Vacation was over, and normal classes resumed.
September 1, the first day back, ended after homeroom. After class, Kurumi and I went back to the Stargazing Club room. The mood was dire. We leaned back in our chairs, listening to the clock tick.
“…We really did it this time,” Kurumi said, not sitting up.
“You mean revealing our names and faces?”
“Yeah. There’s no talking our way out of this one.”
She put her full weight against the back of the folding chair and spun her cat-eared cap on one finger. She was clearly feeling the pressure. I could tell from the moment I saw her.
“If that turns out to be our last attack, will you regret it?”
“Well… No,” she said. “I still think it was the right thing to do.” She tossed the cap into the air, caught it, and put it back on. “That attack was like a sparkler. A farewell to the summer. I just couldn’t rest until she knew the names of some of the students harmed by this shit.”
“Yeah, I’m with you there.”
That’s why I’d gone along with Kurumi’s plan.
Ookuma had dismissed our hatred of the school. She needed to see how serious we were about it—and it wouldn’t be enough to state our complaints from a safe distance, protected by anonymity. Kurumi was right—revealing ourselves was a necessary rite we had to undergo.
“…I don’t regret it, but thinking about what comes next is still depressing.”
“Yeah, I get that, too. I feel exactly the same.”
If they knew our names and faces, the school would definitely step in to punish us. Suspension? Expulsion? Given our crimes, we might get even worse.
We’d talked about it on the phone that morning and prepared ourselves, but homeroom had come and gone with no consequences, and the school day was already over. Now fear was catching up with us; we had no clue what was going on in the faculty room. We knew there was no use wondering, but our brains kept sketching up worst-case scenarios.
“…Natsume, let’s make out.” Kurumi didn’t wait for an answer. She just leaned across the table.
She had a point. There was nothing like making out to distract us from our problems.
“Sure, I was feeling like it myself.”
“Yes! Heh-heh. It feels like ages since we kissed in here.”
“True. Guess it has been a while…”
“…And this might be our last chance.”
“……”
I got off my chair and cupped her anxious face in my hands.
As we stared into each other’s eyes, our lips touched, our tongues entwined, and then—
—the door flew open.
“Ack! Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt every time,” Nanaougi said, sailing right in without a trace of guilt.
Kurumi pulled away and sat back down in a huff. “…You again, Nanaougi? Knock next time.”
“What’s with the long faces? Bad news?”
“Not yet, but the teachers will have it in for us for sure,” Kurumi said, pouting.
“Because you revealed your identities, you mean?” Nanaougi asked, blinking. “I don’t think that’ll be an issue.”
“What? Nanaougi, don’t act like you aren’t in the same boat—…”
Kurumi trailed off, freezing up in her chair. My eyes went wide, too.
We had good reason to be shocked.
A short woman in a suit had followed Nanaougi into the clubroom. Long, wavy brown hair swayed behind her. It was Kanae Ookuma—the very person on all our minds.
“…What’s up, freedom fighters? Is this your secret lair?” Ookuma asked, glaring through her lashes at us.
“We’re doomed! Natsume, our time has come,” Kurumi wailed, throwing her head back and looking up at the heavens above. She was practically beside herself.
…I see. So this is how it ends. We’d known revealing names and faces would leave us with nowhere to hide, but…we hadn’t expected to meet our fates in the clubroom.
I would have preferred it to happen up on the roof, where I’d first met Kurumi. Maybe that was a bit pretentious, but it was also a sign I’d given up, resigned myself.
However, I soon noticed Ookuma’s odd demeanor. She was glaring at us, but she didn’t seem angry. Her eyes kept darting to the floor and back, like she was feeling guilty. It really didn’t seem like she was here to arrest a couple of renegades.
“C’mon, Ms. Ookuma,” Nanaougi gave her a push, and she took another step inside.
For a long moment, she stared at the floor. Then she took a deep breath, looked up, and stared right at us.
“First, let me make this clear—I haven’t told the school who did it.”
“…Huh? Why not?” Kurumi asked.
“I thought you were just trying to stir the pot,” Ookuma said. “But on closer inspection, it’s not that simple. Your actions are a cry for help. You’re trying to shine a light on how messed up it is when teachers don’t treat their students like people. You acted with purpose. Right?”
“Yes, that was the intent.”
“…I couldn’t justify expelling you for that. So I kept your names to myself. I told everyone I didn’t know who was responsible for the graffiti.”
Aha. That explains why we weren’t nabbed on our way in this morning.
It was good news, but I wasn’t ready to celebrate just yet. There had to be more to this, and I wasn’t about to take it lying down.
“Letting us off the hook won’t make us behave,” Kurumi said, taking the words right out of my mouth. “If you’re trying to cut a deal to spare us in return for good behavior, you can forget it. If you let us go, we will attack again. Are you all right with that?”
“Go right ahead.”
I’d expected her to come back at us with a speech about our parents, permanent records, and futures. But Ookuma just shrugged it all off.
“…You mean that?” Kurumi gaped. “You’re okay with us staging more attacks?”
“Yeah, suit yourselves. I’d like to see this school go down in flames.” I could detect no traces of uncertainty, and she wasn’t finished, either. “I thought it through, and I’ve got no reason to stop you. I hate this school, too—and I’ve got it in for everyone responsible for these awful rules.”
“Oh! You finally worked it out?! Exactly! You’re merely wearing a teacher’s mask!”
“Seeing you in action made me realize something. My head’s been full of crap about what I should or shouldn’t do—I was all hung up on convention. But none of that stuff matters. If you don’t like someone, you should just punch them in the face.”
“Yes! Precisely! Don’t let yourself be satisfied with just scribbling complaints in some planner. Make them suffer, too!” Kurumi put up a finger to emphasize her point, and Ookuma nodded along.
She wasn’t talking like a teacher at all. She must have had a real breakthrough. When I first saw her planner, I’d thought she was similar to me. But I’d never expected her to change her tune this fast.
Yesterday’s attack had been a last-ditch effort, but as long as it had reached her, I was satisfied. She was just one more person who had been captured by Kurumi Hoshimiya’s spell.