Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ - Volume 7 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Youth

Even after his suspension ended, Reita didn’t come back to school. Due to Miori’s Minsta post, for better or for worse, there was even more attention on our group.

It’s kinda awkward, but nothing we can do about it. One of the side effects of having a rainbow-colored youth is being subjected to scrutiny when something happens. In my first round, even when I bungled something, people would just go, “Who even are you?” No one knew who I was, so everyone would immediately forget it happened. How sad.

Setting my lonely past life aside, I had already devised an idea to bring Reita back. When lunch break came around, everyone gathered in the cafeteria. I was unveiling the secret plan I’d thought up yesterday.

Oddly enough, they all gave me a blank look.

Serika spoke up for everyone and asked, “What’s that?”

“A challenge letter. As it says right there.” I had placed an envelope onto the table. Written on it in huge brush pen letters were the words “Challenge Letter.” The messy handwriting was part of the package.

Serika wordlessly opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper folded into thirds. “To Shiratori Reita. I challenge you to a duel. Come to the riverbed area south of the school alone. I’ll send you the date and time later over RINE. The loser must do whatever the winner says,” she articulately read, broadcasting the contents of my letter aloud.

I’ll have Hasegawa hand this to her brother. They’re a gang of delinquents, so he’ll gleefully give it to Reita for sure.

Everyone silently exchanged looks, perhaps blown away by my flawless scheme. Eventually, Miori spoke up. “Are you an idiot?”

“Indeed. This is so exceedingly stupid that I don’t know what to say,” Nanase said in agreement.

Tatsuya followed up with “Natsuki, you need to go easier on the jokes.”

“Ah ha ha ha ha! What era are you from?” Uta added.

“I... I tried to stop him,” Hikari stammered. “I doubt Reita-kun would be tempted by this...”

They were all against it. In fact, some of them thought my plan was a joke.

“Buck up, Natsuki. I like your idea.” Serika consoled me, her eyes gleaming for some reason.

“What are you going to do after you give this to Reita? Have a slugfest down by the river?” Tatsuya asked.

“That sounds like something out of a manga about delinquents...” Miori said. “It’s not very realistic. Do you think you’ll come to understand each other by exchanging blows because you’re boys? We wouldn’t be struggling this much if things were that easy, though.”

“In the first place, Shiratori-kun was suspended because of violence. And you want to invite him to another fight?” Nanase pointed out.

“Honestly, I feel like Rei wouldn’t show up even if this letter reached him!” Uta added.

Everyone’s being so mean. Shut up! I kinda knew all of that! Those were my concerns too!

“B-But guys! If anyone can find success through an embarrassing plan like this, it’s Natsuki-kun!” Hikari said, trying to support me with an iffy counterpoint.

Serika nodded and gave me a thumbs-up. “I’m in favor. A fight by the river? That’s totally rocking! Super great!”

Getting Serika’s approval makes me apprehensive instead...

Tatsuya was unable to hold himself back, chuckles spilling out of his mouth. “You know, this is really like you, Natsuki. Sounds pretty good to me—let’s try it. It’ll be a stroke of luck if we bait Reita with such a dumb plan. He might actually show up.” He had suddenly flipped to the supportive side.

“You think so? Rei doesn’t want to see us anymore. I feel like he’d throw it away after you handed it to him, and that’d be the end of that. I don’t think this plan is going anywhere,” Uta pointed out, remaining uncharacteristically coolheaded.

She’s right. Maybe my plan is futile. “I read a manga about delinquents yesterday, and the idea just sorta hit me,” I admitted.

“That’s what I figured.” Miori gave me a hard look.

“We just need to come up with a reason that’ll compel Reita to go when he reads this letter, right?” Serika stared at my messy handwriting with a serious expression.

“Yeah, that was the plan...but how?” I asked.

“I’ve got the perfect idea. Natsuki, pen me.”

I pulled the brush pen I had used to write the challenge letter out of my breast pocket and handed it to Serika. She snatched it from my hand and began to write on my letter, effortlessly but in surprisingly neat handwriting.

“Perfect,” she said.

Everyone peered at the piece of paper to see what she had added.

“I have Motomiya Miori. If you run away, she’ll take a beating in your place.”

“What, no, that’s ridiculous,” I quipped reflexively. “There’s no way Reita would fall for that!”

“Dude, this is on the same level as your challenge letter,” Tatsuya said.

That’s not true! My plan was a teeny bit better than holding someone hostage!

“Hey, why am I the one getting beat up now?!” Miori complained.

“We need to sacrifice you for the plan. May you rest in peace.” Serika put her hands together in prayer.

“This might actually be a decent approach, surprisingly,” Nanase said thoughtfully, her face earnest. “Were someone claiming that Motomiya-san will get beat up if he runs away, even if Shiratori-kun knows that there’s a ninety-nine percent chance that it’s a trick...I have a hunch he would still have no choice but to come.”

Having heard Nanase’s stance, the rest of us shared a glance.

“That’s just how much he loves Miori-chan.” Hikari nodded.

Miori’s lips curled up into an ineffable, bitter smile.

