After finishing the business in Slumpia. By the time he returned to Arius, it was already evening with the sun having set. The time had barely passed just after 5 PM, but the winter sun, notoriously short, was not very patient. The sunset waves on the horizon had all faded, and only darkness had descended upon the city.
Arius.
Kenji inhaled the dust and turbid air that reached deep into his respiratory tract and let out a snorting laugh.
'I'm used to it now.'
It had already been over three months since he came to Arius. This place, once doubted whether people could live in it, surprisingly housed many people and even had a proper command structure. The living environment was poor, but no one complained about it.
Perhaps it was only natural.
A frog in a well mistakes the inside of the well for the truth of this world. Because it has neither seen nor lived in the outside world. The people living here were the same. They breathed air mixed with dirt and stone as if it were natural and made rotten water and food their staple. Probably because they had never properly eaten anything else.
Fortunately, the Squad had escaped that frog's category, but the others hadn't. Like baby birds waiting for food, they accepted the food Beatrice gave and revered her like a queen. The brainwashing named scripture, which she poured her heart and soul into creating, had taken hold perfectly.
It was a pity. If a proper ruler had taken charge of Arius. Would it have remained in such a ruined state?
It was a meaningless assumption. Kenji exhaled a long breath, hoo, then furrowed his brow at the pain felt in his chest.
Broken ribs. After accepting Fear, his recovery had increased, but it wasn't enough for broken bones to heal in just a few hours. He thought he would need about two to three more days. His twisted ankle would probably be fully recovered by then too.
'Guess I need to take it easy until then.'
It's always like this after a fierce battle. The battered body creaks like an unoiled doll, and using Fear puts too much strain on the body, shaking his organs. His condition only improved after resting quietly for at least a few days.
'It's boring, though.'
But there was no helping it. As a silver lining, since the recent Arius joint training had ended, those kids would also need time to rest. I can rest during that period too. Thinking so, Kenji opened the door of the building where the Squad stayed.
-Gigi-gik.
A creaking sound came from the hinge, and through the opened door crack, the Squad members gathered cozily in the living room came into view.
"Boo, booeeeeh! Another deserted island! Does that mean I'll be alone forever!?"
"I have no money to escape either. Good, one less competitor."
"My turn now. Give me the dice."
Hiyori, Azusa, and Atsuko were chatting while a board game was placed on the table. Misaki was sitting in a corner, propping her chin, sipping instant coffee, and Saori wasn't visible. Judging by the lack of her presence, she seemed to be out briefly.
Kenji stared intently at the three sitting at the table, then snorted and approached Misaki. She flinched for a moment but soon tilted her head with a calm expression.
"……Where have you been until now?"
"What, did you miss me?"
Kenji asked in a playful voice, but Misaki didn't answer. Instead, she blushed and avoided his gaze. At the unexpected reaction, Kenji himself swallowed and blinked. An awkward current flowed between the two.
Suddenly, the conversation he had with Atsuko before came to mind.
-There are many girls who like me. So accepting you is a bit...
-Are you talking about Hiyori and Misaki?
It was a statement he had intentionally ignored at the time, but seeing Misaki's strange reaction made the buried doubts creep up. Thinking 'no way,' Kenji took a deep breath to open his mouth. Then, an intense pain was felt near his solar plexus. It was because his broken ribs were acting up.
"Ugh……."
Kenji let out a suppressed groan. The three playing the board game didn't hear it, but Misaki sitting right beside him could clearly hear the sound.
"……What's wrong. Are you hurt somewhere?"
"No. I'm fine."
Kenji forced a smile and answered so. Even while doing so, his hand was rubbing his ribs beside his solar plexus. Misaki stared at Kenji with a suspicious look, then quickly reached out and poked his side with her finger.
The precisely located rib. Even though it was only a slight press from outside the skin, Kenji's face contorted abruptly as he slumped his upper body forward.
"Ueugh……."
"What is it, are you really hurt?"
Misaki's face changed to a worried one. Hearing her voice, the three turned their heads precisely toward them. Feeling oddly embarrassed, Kenji brightly smiled and shook his head.
"I told you, no. I'm just not feeling well."
"……Your clothes."
Misaki pointed at Kenji's top with her finger.
"Then pull up your clothes."
"……What?"
"I said pull up your clothes. If you're fine, you can show it, right?"
"……."
Kenji couldn't say anything and only moved his lips. Taking off his clothes? It's not a difficult request. But there was a dark blue bruise covering the area from his solar plexus to his side, and even without that, there were quite a few small abrasions stuck with scabs. If he showed this openly, they would definitely go berserk.
'Before, even if I got hurt, I'd brush it off lightly.'
Not lately. If he got hurt during training, they would rush over and start worrying before anyone could say anything. Even if just grazed by a bullet, they acted like that, but a broken bone? Without a doubt, it would be chaos. They'd definitely start asking who did it and prying into everything.
Then it gets bothersome. It's nice that they worry, but one should receive worry according to the situation. My whole body already aches, and if I get interrogated here, I'll pass out. For real.
So he couldn't take off his clothes.
"……I can't pull them up."
Kenji muttered in a low voice. Azusa, who had approached nearby at some point, tilted her head and asked back.
"Why?"
"I'm not wearing anything underneath."
"That's not what we're trying to see? We're trying to see if there are wounds."
"……."
