ECPW Chapter 2

Iris

Posted by April Fox, ? Views, Released on November 28, 2024

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VOLUME 1 — SPRING

Chapter 2: Iris

“Hey, hey! What did you write on the career path sheet that’s due today!?”

In the classroom engulfed in the typical noise of a boys’ school, one of my best friends, Tamaki, nicknamed “Tama,” leaned over my desk with both hands planted firmly and asked.

“Well, what did someone like you write?”

And the one who sits in the front seat and occasionally throws questions back is my other best friend, “Aki.”

The topic is about the career plan that is scheduled to be submitted today.

For us third-year high school students who have entered the year of where we are known as an “examination students,” this was an important document to clearly outline our future paths.

“Umm, me? Well, my first choice is to become a baseball player. Second choice, a soccer player, and the third one is ‘Plans are undecided’!”

“…Tama, you’re probably going to get punched by the bald teacher for that.”

“Eh, why?! I’m serious about it, so there shouldn’t be any reason to get angry, right?!”

“No, no, no… Tama, you’re not in the baseball club or the soccer club. Firstly, I think it’s essential to be in an environment where you can be scouted for those sports, or something like that…”

“Seriously!? Why do you always say such dreamless things!? Is a scout going to show up now!?”

“That’s not going to happen, idiot!! Besides, it’s about the career form, so take it seriously! It’s about your future!”

“Ugh… fine. I get it. There’s no helping it.”

Aki politely handed back the course chart to Tama, who was sulking for some reason.

…When I look at them objectively like this, they’re incredibly contrasting individuals.

Tama is unserious and a bit of an idiot, while Aki is so serious to the point of being inflexible.

I met these two after entering high school, but they’ve been childhood friends, so there must be some bonds and relationships between them that only they can understand.

“What about Itsuki!? What did you write, Itsuki?”

With great interest, Tama leans forward, but without a word, I silently hand him the career form while keeping my eyes fixed on my smartphone.

I can already imagine what will be said after seeing this.

“Wow… Solely aiming for medical school at a private university…”

“They all have high name value, and the tuition fees seem super expensive!!”

“Well… tuition fees don’t concern me. Honestly, as long as I become a doctor, anywhere is fine with me.”

“Seriously!? If your career form is full of sarcasm, so are your comments!”

“…If you say that, I won’t help you in the next test.”

“That’s a lie!! I’m sorry!! Itsuki-sama, you have a wonderful career form and a wonderful mindset!!!”

With such an air of confidence, Tama quickly turns his attitude around, while I silently return my smartphone to my uniform pocket.

(…Was that too blunt of me?)

I couldn’t help but feel remorseful. As opposed to the noisy Tamaki, the earnest and kind-hearted person in front of me looked at me with worried eyes.

“Itsuki, um…”

“What about you, Aki?”

“Huh?”

“Aki, what did you write in your career plan?”

Before he could throw words at me, I threw a question at him.

As I did that, Aki would hurriedly pull out his neatly filed career form from his folder.

…At times like this, I’m saved by Aki’s earnestness.

“Wow. Akki has written it properly too!!”

“Yeah… I was thinking… I might prefer a school where I can study sports medicine. Rehabilitation, training, you know. From that perspective, I’d like to be involved in sports…”

Aki’s career form, in which he shyly talks about his dreams, was filled with content that clearly looked to the future, just as his words implied.

“It suits Aki, doesn’t it?”

“Do you really think so?”

“I do.”

“I see… Thank you.”

Seeing Aki showing a sincere expression of relief in response to my words… I couldn’t help but feel a little envious. Perhaps it’s because there’s a significant difference in how Aki and I view the future.

Aki, who earnestly looks ahead to his future.

On the other hand, I look to the future with twisted reasons and perspectives.

“Seriously!? Then, am I the only one who didn’t fill out the career form properly!?”

“Well, I can’t lie on all of this.”

“Don’t worry, Tama.”

“God, give me a special technique!!!”

…Well, compared to Tama who acts like this, it’s better.

＊＊＊

“Oh, speaking of which, did you know that the guy from the soccer team in the class next door actually mentioned seeing Itsuki talking with a cute girl at the station this morning?”

