Chapter 10: What Is Lost
After snapping at Yuuto, peaceful days settled comfortably as if nothing had happened. Ryuugamine-senpai was nowhere in immediate sight. Meanwhile, thanks to Fire Tornado and Gouenji-kun, the team earned their first victory in the official tournament. If Nanzan-senpai helplessly cowered when facing the flame vortex, tomorrow's match shouldn't be an issue either.
As I listlessly watched over them during afternoon practice, I shook my head. Yuuto was going to ask about Tornado Legend when I handed my report that Saturday and Ryuugamine-senpai had to appear once again.
Gouenji-kun and I entered the clubroom before the day ended. I believed he wanted to talk in private, but the conversation opened with an apology about the injury at the qualifying match.
"It's not much but--" Gouenji-kun promptly presented a piece of tupperware and lowered his head further.
I stared at the object in his hands, the size of a bento box, in a mildly astonished silence. Soon, a familiar grass-like smell wafted to my nostrils and I heard a nerve snap.
"Do I look like a starving child to you?" I asked sharply, barely restraining a shout, fists shaking. I was undeniably petite and physically weak, but I wouldn't let anyone make fun of me because of traits I couldn't change.
Gouenji's eyes widened. He replied in a quiet, pained voice that pinched my chest as I realized the actual trigger.
"No, words aren't enough. I really am sorry," he said.
Placing the back of my hand over my mouth, I looked at the wooden floor in the clubroom, ashamed of my lack of patience and properly apologized.
"I didn't mean to be ungrateful. Forget what I said." Gouenji-kun wasn't Yuuto, I scolded myself.
Gouenji-kun looked up and nodded, yet, his vulnerable gaze spoke the opposite.
After an uncomfortable second or two, I grabbed the bento box from his hands and thanked him with a fake, tired smile.
"It's a touching gesture," I added, detached and gentle as if we were strangers.
He didn't mind if I ate the contents in front of the team, so I sat back on the bench and snapped open the box with curiosity.
Squealing as the beautifully steamed gyoza sparkled under the afternoon sun, the corners of my lips stretched into a Cheshire cat smile. The smell of steamed vegetables and beef wafted back into my nostrils.
A melting sound escaped from my lips. "Gyoza is a common snack but what are the chances he chose my favorite~."
I dug in gratefully with the wooden chopsticks taped at the bottom of the bento box. Finally aware of the thoughtful reason he chose this particular delicacy, I promptly dismissed it, instead focusing all of my senses in the act of eating.
The depths of my being relaxed as if it was taking a steaming, scented bath.
"An offering to a goddess instead, mnhm~." I nodded happily as I munched. "Kidokawa's goddess of victory!"
⚽️⚽️
While that night provided a rare, peaceful sleep, the idea of offering a gift as a gesture of apology triggered the unpleasant and deep guilt for betraying that man: the following night, I was tormented with Yuuto's 'Why did you betray him?', the promise I made to that man, and a flash of light followed by a prickling forehead, right above my nose.
Unable to wash the scowl off my face, I swayed to the field for morning practice when I noticed the commotion in front of the clubroom.
The hairs on my neck stood up at the unusual mood; I straightened my back and picked up the pace.
"Gouenji-kun, what happened?!" I asked between breaths.
His downcast expression confirmed my vague suspicions. "Fire Tornado's manual is missing," he said dejectedly.
"What?!" I took a breath, my heart climbing to my mouth. "That's impossible! I locked--"
"Unless it was you who took it," the oldest Mukata-senpai interrupted, approaching with his usual arrogant stride and siblings as if they had discovered the culprit. "Like yeah."
I inhaled sharply, cursing the resting time I needed from such a brief walk as my heart kept hammering against my ribcage.
"I would never--!"
"Where's the evidence, like--"
"Let me finish!" I interjected. My heart pounded on my ears, the rapid tempo swallowing their shrills. I stopped myself from hinting at the throbbing headache that worsened by the second.
A hand gently settled on my shoulder, attached with a silvery voice.
"No one is accusing you, Sumire."
My eyes widened and I flicked my head to the speaker, mistaking those words for the situation at the back of my mind. Staring into Gouenji-kun's maroon eyes, embarrassment rose.
'Calm down,' I told myself. Moving away, Gouenji-kun's hand slipped off. "I know. I know," I replied.
Looking at the rest of the team's faces while Gouenji-kun spoke with our arrogant seniors, the anxiety and despair urged me to fix this. The Coach was speaking with the rest of the third years except Nanzan-senpai, Mitsumine-senpai, and Mogi-senpai who huddled together as usual. They had seen anyone suspicious and didn't know where the manual was.
"Everyone." I elevated my voice to my peers, continuing after seizing their attention. "Captain managed to perfect the technique. I believe there isn't much to worry." I smiled reassuringly.
