Undercover of Obligated Empathy
It was lunch break at school one day, when Chidori Kaname and Tokiwa Kyoko decided to take advantage of the nice weather and have lunch on the roof. They came out, engaged in a fiery debate about the K1 match they’d watched on TV the night before.
There, they found their classmate, Kazama Shinji, surrounded by a small group of boys.
Kyoko gasped as she saw them—they all had a “bad boy” look to them, with shaved heads or pompadours, and wore uniforms that didn’t meet regulation standards. Some wore flashy accessories, while others had tattoos on their faces.
It was Jindai High’s small delinquent contingent.
“Um... just don’t break it, please. It’s very expensive. I worked so hard to earn the money for it...” Shinji begged the boys in an almost impressively timid voice. They appeared to have stolen his beloved camera and were fiddling around with it, showing no regard for its well-being.
“Shaddap. Quit worryin’ so much.”
“Don’t be a damn miser.”
“If we break it, we’ll buy ya a QuickSnap.”
The delinquents were carelessly snapping pictures of the courtyard while Shinji watched them anxiously.
“Wh-What do we do, Kana-chan?” Kyoko asked.
“Leave them to it, I guess? It’s his own fault for not putting his foot down,” Kaname opined.
“I guess, but still... I’m a little worried.”
Kaname thought for a moment, then concluded, “Well, I guess it would be hard to enjoy lunch under these conditions.” She sighed and walked up to the boys accosting Shinji. “Hey, you.”
“Huh? What now?” The student who’d been rubbing the camera’s lens with his grubby fingers gave her a strained smile. His hair was done in the full pompadour style, rare to see these days. His height, weight, and looks were all average.
Kaname hadn’t talked to him much, but she remembered his name. She was pretty sure he was a second-year student called Maeda Eiji. “You’re bothering the camera’s owner. Give it back.”
But Maeda just cackled and hung a comradely arm around Shinji. “Botherin’ him? No way! We ain’t botherin’ him. Right, Kazama-kun?”
“Er... eh? Um, well... um...”
“We ain’t, right? Right?!”
“Um... right.”
Maeda grinned back at Kaname. “You heard the man. Now get lost. Vice president, viceroyalty, whatever you are... just stay outta people’s business.”
“Th-That’s an unusual word for a delinquent like you to know...” said Kazama.
“Or hey, you want your picture taken? Izzat it?” Maeda squatted down and held the camera up to his eye. “I’m down for it. Just strip. Piece by piece, and with feelin’ if you please.”
The delinquents around him cackled. Kaname was dumbstruck for a moment, then she smiled and said, “All right. Just make sure you get my good side.”
This seemed to catch Maeda off guard.
“C’mon,” she cooed. “Look alive, big boy. You won’t get another chance like this.” She undid one button on her uniform seductively.
“Erk...” Maeda snapped himself out of his daze, readied the camera and leaned forward.
Kaname abruptly planted a knee into the camera. Maeda let out a stifled grunt as it hit him in the nose.
“Bwa ha ha. You fell for it!” Kaname laughed.
“Whaddya think you’re doin’?!”
“It’s what they do in the commercials,” she told him. “‘Sexual harassment must be repaid in blood. This is a public service announcement.’”
“I ain’t never seen a commercial that aggressive!” Maeda objected, right before lunging at Kaname.
She slipped out of his grip, showing some impressive footwork. She then readied her fists in a K1 style and declared, “Oh, it’s a fight you want? Watch me, Kyoko. I’ll show you a replay of last night’s third round!”
“You can’t beat them, Kana-chan!” cried Kyoko.
And indeed, she couldn’t—the other men immediately flew at her from either side, catching her easily.
“Geh... weird. I think I was possessed by the spirit of Bob Sapp for a minute there...” Kaname had to admit.
“I guess it’s pretty common... People who watch a fight on TV and are suddenly convinced they’re super tough,” Kyoko said, eyes filling with tears as the delinquents grabbed her too.
“Now ya done it, girlie. We’re gonna give it to ya now,” Maeda said.
The other punks cackled with eager expressions.
“Yeah! Get ’er, Maeda!”
“I’m down! Do it, do it!”
