Ch.30Chapter 5. What It Means to Like Someone (2)

In a certain sense, the light novels of 2004 could be considered a turning point.

It was like walking a tightrope between “manga-like qualities” and “a degree of realism.”

Of course, hardly anyone would look at a light novel and think it’s truly “realistic,” but there’s something… you know what I mean.

If you look at comedy manga from the 90s to the early 2000s, characters would randomly pull out white folding fans to smack someone on the back of the head as a joke, or female characters would have superhuman strength, effortlessly lifting motorcycles or people.

Reading early light novels, you’d sometimes find these comedy scenes directly incorporated, with descriptions like “she lifted a motorcycle with one hand and used it to slap him” or “she hit the back of his head with a folding fan.”

Then around the mid-2000s, as somewhat serious light novels emerged, these “excessively unrealistic” elements largely disappeared. Later heroines were strong because of their abilities, not because they had… well, superhuman strength or anything like that.

The reason I’m suddenly talking about this is because I’m starting to think Yuu Yamashita might be a character straight out of those early comedy light novels.

How does she manage to hold her ground in a three-against-one fight?

“Eek…! Let go of me!?”

Well, technically it wasn’t completely three-against-one since I was there too. But it definitely wasn’t three-against-two either. I wasn’t pulling my weight. If we’re being precise, we were more like 1.5 against 3.

As I grabbed the track team captain from behind, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling back hard, I briefly considered taking her box cutter and slashing her wrist.

It would be a win-win situation—time would stop, I’d get a counselor, and I’d even get a weapon.

Of course, my relatively peaceful school life would come to an abrupt end.

There was a sharp sound as my head jerked violently to the left. My right temple hurt so badly I thought it might have caved in. Actually, rather than pain, I was just vaguely aware that a physical collision had occurred. The pain came a moment later.

Looking through my sparkling vision, I realized the track team captain had twisted her body sharply to the right and elbowed me in the face.

Either my arms weren’t strong enough to properly restrain her, or I’d pulled too hastily and lost my grip. Either way, she’d found room to turn.

My interlocked hands came apart, and I staggered.

“How did things end up like this!?”

As the track team captain shouted that, someone grabbed her hair.

Her hair wasn’t particularly long, but it wasn’t the shortest among the three. Then again, even the short-haired girl who spoke in that rough dialect didn’t have hair too short to grab.

The track team captain’s head was yanked back, and her mouth opened in a long scream.

She still had the box cutter in her hand. I could barely see it through my blurred vision.

Her right hand moved toward the area behind her shoulder—toward Yamashita’s face. If she swung it, Yamashita would likely get a serious facial injury.

Without thinking, I grabbed her right hand.

“…Ah.”

That’s when I made a mistake.

Instead of grabbing her hand, I’d grabbed the blade.

“Oh.”

The track team captain made that sound, but Yamashita behind her apparently didn’t see what happened.

That made sense, since two people were pulling at Yamashita from both sides.

I felt heat in my hand. It wasn’t unbearably painful, though. Maybe the throbbing in my head was preventing me from feeling the pain properly.

My right hand felt sticky. Judging by the slipperiness, the wound seemed deeper than I’d thought.

Gritting my teeth, I twisted my right hand sharply.

With a snap, the box cutter blade broke off. The end was still sharp, but it was much better than when it had been sticking out long and exposed.

I threw the blade to the floor. The sticky, red blood-covered blade fell with unimpressive tick-tick sounds.

Only after seeing the red did the girls turn pale.

Why?

That’s strange. Didn’t one of them say she’d beaten up a junior before? Didn’t she see blood then? Maybe she didn’t use a knife. Still, if someone attempted suicide because of her, she must have done more than just slap them once or twice.

“…You.”

I heard Yamashita speak as the bloody blade fell to the floor.

“Kyaa!?”

The track team captain’s head was yanked back sharply. Since she’d dropped the knife, I quickly stepped on it and kicked it away.

Then I ran past the track team captain whose hair was being held by Yamashita, and grabbed the face of the girl who’d been speaking in that rough dialect.

“Hyak!? W-what are you doing!?”

Despite her tough appearance, she let out a thin scream. She even forgot her usual speech pattern.

Was having my blood-covered hand on her face that scary?

