As the sun began to rise in the horizon, Homura packed up her documents and placed them in her large holster bag after picking out the ones she needed for today. She had woken up early in the morning for her tour inside Mitakihara-Middle School and had just finished preparations. Breakfast had been eaten, a shower had been taken and meanwhile, outside her European-styled house that was built on a Y-intersection, Sanbey waited out in the pavement, persistently trying to catch a passing-by butterfly.
Putting her breakfast plates away from her work table, she spotted a file on the floor and bent down to pick it up and see what it was. Homura opened it and checked the file for any content that had gone missing when it fallen and then closed it. Homura took a small key and opened up one of her table's lower drawers.
Sanbey poked his head through the door-frame, exclaiming, "Come on, it's already 7.30 AM!"
"Be patient," she replied monotonously, placing the file in the drawer and then locking it with a key to prevent any possible chances of someone reading it. It was a file that she and Sanbey only knew of, one that listed down the events for the next few days with information gathered through past information and newspapers - One of the events listed were the reported disappearances of 4 middle-school boys in Mitakihara. The very four that Homura had handpicked.
And before their disappearances, the boys had been caught in unfortunate accidents and sent to the Mitakihara public hospital, where they were reportedly last seen.
Homura strode out of her house and Sanbey hopped into her holster bag.
Lying on a bed, sweating and panting heavily for air, Homura's fever was slowly becoming worse and worse by each passing minute. The girl was struggling in her bed to keep still, her hands shaking, her legs frantic and her voice letting out stifled cries of pain. Over the course of the night, Narita had stayed up and listed down symptoms such as sharp pains in the neck and head areas, high fever, hallucinations, paleness, dehydration and many others that drove the nurse into a small panic. Even medicine from the cabinet that was carefully picked by Narita could not ease the pain in Homura's body. She had no idea what Homura was inflicted with.
Narita wrung a wet towel over the bathroom sink and went over to Homura, gently placing it on her burning forehead. The weary, suffering expression on the girl said it all about what she was feeling, even as her eyes were shut closed. Her lips pursed, Narita sat down on a chair beside the bed and looked down on the floor, thinking just what was she going to do.
What was it that was plaguing the girl, a rare, unheard disease? Something she never knew about? In all her years as a medical expert, Narita had never seen anything like this before. Did it have something to do with that black substance she found on Homura's forehead during her recovery? If it did, that thought only made her worries grew to higher heights. Just who was she going to go for help?
There was a knock on the door and Takuya came in to pass the nurse a bowl of steaming hot porridge and some fresh juice that he prepared in the kitchen, "How is she?" he asked, placing the two items on a table beside the bed.
"She's still burning up," Narita said with remorse and pushed a strand of hair off Homura's face, the areas around the nurse's eyes darkening, "I can't do anything except to try and keep her fever down. I'm going to have to stay her for today and maybe send her to the hospital if things get worse," Narita stood up from her chair and put on her white lab-coat, fixing up her disheveled hair at the same time, "Come on, I'll bring you and Tomura to school first."
Walking into the living room in outside clothes with the boy, Tomura waited near the living room piano in his wheelchair with his schoolbag on his lap. The two brothers were worried, too. She could see it from their faces, but that couldn't do anything to help Homura's condition. Quietly, Narita put on her shoes and opened the front door. Outside, she saw the sky above beginning to darken, and in front of her yard, Kobayashi's car was waiting. Mirai gave a small wave when she noticed them while her father seemed like he wanted to talk.
"Kosaku..." Narita uttered. Remembering about his missions against those government experiments, Narita wondered if Homura's state was in anyway related to anything he knew.
In the large, decorated dining room of the Tezuka household, Mamoru finished up his breakfast and dabbed his mouth clean with a napkin. A servant carried away his empty plate and refilled his drink as Mamoru leaned on his armrest, sighing. Staring blankly down the long, rectangular dining table, thoughts of Homura and her sudden sickness swirled in his mind. When she had collapsed so suddenly last night, he had help brought her to Narita's household before returning here. The last he saw of her was her crying in pain, tethering between conscious and unconscious.
Honestly, he had wanted to help her. Perhaps, he was getting softer? Possibly. But he cursed himself for not telling Narita sooner than before. If they had brought her for a check up at the clinic or the hospital, then maybe they could have avoided this problem.
Cupping his wine glass, Mamoru took a small sip and coughed from its bitterness. He should've ordered a different wine instead.
