【007】Fresh Blood

【Tamura Misaki】

“Morning, Misa-kun!”

When I opened the door in the morning, Nanaka-san was there.

“You’re early today.”

“Yeah, I thought we could eat breakfast together. Have you eaten yet?”

“Nope, not yet.”

“Perfect timing then. Pardon the intrusion.”

Nanaka-san came into the room. She was already in her uniform. I changed out of my loungewear into my uniform as well, then headed to the living room. Soup and toasted bread were arranged on the table. The soup was minestrone. The toast was a simple pizza-style preparation.

“Let’s eat.”

We said it in unison.

We looked at each other and giggled.

“Nanaka-san, did something good happen?”

“Huh? Why do you ask?”

Nanaka-san looked surprised.

She stopped eating her toast.

I was troubled when she asked why.

“Well, I’m not sure exactly. You’re smiling more than usual, or like there’s a brightness in your aura, or you seem more lively than normal.”

“D-Do I?”

Nanaka-san was embarrassed. Seeing her embarrassment made me feel embarrassed too.

“Maybe I’m just happy because my horoscope was ranked first today.”

That’s such a Nanaka-san reason, I thought.

I wonder if Nanaka-san is the type who believes in fortune-telling.

“Oh, should we check yours too, Misa-kun?”

“Huh, I’m—”

I was about to say “I’m fine.”

“Let’s see, you’re Scorpio, right? —Oh.”

Nanaka-san pulled out her phone, operated it, and froze. I could tell from her expression alone.

“Last place, huh?”

“N-No, um—”

Nanaka-san jumped as if startled, her eyes darting around.

Nanaka-san is bad at lying. We’ve been close for so long now that I’m confident I can see through most of her lies.

“B-But listen! It says the lucky color is red. Do you have anything red? Oh, I’ll put cherry tomatoes in today’s lunch!”

That’s what Nanaka-san said.

I smiled at her.

Nanaka-san smiled back after a delay.

Today was a good day from the morning.

But the good day only lasted through the morning.

【Nakano Nanaka】

Yesterday took way too much time on my work.

So I didn’t get much sleep.

So instead, I woke up early and prepared breakfast. Today I’ll spend the morning with Misa-kun. Just thinking about it lifts my spirits.

When I saw Misa-kun in the morning, my drowsiness vanished. Ah, yes, Misa-kun really is my everything. I can recognize that anew.

“Nanaka-san, did something good happen?”

“Huh? Why do you ask?”

My heart skipped a beat.

Am I giving off that much of an aura?

But more than that, something made me happy.

“Well, I’m not sure exactly. You’re smiling more than usual, or like there’s a brightness in your aura, or you seem more lively than normal.”

“D-Do I?”

I was happy.

I was truly, truly happy.

I hurriedly acted.

Otherwise, I felt like I might cry.

Misa-kun is watching me.

That makes me so happy. I’m happy beyond measure. I’m watching Misa-kun too. Year-round, 24/7, I’m sensing you.

Does Misa-kun feel the same way as me?

I’d be so happy if that were true.

No, it has to be that way.

“B-But listen! It says the lucky color is red. Do you have anything red? Oh, I’ll put cherry tomatoes in today’s lunch!”

Red, red, huh.

This fortune-telling is way off the mark.

It’s a little funny.

But seeing Misa-kun smile made me not care anymore.

【Tamura Misaki】

When we arrived at school, the classroom was in an uproar.

Or rather, the entire school was in a huge commotion.

I don’t have friends in class, so the only information I have is what I overheard. But the content was shocking.

Apparently, Tanaka-sensei had been engaging in compensated dating. Moreover, he’d been targeting high school girls and committing violent acts.

“Man, I totally thought he’d pull something like that.”

“Dude, that’s such a hindsight thing to say. Well, I did think he would though.”

“Don’t copy me!”

But something about this atmosphere felt off.

This wasn’t shock at a teacher behaving in such unbecoming ways. Rather, it seemed like they were enjoying this unknown event.

Everyone craves the extraordinary.

As long as it’s not happening to them, they can only perceive it as a scene from television.

They could even enjoy it.

“A pervert, huh? We’ve got one of those in our class too, don’t we?”

Someone said that.

I felt eyes gathering.

“Oh yeah, now that you mention it, we do.”

Thunk—a small impact hit the top of my head.

At the same time, a foul smell assaulted my nose.

I tried to touch my head but found my hand trembling.

It was a wet rag.

A dirty rag that had probably been left sitting for a week had been thrown at my head.

“Oh, nice pitch!”

I heard a voice saying “Yeah!”

Is today going to be rag hell?

That’s what I was thinking when—

I sat at my desk and noticed.

The inside of my desk was stuffed with garbage.

Since I take all my textbooks and notebooks home, the inside of my desk had become a trash can.

Does this class actually think my desk is the garbage bin?

I almost found myself thinking that.

I could also hear snickering as people looked at me.

“What’s going to happen with today’s math class?”

“Probably study hall, right?”

“That’d be awesome then.”

I listened to that conversation as I headed to the cleaning supply locker to get something to clean up the garbage in my desk.

I should have noticed when I touched the locker.

I opened it.

Bang—

It fell from the gap in the door.

It looked like slow motion to me.

Slowly, slowly.

It was falling.

I heard a bang, and only then did I realize what it was.

It had holes all over it.

Everything was bent in strange directions.

My breathing became difficult.

What is this? When it fell, something splattered onto my cheek.

Red liquid—blood—was flowing.

What lay there was—

No, what was dead was—

Tanaka-sensei.

A scream echoed from the classroom.