Chapter Nine

Afterthought

Yori Nakano was nothing but a boy in the eyes of her friends.

Word eventually got around of her everyday rendezvous in that old greenhouse. She was always a girl who stood out. In the eyes of her classmates, in the eyes of her friends, Yuuka Oshiro was someone beyond reach. It was always hard for her to make friends. People were always so willing to introduce themselves to her, but few were ever genuine in their intentions.

Yori Nakano was an outsider. He was two years her junior and he was ignorant of who she was. In his eyes, she was nothing more but a senior who happened to share the same passion for gardening.

The old greenhouse was her sanctuary, her escape from the world of Autumn Mountain. In her second year, she was the most popular girl in school, practically a figure of myth. Yet here he was, in all his shyness and awkwardness, not caring at all for who she was.

[—

The cascading noise of rainfall on glass echoed across the greenhouse.

In the center of it all, stood the boy she fell in love with. He held nothing in his hands and his head was down, shyly looking away, as he always does. The greenhouse was in perfect condition, as neat and beautiful as it was on the last day she left.

They stood in silence for a time, the noise of the late afternoon rain buffeting around them.

She did not know what to say.

Her confident demeanor melted away.

[—

“So, Yuuka-chan, when are you going to introduce us to the lucky guy?” one of her friends teased.

“What are you talking about?” she barked back in her usual confident self.

“You know, the guy you keep meeting.” another of her friends said, circling behind her. “The guy who makes your heart go doki-doki~”

“I’ll have you know,” Yuuka huffed. “That there’s no such thing.”

“But you look a lot happier lately.” her friend’s reply was accompanied with a sly, playful grin.

That made Yuuka freeze up.

“Ahhhhhh~” swooned her friend. “I bet he’s really cute~”

“What do you mean you bet he’s really cute? Of course he’s cute!” her other friend said, finger pointing accusingly. “This is the great Yuuka Oshiro we’re talking about, Sanae! Of course the boy she’s seeing is cute!”

“I’m not seeing anyone!” Yuuka protested, to obviously no avail.

“Well what else is making you so happy?” Sanae said, frowning. “And that’s not typical happy I see, Yuuka-chan. That’s ‘I just met the boy of my dreams’ happy you got going on.”

“Since when were you an expert on love?”

“Since forever. Duh. I’ll have you know that I have over 200 hours clocked as a love doctor.”

“You ripped that quote straight out of a TV drama!”

Her two friends continued to talk, laughing childishly. Yuuka leaned against her palm, watching them with a small smile on her face.

Is he cute? No. He was plain and simple. In a manga he’d be the ultimate background character. His face wouldn’t even be drawn by the artist.

Was he smart? She didn’t know. Yori was two years younger than her, and she had no idea how he was doing in his school.

Was he tall? No. But again, he was still pretty young. He’s bound to grow taller in the next few years.

[—

He grew an inch taller, and that was it.

As she stared at his small form, she felt nothing but a sudden longing. She did not know what to say or how to act. Despite the familiarity of the greenhouse around them, the boy who stood across from her was no one but a stranger.

“What are you doing here?” she uttered through gritted teeth.

A student approached her this morning. She introduced herself as a member of the gardening club. Some tools were missing, she said. No one had the key to the old greenhouse, she said. Her classmates and friends leered at the junior’s audacity to approach the great Yuuka Oshiro over such a trivial matter. But Yuuka, in her perfect grace, told her friends to relax and volunteered to help the girl.

“I was… helping with the repairs.” Yori said. It was weird hearing his voice again.

The rain battered at the ceiling and windows.

“Why?” she asked. “This place is going to be demolished soon.”

Yori’s hair hid his face.

“I—I wanted to apologize.”

He sounded braver now.

“For what.”

“…f—for giving up.”

[—

When I was a kid, I always thought that girls were fragile.

My opinion of course changed the first time my half-sister kicked me in the face.

And now, as I watched the president sail through the air before crashing into the hood of a car (and denting it), my opinion that girls are made of the same sort of metal that giant robots are made of is further reinforced.

