|The pretext of debt

“Okay. I’m fine with that.”

She dropped the book on the table they occupied and sat on the chair in front of him.No form of anger could be sensed from the way she spoke or looked.

“Just make sure it doesn’t affect our project.”

---No reaction. Well, it’s not like I was looking for one.It was unexpected but I appreciate it.

“Got it.”

“Okay, now that’s settled…Let’s get back to the topic of discussion.”

The plan was very simple. For an effective presentation, they needed effective time management,a solid work schedule and a solid distribution among all members.

“So it’s set. We meet here three times a week and give regular updates based on the work we’ve been given.Tenkawa couldn’t make it but we just have to tell him later.”

“Six times, huh?”

“If you have a problem with it we can make it 4 times instead.”

“I still have an issue with the roles.”

“Forget that for now. We wait to hear his opinion.”

---although I hate him, he’s still a member of this team. It is still not complete yet.

Meawhile. In his room,Nire sat on his bed, fully immersed in the game of chess he was playing, though it seemed like his loss was inevitable. He ended the match as soon as he saw no hope of victory. This wasn’t his forte but it always cleared his mind. However, the one thing he used to eliminate unwanted thoughts was having the opposite effect.

“What a pain… I hate all of them.Why did they merge Wendy and I with that guy?? He absolutely pisses me off.”

He heard a knock on his door. He laid down and stared at the ceiling before making his decision.

“Come in.”

“Oh you’re busy. Sorry to bother you.”

“You are more assertive than that. Stop acting weird. It’s creepy. I’m already dealing with all this and now with you like this, I might commit suicide.”

“Don’t say things like that.”

“Relax, I’m just joking.”

“Even if…”

“Ugh, it seems like you’re back?”

“Jeez, I never left. So…… you’ve forgiven me?”

“I guess,but….Hey what are you doing????Let go.”

She hugged him tightly, maybe a little too tight. Nire felt like he was being crushed instead of the warmth she imagined she was giving.

“I hardly do this but Wendy did it to me the other day and I calmed down so I figured it might work on my kid brother.I’m sorry.I mean it. I was being selfish and I claimed to consider your feelings but my actions were a contradiction.”

He struggled to get her off him and stopped to catch his breath.

“That was definitely not what a hug should feel like. Anyway,is it…Just now. You’re realizing that?”

He pointed to his chair and she sat on it without asking a single question.

“I’ve always been telling you from the start but you never listened..never..You act like it’s fine for you to do all that because it’s ‘what I want’ but it’s not…You need to listen more..You need to listen to people more.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Quit saying that.. What is done is done.. She…rejected me..”

“I’m so..”

“If you say that again..”

“Oops..”

She covered her mouth. He then hugged her but this time it was a soft one.

“I wasn’t ready for it yet…getting hurt is not new to me but then who in their right mind wants to experience more of it?? I just went in because my stupid sister told me to.”

“I’m never going to stop helping you out, Nire.”

“Did you listen to a single word I just said??”

“Yeah I did…I messed up there and I acknowledge that..But from now on..I’m not going to force you to do anything.I promise…I know it still hurts but please try not to distance yourself from her because of this..Cry if you have to.. I’m here for you.”

“How kind of you..”

He grabbed her tightly as the tears slowly rolled down from the corner of his nose to his cheeks and spread round his face.

“You’re still a terrible sister..”

“I know…”

“You made your kid brother cry.”

“I think that one’s on you.”

“This is so uncool. Why the hell am I crying because of a girl?? It’s been so long since I’ve cried. Maybe you’re right. This is not so bad.”

“I know, right?”

Shirou was on his study table, in the middle of research when his sister came barging in like usual.

“Dinner is ready.. I made your favourite.”

“You forgot to knock.”

“Since when have I ever knocked?”

“Good point..You only knock when you feel like.”

“You know me so well.”

“Also..”

“Huh?”

“Sorry about the other day. I took out my anger on you for no justifiable reason. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be..It’s fine.. Wanna talk about it?”

