Chapter 20: The Protagonist Touches on the Core

The day Akegami-san came to the classroom turned into a disaster. Some people were genuinely worried, warning me, "Getting involved with a Curse Seeker is dangerous!"

…In the end, I think we all want to get along with Akegami-san, but we’ve lost the chance to find an opening. Neither Kisa-san nor Kototsuka-san is particularly closer to her than I am, either.

I’m not thrilled about it, but maybe I should try contacting this person named Haraguchi that Shishiba-san mentioned.

With a rattling clatter, I slid open the door to the team room.

"Hey there, Shinozaki-kun."

For some reason, Kisa-san was clinging to Kototsuka-san.

Kototsuka-san, looking thoroughly annoyed, let out a sigh.

"Hey, Shinozaki Nagisa. Could you do something about this?"

"Ehh? You don’t like it?"

"It’s too hot and suffocating."

Looks like these two have gotten pretty close, too. Maybe it’s because Kototsuka-san hugged Kisa-san when she was crying.

…Though, looking at it like this, it is kind of strange that Akegami-san used to cling to me like that so casually.

"You two are really close."

"Yep!"

"No, we’re not."

She denies it, but Kototsuka-san doesn’t actually seem that bothered. It’s more like she just finds it hot and inconvenient.

Come to think of it, is Akegami-san not here yet?

Scanning the room, I spotted her—staring blankly into space.

I sat down in the seat next to her.

"Hm… Nagisa-kun, you’re here."

Her vacant eyes turned toward me.

…Is something wrong?

"Akegami-san, you don’t look very well."

"…Do I?"

"Did something happen?"

"Hm… not really."

As she said that, she quietly held out her hand.

Uh… does she want me to give her something?

No, I don’t think there’s anything I was supposed to hand over…

"Hold my hand."

She said it so weakly that I figured it wouldn’t hurt, and gently took her hand.

"Thanks."

She murmured it softly, then fell silent. Maybe something really is wrong, and she’s just worn down.

"Akegami-san, are you really okay?"

"…Yeah. It’s just… when I’m away from you, Nagisa-kun, I guess I get like this sometimes?"

Normally, I’d take that as a joke—but with how she is right now… is she serious?

…If she is, I don’t really understand what she means.

Warmth traveled through the hand I was holding. The smooth sensation of her skin slipped gently from my grasp as she pulled away.

"Somehow, I got a bit sentimental. I think I’ll head home for today."

With a faint, weary smile, Akegami-san left the room just like that.

"Akegami Yuri seems a bit off today."

"Yeah. Normally she’d be clinging to Shinozaki-kun way more energetically."

Kototsuka-san seemed to have given up on prying Kisa-san off and simply opened her book while still being clung to.

Still, I wonder if something happened over the holiday… It can’t really be just because she didn’t see me, right?

Oh, right—I never brought up Haraguchi-san.

"By the way, Shishiba-san mentioned—"

So I decided to share it with the two of them. It just so happened that Akegami-san wasn’t here, too.

"I see. That kind of thing happened. Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to look into Akegami Yuri’s middle school days a bit."

"…I’m not really comfortable with it, but yeah."

"Is it really something to worry about that much? Just think of it as getting advice from someone who knew her back then."

Well… I guess that’s one way to look at it.

"Then let’s go now. To this Haraguchi person."

"That’s sudden!?"

"…I dunno, I just feel like it’s not a good idea to leave Yuri alone like this."

That’s true—she did seem off today. Maybe we shouldn’t leave it alone.

And if there really is nothing wrong with her, then that’s fine too. The sooner we confirm it, the better.

But… is Haraguchi-san even free right now?

"Anyway, let’s go!"

"You’re so pushy!?"

Before I could even think it through, Kisa-san had already left the room, dragging Kototsuka-san along with her. I hurried after them.

Seriously… she’s way too forceful.

In the end, Haraguchi-san was in the team room. We asked someone who happened to still be in the classroom, and it seemed the team wasn’t meeting today—Haraguchi-san was just there by himself.

"Oh yeah, Shishiba mentioned something like that. Said someone wanted to hear about middle school. Man… can’t believe someone actually wants to ask about that."

The guy with the shaved head—this must be Haraguchi-san. He shot us a sharp glare.

…Or maybe that’s just his normal expression? Could just be that his eyes look intimidating.

Apparently, he went to the same middle school as Akegami-san. I don’t know how close they were, though.

"Yeah, we heard you know about Yuri."

Unafraid, Kisa-san spoke up. Haraguchi-san widened his eyes for a moment, then immediately frowned.

It seemed Shishiba-san hadn’t told him that we specifically wanted to hear about Akegami-san.

"…Hah? Yuri? Why would you want to hear about that?"

His voice was low, rough—like it scraped against the air. The tension in the room tightened.

Had we said something that strange?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, his next words froze us in place.

"You really want to hear… about a dead person… that badly?"

Thump. My heartbeat quickened.

Dead? Akegami-san?

…What does that mean? At the very least, the Akegami-san whose hand I held just a moment ago is alive. There’s no way she’s dead.

"…Dead? What, are you saying the Yuri in our team is dead?"

"Huh? I mean, what are you even going to do after hearing about Kumoyama Yuri?"

Kumoyama? Someone I don’t know. The tense atmosphere loosened.

…Thank goodness, just a misunderstanding.

"No, we want to hear about Akegami-san."

"…Akegami? Why would you want to hear about Akegami? Then what was that about Yuri?"

"I’m telling you, we want to hear about Akegami Yuri."

At Kototsuka-san’s words, Haraguchi-san’s eyes widened, and he fell silent. The room went completely still.

"…Wait, hold on. Ahh… I see. Seriously? Seriously, seriously? Well, yeah… if you think about it, she’s the only Akegami who survived, so I guess it makes sense."

Then… he grabbed his head.

I’ve seen that reaction before. Shishiba-san had reacted the same way.

…But nothing we’ve said so far should be that shocking.

"Man… so this is what Shishiba was talking about. …She should’ve just explained it herself."

After muttering under his breath, Haraguchi-san turned back to us.

Gulp. My throat tightened on its own.

"Alright… listen," he said, before slowly continuing.

"Akegami’s real name… isn’t Yuri."

I couldn’t process those words right away.

"Not… her real name…?"

My voice reached my ears a beat later.

"The surname’s still Akegami. But her given name is different."

All of us fell silent.

…It didn’t sink in immediately, but then it settled heavily in my chest.

If this person, Kumoyama Yuri, is connected to Akegami-san… then maybe she borrowed that name.

Is that why Shishiba-san reacted like that? Because she realized it?

And when Akegami-san collapsed with that fever—

"Yuu…ri…"

That voice… wasn’t her calling her own name?

Does that mean, when she was delirious, she was calling out for Kumoyama Yuri?

"The only person she was ever close to… was Kumoyama Yuri."

As if confirming my thoughts, Haraguchi-san’s words followed.

Akegami-san… is using the name of someone she was close to as an alias.

…Akegami-san isn’t okay. Not at all.

I remembered how weak she had looked earlier.

Maybe that is her real self. Maybe that overly energetic version of her is just a mask, hiding something wounded underneath.

We looked at each other and nodded.

"Haraguchi-san, can you tell us about her middle school days?"

"Yeah. I will."

Haraguchi-san began to speak.

"Do you know about the Third Deep Calamity?"

"We’re its victims."