Senpai Never Was, Part III

The corridor seemed endless. And I mean absolutely, totally, insanely, nightmarishly endless. At the time I could have sworn I was seeing double. Window, window, window door. My god it just kept going. My feet kept moving. My hands, dragging this light young girl who had just fled from… whatever the hell that thing was. I won’t lie, I was also terrified.

But my mind… my mind was anything but calm.

I hate this feeling. Ever since Mom passed, I took it upon myself to be more efficient. She’d told me to have fun yet be pragmatic. I couldn’t fail her.

Except I was.

I talked to someone who was basically a stranger even if she were a classmate.

I took burdens on myself. I didn’t realize it then.

I’d reinvented myself.

I’d changed.

But something was off. Just like th-

That hideous thing.

Which was somehow still gaining on us. Suddenly I felt frazzled. I normally don’t sweat that much, but somehow I did. Of all the freakin’ times. While dragging a girl who looked more scared than I was. To her, I was a lifeline.

Me? I have no clue what the hell I was doing.

The girl, Nishikawa—she was panting hard. Heaving heavily. I could feel the pulse pounding through her wrist I grabbed.

“Tsu– Tsukiyono-san…! Please… s-slow down…!”

Girl?! If I slowed down, that blob of pure whatever the crap is gonna eat us ali–

Another corridor.

I jerked towards the corner. I yanked her with me.

“Gyaa…!”

She yelped. I pulled her arm towards my body. I know, personal space, but God did I ever want to let someone… or something… leave us the fuck alone. I acted on reflex. Muffling her mouth with one hand, I put up my index finger with the other and shushed her.

“Shh—!”

The force whacked us like a storm. My God, was that creature-looking-thing a racehorse or something?!

But anyway, it ran straight through the corridor we’d just ran through.

I sighed. It’s over. For now.

I softened my grip on her mouth and relaxed a little. Well, a little is an understatement. I was hella exhausted. My hair looked like shit. I looked like shit.

Doesn’t matter. Nishikawa’s safe.

She slowly slunk into a sitting position. Back against the wall, she was heavily heaving. I’d rather not compare physicality, but she looked more worn out than me.

I mean, she did run towards my direction.

…and we both flanked the—

“Ugh, my head…”

I felt a jolt of pain within my skull. The pain would’ve been unbearable. But I needed to survive.

She needed to survive.

“You ok?”

She nodded, albeit slowly. “I… I think.” She opened her eyes, faintly. She turned my way. “W-What about you, Tsukiyono-san…?”

“Are you kidding me?! Girl, you ran to me and we just outran a monster! Does it look like I’m okay?!”

She yelped.

Uh oh. I snapped again.

It’s a terrible habit. Sure it kept weirdos away from me. But it also deterred some others. Whatever. I just wanted a comfortable school life. Guess that was just a bit too hard for some to understand.

Not Nishikawa.

She didn’t have ulterior motives. At least as far as I know. She was close to tears again. Her uniform was slightly ripped. Creases started forming from the weariness when we frantically ran down the hallway.

Ugh… why do I have to do this. I’m starting to think circumstances have a way for me to start bitching. Didn’t take that long either.

But I couldn’t just leave her alone. Not like this.

Not after she’d clung to me like I was the last real thing she’d seen. Not after we ran through the hallway like crazed maniacs. Not after I had scared her with my outburst.

I scratched my head. I’m pissed off.

Not at Nishikawa. At the circumstances. I sighed.

I stood up. Almost by reflex, she started steadying herself up, using the wall as support. Her round eyes, which seemed to glisten every time she cried, stirred something in me.

Goddammit. Now I can’t leave her alone.

“Come with me. It’s dangerous here.”

