Step Forward If You Want to Die! – Part 01
Step Forward If You Want to Die! – Part 01
Step Forward If You Want to Die! – Part 01
When I got back to the classroom, Orito saw the shredded wedding dress and said, “You’re the only one who could play the pervert at this point.”
And just like that, I officially became the neighborhood’s infamous pervert.
The excuse that I tripped down the stairs, ended up like this, and then spilled a bucket worked only because I was already known for being weak and collapsing all the time. Though that was just because the sun was too bright.
Anyway, there was no way I could keep working in a bloody, torn-up wedding dress, so I wandered around the school alone.
If anything, a bloody male bride looked way more like a yokai, which might actually have been better.
Sera seemed to be staying on as Hanako. She said she always wanted to work in a place like a café. Orito decided to stay in the classroom too, since being with Sera was enough for him.
Tomonori went with Mihara, Hiramatsu, and Anderson to see the drama club’s play in the multipurpose hall, leaving me to wander on my own.
I wondered what Haruna was up to. Was she still selling CDs?
On my way to check the old school building, I ran into that drunken girl again. She was holding a bottle of booze that should have been confiscated.
This booth had been more popular with students than visitors, but now she was the only one left. I guess everyone else had already tried it.
It was the Take Down the Vice Principal! attraction. A panel painted with a demon lord had a hole where the face should be, and the vice principal was sticking his head through it. For 100 yen a throw, you got to chuck water balloons at his face.
To hide his identity, since no one would try otherwise, he wore an eye mask with cutesy cartoon eyes drawn on it.
“More! Hit me with more! You lack passion—bah!”
Water balloons smacked into the panel one after another. The tiny, cute girl drank straight from the bottle while pelting the vice principal nonstop.
“How much money are you throwing away on this?!” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
“This girl put in 10,000 yen,” said the Japanese language teacher running the booth, smiling.
“That’s way too much! And hey, aren’t you going to stop her from drinking?!”
I ended up snapping at the teacher as well.
“Now, now, Aikawa. That’s just water.”
“You tried it?”
“Huh? No, she said it was water.”
“More! More! I need more passion!”
A water balloon nailed the vice principal right in the face. I snatched the bottle from the girl.
“Ah, hey! Give it back!”
“Seriously, where did you even get this?”
“It’s a victory toast! Dummy!”
“Victory toast? So your worries are all solved?”
“Totally solved. Now give it back!”
She cackled loudly while hurling more balloons at the vice principal. She was in way too good a mood.
“If you want a favor, call me big brother. Also, kids shouldn’t drink.”
“It’s just water. Big brother, give it back.”
“If it’s not alcohol, I’ll give it back.”
To check, I tilted the bottle and took a swig.
Ugh! Damn it, it is alcohol. This brat had been drinking something this strong?!
“Ahhh!”
I locked eyes with the vice-principal, whose eye mask had slipped.
“Aikawaaa!”
While my ears rang from the vice-principal’s scream, the drunk girl bolted.
Thanks to the testimony from the Japanese language teacher who had seen the whole thing, I managed to avoid suspension.
If I ever ran into that drunk girl again, I’d make sure she got a fist to the face at the very least.
Still wearing my angry scowl, I wandered along.
“Ayumu,” a cute voice called, stopping me in my tracks. It was so powerful that it made my mouth slack and my body squirm.
There stood Eu, wearing a chiffon dress.
“Are you done working as a bunny girl?” I asked.
She gave a small nod. She could show some emotion now, but perhaps because of habit, her expression stayed blank.
“Haruna grabbed someone to fill in,” she said.
“That idiot. She’s still in the track club room, isn’t she?”
I thought about going after her immediately, but Eu shook her head.
“I was walking around with her, but I lost sight of her.”
“Wanna go look for her together?”
Eu nodded firmly and extended an arm. Did she want to hold hands?
“Shall we hold hands?”
Her voice really sounded sweet. Instead of answering, I took her hand. Well, I’d already walked around with Haruna earlier, so now it was Eu’s turn.
We checked the pamphlet and looked for events we hadn’t seen yet.
Oh? There was a magic show outside. We could take a quick peek.
A small crowd had gathered in the courtyard between the school building and the gym. Not too many people, though. It didn’t seem like there’d be any incredible illusions. Well, it was just a school festival after all.
I saw a man, probably a civilian, stepping into a large box that looked like a dresser. It looked like the magic show was about to start. Loud music blared from a large speaker, followed by a drum roll.
