Sakamo made a big smile:
“Great, I will send you a message today with the exact number of persons that will be going. The departure will be on Friday after school, by train. She only needs to pay for the room, because concert tickets and meals will be on me and Tomoe-chan.”
“That is very generous of you, Sakamo-san. But… my daughter was going with a friend so that she didn’t get bored of being with us all alone. She is also in high school, and for a girl her age to always be with her parents, sometimes it’s a bit too much for her.”
“One more won’t be a problem, rest assured. You know I gain a lot of money from all my side jobs. I will tell you how many of my classmates are going and you make the call to the flats, deal?”
Sakamo gave his hand for a handshake that his bodyguard shook with a genuine smile:
“Very well, I will take care of that. Be prepared for a commotion at your School’s gate, there are a lot of reporters waiting to talk with Hangaku Mae and your classmates, because of the concert. A group of my colleagues is already there, and they will help you enter the School.”
“That will be a pain. By the way, can you give a ride to Tomoe-chan when the maid finishes?”
“Of course, it will be a pleasure.”
He gave one last bow and went for the stairs while Sakamo returned to his breakfast. Shubuyaky Tomoe saw him grinning and asked:
“You are strangely happy. Something’s up?”
“My overly serious bodyguard smiled at me. He doesn’t do that very often because I do my best to annoy him as much as I can. I took care of your ride, but you have to wait for the maid to finish. He is also going with his family to Nakanojo next weekend for the Moon Festival and your concert. I told him that his daughter could join us for the weekend, and he would be able to enjoy a nice weekend with his wife. She is bringing a friend with her, so it’s two persons already confirmed.”
Shubuyaky Tomoe made a big smile:
“I know his daughter! She is so sweet! He showed me a picture of her when he gave me a ride to my hotel last time, and she is also a member of my fan club and I met her in the volunteer work where I went with Hangaku-chan. She helped a lot, and she laughed so much because of me and Hangaku-chan that I really thought she was going to blow a lung!”
“That’s nice, that means she won’t feel too shy to enjoy the weekend.”
“For sure! I won’t have much to do before and after my concert, so I can spend most of the weekend fooling around with you guys!”
Sakamo slowly shook his head:
“Not with me, you won’t. Sunday morning I have to return really early, I have work to do and a lot of people is counting on me.”
Hangaku was about to ask why, but Shubuyaky Tomoe spoke while munching a slice of bread:
“The simulacrum, right? When it’s going to be, by the way? They already confirmed the date?”
“Next week, probably on Tuesday, if everything goes well during this week. There are some final check-ups to do, but they are aiming for that day. Why do you ask?”
“I just want to be sure that I won’t be recording a song or shooting some commercial when it happens. I need to check my schedule for Tuesday, just to be sure.”
Hangaku Mae looked at Tomiko Hari that like her was completely pale. She then faced Sakamo Ryu and asked in a trembling voice:
“I heard something on the news, about a major nationwide simulacrum of some sorts. Like, if a major earthquake happened that could destroy completely our country or something. You are involved with that? Because my parents talked about that during diner, and we saw a talk show with some scientists explaining why the need for such a big simulacrum. They said every branch of the government will be involved, together with the army, police, firefighters, and medics!”
“Yeah, it will be all that and much more. Reports from several sensors arriving at the same time, alerts of tsunamis and earthquake replicas, thousands upon thousands of people involved, all working together to make sure our country is prepared for a major disaster.”
Hangaku Mae slowly nodded:
“I see, but why only now? We had simulacrums before, but nothing so big.”
Sakamo thought for a few seconds, judging if he should explain or not. In the end, he shrugged and said:
“Well… because of me, actually. Until now, there was no one able to handle so much information at the same time. Even our best computers would fail with so many unexpected situations that could happen. There is also a big group of programmers that are working on a specific software to handle all the information, and they are always annoying me with questions and scenarios to test my reasoning and to upgrade their software. The idea is to have a software able to handle all the situations that could arise in a case of a major disaster, and organize our services to help and guide the general population. It will be an extremely specific Artificial Intelligence, so they told me. Of course, none of this can transpire, or you will all get into some serious trouble!”
Hangaku Mae vigorously shook her head:
“We won’t say a thing, don’t worry! Wait a minute, that means that you have a very important role in that simulacrum, and in the Earthquake Research Institute at The University of Tokyo? They pay you well? Because you said you had a part-time, but the way you sounded right now, it seems it is a very well paid one!”
“The pay is rather good, actually, and demanding as well. I barely have time to sleep, lately, because of so many online meetings, emails, and reports to analyse. I think that after the simulacrum if everything goes according to the most recent projections, I will have less to do because then it will be the software guys that need to upgrade their part, I just need to answer a few quizzes. So, what about if we go to School? I bet Takechi-sama is already waiting for his purple goddess.”
