Chapter 87: Grade 11, Class 1
Chiya had saved the principal's phone number long ago. After dinner, he called him directly.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"It's me, the Vice-Captain of Tokyo Public Safety's Special Division 1."
"Oh! I remember you, Vice-Captain Otonashi. Is something the matter?" Hearing it was Otonashi Chiya, the principal's tone immediately became much more respectful.
"It's like this..." Chiya briefly explained Kobeni's situation to the principal. Naturally, he left out the more sensitive details and gave only a general overview. "So, it's not convenient for her to have her parents attend the meeting. My intention is to go in their stead. She is currently working a part-time job with me, and I'd like to give her a hand."
"That is absolutely no problem. I'll inform the teachers of Higashiyama-san's class right away. Tomorrow, you can head straight into the classroom," the principal agreed readily.
"Great. That's all then. Sorry for bothering you, Principal."
"Not at all, not at all! Feel free to contact me anytime if anything else comes up."
After a few more pleasantries, Chiya hung up the phone.
"I've settled it with the principal. I'll go to your school tomorrow afternoon to attend the meeting for you," Chiya told Kobeni.
"Okay! This is so much trouble for you, Otonashi-kun. I'm truly, truly grateful!" Kobeni said, her heart full of gratitude.
"Where is Big Brother Chiya going tomorrow? What is a 'parent-teacher meeting'?" Denji couldn't help but chime in.
"I'm going to Sister Kobeni's school tomorrow. A parent-teacher meeting is... well, basically, Kobeni's teacher will report to me about how she's been doing with her studies," Chiya explained patiently.
"Oh..." Though she understood the explanation, Denji felt like something was still a bit off.
Whatever! Denji emptied her mind, too lazy to overthink it. Instead, she asked about something else she'd noticed. "By the way, Big Brother Chiya, did you buy new clothes? You look so cool."
She had noticed his different outfit earlier, but she had been too excited and happy when he first returned that she'd temporarily ignored it.
"I didn't buy this. It's a uniform I have to wear for my work at a military department in the Soviet Union—basically, a military uniform," Chiya explained.
"It really does feel a bit different from before..." Kobeni added her own appraisal.
In truth, it was mainly because Chiya had always worn the Public Safety uniform; seeing it so often had led to visual fatigue. Switching to a fresh military uniform naturally felt different. The secondary reason was that the uniform truly suited him well.
Chiya gave a thin smile. "You two keep praising me and I might actually get conceited."
However, he knew he'd have to change back into his Public Safety uniform for the meeting tomorrow. Wearing a Soviet military uniform to a Japanese high school would be a bit too strange...
Afterward, Denji took Pochita back to her room to play video games. She wanted to squeeze in a few rounds before Sister Kobeni started today's tutoring session.
The following afternoon.
Even though it was Saturday, Higashiyama Kobeni's school was quite bustling. The entire eleventh-grade level was holding synchronized parent-teacher meetings at this time. Many parents, accompanied by their children, were streaming through the main gates.
Kobeni's situation, however, was unique. Walking beside her was a youth dressed in a Tokyo Public Safety uniform. His gaze and the aura he exuded were completely at odds with his age, and his unique Mangekyo Sharingan, "Kamui," was exceptionally eye-catching. Along with the Public Safety suit, he wore a military cap; he found the cap quite stylish and hadn't bothered to take it off.
The attention of nearby parents and students was immediately drawn to them.
"What is that? That suit looks different from the ones I usually see. And he looks so young—he must be that girl's older brother, right?"
"Wait, that looks like the Tokyo Public Safety uniform! Wow, her brother must be a Public Safety Devil Hunter."
"That explains it. Her parents probably died in that disaster years ago... so her brother, whom she depends on, has to attend the meeting. Sigh... poor child!"
"..."
In an instant, all sorts of rumors about Otonashi Chiya and Higashiyama Kobeni began to swirl. Some even speculated that Kobeni's parents died during the Gun Devil's descent, and that Chiya, as her brother, had resolutely joined Public Safety for revenge while supporting his sister's education.
The female students, in particular, couldn't tear their eyes away from him. With his handsome features, the charismatic and imposing aura of his Mangekyo eyes, and the combination of the Public Safety uniform and the Soviet military cap, his "visual buffs" were essentially maxed out.
Chiya caught fragments of these conversations and couldn't help but marvel at the richness of their imaginations. However, he didn't think it was a bad thing. Letting them speculate was better than being suspected of using connections. Otherwise, it might negatively impact Kobeni's daily life at school—like classmates gossiping behind her back.
Once they reached the eleventh-grade floor of the teaching building, Kobeni pointed toward her classroom. "I'm in Class 1. The room is right there."
As Chiya stepped into Grade 11, Class 1, he saw a middle-aged woman standing at the podium; she was likely the homeroom teacher. In Japan, the homeroom teacher is usually referred to as the Tan'nin, and they are responsible for these parent-teacher meetings and "three-party talks." Chiya was still used to the term "homeroom teacher," but he knew to address her as Watanabe-sensei.
As for Kobeni, she waited outside for the time being, as the classroom couldn't accommodate both parents and students at once. Whenever a parent entered, Watanabe-sensei greeted them with polite warmth. Chiya was no exception.
"Hello, I am Watanabe. May I ask who you are—"
Watanabe-sensei froze mid-sentence the moment she saw him. Her first thought was that a student had walked into the wrong room. But she immediately remembered what the principal had told her last night: if a youth appeared in a Public Safety uniform with distinct crimson eyes, he was the person the principal had mentioned.
The boy's blood-red eyes were unmistakable—exactly as the principal had described!
AN-
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