Night Riding Chapter – Part III
Miaka Tsurugi was one of many teenage girls that walk the streets of Hinamizawa.
A tad bit insecure, but not so much that she couldn't interact with the rest of her class or the kids at the junkyard, she wore pretty bulky clothing, and no one really had a great idea of what her figure was like. If she showed it off more, she'd probably have a lot of boys interested in her. Inoffensive, passable as your everyday girl. One that would very easily fade into the background while others were picked on relentlessly. No one bothered her, but no one would turn her down if she wanted to hang out or talk.
Today she wakes up in the morning and rolls out of bed, the same way she does every day. She heads downstairs. Her father is already at the bus stop waiting for his day to come find him. Her mother is making breakfast. She asks her if she finished her homework. She sighs. "Yeah mom", "Of course, mom", "You ask me every morning, geez".
Out in the damp morning air, Her eyes still have sleep in them. But by the time she makes it up the hill and the Schoolhouse is in sight, she's a bit more awake. Like she does every morning, she stops in front of one of the shops and looks at herself in the window, making sure her hair looks nice.
Some of the other students cross her path. They say good morning, she says good morning right back to them, but she doesn't get closer. Every day, on loop, without end, Miaka-chan keeps the other girls at arms distance.
One of the older boys tries to hit on her, like he does pretty often. She laughs it off. It doesn't really mean anything, and he won't approach her later in the day, either. It's just a Pavlovian response. Eventually she makes it up to the school building, a few other one-off encounters like that coloring in her morning walk. The three-story building is the same as it is every morning, the youngest students taking the outside stairwell to get to the top, the oldest going right in through the front door to get to their lockers right by the entrance.
The schoolhouse is home to almost a hundred and fifty students, separated into three tiers by age and one to two classes, entirely different from how it had been only ten years ago. The village population wasn't exactly getting any smaller, with families moving out at the slowest clip in over fifty years, and the faculty had to be expanded to accommodate it, right around the time the new building was finished.
She stops by the faculty office to drop off some papers from a doctor visit she recently made. All the students older than fourteen are getting drug tested now, and she's no exception. Fortunately her results had come in pretty quickly, while a lot of the other girls were still anxious over what their tests would say. It's only natural, though - part of the medical examination mandated by the school for girls involved testing for breast cancer.
Morimura-sensei, the senior staff that teaches the eldest tier alongside Chie-sensei, is already having sex with one of the girls from her class in his office. They're trying to be very quiet, but she can hear them all the same. The secretary Juna-sensei, who teaches the middle tier with Irie-sensei, pretends not to hear them, and curtly thanks Miaka for dropping off her test results. She herself has been caught having sex with some of her own students, and keeps quiet about her senior's own affairs in exchange for keeping her job. Morimura was appointed by the Kimiyoshi family and has the greatest amount of power by far, but with the balance of power tilting back towards the Furude family, there's a lot of anxiety internally at the school. Which is likely why they were up to this debauchery first thing in the morning. It's already bad enough that Gifu Prefecture has been cracking down on on administrative corruption in schools – it's only a matter of time before Child Services come poking around their village, and at least as far as anyone was aware it could happen at the drop of a hat.
On her way out she walks into Tohno-sensei. She apologizes and he smiles, telling her not to worry. Tohno-sensei, who teaches the youngest tier all on his own, is by far the least shady of the Hinamizawa School staff, and has merely been dating Chie-sensei for the last two years. His eyesight is terrible, and his glasses aren't prescribed, but he refuses to put on contacts, which often leads to situations like this, but the other girls in her class are a huge fan of the look and often probe Chie-sensei for details on their relationship.
She makes her way over to her locker. The locker six lockers down from hers is still covered in graffiti from almost a year ago at this point, covered in all kinds of profanities. It used to belong to Sayaka Houjou. She passes the locker every day on the way to her own. She gets her books out, stores what she doesn't need, and heads off for homeroom.
She sits down and gets her books out. The blackboard already has a lot of nonsense Morimura put out for his first lesson, and the intent that he would be missing it. The girls around her are already joking about how maybe he's spending first period aborting a baby.
Day in and day out all they ever talk about one way or another is sex. Who's having it, who hasn't, who might be fucking who. Meanwhile the boys typically speculate about the junkyard, weird things they found, who got brutalized going after someone else's find. This village is in the middle of nowhere. If someone gets a new phone they might talk about that. Often times someone will try to steal said new phone.
