A boom ricochets off the ground so loudly that it sounds like an earthquake. A huge hole opens where the monster’s navel used to be, its eyes look like they’re about to pop out, and its skin turns ghostly white.
“I’m sorry… Demon King…” it croaks, then goes still.
I’m pretty sure it’s dead. How pathetic. I was planning to whack it for scaring Kazuya and for breaking Luke’s sword, too, but it’s done and dusted.
As I stand up, sighing with relief, the monster glows and disappears. It leaves behind its wings, talons, and a beautiful emerald-colored jewel the size of a human head.
I shake myself out of my attack stance. I’m more tired than I thought… Rather, I’m hungry. Maybe it’s because I haven’t exercised in a while. Oh, I packed some homemade cookies for the party! They have a skill effect that enables recovery from fatigue, so they’ll hit the spot. I bet Leila and the others are tired, too. We should eat together.
My temper, which was white-hot a moment ago, cools down. I breathe deeply and look around. For some reason, the terrain looks entirely different. Tall trees are lying on their sides like plucked and discarded flowers, and I’m standing in a sort of crater.
Did the monster cause this?
Oh! Where’s Kazuya?! And what’s become of Luke, Leila, and the others?!
My head goes blank. I only remember being furious. Did I do all this? When I fought the monster?
“Sakurako!”
I whip around to see Kazuya. His clothes are a little ragged, but he’s in one piece. “Kazuya!”
He slides down the rim of the crater to meet me.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I lost track of my surroundings! Are you injured? Is anyone?!”
“No, everyone’s fine. Things were definitely dangerous, but I was ready for it, because, well, it’s you we’re talking about. Luke took me and carried Leila and the others a safe distance away to protect them.”
“He did?” I look up to the edge of the crater again and see Luke staring down at me, dumbfounded. When our eyes meet, I involuntarily drop my gaze.
Oh, no. No, no, no, no. Did he see what happened just now? He must have.
I went on a rampage without regard for everyone nearby, and wreaked havoc on the woods. He had to have seen it all. Now he knows I’m not some weak girl. I’ve really done it now. Right in front of Luke…
Please don’t hate me.
I don’t wanna be hated. I don’t want people to say they don’t like me anymore. I don’t want Luke to say that. I don’t want to be called a monster and told I have superhuman strength. Please don’t hate me!
“Kazuya!” I grasp Kazuya’s hand. “Let’s make a run for it!”
“What? Run from what?”
“C’mon, just come with me!” I pull him along and set off climbing up the side of the crater opposite where Luke is standing.
“Sakurako?” Luke calls anxiously as we run.
I’m sorry, Luke.
But I don’t want this. I don’t want him to hate me. He’s always treated me like a real girl. At times, he gazed at me passionately… He made me feel like I was normal. But I know for sure he won’t look at me like that anymore. He might call me a monster, or a girl who’s too strong! I don’t want him to say that!
“Sakurako! Where are you going?!” He chases after us.
I desperately don’t want him to see me, so I pick up a big fallen tree and place it in the middle of the path to block his passage. “I’m sorry, Luke! And, um, thanks for everything!”
I pull Kazuya into a sprint.
We keep running until we can’t hear Luke calling our names anymore. He can’t leave Leila and the others alone while they’re unconscious.
I’m so sorry. I wasn’t lying, except by omission. I don’t want to see Luke’s face anymore. If he looks at me frightened instead of looking enamored like before… I hate the thought of never being on the receiving end of his gentle smile again.
I thought that with Luke—Luke, whose face turns beetroot red with only a few words, so much so that I get swept up in secondhand embarrassment—I thought I might be able to fall in love for the first time.
I want to fall in love like a normal girl. I thought I could. Yes, I wanted to fall in love… I wanted that so badly.
I thought I’d never have the kind of romance you see in stories, but then the possibility was dangled in front of me in this world. I thought that if people weren’t afraid of me and treated me like a normal girl, then maybe love might be in the cards.
But did I just want to fall in love, and it didn’t matter so much that the other person was Luke? Did I just use him to fulfill my desires because he was nearby?