“However...” Nanase turned to me. “Even if he goes along with your plan and shows up, what will you do? You’ve already tried and failed to persuade him twice. Surely you don’t expect to reach mutual understanding with him by throwing a few punches.”

“That’s obvious.” I locked eyes with Serika, and we gave each other a thumbs-up. “I expect exactly that.”

When it comes to men understanding one another, it’s gotta be a battle by the riverbed with the setting sun as our backdrop.

***

When I entrusted my challenge letter to Hasegawa, she gave me a look that screamed, “Are you insane?”

I’m completely sane and very serious. So please stop looking at me like you regret asking me for help. It’ll be fine! It’ll go better than you expect! For sure!

Hasegawa would deliver the letter to her brother today, so I designated tomorrow evening as the date of our showdown. Once she confirmed she’d given the letter to him, I would send Reita a RINE message.

“If you were going to message him on RINE anyway, then why not just text him the entire challenge letter?” she said in a frigid tone.

When it comes to stuff like this, setting the atmosphere is crucial!

“Natsuki-kun simply wanted to do it this way,” Hikari answered with a wry smile.

“Nuh-uh, challenge letters have to be on paper. This is definitely way more hardcore!” Serika looked at me. “Right?”

I nodded fervently. I knew it: Serika’s the only one who gets me. I’m against the trend of digitizing everything!

“He’s just that type of person,” Hikari said.

“Hoshimiya-san, I see you’ve got it hard too,” Hasegawa said.

While Serika and I bobbed our heads at each other, Hikari and Hasegawa also shared a knowing nod.

Having done what we came here to do, we all returned to our respective classrooms since it was right before the end of lunchtime. All we had left to do was wait for the big day.

“By the way,” Tatsuya said. “Can you even win against Reita? He’s a strong fighter, you know.”

“Huh?” It would’ve been hopeless if I were the same as my first round, but I’ve got my carefully nurtured muscles. I’ve never fought anyone before, but I think I could do pretty well...

“He’s a natural at everything he does. He picked up fighting quickly too. Hasegawa’s older brother is the leader of the delinquent gang around here, but rumor has it Reita is just as formidable as him.”

Wait... Reita’s as strong as that giant guy with muscles of steel? “Are you serious?”

“Very serious. I got into a minor tussle with Reita in middle school, but he ended me instantly.” Tatsuya dropped that bomb with a solemn expression.

He took Tatsuya down instantly? Tatsuya, the guy brawnier than me? “I wish you had mentioned that sooner.”

“Sorry. You seemed so confident.”

I was confident about the contents of the plan, not about my fighting skills! I’d been thrown into turmoil.

“I-It’ll be okay! Natsuki-kun works out every day!” Hikari said, frantically trying to cheer me up.

My confidence was rapidly disintegrating, but it was too late to change the plan now. I had already given Hasegawa the challenge letter. I have to follow through... I’m not afraid or anything, got it?

***

After I spent the night researching fighting tips on the internet, the next day came. I was distracted throughout our lessons, and soon it was after school. The nerves suddenly hit me then. The time I had given Reita was 5:30 p.m. I would be late if I didn’t make my way to the river immediately.

“M-My stomach hurts...” I muttered, holding my belly.

Tatsuya mercilessly pushed my back. “Why’re you losing your spine now? Get moving already.”

“Natsuki-kun... Don’t get hurt,” Hikari said.

“I promise nothing. That might be an unreasonable request.”

“Don’t forget that your main goal is to have a heart-to-heart with him, okay?” she reminded me.

I’m glad you’re worried, but how this plays out depends on Reita’s mood. I have no idea what’s going to happen until I get there.

“Do your best, in moderation.”

“Yeah, please don’t drag the police into this again!”

With words of encouragement(?) from Nanase and Uta, I took a deep breath and switched gears. “All right, let’s go,” I said.

“Yeah,” Miori replied with a nod.

This time, only four of us—Tatsuya, Miori, Serika, and I—would head over to the river. Hikari, Nanase, and Uta had club activities and lessons to attend, so they couldn’t come.

“It’s better if the girls don’t go anyway,” Tatsuya had said, and I’d agreed too.

The bottom line was that I had sent out an invitation for a fight. It wasn’t the type of thing that girls would want to watch.

The three girls had said, “We might jump in and try to stop you guys,” and agreed to sit this one out.

Miori was also a girl, but I needed her to come since she was acting as my hostage. Meanwhile, Serika had refused to listen and declared, “I’m definitely going!” Hence, we let her do what she wanted.

Tatsuya was coming to act as the referee, as well as the emergency responder. He had basketball practice today but had said, “I don’t feel well today, so I’m taking the day off,” all while looking the same as usual. He was clearly feigning illness, but I appreciated it.

Miori had practice too, but Uta had said, “I’ll give them a convincing explanation!” She would handle coming up with an excuse for Miori.

Thanks for missing a day to be a hostage...

