A Lunchtime of Wasted Effort
Waga seko o yamato e yaru tosa yofuke akatoki tsuyu ni waga tachi nureshi.
It was a poem from the Man’yoshu, one of many which appeared on his printout for classical literature class. Merely staring at the phrase had Sagara Sousuke feeling lightheaded. His sullen expression was compromised by cold sweat, and his tight frown had begun to tremble in fear. He barely noticed the cheerful lunch break chatter around him.
“I don’t understand...” he whispered to himself.
Waga seko o...
He knew that “waga” meant “my,” but “seko” was new. He recognized the kanji as “back” and “child.” Was the writer carrying a wounded child on his back? But what did “yamato e yaru” mean, when referring to that child? “Yaru” meant “to give,” and “Yamato” was a super-dreadnought-class battleship of the Pacific War. Had he transferred the wounded child to a battleship? But why a battleship? Were there no field hospitals nearby? And how could the Man’yoshu, a poetry collection compiled over a millennium ago, possibly be writing about the Pacific War?
“I don’t understand it at all...” Sousuke muttered to himself. Having been raised in war-torn regions abroad, he knew very little about Japanese history, and classical literature was his worst subject of all.
Their Classic Lit II teacher, Mr. Fujisaki, had asked them to analyze the language of eighteen of these poems and rewrite them in modern Japanese. The deadline was tomorrow. They’d had the assignment for four days, and he’d worked at it non-stop without deciphering a single verse. If he failed to submit it or turned in an incomplete, he’d be forced to spend his post-finals vacation in study hall.
“It’s hopeless...” Feeling what remained of his mental energy finally slip away, Sousuke slumped sluggishly over his desk.
“What’s the matter, Sousuke?” asked his classmate, Chidori Kaname. She was a girl with a mature air about her, and waist-length black hair tied back with a red ribbon. At the moment, she was staring intensely at Sousuke.
“You’re not looking well,” she observed. “Kinda pale. You didn’t eat something off the ground, did you?”
“No,” he replied. “My health is without issue.”
“Really?”
“Really.” With that brief response, Sousuke tried to stow the print-out in his desk, but Kaname snatched it up before he could. “Ah...” he objected.
“What are you hiding there?” she asked. “Let’s have a look... aha! This explains it.” She caught on to the situation immediately and thrust the printout back at him with a smile. “You can’t handle classic lit,” she teased.
For some reason, Kaname’s triumphant attitude triggered a feeling of indignation in Sousuke. “What do you expect?” he asked defensively. “Nobody in Afghanistan or Cambodia was reading the Man’yoshu or the Tosa Diary.”
“True, you don’t hear much about Afghani guerrillas reading the Tosa Diary between campaigns...” Kaname was forced to admit.
“Indeed. But I could recite the Qu’ran from memory.”
“Oh, yeah? But this is due tomorrow during fifth period, right? Mr. Fujisaki’s really strict about deadlines,” she reminded him. “You gonna make it in time?”
“That’s none of your concern. This is my battle.”
“That seems a bit overdramatic...”
“But it is a battle,” Sousuke replied, completely serious.
Kaname made a brief show of thinking. Then she said, “Hang on a sec.” She whipped around, jogged back to her seat, and returned with a notebook, which she placed upon his desk. “Here.”
“What is this?”
“My classic lit notes,” she told him. “It’s got my answers to that assignment, so you can borrow it until tomorrow. If you copy it outright, we’ll get busted, but knowing the right answers in advance should help you get there on your own, right?”
“Hmm. But—”
“Oh, sorry. Am I being... a bother?” A hint of timidity revealed itself in Kaname’s voice.
“Well...” Sousuke trailed off, scrutinizing the situation. He’d conquered any number of perilous situations under his own power before, but in this particular case, he knew there was no way he’d make it through without Kaname’s aid.
“I’ll take it, then,” he decided. “Thank you.”
