Chapter 3 – The Chase
Author's Note
This Chapter takes place on the previous Friday, but the Friday Gathering will take place on the next chapter.
P.S. – It's a pretty long chapter.
A Week Earlier – Friday, August 28th, 2009
"Hey Yamato, are you going to the club today?" Asked Gakuto.
"Yeah, it's Friday after all; it's time for the Friday Gathering." I said.
I'm a bit reluctant to go to the Friday Gathering, as the Kazama Harem is going to be there too, and I really don't have a good feeling about this, but I decide to go anyway, which was a mistake.
I head to class 2-F and sit in my desk, ready to get the day over.
"Hey, Yamato, do you want to skip and go to the roof to sleep?" Asked Kazama.
"Kazama, if you keep doing this, you're not going to get the required amount of days present to become a senior."
The intercom suddenly starts to buzz.
"Oh, it's just Nee-san doing the announcements again." I said.
I decide to tune out and wait for Ume-sensei to show up, but the rest of the Kazama Harem is going to be relentless until she shows up.
"Okay, Kazama, I'll take you up on your offer." I said, knowing the outcome of me staying here.
"Finally, I have a friend to skip school with!" Kazama said energetically.
"I don't think that's something you should shout out, Kazama." I said.
"Oh, and who might that person be?" Asked Ume-sensei, who just suddenly appeared.
"Oh shit, it's Kojima-sensei!" Said Kazama, in a very surprised tone.
"So Shouichi, who were you going to skip with?" Asked Ume-sensei
Kazama was out of the window by the time she was done with that question.
"Sorry Kojima-sensei, I can't tell you!" Kazama yelled as he was falling from the second story window.
"You're not going to get away from me that easily!" yelled Ume-sensei.
Ume-sensei tries to wrap her whip around Kazama, but he narrowly dodges it.
"Sorry, I'm not letting you catch me!" Kazama yelled.
Kazama does an impact roll and runs with full speed out of Kawakami Academy.
"I can't believe that he'd do something as stupid as jump from a second story window, I don't think I'll ever do that; if I was to choose, I would jump off the Tama Bridge." I said.
"So Naoe, you were the one that was going to skip with Shouichi, weren't you?" Ume-sensei asked.
"How exactly did you come to that conclusion?" I asked, surprised.
"See, that surprised face says it all." She said, "Now, accept you're punishment!"
"Nope." I said, and leaped out the window.
"Okay, so I take that statement back about jumping out of this window." I said, jokingly.
"Naoe, you won't escape from me!" exclaimed Ume-sensei.
She tries the same move, but changes the angle to where it is nearly impossible to dodge, however; I saw this coming and dodge it with a slight amount of difficulty.
"What!? You dodged that too!?" Exclaimed Ume-sensei, in a surprised tone.
"I told you, I'm better at running away and dodging than at actual fighting!" I yell back.
I also do an impact roll and sprint out of Kawakami Academy.
"They're probably going to send some people to bring us back." I said to myself. "I really hope it isn't Nee-san."
I run out of Kawakami Academy and to the Bridge of Weirdoes, and stop to catch my breath on the opposite side of the Bridge of Weirdoes.
"Whew, that was a bit of a run." I said.
Suddenly, Nee-san appears behind me.
"Hey bro, what are you doing?" Asked Nee-san.
"What does it look like? I'm skipping." I said bluntly.
"Oh, so it was you and Kazama I was supposed to hunt down." Said Nee-san with a sadistic smile.
I sighed and said "Looks like I've got to do this."
"Oh, what's that?" Nee-san asked. "Are you going to fight me?"
"Nope." I said bluntly. "I got an escape route."
"Oh, and what's that?" she asked.
I vault over the guard rail of the Tama River and said "This."
"Wait, you're going to jump off the Tama Bridge?" she asked, surprised.
I said as I was falling "Yeah, why not? It beats fighting you or going back to Kawakami Academy."
"You sure are crazy, bro." She said.
"Yeah, pretty much." I replied.
I hit the water of the freezing Tama River and swim as fast as I can, in case Nee-san's going to chase me down.
"Whew, that was close." I said to myself.
I swim to the banks and decide to go to the secret base early, as I have nowhere else to go.
A Few hours later…
I arrive at the abandoned building and make my way to the fifth floor; I find Cookie inside the secret base cleaning.
"Oh, hey Cookie." I said.
