Chapter 19: Sister-Exchange Event, Day 2

I lay the sack of potatoes on the bed next to Ijichi. His chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm. His face twitches involuntarily every few seconds and his blond hair drapes over his flushed cheeks. I give him at least twelve hours before waking up.

"How are you holding up Ijichi?" The pounding in my temples makes me dizzy upon standing.

"Oh, umm, my leg will be in a cast for a few months." Ijichi's face turns light pink while he bows his head toward me.

My mind and body feel out of synch! I am physically present in the infirmary but, my brain feels fuzzy. It is as if a fog is clouding my frontal lobe. Suddenly, the corners of my lips point towards the ground, the room starts spinning, and I hear a crash sound.

A bright light flashes into my orbs while a pair of cold fingers touch my forehead. I blink three times before tears stream down my face. I curl up into the fetal position, thrashing my arms left and right. Suddenly, my body floats as a pair of strong hands force my arms into my sides.

6:00 pm of Day 1- Eighteen Hours Before Team Event Begins

My mouth feels like I have eaten a bag of cotton and chased it down with rubbing alcohol. The darkness makes my heart rate spike and my stomach drop. I arch my back like a cat when noises hit my ears.

"Who is there?! What do you want?!!"

It is hard to sit still when it feels like the walls are closing in. I jump in place as my feet contact the cold floor.

Get a hold of yourself, Blaise! Passing out after a battle, you should feel proud. Proud of making an arse of yourself. Proud of putting yourself into a hospital and...my breath catches in my chest.

Stop! Show yourself some kindness. You would not talk this way to someone you care about.

7:00 pm- Dining Hall at Kyoto Technical College

"Any sign of her, Nanami?"

"Gojo, I said I would inform you when she shows up."

"Pft, you can never be too careful."

I sense out Nanami and Gojo before walking into the dining hall. Geto and Haibara are not with them. Most of the Kyoto participants are present, making the bags under my eyes grow. Before walking inside, I stretch my neck to the left and then to the right.

"We are glad you made it in time for dinner," Nanami gets up and offers me his seat.

"Thank you, Nanami. I will sit on your left-hand side." I reach for the pitcher while making eye contact with Satoru. "And good evening, Six-Eyes."

"Stop calling me Six-Eyes, kid. It isn't nice to pick on your upperclassmen, don't you know?"

The look on Nanami's face can raise the dead. Haibara and Geto slide into the table without disrupting my gaze.

"And how may we help you?"

I turn around, coming face-to-face with the same woman who asked about the individual battles. Her eyes dart from person to person and land on the floor. She starts talking without breaking eye contact with the wood floorboards.

"Do you mind if we talk in private?"

I cock my head to the left. She balls her left hand into a fist, repeating herself.

"Do you mind if we talk outside?"

I purse my lips, close my eyes, and inhale before excusing myself. Her aura is light-blue with a few pink spikes. When Naoya wakes up, I am going to beat him to a bloody pulp!

"I don't want to participate in tomorrow's team event."

"Gakuganji is the person you should talk with, not me." I wince at my own bluntness.

"You took out one of our teammates, and..."

"Ducking out of tomorrow's event is not why you reached out to me." I take in the woman's scent and breathe a sigh of relief. The smallest grin forms on my face while we walk and talk.

5:00 am- Seven Hours Before Team Event Begins

Pressure builds up in my lower abdominal region and the sound of the ocean does not help. The blue sky disappears, and darkness comes into view. Odd, my mattress feels like a cloud and not a brick. The oversized cotton t-shirt on the ground smells of Old Spice, fresh linen, and body odor. Time to relieve this pressure. Raising myself from the bed, slipping into house slippers, and five steps later, the porcelain throne comes into view.

I turn my gaze to the watch on my right wrist and notice it is 5:45 am: time to get ready for school. A cold splash of water on the face draws my attention to the five-o-clock-shadow. grow this much? Batting my brown eyes open, I see a face of freckles, fire-colored hair, and a bare-chested individual looking at me with a star-dazed look.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

I grab the sides of the vanity, blinking my eyes seven times. After grunting to myself, I waltz back into Simon's room...pausing in place when I see his desk.

The first frame is Simon and me on picture day when we first met: his left arm is draped over my shoulders, and my right arm is draped over his shoulders. Both of us are grinning ear-to-ear. The second frame makes my jaw drop and my eyes bulge.

"There you are dear…oh. It is dress uniform day?"

"I can change when I get to school."

Simon's mother looks at me like I have three heads. I shrug my shoulders and walk over to the table set for three. My mouth salivates, my eyes grow larger than the sun, and my stomach sounds like a symphony.

Simon's parents look at each other, then they look at me.

"When do you plan on bringing Lithuila over for dinner?"

The fork jumps from my hand as Simon's father talks.

6:30 am- Kyoto Campus

It feels like my body has been hit by a bus! Every time I move on this hard mattress, my body tenses up!

Odd, I don't recall getting this tanned during the winter, and where are the rest of my clothes? Why is there a tattoo on my wrist...

"Blaise, are you in there?"

Blaise? Since when does Lithuila go by the name Blaise? Better yet,

"Why am I here?"

Oh god! It's the cute guy with pierced ears and he is looking right at me.

"I don't know how to answer your question," Suguru rubs his eyes and turns his back away from the door. "we are partnering up during the team event per Satoru's instructions."

My right-hand lands on my hip, forcing me to put my weight on my left side. I shut the door, squealing inside my head while dressing.

"Spill your guts kid." Satoru's arms are folded across his chest. He stares into my face, unblinking.

"Spill my guts?" Simon tugs at his dress straps, making a pouty face at Satoru's words.

"Seriously? I have called you kid several times today, and you have not chewed my head off!"

