The Path Toward Tomorrow [END]

“This is the festival committee staff speaking. May I have your attention please…”

The voice of a man reverberated through large speakers installed throughout the festival ground, prompting everyone to stop what they were doing and pay attention to the festival committee’s announcement.

“We have found a lost child named Kagura Sakuya. She’s waiting at the bonfire on the north side of the festival ground, so if you’re her family or relative, please head toward the bonfire to pick her up. I repeat…”

Among the crowds, a man wearing sunglasses took out his phone. His red eyes, hidden beneath the black lenses, glinted viciously as he made a phone call.

“It’s me. You’ve heard the announcement just now, right? Leave some men behind in case it’s a diversion, and send the rest of them to that place. I’m heading there as well.”

After hearing affirmation from the other side of the line, the man ended his call. He shoved the phone back to his pants’ pocket while moving through the crowds toward the aforementioned bonfire.

When he got there, most of his subordinates were already in position. There were fifteen of them, spread in a loose half-circle formation and facing a group of yukata-wearing youngsters who were standing in front of the big bonfire. The flame cast shadows on the youngsters’ face, making it hard to recognize each of them, but it did nothing to hide the petite girl standing at the forefront of the group.

“Oh, here comes another one.” One of the boys snickered as he noticed the man’s arrival. “They really did come in droves after that announcement. They must be really desperate to kidnap you, huh? Sakuya-chan?”

Another boy, standing next to the petite girl like a professional bodyguard, scowled at the men surrounding them.

“There are fifteen of them and eighty of us. Is this really all of them?” He questioned.

“No, I’m sure some of them were left behind, in case the announcement is merely a distraction.” The missing heiress of the Kagura Family said confidently. “But as you can see, I’m standing right here, so why don’t you call the rest of your men, Toudou? That might help even the playing fields.” She addressed the sunglasses man.

The man, Toudou, glared at Sakuya. She received his hostilities calmly, as if it was merely a passing wind. Seeing that she wouldn’t budge, Toudou took out his phone again.

“…it’s me. Call everyone here.” He said curtly before cutting the line. Then he warned her, “You’re going to regret it, Ojou-sama.”

“No, I won’t.” Sakuya shook her head. “You can call as many people as you like, but I’m not coming with you. Why don’t you go back and tell that old man to stop meddling with my life?”

Toudou tightened his grip on the phone. “You know as well as I do that he’ll have my head before I can say anything if I go back empty-handed.”

Sakuya shrugged her shoulders. “Then it leaves us with no other choice. Pochi! Tarou! They’re all yours!” She called out her beloved dogs—subordinates.

“Yeah, we’ll definitely protect you, Kagura-san. Please stand back and watch over us.” Ouji took a step forward and his scowling face broke into a terrifying grin.

“Leave this to us, Sakuya-chan! Feel free to sit back and relax!” Hiiro stood next to Ouji and cracked his knuckles eagerly. “We won’t let them lay even a finger on you! Right, everyone?!”

“ “ “YEAH!!!” ” ”

The delinquents behind them shouted excitedly.

Normally, making such a ruckus would cause patrol officers to immediately run over and stop them. But this particular area was devoid of people, since all of the visitors were busy looking for a good place to watch the fireworks and the committees were occupied with the preparation. No one would come even if a brawl broke out between these two sides.

And that was exactly what Ryuu was aiming for.

“Hmph. Do you think mere high school delinquents can stop us?” Toudou’s lips curled into a smirk as more of his men joined the fray, upping his numbers to twenty men. “Go and get Ojou-sama. I don’t care if there’re casualties—the family will take care of them.” He ordered his men.

“ “ “Yes, Toudou-sama!” ” ”

With those words as the signal, both sides charged at each other.

Toudou’s men were vastly outnumbered, but they had the combat prowess befitting of a yakuza family, putting them at a slight advantage over the delinquents. However, the delinquents had their own way of dealing with a more powerful enemy.

“Narumi! Don’t just charge in by yourself! Work with Abe and corner your enemy!”

“Yuuji, that guy’s reaction speed is slow! Take him down with a sneak attack!”

“Touma, keep up the covering fire! Aim for their bare skin—it’ll hurt a lot more!”

“Roger, Kagura-san!” Touma, who was holding a rifle that he borrowed from the shooting game stall that closed early thanks to Sakuya, replied reliably.

