<h4>Chapter 75: Secret</h4>


    Trantor: imperfectluck Editor: vb24


    Seiji and Chiaki slowly walked down the street after leaving the coffee café.


    "Haha, you actually knocked him unconscious, you’re pretty evil, Seigo… No, Seiji." Chiaki broke out intoughter again as she thought back to the previous events. "But you did a great job—as expected of my S-ranked weapon!" She gave him a huge thumbs-up.


    "Heh, but of course." Seiji pretended to gaze into the distance. "A person capable of defeating me does not exist in this world."


    After one second of silence.


    Both of them broke out intoughter.


    "What’s with those embarrassing words of yours!? But it’s actually unexpectedly moving~" Chiaki stepped closer to Seiji as if it were the natural thing to do and clung on to his arm.


    "We don’t need to fake being a couple anymore, do we?"


    "We don’t. I just feel like doing this."


    Seiji nced at the silver-haired girl.


    "How did… your conversation with her go?"


    "Mmm… Should I say that it didn’t go very well, or that it was fine?" Chiaki had aplex expression.


    "It doesn’t seem like you two have gotten back together again, so what’s your current rtionship with her?"


    "It’s… friends," Chiaki said wistfully, "a special type of friendship. Friends that miss each other when apart. Perhaps we’ll meet each other soon again, but maybe we might never see each other again… Friends like that."


    Seiji remained silent.


    Although that Tetsuo Sasaki was nothing more than an idiot, one thing he mentioned was indisputable—the fact that Haruka Shimizu didn’t intend to get back together with Chiaki again. Her taking along a fake boyfriend was plenty of evidence for this.


    And if Haruka didn’t intend this, Chiaki definitely wouldn’t request it either, so…


    At any rate, why exactly did Haruka Shimizu invite Chiaki out of the blue? This still remained a mystery.


    Seiji was waiting for an answer.


    After a long period of silence.


    "Even though Haruka told me not to tell anyone else, including you… I think I should still let you know." Chiaki looked up at Seiji as her eyes shed with an indescribable light.


    "Are you sure? If it’s an important secret, you don’t need to tell me."


    "It’s not a secret… Er, I don’t know." Chiaki sighed. "I don’t know what exactly this is…"


    She didn’t know?


    Seiji furrowed his brows.


    "Haruka, she… first, she asked if I could transfer to Koaki High School, and be normal friends with her again." Chiaki slowly began to speak. "Of course, I rejected her and said this wasn’t possible."


    "Then, she requested that I… take a temporary leave of absence from school."


    "Leave of absence?" Seiji was confused.


    He could understand asking her to transfer schools and be friends again, but what was with the leave of absence request?


    "That’s right, a leave of absence." Chiaki nodded. "She said she wished for me to not attend Genhana High School for the time being, as there could be danger."


    Seiji raised his eyebrows.


    "What kind of danger?"


    "She didn’t tell me what it specifically was, she only said that there was a danger which could cause students to die," Chiaki said in a heavy tone of voice.


    Hey now, could it be?


    The only uing thing that might be dangerous enough for students to die at Genhana High School… Seiji could only think of one such incident.


    The Yin Yang Master duel!


    Was this what Haruka Shimizu was alluding to? Did she know about it? Was she a person with mystical powers!?


    Sessive doubts kept arising in Seiji’s mind.


    "It sounds really strange, right? What danger could befall Genhana High School?" Chiaki sighed before continuing, "But Haruka seemed so serious; she begged me to believe her and do as she requested!"


    "She invited me out solely for the purpose of telling me this."


    Seiji now understood the logic behind Haruka’s sudden invitation.


    But now, new questions arose.


    For Chiaki, at least.


    "She obviously wasn’t making all this up, but she wouldn’t tell me anything about the danger… I don’t understand why…" the silver-haired girl muttered to herself. "And she even told me not to tell anyone else… I honestly don’t get it; what kind of secret is this? Something which is dangerous enough to cause the death of high school students is a huge incident! It shouldn’t be hidden. Why didn’t Haruka tell me the details clearly, ask me to keep it a secret, and tell me to take a leave of absence from school?"


