Chapter 7: Quiet Conclusion

Chapter 7: Quiet Conclusion

Chapter 7:

Quiet Conclusion

T ODAY WAS THE THIRD and last full day we’d be spending time with the other grade levels, since we were scheduled to board the buses back to school before noon tomorrow. Social Group was in full swing, but before the battle with Nagumo’s group, my early morning was to be spent with Ibuki and Horikita firmly in my sights.

“You’re going to do this blindfolded today,” declared Ibuki.

“Wow, making demands immediately upon arrival. And it’s an outrageous demand, at that,” I replied.

“’Cause I can’t get rid of this irritation unless I kick you flying at least once,” snapped Ibuki.

Obviously, this absurd proposal of hers was unacceptable. Even if they were inexperienced in martial arts, it wouldn’t matter—having to fight against Horikita and Ibuki blindfolded would mean being forced into a hard fight. And that’s saying nothing of the fact that, since I was endeavoring to focus on a nonaggressive defensive policy, the only thing I’d be doing was taking on risk.

“Having him be blindfolded won’t be conducive to our training, so I’m rejecting that idea,” said Horikita.

“Well said, Horikita,” I replied.

“If we’re going to make that request, let’s do it after our training.”

“No, Horikita,” I cut in.

Not even a single second had passed before I had to correct Horikita.

“I completely understand your mounting frustration with Ayanokouji-kun,” Horikita said. “But first, our top priority should be defeating our immediate opponent Amasawa-san. Right?”

“…Yeah, I guess,” replied Ibuki.

Huh, Ibuki seemed quite resolute in helping Horikita in this matter… That seemed consistent with Ibuki’s character. At any rate, they both seemed plenty fired up to successfully get their revenge on Amasawa, no matter what it took.

“Okay then, let’s get right to—”

Just as I was about to call out to them, Ibuki stopped me.

“Bathroom.”

“You didn’t take care of your business already?” asked Horikita.

“I thought I was fine. But it’s just, when it gets cold, it’s, you know. Anyway, just wait a sec,” said Ibuki.

“Oh, for the love of…” huffed Horikita.

Although Horikita was exasperated, it would’ve been cruel for her to tell Ibuki to hold it in. It wasn’t likely, but it would be bad if moving around actively caused an accident. While watching Ibuki head back inside to the bathroom, Horikita called out to me.

“I’ve come to realize something today,” said Horikita.

“Realize something?” I repeated.

“The reason why your absolute requirement was that we have our revenge on Amasawa-san on the morning of the fourth day. Increasing the number of training sessions is a very believable reason, sure. However, if more sessions were all you wanted, you could have seen us secretly at other times of the day, making sure we weren’t seen by others. I think that the main reason you wanted us to do it on the last day was to mitigate the risk of injury. It would be a disservice to the people who are taking this Social Group event seriously if we got hurt in a selfish fight while the event was still taking place, after all,” said Horikita.

While Ibuki’s group lost its hope of getting a top spot by the second day, Horikita’s group was still a contender for first place. It sounded like she was able to suss out my perspective on the matter, as someone on the side of those in the running.

“If you’re that good,” Horikita said, “I’m sure you’ll have no trouble handling yourself while making sure that I don’t get hurt.”

“Okay, even if that’s true, what about the chance I might get hurt?” I asked.

“…Is there any?” she asked.

“None,” I replied.

Horikita looked a little annoyed at my quick answer.

“You should take care,” she said, “because if a normal person said something like that, it would most definitely invite frowns of disapproval and disdain. I guess we really will just have to blindfold you later then, after all, hm?”

“I would rather you not. It’s just that I didn’t think it was necessary for me to be modest with you, Horikita. I wouldn’t have said that if I were talking to someone else.”

“Am I supposed to be happy about that?”

“Be happy—you’re getting special treatment.”

“That is not special treatment to be happy about.”

Actually, I’d been having more casual conversations with Horikita lately about nothing at all. I’m sure that, out there in the world, in the past and in the future, there were others who were having exchanges similar to ours, getting angry and laughing at each other.

“On a totally unrelated topic, who comes to mind as a student who the people around them think lacks in presence?” I asked.

When I asked that question, Horikita thought for a moment, and then gave her answer.

“Ayanokouji-kun.”

“…Me?”

“When we started school, at least. You were the one who didn’t stand out at all in class.”

“I see. That’s true.”

Out of the forty students that were in our class when we started, I was probably overwhelmingly counted from the bottom of the list.

