Chapter 53
Wednesday, February 1, 2023.
That's it, we're in February, and with it a series of tests and exams of all kinds until the 10th. The first day is over, and we're all exhausted from 6 hours of exams.
"Ah, so that's what it was! I hadn't really understood the question..." Says Jojo, with whom I return under a threatening sky.
"I'm pretty confident for my part, but I'm beginning to doubt whether I can keep up the pace over 10 days." I massage my jaw, pensive.
"It's only just started and you're already thinking about it? I don't stand a chance then..." Jojo's already giving up.
"But no, a good night's sleep and we're back on track, you'll see... Oh." I see Erina in front of us.
She walks, looking at the ground, then hearing us talking she turns around, then meeting Jojo's gaze, starts crying and runs, ashamed to face him.
"Wait! Erina? What the..." Jojo is surprised by her reaction.
(They haven't seen each other since... She really does everything she can to avoid him).
"Is everything all right with you two?" I ask, clenching my fists, knowing full well what's going on, but I've promised Erina I won't say anything.
"She keeps rushing off after class, she doesn't answer my messages... I can see there's something going on, but..." He stops, receiving pebbles in the back.
I also get stones thrown at me, which I stop with my hand.
"Hehehe..." We turn to see Dio's comrades. "Look at poor Jojo! Hihihihihi!"
"Go on, tell him. Tell her why she's reacting like this!"
"Yeah Senji, why don't you tell him? Ah I know why, you don't want to see him cry! Ha ha ha ha!"
"B-but..." Jojo trembled, rage rising inside him. "What have you done to Erina!"
We arrive at Jojo's house in a hurry, and he almost breaks down the door, throwing his coat on the floor.
"Diooooooooo!" Jojo yells.
Said person is sitting quietly on a sofa, reading a book. Hearing this, he puts it down and gets up.
"It's not very polite... shouting people's names like that, and the way you clench your fists! What do you intend to do with them?" Dio scoffs.
You'll pay for this! Not the way you've treated me since you arrived! That doesn't matter!" Jojo charges at him.
"Ho Ho! So Senji told you the news about your dear Erine? And you've decided to punch back!" He too charges towards Jojo. "Jojo! Has jealousy driven you mad? It's heartbreaking!"
"You're going to pay me for the affront you've given him!" Jojo throws his fist in Dio's face.
Dio parries it, blocking and letting the attack slide down his arm, then lands a right elbow to the face. Then Dio stepped back slowly, dropping Jojo on his back, stunned, his nose began to bleed.
"Do you want to suffer the same fate again as you did in that boxing match? Idiot." Dio dusts off his sleeves.
"I... I'm no match for..." Jojo mumbles.
"Aren't you going to intervene?" Ddraig asks me.
(…)
Jojo staggers to his feet, then charges forward.
"Woooaaahh!"
"Come on!" Dio gets into a fighting stance.
Jojo throws the same punch as before, but this time Dio blocks it with both hands, before delivering an acrobatic knee strike to Jojo's face.
"Yes! That's it! I feel new strength washing over me!" Dio says.
"Uh!" But Jojo catches him.
"He... He's grabbing me after that knee strike?! You want another one?!"
Jojo headbutts Dio right in the jaw.
"Uuuuuuh!" Dio spits blood.
"Diooooo!" Jojo throws punches at him from all sides." I'll keep punching until you cry!"
"How... How..." Dio mumbles between each punch. "How can small fry like that make me..." Jojo delivers an uppercut, sending him waltzing and tumbling to the floor and his blood splattering onto the wall behind them, and onto the clinging stone mask that begins to twitch.
(What's that?)
"Haa... Haa... Haa..." Jojo is out of breath.
Then suddenly, the mask emerges from a strange spike protruding from the back of the mask, falling to the ground.
"Stop!" I approach the mask.
"Don't touch it." Ddraig warns me. "The kid's blood has activated something, let's wait a bit."
Jojo looks at me with incomprehension, not understanding why the mask has just fallen off, then Dio starts to move, scraping the carpet.
"Ha!" Jojo turns his attention back to Dio.
"How... How... How dare you!" Dio cries, his nose and mouth bleeding, holding his shoulders.
"Tears..." Jojo can't believe it.
"A filthy idiot like you!" Dio pulls out a knife and runs towards Jojo, who panics.
Seeing this, I dash forward projecting a short sword, strike the knife sending it flying across the room, then put the tip of the blade to his throat, immobilizing him.
"Bringing a knife to a bare-knuckle duel isn't exactly legit..." I look at him coldly.
I hear quick footsteps coming towards us, so I make the blade disappear. It's Jojo's father and some servant coming up above us, panicked by the noise of our actions.
"What the hell is going on?!" asks the father.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the mask moving again, tucking the needles inside.
"Father!" Jojo is embarrassed.
"Boys fighting is one thing. But Jojo! Just now, you seemed to be picking on Dio while he was defenseless, you even forced Senji to stop your fight, that's not worthy of a gentleman!"
