Chapter 8: Makoto Takatsuki Visits the Hero of Light
“Sakurai, you there?” I called out.
“We came to visit,” Sasa added.
“Ryousuke,” said Furiae quietly, “are you well?”
The three of us had gone to the royal infirmary to visit Sakurai. Lucy had said she would be too nervous, so she had decided to stay back. The healers had told us where he was, and since it was a private room, we walked in without knocking.
“Ah...” the three of us murmured in unison.
“Huh?” was the simultaneous response of two additional voices.
Sakurai and Yokoyama were in the middle of an embrace.
There was an awkward silence.
“We’ll...come back later,” I said, going to close the door.
“Waitwaitwait!” Yokoyama quickly called out.
“Thanks for coming to visit,” Sakurai said. When he walked over to us, his cheeks were noticeably flushed. I was pretty sure he was supposed to be in bed.
“Shouldn’t you be lying down?” I asked.
“My injuries are already healed.”
Right... His skill let him recover beneath sunlight. That Sakurai, just as OP as ever...
“Aya, Furiae, thank you both as well,” Yokoyama said.
“We brought fruit!” Sasa exclaimed. “Want me to peel something?”
“I had nothing better to do,” Furiae replied, as tsundere as ever.
“Furiae, your Future Sight informed everyone of what would happen. It was because of you that Takatsuki knew to come after me. Thank you.” Sakurai offered a handsome smile.
She shied slightly. “Well, you helped me when I was captured. We’re even now.” She glanced away.
Yokoyama practically brandished a smile at the two of us. “And Takatsuki arriving saved Ryousuke. He’s only here thanks to you two!”
“Fruit’s done!” Sasa cheered.
“Thanks, Sasa...” I said, but my eyes widened when I saw the spread. “Huh? You cut these?” They looked just like Sembikya’s products.
“Wow!”
“Can I eat these?”
Yokoyama and Furiae’s eyes were both sparkling.
“I’ll make some tea.” Sasa busied herself with making tea and coffee for us all. Her skills just wouldn’t quit. We pretty much ended up having a tea party, our spirits flying high from the victory.
The three girls were chattering away, but as a guy, it felt kind of awkward to try and join in.
“Takatsuki, wanna get some fresh air?” Sakurai asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
And so, we headed out onto the roof. No one else was here, and we had the place to ourselves. A cool breeze was blowing, tousling Sakurai’s hair around his face. He looked like he could’ve stepped out of some magazine.
“You saved me again,” he said.
“Again?” Had I saved him before? We’d fought together in Labyrinthos and Cameron, but I didn’t think those times amounted to “saving” him. Plus, he was overwhelmingly strong, so it just seemed weird.
“No—back in elementary and junior high.”
“That was so long ago...” I murmured.
I didn’t think he needed to dredge up the distant past, but nonetheless, he kept talking.
“Oh, right, so back in our first year of junior high...”
“First year? What happened?”
As Sakurai spoke, I dug back through my memories.
◇ During Junior High ◇
The bell chimed and the classroom—no, the whole school—started to get louder.
Time to head back.
I was in the “go home club,” and I didn’t have any close friends. You could probably call me a loner.
It hadn’t been like this in the earlier years of elementary school. People used to invite me to play, but no one had recently. I guess people didn’t just get friends out of nowhere—you had to make them.
There’s no one I can really talk with...
I could spend the whole night discussing games, especially RPGs. But unfortunately, most of my class liked soccer games or party games, ones everyone could play together. No one seemed to like the single-player ones that I did.
Well, whatever, I don’t need to force myself to fit in.
I put my books away and left the noisy classroom.
“Takatsuki! Wait up! Let’s head home together.”
There was someone who’d talk to me occasionally. Ryousuke Sakurai. He lived nearby, and we’d known each other since kindergarten.
“Sakurai? Sure.”
“Awww, Ryousuke? You don’t have club activities today, right? You should hang out with us.” Yokoyama—another classmate—spoke over me. She was almost always in the middle of the popular girls’ group, and she was pretty strong-willed, so I didn’t know how to deal with her.
“Ryousuke, you’re inviting Takatsuki today?” asked one of her friends.
“We’ve never really spoken, huh?” added another.
We really hadn’t, so I didn’t know what kind of people they were. I doubted we’d really be on the same page.
