He kept his right hand on the wheel, but lifted his left from the gear stick to extend it toward Kai’s head. He placed it on top and ruffled his hair a bit.
“If something like today every happens again, come straight to me. I’m more helpful than trying to solve everything between students. Well, I try to be, anyway.”
The hand that trembled with each of Royalteach’s hearty laughs was bigger than Kai expected. And his arms were buff. He might have looked like a heartthrob, but he was a grown man.
With that, Kai understood what Royalteach was getting at.
I’m not scared of today’s punks like Matsuda and his cronies. If they start something, I’ll stop it. Physically. I won’t look the other way.
That was the promise he was making with Kai.
If this guy wrote a Japanese test, I bet every question would be a troll.
Kai forgot the pain in his stomach for a bit as he smiled and thanked goodness that Royalteach taught social studies.
“Thanks a ton, I’ll call you when the time comes.”
“Sure.”
Royalteach retracted his hand. And for the short time until they reached Kai’s home, the two got excited talking about the modern big three of shounen manga together. It was then that Kai remembered that he had always wanted to have a manga chat with this teacher.
✦ ✦ ✦
Once he got home, Kai shut himself inside his room, changed into his sleepwear, and curled up into bed.
Royalteach explained the situation to his parents over the phone, so Kai’s mom elected not to ask her son about it. What was done was done, and she didn’t want to make him admit that he took such a one-sided beating. She understood that being a worrywart right now would only do more harm to Kai than good. He’d be better off if he were left alone for a bit.
“I know I’m supposed to rest... but man, I’m bored.”
Kai checked the clock, and it hadn’t even hit 7 p.m. Too early to expect drowsiness to set in any time soon.
Reading a manga or light novel counted as rest, right? What about watching anime? Could he handle a video game?
Quite some time passed as his mind focused on such trifling thoughts. But soon, he heard the thundering footsteps of someone dashing up the stairs. And shortly after, his bedroom door swung open.
“Kai!”
It was Jun, gasping for breath.
“You went to the hospital? What did the doctors say?!”
She kneeled by the side of the bed with a look so strained that you’d be forgiven for thinking she was the one who’d been sent to the ER.
“...Oh, they said it’s nothing serious. I... can be back in school tomorrow.”
Jun had closed their distance so aggressively that Kai found himself shrinking back.
“For real?!”
“C-Come on, would I lie to you?”
“Pheeeew, thank gooooodness...”
Jun looked as though the weight of the world was lifted off her shoulders as she relaxed her body and slumped over the bed.
“...Weren’t you out shopping with friends?”
“I was. But I got a call from Reina, so I came running.”
Jun answered with a muffled voice, as her face was still buried in the bedsheets.
“Come to think of it, she’s the one who got me out of that situation... I gotta thank her tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I thanked her a ton over the phone.”
“Ah, right. That’s a better idea. Fujisawa would probably rather hear that from you than me.”
Kai joked that she wasn’t exactly his number one fan. He was waiting for Jun to joke along, but she didn’t respond. She just kept her face planted on the bed with no indication that she’d raise it, so Kai couldn’t tell what expression she was making.
But... he did hear a sniffle. Kai had to chuckle at that.
“C’mon, Jun, don’t cry.”
“...I’m not crying.”
“I’m the one who’s in enough pain that I could cry, right?”
“...I said I’m not crying.”
Jun continued to play it cool with her face held firmly down. But despite her best efforts, her sniffles only grew louder until a few of them turned into sobs.
Kai could only chuckle again. In an imitation of Royalteach, he reached his right arm over and gently placed his hand on the back of her head. While he savored the smoothness of her hair, he gently caressed her head to calm her nerves and soothe her heart.
Once he did, the levee finally broke. Jun wailed and started bawling, making an increasingly visible puddle on Kai’s comforter.
“See? You are crying.”
