Chapter Eight

Afterschool Romance

Once upon a time, there was a fourteen-year-old boy. This boy had no talents, no dreams, and no passions. His grades were mediocre and his looks, even more so. His mother worked in a prestigious school for gifted children. He did not have any friends not because of spite or resentment toward the world.

No, he simply had no friends because he was shy.

Because of this, he never hung out with his classmates in arcades or bookstores once classes ended. He never confessed to a girl, nor had he ever received a confession in return. He lived alone with his mother. And their house, a great distance away from his school, was often a lonely place. As the sun would set and as the bell rang in his school, Yori Nakano would walk eight blocks to his mother’s workplace.

But his mother was a busy woman and he would often find himself alone. He did not have the confidence to speak to the students in his mother’s school, and so he would often wonder off, to explore the vast campus of Autumn Mountain Academy.

Yori found enjoyment finding far-off, hidden places in the campus. Abandoned school buildings in particular were his favorite.

One day, on a warm summer afternoon, he stumbled upon an old greenhouse. Its walls were laden with moss and its glass ceiling was cracked and broken. The grass around the greenhouse was overgrown and wild. But as he stepped inside, he found nothing but a cultivated garden. Its interior was clean and tidy, with plants arranged in neat rows and orchids and flowers in perfect display.

As his eyes adjusted to the afternoon light, he saw, standing in the heart of the greenhouse, the most beautiful girl he has ever seen.

Only now, in the present day, he saw someone different.

“Senpai?” Yori Nakano asked.

The brown-haired boy was kneeling in the dirt, a spade in his hand. As he felt Nakano approach, he stopped and grinned at him.

“Nice of you to join me, kohai.”

He stabbed the spade into the ground and stood, dusting off the dirt from his pants. Before Nakano could ask what was happening, the greenhouse’s backdoor opened and in walked a pair of girls, each one holding a pot filled with dirt.

“Kimura-san, where do you want these?”

“Just place those with the orchids, we’ll plant some I dunno, stuff in them later.” Kimura-senpai said with a gesture.

The two girls nodded and complied. Both of them were second years and B Ranks, judging by the halos on their uniform. With a sigh, Kimura-senpai wiped the sweat off his brow and got right back to work.

Yori, in all his surprise, could not fathom what was happening.

“Senpai… what are you doing here?”

Kimura continued to cultivate the ground before he gave a response. Sweat was gathering at his brow and his eyes looked red and tired. Behind him, the two girls got to work. One knelt and began picking off weeds from the ground with her hands. The other picked up sheers to cut the wild vines that had taken over the greenhouse’s walls.

“What am I doing here?” Kimura asked. “What are you doing here? I just discovered this place randomly. Figured I had nothing better to do, I decided that I might as well fix it up a little.”

“This…” Yori looked at the ground. “…this— the school’s getting rid of this place. You’re just wasting your time.”

“How come?” Kimura tilted his head. “The greenhouse looks fine. It’s not like the roof’s going to collapse or anything, right?” he asked the girls, who were diligently working behind him.

“The school is setting up new greenhouses by the northern gate. This place has been abandoned for months now.” Yori said. “Why— I mean where did you even get these plants? And why, why are you doing this? Wh—Who are they?”

Kimura sighed and stood back up. He didn’t look irritated or annoyed, but Yori felt like he was still bothering his senior.

“They are Megumi and Misaki.” Kimura gestured with his dirty hand. “They’re part of my harem.”

The two girls shot him a death glare.

“Okay, I’m kidding. But they’re friends, sorta. They’re here to help me fix this place up.”

“But why?” Yori asked. “I told you, this place is abandoned by the school—”

“Well, what are you doing here, then? Don’t tell me this just a coincidence.” he took a step forward, his taller frame intimidating the smaller boy. “And why do you sound so defensive, like you know more about this place than you’re letting on. Me suddenly deciding to fix this place up shouldn’t be bothering you so much. That is, unless you want me to leave.”

Yori took a step back and looked away. His hand curled into a fist. His thoughts froze.

“This place is special to you, isn’t it, Nakano-san?” the person who spoke wasn’t Kimura.

It was one of the girls.

She smiled warmly as she wiped away the sweat from her brows with the sleeve of her blazer.

He didn’t know how to answer. He didn’t know what to say. He always had trouble talking to strangers, worse still with girls. But with Oshiro… things were different.

“In two days the school is going to demolish this place.” Kimura said, turning around and going back to his spade. “We’re going to return this place to its former glory.”

“And when things are sparkling new.” the second girl said. She spun on her toes before stopping beside Kimura, her hands landing atop his head. “You’re going to confess your love! Aww~”

“Yep.” Kimura added, looking annoyed at the girl who was using his head as a desk. “That’s the plan.”

