I received a heavy blow in the face that I did not know where it came from but managed to wake me up from the whole situation since it threw me vehemently on the floor. I didn't think it would go so far as to get hit by either of them, so it had come upon me very suddenly, and I gripped my cheek as I looked up. From the pain a few tears had gathered in my eyes which I could not let flow, but as soon as I saw the person who struck me I could not hold them any longer.
"You should have seen your face!"He laughed at me with a deep laugh that went out of his heart, and before I could control my excitement I rose and embraced him. He uttered a startled sound and began to fall backward. Only then did I notice that he was on crutches and one of his legs was plastered so I rushed to grab him by the crutches before he fell and got more injuries.
"You're all right."I said relieved, and he looked at me as if a second head had sprouted through my neck. He did it so intensely that I began to wonder if that had actually happened, and perhaps I would have checked that area had I not listened to what he said next.
"They gave us the wrong one. That's not Ryo."He said with an expression as if the packages had been mixed up, and made him turn around and go away disappointed.
My eyes narrowed as I clenched my teeth. The irritation that this man caused me, could wake me from the dead, and the situation I was in did not differ much.
"It's my fault I cared. I didn't know you liked me being heartless."I growled through my teeth and gripped him by the shoulder. He started shaking before bursting into laughter.
"OK. It's the right one. You may relax now."He kept joking and I realised that in his way he had managed to make all the tension go away from my body. After a while it would come all together ready to tear me apart, but I intended to enjoy the time it was absent from my shoulders.
It was also the fact that I knew he was the only one I could trust. He had never done anything against me and sacrificed himself for me. I didn't need more proof. That must have been the only reason I hadn't lost my mind yet...altogether.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as soon as he sat down on the sofa, and I could see his battered face clearer. He was almost unrecognizable and that made me hurt but he kept smiling casually in his own little silly way. I didn't know if he did it to ease the whole situation or it was his natural but it definitely helped me feel a little better.
"Your question ought to be what we both do here."Kaoru corrected me and explained that all that secrecy when Kaoru was talking to the investigators was because he revealed names, locations and information about the mafia and as a result he needed protection because they could attack him at any time.
Amakiji-san had taken him to her house to protect him since she did not know what kind of connections to the Mafia the others inside the department had. Saboru's injuries, on the other hand, although serious, did not give a reason to keep him in the hospital any longer and he was discharged. I assumed they had him there for protection, too, after he had seen those five men and had been attacked, but it didn't stick much like a guess.
"But why aren't you at home?" I asked, to be sure that the answer I had was the right one, and the police officer and the boy exchanged glances as if they knew something I was ignorant of. Saboru smiled sardonically before replying, and once again I was shocked.
"She is my aunt. Do you think there was any other way the policemen could believe me so easily when I called them and they came?" I stood looking at them with my mouth wide open . "Ah, I found you because I had generally kept my eye on you, and had seen you uneasy on the day of the abduction. You know... I was the one throwing snacks at you, and that ball I threw on purpose in our class.."So the gaze I kept feeling on me was not Tanji watching me but Saboru who had me in mind and was looking for the right opportunity to approach me.
He confided to me that he saw me so alone, and wished from the beginning that we should try to be friends. That's why he had suggested I play with them after we were both "accidentally" at the taps.
It was strange enough as a revelation. Two things that I thought were completely random were actually premeditated but one was a friend who was trying to get close to me and kept his eye on me finding ways to help me while the other was a member of a mafia and was taking advantage of me.
It was so much to bear all at once that I already felt dizzy. That made me question what I believed and felt because every situation was different and you could never be absolute with something that a person did. Maybe she had her reasons, too, but I wasn't ready to think that way yet. It was too much for me.
"...And now what do we do?" I had my hands on my feet and I was literally surrendering. We could have left the case to the police since they had enough evidence from what Saboru and I had said to move on, but we didn't know if we could really trust anyone in there.
The only idea that came to me was to use me as bait since Tanji was trying to make contact with me and probably wanted to take me on her side with sweet talk. But I was too scared to do that and I didn't know if it would really help. At most, I'd end up a member of the mafia and never be able to go out again like it was with Kaoru.
After all, the yakuza can't be fought just because you arrested some of them. They are generations of generations of people and they have so many branches that you could never cut them all off. But there was nothing we could do about it-
"He often does that?"
"I guess it's because he's usually alone and has no one to talk to."
"But seriously he hears nothing?"
"I wish I could do it, too, when I've got you two getting on my nerves!"
