Chapter Four

Five Steps per Second

It’s my third day at school, and I still don’t have my rank halo.

My uniform feels incomplete without it, but apparently the supplies office doesn’t have it yet. Which is weird, because there are only two S Ranks in the school in the first place. Well whatever, I don’t really mind. If anything, this makes it easier to blend in.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

“Of course!” Kenta said. “Don’t you trust me?”

I leaned back on the bench and crossed my arms. We were watching students funnel out of their classrooms, the setting sun painting the school a bright orange. The atmosphere was calm and entirely normal.

“Remind me his name again.”

“Yori, Yori Nakano.”

“Hm.”

“Do you even know what he looks like?”

“No. And I suppose I don’t need to.” I point at a kid in the distance, hugging his bag to his chest. Even at a glance, it’s obvious that the other students are keeping their distance from him.

“Wow you’re good. How’d you know?” Kenta said, grinning as he flashed me a picture of the freshman on his phone.

“Intuition, I guess.” I smiled. “That’s the look of utter defeat familiar among youth like us.”

“That’s deep…”

“It’s really not.” I stood up, pocketing my hands.

Kenta followed close behind. I made an effort to blend with the river of freshmen, but Kenta’s bright blonde head stood out too much. At first it started as simple ‘hi’s’ and ‘hello’s.’ Mostly from freshmen girls. But then more and more students greeted and waved at Kenta, until he suddenly found himself surrounded by a small crowd of adoring… friends? Fans? I don’t know.

“Kimuraaaa—” he cried out, futile, his hand lost in an ocean of teenage pheromones.

“I guess he wasn’t kidding when he said that girls liked him.” I said to myself, shrugging.

I focused on the sight of Nakano’s back as I walked with the crowd. He’s not hard to find. Aside from being short, he also lacked confidence. That made him stand out.

I spend five more minutes following him, through the school park, and the club rooms, then through the canteen. I eventually decided to match his pace once we reach the so-called “lover’s lane,” a long hallway of cherry blossom trees that apparently looked lovely in April.

It gained the name because this was where couples would often go to when spring came. Because boys and girls weren’t allowed to ‘date’, per se, they instead came in groups, pretending to be friends. I’m not sure if the school caught up to this practice, because Kenta never bothered finishing his story, but I like to think that the tradition is still alive.

“Hey.” I said, just loud enough for Yori to hear.

He glanced at me, keeping his bag close to his chest.

“Ye—Yes, senpai?”

Okay, he’s stuttering. That’s not good.

“I’m Hideaki Kimura,” I said. “From class 2-C. Nice to meet you.”

“Ahh.” he replied, very slowly.

We walked in silence for a few seconds. I considered my options. He’s obviously shy, so what’s the best way to approach him? Should I pretend to invite him to a club? Ask if he wants to enroll in my patented rank-up training program? Or—

My thoughts were interrupted when Yori kicked the ground and exploded into a sprint. He quickly turned to his right, galloping with all the speed of a racing horse. He dodged and weaved through students and teachers alike, straight toward the cafeteria. I stayed in my place, lips closed and confused.

Time froze and I repositioned myself up to a fourth story window. Two girls were chatting idly when I appeared. Needless to say my sudden appearance almost made them drop their drinks.

“Is that beer?” I asked, reading the label on one of the cans.

The surprised girl spun the can around slowly without a peep.

“Ah. Root beer.”

I smiled and returned my attention to the campus below.

Yori Nakano was making his way through the canteen, interrupting the few people who were loitering about. As he crashed through a pair of double-sided doors, I calmly walked down the hallway, following his direction.

Autumn Mountain had two outdoor swimming pools. The one Yori ran into was currently occupied by the all-girl’s swimming team. Girls screamed and threw harmless empty buckets and bottles at the poor boy as he raced from one end to the other.

He disappeared behind another pair of doors, prompting me to follow after him through another Saltus.

I appeared beside the lifeguard chair, much to the surprise of the swimming team.

Screams were abound. Again.

“Kimura-san!?” a strange yet familiar voice called out to me.

Oh no.

“Pre—president?”

Of all the people to run into…

“Kimura-san, what are you doing here?” the president was dressed in her uniform, unlike the other girls. She stomped toward me, scowling. “This place is off limits while the swim team—”

“I’m not a pervert!” I declared, holding up my arms in surrender.