“Good boy. Now, do your best.” Kaname told him with a smile, and then hurried back to her seat. But before sitting down, she turned back once to say, “Just make sure you bring it back tomorrow. If you forget that notebook, I’ll be stuck in study hall too. Got it?” she asked, pointing at him firmly.
“I won’t forget. Don’t worry,” Sousuke told her, nodding in response.
Kaname’s notes turned out to be just the reinforcements his “battle” needed. She had translated the first poem thusly: “My precious little brother is returning to Yamato. I watch him go, and as the night passes me by, I find myself drenched in the early morning dew. Ahh, poor me. La la la.”
“I see,” Sousuke mused. “‘La la la,’ eh?” That part didn’t seem completely right to him, but it was a great help nevertheless. Most sleight of hand was simple enough to see through once you knew the trick behind it. Now he had an inroad, and it was time to return fire.
Sousuke returned to his apartment and spent all night working. It was an evening of much tribulation, but by the next morning, the final poem was done at last. “Mission... complete,” he whispered, heaving a great sigh. His body felt heavy. His vision was blurred. The morning sun was streaming in from the window.
What a grueling task. I can’t remember the last time I faced such a struggle, but at least I’ve lived to see another day, Sousuke reflected. One more sunrise. One more assignment... He let himself bask briefly in the relief and pride his accomplishment afforded him. Then he looked at the clock and saw that it was 0745 hours. He had to hurry or he’d be late to school. But as he closed Kaname’s notebook to take off...
“Yeeeeek!” An almost otherworldly scream reached his ears. It was a woman’s voice, coming from the next apartment to his, 506.
A burglar?! he thought, pulling out his pistol and dashing out the door.
●
Fourth period ended and the chime for lunch sounded. The classroom was soon as noisy as ever.
“So you broke down the door and burst into your neighbor’s apartment?” Tokiwa Kyoko was asking. As usual, she wore coke-bottle glasses and her hair was in braids. She was staring at Sousuke in faint disbelief.
“I didn’t have a choice. There appeared to be no time to lose,” Sousuke responded, seated at his desk. His eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed exhausted in a way that mere insomnia couldn’t account for. “But the woman who lived there mistook me for a home invader, and quickly turned her can of pesticide from the cockroach to me.”
“Makes sense. That stuff’s better than teargas.” Kyoko smiled at him awkwardly, then added, “It’s really your own fault, Sagara-kun.”
“I don’t understand why she shouted so loudly over a mere insect,” he protested. “It would be understandable if it were the bullet-ridden corpse of her husband, but...”
“Aw, I’d definitely scream if I woke up to a cockroach on my pillow!” Kyoko said, sounding a little excited for some reason.
Sousuke scrutinized her carefully. “Tokiwa,” he told her seriously, “such behavior could be fatal.”
“How so?”
“Once, I was involved in a top-secret operation in Peru. While doing recon in the jungle, I realized that a 10-centimeter venomous scorpion had made its way into my pocket.”
“Ahh...”
“I was deep in territory controlled by ruthless guerrillas,” Sousuke continued. “If I’d screamed then, the whole team would have been spotted and annihilated by the enemy.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“A simple bug is no reason to scream. I’m afraid I can never be on a team with you.”
“I wouldn’t really want that either,” said Kyoko.
Kaname arrived as the two were reaching this uneasy agreement. She’d seemed in good spirits all day, with a real spring in her step.
“Ah, Kana-chan,” said Kyoko.
“What’re we talking about?” Kaname asked. “Did you finish the homework, Sousuke?”
“I did. Thanks to you.”
Kaname grinned. “Hey, great. Can I have my notebook back now?”
“Yes, wait a moment.” Sousuke reached into his bag. He searched around, and... “Drat.”
“Hmm?” Kaname asked back, still grinning.
Greasy sweat was forming on Sousuke’s brow. “Chidori. I’m not sure how to say this, but...”
“Yeees?”
“Allow me to remind you that, whether it’s running out of ammunition or losing radio contact, it is important to deal with disaster in a level-headed fashion.”