He wasn’t the only one using a rifle—there were four other delinquents who also provided covering fire, having borrowed all the rifles in the stall owner’s possession. Their bullets admittedly didn’t pack any punch, since they only used corks, but it provided a momentary distraction, which meant a lot against a more experienced fighter.

Sakuya shouted more orders from behind the delinquents. She was standing on an elevated platform used to lit the bonfire, giving her a clear view of the battlefield and using the microphone conveniently installed there to convey her orders. Next to her was Ryuu, who alternated between checking his watch and keeping an eye on the brawl anxiously.

Thanks to Sakuya’s precise orders and the delinquents’ reaction speed, they barely managed to put up a fight against the well-trained yakuzas. The sight of delinquents clad in yukata taking on the yakuzas made it look like a territory war between two different yakuza groups.

However, the stalemate didn’t hold for long.

When the first firework was shot to the sky, it signaled a change of tide in the battle.

*****

“Guh…!” Abe got a hard kick to his stomach and staggered back a few steps before collapsing.

“Abe!” Narumi glanced to his unmoving partner. “You bastard…!” He charged at his opponent, only to be knocked unconscious with a single blow.

The delinquents were starting to lose their ground, despite the constant support of Sakuya’s orders. I chuckled derisively as I stood back and watched the delinquents falling one after another.

“Even if you throw double this number at us, it won’t change anything, Ojou-sama.” I murmured. “You should know better that Kagura Family members aren’t so weak to be defeated by high school delinquents.”

Even Sakuya’s two strongest fighters, Hiiro and Ouji, were struggling against their opponents. With more delinquents falling out of the battle, they had to deal with more enemies than they were capable of.

“Now, it’s only a matter of time until we capture her.”

I quietly lamented the loss of five men that tried to catch Sakuya earlier. If we had them, this battle would be over quicker.

“No, it doesn’t matter.” I shook my head. “In the end, it’s our victory. Even if Ojou-sama keeps screaming her orders over the fireworks, it won’t change any—”

All of a sudden, a realization hit me. I swung my gaze toward the elevated platform, where Sakuya was shouting her orders.

It was empty.

My mind spun furiously, piecing together the puzzle pieces that escaped my notice. A vicious grin graced my lips when I finally realized that we had been had all along.

“Damn it! Hey, forget about those kids! Ojou-sama has escaped!” I shouted to my men.

It took me a few attempts to be heard over the loud noise of fireworks until my subordinates heard my instructions.

“What a disgrace…!” I bit my lips, vexed that I overlooked such a simple fact.

There was only one reason why the delinquents started losing the moment the fireworks started. Because they could no longer hear Sakuya’s voice over the fireworks’ noise. So why did Sakuya keep shouting despite all the noise?

Because she needed us to believe that she was still here.

*****

“Haa…haa…haa…” I panted heavily as I ran through the crowds.

Everyone was paying attention to the firework display. No one cared about a couple of high school kids darting around like they were chased by a ghost.

“Ryuu, are you okay? The entrance is not far now.” Sakuya, who ran next to me, encouraged me.

Despite running at the same speed as I did, and still in her wooden shoes, I might add, she didn’t even break a sweat. I found myself envying her stamina as I forced myself to keep running.

“It’s okay, no one’s chasing us. It seems they didn’t notice anything.” Kazu, who brought the rear, told us after checking over his shoulder.

“They will, soon enough.” Sakuya replied grimly. “That paltry trick won’t deceive them for long.”

“Ouch.” I was too tired to feel hurt by her belittling remark, for I came up with the so-called paltry trick.

“Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean it’s a bad plan.” Sakuya realized her mistake and quickly apologized. “It’s simple, and it’s perfect for our needs. Thanks to you, we manage to escape all the way here, Ryuu.”

Just as Sakuya said, the plan we came up with was very simple. After using the announcement to lure all of her pursuers to the bonfire, we showed off Sakuya’s presence to erase any doubt that it was merely a distraction. Then we had Sakuya shouting orders to plant the idea that she was still there, without Toudou and his men having to visually check on her.

When the fireworks started, we played a recording of Sakuya’s shouts and quietly slipped away from that place. We couldn’t tell how long it’d trick them, but at least it should buy us some time to get out from the festival ground and disappear.

