Hironobu Kume, Pt. 3

I fled the scene and ran for my life. After a while, I could no longer hear anything, and I finally dared to look behind me.

The ravine where the harpies had attacked us was now a speck in the distance. I didn’t appear to be followed either.

“Ha, haha.”

A chuckle escaped my throat.

“Hahaha! Suck on that, you assholes! I made it out alive!!”

The gang members had called me names, treated me like their personal servant, and ridiculed me endlessly.

But I was the one that survived, not them.

Do you hear that? I’m the sole survivor!

“Hey, you have a PlayStation at your house, doncha? Can we chill at your place?”

“Mind if I join too? I wanna play Monster Trapper. D’ya have it, turdage?”

(Huh? What the...?)

Suddenly, I had a flashback of the time I hung out with Kotaro and Jiro.

I shook my head vigorously as if to push that image out of my mind.

“Thanks for always being our manservant. I have one leftover bread roll, by the way. You want it?”

This time it was Kyoya who interrupted my thoughts.

No! Don’t mistake those gestures for kindness.

They only said those things so I’d continue to do their bidding.

“Some punk from another school shook ya down? Screw ‘em, I’ll kill anyone who tries to mess with my dudes!”

Tsuyoshi really did beat the guy to a pulp and ended up getting suspended from school. 

Despite that, he made no mention of it and simply returned my money to me.

Why am I remembering all this now?

Being with them made me miserable most of the time.

They were mean to me. They bullied me.

And yet.

Why? What the hell’s wrong with me?!

Before I knew it, I was walking back the way I came.

(Why’re you going back when you managed to escape?)

(Don’t be an idiot! You’re smarter than this!)

The rational side of my brain tried to knock some sense into me.

(Don’t get me wrong, I’m only going back to check on them. This isn’t some rescue mission! I just want to find out what happened to them!!) I reasoned.

Look at how Tsukasa abandoned me.

Can you blame me if I leave the teenage gang members to die?

I’m just going to observe them from a distance, that’s all.

I convinced myself as I broke into a run.

When I returned to the ravine, I was overcome with regret.

Kotaro and Jiro had been ripped apart by the harpies, and they’d been near-mauled to death. 

They both appeared to be barely alive, as their fingers twitched slightly every now and then.

Kyoya had used his skill to create a wall of thread between him and the harpies, but he was slumped on the ground, seemingly unable to move anymore.

Tsuyoshi was nowhere to be found.

Instead, I spotted a single mound made up entirely of harpies.

If those harpies had been there since I left, then Tsuyoshi must be long dead by now.

I shouldn’t have returned.

I was about to head back when the massive pile quivered.

“*groan*...AAAARGH!!”

It was Tsuyoshi.

With a piercing battle cry, the mound exploded.

The pile of harpies scattered, and a blood-drenched Tsuyoshi emerged from within.

His hardening skill had worn off ages ago, and his whole body was riddled with peck marks.

On top of that, his left eye was missing, and his intestines were hanging out from his stomach.

However, his wounds hardly seemed to bother him as he stumbled towards the harpies swarming around Kotaro and Jiro.

“Quit messin’ with my friends, you FUCKING BASTARDS!!”

Tears streamed down my face.

These must be the emotions Tsukasa had hardened himself to. I get it now.

Sure, I might survive if I rid myself of these feelings. But I might as well be dead if I do that.

Wouldn’t you agree, Tsukasa?

“This way! We’re gonna make a run for it. Follow me, guys!”

I used my skill as a diversion to let everyone else escape.

This wasn’t such a bad way to die now, was it?

With that, I thrust myself at the flock of harpies.