Chapter 1: Deep Deep Forest
I let out a loud gasp as I pushed myself up, covering my mouth with my hand. In a hurry, I swiped my eyes around the room. My raged breath was the loudest sound in the school infirmary, empty as the nurse in duty seemed to have gone somewhere.
As seconds passed, I began to collect myself and my memories. I wiped the sweat off my chest with my clothes, inhaling deeply for another time to calm down my breathing.
Digging one of my canines against the inside corner of my lip, I pressed a hand against my forehead. "I can't lie to Coach Nikaidou after this," I glowered, "it's the third time." I brought my knees closer before placing my arms on it, then my head, and sighed loudly. "It's not good."
I jumped as I heard two pairs of footsteps approach from the far side of the room. The office was at the end of the first floor, pushed aside by first-year classrooms. Having checked the time earlier, I begged for it to not be anyone from the soccer club as I stared at the closed door frozen stiff.
I resigned myself as I identified the rhythm of the owners of the footsteps', getting closer and closer. Taking another deep breath, I lowered my legs and straightened my back.
The door opened, a man and a boy staring in with a clear difference in worry.
I waved with a smile, painfully aware of the awkward air they brought. "Hello."
The boy returned a short smile and a nod. I turned my sight to the biggest challenge, an annoyed coach.
"How are you feeling, Sumire-san?" he asked with apparent worry.
"Oh, I'm fine. I apologize for worrying everyone," I replied casually like before. Turning my body towards their approaching figures, I tucked my legs in and sat properly.
This time, neither of them grabbed the chair beside the bed. I gripped an end of my skirt. While Coach Nikaidou's height was intimidating, I kept my smile strong.
"Sumire-san," he started, patience nearing its end, "this is the third time in four months."
"I know," I interjected, "the anemia hasn't made me feel very well."
His features tensed. "You didn't write that in your club form."
I giggled lightly. "You would have judged me as a frail little girl. I can't have that."
A second passed, the silence moistening the air. "How are you adjusting to the school? You are the only student from Kanto," the Coach said.
I waved a hand dismissively. "It's the anemia, Coach Nikaidou. I mean it." I looked at the silent boy beside him, the armband bestowing him the title of Captain despite being a first year was washed in the orange hue of the sunset. "I want to help the soccer club as much as I can." The only thought in my mind was that I couldn't go out that easily.
Gouenji Shuuya-kun met my gaze and turned to the Coach; I mimicked. "Coach," he called.
Coach Nikaidou glanced between us for a moment and sighed. "I need the document of a physician certifying you can carry out your duties as a manager. I can't have you fainting in the qualifying match."
I nodded firmly. "I will have it as soon as possible."
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After bidding goodbye to the team, I left through the front gate while ignoring the fixed stare from Coach Nikaidou. The Mukata triplets also had something to say about fainting, their mockery going unanswered but with a glare. If there was a reason the soccer team wasn't improving, it was because of their arrogance.
The black car that brought me home was parked in the same place. I opened my bag as soon as the engine rumbled and the car pulled away from the school. Taking a regular notebook and a mechanical pencil, I opened the latter to this week's notes.
I cocked my head to the side and lifted my brows. Placing the end of the pencil on my chin, I hummed unsurely. "It doesn't look right." I tapped my chin. "But I can't ask Yuuto. This isn't a test question."
I scribbled intently on the notebook, editing and fixing the information of Kidokawa Seishuu's soccer club team. After blowing the eraser scraps, I brushed the page clean. "Is this acceptable?" I frowned and sighed in defeat. "I am holding my end of the deal one way or the other."
Minutes later, I was tempted to look away as Teikoku Gakuen's imposing presence grew from the distance. The metallic structures reflected the receding light, giving the school a larger than life appearance as a middle school.
I instinctively held my breath.
As soon as I stepped out of the car, I found the recently goggle-eyed boy who was to escort me to that man's office.
His poker face and indifferent body language left little signs he was willing to participate in small talk, yet I gave him a friendly greeting. "Thank you for waiting after club every week. Let's finish this fast and go home."
He nodded quietly and turned to the looming school. My smile fell and I stared at his growing back with worry.
You wouldn't believe we were childhood friends and former classmates.
Whenever my thoughts dipped into blaming my weaknesses, I shook my head and blamed the source of his change. Kageyama Reiji. Nevertheless, I curled my hands tightly. "If only I were smart enough to be here," I swore and trotted to catch up with him.
I made some small talk to keep my mind away from the eerie surroundings, a pressure that would otherwise crush my bones, until we reached that man's office . I had been here plenty of times, even before having to choose a middle school, but there was always something strange about the shadows at every corner.
As we stopped in front of that man's office, I put a hand over my neck when a chill shook my spine, feeling a pair of eyes on me. I quickly looked around.
"There isn't supposed to be anyone here now, right?" I asked Kidou in a hurry.
"No, there isn't," he replied without turning his back.
I looked back once again, sensing the stare under a fraction of a second. Gazing at a particular corner, my lips fell as Yuuto called using my last name after the door opened.
We presented ourselves to the Supreme Commander of Teikoku Gakuen's soccer club with a forty-year winning history, Kageyama Reiji. Wearing a purple outfit and dark lenses as sinister as his soul, he sat on a throne obtained through dirty deals and an undeniable talent for business and soccer tactics. He was the man who made Yuuto the soccer player he is. And the man who will influence him the most from now on.
Spite contorted my facial features. I despised the respect I held for him as a businessman, for he managed to snatch the child in Yuuto I was tasked to protect and nurture when Kidou-san adopted him.
As per the established routine, I gave Yuuto the notebook who passed it to that man.
"Was is this?" he said dryly after reading the notebook, his deep voice sending me into a state of rising panic. My fingers trembled. "Is this the best you can do?"
I bit my lip tightly. "I am learning ways to--"
"Leave." He closed the notebook, pushing it lightly as if rejecting a piece of garbage.
I took a step forward. "Their improvement is slow. Even with the match in two weeks, I do not believe they can win as a team. Gouenji-kun is the best player they have both in terms of speed, power, and technique. I can do this properly!" I yelled desperately. "I can give reports!"
Unfazed, he clasped his fingers. "Notes are crucial to a team's development. If you can't do that then your reports are as valuable as a witness's testimony. I want facts and numbers. Now leave."
Stress built up on my body and I tightened to hold it back. Digging my nails on my palms, I was aware the words I wanted to say were unwelcomed and broke apart before they left my mouth.
Yuuto presented the notebook back as if mocking me. I snatched it from his hand and turned away, walking briskly towards the door.
"Swim back to the surface, or die. Those are your choices, Sumire. You still are the heir of the Sumire Foundation. Want it or not."
I stopped at the threshold, gazing into the shadows of the dark forest: a world where I was lost, without a purpose to live. Yuuto and I were like Hansel and Gretel, two children who were tempted by the sight of a house of candy and a witch who offered to satisfy our cravings and dreams. But the witch didn't need to trap us because we came back of our own free will. And how fitting it felt to watch the animated Disney's short with Danse Macabre, a depressing and wistful song to top the tale off.
Yuuto stopped behind me, quietly observing my reaction like a child to his mother.
"I know," I blankly replied to that man, stepping forward, back into the real nightmare called life. "I know, but what can I do in this state?"
Deep Deep Forest | End