章 17: Solitude & Shadows - My First Mission
It was now Tuesday, and also the day Ariyama finally joined Matsune on her hunt for the unregistered Tribute roaming the hallways of Sasura Academy.
All is to say, he was nervous.
No, nervous wasn't quite the right word. Sickened was more like it. He felt sickened.
He couldn't toss away the thoughts of encountering Kazura or Matsuragi or Odomura again. Hell, he didn't even know anything about the injury Kazura received while in the Shrine.
It had been a month since then, so he assumed it was healed by now, but that wasn't what was aching his chest. It was the fact he was so disconnected from her now that he hadn't even thought about her getting hurt this whole time. Before, he'd be fussing over her, in his own reserved way, but fussing nonetheless. He'd ensure she was OK, even when she promised she was, because that's what best friends did. And since Yaranagi was gone…
He needed to be there for her more than ever.
Maybe this would go better than he thought it would. Ariyama doubted it would, but maybe…
Ariyama tapped his jaw with his knuckles, trying to psyche himself up. He had to be out the door in five minutes, and he was stressed out of his mind.
He looked down at his phone as he finished breakfast, swiping over to his messages with Matsune. She had given him her number so they could relay info quicker, and yet he knew he was living the dream of so many guys in the academy. What they would give up to get the number of Matsune Sasya.
Checking their messages, Ariyama noticed one new one, sent by Matsune just a minute ago.
It read: "All prepped for today? Don't worry, Ariyama-kun, it'll just be a bit of recon."
'Just a bit of recon', eh?
Thanks for the reassuring words, Matsune. And yet, Ariyama continued to fret. He didn't expect her to be able to do much to help him over text.
Looking up from his phone, Ariyama glanced up the stairs to where his mother continued to sleep. She was getting up later and later each day now, and he was starting to worry. It made him wonder if she was doing something late at night that warranted sleeping late into the following mornings.
But what could that 'something' be? Probably something magical, knowing Ariyama's luck currently. But no, that wasn't going to happen. After all, she knew nothing about Enchanted Tools and Pilgrims and Tributes, right?
Actually, now that he thought about it…
When Ariyama first discovered that history book, which led to him learning about Shrine Gates and things of the sort, his mother had flipped out when she found it in his room.
That meant two things.
She didn't know it was stacked in the shelf of his wardrobe the whole time, and she must've known there was something in there that wasn't for his viewing.
Ariyama nearly fell out of his seat as he came to the realization.
That thing she tried – and unknowingly failed – to hide from him was likely the info about the Shrines. And afterwards she spoke his father's name under her breath…
So did he know about it too?
Ariyama was now actually falling out of his seat, throwing his phone onto the table as he scrambled to get up and race up to his mother, shake her away and demand answers.
But just then, the doorbell rang.
Ariyama froze, cursing in annoyance under his breath. His legs were buzzing to move again, to continue their destructive path up the stairs. However, Ariyama knew it was rude to ignore it when the doorbell rang.
Wait, what the hell was he talking about, with all this manners crap? He needed to talk to his mom so much more, so whoever was at the door would have to wait.
He went to move again, until the bell rang once more. And with it came a distant voice, of the person on the opposite side of the door.
"Ariyama-kun?"
It was Matsune.
Dammit all.
Everything rushed back into Ariyama's head; the job he was going to do with Matsune in school that day, the preparations they'd made, the fact he was supposed to go to school that day at all.
Checking the time, he realized it was time to go. If he waited a moment more, the school's gate would be shut by the time he got there. Shit, he really had no time to waste, huh?
Clicking his tongue in irritation, Ariyama left the remnants of his breakfast on the table, grabbed his school bag and phone, and went to the door. Before she could ring a third time, Ariyama pulled the door open.
Matsune stood there, clad in her ironed and pristine school uniform, her skin glowing despite the dullness of the winter morning, her hair noticeably done up with not a hair out of place.
Perfect, as always.
She looked up at Ariyama expectantly, her eyebrow raised.
"Ready to go?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready."
Matsune responded with a bright smile.
"Great to hear! Oh, yeah, you're probably wondering why I came to walk with you to school."
"The question probably passed my mind, yeah."
"Well, I just wanted to accompany you, is all. Trust me, I can empathize with your situation. I'm only able to go back to school now with full confidence because I tried my hardest to go back to normality as soon as I could after the incident. You knew that already, but I'm just saying that I'm here for you, OK? You'll find it tricky getting back into the swing of things, I know, but I'm going to be here, whenever you need me."
Ariyama could deny that her words made him get a little emotional. He hid it well-enough, he reckoned. Instead, he put a hand on Matsune's shoulder.
"Thank you."
He spoke quietly, to make sure she understood that he meant what he was saying.
"Now, come on, let's find some criminals."
The walk to Sasura Academy with Matsune next to him was nice, to say the least.
It was now that Ariyama properly took in the warm aura that she exuded. She probably had this energy about her at all times, but with the grayscale sky, dark clouds threatening to bring thunder, it became ever more vibrant.
They didn't talk too much while they walked, as Matsune said she'd explain the plan once they were safe and secure in that back storage room. She must have been very anxious about anyone overhearing them, so much that she refused to discuss it outside.
Ariyama would've assumed it was the smart decision to explain it as quickly as possible, but Matsune was the professional here, so he was just going to leave it in her hands. Anyways, since she was with this enigmatic organization – this Pilgrims' Society – it could've been some tradition for them.
Regardless, Ariyama appreciated her being there. It was painful to go back to school, walking towards it while alone with his own thoughts, for the first time after the incident. But now, Ariyama felt a little bit more confident.