“Eh?”
“No matter how desperate the situation, one must never lose their temper or fly into a panic,” he told her urgently. “It’s a one-way road to self-ruin.”
“Care to explain what you mean by that?”
“I believe the chaos this morning was the cause,” he tried to explain.
“Seriously, could you just get to it?” Kaname urged him, growing understandably impatient.
“To put it bluntly...” Sousuke swallowed hard. “I left your notebook at home.”
Despite Sousuke’s best efforts, Kaname immediately lost her temper and flew into a panic. “W-W-Well what are you gonna do about it?!” She turned white as a sheet, seized him by the collar and shook him back and forth, her movements so violent that it sent character art off-model.
“We’ll figure something out. Please calm down, Chidori,” pleaded Sousuke.
“How the hell am I supposed to calm down?!” she screamed. “I’m gonna get stuck in study hall! This sucks! And without a part-time job during post-finals vacation, I won’t have any spending money next month! You know that, and you... you... arrgh!” Kaname was momentarily airborne. A second later, she was behind Sousuke, both arms wrapped around him. “How can you be so calm?!”
“Erk!” was all Sousuke managed to choke out. She’d gotten him in an unusual joint lock, spreading his arms wide like an eagle.
“Is that the legendary Paro Special?! I had no idea there was a user so close by!” Kyoko shouted excitedly.
Enduring the searing pain in both of his shoulders, Sousuke attempted to pacify Kaname. “I’ll do... something. I’ll go to the teachers’ office... and explain things to Mr. Fujisaki. I’ll ask him... to let you submit your homework... late. I’m sure he’ll... understand...”
“Hmph.” Kaname released Sousuke abruptly. “Go on! Right now!” She pointed to the door. Sousuke nodded and exited the classroom like a bat out of hell.
Three minutes later, Sousuke returned to the classroom, also like a bat out of hell. “I’m back, Chidori.”
“Well?!”
“No luck.”
Whap! Kaname slapped Sousuke with the paper fan she’d spent the past three minutes folding. “Don’t say it so proudly! That sucks!”
“More precisely, Mr. Fujisaki wasn’t there. From what the other teachers said, he’s...” He then stopped hesitantly for a moment.
“He’s...?”
“No, it’s unthinkable,” Sousuke adamantly denied. “He’ll surely be back by fifth period.”
“What will you do, Kana-chan?” Kyoko asked timidly.
“Urgh... this suuucks.” Warning. Warning. Emergency. Emergency. Kaname thought hard as the alarm bells rang in her mind. Classic literature is fifth period. Mr. Fujisaki will collect assignments first thing, and he never accepts assignments any later. He treats latecomers as absent. He’s that strict. There’s no excuse that’ll get you off the hook. It’s 12:38. Fifth period starts at 1:30. I’ve got fifty-two minutes.
Fifty-two minutes, she thought again. Not much time. But if I spend any more time thinking about it...
“Okay, Sousuke,” she declared out loud, “let’s get my notebook!”
“From my apartment?” he asked doubtfully.
“Of course, from your apartment! Now, hurry!”
“Ah, Kana-chan!” Kyoko called after them.
But Kaname had already seized Sousuke by the scruff of the neck and run him out of class fast enough to create a sonic boom. She flew down the hall, and then the stairs, and then out of the school gate, all without changing into her street shoes.
“Taxi!!!” she yelled, before throwing Sousuke into the street, which forced a passing cab to come to a screeching halt.
Had it been even ten centimeters closer, Sousuke would’ve been rust on its bumper. Such a close call sent a shudder even through the battle-hardened veteran. “Are you trying to kill me?!” he asked.
“Shut up! Get in!” Kaname shoved Sousuke into the taxi and, interrupting the driver’s protests, said, “Tigers Apartment Complex in Tamagawa! Near the tennis club! Go, go, go!” She pounded on the plastic divider. Duly intimidated, the driver stomped on the gas pedal and sped them away.
