Chapter 6: The swordsman

< < | NOZOMI'S POINT OF VIEW | > >

Leaning against the wall in front of the principal's office, I crossed my arms impatiently while Kenzou stood across from me, his eyes fixed on the floor. For the past six minutes, not a word had been exchanged between us. The only sounds were the occasional footsteps of students in the hallway—if they weren't moving as quietly as if their lives depended on it.

I hadn't even noticed that I'd been staring at him the entire time, nor had I realized that I was gripping my arms so tightly that my nails dug into my skin. That's a five-thousand-yen repair tomorrow.

The silence was unbearable; well, my patience was wearing thin anyway.

"Hey," I said out of the blue. He slowly lifted his head to look at me, still silent. Knowing him, it would be best to get straight to the point. "You were behind this, weren't you?"

He let out a sigh before looking away, probably surprised that I had figured it out. "Well, sort of."

Had it not been for the students passing between us, I might've kicked him straight into the other wall. "Sort of?" I asked calmly. Though I couldn't see what kind of face I was making, I was pretty sure it wasn't something anyone would want to look at.

He glanced at me, hesitating. "There were things that went overboard, but my goal was still achieved—"

"Yamada Kenzou." I shifted, pushing myself off the wall as I uncrossed my arms. People knew me for acting on impulse, so I was trying my hardest to stay calm. I took a deep breath before speaking again. "What would you have done if Takahashi didn't choose to protect Shiho?" He looked away again, unable to answer. "I am disappointed in you."

"Narumi wasn't supposed to be there," he muttered. "She overheard that Takahashi was in trouble, so she insisted on coming."

"And you still told Takahashi to release Serizawa?"

"I... thought he wasn't going to hurt her... Because I knew he had feelings for her."

"That doesn't justify the fact that you used Takahashi to get Serizawa expelled."

His eyebrows furrowed. I raised mine. Did he seriously have the nerve to be angry?

"Please keep your voice down, Ueda-senpai," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. He rarely used that honorific with me. "Besides," he added, "I didn't force anything. All I did was make sure Serizawa's ego got trampled by Takahashi's sudden fame."

"Tch..."

After what felt like forever, the principal's door finally creaked open. Serizawa Osamu stepped out, his mother right behind him. They passed us by, but not after Serizawa gave us a look of pure disdain.

Did he finally have the guts to look me in the eye now that this would be the last time he'd see me?

This kid had potential. Masashi had nearly chosen him as our fifth member before he met Kugiwara. But failure after failure piled onto his frustration, pushing him further down the wrong path.

And now, with that final misstep, Serizawa Osamu was expelled from Kiyoto High.

"Are you happy now?" I blurted out, watching Kenzou as he turned to leave.

"I guess so," he replied, his voice devoid of emotion, before walking off like nothing had happened.

I wondered how Masashi would have handled this. He was always the one dealing with these kinds of problems while I stood behind him, watching. Civilized discussions were never really my thing.

Maybe if I had died instead of him, everything would have turned out better.

Before I knew it, my feet had carried me forward. My mind was drowning in thoughts, only snapping back to reality when I found myself standing in front of the infirmary.

"Right. Kenzou didn't even bother."

I knocked a few times before opening the door. The room was quiet, lined with patient beds separated only by dark green curtains. The dim light filtering through the blinds cast long shadows across the walls.

"I'm here to visit Takahashi Haruto."

The school nurse led me to his bed, where I found him fast asleep. Beside him, Shiho-chan sat on the bench, surrounded by a few unfamiliar faces.

"Ah… Ueda-senpai," she greeted softly, noticing me. "I've already healed his wound, but the nurse said he still needs to rest." I glanced at the people sitting beside her. They only looked at me with gloomy expressions. "T-These are his clubmates..."

The guy, who seemed to be a second-year like me, stood up and walked over. "I'm Fujimoto Mitsuki, leader of the Fujimoto Club."

"I'm Koshimizu Reiko," another second-year introduced herself. The first-year girl with them remained silent, not even bothering to stand. She only lowered her head slightly, but I could tell she wanted to say something.. "H-Her name is Murayama Akane…" Koshimizu added hesitantly. "I-If you remember Shinohara Kazuki… He's her childhood friend."

My chest tightened. It suddenly felt like something was lodged in my throat, making it hard to breathe.

"Of course… I remember him," I managed to say, though my voice felt hollow.

Koshimizu glanced toward Takahashi, still sound asleep. "A lot has been happening to our club lately… h-hehe…" Her forced laugh barely masked the tension in her voice.

I clenched my fists tightly. As I thought—I was too incompetent to lead this school… to lead the student body. If Masashi were still here, none of this would be happening.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out.

"N-No! None of this is your fault, Ueda-san!" Koshimizu exclaimed, her voice filled with urgency.

"If anything," Fujimoto added, stepping forward, "I'm the one responsible here. He's my clubmate."

I felt a light tap on my shoulder. "Ueda-senpai…" Shiho-chan looked up at me, sadness clear in her eyes.

We were just kids, after all. Seeing our friends die and carrying on without them was something we never dared to imagine. We used to be invincible together—heroes everyone looked up to and relied on.

"I'm sorry… for *sniff* failing you. I'm no good. *sniff*"

"Eh!? U-Ueda-san!?" Koshimizu and Fujimoto suddenly shouted, startled by my sudden breakdown. Even Murayama, who had been quiet the entire time, flinched in surprise.

"Who made you cry, Ueda-san?"

Takahashi's voice nearly made me jump. I'd never been so thankful to have superhuman speed that I could use to wipe my face clean. What the hell was I thinking!? And why the hell was he waking up now!?

"Takahashi!" Shiho-chan and the others exclaimed in relief, rushing to his bedside.

"What? Have I been out for a year? A decade?"

"We wouldn't be wearing our uniforms after a decade, moron," Murayama remarked, finally deciding to speak.

"It has been roughly forty minutes since you passed out," Shiho-chan informed him. "Don't worry, all your injuries have been healed. You're back in tip-top shape!"

"Thank you, Narumi-san," he replied, his usual poker face intact. Maybe that was just the way he was, but every time I saw him interact with someone, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about him.

"Anyway," he then turned his gaze toward me. "What were you crying about, Ueda-san?"

"Gh!?" I stiffened. Even I didn't know the answer, so how was I supposed to tell him? "Well… uh…"

"She was worried about you, Takahashi-kun," Shiho-chan said with a wide smile.

I whipped my head toward her, eyes wide. What gives!? That was so off! "Excuse me?"

"Was I wrong, Ueda-senpai?" she asked innocently, tilting her head.

I could see the mischief in her expression. What did I do to deserve this? Why was she doing this to me!?

"I mean… I… Well, it's, uh…" Shit! What had gotten into me!? My brain completely shut down—I couldn't even answer a simple question!?

"Thank you for your concern, Ueda-san. You're such a reliable senior that you'd even cry for me," Takahashi said, still expressionless.

I desperately wanted to cover my face in shame, but that would be unbecoming of me. "Y-You… I wasn't crying!!!"

"I'm pretty sure you were."

"Was not!"

Everyone burst into laughter. I just wanted the floor to swallow me whole.

"I didn't know Ueda-san had this side to her," Koshimizu remarked, amused.

"You see, Koshimizu-senpai," Shiho-chan chimed in, grinning, "it's really rare to see her like this, so feast your eyes!"

"Don't treat me like a rare natural phenomenon!" I snapped.

[ END OF CHAPTER ]