Kurumi’s scream echoed through the spacious gym.
“I’m done putting up with crap! Done doing what useless grown-ups say!”
She stamped the floor and roared furiously, letting her impulses drive her. The impact shook the cat mask and can of spray paint by her feet.
“I hate you, too! I need to make you understand our resistance is not just some game! But I also want to save you! Why don’t you get that?!”
Her voice shook. I knew she meant every word.
“Make up your mind. You need this. It’s your salvation! Please.”
A desperate plea. She was speaking for both of us, and it was as genuine as it was heartfelt.
“If you don’t act, you’ll die. Your body or your soul—whichever goes first.”
Silence fell. It was as though Kurumi’s voice had cut down all other sounds, slaying them.
Ten seconds passed without a response. Twenty. The stifling, torturous hush threatened to smother us all.
Suddenly, we heard a shout from behind us. The back door had just opened, signaling an end to it all. Kurumi and I had no more time to wait for her decision.
“Let’s go, Kurumi.”
“…Right. Goodbye.”
We had a route secured, and we used it to escape the gym.
“Do you think that was the right choice, Kurumi?” I asked.
She was a few steps ahead of me, the heat of summer still lingering around us. “…I think…it was.” Her shoulders heaved, a fragile smile on her lips. “We should start acting like children again. Say no when we don’t wanna, hate what we don’t like, lash out at people we can’t stand. We need to be like little kids and forget how to just grin and bear it.”
“…Yeah. I think you’re right.”
“Maybe it’ll be a long, long time before she works out what I meant, but…I’m sure she’ll get it someday. And that’s enough.”
On we ran, feet beating the pavement. We had nowhere to go—no place to return to.
Passersby gawked at us like we were monsters.
I offered up a prayer.
Retribution was coming for us. This impulse could only lead us to destruction.
But let that wait a while longer.