“Sorry, guys,” Sakurai said apologetically. “We’re walking home, just the two of us tonight. Some other time.”
They all let out a groan, but I hadn’t even agreed yet. Why was Sakurai talking like it was a done deal?
“Let’s head out, Takatsuki.”
“Uh, yeah...” Yokoyama, please don’t glare at me like that.
And so, the two of us ended up leaving together.
After a while, Sakurai spoke up. “It’s been a while since you and I walked home after school.”
“Yeah.” We’d been close neighbors during early childhood. Back then, we’d played a lot together. During the later years of elementary school, he’d grown tall, good-looking, and sporty. His grades were always high, and he got along with everyone, so he’d ended up in the middle of the class.
Meanwhile, I always sat off in the corner. There was a clear and immediate difference between the two of us.
“You’re not joining a club?” he asked.
“Nah. There’s none that really interest me.”
“Why not join the soccer club with me? It’s only for the summer, so they’ll take new members.”
“I’ll...” I paused for a beat, “pass.”
His posture slumped. “Okay.”
Our soccer club was well known for being tough, and I was the least athletic in the class. I doubted I’d be able to keep up.
Speaking of being athletic...
“You’re a first string now, right?” I asked him. I’d heard our classmates talking about it. That was pretty impressive for a first year, and I remembered the girls squeeing over it.
“A third year got injured, so I was just lucky there was an opening. You could manage if you tried.”
“Not a chance.”
Even amid my rejection, he was still inviting me—he was also one of the few friends that’d ask me to hang out. But, there was just too much of a difference between us. It was like we were on different wavelengths, and at some point, we’d stopped hanging out. These days, it was a bit of a rarity for him to invite me somewhere so emphatically.
“So, what prompted today?” I asked. “Why’d you wanna hang out?”
“Well... Uh, how do I put it...?”
Sakurai always seemed to be good at everything, but now he was searching for words. Whatever it was must’ve been pretty difficult to say.
“Let’s stop off somewhere,” I suggested.
The two of us swung by one of our usual haunts. Then, we went to a park that was on the way home. We sat on a bench under a wisteria tree, each of us with some croquettes and a bottle of ramune. It was pretty common for me to get this snack since I didn’t have a club to attend after school.
“What do you think? Their croquettes are great.”
“Takatsuki...stopping for food on the way home is against the school rules.”
“Eh, it’s fine. We’re already in junior high.”
“Considering what they said at the shop, you’ve been a regular since elementary school.”
“Guess so.”
“Just how easygoing are you?!”
Sakurai was so serious... He probably didn’t break school rules. But I was hungry, so eating wasn’t a problem. There wasn’t any food waiting for me at home anyway.
“Well, they are good,” Sakurai admitted, biting into one.
“Right?”
It was pretty much the cheapest place in the area for snacks. After eating, we chatted idly for a while, just talking about what we’d been up to lately. We might have been in the same class, but recently, we hadn’t spent much time together.
Sakurai was going all social butterfly while I was hiding in the dark, but with just the two of us here, we could talk like we used to.
“Oh yeah, are you going out with Yokoyama?” I asked. She’d been the least happy when Sakurai had said it would just be him and me this afternoon. I’d feel kind of guilty if I was stealing her time with her boyfriend.
“Nah, Saki and I aren’t dating.”
“Hmm, so someone else? Maybe in another class?”
Sakurai was popular. He always had been, but he was getting even more so lately. He must be with someone.
“No...I’m not going out with anybody.”
“Huh...really?”
That’s weird. He had a look on his face like he wanted to say something.
“Did anything happen?” I asked.
He suddenly looked up. “How can you tell?”
“Well, y’know.” Anyone would be able to tell when you’re making a face like that.
“Well...” Sakurai began, gradually telling me his concerns.
◇ Ryousuke Sakurai’s Perspective ◇
“You’re being stalked?!” Takatsuki yelled.
“Q-Quiet down!”
“R-Right, sorry... Is she here now?”
I peered around to check.
“No. She usually follows me after club, so I should be fine right now.”
“O-Okay...”
Takatsuki looked like he couldn’t find the words. Telling him was probably just going to cause him issues, but I couldn’t whine around my parents and classmates, so I didn’t have anyone else I could ask for advice.
Luckily, Takatsuki had come to help, just like he always did.
“So, what kind of person is she?”
