Chapter 10: What Lies Ahead

Chapter 10: What Lies Ahead

Chapter 10:

What Lies Ahead

I T WAS NOW THE DAY AFTER I spoke to Kushida and had the welcome party, and class had finally let out. There was still one remaining problem within the class that I had wanted to take care of as soon as possible, and I was planning to do just that, along with a certain someone. However, unexpectedly, there was someone else who wanted to see me. I received a passionate request to meet right away, so I left my classroom to meet their demands. Students who had finished getting ready to go back to their dorm rooms were beginning to appear one after another as I made my way down the hall.

My timing coincided with that of my former classmates Hondou and Okiya, but they reflexively averted their eyes from me. Their behavior seemed to be a result not just regarding the matter of my transfer, but also my results in this exam. It seemed that their impression of me was starting to change, little by little. Without paying the two of them any mind, I headed to the exit and left the school building. From there, I headed straight for the dormitory.

“Ah.”

Along the way, I saw both Utomiya and Tsubaki walking toward me.

“Hello…” said Utomiya, not even attempting to conceal the fact that he felt like I was a nuisance, and gave me a slight bow.

“I feel like I haven’t seen the two of you together in a long while,” I remarked.

“It’s not like we’re together twenty-four hours a day,” replied Tsubaki matter-of-factly.

I didn’t really have anything to talk to them about, so I tried to brush past them, not bothering to stop.

“There’s some kind of rumor going around. About you transferring classes,” remarked Tsubaki. She didn’t seem to be all that interested, more like she was just making small talk.

“Going down to Class C after finally getting to Class A? That’s not normal,” commented Utomiya.

“Well, I think you mean it’s not normal for a senpai, right?” said Tsubaki.

“Maybe so,” said Utomiya.

If I remembered correctly, the last time I saw Tsubaki was when we ran into each other early in the morning at the training camp. We had a conversation about things like ‘Who do you want to meet after you graduate?’ and the like. In the end, Horikita and Ibuki woke up while we were in the middle of chatting, and we parted ways with the hopes of likely continuing the conversation sometime, but we hadn’t been blessed with the opportunity to talk since then. However, since she didn’t seem to be bringing it up even after running into me like this, I figured it wasn’t that important.

“We have someplace to be, so if you’ll please excuse us…” said Tsubaki.

“Sure,” I replied.

I had a meeting too, so I couldn’t just stand around and chat for a long time myself. We each continued in the direction we were heading and passed by each other. In that moment, Tsubaki stared intently at me with a sideways glance. It seemed like she wanted to say something, and those old memories suddenly welled up.

“Tsubaki Sakurako…huh?” I thought aloud.

A forgotten memory.

An unneeded memory.

But humans were such extraordinarily mysterious creatures. Even if we didn’t plan to hold onto a memory, we could recall it when we least expected.

She must have heard what I said, because Tsubaki stopped and turned around, looking somewhat displeased.

“What is it? It’s scary when someone just calls my full name out of nowhere like that.” she said.

I felt like “scary” might have been an overstatement, but it certainly was understandable to feel weirded out being called by your full name. I didn’t mind it so much now, but the way Morishita always used my full name left me feeling nothing but discomfort at first.

“I was reminiscing about when we talked at the training camp,” I replied.

“Huh? You were thinking back to what we talked about back then? I’m sure it didn’t matter to you at all though, Senpai,” said Tsubaki.

“What did you talk about with him?” asked Utomiya.

“Oh, it’s got nothing to do with you, Utomiya-kun,” Tsubaki said sharply.

Utomiya averted his gaze, looking somewhat uncomfortable after he was shot down.

“I was thinking about how we got interrupted in the middle of our conversation back then,” I replied.

“Well, sure, I suppose we did. Anyway, the conversation wasn’t a big deal for you, Senpai, so it’s not really—”

“Just recently, I suddenly realized that I had someone outside of my family that I’d like to meet,” I said, cutting her off. “That’s probably thanks to my conversation with you at the training camp, Tsubaki. So I wanted to say that I was grateful for that, more or less.”

“Someone…outside of your family? Who?” she asked.