"Eh? B-but no!" Jojo tries to defend himself.
"No excuses! Go to your room! And that goes for you too Dio, you'll be punished! Senji, thank you for intervening, or I don't know how I'd have found what state those two rascals were in."
"Um... no problem." Dio stares at me with much hatred in his eyes, but I ignore him, heading for the fallen mask.
(You weren't kidding, that mask is terrifying.)
"..." Ddraig says nothing, but I can feel a deep disgust, as I look at that mask.
Thursday, February 02, 2023.
*Ding Dong*
At the entrance to Emiya's house, the policeman who met Senji during the treasure hunt rings his doorbell. After a long investigation and much hesitation, he has finally decided to pay her a visit. He doesn't know what to expect when he sees him again: reassurance that he's alive after seeing him win the game, that maybe he can answer some questions, maybe all of them...
But his thoughts were cut short when the sliding door opened, revealing the young woman who had welcomed them last time.
"Oh, you're the policeman from last time, hello. What can I do for you?" She asks.
"Hello ma'am, I would like to speak to Senji Emiya, is he at home?" Asks the policeman, still surprised by the woman's beauty.
"You just miss him, he left a little over fifteen minutes ago." She replies, slightly wary.
"And may I ask where he went?" The policeman asks, but he can see the frown on her face, he glances to the back to see a girl with purple hair watching them shyly from down the corridor.
"He left Fuyuki. May I ask why you want to talk to him? I imagine you know that at the moment we're rather wary of surprise visits, even if you are policemen." She shows no sign of hostility, yet the policeman feels a cold sweat run down his back."
"Well, I can't divulge this to just anyone..."
"This is about Darwin's Game and the game you both played in, isn't it? Senji-san has already explained it all to me."
"...I see. Well, tell him the Eighth have arrived in Fuyuki. They're currently under surveillance, but they're not doing anything special, but we know very well what they're doing here."
"Very well, I'll let him know as soon as he gets home, thank you very much." She bows gracefully.
"No problem, I'm just doing my job ma'am, and if you ever have a problem, you have my card so don't hesitate to call me."
"We'll think about it even if we prefer it not to be necessary."
"I agree with you. On that note, sorry again for bothering you and have a good afternoon."
"Thank you too." The young woman watches the policeman leave then slides the door shut.
"That's not good news is it." Sakura asked, having stepped forward shortly after the policeman left.
"..." She nods, stroking Sakura's hair. "We're going to have to be even more vigilant from now on."
Friday, February 03, 2023
It's been several days now since Asia started living in my house.
"The weather is really nice today. Senji-san, after exams we're going to play softball, it's the first time I'm going to play it so I'm very excited!" Asia walks happily beside us, towards the school.
"You've never played softball? Then what sport did you play?" Haruko asks.
"Um... well, the Church formally forbade me to leave the church..." Asia said with embarrassment.
"Pfff, what were they thinking? That you were going to run away, get hurt? Ahahahah this is ridiculous!" Kodama laughs, but there's a hint of disgust in her words.
"In any case, you'll see how much fun softball is, especially after the stress of exams, plus everyone can find their place on the field and if we're with Senji-sama, we'll win!" Inaho explains cheerfully.
As for me, I watch them, saying nothing. I'm relieved to see that Asia has quickly become complicit with the others, but now that Asia has joined us and is with us on the way to school, which results in some of the boys at school becoming enraged, wondering why I'm surrounded by girls.
Some of them even tried to confess their feelings to my roommates, thinking that if I'm with them, so are they, but they were all rejected immediately.
But nowadays, because of this, some of them are angry with me. Others think I must be having fun playing with their bodies. It's totally disrespectful and untrue, but I'd rather not say anything, because it could all backfire.
"Is everything all right, Senji-san? You haven't said a word since we left home." Asia looks at my face with a worried look.
"N-no it's nothing, I'm lost in thought. By the way Asia, do you have any problems at school? Do you get along well with other girls?" These are the things that worry me most.
A former Sister has just transferred to our school. Since her lifestyle was far different from ours, she might feel lost in school life. At times like this, I will definitely help her, however what's most important is for her to be supported by other girls. She is getting along very well with the members of the Occult Research Club, but I'm concerned about her interaction with the other classmates. I don't think she is getting bullied for not being used to this lifestyle... But I can't stop myself from being worried about it.
Nothing like that is happening as far as I can tell, but she might be bullied when I'm not there
"Everyone is very kind towards me. They are teaching me a lot of things so I would get familiar with Japan. I also made lots of friends. I was also invited to go shopping with them." However Asia smiles which comes from the bottom of her heart which then rejects my concern about her.
That's good to hear. Looks like her relationship with the other classmates is going well. Now, one of my concerns is gone. As we talk, we arrive at the school, separate from Haruko and Kodama and head for the classroom.
"Asia-chan! Inaho-chan! Good morning!" Youta exclaims, seeing us enter.