“Listen, president, I didn’t mean to do that.” I explained, huffing as I landed on the wet grass. “I’m sorry, but you forced my hand and—”

The sight of a flying scooter ended my thoughts. The damn thing crashed into my face, sending me rolling into a nearby school van. Fighting in the parking lot was not a smart idea.

“Apology accepted!” I could hear the faint trace of her voice, mingling with the sound of her feet, splashing in the rain as she ran toward me.

I raised my hands by instinct. Her shoe came crashing into my forearms, tossing me back and bending the car’s steel door. The president roared uncharacteristically, as her fists came slamming down. Blow after blow came after me, an endless landslide of punches and kicks pummeled my body.

She grabbed me by the collar and hoisted me up, squaring me right in the jaw with enough force to send me sailing to the side. My body, dirty from the mud and rain, skidded across the ground.

Ayane Tsukino huffed with visible effort, her slender form kneeling on the ground.

I punched the ground, lifting myself up, ever so slowly.

“Pl—Please…” she said, eyes watery. “Stay down, Kimura…”

I scoffed, chuckling to myself. There was blood on the ground right in front of me. It took me a while to realize that it came from my mouth.

“You pack a punch, president.” I said, my shoulders curling from the pain. “They should make a figure after you, well, after Madhouse makes an anime about your exploits—”

“What are you even talking about?” she said, sighing.

I rolled my shoulders back. “Or maybe Trigger is a better fit for an anime about a school pres—”

Her blue eyes narrowed in focus, before a look of determination crossed her face.

She started walking toward me, in long confident strides. Her walk transformed into a jog, then into a sprint, and before I knew it, she disappeared in a flash of azure fire. A kick spun into existence two feet from behind my head. I ducked, my reflexes causing my body to let out a kick of my own. My knee came in contact with her own. She yelped as she fell of balance.

My fist, wet from the rain, slammed into the side of her stomach. The force of the blow sent a shockwave of sweat and rain booming in every direction, tossing her into the ground.

But she never hit the asphalt; she spun in the air and disappeared in a blur of blue at the last second.

I caught her as she emerged on my left, her open palm outstretched. I locked her arm into mine. When she retaliated with her free arm, I maneuvered around to grab it, forcing her to stand back-to-back with my taller frame.

“Thank you, president.” I said, my voice weak against the patter of the rain.

“For what!?” she asked, incredulous, struggling against my strength.

I laughed.

“I completely forgot what it felt like to bleed.”

She scoffed visibly, her shoulders shooting forward, locking our elbows together.

“What a stupid, melodramatic thing to say.”

We looked like two idiot lovers, standing back-to-back, arms locked in the rain. Neither one of us could move without dislocating the other’s shoulders, or without tossing the other into the rain. It was an awkward situation to be in. We both felt in control and in the mercy of the other at the same time.

“Why are you doing this…?” her words were a whisper. “I don’t understand you.”

“I don’t understand myself as well.” I admitted, closing my eyes and letting the rain fall on my face. “Truth be told, I’ve already forgotten all about Nakano.”

“Well that’s just sad.” she sighed.

“Hm. He’s probably already finished, you know. With his confession or apology or whatever. Those sort of things don’t take very long.”

“And you would know?”

“Not really.”

“They still broke the rules. The school knows. They’ll still be punished.”

“Like that matters now. Nakano already did what he had to do.”

I could feel her arms straining against mine. I could feel her strength tightening around my arms. She was shorter, but just as strong. I applied force to keep her from lifting me off the ground, but not enough to provoke her to break the lock off.

“There’s still the matter of you.” she said.

“What? Oh. Yeah. I guess I need to be punished as well. Picking a fight with the council president is probably, what, a violation of a bunch of rules, right?”

“Yeah.”

I felt space curve around me. The world was instantly reduced into a rainbow of colors. When reality rebuilt itself, we found ourselves high in the open sky. The rain didn’t reach here. Below us was an endless carpet of black-grey clouds.

We spun in the air, arms locked, before settling on a head-first descent.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked, my voice raised to resist the noise of the wind buffeting against my ears.

“Oh. You’re calm.” she sounded disappointed. “Normally when I bring people up here, they usually find themselves screaming their lungs out, begging me to bring them back down.”

