Book 2: Chapter 1: Intro
The abrupt beginning of turbulent times
It was the worst timing possible.
While looking for places to take a selfie, I stumbled upon an incident. It was a tense state of affairs. The whole thing started a few seconds ago, when a trivial accusation provoked the other party and turned into a fist fight pretty quickly. No, saying fist “fight” is more accurate. Three male students were on the floor, covered in injuries. A red-haired boy was standing over them, looking down. It was a pretty one-sided fight.
I saw blood streaks on his right fist from the wounds of the other boys. It was my first time seeing a real fist fight. In elementary school, I saw boys pulling at each other’s clothes and pinching each other, but this was different. I could feel the weight of the tense situation.
Even though I was afraid, I unconsciously took pictures of the scene. The shutter went off silently. I thought to myself, “What am I doing?”, but in my panic, I couldn’t think very clearly.
I tried to leave the area as fast as I possibly could. But my brain wasn’t functioning normally, and my legs wouldn’t do what I told them to. Feeling paralyzed, I couldn’t move at all.
“Hehe, do you think… things will be over with this, Sudou?”
The boy who was barely able to move his upper body desperately tried to resist despite his fear.
“Are you trying to make me laugh? You three are in a sad state. Do you want to go at me again? I won’t hold back next time.”