CK 41

Chapter 41…

For the Sake of Those Who Can’t Fight

Let Me Teach You

“So, have you found out anything since then?”
“Most likely, the fallen star is Shouji Fukaya. He’s been missing for several days.”
“I see… I thought as much.”

The next day after school,
Yui and I were once again at the Hirahara Dojo.
Apparently, until Taiga-san defeats the current fallen star, he’s willing to train us every day whenever the dojo is open.

It’s always best to learn from a professional in their field—
so I decided to take full advantage of that offer without hesitation.

When I reported the situation about the new fallen star to Detective Maruoka,
he confirmed that there had been no other victims.
However, a missing person report had been filed for Fukaya a few days ago.
From that, I concluded that the fallen star this time was indeed Shouji Fukaya.

Still, we had no clue about his motive.
Since we couldn’t predict who the next target might be, the only thing I could do was stay alert and keep training.

While we were preparing for practice, Yui asked an important question.

“By the way, what constellation is this one from?”
“…I haven’t narrowed it down yet. It’s from the feline family, but…”
“There’s more than one cat constellation?”
“Three. Lynx, Leo Minor, and Leo.”
“Leo? That’s one of the zodiac signs, isn’t it?”

That voice came from Shiro Hirahara’s mother,
who had just walked into the dojo carrying what looked like a large tank filled with drinks.

“Yes. It’s one of the twelve constellations used in astrology,” I explained.
“By the way, I’m an Aries, and Ma-kun here is a Capricorn!” Yui added proudly.

Before I knew it, the topic had turned into a discussion about horoscopes.

The twelve zodiac constellations—
ancient and well-known, even in the modern day.
They’re called the zodiac because they lie along the ecliptic, the apparent path of the sun across the sky.
Yui’s Aries and my Capricorn are both among those twelve.

A fallen star born from one of those constellations would be especially powerful.
If possible, I’d rather never face one again…
But what’s done is done.
I could only prepare for the worst.

As I was stretching and thinking about that, Yui glanced my way and murmured,
“Come to think of it, if there are twelve zodiac signs, that means there are still nine more, right?”
“The remaining nine are Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Aquarius, and Pisces.”
“Huh… So those haven’t appeared yet, huh?”

Just as she asked that, the dojo doors opened again.

“I’m back! Oh, Yui! Sorry I’m late—oh, hey, Insei.”
“Welcome back! Did you finish your duties as the athletics committee rep?”

Shiro Hirahara himself had returned.
It was the season leading up to the sports festival, so he’d been busy with committee work.
That’s why Yui and I had arrived earlier without him.

“Uh… hey, Insei?” he said, his voice awkward as he walked over.
“What is it?” I asked, keeping my tone neutral.

Then, to my surprise, Shiro bowed his head.
“Um… I wanted to apologize for the other day.”

Apologize? For what?
I couldn’t think of anything that warranted it.

Still, brushing it off felt wrong,
so I asked, “For what exactly?”

He lifted his head and spoke.

“You know, the other day on the rooftop—I made you mad. Back then, I didn’t understand why you got so angry.
But now I do. The power you and Yui have… it’s like the monsters’, isn’t it?
A power that can turn someone kind, like my brother Shouji, into a creature with fangs and claws.
That’s not something you can just say you ‘want’ to have.
I’m sorry. Really. For what I said.”

With that, Shiro bowed again.

But… that’s not something he needed to apologize for.
Back then, I was the one in the wrong.
The way I spoke to him was far too harsh.

…Honestly, I never expected him to apologize before I did.
But since he did, I had to respond properly.

“Don’t bow your head. I should’ve said things more calmly too. Sorry about that.”
“Then… we’re good now, right?”

From behind, Yui gave me a playful push on the back.
In front of me, Shiro had extended his right hand.
“See? Go on!” Yui said cheerfully, forcing me to shake it.

Then Shiro smiled and said,

“But let me teach you too. Even if I can’t fight directly, I still want to help you guys somehow.”

That smile of his was dazzling.