51 – He Really Did It
Measuring the distance, looking for an opening.
Makoto stood still. Tasked with guarding the gate, he seemed intent on carrying out his duty doggedly.
If he waited any longer, he wouldn’t catch up to Aira.
He had to go for it, even if it meant taking damage.
“Uooooooooooooooooooooooo!!”
He charged with an exaggerated shout, but Makoto calmly faced him.
Would attacking just lead to a counter?
Deciding that,
“….!”
He kicked up sand.
Makoto instinctively protected his face, so the blinding failed, but that was fine.
Ryugo tackled him, pushing him to the ground.
“Go!! Misato!!”
He inspired, and Misato and Enka hurriedly opened the gate and ran out of the schoolyard.
As they left, they expressed concern with “Stay safe!” but he was prepared for at least a broken bone.
“Move it, Tanuki!!”
A heavy fist struck his cheek. A shock that seemed to shake his molars and a pain that almost made him writhe.
Analyzing it calmly, Ryugo sprang back using his legs like springs. He took distance and regulated his breath.
“Why did you even cooperate with Aira?”
“A slave doesn’t have the right to refuse…”
“That’s not true. Even a slave should be able to refuse. Of course, they’ve probably instilled a great deal of fear into him.”
“Shut the hell up!!”
I dodged the low kick aimed at my right foot and threw a punch instead. However, Makoto had already put up his guard with both arms.
No matter how much I punched him, he didn’t even flinch.
I was quickly remembering all those days when I was defeated by him. Even if I clashed with him head-on, it felt like I was getting nowhere.
…That’s why those guys broke my will to resist.
“You’re aware that you’re under hypnosis, so you should have been able to resist! Are they threatening you again!?”
“Gu…aaahhhhh!!!!”
BAM!! Makoto’s fist struck Ryuuga’s left arm. The heavy impact reverberated through his bones, bringing intense pain and numbness.
For a moment, he lost all feeling in his fingers…
“Ow… It… hurts…!”
There was a clear difference in our strength.
I can’t fight him head-on.
In that case… I’ll show him a judo move that I couldn’t use in the classroom. I might die, but don’t blame me.
“Hah…!”
I seriously took Makoto’s punch,
“Guh… OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
Enduring the excruciating pain, I grabbed his arm and pulled.
I hooked my leg around his and lifted his entire body onto my back.
Seoi nage (shoulder throw).
“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”
Makoto was thrown into the air and slammed hard onto the concrete floor.
He failed to break his fall and hit his shoulder hard. A dull thud echoed through the air.
“Gah… Ah…!!”
“Damn… I wanted to crack your skull…”
“You… murderous bastard… It hurts…!”
Makoto’s shoulder was bleeding through a tear in his clothes. It didn’t seem to be hindering his movement too much, though.
What was strange was that he wasn’t flying into a rage despite being injured.
Impatience… I could sense it in the way his eyes darted around.
“Dammit… That damn raccoon…”
He won’t fall for the same move twice.
I’m out of options. I only learned judo briefly in the past, and it was a miracle that I was able to pull it off just now.
Should I go back inside the school and find a weapon? No, if Makoto chases after Misato and the others while I’m gone, it’ll be a disaster.
Then should I just stall for time and wait for the muscleheads to arrive? Wait. There’s no guarantee that my body will hold out.
What should I do…
“I’m going to kill you…!”
“With all that rebellious spirit, why are you still following Ira!? He’s just going to use you up and throw you away!”
“It’s impossible… It’s impossible now…”
Makoto’s face had turned pale, and sweat was beading on his forehead. His lips were tinged purple, and his eyes flickered with fear.
“That bastard… he just…”
“What happened?”
“He… took the last of my father’s guitars… the one he treasured the most!!”
His cries reminded me of something I had heard from Aira before.
Now that I thought about it, she had happily told me about how she had “destroyed one of Makoto’s father’s guitars.”
Ryugo spoke, still in his fighting stance.
“But… you said you had given up the guitar? Just because it’s a memento doesn’t mean you should help Aira get her way with the world…”
“This isn’t just about me! My mother… that guitar was a memento of her and my father!!”
Makoto’s voice was hoarse, and tears streamed down his face as he looked at me pleadingly.
He collapsed to the ground, his hands on the floor, and continued to cry.
“It was their guitar… they bought it together and played it together… she always told me about it with a smile…”
“…”
“She’s still struggling so much… I don’t know what will happen to her if she finds out that guitar is gone!!”
Makoto banged his head on the ground and inspired at the top of his lungs, still kneeling.
“I don’t care what happens to the world!! I want to protect my mother’s memories!!”
It was a desperate plea from a man who had abandoned all shame. His appearance was so pitiful that I almost forgot that he was my sworn enemy.
“…”
Ryugo took a deep breath and exhaled, releasing the heavy weight that had settled in his chest.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“…”
“You don’t care what happens to the world? Well, I don’t care what happens to your mother if it means achieving peace.”
“Guh… uhh…!”
“You started this. You’re just facing the consequences of your actions. That’s all.”
“But my mother isn’t involved!”
“Yes, she is! As long as you’re protecting Aira, she’s very much involved!!”
