"Who's going to be unlucky today?"
"Kawahori Kenzō, Nakao Junta, Sugiura Takako. These three."
"Three at once…"
The next day, Rinji still went to school. Now that he was no longer the 'nonexistent person' and had already saved Yukari, the students' attitude toward him was very good.
But even when others approached to chat, Rinji only gave half-hearted replies, showing he still didn't want close ties.
The only one he could talk to normally was Mei, who also didn't say much.
Today, Mei had already spotted the students marked by the color of death and told Rinji about it.
"Three people about to die all of a sudden. Usually there's only one every few days. Looks like the curse is getting impatient." Leaning against the wall, Rinji's lips curled slightly.
"You want to save them?" Mei asked.
"Of course. The only reason I keep coming to school is to watch and protect. Otherwise, I'd have skipped long ago."
Protecting students meant directly opposing the curse. What Rinji was doing now was constantly making the curse's plans fail and observing its strategies.
Clearly, his plan was working.
After preventing the deaths of Misaki and the Sakuragi mother and daughter, the curse finally began to expand its scope.
Ding ling ling…
As the bell rang, Rinji and Mei walked into the classroom.
The moment he stepped in, Rinji frowned, looking at Mei with a serious expression.
"Mei, I have to ask you something."
"What?"
"Those three you mentioned… who are they again?"
"…"
Obviously, Rinji hadn't even learned all his classmates' names.
…
Since it was summer, the fans in the classroom were on.
The ceiling fans didn't cool like air conditioning, but they still brought some relief.
The teacher lectured at the podium, and the students all sat with heads down. Aside from the teacher's voice, there was nothing.
Although Rinji had saved the Sakuragi mother and daughter, Takabayashi Ikuo and Maejima Manabu had indeed died in accidents.
The fear of death weighed heavily on the students, and this gloomy atmosphere was natural.
Rinji lay across his desk but, unusually, didn't fall asleep. His eyes stayed fixed on the three students Mei had mentioned.
Two black-haired boys and a brown-haired girl with glasses.
Since he knew they'd be in danger, watching them carefully should prevent accidents.
He also noticed something else.
Those three sat close together: the second seat in the fourth row, and the first and second seats in the fifth row.
'They probably won't be in danger inside the classroom. The real problem will be after class, when they go separate ways. That'll make protecting them difficult… should I just knock them out instead?'
Ka ka…
As Rinji thought of countermeasures, an odd sound reached his ears.
Though faint, he heard it clearly.
He looked toward the sound—it was coming from the ceiling fan.
Ka ka…
"Rinji, what's wrong?"
Koichi, his deskmate, noticed Rinji's strange behavior and asked in confusion.
"Nothing."
Though absentminded, Rinji's eyes stayed on the fan behind him.
Because directly beneath it sat the three students Mei had pointed out.
"Honestly, Rinji, ever since you came to this school you've been so mysterious." Koichi sighed. "I thought Mei was strange enough, but you're even weirder."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"No… I didn't mean it as one."
"Appreciated."
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Pay attention in class."
"…Do you really think you're in any position to tell me that?"
Ka ka…
Koichi was helpless at Rinji's nonsense replies, but Rinji kept listening to the increasingly unstable fan.
The sound was growing louder.
'A loose connection? Or…'
Ka ka…
Bang—!
Suddenly the ceiling fan shook violently, then with a loud crash broke free and fell.
Its sharp blades still spun as it plummeted—straight toward the three students below.
It happened too fast. No one reacted in time.
Except Rinji, who'd been watching.
The moment the fan fell, he kicked off the floor, leapt forward, and just as the blades were about to hit the three students, raised his hand in front of them.
Clang!
"Ahhh!!!"
Now the class reacted. The three students screamed and collapsed to the ground in shock.
What they saw was Rinji gripping the fan's blade with one hand.
The commotion was too big. Every eye in the class turned to him.
With dozens of stares on him, Rinji said nothing. Holding the sparking fan, he calmly walked toward the door.
"…"
"Was that just now…"
"It looked like the ceiling fan fell."
"Was it the curse…"
"But Rinji stopped it."
"Thank goodness… we're safe."
The three students sat on the floor, patting their chests in relief.
"I… I'm alive."
This was now the second time Rinji had saved classmates from the curse in front of everyone.
---
After tossing the fan into the school's trash pile, Rinji turned and saw Mei following him.
"Didn't expect you to really save them."
"Of course. I went out of my way to step in." Rinji brushed dust from his hands. "How's the situation?"
"The 'colors' around those three have disappeared. Looks like they won't be targeted by the calamity for now."
"That's good."
"Even though you don't want too much contact with your classmates, you still put your all into protecting them." Mei smiled. "You're kind of like a hero, Takamine."
"I'm no hero."