Chapter 8: Remotely Close【Part 3】
【言語に関するご注意 / Language Notice】本作はすべて、英語と英語の表現で書かれています。翻訳作品ではなく、オリジナルの英語ライトノベルです。あらかじめご了承の上、作品をお楽しみください。
See chapter one for the main author's note.
Jiro
“Oh, me? Great! Or, I mean... yeah, I’m doing better. “
“Your wrists?”
I glance down at my own bandages. “Oh, this? Mostly to prevent infections. I was let go after a few hours or so.”
The conversation dies again, flat against the pavement. Flailing for a new topic, I clear my throat before trying a different angle.
“So, I hit the police station last night,” I start, keeping my tone level. “Tried to file a report for the assault, but—”
“They weren’t able to help?” He finishes for me. “I figured as much …”
“Yeah…” I force a bit of energy into my tone. “But I’m hitting the OBP office next. See if they can do anything. Wanna tag along? Maybe they’ll let you test-ride those super skates.” The joke comes out carefully, hanging in the air between us.
“No thanks…” He looks away. “I still haven’t seen my dormitory yet. I really just want to drop off my things, and maybe take another nap.”
“Right.” I nod. “No problem, I’ll handle it for us both. I’ll call you if I get an update, okay?” “Could you make it a text?”
“...Of course.”
He turns away at the crosswalk, offering a small, weak wave without looking back. “Thanks. See you later.”
I keep my hands in my pockets, just standing still in the middle of the busy street as the crowd moves around me…
Bzzz.
…
Seeing how I only have two contacts so far, and one just having walked away…
[I’m free now, wanna hang out today?]
Masaki
Sora hops a few steps closer to me, planting a hand on my shoulder and effortlessly matching my upward stride as we climb.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure he didn’t take it as badly as you think,” she says, tapping her chin with a mysterious look. “But... I guess we could still try to make it up to him later.”
“I guess… I let myself get carried away a bit too much.” I keep my eyes glued to my sneakers, watching them hit the stream of incoming stone steps.
“We all get grumpy,” she says, her voice dropping into a soothing, maternal rhythm. “I mean, look at me. My roommate kept me up all night, but do you see me throwing a fit about it? Nope!” She proudly dusts off her shoulders, though she might just be scraping off imaginary slime.
My hair keeps bouncing rhythmically with every step.
“We really made a scene out there, in public. Dragging Daiki into it… He already finds adjusting to this island hard enough, and then—boom!” I calmly mimic an explosion with my hands. “I blow up right in front of him with Shin.”
“That’s it,” she coos, patting my arm. “Take it all in, and then let it all out.”
I follow her advice and take a deep breath. At this altitude, the morning air hits my lungs like ice water, instantly inflating my chest and straightening my posture. It really does feel better.
My chest deflates a bit as I exhale. “I just feel like I could have handled it better. I mean, even you weren’t that bad this morning—surprisingly—”
Her hand slings sideways like a catapult.
Catching me dead-center, she blasts all the residual air right out of my lungs. My body is launched backward, sending the world spinning.
Five steps. Twelve steps. Twenty-six steps.
My vision loops in a dizzying cycle of blue sky and gray concrete. I count the ridges of the steps with my spine on each impact, one by one.
The momentum finally dies. The first still image to lock into my blurry vision is the clouds. I lie there, flat on my back, waiting for the sweet release of an ambulance siren.
A sudden weight hooks into my collar.
Hm. That was quick.
The force drags me down another step. “Woah—”
“UUURH…”
A low, guttural groan vibrates directly into my ear.
I tilt my head. Laid out flat like a carpet, Shin crawls up the steps with his arms stretched forward like a zombie starved for brains. The hill has completely claimed him.
Heavy and exhausted, he uses my body as a launching pad for his next step, pumping the fresh air I just gasped for right back out of me.
I reflexively yank my shirt out of his grip and dash up, making a desperate bolt for the safer, higher ground a few steps away.
Feeling I’ve finally put enough distance between us, I turn around. “Come on, Shin. You’ll have to do this every single day once school starts. Don’t tell me you’re—”
“CAN IT!” he puffs out.
The miserable shout does not travel very far from the ground...
I look down at his pathetic state, pumping an invisible train horn in the air. “Keep it moving! Only two hundred and forty-four steps left to go!”
“How…” His chin hits the concrete with a dull thud.
With a cheering smile, my thumbs jump up, pointing back over my shoulder toward a small marker sign anchored to the side of the stairs a few steps up.
‘547 / 777’
“I’ll get you for this…”
“Not until you catch me first!”
I make a happy dash upward, retreating back to Sora.
“Shin! Stand up,” she commands, looking past my shoulder down at the crawling disaster. “Masaki finally decided to start acting like a normal human being again, which means you’re going to join him.” She fires off a few sharp claps. “Chop chop!”
Satisfied with her handiwork, she leans in closer to me. “You know, I think you actually already did Daiki a favor by not letting him come along on one of your architectural tour guides.”
“Hey… I also want that favor,” Shin’s voice emerges slowly from the stairs. He painfully pushes himself up, dusting off his kneecaps.
“You,” Sora says, pointing a rigid finger at him, “are also not getting off scot-free. When we get back, you two are going down on your hands and knees to apologize to Daiki for your rude behavior!”
She puffs out her chest, clearly enjoying the rare, pristine view from her newly acquired moral high ground.
“Come on.” I trot down the few steps separating us, grabbing the strap of Shin’s bag and throwing it over my own shoulder. “It’s not much further. I’m sure it’ll be worth the trip.”
The now significantly lighter Shin mutters along behind me as we tackle the final stretch of the incline.
The morning sun starts to burns hotter as noon approaches, clearing the last traces of clouds from the sky.
We clear the last step. The horizon instantly opens up behind the massive school building, treating us to a grandiose, sweeping sight of the lush nature and sparkling sea stretching out far below the hill.
“There it is!” I hold my hands wide, gesturing proudly to the grand gates looming before us. “Our educational home for the next three years—Kyousei Academy!”
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Discover what happens next in: Chapter 9: Enforced Devotion【Part 1】
Written by Limited_Infinity. Extras, official publishing platforms and updates are publicly available only on the Patreon page “_Limited_Infinity_”
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