It occurs to me that I haven’t been properly focused on Luke. If I really liked him, surely I wouldn’t have run away. Am I just using him? I stop.
Kazuya bumps into my back.
“Ow! Hey, don’t stop without warning,” Kazuya pants.
“K-Kazuya.” I turn to say something to him, but I don’t know what to say, so I keep opening and closing my mouth.
After Kazuya regains his breath, he cocks his head. “What’s wrong? No, first tell me why you ran away from Luke.”
“Because I was scared… I don’t want to see Luke if he’s afraid of me.”
“Why do you think he’ll be afraid of you?”
“Because! He made me feel like a normal girl. I was so happy; I’d never felt like that before. But now that I think back on it, maybe I was just in love with love.” I honestly don’t know how I feel about Luke. I thought I liked him, but now I’m not sure at all. I wanted to fall in love and went for the first guy who fell for me.
But even if that’s true, I must have felt more for him than that, because it hurts me to imagine him no longer looking at me kindly. It hurts to think that he’ll hate me. Fear me. Avoid me.
“If he hates me because he’s scared, it’ll break my heart.”
Kazuya pauses, then says quietly, “I think you’ll be fine, then.”
“How will I be fine?”
“I mean…he’s not…” Kazuya trails off. “Forget it.”
“You can’t stop in the middle of a sentence. I wanna know!”
“I said forget it. You know I can be a jerk.”
A jerk? Why is Kazuya suddenly insulting himself? “You may have some bad points, but I wouldn’t say you’re a jerk.”
Kazuya smiles faintly. “That’s only because I act on my best behavior around you. Anyway, which way should we go now?” He changes the subject.
Uh… I brought us deep into the woods without a plan. “I dunno. What do you think?”
“No idea.” Kazuya chuckles and smiles kindly. “But that’s okay. If you continue going straight, we’ll hit a town called Riesdane. I think it’s pretty big. Let’s go there.”
“Okay! Thanks, Kazuya. You always go out of your way for me. I’m glad you’re here.”
Kazuya stares at me, taken aback by the sudden compliment.
“What?” I ask, tilting my head.
Kazuya reaches out to touch my hair. Oh, no. I bet it’s a bird’s nest thanks to that monster. I reach up to comb or pat it back into shape, and Kazuya grasps my hand.
“Hey, Sakurako. Do I really have no chance?” He stares at me, more serious than I’ve ever seen him.
I start to get nervous, not sure what’s coming. I timidly ask, “What are you doing?”
“I’m saying…” Kazuya opens and closes his mouth several times, like he can’t bring himself to speak. He gulps and finally squeezes out, “What am I to you?”
“What? You’re family. And I treasure you. Don’t you know that? You’re like my brother.”
“But I’m not your brother. We aren’t related.”
“Wh-Why are you asking me this? Oh, I know what’s wrong. Are you angry with me for dragging you away from Luke? I know you were good buddies. I’m sorry, I didn’t ask before pulling you—”
“No! That’s not it. That’s not it…”
“Then what? You’re my family. It’s only us two. I think of you as family, and you’re very important to me. I thought you felt the same about me.”
“Yeah, you are important to me. You’re the most important thing to me.”
“Then we’re on the same page. You’re the most important thing to me.”
“No. Our feelings are not the same.”
“Yes, they are!”
“They’re not! That’s why I want to tell you…” Kazuya’s face suddenly draws near. So close that I put up my hand by reflex to stop him.
“Wh-why are you trying to bop me on the head?” Kazuya grumbles unhappily when I grab his cheek.
I recoil in astonishment. “Did I say something to make you angry? I never expected you to try and headbutt me.”
“I wasn’t trying to headbutt you! I was trying to kiss you! Get a clue already!”
“Kiss me? Wait, did you want to be like an American family that hugs and kisses each other?”
Kazuya heaves a great sigh and says emphatically, “No.”
Then what?
“…Sakurako, there’s dust on your bangs.”
“Ack, really?!” My hand flies to my bangs.
A shadow blocks the light in front of me and something soft connects with my lips. I freeze in shock when Kazuya slowly and deliberately pulls back.