He was refuted. It was a hastily made excuse without a countermeasure, so Kenji stammered and rolled his eyes around. Seeing that, Misaki bit her lip tightly and grabbed Kenji's clothes firmly. Then she pulled them up in one go.
"Take it off!"
"Hey, no! Ueugh!"
"Look at this! It hurts even though I only touched it briefly!"
"I said no! It doesn't hurt!"
"Eek! You guys help too! He's wearing another T-shirt inside!"
The three people, who had paused for a moment at Misaki's shriek they had never heard while living together, soon clung to Kenji's body like Misaki and tried their hardest to strip his clothes. Kenji gritted his teeth at the pain felt during the process, but he couldn't help the strength gradually draining from his body. The four weren't using that much strength out of consideration for him, but……
'Is this consideration?'
Kenji corrected his following thought. He gritted his teeth as if they would break and squeezed out his remaining strength to shake off the four leeches clinging to him.
At that moment, the closed building door opened with a creaking, grating sound.
"I'm back."
There, a girl with dark blue hair was entering the living room, holding an armful of something.
It was Saori. With a rare bright expression, she approached the five people gathered in a corner of the living room. It was to show the various supplies she was carrying.
"Today's supplies were some bread, a few cartons of milk, and simple medical supplies. They said it was a reward for showing high records in the joint training. Thanks to Sensei, such things are common for us, but still, there's significance in obtaining them with our own power……?"
Saori explained while looking down at the supplies in her arms, then narrowed her eyes upon noticing the people gathered in the corner. The scene, which until a moment ago looked like they were gathered amicably, gradually became clearer and then distinct. Saori stared blankly at the sight before her and blinked.
"……What are you doing? Why is Sensei……."
"H-hey! Saori! Save me!"
Kenji shouted while pushing Azusa's face away with his hand. Saori pondered what this was all about but immediately hardened her face coldly and peeled off the people clinging to Kenji. During the process, Kenji's last line of defense, his T-shirt, was roughly torn and pulled off.
Thus revealed, the dark blue bruises covering from his solar plexus to his side and wounds with scabs stuck to them.
Drip
The blood flowing from the torn skin.
"……."
"……."
Silence enveloped the room. Kenji alternately looked at the five faces dyed in shock, then forced a smile and said.
"……Surprise."
"……."
"……."
Fuck.
It was several hours after that that the five calmed down. Kenji also had quite a hard time calming the five who got angry and then burst into tears. If he hadn't explained by mixing lies with appropriate truths, the five were so upset that they might have cried all day.
"Don't get hurt again……. Really……. Sniff……."
Since Misaki directly said such a thing, there was no need to explain the other kids. Hiyori begged with tears and snot flowing, asking him not to go outside anymore; Azusa quietly brought out her gun to catch the 'rat the size of a person'; Saori and Atsoko had a conversation in sign language. As the conversation grew longer, seeing the expressions disappear from their faces, it definitely wasn't a light topic.
'If I hadn't stopped them, they would have gone on a group raid or something.'
Kenji stroked Hiyori's hair while she was in his arms and let out a sigh of relief. Then Hiyori flinched and looked up at Kenji with reddened eyes.
"Wh-what is it? Does it hurt?"
"No. Just."
Kenji gave a bitter smile and tapped Hiyori's crown. Then, meeting Hiyori's eyes, he muttered softly.
"Thanks."
"Wh-what's that? What are you thankful for?"
"You don't need to know."
"Ah, tell me! What are you thankful for?"
"Don't know."
"Eeeng……."
Hiyori puffed up her cheeks and buried her face in Kenji's arms again. Watching that, Azusa quietly approached Kenji on her knees.
"I'm curious too. What are you thankful for?"
"Come closer."
When Kenji smiled and beckoned, Azusa tilted her head and leaned her body closer to him.
A distance where their shoulders touched.
Kenji reached out with an empty hand and tickled Azusa's chin. Azusa blinked with a 'what's this?' face but stretched her neck out like a cat to make it easier for Kenji to tickle. Kenji stroked Hiyori's head with one hand and Azusa's chin with the other while laughing softly.
'What happened today.'
It was a minor commotion, but the fact he learned during the process was quite valuable.
'The kids care about me a lot too.'
He had noticed it quite a while ago, but this was the first time he felt it so keenly. Going beyond worrying about his injuries, crying out of sorrow, and holding a desire for revenge against the perpetrator were things that couldn't happen in an ordinary relationship. Anyone can worry, but the other two things were usually only done for someone with a deep relationship, a precious person.
So if he said he wasn't happy, it would be a lie. That someone worried about him like this and, moreover, considered him precious was a joyous thing.
With a faint smile, Kenji turned his head and stared out the window.
It was still a dreary Arius, but outside the window, a clear moon was floating. Kenji stared blankly at the pouring moonlight, then turned his head at the growl* sound coming from Hiyori. Hiyori, as if it wasn't her who made it, tried not to show her face while hugging Kenji more tightly.
Come to think of it, from five o'clock until now, neither these kids nor he had eaten anything properly. Dinner time had long passed, but it seemed no one had felt hungry until now because they were busy being angry and crying. Kenji snorted and patted Hiyori's shoulder.
"Anything you want to eat? I'll make it."
"……! Th-then, grill that steak we bought last time!"
"Sure."
When Kenji nodded, Hiyori left his arms and raised both hands. Kenji looked at that and chuckled.
Then the next day.
The Squad received a summons from the Madam.
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