Chie-sensei is doing their homeroom this morning. The girl that was having sex with Morimura-sensei slips in through the back entrance a little after it ends. She can barely walk straight. He must be mad. The other students try to look up her skirt for a glimpse of anything he might've left behind.
"Miaka-chan, don't you think the guys around here are just gross?" They'll complain, often to her, about how crummy all the men in their lives are. Of course this girl in particular is just jealous. She's been having sex with Morimura-sensei for awhile now and he's been asking for her less and less.
But in truth – Miaka does have her eye on someone. He's one year younger than she is, in the second tier. Eventually lunch recess comes. Most of the students her age don't even leave the room and collectively get their phones out, but she heads out to the yard with a small smile on her face. She'd get to see him today.
The yard is a bit congested, but in a lot of way that's makes it a bit intimate, like a large party. It's a lot easier to talk to someone without being overheard, or to stand out pretty much at all. She spots him over by the treeline, talking to an old woman. After a few moments the old woman walks off into the woods.
She has other business first, though. She finds a couple girls playing by themselves near the swing set.
"Ah, Miaka-chan!" One of the girls brightens up when she sees her and runs over. "Thank you so much for the teddy bear."
"Did your sister like it?"
"She loved it! She's talking to me like normal and everything's fine now!" The child suddenly lets out a gasp. "Oh I almost forgot. Here you go~!" The child hands her a small object wrapped in a white cloth. Miaka pats her on the head, and is on her way.
She walks over to him, now sitting in the shade. He's sitting there all alone because he's waiting for her. She wastes no time pulling him towards her.
"Today's the day, Shota-kun."
"I-Is it?"
Most hours of the day he's the Kafukubu's most trusted confidant, the best friend of their leader. But unlike most of the others in that group, not only is he still in school, but he's somewhat invested in it. He doesn't want to be a Lost Boy for the rest of his life, and it shows. He talks differently in front of her. He acts differently. When he's with his aniki, he freely rambles on and on with the voice of the homeless boy he still is deep down. But with her, he's terrified. Not terrified of her, but the prospect of his loser demeanor driving her away. Maybe that's where the attraction really comes from.
She shows him the object in her hands, unwrapping it.
"It's a Chinese firecracker. This is what we need, right?"
Shota struggles to find the words upon seeing the item with his own eyes. It was a law of the Kafukubu – if someone wanted to wash their hands of the group forever, they could, but only if they could prove that they were a man. The easiest way for that to happen was for a boy and a girl to stand before the leader and tell him that they were in love and were having sex, and naturally there was a bizarre dog and pony show that followed.
She smiles at him, and kisses him right on the lips. "We're not getting married for real, you know. But I'm really serious about you and I don't want them getting in the way of that. You know they will, the second they find out."
"I mean, there's more to it than just this… They're gonna watch us fuck on the ground right in front of them. That's the rule. And sure, we're supposed to wear paper bags or some shit, but..."
"Well, if it was with you, I think I could do that."
"R-Really…?"
"Heehee, you're such a little kid."
"H-Hey, enough o' that, alright? I just… can't abandon my aniki right now."
"You're not doing that. You're walking up to him, with me, and you're telling him you love me, and then you're showing him how much. You do love me, right?"
"Y-Yeah, that's not…"
"And I'm gonna tell him how much I love you. Do you think he'll look at that as a betrayal?" She gently takes hold of his hand. "A lot of the other boys around here don't get it. They don't know what being a man means. I know you do. I'm not against showing everyone else how I feel about something I know is true. But above that – I don't want anyone thinking I'm okay with you just throwing your life away in some turf war with the Sonozakis."
The boy's face twists. Her hands cup his face.
"I know it's not easy. I know without him you feel like you're lost."
"I wouldn't be here at all without aniki. I owe him everything."
"We owe him everything, actually. That's why I'm sure he'll understand. If we go to him together, and we tell him, show him, exactly how we feel."
There's a long silence.
"Alright. I'll do it." He wants out of it all as badly as she does. But he was willing to set that aside, because of the bond he shared with their leader. It's why she loves him the way she does. It's his greatest strength, even if it can sometimes work against him.
Another kiss, this one lasts longer. "Thank you." She embraces him.
"Hey, someone's gonna see at this rate."
"I don't care anymore."
"Geez…" He places his hands against hers.
Life is about taking what you can for yourself, while you still can. While you're still young. Living without regrets. Doing everything you can until the day you can't anymore. Even children like these two can understand something so simple.