If I gave her a lengthy report, it would only make her uncomfortable. That’s what I thought, but for some reason, she asked me that question anyway.

“I’m not sure how to put it. If I had to use a more appropriate term to describe them, I’d say they’re a…childhood friend,” I replied.

That’s right. Old thoughts started through my mind once again. Children around my age who studied with me in the White Room, most of whose names I had forgotten. One girl was among them.

Her name was Yuki, the word for “snow” in Japanese.

That was her name. I hypothesized that it might have been due to the association of the snow camellia flower, and the fact that she reminded me somewhat of Tsubaki, whose name meant “camellia,” that may have been the coincidental trigger that made me recall those faint memories. No… Was it really all just a coincidence?

“Do you like snow, Senpai?”

Tsubaki had asked me that at the training camp. At the time, I didn’t feel like it was anything out of the ordinary, but something felt different now.

“And…what do you plan to do when you meet them?” she asked.

Tsubaki should have lost interest by now, but she was still pressing me.

“It’s not as if we’re actually going to meet up, though. I just felt like I wanted to see them out of a sense of nostalgia, is all,” I replied.

The distant past and the present. I felt like something would change if we met. But it probably would be better not to. I only felt like things would change. Most likely, the essence would be unchanged. There likely wouldn’t be any new feelings that would awaken. When it came right down to it, whether or not there’s a connection between Tsubaki and that girl was absolutely meaningless.

10.1

I WAS ON MY WAY to meet the certain someone that had called me to the back of the dormitory, near the garbage collection point. Since it hadn’t been very long since class had ended, this place was one of the least populated areas. By the time I had arrived, the person I was meeting was already there waiting for me, blending into the shadows.

“Sorry. Did I make you wait?” I asked.

And sure enough, when I called out to them, they took a step forward from their cover deep in the shadows.

“Excellent. You didn’t run away.”

The person who muttered those words was a student of Class C: Kitou Hayato. From the time I transferred up until this point, I hadn’t had a single conversation with him.

“It’s my duty to respond to my classmates when they want my attention,” I replied.

“You’re already acting like you’re the class leader?” he asked.

“I don’t think I’m incorrect when I say that the class seems to have decided that I can be entrusted with guiding things along, to a certain extent at least. It seems that you don’t feel that way though, Kitou,” I replied.

My relationship with Kitou was by no means good, but I didn’t think it was bad either. Before my transfer, we had the kind of relationship where we had no problems exchanging hellos.

“I do not recognize you as the leader,” said Kitou.

“Well, I expected as much, considering that we hadn’t even exchanged looks at this point, much less talk. Are you not willing to accept anyone other than Sakayanagi?” I asked.

“No…it doesn’t matter to me if it’s Sakayanagi or not,” said Kitou.

“That’s odd. In that case, why’d you follow Sakayanagi so obediently?” I asked.

“If I’m not the one leading the class, it’s necessary for someone to step forward. When I was asked to choose between Katsuragi and Sakayanagi, I simply chose the individual who stood a better chance of winning. That was because I thought they would get me closest to graduating from Class A,” explained Kitou.

As he spoke, I saw the growing irritation in his face.

“But…ultimately, Sakayanagi thought only of her own convenience, right up to the end. Essentially, she didn’t care about Class A, and did whatever she liked as long as she could enjoy herself. Even so, I didn’t mind. As long as she got results…”

For Kitou, who was clumsy with his words, it seemed like he was fine with whoever could guide him to Class A, whether that was Sakayanagi, Katsuragi, or even a third party, and all he had done was place his bets on Sakayanagi, who had a good chance of making that happen. I figured that he was trying to say that there were no feelings of like or dislike in that; he was making a dry judgment based solely on weighing the advantages and disadvantages.

“This is the result of leaving matters to someone else,” he added.

“I’m not in a position to speak for others, but your class was demoted two ranks as a result of Sakayanagi’s selfish actions. You’re that close to the bottom of the ranking. It’s no wonder you’re dissatisfied, I suppose,” I replied.

“You’re just like Sakayanagi. You don’t really care about things like graduating from A,” said Kitou.

