Vol.3 Ch.6: ... and Tanabe's Will ②

It was now the morning of Friday, June 16th. It was the busy time of morning when many students were making their way out of the dorm, all heading off to school. The light of the morning sun beamed in through the front entryway’s glass doors as the various students walked through the main hall and left the building. However, among these students who were all in motion, one stood still by a wall, off to the side of the front entrance: it was Tanabe Murakami.

“Still no sign of her…”

Tanabe had decided to try and meet up with Yuko in the entryway so the two could walk to school together afterwards. However, he’d been standing there for a while and there was no sign of her.

Maybe she’d already left earlier this morning…

Tanabe sighed as he started to feel as though he was wasting his time.

“Murakami! Good luck tomorrow!”

“We’re rooting for you, Senpai!”

“Ah, thank you very much.” Tanabe waved at the passing underclassman with a slightly awkward smile.

With everything else on his mind, Tanabe felt a bit guilty that he wasn’t really thinking much about the tournament at all anymore. Still, he was determined to do his best.

Maybe I should just put all this other stuff aside until after the tournament, but still…

Tanabe clenched his fist, trying to focus his determination.

I want to at least make sure Maeda’s doing alright…

With that thought in mind, Tanabe lifted up his bag and started to move towards the center of the hall, preparing to blend in with the river of students all leaving the dorm, when suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Maed- ah…?” Tanabe trailed off, feeling just a bit hopeful it was Yuko getting his attention, only to be greeted by the sight of a random male student. “Sorry, may I help you?”

“You’re in the kendo team, right?” the student asked.

“Yeah, I am.” Tanabe tilted his head, a bit confused.

“Do you know the names of the west district students you’ll be competing against tomorrow?”

“Ah, sorry, I don’t. We should be getting that information today, though…” Tanabe took a moment to think, caught off guard by the sudden question. “I think we’re expecting one of those good second-years from last year to show up as captain this year… What were their names again…?”

“If you don’t know, then don’t worry about it! Bye!” the student cut off the conversation abruptly, before quickly jogging out of the main hall.

“Okay then…” Tanabe muttered, realizing the student was already too far away to hear him. “Who the heck was that anyway? I think he’s from the class next door…”

Tanabe began walking alongside the other students and exited the dorms as he gave some thought to the strange student.

“Yeah, that guy... His name was… Seki, I think?”

It was such a brief encounter that in the end Tanabe didn’t really think much of it. By the time he started walking the road to the school, he’d already put it out of his mind.

---

“Hey President, have you gotten to speak with Maeda at all lately?”

It was now lunchtime, a bit past noon, and classes were on break for the students to go and eat. Tanabe had already gone to the first-year classrooms to try and find Yuko, but sure enough she must’ve slipped away somewhere. After checking the cafeteria and some other spots around the school to no avail, he ended up coming to the student council office instead. Now, he and Kanna stood in the room together and talked.

“I am afraid not…” Kanna sighed. “I tried to approach her early this morning when she arrived to school, but she appeared to be in a hurry and left quickly.”

So she did leave early, after all…

Tanabe had a feeling already, but now he was sure that Yuko wanted to be alone.

“Seems like she’s really avoiding us both, huh?” Tanabe said with a wry smile.

“I suppose so…” Kanna spoke with a tense expression.

“As the other person who took care of Eli along with her, I’m probably in the position to understand her most, and yet…” Tanabe spoke as he approached the window. “I don’t know… It’s not like the truth about Eli didn’t come as a shock, but…”

“For you, the shock of everything else you discovered that night overshadowed any confusion over the girl, I imagine.” Kanna theorized.

“… You may be right.” Tanabe nodded. “I think one of my biggest takeaways from that night was… ‘Wow, I didn’t really know much about Maeda at all, huh?’”

“Right…” Kanna looked down.

“When she attacked you, she looked like a completely different person.” Tanabe recalled. “Well, based on how you explained it, I guess she basically was. But even putting that aside, this whole situation… with the magic, and other worlds and whatnot… I couldn’t help but be in awe of her. Like, wow, she was keeping all this bottled up inside?”

“Correct… it all started back in April, when I made a vital mistake at Yuko Maeda’s expense, and was deceived by someone I trusted…” Kanna reminisced melancholically.

Kanna then proceeded to explain everything to Tanabe.

She explained everything about the incident with the missing students, her initial suspicions of Yuko and the discovery of her alter ego, the revelation of Kanna’s partner Taniguchi being the one behind everything. Basically everything about the initial incident that resulted in Yuko being wrapped up in the matters of Alviquan.

“I see… So that’s what was going on back then.” Tanabe gave a thoughtful nod.