Spurred on by the onlookers, an even more lascivious leer appeared on Maeda’s face... yet at the same time, a trail of greasy sweat seemed to trickle down his forehead. His expression showed the slightest hint of hesitation—of uncertainty. As if to hide whatever it was, though, Maeda just grinned bigger. “A’ight. We got the camera and all, so let’s take ourselves a... a panty shot. Sounds good, huh?”
“N-No way, dammit!” Kaname protested. “Besides, what kind of low-ambition punks are you?!”
“Okay, here it comes. J-Just sit back while I make you a page in the album of my teenage years!”
“Eeeek!” Kaname wailed.
Maeda readied the camera in both hands and rushed up to Kaname, close to the ground. Then...
Bwoom! A flash of light and a roar of sound exploded between Maeda and Kaname. The whole group ended up bowled over, forced onto the concrete.
The explosion had come from a flash grenade.
“Fighting is prohibited in this area.” A male student appeared from the rising smoke, his voice amplified by a megaphone. He wore a sullen expression and tight frown—it was Sagara Sousuke. “I am head of school security and aide to the student council president. As the enforcer of safety and morality on school grounds, I cannot stand idly by while this outrageous behavior continues. Especially when the staff is currently holding a meeting to consider limitations on roof access. Stop this reckless behavior and—”
“You’re the reckless one!” Whap! Kaname, being the first to regain consciousness, leaped high into the air, pulled out her fan from somewhere or other, and slammed it down on him.
Sousuke cringed, shaking his head. “I missed where it came from again...”
“Shut up!” she shouted with her full diaphragm. “At least shout ‘hold it’ or ‘stop’ next time first! You even got the victim mixed up in it! Do you even understand the concept of good faith?!”
“Victim?” Sousuke protested. “You appear to have been the one who struck first...”
“If you were hiding long enough to see that, why didn’t you come out sooner?!” While Kaname was kicking Sousuke around, the hooligans groggily picked themselves up.
“Guhhh...”
“Hmph. Finally awake? Not very tough for such big guys, are you?” Kaname sneered.
“The hell’d you say?!” Maeda and the others said in unison, trying to sound as menacing as they could.
It was then that a new voice interjected, “Knock it off.”
The whole group looked back. A girl stood at the entrance to the roof. She was tall—around 180 centimeters—with wavy black hair and a pretty face that nonetheless wore a perpetually bored expression. She had an almost foreign air to her. She was wearing the school’s girl’s uniform, modified slightly with black leggings under the skirt and no ribbon tie.
“A-Akutsu-san...” One of the delinquents spoke her name.
Kaname knew this girl as well. Her name was Akutsu Mari, and she was the leader of the local delinquents. She had picked a fight with Sousuke shortly after he’d first transferred to the school.
“Mari-chan?” Kaname said.
“Hmph,” the delinquent girl scoffed, “don’t act so familiar.”
“Oh, really? Akutsu-san, then. You really go here?”
“I do. Got a problem?’
“But I’ve never seen you at school before,” Kaname pointed out.
Mari shrugged. “I’ve been traveling. Busy with work, too. I’m repeating a year anyway, so I can finish my last credits easy.”
“Really? Although...” She stared in disbelief at Mari in her uniform, letting out a thoughtful hum. “You look pretty cute in the Jindai High uniform.”
Kaname’s idle words sent a shiver through the delinquents.
“D-Did she just...”
“...say the reason Akutsu-san doesn’t like to come to school like it was nothin’?”
“You know that’s the reason she got held back a year, right?!”
Meanwhile, Akutsu Mari’s reaction was nothing more than a slight trembling of her fists before she took in a slow breath and calmed down. “That’s fine. Anyway, Maeda...” She fixed her eyes on Maeda Eiji, who was holding the camera. “Knock the stupid punk act off. It’s one thing for that war-obsessed fool to beat you, but you also got outwitted by a girl. You gotta have some backbone. Get a grip.”
“B-But... Ow!” Maeda cringed as she slapped him on the back of the head.
“I hate sexual exploitation crap anyway. Here I am, coming back after so long to check in on things, and this is what I see? Why don’t you get your priorities straight, eh?”