I closed my eyes, appreciating the air on my face.

“Well I’m used to heights, and falling off of high places.”

She said nothing for a time, before saying.

“Well it was still worth a try.”

We broke through the carpet of clouds fast enough to break a cloud formation apart.

Beneath us the city reached from horizon to horizon, the buildings nothing more but legos on the ground, the people, nothing more but ants. Autumn Mountain was barely visible from the height. But the hexagon-shaped campus still stood out amidst the ocean of packed buildings and streets.

It was at this point when she released me from her grip. She pushed herself away from me as we fell. I expected a forceful kick to the stomach, but her push was gentle.

“First one to teleport out loses!” she declared, the world was upside down around us.

“A game of chicken, then?” I grinned.

“I’m way too exhausted.” she shrugged. “I don’t feel like trying to exert any more effort to beat you.”

“Excuses!” I laughed. “You can’t beat me and you know it!”

“I have things I need to attend to!” she defended. “Unlike you, I have responsibilities, Kimura-san! This is a test of our wills! Prepare yourself!”

“So be it.” I said, defiantly crossing my arms.

We approached the ground like missiles. Our bodies fell together, like two suns orbiting around one another. We fell with the rain, our soeaked forms dirty from all the fighting we did. Autumn Mountain always prided itself on the sophistication and beauty of its uniforms. The signature black blazers made the boys look neat and the girls look pretty. But right now, we were the complete opposite.

The ground approached closer.

I could not feel the cold of the rain.

I reckoned we were about twenty seconds from impact now.

Before me the president had her hands to her side. She watched me for any sign of hesitation. She was a porcelain doll, serious and cold, but not at all fragile.

I’ve never met someone like her.

I’ve met people stronger than me, got my body beaten so hard that I could barely stand up. But none of my fights have ever ended in a draw. I’ve always either beaten people easily or have lost to an opponent way out of my league. But she seems to belong to neither category.

Ten seconds to impact.

A head-first fall at this speed would kill anyone, even the toughest Overseers.

The school’s buildings and the field were visible now.

The president’s gaze did not falter.

Her hair danced, curling and twisting. It was an oddly mesmerizing sight.

A smile appeared on her lips.

She was enjoying this.

And I was too.

Seeing her smile caused me to close my eyes in contentment. I warped the world around me.

I hit the roof of the building with enough force to crater the concrete. As I fell to one knee, and as I opened my eyes, her figure appeared a few meters ahead, cratering the concrete as she landed in the same fashion.

“I did it!” she yelled, springing her arms in a victorious pose.

I watched her bathe in her joy. She smiled as the rain pattered on her glasses and down her face. Her eyes closed as she breathed out, steam escaping her lips, her hair a waterfall of black.

“I beat you.” she said, pride in her voice, and her hands on her hips.

“Congratulations.” I said, standing up. My tired legs carried me to the edge of the building.

I leaned out into the school below, trying to get a bearing of where we were. Eventually, I found what I was looking for, and performed a Saltus toward a nearby rooftop.

I landed on the roof of a building that gave me a perfect view of the back of the greenhouse. There were still some students milling about, along with the majority of Enforcer Company. But for some reason, everyone kept their distance.

I felt the air stir beside me and the president appeared.

She didn’t try to confront me or stop me. She just stood, sparing me a glance before following my gaze.

Yori Nakano and Yuuka Oshiro emerged from the back of the greenhouse, walking together.

My lips smiled on their own.

“Well,” the president said. “There you go.”

“Hmmm. Yeah.”

She gave me a weird look.

“Aren’t you going to go check on them?”

I mirrored her expression.

“Aren’t you going to arrest them or something?”

“I’ll—” she turned away, scratching her arm. “—get to that tomorrow.”

“Hah.” I huffed. “Sure you will.”

[—

The rain stopped.

Ayane watched as the boy performed another Transilio, or whatever he called his power. He disappeared from existence in a static haze, to reappear a moment later, on the ground, right in the path of Oshiro-senpai and Nakano. The world warped around Ayane as she followed after Kimura. She stood beside him as the boy raised his hand in greeting.