“Uh, I think she’s older...”
Well, he was at least willing to hear me out, so I told him what I knew.
It’d started about a month ago.
She’d follow me on my way home after club activities.
Sometimes she’d talk to me or give me things.
She was an older woman.
She had long hair, and I couldn’t see her face.
She always spoke really quietly, so it was hard to tell what she was saying.
“Shouldn’t you tell the police?” he asked seriously.
I’d thought of that too, but...
“She’s honestly just supporting me with soccer. And whenever we speak, she doesn’t seem dangerous. Telling the police would...”
“It would mean that her life was over, at least socially,” he finished, understanding what I was getting at.
“Yeah. I don’t want to make this a huge thing,”
“If she doesn’t seem dangerous, could you just leave it be?”
That would make perfect sense, except...
“She’s really kind to me, but when she sees me with Saki and the other girls...” I trailed off for a moment. “Well...she gets really intense and asks about them.”
“Is that why you’re single at the minute?”
I nodded slightly. I’d had a girlfriend until about a month ago, but I’d broken up with her because of the stalker.
Takatsuki folded his arms and thought, and I soon realized how silly I was being—this wasn’t something students like us could solve. He was right... I should go to the police, or my parents, or at least a teacher.
“Sorry, Takatsuki. I shouldn’t get you mixed up in this. Talking about it helped, though. I’ll go talk to an adult and—”
“Right.” Takatsuki clapped his hands. “So our objective is to get her to stop stalking you without making things too serious.”
For some reason, he looked excited.
U-Uh? Where’d all the motivation come from?
“D-Do you have an idea?” I asked.
“Hmm, not yet, but I’m thinking over a few plans.”
“O-Okay... Just don’t push—”
“Got it!”
He was all fired up. Seriously, what’d brought this on?
“I’m not sure yet...” he muttered. “No continues though, so we need to complete it in one run...”
“Uh, Takatsuki? You know this isn’t a game, right?”
There was a pause.
“Of course I do.”
Was this going to be all right? Well, at least he didn’t seem weirded out by the situation. In fact, he wanted to help—we could think about how to solve it together.
I’m glad I talked to him...
The worried knot in my chest loosened for the first time in a while. I thought I had a lot of friends, but when the chips were really down, there weren’t many people I could talk to like this. Actually, I think Takatsuki’s the only friend I can truly let my guard down around.
And so, the two of us went our separate ways with a promise to talk again tomorrow.
◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
I’d gotten home and was in the middle of planning out our strategy when my chat app went off. The message read: “Mind if I bring over a new game to play? Well, too late, I’m here☆”
As I scanned the text, the doorbell rang. When I opened it, I saw a short girl standing there. Her hair was tied in pigtails.
“C-Come in, Sasaki,” I said.
Her name was Aya Sasaki, and she was a classmate I’d bumped into while inside a secondhand game store. She was one of my few friends—the only one I could talk to about games. Apparently, her four younger brothers were monopolizing their home console, so she could never play the games she wanted to. This led to her coming over to my place quite a bit.
“Excuse me,” she said, already taking her shoes off. She knew my parents got back late from work, so there wasn’t any need for formalities.
“You can head up, I’ll get some snacks and tea.”
“Sure thing,” she replied, diving onto my bed. She had futons at her house, so lying on a bed was a rarity for her. Seeing a girl sprawled so happily in my sheets was embarrassing...but I couldn’t tell her to stop.
The two of us started playing the new game she’d brought with her. It was called Monster Hunter—MonHun for short. The setting was a fantasy world where people called monster hunters, well...they hunted big monsters.
The controls were a bit awkward, so you needed lots of practice to get used to the gameplay. I wasn’t great at action games, but Sasaki liked them, so most of the games we played together were that type. Though, she was a bit of an odd girl because when I really wanted to play an RPG, she’d just sit next to me and watch.
Today was an action game day.
“This one’s strong, Takatsuki,” she said.
“We might need more gear. We could try the last one again?”
“Nope, one more time! I need another go!”
“It’d probably be easier with better gear, Sasaki.”
“That’d be boring!”
We kept on talking and playing. Time passed, and then suddenly, she changed topics.
“You’re friends with Sakurai, huh?”
“How’d you know?” I asked.
“Well, you went home together today. Saki was so jealous.”
“That’s scary.” Yokoyama led the class’s girls, so I certainly didn’t want her looking my way.