"Y-Young Master!" a young maid suddenly ran up to him from the living room and bowed down in respect. Her voice was shaking and her face was running pale as she stated her urgent news, "You have a phone call from the Kazamino Public Hospital, it's about your father. He's..."
Eyes wide, the young boy then stormed out of the dining hall and into the large living room to where the house phone was. Picking it up and answering the call, the voice of a hospital receptionist spoke from the other side of the line, "Hello, is this Tezuka Mamoru?"
"Indeed, it is. What's going on with my father?" Mamoru demanded an answer, slowly losing his calm demeanor.
The receptionist paused for a while before continuing, possibly trying to explain to the boy in the calmest way possible, "I do not wish to be the bearer of bad news, sir, but your father had received stroke and was found unconscious this morning in his office. He's currently in one of the upper rooms for surgery and-"
"Is anybody allowed to visit him?"
"Yes, he's current-"
Mamoru slammed the phone down on the table with a ring and rushed up the large flight of stairs as one of the elder butlers noticed him, "Young Master, where are you going?"
"To Kazamino! I'll be heading there by train, so tell me if anything occurs while I'm gone," Mamoru ran pass him and entered his room before slamming the door shut. Mamoru replaced his school uniform with a formal-looking sleeved shirt, a pair of dark pants and a long black and green scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. He opened up his cell phone and noticed a message received from Takuya.
I'll read it later, he thought. Even as Homura laid on a bed, struck by illness, this was his father he was thinking about. And even if Mamoru barely broke down from depression, he did not want to lose his father like how he did with his mother. He knew Narita would find a way to take care of her anyway, they could always depend on her when it came to sickness. Taking an umbrella with him, Mamoru barged out of his room and ordered one of his servants to drive him to the train station.
As rain began to pour down from the darkened skies, the train station was crowded with people that were heading to work. Of course, as the trains were one of the most used and fastest modes of transports in the country, most people never go a week without riding in one of these things.
Tapping an impatient foot on the concrete floor, the monorail train finally came and Mamoru rushed into the double doors as soon as they slid open to let in the passengers. The doors shut tight and the train continued its travel routine throughout the country, from Mitakihara to its neighboring city, Kazamino.
Mamoru sat on a chair beside an elderly couple and sunk into his seat, trying to settle his nerves down. Being worried and paranoid about what his father was going through in the hospital right now would not help in any way possible,. The best he could do was calmly and quickly head there right now without any delay. The ride from Mitakihara to Kazamino by train was 1 or 1 and a half hour at most, depending on stops and such. And during the ride, the boy crossed his arms and let his warm grip of his scarf keep him comfortable. Soon, he closed his eyes and fell into a small nap.
Muffled humming came from the engine of the car as dead silence enveloped inside the vehicle. No one was in the mood to talk, Takuya had tried to, but his voice was eventually drowned out by the eerie silence. It was only after they had dropped the three kids at their schools, the two adults were left alone to speak about private matters concerning Homura on the way back home. Narita had told him about her illness and Kobayashi was fast to reply.
"This Homura girl, was there any symptoms prior to her collapse?" Kobayashi inquired and Narita nodded.
"Earlier that day, she was showing signs of paleness and her temperature was at a higher point than usual," Narita explained, her hands gripping each other tightly, "I didn't think it was that serious at first, thinking it was only a fever. She was completely fine for most of the day, especially during the morning. But then Kuragawa then told me about her paleness, and after dinner... she collapsed and now she's like this," Narita gritted her teeth and looked out the window, "How could I be so careless...?"
"Can you give me the symptoms?"
Narita took out a small notepad from her pocket, the one she had used over the night as she watched over Homura, and handed it to the man. Stopping at a red light, Kobayashi flipped through the pages and read each symptoms, his expression beginning to turn grim with each page before he passed it back to her with a brutal conclusion, "It's worse than you think, Akira. You may have not encountered this kind of sickness before, but I have."
"Where? There's nothing in the books that say-"
"Because it's not in the books," he explained, frowning as the green light came and the car continued to go on, "Akira, tell me the truth: Did you or did you not encounter anything out-of-the-ordinary in the past few days?" His question was stern and its confrontational tone was decisive. Knowing that holding back information would not help, Narita could not help but tell the truth.