“S-Sorry...”
“Darn it...” She snatched the camera from Maeda’s hands and tossed it to Shinji.
“Th-Thanks...”
In response, Mari just sniffed, cast a glance at Sousuke, and then left the roof. Maeda and the others followed after her swiftly.
Kaname just stared at the door they’d left from. “Boy, she is something else... She’s got those delinquents wrapped around her finger. They must be pretty scared of her...”
“At one time, they were. But she’s been away from this school for a long time. We’ll see if she can maintain her previous status,” Sousuke said with the tone of a baseball color commentator.
“You knew she was a student here?” Kaname asked, surprised.
“Of course. I acquired information about Akutsu Mari from multiple sources. In addition to buying her brother Yoshiki a light-up super-electromagnetic top, I also—” Sousuke suddenly stopped. After looking at Shinji and Kyoko, who were just standing there, listening, he said, “The rest is classified,” in a somewhat forced manner.
“What the heck? Why’d you make it so tantalizing?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“How am I not supposed to worry about it?! Darn it...” Despite her griping, though, Kaname didn’t press Sousuke any further.
Kaname would end up learning Sousuke’s “classified” secret a few days later, anyway, when she and Sousuke were called in by the student council president, Hayashimizu Atsunobu, following class. He handed them two complimentary passes to the local karaoke parlor and said, “Urgent business. I want you to go to this karaoke parlor immediately.”
“Why?” asked Kaname.
“A valuable student council collaborator is at risk,” Hayashimizu told her shortly. “He’s currently waiting in Room 8. Seek him out, ask him what’s going on, and find a way to ensure his safety.”
“At risk? Who’s after him?” she asked, intrigued by the term ‘collaborator.’
“I’m not entirely sure. He was vague on the phone, but seemed agitated.”
“Why don’t you go yourself, Senpai? It’s not exactly a long walk.”
“I would be glad to, but...” Hayashimizu folded his arms and stared at the mountain of documents on his work desk. “Would you prefer to deal with the documents to be sent to Tajiren member schools in my place?”
“We’ll go,” Kaname declared immediately.
“Good. It would be problematic if I were to be seen meeting with him anyway. We officially have nothing to do with one another.”
“Ahh...” Kaname sighed.
Hayashimizu stared at Sousuke. “Sagara-kun, it’s the one you know. Take care of him.”
“Right. Leave it to me, Mr. President,” said Sousuke, snapping to attention.
The two of them headed quickly to Baru-Baru, the karaoke parlor in the local station area.
“Why a karaoke place?” Kaname wondered.
“To avoid prying eyes. It would make trouble for him if he was seen making contact with those connected to the student council.”
“Sousuke. The conversation you had before made it sound like you know this guy. Who is it?”
“You’ll see soon enough. You’re familiar with him as well.”
“Eh?”
They took the elevator to the fourth floor and headed to Room 8 in the karaoke parlor. They opened the soundproof glass door, went inside, and...
Sitting there alone was Maeda Eiji—the delinquent with whom Kaname had fought the other day.
“T-Took you long enough,” Maeda said, fidgeting.
“Sorry for the wait, Maeda, but you’re safe now,” Sousuke told him. “You believe you’ve been exposed, then?”
“Yeah. They’re gonna rub me out for sure. You gotta help me!”
Kaname frowned as she watched the two talk like old friends. “This is the ‘collaborator’?”
“Affirmative. More precisely, he’s an undercover agent the president sent to infiltrate the school’s delinquent faction. In order to catch truly despicable acts—large-scale violence and bullying, exploitation of women—before they happen...” While Sousuke explained eloquently beside her, Kaname fell over, cradling her head.
“You people... you people...”
“Is there some kind of issue?”
“You bet there is! You’re not some American vice squad detectives! What kind of student council sends spies into delinquent groups?!” she demanded to know.
“Your reaction is surprising. When you were taken hostage in that abandoned factory, the information Maeda leaked to me was a great help in saving you,” Sousuke pointed out. “I was extremely impressed by the president’s foresight in that matter.”
“Yeah. You oughta be grateful,” Maeda said haughtily. “I even came up with the panty pic idea earlier to keep ’em from doing worse to ya. Have a little sympathy, okay?”
