Chapter 21

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離れる
Leave

-x-

"痛い!(Ouch!)" Tooru was helping me stretch when we got home. Shiro and Suzuki are staying at Yui's house over the weekend. Shiro declared that we needed to get our minds off of our problems. But seriously, she's the only one who had them. On the way home, I complained to Tooru how painful my body felt, and that's how we ended up on the floor, with Tooru pressing on my back.

I let out a loud moan of pain as he stretched my body. It wasn't painful because he was overdoing it, so it made me wonder how sore my body got just by playing one game of volleyball. It made me realize how inactive my lifestyle is.

"夕暉ちゃん、大丈夫か?(Sekki-chan, are you okay?)" his mom knocked by the door.

Tooru answered for me, "はいママ!(Yes, mama!)" He showed me a smile, then carried me like a princess to his bed. He laid me down, then sat on the edge.

His mouth opened to say something, but was cut off by the ring of his phone. "何だ?(What?)" he asked annoyingly. The response was inaudible, but Tooru flinched slightly. He put the phone away from his ear and tapped quickly in his phone. The irises of his eyes widened at his screen. Putting his phone back to his ear, he muttered something quick under his breath and ended the call instantly.

"問題か?(Is there a problem?)" I asked.

Tooru joined me in bed, wrapping the blanket around us. He hugged me tight then whispered, "何もないだ (It's nothing.)" He says that... but his reaction earlier told suggested otherwise. It bothered me the whole night. I even had a bad dream about it.

--

The girls and I planned to meet at the mall. Tooru had decided to send me there. He requested to accompany me the whole time, so I had to spend the whole time preparing in the morning, lecturing him and explaining why he shouldn't.

-- ① --

白布健二郎
重要な何かを言う必要が有る

Shirabu Kenjiro
I need to tell you something important

-- ② --

日野歩美
内さん、今何処ですか?

Hino Ayumi
Uchi-san, where are you now?

------

Tooru didn't bother reading them. Nonetheless, I felt the need to reply fast, so that he won't pry into my private talks with people. I told Shirabu to call me when he can. Meanwhile, I told Hino that I'm near already.

We held hands as we walked towards the mall entrance. A certain thought's been bothering me. Tooru was feeling uneasy, ever since last night.

"じゃあ、楽しめぜ (Well then, have fun.)" He gave me a kiss on the cheek and stayed behind, while I continued to walk into the mall. Somehow, it felt uncomfortable leaving him.

My mind was filled with concerned thoughts as I walked around aimlessly. I'm sure I was trying to find the shop where we would meet, but I was too preoccupied to look for it properly. The amount of self-inflicted stress overwhelmed me. It got me dizzy, making my vision blurry.

Before I fell into the darkness, a familiar gentle voice echoed in my ear, "夕暉!(Sekki!)"

--

Fluttering my eyelids, the first thing that came to my sight was a worried Yui, Hino, then Suzuki and Shiro. We were inside the mall infirmary. Suzuki explained that I fainted, then was brought here by them. Amongst all of them, Hino looked the most worried.

A phone ring interrupted our serious talk. It came from Hino's bag. The name she mentioned when she answered it caught me by surprise. "白布さん!(Shirabu-san!)" She hummed a determined yes before abruptly shoving her phone in front of me.

I awkwardly took hold of it and placed it on my ear. "夕暉、聞こえるか?(Sekki, can you hear me?)" He checked.

"そう。何があったの?(Yeah. What's up?)"

"君が危険にさらされてだ (You're in danger.)" Worry was evident in his tone, but it didn't make sense. "他の人は君と及川さんが付き合ってると思いだから (People think you and Oikawa-san are dating.)"

The statement flipped a switch in me, but my consciousness decided to play stupid. "それが問題か?(Is that a problem?)" Of course it's a problem..

Students can be.. scary.

At this age where change hits us like a firehose, it's hard to adjust into adulthood. It's at this age where our hormones race, our emotions go on a rampage, our self-awareness is put to test. Many pass, many fail. Our future is determined by how we act at this age. Nonetheless, many people at our age, has let rage consume them. And when you're targeted, you're good as dead.

We spent about five minutes with just me talking to Shirabu while still sitting up on the infirmary bed. He was hard to convince that I can handle myself just fine. Because, like Tooru, he was uneasy and bothered by a certain thought.

Since the girls overheard our conversation through the high-quality speaker of Hino's phone, all of them got worried too. This hang out to help Shiro cool off from Kuroo ended up to be like this.

Shirabu explained how bad the situation was already. Last night, it was just rumors, but today, pictures of us were released. I'm sure our parents have no problem in finding out that we're finally dating, but others will. I could already hear their voices in my head calling me a two-faced bitch for acting as if I don't care about Tooru and all. What's scary is that there are some gangsters in our school. The level of danger is absolutely, without a doubt, high.

While window-shopping, Suzuki walked beside me and spoke, "多分君は彼を離れるべきです (Maybe you should leave him.)" Her statement petrified me. That thought never crossed my mind. I stopped my tracks, and so did she as she faced me. The rest took notice of this and stopped as well to observe us. "彼と一緒にいるは危険なら、離れても大丈夫 (Being with him is dangerous. Leaving him will be okay.)"

"鈴木何が言って。。(Suzuki, what are you saying..)"

The seriousness on her face was almost stoic, yet it stirred my emotions up so bad. She has a damn self-explainable point. But.. I don't think my situation is that bad for the need to do that, right?

I can't leave Tooru.

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