“Th… that’s not true…!”
“It’s all your fault!!”
“U, uhh… aaahhhhh!!”
Makoto’s voice was filled with anguish as he charged at me.
Had his conscience finally got to him?
But with his mind in shambles, he couldn’t possibly win a fight. There is no victory for someone who has already admitted defeat.
His attacks, launched from his unsteady feet, were weaker than a child’s.
“Hmph…”
I dodged his clumsy punch and delivered a powerful blow to Makoto’s face.
Our foreheads collided.
It was Makoto who ended up bleeding and with a split lip.
“Guh… ah…!”
Makoto’s eyes peeled open and he flipped over, then clutched his head and writhed around.
“Agh! Ugh… Guh-guu…!!”
“I’ve been told over and over that my head’s been hard since I was a kid. Don’t take me lightly.”
“Guh… Crap… Why can’t I win…? I should be able to win if I just fight head-on like usual…!”
“Because you’re wavering.”
“Wavering…?”
Ryugo grabbed Makoto’s arm and forced him to stand up.
“You realize that it’s no good if you stay like this, right?”
“…”
“You’ll never be free if you keep doing whatever Ira says. Fight! Think of a way to break free from Ira’s curse and take back your guitar that she’s using as collateral! If you can’t think of anything, then swallow your pride and come to us for advice!! If you really care about your mother, then choose the best path!!”
From Noble mtl dot com
“uuugh…!”
“Is begging Ira for forgiveness and asking for her permission the right thing to do!? Will that change anything? Nothing will change! She’ll keep holding your guitar and your mother hostage, and you’ll just keep doing things you don’ t want to do! If you hate that, then stand up! Don’t let her drag you around on a leash. Show her that you can walk on your own two feet!!”
“……….Ugh!”
Makoto’s attempt to stand up was sluggish. It was as if chains were extending from the ground and binding his body.
But he was still resisting.
In order to break free from the ‘slave’ curse that Ira had put on him… no, that he had been under for a long time, he gritted his teeth, tensed his muscles, and breathed so hard that it felt like his lungs were going to burst.
“Fuh-guh-guh-guu…!!”
“Are you planning to end up as that damn woman’s disposable lackey!? Even if you keep doing whatever she says, do you have any guarantee that she won’t take away something else that’s important to you!?”
The courage to defy one’s master is essential for a slave.
The determination not to end up being controlled.
In order to be free from that, one must change oneself.
“If you want to protect them that badly, then face her head-on without looking away!!”
“Nguh-uuuaaahhhhh!!!”
A cry of anguish, like he was tearing some foreign object off of his soul.
“Guh… Guh-guh…!!”
Makoto held his trembling legs in place as he gasped for breath.
In his current state, he looked as frail as a terminally ill patient.
But his eyes held the fierce, predatory gleam of the living. Not a slave, but the eyes of a man who had gained his freedom.
Silence.
And then,
“…Go.”
He whispered, as if squeezing the words out.
“……Defeat Ira. Raccoon. While I’m holding myself back.”
He had tensed up all the muscles in his body. It seemed like he was desperately resisting the effects of ‘Slave’, as well as the orders he had been given.
On top of that, there was the fear of Ira that had been instilled in him over time.
It would take extraordinary mental strength to resist.
But he had triumphed.
“Go!!”
“…Yeah!”
I ran past Makoto and jumped over the gate.
While feeling respect for her spirit and pride…
When he finally rushed into the residential area,
“Dammit… where did she go!?”
It was 10 pm, and there was no one around. He couldn’t ask anyone passing by.
However, he didn’t think Aira’s physical strength would allow her to go that far. She must have been caught by Misato soon enough.
Then, he remembered about the sensor.
When he was tired, his mind didn’t work.
He looked at his smartphone to check.
“Kyaaa!”
At that moment, a high-pitched scream violently shook the air.
Residents opened their windows and looked around to see what was going on. In a quiet residential area, such a voice would attract attention no matter what. Moreover, there had just been an explosion that was no joke.
“Over there!?”
He ran in the direction of the voice.
In the meantime, several more screams could be heard, followed by the sound of something colliding and the sound of something large falling.
Instinctively, his legs almost stopped moving. If he went any further, he would definitely see a sight he didn’t want to see.
Nevertheless, Ryugo ran.
He turned the corner for the umpteenth time,
“Wha…!?”
He stood there stunned.
“Hey… this can’t be right…”
Enka was lying on the ground with Bl00d streaming down her head.
…That wasn’t all.
It was as if the world had been turned upside down.
A busy intersection facing the road.
For some reason, the people there were all wounded. They seemed unaware of why they were in such a state, and they uttered words of confusion as they writhed in pain.
And several cars had crashed. Their crumpled front ends were painful to look at. The injured driver was trying to help the unconscious driver in the oncoming car by reaching for the door.
Street trees had fallen, telephone poles were bent, and broken traffic lights were flashing red and irregular bluely.
It was obvious.
She had recklessly used hypnosis to escape, causing chaos.
“Aira…that bastard, she did it…!!”
It was the worst-case scenario he had imagined.
Hell had spread out before him.