When we left the school, the sky was already dyed sunset red. The four of us walked side by side towards the riverbed. It would take around ten minutes to get there on foot. The spot we were using was one that Nanase had chosen because it would have the least people around. After all, we would get into big trouble if someone saw us and called the police.

We followed the GPS to the location Nanase had sent and soon arrived. We passed through a thick grove of trees to reach the riverbed. From outside, its visibility was quite obstructed. The opposite shore was much the same, so there was little risk of being seen by other people. If anything, maybe someone could barely pick us out from atop a bridge that was a bit far off. Even if they could, though, we’d just look like specks in the distance.

I’m starting to worry that Reita won’t be able to find this place because it’s too well hidden. I shared the map location over RINE, but it’s still left unread...

“Natsuki. What’s with the pose?” Miori shot me a judgmental stare from where she sat on the stairs we’d used to come down here.

“It’s only polite to wait like this,” I said. All I was doing was standing in the center of the dry area of the riverbed with my arms crossed in an imposing way. I was setting the atmosphere. It was my philosophy that youth vibes dwelled in the small details.

“Natsuki, you got this! Fight on!” For reasons unknown to me, Serika had donned a hachimaki headband and was holding a plastic megaphone.

“Serika. We’ll attract attention if you’re loud, so stop smacking that thing,” I pointed out with a straight face. She looked a bit dejected after that. Oh, come on!

Tatsuya glanced at his watch and said, “It’s almost time.”

I also looked down at my phone. It was five minutes before my appointment with Reita. A chilly gust swept through the air. It was freezing outside.

The sun is gradually setting, but I think it’ll stay light out for a little while longer. Please. There aren’t any streetlamps around here, so if night falls, I won’t be able to see a thing... I feel like I’ve got the wrong season. Maybe this isn’t the sort of event that’s supposed to take place in the winter.

Complaining would get me nowhere, though. I did some warm-up exercises to heat up my body. Then, I heard the sound of footsteps trampling on dead leaves coming from the direction of the stairs we’d gone down.

I didn’t need to ask to know who it was. Reita appeared from behind the thick brush, pushing branches aside. He had actually shown up.

He looked around and then sighed. “Could you stop sending me ludicrous letters, Natsuki?”

“You let a ludicrous letter bait you out here? You really are a nice guy, Reita,” I replied.

“I’m guessing this was either your or Serika’s idea. Actually, maybe both.”

“H-How’d you know?”

“You two are the only ones who’d think of such a ridiculous plan.” Reita sighed a second time. He seemed exasperated. “So what do you want? Don’t tell me you actually want to have a fistfight with me?”

“Yep, that’s what I want. It looks like words aren’t enough to reach your heart.”

Reita quizzically furrowed his brows. “And you think you can beat me?”

I could feel the absolute air of confidence in his sharp gaze. Don’t let him scare you. You can’t reach Reita’s heart if you avert your eyes now. “Don’t underestimate me. I work out every day.” Act tough, even if it’s a bluff. I grinned and cracked my knuckles.

“I’ll explain the rules. Face strikes are illegal because they’re too visible. Everything else is on the table, but I’ll intervene if things get life-threatening. I’ll make the call as to who wins and loses. Say ‘I give up’ when you surrender... That’s about it. Any questions?” Tatsuya dispassionately explained the rules.

“So you’re acting as the ref, Tatsuya,” Reita remarked.

“What else can I do? That dumbass over there suggested he duke it out with you.” Tatsuya pointed at me and shrugged.

“Reita. As I wrote in my challenge letter, whoever loses has to listen to the winner,” I said.

“Fine with me. I only have one demand—stay out of my life from now on.” His cold words chilled the air around us even more.

I definitely can’t lose now. Not that I was planning to lose to begin with. “All right. But if I win... You have to be real friends with me this time.” We’ll ask each other for help when something is troubling us... We’ll be friends like that.

Reita blinked in surprise. “That request is very you, Natsuki.”

An introvert like me won’t let go of the few friends he has so easily! “You aren’t going to refuse, right? If you do, I’ll cry,” I whined in a voice oozing confidence. Wait, that isn’t what I imagined I’d say.

“Sure, I don’t care. I’m going to win anyway.”

I’d gotten Reita to accept my terms, so relief washed over me for a brief moment. Getting him swept up in my plan is a success. All that’s left...is to see whether I can actually beat him. Everything hangs on that.

“All right then, ready?”

I put around five meters between us and then faced him. I dropped my hips low and raised my fists, imitating what I’d seen in manga and anime. Reita also put up a relaxed guard. Unlike me, his movements were smooth.

Our gazes met. I felt cold sweat trickle down my back. He didn’t seem to have any openings. Reita looks bigger than normal, even though I’m supposed to be the taller one... Still, I’ve formulated some tactics.

“Begin!”

As soon as Tatsuya gave us the starting signal, I rushed at Reita. He was the more experienced one here, so if I let him take the reins, I would lose. Victory goes to whoever makes the first move, not only in fights, but in everything. I had no doubt that a surprise attack would throw him off.

I vigorously lunged at Reita and threw my right fist at his torso. Though I couldn’t aim at his face, I wasn’t going to hold back elsewhere. Our talk could wait until after my victory.