My hand was still slippery with blood, and as the pain in my head gradually subsided, the sting from my hand wound was becoming more noticeable. But I endured it, grabbed her face from behind, and pulled hard.

We must have looked quite a sight.

Grabbing each other, pulling mindlessly, kicking and swinging. It was far from the elegant fights often described in light novels.

After getting kicked in the stomach a few times, I finally managed to pull the girl’s head back.

“Ah.”

“Kotone!?”

The situation wasn’t going well, judging by how Yamashita—who rarely shows emotion—called out my name.

I’d successfully separated the rough-speaking girl, but the problem was that she let go of her own hands to remove mine.

Naturally, we both fell backward, overlapping.

And unfortunately, there was a sink behind me.

There was a dangerous thud.

Stars sparkled before my eyes again.

“…”

The surroundings suddenly fell silent.

All I could hear was sniffling and tense breathing.

I hadn’t passed out. My vision was flashing, my head hurt so much I couldn’t feel anything, and my neck was a bit creaky, but that was all.

The weight of the girl on top of me suddenly disappeared. Judging by the sound of someone gasping in shock… well, my condition probably wasn’t great.

Am I dead? No, that can’t be right. I’ve survived injuries that should have killed me instantly before.

Of course, that wasn’t due to any ability of mine, but rather because of that god-like being up there who watches my movements like someone watching a Tamagotchi character pooping.

I tried to push myself up with my right hand, but it slipped, causing me to fail once. On the second attempt, I managed to sit up.

My neck was a bit weak, but I could still raise my upper body to a sitting position.

I lowered my head, then jerked it up, and with a cracking sound, my vision cleared.

Long strands of hair were sprawled across my face.

The hair… was sticking to my face and wouldn’t come off easily. I could also feel something sticky flowing.

“Eek!?”

I heard a terrified sound as I turned my head.

There was the sound of hurried footsteps. Before I could grab them, the silhouettes I could barely see through my hair quickly moved away.

True to their track team membership.

As I tried to get up with my dazed head, someone supported me and lifted me up.

“…Yamashita.”

“…Let’s go to the infirmary.”

“…To the literature club.”

“In that state?”

“…”

Yamashita summed up my physical condition in just four words.

Well… certainly, if I went up to the club room with red stuff flowing from various parts of my body, Ikeda might faint at the sight of me.

“…Infirmary.”

“Right.”

Yamashita nodded and supported me to the infirmary.

…I think we passed about four students on the way, all of whom recoiled in terror and moved away from us.

Seriously, how bad did I look?

*

“There don’t seem to be any major visible injuries.”

The kind-looking school nurse said.

I know this person. Though her name isn’t mentioned, she’s the one who gets angry whenever the protagonist comes to the infirmary after fighting yokai in the school.

She didn’t seem particularly angry at my condition.

I suppose I looked more like someone who’d been beaten up one-sidedly rather than someone who’d been in a fight.

“The cut will heal quickly. Don’t shower today and keep the bandage on. Come back tomorrow and I’ll change it. We’ll check the wound again then. As for your head… you should probably go to the hospital for that. Did you hit your head hard?”

“Yes.”

Yamashita answered for me.

“I can’t see the wound well because of your hair, and it’s hard to tell where the blood came from. It doesn’t seem to be completely torn, though. There’s quite a bit of blood for that kind of injury… but what’s really important is the impact to your head, right?”

“…”

I touched my head with my hand.

With my right hand heavily bandaged, I could only feel with my fingers, but as the nurse said, it didn’t seem to be torn or anything.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not, young lady.”

The school nurse sighed lightly.

“…Wait a moment. I’ll call a teacher. Who’s your homeroom teacher?”

“Ms. Suzuki.”

Even if I went to the hospital, there probably wouldn’t be any serious issues. It would just be a waste of money.

But I couldn’t say anything here. Yamashita had seen my condition firsthand when I collapsed, and there were three other witnesses besides her.

…Soon, rumors would probably spread throughout the school. That there might be a zombie at this school.

The nurse reached for the phone on the desk and dialed a few numbers. She was probably calling Ms. Suzuki’s desk in the faculty room.

“…”

While the nurse finished her brief conversation, I sat there blankly until I felt someone staring at me.