“Ugh... fine. But why would you even take a job like that?”
“Hayashimizu-san was my senpai in middle school. He took care of me, and I owe him a ton. That’s why I was willing to play the part,” Maeda explained.
“Uh-huh...”
“I was originally a prep school kid, about as far from the delinquent world as you could get. But I threw myself into the role and got a full high-school makeover. Now I’ve got the speech pattern and attitude down pat. Get it?” He leaned back arrogantly and stuck a chocolate cigarette in his mouth.
“I’m not really impressed by some kid playing dress-up...” Kaname grumbled.
“Keh. Shaddap,” Maeda snapped back.
“So, Maeda. You said you were in danger. Could you please explain?” Sousuke prompted him.
“Y-Yeah, I am! I’m in big trouble! You gotta help me!” Maeda said, begging and clinging to him, as if he’d only just remembered the threat he was facing.
“Calm down. Tell me everything.”
“I th-think my cover’s blown. They know who I really am.”
“What? But how is that possible?”
“Well, I messed up. I got careless and let Akutsu-san get a glimpse of what was in my bag,” Maeda confessed.
“How could that be an issue? We’ve been very cautious in our operations. You shouldn’t have anything that would identify you as an agent—a spy camera or a listening device or anything like that.”
“It was... It was...” Maeda clung to him harder.
“Were you carrying something you shouldn’t have been?” Sousuke pressed.
“Y-Yeah. Something that’d prove I wasn’t a delinquent on sight. Akutsu-san’s smart. She’ll know.”
“What was it, then?”
“The latest issue of Maburaho.”
Sousuke went silent for a while, then quietly cursed. “How could you do something so foolish?” he demanded. “What kind of delinquent would walk around with that?!”
“The volume just came out!”
“You should have endured! Your life is on the line here!” Sousuke continued berating him while Maeda desperately argued back.
Meanwhile, Kaname just slumped over. “Sounds like it’s a bad situation, huh?”
Sousuke looked down, shoulders heaving with breath. “We’ll need to come up with a countermeasure. It’s clear what people like Akutsu’s gang do to traitors.”
“Hey, hang on. No need to be so hasty. She just caught a glimpse, right? That doesn’t necessarily peg him as a spy.”
“Chidori. Don’t be naive,” Sousuke said, his eyes glinting. “Once, our squadron took out a heroin kingpin who’d executed a man simply because he didn’t think he behaved like a real punk who grew up in the country. He was completely paranoid about the possibility of undercover agents.”
“Uh-huh...”
“Maeda’s situation is surely the same,” Sousuke insisted. “Akutsu will likely first subject him to torture. She’ll tear off his fingernails, rub salt into his wounds, pull out his teeth without anesthetic and...”
Sousuke went on to describe various torture methods Maeda could be subjected to in great detail. Maeda himself just sat there, teeth chattering. His face became paler and paler as he listened, until he looked like he was about to pass out.
“...and she’ll continue in that fashion until you give the answer she wants,” Sousuke concluded. “The underworld doesn’t believe in ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ Maeda’s life is currently hanging by a thread.”
“N-N-No... please...”
“Sheesh...” Kaname breathed, casually enough. Meanwhile, Sousuke was stone-faced, and Maeda was on the verge of tears. An uncomfortable silence hung over the karaoke room.
At last, Sousuke spoke again. “I don’t think we have a choice. We need to evacuate you at once.”
“Evacuate me... how?” the confused Maeda asked.
“A school transfer. We need to get you far enough away to escape Akutsu’s information network. I’ll introduce you to a go-between of mine, and you can choose your next location. Pakistan, Cambodia, Colombia—anywhere in that vein.”
“Those all sound really dangerous!”
“You’ll be fine. You just have to keep an eye out for land mines and terrorist bombings. They’re beautiful places, with lovely night skies. And very low costs of living.”
“Guh... how could this have happened?” Maeda groaned. But as he listened to Sousuke’s not-very-reassuring reassurances, a chirpy tune started to play from his pocket. It was the ringtone for his cell phone. “It’s Akutsu-san,” he breathed as he stared at the LCD screen.
