Chapter 13 - Junko ShirogetsuTuesday, October 17thThe portrayal of swordpy in anime, films, and even games had always seemed silly to me.

  I suppose when you spend several hours each week practicing actual swordsmanship with your own body, you naturally become more nitpicky when it comes to how accurately your craft is being depicted.

  What they usually don’t tell you is how much those wild, seemingly costless swings of your weapon really do matter.

  Just the slightest misstep, the slimmest opening allowed, and your opponent will likely never give you the opportunity to even regret it.

  Of course, I had never held a real sword – the bamboo swords we use in Kendo, shinai, had to suffice.

  That is, until st night.

  Now I reckon I’ll never look at a bde the same way again.

  There was a profound difference between fighting for sport, and fighting for survival, and I’d been carrying that difference with me, a soreness still fresh in my body, a fear still newly-harvested in my heart.

  “…Uhh, were you even listening??” Reprimanded Emiko, an annoyed lilt ever-present in her voice.

  As if awaking from a daydream, I shook my head, and pushed my locker shut.

  “Seriously, what is with you?” She inquired, now somewhat concerned, but not enough to overshadow her annoyance at not being listened to, at not being the centre of attention.

  “Sorry,” I exhaled. “I – didn’t sleep very well st night.”

  At this, the corners of her cherry-red lips curved upward into a smirk.

  “Oh, my…” She teased, covering her mouth with her right hand. “I didn’t know the date went that well.”

  I felt my cheeks burning up, and tried to resist the urge to pound her shoulder.

  “Not that!” I admonished, my palm finding her shoulder regardless. If her cackles were any indication, though, I supposed it hadn’t done much damage at all. “Come on, you know it isn’t like that.”

  “It’s whatever you say it is, babe ~ “ She crooned, eliciting a deep sigh from my chest. There was no correcting her when she got like this. I judged it best to just let her believe what she wanted.

  There was a pause as we drank in the atmosphere of the afterschool hallways. Laughter fell softly among the hustle and bustle of my fellow students heading to clubs, making pns to socialize, or on the rare occasion, to study, among other activities.

  Curiously, and perhaps tragically, I found myself in envy of them, being allowed to continue their ordinary, daily lives whilst my own had been helplessly snatched from me.

  After all, what was the point in making pns when each day could be your st? I’d heard that sentiment plenty of times prior, though I suppose the added personal experience added a new facet to my understanding of that school of thought.

  “Anyway, “ Emiko continued after a while, “I guess I’ll be heading to the library.”

  She sighed. If she approached her academics with as much enthusiasm as her appearance, she’d have won a Nobel Prize by now, I mused, though in hindsight, that was likely the jealousy speaking.

  “Hopefully my future husband is waiting there for me!” She sang, her mood having performed a swift U-turn. “God, he has no right being that scrumptious.”

  “Ew,” I excimed, resisting the urge to gag. “Quit fangirling or I just might end myself from the cringe.”

  She chuckled, though not earnestly.

  “You sound just like her.” She remarked, quieter, before bobbing her head over to her right, where a familiar-looking blonde was strutting through the space, paying nobody any mind, as if she were above us all.

  It looked like it was time.

  “Tiger? As if. I bet she pees standing up,” I jabbed, as though we hadn’t fought alongside each other for our very lives a few hours prior. Even so, I owed her nothing – we simply colborated for mutual benefit. Nothing more.

  At this, Emiko released a mean-spirited giggle at our target as she walked by us. If Eiji had noticed, neither her facial expression nor body nguage betrayed that fact.

  “I don’t see why Russy-senpai even spends time around a wild animal like her. If only he’d just open his eyes and look my way, maybe he’d realize what he’s been missing out on all this time.”

  Okay, this was getting gross.

  “Listen,” I interrupted. “I should be getting out of here. Text me ter?”

  “Well, alright.” Emiko responded. “Have fun shopping with your sister.”

  “I will,” I replied, swatting away the guilt rising in my chest. “See you!”

  With that, I was free – or more accurately, free from the frying pan, but now falling into the fire, and I was unsure whether I’d be walking out in one piece.

  I’d only been to the rooftop a select few times since my arrival here. Even less so once I became attached to Nakamura.

  Sometimes he would ask me up there to meet his friends.

  “They’re real cool guys, babe,” He’d reason. “I trust them with everything. They’ve been good to me.”

  Regardless of his arguments, a guy was a guy, and I’d learnt by now how to handle them.

  Rule number one?

  Never ever meet the friends, or even worse, family of a boy you’re not serious about. It’ll only make things that much more awkward down the line.

  Yes, it was ironic that I’d gone and broken the w in that regard myself, though it was completely against my will. If only I hadn’t gone and hurt myself – then maybe I could’ve hid from Furusawa a bit longer.

  My ruminations were interrupted when my vision suddenly when bck. My heart sank.

  “Guess wh-“

  Nakamura’s teasing was interrupted as my right elbow flew behind me, finding its mark.

  “Ooof!” He winced, doubling over and leaning onto the nearby lockers for support.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry!” I gasped. “I thought I was – ah, are you okay?”

  He held a palm up while the other still rubbed and comforted the location I had struck.

  “All…all good.” He forced, though it was clear as day that he was still in pain as he rose back up. “So - I take it you’re not a big fan of surprises, huh?”

  “Sorry.” I repeated, rubbing the back of my neck. “I-I had the strangest dream st night. It’s kind of got me on edge…”

  Ryota raised an eyebrow.

