Megumi was pretty flustered, and the redness on her cheeks and the tips of her ears became even more evident as seconds passed. Franz didn't speak a word, maintaining the work-mode expression on his face even though he found the whole situation rather amusing. This was a first for him, seeing the young miss get flustered more easily than before, and he couldn't help but think about the time when he was still a high school student. 'Youth,' Franz said in his mind as he glanced at Megumi who had been shaking her head and breathing slowly all this time.

"Franz-san," Megumi said in a low tone, her face wearing her most serious expression which made Franz anxious.

"Yes, young miss," He answered, still keeping his poker face.

"Can you cancel my schedule for today?" Megumi pleaded.

"But young miss, you can't just cancel this meeting. Your father specifically instructed you to meet with this client's son. He may be the same age as you, but he's the largest shareholder in the Mizunari Company."

"Our company is bigger than theirs though. In fact, it is already out of my way if I were to go to the meeting. Please cancel it for me."

"Young miss, Mr. Kikuchi is in the process of forming a partnership with the Mizunari Company. As soon as it's done, you can cut ties with him altogether." Franz reasoned out, his face filled with worry.

"I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind. It's not like he's forcing me to meet up with him. It was only a mere suggestion." Megumi explained. "Besides, this is not even a formal appointment. He just invited me out to dinner."

"Young miss," Franz couldn't help but exhale. There was no use arguing with Megumi since she was adamant about not going to the supposed date. Furthermore, what Megumi said was right. It's not like it was a formal appointment, to begin with, and she's got all the rights to decline it, late or whatever.

"All right, I will inform Mr. Kikuchi." Franz conceded.

In that instant, Megumi's face lit up. But before she could say anything, Franz turned the other corner and briefly glanced at Megumi. "I'm guessing... we're heading to the young master's place, young miss?" He asked. It was an unnecessary question, but to Franz, it was all worth asking that question

"A-ah?! Eh?!" Megumi's face reddened in embarrassment. Franz really saw through him, as expected of the butler and the driver of the Kikuchi household.