~Thursday, the seventeenth of October, 9:14 ~

"He's running!?"

Seeing the image of a teenage delinquent named Kaharu Kahari sprint away from his peers, Amatsuyu reacted to it oddly. He thought to himself, dragging up his legs from the ground

- This is an unexpected reaction…

I thought he'd do something else, either fight everybody, or accept his demise and surrender to his fate.

But this does confirm one thing, Kaharu probably doesn't have any powers that allow him to escape from certain situations, like teleportation. He'd definitely use that over punching one of his friends, so it must be something else.

That is both a good and bad thing.

If he has some kind of offensive-geared power, that would be bad for me because I'm not physically not strong enough to win such a confrontation. But that would also mean, from what I've just seen, that he is unable to escape from situations where he is cornered without resulting to violence. -

With the label of a happy giraffe posturing broadly, the bottle of orange juice's glimmer caught the eye of Amatsuyu, who grabbed it quickly to consume. But his eyes were very separated from the label as he slurped it down, the blurry silhouette of Kaharu provided greater interest. Eventually, as he'd flipped to another position, another face caught his attention. Almost choking on his drink, Amatsuyu sat up straight out of surprise.

But again, there was no eye contact between them.

…

My legs tapped quickly against the school floor as I tried to run away, partially from responsibility of what I'd done. I quickly realized the stupidity of my recent actions as I ran as quickly as I could through the hallways.

Especially after the big deal I'd made about my attempt at sexual harassment, and the promise and role I had taken on. There must've been something strange about that school, twice I'd succumbed to my raw desires and the second time I'd pulled through with what I wanted to do.

- Maybe there is some kind of area spell here that makes me more prone to not listen to my own reasoning, or maybe this situation where there is no strict authority and everybody is just flesh dolls has made me power-crazy and power-hungry. I've almost dehumanized the people here.

But I doubt I'm in true power, there is someone behind all of this.

If I defeat that guy, surely that would fix my current problems regarding this.

But is there a way to do that without hurting anybody…? -

I looked behind me to get a view of the severity of the situation, and as I locked my eyes upon Melliacci, an idea came to mind.

But just seeing Melliacci in that state wasn't enough to prove it's usability, as he'd been the victim of my previous abuse.

A couple of seconds passed as we continued our running, me trying to keep a healthy distance between us. Even though it felt strange to see them in such a robust state, the second person I needed started to show signs of the same thing. I didn't see any other alternative at the time, having tunnel-vision made that the only option I saw in the moment, and it felt hopeful.

- This'll work! I understand now…!

Despite acting unnaturally, they're still the same people they used to be physically. If I just keep running, they'll get tired after a while and I'll be able to win this confrontation! -

My plan provided me with a confidence embroiled with a hopeful outlook, that was perhaps too optimistic as my stamina wasn't the most well-trained in the world, even though I would've never admitted it.

After a couple of laps proved to be annoying as I kept running, my legs felt a burn I rarely had to experience. That was usually my fortune, but today I had to endure that slow and really infuriating pain. Like it'd done before, my anger was rising with the pain as a fire was lit. Although that turned out to be a positive effect as my will to stop running decimated with the passion I felt and the unwillingness to admit defeat. At that point, most people had already dropped down to their knees out of being tired, their primary activity during the days was to study after all, so I didn't blame their unwilling defeat. Although I smiled to myself in my own alleged superiority, but even that was challenged as the remaining people continued to chase me down.

Among them was Onata Kakiwaru, my unintended rival who was supposed to prove her strength to me in a fight the day before. My opinions of her were broadly positive, as her bravery and pure passion during the fight with Amatsuyu the other day had touched me in an unexpected way. That was an even bigger incentive for me to work harder, as to not lose against her, something I cared about more than I should've.

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Even though she was supposed to be emotionless, I could've sworn that the same feeling was exerted from Onata's soul as more people dropped down in our race.

I smiled once again as I looked forward

- We didn't get to have a fight, isn't that right Onata?

Well, let's have one right now, and…

See who's stronger than who! -

…

- They're still running!? -

Amatsuyu reacted after he threw his used-up orange juice bottle into the trash can like a three-pointer. He displayed a deeply confused face as he didn't understand the agility displayed, he thought

- Seeing as he can run this much, perhaps Kaharu has some kind of speed or stamina-increasing power. That would explain his current performance, and the fact that he couldn't escape the scenario before… -

Amatsuyu scratched his lively hair as he thought about it, because if he was right, then it would be considerably easier to defeat him. Amatsuyu wasn't powerless, in fact in his eyes, he was destined to be the strongest and his current strength was probably able to best Kaharu in a one-to-one. That made the proposition a lot more alluring to him, the chance of purging his biggest rival and competition.