"Yes... I have. 3 days ago, after Homura's accident, it was when I was taking off the medical wrappings around Homura's head. Her wounds had made a quick recovery, but on the place where she was struck, I saw-" she gulped, "-Something. It was a dark, black substance and had no fixed form. It latched onto my finger like a leech - But, what made it worse was when I brought it into the light."
Kobayashi glanced aside to the nurse, his gaze implying he already knew what she was going to say, "What happened?"
Narita rubbed place her index finger where the black substance had previously left a mark and answered, "It crumbled into ash - like what you see in those vampire movies - it didn't leave any remains except a bite mark on my finger."
The car came to a dead halt on the street and Narita was thrown off by the sudden stop. Bracing herself in her seat, Narita looked at Kobayashi and saw what seemed to be slight shock in the man's eyes. He turned to her and inquired further in more quiet tone, "Does anyone else know about this?"
"Hideki does. But, I think by this point, he's forgotten about it," Narita shook her head, feeling uneasy from the stare Kobayashi was giving her, "Why, what's wrong?"
Taking out a cigarette from his breast pocket, Kobayashi placed it between his teeth and told her one quick sentence before taking the car into a U-turn, "We need to get her to the hospital immediately. Or else, I'm not sure if this girl is going to make it through another night alive."
Maths class went on and break time was already near. Takuya sat in his chair, writing down notes as Teacher Sei gave his lecture of Theorems and Vectors. Tuning out of the lecture for a bit, Takuya looked at the back of the class, seeing Tateyama and an injured Hideki whispering to each other about whatever they were talking about. Something was odd, though, as Hideki seemed to be a bit distracted by something as he talked, and Tateyama looked like he was giving out some sort of advice to the injured boy. If only he could hear them.
"Takuya, pay attention." Teacher Sei snapped and Takuya turned his attention to the front again.
"S-Sorry, Teacher Sei!" he sheepishly apologized and looked back down on his book with a red face. He guessed he could just ask the two later. But, there was still one thing that bothered him since this morning: Tomura. Ever since his little brother went for morning school with the non-disabled students, he was acting a tad bit odd. Tomura was never the type to get into accidents and he had been acting strange lately. Such as never telling him what was wrong when it was obvious there was. Even Mirai seemed to know about what was going on, but even she was keeping her mouth shut.
Which 1: reminded him that Tateyama should have already fixed Tomura's prosthetic legs by now and 2: Where was Mamoru? He didn't show up today and Mamoru was never the type to skip classes or school in general. Was he sick, too? Someone like a maid or butler would have arrived or something to give a doctor's note, but that didn't happen either. Having the seat beside him be empty left the boy with nobody to talk to and made him feel a bit alone. Glancing at the empty space beside him, Takuya dropped his pencil on the table and sighed.
Takuya slumped down on his table, thinking, "I wish someone would just tell me what's going on; Homura's sick, Mamoru's gone, Tomura and Mirai aren't telling me anything. What's up with everyone lately?"
After class had ended and Teacher Sei cleared up the board, Takuya went up to the duo at the back and sat in front of Tateyama, asking him, "Hey Tateyama, did ya' fix Tomura's prosthetics yet? It's already been a day or two."
The white-haired boy's eye widened with realization for a bit. Reaching for his bag, he opened it up and took out what Takuya had asked for, "I almost forgot about this," Tateyama said, placing them on his table and dusting them with a hand, "I fixed them last night. But I was a bit tired. So I don't think everything is perfect with it."
"It's okay. Your repairs are always pretty good anyway," Takuya's reassurance brought a bit of a smile to Tateyama as he examined the prosthetic legs on the table. It wasn't perfect, like he said, but at least he wouldn't have to pay for the repairs in a shop since Tateyama was here, "Anyways, did you any of you guys see Mamoru this morning? It isn't like him to be missing like this."
The two shook their heads in uniosn, "Maybe he went to do something important?" Hideki guessed with a shrug, a crutch leaning on the wall beside him, "We know how busy he can get at times, so it could just be that. But more importantly, how's Homura? Tateyama told me that she got sick last night."
"She's... I don't know," Takuya sighed and the smile he wore faltered slightly, "Miss Narita's been trying to cure her, but I don't think it's working. She even stayed up all night just to watch over her. The best we can do is send her to a hospital and pray it works."
