Chapter - 9

I wonder if there's any legal way to get rid of that fire fox──

While thinking that, he pulled the string and shot an arrow.

──Hit.

I chew the afterglow quietly.

I wonder why.

Every time I think of her, my mind is refined.

Normally, this is something that should be erased from my mind.

It's not you, it's that child──I feel like I'm getting closer to the state of nonchalance by invoking Araki-Maya in my brain.

With each shot, I feel a strange sense of fulfillment.

The more I shoot, the more relaxed I feel.

Maybe it's because I'm not looking at the target, but at the face in my mind.

With the image of shooting there.

But it's still not enough.

I think I need to fight with a richer mind.

I take a new arrow and aim at the target.

I hold it to my chest as "not the target".

I hold it strongly and firmly.

The arm that draws the bow, the skill with which it is drawn, and the mind that binds the two, are dependent on what the heart desires.

From the front──liver and pancreas.

Shoot with the image you see, not what you see.

Tung　　　　

　　　　　Tung

From the back──two kidneys and the spleen.

Tung　　　　　

　　　　　　　Thud.　　　　　

　Thump

Finally──the heart. As if digging into the crevices of the ribs.

Two──woosh!

Six shots. The pleasant sensation enveloping my body is the best I've felt since I first drew a bow.

The short, intense time flew by, and the twenty shots were over.

"For some reason, I feel like I'm using a lot of power..., and the atmosphere is so calm that it's almost eerie."

Azusa interjected, her tone cautious.

She knows I've been confused lately, but she doesn't interfere much with that.

The only comment she makes is that I start humming, saying, "You can do it until you feel like it."

He's very hands-off, which is a good thing.

"Yeah, a little bit."

A change of heart, if you will.

It's just that I feel like I'm looking down from on high, a step away from my anger toward the lower-classmen and the empty circling I've been doing while trying to win Yo-kun's heart.

The trigger was when I slapped him on the cheek, and I did it out of anger.

Of course, I had no intention of apologizing, and she didn't seem to be asking for it.

On the contrary, I could see that he was provoking me, saying, "Please show more sincerity, senior.

The intention is unclear. He's hiding his ears, hiding his tail, hiding his true feelings.

What on earth is he thinking, that fox?

If you think about it coldly, she doesn't have a chance.

No matter how lovely she is, her relationship with Mr. Yao is shallow, and there is no room for her to come between me and Mr. Yao.

Even fishing with my body... would be impossible.

He might glance at my chest or something, but he never gave her his eyes.

It's as obvious as fire that he doesn't see her as a sexual object.

The progression from the confession to this point is also forced and bullshit.

There's no clear paving stone to win.

"Ah-..."

It's very offensive.

At first, I was so angry that I lost my judgment, but now I'm suffering from other anxieties.

The kid is nothing. I don't know. Maybe it's a small stone that I can ignore, I don't know.

I just want to get rid of it somehow.

Because a small stone in your shoe is very unpleasant, even if it's not dangerous.

"For some reason, I feel like going fox hunting-..."

I aim into the air.

The target was in that direction.

Oh no. This isn't going to end well.

The situation will only stagnate if we play tug-of-war with Mr. Yo.

We need to move.

Lunch break there. I handed Yo-kun his lunch box and left the classroom.

When Yo-kun saw me leaving, he gave me a strange look but didn't say anything.

I was hoping he would at least say something to me. ...

In the hallway, I wait for Araki-maya coming from the stairs.

When she arrived, she looked a little surprised, then smiled broadly.

"Haha, I see. You want to have a serious conversation with me, Ayase-senpai."

"... You have good insight. So, what do you say?"

"It doesn't matter. Where shall we go?"

"The rooftop?"

Araki-Maya went along with my suggestion smoothly.

It's going so smoothly that I feel bad.

The rooftop was dotted with human shadows.

The area near the water tower was empty, so we went there.

Now. How do I get off?

I know he's not the kind of kid who will listen to me if I threaten to stay away from him anymore.

What should I tell him?

I thought of a lot of things, but I wasn't sure what exactly I should do.

Well, I'm hiding the carving knife in my arm anyway, so it'll work.

"It's hard to say, huhuh...I don't mind arguing with you here, but there's no point in arguing with you when you're not around, so let's get one thing off my chest."

