[centre][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/400350117485608964/862829377099661322/maihead.png[/img]
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/400350117485608964/862829259486527498/maitext.png[/img][/centre][hr]Mai wasn't to know what Ishida thought last night, but if she had, she would have laughed up a lung. She would have taken ditching school to go meet with a bunch of other thugs over LARPing a gumshoe any day of the week. Lucky for her, she didn't know what she was missing out on: the task ahead of her had already put her in a foul mood, and knowing the fun the others would be having without her would have only made it worse.

Her mood was only compounded by her tremendously poor showing in front of the gang. She was so angry that when she sat down for breakfast the next morning, her parents had to ask her if she was okay, and she couldn't tell them yes with a straight face. What was she supposed to tell them? "Yeah, I'm fine, I just tried to join a street gang, and they all hold me in utter contempt, thank you very much, Dad"? That would have spiced up the breakfast table. It also would have resulted in her getting grounded until college, so instead, she fobbed them off with some  muttering about school and fled before her mom could try to bust out the "girl talk". Poor woman. Mai knew she meant well, but she had the social intelligence of a spoon.

The first debate of the day was whether she should get Yonaka involved immediately, or whether she should try to get some information on her own first. Going on her own definitely appealed to her more. It would prove that she had something of value to contribute to the gang, and that she didn't need to hide behind Yonaka's skirt the entire time. On the other hand, if she couldn't get anything useful out of her classmates and she had to come crawling to Yonaka for help, that would just make her look pathetic. On the other hand, starting with Yonaka at her side definitely offered more security, but also didn't offer as much in terms of glory.  She considered it as she walked to school, but try as she might, she just could not decide. There was too much uncertainty. 

Then again, it all depended on who she was questioning. There were some people who she could crack herself no problem. There were others who would be impossible for her alone to take on. Whether or not she would ask for Yonaka's help depended entirely on whether or not she would need it in the first place.

So who were her targets? Who recently had been assaulted? Out of everyone in her year, there were two names that came to mind - Fujiwara Mitsu and Kishi Kenzo. If two more thouroughly unlikeable people existed, Mai was taking that as proof in the lack of a benevolent god. It was no surprise that someone out there wanted to strike fear into those two, and it was her task to cut through the laundry list of the enemies they had made and find out who exactly was the one that pulled the trigger.

Mitsu would be easy. She had her own plan to deal with her later today. It was Kenzo who was the real problem. He and Mai had history. Nothing serious; a spat, really, but she hadn't exactly won her way into his best friends' club. He thought she was as delinquent in the making, she thought he was a snot-nosed goody-two-shoes kiss-up who spent more time talking to the teachers than he did other students. [i]A match made in heaven[/i], she thought bitterly. Part of her just wanted to ignore him and leave him to the wrath of the student council he was so infatuated with, but as hilariously ironic as that would be, she wasn't doing this for herself. She was doing this for the gang, and the gang expected results. Besides, any joy she got from leaving him to his fate would be nothing compared to watching that little toad squirm when he found out it was Mai who brought his attacker to justice.

That got her thinking. Why should she hog all the fun to herself? She'd been going about this all wrong. She'd been thinking too much about what the gang thought that she had forgotten to have fun with this, and isn't everything more fun with friends? How could she even think of excluding Yonaka when she was undoubtedly about to do Yonaka's favourite activity: putting the screws to some hapless boy until he confessed something he really didn't want to admit? She had been handed a golden opportunity here. Best not squander it. 

Once she realised that, it was like the clouds parted to reveal a beautiful sunshine. As she came to the school gates, she decided she was going to look for Yonaka. They had work to do.