"Hello Asia-chan, your blonde hair is shining again today and Inaho-chan, it's your face that's shining too." Motohama tries to be charming, but it's more awkward than anything else.
We're greeted by the quatro Usui, Matsuda, Motohama and Youta.
"Hello everyone!" The four become emotional after being greeted by Asia.
"So that's the thing, isn't it guys?" Matsuda asks.
"It's true, Matsuda-kun, being greeted by a beauty who says 'good morning' gives us life this morning. Youta explains.
Like usual, they feel happy about minor things. As I make my way to my seat, I sense danger behind me and narrowly dodge Usui's fist.
"What was that for Usui?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"Hahaha. Senji-kun, I've heard of it." Usui just laughs.
"Heard what."
"I heard you walk to school with Asia-chan, Inaho-chan, Haruko-senpai and Kodama-senpai Every day, right?" His tone is calm, but I can sense some anger.
"W-What about it?"
"That's weird. Why? Why do you all come to the school from the same direction? I wonder why?"
(I knew we should have been more careful...)
"All right, listen up, guys." I sit in my seat. "There's a wall between you and me that separates us, which you could break through if you gave up your never-ending perversity."
"What are you so proud of?" Motohama exclaims.
"T-That's right, Senji. Just because you get along with those girls..." Usui sputters with jealousy.
"We all live under the same roof. They're my roommates." I deliver the finishing blow.
The guys are speechless. They turn to Inaho and Asia, not believing a word I've just said.
"That's right, we live together, don't we Asia-chan?" Inaho affirms.
"Yes. Senji-san takes care of us at home."
"It's a lie!" Motohama doesn't want to believe it; he even cries, tears of jealousy.
"It was obvious... why did we think of it before...? Of course a guy as smart and handsome as you would find himself surrounded by girls like Kiba and Sasuke! You traitor, and I thought we were friends!" Usui starts a long tirade.
"So do the girls wake you up in the morning?" Youta asks.
"I get up earlier than they do." I say.
"Phew... That's at least it..." Matsuda sighs "Does she even refill the plates for you...?" He asks in turn.
"All the time! Senji-sama eats a lot, we wonder how he does it sometimes!" Inaho exclaims.
"Yes, and sometimes he does it for us too." Asia nods.
Seeing this, the guys glare at me and I feel like tears of blood are going to come out.
(It's so stupid, I don't see why they're fixated on it.)
"You! You actually know lots of cute girls, don't you!? Rias-senpai! Akeno-senpai! They are the "Two Great Onee-samas" of our academy, you know!? Then our school's small idol, Toujou Koneko-chan, and now the blonde beauty that just transferred, Asia-chan! This is wrong! It's so unfair that I'm about to break!" Motohama whines while holding his head down.
"And let's not forget the Maken-ki girls! The idol Shiria-chan adores you! You get along great with Chacha-senpai and Azuki-senpai! You live under the same roof as Kodama-senpai and Haruko-senpai, and you swap books with Kimi-senpai! Not to mention the Finnian sisters, who give you a hug every time they see you! Yan Min-senpai who hits on you every chance she gets and the sweet smiles Demitra-senpai gives you when she's so stoic with everyone else! It's so unfair! Usui next to you doesn't even exist!" Matsuda cries.
"Hey!" Usui snarled.
"Guys, if you can stop being so... how do I put this nicely... deranged? Well, maybe you could also have good, cordial relations with the opposite sex." I explain, tiredly.
"That's just it! You're so popular, maybe you could introduce us to some of the girls! Any of them!" Motohama asks.
(...Strangely, I have no intention of introducing them to the girls.)
"You can thank me for that. You consider these girls to be your own, so your draconic instincts forbid you from sharing them with other males."
(I don't like it either... It's not like there's anything between us... anyway...)
I thought for several seconds, under the hopeful glances of the guys, and then an idea appeared. I reach for my phone to see if I have his number.
"Wait, I might have something for you." I make them wait, the time to contact her and explain. "Okay, I've found someone who's willing to meet you. She'd bring some friends, too. Here, this is her number, I'm sure you'll feel happier."
"Thank you!" The four exclaim.
"Thank you very much Senji-sama! I'll never forget this debt!" Youta said to me.
"Yeah! You'll see, we'll be popular with the girls too in no time!" Said Usui, with tears in her eyes.
"So, what kind of person is she? She's a beauty isn't she?" Matsuda asks.
"Um... Yeah, she's a maiden, that's for sure." I reply, scratching my cheek.
"Maiden... wonderful... It's really wonderful Senji-kun!" Usui couldn't believe it.
"Man, we can't thank you enough, Senji-sensei!" Youta almost bowed.
(These guys are really pathetic... They don't realize they're being watched by the whole class...)
"Oh Senji-kun, by the way, why is 'Mil-tan' called 'Mil-tan'?" Asks Matsuda.
"That I'll let you find out for yourself, even I don't know the reason."