He pointed at something beside Yori, his eyes empty of the usual humor they possessed.

“I won’t ask you to help.” he said. “The student council and Enforcer Company will want to stop us. They’ll want to fight. You, Nakano, don’t have to.”

Yori looked at where Kimura was pointing. There he found a spade, lying on the overgrown grass, half buried in leaves and roots and dirt.

“But there’s a free spade there, if you want to help out.”

[—

The president lunged at me with all the strength and speed of a space marine. Her hands moved in a flurry of blows. Each impact was strong enough to stagger a fully grown man. But despite her speed and aggression, I could not help but notice how graceful she seemed to move.

I blocked each of her attacks in return. Whenever her hand connected with mine, a shockwave would ring out, blasting away the raindrops that fell around us. She glared at me from behind her glasses as she rushed forward, her fists racing like a rockets.

She disappeared in a flash of blue light, reappearing a meter and a second later. Her fist slammed against my chest with enough force that I mistook it for a sledgehammer. Air left my lungs as I flew through the air a second time. I crashed hard into the bark of another tree, splintering the surface and nearly uprooting the tree in its entirety.

The crowd of students watched in awe before breaking into a cheer as I slumped against the ground.

I looked ahead, the rain clouding my vision, at the figure of the president.

Ayane seemed so proud and unimpressed. She scowled. Behind her the captain of Enforcer Company looked on, grinning confidently.

I rose to my feet, my chest sore. A stabbing sensation sent shivers through my abdomen. She must have shattered a few ribs.

“That’s it…” I whispered. “…I almost felt that… president.”

She raised an eyebrow before lowering herself back into a fighting stance.

Without warning, I sprung up and rushed toward her. She narrowed her eyes as I began my charge.

Time froze as I threw myself forward. I replicated her trick and performed a short-range Saltus, amplifying the force of my attack tenfold. When I reemerged a foot from her face, I sent my fist racing toward her chest. She raised her arms to counter, but in the last second I performed another Saltus. I appeared behind her, kneeling on one knee, my arm immediately wrapping around her abdomen.

I could imagine her eyes widening in surprise as I performed my third Saltus. Reality warped around us as we emerged hundreds of feet in the air, flying straight toward the half-open windows of classrooms. The students inside quickly scattered as I threw the president forward with all my strength. Her lithe form crashed through the glass, shattering the surface into thousands of tiny diamonds.

I followed quickly after her, landing in a crouch as her body slammed into wooden chair after wooden chair.

“President—!” some of the students screamed in worry. Some moved to help, but the president, lying in a pile of broken chairs, held up her hand to stop them.

“I can’t believe… you just did that, Kimura-san.” she replied as she got to her feet. “I expected you to go easy on me.”

“Go easy on you?” I asked. “You punched me into a tree, lady! Twice!”

“That’s a good point.” she deadpanned, picking up a chair to her right. She sighed, adjusted her glasses, then swung her arm around, throwing the chair right at me.

I responded by kicking it with enough force to break it.

As the wood splintered before me, the president disappeared in another flash of light. I turned around by instinct, raising my hands over my face. Her leg moved in a blur before slamming into my arms. I dug my foot into the floor as she sent a flurry of kicks aimed at my face. She moved like a tornado, spinning and kicking, her feet slamming into me. My arms struggled to keep up with her speed, but luckily no hits connected.

“Why are you even doing this!?” she yelled, pirouetting before sending a blow to my solar plexus. “What does it matter to you if Nakano confesses or not!?”

I grabbed her arm and twisted her into an embrace. The world warped around us as my Saltus brought us outside. She escaped from my grip, spun around, and sent a kick to my chest— a kick that was easily blocked by a kick of my own. As we flew away from each other, the ground came upon us. We landed on the earth explosively, kicking up the dirt.

“I’ve decided to take Nakano under my care.” I declared, pounding my fist on my chest. “That’s all you need to know.”

“You’re going against school rules, Kimura!” she shouted, launching herself at me.

“You’re the one who sent sword-wielding psychos at the poor kid!”

Her fists moved in a quick and disciplined fashion. Her skill with mixed martial arts was incredible. Every attack, every approach was calculated and precise. My hands, in turn, could barely respond to every blow.

“That wasn’t on me!” the president said. “Miyamori acted on her own!”

“Don’t give me that shit.” I replied, grabbing her arm and throwing her over my shoulder, slamming her into the ground. “You allow Enforcer Company to exist. You allow those things to happen!” I slammed my foot down for her chest, but she performed her version of a Saltus and disappeared again.

I raised my left hand as I felt the air stir beside me, blocking her knee as it came.