"We can only wait," Tateyama stood up, taking out his lunch box from his bag, "We should just do what we usually do for now. Let Miss Narita take care of Homura and just wait for Mamoru," he looked at Hideki, who took up his crutch as he stood up, "And maybe use this time as a chance to talk about yesterday."
"Right," Hideki nodded and grunted as he got up. Balancing himself, he rubbed his sore arm and spoke to Takuya, "Why don't you go and pick up Tomura from school? I'm sure he's done by now."
"Sure!" Takuya chirped, seemingly regaining his enthusiasm from Tateyama's words as he then walked away from the two. Takuya headed out of the classroom in the direction of the school's exit while other students went out of their classrooms for break. Tomura's prosthetics in his hand, he realized he had forgotten to ask what they were talking about earlier and mentally slapped himself for that. Oh well, he could just ask them later back at the club-room anyway.
Walking out of the restroom, Hideki tread in the empty school halls with one hand in his pocket and one holding his crutch. This part of the school wasn't a popular place to hang out with, as most students went to the lobby or the cafeteria to talk. But this place was somewhere Hideki would go to when he wanted a quiet place to think about stuff. Tateyama was waiting at the clubroom, most likely waiting for him, but Hideki wanted to be here for a while. He wanted some time to himself.
Walking up the window railing, he leaned on the metallic rails, placed his crutch on it and stared out the window as a flock of birds flew by. Ever since last night, he couldn't shake off the guilt he had received from impulsively attacking his father. He had even broke the shelf that held the trophies that represented all his mother's achievements in the past. He had told Tateyama about this earlier in class and surprisingly, he gave out some genuine advice: "Say, 'Sorry,' to him," was all he said. But right now, he felt like he needed some time to consider this before actually doing it.
Hideki knew he didn't like his father, he hated his guts and he knew that for sure. But, why, just why was he feeling guilty about punching his old man square across the face? Why was he feeling regretful about something he should have done almost years ago. Just... why?
Pressing his head against the polished window, Hideki let out a sigh as rainwater trailed down the glass. The sounds of the rain outside was almost comfortable to listen to, "Mom... should I forgive him, or not?" he whispered, "Dad's never been the same ever since you left, and all he does is just give in to those that just want to use him for their own needs. Mom... I... I wish you were still around..." Hideki closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. Running a hand through his hair, he pondered to himself as he watched the rain fall outside.
"Hey, you over there."
Hideki felt a bit annoyed that had someone had interrupted his quiet time. Slowly, he turned back to the hallway and saw one of the Gym members lurking around the corner. Naturally, Hideki scowled at the tall student that belonged to that rival club. He didn't want to do anything with them right now, "What do you want?"
"Captain Makoto would like a word with you at the gymnasium," the student said and tossed over a letter to Hideki, who caught it with his free hand.
"What the...?" Opening the letter, Hideki read it and his eyes widened with disbelief. From its contents, it said that Captain Makoto was considering in actually letting Hideki and Tateyama join the team. Feeling that they deserved it after he had shown 'utmost bravery and persistence' in his fight against Takehito, it had the signature of the student council to boot. This letter was written and given to Hideki in mind. But when he looked up at the gym member again to question if the letter was genuine, the boy was already was already gone.
Did his efforts to join the competition finally pay off? he thought, asHideki couldn't help but smile a little.
Then, his father's words came into mind: "I know this is going to be hard, but I'm going to have to ask to you to stop doing this right now. Look at yourself; do you think you can even be in the tournament like that? Do you really think it's going to be so easy?""
Hideki immediately threw away the thought. This was his chance to prove himself to the other students, himself and his father. And maybe he could even fulfill his and Tateyama's dreams.
Back on his feet, Hideki tried walking without his crutch and only managed to at least not grunt in pain every 2 seconds from walking freely. His legs had healed a bit overnight, but they were still aching with pain and his arms were still sore. But he couldn't let this drive him down. With the invitation in mind, Hideki rushed to class to keep his crutch there and then take some painkiller's from the Nurse's office. He was desperate to show his father he could do this. Nothing could stop him from trying.
And as Hideki left the empty hallway, he had noticed that Miki Sayaka was watching the scene by coincidence and wondered what was occurring. Peeking at him from around a corner, Sayaka saw Madoka down the hallway behind her went up to tell her what she had just seen.
Takuya skipped along the sidewalk as rain poured down on him, happily jumping over small and large puddles of water like a child. In one hand, he held onto the prosthetic legs as he happily chimed, "Ah, it's nice to run in the rain," he giggled, ignoring the gazes of nearby pedestrians as he jumped over another puddle and thought, "Gotta be careful around the streets, though, an accident can happen anytime."