In contrast to their initially speedy getaway, the scenery now passed by in a calm and quiet manner. Kaname remained in sullen silence, her eyes flicking from the window to her watch and back. At times she’d click her tongue in annoyance and mutter something sourly.
Sousuke was hunched over, making himself as small as he could. “Chidori. I...”
“Shut up. I don’t want excuses,” she said icily. “You’ve made it perfectly clear how little you care about my well-being. We’re done.”
“I really am sorry,” he said.
“If sorry fixed everything, we wouldn’t have wars and we wouldn’t need soldiers,” she snarled back. “You know what I mean? Sergeant Sagara Sousuke, specialist?”
Sousuke fell silent, seemingly cowed by her sarcasm. And Kaname, still at the height of her fury, wasn’t about to consider if maybe she’d gone too far.
Ten or so minutes passed in that toxic atmosphere, and at last, the taxi pulled up in front of Sousuke’s apartment building. The time was 12:56. They’d arrived sooner than expected—understandable, since it was all within the same locality—and at this rate, they’d get back with time to spare.
“1280 yen, please,” the driver said.
“I’ll pay,” Sousuke insisted.
“You’d better. And we’ll need a ride back, so could you wait a few minutes?” Kaname called back, jumping out of the taxi.
She heard the driver say “rough times, eh?” to Sousuke, but chose to ignore him as she ran down the hall to the elevator.
Upon arrival at apartment 505, Sousuke barged in without removing his shoes.
“Hurry!” Kaname urged him.
“Yes, ma’am!”
Kaname waited in the hallway. After a few seconds, she noticed that the door for the neighboring apartment 506 was broken. It looked like it had been blown off its hinges, then temporarily leaned back into place. She tilted her head at it curiously, but had little time to wonder before Sousuke rushed out of the room with two notebooks in hand.
“I found them,” he declared. “Let’s head back.”
“Hmm? Ah, right,” she agreed. “Let’s go!” They ran back to the hall, dove into the still-waiting elevator, descended to the first floor, ran out the door, and...
As they made it outside, they found that the taxi had left without them.
“No way...”
There was simply no sign of it. As they stood there in silence, a truck for a local bar drove past.
“I did tell him to wait, right?” Kaname asked.
Sousuke replied, his brow drawn severely. “Yes, and I reinforced your warning, telling him that he was not to leave this spot until we returned.”
“Then what happened?”
“I don’t know. I flashed my pistol to make it clear that I’d kill him if he ran, and—”
Whap! Kaname slapped Sousuke with the fan clutched tight in her hand. “Well, no wonder he ran!!!”
“Urgh...” said Sousuke.
Having reached her breaking point, Kaname covered her face with her hands. “I’m so tired,” she wailed. “Why do you have to be like this? Why do you always make me suffer? Why can’t you just once help things turn out smoothly and peacefully, and then in the end, say ‘not an issue’ in a cool voice? Why do you always, always, always have to make things worse? Why are you so lacking in the traits that make someone a protagonist, or a hero, or a prince on a white horse?!” The last part she screamed for everyone on the street to hear.
Meanwhile, Sousuke watched the seconds tick away on his wristwatch, his face going pale. “I understand your anger,” he admitted, “but that lecture took 26 seconds. What are we going to do? We won’t be able to get another taxi.” There wasn’t much traffic in this area, and there was no sign of a new cab showing up anytime soon.
Kaname snapped back to her senses. “Geh... this is no time for hysterics,” she told herself. “What do we do?”
“Let’s try this.” Sousuke walked out into the apartment’s parking lot, pulling out his pistol. Blam! He fired abruptly, blowing the chain off of a parked bicycle. He mounted the vehicle in a lithe motion and then pedaled up to Kaname. “Get on,” he urged her.
“Isn’t this illegal?!” she asked.
“We’re just borrowing it. I’ll repair it and return it later,” he promised. “Hurry.”
