Natsuki woke up before the sunrise to harvest fish while Mita-senpai cooked rice for our breakfast. Not long after, Izuki woke up to help season and cook the fish. Although he lacks several brain cells, I hate to admit that Izuki is an excellent cook.
We each ate a whole fish coupled with freshly made rice, however, Kouji's appetite was larger than most of ours, so we gave him more food. I hid my smile as I noticed Natsuki's eye twitch watching Kouji devour three fish and two bowls of rice.
Izuki leaned his arm on my shoulder. “Did ya hear the recent news about our school?”
“No, what is it?”
“I checked my phone this morning and a news article reported that they're cancelling all sports and athletics.”
Junya's glasses nearly fell as he jumped in surprise. “They did?”
Izuki nodded. “I don't know all the details, but the damage was so severe they had to close that side of campus.”
“We should check the area later,” Natsuki suggested. “We might find some clues.”
Mita-senpai nodded in agreement. “I also forgot to ask, is anyone willing to do laundry?”
Everyone stopped chewing their food.
“Let's do rock, paper, scissors. Loser has to do it.” Izuki suggested.
Everyone agreed and put their hands in the center.
“Jan ken PO!” We all chimed in unison.
Izuki, Mita-senpai, Takeshi, and Natsuki were safe, leaving me, Junya, and Kouji. In the second round, Junya did paper while Kouji and I did rock.
“Final round!” Mita-senpai cheered.
On “po”, Kouji's scissors declared his victory. I groaned as Izuki began to rub my loss in my face.
While everyone went to wash themselves off, I headed to the opposite side of the stream to start the load. I dragged the heavy sack of dirty clothing behind me, letting out an exhausted sigh.
-
I placed a bucket into the stream and squeezed detergent into it. I dipped the clothing into the bucket, plopped the fabric onto the nearest rock, and massaged the clothing against it, rinsing out the dirt and grime. I put my entire body weight onto the shirt until it was almost dry. I rinsed the shirt in the river before repeating the process for the next article of clothing. Being alone forced me to remember what happened last night. I furrowed my brows, trying to recollect the details, but these thoughts made me shudder.
“Last night must’ve been a dream, right?” I mumbled under my breath. “Maybe a nightmare…”
The sound of splashing made my head cock to the source. The sleeves of his new white t-shirt were tucked in on themselves, showing off his toned deltoids. He grabbed the clothes and placed them into the bucket of detergent.
“Kouji, what are you doing here? You don't have to do that!” I frantically approached him.
“It's not a big deal, let me help you.” He offered.
“I lost, it wouldn’t be fair.” I shook my head.
“You can’t expect one person to do laundry for seven people?”
I extended my hand for the clothing, but he placed his palm onto my wrist. “This is my thanks for saving my life.”
My heart skipped a beat. My mouth fell open, struggling to find the words to respond to him, but my mind was racing with unintelligible thoughts. “I-I didn’t do anything special that day. You give me too much credit.”
Kouji shook his head. I never noticed how gentle and warm his eyes were. I couldn't help but accept defeat. I nodded and let him continue.
He started massaging the clothes against the nearest rock. After five minutes, we were more than halfway through the pile thanks to Kouji’s assistance. I was grateful for the laundry because I didn't know how to strike up a conversation with him, especially with the thoughts jumbled in my head.
“Yokono-senpai,” his voice rang over the soft ripples of the stream. I hummed in acknowledgement. “Do you like Matsuoka-senpai?”
My head snapped at the sudden question. “I-I mean, he’s nice. Why do you ask?”
“Well,” Kouji smiled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. “He’s always looking at you.”
“HE IS?” I shouted. Kouji flinched at the sudden outburst. “Sorry,” I chuckled awkwardly. “I mean, I did have a crush on him, but I don't think I do anymore.”
“Not anymore? How come?”
I can’t tell him I didn’t like the kiss I shared with him last night. “I-I’m not sure myself either. I think I just moved on.”
Kouji hummed low, appearing to be pondering something. “In that case, do you like Fukuyama-senpai?”
I dropped the shorts in my hand. “HUH?!”
“You seem really close to him.”
My left eye twitched. “No, no, not even in the slightest.” I glanced up at Kouji. “What about you?”
Kouji bit his lip, continuing to wash the pants in his hands. “I have someone in mind.”
“Really?” I smiled. “I’ll root for you!”
The youngest nodded, averting his gaze. “Thanks.” He replied quietly.
I looked down at the shorts I was pushing down on and saw a gleam peeking out of the pocket. I reached into the shorts and found a marble. The marble had the same symbol as the hooded boy and the shadow that attacked the gym. I gasped, accidentally dropping it into the stream.
“What happened?” Kouji questioned, peering over his shoulder.
I watched as the tiny sphere got caught in the current. “Crap!” I stumbled over my feet and followed it.
Kouji called out, but I continued my pursuit. I had a gut feeling this marble would give us a lead on Resignia. I ran down the stream, my eyes staring at the moving orb, but the marble was still out of reach. I desperately extended my arm, but I stumbled and tripped over a rock. The marble finally stopped within the crook of pebbles and rocks. I outstretched my hand and picked up the orb. Abruptly, I felt a stinging pain on my skin as the strength left my hand. I winced and dropped the marble. I growled, starting my pursuit once again.
“Yokono-senpai!”
I jolted my head around, but the lack of sensation under my feet made me face forward. My stomach dropped as I realized I was falling. The rushing sound of the waterfall covered the sound of my screams as I dropped into a deep bed of water several meters below.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblNEDaC1Go