“Maeda. Where are you now?” came Akutsu Mari’s voice.
“Er... uh... the shoppin’ district.”
“Yeah? You vanished at lunch, so I thought you’d gone home. Where are you in the shopping district?”
“Um... a karaoke parlor called Baru-Baru.”
“Anyone with you?”
“No! Uh, I mean, nah... Figured I’d expand my repertory, so I’m practicin’ here on my own...”
“Oh?” Akutsu Mari hummed. Her voice through the phone sounded about the same as ever. No... perhaps there was something off about it. A sense that she was hiding something. “Get out, now. We’ll come meet you.”
“What?!”
“We’re in the neighborhood.”
“Um... But I... I mean, c’mon, I just got here. Uh...”
“I said, get out. Do it.” Her voice had the tone of a threat to it. “I said I was looking for you. Don’t try to slip away or you’re dead.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am. See you soon.” He hung up.
“What did she say?” Kaname asked.
“It’s bad. She told me to head out and meet her... What do I do? Sh-She’s gonna kill me!” Maeda grabbed Sousuke, desperately clinging to him again.
Sousuke looked at his watch. “Don’t panic,” he advised. “It seems like a difficult situation at a glance, but it could also be an opportunity.”
“Eh?” Maeda said.
“Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll use a hidden microphone to record Akutsu’s gang about to torture you. I’ll stop them before things get too bad, and then we can expose her evil deeds at a staff meeting,” Sousuke decided. “With the president’s power and pressure from the student council, we can work to have them all expelled.”
“I... I see...”
“Even if we choose not to expel them, we can use the threat of expulsion as leverage. Then they’ll have to leave you alone.”
“B-But... that also seems a little extreme...” Maeda said, hesitantly, eyes turned down. “Akutsu-san and her gang are normally good guys. They can be a little rowdy, but... y’know...”
Sousuke looked fed up with Maeda’s hesitation, but Kaname peered at him with interest.
“What is it, Chidori?” Sousuke asked.
“Oh? Nothing... Just nothing.”
“Anyway, let’s execute the plan. Take this.” Sousuke handed him a MiniDisc Walkman with recording function, as well as a mini-transmitter. “Have the MD recording when you meet her. Then, when danger seems imminent, press the red button on the transmitter. I’ll burst in and save you. Understood?”
“But...”
“It’s the only way. You don’t want to lose your school life, do you?”
“Mm... F-Fine,” Maeda responded listlessly.
Maeda Eiji walked out the front entrance alone, with Sousuke and Kaname watching secretly from behind. Akutsu Mari, who was waiting for him outside, wrapped her arm around his neck and basically pulled him along. The goons around Mari smiled suggestively as they walked along, clustered around her. They did seem to be plotting something indeed.
Once Mari and her group were gone, Kaname muttered, “You sure this is the way to go?”
“Not an issue. I’ll be with him. Even if they do begin to torture Maeda, they probably won’t get more than a tooth or a finger.”
Chidori said nothing.
“Still, Chidori, remain cautious. The worst thing we could do is tip them off to our presence,” Sousuke said seriously, as he ducked behind an electric pole.
Kaname stared at him for a moment, sighed, then said, “Maybe I shouldn’t be a part of this.”
“What?”
“I mean, I’m not exactly the fighting type,” she pointed out. “And... getting them all expelled? It’s all going a little far for me. I’ll let you handle the rough stuff. Seriously. I’m not being sarcastic.”
Sousuke just looked at her in confusion.
“So, see you. Don’t do anything hasty. I’m going back to school.” Kaname strode away, leaving Sousuke behind.
Mari and her goons formed a wall around Maeda as they dragged him to the north side of the shopping district, giving him no choice in the matter. He’d been pretending to be a delinquent at their school for a while now, and in all that time, they’d never treated him like this.
“Um...”
“Just shut up and come along,” Mari said bluntly. The goons around them just offered thin smiles.
“What’s going on here? C’mon, Big Sis... Did I do somethin’ wrong? This all seems a little... y’know...”
Mari then stopped in place and peered into his eyes, a cryptic smile on her face. “Are you serious?”
“Eh?”
