Brood Parasite 1

Keito: Hey, are you there? Hello? Helloooo?

Wait, don’t hang up. Just, listen to what I have to say.

(...Shit, he’s gone. Incorrigible little—should I try confronting him directly, then?)

(But based on his personality, he’ll just go run and hide somewhere.)

(I don’t want to go through all the trouble of catching him, especially not with how little time there is before Flower Fest. I guess I can’t afford to get involved in this right now.)

(He does answer my calls, and he hasn’t blocked me yet; he even has a semblance of conversation with me.)

(At any rate, he seems to be willing to get along with me, or at least the student council...)

(So I guess it’s fine for now. I shouldn’t test my luck. It would be irritating if he turned against me.)

(But it would have been easier if he’d just agree to meet with me.)

(Ugh... at this rate, it’ll be difficult for fine to appear in Flower Fest.)

(Himemiya and Fushimi are just starting out, and it doesn’t look like he’s planning to return to fine, despite being part of it originally.)

(Actually, it seems that he’s already joined a new unit...)

(It would be more trouble than it’s worth to persuade him and then go through negotiations and transfer procedures.)

(Hibiki is... well, I don’t know him that well. There’s too many uncertainties, so I’ll discard him as a factor for now.)

(To be safe, I’ve ensured that Akatsuki alone will be able to handle Flower Fest.)

(Even if fine can’t participate, it shouldn’t be an impossible task.)

(I would have liked fine to perform, if possible.)

(But there’s just not enough preparation for it... not enough fighting power, really. And I’m reluctant to force them to perform without it, since it could deal a blow to the unit’s reputation of strength.)

(In any case, that’s not even my unit. If I keep taking care of them like this, it’ll come off as me sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong.)

(Really, I’ve done all that I can at this point.)

(This is my limit; I can’t take on more than this. It would be best if Eichi would just come back to school already...)

(But if I let him get too reckless again, he could actually die this time.)

(There’s still plenty of pressing matters... but at least I’ll look after my own health to make sure I’m not the one overworking myself. Yeah, that’s enough.)

(...There shouldn’t be anything I’ve overlooked, but for some reason, I still feel uneasy.)

(Well, I have been known to be a worrywart. It’ll be fine; I’ll just take care of everything the way I always do. I just have to do every possible thing I can and then await my fate.)