Chapter Fifty-Nine To Keep the Peace
I’m My Own High School Rival: Rika’s Arc: Of Fate and Future.
I sat quietly on a crowded bus to Yamanashi, wishing it were as empty as the ride into Gifu. The seats were a bit different from the previous bus, sporting soft, comfortable red-and-blue cushions with a fancy racing stripe down the center. The lighting was also better, with solid light strips running down the left and right roof. But it still had way too many women. My only saving grace was that I was no longer the only guy for the vultures to gawk at.
I moved my legs and arms, making myself smaller between the two men who encouraged me to sit with them. They didn’t speak to me, not anymore.
When I first got on, they were full of questions: Where are you from? How long have you lived in Kokiri? Was I married or claimed? So, I told them that I had just come from a love hotel and was going home. And just like that, the questions stopped.
It's only been a little over an hour, which meant that I had one more, painfully long, hour to go.
The man on my left said quietly, “Don’t think less of yourself because you’re a foreigner.”
He must have been in his mid-twenties, handsome with thick black hair.
I thought my hotel line would secure a quiet ride.
I could feel their eyes, but not their judgment.
“You’re a handsome young man, so stay away from girls who only care about your body, okay?”
I grabbed the seat between my legs, wishing I could stare out of the window without looking at someone else.
“I understand why you feel the need to ignore me, but know that I’m trying to help you.”
I sighed, “I get it... I know what I look like, so—”
“So, why were you at a love hotel?”
Why are you so damn concerned about what I do?
We sat in silence. My shoulders brushed against theirs every time the bus shook, yet I squeezed the seat.
I met his gaze. “I was tired and wanted a place to sleep,” I said, hoping it was enough. But the man shot me a doubtful look. “Okay, I stayed there with a friend, but nothing happened.”
Not that it was any of his business.
I looked away, but his hand gently touched my shoulder.
“It’s okay if she had performance anxiety... It can be... scary for a strong woman.”
How did we get here? Please stop talking to me; you’re making this stranger than it needs to be.
His face flushed, and he patted his chest. “Not saying do anything... just—” He looked away, breathing heavily.
“My friend means well,” the man on the right said.
Knowing that I sat between two friends kind of made me feel better, but what did they want?
I looked around the bus. It screeched to a stop, and bodies shuffled on and off; there was a healthy mix of men and women now, but no familiar faces. The red and blue seats and beige interior were more soothing than terrifying now.
“So, you guys are friends,” I asked, oscillating between the two.
The man to my right wasn’t as... appealing as the guy to my left, but there was something about him that seemed peaceful.
“Yes,” he said, glowing. “I’m Sangi, and to your left is Kojo.”
I looked him over, unsure of whether the glow was natural; Sangi smiled at me, and I looked away.
“Don’t mind him,” Kojo said, “He’s in love with everything right now.”
“Why?”
“His wife is pregnant, and they are having their first child.” Kojo’s voice was high for a whisper scream.
Why was he excited? It’s not as if he were having the kid himself. I considered the opportunity before me.
“Hey, what does it mean to be claimed?” I said in a whispered voice.
“Shut up,” Sangi said. “The same girl from the hotel?”
“No,” I said, waving my hands with my limited arm space. “A different girl claimed me.”
They both gasped, and I found myself at the center of an intervention.
“Hey, kid,” Kojo whispered. “Don’t tell me that you’re duping both women?”
“No, that’s not—”
“You have to tell us, so we can guide you,” Sangi said.
“I-I didn’t do shit.” Sangi popped me in the mouth, sending my head into the cushion.
“What the hell?” Kojo did the same but harder.
I caught my face with both hands at the end of the recoil. The hit hurt more than the beating from the Veil boys, and marked the first time a man, other than my father, had put their hands on me.
“Cursing isn’t cute,” Sangi said. The woman behind him giggled.
“Better them than me,” the giggling woman said.
Looking around, no one seemed to have cared about the slap.
I wanted to hit him back, but I know, socially, that I was wrong.
Sangi leaned in and whispered in my ear. “I won’t say that I’m sorry, kid, but I did it to protect you.”
My face grew thin. “Whatever,” I whispered back. “What would...happen to me if you didn’t?
“Some women are natural animals. They wait for us to slip up so they can correct us, and once a woman puts her hands on you,” Kojo said, shaking his head.
We rocked side to side with the uneasy road.
“I know that you’re angry with us, now, but we can still help you if you want,” Sangi said, playing with his fingers.
I couldn’t look them in the eyes without tearing up. It hurt something that couldn’t be hit but felt.
“Whatever,” I said, swabbing nothing out of my eyes.
For the first time today, I genuinely considered going home, missing Sakura’s protection from… this.
“So… who claimed you? Is it someone you knew?” Sangi shook my shoulder lightly, causing me to shake like a rag doll.
“The school bully claimed me, and she treats me like property,” I said, void of emotion.
I closed my eyes and listened to the empty bus.
“Is that why you—” he whispered, “Why you went to the love hotel with another girl?”
I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth, causing my body to shake.
Fist clenched, eyes down. “I already told you that I went to the love hotel to get some damn sleep!”
The air tightened as multiple women around me stood, and I stood too. I spun around, etching all of their angry, scowling faces into my mind.
“Kid, stop—”
“Go ahead, but when I’ve lost my freedom, you’ll lose your lives because I’ll remember your faces.”
The bus screeched to a halt, forcing those standing to sway.
The women’s angry faces and sharp eyes made my legs tremble, but something stayed their advance. Kojo and Sangi balled themselves up.
“Alright, kid.” A hand grabbed me. “I hate to do this to ya, but I’ve got to keep the peace, so you’re off this bus,” the driver said.
I looked around, worried for the first time in this life.
“What about Yamanashi?”
“This is as far into Yamanashi as I’ll take you. “
She pulled me into the middle of the bus’s lane, and the woman behind Sangi pulled my bags from under the seat, handing them to the driver.
“Let‘s go.
The day was turning dark, and I had never been to this part of Yamanashi.
“Sorry again, kid,” she said before closing the door and driving off.
Well, shit. Now, where do I go? I thought, running my hands through my hair.
I turned slowly, checking out the area, finding empty streets and closed shops, just to settle on the bus turning out of my sight.
Cursing ain’t cute… didn’t Sakura tell me that when I first woke up in this world, or was it a dream?
I slung the backpack over my shoulder and walked in the same direction the bus vanished.
I touched my lip to check for blood; nothing. Thinking about Sakura, and if she would answer if I were to call.
No… I can’t rely on her anymore.
I pulled out the phone Kami gave me and sent her a text message.
[I made it to Yam, but didn’t get far. Toky seems like a dream, but death is closer. Take care of u.]