"Hi there Yamato, why are you here so early?" Cookie asked me.
I tell Cookie the story that happened earlier today.
"You and Kazama deserve to be punished for skipping school." Said Cookie, angrily.
Cookie suddenly transforms into Cookie 2, the battle form.
"Damn, not you too!" I yell and start sprinting out of the abandoned building, with Cookie 2 chasing after me.
"Just how far am I going to push myself today?" I asked myself.
Thankfully, Cookie has a bad presence detection system, so I'm able to escape with little difficulty.
I find myself strolling in the streets of Kawakami City and decide to buy some food, as I haven't eaten all day.
I order kumozichi from a stall and use the little amount of money in my pocket to pay for it and sit down to eat it.
Suddenly, I hear Miyako and Wanko behind me.
"There he is!" they yell.
"Son of a bitch! How long it this going to keep up?!" I exclaimed.
I bolt up from my stall and run at full speed away from them.
"Damn man, first Ume-sensei, then Nee-san, then Cookie, now Miyako and Wanko, just why am I being chased by almost all the people I know?" I asked myself.
Miyako draws her bow back and fires, but I manage to dodge it and get a good amount of distance between us.
"After him! Don't let him escape!" Yelled Wanko.
"What the hell! Why are you two after me?!" I yelled at them.
"Because, Kojima-sensei told us to bring you back to class!" Wanko yelled back.
"We've already captured Kazama, so just give up Yamato." Miyako said.
"I've already evaded Nee-san, so what makes you think that you can capture me?" I asked.
"What about me?" asked Nee-san, who just suddenly appeared.
I sighed and said "Well, I know I shouldn't have said that."
"With us and Nee-san combined, there's no way you can win, so just give up!" yelled Wanko.
"Sorry, but I'm not the type of person to give up just when the odds are against me!" I yell back, and somehow run with even more speed than I thought was possible for me.
I run at a speed that I never could have imagined for 4 kilometers before I start to get exhausted.
"Shit, looks like I can't evade them much longer, I need an escape plan." I said to myself.
"I doubt that jumping off the Tama River will work, so what should I do this time?" I asked myself.
Just then, an arrow came flying at me, but I manage to dodge it in time.
"Damn that Miyako and her sniper skills." I said to myself.
I start running again, thinking of an escape plan, when I find Mayucchi about 150 meters ahead of me.
"Don't tell me you're in this too!" I yelled to Mayucchi.
"Y-Yes, I- I am." Said Mayucchi in a nervous tone.
"Are you kidding me? I'm going to have the entire Kazama Family on my ass if this keeps up!"
I manage to block her blunt attack with my left arm, but it starts to numb.
"Ouch, that hurt." I said.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Said Mayucchi with her head bowed down.
I take this opportunity to run away to the Shimazu Dorm where I have a plan ready.
Ten Minutes Later…
I arrive at the Shimazu Dorm and slam the door shut.
"Whew, time to execute my escape plan." I said to myself.
I run into my room and decide to lay out my decoy with a set of my clothes while I take this smoke grenade and eat this food Kuma-chan gave me that hides my presence and escape.
Meanwhile…
"Come on, he went into the Shimazu Dorm!" yelled Wanko.
"I still don't get why you or Mayucchi are in this Momo-senpai." Said Miyako.
"I told you, the old man told me to get the two people that jumped out of Class 2-F's window, but I had no idea Yamato would do something like that." Said Nee-san.
"Yes, the principal also told me the same thing." Said Mayucchi.
"He said that he wouldn't do that right before he jumped out of the window; which I found was kind of funny." Said Wanko.
"Well, he jumped off the Tama Bridge and into the river just to evade me, so he must really not want to go back for some reason." Said Nee-san.
"There might be something else going on here; four people never go looking for two skipping students, it's usually one or two people; not to mention four of his friends." Said Wanko.
"But I want to be more than friends!" Yelled all four of them simultaneously.
The Kazama Harem started to give each other the death stare as soon as each of them said those words.
"What did you just say?" Asked Miyako, in an infuriated tone.
"I said that I want to be more than friends!" Yelled Mayucchi in serious tone.
Everyone looked in shock as Mayucchi said something for the first time in a very serious tone.
"Good, I knew that they'd blow it and start fighting among each other." I said, while hiding in a nearby bush.