“Ugh, this is unbelievable!” said Kaname, but ended up sitting behind him on the bicycle anyway. She didn’t straddle it, but sat girlishly with her legs together. “I mean, my own apartment is over there, and I have my own bike...”
“Yet every second counts,” he reminded her. “Let’s go.”
“Eek!” She had to wrap her arms around Sousuke’s waist so as not to be thrown off as the bike abruptly sped off.
Sousuke’s pedaling power was impressive. The scenery sped past, even with two people on board. It was as if Kaname’s weight were completely immaterial to him as they passed through what was otherwise a sleepy afternoon in the Tokyo suburbs. They overtook slow-moving scooters, ignored traffic signals, and cut through intersections.
“You think we’ll make it like this?” Kaname asked.
“I don’t know,” Sousuke admitted, “but we have no other choice.” But soon, they came to a hill. It wasn’t an especially steep one, but it did go on a while. It seemed like it would be pretty rough when biking for two. “I’m going to... keep going,” Sousuke puffed.
“Nice resolve,” Kaname told him. “Go!”
Sousuke stood up from the saddle and worked the pedals hard. At first, they made swift progress up the hill. But when they reached roughly the halfway point, they began to slow. Sousuke’s breathing grew more and more labored.
“Should I get off?” Kaname asked.
“No need... for that,” Sousuke replied, but there were signs of strain in his voice, as well.
“Um, you don’t have to drive yourself to exhaustion...” she told him.
“If I collapse... continue on your own.”
“Umm...”
“This is all my fault,” Sousuke reminded her. “Don’t concern yourself with me.”
“Y-You bet it was,” Kaname agreed hesitantly. Then she rallied with, “I’m not a bit concerned! I’ll ditch you on the spot.”
Meanwhile, Sousuke continued diligently working the pedals. The almost audible creaking of his muscles had Kaname feeling strangely self-conscious. I guess he really is a guy... she thought idly, and tried to hold down her hair, which was streaming in the wind.
Sousuke’s labor finally paid off as the bicycle made it to the top of the hill, then tore off again down the flat residential road.
“Hey, great work,” Kaname encouraged him.
“No, there’s still a long way to go,” he disagreed. “There’s still the main road—”
“I see you riding two to a bike! Halt!” came a woman’s voice over a loudspeaker. They could see a police minicar racing toward them from behind.
“Erk...”
“The authorities?” Sousuke whispered. But he didn’t stop pedaling... in fact, he sped up!
“Sousuke?!” Kaname exclaimed incredulously.
“Think you can get away, eh?! Think again!” said the officer, whose voice sounded strangely determined. The minicar’s engine roared as it flew in pursuit.
“She’s after us! What do we do?!”
“We can’t afford to be caught on a stolen bicycle,” Sousuke told her. “We’ll end up spending a night in a jail cell.”
“Um, I don’t think it’s quite a jailable offense... eek!” cried Kaname, as he took a hard turn onto the narrow local road, almost running down an old couple walking their dog in the process.
The minicar followed them and missed a few pedestrians by a hair’s breadth. “You’ll have to do better than that!” the policewoman cackled. Already halfway up on the sidewalk and still accelerating, the minicar began to close in on them. It actually felt less like she was trying to arrest them, and more like...
“She’s trying to kill us!” Kaname shrieked.
“Bwahaha!” the officer cackled. “Prepare to die!” Then, in an ostentatious violation of traffic laws, she maneuvered her minicar fully onto the sidewalk in order to continue her pursuit.
Kaname wasn’t sure what this officer’s deal was, but she clearly had an extreme personality.
“Not bad...” Sousuke muttered. They were approaching a T-intersection. “Chidori. When I give the signal, jump off the bike.”
“Huh? But you—”
Sousuke gave no room for argument as he jerked the handlebars and slid the back wheel forward, shouting, “Now!!!”
