The Reversal of Situation

Rewinding the time a bit to yesterday evening…

I turned at the corner of the street and immediately climbed up the nearest store roof. I held my breath as I watched Hiiro and Ouji looking around for me frantically. When they finally left to search somewhere else, I let out a sigh of relief.

It was a mistake to go out without covering my eyes with sunglasses, like I always did. I didn’t think Ouji would be sharp enough to recognize me. I merely saw the two of them from the corner of my eye and intended to stare for a bit, but I locked eyes with Ouji instead.

I climbed down from the roof and walked away, ignoring the passerby’s shocked gazes at my action. As I slipped into a nearby alley, I took out a cheap pre-paid phone to text that person.

She showed up in just fifteen minutes, all while panting heavily as if she had just sprinted all the way from school to here. No, she probably did just that, because she must’ve been busy with the closing ceremony preparation.

“Thanks for coming here on such short notice.” I stared at the Student Council’s vice president. “Tachibana Marika-san.”

“K-Kagura-san…haa…haa…why…did you…haa…haa…” Marika tried to speak, but she kept gasping for air.

“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.” I shrugged and leaned back on a nearby wall.

Marika eyed me suspiciously, but I meant those words. If not, I wouldn’t have called her all the way here.

“Kagura-san…why did you call me here?” Marika asked after regaining her breath. “I heard that you went missing, so why…?”

“Let’s drop the act, Marika. I know you’re a member of the Kagura Family, albeit a distantly related one.” I interrupted her.

Blood instantly drained from her face and she staggered back. “W-Wha…? How…? T-That’s not…”

“It’s useless to deny it. I’ve known about it since the first time I enrolled in this school.” I said coolly.

“…then why did you leave me alone until now? I could’ve reported you to the family head.” Marika said in a small voice, having given up on maintaining her façade.

“Because you don’t want to have anything to do with the family, just like I did. You could’ve said something, yet you stayed quiet about me, even up until now.” I stared at Marika intently.

As someone who hated the Kagura Family, I could sense that she was the same. She just wanted to live a normal, peaceful life. So I was sure that Marika wouldn’t report me, even after Kikuchi had come.

“That takes a lot of courage, Kagura-san.” Marika smiled helplessly. “If it were me, I would’ve gotten rid of anyone who might be my enemy later.”

“I also considered that getting rid of you will alert the family instead.” I added casually. “It’s better to keep you alive as long as you're still deceiving them for me.”

Marika’s smile froze and she shuddered in fear. I averted my eyes while mentally berating myself. This was why I didn’t want to be a member of the Kagura Family. All we could do was destroy, and all we could bring was fear and hatred.

“Anyway, I called you here to ask you for a favor.” I continued, pretending not to notice her fear. “Can you call the family and tell them that I want to negotiate?”

“H-Huh?!” Marika stared at me in shock, as if I’d lost my mind. “Are you crazy?! Why are you suddenly surrendering to them?!”

I smiled confidently. “I’m not surrendering as it is. I want them to agree to my conditions before I surrender. Oh, and tell them not to do anything stupid. If I sense anything wrong, I’ll disappear again.”

Despite my reassurance, Marika still refused to move. “Kagura-san, why don’t you think it over carefully? Once you get caught, you won’t be able to run away again! Do you really want to throw away your chance at freedom?!”

“I’m not going to sacrifice my friends’ future for my own freedom!” I raised my voice sternly. “Do you think I don’t know that Sakurasaki students have been denied acceptance by other schools because of me?! They all have a bright future ahead of them, but I nearly shattered it with my own hands!”

I clenched my fist so tight that my nails drew blood.

“I’m not going to let them suffer any further from my selfishness. I’ve dragged them into this mess, so it’s my responsibility to set things right. On my pride as Sakurasaki’s Banchou, I won’t run away anymore.” I declared.

“Kagura-san…” Marika murmured in a daze, as if she saw something so dazzling that it blinded her. “I think I’m starting to understand why they adore you so much.” She smiled helplessly. “Very well, I’ll call the main family for you. But how do I explain you suddenly contacting me when we’ve feigned ignorance for two years?”

“Just tell them that I’ve threatened you into submission with violence. That’s why you’re too scared to report me to the main family until I ordered you to do so.” I answered, having prepared the scenario beforehand.

“You really came prepared, huh?” Marika mumbled in surprise as she took out her phone.

After a short conversation by the phone, Marika announced that the family would be here in five minutes.

“Thanks. Please don’t tell Ryuu and the others about this. I can already imagine them storming into the main house if they heard of it.” I asked her.

Marika didn’t answer, but she stared at me with sad eyes.

“Kagura-san…are you absolutely sure that you want to do this? It’s not too late to run away now.” She asked.

“Yes, I’m sure.” I smiled peacefully. “If I keep running away, next time they might start killing my friends one by one, until I finally give up. So it’s better that we end this now, before it’s too late.” I closed my eyes and snickered, “It’s my fault for dreaming of freedom in the first place, when I don’t even have the power to obtain it.”

“Power, huh…?” Marika muttered. “Kagura-san, one more thing…how did you know I’m part of the Kagura Family? I don’t have their surname, and I don’t inherit their scarlet eyes as well.” She asked.

“Oh, that?” I opened my eyes and looked at her.

What I saw in my eyes was a timid little girl who kept hiding behind her mother’s skirt as her father scolded her to greet me properly.

“You once greeted me during the new year ceremony when you’re five years old, right? I never forget a face I’ve seen before, no matter how long ago that was.”

“What?! Seriously?!” Marika widened her eyes in shock. “That was quite long ago, and I’m fairly confident that I’ve changed a lot since then.”

