A pleasant breeze blew past us, and our view opened up.
Blinding sunlight struck our eyes. There was a clear blue summer sky stretching over our heads. The rainy season had finally ended.
Tiles stretched out from below our feet toward the fences beyond. We were back on the roof, where we’d sworn to change this school.
“So? What now, Natsume?”
“First, let’s get over the fence. That one, directly opposite the door.”
“Augh… Are we really gonna jump?”
We made our way slowly forward.
At the far end of the roof, our fingers grabbed the safety fence. I gave Kurumi a boost, and once she was on the other side, I used everything I had to hoist myself up and over as well.
We were on a small ledge between the fence and empty air, standing together.
“We’re so high up…,” said Kurumi. “But what a great view. It’s like we’re standing on air.”
Like Kurumi said, we could see far into the distance, all the way to the horizon. Below us, I could spot the river, all the houses, the little vending machines, cars trundling along, the open school gates, the welcome arch.
Perhaps because of our broadcast, there weren’t many people down below.
I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with summer—a season full of hopes and expectations.
When I’d been sulking up here with my dad’s cigarettes, I’d been sure I could never make this jump. But now I could. Today, I’d take the leap. With Kurumi at my side, we could fly as far as we liked—or fall together.
“Hey, Natsume.” Kurumi took my hand. I turned to look at her. She seemed anxious. “I can trust you, right? We’ll make a clean getaway?”
“Yeah, I promise. I’ve got a plan.”
“Do you? Well, if worse comes to worst, we’ll die together.” Her voice shook.
“Kurumi, you’re okay. You’ll be okay,” I said, gently stroking the back of her hand.
Kurumi blinked at me, then snorted, an awkward smile crossing her lips.
“Heh, trying to imitate me? I’m not the least bit comforted by you rubbing my hand.”
Oh, looks like I blew it. Guess there’s only one thing I can do to ease her mind.
With my free hand, I snatched away her newsboy hat.
I leaned closer, bringing my face up to hers. Our lips met, and then our tongues entwined.
“Natsu…me! …Gasp. Heh-heh… You sure went for that kiss. Damn.”
She grumbled, but it had eased her nerves.
I put the hat back on her head. She’d be fine now. It was time to go.
“Our time’s almost up. Are you ready, Kurumi?”
“I am. Let’s do this, Natsume.”
Huddling together, we locked eyes and nodded. That was the sign.
I put one arm around her and jumped.
It felt like we were floating. My body was melting into the summer sky, blurring the line between life and death.
But before gravitational acceleration could catch us…
…I turned and reached a hand out toward the wall.
I’d made sure we were standing above my target—a long cloth stretched tight against the wall of the building. I got a good grip on the top of it.
Our bodies bounced once, then stopped.
“Oh! Natsume, that’s—!” Kurumi yelped from under my arm. She’d worked out my plan.
Just in the nick of time, I’d grabbed the banner my classmates had made.
“Where are we hanging these things?”
“From the school roof! We’ll hang all three in a row. Right, teacher?”
I knew exactly where they’d be. That’s why I’d been confident we could make the jump. I knew how we could kill our momentum.
“Kurumi, hang on tight! It’s a long way down.”
“Right! Good point!”
I’d intended to adjust my grip and slide down the length of the fabric—or that was my plan. The banner was pretty sturdy—but it was just cloth. In the end, the weight of two teenagers proved too much for it. There was a nasty tearing sound, and it started to rip.
From the place I was gripping, I watched the characters for “Traditions and Connections” tear right in half.
Kurumi and I descended like we were riding a giant zipper. This wasn’t the way I’d planned things, but it was slowing us down. Fine, let’s roll with it.
“Aiiiiiie! This is going a lot faster than I thought!” cried Kurumi.
“Hang in there! Argh, that smarts!”
The cloth was chafing my hand pretty badly. It felt hot. I was going to have some pretty nasty friction burns. But I couldn’t exactly let go. I had to hang on. For Kurumi!
The sky was getting farther away, while the ground and the sounds of the crowd grew rapidly closer.
My pulse was racing, my brain overheating, and my soul screaming. One more second… Now!
“Kurumi! We’re gonna land! Can you jump?”
“Eaurghh?! I have to jump? Dammit, fine! Here goes!”
A few meters above the ground, I let her go, and she landed first. Then I kicked off the wall and followed suit.
The wind whistled past us, and my feet touched down. I tried to mimic a safety fall I’d seen once, but I wasn’t sure it helped. I rolled across the ground and landed in a heap.
“Hahh…hahh… Damn, Natsume. That was insane.” Kurumi was lying on her back next to me.
“Koff… Haah… I made it! Kurumi? Are you still in one piece?”
“Yeah, I think. Somehow. Every part of me hurts, though… Hup!”
She got up and dusted herself off while I scrambled to my feet. If we could both stand, we were fine.
“Thanks for trusting me, Kurumi. Looks like we made a clean getaway, just like I said.”
“Not sure you can call this clean! But that was certainly quite the plan.”
She flashed me a snide grin, and I laughed. She hadn’t praised me in some time—and it felt really nice.
“Hey! Did someone just fall?!”
As we grinned at each other, we heard people yelling in the distance.
“Crap, they saw us. Kurumi, we’d better get moving. Can you run?”
“No rest for the wicked, huh? I’ve got some energy left. But I think you’ll have to hold my hand.”
“Sure thing. I’ll pull you along. Let’s go.”
“Heh-heh, sweet.”
A smile bloomed on her face as she took my outstretched hand. Her fingers were thin, beautiful, and filled with human warmth.
Hand in hand, we ran away from the crowds.
“I’m glad I met you, Natsume.”
“I’m glad I met you, too, Kurumi.”
The path of vengeance wasn’t going to lead us to a happy conclusion.
Kurumi had dropped out, and our school still wasn’t fixed. Our attack had made people unhappy, and more misery awaited them.
But at the moment, none of that mattered. For now, I didn’t want to think—I just wanted to keep on running.
I wanted to move, to yell, whenever the impulse hit. And when I was worried, I’d take Kurumi’s hand and we’d kiss until we felt better.
That was how we found happiness as two people who refused to be warped by all the messed up stuff around us.