“Saki’s not scary.”
“Beautiful, intense girls are all scary.”
Sasaki laughed reluctantly at my kinda pathetic opinion. “If you talked to her, you might find her surprisingly easy to get along with.”
“That’s not happening. You’re the only one I can have a proper conversation with, Sasaki. I’m quiet.”
“You’re funny, Takatsuki.”
She laughed at me, but I was being serious—she was often amused by my responses to stuff. Since I also enjoyed talking with her, I was really happy with how things were between us.
But, well... I can’t let myself get cocky and assume she likes me.
Sasaki was popular in class, and though she didn’t stand out as much as Yokoyama, I knew that several classmates liked her. She was nice to me, and I was a gloomy loner, so to me, her personality was almost angelic.
“So, what’d he want to talk to you about?”
“Huh?” How’d she know? Sakurai hadn’t talked about the stalker with anyone else, so she shouldn’t know about that.
“Then I was right!” she exclaimed, not waiting for my answer.
Ah... She’d been fishing for information.
“What was it, then?” she pressed.
“I...can’t say.” This matter was private for Sakurai. Besides, considering the situation, we couldn’t really make it public. He’d trusted me to keep his secret.
Her expression turned serious though. “Saki’s been concerned about him because he seems down. She asked if there was anything wrong, but he just told her not to worry and said that everything was fine.”
Come on, Sakurai—everyone can tell.
“She likes him,” Sasaki carried on. “Wouldn’t you worry about your crush?”
“Well, yeah...”
Anyone could tell how she felt about Sakurai just by looking. Besides, he was the kind to make all sorts of girls fall for him... Maybe Sasaki was one of them?
“Are you worried about him too?” I asked. I probably shouldn’t have. But she just looked blankly back at me.
“What? Me? I don’t really know the guy.”
That...was a relief.
“Takatsuki,” she whispered, getting in conspiratorially close. “Is it a secret no matter what?”
Her big eyes met mine and I froze. If I told her no, I was worried I’d make her hate me. However, this was Sakurai’s secret, so I couldn’t just—
That was when my phone went off. A text from Sakurai. The message started with the words, “About the stalker...”
D-Damn!
“A stalker?!” she yelled.
Yup... Sasaki had found out.
“Uh...what’s going on?”
She seemed confused, and I’m sure she hadn’t expected to read that. I would’ve loved to distract her, but that wasn’t going to happen—the message had been pretty clear.
It was too late now.
“Sasaki!”
“Y-Yes?!”
“You can’t tell anyone about this, please!”
“O-Okay.”
With that promise dragged out of her, I told her what’d happened. Sorry, Sakurai.
“I think he should tell the police,” she said.
We were on the same page there at least.
“Sakurai doesn’t want to.”
“He’s too kind, huh?”
I internally agreed, but that was also one of his good points.
“Hmmm,” Sasaki pondered. “I wonder if there’s any way of solving it peacefully.”
Since I’d already spilled the secret, I decided to ask for her advice. The stalker was a woman, so asking another woman like Sasaki would be best.
“Well... She’s older than us and stalking someone in junior high like Sakurai. She’s definitely bad news.”
“Yeah, guess so.”
There should be limits to popularity, I grumbled mentally. Sakurai was going to have trouble with women in the future.
“Do you have any ideas?” she asked.
“A few.”
“Tell me!”
And so, I explained my plans.
“Uh... Takatsuki? Are you seriously suggesting getting blackmail photos of her around Sakurai? Or...hiring a pickup artist to take her out?”
“No good, then?”
“The first is way too dangerous. And do pro pickup artists even exist?”
“You can find them pretty easily on social media.”
“Those’re definitely scammers!”
Welp, that was the judgment from Sasaki. In all honesty, I wasn’t too confident in those plans either. The two of us went back and forth on it for a while, but neither of us could think of anything.
Then, Sasaki spoke.
“Oh...” she murmured. “That might work.”
“Did you think of something?”
“Sort of, but... Nah, it’s not going to work.”
“Tell me, Sasaki.”
“We’re about the same size, right? You’re pretty slender too... How about this?”
Then, she revealed her plan.
◇ Aya Sasaki’s Perspective ◇
The next day, I joined Takatsuki and Sakurai’s strategy meeting about his stalker. We were sitting on a deserted bench on the roof of the school. Takatsuki apparently ate his lunch up here fairly often.
