Black Bullet - Volume 3 - Chapter 2.5

5

The wind was blowing strong the next morning, making the curtains of the tent flutter. The weather wasn’t bad, but the clouds drifting in the sky were passing by at great speeds.

“You’re going today, too?” Tamaki stood by the doorway to see them off, but he looked more solemn than usual.

“Yeah,” said Rentaro.

“Why do you still have to go to school at a time like this? I don’t get it,” said Yuzuki, furiously combing down her blond hair.

Next to her, Enju raised her hand energetically and answered, “It’s because it’s a time like this!”

“Huh?” Yuzuki sounded like she truly couldn’t understand.

Rentaro thought she had a point. He also wasn’t confident that he could explain his actions to other people.

From the adjacent two-person tent, there were the sounds of hurried morning preparations. When Rentaro went to wake its residents this morning, Kisara and Tina were both still sound asleep. The two of them seemed to have trouble falling asleep the night before and finally slept, but only when the sky was already turning light.

Rentaro looked up behind him and gazed at the bleached Monolith. There was one day left.

Gado had decided to let everyone have the whole day free. Apparently, because today was the last day, he intended for everyone to enjoy it. It was true that if they didn’t see their loved ones now, it was possible that they would never see each other in this world again.

And Rentaro naturally chose to spend his last free day as Mr. Rentaro. It was a strange feeling, though. At first, he had been forced to do it against his will, and he hadn’t planned on getting into it that much.

Tamaki looked at him with an even more dubious expression. “Won’t this just increase your regrets?”

“Maybe, but I need to at least say good-bye.”

“Well, as long as you get it, just make sure you don’t come back all gloomy.”

“What about you guys?”

This time, the Katagiri siblings looked at each other. Tamaki shrugged. “I guess I’ll eat something delicious to prepare for tomorrow and then go to sleep.”

“You guys don’t have anything else to do?”

“Our family and extended relatives were almost entirely killed by the Gastrea. There’s no one to say good-bye to.”

Rentaro regretted his question, and paused before his next question, considering it. “Did you guys become civil officers to get revenge on the Gastrea?”

Tamaki put both hands behind his head. “Hmm, I wonder. I don’t think about really tedious stuff like that.”

“But I can’t believe you can just not think about it—”

Tamaki cut him off. “The guys who bring grudges to fights with Gastrea are the ones who die early.”

Rentaro felt like he had suddenly been stabbed in the chest. Tamaki pushed up the bridge of his sunglasses with his middle finger, as if he didn’t want Rentaro to see his sharp eyes peaking out from over the top. “Well, if I had to say, I’d say I was fighting for someone’s smile. All right, my sweet, shall we go back to sleep to prepare for tomorrow?”

Yuzuki must have been sleepy, because she just nodded in agreement and somehow the two of them made it over to their sleeping bags.

Rentaro had mixed feelings after catching a glimpse of Tamaki’s expression, but he forced himself to switch gears. Sticking his head into the tent, he called out to Shoma, who was in the corner of the tent taking apart his gun and cleaning it. “What’ll you do today, Bro?”

Shoma shrugged and looked at Midori next to him. “We’re planning to start training in a little bit. ’Cause it’ll be problematic if my body doesn’t move when I need it to.”

Both the Katagiri siblings and Shoma pair had simple plans. Well, from their point of view, Rentaro and the others going to school without a care might have seemed like they were unaware of the looming danger.

But just then, Tina rushed out of the smaller tent and said with an apologetic expression, “Please go on ahead.” She followed it with a bow.

He gave an amicable wave to show he understood and guided Enju forward with a hand on the back of her shoulders. If they left now, even if they got there in the shortest amount of time, they would still be quite late.

And so, the last day started quietly.

Rentaro bought tickets for District 39, and they got on the train. On the trains between the Outer Districts early in the morning there were almost no passengers, and it wasn’t that hard to find a train car that was completely empty.

Turning their backs toward the orange sunlight shining from the east, they sat next to each other on the red velvet seats. As the train left the station, their bodies swayed and the hanging straps quivered. Finally, the train car accelerated slowly, and there was the rhythmical vibration of the train passing over the tracks. The shape of the shadows changed by the second, and moved from left to right.

Rentaro’s back, which had absorbed the morning sunlight, was nice and warm. It was hard to believe that today might be Tokyo Area’s last. Once tomorrow came, they would be fighting a decisive battle against two thousand Gastrea, led by Aldebaran, a force that would be unimaginably strong. It was sure to be a fierce battle unlike anything Rentaro and the others had ever experienced before; there was no guarantee that Rentaro or Enju would be alive to breathe after these next battles.