“Indeed. Even now, the matter of what this ‘Guardian’ within Yuko truly is remains a mystery. Such a being clearly has ties to Alviquan since its presence within her is what allows her to use the magic of our world. Bizarrely, she seems to hold two attributes; both fire and dark magic.”

“What I saw the other night was the dark magic, then?” Tanabe asked.

“Correct.” nodded Kanna. “Dark magic has gravity manipulation properties. The application was unique, but she was inverting the gravity in the space around her fingers to make a sort of ‘claw’… I had never seen anything quite like it.”

“Unreal…” Tanabe muttered, in awe. “It really does sound like some kind of TV show or game, but I can’t deny what I’ve seen with my own eyes, after all…”

“I have worked hard to keep these matters a secret from the students here…” Kanna lowered her head. “Though recently, I feel as if I have done nothing but fail and cause trouble…”

Tanabe watched quietly. Kanna was never the type of person to show much emotion. She was always stern and straightforward, always with the same serious expression. Among a fair bit of the student body, student council president Kanna Kawagoe could come off as a rather scary person. Tanabe himself never personally had such an impression, since he could always tell how hard Kanna worked to present herself with the authority expected of her title.

But that’s why he was able to notice, even though she wasn’t expressing it much on the outside… Even Kanna was hurting.

That said, Tanabe had no way of knowing the true weight of the loneliness and pressure Kanna carried. The loneliness of spending years of your life living in a foreign world… the pressure to keep things secret and maintain the peace. Nor could he understand how it felt for Kanna to keep being confronted by these incidents that only served to disrupt the peace she worked hard to maintain.

Despite this, there was one thing Tanabe could do…

“Don’t worry, I won’t let things end like this.”

“Hm…?” Kanna lifted her head, facing Tanabe.

“I can tell you’re struggling. Maeda is too. But this isn’t over yet, so don’t give up hope.” Tanabe gave Kanna a pat on the shoulder. “I’ll talk to Maeda, and together I know we can get through to Eli. We will find her again!”

“… Your sentiment feels so naïve, but… I thank you.” Kanna composed herself and gave a small smile.

“On that topic, I patrolled the district last night, but did not find any sign of the vampire girl anywhere.” Kanna reported.

“I gotcha… Thanks for taking the time to look, anyway.” Tanabe smiled.

“It is my responsibility, I require no thanks.” Kanna gazed out of the window, watching the various students going to and fro, many with food in hand.

“I know your perspective on this whole thing is different from how Yuko and I feel.” Tanabe acknowledged. “But I still stand by the idea that we can get through to Eli. Regardless of who she used to be, or who she is now, I know the time we spent together mattered.”

“I will allow you to try. But should it come down to it…” Kanna turned to face Tanabe. “Even if I shall earn your hatred, I will protect both you and Yuko Maeda from that vampire.”

Despite being a veiled declaration of an intent to kill, Tanabe could only nod silently as her understood Kanna’s position. He realized that if he wanted the happy ending Yuko dreamed of, he and Yuko together would have to force such a compromise out of Eli. Rather, from Elisia, the vampire.

---

The rest of the day passed as usual. Classes ended, and Tanabe found himself attending his final practice session with the kendo team before the weekend’s tournament.

“Okay everyone, we’ve finally made it. Tomorrow’s the big day.” Ishiya, the team’s captain, stood in front of the rest of the team and glanced around the room before giving a confident nod. “I think each and every one of you has worked hard. We’ll definitely give the west district a run for their money this year!”

Various members of the team applauded in response to his statement.

“But never forget, kendo is about spirit! Always respect your opponent! Do not get overconfident!” the captain sternly declared.

In response, all of the team members stood up straight and serious.

“Now then, I have these handouts for each of you. It contains everything you need to know, from where to meet tomorrow morning, down to the finalized opposing team.” captain Ishiya explained.

“Thank you.” Tanabe nodded as he took one of the handouts being passed out.

Let’s see… I was curious who would be on the west district’s team this year. I’m willing to bet that skilled second-year from last year is their captain now. Hmm…

Tanabe carefully perused the handout, paying particular attention to the names of the students on the opposing team.

Hm…? Hiroyuki Takata? Kureha Wakabayashi? I don’t recognize these names at all… Were any of these people on their team last year?

“Captain!” one of the other second-year members called out. “What’s this about? None of these guys were on the team last year, right?”

As Tanabe had expected, plenty of other members of the team were feeling the same way, so he wasn’t surprised to hear the question broached so quickly.

“Yes, I don’t quite understand what they’re thinking either…” frowned captain Ishiya. “I’ve never seen such a large shake-up to their high school team’s composition before. Even if new members join, it’s odd to see their whole main team swapped out like this…”

“Wait, captain! I actually recognize some names on their middle school team!” one of the first-year team members spoke up.