On his way to Tomura's school, Takuya had been running in the rain without an umbrella for a while now. Since a lot of dark clouds had been gathering up above the town this morning, it looked like it was going to last for the afternoon. It didn't bother Takuya, but he halted in his steps when he passed by a small convenience store that was having an off-sale. Smiling to himself, he went inside and bought a few things since he brought his wallet with him.
First, two umbrellas, a bunch of sandwiches for Tomura and himself, hot drinks for this cold weather, and some fever-relief pads for Homura since Narita looked like she had ran out this morning. Coming out with his items in a bag, he then rushed to Tomura's school which was now only 10 meters from where he was.
Passing by the small metal gates that guarded the entrance, Takuya saw his little brother sitting on his wheelchair near the doors to the school, the rooftop giving him some shelter from the rain. Most of the kids of the school looked to have left already, save for a few. Humming to himself, Takuya rushed into the school-yard and waved at Tomura, who seemed to be deep in thought as he had only noticed his older brother when he came close and greeted him, "Hey Tomura!" Takuya waved his fixed prosthetic legs and the food he had, "Look what I got!"
Tomura gave a light chuckle, "As expected of Ikezawa. He sure knows how to fix things."
Tossing a sandwich into younger brother's hands, Tomura smiled at him as a thank you as Takuya shoved one into his mouth in an instant and crouched down, "Well, let's put these on," he said with a mouthful of food. He couldn't see it, but as Tomura was beginning to put on the prosthetic legs, Tomura showed a bit of hesitation. Takuya looked back at his younger brother, who immediately hid his expression with a forced smile, "Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Tomura said, chuckling lightly again, "It's just... Can you help me put these on?"
Opening the double-doors to the gymnasium, Hideki was greeted with pitch-black darkness and dead silence. He was never afraid of the dark, so Hideki marched in, looking around. But as he went inside the gymnasium, there was nobody around but him. Scratching his cheek and raising a brow, Hideki tried calling out to anybody that could be here, "Hello? Anybody here?"
No response. Just the dead silence answering him. Weird, he thought, Maybe they were late?
Hideki staggered in his movements as he walked into the middle of the room, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. In the pitch-black darkness, he felt the soft training which was used for yesterday's trials under his feet. The mat was here, at least. They wouldn't have taken this out of they didn't call him. Rubbing his legs, they were still a bit sore after Mirai had gave him some painkillers to ease the aches. They weren't much, but he could at least move his body properly now and the pain was slowly going away.
Looking around again, Hideki sat down on the mat, wondering, "Where are they?"
"Right on time, Hakamichi."
Headlights flared through the dark and shone directly on Hideki's face, blinding him, "What the-?!" he peeked through his hands covering his face and saw Takehito standing between two other gym members in front of two large headlights. Takehito had a smug grin on his face as he stood a few meters in front of Hideki, "Where the Hell is Takamatsu?" Hideki snarled and the senior clicked his tongue.
"Never the bright one, are you?" he mocked.
"Heh, so this is what it's all about, eh?" Hideki got up from the mat and dusted himself off, "Since I don't see the captain here, let me take a guess: You sent that message, just to rub it in my face with the fact that I couldn't join the team? That's low, even coming from you," standing up, Hideki looked at the ground and deadpanned, "And to think I actually got a small chance again at joining the team. Your prank needs work."
"It's more than just that, smart guy, 'cause listen here," Takehito stepped forward, followed by his two friends, "If I mess you up right here, right now, without any reason to, I'll get in trouble. So, how about a wager?" he glared at Hideki, cracking his knuckles, "If you fight me, and you last for 10 minutes like how the test goes, I'll get you full permission to join the team. No promises broken. No bullshit. Heck, I'll even get permission for that friend of yours, if you actually accept the wager."
He actually sounded genuine, but Hideki had a feeling there was more to this, "What's the point of this? I don't think you're in it just because you want to give me another beating."
"Well, you got that right," Takehito laughed and started circling Hideki, his hands on his waists, "You see, Hakamichi, ever since I met you, I never liked you, or the way your mouth runs. So, if I win this fight, you get the blame for this, you will tell the captain that you started this fight. And also, you and that white-haired freak will have to stop bothering our club. Whaddya' say, runt? Yesterday only gave me some satisfaction, since the captain held me back with that last punch. It's all or nothing."