I looked up and I saw them all looking at me like I was some kind of exhibit that got their attention. I leaned back because I didn't expect to have all the attention on me and went to ask but Saboru caught up with me.
"We've been talking to you all this time, but you haven't heard anything."That explained the last phrases I heard them say. I had it as a bad habit to get lost in my thoughts easily and shut out everything that was happening in the real world.
Especially if I was thinking about something feverishly and was too preoccupied or anxious about its outcome.
"Oh, I'm sorry.."
"I was saying you needn't do anything. You'll spend a few days here keeping a low profile before you go back to school. I have already passed the matter to headquarters, and there is nothing to worry about. Besides, I don't think they'll try anything else for a while yet, at least. You will go on with your lives."She made it sound easy but it really wasn't. After all this fever of events, I couldn't just act like nothing had happened. And no one at school would be ready to take me back as if nothing had happened. I knew it.
"If you want... I can talk to the others.."Kaoru started but I cut him off.
"That's what I did, and I'm solely responsible for it. I will face the consequences and apologise to them again properly."
We remained for some days at the policewoman's house without communicating even a little with the outside world lest our whereabouts should be known and we should be in danger.
In the end, the headquarters came to an agreement with the yakuza and although we ignored the details, we knew we were in no danger. It was hard to get home after all this and we were really numb but I asked them to listen to me before they said or made their next move. This should have happened a long time ago, but I made the mistake of putting it off.
They listened to me without meaning that they understood everything I did. I even went to a regular psychologist and found various methods to combat whatever it was that had led me to this situation. Maybe the other members of the cheering club never became my friends but having Kaoru and Saboru helped a lot in my psychological state and as time went on I started to think myself that I would become and feel good.
I decided that I would make real memories with real people and started with that of joining the club in the school football match. Even though a lot of people made fun of this club, it actually has a lot of prestige if you do it right and find the right uniforms.
They looked really terrific in those black clothes they wore and the bandanas in the color of the team on the heads. They also had a huge banner carried by two of the girls. Aiko who did parkour and ended up landing on my face and Etsuko who had been caught doing graffiti. I could see them clearly because Saboru had managed to find seats near the pitch and I could see that they were handling it quite well despite the muscular strength it required.
As if to jinx it, the banner began to tilt towards us and Aiko to lose her balance backwards while Etsuko was trying to keep it steady. In a moment when I was not even thinking what I was doing, I ran forward and tried to hold the girl who was about to fall. The banner caught up with me and landed powerfully on my head. I started seeing stars and I saw her looking at me shocked and ready to apologise but I started laughing.
"We'll never meet properly, will we?" I teased her, and then she seemed to remember what had become of the grocery tent, and that I was the poor fellow below.
She had seen me the times I had visited the club to apologize and help repair the damage that had been caused on the day of the abduction so they knew me now but she had not made the connection until that moment. However, I was relieved to learn that because Kaoru and I were the targets, the rest had received misleading messages sent away from the club room. The damage that had been done was because the president had fought to not get captured.
The school was already treating me in a heartless way but I couldn't say I didn't deserve it. Now they'd come up with a nickname for what happened today, and if they didn't, Saboru would.
Aiko seemed ready to say something that would show remorse but that's not what I wanted to hear at the time.
"I am Haga Ryo."I hastened to force her to introduce herself to me, and say no more. I don't know if that's a big change, but I was looking her in the eye while I was talking to her.
"Chinen Aiko," She answered, leaning forward a little. Etsuko behind her was ready to remind her what position they were in but I noticed that they were both tired so I did something I wouldn't even have thought about a few months ago.
"Can I help you?" I suggested, and Aiko was already looking relieved. Etsuko cut me with her eyes.
She didn't trust me, and that was natural, but she definitely needed more strength. I went through the bars and went down to where they were. I got my hands on the banner and that's when I realized how heavy it actually was. If they could have held it on either side it would have shared the weight, but it had only a thick wood on one side, and already I felt myself struggling.
I tried to turn towards the girls to suggest we all keep it together as long as possible but I was stopped by Aiko's movement. I froze as I saw her draw nearer, loosening the bandana from her head and putting it on mine. My face turned crimson as she tiptoed to reach me and put on the crest of the Oendan club, that is, the cheering club.
The banner started to slide off my hands because I was removed and my palms started to sweat.
"Look out, man! You said you were going to help!"Etsuko cried suddenly waking me up and making me laugh. We barely managed to move it all together but I didn't feel the weight because my mind was busy analyzing how beautiful Aiko's smile was. This would certainly be a very different period from the previous one.