“Uh, Sasaki, you’re friends with Takatsuki?”
“Sorry, I saw the message!”
“Yeah, sorry, Sakurai! But she said she’d help!”
“Don’t worry about it. If Takatsuki trusts you, then so will I.”
H-He really trusts Takatsuki a lot! Sakurai was practically the center of the class, and he got the most attention out of anyone in our whole year. I was a bit surprised that the two of them were so close.
“You can trust her. She’s my only friend.”
Takatsuki wasn’t acting quite the same as usual. His only friend... Was that something you should just say so confidently? Well, I was happy he trusted me.
I glanced over and saw the look on Sakurai’s face. “Uh... What about me?” he asked.
“You?” Takatsuki replied. “Well, we’ve known each other since we were kids, so of course I trust you.”
“R-Right...”
Gah, Takatsuki... Sakurai probably wanted you to say that he was your friend too.
Since I couldn’t do anything about that, I just ignored the weird mood.
“So, Sasaki actually has an idea...” Takatsuki said, looking skyward. It was the same expression he’d worn when I’d first explained my plan.
It...was kinda iffy. But I couldn’t think of anything else, so we’d just tell Sakurai and see what he thought about it.
Sakurai perked up. “Oh! What kind of idea?”
Takatsuki still looked conflicted. “Sasaki, can you explain?”
Apparently, he didn’t want to tell Sakurai... I guess it made sense.
“Well, this is what I thought of...” I began.
When I was done, Sakurai’s expression seemed just as conflicted as Takatsuki’s had been. He looked back and forth between the two of us.
“You’d, uh, do that, Takatsuki?”
“I can’t think of anything better,” he replied seriously. “We’ll need to make some preparations before we actually do it. I’ll ask someone I know to get us the stuff.”
“Don’t worry! I’ve already got it all!” I pulled out a tote bag containing the “tools” for the “plan” and passed it over to Takatsuki.
“Do you think this is funny?” he asked me.
“No way...” I quickly turned to Sakurai. “Oh, but make sure you take a picture.”
“Not a chance!”
“Awww.” That was a shame. Takatsuki would definitely look cute. “Oh, what about makeup? You don’t know how, right? I can do—”
Takatsuki cut me off. “It’ll be nighttime, so we don’t need it!”
“Tch. Fine, I’ll follow behind.”
Sakurai shook his head. “You can’t, Sasaki. It’ll be pretty dark when club stuff lets out—that’s a dangerous time for girls to just be walking around by themselves. I promise to let you know what happens, so you should head home.”
Nice one, Sakurai. I could see why he was the most popular kid in our year.
“Okay. Take care, you two.”
Sakurai nodded. “Thanks, Sasaki.”
“It’ll be fine,” Takatsuki said, seeming more relaxed. “The stalker’s a woman.”
“You can’t let your guard down just because she’s a woman!” I countered. “What if she has a knife?!”
“Hmph... I’ve planned for that. Look, I’ll just strap this over my stomach.” As he spoke, Takatsuki pulled out a thick magazine.
Not bad, game brain.
“What about your neck?!”
“I’ll tape it up for defense. Besides, an amateur can’t aim properly with a knife. I just need to be careful about my eyes. I suppose I’ll just do my best to dodge.”
I sighed. “Ugh. I hate to admit it, but I think you’re all set.”
“Of course I am!” He grinned. “No continues here.”
Takatsuki really did enjoy life. Why was he so quiet in class when he was this much fun?
“The two of you sure are on the same wavelength...” Sakurai said, drawing back a little. Crap.
“No! I’m not as weird as he is!”
“Rude. But I guess she doesn’t get as carried away as me,” Takatsuki conceded.
Sakurai laughed. “Man, I’m kinda jealous.”
Why?
Well, regardless, my plan was about to be put into action. I told them goodbye, headed home early, and waited in anticipation to see if it would work.
◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
“I hope no one from class sees me like this...”
“Don’t worry,” Sakurai told me. “It’s dark, so they won’t know it’s you unless they get super close.”
Currently, I was cross-dressing. Wearing Sasaki’s clothes.
The wig, hat, and outfit were all things she’d lent me, and since we were similar in stature, I could wear them too. As for why I was doing it... Well, her plan was essentially for Sakurai and me to pretend like we were together.