It was a topic thrown in unexpectedly as the conversation about career choices had settled down.

Aki’s words brought back memories of this morning’s events.

“That guy asked if you and the cute girl were dating because you two got off the train holding hands…”

“Oh… huh.”

“What!? Don’t tell me there’s another new girl!? Is it another suspicious friend!?”

“No? It’s not like that.”

“Just a friend?”

“Well… not really a friend, for now.”

“What’s the deal then? Tell me!! After Akki got a girlfriend, I won’t forgive Itsuki for becoming a lovey-dovey too!!”

“Hey now…”

The reason why I answered vaguely in front of Tama, who was making a fuss at my still-simmering state, was because I didn’t think that he had witnessed the incident that morning. I was a little upset for no reason.

“Are you dating?” he asked, and I couldn’t help but be a little dumbfounded that he would interpret it that way.

But, considering the location, it wasn’t strange if someone saw us.

Over the past three years, I’ve become aware that the boys at my high school are so hungry for girls, that they don’t overlook even the smallest of events.

If someone got a girlfriend, it was a given that they would be badgered to introduce her to their friends! It is customary for boys’ schools to make a fuss.

Even Aki had been persistently begged when he first got a girlfriend.

(…Either way, it’s troublesome being seen like this.)

I didn’t want any strange misunderstandings to spread as rumors, nor did I want to be bombarded with questions from anyone other than these two.

Mostly, we were just talking at the station.

We were only holding hands because I instinctively grabbed her arm when she seemed like she was about to fall.

Well, maybe the uniform she was wearing was from the high school across the station that was known for having “many cute girls,” so the guy from the soccer team quickly caught on.

…Or maybe I saw that girl a while ago and was curious about her.

“Itsuki, don’t be silent! Tell me!”

“Tama, there’s no point in asking so persistently…”

“But!! I’m curious! Doesn’t it bother you, Akki!?”

“Well… of course…”

“See!? I knew it bothered you! My whole life depends on this! And, wait, is Itsuki really… getting a girlfriend!?”

“Oh… well. Fine, I got it. I’ll explain.”

“Really!? Yes!! So, so!?”

“Tamaki, stop making such a fuss.”

“Understood, Itsuki-sama!”

“Sigh…”

And so,

In the end, seeing Tama not calming down until he heard everything, and Aki trying desperately to soothe Tama, I ended up telling them the whole story of what happened this morning.

“──So, anyway. It’s not like she’s my girlfriend or anything, and not even really a friend. If I had to say, she’s more like an acquaintance… maybe.”

“Wow…”

“Aki, if that soccer guy asks you again, just brush it off. Oh, and about the groping incident, let’s keep that to ourselves. I feel sorry for her.”

“Got it.”

“But still, that girl must’ve had a rough morning…”

“Rough… more like despicable. That molester!”

“Well, yeah, of course… But it was fortunate that Itsuki noticed and helped her! If Itsuki hadn’t noticed, that creep might’ve done worse!”

“Yeah, but… that girl must’ve been terrified…”

Having heard everything from me, they each shared their thoughts.

…As Aki said, for that girl, it must have been a distressing experience.

She was crying, after all. I felt sorry for her.

Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but feel angry at the molester too, so I’m sure the girl who was actually the victim must have had a lot of feelings too.

And…

As I was vaguely imagining that girl’s face, Aki suddenly seemed to notice something and stopped speaking and looked at me.

“Itsuki, you didn’t catch the molester?”

“… “

“If you noticed and helped, then you could’ve caught him, right?”

As usual, Aki hit me with a serious question.

It touched on a sensitive topic for me, and I couldn’t help but look away.

But seeing me hesitate like that, Aki seemed to interpret it as confirmation and furrowed his brow without trying to cover it up.

“Did you… intentionally let him go?”

“Huh!? No way! Nooo. Itsuki-kun’s the enemy of women!!”

“A guy who does something as despicable as groping shouldn’t be let go! He might do it again!”

“Yeah, that’s right. That guy. He seems like a repeat offender. My sixth sense is telling me.”