We continued to exchange blows for a time, the rain falling around us. Crowds of students watched from afar, in awe at our display.

“Enforcer Company is necessary!” she said, ducking low as her fist connected with my stomach. “Autumn Forest has standards to uphold!”

“Screw your standards!” I grabbed her arm and pulled her close. My arm wrapped around her hip as I pushed her forward. We disappeared in a black blur, moments before slamming into the wall of a distant school building. I pushed her hard against the concrete, my hand tight around her wrist. “What kind of broken school are you running— to think that you’re trying to justify what happened to Nakano?”

She gritted her teeth and slammed her head into my own.

But because of the height difference, her head instead slammed into my chin.

“What the hell!?” I shouted as I stumbled back.

“Sh—Shit.” she whispered, almost stumbling forward while she grabbed her forehead with her hands.

“Did you just swear?” I was dumbstruck.

That was so weird, like witnessing a flower give birth to mushrooms weird. Even while fighting, the president moved with grace and disciplined strength. Though aggressive and powerful, she always seemed to maintain a level of elegance. Hearing her swear seemed so unusual.

“That has to be a first or something.”

She scoffed and stared daggers into my eyes.

“You’ll pay for that.”

“You’re the one who head-butted me, bright-eyes.”

Her power is similar to mine. But I just don’t know how similar it is.

Overseer powers are divided into three main categories; offense, defense, and utility. In theory, Overseers with offense-based powers should be the best fighters in the world. But that isn’t always the case. In terms of sheer destructive potential, Shirou Hamasaki has me beat. But as evidenced by our first encounter, that didn’t necessarily mean that he was the stronger Overseer.

My utility-based Saltus allowed me to bypass his greatest advantage— his overwhelming destructive potential. While he was an artillery cannon capable of demolishing entire towns, I was a precision bomber, too fast to see and strike down.

My greatest strengths are my speed and maneuverability. It doesn’t matter if my opponent can throw suns in my face, summon giant monsters, or erect massive stone barriers. Saltus allows me to approach any situation in my own terms and attack from practically any angle.

But with the president, it’s different.

She once again disappeared and charged. We exchanged blows rapidly, swiftly, like two opposing hurricanes slamming into each other. We supplemented our blows with short-ranged teleports. Our scuffle took us everywhere, in classrooms and out, down hallways and through the sky.

Teleportation was not an uncommon power. But each method of teleportation was different. Most people had limitations to their powers. Some could only teleport short distances, or after a long casting time. Others could not teleport if other people were close by. And some could only teleport once a day.

I gained my S Rank because of how often I could perform my Saltus. And as I exchanged blow after blow with the president, I realized that may also be the case for her.

“I’m just doing my job, Kimura-san.” Ayane said, gasping for breath as she put distance between us. “As the president of the council, it is my… my responsibility that…”

“Don’t care about your excuses.” I replied, my breathing just as ragged. “If you really wanted to stop me, then you’d just perform a Saltus into the greenhouse and ruin their romantic moment.”

Her eyes widened and her cheeks turned red.

“What? That’s the same as running away! That’s the same as letting you win.”

“Exactly.” I sighed. “From what I can tell, your version of a Saltus doesn’t seem to have a limit in range.”

I spread my arms toward the open sports field around us.

“We were indoors just a second ago! Inside some kind of room without windows! I don’t remember teleporting us into and out of that place.”

She grinned, an odd sight considering her normally calm expression.

“So that’s the limit of your power. You can’t perform a Transilio through walls.”

“Uh, no, it’s called a Saltus. Get your terms right.”

“Regardless.” she smiled. “That makes you weaker.”

“Hmph. No it doesn’t.”

She smiled, putting one leg in front of the other. Her uniform was wet and dirty. She didn’t seem to mind as her slender form was outlined in the fabric. Her breathing slowed and steadied, her eyes focused like a pair of blue marbles.

“It looks like you’re enjoying yourself.” I said, mirroring her posture.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m going to pound you to the ground, Kimura-san. And I’m going to put a stop to your nonsense.”

“Pound me into the ground?” I said, dusting my hands. “That doesn’t sound like something the reserved and noble president of Autumn Mountain would ever say.”

She frowned, her eyes narrowing into slits.

“Don’t worry. No one’s going to find out.”

My heart was beating loudly in my chest. I watched her ready herself for another assault. And as I did so, my eyes could not help but wander toward her face, toward her shoulders, toward her chest as it bobbed lightly in sync with her breathing. For some reason, as the sky continued to cry, I found myself wanting more.

I was enjoying this.

I have never felt so alive.

[---

Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay, hopefully this chapter made up for it. I'm thinking of opening a small patreon, but I dunno if we're even allowed to do that, nor will people even support it. Haha.