"It can't be misplaced," Fukazawa-kun deduced, looking at all of us. He crossed his arms in front of his stout body. "The first years and second years don't know where the manual was either."
"In the first place, who noticed it was missing?" Dandou-kun asked.
"What if it was stolen and they use it to counter Fire Tornado?! We don't have anything else!" Tobiyama-kun cried out.
A mute discussion broke out in front of me. My thoughts were focused on finding a solution.
I clapped hard. "Instead of focusing on the missing manual, everyone has to support the captain." I looked at Coach Nikaidou who was as unsure as to I where I was taking this speech. "Surely there is more than Fire Tornado in the soccer team's repertoire, am I right?"
The Coach agreed and the team visibly relaxed. "Yeah, the previous soccer teams designed more hissatsus." He scratched his head and sighed. "I was going inform you guys about the new training regime for tomorrow but plans changed. Starting today, some of you will be practicing a hissatsus."
Some erupted with muttering and excitement, while others were hesitant to join. Fukazawa-kun bore a suspicious pair or baby blue eyes on me and I told him it was better to look forward instead of looking back. They didn't have time to worry about a missing manual.
"But." Another Mukata protested among the cheers. "If someone took Fire Tornado, wouldn't they do the same with the other techniques, like yeah?"
I narrowed my eyes.
"And. . ." his tone rose dangerously, "We don't know who took it, right, Sumire?"
"What makes you think I took it?" I asked carefully.
He grinned. "You are the last to leave. Isn't it like, obvious?"
I stepped forward. "If it's that obvious, anyone would have used another method."
No one moved a muscle or made a sound. Everyone glanced at each other, looking for who would take the first step.
Mukata-senpai's figure went in an out of focus and reality seemed to slip out of my fingers. I bit my lip, waking my brain up.
"Fine!" I flailed my arms with mock defeat. "I'll find the culprit if it helps everyone focus on the tournament. I want to know who took it as well, hmph."
I heard a "he" from the triplets; the muscle under my eye twitched.
"Sumire--"
Ignoring Gouenji's call, I lifted up my hand. "Coach," I began, plastering a smile on my face, hiding the pain, the exhaustion, the feelings. "Can I search after setting up for practice?"
He nodded. "Thanks, Sumire-san. That's reassuring. Start afterschool, I want everyone to be present for the overview of the new training regime."
⚽️⚽️
After Coach Nikaidou forced me to tell him and the nurse about my condition, the nurse office became a place I could freely enter and leave. The nurse took my vitals each time I laid down the bed and asked how I felt, nothing else. Small talk was pleasant, and I grew to like her tact and quiet cheer. A couple of hours of sleep was enough to focus on the lectures.
Groggily walking to afternoon classes after resting, I joked to a worried Mitsumiya and Chiyo-chan that I had played truant just because.
"Let's skip together next time!" Was Mitsumiya's reaction where Chiyo-chan admonished her; skipping seemed to be a thing of their past. I walked to my seat, chuckling to myself and my unlawful friends.
As I set my bag and plopped down, I realization crushed on me.
I had just greeted Ryuugamine-san and exchanged a curt nod with Gouenji-kun too.
"It had been years since I greeted this many people in the class," I said in an astonished daze.
⚽️⚽️
Classes ended, and I was knocking on the door to the student council's room. There was one possibility I had to investigate first. With how popular that person was, I found their current location without any trouble.
"Not only I need to find Fire Tornado, but also Tornado Legend." I sighed deeply.
I bit my lip as I remembered Fukazawa-kun's watchful gaze and shook my head. "After I bring the hissatsu to the soccer team, being a double spy won't matter. As long as that man interferes, Kidokawa can't win," I told myself.
A male's voice said to come in. I slid the door open, excusing myself.
There were two people in the room, a brown-haired third year, Kensou Saburo-senpai, and the fool who had dug his own grave. The room was neat and organized, save from the papers scattered over the coffee table between the two.
Kensou-senpai looked up from his laptop with a lazy smirk, "What can I help you with, Sumire-san?" he asked nonchalantly.
The first time I entered the student council, I noticed he possessed a similar vibe to that man's. My instincts had told me to stay away, and I had until that moment, hadn't the person I was looking been sitting in that room.
"I would like to speak with Ryuugamine-senpai," I said without looking at the addressed who was either ignoring me or hadn't acknowledged my existence as he kept working on his laptop.
"Ryuugamine, your girlfriend is pissed," he called with an amused smile.
"I-I'm not his girlfriend!" I protested instantly, the tension slipping away from my shoulders.
"Hm?" Ryuugamine-senpai said and lifted his head, our eyes meeting again. "What the f-?!" he overreacted.
I sighed disappointedly.
Grinning at Ryuugamine-senpai, Kensou-senpai stood up. "I'll be back in a while."