The moment Reita caught my fist with his left hand, I swung my left at him. He kicked off the ground and twisted his body away from my blow. You’re not getting away! I threw my leg out, but Reita dodged backwards.

He evaded every single one of my attacks?! And he didn’t even break a sweat. I wanted to use my first move to launch a fierce attack that would get him on the ropes.

“You’re fast, but as expected, you’ve never been in a fight before. Isn’t that right, Natsuki?”

“Shut up. Of course I haven’t! No regular high schooler would’ve fought anyone before.”

“You’re right about that... Which means you can’t beat me.” Reita stepped in towards me.

I instantly dropped my hips and put my guard up. However, he defied my expectations so easily that I might as well have been putty in his hands. He had initially acted like he was throwing a punch, but he suddenly dropped down and whipped his leg at me. He drew a graceful arc in the air and struck my right leg.

My stance crumbled. I quickly placed my hand on the ground to help me back up, giving rise to a fatal opening. The next thing I knew, Reita’s leg was flashing before my eyes. I hastily put my arms up in a cross to block it, but I was sent flying.

“Natsuki?!” Miori screamed.

Owww... I’m okay, though. No need to kick up a fuss. I had rolled a few times and dispersed some of the impact, but my arms were stinging.

“I’m only getting started, Reita.”

My uniform was covered in sand, but I had a spare at home. I didn’t care if this one ended up in tatters.

Reita watched me stand up with narrowed eyes. “You couldn’t tell the sheer difference in our skills from that exchange?”

“If I were going to give up after just this much, I wouldn’t have sent you a challenge letter in the first place!”

I attacked Reita again, kicking off the ground as hard as I could. I leaped at him with my entire body’s weight behind a dropkick, but he avoided it easily. He waited until the moment I landed and planted his fist in my stomach. I couldn’t dodge it.

His blow made an audible thud and felt heavy against my gut. Ow. My face twisted in pain. Still, I swung my own fist at him too. Reita, however, repelled it in an effortless display of his skills. My arm was deflected upwards, leaving my torso ripe for the picking.

“Crap!” I exclaimed.

“Too slow,” he said.

Reita slammed into me and sent me flying. My world went spinning. He had jammed his elbow into my body, and my abdomen screamed in pain. The next thing I knew, I was looking up at the twilight-colored sky.

Guess I’m pancaked on the ground... My plan to tank some damage in return for blasting him back harder was a bust. My prospects are looking grim, huh.

“Not yet...” I strained my knees and stood back up.

Reita watched me with an exasperated look. “No matter how many times you come at me, it’s pointless.”

“You’re not the one who gets to decide that! I am!” I made a grab for Reita. If I couldn’t beat him at hand-to-hand combat, I would try grappling.

As though he were ridiculing my shallow thought process, he threw me off-balance with an osoto gari leg sweep. He pulled my clothes, and I went spinning. While I was unable to resist the momentum, he lifted me with his back.

“Gwah?!”

It was a clean shoulder throw. My vision did a three-sixty, and I went from being turned over his back to getting slammed to the ground. My breathing was ragged, like my lungs had been grabbed and shaken. Maybe it wouldn’t have hurt so bad if we were on mats, but the damage I’d taken from hitting the dirt was an order of magnitude higher.

Even so, I couldn’t stay down. It would’ve been the end of the road if Reita had put me in some kind of joint lock, but he was still underestimating me.

“You’re getting up again? That one must’ve hurt quite a lot, though.”

“Not gonna work, Reita. You won’t be able to take me down if you use half-hearted techniques.”

My assessment clearly hit the mark, because his lips twisted down ever so slightly. It was the obvious conclusion if anyone thought about it for a second. If Reita were serious, I wouldn’t have been able to get up again. It didn’t matter how much I exercised; he could’ve taken me out with the very first kick.

“Do you not want to hurt me that badly?” I asked. He had clearly eased up midway through that shoulder throw just now too.

“Of course I don’t. I wouldn’t hold back against a delinquent, but you’re just a regular student.”

“If you keep underestimating me like that, you’ll never win!” I didn’t want to use this tactic if I could avoid it...but I can’t beat him with a frontal assault. When I was close enough to Reita, I grabbed the sand in my pocket and flung it at him.

“What the—?!” Taken by surprise, he instantly covered his face with his arm.

Face strikes are illegal, but no one said throwing sand at your face was! I landed a roundhouse kick as hard as I could into Reita’s torso. A dull thud burst through the air. He’d managed to react in time and had barely put up his guard.

“You want to win against me this badly?”

“I don’t think I can beat you head-on after all. I didn’t break any rules either.”

“Do you throw sand at someone you want to be friends with?”

“Good point,” I said after a pause. He won that argument... Whatever, we’re not debating right now! I willed out a rebuttal. “Becoming friends takes priority! I’ll worry about the rest later!”

Even if I had to use cowardly tricks, winning came first and foremost. I approached Reita once more and threw the handful of sand in my other pocket at him.

