Chapter 18

INTERMEDIATE CHAPTER The Dropout Raira Academy—the next day When she saw Yahiro showing up to school with his face bruised, Himeka approached and asked, “What happened to you…?” He rubbed his cheek through the large bandage covering it and said, “Oh, I fell down the stairs.” “Are you all right?” Though her face had a very narrow range of expression, she did seem to be concerned for him. Happy to be receiving this kind of attention, Yahiro felt himself blushing just a little. “Yeah, I didn’t break any bones.” “…You didn’t…get yourself into danger by looking for the Headless Rider, did you?” “Oh no, it wasn’t like that at all.” He wasn’t lying. It wasn’t completely unrelated, but he could safely say that it did not happen because he was looking for the Headless Rider. “Oh…well, be careful.” “Thanks, I will.” “?” She was confused by his odd cheeriness, but she didn’t seem to be interested in pushing him for more information about his injuries. “…” “…” There was an awkward silence where neither of them could come up with anything to say. The moment was broken when Kuon was next to enter the classroom. “Yo! How ya doin’?” the green-haired boy called out, all cheer. He did not wait for an answer. “Hey, did you hear? They say the Headless Rider came back to town last night!” “!” “…!” “Oops, let me make it clear that I wasn’t investigating the Headless Rider on my own. It was an article on a news blog, and people were talking about it on Twittia,” Kuon insisted, making excuses for himself. Himeka didn’t blame him, though. She looked upset, actually. Yahiro took it upon himself to change the subject from the Headless Rider. “Oh, uh, by the way, I was thinking of buying a TV or radio to put in my apartment. Do you know of a cheap place to buy those nearby?” “Huh? Didn’t they give you the place to stay in? Is it not furnished?” “I mean…yes, I’m borrowing a room from them, but it’s an entire apartment, so…” Himeka looked up, remembering something. “Actually, there’s a secondhand store near my house called Sonohara-dou…” “Secondhand store?” “They were closed for forever, but they just remodeled and reopened last month. The building was for sale, but they couldn’t find a buyer, so they had to open the business again. From what I remember, they had an old radio made of wood on display. But the display case also has a bunch of strange things in it, like old katanas and strange vases… I think a girl who graduated from this school is the one running it.” “Oooh… Maybe not the right place to find a TV, but it sounds interesting.” Kuon reacted as well. “A graduate of our school? Nice, very nice. Maybe she can tell us the school’s urban legends or let us know about blackmail material for the teachers. Why don’t we go there after school today?” “You can’t just decide that for us,” Yahiro protested, not ready to jump into Kuon’s idea. But Himeka simply said, “Okay.” “Huh?” “I feel like I need to explain myself about the Headless Rider to you two in more detail anyway…” “Really? Then it’s a plan!” Kuon exclaimed, slapping a fist into his palm. Yahiro stammered, “B-but I still have library committee duties after school today…” And even beyond that, he didn’t want to drag Himeka into something she wasn’t wild about. But she replied, “That’s fine. We’ll wait until you’re done.” The three officially had plans to meet up after school. After school—eighth floor of Raira Academy, in the library “I just don’t know… I hope she’s not doing this against her better judgment…,” Yahiro murmured to himself as he sorted newly acquired books for the library. One of the older students called out, “Hey, Mizuchi.” “Yes? What is it?” He turned, expecting to be told to do a new task. The other student pointed toward the door to the librarians’ room. “The library chairman wants to see you. He’s got something to talk about.” Locker entrance—thirty minutes later “Sorry, sorry. Sorry I’m late.” Yahiro rushed over, where Kuon and Himeka had already put away their school slippers and replaced them with their own shoes. “I guess you got held up by a lot of work, huh? Is there that much stuff to do?” Kuon asked with curiosity. He didn’t seem that upset about the wait. “Yeah, the tasks were easy, but I had to talk to the library chairman.” “Library chairman?” Himeka repeated. Yahiro nodded. “Yeah…we talked about a bunch of stuff. He also gave me his e-mail address.” “Oh yeah? What is this, like the start of your grooming to be the next chairman?” “No way. It’s only my second day on the committee,” Yahiro said, as he slipped his feet into his shoes. “That chairman is very mature, isn’t he?” Himeka said. “He always seems to be above everything.” “That’s right. He certainly feels like a chairman,” Yahiro agreed. Kuon interjected, “Oh, actually, he really is older than the rest of us.” “Huh?” “?” Yahiro and Himeka looked at him for further explanation, which he delivered without much fanfare. “Apparently, he got hurt really bad and spent some time in the hospital. So he’s actually repeating a grade.” Eighth floor of Raira Academy, in the library “Um, excuse me, Ryuugamine, where should we put the library committee bulletin stockpile?” asked a younger student. He turned around and answered, “Oh, I’ll take it to the librarians’ room. Thank you.” “Yes, sir!” Once the younger student was gone, the library committee chairman, Mikado Ryuugamine, stared out the window at the front gate of the school. The boy he’d talked with a moment ago was heading out into the neighborhood with another boy and girl who seemed to be his friends. The sight brought a memory to Mikado’s mind. A memory of walking through Ikebukuro with a boy and girl just like them, three years ago. The young man had once rushed through the bustle of Ikebukuro. He’d gotten involved in a number of events, sometimes causing them himself, and sank into the abnormal side of the city. “Yahiro Mizuchi…” Thanks to those experiences, Mikado got information of various kinds faster than most people in the area. “Amazing. He actually held his own in a fight against Shizuo Heiwajima.” A boy who had come to Ikebukuro looking for the Headless Rider and gotten into a brawl with Shizuo Heiwajima. A string of disappearances happening around the area. The return of the Headless Rider. Despite returning to the patterns of normal life, he heard information like these tidbits before anyone else. But all he did was offer that new student some advice. He did not try to form a strong connection to the new urban legend in the process of being created. He knew that he was a dropout, someone who had left the abnormal side of the city behind. Mikado thought of his girlfriend who had already graduated and his friend who quit school to get a job—and gazed down at the new students who were getting themselves involved in the urban legend of the Headless Rider. He smiled as they left the school gate and murmured, “Welcome to Ikebukuro. Let’s just hope that…something good comes of it.” Then the shadows of Ikebukuro stirred into motion again. Both old, stale and fresh, and new air mingled, creating a new breeze. Even the city did not know what that gust would bring.