True or False: Chapter 5

The Dancing Fools

Translator: Loka

TLC: Krrizis

Editor: Isalee

First Published on Ainushi

Kudou Chiharu’s POV

「Oh, we got an interesting request…Now, what shall we do?」

 

SP, otherwise known as the Security Police, is the close protection unit for VIPs governed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

 

Targets of the SP’s activity are always Parliament members or this country’s kingpins, so normally, their services are out of the reach of civilians.

 

Of course, there are exceptions as well, but let’s leave that aside for now.

 

Civilians who are not part of those exceptions, when the time comes, will have to rely on similar private bodyguard companies.

 

Among them, the『KSS ( Kudou Security Service )』is a company that specializes in protecting the big boys. Its affiliated bodyguards are restricted to people trained for VIP protection outside of Japan, or ex-policemen with SP experience.

 

Perhaps because it’s a private company without a sponsor that it’s considered the most trustworthy one out there.

 

Regarding the KSS, currently, the person with the rights to deploy the SS (Secret Service) is the next in line as head of the Kudou family, Kudou Chiharu.

 

Chiharu was sweeping through the bodyguard dispatch applications one by one, stamping them mechanically. If a guard could be dispatched, he stamped 【permit】, and if not he would stamp the 【reject】 seal.

 

Therefore, when a certain application caught his eye, he shook his head playfully, shifting it left to right. He took a few minutes to carefully read the document from top to bottom. Then, with an evil grin on his face, he pushed the direct line button connecting him to the secretary’s office.

 

「We have a request. And they want our number one.」

「…………」

 

Even though it was the company’s young president who managed human resources that was personally discussing the job, the facial expression of the youth that stood motionlessly upright in front of him did not waver.

 

“We will proceed as usual.” Chiharu commented, cracking a bitter smile. Retaining the countenance of a『director』, he nimbly presented the documents at hand.

 

「Our client is Tachibana Takayuki, son and heir of the current director of the『Tachibana Corporation』, a wholesale textile store. The object of escort (target) will be his fiancée, Hiiragi Natsumi.」

「Rejected」

「You can’t refuse. You understand, don’t you? This is a request that『I』personally brought over. It is already set in stone.」

「…Why?」

「Hmm? Are you asking why I accepted this request?… Why, huh… Actually, there are a myriad of reasons, but…」

 

Initially, my first thought was『Is this guy stupid or what?』

 

Back then, on top of boldly breaking off his engagement, that fool took that comical farce that a 12-year-old child had bullied a 17-year-old girl seriously. He even acted proudly as if he had done the right thing.

 

Furthermore, if he had investigated deeper into it, he could have easily learned that the person who retrieved Saya back then was someone from the『Kudou』family, and yet without even making so much as an effort, he requested the security company managed by the very same family to dispatch a guard for his fiancée.

 

I can’t just call him a『fool』. If I have to correct myself, he is more like a『Top grade idiot』.

 

Yet, Chiharu deliberately decided to accept this request.

 

As he mentioned, there were a number of reasons as it was a good opportunity to learn about the present internal state of the Hiiragi family. He was curious about the real intentions of the girl named Hiiragi Natsumi, he was interested in Tachibana Takayuki – a guy who picked a fight with the Kudou family without even investigating beforehand – and…

 

「Above all else, the other party designated [you] in their request!」

「…………？」

「…?」

「In Tachibana Takayuki’s request, he wrote『your number one』. However, in the postscript, there was a firsthand message from the target itself asking for『Kiryuu Sakuya』. Even though you’re not listed on our homepage, in addition to the fact that you don’t accept public requests, how did they get your name? It makes one curious, doesn’t it?」

 

So, in other words, this was an order to『go and investigate the reason』.

 

Coming to that conclusion, the young man…Kiryuu Sakuya responded with a respectful bow.

 

 

Sakuya’s POV

 

Sakuya’s heart was always dry. Just like a desert insatiable for water.