“Sorry, but...” However, Reita didn’t dodge the sand and ran straight at me instead. “Now that I know about that move, I just need to fight while taking it into account.”

Although he had one eye shut and had taken the sand to his face, it didn’t matter at this distance. He grabbed my collar, slipped his leg behind mine, and tripped me. I fell to the ground in one fluid motion. He then jammed his knee into me and kept me pinned down.

“That’s checkmate. It doesn’t matter how badly you don’t want to surrender if you can’t move.” Reita stared down at me with his cold eyes at point-blank range.

“You don’t want to be around us that badly?” I tried to push up as the question left my lips, but I couldn’t move. Though I was more muscular than him, he’d put me in a position where I couldn’t exert my strength well.

“I’ve told you multiple times already. I don’t have the right to be with you guys.”

“‘Right, right’... Whatever. Stop shitting me, Reita.”

“What?”

“Who cares about that? Say what you want to do. If you hate us now...then I’ll have to back down and accept that. But”—I continued speaking while pressed to the ground—“if you’re distancing yourself for some other reason, I’ll never let up. And I’ll try even harder if it’s for some dumb reason like needing some right to. Admit how you really feel, Reita. What do you want?!”

His face crumpled. I felt his grip loosen and didn’t miss the opportunity to retaliate. I twisted my body hard, grabbed Reita’s shirt, and threw him off me.

“Quit struggling!” he yelled.

I rolled away and stood back up once more. Reita also got back on his feet as he dusted the sand off his clothes.

“Reita, I want to be with you.” I had to be honest about my feelings if I was to demand the same from him. “I have the most fun when I talk to you and Tatsuya about the stupidest things. I feel crazy comfortable around you. I still believe that we share that feeling.”

I didn’t need to fumble around for reasons—there were just so many. Reita replied with silence. He probably didn’t want to lie.

“Come on, Reita. Your advice has always helped me. You’ve always been there for me, so I want to help when something’s eating away at you.” And I think now is one of those times. “I won’t allow you to agonize alone, take responsibility for some ridiculous crime, or distance yourself without any discussion. Talk to me, Reita. If there’s something you want to say, then lay it on me!” I yelled, not resisting the emotions, so strong that it felt like they were on the brink of overflowing.

“What do you...know about me?!” he roared.

“I don’t know anything, which is why I’m telling you to spit it out!”

I threw my fist at him, but he easily caught it. I looked into Reita’s eyes from up close. We glared at each other.

“I realized that I don’t know anything about your past. So I’m not going to claim that I understand how you feel. But I want to learn more about you, little by little.”

“Hearing about my past isn’t anything enjoyable. That’s why I hardly ever tell anyone about it.”

“So you’ve been brooding over it all by yourself?! And you plan to keep doing that forever?!” I threw my whole weight into my fist and tried to push him back. The momentum sent him flying.

“Urgh!” Reita’s movements had slowed. It was proof that he was hesitating.

“If it’s something you don’t want to talk about, then fine. Wanting to learn about you is my ego talking. Everyone has stuff they want to hide. That’s not what I want to say...”

We were fighting while yelling at each other, so it took me some time to find the right words. But in the end, all I needed to do was vocalize my feelings. It wasn’t a difficult task.

“All I want to say is... We’re friends, so rely on me!”

“You’re still...insisting I’m your friend?”

“I told you already. If you say we’re not friends, then we just need to become real friends this time!” I got a feeling that I was spewing some really embarrassing lines, but I didn’t care. I meant every word, after all.

“Even if...I’m not the immaculate person you imagine me to be?” he asked in a faint whisper that he’d barely managed to wring out.

“I know you’re not,” I said. “You’re a normal high school student. Sure you’re a little more brilliant and pretentious, but you’re a normal high schooler. And that’s fine. As long as we have fun together, that’s all that matters. Don’t think about complicated things like having some ‘right.’”

It was our altercation in the mountains that had made me realize that.

“Come back, Reita. Let’s live it up with everyone again,” I urged him.

He shook his head. “I can’t, not now. Not when I can’t give up on Miori. If I’m near her...I’m sure I’ll bring her unhappiness. And not just Miori either. I’ll ruin it for all of you guys. Our group might fall apart because of me... It’s better I’m not around. Everyone will be happier that way.” Reita listed excuse after excuse. It wasn’t like him to be so feeble.

“You just keep mumbling and grumbling... I’ve been trying to tell you to say what you really feel!” My fist struck Reita right in the chest with a thump. It was my first attack that had actually made solid contact.

He clenched his chest in pain and fell to his knees. “Obviously...I want to go back to you guys too!”

I had finally heard how he truly felt. I’d gone this far to drag those thoughts out of him.

“I have fun hanging out with you guys too! I wish we could all be together forever! But I’m the one who messed it all up!” Reita shouted, his expression contorting with anguish. “That’s why I can’t come back! I told you!”

“You’re saying you can’t come back because you assume everything’s your fault...but that’s all right. I’ll make a reason for you to return. And I’ll do it by beating you!”

Without any hesitation, I curled my fingers into a fist. I stamped my foot loudly into the ground, stepping in with all my might.