I shook my head. “Even so, I won’t forget. I can’t forget, if I want to evade Kagura Family’s pursuit.”

They had eyes and ears everywhere, so I needed to be cautious of everyone. Even someone who seemed unrelated to the Kagura Family like Marika could actually be their spy.

As I pondered over those trivial things, my ears caught the sound of cars stopping outside the alley.

“…they’re here.” I straightened my back and gathered my courage.

It seemed this was the end of my two years escape.

“Kagura-san…” Marika reached out to me when I walked past her.

Her hand brushed mine as I evaded her touch, for I could guess that she wanted to pull me back and tell me to run away.

“Sorry, but there's nothing else I can do other than this.” I gave Marika a gentle smile. “So don't put on such a sad face.”

“…still, I’m sorry.” She apologized with teary eyes.

“…please take care of my friends.”

Those were the words I left behind before I was surrounded by men in black suits and taken away.

*****

Back to the present…

Once I've made that conclusion, I leapt to my feet and rushed toward the Student Council members at the corner of auditorium. I ignored Shou’s confused shout at me. The only thing in my mind was the overwhelming anger and grief at Sakuya for sacrificing herself…and at us, who were so weak that she had to do this.

The Student Council were celebrating just like everyone else, save for one person. Marika was smiling awkwardly as Yuuki, Mitsuki, and Asahi beamed with pure joy at the news. I went straight to her.

“Marika-senpai, you knew about this, didn’t you?!” I accused her without any hesitation. “You promised that we’ll talk today, so answer my questions! You did this, right?!”

The rest of Student Council members were shocked at my blatantly hostile attitude. Marika glanced at them before shaking her head.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I understand what you’re saying, Shiba-kun. How am I supposed to know that the schools will change their minds today?” She countered.

“Do you really want me to say it, here and now?” I challenged Marika, hoping that she’d cave in and tell me the truth. “That you have something to do with the schools’ sudden change of decision, and it also involves Sakuya-san’s disappearance.”

“Really? You’re saying that I have a hand in that?” Instead of relenting, Marika wore a genuine-looking confused expression instead. “Then, why don’t you tell me how I managed to change those schools’ minds in just one night? If I’m really capable of that, why in the world would I wait until now to do so? And how is that related to Kagura-san, exactly? I didn’t even know she disappeared until you told me yourself yesterday.”

“It’s precisely because of Sakuya-san that the schools changed their minds.” I pressed on relentlessly. “You gave them what they wanted, and in exchange, they let you have what you want.”

I purposely didn’t elaborate on what I was talking about, but Marika’s face hardened as she caught on my meaning.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I understand what you’re talking about.” Marika put a hand on her cheek and acted perplexed. “What makes you so sure about it? We only bumped into each other yesterday, and yet you accused me of doing something I didn’t do. Where’s your proof, Shiba-kun?”

“Ugh…!” I bit my lips as she hit the sore spot.

I lacked the decisive evidence of Marika’s connection to Sakuya—and the Kagura Family by extension. This was why I hoped to taunt her into saying something she shouldn’t, to turn it into my proof.

“When I bumped into you yesterday, you were acting strange after I mentioned Sakuya-san’s name, Senpai. And you were so sure we won’t be able to find her, even though you claimed you just heard about her disappearance from me, if we were to believe what you said. Doesn’t that mean you already know where Sakuya-san is, and that’s why we won’t be able to find her?” I knew that I was grasping at straws, but I refused to back down easily.

Marika, who knew the same thing, smiled confidently. “Ah, yesterday I wasn’t feeling quite healthy, so you might interpret it as me acting strange. You can ask the sPresident about it, since I left the closing ceremony preparation early after feeling under the weather.”

“Ahem…that’s true, Shiba-kun.” Yuuki chose this moment to interject. “Do you mind telling me what’s going on here?” He gazed alternately between me and Marika.

“And besides, Kagura-san has been absent for quite some time from school. When I heard that she’d disappeared, I simply assumed that she must’ve gone quite far from here, since you and your friends haven’t found her yet.” Marika added confidently.

I fell silent at that. Frustration welled up inside my chest, clogging up my throat and clouded my mind. If I opened my mouth now, I’d only reveal my anger and drop my credibility even lower.

“Shiba-kun, I know you’re worried about Kagura-san.” Marika stepped forward and patted my shoulder. “But you shouldn’t vent your frustrations to other people like this. You’ll make Kagura-san worry instead.” She whispered the last sentence to my ear.

“You…!” I looked at Marika in surprise, but she already withdrew away.

“Anyway, I think you’re misunderstanding something, Shiba-kun. You can’t talk like that without proper evidence, okay?” Marika smiled, implying that she wouldn’t speak without any decisive proof from me.

I gritted my teeth and racked my brain, refusing to give up here. I’ve finally obtained a lead on Sakuya, so how could I back down so easily?!

“Ryuu! Quick, come with us!”

Out of the blue, Hiiro appeared and grabbed my arm. Without explaining a single thing, he started dragging me away.

“Hey—stop—wait a minute—!” I protested.

I dug my heel and tried to yank my arm away, but Hiiro’s grip felt like a steel grip. He didn’t even slow down despite my resistance. As I considered biting Hiiro’s arm just to make him let go, Ouji suddenly popped up beside us. He was carrying Takashi on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“We found a lead on Kagura-san's whereabout.”

Upon hearing Ouji’s words, I instantly stopped resisting.

“Really?! Where is she?! And why is Takashi here?!” I questioned him.

“Because the lead is in Takashi’s house.”