As the two of them ascended the road that spiraled around the large hill, heading up to where the school was situated, Ariyama glanced over the railing that bordered the road to ensure no one drove off the edge.
The rest of Lower Sumura below them was oddly pretty, streetlights and light from windows in houses and shops lit up beacons within the layer of fog that had coated the whole area. It looked hauntingly beautiful.
But Ariyama's mind of peace was shattered when he heard a voice calling out to him, turning around to see Genichirou Shoei saunter up beside him and Matsune.
"Hey there, Ariyama!"
As fell into step beside Matsune, Genichirou paused and looked down at her.
"Holy moly. What kind of combo is this? Mr Rich and Ms Popular? With your forces combined, you'd be unstoppable."
Ariyama forced himself to not roll his eyes, but Matsune, adapting to the situation instantly, fixed the tall blonde with a smile.
"Oh, I don't know about that, Genichirou-kun. Plus, he and I are just walking to school together. We just ran into each other on the way here."
At that, Genichirou pursed his lips. He seemed to not think twice about Matsune knowing his name. Maybe he assumed if everyone knew her, she knew everyone.
"Ah, I gotcha. Damn, so no boyfriend-and-girlfriend duo? Shame. You did say you didn't have a girl anyways, didn't ya, Ariyama?"
He glanced over Matsune at Ariyama, with a smirk on his face. Usually, Ariyama hated guys like him. Cocky, who'd just say whatever came to their mind. Genichirou, however, had something that made Ariyama feel different towards him. Similar to Matsune's warm invisible embrace, he let off a sort of laid back energy, as if you were talking to a close friend, even if you'd only met him the day before.
Because of that, as Genichirou grinned at him, Ariyama couldn't help but grin back, although subdued slightly.
"Uh, yeah, I did say that…"
Even still, it was awkward discussing this stuff when Matsune was right between them.
Soon enough, they reached the gate of the school and, just like when he and Ariyama had first met, Genichirou said his goodbyes with a witty remark, before disappearing among the throngs of students.
When he was out of view, Ariyama let out a breath and sagged his shoulders.
"I just can't deal with people like him. He's nice, I guess, but he's too much energy for me. Especially right now, anyone with too much energy just gets on my nerves a little."
Matsune nodded understandingly.
"Of course, Ariyama-kun."
"So, uh, do you know that guy? You knew his name without him mentioning it."
"Oh, that was a good catch on your part. Yes, I know him. Actually, he's a student who transferred the week after the incident. Since, as you know, I went back to school as soon as I could, I've seen him around for the past few weeks. He seems nice, if a bit boisterous. I've never been to Kyoto, so maybe that's what the people are like there."
Ariyama also hadn't ever been to Kyoto. In fact, he barely left Shinkai. His father was the one with all the money for the family to go on holidays, but whenever it was holiday season, Gotou was always away abroad.
Ariyama shook his head, wincing as he tried to replace those thoughts with more positive ones. It was difficult, but Ariyama was trying his hardest to stay away from falling into a depression again. He hated how he felt back then, empty, like a bottle with his contents poured out in front of him, but just out of reach.
"Earth to Ariyama Saato? Is anyone home?"
That soothing voice snapped Ariyama back to attention, and he turned to look at the still-smiling Matsune. How was she able to be so positive and energized at all times?
"Are you OK? You did say you were ready, but if you're actually not then–"
Ariyama drew in a long breath and held up a hand to stop her.
"No. No, I'm… ready. At least I think I am. I've got the basics down, right? For mana detection?"
"You have. However, as I said before, today you'll just be keeping an eye out on some of your classmates. I made sure to send you after people not in your class. That way, you won't have to attend any classes, and if you just happen to talk to them outside of those times, they won't be wondering why you're not in any classes."
Matsune shifted uncomfortably.
"Let's head to that storage room first."
Wordlessly, he walked off. Curious about her weird attitude all of a sudden Ariyama jogged to keep up. They weaved their way through the throngs of students, Matstune getting stopped three different times to get asked out by some random guys Ariyama barely knew. Thinking about it, he really hadn't spent this much time with Matsune while they were in school and also in public.
"Sorry about this."
Matsune sounded like she properly felt bad, with all those people having come up to her to confess in front of Ariyama.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not different from anyone else here in that regard."
Ariyama wasn't sure if he was seeing things right, but he swore he saw Matsune hesitate a bit, her cheeks turning a shade of red.
"As in… you'd also like to confess?"
At her assumption, it was Ariyama's turn to blush. As they turned down the corridor to the storage room, he clarified.
"Oh, no, not that. I meant that, like everyone else, I also know you get asked out a lot."
"Oh."
Weird. Why did she almost sound disappointed?
The thought escaped Ariyama's brain as they finally reached the room, scrambling in and shutting the door closed before anyone caught them. Now that would've been a scandal and a half.
Turning to face Matsune, who leaned against the wall with her eyes locked on her phone screen, Ariyama crossed his arms.
"So, who are my targets?"
Matsune smiled slightly at his use of the word 'target'. But then her frown from earlier came back.
"Well, I'm sorry about this in advance, Ariyama-kun. I have three people for you to investigate. You can do it over whatever length of time you need, but–"
She held out her phone, where she had highlighted three names on that spreadsheet she'd shown him before.
What was her deal? What could've possibly warranted such uneasiness in her?
Oh.
"Oh."
Ariyama couldn't stop the blood draining from his already-pale face, as he read those three names in his head.
2A: Kazura, Machi
2A: Matsuragi, Kento
2A: Odomura, Airi
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