“That doesn’t apply to me now, though,” I said. “I’ve gained more presence recently.”

Compared to how things were at the start, it was fair to say that even I had changed quite a lot. But more than anything else, it was the environment around me that had changed even more.

“I wonder how exactly it’s decided whether people have greater or lesser presence,” I thought aloud.

“Hmm. I have to wonder,” said Horikita. “I think that if someone wants to disappear or they don’t want to stand out, then they would naturally become less and less visible. They probably wouldn’t speak much, either.”

All of that was consistent with Yamamura. Each factor might not have been a big deal on its own, but when combined, they had a substantial impact.

“Why do you ask?” said Horikita.

“Oh, no reason,” I replied, “I just was wondering,”

“Is that so? Oh, that reminds me, about that matter that you asked for my assistance in…”

When Horikita approached me asking for special training, I had asked her to do something for me, and now she was reporting the results of that request.

“…Well, that’s about all I had noticed, but…is that somehow useful to you?” asked Horikita.

“Yeah, that’s plenty useful,” I said. “Thanks for looking into it. With that, you can consider the favor I’ve asked of you as done.”

Horikita had done what I asked of her dutifully from start to finish, seemingly without understanding what it meant, but didn’t press me for an explanation.

“Anyway,” I remarked, “Ibuki sure is taking his time.”

“Yes, you’re right. What in the world is she doing?” said Horikita.

I couldn’t imagine that it would take her this much time just to go to the lobby bathroom and come back.

“You don’t think she went back to her room and went to sleep, do you?” I asked.

“I don’t want to think so, obviously, but… Well, knowing Ibuki-san, I can’t say for sure.”

“What about calling her?”

“I left my phone in the room. I thought it would get in the way.”

“I see. In that case, while I feel bad for you, Horikita, if Ibuki doesn’t come back, then we’ll have to cancel today.”

“It is what it is, I suppose. Fighting together with Ibuki-san is one of the conditions of our deal, after all.”

If they went into this fight with just yesterday’s single training session under their belt, it would be an exercise in futility, like pouring water on a hot stone. The best course of action might’ve been to ask to postpone, in the hopes that there would be another opportunity to attend some group training or joint activity in a place with lax supervision, like we had on the uninhabited island.

As Horikita and I were staring toward the building, waiting for Ibuki to arrive, that’s when it happened.

“You’re wide open!!”

I heard a voice from behind and felt a presence rapidly coming toward me. When I moved to avoid it, I saw Ibuki’s leg stretched out, her foot reaching the position where I had just been standing moments before—which meant that Ibuki had been planning to kick me without hesitation, as part of a surprise attack.

“God damm it! I missed! And after I went through all the hassle of goin’ the long way around when I came back!” shouted Ibuki.

“It’s okay to be frustrated, but don’t shout while you’re attacking. You’re doing the same thing Ishizaki does,” I replied.

“Wha…?! Okay, I really don’t like to hear that…! And I only shouted on instinct, though!” protested Ibuki.

Saying, “Oh well, if it’s instinctual shouting, then there’s nothing you can do about it,” would not be a good idea. It would be one thing if you knew you could defeat your opponent, but if you were fighting an opponent that you had low odds of beating, you’d just be putting yourself at a disadvantage.

“Ishizaki-kun? You’ve fought with Ishizaki-kun, too?” asked Horikita.

“I just happened to witness him in a fight, is all. I wasn’t involved,” I replied.

I had thought I could’ve talked my way out of it by throwing out a fitting excuse like that, but apparently, I was wrong.

“You fought against Ryuuen-kun on the roof before though, didn’t you? It happened back then, right?” said Horikita.

I looked at Ibuki. The look of frustration that belonged on her face immediately turned into a wicked smile.

“Hmph. Look, I don’t ever remember you telling me that I couldn’t tell anybody else. And even if you did, I’m free to talk about it,” huffed Ibuki.

“It’s fine,” I replied, “I was just thinking that a lot of things make sense now.”

That was likely also part of the reason they had asked me for help with getting their revenge on Amasawa in the first place.

“I pretended not to know anything about it while in front of others, just in case, but I suppose this might actually be a good opportunity to ask you. Do you admit it? That you did indeed have a fight with Ryuuen-kun and his followers?” asked Horikita.

“I can’t not admit it under the circumstances, can I?” I replied.

“True. Well, on my part, it feels like I’ve finally reached a satisfying conclusion, as it were. Like I got an official answer. It wasn’t that I had any doubts about Ibuki-san’s story, but I certainly wouldn’t have been surprised if some exaggerations or errors got mixed in there,” explained Horikita.