Hideki thought carefully about this. This wager, even though unofficial and not from the school, could still definitely get him and Tateyama into the team. It was simple as that, last 10 minutes in the ring and don't get thrown out. He knew what was Takehito's tactic now, and if it involved breaking another bone to get a chance at getting in, then so be it. With narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow, Hideki glared back at the senior in the eyes and answered, "Deal."
"Good," Takehito cracked his knuckles, "Let's make this fun."
Sitting alone inside the Freelancer club-room, Tateyama tapped away on his computer while the handle of strawberry Popsicle poked out from his mouth's corner. In his head, he was listing down his friend's current locations to keep track of them: He knew Takuya had went off to go and pick up Tomura from school, Homura was experiencing a horrible fever and was possibly sent to the hospital, but the other two? Hideki could have gone somewhere for a while, but his walks never took this long, and Mamoru was still missing from school.
His cell phone vibrated in his pocket and Tateyama checked to see that he received a message - coincidentally - from Mamoru. He read it silently, eye glued to the phone screen, "I apologize for my sudden absence, but earlier today, my father had experienced a sudden stroke and I have took a train to Kazamino to see him. I shall possibly return around sunset. If anything happens, I want you to call me."
That explained it. Tateyama closed his cell phone, took out his Popsicle from his mouth and leaned forward on the table, his chin supported by one hand. Looking at the empty seats around the room, the strange silence in the air somehow made the boy feel uncomfortable. Tateyama guessed that he was too used to the usual noise that erupts in this room, while he just sits in the background with his computer. Mamoru would boast about his woodcraft or whatever, Hideki would give a small quip every time he did so, and when the two got into a fight, Takuya would try to remedy the situation. It felt so different now that there was only him in the room. Everything had changed ever since Homura came along.
A knock on the door came and Tateyama pressed a button on his laptop to deactivate the door's security locks. After a few mechanical clicks from the door, the doorknob turned and a girl with pink hair tied into twin pig-tails came in.
"What do you want?" Tateyama said, trying not so sound harsh while looking down on the table.
"Is Akemi Homura here?" the girl poked her head around, "What about Nurse Narita?"
Tateyama wondered for a while on how did she know about Homura and stood up to talk to the girl, explaining briefly to her, "Homura's not here. She caught a small fever. The nurse is watching over her right now, from what I heard. I don't think they're coming to school today."
"Oh, I see. Thank you anyway," the girl looked disappointed, but smiled and turned to leave. Right before she closed the door, the girl looked back at him and asked another question, "Wait, you're Ikezawa Tateyama, aren't you?"
Tateyama bluntly nodded.
"Well, my friend wanted to tell me to tell you that she saw your friend - Hideki, I think? - heading to the gymnasium just now," the girl turned around and scratched her head, trying to remember more, "I think he also spoke to one of the gym club members, for some reason."
Tateyama's eye widened and he stepped forward. His shift on tone startled the girl for a moment, "W-What?"
As Tomura sat on his wheelchair, Takuya strapped on his prosthetic legs for him and gave a light tap on his little brother's back after finishing the job with a smile, "There! Tateyama did a good job fixing these things. Don't break them again, okay?" he sat down on a nearby bench and chowed down on another sandwich he took out from the plastic bag.
"Ah, right. Of course. I have been a bit clumsy lately," Tomura chuckled and looked down on the concrete floor with slight gloom.
Noticing the small frown on his face, Takuya lifted a hand from his side and placed it around his brother's shoulder, "What's wrong? You seem a bit down since yesterday," he bit down on his sandwich again and gobbled down the entire thing in one go. Tomura looked away and shook his head slowly as Takuya scratched his cheek, "You're worried about Homura, aren't you?"
"I- Yes, of course," Tomura forced a smile, his thin lie convincing his older brother easily, "I'm just worried since she suddenly became ill, that's all," Tomura tapped his bag and looked like he had forgotten something, "Ummm... could you pick something up from my classroom? I think I left one of the book I borrowed from your school there. It should be in my drawer."
"Sure!" Takuya chirped and got up, dusting his hands. Quickly, he went inside the school doors, not noticing the 3 boys that were approaching Tomura the moment he had left.