“Heh... hee hee hee.” The goons’ shoulders shook with laughter. They were wicked laughs that seemed to make Maeda’s upcoming fate very clear.
“You’re a damn dummy.”
“Even I’m sick of you.”
“Hey, Maeda-kun. You’re one big idiot! Heh heh...”
They laughed menacingly at him, then started walking again. They were heading for a basement pub on the outskirts of the shopping district. It was clear they weren’t going to give him a chance to run away.
Before they even walked down the stairs, Maeda felt sure. They’re gonna kill me! He’d once seen Mari beat a snooty karate club member half to death in this underground pub. She wasn’t just tall; she’d studied a comprehensive martial art called Daidomyaku Style and was a terrifyingly skilled fighter. It was how she’d been able to keep the neighborhood delinquents under her thumb.
Can it be? Mari, who knows all the weak spots in a human body, is gonna torture me down there?! He wouldn’t hesitate any longer. He pressed his sweaty thumb against the red button on the transmitter in his pocket. Then, shoved along by Mari and the others, Maeda entered the basement pub.
“Heh heh heh...” laughed one of the delinquents “No annoying cops’ll come sniffing around here, no matter how much noise we make. It’s all rented out.” He was right; the dark store interior didn’t have any ordinary customers. Everyone there was lowlifes like them—and they were all lowlifes that Maeda recognized.
Oh, hell... Maeda knew that the owner of this place was a former delinquent from their school, and he could clear it of outsiders on request. Maeda also knew that no one would hear any cries for help from here. It’s all over, he thought, gritting his teeth to prepare for what was to come. Pushed to the brink of panic, he was about to let out a scream...
When just then, someone shouted. “Woo! Maeda Eiji-kun! Happy birthday!”
Applause rang out. Firecrackers popped. Confetti fluttered around them.
“Er...?”
The lights popped on, letting Maeda see the large birthday cake and luxuriant feast spread out over the shop’s tables. The delinquents, who’d been staring at him suspiciously before, now broke out into bright smiles.
“Ha ha ha! Got you, eh?”
“Guess he forgot his own damn birthday!”
“Look at him! We totally got him! Ha ha ha!”
His birthday—he really had completely forgotten about it. Maeda, who simply stood there, stunned, watched as someone approached with a large present in their hands.
“Okay! If there’s one thing our Maeda wants, it’s gotta be this, right? Go on, open it!”
Stunned, Maeda tore off the wrapping paper. Inside was a beautiful leather jacket with an embroidered dragon on the back. It was something he’d seen in a magazine before, and at the time, he’d said it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen. They must have remembered that... and actually gotten it for him!
“Be grateful, Maeda. We all chipped in for it. Though Big Sis Akutsu was the one who put in the most.”
“Idiot! I told you not to say that! Cut it out already, it’s pathetic,” Mari shouted, her face red.
“Ha ha, someone’s bashful. Everyone knows you’re the one who cares the most about Maeda.”
“Cut it out. Dammit...” Mari scratched bashfully under her nose.
“Hey, Big Sis...” Maeda started.
Mari patted him hard on the back. “Still, I can’t say it’s not true. Enjoy your day!”
“Yeah!” The pub-goers all raised their glasses.
“Geh...” Maeda couldn’t take it anymore. Tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. The world turned blurry around him, and his chest grew hot.
“Maeda?”
“I... I’m sorry, Sis. I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” His voice cracked, and he wiped the tears from his eyes.
The delinquents all chimed in.
“Come on, man. What’s with you, Maeda?”
“What’s got you all sentimental?”
“It’s not like you. Go on, have a drink.”
They were just... such a nice bunch of guys. What was he thinking, narcing on them all this time? I’ve had enough. I’m gonna go full delinquent. I feel bad for Hayashimizu-senpai, but I’m gonna drop the student council job and live my life for the gang from now on!
It was just after he made that decision that he suddenly remembered... He’d put out the call to Sagara Sousuke to save him earlier. Even though I don’t need saving anymore. If he comes here now...!
“Oh, crap...” he whispered.
“What’s up?”
“Sorry. I just realized I left something in the karaoke place—”
“Just pick it up later.”