Ayane stopped mid-step, eyebrows arched. She vaguely resembled an angry, spectacled bull.

It’s better if I’m honest with her.

“I’m only here because I’m chasing after a freshman who caught my interest.”

Wait no. That came out wrong.

“Uh-huh.” she frowned, as she continued to stomp toward me.

“Hey, you didn’t join me for lunch today.” I said, nervously.

There were a few gasps from the swimmers around us. The president frowned, her cheeks slightly turning red.

“Though technically speaking, we only ate lunch, like twice.”

“I was busy.” she explained.

“Ah. Sorry. Thought you went there every lunch—”

Before I could finish what I said, she suddenly disappeared in a flash of blue light, appearing not a moment later, a meter before me. She looked up at me, with those blue, spectacled eyes of hers, and reached out to take my arm.

But time stopped before she could ever get close.

I looked up, glancing at an empty rooftop, and brought myself there.

The last thing on my mind was the smell of the president’s perfume. She smelled like expensive roses. The next thing on my mind was finding out where Yori went. Luckily, I didn’t have to look far. He was just below, on his haunches, between a wall and a tree, still hugging his bag.

I performed a Saltus right in front of him.

“You’re fast.” I said, trying my best to give an approachable, friendly smile. “But I’m faster.”

Instead of looking up at me in awe, he instead held up his bag and cowered. He held his knees to his chest, trying his best to look as small as possible.

“Pl—Please, I’m sorry, I won’t do it again!”

“Do what? Run away from me? Because if so, then good, chasing after you almost got me in trouble with the council president.”

He looked over his bag, still scared.

“Wha—What do you mean? Yo—You’re not with the Enforcers?”

“I’m surprised that you’re asking about the Enforcers, and not the council.” I said. “And… why are you so scared?”

“I’m not scared.” he tried to say with conviction, but he still hugged his bag tighter. “Just… careful.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Who are you with then? If not the council or Enforcers?”

I shrugged. “I’m with nobody. Just curious.”

He slowly lifted himself off the ground, tired. He was sweaty and panting heavily, all because of his boneheaded decision to try and outrun someone who could teleport.

“Did the Enforcers hurt you?” I asked as he began to turn away.

“N—No.”

He started to walk and I fell into pace beside him. I wasn’t sure if it was because of fatigue or because he stopped considering me as a threat, but he said nothing and didn’t try to run away.

“You’re probably here to make fun of me, aren’t you, senpai?” he asked, head facing the ground.

“And why would I do that?”

“Because I got my ass kicked by the Enforcers, that’s why. Wh—what else? Those guys love beating on freshmen and lower ranks.” he tried to steal a glance at my chest, at my rank halo, but of course found nothing. “I thought you were with them. Sorry.”

“You shouldn’t feel bad about what happened to you, whatever it is. From what I hear, those Enforcers are pretty strong. A C Rank like you wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

He cringed, his fingers tightening on the leather of his bag.

“I’m not making fun of you. Just… stating facts.”

I paid a bit more attention to Yori. He was a short kid with a plain face and big eyes. His cheeks were puffy and red, and his shoulders slumped from the lack of confidence. To be fair, he looked like any other shy freshman, caught out of his element. There were no markings on his body, no signs of abuse or injury. But the gaze he held as he stared at the ground screamed defeat.

“I heard you were caught with a confession letter… or something like that.”

He stopped mid-step and looked away.

“S—So what? Yo—You’re going to make fun of—”

“Oh please I don’t care about that, relax.” I scoffed. “If anything I’m glad that you did it. Good for you, for having the confidence to face your feelings like that.”

He looked at me, wide eyed and hungry for answers.

“I’m new here. And from my understanding, feelings like crushes and stuff aren’t exactly tolerated by the student council.” I shrugged. “It’s a huge culture shock. The last school I went to didn’t have any rules like that.”

“So… people were allowed to date, to meet with g—girls?”

“Yep. In fact we had a few teachers who actively encouraged it. Those fucking perverts.”

“Ehhh…” Yori shrunk.

“But here it’s different. Huh. Like, love letters can get you beaten up by school-sponsored thugs? That’s… weird.” I took a step forward and placed a hand hard on his shoulder.