Kaname had no time to think; she simply leaped off the bicycle as instructed. She cried out in alarm as centrifugal force threw her back in the direction they’d previously been traveling. She managed to land safely on her feet, but the momentum carried her forward, forcing her to roll end-over-end to blunt the impact. Meanwhile, Sousuke completed a 180 degree turn and charged his bike straight at the incoming minicar.
“What?!” shouted the officer.
Once he’d reached sufficient speed, he leaped lightly off the bicycle, which continued racing towards their pursuer. When the two collided, the minicar ran over the bike and began to zigzag from its course.
“No... it can’t be!” came the policewoman’s strangely villainous cry.
Sousuke had leaped to an electric pole as the minicar drove past below. Kaname also swiftly leaped onto a nearby fence, just barely avoiding the out-of-control car.
The minicar lost control, plowed into the T-intersection, and crashed into the fence of a private residence. A terrible crash sounded out, followed by screams and the barking of dogs. Steam spurted from the radiator.
“Wh-What...” Kaname was still clinging to the fence in shock when Sousuke tugged at her arm.
“Let’s run,” he suggested.
“Eh? Ah, right...” After all that, it was even more imperative that they avoid arrest. Kaname jumped back down to the road, fleeing the scene of the crime with Sousuke.
“Honestly, what if I’d been hit?!” Kaname yelled at Sousuke as they ran along on foot.
“But you weren’t.”
“But you didn’t know I wouldn’t be!”
“I trusted that you wouldn’t let it happen,” he told her.
“Sheesh. Still...” Kaname shook her head as she recalled the dire situation they were still in. They had to get back to school fast, or she’d still be doomed to a post-exam vacation full of make-up classes.
“We’ll have to try our luck with the train,” she decided. “We got some distance with the bike, so if we can catch the rapid-service train at the station...” Kaname glanced at her watch: It was 1:11 p.m., just nineteen minutes until class began!
“I think we can still make it,” Sousuke told her.
“Hurry!” she cried, as they both upped their pace. Sousuke’s prowess went without saying, but Kaname was also at the top of the school for athletic ability. The various sports clubs had tried fervently to recruit her since her initial arrival. At any rate, the pair ran fast, inspiring surprised looks from onlookers. Sousuke started falling behind for some reason, so Kaname shouted back, “Get a move on!”
“I’m trying!” he yelled.
The residential district gave way to a commercial one. They crossed a congested street, using the hood of a stopped car as a springboard into the shopping area near the station. They hung in the air for a few seconds before landing, then continued on their run. The crossing had been accomplished with beautiful synchronicity; they didn’t even argue with the people honking at them.
“I was just looking at the timetable and...” Sousuke said, not slowing his pace as he examined his pocket train timetable. “The train will leave the station... in roughly thirty seconds. There won’t be another rapid one for a while.”
“Ugh, this stinks!” Kaname screamed.
They were closing in on the station. The city’s inbound line train was already on the platform.
“That’s the train,” Sousuke puffed. “If we miss it, it’s over.”
There were mere seconds remaining before the train left. They’d never make it if they went the normal route, buying a ticket and climbing the stairs. “We’ll have to break through!” Kaname cried out. “Straight ahead!
“Understood...”
The two dashed with all their might. They cut across the bus terminal and streaked for the station fence, which was two meters high. Climbing it would be difficult, but...
“I’m going!” Kaname shouted.
“I’ve got you!”
Kaname used Sousuke’s shoulders as a springboard and jumped, making it to the top of the fence. She held out her hand to Sousuke below. He grabbed it, and... “One, two...!” She pulled with all her might, and Sousuke’s legs did the rest of the work.
Having then surmounted the fence, the two of them rolled onto the rails in a painful heap. Fortunately, none of the station personnel saw them. Then the departure chime began sounding out; the train was about to leave!
“Hurry!”
“I’m... hurrying...”
The rest of their movements showed a spark of the divine. They raced across the tracks, vaulted onto the platform, and tore like a bullet for the train...
“Make... it... in... time!”