  “Huh, really? Between you and Furusawa, maybe there’s a spirit haauuunting us!” He jeered, wriggling out his fingers childishly. “And it’s coming for you!”

  Before I could question exactly how much Akio had revealed, I felt Ryota’s hands tickling my abdomen, petting my sides, and involuntarily I began to writhe.

  “Wait-wait- no, stop!” I ughed in spite of myself. “Come on, t-that’s enough!”

  After a few seconds, he obliged, and I was released from his torture.

  “You’re silly,” I admitted once I’d caught my breath.

  “Only when it comes to you.” He admitted, looking down right at me.

  In moments like these, when it felt like the whole world belonged to just the two of us, his deep brown eyes gazing into mine, I almost felt bad, wondering exactly when the boredom would hit, when I’d have to go find someone else to alleviate it.

  “Hey, do you wanna…get out of here? Maybe catch a movie at Flickz? I heard they got this new action film that came out yesterday, apparently there’s this one scene where-“

  “Not tonight,” I admitted. “I-I’m meeting my sister on the rooftop, and I don’t to spring this on her too early.”

  His head began to hang low.

  “I mean – why not now? The longer we leave it, the harder it’s gonna get.” He predicted. I made a note to myself to find a less stubborn guy the next time around.

  “I know, I know,” I agreed, my voice taking on the soft, dulcet tone he couldn’t resist. They never could. “Trust me, it will happen. But we can’t rush it, okay? Now just isn’t the best time for it, what with midterms, and her college applications and everything.”

  My hands found his own. I nested one within his palm, whilst the other rested on top, my thumb stroking the top of his hand in gentle circles. I was going in for the kill.

  “Do you trust me?” I asked in a whisper.

  He looked to the side briefly, likely because he’d explode with any eye contact on top of what I was already employing.

  “Yeah,” He confessed. “Yeah, I do.”

  “Thanks.”

  A hug and kiss on the cheek ter, I said my farewells and continued on my path to the rooftop. Game, set, match.

  Or so I thought.

  “Ah, if you catch Akio up there, why not greet him?” Ryota called.

  “He told me he was meeting some people up there too. You know what he looks like, right?”

  I did my best to hide the gritting of my teeth, offering a small smile, nod, and wave, though I felt a fire begin to rise up in my chest.

  This was going to harder than I’d thought.

  The metallic doors to the rooftop opened with a creak, the chill of the evening breeze spping me.

  “Well,” I began, looking around. “Isn’t this quite the turnout?”

  “You’re te,” Reprimanded Hoshino, who was leaned against the chain link fence, the sun turning a mellow orange behind her. “Or were you too busy giggling with your friend?”

  So she had noticed. I smirked.

  “I apologize,” I shrugged, “I know it must be tough to have friends who only reach out to ask for physics notes.”

  Eji looked like she was about to retaliate when a voice that wasn’t her own cut her off.

  “That’s quite enough, both of you.” Commanded my older sibling, who was stood in the middle of our small congregation. “We have enough problems on our hands without your bickering.”

  She turned to me, but her eyes dispyed not even an ounce of warmth.

  “With you here, that makes seven.”

  Huh. All things considered, a better turnout than I’d expected.

  Mizuko gred at her watch.

  “…We’ll have to start without the other three.” She decred, before clearing her throat. Of course she’d prepared some sort of address.

  “As you all know, we are gathered here today to discuss the events of st night.” She began. I took a seat on an empty bench – I had a feeling we were going to be here a while.

  “The fact that you are all here eliminates the possibility that it was just an ordinary nightmare – some way, somehow, we all shared the same dream, and experienced that mysterious realm simultaneously.”

  “Right,” Hoshino contributed. “A part of me still wanted to believe none of that was real. That you guys weren’t real – just part of the dream. But since we’re all here, that can only mean…”

  “Way to repeat what’s already been said.” I thought of saying, but I suppose I had the advantage of having practically been raised by Mizuko – her vocabury was, for all intents and purposes, my second nguage.

  “That everything was real.” Furusawa concluded. His fingers clutched at the chains of the fence as though he’d fall without their support. “And that we’re going to be there again for the next six nights.”

  A tense silence befell the meeting – I suppose it was still a tough pill to swallow.

  “…Well, before anything else, why don’t we properly introduce ourselves?” Mizuko offered, likely sensing the restlessness among our gaggle.

  I resisted the urge to facepalm – if it wasn’t awkward before, it was certainly about to get uncomfortable now.

  “I will go first – My name is Mizuko Shirogetsu, a third year, and Vice-President of our Student Council. I suppose in the ‘game’ I’ll be known as ‘Yuki no Yurei’, in which case you may call me Yuki. Otherwise, in the real world, Shirogetsu is fine.”

  After her own lengthy introduction, she gestured to Hoshino.

  After a long circle of introductions, some more polite than others, I was able to map out the names of my fellow captives quite well, I’d say:

  Mizuko = Yuki no Yurei

  Eiji = Resolution

  Yours Truly = Kumo

  Arthur = Fenrir

  Miharu = Red

  Liu = The Twisted

  Akio = Soce

  Furthermore, I remember the names appearing in distinct pairs. If my self-produced glossary is to be trusted, Hoshino was paired with Furusawa, and I was paired with Cunningham, but what exactly did that mean?

  “Now…” Spoke Mizuko, satisfied with introductions. “With that done, I suppose we should begin to discuss how exactly we pn to survive this ordeal.”

  ‘Survive’.

  That word was all it took to set wheels in motion that we couldn’t possibly have been aware of at the time, but would regardless come to haunt us for the rest of our days.