Chapter 73
Wednesday, February 22, 2023.
"Senji-sama... Senji-sama..?" I hear Inaho's voice calling out to me.
"Huh?" I refocus, looking at Inaho and then at my plate, which I've barely touched. "What is it, Inaho-chan?"
"You haven't touched your plate, aren't you hungry? Even if you are, you've got to eat, it's important, so eat a little anyway okay?" she asks.
"Don't worry, I was just lost in thought." I pick up my fork and start eating, which reassures Inaho.
I look at the others, seeing them eating with appetite, chatting and laughing. It's reassuring to see that we're gradually regaining this good mood. Even if the weight of failure weighs on our shoulders, we're starting to make it our own and live with it.
"Ah! By the way! Senji-chan, Inaho-chan, aren't you too bored to wait for the results of your fight test?" Haruko asks.
"Fight test?" Inaho repeats, mouth full.
"Yes, against the robots, don't tell me you've already forgotten?" Kodama scoffs.
"Ah that, no not really and then I think we've succeeded so the stress isn't there." I reply.
"Exactly! We passed with flying colours! But I'm still excited to have the note in my hands!" Inaho adds.
"Confident? That's a good thing, I hope you've really succeeded then!" Haruko exclaims.
"Fufufu!" Fuji-nee chuckles, getting up and walking out of the dining room.
"Don't tell me that..." I frown, knowing full well what's going on.
"Senji-san?" Asia looks at me, seeing me react familiarly to Fuji-nee's strangeness.
"Tada!" She returns to the dining room, carrying two envelopes. "I took the liberty of taking both of your notes! Here they are!"
She gives them to us, we look at each other with Inaho, not knowing how to react. I turn to the others, who are patiently waiting for us to open them. I sigh and open the envelope and take out the paper, to see it marked in large letters that I've passed the test with flying colors, as has Inaho.
"Well done, both of you!" Fuji-nee exclaims.
The girls do the same, taking out a cake to celebrate. It seems they've all worked together to prepare a surprise for us. I turn to Inaho, who smiles and thanks the girls one by one. Feeling my phone vibrate, I open it to see a message from All Might, I look at the others and meet Fuji-nee's gaze, who winks at me.
"Thank you Fuji-nee, everyone." I say, taking a slice of cake.
It's 8.00 pm, I arrive on the beach, seeing All Might looking out to sea, I walk over to him, and stand next to him, allowing him to notice me.
"Young Emiya." He turns to me, a big smile on his face.
"Good evening All Might..." I speak softly, seeing that there are other people on the beach.
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate you on passing your first semester test." He said, raising his hand.
"Thank you." I say, high-fiving his hand.
"Okay, you're probably wondering why I brought you here. I've got a few things to tell you. First of all, the entire Kuoh school apologizes for the late grades. It's taken a long time to sort out the damage caused by the Eighths, both material and otherwise..."
"Kuoh? Does this mean you're going to be a teacher?" I ask, surprised.
"That's right, it was planned for next school year, but in view of recent events, Minori-san and Nezu-sensei preferred not to wait." He explains.
"Yeah... it's not surprising..." I clench my fists.
"...I want to show you something." He picks up his phone and hands it to me.
I pick it up and notice on the freeze frame of the video, a young girl I think I recognize.
"Uh... Excuse me, hello." I play the video and recognize her voice.
"This is the girl who saved me?" I murmur, remembering my fall during the exam.
"As soon as the exam was over, this young lady came straight to us with a request." Explains All Might.
"Uh, sorry to bother you but, you know the brown-haired boy with the gray streaks? He's got burn marks on his skin, and he's a pretty good-looking guy... Do you know who I mean?" She speaks to Present mic.
"Is that me?" I wonder.
"Would it be possible to share some of my points with him?!" she asks.
"What?" I'm surprised.
"He took the time and risk to come and save me, knowing full well he'd lose points. Please, at least give him the number of points he lost because of me!" She exclaims.
(Why... would she want to do that...)
"This boy saved my life!" She begs.
"Far more than any power, energy or alter, it's your actions that touch people. Never forget that, young Emiya." All might puts a hand on my shoulder.
"Yes, thank you All Might." I know very well why he's saying that to me, but we don't need to talk about it. "By the way, did you say anything about our connection?"
"Nobody knows about this. I know you're the kind of person who worries that you only got in because of a ploy."
"Ok... And what about your situation?" I ask.
"Kuoh made a point of telling me that they'll let me know if they find me a suitable successor." He explains.
(It's true that he had said he was looking for a successor for a long time. I see, he was planning to choose from among the students.)
"One for all... One punch is enough to cause major damage to my body... I've clearly not mastered it." I look down at my hands.