She gasped. I pulled her by the hand. We walked, quietly scurrying down the corridor to an exit door.

~~~

I’ve always liked the outside. It felt like you were in a dimension unrestricted outside of a block that was a room or a building. It just felt like I was freer.

Tonight, however, the outside was just the quadrangle of the school. It was still enclosed, yet close enough to reach the entrance of the school gates.

I held Nishikawa’s hand as we went out. I remembered some benches where Yui and Rina and Aoi chatted with me. That was some time ago. Not like anything drastically changed.

I had been dragging Nishikawa. She wasn’t that hard to tug. But as I kept approaching the bench, she suddenly became more open.

I couldn’t feel a dredge of hesitation.

We’ve reached one of the benches. She let her body down with a thud.

It was hard. It hurt.

I did the same…

…ow.

But at least we could sigh better.

It was now about seven thirty in the evening. Not as late as I had thought.

I’ve seen worse. Or heard. Yui liked to tell stories.

“Uh— Uhm…” Nishikawa started. She looked at me with pleading eyes as I turned. “Th-thank you…”

“Don’t mention it.”

I’m not good with thanks. I was certainly not good with how Nishikawa grabbed my uniform and tugged it. Again, like a lifeline.

“Th-thank you…! Thank you so much… thank you…”

Christ. How many times are you gonna repeat that?

“Again, don’t mind it.”

“But I do…! You rescued me!”

I had turned my back to think what to do next. But I turned to her. She seemed so earnest now.

As I looked, I realized I wasn’t staring at some rumor.

Nishikawa was real.

She just wanted to cling to reality.

She stopped pulling on my uniform and outstretched her hand. She’d seemed to relax, so I thought I’d pay attention.

“N-N-Nice to meet you…”

Shaky. But… fine, whatever. She wasn’t in the best of emotions to keep it together. Or something. As if I knew.

“I’m Haruka. Nishikawa Haruka.”

Haruka.

Mom said she’d thought of that name. Before they settled for Maya, I could have the same name as this girl.

But no, this is reality. Unfiltered reality. Not some movie.

Nishikawa—Haruka… She has a beautiful name. Really. It speaks of spring.

Something bright. Something hopeful.

Something that was not meant to make anyone scared shitless.

“Maya. Tsukiyono Maya.”

Haruka nodded. “I’ve heard about you.”

“Have you?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Okay now she’s perked up like a stray cat… or a stray dog… I don’t know, I’ve never owned one.

“Oh really?” I played along. This was the first time I saw her excited. “What about?”

Haruka’s eyes lit up. Glistening eyes that could mesmerize anyone. “Y-You’re popular, Maya-san!”

“...!”

Maya-san? You sure you wanna call me by my first name…?

Oh. I was popular in the eyes of this girl. It probably has to do with my hair and make up. Eh. I wasn’t impressing anyone. Just myself and Mom.

“Uh-huh…”

“No really…! I-I…”

What now? Is she gonna say ‘I wanted to be like you, Maya-san’ or something like that? Spare me the praises, Haruka. I’m no one to be looked up to.

I’ve never earned that right.

“I just feel like…”

She suddenly dropped her tone. It felt more wistful. Sadder. Lonelier.

More scared. More anxious. “Nishikawa…”

Nishikawa deeply sighed. She was trembling.

“I’m sorry… I just want to know how you… go through it…”

My eyes widened. I did not expect that.

“Wait, what?”

“Y-You always seemed so cool, M— Tsukiyono… san…”

“Nishikawa…”

She clutched one of her hands together. It resembled a fist, but it looked too soft for one.

“Just now,” she started again. I listened. It’s the only thing I can do. “When I ran… you caught me… I- I never t-told you why…”

“You didn’t have t—”

“But…!”

She tried to open her mouth to protest. She couldn’t.

“Nishikawa,” I cut her off before she could say any more. “If you’re scared, you don’t need to tell me.”

She stopped trembling. Slowly. Painstakingly slow. But I didn’t care anymore.

She’s safe now.

“I… I was attacked…”

I knew it.

Those marks and her grimy face and her feather-light weight, not to mention she’d been chased.

That thing did something to her.

I clutched her hands with mine. Removing them from clutching my uniform jacket. It’s getting creases dammit.

“What happened there?”

Haruka gulped. She breathed in the air. The cold, evening air.

The next few minutes were some of the longest few minutes I’d ever encountered.

And what I heard during those minutes sickened me.

All the way to the very core.