Chapter 12: The Road to Nowhere

I am at the bus, my bag slung over my shoulder. I'm exhausted, but at least I'm not in agonizing pain from a bo staff. Small victories.

My friends, Ken and Taka, are already there, waving me over.

"Shoujo! You're actually on time for something!" Taka yells, way too loud for this early in the morning.

"Shut up," I grunt, collapsing into the seat next to him.

The bus is packed. The air is buzzing with the sounds of excited high school kids. Everyone is treating this like a vacation, not manual labor.

Then, she gets on.

The whole bus goes quiet.

Ayako Katsumi, in her school uniform, clipboard in hand. She's the image of pure, perfect student leadership.

"Good morning, everyone," she says, her voice clear and carrying over the bus. "Please find your seats. We are doing a final headcount."

She scans the bus, her eyes methodical. They pass right over me, not a flicker of recognition. She's in full-on Kaichou mode.

"Ayako-sama! You look beautiful today!" some guy from 1-C yells from the back.

Ayako just marks something on her clipboard. "Thank you for your enthusiasm, Suzuki-kun. Please save it for the village weed-pulling."

The bus erupts in laughter. She's got them all wrapped around her little finger.

She takes the front-row seat, right next to the teacher, Tanaka-sensei, and they start going over paperwork.

The bus lurches to life, and we pull out of the school gates.

"Man, she's amazing," Taka sighs, gazing at the back of her head. "She's so... perfect. How can one person be that perfect?"

I just grunt, staring out the window. "You have no idea."

"What, you still salty she sits next to you? Dude, you're the luckiest guy in the world!"

"Yeah," I mutter. "Lucky."

The bus ride is long. Like, really long.

We leave the city, the grey buildings giving way to green suburbs, and then to rolling countryside. Two hours in, we're on winding mountain roads, surrounded by nothing but dense forest.

"Where is this place?" Ken asks, looking a little green from the winding road. "Akiyama Village? I've never even heard of it."

"It's some tiny place up in the mountains," I say, my eyes scanning the trees. "Supposedly super remote."

"Great. No cell service, I bet."

I pull out my phone. He's right. Zero bars.

I look at Ayako. She's just... reading a book. A thick, hardback book. She's perfectly still, completely unaffected by the bumpy, twisting road. How does she do that?

I close my eyes, trying to get some sleep. I drift off, my head leaning against the vibrating window...

I'm in the dojo. The bo staff is coming at my head. I try to block, but my arms are slow. I'm stuck in that stupid horse stance. WHACK! The staff hits my ribs, and the pain is real. "Your foundation is weak!" she's yelling. I try to punch, but my fist is slow, like I'm underwater. "Inefficient!" The staff comes at me again...

"Dude. Shoujo. Wake up."

I snap awake, my heart pounding. Taka is shaking my shoulder. "We're here, man. Chill."

I'm breathing hard. I look out the window.

We're in the middle of... nothing.

The "village" is... tiny. Maybe twenty or thirty old wooden houses huddled in a small valley. It's surrounded by thick, dark woods and rice paddies. It's... quiet. Like, creepy quiet.

The bus stops, and Ayako stands up.

"Welcome to Akiyama Village, everyone," she announces. "Please gather your things and exit in an orderly fashion. We will be meeting with the village elder at the community hall."

We all pile off the bus, stretching our legs. The air is fresh and clean, but it's cold.

A few old people, the "villagers," are standing there, bowing politely.

"Thank you, thank you for coming!" an old man, probably the elder, says. "We are so grateful for the help!"

"It is our honor to be here," Ayako says, bowing perfectly. She's the perfect, respectful student.

I look around. This place... it feels off. It's too quiet.

And then I see them.

Leaning against the side of an old, rusted-out shed.

Three guys. They're not old. They're maybe in their late teens, early twenties. They're not wearing school uniforms. They're in dirty jeans and ripped t-shirts. They're smoking, and they're staring.

They're staring at the girls from our school.

One of them, a big guy with a shaved head, nudges his friend and says something. They all laugh.

They're not villagers. They're... something else.

Bullies.

My body tenses up. My fist clenches, my knuckles already aching from Ayako's "training."

I look at Ayako.

She's seen them.

Her face hasn't changed. She's still smiling politely at the village elder.

But her eyes...

Her eyes are like ice.