"There's nothing we can do at the moment. Take a guy who suddenly grows a tail, if you ask him to use it, he won't have enough control over it to do anything with it. It's the same thing here." Explains All Might.
"Wait, you're talking about it like you saw it coming..." I look at him, suspicious.
"Well... We just didn't have the time, although I'm quite surprised, I thought with your physique you could master it a little better, but hey..." All Might frowns. "By the way, everyone was surprised to see blades coming out of your arms, do you have an explanation for that?"
"Well..." I rub my left arm. "It's complicated... all I can say is that it happens if I force my body's abilities too much."
"I see, that's going to be a problem, since at the moment you've only got the all-or-nothing." He bends down to pick up two cans out of the sand. "But you can learn to attenuate and adjust the power level and preserve your body from the pressure of a full-power stroke. The more you improve the container, the more you can control the power it contains! Like this!" He crushes the cans with one blow, assuming his heroic form.
"Hey, isn't that...?" Yes, it is! It's All Might! When did he arrive!" Exclaims someone on the beach.
"Oh oh! Come young Emiya, it's time to run!" All Might starts running, following him close behind.
Monday, February 27, 2023.
The alarm goes off and I wake up painfully, grumbling my discontent. I tap the alarm clock to stop it and roll onto my back, staring at my ceiling. I don't know how much time passes, but my body feels so heavy, I don't want to move.
"Senji-chan? Senji-chan are you awake?" I hear Haruko behind the sliding door.
"Haruko-san... Coming..." I mumble a few words.
"Okay, take your time, we'll start making breakfast." She said before leaving.
I look at the sliding door on the left, seeing Chiyo's shadow sleeping peacefully. I take a deep breath, get up painfully and get dressed, feeling in a bad mood. I leave my room and head for the bathroom, running water over my face, before entering the dining room, to see that almost everyone is there, apart from Chiyo, Kodama and Fuji-nee.
"Good morning Senji-sama, did you sleep well?" Inaho is the first to greet me.
"Hello Inaho-chan, I feel like I've overslept..." I sit up in my seat, rubbing my eyes.
"Senpai, it's been a long time since I've seen you in such a bad mood this early in the morning..." Sakura remarks.
"Yeah, I don't like it... Sorry in advance..." I mumble.
"By the way, you've never been a morning person Senji-chan, which is why I was surprised when we met again, getting up so early isn't like you at all." Haruko adds, in the kitchen.
"It's because I've got into the habit of doing morning exercises, which do me a lot of good, but since the doctor has formally forbidden me to do any until next week, I feel like I'm getting sick in my skin..." I explain.
"So that's why you get up later, sure it's a brutal change of pace." Sakura pours me a glass of tea.
"Can't wait till next week..." I thank her and take a sip.
"Cheer up Senji-san, it's for your own good, so you'll get better faster!" Asia encourages me.
Inaho and Haruko kick Kodama out of bed and when Fuji-nee arrives, we eat and get ready. When we come out, Uruchi and Usui are waiting for us at the entrance to the main gate. I can see that they both look at me with some hesitation, before calming down and acting as if nothing had happened.
"Hi everyone. How are you feeling Senji?" Usui asks me.
"Hi Usui, I'm fine, still recovering but should be better in a few days." I reply.
"Good. That's what I wanted to hear." Usui smiled at me.
"Hello, how are you?" asks Uruchi
We make our way to school together, in the milder-than-usual cold, feeling the arrival of spring. When we arrive at Kuoh, Minori greets us, guarding the entrance.
"Hi, kids! How are you, especially you Senji? How are you feeling, nothing to report?" Minori asks.
"Hello Minori-sensei, all is well though still a little weakened." I tell her.
"It's not surprising, don't worry, we got the formal word from Hiruzen-sama, we won't ask too much of you. Oh..." She is interrupted by an argument nearby.
"That's why you're..."
"You're a pain in the ass, you know that?"
"What's going on?" Haruko asks.
"A little fight..." Minori scoffs.
"Tss, it's always like that with those two!" Kodama exclaims.
"You said what?!" One of them continues.
"You're so hot-blooded, as usual, it's annoying..." scoffs the other.
"What?!" The first gets angry.
"Why don't you cool off a bit?!" He blows cold air toward him.
"What's this? It's so cold! So you're looking down on me... It's too much this time!" Suddenly, he conjured up a gauntlet-shaped Maken. "I can't forgive you!"
"Hey hey, you want to fight in front of the principal?" The other also pulls out his maken, of the same shape.
"This flame represents the justice of my soul!" He makes a small ball of fire appear above his fists.
"The justice of his soul is truly small..." Usui sighs beside me.
"It's the same for me... Except mine represents my anger!" He makes a huge icy spike appear above his raised hand.
"He really looks pissed, have you seen how big his thing is!" Usui couldn't believe it.