“Ah, yes I was meaning to ask about that! Do any of the first-years who played on the middle school team have any information to share on their players?” Ishiya began to guide the discussion. “We may not be playing them, but feel free to share whatever you’d like.”

How odd… The middle school team is normal, but the entire high school team was swapped out? But what for?

Tanabe stared down at the sheet with a troubled expression.

The Inter-District Kendo Tournament was an event involving both the middle and high school kendo teams from both the east and west districts. Skilled kendo players usually got their start in middle school, and continued on into high school. So when it came to analyzing the opposing team for this competition, input from first-year students who’d already been playing kendo would help gauge the skill level of new first-year opponents who’d done the same and continued playing kendo into high school.

However, the actual focal point of these discussions would tend to focus around the opposing team’s captain and star player, who would usually be second or third year students, meaning that older members of the team who were already in high school would be familiar with them from prior year’s tournaments.

These kinds of discussions before the competition were somewhat of a tradition, but the bizarre circumstance of the west district’s new high school team being completely unfamiliar kind of threw a wrench into the whole thing. A bit unsure of what to do, Ishiya ended up letting the first-years talk about some of the opponents on the opposing middle school team, despite that team not really being of much concern for the high school team.

“Jeez, everything seems to be getting weird these days.” Tanabe lightly chuckled to himself as he moved to put the handout away in his bag.

Eventually the conversation began to wind down and the members of the kendo team got in some last-minute sparring. Before long, the sun dipped below the horizon and it was time for the team’s final practice session to disperse.

“Well, we’ve worked hard to prepare over the past month, and I’m sure some of you are exhausted! This week especially, considering we’d held practice every day. So please spend your evening relaxing and make sure to come well-rested for tomorrow.” captain Ishiya was giving his parting words.

“As we’ve discussed, our team for the main competition will consist of Murakami, Mori, Okuno, and myself. Everyone else will lead the usual kendo demonstration and exhibition matches in the morning.”

Ishiya continued reviewing the plans for the event while various team members all nodded along. Once he was done, he finished with one last farewell.

“With that, have a good evening everyone. Dismissed!”

All of the members of the kendo team finished putting away their equipment and gathering their belongings before leaving the dojo and heading back to the dorms. As they left the school grounds, a few fans of the kendo team who stood waiting by the front gate began to wish everyone the best of luck for the tournament as they all approached.

“You can do it!”

“We’ll be rooting for you!”

“Kyaaa~!”

Tanabe in particular got some heartfelt squeeing out of the small crowd as he passed by, giving his signature polite smile and wave.

However, while the other team members all headed in the direction of the dorm after leaving the school, Tanabe alone turned to head in a different direction.

Yuko should have a shift at the café today, which means she’s probably going to be wrapping up her work soon…

With his mind still firmly set on Yuko, Tanabe made his way to the café. Beneath the starry night sky, the boy could only hope that he would find her there.

---

The sound of a small bell rang out. It was the little bell atop the corner of the front door to the café where Yuko and Tanabe worked, usually meant to draw attention to any customers entering the building. But in this instance, it was instead due to someone leaving. Yuko Maeda stepped out of the café, having finished her shift, and stopped upon seeing who stood there waiting for her.

“Murakami… it’s you.” Yuko spoke quietly, before lowering her head.

“Sorry…” Tanabe Murakami spoke gently. “I know you probably wanted more time to yourself, but…”

“It’s okay.” Yuko shook her head. “I should be the one apologizing for staying so distant yesterday…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Tanabe gave a soft smile. “Let’s go sit down.”

Tanabe used this thumb to point at a nearby bench beneath a streetlight, and the two made their way over and took a seat.

Side by side, the two sat together on the bench in the dark, starlit night. The orange-ish hue of the streetlight shined down on them almost like a spotlight.

“They’re loud… The cicadas.” Tanabe noted, glancing up at the trees.

It was summer, after all. It was the season where insects would always be making a loud racket every evening.

“Yeah…” Yuko spoke, her mouth becoming a small wry smile.

The two continued to sit in silence for just a bit longer, until Yuko began to speak up once again.

“Did Kanna tell you?” Yuko asked. “About, well… everything that’s happened?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Tanabe confirmed. “It was a lot to take in. Honestly, I’m surprised my cheerful coworker actually had all this unreal stuff going on in secret, haha.”

“It really does feel unreal, doesn’t it?” Yuko gave a light chuckle. “But there’ve been many times now when I’ve had to accept that reality is much stranger than I once thought…”

Tanabe nodded silently as he waited for Yuko to continue.

“Eli… It didn’t take long for me to realize something was off. Especially when we found there were no records of anyone missing. She truly was a girl who appeared out of nowhere.”

“Right…” Tanabe nodded.

“But still, she never came across as anyone dangerous to me. Rather, I never wanted to consider that in the first place. Because, well… we found her together.” Yuko lowered her head.

