Kaede's group:
"Hey Kaede, can you jump that far if you hold on to my spear? Could you cut him off then?"
Yuna looked me dead in the face with a serious expression.
"Are you serious, Yuna? That'll never work."
"What do you think? Am I too weak, or what? Just trust me!"
This idea… it really is that stupid. Like I'm the spear. But maybe it's our only chance.
I hesitated. Her gaze didn't leave me.
Then… I nodded.
A spear appeared in her hand. She nodded at me determinedly.
We had lost sight of the trainer, true, but we still knew Shiro's warrior's position and yet it was weird that the warrior had just been taken out.
"Alright, Shiro. Where is Mr. Osuke?" Yuna asked, looking at him.
"Watch out!!"
In an instant I saw Riku leap in front of Yuna with his shield drawn.
The next moment he flew with a dull thud into a tree behind us.
His shield had a small crack.
My whole body flooded with adrenaline.
What… was that just now?!
You could hear Riku coughing then boom.
"RRRRIIIKUUUUU!!"
Yuna screamed. A huge branch just crashed down onto Riku.
Shiro stepped back, immediately summoning his warriors.
Yuna too visibly tense, her face full of panic. she stepped back.
Only I… stayed rooted to the spot.
Did I… not care what happened to him?
I didn't know how to behave. Annoyed? Horrified?
I watched Shiro's hands. He was pressing down on Riku's leg.
"He's still breathing! He's just unconscious!" Shiro shouted, relieved.
His hands… covered in blood.
And me?
I still couldn't move.
What is wrong with me?
Why do I suddenly care so much?
I'm supposed to… not give a damn. Everything. Right?
I closed my eyes to calm down.
Suddenly…
I heard her again. My mother's voice.
"It's all your fault. You damned bitch. You're cursed. Weak. All your fault."
Not now.
Not now!
Why now?! Why…?!
I screamed
I tore at my hair while Yuna watched me. though I didn't even notice her anymore.
Everything around me went dark. Quiet. Cold.
Suddenly… a hand on my shoulder.
I turned around, startled and saw a blood-smeared face.
Riku.
His left eye was gone. He bled from his mouth. Like a possessed man he held me tight.
"This is all your fault, Kaede. All your fault. We're all dying because of you! You're cursed!!"
He shook me like a zombie, hungry for brains.
His grip was cold. Abnormally tight.
Narrator:
Kaede wanted to curl up, become a small bundle.
then Yuna grabbed him by the collar and hurled him backward.
"What's wrong with you?!"
At that moment an invisible attack sliced the air where Kaede had just stood.
Like a cut through paper.
"What's wrong with you, Kaede?! You were nearly cut in two!"
But kaede doesn't react
"I can't believe it… in the worst moment he gets a fucking crashout…"
Another place in the woods:
"I'm Airi Shigure. Or, so you get it: Kaede's future wife."
With an exaggerated curtsey she acted as if she were onstage.
Her voice dripped with pride while she presented herself with an imaginary crown on her head
only her serious tone didn't match the rest of her over-the-top body language at all.
Her pink hair fluttered in the wind, her eyes looked glassy
not empty, more like fixed on an obsession.
Mr. Watsukawa watched her with folded arms.
You are what? Mr. Watsukawa asked, surprised.
Ah man, are you dumb his wife or soulmate, companion, guardian, romance.
Okay okay I get it said Mr. Watsukawa while Airi still waved her hands dreamily.
"You... are the reason this path is blocked?"
Airi barely seemed to hear him, flicked an ant off her shoulder and answered:
"Hm? Oh! No, no. I'm just standing here. Because… the weather is so nice.
So… for Kaede of course. He doesn't like the sun. Or maybe he does? I have to ask him sometime."
"I have to get through. I don't have time for games."
"Did you know Kaede always limps a little when he runs? Totally cute.
So clumsy, as if his knee talks to him."
She chuckled. "Maybe his knee is jealous, haha!"
Watsukawa blinked. "So you know him well?"
"Of course. I know EVERYTHING about Kaede. His favorite number, his worst grade,
the scent of his hair conditioner even though I made the last one up because he's so mysterious. Oh oops, should I not have said that?" Airi pulled a crumpled note from her pocket, read it briefly, then put it away.
And Keade knows even about you? Mr Watsukawa asked.
Well that would be Stalking dont you think so dear Teacher.
Watsukawa frowned.
She was clearly crazy but not in a normal way.
"And what exactly are you doing here?"
Airi tapped her lip.
"Umm… that's secret. Secret like… like a secret secret. You know?
Like the surprise when you suddenly realize someone is gone. She giggled."
He frowned deeper. Her movements were playful, almost comical
but the topics she brought up were… off.
"I still have to get through."
"Hmm… I don't think that would be a good idea."
"Why not?"
"Because there are… many people there."
"So?"
"People mean distraction.
And I think Kaede shouldn't be distracted. By people. By other people. By other women.
So… by anyone except me."
Watsukawa watched her silently.
"If he's around a lot of people… then… then… then he might be nicer to someone else than to me.
And that would be sad. For the other person, of course. Because that person would then be dead."
"What did you just say?"
"What? I didn't say anything! At most I thought it. Thinking isn't illegal, right? Hehe." Ahe turned around a few times giggling.
Watsukawa took a deep breath.
This… this way of speaking… This isn't a child. This is… a ticking time bomb. I should watch my back.
"You're just playing all of this. That childish act. Am I right."
Airi widened her eyes and made a pensive face.
"Oh no, you caught me! What's next? That you guess what inner hair color I have?"
"You're not stupid. You know exactly what you're doing."
"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I'm also just the poor little pink thing with too much love in her heart."
She smiled, then the smile twisted.
"But I'll tell you this, Mr. Blitzikus. If someone hurts Kaede… then… then I'll turn that person into origami, really." Her gaze turned serious for a very brief moment, then she smiled again.
Watsukawa fixed on her eyes. And suddenly he recognized it.
Those eyes… the same emptiness, the same fixation as with Kaede.
No… even deeper. Darker.
As if everything had been taken from her and she had replaced herself. They're so empty. You only get that when you've experienced too much too early. So tired. Yes i think her self feels tired she dont want to do that. I can maybe talk that out.
"You… have experienced something. More than just pain."
Airi shrugged.
"Have we not all?"
"I think you had it worse than Kaede."
"Well, maybe. Maybe not. But now I will have him, so everything's fine again!
If no one interferes…"
Watsukawa exhaled.
She is dangerous. Her obsession with Kaede is on a other Level
She has projected everything onto Kaede.
"Listen, Airi. You want to protect him. I understand that.
But the path you're taking only leads to more suffering."
She tilted her head.
"You speak like someone who believes love must be fair. But what do I know." She shrugged.
"What happened to you?"
"Do you want to save me, Mr. Teacher?" Her voice now aggressiv.
"Yes. I want to help you."
Airi grinned.
"Then make me an offer."
What is that now, an offer? Mr Watsukawa was taken by surprise.
Hmmm
"Come with us. To the academy. You can be in Kaede's class. You just have to behave."
"Hmm…" She tilted her head.
"...and there are then lots of other girls, right?"
"Yes, but"
"No."
She smiled.
"That sounds… dangerous. For the girls.
You know? I'm not very good at sharing. I already learned in kindergarten:
If you have to share someone you love… then you lose them."
Silence.
Watsukawa said nothing.
Airi stretched out her arms as if to hug him
then suddenly spread her fingers.
"Well… how was that with origami