"It's not a duel by the book, it's a straight-up fight!" Exclaims Inaho.
"Madam Principal!" Haruko calls out to her.
"Fix the problems..." She reaches into her chest to pull out a whistle. "Isn't that the role of the Maken-ki?"
"Uh... It is, indeed!" Haruko agrees.
"Senpai, I'll help you." Uruchi, put on the Maken-ki armband.
"I'm going to need it!" Haruko agrees, pulling out her shinai.
"Ok! Look... Demitra!" Uruchi sees Demitra coming.
"I've analyzed the situation!" She said.
"Take care of the other guy!" Haruko charges toward the ice guy.
"Got it!" Demitra concentrates a ball of water in front of her fingers.
She shoots straight into the fireball, extinguishing the flame instantly, and Haruko cuts the ice spike in half with her shinai.
"Any battle not being an official duel within the walls of the establishment..." Haruko begins.
"Is strictly forbidden!" Demitra finishes.
"Sorry..." The two apologize, before leaving, embarrassed.
"Thank you Demitra." Haruko turns to her.
"You were late, so I came to see what was going on. No need to thank me." She puts on her glasses and walks over to me, smiling. "Glad to see everything's back to normal Senji."
"Hello Demitra, indeed, thank you again." I greet her, walking all together towards the first years building
"Senji-kun!" I barely have time to turn toward Shiria's voice before she puts her arms around me, my face in her chest.
She's dressed in a slightly sexier maid outfit.
"Can we know why you're dressed like that?!" Haruko asks, irritated.
"It's a secret, right now I'm doing rehearsals!" She explains, patting my head.
"Hmm, I don't feel like talking about this anyway!" She walks off, leaving us behind.
"Shiria! The clothes!" Kimi calls out to us.
We follow her, heading for the gymnasium, enter the back to see a stage and, above all, empty hangers on the side.
"They're gone?!" Shiria exclaims.
"Yes... There were about twenty or so, but they're all gone!" Kimi explains.
"It's weird, only Maken-ki members or teachers have access to this place..." Chacha joined us. "Hi Senji-kun, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, thanks." I turn to a familiar object. "A fan... Don't tell me..."
"Everyone worked so hard... To make them..." Kimi bursts into tears. "Sorry Shiria..."
"It's not your fault Kimi-san." Shiria comforts Kimi. "In any case, we have to look for them."
"If we all put our heads together, it can be done." I say as I set my bag down. "Maybe someone just moved them." I turn my gaze to Kimi and Shiria, who gives me a thumbs-up, seeing Kimi's spirits rise. "But what's surprising is that it's only Shiria's costumes that are missing."
"Well Shiria-san is a well-known idol throughout Konoha, so this could be serious!" Usui explains.
"But to have done all this without being noticed by Shiria and Demitra..." Haruko remarked.
"Two people here look suspicious to me..." Kodama said calmly.
"This is a joke I hope, Himegami-senpai!" Usui gasps.
"For research purposes, we should split up!" Inaho suggests.
"We're going to try to solve this case from another angle!" Usui tells me.
"Got any clues?" I ask.
"A few..." He said, heading for the first-year building.
"...Well, I'll do the same..." I head there too, calling out to a few students as I go.
"Outfits at Shiria? I only like anything to do with Himegami-senpai!" Says the bespectacled guy who's a fan of Kodama.
"I can't help you, sorry!" Amio Kumi runs away from me.
I watch her go, not surprised by her reaction. I sigh and enter Kurisaga Kai's classroom, seeing him sitting in his seat.
"Why are you asking me that?" He stands up, trying to intimidate me, but stops, trying not to meet my gaze. "Are you... are you doubting me?" I hear fear in his voice.
"Not at all..." I sigh. "I'm just trying to get your side of the story so I don't have to suspect you precisely."
"...I see... You should have said so before..." He calms down, though he remains on his guard.
"I'm sorry I said it like that. On that note, I'll leave you to it, sorry again for the inconvenience." I leave him alone, walking out of the classroom.
I walk through the school corridors, recalling old memories, those same looks, glaring at me as if I were a hideous creature.
"...Maybe I should go back to the gym..." I shake my head, focusing on the current situation.
"Are you all right, Senji-kun? You look like you've just seen a ghost." I lift my head to see Minerva.
"Hello Minerva-san. You wouldn't happen to know who stole the costumes, would you?" I explain what's going on. "All of a sudden, we're going in circles. It's hard to believe anyone could pull this off. Since we don't have any leads, we're going to have to find everything before school starts."
"Fufu." I hear her giggle.
"Hm? What is it?" I ask.
"Sorry but I find this fuss amusing, you'll forgive me since Kimi-san and the others must be tearing their hair out!" She explains.