“But I was so worried... Just because you weren’t hospitalized doesn’t mean I’d stop worrying. And I just couldn’t relax until I saw your face...”
“Can you relax now?”
“Yeah, I’m sooo relaxed... but still a little worried...”
“Well, stick around until that’s all gone.”
“Yeah... I will...”
Jun dragged her face up and down against the covers in agreement.
Kai chuckled yet again. He had to wonder who was visiting who here. Well, I’m definitely glad to have someone to talk to. Times like these made him so grateful to have such a friend.
...However. Kai noticed a peculiar tingling in his nose as Jun was discharging the contents of hers. And before long, he was sneezing in succession.
Uh-oh, that’s not good, Kai realized as he sniffled deeply.
“...Sorry, Jun. The injuries might not have been major, but I think I caught a cold...”
It was probably due to the bucket of water Matsuda’s cronies doused him with before they beat his ass. It was pretty chilly out today, and he was stuck in those wet clothes for a while. Maybe the fact that they had dried by the time he got home made him careless. Maybe he should’ve taken a long, hot bath to warm his bones the second he got in the door...
In fact, he was feeling chillier by the second. Kai knew his body well; when he got fevers, he’d start getting a chill. This was definitely a cold.
“So uh, you oughta go for the day. Please? I don’t want you catching it.”
“Fine, I’ll catch it.”
“Don’t be silly...”
Kai tried to reason with Jun. But before he could go any further, her face shot up, and his gaze was captured by the expression she finally revealed.
Her tear-stained eyes left an impression. To someone like Jun who always minded her appearance, it must have been a humiliating state to be in. But those tears came from her concern for Kai and were shed for his sake. How could he see her as anything less than beautiful?
Jun argued back with that teary face and runny nose.
“It’s my fault Matsuda beat you up, isn’t it?!”
Kai gulped before looking back sternly. “No. That’s absolutely not why.” It was Matsuda’s fault. It was that coward’s and nobody else’s.
“I knew it! Besides... if I were in your shoes and someone told me to stop being friends with you, I’d never do it no matter how hard they punched or kicked! I wouldn’t accept it! I’d say no to my last breath!”
“Jun...”
That tugged on his heartstrings. Kai was about to cry over her crying. That’s how happy he was to hear Jun say that.
“So let me catch it. We’ll have a cold together.”
“Haha... I dunno what to do with you...”
Kai had no clue what was running through Jun’s head. He couldn’t tell if there was any logic in there at all. And yet, he found her argument strangely convincing.
“I got it. Just stay by my side for a bit.”
“Sure!”
Jun eagerly responded and hopped onto the bed. To Kai’s surprise, she pulled up the sheets and wrapped them around the two of them. To Kai’s further surprise, she clutched his side as he lay on his back.
“Wait, what?”
“You always say you’re chilly when you catch a cold, right? So I’m warming you up.” Jun may have been the one to say it, but she was already beet red.
“You don’t have to if it’s gonna make you blush...”
“I’m not. That’s the cold.”
“Haha. Sure, you caught that quick.”
Kai joked about it, but he figured his face was probably no less flushed. Maybe it was because they were both under the sheets, but Jun’s lovely scent was stronger than usual. And her warmth traveled further than he expected... as though he could feel the beats of her racing heart through her skin.
“...Hey...”
“...What’s up?”
“...Can I come closer?”
“...Sure. We’re friends, after all.”
Jun whispered into Kai’s ear close enough to tickle it.
“...Well, since we’re friends...”
“...Yeah. C’mere.”
With Jun’s permission granted, Kai changed his position. He turned from lying on his back to lying on his side with the both of them in each other’s arms. The face of the cutest girl in his world, the one who was everything he was looking for, was so close that she took his breath away.
“...Like it?”
“...I do.”
The body Kai held close was so soft, and oh-so warm. The chill before the cold was the furthest thing from his mind.
The next day, Kai and Jun were gleefully absent from school. The two of them had gleefully caught colds.