Yamashita was staring at me intently.

It’s not that Yamashita never shows interest in me, but she doesn’t show as much interest as Fukuda or Miura.

Actually, she doesn’t seem very interested in worldly matters in general.

She’s almost always looking at her phone screen, and she doesn’t talk much even when Miura and Fukuda are conversing.

The two biggest emotional changes I’ve seen in Yamashita so far would be today’s angry Yamashita and Yamashita’s reaction when she first heard me sing at the karaoke place.

I thought she wasn’t particularly interested in me, but does she actually consider me one of her people?

I kept my gaze fixed straight ahead.

If she stares at me and I stare back, it might look like I’m picking a fight.

More importantly, how did Yamashita know to come to the bathroom? Most classrooms are in the new building. Only some unpopular clubs are in the old building, and most of them are on the upper floors, not the first floor.

Even if Yamashita suddenly decided to participate in club activities, she’d have little reason to enter the first-floor bathroom. Unless she happened to be passing by and suddenly had a stomachache.

“She said to wait a little. She’ll be here soon.”

“…”

The nurse… probably told Ms. Suzuki everything we told her. She was a conscientious character in the original work, even if her name wasn’t mentioned.

Yamashita isn’t the type to talk much, but just saying “they fought” and “she got hurt” would convey the meaning well enough. It’s self-explanatory.

We waited in silence for a moment.

Not only Yamashita, who was staring at me intently, but now even the school nurse was staring at me.

They seemed to think I might suddenly collapse and die if left alone for even a moment.

“…”

After fidgeting with my fingers on my knees for a few minutes…

Clack!

The door opened urgently.

“Kurosawa?”

Ms. Suzuki said, catching her breath.

“…”

Not knowing how to respond to the teacher, I just stared at her blankly.

“What happened?”

Ms. Suzuki quickly came in and took my hand, speaking. Because of the bandage, it looked like I was seriously injured, but in reality, the wound was practically nonexistent.

“It seems she was bullied by upperclassmen.”

“Upperclassmen? Who? Do you know their names?”

Well… I don’t.

Wow, thinking about it again, I really don’t know those people’s names.

But seeing me unable to answer because I genuinely didn’t know, Ms. Suzuki seemed to have a completely different thought.

“…Yamashita?”

“I don’t know either.”

Yamashita shook her head.

“…I see. I heard you hit your head. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Let’s go to the hospital first.”

No, I said I’m fine.

I understand her concern, but I was really annoyed. Today I just wanted to skip club activities and go home to sleep.

Since I was already going to rest over the weekend, I didn’t want to waste time going to the hospital too. I was just at the hospital yesterday.

When I shook my head, Ms. Suzuki made such a guilty expression that I lost my words again.

No, if you make that face, my resolve weakens. You’re already younger than my actual age.

Ms. Suzuki looked at me with an expression that suggested she had a lot to say, then looked at Yamashita again.

“Yamashita, would you like to come along too?”

“I—”

“Even if it’s not the head, people often get injured without realizing it. Right, teacher?”

“Yes, of course. Especially in cases of assault or traffic accidents, people sometimes don’t know where they’re injured until they suddenly experience aftereffects. It’s better to get a proper examination.”

“You heard that? Let’s both go to the hospital. Fortunately, classes are over for today.”

“…”

If she drags Yamashita into this too, I have no grounds to refuse. Objectively speaking, my injuries were much more serious than Yamashita’s.

I suppressed a sigh that was about to escape.

*

Should I be grateful that Ms. Suzuki didn’t call an ambulance? I suppose this was the maximum restraint she could show.

I was thankful I’d decided to take a day off from my part-time job today. If I’d said I was taking another day off to go to the hospital, Shii would have been extremely worried.

“…”

Sitting side by side with Yamashita in the back seat of Ms. Suzuki’s compact car without saying anything was extremely awkward.

It also felt a bit inappropriate to talk about what happened in the bathroom with Ms. Suzuki sitting in the front seat.

Yamashita wasn’t using her phone as usual.

“…Not using your phone?”

“…”

When I asked, Yamashita looked at me. Her expressionless face was a bit scary. I’d just witnessed the extent of her physical strength earlier.

Yamashita searched her pocket and took out her phone.