Because they both understood this implicitly, the early morning air seemed fraught with tension. Because of how short the time they had left was, even this casual time seemed like something irreplaceable, a halo that made the world sparkle.

“Enju, are you having fun at school?” Rentaro asked.

She narrowed her eyes and rubbed her head against Rentaro’s chest comfortably. The girl smelled sweet, like sunlight. “Yes, I am having so much fun. Thank you, Rentaro.”

“If you’re having fun, it’s because you’re working hard.”

Enju lifted her head and shook it, still clinging to Rentaro’s chest. “I know that you and Kisara secretly stayed up at night looking for the best school for me to attend while tapping on the calculator.”

Rentaro was taken aback. “You were watching?”

Seeing Enju smile wryly, Rentaro had mixed feelings. He didn’t really want a child to know about this kind of real-life cost-benefit analysis.

“I am grateful to you, Rentaro…,” said Enju. “And I guess I’m a little grateful to Kisara, too.”

Putting his arm around the pouting Enju, he hugged her to his chest. “It was worth the hard work, then.”

Enju’s upturned eyes blinked and wavered with unease as she looked at him. “Rentaro, is it not fun for you to be a teacher, after all?”

“Well…” Rentaro looked at the groups of ruins passing by the window. Most of the buildings had collapsed, and only the sky was vast. “I’m having fun.”

“What?”

Once he admitted it, he felt the worry lift from his chest. The next words he spoke came out pretty honestly. “No matter what started it, I’m having fun right now. It’s because of you, Enju. Thanks.”

At first Enju’s eyes widened, but then slowly her expression changed to a smile, and she hugged Rentaro’s arm, overcome with emotion.

Rentaro was about to protest, but seeing the charming expression on Enju’s face, he held his tongue and let her hold him. The sound of the train shunting along the rails and ties was softly buried in silence, and time passed peacefully.

Rentaro didn’t know how much time had passed when it was announced that the train had reached District 39, and he urged the reluctant Enju to get off. When they left the station, wind came from below that seemed to roll up and push at their backs. Walking with the girl on the already familiar streets in front of the station, their view was soon filled with ruined buildings.

As they walked, he collected his thoughts. Today’s classroom would probably also be full of kids from the Outer Districts. But since today might be the last day, he decided he’d talk about hope and happiness.

After they walked for a while, Rentaro saw a mountain of trash blocking their way. Once they got past that, the open meadow would be spread out in front of them. And as long as they had a blackboard and students, it didn’t matter where they were—it was a classroom.

The closer Rentaro got to their destination, the more nervous he got. But for some reason, it wasn’t a comfortable nervousness but an ominous premonition. Just then, Rentaro noticed an unpleasant smell and covered his mouth and nose with his hand.

Was it the smell of something burning? Why? When he saw a police officer from afar, Rentaro’s heart skipped. The whole area was cordoned off with caution tape. That was exactly the place Rentaro and the others used for their outdoor classroom. Even though he had no idea why the policeman was there, all his hairs stood on end nervously.

The eyes of the hoodlums from the city flashed through his mind. “The ones you civil officers are protecting are those brats after all, huh?”

As the distance between them shrunk to ten meters, the policeman also noticed them and walked over.

“Enju, stay here…,” Rentaro whispered.

“R-Rentaro?”

Leaving Enju, Rentaro went to face the officer and exchanged a few words. There was sadness in his face. Finally, the man opened his mouth. His words were few, and cruel.

The blood drained from Rentaro’s face. The things around him faded into oblivion, and the scene twisted. He didn’t hear anything else the officer had to say. He even forgot to thank the officer as he turned around and returned to Enju.

When Enju saw his face, she froze. Fearfully touching his face with his hands, he felt his dried-out skin and tense muscles. “Enju, let’s go home. You don’t have to go to school today.”

“Wh-why? Why all of a sudden—?”

Rentaro didn’t say anything.

“Then, early tomorrow morning for just a little bit…”

“You don’t have to go tomorrow, either.”

Enju gasped. “Then, then, after we finish fighting—”

“You don’t have to go the day after, or the day after that, or the day after that.” Rentaro put both hands on Enju’s shoulders and met her eyes. “Enju, listen to me calmly—”

His nails almost dug into her shoulders. He couldn’t meet her eyes and looked down. “A bomb exploded in our class. Because of that news report.”