Oshi no Ko: The Maestro

Chapter 16: The Phone of Secrets

In the quiet science classroom, Hiroshi sat alone at one of the lab tables, his school bag tossed carelessly beside him. The faint sounds of distant chatter and the occasional door closing echoed through the empty halls as the after-school bustle gradually faded away.

His inquisitive eyes were locked onto the object before him, Sekito's smartphone. With his textbooks pushed aside, he focused all his attention on the device, his fingers lightly tapping and swiping across the screen as he explored its features.

Hiroshi's heart pounded with anticipation as he scrolled through Sekito's smartphone, hoping to find some incriminating evidence or suspicious conversations that would give him an advantage over his nemesis. But to his surprise and disappointment, there was nothing of the sort. Sekito seemed to have been exceptionally cautious and had preemptively deleted any potentially harmful content.

"No conversations with suspicious persons, no compromising photos... He really covered his tracks," Hiroshi muttered to himself, a mix of frustration and admiration evident in his tone.

As Hiroshi continued to delve deeper into the phone's contents, he couldn't help but feel a sense of begrudging respect for Sekito's foresight. It seemed that his rival had anticipated the possibility of someone trying to gain access to his phone and had taken precautions to keep it clean.

"Predicted that someone could take his phone... That's smart, I'll give him that."

Hiroshi was using a pair of thin, black gloves, ensuring that not even a single fingerprint would smudge the surface of Sekito's smartphone. With his cautious approach, he continued his exploration, navigating through the settings meticulously.

As he delved deeper into the phone's system, Hiroshi stumbled upon a section that displayed touchscreen frequency and usage statistics. Intrigued, he tapped on it and was presented with a wealth of information. The data revealed how often and where Sekito tapped and swiped on his phone, giving Hiroshi insights into his daily habits and usage patterns.

Hiroshi's eyes scanned the touchscreen frequency and usage statistics, analyzing the patterns of Sekito's taps and swipes. He noticed that the keyboard showed the most significant activity, indicating that Sekito likely spent a considerable amount of time texting or typing on his smartphone.

With a spark of determination, Hiroshi decided to dig deeper into this keyboard data. He tapped on the specific section displaying the keyboard usage and observed the distribution of taps across the keys. The most frequently tapped keys were likely to correspond to the most frequently used letters or characters.

Carefully, he jotted down the letters and characters that stood out, noting the number of times each one appeared in Sekito's usage data lately. Hiroshi's pen moved swiftly on the notebook as he transcribed the information.

Hiroshi meticulously gathered the letters and characters that stood out from the keyboard usage data. With a keen eye, he noted down the frequency of each letter's appearance, aiming to decipher any potential patterns or clues hidden within Sekito's usage habits.

Once he had recorded the relevant information, Hiroshi's attention shifted back to the smartphone's screen. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small magnifying glass, slipping it onto his finger. Carefully, he scanned the screen, moving the magnifying glass methodically to examine every inch of its surface.

Hiroshi hoped to find any subtle traces of fingerprints or smudges that could indicate the most recent touches made on the screen. The presence of fresh residue or marks would help him determine the order in which the letters and characters were tapped.

On the other side, Frill Shiranui was making her way down the quiet hallway after finishing her classes. Her long, dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, partially obscuring her face as she moved with a graceful, almost ethereal presence. Her sharp, observant yellow-green eyes caught a glimpse of Hiroshi through the slightly ajar door of the science classroom.