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Chapter 2 – The Trigger\n Volume 1\n<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nThe day of the study session with Enami-san and the others.\n
I was dreaming.\n
When I was a delinquent. I had just entered junior high school and was walking with the wind in my face, flapping the school uniform I was wearing. There was no hope in front of me, no vision of what I wanted to do in the future. However, I mistakenly believed that here, there was a place that was important to me.\n
This dream took place around that time.\n
We fought and I sat down with my lips wet with blood. Breathing hard, holding my knees, I see another delinquent fall in my blurry vision. It’s the one I beat.\n
On the asphalt, I smile with satisfaction.\n
–How about that, I did it.\n
It’s not that I liked fighting. It hurts, it’s frustrating to lose, and I’ve been in a lot of bad situations. But it was the only way to show my strength.\n
I wanted to be strong, to be unbeatable, to establish an existence that no one else had. That was the only reason. A vague, meaningless, and helpless ambition.\n
I stood up. Then I looked down in silence.\n
My head is shaking unsteadily. I feel as if the whole earth is bouncing. Still, I didn’t feel bad. A sense of contentment had taken over my brain.\n
I walked over to the delinquent who was slumped over.\n
The delinquent didn’t move a muscle. His eyes are closed, and he’s still lying on his back.\n
–I’ve won.\n
The dizziness is getting worse. I can’t stand, and I collapse onto my side, sprawled out on the asphalt. I groaned, but my ears don’t hear what I’m supposed to be saying. There is just silence.\n
And then, there is a sound that breaks the silence.\n
Beep-beep-beep!\n
The moment I hear it, my body begins to tremble. Before I knew it, I was being rocked in an ambulance. I felt a chill.\n
–I didn’t want to lose.\n
I was scared. I couldn’t help but be scared. I shouldn’t have gotten into a fight if this was going to happen.\n
Beep, beep, beep!\n
Every time I hear that sound, my core gets chilled.\n
I hate it. I hate that sound. I don’t want to experience that sound and the feeling of my hand loosening again.\n
My vision is turning black.\n\n
That’s when I woke up. I looked up and saw the usual ceiling.\n
I was sweating profusely on my back. My body was shaking, just like in the dream.\n
It was an event I didn’t want to remember.\n
The fear I had felt at the time was rearing its ugly head again.\n
I had to deal with Enami-san, and this was not the time to be in such a bad mood. However, it took me a while to get myself up.\n\n
After school.\n
I joined Fujisaki when all the classes were over and the return HR was over.\n
“It’s finally today, right?”\n
“Yes, it is.”\n
We left the classroom together.\n
Enami-san’s condition was the same as usual. I guess she hadn’t been told the details. She didn’t even look at us and kept her unapproachable attitude.\n
Of course, she was late. Today, she arrived at school at the end of the second period. She casually entered the classroom during recess and sat down with a grumpy look on her face.\n
I thought to myself, “If you’re going to look so unhappy, you might as well not come to school at all”. It was not that she listened to the class seriously, nor was there anyone, in particular, she wanted to talk to.\n
–I can’t tell her that, though.\n
In the end, we decided to use a family restaurant on the other side of the station, where there were fewer students. It was a restaurant with a large Italian menu, and the prices were reasonably cheap.\n
We arrived at the restaurant first and sat down at a table for four.\n
“I was told they would be about half an hour late, so shall we order something first?”\n
We were not too hungry, so we both ordered from the drink bar. I picked up a drink for Fujisaki as well.\n
“Thank you, Ookusu-kun”\n
“yeah…… Since we didn’t come up with any good ideas today, we’ll just have to play it by ear.”\n
“I guess so.”\n
After taking a sip of the melon soda from the drink bar, I took a deep breath.\n
The dream I had in the morning was still making me feel gloomy. I tried to think of something else, but the scene from the dream kept popping into my mind.\n
We took out our study materials from our bags. It didn’t matter if Enami-san came or not, the fact remained that we had to study. The exam starts the Monday after next. Not much time left.\n
I moved my pen, sipped my melon soda, and tried to shake it out of my head. If I don’t do something about this, I’m going to get sick over my head. I had almost forgotten about it, so why was I remembering it now? I could only curse myself.\n
It wasn’t even hot, but I was sweating. Fujisaki must have noticed me because she called out to me.\n
“Ookusu-kun, you don’t look well, are you okay?”\n
I wasn’t really okay, but I didn’t want to say that.\n
“I’m fine. I’m just a little nervous.”\n
“Enami-san will be here soon, right? I’m getting nervous too.”\n
I looked at my watch and saw that more than 20 minutes had already passed since we arrived at the diner. Time flew by faster than I thought it would. However, I wasn’t able to get much done in my studies. I was only able to finish what I usually finish in about ten minutes.\n
This was not good. I don’t think it’s a good idea to meet Enami-san in my current state.\n
I took a deep breath. The sound of my heart pounding. I remind myself to calm down, but nothing changes.\n
Just as I was about to move my pen again, I heard a sound coming from the entrance. I looked over there.\n
Nishikawa and Enami-san had just walked into the restaurant.\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: And the curtain raises.\n\n