Part 4
After pushing Madoka off, Mishima Shuujirou had something else to do. Madoka had just lit his cigarette, and then one of Shuujirou’s gang came rushing in, covered in blood. The many young men who had sought out Shuujirou once they knew the despair he had bee reduced to had announced they were going to attack the opposition group. Besides, they wanted another shot at them after having fallen apart so badly at the last fight.
“Idiots!” More and more they think they can put pressure on us!” Shuujirou said this quickly while hopping onto his 750cc bike. Before Madoka could ask anything more, there were off.
“Senpai! After this Madoka and I followed in a taxi!”
Hikaru-chan seemed to be following her memory.
“Huh?”
“Unbelievable stuff is about to happen. The police… the police wanted to crush the gang in one swift stroke…”
“Police?”
After junior high Madoka flew out of the warehouse, I grabbed onto Hikaru-chan and once again dropped us into the time stream.
Just as Hikaru-chan had said, somewhere near the Yokohama Port, bike exhaust notes, sirens, and from a speaker somewhere the trailing voice of the police, all adding up to a huge amount of noise.
Both groups of gangs from 3 days ago were back, but who was lively was very different. All the ones fighting alongside Shuujirou seemed the active group. The opposing group now struck at Shuujirou and the others with all their might.
But the local boys didn’t have any reason to not le the police see too much. A patrol car pushed it’s way through, right into the midst of the 2 groups.
“Hikaru-chan… where are you and Madoka?”
Hikaru-chan and I were looking out over the dispute from the roof of a building near the Marina tower. However, from places facing the port like Yamashita Park and Chinatown, a real mob was forming. Will all of this I certainly couldn’t find the two young girls.
“Hmm… If memory serves right the taxi brought us as far as the outskirts of Chinatown. Ah1 Over there!”
I looked in the direction Hikaru-chan was pointing, and sure enough getting out of a taxi were the junior high aged Madoka and Hikaru-chan. Although they intended to get to Shuujirou and the rest, the rabble effectively blocked them from joining the others.
Just then “Kasuga-senpai!” Hikaru-chan said in a strained voice as she seized my arm.
“…Hikaru-chan?”
“Senpai… Senpai’s Power… What kind of Power is it?”
“Huh?”
“Senpai’s Power… Shuujirou-san… Can you save Shuujirou-san’s life?”
“Tha… that’s…”
I was at a loss for words at Hikaru-chan’s question. There was a real chance that this was the time that Shuujirou was supposed to die. At that moment, if I intervened, I probably could save him. But if I did that… if I changed the reality of a dead person in the past, I would change the lives of the people around him as well.
Even with my power, I didn’t think there was a way to do it… On top of that, Ojii-chan had said that I would have to deal with Shuujirou’s Akuryou…
“Senpai! Well? You can same Shuujirou-san, can’t you? Save him for me?”
“Hi… Hikaru-chan…”
“Madoka said it before. We… I and Madoka-san owe Shuujirou-san… and Ryouko-san… we’re in their debt… so please… Please save Shuujirou-san!”
Tears were welling up in Hikaru-chan’s eyes. Those eyes were pleading with me with all her heart… I… suddenly it was all my responsibility… it felt like it was not completely my responsibility.
However, Hikaru-chan… this.
This… I can’t do.
I can’t!
Just then “Gaga-----n!” A terrible sound rang out. At the same time a shriek that was somehow admirable could be heard.
But, just then the Hikaru-chan next to me scolded and yelled at me.
“Kasuga-senpai! Hurry!”
Amidst all the spectacle of confusion of the people this had floated to the top. It had somehow come to the periphery of the city streetlights.
“Shuujirou-san!”
Shuujirou’s 750cc bike flew over the hood of a blocking patrol car, and from the air attacked his opposite’s bike.
“Senpai! Save him, Shuujirou-san is going to die! …Senpai!”
Hikaru-chan’s nails bit into my arm. But… I… I couldn’t look Hikaru-chan in the face.
“Hikaru-chan… I’m sorry!”
“No… no way…”
The front wheel of Shuujirou’s bike hit an opposing boy’s helmet full in the face, sending it flying. At the same time, Shuujirou lost his balance and practically fell headfirst back onto the asphalt.
“No…….! Senpai you idiot!” As if she had gone mad, Hikaru-chan hit my arm with her fist.
“Hi… Hikaru-chan!”
But just then I… as all this was happening I inferred a sign of something.
A sign of something?
No, not just something. Undoubtedly it was the sign of the Kasuga family – now, the feel that the Power was used.
What? Wait a minute! This seems an awful lot like a spectacle I’ve seen long before.
Shuujirou’s bike had already slammed into the asphalt. The police had already surrounded all the boys who had laid down. But the opposing group were shook by his heroic death, and one by one they all got back up, and were struggling with the police.
Heroic… death?
No. Truth was, this man named Shuujirou just by chance had encountered the Power; he had narrowly escaped and his life had been saved.
From the direction of Chinatown, coming right into the middle of the rabble, was the Kasuga Kyousuke of seven years ago… Me.
“Hikaru-chan…”
Hikaru-chan had her face buried in my chest and was crying her eyes out. I softly picked up her face, while Shuujirou toppled and the nearest group in the crowd began to point.
“I’m sorry, Hikaru-chan… but I’ve just remembered something.”
“Wh… what?”
“Ah, well, take a look. I’m over there.”
“Huh? Senpai is…?”
“If I remember right, that day we were getting ready to move to the next town, and me and the rest of my family had gone to see the town… but before going home we had gone to Yokohama’s Chinatown for dinner.”
“No… no way!”
Shuujirou was lost in the surrounding policemen and the crowd, and clearly different from all the boys was a cheerfully talking group of four.
“Se… Senpai! There’s your dad, Kurumi-chan and Manami-chan too.”
“Yep. Right then we were having a bit of a dispute.”
“Huh?”
“No!! What are you doing onii-chan, using the power…” Manami was saying. And there was Kurumi saying, “that’s right, that’s right. We had to leave the last town because out power had been discovered you know…”
Hikaru-chan, tears still in those pretty eyes, bit by bit began to laugh. Then we heard, “It can’t be helped. Did you just want to sit silently by and watch that person die?”
“Kasuga-senpai said that, didn’t he.”
“Yes.”
“So, so you did save him after all. Shuujirou-chan.”
“Aa… that’s what it looks like. Of course, I didn’t know about Madoka or Hikaru-chan yet…”
Ah ha ha… I laughed, trying to cheat a bit with all that I hadn’t remembered until now… But Hikaru-chan still seemed to be crying although a laugh did come out.
“Hi… Hikaru-chan… I… I’m sorry…”
From Hikaru-chan’s big eyes tears fell like drops and fallen seeds. She shook her head hard… then said in a hoarse voice, “Senpai… I can’t stand this…”
“Huh?”
“I can’t stand it anymore.”
“Hikaru-chan?”
“Besides… you’re Madoka-san’s boyfriend, and not just that… still happy… but… some sign of thanks is needed.”
“Hikaru-chan?”
The next instant Hikaru-chan hugged me close. Then she kissed my cheeks over and over again. “Thank you… thank you senpai!”
Aha… a ha ha ha…
I… that is… well… there was nothing I could do… This storm of thank you kisses from Hikaru-chan I gladly accepted.
But shortly Hikaru-chan was going “Ahhhh! I kissed him! Kissed him!” and her usual bright laugh returned… and then as if she suddenly remembered something hey eyes went as big as plated.
“Wait a moment… what was Shuujirou-san doing? Why did he make us all think he had died?”
I certainly didn’t have an answer for that question.