XLVII

<<Skip>>

Isuma didn't speak a lot as they walked. At least she wasn't freezing this time. Hishari had lent her a coat and scarf; after dinner, she'd even trimmed Isuma's hair for her, making sure her locks were even and straight. Kita wasn't accustomed to seeing her with short hair. Her eyes were a lot more noticeable without her bangs and were distracting. He couldn't quite decide her eye color; they seemed to alternate between several different colors, flashing like a kaleidoscope. He could've watched them for hours and still not place their color.

Partially to break the silence, Isuma asked, "...will Takahiro-kun come to Inarizaki next year?"

"Oh, yeah. Him and Kasumi both."

"Kasumi?" Isuma struggled to recall the small bit Takahiro had told her about himself. "That's his best friend, right? Suna's cousin?"

"That's her. She's very... hyper." Kita said, trying not to be offensive. Isuma glanced at him. "You don't like her?"

"No, she's okay. I'm grateful to her- it takes someone patient to be friends my brother." Kita answered. Isuma smiled to herself. "Your brother and sister are really sweet. Karu reminds me of my brothers..."

He appreciated that she wasn't anxious around him anymore- at least on the outside. He felt himself looking at her eyes again- had they really always been that beautiful? Small details began to pop out: the small dark freckle below her right eye, the way her hair seemed to naturally sweep behind her ear, her close resemblance to her brothers. With her hair shortened, she looked more like them than before. More powerful... more intimidating. "Why... did you cut your hair?"

To him, even that small change was proof he wasn't needed, not even in the slightest. Proof that he should disappear from her life after high school so he wouldn't like it. Isuma tugged at a lock of her hair. "Why? Does it look terrible-"

"No. You look good. But why? Exactly?" He asked. Isuma responded, "My aunt and mother always..."

She hesitated, unsure if she wanted to tell him. "...they said my hair made me look pretty. So I cut it." She flinched: it was exactly the sort of thing she and Kita both would advise others NOT to do. Both of them- usually- thought logically, although he was much better at setting aside his emotions than she was. She'd reacted emotionally and done something she'd snap at her brothers for doing.

His rebuke didn't come. Instead, he laughed, something he rarely did. Isuma actually stopped walking to watch him. "-sorry. That's just... it sounds like something your brothers would do."

While his expression was pleasant, his tone was the slightest bit bitter. Isuma frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. That's your apartment building, isn't it?" He pointed at one of the many tall buildings lining the street. Isuma still didn't smile, unconvinced. "...yeah. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Also... like Ari-chan said, if you need us, just call." His eyes were full of genuine concern. Isuma waited until they were past her building's gates and at the main door before responding. "I'll be okay. My brothers have probably calmed them down by now. I think."She sounded less certain than he would've preferred. "Okay..."

"Thank you for letting me come over. It was amazing." She turned to leave, but Kita said something that made her freeze. "For the record, you look pretty with short hair."

She turned around; a small smile flickered across Kita's face as he waved and walked through the gate, vanishing from view.

<<Skip to the Next Day>>

Suna, Kosaku, and Isuma were silently reading a program for the practice matches during lunch when they heard the rumors.

None of the other second-years had questioned Isuma's sudden decision to shorten her hair; Suna was the only one who'd understood. He raised his eyebrows when he saw her. She was wearing a scarf that obscured most of her face and neck, but her cropped bangs were visible. "I didn't think you'd actually do it."

"Thank you for the encouragement." Isuma unraveled her scarf and shook the snow out of her hair. She had pulled some of her hair back with a white ribbon and tied into a bow, something Suna was quick to note she never did. He nodded. "You look good. How'd it go at home?"

"...alright." Isuma vaguely answered. Osamu corrected, "Terribly."

For the majority of their break, they'd remained undisturbed by the chatter around them, occasionally breaking their silence with a remark or comment. "Who came to the formal last year?"

"People," Suna replied. Isuma held back a sigh. "More specifically?"

Kosaku replied, "The higher-ups who manage the Inter-high and Nationals. Some people from Tokyo. Not all the teams around here come, but usually their coaches and captains are invited. At least a hundred people. Probably more."

Isuma rested her head against her palm; she looked oddly tired and drained as if she hadn't slept for a while. Kosaku asked her, "Did you not sleep last night? You look terrible."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"Not like that terrible, just exhausted-terrible." Kosaku corrected. "You want me to get you a shovel so you can dig that hole a little deeper?"

Kosaku looked over at Suna, who wasn't paying them any attention. "Hey, back me up- Suna?"