He nearly buckled from the force.

“See, I heard that there’s a bunch of different factions in this school. And I really don’t want to join any of them. Hahaha. However, I do want to… hmm… help.”

“Help? Help with what?”

“Help with— people’s problems.”

Yori stared at me, his eyes turning into dinner plates. Then, with all the hope of youth behind his words he said,

“Senpai you’re weird, please stay away from me.”

“Yo! I’m serious!” I threw up my hands in the air. “I’m here to help you!”

“Why!?” he shouted.

The genuine rage in his voice pushed me back.

“Because you need it.”

His expression softened, his eyes turning downcast.

“Okay.” was all he said.

[—

He laid out the confession letter on the table. Piece after piece after piece. The confession was written on pink paper with blue ink. His handwriting was… something… but the characters were legible if you stared long enough. There was no one nearby. We sat under the shade of a nearby maintenance shed, far away from the after-school commotion.

“Why would they do this?” the words left my mouth on their own.

“I—I don’t know.”

Despite what I saw, I didn’t feel any anger. Any other idiot would have vowed “to make the people who did this pay”, but I’m not like other idiots. Instead, I felt pity.

“Did they rip it up in front of you?”

“N—No. But I—I fished for these in the trash.”

“Why? Couldn’t you have just made another one.”

Yori stared at the table, his posture tight, as if he were building a wall around himself.

“I—I’m not good with words. It took me s—so long to write this. I didn’t remember what I wrote, so I—I wanted to keep it.” his voice was barely a whisper. It was hard hearing his every word.

“What are you planning to do with it?”

“I—I don’t know.” he conceded.

“Hm. We could stick it back together?” I grinned. “Though you probably shouldn’t give this to the girl when it’s all torn up… by the way, it’s the start of the school year, isn’t it a little too early for these things?”

“She’s… an old friend.”

“Ah.” I pound my fist on my hand, surprising him. “Right. I got a better idea now!”

I sprang up, and crossed my arms.

He looked up at me, anxious and scared. Like a hamster about to be attacked by a slightly bigger hamster.

“Since you already know this girl, and since you’re already friends— you are instead going to confess to her.”

“Wh—What!?”

“Personally! It’s the easiest, safest method. Trust me.”

Though to be fair, I’ve never really confessed to a girl before.

“I—I can’t do that!” he stumbled as he tried to stand up. “The supreme student council doesn’t approve of—”

“It’s a confession. There’s no guarantee that she’s going to say, ‘ohhh, Nakano-san~ I~ I like you too~!’ Enforcer Company can’t hurt you for trying!”

He cringed again.

“Oh come on. Don’t tell me they hunt people for anguished confessions of love.”

He nodded.

“Damn it, that’s not cool. You can’t just put a leash on teenage hormones like that.” I combed back my hair with my fingers, suddenly struck with a whole new, genius-level idea. “We’ll just do it secretly! Yes, that’s the only solution!”

“Se—Senpai, you really are insane.”

“I’m not. I just want the flowers of love to blossom in this school!”

Despite his looks, Yori was actually pretty fast. He scooped up the tattered pieces of his feelings (his confession letter) and stuffed it in his bag in two swift motions.

“I’m going home, what you’re suggesting—”

“What I’m suggesting is completely normal.” I scoffed and tilted my head. “Listen, I understand how you feel. You’re scared and unsure, I get it. You don’t have to do this now, or tomorrow, or next week. It’s not like the girl you like is going to end up falling in love with anyone else, anyway.”

He didn’t move from his spot.

“But remember… what Enforcer Company did to you… that wasn’t right. You’ll probably find the courage to confess again sometime in the future, or maybe you won’t— maybe you’ll give up, maybe you’ll fall in love with someone else, maybe you’ll be too busy turning yourself into a badass S Rank like the president and a certain mysterious transfer student. But in my opinion, it’s best not to let that fire in you die out, not while it still burns.”

I waited for Yori Nakano to move. I waited for him to put one foot over the other and walk away from the weird senpai. But he never did. The scared boy stayed in place, his bag still clutched to his chest.

“Tell me her name.” I asked. “I’ll find her and arrange the meet-up.”