Tomiko Hari turned bright red and she hid a grin by going for her School bag. Sakamo went to the stairs and shouted that they were going, and when he heard his bodyguard saying his goodbyes, he gave a quick kiss on Tomoe’s forehead and went for the door, to follow the two smiling girls.
…
When they were getting near the School’s gate, a huge crowd was there, and Sakamo saw a bunch of reporters, cameras, television channels and a bunch of his security guys, opening a path for the students. He went to the front of the group and said:
“Everyone, follow me and don’t stop, or we won’t be able to go past that.”
Takechi Hito had his eyes wide open and asked:
“What is happening there? So many people!”
“That guy that came this morning with my maid said to me that they were waiting for Hangaku-chan and our classmates, most probably in search of an interview because of the concert.”
Hangaku Mae made a big smile and elbowed Tomiko Hari:
“Here starts my famous life! Aren’t you proud of me?”
“If this is going to happen every day from now on, no, I am not proud! So many people! This is crazy!”
Sakamo walked near the wall, and one of the men in a dark blue suit saw him and signalled the other guys with him to clear a path, and they slowly pushed the reporters, making a safety line with their bodies, together with the several police officers that were with them. When Sakamo approached the first police officer, the reporters noticed that Hangaku-mae was right after him, and they started to make questions and taking pictures of her, and she smiled and waved at them while walking without slowing down her pace. One reporter shouted, and his voice was heard above all the noise:
“Hangaku-san, people are saying that you never met Tomoe-chan and the concert was a one-time event. Is that true?”
Hangaku Mae stopped and answered with a smile:
“What are you talking about? I went to have a drink with her after the concert, and we just had a sleepover!”
The same reporter spoke with a grin:
“That is a lie because we all know that she spent the entire weekend in her hotel.”
“Really? That’s weird because I was with her yesterday afternoon, we had diner, saw a movie and had a very fun night. Maybe your sources are not right, or you are the one lying, just to see my reaction. Now if you excuse me, class is about to start, and I don’t want to be late.”
She followed Tomiko and Takechi, while the police officers and the men in dark blue suits did their best to hold the crowd. As soon as she entered the School’s gate, there was another crowd, but of students, that wanted to see Hangaku Mae and take a picture with her. She smiled and waved left and right, taking a few pictures every time someone approached with a cell phone in their hands.
On the left side of the group of students that was following her, a second-year boy had a slight smile on his face, and a group of three girls was near him, frowning at Hangaku Mae that walked to the main building, unaware of all the stares. The boy said while he kept on looking at Hangaku walking:
“So, that is the one you girls were talking about, right? Not bad, not bad at all. Great ass, big boobs, she would look very good on my arm, yes she would.”
Sadakichi Chiba, a tall girl with big breasts and dark long hair that was deeply in love with Tashiro despite the fact that he treated her like a disposable object, spoke with her eyes shooting daggers at Hangaku’s back:
“What are you saying, Saito-kun? How can you possibly say that? She dyes her hair and no way a first-year has that face and boobs without some serious plastic work! Besides, she likes girls, see her holding that girl’s arm, the one with the long braid?”
Nakano Takeko, a slender girl with her hair tied in a long braid like Sakamo, shook her head:
“That’s not a girl, Chiba-chan, that’s a boy, see his uniform? That’s Sakamo Ryu, also a first year. I heard he had the highest score in the admission tests this year. My aunt is the Principal’s secretary, and she told me that. It seems the Principal was really impressed by him when they first met. He is absolutely gorgeous! You saw him already, last week we were all drooling as he walked along the hallways!”
Sadakichi Chiba frowned:
“I remember you and Kino-chan looking at him with dreamy eyes, Takeko-chan, but you know I only have eyes to Saito-kun!”
Tashiro Saito grinned:
“You know, I wouldn’t mind if you girls helped me on taking that guy away for a while so that I could charm that yellow head. Maybe he needs to meet other girls, older, prettier and wiser, and I could use that time to invite her to go with me to a photoshoot. Girls like that sort of things, they always drop their underwear in my dressing room when the session finishes. Heheheh!”
While Nakano Takeko and Goya Kino, a short girl with a round, pretty face and hair by her shoulders said almost at the same time that they would do it as soon as the first class ended, Sadakichi Chiba was almost exploding in rage. How could their friends agree with that plan, knowing that she liked Tashiro Saito? Her rage was diverted to Hangaku Mae, the one that caused her friends to forget about her, and also made Tashiro Saito become so interested and already making plans to have her. Sadakichi couldn’t understand the sudden interest Saito had when she already slept with him two times until he got bored and never invited her again to his dressing room, even when she went after him in another useless attempt to make him fall for her.