Then she turned on the screen and showed it to me.

…The phone screen was broken.

I see.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to use it; she couldn’t use it.

Plus, the question itself was completely out of line.

After struggling to think of something to say, all I could come up with was asking why she wasn’t using her phone. Wasn’t that like saying I thought of her as someone who only uses her phone?

Fortunately, Yamashita didn’t say anything to me about it. Given her personality, that seemed natural.

Ms. Suzuki also seemed to think that forcing conversation wasn’t a good idea.

We eventually reached the hospital in silence.

*

“There are no abnormal findings in the X-ray images. The patient herself doesn’t feel dizziness or pain. The neck she said she hit also seems fine.”

The middle-aged doctor with gray hair swept to the side said, pointing to the X-ray image with his mouse.

“From what I’ve heard, it sounds like she hit her head quite hard, but it seems you were very lucky.”

Ms. Suzuki, listening to the explanation, breathed a sigh of relief.

And I also breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, we didn’t have to go as far as a CT scan.

Of course, judging by her demeanor, Ms. Suzuki probably would have paid for it herself if necessary.

But I have my pride too. I feel too guilty if I keep receiving things. The more expensive the cost, the more guilty I feel.

Yamashita also had X-rays taken of her arm and head where she was mainly hit, and was told there were no major issues. The bruises would heal with time. Yamashita didn’t seem to mind much either.

“Well then…”

Ms. Suzuki said, looking back and forth between the two of us.

The hospital we visited was in the same Minato ward. At this distance, I could find my way back home. As for Yamashita… I don’t know where she lives, but I assume it’s nearby.

“I’ll go home.”

“I’ll take you—”

When I shook my head, Ms. Suzuki’s expression darkened slightly. But soon she nodded with a renewed spirited expression.

“Alright, then I’ll see you tomorrow! What about you, Yamashita?”

“I’ll find my way back too.”

After saying goodbye and parting ways, I let out a small sigh.

“…Well then…”

When I spoke softly, Yamashita nodded.

I hesitantly raised my hand and waved it slightly. Yamashita stared at me.

“…”

Hmm.

That counts as a goodbye, right?

Thinking that, I turned around and took a few experimental steps.

I heard footsteps behind me. Same direction.

Maybe Yamashita was also heading in the same direction.

When I stopped walking, Yamashita also stopped.

…

Does she have something to say?

When I carefully turned around, Yamashita was standing there. She was wearing her black summer uniform, with her bag hanging on one arm and both hands in her pockets.

Her eyes were still looking at me intently.

“…Are you going this way too?”

“I can go this way.”

What does that mean?

“…”

I turned around again and took a few steps. Again, Yamashita’s footsteps followed mine.

There were quite a few people walking around, but Yamashita’s footsteps sounded particularly loud, probably because I was paying so much attention to them.

When I turned around again, Yamashita stopped and looked at me.

Do you have something to say?

I was about to ask that but hesitated.

Would it sound too confrontational?

“You’re interesting.”

Yamashita said.

“I can see why Fukuda finds you cute.”

Are you making fun of me?

If you’re going to tease me, do it openly like Fukuda. When you do it with a blank expression, it seems like you’re angry.

“Tell me why that happened today.”

“…”

She seems to speak even less than I do. I keep my words few to avoid saying something wrong, but her speech pattern is like she should be piloting some bizarrely designed mech.

Of course, her appearance is completely different. She’s… well, a gyaru. Black, voluminous straight hair and fair skin. Lightly applied makeup. She was similar to Fukuda in terms of being “flashy,” but their images were completely opposite.

“Don’t want to?”

I shook my head.

“Then let’s go.”

Yamashita walked past me, still with her hands in her pockets.

I guess she wants me to follow?

I followed behind Yamashita with my shoulders slightly hunched.

…And then, I suddenly realized something.

Earlier, when Yamashita was supporting me to the infirmary, didn’t we pass some students?

A chill ran down my spine, and I quickly looked at my left wrist, where a headband was tied.

Just like I usually wear it.

When did that happen?

I raised my head again to look at Yamashita.

Yamashita was standing in place, looking back at me.

“Don’t want to?”

“…No.”

I quickly gathered my wits and hurriedly caught up to Yamashita, who had started walking again.