The magician rotated the box, showing that there were no tricks or hidden mechanisms. Then with a dramatic sound effect, the box opened. Inside, only the man’s clothes remained.
Huh. That was better than I expected. It was almost like a snake had shed its skin.
Before the crowd erupted into an applause, Eu’s lovely lips moved. “This must be the work of Dr. Gero’s androids.”[1]
That would be even more impressive. Sure, if someone’s life energy got drained by Cell, it would look exactly like that.
Laughter and applause broke out, but Eu remained emotionless. Even though the situation was perfect for enjoying herself, she didn’t smile.
Next, the magician brought out another box. A male student stepped inside, and the center section slid sideways for the classic sawing-in-half trick.
Anyone could see it was obviously staged. I finally got the reason this show wasn’t super popular.
As the audience grew a little bored, Eu commented with genuine interest, “I expected nothing less from Turn A’s brother.”[2]
He wasn’t torn into pieces, though.
After that, every time a magic trick played out, she provided a commentary.
“If you use Mami the Psychic’s Teleportation Gun, it could work.”[3]
“Dhalsim would explain everything.”[4]
And so on. For some reason, Eu’s comments were a hit, and the boring magic show became a huge success.
“Great job. I really enjoyed the show thanks to you.”
Some people even came up and expressed their gratitude.
Most of all, the members of the Magic Club, who had chosen this show as their event, were extremely grateful to Eu. I smiled along with them, but Eu’s expression stayed blank. She could show emotion, but maybe because she had been suppressing it for so long, her face didn’t change. I really wanted to see her smile.
I took her hand and walked through the courtyard. Singing drifted from the direction of the gym. Maybe a band was performing?
“Ayumu, I have a favor to ask.”
Eu’s sweet voice shook my brain. Her adorable tone turned my brain into a field of flowers, and I responded with a trembling voice, like Lupin.
“What’s uuup?”
Face blank, Eu cleared her throat a little. “I want to participate in the karaoke contest.”
Karaoke contest. According to the festival schedule, it would take place in the gym from 8 PM for two hours.
I see. So the singing from the gym was the karaoke contest.
But the school didn’t have an actual karaoke system. They just played the karaoke versions of songs from CDs and sang into a microphone. That was it.
Because of that, you couldn’t just join on the spot. You had to submit a CD with the karaoke version to the festival committee beforehand.
Why did Eu want to participate in something like that? Actually, it made perfect sense. Eu hadn’t been able to speak until this morning. It was only natural for her to want to sing while she still could.
“Can I?”
That hit me hard. Her pure, clear blue eyes stared straight into mine. I felt like I’d do anything for her.
“Then, how about we go to karaoke tomorrow?”
It was Sunday, perfect for a wild time. I could invite Tomonori and Orito. I’m sure Haruna would…
Haruna. Right. Now that Eu could speak, Haruna couldn’t.
I wanted to go to karaoke with Eu, but Haruna’s crazy antics were necessary too. If we went, I wanted everyone there. Maybe Eu thought the same way?
“I want to sing where there are lots of people.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I’d always seen Eu as a timid, refined young lady. I never imagined she would say she wanted to sing in front of people.
“Why?” I asked.
“I want my voice heard by as many people as possible. Soon, I would not be able to speak again.”
I couldn’t find the words to say. But her eyes didn’t have the usual lonely glow. They held determination and urgency.
Indeed, we didn’t know how long this situation would last. She might even get her ability back by tomorrow.
I couldn’t leave Haruna as she was, and I wanted Eu to smile more. Would that day ever come? A day when we could all smile and laugh together?
1. Dr. Gero is the evil chief scientist of the Red Ribbon Army from the Dragon Ball series. Driven by revenge against Goku for destroying the army, Gero engineered an advanced army of cyborgs and the bio-organic super-warrior, Cell.
2. A reference to The Turn X (Concept-X 6-1-2) from Turn A Gundam. A highly advanced mobile suit believed to be from an ancient human civilization that ventured beyond the solar system, it can separate its head, torso, and limbs into nine autonomous, flying components that surround and bombard targets.
3. In the manga and anime series Esper Mami, Mami Sakura is an ordinary student with psychic powers who uses a gadget called the Teleportation Gun. Disguised as a heart-shaped brooch, it shoots tiny marbles to trigger controlled teletransportation. She teleports directly to anyone in danger.
4. Dhalsim is a character from the Street Fighter series, famous for his miraculous yoga. His core abilities include supernatural body elasticity, fire manipulation, and teleportation.