Epilogue
Epilogue
The fact that Kagurazaka Eri had kept the dismissal form locked away in her desk, knowing this might compromise her standing at the school, was just a part of who she was. “I don’t know exactly what happened,” she was saying in the teachers’ office, “but you need to get your head on straight. I can’t keep covering for you like this.”
“Yes, ma’am. I apologize,” Sousuke said, standing at attention.
“I’ve stuck my neck out for you because I know you’re a good person deep down,” she continued to scold. “Okay?”
“Yes. I’m terribly sorry.”
“If you’re really sorry, you should rethink your approach to life. Remember what you did to my car? I don’t know why you’re always causing problems! Honestly, the way you act—yeek!!” This last shriek came as Sousuke abruptly shoved her over. “Wh-What?! What are you doing? No, Sagara-kun, people might see us!”
“There’s a laser sight trained on you, ma’am!” Sousuke told her urgently. “Stay down!”
“What are you talking about?!” Eri cried, flailing about on the floor.
Sousuke had pulled out his pistol and was sweeping it around the room. Suddenly, Kaname flew at him, giving a full-throated shout. “Sousuke! Are you still doing this?!”
“But a laser sight—” he tried to protest.
“Shut up!” Kaname kicked him down to the floor.
The 4x magnifying scope showed a flailing Uruz-7. Pathetic. This is the man who went toe-to-toe with General Amit, indomitable head of Mithril intelligence? “Hmm...” Wraith snorted, then packed up the laser sight-attached Belgian-made submachine gun. The spy was skillfully disguised as an average neighborhood housewife, perched atop a building a few hundred meters away, which offered an unobstructed view of Jindai High.
Wraith glanced up at the sky, where black clouds were slowly forming. The weather report predicted that rain would fall soon, and things would get chilly after dark. Glad I bought those hand-warmers at the convenience store... The girl had agreed to keep wearing a transmitter at all times, but that was no reason to slouch in the surveillance department. Still, just because their Tokyo branch wasn’t fully organized yet...
Why do I have to be out in the rain all the time? Wraith thought, with a feeling of deep melancholy. At least the others had a roof over their heads. On top of that, the agent was now at Chidori Kaname’s beck and call. The girl had blackmail material, after all—There was no way to fight it.
Wraith switched to a set of binoculars. Uruz-7 and Chidori Kaname were now bowing in apology to their homeroom teacher. Serves you right. You could spare a sympathetic thought for me, too, Wraith thought, but it didn’t do a thing about the stinging cold. Letting out a little sneeze, the spy hefted the collar of the housewife’s coat a little higher, and whispered a lonely, “Good grief...”
“Seriously! Why do you always have to do that crap?!” Chidori Kaname shouted as they left the teachers’ office. “Don’t you get how she and I are always covering for you? You think you’re just owed that, with no strings attached?!”
“No, I wasn’t—”
“Shut up! It’s like... you haven’t made any progress at all! Why can’t you at least learn from your past actions?! You’re always, always, always...!” Kaname pulled a sheaf of copy paper out of nowhere and held it over her head.
“Wait, Chidori—”
“Always, always...” Normally she’d have smacked him with it now, but for some reason, her hands holding the paper just lowered, limply. “Always... mm.” She dropped the paper and whimpered. “Always. We’re back to... always, right?”
Sousuke looked at her.
“Like things are finally... finally normal?” As if unable to bear it, Kaname pressed her forehead against Sousuke’s chest. “Back to normal... back to always...”
He blinked at her. “Chidori?”
“You just left me behind... what were you thinking?” she sniffled. “I’ll never forgive you.” She’d been acting completely indifferent the entire way back from Hong Kong, so the sudden change took Sousuke aback.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“Don’t ‘sorry’ me. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid... I won’t forgive you, okay? I really... won’t ever forgive you!” Kaname pounded on his chest, weakly, again and again. “I was so scared. I was so, so scared. Just... never again, okay?! Never again!”
Students passing in the hallway watched the two with curiosity.
“It’s all right now,” Sousuke said, trying to comfort her awkwardly. “Um... Chidori? Could we go somewhere else for this?”
“No... I can’t. I can’t.” She began to sob into Sousuke’s chest like a child, trembling, free of any shame or concern for her reputation. Flustered, Sousuke could only pat her soothingly on the back.
Tokiwa Kyoko, who just happened to be passing, broke through the crowd to see what was happening. “Hey, what’s going on? Ah, Kana-chan...”
“T-Tokiwa?” Kaname said with another sniffle.
“Hey, are you okay? Hey, Kana-chan! Is something wrong?”
Kaname sobbed, “Kyoko... Sousuke just... Sousuke just...” she blew her nose with her handkerchief, and couldn’t seem to form words after that.
“Sagara-kun! What did you do to Kana-chan?” Kyoko demanded to know. “Did you shout ‘there’s a bomb’ and drag her around again?!”
“What?” Sousuke protested. “No, I—”
“What kind of man makes excuses? Apologize to her, now!” Kyoko glared at him, hands on her hips.
“Yeah! Yeah!”
“Honestly, every day since you got here...!”
“Poor Chidori-san!”
The rest of the crowd seemed to agree with Kyoko as they joined in on chastising Sousuke.
“Well... I...”
“You what?!” they chorused.
“Mgh...” I see. I’m back. But now that I think about it... Sousuke considered. Have my troubles at school not changed at all? “Er. I’m sorry.” Biting his grief at the absurdity of it all, he bowed down low.
“Good!” the class chorused in response.
It was still a long time before Kaname stopped crying.