"Souta. Are you okay? Do we need to take you to a doctor?" the teacher asked, her face still tight with lingering worry.

  I lifted up my hand and waved dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good, just a minor injury. Besides... I've got doctors already on the job," I said, nodding toward the girls.

  The teacher's expression relaxed into a smile. "Good. With that taken care of, you and Yuki need to go meet the officers to give some statements." Her face turned more serious.

  "I see. Sure," I said before turning toward Yuki.

  "Her face was… red.

  'Must have lost the fight-'"

  "Shut it," she snapped, cutting me off.

  "Sorry."

  ***

  We followed the teacher, leaving the others behind. By now, I knew the building by heart from pacing its corridors over and over. Eventually, we arrived at one of the spare rooms that had been locked until the teacher opened it, revealing two male officers sitting at a table, cups of fresh, warm coffee untouched between them.

  “Ah, Souta and Yuki. I hope you’re both okay?” one officer said as he stood with a welcoming smile.

  “Yeah, we’re okay,” I replied, reaching out for a handshake.

  "Please, take a seat." He turned toward my teacher. "Before you go..."

  “Yes?” she replied.

  “We need to discuss how everything will be handled paperwork-wise.” He smiled before he and the other officer escorted my teacher out of the room, leaving just me and Yuki alone.

  The moment the door clicked shut, the distant murmurs of adult conversation filtered faintly into the room. A strange tension lingered between us, something I kind of expected, given what had just transpired.

  “Sooo… umm… about the play. Are we still… doing it?” I awkwardly asked, side-eyeing Yuki.

  I could see her fidgeting with her hands, taking her time before answering.

  “Um, if you want, I don’t mind,” she finally replied.

  I tried my best not to get caught, but I couldn’t help stealing quick glances at her face. It was definitely red.

  If this were a game, I’d save right now.

  “Hey, why are you staring at me?” she snapped, breaking through my thoughts.

  Crap.

  “Sorry, just that your face was-”

  “It’s because it’s hot in here,” she replied, cutting me off.

  "Oh, okay…" I said softly as silence once again enveloped the room.

  My mind drifted back to the hallway. Like how Yuki pulled me back when Subaru lunged. How she headbutted me awake when I was ready to give up. How she kicked the knife away without hesitation.

  She'd saved my life. Multiple times. And I'd been too busy bleeding to even process it.

  “Thank you, by the way,” Yuki broke the silence.

  “Hu-” I almost replied like I usually did: confused. But this time, I stopped myself just in time for Yuki not to get up and drop-kick me.

  I smiled as I glanced over at her.

  "I did what anyone would."

  "Sure, but you went far beyond what anyone else would do. So I'll repeat it, and for the last time." She paused, her gaze locking onto mine, and I could feel my eyes involuntarily widening.

  "Thank you, Souta, for protecting me," she muttered, breaking her gaze.

  "Ah—" I froze.

  Shit, it's me that's blushing now.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  My chest tightened. Yuki, Yuki, the girl who'd called me every insult in the book, who'd kicked me, mocked me, made my life hell in a hundred tiny ways, had just thanked me. Really thanked me. Not with sarcasm. Not with a barb hidden in it.

  Just... Gratitude.

  My lips parted. I wanted to say something real, something that matched what she'd just given me. But every word that came to mind felt too small, too stupid, too—

  Finally, I managed, "Just doing my job," and I hated how it sounded the second it left my mouth.

  But the door opened before I could fix it, and the moment was gone.

  "Ah. Sorry, didn't mean to keep the lovebirds waiting," the officer joked as he took a seat.

  “LOVE BIRDS!” We both shouted at the top of our lungs.

  “C'MON, OFFICER, YOU THINK I'D BE WITH HER?” I replied, pointing my finger at Yuki.

  “Um, sorry?” He replied.

  “TO THINK YOU WOULD LUMP ME IN WITH THIS HORRIBLE, STINKING PIECE OF NOTHINGNESS THAT DOESN’T DO ANYTHING RIGHT! NOT TO MENTION THAT HE’S HOPELESS WHEN IT COMES TO ANYTHING! BUT OH WAIT, HE COULD PROBABLY TELL YOU WHAT ANIME CHARACTER IS ON THE SCREEN BECAUSE HE’S NOTHING BUT A SHUT-IN!!”

  “…”

  “Damn… that’s harsh,” the officer muttered.

  “Too right,” I replied, holding back my tears.

  "Hmph!" Yuki scoffed, turning away, but not before I caught the faintest smile.

  ***

  After giving our statements, which, to be fair, mostly revolved around what we went through and some of the things Subaru did, it was mostly the officer wrapping things up after Yuki’s… Outburst. He even gave me a piece of candy, like I was a kid at the dentist. I didn't know if I'd earned it, but I took it. Score!

