Gōjun Shoran took his packet of cigarette out of his pocket when he reached the head of the staircase, and removing a cigarette from the box, he brought it to his mouth, stepping onto the roof. He had been about to light his cigarette up with his lighter, but then, paused down when his eyes fell onto Shunsui Shigeizumi.
The latter was not by himself on the terrace of the building. He was with a young, spectacled girl, another fellow student, and the two were busy kissing each other languorously. Shunsui had his back pressed against the balustrade and was leaning against it, the girl having a strong grip on his sweater.
The moment the two heard him arrive, they broke away from each other. The girl blushed coyly, and excusing herself, she scooted away, while Shunsui stood there, smiling self-satisfyingly.
'Will you tell me what's going on with you?' Gōjun asked him, with a questioning look; taking his cigarette out of his mouth without lighting it up. 'Since when did you become such a flirt?! I haven't stopped observing you since the last few months. You shag everything that moves, and date more than one girl at a time. Not it's not like the girls seem to mind it!' He shrugged. 'Where is gone the doutei guy who used to bug me about love- the existence of true love- and who never had a girlfriend in his life before, because he was looking for that special someone, huh?! You know, that same reserved guy who wouldn't lose an occasion to sermonize me on my promiscuity!'
'Oya! Oya! Oya! Are you feeling jealous?' the reddish-brown-haired young man teased him, putting on a babyish tone and rubbing his face against Gōjun's cheek affectionately. 'There's no need to worry! You know that you're the love of my life, don't you?'
Gōjun grimaced in mild irritation, and he pushed Shunsui's face away to stop the friction, muttering, 'Now that's something about you I really would have liked if it had changed!'
The reddish-brown-haired young man smirked at this, before he answered his friend's earlier question, telling him, cheerily, 'I'm just enjoying life, in the same way as you used to do! And I only date nasty girls in order not to break hearts; you taught me this!'
Gōjun studied him for a moment with narrowed eyes.
Shunsui wasn't like this before. He used to be someone reserved, who didn't go out with girls, seeking that special someone who would become his girlfriend and whom he would have one day made his wife. He would have never thought to have sex with anyone unless with that special person, and for that he would have most certainly waited for after their marriage.
Gōjun had had a similar lifestyle to the one Shunsui seemed to have adopted now, but that was until the incident with Kitsune, seven months ago. Since then, he has decided to stay as far away from girls as possible.
'And the girl of this morning-'
'Her name is Hime Kirigakure,' said Shunsui, promptly, putting his forefinger up.
'I've never seen you do that before- approach a girl like you did today! Not even this recently! And what is more interesting is that, you don't look at her in the same way as you look at the other girls!'
He was watching Shunsui suspiciously now.
'Really?' the latter laughed. 'You're thinking too hard. Oh, but I haven't told anything yet about her presence during the burglary, ne?'
***
A few minutes later...
'Excuse me,' came a voice from behind me during Osoji, and I turned around to face the girl who had approached me, tensing up, as it was the first time since this morning that somebody was speaking to me.
The girl was of average height, with short black hair, and she wore spectacles. Her face was strangely flushed, as though, she had run a mile.
'Y-Yes?' I replied, timidly.
'This is for you,' she told, as she put a folded piece of paper in my hand, before she walked away.
I followed her retreating figure with the eyes for a few seconds, scratching my cheek in bewilderment, before I looked down at the folded piece of paper in my hand.
Snugging my broom up under one of my arms, I unfolded it.
There was a hand-written message on it, which read:
I've proposed to you.
You've rejected me. My heart is now in pieces.
I'm going to kill myself by jumping off the roof of block B.
You can come to say goodbye to me.
Shunsui
My heart jumped to my throat. EH?!!!
The girl must have made a mistake; this message was most definitely meant for someone else. But he- he- he- is going to commit suicide?! I have to stop him!
Dropping my broom, I rushed for the roof of the block "B" building on the spot. The moment I darted through the doorway atop of the staircase to onto the roof of the building, I immediately caught sight of the reddish-brown-haired young man.
He had his back turned into this direction and was leaning forward over the balustrade.
Without losing a second, I dashed at him, crying out, 'No, stop! Don't do that!'
He turned around to look at me instantly, but just as I reached him, out of the blue, I tripped over something and collided head-on into him.
His cellphone slipped his hand and fell off the roof, but I didn't pay any attention to it. I gripped at his sweater to prevent him from doing anything.
Something was quite not right though.
It was his expression.
He looked unbelievably calm- puzzled, but calm- for someone who was about to commit suicide.
At that moment, I caught the strong smell of cigarette, and looking on my left, I saw Gōjun Shoran holding himself there on the roof, leaning against a wall.
I hadn't noticed him due to the urgency of the situation, together with the fact that where he was standing, he was out of direct view from the head of the staircase.
He had taken his cigarette out of his mouth and was staring at me with an astounded look.
I was equally puzzled to see him.
'Can you tell me what's going on?' Shunsui asked me, shaking his head slightly in bewilderment.
'You-You were about to commit suicide, weren't you?' I murmured, uncertainly.
'No!' he replied, slowly, giving me a peculiar look, only for me to show him the note, and his declaring at me, 'It's not my hand-writing!'
Struck, I paled for a second, before my face flushed tomato red in embarrassment.
'Somebody must have played a prank on you!'