“But... it’s important to me! Oh, I know! It’s a memento from my old man. An old catcher’s mitt he left me—”
“Your old man works at city hall. Didn’t he play in that grass lot ball game last week?”
“Oh, er, I meant a memento from my mother. A pendant she left me—”
“Your mother works part-time at the Maruzen Mart. I saw her running the register the other day.”
“Sorry, I meant a memento from my big brother. He was an archaeologist who excavated a Moai statue from the pyramids in Egypt—”
“You don’t have a big brother.”
“Right. A memento from my little sister. We aren’t related by blood, but she puts everything she has into making me a lunch every morning. And I left the lunch—”
“How’s that a memento?”
“Ugh...” Fully out of excuses, Maeda was left trembling, when...
Ba-bwoom!
The door to the pub exploded open. Wood splinters and glass shards came flying in. Among the showering shards stood a man holding a shotgun. It was, of course, Sagara Sousuke.
“Nobody move!” he barked.
“What the hell do you want?!” As a delinquent tried to come at him, Sousuke mercilessly fired his rubber rounds. The man went flying backwards, ending up splayed on the floor below.
“I told you not to move,” he said.
“D-Damn you!” Mari, holding back the angry men, took a step forward. “What do you want, Sagara?”
“It’s simple. I came to make a trade for Maeda Eiji. The student council will take him into custody.” Sousuke’s tone was like ice as he held his shotgun at the ready.
“What?”
“You have my compliments for figuring out that Maeda was a spy, but you won’t be able to seal the deal.”
“A spy?!”
And... he just said it. Maeda, who’d been on tenterhooks for so long, merely slumped over in shame as he felt the gazes of all of the delinquents fall on him.
“Is this guy serious, Maeda?” one of the delinquents asked.
“Well... th-the thing is...”
“It’s not true, right? Because that’d really suck. Tell him he’s wrong, Maeda.”
“H-He’s wro—”
“I’m not wrong,” Sousuke insisted, casually speaking one fatal phrase after another. “Maeda is a spy. His supposed friendships with you were all friendships of convenience, pursued merely to protect the security of our school. In order to ferret out your secrets, he—”
“Cut it out already!” Kaname appeared out of nowhere like a whirlwind, giving him a hard kick to the back.
Sousuke blinked. “Chidori. What are you doing here?”
Kaname snorted, her arms folded. “I figured out my own way to resolve this. Just put the gun away already."
“Hmm?”
“Senpai. Over here,” Kaname said as she turned back.
A man in a white high school uniform entered. “Sorry to intrude, all.” It was the student council president, Hayashimizu Atsunobu.
“Hayashimizu. Mind telling us what you’re doing here?” Mari fixed her eyes on Hayashimizu.
Unfazed by her glare, he spoke in a sonorous voice. “It seems the situation has gotten rather out of hand. I came here to deal with things directly.”
“Hmm?”
“Let me ask you one more time. Will you turn Maeda Eiji over to us?”
“Huh? What makes you think we’d do that, eh? Besides, he’s a spy, right?” Mari grabbed Maeda by the nape of the neck. “So I’d like a little explanation here before I do anything.”
“It’s true. He is a spy.” Hayashimizu, too, admitted to it easily.
Maeda hung his head in despair.
But just then, Hayashimizu corrected himself. “No. I suppose he’s not a spy. He betrayed us in the end.”
“What?” asked Mari.
“It all began about a month ago. As student council president, I had the idea of keeping deeper tabs on your organization. To accomplish that, I made up my mind to take in one of your ranks to use as an informant. And the one I chose was...”
“Maeda, huh?”
“Yes. At first, I thought I could simply buy him off, but he rejected my offer with foolish talk of ‘comrades’ and honor.’ So, instead, I called on Sagara Sousuke.” Hayashimizu gave Sousuke a pat on the shoulder, a wicked smile appearing on his face. “I told Maeda Eiji, ‘Think of what a man raised on the battlefield might do to you if you don’t cooperate.’ An underhanded move, to be sure, but it appeared to have worked.” He nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the picture of a heartless villain.
“That’s a dirty trick, you know...” Mari observed.
“‘A dirty trick’?” Hayashimizu repeated. “How humorous. But he ended up fleecing us all.”