“Because I need you for the rainbow-colored youth I’m aiming for!”

While he was discomposed, I landed a straight right into his face. He took the blow full force and went flying to the ground, rolling a few times.

“Oops.” I looked at Tatsuya. He was shooting me an extremely cold stare.

Silence lingered in the air. Shit... My mind, which had just been so fired up with passion, rapidly cooled off.

“Uhhh... Natsuki broke the rules, so I guess he loses?” Tatsuya said.

Right. We agreed at the start that hitting the face is illegal.

“What were you thinking?” he asked.

“Well, um... I just kinda went overboard...” You have to throw a punch to the face during these sorts of conversations! It’s a no-brainer... Sorry. I was influenced by a light novel I like. You shouldn’t hit people in the face with flair. Yes, sir.

An extremely awkward atmosphere settled over the two of us and Reita, who was flopped on the ground. Even Serika was giving me a “What the heck is this guy doing?” look. Her gaze stung. Miori and Hasegawa were whispering to each other; they were definitely trash-talking me.

When did Hasegawa show up? Who knows, but she and Miori seem to be having a friendly chat. Did they make up? Well hey, that’s not a bad thing. More importantly, what should I do?

Reita spoke up then. “Tatsuya.”

“What?” he replied.

“I give up. I lose,” Reita declared, still lying on his back.

“You sure? I can pronounce Natsuki the loser for foul play.”

“We agreed face strikes were illegal, but we never said you’d lose for doing it.”

Isn’t he just splitting hairs? Though the thought came to my mind, I was in no position to point that out. Literally.

“So you’re fine with it if I win?” I asked.

“Yeah. You win this one,” Reita replied.

“Hell yeah! I won! Cool, that means you’ll be my friend forever!”

“Wipe that smile off your face. You only won out of the kindness of Reita’s heart,” Tatsuya said.

You’re very right.

“Why is Natsuki always such a sloppy mess,” Serika said.

“He was looking cool during the middle bit too... Oh, don’t tell Natsuki I said that,” Miori added.

I could faintly hear the girls talking to one another in low voices. Excuse me, Miori-san, I can hear you just fine. I feel mortified, so please stop it.

“I-I’m beat...” I plopped down on the ground with a thud. The moment it hit me that the conflict was finally over, my body immediately felt like lead. Adrenaline had kept me going during the fight, but now I ached everywhere.

“Your plan was way too reckless.” Reita slowly sat up and looked over at me. Even though he had received a blow straight to the face, he didn’t seem to have taken major damage. He must’ve expertly deflected most of the impact.

I thought he flew way too far... Compared to him, I don’t think I can stand again. Oof, this hurts. The pain is too much. I seriously can’t anymore. Who said we’d resolve this through a fight, anyway? Whoever thought that up is a dumbass...! Nevertheless, with the way it wrapped up, I can’t tell who was the victor.

“What was your plan if your words hadn’t shaken me up?” Reita asked.

“In that case, I was going to pull out my second cowardly plan.”

“Second one? Did you have something else besides the sand strat?”

“Yeah. If things really went south, I was going to have Tatsuya back me up. He was the ace up my sleeve.”

Reita’s eyes rounded in surprise. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious. I never said we had to fight one-on-one.” I had intended to use that technicality to team up with Tatsuya and deliver Reita a beatdown. I really didn’t want to resort to that, though. It paints a bad look no matter how you slice it.

“I’m not crazy about the idea, but us against Reita would be a close match,” Tatsuya said with a shrug.

“I think you’re overestimating me a lot,” Reita said. “I’d be helpless if two big guys like you came at me at the same time... I see, so I would’ve lost sooner or later.” He nodded in understanding.

I have to question him for accepting my logic. I fear he’ll get swindled in the future.

Tatsuya and Reita sat down next to me (I still couldn’t move) and gazed up at the crimson sky.

“Apparently...my mom is getting remarried,” Reita began. He was doing just as I’d hoped: divulging what I wanted to know and relying on me. “I don’t really mind. It’s already been two years since my mom ran off. A short while ago, she suddenly reached out to my dad and requested he sign the divorce papers. So she could remarry.”

He spoke in hesitant, scattered strings of words, probably because he wasn’t used to talking about himself. He had also left out a large portion of background information. I had heard a smidge of it from Tatsuya, though.

“Since then, my dad’s gone back to drinking again. He never said anything, but I think he wanted to rebuild our family one day. He was shocked when he realized that hope would never come true... He wasn’t that together to begin with, but after my mom ran off, he found a job at the construction company in his hometown and has been working hard. I’ve been taking care of the housework to help out.”

I was missing bits and pieces of information, but I quietly listened to Reita speak.

“But...since my mom got remarried, my dad has lost the drive to work. He’s covered it up by telling his company that he’s ill, but...he’ll be fired if he keeps skipping work. We’re already barely scraping by month to month, and...now it’s even worse. So I thought I should at least earn my own money. That’s why I said I’m looking for a part-time job.”