“The hell?” huffed Ibuki as she cocked her head, kicking some dirt up toward Horikita’s leg.

“Don’t act so childish.” Rebuking Ibuki like she was a teacher, Horikita continued as though she had been waiting for the opportunity. “Is there anything else that you’ve been keeping secret from me? Like, for example, anyone else you’ve fought with?”

“Nope,” I replied.

“Really?” she said, seemingly unconvinced. “There are still a few things I have doubts about, though. Like the matter of Yagami-kun, for instance.”

“Yagami? Why are you bringing up Yagami right now? I don’t get violent with my juniors. I know that there was that whole deal with Housen, but I’d like it if we could agree that one doesn’t count,” I argued.

“Yagami? Who the heck is that? Was there a kid with that name?” Ibuki thought aloud.

“…Forget it. We don’t have much time left, so I’d like to request that we start training,” said Horikita.

Not wanting to waste time explaining everything, Horikita suspended the conversation, and they both spread themselves out to get some distance from me.

“Basically, the rules are the same as yesterday. The important thing is not so much how I move, but that the two of you understand your own movements,” I explained.

If you’ve repeatedly had matches over and over in the past with the same person, your opponent’s moves and patterns would be imprinted on your mind, whether you liked it or not. Their ability to coordinate as a team, something that was born and honed here, would undoubtedly be much better than in their previous match against Amasawa.

7.1

A FTER MORNING TRAINING was over, the two of them were out of breath for a while, but obviously I couldn’t just let them sit here forever.

“It’s getting pretty bright out. Don’t you think you should be heading back now?” I spoke.

“You’re sounding awfully fine when you say that. What is the deal with your body, that you’re not exhausted at all after moving around so much?” asked Horikita.

“You’re a cyborg, aren’t you?” posited Ibuki.

“Of course I’m tired,” I replied, “I just don’t show it on my face, is all.”

“You’re not very persuasive, saying something like that when your shoulders aren’t even heaving up and down as you breathe.” Despite her grumbling, Horikita stood up, dusting sand off her clothes. “But it is true that we should be heading on back right about now.”

When she heard that, Ibuki jumped to her feet obstinately, like she wasn’t going to lose to Horikita. Even outside of actual fights, they had a competitive spirit.

“Oh, that reminds me. What are you planning to do today, Ibuki-san?” asked Horikita.

“What am I gonna do?” Ibuki repeated.

“The Social Group games. Is your group planning to fight all the way until the end?” asked Horikita.

She was asking because Ibuki’s group was already in a hopeless situation, with two wins and ten losses.

“Oh, that? Dunno, don’t care. I haven’t even participated once, anyway,” said Ibuki.

“Then I suppose that means your stamp card is completely blank,” said Horikita.

Ibuki huffed, sniffed, and then crossed her arms. It probably wasn’t that she didn’t want the rewards, but rather that she’d rather choose to skip doing tedious work for the lower rewards bracket of only about 1,000 points or so.

“I’m free, I guess. So I might as well tag along with you, Horikita.”

“…Why would you do that?”

“’Cause I might be able to see you lose in something at Social Group.”

Ibuki’s driving force was certainly clear. Or, rather, how should I put it? It was like she really didn’t waver in it. I suppose it applied to Kushida too, but I wondered if she wanted to see Horikita lose that badly.

“Huh? So you’re seriously planning to trail me?” asked Horikita.

“Of course,” said Ibuki.

“What about if your group’s third-year asked you to participate, even if a loss is inevitable? Will you comply?” asked Horikita.

“Nope, I won’t. I’ll just get someone else to do it,” said Ibuki.

Knowing Ibuki, it wouldn’t be surprising if she foisted the role upon some first-year student. Every group had their own situation to deal with, and Horikita didn’t have any right to rebuke Ibuki for her approach.

“For heaven’s sake… Fine, you can do whatever you want, but in that case, why don’t you follow Ayanokouji-kun? You might even get the chance to see him lose,” said Horikita.

“I already lost twice yesterday,” I replied.

Although that information had certainly already been shared with the people in Nagumo’s group.

“Come to think of it, Nagumo-senpai was extremely happy. I heard something like you lost at cards, even though you were performing flawlessly? Or that your defeat came after a winning streak, like your hot streak ended all too soon? You lost in some game after that too, then?” asked Horikita.