“What?”
“Maeda Eiji pretended to cooperate with us, but all the while, he was stealing valuable student council secrets. He eavesdropped on my secret conferences with the principal and recorded them on a minidisc. If that minidisc were to fall into your hands, it could put me in a difficult position.” Speaking with the air of a white-collar criminal, he glared balefully at Maeda. “Maeda-kun, this has been a tremendous disappointment. Did you really think you could beat me?”
Maeda said nothing.
“Well, there’s your explanation. I’ll be taking him now. Sagara-kun?”
“Yes, sir.” Sousuke, after hearing Kaname whisper into his ear, nodded. With his shotgun at the ready, he strode up to Maeda.
Mari stepped in between them.
“Get out of my way, Akutsu,” Sousuke warned her.
“Can’t do that. I’m not letting you have him.”
“If you don’t move, I’ll shoot you.”
“Do what you want. That pea-shooter won’t take me down that easily. And even if I do fall, the rest of the guys’ll take my place. Because we’re comrades. Isn’t that right, guys?” She looked out over the group, and the delinquents nodded in agreement.
“That’s right! Get outta here!” one shouted.
“You ain’t takin’ Maeda!” called another.
Hayashimizu remained silent for a while as the jeers rang out around him. Then at last he raised a hand, and said, “Very well.”
“Oh?”
“I dislike pointless conflict. I’ll allow you to keep Maeda Eiji. However, you must give me the minidisc he is carrying. This is one matter upon which I cannot yield.”
“Heh, fine. Nobody gives a damn about your secret little conversations anyway,” Mari scoffed. “Give it to him, Maeda.”
“Huh?” Maeda just stood there, silently.
“That minidisc or whatever. I know you probably worked hard to get it, but the effort you put in is more than enough for me. Let him have it.”
“B-Big Sis... All right.” Maeda pulled the minidisc player from his pocket, and handed it to Sousuke, who passed it on to Hayashimizu.
Hayashimizu put the minidisc player’s earphone into his ear and listened. “Good. This is it.”
“Now, let me give you a warning. Never try a dirty trick like that again—if you do, you’ll have to deal with me,” Mari said, hands on her hips.
“Hmm. I suppose... this time, I lost,” Hayashimizu admitted. “I underestimated the bond that you shared.”
“You sure as hell did. Never underestimate us again.”
“I’ll remember that.” Hayashimizu shrugged, then turned to walk away. Sousuke and Kaname followed after him.
“Yahoo!”
“Serves ’em right!”
“Come on, let’s get back to the party!”
As the three of them left the pub, they heard cheers ringing out behind them.
“And that’s the end of that,” Hayashimizu said as they walked through the shopping street at dusk.
“Sorry, Senpai. I forced you into kind of a nasty role,” Kaname said.
The scene they’d just been through, had it been a play, would have had the following credits: “Planning/script: Chidori Kaname; director/star: Hayashimizu Atsunobu.” Sousuke’s role would have been listed as “Enforcer A.”
“Oh, please. I’m the one who started it all. I was just thinking that Maeda-kun was reaching the limit of his abilities, anyway. I was about to recommend that he leave the spy game.”
“Oh, really?” Kaname asked.
“He was something of a loner back in middle school, so I was truly pleased to see him make close friends at last.”
“Oh?”
“But Chidori, I’m impressed that you were able to identify the trust that existed between Maeda and Akutsu and the rest of their gang. That’s the only way you could have thought up that performance, right?” Sousuke said, sounding genuinely astonished.
“That’s the power of human perception, man.”
“Human perception?”
“Yes. Like, look at me right now. Look very carefully,” Kaname said, grinning.
Sousuke narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Kaname as she walked along.
“What do you see, at a glance?”
“A teenage girl. Japanese. Height, 165 centimeters; weight, 50 kilograms. Unarmed. No military training. No combat training. No internal diseases. No previous pregnancies likely. And...” Watching the furrow form on her brow, Sousuke added, “Quite abruptly in a very bad mood.”
“Right answer,” she said, giving Sousuke a whap on the back of the head.
〈Undercover of Obligated Empathy — The End〉
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