“I would love to but.. I still have a lot of work left.”

---I want to be left alone right now.

“Oh.. All right.”

He glanced at his phone that vibrated and nearly fell off the table. He picked it up and saw a couple of messages that he left unread.

---Good grief.

The next day,he arrived at school earlier than he had ever been.Of course, this was not something he was proud of.Rosario sipped his coffee slowly while examining the boy in front of him.

“So what you’re telling me is that you falsely accused Akate,Itsuda and Aki of bullying you.”

“Yes.”

“I knew that from the moment I woke up awkwardly on the ground that today was going to be full of unusual stuff but this???Look..The case has been resolved and what you’re saying isn’t making much sense.”

“But it’s the truth, all the evidence were put in place by me so that they could pay for making fun of me in class. I threatened the weakest one to confessing and manipulated the student council president in the process.Till now, he probably doesn’t know that.”

Rosario rubbed his eyes and folded his arms in disapproval

“This is so absurd.How do you expect me to believe all this?”

“The perpetrator of a crime is coming out to confess. What is there not to believe?”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but you have a point.So you are taking back the accusation made by Nagasime on your behalf??”

“Yes.”

“You do know that for falsely accusing these students and the use of threats, you and the Student council president will receive similar punishment, right?”

---It’s good that he didn’t include Misaka. There’s no way I can manipulate her.

“I don’t mind but please leave Nagasime out of this. After all, I manipulated him too so he’s also a victim depending on how you look at it..”

“This is quite amusing if you ask me. But before I say more, are you being forced to do this? That’s more likely than anything you’ve said so far.”

“No.. I came here of my own accord.”

“Then what’s your reason?”

“I need to repay a debt.”

“A debt, huh? It seems going back and forth with you when you’re this determined will be useless. All right.. I’ll inform the parents of the students under suspension and your parents too. About your punishment. You receive a 3 weeks suspension for your actions..”

“I can with live with that..”

“It could be up to a month but I will a be a little lenient.”

“Good.”

He walked out of his office and out of the school premises too.

---Finally.. I can just stay home and get some shut-eye.

He took a deep breath and kept moving.The thought of his mother still being home and his debt finally being repaid clashed.

---Perhaps I should spend some time at the park and wait till the time my Mum heads for work. I also need to get something for Yuuki for agreeing to come to school this early. Hatsune took attendance and saw the seat beside Wendy empty.

“Does anyone know where Yato is??”

She found her answer in the unconcerned silence that represented the whole class.

“How strange. Well, let’s get started.”

Some looked at each other while others carried on without paying any attention whatsoever. In the eyes of the majority, Shirou was an outsider and a ghost so whatever happened to him didn’t matter.

In the cafeteria, Lucas picked a seat close to Misaka. She was already seated with Wendy so the only one missing was Harry but they paid him no mind.

“So do you have any idea what’s going on??”

“No idea..He didn’t pick any of my calls..”

“Hmm..”

She turned to Wendy who had a couple of question marks shown from her expression.

“You’re awfully quiet..Know anything??”

“I don’t.”

“I’m going to take that as a yes.”

“Strange. Wait a minute, why are we even eating together??”

“I don’t know. Don’t tell me you don’t like it?”

“That’s not the issue here. Anyway, it will probably be better to leave him alone.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s what he wants.”

“So you do know something…”

Due to the scarf he tied around his face, he wasn’t easily recognizable. He was in the middle of the park and watched as all sorts of people walked past him as he sat on a bench nearby. He enjoyed this feeling of invisibility. If possible, he would have erased his presence completely and just remain as what he called “an unobserved observer”.

---Sitting here is more relaxing than I thought.

A little girl dropped a piece of bread on the ground as she walked away and in a couple of seconds, a bird landed on the ground and examined it. She was probably planning on using it to feed the birds.More seconds passed and the number of birds slowly increased one by one to the point where he gave up on counting. The scenery right in front of him was indeed beautiful. He decided to take a photo as a form of remembrance.

