I had no clue what to say to that.
“Just so you know, I’m not really siding with you or anything like that. I’m just Kiryuu Hajime’s enemy. My objective’s to give that jerk a taste of his own medicine, and saving you just happened to take me one step further toward that goal,” Saitou said as she turned her back to me. As she directed her eye toward her foe, I could see a look of resolve in it that told me she had every intention of defeating him. “I don’t know what Hajime’s trying to accomplish, and I can’t even begin to guess what he’s planning on doing next...but one way or another, it’s pretty clear that you’re a key player in his plan. He came all the way here just to have his long-awaited reunion with you...and we’re going to do everything we possibly can to ruin that oh-so-precious event of his.”
Sagami, whom Saitou was still holding upright, turned to look straight at me. “Andou...run,” he said. “There’s no telling what Kiryuu’s thinking, but the one thing we know for sure is that his plan can’t get off the ground without you around...so run. Run as fast as you can, and make sure the story he’s writing doesn’t play out the way he wants it to.”
“Y-You want me to run...? But what about you?” I asked.
“I’m in no shape to get away, one way or another. Standing up’s taking everything I have already. I’ll stay here and do what I can to help Saitou’s crew—or, well, to jump on their bandwagon, really. I figure they wouldn’t have made a dramatic entrance like this if they didn’t have a decent shot at pulling it off. I don’t think I’ll be much help, but I’ll at least do my best to take a bullet for someone, if it comes to that.”
“A-Are you serious, Sagami...?” Saitou asked with an air of disbelief. “Since when have you been that sort of person? I thought something was weird the moment I realized you were actually fighting Hajime—just what on earth happened to you?”
Present Sagami flashed a feeble smile. “I just went through a bit of character development, that’s all. Heh heh heh... You know, I was always the sort of reader who’d gripe about it when characters like me, who’d seemed like antagonists most of the way through the series, suddenly turned a new leaf and got redeemed in the end—‘Way to pull the reader out of the story,’ I’d say—but now that I’ve tried it out myself, I’ve gotta say, I think I’m a fan of it. Guess that makes me an even bigger hypocrite than I was before.”
As Present Sagami muttered out his little monologue, he looked over at me once more. There was an intensity to his gaze that I’d never seen from him before.
“Leave this to me and get the hell out of here, Andou.”
“Sagami... But, I—”
“Oh, of course. There’s just no way Mr. Andou surprisingly-righteous-and-always-puts-his-friends-first Jurai would actually run away when I tell him to...so I’ll rephrase things a little. Andou—go find the girls and protect them.”
I took in a sharp breath.
“‘Virgin Child.’ That’s what he calls the five of you literary club folks. Apparently, you’re all somehow indispensable for his plans. He’s been making a big deal out of putting off your big reveal, but there’s no way he won’t be pulling you all into the story before long. At this rate, the four of them are going to get dragged into his narrative, like it or not.”
What was Kiryuu’s goal? What was the story he was trying to tell? Neither Sagami nor Saitou seemed to have any clue...but still, the two of them were throwing everything they had into resisting him. They were fighting with all their might to make the conclusion of his planned final chapter collapse under its own weight.
“I’ll tell you everything you need to know in premonition form using my power.”
“You heard the man. I’ll give you a broad outline of everything that happens after you leave.”
“So get out of here, Andou. Go, now.”
“If we want to prevent Kiryuu Hajime from finishing his story, then we need you to be out of the picture.”
The Sagami in my mind and the Sagami standing before me took turns urging me to flee. Then, for just a moment, Present Sagami seemed to hesitate. He leaned toward me and whispered into my ear.
“But, hey...Andou? If this doesn’t work out...”
The next words that Sagami spoke were so shocking, I couldn’t believe my ears. I just couldn’t comprehend them. They were purely irrational and flew in the face of everything that had happened up to that point.
“Sagami...? What—”
“Please. You’re the only one who can do it.”
And then, Sagami smiled at me. He clenched his hand into a fist and pressed it to my breast.
“I’m counting on you, Jurai.”
For a moment, an indescribable sense of nostalgia washed over me. For that one instant, I was back in the eighth grade—back when I’d abandoned my chuunibyou and the two of us were friends. It had only been three years since then, but it felt like it was all far, far off in the past.
“...All right, Sagamin,” I replied, pushing through my embarrassment and addressing him with my own long-unused term of endearment.
And then I ran. I turned my back on the battlefield and set off at a sprint. I still couldn’t fully understand what was even happening, but my spirit—my instincts—drove my legs to pump as fast as they possibly could. I needed to protect the most precious girls in the world to me...and to grant the wish of one of my very few male friends as well. I ran with all my might, utterly rejecting my part in the final chapter I’d been abruptly thrust into.
“Okay, but really—did I pick the perfect time to call you ‘Jurai’ or what? I gave it a lot of thought, you know? I went so far out of my way to keep calling you ‘Andou’ until right at the very end, then I let it slip out so naturally you’d think it just happened on its own. What’d you think? Did I pull it off? Was it nice and climactic? And while we’re at it, nice going calling me ‘Sagamin’ in exchange! You really had a read on the scene, didn’t you? It played out so perfectly I almost cracked up, honestly—I had to literally bite my lip to stop myself.”
I’m begging you... Please just shut the hell up, Future Sagami.