Family and money matters—it was hard to throw out a lighthearted response to either topic. I understood why Reita hadn’t opened up to anyone else about his problems until now. All this time, he must’ve been brooding by himself.

“My dad’s personality changes when he’s drunk. And whenever things get tough, he inevitably escapes through alcohol. I tried to stop him from drinking, but... Given the circumstances, you know?” Reita sighed. “I know it didn’t all turn out this way because I have bad parents. I owe them for raising me too. I understand he’s shocked about my mom getting married again, and I tried to support him as much as I could, but...I was worn-out.”

It might be because my initial impression of his parents skews too negatively, but having to support parents like that would be extremely straining. Reita may be a beast when it comes to the art of consideration, but I can sympathize with him feeling drained after going through all that.

“It was right around then when I learned about the rumors surrounding Miori.”

I looked away from Reita for a moment to glance in the direction of the riverbed entrance. Miori and Hasegawa sat next to each other on the stairs about twenty meters away. They weren’t close enough to overhear our conversation.

Drawn by my gaze, Reita also turned his eyes in their direction and continued. “Honestly, I was shocked. I thought I had some clue about things. At the time, I hadn’t truly noticed it...but I must’ve felt fairly cornered. I only ever relaxed when I was with Miori. I could beaver away because she was by my side. That’s what I thought, so when I learned about that rumor...I intuitively knew it was true.”

“Miori wasn’t in the wrong,” Reita added. “I was to blame. I knew that dating me had made her feel constrained. On top of that, I’d practically sweet-talked her into a contractual relationship. It was my first time feeling this way about someone, so I couldn’t give up on her. I couldn’t control myself...” His tone was filled with regret and self-castigation. “As a result, my bad premonition came true. Miori was the one driven all the way to the edge.”

He recited the story like he was gouging out the wounds in his heart. However, neither I nor Tatsuya interjected. We were the ones who had wanted this, after all.

“I pulled out every trick in my book to improve Miori’s reputation... But—I’m ashamed to admit it—I panicked that I was responsible for bringing this on her, and I became shortsighted. I pretended I was fine, but I think I was hurt over being dumped by her... I ended up redirecting all the hate people were giving Miori to Yoko, and I didn’t consider how Miori might feel about that. I quarreled with my dad because he was constantly drinking, and then I ran away from home. By the time I heard Miori had gone missing, I had already lost a place to return to, and I didn’t know what to do.”

Individual factors had piled up one after another, leading Reita down a bad road. Just listening to his story distressed me. Why didn’t I try to get to know him sooner? I was filled with regret. I should’ve shown him more concern.

“I thought I had to find her. And at the same time, a strange conviction struck me.” Reita flicked his eyes to where I was pancaked on the ground. “I knew that you would find her.” He looked like he was beholding something beautiful. “Maybe that confidence was why I was more caught up in my own business than worrying about Miori. I know it’s contradictory, though. I wanted to stop you and go to her myself.”

I recalled the conversation Reita and I had had during our search for Miori.

“You didn’t want to let Natsuki get to wherever Motomiya was, right?” Tatsuya asked.

Reita nodded. “I can try to embellish it all I like, but that was how I genuinely felt. If I let Natsuki go, I would never beat him at anything for the rest of my life. I was terrified of that. And the terror overshadowed my concern for Miori.”

Back then, the only thing on my mind was saving Miori. I had also been shortsighted. It had never even struck me that Reita might be thinking such things. Composure wasn’t something I could afford, and so I had panicked. I’d been wholeheartedly scared. Merely imagining that I might lose Miori made me tremble.

“That’s why...after our exchange, I ended up realizing that I couldn’t win.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because, you love Miori, right?”

I couldn’t respond. Tatsuya didn’t say anything either.

Reita’s lips softened into a small smile. “And I’m sure your feelings for her long surpass what I feel for her.”

Before I realized it, the sky had been dyed by the night. The entire expanse above was dotted by twinkling stars, without a single cloud in sight.

“After that, it was just as you heard. Once I knew what an awful person I was, feeling disappointed in myself, I wandered around aimlessly until I bumped into Koya. He was out looking for Miori at Yoko’s request, and we got into a fight.”

“How did only that part of the story escalate so quickly?” I asked.

“We were close in the past, but he’s still Yoko’s older brother, and she’s the one who ruined Miori’s reputation. Plus, Yoko had asked him to find Miori. I figured they didn’t want her for any respectable reason, so I refused to help him. That’s how it happened.”

“Ha. You must’ve turned him down with that cold tone of yours,” Tatsuya said, sounding amused.

“Yeah... I was in a bad mood, after all.”

“That must’ve rubbed him the wrong way.”

Or maybe when he saw Reita acting different from usual, Hasegawa’s older brother suspected he had a lead. I get the impression that guys like him would resort to drastic measures in situations like that (just my bias).

“After we fought and cooled our heads, I explained the circumstances and resolved the misunderstanding. But we were stupid and got arrested by the police. My dad was furious he had to apologize to them, I couldn’t go home, and I got suspended. I didn’t think I had the right to be with you guys again... And there you have it.” Reita paused before adding in a mocking tone, “Aren’t I a moron?”