“It’s… because I was there?” Tanabe asked.

“Mhm…” Yuko nodded. “I went on that trip to Central a few weeks ago, remember? Some stuff happened there, but basically it got me thinking about the meaning of family.”

“Family… yeah.” Tanabe glanced up at the sky. “It’s a word in the dictionary. But for us, the students of this academy, it’s so… foreign.”

“You’d see them in those old TV shows, or written about in books, right?” Yuko asked. “Those families, who all live together in one home, eating dinner together, and having a routine all together. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters… I’m sure that image has fascinated all of us at least a little at some point.”

“Yeah…” Tanabe could understand where she was going with this.

“For that one fleeting moment, it felt like that’s what the three of us had…” Yuko smiled at the stars sparkling in the sky. Their light reflected in her eyes. “We were almost like… a family. Eli said it herself, we were a familia.”

Tanabe nodded with a smile.

“That’s why it hurt so much…” Yuko continued. “To have that illusion shattered in such a cruel way. Even if I knew it couldn’t last, the way things ended… was just too cruel.”

With tears starting to form in her eyes, Yuko turned to Tanabe.

“Was Eli… even real?”

“Real, you say…” Tanabe responded.

“I think… of course she was real.” Tanabe slowly rose from his seat and stood up. “Even if the real Eli is this vampire ‘Elisia’, I think she still carries that time we experienced together within her. Even if Eli wasn’t actually ‘her’, I don’t think ‘Eli’ was a lie either.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that…” Yuko gave a small smile. “Honestly, being reassured of that actually scared me a bit. Because then, I’d have hope… And if I have hope, that means I’m open to being disappointed again. So I ran away from that hope, no matter how much I wanted to cling to it.”

Yuko stood up front the bench as well, and placed a hand on the streetlight.

“But no matter how much I told myself yesterday that I had to move on and forget about Eli… I didn’t want to. I don’t want to forget that brief happiness we shared.”

Bring her palm to her chest, Yuko turned to face Tanabe, a look of determination on her face.

“So I won’t run from Elisia anymore. I want to find her, and talk to her! I want to learn everything about who she really is, and prove that the Eli we cared for is still a part of her!”

“Yeah, I agree! Wholeheartedly!” Tanabe grinned, happy to see that Yuko had arrived at the same conclusion as he did.

Deep inside, he was relieved. The ‘Yuko Maeda’ that Tanabe most wanted to see was still here: The girl with a bright smile and earnest determination. When Tanabe looked at Yuko in this moment, he could only see her as dazzling. To him, she was a true shining star.

“Maeda… if it’s okay with you, could I call you Yuko from now on?” Tanabe asked abruptly.

“H-huh? That’s pretty sudden!” Yuko’s face was tinged a bit red in embarrassment, taken aback by the sudden question. “B-but… Sure. Then… should I call you Tanabe?”

“Of course, that’d make me happy, Yuko!” Tanabe smiled.

“Right! W-well then, let’s do our best to find Eli together, Tanabe!” Yuko gave an awkward smile before reaching her hand out.

Then, Yuko and Tanabe shook hands.

With their palms entwined, the pair had renewed their will to work together once again for the sake of Eli. Rather, this time, for the sake of Elisia. The two had firmly decided that they weren’t ready to let things end as they were.

“Oh yeah!” Tanabe suddenly remembered something, and began rummaging through his bag.

“Hm?” Yuko peeked over, curious.

“Here, take this.” Tanabe presented a copy of the handout he’d received earlier for the kendo tournament. “This should have the whole schedule for tomorrow’s competition. Feel free to come by and watch if you’d like! And if you need me for anything, this should help you figure out where I’ll be.”

“Oh, I was definitely going to come watch either way!” Yuko gave a wry smile as she accepted the handout and started glancing it over.

But then, she noticed something unexpected.

“Wait, huh…?” Yuko blinked.

“What is it?” Tanabe asked, confused.

“This name here…” Yuko pointed at the list of names of members of the opposing team from the west district.

“Oh? Yeah, it is a little bizarre of a team line up. I don’t think any of those people were part of last year’s team.” Tanabe answered, thinking that was the oddity Yuko was pointing out.

“No, it’s not that… it’s just…” Yuko moved her finger to point at a specific name on the list.

“I… I know her!” Yuko revealed.

There on the list, was the name Aoi Kosugi.

As she stood beneath the warm streetlight that illuminated the dark night, Yuko suddenly found herself realizing that an unexpected reunion was soon to occur.

At that time, Yuko couldn’t begin to imagine why the name of her childhood friend from her days in Central appeared on the list of students coming in for a kendo competition.

Unbeknownst to her, the true tale of the mysterious vampire girl Elisia… had only just begun.

[Chapter 6 END]