Chapter 4 –  It Might Have Been the Crossroads of Fate

ZURU-!

“I-, uwah-, KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…”

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“Standdd. Bow.”

“Sakuraa, Miharuu. Whatcha gunna do after you get home today~?”

When school finished, Tomoko called out to us.

“Today, after I drop by the dojo, I’m planning to go shopping.”

I gave my reply as I showed her the bag with my dougi, and the bag with my wooden sword.

“I seee. What about you, Miharu?”

“Mn, maybe I’ll go study in the library for a bit. The exams are close, after all.”

Miharu replied as she prepared to leave.

“Geh-… Is it already that time of year?”

“There’s not even two weeks left until the semester end exams, you know?”

I spoke to Tomoko, astounded.

“Tomoko, how about you also study for once and not panic when it gets close to the day?”

Right now it’s close to the end of June.
The exams should be in the second week of July.

“Nnn~… Miharuu~”

Tomoko let out a pathetic cry for help towards Miharu.

“The same thing happens every time. I’ll teach you, so study properlythis time at least.”

Despite her dejection from being cut down ruthlessly, Tomoko took out her study materials from her desk.
It’s nice that she’s obedient, isnt it? Not that she’ll stay this way.
Having a look around the room, I find that almost everybody is gone. Everyone sure is fast, huh.

“So you two will be going to the library I see. Well then, I will be going to the dojo. See you tomorrow.”

Saying that, I headed towards the door.

“”Cyaa~””

I could hear the two of them from behind me.
To think that this would become a fateful crossroads…

While I was walking down the hallway, the wind blew in from an opened window.
Despite being the rainy season, the wind is pleasant and not humid.
I suppose a day like today is what people call “Satsukibare(fine weather in may)” isn’t it.

BASABASABASA-

The sound of something falling rang out from the stairs a little bit ahead of me.
When I went to the stairs to investigate, right before my eyes was a schoolgirl who was flustered about something.
When I had a closer look, it seems that she was carrying printouts and that wind earlier had strewn some about.
The moment that she reached out her hand to pick them up, the rest of the printouts had fallen down like an avalanche.
Is this a dojikko? Is this moe?
It would probably also be interesting to stand here and keep watching, but I have plans to head to the dojo as well.
It would be difficult to ignore her and walk past as well, and I need to use the stairs.
There’s no helping it.

“I’ll help.”

It was right when I spoke to her and was about to pick up the printouts.

“Eh-? Eh-? Kya-”

BASABASABASA-

Because of her surprise, another avalanche was born.
There’ll be no end at this rate.

“Please hold back the printouts so that we won’t waste anymore time.”

Saying that whilst astounded about her, I left my belongings and started picking up the printouts.

“Is this all of them?”

Whilst stacking the printouts together, I asked the schoolgirl for confirmation.

“Ah-, umm… probably, yes, it should be, fine I, think…”

“Please be sure. If it’s fine already, then please hurry up and take these in a way that you don’t drop them again.”

After I said so,

“Y-, Yes-, it’s fine! Um, thank you very much!”

the girl said that in a panic and made to bow, causing yet another avalanche.
I flusteredly pinned them down.

“No need for thanks, so please just hurry up and take these.”

When I said this, the schoolgirl ran down the stairs in a fluster.

“Honestly… She isn’t suited for this sort of task…”

I gave a single sigh while checking the time.

“Ah-… It’s already this late? I’m going to be scolded again, aren’t I?”

I let out yet another sigh, while heading up the stairs to collect my things.

“Now then, shall I hurry?”

Holding my things, I decided to hurry ahead.

At that time, had I avoided rushing and calmed down… For a while, each time I looked back on things, I couldn’t help but wonder this…

The moment I had gone down several stairs to hurry home, another breeze danced through the air.

HYUUUUU… PASA…

It seems that a single printout from the earlier avalanche had been left behind.
I was sure that I had picked them all up though…

And then, could even “coincidence” have had that printout fall right where I was about to take a step?

In my haste, I had stepped on the printout with great force, and my foot slipped.
Normally I would have regained my balance with something of that level, but unfortunately both my hands were full carrying my wooden sword, dougi bag, schoolbag, and lunch box.
Even so, I tried to somehow regain my balance.
I immediately grabbed onto the handrail.

Thinking about it now, that might have been a bad idea.
Had I just obediently fallen on my butt, things should have been safer.
Of all things, with the hand that was clinging onto the rail as the pivot, I made a full halfspin; in other words, the side of my body that was facing the bottom of the stairs, was now facing the top of the stairs.

“Eh-, wai-, uwah-”

And having lost my balance, I lost to gravity and centrifugal force, and fell towards the bottom of the stairs.

“Uwah-, crap-”

Despite falling, I had noticed the height of the stairs, and attempted to ukemi.
However, for some reason, the situation was not as I expected.
Indeed. For some reason…

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What lay before my eyes at the landing of the stairs, was not a linoleum floor, but a pitch black hole-like something.

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Indeed. It is as you all imagine.

ZURU-!

“I-, uwah-, KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…”

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My body had fallen straight into the middle of that pitch black hole-like something.

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