“Ah! There’s the entrance!” Sakuya sounded relieved when the temple gate was in sight.

Right at that moment, however, we heard a ruckus behind us.

“There she is!”

“Don’t let her escape!”

“Damn, they’ve caught up already?!” Kazu clicked his tongue as he stopped running and turned to face our pursuers. “Kagura-san, Ryuu, go on ahead! I’ll stall them for as long as I can!”

Sakuya hesitated for an instant, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her forward.

“Yeah, thank you, Senpai!” I ignored the bitterness of having to abandon my comrade and dragged Sakuya with me. “Come on, Sakuya-san! If we stop now, all of our efforts are going to be wasted!”

Those words snapped Sakuya back to her senses. She started running faster, no longer hesitating to reach her goal.

Unfortunately, Kazu alone couldn’t stop more than ten men heading our way.

“This way! She’s almost at the entrance!” The voices of those men were getting closer behind us.

“What do we do? What do we do now?!” I started panicking.

For a brief moment, I considered doing what Kazu did and sacrifice myself to stop those men. But then I remembered my lack of combat ability and wrote the idea off. I wouldn’t be able to stall them for more than a few seconds.

As I kept racking my brain on how to change the situation, a hand grabbed my shoulder roughly.

I yelped when that hand pulled me back with enough force to throw me to the ground. “Ouch!”

“Ryuu!” Sakuya faltered for a moment when our hands were forcefully separated.

That single moment proved fatal as she soon found herself surrounded by those men.

“Hey! Leave her alone! Haven’t you guys done enough to torment her?! Why can’t you just let her go?!” I shouted myself hoarse trying to distract those men, but they paid my words no heed.

“We’ve finally caught you, Ojou-sama.” Toudou, the leader of those men, strode toward Sakuya.

She glared harshly at him and struggled to break free from his subordinates, but they seemed to have learned from their colleagues and didn’t give Sakuya any gap to be exploited.

“I’m not coming back with you.” She spat out venomously. “Not until hell freezes over.”

Toudou’s face hardened and he let out a deep sigh. “Come now, you know that the family head’s words are absolute. We don’t exactly have a choice here, you see? Take her away.” He gestured at his men to take her outside the festival ground.

Just as those men was about to drag Sakuya away with them, they ran into a group of young men who were blocking the entrance.

“Hey, move out of the way!” One of the men shouted in an irritated tone. “Who do you think you are—”

Before he could finish his sentence, one of the young men punched him hard in the face, knocking him out in one hit.

The rest of the men, along with Toudou, froze at this unexpected assault.

“Who are we, you ask?” A young man with cat-like eyes stepped forward and grinned mischievously. “We’re simply allies of justice, here to save our sworn friends from their trouble.”

Toudou’s face darkened upon hearing his nonsense. “So you’re all subordinates of Ojou-sama too?” He growled.

“Kyoya!” I called out to the Banchou of Takamine Academy in relief. “You’re just in time! Help us!”

“Well, you heard him, boys. Let’s get to work!” Kyoya snapped his fingers.

With a loud roar, Takamine delinquents charged at the men and another brawl instantly broke out. As if adding oil to the fire, the rest of Sakurasaki delinquents who were chasing after them joined the fray, effectively trapping Toudou’s men in a pincer attack. I got up to my feet and ran toward Sakuya, who managed to knock out several men during the confusion.

“Sakuya-san! Let’s go!” I grabbed her hand and we both ran toward the entrance, just as we planned.

*****

After making a clean getaway from the festival, both Sakuya and I stumbled upon a small, secluded playground. We decided to rest there, since we’ve gone far enough to lose our pursuers.

“Whoa…this is the craziest summer festival I’ve experienced my whole life!” I remarked as I lay sprawled on the wooden bench.

The festival started normally, but after Sakuya went missing, everything seemed to spiral out of control. It was a good thing that I told Hiiro to contact Kyoya for reinforcements beforehand—we would’ve been checkmated without their timely arrival.

“Mm…I’m sorry.” Sakuya mumbled her apology.

It took me a few seconds to understand why she was apologizing.

“Ah, no, I didn’t mean it in a bad way!” I quickly sat up and looked at Sakuya, who was sitting dispiritedly on a swing. “It was fun and thrilling in its own way! Though, if you ask me, I’ve had enough of once-in-a-lifetime experiences for now.” I scratched my head.