The corners of his mouth subtly tilted upward, an odd sense of relaxation creeping into his stomach.

I wonder why this kid can be so nonchalant even though he's outnumbered.

"No matter how much I try, I can't get him to lean this way. ...As you can see, the odds are stacked against us. He's just undecided about whether or not he should start dating you, so he's holding back his answer to give himself time to think."

"If you know you're not in Mr. Yo's good graces, why don't you just give up?"

Cook laughs.

"If he's not paying attention, I'll just have to squeeze in. It's not a hard thing to do, foot-in-the-door, the way a salesman starts by putting his foot through the crack in the door."

"... Are you kidding?"

"No. No, I'm just outlining my policy."

He smiles bitterly. Like he's completely forgotten that I'm an ally.

I can't tell. What she's thinking.

I know he's trying to trick me, but I'm not sure how.

If I could kill him with a question and answer dance, I would.

But in a country with the rule of law, it would be murder.

If I do that, I won't be able to meet Mr. Yo. It's very painful.

Even if the other person is ugly, you can't just beat them to death.

"You have a scary face..., like you're saying it's okay to kill if you can escape the eyes of the law."

He doesn't look scared, but rather amused.

"...I'm begging you, please stay away from him and stay away from me. I'm offended, you."

I'm more offended than offended.

But if I said it out loud, I would show my weakness. So I hid my true feelings.

In the end, I didn't have a plan or anything, so I said something that wasn't worth saying.

It's not like he's going to listen.

I grabbed the carving knife just in case.

"Okay."

The blond said, coolly, but with a simplicity that made my blood run cold.

"What...?"

Completely unexpected.

I hadn't expected her to accept without a single boo.

"I'm surprised you're so surprised, coming from you."

"Yeah, but..., really?"

"It's not indefinite, but if it's today or tomorrow, I'll give in. I'll stay away from you two and avoid interference."

A pact won──but the emotion that surged through me was more anxiety than relief.

"You're only willing to step aside for two days?"

It's a very blatant repetition. He's insisting that there's no chance of me connecting with Mr. Yo.

I'm angry. But I don't feel like raising my voice.

Where does her certainty come from...?

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have lunch with my friends today."

She walks away as if she doesn't know about my suspicions.

I tried to argue, but there was no point.

I want to question him, but I can't think of the right words.

"Okay, I only have two days, so please come to a conclusion quickly."

With that, she disappeared through the doorway.

I went to Mr. Yo's classroom in a bad mood, but he hadn't touched his lunch box.

I guess he was waiting for me, thinking I'd be back soon. I feel a little happy.

I look around. There's no sign of him.

It's so noticeable that it's hard to overlook it, but I get nervous if I don't check.

I ask Yo-kun, but he says he hasn't seen Araki since the break earlier.

When I use "eyes," she's eating lunch with the girls in the classroom, just as she declared.

I wonder if she's really keeping her distance...

I ate my lunch dryly, half-heartedly.

In short, I wondered if it was a ploy to wait for me to fail in my approach to Yo-kun and self-destruct.

I can sense this intention from the short deadline and the abruptness of the "please".

It may be a trap set by the opponent to provoke Yo-kun into active behavior.

Or maybe they're keeping him in check by making him think that way...?

No way. That's overthinking it.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like I'm being manipulated.

"Come on, Mr. Yo, let's go back."

"Oh, right..."

It's been some time since they passed through the school gates, and Yo-kun is looking around, wondering why Araki Maya hasn't shown up.

I wonder if he's nervous because she's not there anymore.

The two of us are caught in a situation where absence makes presence more prominent than presence.

I look toward the library. A small body is silently fulfilling the duties of a committee member.

It's not like he's spying or following me from the nearby bushes.

The suspicious feeling doesn't go away. But I can't help it if I care too much.

For now, it's all about how I handle the period of separation she mentioned.

I shouldn't be nervous, but if I sit around, it's over.

What should I do?

I look at Yo-kun out of the corner of my eye.

He happens to be peeking this way too, so our eyes meet.

I wonder if it's because we're walking alone for the first time in a long time.

I feel strangely self-conscious, embarrassed, and look away at the same time.

My heart is beating faster.

...Rather, on the contrary.

Don't you think the absence of the child has changed our mood, or something like that?