"You don't have to apologize, but what's the fun in that?"
"You already know Senji-kun, I've never been through this before! Cooperating with classmates and trying to accomplish something... It obviously reminds me of our time together a few years ago, but also of that book we used to read together, before going to bed, remember? A little town in the middle of the mountains, with fireworks going off..." Minerva recounts.
"Ah yes, the story of a fireworks manufacturer." I remember that.
"Yes! That man was shy and quiet but once a year, during the festival, he would always develop new fireworks. That man wanted people to express their joy and by becoming known for his talent, he could have continued, but he lived on the edge of a reef far from the city and he could not contemplate the smiles of people... And later, he could not manifest himself again but he continued despite everything to give the best of himself to make fireworks because instead of obtaining fame or seeing the smiles of people, he preferred to spend time with his wife and his students, because that was the most important to him... That man reminds me a lot of you Senji-kun." She finished with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Hmm, I see her point." Said Ddraig.
I don't say anything, not knowing what to say, I just watch her greeting people through the window.
"Sorry to rehash the past, hehehe, it's probably unrelated by the way..." Minerva sticks out her tongue, embarrassed.
"No... I know what you mean." I reply, stepping out of the building, opening the door to let her out.
"All the better! Given that I spent a little time by your side, I really wish I could have stayed longer! And especially to spend more time with you Senji-kun." She said, giving me her hand to help her down the few steps.
"I hope you could drop by again for a while. And then whoever it is, maybe we'll work together again." I say.
"Yes! That would be great! But I'll never forget the time I spent here... If you ever think about us again, please remember us as we were during this stay!" She said with a touch of nostalgia.
I'm surprised by her last words, a slight shiver runs down my spine. I prefer not to think about it and continue on my way to the gym, accompanied by Minerva. Arriving at the door to the storeroom, we hear Haruko's agitated voice.
"Huh... There's..." She seems to be on the phone, I open the door, which catches her attention. "Oh Minerva! And Senji-chan!"
"What's happening here?" I ask.
"There's someone in the dressing room on the second floor!" Inaho points to a door at the back of the room.
We enter and climb the stairs until we reach an old corridor, where we can hear female voices behind one of the doors.
"Yeah, it sure looks like there's someone..." Hear Kodama.
"I wasn't aware there were any changing rooms here." I look around, seeing the barely maintained place.
"We stopped using them a while ago..." Haruko tells me. "So that's where the author of all this is!"
She takes the door handle and lowers it, opening the door, but what we see inside surprises us all.
"Minori... I tried it but... Are we really going to wear this?" Aki asks.
She's wearing a very short wedding dress, reaching almost to the hip, allowing her underwear to be seen. The breasts are barely covered, starting right at the nipples. It comes with a necklace, a small crown and long white gloves.
"There are plenty of costumes so there shouldn't be a problem! And you can't go back since you've already tried on the swimsuit!" Minori exclaims.
She's dressed in a black latex bdsm outfit. Her belly is completely exposed, and she wears a necklace that holds the outfit together. She has long black gloves, a pair of black latex tights and a whip in her hands.
"Doesn't it feel a little weird to have a cosplay party for the end-of-semester party?" Aki asks, extremely embarrassed.
"It's going to be fun! The boys will definitely get a nosebleed! We should try it on Usui and the others! Oh and especially Senji first! I'm sure we can get a reaction out of him with these outfits!" Minori seems to be enjoying herself.
We don't say anything, we just watch, far too dumbfounded. I look beside me, to see Usui bleeding from the nose.
"Everyone... everyone is here?! Why?!" Aki finally notices us, blushing suddenly. Our eyes meet, locking for a few seconds, before she looks away, even redder.
"Oh! So Senji, what do you think of our cosplays?" Minori asks, approaching me with a tug on her whip. "IF you're an obedient boy, then I'm not going to hurt you!" She plays her character with a little too much spirit.
"Um..." I don't know what to say, but mostly I feel a certain tension behind me.
"Ohhohohohohohoho..." Haruko shakes all over, taking the fan Uruchi hands her. "So Madame Director orchestrated all this..." She throws herself forward, hitting Minori with the fan. "This is too much!"
"Fufufu... That's not it yet..." Said Minori, having blocked the fan with the outstretched whip. "You lack vigor, Miss Vice-President... Oh!" She looks behind Haruko to see the other girls very displeased with her childishness.
"And once again Minori..." Aki murmurs.
"Did I do something wrong?" Minori asks, completely off the mark.
"..." Haruko sighed, unable to blame her. "Everything you've done is wrong!" But decides to yell at her anyway.
With all this ruckus going on, I can't get Minerva's last words out of my head. She was saying them as if she were about to do something stupid, which doesn't reassure me at all.