“Indeed, it’s true that I’m planning to do whatever I want as well. And I’m sure that’s causing you a lot of stress, Kitou. But at the very least, I’m planning to bring the class up from its current level up to the point where you have a chance to reach A. Won’t that be enough?” I asked.

“I can’t believe you.”

That’s exactly why, this time, I decided to take things a step further myself and get involved, instead of making broad decisions based solely on advantages or disadvantages. I’m sure he was thinking something like that.

“I’m going to test whether you are worthy of my trust in my own way,” said Kitou as he pulled his black leather gloves back and clenched both of his fists tightly. “I already know that you’re strong… So I want you to suppress my dissatisfaction with your strength.”

This meant that what Kitou wanted wasn’t some kind of tactical maneuvering, like what kinds of strategies I could come up with for special exams, nor a breakdown of my opponent’s thinking. No matter what kinds of knowledge I demonstrated, his doubt would remain. He seemed to be saying that if I showed him my raw power, he would swallow his dissatisfaction and follow me.

“That line of thinking is similar to Ryuuen, but it’s simple, and it’s not wrong. If you want to try it that way, I’m happy to oblige, but…before we do this, I want to bring one thing to your attention, as a warning, regarding a separate matter,” I replied.

“A warning…? What are you talking about?”

“I understand that, even though speaking isn’t your strong suit, you have a reasonable amount of confidence in your physical strength. If that’s the case, you should have been the first one to make a move when Ryuuen burst into the classroom,” I told him.

“You wanted me to hit Ryuuen?”

“That’s not what I mean. I’m saying that if you had acted quickly, you could have prevented Sawada from being in harm’s way. She could’ve gotten seriously injured if she weren’t lucky.”

Kitou, who had been sitting near Sawada, had deliberately chosen to ignore the situation and not do anything.

“Don’t make me laugh. As if I’d—”

“If it’s because you don’t acknowledge me as the class leader, that kind of reasoning is incredibly childish,” I said, cutting him off. “Even someone like Kouenji can act to protect his classmates when they are in imminent danger. I have no intention whatsoever of imposing such old-fashioned values like ‘men must protect women,’ but as long as we’re talking about allies in our class, there’s no need for hesitation when it comes to the strong protecting the weak.”

“Allies…? So you’re saying that if I don’t think of the others in that way, then there’s no problem,” said Kitou.

“Yes, if that’s genuinely how you see it, then it’s true that there’s no problem. However, if that’s your thought process, then Kitou Hayato’s presence would be unnecessary in Class C,” I replied.

Someone who only made one-sided demands and didn’t cooperate with the class could only be tolerated if it were they had hidden talents within. Otherwise, there was no option but for someone with a lawless stance like that to disappear.

“Very well… If you win, I will follow you from here on out. If you win,” said Kitou.

Kitou stopped there and extended one of his long arms toward me. His arm could reach my collar, but I grabbed it, stopping him. However, he didn’t panic and tried to pull his arm back toward himself, even though it was still firmly in my clutches. I knew even before he made his move that his intention was to strike me once, in any way he could, and make me lose my will to fight. Most people probably would’ve had their mouths shut from that one blow, filled with intimidation, that he tried.

“Hm…?!”

However, as soon as he realized that he couldn’t easily pull himself toward me, he broke free of my grip. Kitou didn’t forcefully jump at me to keep up the assault but instead observed. He seemed to be accustomed to fighting, and it seemed like he was able to sense danger through instinct. After a pause, he resumed his stance, and stomped his feet provocatively, albeit with light steps.

“For most people, when I glare at them, they’re disgusted and frightened at the same time, to greater or lesser degrees,” said Kitou.

From the sounds of it, that probably wasn’t just because he was strong. His words also contained self-deprecation, that he felt he looked like something that people would be afraid of.

“Unfortunately for you, I don’t care about superficial things like that,” I replied.

Perhaps he actually was offended by my indifference, because he shot me a sharp look. Immediately after that, he took a powerful step forward, clenched his right fist, and thrust it right at me. It was a straight punch with no wasted movement, and it was almost as though the sound of his arm cutting through the air reverberated in my ears. I remained calm; I avoided the punch by taking a light step backward. After avoiding such attacks two or three times in the same manner, Kitou stopped, frustrated.