I glanced at the third year suspiciously, an aura tougher than Senbayama's Invincible Wall. I suppressed the urge to move away as he passed by to the door.
Trotting behind the sofa Kensou-senpai was sitting, I spoke after his footsteps faded far into the hallway.
I narrowed my eyes. "I don't know why you stole the manual, but if I am found then you are going down with me."
Ryuugamine-senpai looked at me as if I was about to kill him, a confused yelp escaping from his lips. My eyes narrowed further, savoring the idea of the lack of his existence. His every minor action fueled my anger: his meek attitude, his foul language, his passivity.
"Wha-what are you talking about?" he asked, tugging the edge of his jacket.
I placed my hands on the couch's backrest, leaning over a little. "Fire Tornado's manual was stolen. The team suspects me, but I know it was you."
"It was stolen?!" he exclaimed, then he spoke carefully, "It wasn't me."
"Liar." My jaw clenched." No one in the school but we would want to take it. I asked Kidou-kun to confirm--the only ones working for that man is us."
Ryuugamine-senpai looked down, thoughtful. Eventually, he replied, "I-I don't know. Bu-but I didn't take it."
I felt my teeth clench. "Why should I believe you?"
"I'm just telling the truth." He grimaced before looking elsewhere. "You don't have to believe me."
I let out a long sigh. "Then, if it wasn't you who. . . ?" My bones felt heavy, the only lead I had crashed against a dead end. Coach Nikaidou was the only one who knew of the manual's location.
"Would you lend me your help?" I asked before my mind caught up.
He gave me a sideway glance. "That's none of my business."
I chuckled dryly, each second closer to hysteria. "This is very much your business, Ryuugamine-senpai. Didn't I make myself clear before? I have no intention of letting you win if I'm found."
There were two conditions for a loss. The other finding the manuals first, or being found.
Ryuugamine-senpai grumbled to himself.
"Your mistakes aren't my fault."
Those words echoed and faded in the silent room.
"Same to you," I spoke slowly, smile never faltering as I let him know the weight of his choice.
⚽️⚽️
Instead of returning empty-handed to the field, my feet brought me to the cultural clubs. I found Ryuugamine-san as she seemed to finish eating and beckoned her to the hallway.
"Do you need something, Sumire-san?" she asked curiously. She meticulously kept about a meter away.
I shook my head and smiled sweetly. "I had something to take care of and thought of visiting you." The student council was on the adjacent building. I didn't grasp why it had to be her when Mitusmiya--the most likely to skip her duties and play around--was one floor down.
The first time I had lunch with Ryuugamine-san, I noticed the displeasure in Mitsumiya's face. Yet, the more I spoke with the composed girl about music, the more I was drawn to her. Our mutual love for music became the leeway to heartfelt honesty.
When I was with her, I didn't have to pretend. Because she only cares of her own expectations for herself, she doesn't seem to have expectations of others. Even if Ryuugamine-san knew I was the heir of the Sumire Foundation, she never hinted I should act like it.
I loved to eat and sleep; honorable historical figures and History itself. I disliked sweets, toys, fairytales, and vivid colors. Ryuugamine-san's fascination with these facts was flattering. I felt special. Like before.
After some small talk, I broke through an important topic.
"That reminds me. You were watching the soccer team's qualifying match, weren't you?"
Her eyes widened a little, but just as fast, they retreated. "For a while."
I leaned against the window. "Gouenji-kun and I may be friendly with each other, but we aren't dating."
I wasn't deaf to the growing rumors about us. The whole audience had seen Gouenji-kun pleading for my help during half time. Misunderstandings formed; my reaction part of it. Between dispelling them or not, Gouenji-kun and I agreed we weren't responsible for entertaining their fantasies.
I gazed into those deep blue eyes, pushing away the slightest hesitation. "I can't fall in love, Ryuugamine-san. Boys, or girls."
She blinked and asked with ignorant innocence. "What. . . do you mean?"
I held my shoulders. "I've never fallen in love or felt attracted to someone. It has nothing to do with age--children have crushes--and there wasn't a lack of intimacy and trust in my relationships with those my age. Have you ever liked someone?" I asked a too fast, ignoring my trembling fingertips.
She frowned a little and replied in her usual voice. "I have never thought about it. Violin is everything I think of."
I face fell a little. "I see, then--"
"The rumor is fake and flawed," she glowered. She stared at the floor, gaze cold.
". . . Yes." I smiled a little and remembered something else. "And. . . I believe I heard you play that day."
Her anger changed to a beet red blush.
I giggled. "The Lark Ascending reminded of what I had forgotten." My smile grew. "I have been meaning to thank you since then. Thank you."
Whether or not she was related to Ryuugamine-senpai, I didn't care the slightest.
What Is Lost | End