The path to the center of the Kafukubu's camp is well protected. The entire group has been on high alert since "the game" kicked off, and the way things are now you actually have to barter your way to get anywhere near Yasuke, their leader. Even for Shota, who knew him extremely well, not only has to give up something from his junkyard haul but has to tell the guards waiting on the edge of the old Sonozaki property what he wanted to meet with their boss about.
This naturally results in a short brawl. One of the boys doesn't like the idea of Shota turning his back on their aniki at all. But, with his defeat, the other boy lets them through. But not without being escorted. With blindfolds on. The security measures are pretty strict. Apparently there were also sentries up in the trees that were watching twenty-four hours a day for any kind of movement. So far they'd mostly apprehended invading birds and squirrels, but all the same, if they were good enough for small animals, they could definitely detect a larger threat. It seems like overkill, but she feels pretty safe walking through the woods of the old estate with Shota.
When the blindfolds at last come off, they're somewhere in the middle of the woods, in front of a tent. There are two smaller tents off to the side and plenty of teenagers and younger children lurking about the place – the usual homeless sect. She recognizes most of them by sight.
The guard leads them into the large tent. Inside are two other boys similarly aged, and in the center, the leader of the Kafukubu, finishing off an energy bar.
The two of them are seated right in front of him. It's like a scene out of a yakuza drama.
He looks at the two of them in silence for a few moments, chewing on the remnants of his snack.
"I'll be honest." Yasuke turns her way first, without asking for a crum of context. It looks like in the time it took for them to cross the woods to the tent he'd been fully informed of what their visit was about. "This one I had a feeling was up to something like this. But I had no idea it was with you, Shota."
"I'm sorry, aniki, I know it's a bad time, I know that, but - "
"I mean, goddamn, when the hell did your balls even drop?"
"U-Uh..."
"I'm the one that should be apologizing here. I haven't been treatin' you the right way. Especially not if you're showin' up like this and I'm caught totally off guard by it."
Shota looks at him, absolutely stunned.
"I can tell jus' from lookin' at the two of you. This girl couldn't be more in love – and you wouldn't be more into her if you were high. The hell can I say to that?" It carries his usual inelegance. But all the same, his approval couldn't be more heartfelt.
"Then it's okay? Even though I'm -"
"If you're about to say some dumb shit about how you should be staying here protecting me, I'm gonna tell your girl to call this whole thing off herself." He puts a hand on his shoulder, and looks him right in the eye. "You've gotta protect her now, you understand? And I mean it, do you fuckin' understand? Because if you don't -"
"I get it. I understand. I know. I know what I have to do now. I wouldn't be here if I didn't."
In Yasuke's eyes are pride. He's proud of the younger boy. He managed to find something precious to hold onto, stumbling through the hell they both knew very well.
He takes his hand. "Alright. We're throwin' a party tonight."
"Aniki, is that a good idea?" One of the other boys in the room tries to discourage him.
But Yasuke's mind is made up. "Hell yeah, it's fine. I don't give a damn who shows up. Shota's a real man now, we can't send him off without the best we've got."
Only an hour or two later, the preparations are made. They end up having the ceremony in a small wooded clearing, not far from Yasuke's actual tent. An effort is made to hide the precise location of the base, but it's pretty shoddy and on short notice. The entirety of the Kafukubu shows up one way or another. It's a big deal – Shota's been somewhat of a right-hand man for Yasuke for a very long time. Apparently they were thrown out of the same neighborhood and had been friends ever since. Today is a huge day for both of them.
The ceremony itself is vulgar and straightforward. The boy and the girl stick their index fingers in opposite ends of the Chinese firecracker. The leader of the Kafukubu gives them his blessing, hoping that they pump out at least five kids. Miaka finds the whole thing silly, but Shota's in tears the entire time. She has to respect it, even if only because of how much it means to him.
When the time comes for the two of them to fuck in front of the entire congregation, Miaka is almost to the point of undressing, but Shota won't go through with it. He gets into a big fight with one of the other boys, but he wins, and the matter gets dropped. He says something really embarrassing too about their first time, in front of all of them. But she doesn't care. She just loves him that much.
And after that, they get drunk. Naturally, they're all underage. But that doesn't stop the flow of booze, by any stretch of the imagination. They drink and drink, it's like a house party, only out in the woods. And as it is with all parties, eventually all the kids have either fallen asleep or departed. Shota and Yasuke are alone in Yasuke's tent, Yasuke's usual guards having nodded off for the night.
"Man, how the hell did it end up like this…?"
"I said I was sorry already, aniki."
