บท 77: Getting the Pieces
"Is this some type of joke?" Ichiri stood before Arata. Holding up in her hands, a note of a challenge sent by him. The two of them were standing atop the school roof as per his orders.
"Only a little." He had to admit, it was kind of fun to write it and sneak it into her locker in the morning. "I knew that you couldn't resist a challenge from your rival, so that's why I sent you one."
"So then, what's up?" She asked him, saying it cautiously.
"Well, I don't have a competition, but I think that someone like you might like the idea of this challenge." He began. "I need your help, it has to do with an event planned at the library."
"Library event? I didn't know something was going on over there."
"That's because it hasn't been announced yet." He informed her. "And technically, we need it done by the end of the week."
"Kind of putting me on short notice." She said. "But have no fear, there's nothing that can hold me back. And once people see the great work I've done, they'll have to say I'm the better between the two of us." He looked at her disinterested as she said that. She hadn't even heard of what she was going to, and she was already talking a big game. Plus, no one really compared the two.
"Right…" She was definitely the person for the job, but he wasn't going to like it. "Then what I'm asking of you, is if you can help put on a play? Using the story of a book as a base."
"Ooh, you're asking me to create my own take on a story? Now that's the type of action I'm looking for." While it was fun to be the director of the school play, this was the opportunity she was looking for to really show off her creative skills. "I'll do it." She agreed to his terms. However, as they were finishing up. The door to the roof opened, catching their attention.
"I'm sorry." It was Yurime. However, she looked completely different compared to when he last saw her. "I didn't mean to interrupt this confession." She misunderstood this situation, seeing the paper Ichiri was holding. "I'll just be going elsewhere, and I promise I won't tell anyone about this."
"…" Arata didn't say anything to stop her. There was something wrong with that girl, as they both looked at her leave them. "What's happened to her?" He asked.
"You haven't seen her since that day, have you?" Ichiri responded. "When she resigned from the news club, she hasn't been the same ever since." That girl had been eating lunch alone on the roof, she was mess, as if she was dead on the inside. "Serves her right after what she did to you."
"I… Don't think she deserves that." Was that really from what happened between him and her? But, he didn't even hold a grudge against her. Why was she punishing herself so hard?
"You're too soft. That's why someone like me is better than you." He could've lived without the bragging from her, but maybe she was right. Even then, seeing the way the news club had turned out in Yurime's absence. There was no way he'd just stand by and let that happen.
"Say, I've got a meeting with the news club. Want to join me?"
"What? You got that girl to quit and now you're going to take her job?"
"No, you might not have heard. But I'm this school's new treasurer/secretary. I'm helping them with a request."
"You've become what?! Man, I've really been falling behind lately." Really, he wouldn't consider that something he did over her. Just something that he was lucky enough to be given. "Fine, I'll come with you. Maybe then people might see that they should come to me for help." Wasn't that what he was doing? "Hey! Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the news club?" Without waiting for her answer, Arata had already started to make his leave. "You don't have to come with me, but it's kind of getting windy up here. You wouldn't want me to see your panties again."
"So you did see them… Just shut up, I'm coming with you." She stomped her way to cover the distance between them. After this exchange, the two of them went to the news room.
It wasn't much different than the last time Arata was there. Horin was sitting, not doing much, alone at the table. Judging from the voices, it appears that Susa was working away in the dark room. Except, it also sounded like he wasn't alone.
"Hello?" Arata broke the silence as he entered with Ichiri.
"Yo boss, that guy's back." She yelled out, and out popped the boy in charge. Followed by his companion, the kid named Hansu, who was missing during their last meeting.
This other kid, he seemed a bit out of it. With one eye covered by his hair. The one eye that Arata could see, clearly showed a lack of sleep from this person.
"Hello, I'm glad to see you." Susa greeted him. "And this is?"
"I'm Ichiri Susaki, and don't you forget that name." She was still a bit muffed at being left out by this group's newspaper.