Suna looked back at them. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

Isuma glanced across the classroom and then back at him. "Who were you looking at?"

"...everyone, really. Why are they looking at us?" Isuma hadn't noticed their gazes before then, but it was suddenly obvious. The three girls huddled only a few feet away from them were whispering behind their hands and glancing at them every three seconds. Across the classroom, five or six of their classmates weren't even trying to be discreet and were openly watching them. "...what's going on?"

***

Upstairs, on the third-years' level, Akagi and Kita pieced things together more easily. Kita noticed something was wrong when he'd walked into his class first thing in the morning but didn't say anything about it. During their break, Akagi came into Kita's class and approached him. "Coach said you had a copy of the program."

"Yeah. Here." Kita handed him his copy- which was already full of notes and highlighted portions- and Akagi sat down in the seat in front of his. "Oh, right. Did you do something wrong?"

"No?" Kita answered, unsure. "I heard people in my class talking about you." Akagi thought to clarify, "More than usual."

"Very funny. I noticed something was up, but no one's been openly talking here." Kita looked around; the same two girls who'd been acting strangely in the morning were now watching them. Much of the class had emptied out, but the remaining twenty or so people were gazing at them interestedly. Kita glanced at the boy in front of him, Torioka. He was introverted and quiet, but was extremely well-informed about what was happening in the world around him. At the moment, he was pursuing something on his phone and furtively glancing at Kita, who questioned, "What're you looking at?"

The boy flinched and almost dropped his phone, immediately attempting to close the article he'd been reading. Kita held up his hand. "Stop."

He didn't dare argue. "Show me your phone. Please."

Torioka handed it over without complaint. Akagi leaned forward and peered over his friend's shoulder so he could read. Kita had barely finished the first sentence when his eyes narrowed. It was the school newspaper, which he- and pretty much everyone else- never read. But this article... it was impossible to ignore.

Everyone in the classroom- and even some outside in the hallway, peering through the window- was holding their breath, waiting to see what he'd do. Kita slowly let out his breath and handed Torioka his phone. The boy took it, his hands shaking. "Torioka, who wrote that article?"

"I- I don't know. Ask Otani- he manages the school newspaper!" Torioka squeaked. Kita tried to keep his voice controlled. "What class is he in?"

"C- class 3-1!" In a low whisper, he added, "Please spare me!!"Kita didn't hear him; he walked through the crowd of people and stormed out the door, his eyes crackling with anger and shock. Akagi stepped into his path, forcing him to halt. "Shinsuke, don't do something you'll regret later-"

"I'm not going to regret this at all. I'm going to enjoy it. Whoever did it deserves what's coming to them." Kita pushed past him. Class 3-1 was the farthest from his class, 3-7; the hallways were packed with people, but they all parted like the Red Sea when they saw Kita coming. When he finally arrived at 3-1, his anger had spiked. Akagi made one last feeble attempt to stop him. "Shinsuke, don't!"

Otani was a fairly popular young man who'd always seemed righteous when it came to managing the school newspaper. People had always been generally pleased with his performance, and such a stray from his usual guidelines was shocking.He was startled when Kita entered his classroom and walked up to him. "Kita-san, what-"

"Save it." Kita's voice was deathly low. "Who wrote that article about Isuma and me?!"

If it'd been a rumor about them, Kita wouldn't have taken it as seriously. He wouldn't have cared if they thought he was dating Isuma- but this? Actually naming her as a weakness- and then telling the entire school? That was too much- and also, a really petty thing to do in Kita's opinion. If he hadn't been so angry for Isuma's sake, he might've laughed it off.

Otani flinched slightly under his piercing gaze. "It wasn't me. I had no choice- she forced me to do it!"

"Who's she?" Kita inquired. Otani replied, "Yoshika!! Yoshika Megumi!"

"He means me." A feminine voice behind Kita said. He wheeled around to face her. Yoshika Megumi was the most popular girl in their year; Kita hadn't ever spoken to her before now. "Why?"

She didn't seem at all fazed. "Well, it's true, isn't it? You like that second-year, don't you?"

Most of the people around them didn't know this formerly well-kept secret, and they all gasped in surprise. Two girls actually shrieked before slapping their hands over their mouths. They all seemed to be thinking along the same lines: KITA? Liking someone? None of them had seen him so much as glancing at a girl. Kita's eyes narrowed. "Liking someone doesn't make them a weakness."

