Chapter Twenty-Nine: Burdens
Shidou Itsuka.
Honestly, everything that had happened since the week began felt unreal.
First, all those bizarre things about Spirits, saving them, and everything in between.
At first, it was confusing, no, downright overwhelming.
But even so, he made up his mind to save them.
Why?
It was because there was no one else who would, because the world had rejected them.
Simply because of that, pure, yet shallow, feeling.
"Uhm… why?"
It was during lunch break. He'd been called over by a woman in a white lab coat.
Long bangs, dark circles under her eyes, and a pair of glasses, there was no mistaking her face.
If his memory was right, she was [Fraxinus]'s analysis officer, Murasame Reine.
And yet, for some reason, she was suddenly here as a teacher. Physics, of all subjects.
Which, if he also remembered correctly… happened to be Morgan's favorite.
Strangely enough, Morgan hadn't shown up today.
That made it his second absence this week.
Was he okay?
Shidou wondered.
No. Coming back to his senses, he finally shook his head.
Taking in his surroundings.
He realized he was in a dark room, with the only source of light coming from the monitor in front of them.
Reine sat in the chair before the desk,
with that droopy and sleepy face of hers, while he stood nearby with someone else right beside him.
"...Well, well, little sister, care to enlighten me why you're here."
"Gross, why are you speaking like that?"
Beside him, his sister,
wearing her middle school uniform, with guest slippers, and a visitor pass pinned to her chest pocket,
..visibly cringed.
Her face twisted into something that could only be described as disgust.
Unfortunately for him.
His cranky sister seemed to be in her commander mode at the moment; words wouldn't get through to her.
That aside..
"So? You mentioned something about training earlier, right? Exactly what kind of training are we talking about?"
As he asked, he tilted his head toward the monitor, where an installation file was slowly loading.
Reine gave a firm nod.
"I heard this from Kotori, but Shin, it seems that you haven't associated with girls before right?"
Shidou froze.
His hand instinctively clutched his chest, his expression twisting in pure emotional pain.
With an audible creak, he turned toward Kotori, with his expression that silently screamed:
My dear sister, why are you leaking your brother's history with women, which is zero by the way, to other people?
Regardless, and painfully, he gave a small, ambiguous nod.
"It's not like I'm trying to blame you. It's very good to have firm morals. But, that won't help you when you're trying to seduce a Spirit."
"Ugh..."
He groaned, frowning deeply.
Who on Earth told him that as long as he holds sincere feelings, everything will work out.
Yes, in Morgan's words:
'I blame the budget superhero movies.'
"By the way, what happened to the previous Physics teacher?"
Now that he thought about it, that was actually more important.
That guy that usually wore glasses and usually paid attention to his favorite student, Morgan.
His figure could no longer be seen.
"…Ah, him. Hm."
Reine placed a hand under her chin and gave a small, thoughtful nod.
"…"
A few silent seconds passed.
"Oh well, what's done is done. No use dwelling on the past."
What an incredible ability to ignore things.
Truly, a skill every Japanese person should learn these days.
Shidou sighed inwardly.
Not that Reine needed to say anything more.
He could already imagine the situation.
The teacher was probably forcibly replaced.
As for how? Yeah… better not to know.
Some things are best not known.
Everybody must have in one way or the other learnt this the hard way.
"..ahem. Anyway, let's begin the training."
Reine said, motioning lazily toward the monitor in front of her.
"First… you must become more accustomed to dealing with females."
"Dealing with females… huh?"
He muttered under his breath, just as Kotori dragged a chair over and dropped onto it with a thud.
Reaching into her uniform pocket, she pulled out a Chupa Chups, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.
Then, noticing the thoughtful look on his face, she smirked.
"What? Is interacting with the opposite sex that hard for you?"
Pointing the lollipop at him while twirling it mockingly, she continued mercilessly.
"You know, this is exactly why you're still a virgin. Ah, sorry for stating the obvious."
Shidou's lips twitched.
Those words snapped him the fuck out of his daze.
It was a slap harder than whatever Tonomachi and Morgan's jab could ever do.
But yes, after a month of putting up with those fools of reason, he'd learned something.
A clueless Shidou was a useless Shidou.
If he were to remain the clueless bum he is, then he would forever be memed by those two.
Hell, in the first place, it wasn't as though he had no interest in women.
When it came to that matter, he simply felt being polite was the way to handle them.
Or because he really had little interaction with them in general till now, he wouldn't know.
Kotori didn't count.
She was more of a creature called a mischievous little sister; even without 'Commander Mode,'
..her 'Little Sister Mode' Kotori was more trouble than she was worth.
But now,
He had grown.
"You belittle me. I'll have you know your brother can successfully bag a girl on the spot!"
Both women froze.
With an almost audible creak, their heads turned toward him in perfect sync, eyes scanning him from head to toe.
Yes.
Utter disbelief was written all over their faces.
Rude, but… understandable.
"Hahaha! Have I begun to grow senile?"
Kotori laughed mockingly.
"Shidou, you? Get a girlfriend? Pigs will fly before that day comes."