"Hey I'm not talkin' about that. I mean how we ended up here. Out in the goddamn woods, drinkin' out of juice boxes like we're ten. And now you're goin' off on your own, finally. I never thought I'd see the day. I swear."
"Well, like I said way back – I wasn't gonna trail behind you forever."
"You forgot some pretty important shit, though."
"Really?"
"Yeah. How the hell are you gonna run this by her folks?"
"Well, we've gotta start somewhere, right?"
"No way – look, you can't jus' run off with the girl of your dreams without havin' a plan. Love don't solve every problem, just a lot of 'em."
"I get that. I'll just have to go find a job."
"Go find a job, he says..." Yasuke rummages around underneath his tatami mat and produces a bulging envelope. "You're gonna need a workin' solution a bit sooner than that. This'll have to do for now."
"A-Aniki, how much is this?!"
"A good two hundred grand. It ain't much in the long run but it'll get you up on your feet. Why?"
"How the hell am I gonna take this?!"
"Oh, just do it. I still owe you from way back anyway."
"What the hell do you owe my sorry ass for?!"
"Right after that shitshow with Pops, I had no idea what the hell I was gonna do." The older boy begins. "I broke every promise I made with Mom. I knew I wasn't gonna get the house back, but I still did it anyway. It just made things worse. Then when I woke up in that bed, and you were standin' there next to me cryin' like a six year old, the first thing I thought was 'this little shit's gonna be dead in two days without me'. But it was really you that saved me. I wouldn't have made it if you weren't there. I would've given up a long fuckin' time ago. So, fuckin', of course I'm gonna give you a big lump of cash, when you're going off with your girl. The fuck kind of big brother do you think I am?"
Shota starts sobbing. Miaka smiles to herself. She gives them a few moments before she enters the tent.
"M-Miaka, we, uh. Aniki gave us a whole lot of money." Shota stammers, showing her the envelope with his shaky hands.
She pretends to look dumbfounded but it's obvious at least to Yasuke that she heard the whole thing.
"Do me a solid, Tsurugi." Yasuke says with a laugh. "You take good care of 'im, alright? He's gonna need it."
She nods her head, rubbing her man's back as he continues to sob. "I won't forget what you did for us. Tonight was really nice, too."
"Hey, we've only got the best for our toughest. Shota's been pullin' his weight around here for a long time."
"You guys were a little more disorganized then I was expecting, though."
"Well, it's been a long time since anyone got hitched. Well, you know, this kind of hitched. Don't think about it too much."
"Was it really that long? I thought we threw one of these for Manaka a couple years back."
"Uh, I don't think… she was -"
"Oh, she was. In love, I mean. But, it doesn't really count if a whore's in love, does it?"
Yasuke doesn't quite get it at first. But it's just the three of them – in the end, he doesn't have enough time to let it sink in.
She presses Itsumade against Shota's neck. By then, time seems to stop. But it's far too late.
"Miaka…?" The poor boy speaks barely above a murmur.
"Don't move unless I say." She addresses Yasuke directly. She presses the tip of the blade into Shota's neck, slightly drawing blood. "You know I will. You know I will."
Yasuke softly exhales. Then he nods. Shota's fresh tears land on the blade.
"It's alright, little man. I didn't kill your girlfriend. But she's not gonna look at you the same way again once we're done with her, that's for sure."
"Sayaka. Please."
"For awhile I almost couldn't tell- but you two did know each other. From before 'Yasuke'." She speaks then to Shota, in a low whisper, her lips almost touching his earlobe. Her voice is her own again - it's a different voice coming from his beloved's lips. "But I wonder, do you know your aniki the way that I do? Did he ever tell you, what I watched him do? What he watched me do?"
"Sayaka, please, enough -"
"You're confused, right? What's up with his voice? Why does he sound all different? What's my aniki hiding from me? Well Shota-kun? You wanna tell us what you're thinking?"
"I don't… You can't say things like that, not about my -"
"You're not answering the question. Answer the question. You're supposed to be a man, right? Men don't pussyfoot like this, that's for sure -"
"Stop." Yasuke pleads with her. "I'll give you want you want. Just… Just stop. This isn't – this can't go on. Not like this. Please."
"You do what I say or he dies. That's all you're going to get from me."
"Let him go, Sayaka. I'll come quietly."
"He's coming with us, Ryuugu-kun."
"There's no need -"
"Until we're clear of this camp he's not going anywhere. Understand?"
Yasuke nods, defeated. At her signal, he rises to his feet, utterly powerless, his life, and the life of the boy he treasured most, teetering on the edge of the Sonozaki's blade.