They leaped for the train’s doors the instant before they shut, hit the floor, and were carried by momentum into the opposite set of doors.
Kaname panted. Sousuke was silent. The two sat up, sweating, their shoulders heaving, as the other passengers stared at them in shock. The train noisily departed the station.
“We made it,” Sousuke said at last, breathlessly.
“Hahh... hahh... ha ha ha... I thought we were done for...” Kaname stood up, leaning heavily against the now-closed door as she straightened out her rumpled clothes and looked at her watch. It was currently 1:16 pm, still fourteen minutes until the start of fifth period.
The rapid-service train should have us at Sengawa, the station closest to Jindai High, in six minutes, she speculated. “Hey, plenty of time! We can walk from Sengawa Station to school in a flash!” she said cheerfully.
“It does appear we’ve done it,” Sousuke agreed, “though it was a close call.”
“Seriously. We really pushed it back there, huh?”
“I’m frequently amazed by your decisiveness,” he said in tones of wonderment.
“I’m just glad we made the rapid-service train. It’s been a real Saio’s Horse kind of day, you know?”
“I don’t know who Saio is, but I am indeed grateful for the rapid train,” Sousuke agreed.
“Weirdo.” Kaname laughed cheerfully, and Sousuke gave her a slight nod in response. “We really were pretty in sync, huh? There at the end.”
“Indeed. We made an excellent team.”
They gazed at each other. Sousuke’s expression was as blank as ever, but if she looked closely, she could see a slight loosening in the usual severe cast of his eyebrows. He, too, seemed quite pleased with himself... and Kaname was enjoying the resonance between them. She had completely forgotten how, ten minutes ago, she’d wanted to strangle him to death.
The train began to pick up speed. As a rapid-service train, it should be at Sengawa Station in no time.
The announcement echoed through the car: “Thank you for riding the Keio Line today. This is the limited express bound for Shinjuku. The next stop will be Meidaimae. Meidaimae...”
The two froze.
“Limited... express?” Kaname’s smile froze on her face as she turned to stare at Sousuke.
His expression was still blank, but now it had returned to its usual severity... coated now, additionally, with a layer of greasy sweat.
“Sousuke,” she said. “Didn’t you say... this was the rapid-service train?”
“I did,” he agreed, “Though it pains me to admit it.”
Kaname pointed at the floor. “But this is the limited express, right?”
“It does appear so.”
“The limited express is faster than the rapid, but it doesn’t stop at Sengawa Station,” she told him. “Did you know that?”
“I did. Unfortunately.”
“Care to explain yourself?”
“It appears I was looking at the weekend chart,” he admitted. “It was extraordinarily careless of me. A beginner’s mistake.”
“Aha ha... ha.” Kaname grabbed Sousuke by the lapels and yanked open the nearby window. “The only cure for stupidity is death.”
“Calm down, Chidori,” he begged.
“Die! You’re going to die right here and now! If you feel any repentance at all, you owe me that much!” The other passengers tried to intervene as Kaname attempted to hurl him from the still-accelerating train.
Their limited express passed right by Sengawa and stopped seven stations down at Meidaimae. Sousuke and Kaname switched to the outgoing line, and not long after, her watch read 1:30 p.m.
“It’s over... it’s all over,” Kaname whispered, her thoroughly-used fan and notebook clenched tight in her hands.
“I’m sorry,” Sousuke sincerely apologized, shoulders slumped. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked completely lifeless. “Something’s wrong with me today. I’ve never made so many fatal mistakes in such short succession in...” He stopped himself, seeming to realize that what he was saying just sounded like an excuse. “No... It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry.”
He sounded so pitiful and exhausted that Kaname found it suspicious. “Sousuke... are you sure you’re not sick? You really have been acting pretty out of character today...”
“That can’t be the case,” he denied. “I feel perfectly—”
Before he could finish his objection, Kaname put her palm to Sousuke’s forehead. “Hey, you’ve got a serious fever!” It has to be over 39 degrees Celsius, she realized. That kind of fever would lay up most people all day. He did all that, in this condition...