Shidou's expression dimmed instantly.
Dammit!
Just when he needed emotional support the most, the world refused to provide any.
Morgan was absent from school, and Tonomachi was… well, being Tonomachi.
—Which was the equivalent of being completely useless.
Man, Tonomachi do be really catching strays, huh?
Still, that was a zero-out-of-ten attempt at ragebait from his sister.
But, in all seriousness.
After having the obvious shoved in his face, he couldn't exactly pretend to be clueless anymore when it came to women.
Most especially,
Not when his 'teachers' had subtly pointed out the ones who might have feelings for him.
Or so they said.
He wasn't that blind… or foolish enough to miss the signs when he thought about it deeply.
Of course, the conclusion itself was the fact.
Rather.. truth.
"Wait, you're joking right?"
"Nngh. Kotori, I don't think Shin is playing."
Instead of trying to verbally beat his sister, he attempted to prove it with his actions.
Really,
If Morgan and Tonomachi were here right now.
They would no doubt give him a ten-out-of-ten resolve and stupidity for walking straight into an antlion's trap.
Regardless.
"I'll prove it to you."
That sealed it.
Clenching his fist, Shidou's face hardened with resolve.
Then, in one swift motion, he spun on his heel and bolted out of the room.
A resolute expression crossed his face as he did,
Back in the room, the two women stared blankly after him.
"…No… it can't be…"
Kotori's voice trembled slightly.
Her face twisted in frustration as the lollipop slipped from her lips and fell to the floor with a faint clack.
Shidou on the other hand, continued.
He didn't know where this sudden burst of confidence had come from.
12:05 P.M.
But it was good, it was Lunch Break.
Identifying his class, Shidou immediately slid the door open.
But the moment he did—
"Eh?"
"Come."
The person he was looking for was already standing right in front of the door.
Before he could even react, a hand shot out, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him along.
"Ah, wa-wait…!"
Inside the class, he barely caught sight of Tonomachi's eyes widening in pure shock.
His mouth hung open like a fish gasping for air.
Moreso, at the corner of the classroom.
He caught a few figures of some girls there, along with auditory noises of a squeal.
"Kyaaaaaa~"
Rumors are definitely going to spread, won't they?
A wave of regret washed over him.
Curse you Tonomachi!
Still, it was… marginally better than being called the "best couple" with Tonomachi.
That thought, at least, was comforting.
Without so much of a word while she dragged him,
Origami climbed up the stairs until she reached the tightly locked door to the roof.
Only then did she release his hand.
From here, the clatter of the students observing lunch break seemed awfully far away.
Though there were people less than ten meters away, this rooftop felt strangely isolated.
"Eh, uhm..."
While he had been vaguely aware that Origami seemed to like him.
For some reason, being pulled somewhere so secluded by a girl still left him feeling… awkward.
Regardless,
"On Monday, why were you—"
"…Do you like me, Origami!?"
Both of them spoke at the same time.
And froze.
Shidou's heart skipped a beat.
Wait— what!?
He felt like she was about to ask something serious, and somehow he just blurted that out just as she spoke.
Coming to that conclusion, his head hung low in embarrassment.
But to his surprise,
Despite keeping on a stone cold face, having heard his words.
A pleasant feeling blossomed deep within her stomach, like butterflies were fluttering there.
Regardless...
"Yes," she said softly. "I like Shidou."
Before she even realized it, she had already parted her lips and let those words slip out.
Everything that happened on Monday and her concerns had temporarily been thrown off the roof.
However,
This was the beginning for Shidou.
"Eh?"
While that was happening, unknowingly, some sets of people had stumbled upon this scene.
Namely, Ai, Tonomachi, Kotori were currently crouched behind the rooftop wall,
Peeking over the edge that led to the stairs.
Reine, of course, stood behind them with her same old flat and lifeless expression.
Honestly, right now... she couldn't be bothered.
But the same couldn't be said for the trio in front of her, whose mouths hung wide open in pure shock.
Their collective thoughts aligned perfectly.
'For—For real?'
Their thoughts all echoed at the same time.
Dammit! Morgan missed.
Meanwhile—
Tengu City Mall
While that was happening, Morgan too was also caught between a rock and a hard place.
Again, for the third time.
Why on earth did he keep running into her?
"Ufufu~ If I didn't know better, I'd say you were stalking me~"
"Clair, who is this pampered lady?"
Two males,
Destined to achieve great things yet constantly troubled by fate's most unpredictable variable:
Women who could easily ruin their lives.
Still, neither of them could be stopped.
If one looked at it from another angle, their lives paralleled each other.
One believed in a wish so pure, and another believed in true unrivaled strength.
The first had what the second sought, and the second sought what the first had.
A boy wanted to save, and the other wanted to transcend.
Somehow, someway, the burdens of their ideals had suddenly grown without them knowing.
Both sides will clash in a clash of ideals and wishes. More so to the people who believe in these two.
All because of a single variable.
"H-How. Just how did things end up like this?"
Morgan sighed, feeling a headache coming as Mana, feeling pity for him, patted his back without words.