Chapter 81 - Volume 9 (1/2)

Madness and Jealousy

“Shit! Shit! What’s with this! What kind of joke is this!”

It was midnight. Inside a park located on the outskirts of the post town, Hol-ad, one boy was cursing in a hushed voice, punching one of the trees repeatedly. It was Hiyama Daisuke. Hiyama’s eyes were shaking intensely in hatred, agitation, and impatience. Those were truly ugly and impure eyes, from which it was not an exaggeration to they were full of madness.

“As I thought, you really did lose your temper… well, I know it can’t be helped though. After all, your precious, precious princess Kaori was snatched by another man before your eyes, right?”

A voice filled with scorn and slight sympathy rang out from behind such a Hiyama. Fwip, Hiyama immediately turned around. Next, he momentarily raised an expression of relief when he recognized the other person was the one he meeting in secret, and, following that, with his fists clenched, he replied with a voice that was just like a beast’s howl.

“Shut up! Shit! This… this shouldn’t have happened! Why, why is that bastard alive!? Just why did he did that…”

“Don’t be distracted by yourself, I want to have a talk, you know? Also, it will become a serious matter if someone sees us meeting in secret.”

“… I, I don’t have anymore reasons to go along with you… my Kaori is already…”

In between the trees’ shadows created by the moonlight was a person’s silhouette, to whom Hiyama bitterly spoke as he pummeled his fists on the tree.

Hiyama cooperating with this person was only because he heard that he would be able to make Kaori his own. That’s why, with Kaori leaving, he had lost his reason to cooperate, and it was too late to threaten him with exposing his attempt to kill Hajime as the victim could have said it himself.

However, the person in the darkness smiled as its mouth turned curved into a crescent at such a Hiyama, and it once again tempted him just like the devil.

“If she is snatched then just snatch her back. Is it wrong? Fortunately, we have good bait here.”

“…Bait?”

Not knowing what it meant, Hiyama dubiously tilted his head which made that person grinned and nodded.

“That’s right, bait. Even if she puts priority on her feelings and parts from those comrades of hers… her best friends that were always by her side, her childhood friends… do you think she can just leave them be? Especially if she knows they are in a predicament.”

“You…”

“It is easy to call her back. So, there’s no need to be pessimistic about it. Especially in this case, even I got a chill… but I am glad that it resulted in something convenient for me. Yup, it could be said as a godsend. Shall we finish everything once we return to the Imperial Capital? Then… you will surely obtain what you desire, you know?”

“…”

Though knowing it was useless, Hiyama glared at his accomplice that stayed in the shadow. Even receiving his gaze, the person before Hiyama laughed normally.

Though he didn’t know all of this person’s plan, from their previous words, Hiyama could have guessed that it’d involve injuring the other classmates. For their own objective, they could easily betrayed their comrades, with whom they shared joy and sorrow with. Following that, a chill ran down in his spine as he couldn’t feel any guilt from that person.

(A nasty person as always… but, I also cannot back down anymore… I must do it to get my Kaori back… that’s all. There’s nothing to hesitate about. This is for Kaori. I am the justice here.)

Hiyama only thought of himself and his confusion had already been disappeared. Because of his accomplice, he was made to look away from the thing he must see, believing that his action was justified, while it all stemmed from his desire for Kaori.

The silhouette turned silent as it understood Hiyama’s feelings. Smiling, it waited for Hiyama’s answer.

“… Okay. Just like before, I will lend you a hand. However…”

“Aah, I understand. I will obtain what I desired, and you will obtain yours. Give and take, isn’t that a nice word? From now on is crucial. The case in the Imperial Capital too, can I leave that to you?”

Without minding Hiyama’s distorted expression, that person turned on their heels and disappeared, as if merging with the space between the trees. Afterwards, what was left was the fallen boy whose eyes were filled with darkness.

* * *

On the other hand, at the time the suspicious meeting happened in the outskirts of the town, another boy and girl were also standing under the moonlight.

They weren’t in the location where the secret meeting happened, they were on a small, arched bridge, above one of the waterways that passed through between the shops and back alleys of the town. A lot of waterways were built for the large number of restaurants and service buildings, and the boy on the bridge was looking down on the flowing water’s surface as it reflected the moon above it, under the moonlight.

More accurately, he wasn’t looking but “drooping his head”, moreover, his expression was dark, far from its usual shine. The boy’s appearance was just like that a person whose company bankrupted, incurred large amount of debt, and was now despairing about his future as he looked far into the distance, into the twilight. It was our hero, Amanogawa Kouki.

“… Do you not want to talk?”

A voice called out to Kouki who didn’t look away from the moon reflected on the water surface. It was his childhood friend for ten years, the pair of the girl that went away, Yaegashi Shizuku.

Unlike Kouki, Shizuku was entrusting her back to the bridge’s railing, looking up at the moon in the sky. Towards the railing, her trademark ponytail was swaying, playing in the wind. Without looking at his childhood friend, and Shizuku who also not looking at him, Kouki replied as he continued to look at the moon.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“…”

There was no answer, no, Kouki just could not answer her. Even though he was looking at the moon reflected on the water’s surface, what was in his mind was the spectacle of Kaori speaking her feelings. Within her anxiety and rejoice, as if praying, she spoke her feelings without any hint of a lie, which even convinced Kouki, whose denseness was at the level of a chronic disease.

Kouki and Kaori were friends for around ten years, but he was hurt when he saw her beautiful strength, he had never seen Kaori made such expressions. It was just like a bolt out of the blue for him.

Every time he recalled her expression, an unspeakable feeling sprang up in his mind. It was dark and heavy, a truly murky feeling. Unconditionally, without any basis, he believed his thought was a natural one. That was that, his childhood friend, Kaori, would always be by his side, without any change. It could be said he thought of Kaori as his. In other words, he was jealous.

That jealousy, Kouki himself didn’t know as to whether it came from love or just his desire to monopolize her, but the feeling that she was “snatched” from him was swirling in his mind, intensely.

However, it was Kaori herself that decided to go along with the one who “snatched” her away, Hajime (though he would surely object to it). Moreover, he didn’t want to believe and tried to deny the existence called Hajime by challenging him to a duel where he was defeated. His misery, resentment towards Hajime, doubts about Kaori’s feelings, and a lot of other feelings were mixed together, making Kouki’s mind a mess, just like the inside of kicked trash can.

Thus he kept looking at the water and unbeknownst to him, his other childhood friend was already standing beside him without saying anything… his reply from before was also truly not like him. Unable to find his next word, Kouki turned silent.

Sneaking a glance at such a Kouki, Shizuku frowned her brows and with an atmosphere that expressed “It can’t be helped,” she moved her mouth.

“… Right now, Kouki, you are being a pain.”

“… A pain?”

Shizuku’s unexpected reply made Kouki inadvertently parrot her. Shizuku moved her gaze from the moon towards Kouki, and continued her words.

“That’s right. About Kaori, from the beginning she isn’t yours, you know?”

“… That’s… then, are you saying she is Nagumo’s?”

Prick, Kouki’s eyes were shaking as he guessed that, he desperately tried to object that as if cursing it. Hearing that, Shizuku answered with a strong forehead flick. “It hurt-!?,” Kouki instinctively covered his forehead, and leering at him, Shizuku scolded him with a cold voice.

“Idiot. Kaori is her own. Whatever she chooses, wherever she goes, it is up to Kaori to decide that. Of course, even who she wants to be with… is up to her own decision.”

“… Since when? Shizuku, you must have known that, right?”