“Why did you let him go? Molesters can’t be caught unless they’re caught in the act, right? If he does it again, to someone else, or to that girl when she’s alone…”

“… I didn’t have the courage.”

“Huh?”

“──I didn’t have the courage to… ruin someone else’s life.”

When I interrupted Aki, who was slightly excited, and repeated the words, Aki looked as if he had been picked by a fox and stopped speaking.

──── At that time.

Indeed, as Aki said, it would have been easy to catch that molester.

I casually glanced at the girl who happened to be standing next to me.

Then, for some reason, the girl’s eyes were teary-eyed and her hand that was holding her bag was shaking slightly.

Is she not feeling well? That’s what I thought at first, but I realized that wasn’t the case─because the old office worker standing diagonally behind her was strangely leaning towards the girl.

When I lowered my gaze to avoid being noticed, I could see the old man’s right hand touching the girl’s skirt.

(…What have you been doing since this morning?)

As I muttered those words in my mind, anger surged alongside a sense of shame.

The reason being, the middle-aged office worker that was molesting her was likely a man of similar age to her own father.

In his left hand, holding the pole, there was… a wedding ring that was glistening dutifully.

(…Bothersome.)

At times like this, I started to dislike my keen perception.

It would be no problem for me to grab the right hand of the man who is probably touching the girl’s buttocks right here and now and turn him in to the station staff as a molester.

Honestly, I don’t care what happens to this embarrassing old man who was molesting a girl that was likely the same age as his own daughter.

──But

When I looked at the wedding ring on his left hand, I wondered what would happen to this old man’s family if he was caught.

Once a molester is caught, there is a high possibility that he will still be accused of molestation, even if he claims that he did not do it and is innocent.

In the case of the old man, he could even get the girl’s testimony. And I, a third party, would find him and catch him. So no matter how much he claims his innocence, it would be no good.

(Well, in his case, he actually did it.)

But …… when that happens.

The family of the old man will definitely be involved in this.

When I thought about it, I will be able to send the old man’s entire family to hell along with him…

I didn’t have the courage to make that decision. 　

Really, that was it.

I didn’t have the slightest bit of compassion for the molester, and I despise people who can do such despicable things from the bottom of my heart.

…. But

“…The old man is guilty, but his family is not. I don’t know if he has a wife or not, but…if he had a child, it wouldn’t be good if he was a student just like us.”

“Itsuki.”

“When I thought about it, I couldn’t grab the old man’s arm. …Akki and Tama, you might not understand this kind of thing. But I think even if I find someone like that again, I’ll probably hesitate and worry about that first and foremost.”

“…”

“Well, in the end, I didn’t catch him because I didn’t feel like I had the courage or the guilt to become the bad guy. So…I feel sorry for that girl.”

After I said that, I let out a self-mocking smile, and the two of them said nothing more.

──In class.

Thinking to take out my phone from my pocket, I reached for something I had placed in the same spot.

(…I should return this. It’s not good if I don’t.)

I slipped it among my textbooks on the desk and leaned on my hand to gaze at it.

In front of me lay… a student handbook.

It was the one that had fallen at my feet after that girl left this morning.

It was easy to imagine that it belonged to her, especially after confirming the photo of her face on the first page.

…I picked it up without thinking, but I don’t know what to do with it.

I wonder if there was a person I know who went to the same high school as that girl. But asking a girl might lead to more trouble.

And then,

As I absentmindedly pondered, I suddenly noticed something.

(…Dog-ears?)

The cover had a somewhat worn and used, which is unusual for a student notebook.

On one page, there was an unnatural dog-ear… fold that had been made.

Though I felt guilty deep down, I found myself reaching for that crease out of curiosity. Please forgive me for this act of a man’s nature.

“…Huh?”

“Hm? What’s up, Souma? Got a question?”

“Ah… no, it’s nothing.”

Unable to contain my surprise at the words written there, I blurted out a sound and hurriedly shoved the student planner back into my pocket, trying to hide it from the teacher.

(…So, that’s why.)

──All I could recall was that girl’s unnatural behavior this morning.

I finally understood the meaning behind that girl’s unnatural behavior, along with the last words she had given me.

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