“Why aren’t you attacking…?” he asked.

“Hm, I wonder,” I replied.

When I gave him a non-answer, Kitou clicked his tongue and took another swing at me. This time, he came at me with his left as his main axis. But that punch didn’t connect either.

Against an opponent like Kitou, who by nature had a long reach, the theory would be to make good use of footwork to get up close to him and bring the fight to close range. However, Kitou knew this. That was exactly why I wasn’t going to simply step in close.

Kitou was growing frustrated by my actions, which were different from what he had imagined. Moreover, there was no sign of a counterattack.

Next, it seemed like he intended to use his legs, and he launched a kick in my direction. Just as the tip of his foot was about to hit me directly in the abdomen, I moved to avoid it just like how I avoided his punches. Doing so created a huge opening, and without missing that moment, I gently pushed Kitou’s body back with the palm of my hand.

“Ngh…?!”

Kitou lost his balance and took a step backward, slightly unsteady on his feet. If I were using Ryuuen as a comparison, Kitou didn’t only use his arms and legs in the same way, but he also excelled at irregular attacks. However, Kitou didn’t use his legs quite as well. Even so, his upper body movements were more polished than Ryuuen’s, and he understood how the reach of his long arms gave him an advantage in a fight. The moment that he tried to regain his footing, he focused his attention to his feet…

I drove my left fist into Kitou’s abdomen.

He was in agony, rendered completely speechless. This was sheer carelessness born from the selfish self-conceit he had that I wasn’t going to attack. Kitou’s arms, which he had intended to use for counterattacking, instead took a defensive reaction, and were now guarding his abdomen. Since I wasn’t planning on striking him more than once, I intended to finish this off with a single blow. I hadn’t used my dominant arm, but I thought that attack just now would’ve been enough.

However, though Kitou’s knees were still bent, he quickly resumed his fighting stance. I supposed it was a kind of tendency that wouldn’t be beaten out of him so easily. The difference in strength must have been felt well enough through both my offensive and defensive tactics in the slight scuffle we’d had so far, but his spirit remained unbroken. Before his brain could grasp that it was pointless, Kitou kicked himself off the ground, this time reaching out with both hands, to close the distance once again.

It would’ve been easy for me to have dealt with that attack, but I deliberately decided to stand my ground and take it. He wrapped all ten of his big, long fingers around my neck and shoved my back against the wall, all with that same momentum. Normally, I would’ve ended up grabbing both of my opponent’s arms to escape from the pressure, but that would’ve been a miscalculated move—it wouldn’t be that easy to peel his arms off of me.

Quickly, I opened both of my hands and slammed my palms against both of Kitou’s ears, on either side of his head. When Kitou’s face contorted at the unexpected attack, and furthermore, one that he had no resistance to, he pulled his arms off of me and retreated. At that moment, I connected with a front kick and Kitou’s knees buckled once again.

“Ugh…!”

Despite the look of anguish that appeared on his face after suffering such an intense blow, Kitou immediately propped himself back up on his knees. He didn’t fall down; he firmly displayed his willpower, showing that he still hadn’t lost yet.

“Y-you’re strong… I-is there…that much of a difference between you and I…?” huffed Kitou.

“You’re plenty strong,” I replied. “But that’s exactly why you should utilize your strength correctly. There’s no need to resort to violence to lead a normal school life. However, there are some students who, at times, will inevitably be put in harm’s way. I want you to protect them, Kitou. In return, as I said before, I promise to bring Class C to a position where it can aim for Class A.”

“I won’t…believe that so easily.”

“That’s fine. The results will follow with the passage of time, much sooner than you think.”

I offered my hand to Kitou, who looked at me with a fearless, powerful gaze.

“Aren’t you afraid that I will eventually grab that hand and forcibly drag you down?” he asked.

“I’ll just hold onto that as just one more thing to look forward to,” I replied.

To that, Kitou gave a slight nod and took my hand. As I started anew in Class C, I figured it wasn’t a bad thing to have some rough moments like this. Dialogue with those who sought dialogue. Shows of strength for those who sought strength.

It was best to close the distance with each student in the way that suited them best. I was prepared to go along with anything in order to do that.