Since Takuya often came to Tomura's school, he knew where the classroom was located. The place was decently huge, it wasn't as enormous and complex as Takuya's school, of course, but the empty hallways that looked similar to each other with all the decorations made the boy a bit confused. Wandering around for a bit, Takuya took a turn down a corner and suddenly bumped into the short, elderly principal of the school.
The man was surprised by the boy's presence and instantly recognized him, "Fujimaki Takuya, I presume?" he laughed, "What are you doing here?"
"P-Principal Todou," Takuya bowed down in respect and apologized for his sudden appearance, "I was just here to pick up some of Tomura's stuff. He left a book in his classroom. Hehe. Don't mind me," when he straightened up and looked at the principal, Takuya saw a worried frown growing on the man's wrinkled face, "Is there something wrong, sir?"
"Takuya, are you well-aware of what's been happening with your little brother?"
The boy shook his head.
"Just as I thought," the old man massaged his temples and spoke after heaving a heavy sigh, "I apologize as this may seem sudden but, for the past few days, I have been given multiple reports of your brother being harassed by a few of his schoolmates for his... disabilities. If you have been noticing anything wrong with your brother and have been wondering about the reason, this is it."
"E-Eh? But..." Takuya stammered, dumbfounded "But... he never told me..."
Was this why Tomura had got into an accident? he thought, now knowing what was Mirai keeping from him and even understanding a bit of why she did so. Tomura was never one to make others worry about him. Much like himself, he preferred to keep things to himself so he wouldn't cause any trouble with others. But, why would he do the same with this? Couldn't he at least talk with him?
Confused, Takuya ran a hand through his long hair and looked down on the floor. For a while, Takuya contemplated on his next actions and bowed again, thanking the short man for this information, "T-Thank you, Principal Todou. I think I will talk to him about this later."
"I was reluctant on doing so. But, as principal of this school, I cannot let this matter go. Do take care of yourself and your brother, Takuya," the man coughed into his fist and then turned around to head down a small corridor, leaving the middle-school student alone in the hallway.
Standing in the middle of the corridor with a light shining above his head, Takuya then continued on his way to Tomura's classroom and picked up the book from his drawer. The table was messy and marked with graffiti, most likely from the other students. Taking a good look a the vandalized table for a few minutes, Takuya then headed out of the classroom and back to the school yard.
Thoughts of his little brother flooded his mind as he thought of what he was going to say to Tomura. He needed to confront with him about this. Not doing so would olnly make things worse and just hurt him wore. Holding the book under his arm, Takuya went out to the school yard and saw that the rain had gotten worse. Heavy rain fell from the sky, pouring the streets and roads with rainwater as a strong wind blew on Takuya's face and made his clothes flutter. His long hair was picked up by the wind and Takuya held them down with one hand.
"Tomura?" looking back to where his brother sat, his eyes widened as his brother was gone. His bags and Takuya's stuff were still on the bench, but there was no sign of his little brother, Tomura's wheelchair tipped over and lying on the mud, "Tomura?!" feeling his heart race, Takuya looked pass the gates and across the busy street to see his little brother running into the park, "Tomura!"
Takuya broke into a pursuit to take him back, shouting out to his little brother as the harsh winds muffled his voice. The pavement underneath is feet felt slippery and the rain made it hard to see. Getting out of the gates, Takuya increased his pace, but when he crossed the wet street, he did not see the car that was heading towards him at high speeds. The wet surface of the road made the brakes unable to halt the car, and with a blinding light being the last thing Takuya saw, the noise of a car crash echoed through the block.
After an explanation about Hideki's location from the girl who called herself "Madoka", Tateyama had rushed out of the club-room and into the gymnasium. Barging through the double-doors, Hideki was in the middle of the dark gymnasium, lying underneath dull lights as he clenched his stomach. Spitting out some blood, Hideki curled his legs and groaned in pain, struggling to stand back on the training mat.
"Hideki!" Tateyama exclaimed, rushing towards him. He cradled Hideki in his arms and checked his condition. Hideki was barely able to speak a word, barely able to stay conscious. Blood leaked from the corners of his mouth, his hands twitching with pain and his eyes barely staying open. Bruises adorned his face as his coughed, staring back at Tateyama with what seemed to be an apologetic look. Tateyama then heard a small chuckle and glared at Takehito, who was standing a few meters away from them, "What the Hell are you trying to do?!"