This job would be dangerous for a girl, so we couldn’t make someone else do it. Since I was a guy, it was better for me to take the role, but this...was way more embarrassing than I’d expected. I’d never worn girls’ clothes before, and this was the route to school.
As we walked, I glanced around nervously. What if we run into someone we know?
“I’m surprised Sasaki lent you her clothes,” Sakurai remarked.
“She’s just getting a laugh out of it.”
“A girl wouldn’t lend you her clothes just because of that.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re...surprisingly dense.”
We kept talking, strolling slowly down the street. It was past eight in the evening—anyone who didn’t have club activities would have gotten home ages ago, and even those who did rarely finished this late.
So, we just kept moving slowly forward, waiting for the stalker.
Suddenly, I heard a skittering noise. Someone rushed over.
Is it her?!
I didn’t turn around. Our plan was to let Sakurai take the lead and decide how to react.
“Ryousuke!” came a woman’s voice.
He’d said she was older, but this voice was younger than I’d expected, almost like a classmate’s. It...was familiar.
“I thought you had plans today? Oh, who’s this?”
Wait, this was a classmate! It was Yokoyama!
“Sakurai! This isn’t what we planned!” I whisper-shouted.
“Hold on, I’ll distract her,” he whispered back.
“I...heard you didn’t have a girlfriend at the moment. Is she...?” Her voice wasn’t as firm as usual. She sounded almost faint.
“No, Saki—this is my cousin. She’s thinking of coming to our school, so she was checking it out. She’s staying at my place tonight, so I came to fetch her.”
“This late?”
Come on, Sakurai, she’s already suspicious!
“She traveled from Chiba, so it took a long time. And she got on the wrong train, so she was even later. Right, Mako?”
Speaking would definitely blow my cover, so I just nodded. The hat and wig were hiding my face, so I figured it should be fine. Also, “Mako” was pretty simple, even for a fake name.
“Hm, so you’re Mako. Nice to meet you. I’m Saki Yokoyama.”
Crap! I had to reply, but I couldn’t talk! What do I do?!
“Sorry, Saki. She’s pretty tired, and shy as well. I’ll introduce you some other time.”
“Right... Sorry for keeping you then.” Yokoyama didn’t look entirely convinced, but she walked off, apparently having decided not to keep questioning us.
“Wait, Saki!” he called, grabbing her arm.
Why’d you stop her?!
“Ryousuke? Wh-What’s up?”
“Take care on the way home. It’s pretty dark, so stay on the main roads.”
“R-Right. I’ll be fine though. I’m used to this route.”
“No! You shouldn’t be heading home alone at this time of night! I wish I could walk you back, but I can’t today...”
“R-Right... Thank you for worrying about me. I’ll use the main roads.”
“Take care. See you tomorrow, Saki.”
“Right, you too!”
Sakurai’s concern caused her mood to completely flip, from sad to elated. This guy...how much of a ladies’ man could he be?
“Sorry about that, Takatsuki. We managed to get through it.”
“I thought my life was over...”
Taking deep breaths to calm ourselves, we carried on again. But nothing else happened. Sakurai’s high-rise was already in sight. Today was a bust.
Just when I’d decided to give up, I suddenly heard a clacking sound.
High heels, tap-tapping against the asphalt. Someone was approaching us quickly. This time...it was the real deal. The footsteps stopped behind us.
“Good work today, Ryousuke.”
It was a low, woman’s voice. She didn’t seem bright or enthusiastic like either Sasaki or Yokoyama.
“Good evening. Looks like we’re meeting again...” Sakurai’s voice shook.
Meeting again? More like she’d followed him again. She actually was a stalker.
“Why don’t you show that girl...your cousin...home, and then we can talk?”
On top of following us, she must have overheard the conversation with Yokoyama.
“Um...” Sakurai fumbled before finding his nerve. “I had something I wanted to tell you today.”
“Oh, and what would that be? I’d prefer to talk alone, though.”
Sakurai had done the setup, so now it was my turn. Would I manage to act properly? I prepared myself, then opened my mouth.
“Sorry, Miss, but I’m not Sakurai’s cousin,” I said in my normal voice. There was no need to pretend to be a girl anymore.
“You’re...a boy? Why are you dressed up like that?” The stalker looked at me doubtfully—I suppose that was her natural reaction to my cross-dressing in front of her. The next line was extremely important. I’d have to say it...