Sakuya flashed me a weak smile before falling silent again.

We both stayed like that for a moment, enjoying the silence and tranquility that we earned after such a chaotic night.

“Ryuu…” Sakuya finally broke the silence. “Thank you for saving me. I mean it.” She gave me a genuine smile this time.

“I’ll do it anytime, Sakuya-san.” I replied, staring straight at her. “I don’t want to lose you.”

It was the sentiment that we all—Sakurasaki delinquents—felt. Sakuya was our Banchou, and no one else could replace her. She might not be a perfect one, but she was fine just the way she was. If anyone tried to harm her, none of us would stand aside and let it slide.

Instead of meeting my gaze, Sakuya looked down. “I really appreciate it, but…” She hesitated.

“Sakuya-san, why don’t we run away together?”

Upon hearing my suggestion, she instantly looked at me. Her ruby eyes widened in alarm, as if she couldn’t believe her ears.

“I mean, the Kagura Family has already found you, so there’s no way you can keep living here like before. Your only choice is to disappear once again, like you did two years ago. But you know…” I stood up from my bench and approached Sakuya, before kneeling in front of her. “…isn’t it lonely disappearing all by yourself?”

Sakuya’s face stiffened, showing that my words hit the mark.

“That’s why…” I reached out and held her hand, squeezing it gently. “Let’s run away together.”

“W-Wait, wait a second, I don’t…” Sakuya’s eyes shook greatly as she struggled to respond. “Are you crazy?!” She finally blurted out.

“No, I’m perfectly sane. Well, maybe I am a bit crazy over you, Sakuya-san.” I joked lightheartedly.

“How can you easily decide something so important like that?! Ryuu, calm down and think about it for a moment!” Sakuya pulled her hand away, breaking my heart in the process. “Why would you throw away your whole future, your whole life for someone like me?! You used to say that you’ll graduate with the best grades, get a stable job, and start a happy family! Are you going to throw all of that away?!”

I smiled wryly. Sakuya wasn’t wrong—that was my idea of an ideal life. But now, it was relegated to ‘something that used to be my ideal life’. I myself didn’t know when exactly I had changed, but if I had to guess…

“Well, won’t you calm down and hear me out, Sakuya-san?” I asked her, and she finally closed her mouth. “After meeting you, I started to change. My world has expanded beyond my imagination, and now I’m doing all sorts of things I hadn’t even dreamed of before. You took me out of my small, enclosed world, and showed me that there are a lot more precious things in life than chasing after a perfect life.”

If I’d never met Sakuya, I would’ve lived my life according to the path I’d chosen before, not knowing of the world beyond my small garden. If I hadn’t chosen Sakurasaki instead of Sakurazaki, I would’ve never had the chance to meet Sakuya.

In the end, it wasn’t the greatest mistake of my life.

It was the best choice of my life, one guided by fate itself.

“That’s why, I don’t mind throwing all of it away for you.” I continued. “If you want to keep hiding from your family, I’ll hide with you. If you want to fight your family, I’ll be right by your side. I won’t leave you alone, so won’t you take me with you?”

For a moment, my pleas were met with only silence. Then I felt something warm drop to my hand.

“…why?” Sakuya whispered with teary eyes. “Why would you go so far just for someone like me?”

“Isn’t that obvious, Sakuya-san?” I reached out and wiped her tears away. “Because I love you.” I told her with a smile.

I watched with amusement as Sakuya’s cheeks turned a lovely shade of red and her eyes darted around in confusion. It occurred to me that this might be Sakuya’s first-ever love confession, hence she didn’t know how to deal with it.

“I won’t ask you to reply now, if you don’t want to.” I tried to ease her. “Just, please, let me stay by your side.”

It was a small gesture, one that I nearly missed, but Sakuya shyly nodded.

“Are you sure…that you won’t regret it?” She asked hesitantly.

“What I’m sure is that I’ll regret it if you disappear without saying anything to me.” I laced our fingers together, as if making sure that she wouldn’t be able to shake me off.

“…alright then.” Sakuya finally regained her calm and flashed me her beautiful smile that nearly made me swoon. “Let’s go together, Ryuu.”

She stood up from the swings and I followed suit. We both exchanged a smile before heading off to the dark night, our hands linked together all the way.