I turn around and run away with nobody trailing me, and make a good 750 meter distance between us and decide to stop for a second to catch my breath.
"I wonder what time it is." I said to myself.
I look at my watch, and it is twenty minutes before school ends.
"So I only have to keep evading for twenty minutes, sounds good to me." I said to myself.
"I'm afraid it won't be that easy." Said Chris, who appeared as suddenly as Nee-san did forty minutes ago.
"What in the hell is with people suddenly appearing today?" I asked jokingly.
"What?" She asked.
"Nevermind, but let me guess, you're in on this too?" I asked her.
"Yes, how'd you know?" She asked.
"It's easy to tell, considering the other four are already after me." I replied.
"Wait, those other four are already hunting you down?" She asked, in a surprised tone.
"Yes, didn't they tell you?" I asked in reply.
"No, they didn't say anything about the others hunting for you." She replied.
"Just as I thought, they want me for something other than delivering punishment for me skipping school, and I don't have a good feeling about this, so you can go ahead and not even try to say for me to give up." I said.
"Damn, here I thought we could settle this peacefully. Maru-san, come on out." Said Chris.
"Oh hell, you've got to be kidding me." I replied.
"No, I'm right here actually." Said Margit, who appeared out of the woods.
I sighed and said "This day is just never going to get easier, is it?"
Margit ignored my comment and said "Hasen Jagd!"
"Oh, so I'm just a rabbit to you!?*" I asked.
I dodged her fast attack and go through my mind on what options I have to escape, and I can't think of a very good one.
"Shit, looks like this isn't going well for me, but then again, neither has this entire day." I said, half-jokingly.
My left arm takes a good Tonfa Punch from Margit and starts to feel even worse.
"Ouch, damnit left arm; stay with me." I said to my left arm.
Of course, my left arm doesn't respond, but I felt like saying it anyway.
I remember that I grabbed a concealing smoke grenade back in my room and I decide to use it as my escape plan.
"What, a smoke grenade?!" Said Margit, surprised.
"Yep, I always have some sort of plan; I'm the Tactician after all!" I yell, while I'm running away.
"You won't get away that easily!" Margit yells back.
She starts chasing me, but I'm near my escape destination.
"I know, that's why I always have this!" I yell to Margit.
I jump onto the guard rail of the Tama Bridge and dive back into the Tama River.
"You jumped off the Tama Bridge?!" She said, completely caught off guard.
"Yeah, and it's not the first time today!" I yell back, right before I hit the water.
I swim as fast as I can, but I soon see arrows coming towards me.
"Not you again Miyako!" I yell.
I dodge all of the arrows, but one hits me on my left arm, and I hear a slight crack and a complete numbing of my arm; I start wincing from the pain.
"Shit, I can't feel my left arm anymore." I said.
I start swimming to the far side of Kawakami with one arm, and ten minutes later I'm near the Shimazu Dorm with my left arm at my side, unable to move.
I open the door with my right arm and go into my room and lay down on the futon when my watch goes off; telling me that school is over today.
"It's about time, damn." I say jokingly.
Realizing that I still can't control my left arm, I leave for the hospital, but I don't even make it out of the door before I run into the Kazama Harem.
"Oh, there's Yamato!" They all say simultaneously.
"Will you guys go away?! School's over, so there's no point dragging me back to school." I said, completely irritated at the events that happened today and me not being able to control my left arm.
Nee-san notices my left arm and asks "Hey little bro, what happened to your arm?"
"Let's see; Mayucchi hit me with the blunt side of her sword, got a Tonfa Punch by Margit, and got hit by an arrow in my left arm; I can't control it anymore, so I'm going to the hospital." I said bluntly.
"What!? You can't con-" they try to say.
"No! You guys caused this in the first place, don't say anything! " I yell, completely infuriated.
With that note, I leave the Shimazu Dorm and leave for the hospital.
Fifteen Minutes Later…
"Well, you're arm isn't broken or fractured; you just need to leave it alone and you will regain control over it in a few hours." Said the doctor.
"Thanks doc, I'll be going now." I said to the doctor.
"Okay, just make sure you let it recover for a few days, or you will probably break it." He replied.
"Alright, thanks again doctor." I reply.
I leave the hospital and make my way to the secret base for the Friday Gathering.
End of Chapter 3
*Hasen Jagd is German for Rabbit/Hare hunting, and Margit uses this phrase often in combat in the Virtual Novel.