Kapitel 19: A Monster, A Hero

Three or so weeks ago,

Club activities ended a few moments ago and most students had already exited the school premises. The few exceptions were club leaders and club members alike who were assigned to clean up. As the youngest first-year members of the photography club, Natsumi and her friend, Fuyumi, were tasked to clean the clubroom before heading out. They were only assigned for the week so they chose to do what they can.

Time passed by in a flash and by the time they were done cleaning up, the skies had transitioned to a greyish hue, indicating that twilight was upon them. It started getting colder as well, which prompted both of them to wear their hoodies.

"I'm heading over to the convenience store. Ice cream?" Natsumi offered.

"Sure!" Fuyumi responded in a cheerful manner, pulling on her bag as they made their way out of the clubroom. After double-checking the lock, the two of them ran through the hallways, racing each other to the school entrance. It was one of the rare times when there are no teachers to tell them off as they broke one of the unspoken rules of the school.

It was the usual routine for them, cleaning the club, racing down the hallways, then heading to the nearby convenience store to buy ice cream. Little did they know that their usual day-to-day life could shift in an instant.

"And you know what happened? Haha, she—"

"Oh, what have we here?" A voice called out behind them, a typical cliche line for someone trying to attract another person's attention. Just from the voice alone, the girls could tell that a guy was sneering behind it.

Fuyumi and Natsumi knew what would follow so they brisk walked faster than normal. That didn't do anything as three guys blocked their paths. "We're going to the karaoke, do you want to come with us?"

From the looks of their uniform, Fuyumi and Natsumi concluded that they were college students. They reek of delinquency— also, it's quite unnatural for three guys to invite strangers to karaoke. That's why Fuyumi and Natsumi shook their head and went on their way.

"Come on, just one hour. Dinner's on us." The guy in the center with the scarf on his head spoke up. He was the leader of the bunch, and he didn't hesitate to grab onto Natsumi's wrist, causing her to pull her hand from his grasp. He held onto it tightly though, and Natsumi's efforts were in vain.

As for Fuyumi, she couldn't do anything since the other two guys cornered her. She gulped and tried to go the other way, but the college guys were much faster than her. There was nothing she could do but stay in place as the college guy with the scarf tried to convince her friend to go with them.

Grab!

The guy with the scarf felt a strong grip on his shoulders, causing him to inadvertently let go of Natsumi's hand, when he turned around, another guy was there but he wasn't someone from his group, he was from the same school as the girls they were hitting on.

"What are you doing?" Hajime asked. He was on his way from the convenience store as well (it was his last day as a cashier) and he saw everything that happened. 'These guys are bad news. Aren't these girls from Dai Yama as well?' Hajime said to himself. He doesn't know the girls' names though since they belong to a different class.

"And who are you? Don't interrupt us." The scarf guy said, grabbing Hajime by the collar.

"Look, this is my last day at work and I'm not really in the mood to fight. If you want to hit on other girls, then fine, but don't do it where I can see you." Hajime mumbled, getting a good grip on the college student's wrist which forced him to let go of his collar. Hajime's grip couldn't be underestimated.

"You looking for trouble?" The second college student approached Hajime.

"Trying to play the hero, huh." The third guy clenched his fist. Pretty soon, the three of them surrounded Hajime, waiting for him to throw hands so they could commence with the violence. Since they failed to hit on the two girls, they decided to blow off some steam by beating Hajime up. They knew they were at an advantage since there was just one of him and three of them. It was obvious whose side will win.

"Grab him." The scarf guy ordered his two subordinates, to which they responded by unreservedly attacking Hajime.

Hajime didn't back down though. Although two punches were coming at him, he cleanly blocked them with his forearms and threw a kick to the third student's hips. Next, the second guy received a clean punch to the face before he could react. Both of them fell to the ground, squirming in pain. It hasn't even been a minute yet and they were already down.

"You!" Their leader, the college student with a scarf, panicked for a bit, preparing a jab. Hajime was one step ahead of him though, and he immediately hooked him by the jaw. He fell unconscious in an instant.

Fuyumi and Natsumi froze on the spot as they witnessed one of their schoolmates beat up three college students in an instant. They knew of his reputation, that's why they immediately wondered if Hajime was targeting them as well. As far as they know, he's just like the college students— a delinquent at heart.

However, Hajime couldn't care less about them. He just dusted himself off and headed home. "Be careful out there. It's dangerous in these parts of the city." He waved his hands without turning around to address them. Fuyumi and Natsumi got the signal and they went their way.

"That was Hajime, right? I thought he was a delinquent." Fuyumi asked, turning around a couple of times while they fled from the scene.

"Who knows," Natsumi whispered back, making a mental note that they should be home before sunset.

.....

Three days ago,

"Inventory, check, cameras, all in perfect order, cleaning, done." Natsumi was satisfied with her work, wiping a drop of sweat off her forehead before heading out of the clubroom. Fuyumi was absent today, and just like before, they were assigned once again this week to clean up after club hours.

Ever since Hajime suggested that the two of them head home earlier than usual, they've been following that advice to the letter. That's why Natsumi started cleaning up earlier than usual, way before everyone in the photography club exited. In time though, she managed to accomplish everything.

The orange hue of the sunset streamed through the open windows of the clubroom. It was time for her to go home. With that in mind, Natsumi grabbed her own camera, putting its strap around her neck. It was a hand-me-down camera from her dad and she treasured it.

Click! Click! Click!

Everywhere she goes, she took pictures, squeezing out a lot of memories every day for keepsakes. She photographed everything that caught her attention, be it the lone pebble on the sidewalk, or a man's shadow as he passed by.

That's why her first reaction when she saw the familiar college student was to take a photo of him, three times. She clicked away before realizing that there were five of them, surrounding a single guy.

But that was it, she could only take three photos before her camera died down. As she rummaged through her bag to get a fresh pair of batteries, she noticed movement from the other bush, a few meters from where she hid.

"Hiroto? What is he doing here?" Natsumi asked herself. Unbeknownst to her, Hiroto was actually waiting for her by the main entrance of the school when he noticed everything go down. At first, he took photos when Hajime met the college students, but he then changed the settings to video and started filming everything.

Actually, Hiroto was waiting for Natsumi, not because he was her childhood friend, or because they were in the same club together, but because he heard what happened to her back then, and decided to accompany her home today since Fuyumi was absent.

Hiroto was weak against violence, but he knew he could step up when it comes down to it— or so that's what he thought. When he witnessed Hajime getting hit by a bat on the head, his panic got the better of him and he fled the scene, stopping the recording altogether. He ran with the camera in his hands, not even noticing Natsumi's presence by the next bush over.

"I'd better ask him for that recording tomorrow," Natsumi said to herself, closing her eyes. She didn't know if Hajime was dead but his head was bleeding. And yes, she recognized a step too late that it was in fact her savior who met such misfortune. She was more than ever determined to get the footage from her childhood friend. "This time, I'll save you," She said,

Before she could call the police though, Hajime suddenly stood up and beat everyone to a pulp before falling into unconsciousness once more. Natsumi witnessed everything down to when Hajime dislocated the scarf guy's leg. But instead of seeing Hajime as a monster, she saw him as her hero.

It should be made clear though that Hajime didn't beat them up out of spite. He was unconscious while everything unfolded— just his fighting instincts automatically taking over him since he was on the verge of death. To Natsumi, it seemed like Hajime miraculously woke up after being bashed in the head, but such wasn't the case. He was unconscious all along.

Regardless, that didn't stop her whatsoever from taking Hajime's side.