"For most people, maybe. But you're different. You really have no idea how many people outside of school resent you, do you? Many of them know already. Within twenty-four hours your manager is going to have been tormented so much she'll hate you for liking her." Yoshika smiled very slightly. "You can't do anything about it. I'm talking about dozens of people, Kita-san. Even you can't protect her from them all."

Kita clenched his fist, trying to control his rage. His eyes landed on a familiar face behind Yoshika- Komiro. 'Wait... he's the one who was flirting with Isuma the other day. Could he have told her?'

Yoshika noticed his gaze. "Oh, right. Komiro-kun told me what happened the other day when he was flirting with that second-year."

Komiro seemed to shrink under Kita's gaze. "Why are you doing this? Which one of us do you hate: me or Isuma?" Yoshika shrugged. "Oh, I don't hate either of you. This is just for fun. I want to know how far the emotionless, passive Kita Shinsuke will go for someone he's fallen in love with."

He was grateful there were only fifteen or twenty people were gathered around them. The fewer people who heard him, the fewer chances Isuma would hear about this. Kita walked forward until he was barely a foot away from Yoshika and Komiro. "If a single person harms her, first I'll deal with them, and then you. I swear you'll regret this."

His eyes were sparkling so dangerously Yoshika took a step back, her confidence fading ever so slightly. "You wouldn't hit a girl."

"You aren't a girl to me. You're the person who hurt Isuma." His voice was even lower now; only she, Akagi, and Komiro could hear him. "The only reason I'm not punching out Komiro's lights right now is because of Michinari. Consider yourself lucky, Yoshi-"

"Kita-san!" They all glanced at the door: Isuma and Suna were standing there, breathless. Isuma was startled by the emotions in Kita's eyes; she'd never seen him like that and for the briefest second, she felt scared about what he would do. "Let me talk to her."

When he saw her, his rage subsided slightly and he was in control again. Kita let out his breath and took a step away from Yoshika. Isuma turned her attention to her: they hadn't caught on to their classmates' strange behavior for a while, but after the shock of hearing it, Isuma's temper was at its limit. "My turn."

Isuma approached Yoshika, trying to hold back her tsunami of emotions. The situation was ridiculous: Yoshika was much taller than Isuma yet she seemed intimidated. Isuma lowered her voice so only the two of them could hear. "I don't know why you did this, but if Kita-kun is affected in any way, I swear I'll make you suffer for it."

"Get away from me!" Yoshika tried to shove her, but Isuma stood her ground and raised her voice. "Oh, and unlike Kita-san, I don't feel bad about doing THIS."

Isuma kicked her in the shin- not too strong, but it was enough to make Yoshika crumple to her knees. "Ow! What do you think you're doing?!"

"You deserve a lot more... Yoshika Senpai." Her last word was twisted purposefully. The others were watching Isuma in shock; Kita did his best to suppress a smile. Part of him was impressed and not shocked, but the majority of his mind was in awe. He hadn't thought an action as small as cutting her hair would lighten her burden so much. Something that had been holding her back for years had finally vanished, leaving Isuma to be her true self. Kita forced himself not to be selfish and feel unhappy: this change was more proof of what needed to be done. "...Isuma."

Everyone glanced back at him; Kita looked up, his eyes on her. "She understands. That's enough."

Isuma took a step back from Yoshika, who stood up and dusted off her skirt. Kita glanced at Suna (Kosaku had gone off to fetch the other second-years, all of whom were in the gym practicing.) "Go back. We only have a few minutes left until classes resume."

"Yes, Senpai." Suna grabbed Isuma's arm and practically dragged her out of the classroom. Kita raised his voice so everyone listening in could hear him. "And the rest of you."

They all hastily straightened as he addressed them. "Not a word about what happened before Isuma got here to anyone. If she hears about this, I will personally find you, and it won't be pretty. Understood?"

His tone had no implied threat- if anything, it was calm and collected as usual- but they nodded collectively. A few actually murmured, "Yes, sir."

Kita glanced at Otani. "What can you do about it, Otani-kun?"

"Not much... I could delete the posts online and stop printing, but people have probably already saved the article or taken copies." Otani answered, relieved Kita was back to normal. Kita sighed. "Do that. Thank you. And... sorry."

His reply was genuine; he sincerely seemed grateful to him and regretful about his behavior. "No problem. I get it. I'd be upset too."

Kita glanced at Yoshika briefly. "I take it back."

"-what?" She asked, the slightest bit relieved. "I won't do anything to you if anything happens. I think Isuma would like that privilege."

I really don't like this chapter. Probably gonna go back and completely change it.