Part 9
I kicked the wet ground and ran after Ibuki. One bothersome problem was the weather. Depending on the weather, there might be the possibility of getting stuck somewhere or getting involved into an accident. It was also a concern the fact that the sun would go down sooner than I expected and it’d be difficult to push forward without a flashlight.
The passing shower became stronger and the wind was also starting to blow more violently. The weather was just one of the bad circumstances. There was no advantage here. Visibility could only be maintained for a few meters due to the pouring rain. And even if it looked like I lost my way, thanks to the rain, the footprints of two people remained on the muddy ground, so it was easy to follow them.
Those footprints suddenly vanished. No, they weren’t interrupted, rather they continued in the deeper forest. This implied that the path changed sharply and the persons intentionally bought themselves into the forest, they didn’t go astray. Using the flashlight, when I aimed the light deeper in the forest, the two pairs of footsteps gradually were entering deeper and deeper. There was no reason why those people would put their feet in a dangerous forest like that.
Just to be sure, I tried to illuminate the regular route leading to the beach, but there were no footprints there and the ground was clean. With my hand, I cleared away the dripping rain from my bangs. Then I followed the footprints and went into the forest.
Naturally, the visibility soon got worse. It was safe to say it seemed night already. The ominous atmosphere floated around the dark forest but I pushed forward relying only on the footprints.
It happened about 30 meters after. In a moment, I felt a light entering brightly in my field of vision.
Immediately, I turned off the flashlight and concealed my breath. Staring fixedly at the direction of that brightness, I could see the light again. It was a flashlight. It was like it was sending off a signal. Ibuki and Horikita? No. Both of them wouldn’t have anything to make a light. I quietly turned my feet towards that light and shortened the distance.
Hearing voices of people making small noises in the rain, I concealed myself. It didn’t matter who was there and what they were talking about. The problem was that I discovered them. Grasping the situation was secondary.
And then, shortly after, the light of the electric torch went far off. It seemed to be over. Just to be sure, I approached cautiously. And then, there………
Near a big tree, there was Horikita’s figure, covered in mud, who lost consciousness and she really looked like she was dying.
A keycard was dropped to the ground near her hand that had no force left. On her injured body, traces of excavated soil. Looking at the situation, it was confirmed that Horikita has been found out as the class leader by none other than Ibuki. After picking up the keycard, I hoisted Horikita up in my arms.
“Um….”
I felt a sense of discomfort when I held her in my arms. I sighed faintly and Horikita, slowly but surely, opened her eyes very weakly.
“Did you come to your senses?”
“Ayano…Kouji-kun……”
Whether she could understand the situation, she uttered another faint comment.
“……my head….hurts……”
“You have a high fever. It’s better for you not to strain to talk”
“I see….I, to Ibuki……..but, why are you here?”
Even if I told her to sleep, Horikita would concern herself with this and that problem while her fever was still rising. Then, she started to understand the situation little by little.
“As expected…..it was Ibuki who stole my card”
“I see”
“I can’t be any more stupid than Sudo-kun and others. And I’m usually the one who exposes the disgraceful behaviours”
She closed her eyes lamenting a situation I couldn’t do anything about.
“It’s not a trial where you should keep hiding for 24 hours. You can be open to attack”
I intended to follow-up with something else but it seemed like it made Horikita sad. She was too injured and in a state of total heartbreak.
“It could have been avoided if I knew how to rely on someone”
If you seriously wanted to protect the leader’s identity, you would have to rely on trustworthy people from the bottom of your heart. Doing so, people would have protected the existence of the card on a 24-hours basis. But Horikita had no friends who could have done it.
She looked miserable and she was coughing a little.
“When I was losing consciousness, I felt like I heard Ryuuen’s voice…..That’s odd, he should be retired since long ago….”
“You were losing consciousness. Maybe you saw him in your dream”
“If it was really a dream, it would be even worse”
I wonder if she really heard Ryuuen’s voice. Even if she fell asleep and lost consciousness, her brain probably allowed her to wake her up by herself after she heard something. It’s no wonder that she unknowingly picked up Ryuuen’s voice.
“I’m sorry”
While I was thinking silently, Horikita apologized.
“Why are you apologizing to me?”
“That’s because…there’s no else I can apologize to, except you”
Hmm yeah. It’s something that makes me think hard.