 

He was born into a distinguished family, raised by highly egotistical parents. Since young, whether he wished for it or not, he was forced to study various things.

 

Every day he was taught at home by various home tutors without ever attending kindergarten.

 

Thus, it was no surprise that with an upbringing​ like his with little importance to his education, he was unable to fit into an ordinary high school…

 

Unable to blend in with his environment, always sleeping in class, a target of harassment…

 

When the school reported the news to his parents, as if running away from trouble, they tossed him abroad into a training facility that specialized in『dealing with problematic children』.

 

For an ordinary parent, a gifted child was hard to handle.

 

Under the pretext of education, the facility gathered applicants for internment such as difficult to handle children and those with bad behaviour.

 

He was 16 when he was brought back to Japan.

 

He was notified by relatives that he had never met till now that his parents had passed away in an accident. Praised extravagantly for hailing from the fairly famous Kiryuu household and a thoroughbred that possessed the blood of both his father and mother’s families, he was chosen as the next head of the family.

 

But he was still a minor… Until he came of age, his guardian would lead in his stead. That was what those never-before-seen relatives of his informed him. Sakuya obediently accepted it… or so it seemed at first.

 

As a matter of fact, he was thoroughly investigating ​their backgrounds in secret, and using this information, he quickly dethroned them from their position as the『(thoroughbred) next head’s』custodian.

 

Just when he was thinking about his next move,

 

『Won’t you let me borrow those intelligence gathering​ skills of yours? In exchange, as a façade, I will act as the head of your family to the public as you’re unable to do so.』

Well, in saying that, I was just parroting what Father told me.

 

As he said it, Kudou Chiharu chuckled.

 

That was the turning point of destiny.

 

His heart was still parched, but without batting an eye, Chiharu accepted him into his arms.

 

It is not obvious to the naked eye but Sakuya looked up to Chiharu…

 

Hearing that Chiharu had picked up a little girl from a party he had attended, Sakuya instinctively gathered information on the sponsors of the party.

 

And thus it came to light.

 

Amou Natsumi’s ambiguous conduct.

Tachibana Takayuki’s foolish decision.

The negligence of the head of the Hiiragi family and his wife.

 

『Unless it is unreasonable, I’m not picky about work. 』

 

That’s why, this time, he tried to turn it down, but Chiharu countered him.

 

Not only that, he was ordered to do it.

 

It most likely had something to do with the little girl – that newly-adopted sister of his – which had been said to be the apple of his eye and had yet to be revealed to the public. Convincing himself, Sakuya decided to accept this unpleasant work.

 

「This is Tachibana Takayuki, the client.」

「And this is the dispatched SS (Secret Service) by KSS – Kiryuu. 」

「You are the best?… Humph, I don’t remember sending a request to a host club.」

 

Can I drop this already? By this stage, Sakuya’s motivation gauge was hitting rock bottom.

 

A person judging a book by its cover was nothing more than a fool – that was both Chiharu and Sakuya’s mutual creed.

 

Born to a half-British father and a half-German mother, and inheriting recessive genes from both sides​, Sakuya was a rare kind of Japanese with blond hair and blue eyes.

 

With white skin and features slightly resembling that of a Westerner, he looked like the ideal prince when he was silent but once he opened his mouth – he was cruel and ruthless.

 

Deceived by his looks, the women who approached him were instantly rejected and he also completely ignored the jealous men.

 

Because of his unchanging attitude even at work, the jobs that were primarily assigned to him were escort jobs that required absolute secrecy which could not be publicly disclosed or classified.

 

Occasions like this one which required him to step out of the shadows to serve in his capacity as a bodyguard, were a really rare sight. Therefore, finding it suspicious, Chiharu ordered Sakuya to investigate it.

 

Taking some time to thoroughly inspect him from head to toe, as if getting bored with Sakuya’s lack of reaction, Takayuki reluctantly nodded, 「 Humph, well better than nothing, I guess 」as he straightened himself.