It's also what I was thinking!
'And s***! My phone!' he uttered, in that instant, looking downstairs over his shoulder.
Five minutes later, Shunsui Shigeizumi, Gōjun Shoran and I were in the courtyard, at the very location where the reddish-brown-haired young man's cellphone had hit the ground.
'Cr**! I knew it! It's broken!' he said, scratching the back of his head, his expression aghast.
He picked it up in his hand. Not only was the screen broken, but the phone was coming apart. It looked irreparable.
My expression turned uneasy. It was my fault if it's broken.
'I'm sorry!' I told him, fervently, bowing down in apology. 'I'm terribly sorry! Please forgive me!'
'Eh?! If you think that I'm going to let you go with a simple apology!'
'No-No! Of course not!' I assured him. 'I'm going to buy you a new one!'
At this, a cocky smile came to his lips.
'Do you know how much this phone costs?'
I had straightened up now, and drawing closer to me, he bent down to bring his mouth to my ear to inform me of the price.
My heart went wild in my chest at the discovery of it, and I almost chocked out of shock.
'So-So much?!' I gasped.
He was still smiling cockily when he straightened up again and stepped backward, to tell me, 'Even if you worked part-time for a whole year, it might still not be enough.'
I stared at him, without blinking, swallowing hard.
'But don't worry! I think I have an idea! How about you pay me in nature?'
'I-In nature?'
'Yes!' he declared, cheerily, making a gesture towards me with his hand. 'From now on, you're my slave!'
'Your slave?!' I exclaimed, cringing away in what was a mixture of astonishment, confusion and apprehension. 'Huh?!'
'I'll explain everything to you after school,' he told me. 'Osoji is over. You should get back inside.'
I didn't have to be told twice; I left immediately, my stomach twisting with dread.
***
Gōjun Shoran followed the dark-haired girl with the eyes until she had gotten out of sight, before he turned to Shunsui Shigeizumi, to ask him bluntly, 'Can you tell me what you're up to with that girl?'
'Her name is Hime Kirigakure,' Shunsui pointed out, again, before replying, 'And I really don't see what you're talking about!'
'I saw you. You made her trip with your foot. And your phone- it didn't slip your hand; you dropped it. And coming to that note, the description she has given to us of the girl who passed the message to her, matches exactly with that with the girl you were kissing on the roof earlier.'
Shunsui turned his face slightly to the side, laughing quietly.
Then, sending his arm around Gōjun's neck, he told him, cheerily, with a small shrug, 'Oh, maybe I just want to have a maid for myself, that's all!'
And on these words, he began to usher Gōjun back towards their school building.
The latter continued to watch him intently, but decided not to ask him any more questions for the time being.
***
After school…
What does he mean by his slave?
My stomach was twisting with dread.
'Oi! Where do you think you're going?' a voice came, out of the blue, as I was making my way down the corridor, and I was yanked to a stop by a sudden pull on the back collar of my shirt.
Instantaneously, I looked on my right, and the first thing that I saw was somebody's chest.
When I lifted my head completely, it was only to see that it was Shunsui Shigeizumi, who was holding himself there, with Gōjun Shoran standing right next to him.
I had been so absorbed in my thoughts that I had walked past them without noticing them.
Despite of myself, I let out a startled yelp.
'I hope that weren't intending to give us the slip!' the reddish-brown-haired young man told me, with narrowed eyes, putting his hand down onto my head and bowing down into my face. 'Were you?'
I shook my head rapidly in answer; it had not been my intention.
'Good! Now let me explain to you the principle of being a slave,' he stated, putting his hand away, and straightening up again. 'It is just like the master-servant relationship. You'll do all the chores that I tell you to do for me. You follow me everywhere I want you to accompany me. In short, you do everything that I want you to do. You could think of it as you being my personal maid from now on. This will continue until I'm satisfied that it has cleared your debt.'
Master-servant… Personal maid… A slave… I have become a slave.
The words rang in my ears, and sent my head reeling.
But how could I complain? It was only fair after I had broken his phone!
'Do you understand, or should I be more explicit?' he demanded, tipping my chin up with his forefinger.
'I do- understand,' I replied, in a stammer.
'Very well, then!' he exclaimed, clapping his hand once, his expression delighted. 'Let's get started immediately! Gōjun and I are going out for a walk around the city. You're coming with us!'
I smiled, awkwardly, saying, 'Hai!'
I guessed that my intention to avoid the two of them has been definitely crushed now!
As we came down into the courtyard, suddenly, we came across of the principal again.
We had slowed down to a stop, and the middle-aged man also paused down at our sight, his expression cold with displeasure.
He stared at the reddish-brown-haired young man for a second or two, then at Gōjun Shoran, before his eyes shifted on me, tightening.
'From now on, I'll have an eye on you as well, Miss Kirigakure!' he stated, in a warning, and I turned as white as a sheet of paper.
Not only was it no longer possible for me to avoid these two delinquents, but if I start being associated with them…!
'Don't pay attention to him!' Shunsui Shigeizumi told me, lightly, after the middle-aged man was gone; sending his arm around my neck, casually. 'He's just an old junk!'
I looked at his face, gawkily.
An old junk?!
What a delinquent!
I almost cried bitterly.
Help, Okā-san!
Thank you for reading!
Glossary
Doutei - virgin
Osoji - cleaning the school