Yayoi Akatsuki

My hands were trembling.

Part of me had hesitated to shoot when I aligned the laser sight on Charlotte’s forehead.

It was enough to slow down my movements, even under Tsukasa’s command.

That fatal delay changed everything.

Seeing Charlotte smile at me through the rifle scope, I quickly pulled the trigger.

However, Charlotte had already ducked out of harm’s way, and the bullet hit Futoshi, who had been standing behind her.

XL-Yama.

I recalled Futoshi’s nickname.

Futoshi always ate two buns after each class.

By the time lunch rolled around, he’d have already eaten eight buns. For lunch, he ate a giant bento box meal, followed by a bowl of udon and curry in the cafeteria.

The whole class made fun of his sumo wrestler-esque physique by calling him “XL-Yama” instead of his actual name, Moriyama.

“Hey. You haven’t had lunch yet, have you?”

That was the first and only time Futoshi ever spoke to me.

I had forgotten to pack my lunch that day and was polishing my air gun on an empty stomach.

Everyone else had moved to the music room for our next class, so Futoshi and I were the only ones left in the classroom.

“I’ll be fine, it’s only one meal.”

“You sure? I’d die if I skipped a meal.”

Futoshi said, placing a red bean bun on my desk.

“I accidentally bought one extra.”

“Huh?”

Futoshi also ate two buns after our afternoon classes, so I knew that he always bought ten buns in total.

Only one bun remained in the bag hanging off the side of Futoshi’s desk.

Although I knew he was lying, I decided not to mention it and gratefully accepted his gift.

“Th-thanks,” I mumbled, and Futoshi quietly left the classroom.

I didn’t have a sweet tooth, plus I disliked red bean buns, but I forced myself to take a bite.

Oddly enough, that red bean bun tasted incredibly delicious. I bought the same bun the next day, but I was unable to stomach it this time.

“SSG Akatsuki! Come on, fire your next round!”

At Tsukasa’s voice, I snapped out of my reverie, and the memory of Futoshi dissipated.

I could no longer remember the look on Futoshi’s face when he gave me that bun.

I had blown his head clean off.

The view through the scope was all blurry, and it took me a while to realize that I was crying.

I thought I was incapable of feeling any kind of emotions toward anyone.

I’d always been a lone wolf, and I assumed that wouldn’t change.

What a fool I’d been.

I hadn’t been alone after all.

“Waaaaah!”

I wailed like a child as I pulled the trigger, but the bullet rapidly lost speed before it could reach Charlotte.

“That must be PFC Tanaka’s skill! I assumed PFC Tanaka and PFC Nanami weren’t going to use their skills, but it appears I misjudged them.”

Ryo dragged Charlotte away, and they both disappeared behind some rocks.

“Time to retreat, SSG Akatsuki. From here on, Section Eight is on their own. We’ll put some distance between them and cut them off from the rest of the group.”

Before leaving, I took one last look at Futoshi’s headless body.

“...I’m sorry.”

I was never able to remember Futoshi’s face again.