  But even with that out of the way, we only had less than twenty-four hours to make sure that our upcoming play wasn't going to be a total disaster. After walking for what felt like ages in total silence, we finally arrived at the front of the building.

  “We're back at the reception… And why?” I muttered, thinking back to the first time I saw Subaru here, the quiet made more sense now.

  “Oh yeah, I probably should apologise to Shinji,” I muttered as we stood in the middle of the room.

  “Hm? Why's that?” Yuki replied as she leaned against the desk.

  “Well, I might have accused him of being your stalker and stuff,” I said, scratching the back of my head. “I don’t think he’s going to forgive me, is he?” A smile grew on my face, but I think Yuki and I both knew that, deep down, it was fake.

  I felt Yuki’s eyes narrowing as she stood up straight. “Well, tell that to his face, then, dork.”

  “Huh?” I looked over at her as she then glanced over my shoulder. “You can come out now, weirdo,” she shouted.

  I furrowed my brow before following where Yuki was looking, and to my surprise, just behind me, peeking out from behind the wall... A familiar head. It was Shinji.

  “Oh my god, Miss Yuki spoke to me,” I heard him say.

  He’s… so weird. “Hey, Shinji,” I muttered.

  But before I could say sorry, Shinji burst out of his so-called hiding spot and started running full speed ahead towards me.

  “SOOOOOOO!” His voice echoed.

  "For a split second, I thought he was going to forgive me. "You're the most—" I started.

  "SOUU-YUKKKKIIIIIII!" His voice rang out.… Within seconds, he burst past me and stopped next to Yuki, kneeling down on the floor.

  “…”

  “Jackass,” I replied.

  “Miss Yuki, please forgive me for not being able to protect you! Had I known Subaru, I mean that bastard, was your stalker, I would have taken him down myself and protected you with my life!” he shouted at the floor.

  I sighed, getting ready for Yuki to call Shinji creepy and kick him or something. But…

  “Tsch, fool you are, and the fact that you made me suffer through all of that means you’re no use to me. No bodyguard of mine would let that happen,” she said, playing along.

  “What the fu—”

  “BUT, MISS YUKI, PLEASE!” Shinji shouted, kneeling on both knees.

  “Well,” she said, a smile creeping onto her face, “I suppose I could forgive you if only you go and solve whatever problem you have with Souta.” Her eyes landed on mine.

  “Yuki…” I muttered, my eyes widening.

  “Is that all, Miss Yuki? All I have to do is have a bro talk with Souta?” Shinji repeated as if it were some judgment call.

  “Yeah, that’s all. If you accept anything Souta says, I’ll forgive you just this once.”

  The moment those words left her mouth, Shinji’s eyes shot toward me, and he gave me a smirk that said, “Anything for you, Miss Yuki.”

  “SOUTTTTAAA BRO!” He shouted, almost taking me out.

  “NGH! SO NOW YOU COME TO ME!” I shouted, but the moment I saw Yuki’s smile and nod, I knew she did this for me.

  “Souta, bro, listen, about what happened,” Shinji started.

  “Good grief,” Yuki replied before walking around the corner.

  “Listen, I’m sorry,” I began. “I know I said it was you who Yuki’s stalker was… and as we both know, I was wrong,” I said before bowing. “I’m sorry. If you don’t want to be my friend, that’s fair enough, but please don’t direct your anger toward the others.”

  Shinji blinked before smiling.

  SLAP!

  “Come on, bro, what the hell are you saying? Even if I hated you, why would I take it out on the girls? They’re Yuki’s sisters, aren’t they?” he said, hammering my shoulder down.

  “Yep, they sure are,” I replied, doing my best to withstand his slaps.

  After feeling like my shoulder was going to collapse, Shinji’s smile disappeared. For the first time since I'd met him, he stopped acting, and the atmosphere shifted 180 degrees.

  “But listen, don’t ever do that again… You don’t know how much it hurt me when you stood up and accused me,” he said, his tone sharp, sounding like a completely different person.

  “Uh… Sure, of course, that was my bad,” I replied.

  For a second, we stood still, his eyes piercing mine. Then, slowly, his face softened back to his usual goofy self.

  "But hey..." He grinned, though it looked a little tired. "We're cool now, right?"

  "Yeah," I replied. "We're cool."

  "THANKS, BRO! APPRECIATE IT!" he shouted before turning around and rushing over to Yuki.

  “Is everything sorted?” She asked.

  Shinji saluted, “YES, MA’AM! WE ARE BACK TO BFFS!” he shouted.

  “Good, can you tell the others to come and meet us in the drama hall and round up all the actors for one last practice session?”

  “AYE, AYE MA'AM!” He shouted like a servant before sprinting down the corridor.

  "He's… whipped, beyond belief," I muttered under my breath.

  Yuki glanced at me, then back down the corridor where Shinji had disappeared. "Come on. We've got less than a day to make sure this play isn't a disaster."

  Right. Back to reality…

  DeadEndYuto!