The scenery that would have normally been mundane as most things in his life were but for some reason this was different.It was one of the few things that had colour in his monochromatic world.

---This picture is amazing. Perhaps I’ll take some more.

He stood up and walked around the park, taking pictures of different objects, things and nature as a whole. The only thing he refused to take were people because that would have been rather problematic if misinterpreted. Whatever nature was going to give to him, he was ready to take it in whole heartedly with his weapon which was his smartphone camera and today, he was trigger-happy.

At Akate high, Yuuki stood at the entrance patiently waiting for her brother to arrive. Once again, she tried calling him but he was unreachable.

“Ughh stupid big brother..He keeps me waiting all the time.”

She spotted Misaka and Lucas walking up to her.

“Hey.”

“Oh..Akate-senpai..”

“I told you to call me Misaka.”

“Oops.”

“Are you sure she’s Shirou’s sister??”

“Yeah.. You’re probably screaming “so cute” in your mind, right?”

“You’re good…..Hi my name is Nagasime Lucas. I’m a fellow classmate of Shirou.”

--If that’s the case, why does he call big brother “Shirou”??

“Nice to meet you. So, is there anything I can help you with?”

“We just wanted to find out if you heard from him today?”

“Well, no. We got to school really early today.I haven’t seen him since then.”

“Shirou was absent today.”

“That’s impossible.”

“We’re telling you the truth.”

“I’ve been trying to call him but he isn’t picking up.”

“Same with us.”

“That’s strange.”

She rubbed the back of her head with a nervous smile that when cracked open, could be seen as anger.

“There he goes again, making me worry.”

“What do we do??”

“I would have said we should look for him but in this case we’ll be clutching at straws.”

“We shouldn’t look for him?”

“Yeah, that’s the most logical choice.”

--I’m still going to look for him, though. Will I be able to track him with that?

“Can we come with you?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, you’re still going to search for him regardless, right?”

“I guess you can say that. But, you don’t have to worry. I want to do it because I’m worried.”

“What makes you think I’m not worried,too?”

“Umm…That’s fine, then.”

--I won’t be able to do anything with the two of them around. Anyway, after a while, it will be better to head home and make them leave from there.The look on her face. It’s brimming with nothing but sincerity. So I should assume they have no bad motives?

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Meanwhile Shirou walked out of the manga cafe he spent the rest of his time in. He yawned as he took out the iced tea he got from a vending machine close by.

“I spent too much time doing nothing now it’s evening already and I’m still here.”

---It would be more natural for me to get home at this time than being there for hours. So I indirectly made the right decision?

He nodded his head in a one sided agreement when two girls dressed in black and strips of white moved closer and closer. He looked their way and saw the famous Uzomi design around the collar. The girls paid no attention to him as they were busy fawning over the pictures they just took.

“Yui-chan, you look so cute.”

“You too. Hey, you blocked out my face in this one.”

“C’mon, it wasn’t that bad.”

“It was. What the hell were you looking at?”

“Eh?? Well, we can take another one.”

She prepared to take another but stopped and looked in his direction. She had a weird feeling.

“Yui,is something wrong??”

Shirou casually walked past them with his head down hoping his eyes didn’t give him away. Lisara had insisted he changed his hairstyle to make him less recognizable but his green eyes were the highlights of his face and even with that, he couldn’t completely change his look.

“No, it’s nothing. That guy looks like someone I know.”

“Yeah, right. He’s from Akate though so I doubt that.”

“He’s handsome, though.”

“So you’re staring at boys now, huh?”

“You too.”

They both giggled to themselves as he walked away with a sigh of relief. In that moment, he stopped. He looked down at his hands that were heating up. His wrists were throbbing and the pain was all his brain could focus on.

“Argh”

---What the hell?? Why are my arms burning?

This was his first time of experiencing such a sensation but then it had a bit of a nostalgic feel to it. Both his arms fell to the side, it was as though they were broken, he couldn’t lift them.