 

「The person I want you to escort is my fiancée, Hiiragi Natsumi. For now, the engagement is still in the interim as the date of the formal engagement is in one month’s time. Once the announcement ceremony is over, as one of the [Tachibana] family members, whatever happens, we will be able to protect her and deal with it. So until then, I would like you, as her bodyguard, to prevent her from harm. To be specific, it is when she is outside, and traveling to and from  school. On school grounds, there are my underclassmen and I have arranged to constantly receive reports from them if Natsumi is a target of bullying or harassment. In the Hiiragi estate, security is flawless, so it is unnecessary to follow her around in her home. However, as there is a need for you to react immediately when the situation arises, I must ask you, for the duration of your job, to stay at the business hotel near the Hiiragi estate. One more thing…」

 

Takayuki took a breath before tapping lightly on the photo of his fiancée (in name) on his desk.

 

「 This. Is. Your. Job. Do not forget that.」

「 Natsumi, have I kept you waiting? 」

「Takayuki-san! 」

 

When Takayuki went into Tachibana’s living room, a young girl in her school uniform happily leapt up and rushed towards him.

While petting her head, with a kind voice, Takayuki questioned her about her new class and if anything was bothering her.

 

「Um, well…yeah. Nothing much, I guess? But you know, my family name has changed so I’ve been getting questions like if I got married or something. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable. And if I want to explain it, I’ll have to mention her as well.」

「Is that so? Then go ahead and reveal my name. Tachibana is a fairly known family name after all. If you expose our engagement as the reason for your adoption into Hiiragi, then you won’t have to mention that girl, right? 」

「Ah, that’s right. But if I do so, the girls that have a crush on you will bear a grudge against me…I don’t want that.」

「It’s alright. I have instructed the guys from the student council​ to watch over you. If something bothers you, go to the student council’s room and ask for their assistance. They will surely be able to do something about it.」

「Ok. Thank you very much, Takayuki-san.」

 

What a farce. Sakuya maintained a blank look, hiding his disgust.

 

Although it was not the most prestigious, the school Takayuki attended was still fairly famous.

 

As the president of the student council there, this young man surely wasn’t an『ordinary fool』.

 

Same goes for the other members of the student council as well.

 

And yet, each and every one of them became a captive to this girl named 『Amou Natsumi 』the moment she entered the school. Looking after her well-being, wagging their tails and serving her close by, they took her word as law.

 

If she demanded to go out and play, they would reserve a theme park with their pocket money.

 

If she persuaded them to work properly, they would call her to the student council room to stay close by while they did their job.

 

If she pleaded for help with her studies, even at the cost of cutting their own time for hers, they would keep her company until she grasped it.

 

In the end, until their term of office​ ended, they finished the bare minimum of work expected to be done without a drastic drop in their grades. They would graduate while still retaining『to a certain extent』their evaluation as student council members.

 

But, being continuously played by a single female student, their reputation among the other students was not very high. Afterall, it was only because of her pretty well-ordered features that her firmly rooted fans zealously kept obeying her orders.

 

Above all, the others’ opinion of the puppeteer Hiiragi Natsumi former known as Amou Natsumi was cleanly divided in two.

 

One side loathed her, and the other accepted that cuteness was justice.

 

Certainly, looking at her appearance, Natsumi was cute.

 

She was by no means a beauty, but her mannerism or the tone of her voice, from her hairstyle to her fashion sense, or whatnot were all done as if to arouse the desire in men to protect her.

 

To be that calculative was no small feat. Just as Sakuya was reevaluating her…

 

「Say, Takayuki-san… that person is?」

 

Natsumi noticed Sakuya who was quietly standing at the rear.

 

Sakuya didn’t miss the moment her eyes narrowed happily for an instant as if she had finally found him. She gazed at him, peeking over Takayuki’s shoulder.

 

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TL Note:

1. The Security Police is the Japanese close protection unit mandated with the responsibility of protecting domestic and foreign VIPs on Japanese soil and abroad.