“If you think that’s bad, in the future try to make some reliable friends. Start from there”
“That’s difficult…..nobody is willing to be my ally”
I laughed when I felt the signs of such a resigned masochism.
“It’s no use even if you laugh, it’s pitiful to make fun of someone”
“No, it’s not that. I think, deep inside you, you’re starting to feel that you need allies”
“Nobody said that…..”
The usual Horikita, now, would be insulting the other party but this time, there was another meaning to her words. The meaning included in her words was that of «exchanging and changing» oneself. Otherwise she wouldn’t have said «Nobody who is willing to be my ally».
Still, it was not easy. Until now, nobody had any difficulties if he could change steadily and skillfully the way he was moving forward. Horikita’s vacant eyes seemed to be looking at someone else through me, rather than at me.
“Such a thing…..I understood it since long ago”
You should not live alone in this world. Both school and society consist of a huge amount of people.
“Don’t talk. You’re sick”
I can persuade her to be quite but Horikita didn’t stop her repentance. However, for Horikita, there are no alternatives other than rely on nobody. And even if she saw a new one, she couldn’t choose it.
“With my own strength, I will rise to A class. I will surely recover from this failure”
Without strength, she grabbed my sleeve and made an impassionate appeal.
“I’m ready to be cursed by all the classes….I failed to that extent”
“According to this school’s system, if you fight by yourself you can’t go up to A class. We need classmates’ cooperation at any cost. It’s inevitable”
She had no strength to keep her eyes open. So her eyes, in the end, shut. Horikita’s faint grasp on my sleeve, actually, made me feel strong.
“It’s impossible to admit. Regardless of how hard it is…….. in the end…I am alone”
“Ahh Shut up. Stop talking. There’s no persuasive or convincing power in a sick person’s words”
I embraced Horikita a little strongly.
“You can’t bear heavy responsibilities. You’re not that strong. Sorry to tell you”
“You’re telling me to give up? I have a dream that my brother will recognize my dream to be in A class”
“I didn’t say that. You don’t have to give up”
I looked down to Horikita suffering and groaning a little in my chest and added these words.
“If you can’t fight by yourself, it’s better to fight with another. I will give you a hand”
“Why…….? You’re not the kind of person…who says such things…”
“Then, why not?”
It’s better for me to be intentionally vague. Shortly after, Horikita used up all of her strength and lost consciousness again. What I have to do now is carrying this out without being noticed by anyone. The easy choice would be to retire, but I don’t know which one is the emergency button on the wristwatch. If the helicopter is dispatched for an emergency, the sound will echo all around.
“I confused the road…it’s dangerous, dangerous..”
I was proceeding with the prayer to exit from the path but, unfortunately, I got out on a steep cliff.
Another step forward and I would have fallen. I tried to make light below. It seemed to be about 10 meters. Unfortunately, it looked like I was walking in the wrong direction. Anyway, should I retreat back to the original route? I tried to invert my direction slowly as to not to put a burden on Horikita, but right after ???
Unluckily, the soil under my footing collapsed and I lost my balance.
If I were alone, I would have grabbed a tree branch and I would have stepped on it, but both of my hands were blocked with Horikita.
I fell. It was inevitable.
I curled up my body to protect Horikita but I tumbled down the steep slope at loss for what to do. For several seconds, I had the sense that I was flying. I can’t remember clearly what happened after I fell.
Should I say that it’s fortunate that it didn’t hurt Horikita somehow? I looked up to the sloped but with my state of still holding Horikita in my arms, it’s very unlikely for me to crawl up.
“I screwed up”
However, now it’s not the time to be stuck here. This time I will carry the still unconscious Horikita on my back and I’ll go forward with a single lightstick in the forest.
Rain came without mercy hitting my body and robbing away my physical strength. The heat that came from Horikita on my back is not usual. If she’s exposed to the rain any longer, it could be dangerous.
But, here, deep in the forest, there were no caves or other man-made shelters that people could use, so, there was no other choice but to rely on the power of nature.
Fortunately, the trees here were overgrown, and depending on the place, our bodies may stay relatively dry.
I looked around for big trees and then I moved us right under them. Of course, it was better than being directly under the rain, for the rich foliage prevented a lot of rain.
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