Yori Nakano nearly shrunk when his eyes accidentally locked with Ayane’s.

“Kimura-sen-senpai—” Yori stuttered, looking down, flustered.

“Looks like you did, it.” Kimura said proudly, walking toward the pair.

Ayane followed after him.

Oshiro-senpai acknowledged Ayane with a small nod, but her attention was mainly on Kimura. She eyed the sophomore with a mix of irritation and another emotion. Respect, perhaps.

“You’re that second year…” she said.

Yori instantly looked up. “He’s, Kimura-senpai, Yuuka. He’s—”

“A friend.” Kimura finished on Yori’s behalf. He puffed his chest proudly. “Gotta hand it to Nakano, this idea of his was really… something.”

He flashed a bright, handsome smile. Ayane’s eyes widened when she realized the weight behind Kimura’s words.

“I’m all for grand romantic gestures and stuff,” he spread his arms, “But this is something straight out of a Makoto Shinai movie.”

The irritation in Oshiro-senpai’s gaze wavered.

“Yeah…” she all but whispered. “…Nakano was always so… considerate.”

Kimura shared a look with Nakano before he nodded slightly.

“He worked hard to build this place back up, just so he could confess or apologize or do anything that was necessary to get you back.” he said. “I’m impressed.”

Ayane’s eyes lingered on Kimura for what seemed like ages.

Her mind was blank.

She only broke her gaze when she heard the sound of wet footsteps approaching. Four members of Enforcer Company approached, led by their captain. Beside her jogged the tall figure of the vice president, struggling to keep up.

“President, are you alright?” Miyamori shouted, concerned. She placed herself between Ayane and Kimura protectively, her hand already on the hip of her sword.

Kimura regarded her with the same attention someone would give to a lawnmower.

“I’m fine, Rina.” Ayane replied, placing her hand on the captain’s shoulder.

The vice president walked up to Ayane, breathless from her brief sprint. Hikari was never athletic. She looked completely out of her element. But seeing the look of concern in her eyes warmed Ayane’s heart.

“Pre—President, please don’t— please don’t just run off like that!” she protested between breaths. “We had no idea where you went! And—and you left your phone in the office—!”

“I’m sorry, Hikari-chan.” she said gently. “I didn’t expect Kimura-san to give me too much trouble.” she admitted, eyeing the towel Hikari was holding.

Hikari pouted and puffed her cheeks. If people regarded Ayane as a noble lady, then Hikari might as well have been a princess. If Ayane was refined, Hikari was elegant. The girl was the walking definition of rich, powerful, and ladylike. Seeing her hand out a dry towel was the weirdest thing in the world.

“Thank you,” Ayane said, wiping her face and hair with the soft pink towel.

“Oh and Rina,” she added hastily, glancing at Oshiro-senpai and Nakano. “I’ll handle things from here. You guys are free to go.”

It was obvious that Rina was not happy with her command. But the captain was loyal and obedient above all. She did not resist. She merely clicked her heels together, stood straight, and saluted.

“Yes, president!”

As Hikari began berating Ayane with all the care and concern of a mother, Ayane nodded in meek surrender. There was no point in defending herself before the silent scrutiny of her best friend. She half-listened at Hikari’s words, before her eyes fell on Kimura’s back. She watched him walk away from everyone, in the opposite direction from Oshiro and Nakano, and away from Miyamori and her Enforcers.

He was confusing. He was strong. Ayane did not know what motivated him or what made him tick. She did not know what drove him to act out against the school’s rules with neither consideration nor fear.

But most of all he was interesting.

Rolling the towel into a ball, the president sighed and tossed it high.

It landed on the transfer student’s head with an audible smack.

Ayane smiled, turning around before she could see Kimura’s reaction.

[---

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the delay. Hah. I'm getting a bit busier with work and whatnot lately. However, from here-on out, I promise to update the fiction once a week, on a consistent basis. On Mondays or Sundays, preferably!

I have also started a Patreon page, if I dunno, you guys are willing to support in any way you want. Regardless, the fic and everything about it will always be free for everyone in the world!

Enjoy.