---My body is acting up again.

“I have to get home quick.”

30 minutes later, he arrived at the front door of his home and opened it with the spare key in his pocket. By the time he had gotten home, all the sensations he felt left him and he was back to normal.

“Yuuki. Sorry for leaving you again. I was busy. Shoot, I didn’t notice. My battery was dead.”

“Okay…But what were you busy with?”

---She’s not upset?

“Why are you asking??”

“Uh no reason. I’m just a bit curious.”

---If by any chance, she spoke with them, then she would be more than just curious about this.

“Did you run into anyone from my class today?”

“Yeah.”

---I see.. She’s not trying to hide it.

“Okay. I’m tired so I’ll go take a shower.”

“Hey, don’t run away.”

He ignored her and walked up the stairs while Yuuki attempted following him but stopped midway.

“.…”

---I can’t avoid her for much longer so it seems I might have to open up when I get the right chance…..

He looked at the time on his watch.

---And that would be dinner.

During dinner, Shirou prepared the meal while Yuuki watched enthusiastically.

“Shirou, this is good.”

“Thanks, Mum. I studied the recipe and acted accordingly.”

“Recipe for Rice??No wonder it tastes bland. You’re really horrible at this.You didn’t pour your heart and soul into it. You’re a fraud.”

“Should you be talking?? You saw me cooking and you were so enthusiastic yet when you tried, you burnt the whole thing.”

--- No matter how bad you are,who messes up Omurice???

“You didn’t have to bring that up.”

“You forced me to.”

She poked his head with her fork while Lisara stared at the food.

“Mum. What’s wrong??”

They both uttered this while Shirou held her fork that was in contact with his forehead tightly, forcing her to let go.

“Ow ow ow…”

“Oh it’s nothing. Work just drained me. This rice omelette is really good. It’s a bit spicier than usual but that is probably the only thing keeping me awake right now.”

---If this is what the adult life is all about then I’ll rather stay 17 for the rest of my life. I’m not only living for myself though so that would be a selfish wish to make.

“That’s too bad. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Really?”

“Yeah but it’ll have to wait.”

“No, I’m not that tired. After dinner, we would talk about it.”

---No need to lie to me. That tired look can’t be ignored.

“You’re really pissing me off today.”

“What did I do??”

She looked away and stomped her right foot on the ground.

“Nothing.”

“Did I miss something?”

“No. She’s just acting strange.”

“You’re the one acting strange.”

The confusion on her face plus the haggard look she had on caught Shirou’s attention. Was her new job this stressful even though she had less hours now?

“You need to go to bed. You look like you are going to collapse any moment from now.”

“If you insist.”

She stood up and rubbed her head gently as she headed to her room.Yuuki picked up the used dishes.

---If the school gave her a call then she should already know that I’m suspended but then nothing…So I am going to assume she didn’t get a call yet or she couldn’t be reached..

“Shirou. Are you hiding something from me??”

“What do you mean??”

“Did something happen that you aren’t telling me?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Stop answering my question with a question and just tell me whether I’m wrong or not.”

Her calm tone definitely put him off. She was never this cold while talking to him and yet the way she looked at him felt different. It felt wrong.

“You talked to them, didn’t you?”

“You’re still doing it again. I thought you could tell me anything. Anything that’s bothering you.”

“...”

“Well, just forget it. I had a fight with one of the members of the literary club today. That’s why I’m so pissed. I guess it’s my turn to apologize for venting my anger randomly.”

---That was the opposite of random.

“It’s alright.”

“By the way, your friends came over today.”

“What?”

“When we couldn’t reach you, we decided to search around but when that didn’t work, I came home with them. They stayed for a while and then left.”

“Who were they, exactly?”

“Umm.. Akate-senpai and Nagasime-senpai.”

---I figured it will be them.

“What did they tell you?”

“Nothing much. They’ve been trying to reach you for a while though but you didn’t respond or something.”

“Oh..”

“Are they really your friends?”