From the sound of it, Horikita didn’t know too much about my situation. Perhaps Nagumo wasn’t sharing my personal results with his entire group, but only with a select few students?

“I was completely and thoroughly beaten to the ground by Inokashira’s patchwork,” I replied.

“Well, that’s something you don’t normally see. Wow,” said Horikita. “Personally, I would have loved to have seen you lose, no matter what the game was.”

“Guess that means you’re no different from Ibuki,” I countered.

Horikita looked a little put off by my comeback, but eventually, she chuckled and nodded. In other words, it just meant that they both wanted to see the person they didn’t like lose.

“Even though he lost, Ayanokouji doesn’t seem too bitter about it, does he? I bet he probably lost on purpose, anyway,” said Ibuki.

“Actually, I don’t know if he did it on purpose or not, but he does get frustrated too, surprisingly enough. At the very least, from the looks of it, I think he was serious when he lost these two times. Right? Red Panda-kun?” said Horikita.

“Are you seriously bringing that up again…?” I sighed.

To be honest, I would really like it if she wouldn’t selfishly give me a nickname like that.

“Anyway, I think I’ll be sticking with you, Horikita. Besides, I kinda want to see how Amasawa is doing too,” said Ibuki.

“I see. That might not be a bad idea. If her attention is focused on you, she might feel a little pressure about tomorrow, even if it’s only a little bit,” said Horikita, seemingly concluding that she would also benefit if Ibuki accompanied her after all.

“If you’re going back, can we just hurry up and go already? It’s getting cold,” snapped Ibuki. It was natural she would get cold while staying still after having been warmed up by exercise.

“Just don’t get in my way the entire time,” snapped Horikita.

“I can’t make any promises,” replied Ibuki.

I couldn’t help but feel like Ibuki’s entire plan was to get in Horikita’s way.

7.2

I N JUST ABOUT fifteen minutes, our opponent for the first Social Group event of the third day was going to be announced. The game would be Shogi. Five participants from our group were chosen by Kiryuuin: myself, Morishita, Hashimoto, Hiyori, and Tsubaki. However, we were still missing one of our teammates when it was time to meet up.

“Morishita’s turn is comin’ up. Where the heck is she…?” wondered Hashimoto.

“She’s not picking up, either,” said Hiyori, holding her phone to her ear.

“When was the last time you saw Morishita?” asked Hashimoto.

“At breakfast. She was with you when you left, wasn’t she, Ayanokouji-kun?” said Hiyori.

Morishita and I had finished eating at the same time, so yeah, I definitely remembered leaving the cafeteria at the same time as she did. She did say something about going for a walk more than thirty minutes ago, though. Could it be that she was still out on her walk? Or was there a chance that she had gotten lost? On a normal day, there was no way you could get lost, but it would be a different story if you carelessly trekked onto a mountain path. Considering Morishita’s personality, could we state with certainty that she wasn’t doing just that?

“Seriously,” Hashimoto sighed, “she even talked about how she’s so confident in her shogi skills and stuff…”

“She said that she trained through online matches or something,” said Kiryuuin.

“Honestly, that sounds pretty fishy too…” replied Hashimoto.

Kiryuuin had probably picked her because she trusted Morishita’s claims and confidence. I’m sure that on her part, Morishita had also wanted to restore faith in her name after what happened in the archery event.

“Without Morishita here, we’ll have to put in a substitute. But we still have a little time to spare before the game starts, so I’m going to take a look around outside. Hashimoto, can I ask you to handle searching inside the building?” I asked.

“Sure,” Hashimoto said, “I’ll contact you if I find her.”

With that, we set out to find Morishita, in high spirits. Not even a half a minute later, the search was over. I had succeeded in finding Morishita in almost no time at all, which was a bit anticlimactic. She didn’t seem to be lost, so I sent Hashimoto a message letting him know that I’d found her, before calling out to and approaching her.

“It’s almost time for Social Group,” I announced to her.

But Morishita didn’t say anything in return, and just quietly laid her hand on the tree. Since there was no way that she was sleeping standing up, I wondered what she was doing.

“Morishita?” I asked.

“Can you please be a little quieter? Just now, I was…listening to the voice of the forest,” murmured Morishita, quietly.

“…Huh?” My brain couldn’t process her statement, and I couldn’t help but ask her a question in return. “What is the voice of the forest?”

“Do you not understand? The forest is alive,” said Morishita.

What could I say to that?

“Place your hand upon a large tree, like this, close your eyes, and then calm your mind and listen. If you do that, then you may understand what I am saying,” added Morishita.