Simon's eyes stare at the ground while his right thumb kneads the back of his left hand. The slightest tint of pink covers his face. Gojo continues his rant.

"And you sound like a forty-year-old woman!"

Suguru glares at Satoru and tries placing a hand on my shoulders. Simon turns on his heels, dodging Suguru's hand. No amount of ice water can calm the inferno resting in his chest.

"You call that taking someone's feelings into consideration, Satoru?"

"Don't lecture me, Suguru! She handles criticism like a pro." Satoru's brow relaxes.

Meanwhile:

"Simon, will you please look at me when I am talking with you."

Jerking my head out of the locker, I stare into the eyes of Rimo, Kazuo.

My mouth pops open but words catch in my throat. The books jump onto the floor, causing me to duck onto the floor. Our hands gravitate toward each other, creating peace inside my chest. Talk about receiving mixed signals.

"We have study hall. Want to grab a coffee and discuss what happened during Chemistry class?"

All I can do is look at my books and admire the dimples forming on my face.

11:00 am: Kyoto Technical College, an Hour Before Show Time

Deciding it's better to stay on good terms with Gojo, Simon waits outside. Walking around in circles while snapping his fingers offers temporary relief from the butterflies in his stomach.

"There's no need to go off on Gojo." Simon paces back and forth, catching odd stares from people. "We experienced a breakdown in communication resulting in my outburst."

Right on cue, the remaining Tokyo students show up.

11:30 am: A Coffee Shop Near Simon's High School

"Here you go, one black coffee without sugar." My heart flutters as Katzu sits across the table from me. "I also got you a blueberry scone." That smile could stop anyone in their tracks!

Pull yourself together! He is not your partner.

"Katsukei started pestering me to no end during our exam, and I decided to give him the wrong answers to the questions."

"What else happened? He seemed more worked up than usual during the passing period." I sip from the coffee mug while looking past Katzu's shoulder.

"And did you think I would not notice the bruise on your knuckles?"

I cock cocking an eyebrow at Simon's boyfriend. He mirrors my expression.

"It was a retaliation for punching me this morning."

Katzue closes his eyes and starts clapping. If we were back on Abitha's campus, my butt would be in hot water.

"Before transferring schools, I was in a similar boat as you."

I put my coffee cup on the table, turn my head towards my right-hand side, and look Katzue in the eyes. He gets the hint and continues his story.

"There was another student...I don't remember their name, but, they helped me out. Whenever I came to school feeling sorry for myself or cried before class, they listened to me. Eventually, I found a group of students in the same boat as me."

Ah yes! The group of students whom Miss Daikon ignored for years.

"The student who brought us together made herself a target for the bullies. We weren't too surprised when their well-being started to decline. Heck, at one point I saw the student having a yelling match with their principal."

Katzue and I both laugh, whipping away tears from our eyes. "I hope to meet them again someday."

I look at my coffee and close my eyes.

Meanwhile In Kyoto...

Why are there so many rules? Who is the green-eyed person with the snarky look on his face? I am going to pass out from this stomach ache and...here comes Sir Grumpy Pants.

"I am not talking with you for the rest of today."

"What do you think you are doing now, kid?"

Simon folds his arms across his chest, turns his back towards Satoru, and holds his nose towards the sky.

"I just want you to be safe out there in the forest. It is highly dangerous and you have been acting off all day." Satoru scratches the back of his head. "Oh, and you dropped this after your match yesterday."

An exasperated exhale leaves Simon's mouth as he turns around. His eyes bulge at the sight of the silver dagger. The Kyoto and Tokyo teams split up and head to their respective starting positions.

Spectator Gallary of the Exchange Event

"I must say, Naoya healed up fairly nicely."

"Cut it out Gojo. I am not in the mood to fight with you."

"That is a first coming from you. And Cyril, I am glad you could make it today."

"Thank you for the warm welcome, Sir Gojo. And Sir Zenin, it is my pleasure to see you again."

Zenin waves the back of his hand at Cyril.

"I hear things have been especially busy with Jujutsu Technical College since the newest student made her debut?"

"Yes." The Zenin and Gojo head respond over each other.

That is exactly what I wanted to hear. Now, to meet her face-to-face before returning to France. I nearly had the chance of doing so last night in the infirmary. But alas, the little brat ran away.

And Now We Return to the Forest: Warning, there will be mentions of violence & blood

Oh no, someone is following us. And...

Crack. Simon flies headfirst into a tree after a wave of cursed energy catches him off guard.

"Blaise!"

Simon pushes Geto away, receiving another direct hit.

"Just like Naoya stated, you're less intimidating. It should be easy to take you down now that you are separated from that idiot with the ear piercings."

My red-headed, counterpart picks himself up from the river bed, brushes off dust particles, and reorients himself. He comes face-to-face with two Kyoto students: both presumed female.

"That is a rude thing to say about someone! He has a name and so do I."

Searing pain pulsates through his body as if someone replaced his bones with piles of fiery coal. Trying his best to regroup, Simon falls flat on his back. Labored breathing, and unsteady heart rhythms force Simon to rest.

Text Message Response to/from the parents:

Dad: Simon, why the sudden urge to visit Kyoto? It is the middle of the week, you have school tomorrow, and it is a two-hour train ride from Tokyo.

Mom: Honey, our son is responsible enough to make his own decision. Are you going to spend the evening in Kyoto? Do you need anything from your father or me? Are you meeting someone else in Kyoto?

Simon: Dad, I understand where you are coming from in regards to school; I can do my homework on the train. Mom, I was not planning to spend the evening and I am hoping to grab dinner with Lithuila. I also have some pocket change. May I go or not?

Mom: Call us when you arrive at your destination. We love you.

Simon: Thank you and will do that.