“Um, I’m—”
Sakurai blurted it out before I could form the words.
“Takatsuki is my boyfriend!”
There was a long pause.
“What?” Her eyes were wide.
Yeah...that’s about right.
◇
“You just need to be Sakurai’s partner!”
That was Sasaki’s plan. At first, I hadn’t understood what she was getting at.
“Uh, you want me to pretend to be a girl?”
“No, you can just look like normal.”
“Like normal? But, uh...we’re both guys, you know?”
“Exactly! Okay, so the stalker is a woman, right?”
“Apparently.”
“If she knows Sakurai likes guys, she’ll have to give up.”
“Yeah...that’s not going to work,” I said, immediately rejecting the suggestion. “It’ll obviously be a lie.”
Sasaki kept going, though.
“There are plenty of people like that, even at school.”
“Huh? Who?”
“I can’t tell you,” she replied, keeping the details private.
Well, according to Sasaki, this kind of thing wasn’t rare. If the stalker was an adult, she’d probably understand...or so Sasaki said.
“Though...maybe it’d be a good idea to pretend to be a girl at first. She might not turn up if you don’t. Then, once she’s there, let her know that you’re a boy and Sakurai’s boyfriend!”
“Guh.”
It all felt like a bit much. I wasn’t really happy about it, but I couldn’t think of any other plan, so we decided to give it a go.
◇
And now, the woman was looking blankly at us.
“R-Really?” she asked.
She bought it? I thought the deception would be obvious. Sasaki was right.
“Really!” Sakurai insisted, his voice serious. Man, he really could do anything...
“Oh...I see. So you’re Ryousuke’s boyfriend...” Her pointed look made me want to correct her, but I resisted. “Okay...” she muttered. “If Ryousuke is that kind of person, then I would never be able to satisfy him.”
She slumped and turned to leave.
Phew, it’s over...
“Wait a minute,” Sakurai called, stopping her. “Why me?”
What’re you doing?!
“Forget it... There’s no point in life anymore... I just want to vanish...”
“Well, I might not be able to date you, but I can hear you out. We haven’t been able to talk properly before.”
The woman seemed shocked. “You’d...listen to me?”
“I can’t be your partner, but I don’t want to hear you saying that there’s no point to life.”
What the hell? Why was he giving his stalker advice?!
Seriously... Is he a saint?
◇ The Next Day ◇
“So, how’d it go?” Sasaki asked.
“Well,” I began, “she apparently had a bad experience with a man that left her traumatized. Because of that, she’s scared of men her age, so she thought things might work out with Sakurai since he’s younger. She said she fell for him at first sight when she saw him in town.”
“Huh... That’s kinda sad to hear.”
“They’re friends now. He’s helping her to get over her fear.”
“Uh... Whaaaaaa?!” Sasaki yelled in surprise. Yeah, I agreed—it was pretty shocking. Just what kind of person could help out their stalker?
“Sakurai’s too friendly, isn’t he?” I asked.
“I think you’re pretty friendly yourself.”
“I am?”
“Yup. It seems like she was a gentle person, but you could have been stabbed!”
I let the silence hang in the air.
“Women only walk around with knives in TV shows and manga, right?” I asked.
“There might be some girls like that who are closer than you think...”
“Scary.”
Sasaki and I laughed.
◇
“I remember now...”
That whole ordeal was definitely a notable moment from my past...but one I really wanted to forget.
I recalled that Sasa had kept teasing me and asking what cross-dressing was like. And then, several years later, I couldn’t laugh about the situation because it felt like Sasa might actually come after me with a knife.
Sakurai smiled. “See, you’ve always been willing to save me.”
“Don’t lump your stalker in with the demon lord.” Zagan would be spinning in his grave.
Suddenly, a voice called out to us. “Ah! There you are!” Yokoyama had spotted us hanging out.
“Found you!” Sasa cheered.
Furiae cocked her head. “Shall we head back?”
Sasa, you shouldn’t be waving fruit knives around...
The sky was a beautiful blue, with clouds drifting through the air. Since the weather was so nice, chatting about the past with my childhood friend definitely hadn’t been bad.
This fight had been the riskiest so far, but we’d all managed to make it through.
Our first battle against the demon army...had ended in victory.
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