    "I don’t understand. She refused to speak further on the subject no matter what, so I don’t get it."


    Chiaki looked at the boy by her side.


    "That’s why I told you, Seiji… Seiji?"


    Chiaki’s sharp senses detected something from Seiji’s expression and bodynguage.


    "You… know?" She was astonished.


    Seiji remained silent.


    "Do you perhaps… know what Haruka was talking about?" Chiaki slowly began to furrow her brows.


    Seiji sighed after considering his options.


    "I don’t know if what I know is what she was referring to."


    He faced Chiaki directly.


    "But… it seems quite probable. Chiaki, you know that I recently discussed something with the student council president, something I couldn’t tell you and Mika. What Haruka just mentioned to you is… most likely the same topic that I was talking with the president about."


    Nobody spoke for a while.


    Chiaki took a good, long look at Seiji’s face.


    "I see." She finally ended up nodding. "Our school… there’s something hidden to it, isn’t there?"


    Seiji nodded in response.


    "It’s a huge secret that can’t be made public. It’s for the best if fewer normal people know about it," he said in a soft voice. "That’s why… I’m so sorry."


    Chiaki shook her head.


    "If you could, you’d surely tell us. If you can’t, that means there’s a deep reason behind it. There’s no need to feel apologetic. Even though I have my doubts and want to know the truth, I won’t pry. You and Haruka are both people I trust. Although it’s a little ufortable to know that both of you are hiding the same thing from me, I trust that it’s for my own good."


    Chiaki shed a brilliant smile.


    "I feel sorry towards Haruka as well for telling you something she absolutely insisted on keeping secret… but it seems that you coincidentally knew about it."


    Seiji smiled as well.


    "Yeah, luckily I was the one who heard about it."


    "Honestly… just how big is this secret? What if I told someone else about what Haruka just told me? If it hadn’t been you… What would have happened if it had been someone who didn’t know what it was about?"


    Chiaki’s expression showed a trace of nervousness.


    Seiji mulled it over.


    "I doubt much would happen if you did. You’d probably end up apanion who’s also oblivious to what is going on… As long as you guys didn’t spread any more rumors, that is."


    "Whew… I was so worried." Chiaki pretended to wipe nonexistent sweat from her forehead. "It’s good if it’s not that serious."


    "While it is a big secret, nothing should happen as long as you don’t go around telling everyone. But keep in mind that if you keep telling people, the consequences would be unpredictable," Seiji warned her in a strict tone of voice.


    It was best not to even think about the identities of the upper ranks of the Yin Yang Masters as they were bent on hiding their existence in order to continue reaping huge benefits.


    "I get it, I won’t tell anyone else!" Chiaki stuck her tongue out at Seiji. "Should I call Haruka and apologize to her? By the way, do you need to talk to her? You both seem to know the same secret, after all." Chiaki’s expression was hard to read as she contemted the thought of Seiji having ess to Haruka’s number.


    Seiji considered Chiaki’s suggestion.


    "I’m not sure if I need to talk to her, but you might as well give me her contact information. It mighte in handy."


    Giving her ex-girlfriend’s cell phone number to the boy that she secretly liked a little, especially considering the fact that they shared a secret together… Chiaki was currently battling withplex, indescribable emotions.


    Was she… about to NTR herself?


    No no, she liked both of them so much; if they could be a couple…


    *Ding-dong!*


    Chiaki’s mind suddenly envisioned a brand-new scene that she’d never considered before.


    This scene dashed away all her uncertainties, and she could feel new horizons opening up for her!


    If Seiji and Haruka could get together… this seemed pretty good!?


    Chiaki’s eyes began sparkling after she felt like she just opened the door to new possibilities.


    Even though it was currently nothing more than a fantasy, it still seemed possible to her!


    Possibility meant hopes and dreams!


    After Seiji entered Haruka Shimizu’s phone number into his cell phone contacts, he discovered that… Chiaki’s expression had be rather strange.


    The silver-haired girl smiled brilliantly as she pped him heartily on the shoulder.


    "Go ahead and contact Haruka as much as you like! Flirt with her to the best of your ability; I think you have a good chance!"


    Seiji was rendered speechless.


    ‘What the hell?’