If I had heard this story a little while ago, I might not have believed it. However, I now understood who the real Shiratori Reita was.

“Dude, how’d you end up hanging out with those guys, anyway?” Tatsuya asked.

“Despite their appearances, they’re pretty nice. They just look scary. They accepted me into their group without asking any questions, even though I appeared out of the blue... Actually, they probably had the wrong idea.”

“Wrong idea?”

“‘Got your heart broken, yeah? I won’t pry... You can stay here until your heart heals,’” Reita said, mimicking a voice I didn’t recognize. “They said that while bobbing their heads, with tears streaming down their faces. It wasn’t totally wrong, so I didn’t correct them.”

Tatsuya burst into laughter at that. “Hey, that was Sanada, wasn’t it?”

“You can tell? He’s always quick to jump to the wrong conclusion.”

They’re talking about someone who went to the same middle school... Watching the two of them get excited about a shared past I didn’t know about made me feel a bit left out.

“You met him at the underpass. He was the blond boy standing in the very front,” Reita explained to me.

“Oh, that guy.” I had a hazy recollection of him. Not gonna lie, Hasegawa’s brother was so overpowering that I don’t really remember any of the other guys’ faces.

“They’re not a bad bunch. The only reason we stopped hanging out in the past was because I chose to continue playing soccer. They didn’t want to cause me any trouble, so they distanced themselves.”

“Aren’t you speaking too highly of them? They’re just a bunch of dumbasses. I don’t like them. They bother other people, and they don’t think about their futures,” Tatsuya said.

“That’s unexpected coming from you, Tatsuya. I can’t believe you’re talking about bothering other people, or thinking about your future.”

“Hey, Reita. You wanna go? We can start round two right now.” Tatsuya cracked his knuckles in response to Reita’s sharp words.

“Say what you like, but you definitely weren’t thinking about the future right after you entered Ryomei,” I pointed out.

Tatsuya considered that for a moment and then nodded. “That’s...true...”

“Ha ha! You’ve changed quite a lot,” Reita said.

We had met in the spring, and now it was already winter. People changed bit by bit. And as they did, their relationships changed too. With the passage of time, nothing can stay the same forever. So I hoped that change would be a good one for us.

“What will you do about your dad?” I asked.

“I haven’t thought about that yet. I guess...I’ll have to start from square one and talk to him. He and I both have problems. We need to face each other and work out a solution,” Reita said somberly as he straightened up. “I’ll be fine. Natsuki gave me a solid punch and snapped me out of it. I’m done running away.”

He grinned; it was a gesture to assuage our worries. It had been a long time since I’d seen him smile.

“What about soccer? Can you stay with the team?” Tatsuya asked.

“No idea. I don’t even know if we’re financially stable enough for me to keep playing... Besides, I was suspended because I got into a fight. I’m not sure if they’ll even want me anymore.”

Regardless of what happened, there’s no doubt the soccer team’s reputation has been dragged through the mud. Reita will be in no position to object if they force him to quit the team. My heart isn’t happy about it, but my head understands the logic. It doesn’t matter to the soccer team what Reita goes through.

I can’t help him with anything, not with his dad or with the soccer team. Not everything in real life can be solved by doing your best. Some problems won’t go away no matter how much you struggle. And some of them are out of my realm. I can’t be like the heroes in manga and anime.

“Reita, you can bounce ideas around with me. And if you want any help, you can ask me for anything.” Still, I can help a friend in need. I stood up and held out my hand towards Reita.

“I’ll take you up on that, Natsuki.” He grabbed my hand and rose to his feet.

“Hey! Let’s have a rock-skipping contest!” Next thing I knew, Tatsuya was standing a ways away, near the edge of the river.

“Why rock skipping all of a sudden?” I questioned.

Reita smiled sardonically and shrugged. “It’s Tatsuya—he probably wanted to when he saw the river.”

It was dark out, and I couldn’t see the ground very well. We should’ve started heading home, but Tatsuya faced the river and threw a rock. I could barely make out its shape as it splashed across the water’s surface.

“Hell yeah! That’s five times! Hey, it’s your turn next,” he said.

“Tatsuya, you’re so energetic.” My body hurts all over. I can’t chuck a rock...

“What, you running away?” he jeered.

“That’s bold of you, Tatsuya. They used to call me the rock-skipping king, so you better not underestimate me,” Reita said with a snort, brimming with confidence.

“Rock-skipping king? You definitely got that title in middle school,” I quipped.

“Natsuki, stop griping and pick your rock. It won’t skip if it’s not flat,” Tatsuya said.

“You want me to fumble around in the dark searching for a suitable rock to skip?” Come on, that’s too stupid. To begin with, rock skipping isn’t an activity for high schoolers. But... Oh well, days like this aren’t too bad sometimes. Such thoughts ran through my head as I watched the two of them throw rocks into the river and taunt each other.

Note: The rock-skipping contest ended with a score of seven skips for Reita, Tatsuya with six, and me bringing up the rear with four. Dammit!