But he had to give it more thought, despite his eagerness, he didn't want to jump into any risky plan like that immediately.

…

*HUFF HUFF HUFF*

- It…

sure…

is…

tougher than I expected…

This girl… is stronger than I thought…

She wasn't lying when she said that a good night of sleep made her stronger…

DAMN! -

The stinging burn in his legs bordered on being unbearable at the point he turned that corner for the 26th time, his breath being heavier than every step he took on to the cursed floor. Still behind him, Onata Kakiwaru was found, running at a considerably lower pace. But the most annoying thing Kaharu found about her was her barely fatigued demeanour. Even though he knew that she was equally as tired as he was, proven by how the other flesh dolls acted before they dropped in fatigue, the subconscious notion he got was that she was much more resilient than he was and that he should give up.

Kaharu thought he might act on that, even though he wanted to go even harder, the reality of his situation made everything a lot tougher. He was declining in speed, the pain in his body was beginning to feel serious, his mental state was exhausted. That all amounted to him not wanting to run anymore.

His heart, his sight, his conscious, it all started to slip little by little.

He knew exactly what he needed to continue just a little bit more, he needed spirit.

But no matter where he searched, it was hard to find any after the amount he'd burned during the rest of the race.

Right as he was about to burn out, Kaharu took a look at the situation on a larger scale, but not out of will, it was similar to one's life flashing by one as death is nearing.

Right at that moment, Kaharu realized something.

If he were to fall there, he would have to fight his way out. He would have to fight against the students there with his power to escape the school, and immediately his previous actions came back into his mind.

It was bigger than the cute, but petty squabble against Onata Kakiwaru, it concerned the whole school, every student there who tried to study and reach their dreams, every teacher there working their asses off to share knowledge with their students, and the delinquents who ran about confused as to how they were to proceed with life.

- Fight against the school…?

I don't want to hurt the students with my power…

I don't want to hurt the students with my power!

I DON'T WANT TO HURT THE STUDENTS WITH MY POWER! -

Like the start of an Olympic 100 meter race, Kaharu reloaded his running from the kneeled down position he was in. His take-off likened the mannerisms of a lightning bolt, but his powers weren't in use as he ran away.

Left without the ability to draw such inspiration or spirit, and having been in the same weakened state as Kaharu, Onata Kakiwaru fell to the floor with her stamina drained from the strenuous exercise she'd taken part in.

Kaharu ran another lap as he managed to take himself above the deep, dark water through an elevated pillar from the bottom. He soared high in the sky as it carried him up.

Care.

Kaharu's hidden and stowed-away care had led him to a path where his victory didn't only benefit him, but other people as well. The people he showed care for through self-sacrifice and challenging his own limits. The care he used to take on the role as a protector for the student body at the school, a role he wanted to expand to the whole school.

The problem didn't lie in the fact he had Prejudice and Care in his psyche.

The problem lied in that they were deep-rooted Prejudice and deep-rooted Care. They were locked away in his subconscious, away from visibility.

Kaharu didn't even have the chance to confront the feelings as they laid so deep within him, hidden under layers and layers of other feelings and thoughts.

But both of them had come out of their hiding on that Thursday morning to show themselves, in a time of adversary.

Kaharu slowed himself down as he celebrated his victory with a broad smile on his face and eyes that hinted at optimism.

…

The deeply dark red school uniform with sharp angles that filled it's space got a quick ripple as the delinquent with red hair adjusted it.

A smirk was clearly visible from his face as he looked maliciously into the phone screen in front of him. He stood up in a sudden manner as he thought

- I curse you, Kaharu. You dare to be a heretic in face of your new overlord, and you think you're the best after defeating everyone in a running competition.

The world isn't as kind as to only reward the strong ones, if that were the case, you'd be on my side.

It seems that sometimes it is in the hands of pioneers and superiors to enforce the unwritten rule of our world:

'If you desire salvation, obey those in spiritual superiority to you'

You are a fool, Kaharu!

You've weakened yourself, and I can now take advantage of your weakened state to purge you! -

Amatsuyu could be likened to a three-part puzzle.

As he changed his sights to the stall door, the third piece had been revealed and placed in its right place.

His demeanour reflected that piece, and a switch wouldn't be possible while his head was in that stage of retribution.

His ominous smirk remained.

…