"Are you here because you're thinking of joining the group?" He asked her, this prompted a rather extreme reaction from the girl sitting at the table.
"We don't want her!" She slammed her fist on the table, sending a rather awkward mood across the room.
"She's... not here for that." Arata wasn't really sure what that was all about, not that he was going to delve in deeper anyway. "We're here because we actually need some help ourselves." He explained to them what he had planned out for the library.
"I thought we were the ones asking you for help." Horin said snidely after hearing him out.
"I guess you can just take it as repaying the favor." Even though this was his job regardless of what they gave back to him. "Plus, you don't have to worry about this club getting shut down while I'm helping you out. I'm considered an honorary member until I'm done."
"You can't expect us to just let you replace-"
"Horin please." Hansu, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. "We'd be glad for you to help us out with what you can." Arata was happy that someone was on his side, but things weren't going to stay well for long.
"No, I'm not just going to accept him taking her spot." Horin had reached the limits of her patience. "Not him, not her, not anyone." She spoke with anger in her voice.
"Horin, you have to accept that she won't be coming back." The person they were referring to, that had to be Yurime, right?"
"I just don't understand, every time I try to talk to her. She just ignores us, or act like some loner kid. It's like something changed her and we can't even help." The girl had now gotten up from her seat. Taking a much more confrontational position against her fellow members. "How could either of you just go and abandon her?"
"Horin…" Susa had nothing to respond to her with. The truth being that this group had lost a lot of their soul when she left. He was hardly doing a great job being their leader after replacing her position.
"Hey look, maybe we can help convince her to rejoin the club." Arata tried to help out the mood. Giving them an option, one that Ichiri wasn't happy with.
"You can't honestly expect to just give her a second chance?"
"Huh?" He turned to look back at her, she had a grim expression on her. "What do you mean? They clearly want her back, plus she's a good reporter. That's something I can really use."
"She's good at trying to destroy other people's lives, if that's what you mean." She was upset at hearing this come from him of all people. "Why aren't you more mad? She's the one that tried to expose you."
"Ichiri, I'm not going to hold a grudge on her. You already know that."
"If you decide to get her to join this club again. To help us out, then count me out." With that statement, she took off away from the club room. Arata was about to chase after her, until he was stopped with what he heard.
"Is that true?" Susa asked him. When he turned around, he could tell that none of them knew the truth. It was obvious that they didn't want what they just heard to be true. "Did she really try to blackmail you?"
"…" He really didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but they weren't going to let it go if he didn't tell them. "It's true…" That was the straw that broke the camels back.
"I see." Hansu said. "Then, I guess we'll help you." The others nodded in agreement. There was no longer going to be any stipulation for what was required for their favor. This was of no help to Arata's feelings, it made him feel as if he was breaking up friends, instead of helping out.
"Right, then here's what I need..." He told them about how they should advertise the event. Hopefully Misei and Misao were doing a better job at their side than him right now.
"Okay… We'll get it done." Even though he didn't doubt they'd do what they said. It was clear from the tone of their voices, that it was far from their main focus.
"Great, then I'll just get going for now." Arata was leaving now, his next plan was to find Ichiri and convince her to join yet again. However he was stopped by a familiar sight.
"Arata, there you are." Misei was accompanied by the others. "I hope everything went well with the news club.
"Oh it went better than expected." He lied. There was no point in worrying the others. "They'll advertise the event, just like I said they would."
"That's good to hear." Yogi smiled at what he heard. "We'll be ready to practice after school. The person that directed the play is helping us, right?"
"Right." Now Arata was stuck with looking for her, otherwise this wasn't going to end well. "I was actually about to go talk to her about that."
"I thought that you were going to talk to her first?" Misao remembered that he sent that letter of challenge.
"She had other things to do, so I postponed." He nervously came up with an excuse. "Now, I'll just be going now." Without giving them the opportunity to ask anymore questions. Arata ran off to where he was certain Ichiri ran off to.
Now wasn't the time to fail.
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