CK 59

Chapter 59…

Run or Don’t Run

A Fight

“Excuse me…”

Saying that, I quietly closed the classroom door behind me.
Out in the hallway, the unbearable summer heat and the constant drone of cicadas filled the air.

Through the window, I could see the piercing sunlight of midsummer blazing down.
I glanced at it from the corner of my eye as I started walking down the corridor.

It was already mid-July. Of course it was hot.
The final exams were over, and now classes ended by noon.

Summer vacation—the fun, carefree kind—was just around the corner.

Normally, I’d be super excited around this time of year.
But right now, my mood was the exact opposite, and for a reason.

That reason being: I, Yui Shirakami, had been practically forced to attend summer remedial classes.

To be fair, my test scores weren’t that terrible.
But my homeroom teacher, Mr. Tamsen, told me, “It would be better for you to attend, considering your future.”
And just like that, my summer spirit plummeted.

By the way, nothing big had happened since the battle at the planetarium.
So lately, we’d just been training at the abandoned research facility, practicing at Hirahara’s karate dojo, and studying for finals.

…I did study properly, though.
A sigh slipped from my lips.

At that exact moment, a classroom door nearby opened.
Out stepped Shirō, who, upon spotting me, muttered, “Oh.”

“Hey, Yui. Good work today.”
“Yeah, you too.”
“…You got forced into remedial classes too, huh?”
“So that means you did too?”
“Yeah…”

We both let out a synchronized sigh.
Having extra classes on top of summer homework—it was enough to make anyone’s head hurt.

Anyway, we started slowly walking toward the shoe lockers to head home.

We chatted idly—“Remedial classes suck, huh?”—as we went down the stairs and along the hall.

Then, when we got close to the shoe lockers—
We heard shouting. Someone was fighting.

The voices came from the direction of the club building.
Looking over, we saw a boy in gym clothes arguing with a girl in uniform with golden hair.

Another girl, also in gym clothes, was trying to stop them.

Seeing the scene, Shirō muttered, “Wait… isn’t that…”

“Sadayama?”
“Sadayama… the one from the sports festival?”

That’s right. We knew the blonde girl in the uniform.
Her name was Suzuhō Sadayama, from the same class as Shirō and a fellow member of the P.E. committee.
I’d met her once during the sports festival—didn’t talk to her directly, but I remembered her.

“…We should stop them, right?”
“Yeah.”

We started running toward her.

But then a hand clamped down on my shoulder, and a voice said, “Hey.”

I turned around—and there stood my childhood friend.

“Oh, Mā-kun.”
“‘Oh’? That’s all you’ve got? Where do you think you’re going? And how long were you planning to keep me waiting?”

Mā-kun looked annoyed, his hand gripping my shoulder. Behind him stood Chiharu.

It was true—I had asked them to wait for me earlier.
And now, instead of meeting them, I was about to run off somewhere else.
So yeah, it was my fault.

But still—pretending not to see a fight? That just wasn’t me.

I opened my mouth to explain.
“But—they’re fighting! We have to stop them!”
“Who’s fighting who? And besides, it’s not our business to get involved in other people’s fights.”
“Well, one of them’s from my class…”
“Mā-kun, you’ve met her too! Remember? From the sports festival!”

At that, Mā-kun’s expression darkened.

A few seconds later, he muttered, “Don’t remember.”

“…Shirō, are you even close with that person?”
“Not really, no. Haven’t talked much.”
“Then no reason to stick our noses in. I’m heading home.”

And with that, Mā-kun walked off to change his shoes.
Chiharu, unlike him, stayed behind but asked, “Should we go home too?”

…Why’s everyone being so cold?

Thinking that, I looked back toward the club building.

But—no one was there anymore.
Which meant…

“So the fight’s over…?”
“Looks like it.
…Let’s just go home too.”

He was right—if it was over, there was no reason to linger at school.
Still feeling uneasy, I headed toward the shoe lockers.

“Well, I guess it’s fine? They probably sorted it out before we got there, right?”
“It still doesn’t feel right!”

Shirō tried to cheer me up, but the uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave.

As I was changing my shoes, a scream echoed through the air.

The three of us looked at each other, confirming what we’d heard, and then hurriedly slipped on our outdoor shoes and ran toward the sound.

The scream had come from between the shoe lockers and the school gate.

There—Suzuhō Sadayama, the blonde girl, was being attacked by a giant scorpion-like monster.