“It’s merely a cold,” he said dismissively. “Not an issue.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded. “Running all around with a fever like this... are you nuts?!”
“It won’t kill me.”
“It might, stupid! Why did you have to be so reckless...” Kaname began to lecture him, and then remembered that he was acting so recklessly for her. If he hadn’t felt so guilty about letting her down, he never would have pushed himself this far.
“Oh, for the... I guess that makes me the bad guy, huh?” she asked with a sigh.
“I’m sorry,” he said again.
“That’s not what I meant. If I’d known you were sick, I wouldn’t have gotten so mad.”
Sousuke looked at her in surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah,” she said, “not even I’m that mean.” Naturally, she was annoyed that he’d forgotten her notebook. But she was the one who’d lent it to him in the first place, after all. Thinking about it rationally, it wasn’t right to lay the blame solely on Sousuke.
Kaname let out a deep sigh. “It’s okay,” she told him. “Stop worrying about it.”
“Do you forgive me?” he asked.
“We just didn’t make it. It’s time to accept that. I know you tried your best, okay? We can take the make-up classes together.” And with those words, Kaname felt a burden lift off of her shoulders. Shooting Sousuke a small smile, she said, “In exchange, take a rest in the nurse’s office when we get back to school. Okay?”
“Very well. I’ll rest,” Sousuke agreed, gazing glassily into midair.
Fifth period classes were well into session by the time they entered the school building. Kaname headed for the nurse’s office with the limp Sousuke hanging off her shoulder.
“But I’m pretty surprised to learn that you’re not above catching a cold,” she told him.
“I feel the same way.”
They explained things to the nurse, and...
“You’re lucky. We have one free bed,” she said with a smile. Apparently, there were a lot of sick people today. The nurse and Kaname helped the limp Sousuke to the bed. As they did, Sousuke’s arm caught on the partitioning curtain. It moved aside, revealing the patient in the next bed over: a teacher in his early forties.
Kaname’s eyes went wide at the sight. “M-Mr. Fujisaki?!”
“O-Oh... Chidori? What is it?” rasped Mr. Fujisaki, their Classic Lit II teacher.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I caught a cold... I passed out in third period... It’s pathetic. How is your class doing with study hall?”
“S-Study hall?” she choked out.
“Yes... I forgot to ask,” he realized. “That homework... Chidori, as class representative, will you collect it for me?”
“Wh-What?!”
“Have it on my desk... before the end of the day,” he begged. “Please...”
Incredible! We’re saved! Kaname thought, stunned, as she met Sousuke’s eyes.
“So... it laid you out, after all?” Sousuke asked in a pained voice, while crawling into his own bed.
Hearing those words, Kaname furrowed her brow. “‘After all’? What do you mean, ‘after all’?”
“During lunch... I went to the teachers’ office,” Sousuke explained. “They said that Mr. Fujisaki collapsed with a fever in third period. I couldn’t imagine he would... neglect his duty over a simple cold... But it seems this one... truly is... severe...”
“Why... Why in the world didn’t you tell me at the start?!” Kaname yelled. “You could’ve just said he was sick and we might have study hall!”
Shocked by the sight of a schoolgirl wringing a sick boy’s neck, the nurse quickly intervened to pull Kaname off of Sousuke.
“Chidori,” Sousuke choked out, “putting one’s faith in such things can be fatal...”
“How, exactly?!” Kaname shrieked back at him.
“Once... when I was on a top secret mission in Myanmar... We heard a rumor that... a capable enemy commander... had been injured and consigned to the back lines. We believed it, and...”
Kaname wasn’t there to listen to Sousuke’s ramblings. The revelation that all their efforts had been for nothing had filled her with so much rage and exhaustion that she’d left the office on the spot.
Only the nurse remained behind, wondering what to do now that there were no empty beds left.
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