"Oh, we just made one small wager," Takehito sighed in disappointment and rolled his shoulders, "Too bad the small runt didn't have a chance at beating me. Did he really think he could win with all those injuries on him?" he saw the angry glare Tateyama shot at him and scoffed, "Oh, right, you don't know about this," Takehito flexed his arms and casually explained to him, "Let's get this straight: We made a deal. If I lose in a fight with him, you two get free spots on our team and a chance to get into the competition," he then laughed and sat down on the mat, "Looks like he blew that chance faster than you could say 'Mommy'."
"You're lying," Tateyama growled through clenched teeth.
"I'm so not. Why don't you ask him?" he pointed at Hideki, "Or maybe, you want to try and beat me instead? I only kicked you in the head yesterday, didn't I? How about a rematch?"
Tateyama felt Hideki grasp his shoulder, looking at him as if Hideki was saying that he was sorry for his failure. Should he just leave and get Hideki to the Nurse's office? Or stand up and take this offer? Gazing back into Hideki's eyes, Tateyama knew that Hideki would continue to stand up if he was in his shoes. Even if it meant breaking a bone or two, Hideki would do anything to get them both on the team. Tateyama cursed him for his recklessness, but he had to admire his willpower.
Running a hand through Hideki's hair, Tateyama went over to a nearby bench and laid his friend down on it before rolling up his sleeves. He turned back to Takehito, taking deep and steady breaths, "I'll just have to beat you, right?"
"Exactly. Or, you could try and last 10 minutes. Try," he emphasized with a grin.
Tateyama stepped onto the mat and let out a long, drawn-out breath in order to keep his heart in check. Raising his fists, Tateyama knew he had to remain calm and control his breathing if he wanted to avoid getting a stroke. Dropping into a defensive stance, Takehito leap at him immediately and attacked. Like yesterday, Takehito threw a flurry of punches as Tateyama remained on the defensive. His fists pounded on Tateyama's forearms in an attempt to break his guard. Driving his feet to the floor, Tateyama had to find an opening and exploit it.
"Breathe," he thought. Narrowing his eye, Tateyama ducked beneath a punch and knocked Takehito off his feet with a sweeping kick. But when Takehito fell on his back, he immediately sprung back up in a second and drove his feet up Tateyama's chin before regaining balance on the mat. Tateyama groaned in pain, reeling backwards. He should've seen that coming. Bringing up his defense again, Tateyama was planning on lasting until the 10-minute mark. He knew he couldn't take on Takehito like this, not when he was still recovering from yesterday.
But as the fight went on, Tateyama's breathing began to go into disarray with each time he had to dodge a strong kick or a savage right hook. Even with all his focus, he could not fight like this. Takehito had stopped pulling back his punches and just attacked with every energy he had in his body. Tateyama could feel his anxious heart beating louder, but his determination was what kept him from lowering his guard and stopping.
Takehito's leg swiped at Tateyama and knocked him clean across the face. He fell onto the mat and grimaced when Takehito drove his feet into his spine. Gritting his teeth, Tateyama struggled in an attempt to free himself and breathe. He needed to breathe. He could already feel his heart pounding dangerously in his chest. Tateyama then heard a loud groan and glanced aside to see Hideki getting up. Hideki coughed and looked aside to see Tateyama pinned down to the floor.
"Your weaker than I thought, Ikezawa!" Takehito mocked, driving his foot into Tateyama's spine, "Come on! Stand up!"
"H-Hideki!" Tateyama curled up his hands into a fist and attempted to strike at Takehito, only to feel his throat tighten. Tateyama felt his body freeze in place, hearing Takehito's mocking blaring in his ears as his felt his vocal cords stretch beyond the breaking point. He saw the look of horror on Hideki's face and felt his face pale, "N-No. Not now!" he tried to massage his throat, but it only sent blinding spikes of pain along his arms. It was as if a hundred needles were stabbing into his arms.
"The hell?" Takehito retracted his foot, stepping back as he and his friends watched Tateyama clutch his chest and gasp for air.
Tateyama quickly broke into a cold sweat and felt something in his chest tighten as if something were crushing his insides. He couldn't breathe. His whole body froze once again, save for his eyes, which shot open in terror before closing. He felt the frantic beating in his chest stop and everything go black. Through his ears, he could hear Takehito and his boys running out of the gymnasium in a panic as he felt Hideki hold him up. The last thing he heard was Hideki screaming for an ambulance.