Challenge Accepted (Kenji/Iwanako One Shot)

http://ks.renai.us/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=6593#p107331
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Challenge Accepted

It's hot, unusually hot for this time of year. To think that just a few months ago this place was covered in a blanket of white. No one could have expected that once the snow melted it would be so unbearably hot. There are already kids running around enjoying the fresh air, taking full advantage of the time they have outside before the school year starts anew.

The city is what you'd expect any other city to look like, tall buildings scraping the sky and traffic as far as the eye can see. Sights and sounds barrage the senses, there is always something happening, always something to be seen or heard. Everyone rushing around as if they were bees, each one having a specific job to do and a time limit to do it in. No one slows down, who would want to? No one wants to be the person that makes everything come to a screeching halt. But someone has to be, there's always some poor soul that carries that burden.

As I make my way through the city, I can start to feel the heat get to me. I try looking out into the distance in hopes of seeing my destination but all I see are mirages where the horizon melts the earth and sky. I take refuge in a small cafe and order myself a tall, cold glass of milk. I made sure to keep small bills in my wallet to pay with, it's bad luck to do break a bill for less than half its worth after all.

Preferring solitude, I find an empty table near a window where I sit to recollect my wandering thoughts. I can hear the people around me talk about one thing or another. Some talk about the latest blockbuster to come out of Hollywood or the gossip of some new teen idol. No one talks about what I came here for, no one would. However, every so often someone whispers something softly, something that's supposedly taboo, something extremely close to home...

Death.

It was in this city where it happened. They said it was an accident, that no one could have seen it coming. No one knew that the boy had a heart condition and that he couldn't stand the shock of a confession from a girl. It ran in all of the papers with different titles that included some ridiculous ones: "Love Hurts," "Better to Have Love and Lost," or even "The Possible Start of a Love Story." No charges were filed because the girl didn't have an ill will towards the boy. How could she possibly know something that no one in the entire world knew. No one questioned it, no one looked into it, they all accepted and believed it.

Everyone, except the last sane man in an insane world.

I finish off my glass and head out of the cafe with a renewed sense of vigor. This is what I must do, it's my duty to find out the truth that no one wants to admit. Feminists are everywhere, lurking and waiting for a right time to strike. They hide in plain sight and slowly grow in number. They already outnumber us in Japan and no man is willing to stand up to them, at least not yet.

This boy he could have a been a hero. He could have been the one to save us all but he died well before his time. But why? Was it because of some heart condition that he was unaware of or was it something else? I don't think he died because of an accident, no, it'd be too perfect for that to happen. He was killed by the Feminists. He probably discovered something, some secret that they didn't want to get out. So the Feminist use their killing machine, the rock-fish-kid, to conveniently cause a heart attack. The boy dies, the Feminists keep their secrets, and no one is to blame for it. Perfect crime, right?

Wrong!

They made a mistake, they were too busy with their nails to hide the name of the weapon and location of the event. The ultimate clue, the one chink in their massive armor, left forgotten, ready to be maliciously abused by me. This is one opportunity too great to pass up. Granted it might be a trap, but I'll regret it if I don't take this chance now.

The sky overhead is quickly covered up by the canopy of trees. The temperature significant drops as I step into the woods. Each step I take on the ground makes countless noises as twigs break beneath my weight. I quickly realize that any stealth would be next to impossible under these conditions. If I'm found out, I'll have to feint ignorance and hope that they don't use the rock-fish-kid against me. I hasten my pace to reach the location of the event. The sooner I investigate the area the faster I can leave. I don't want to be found by any Feminist, Lord knows what they'll do to me.

A shrine, nothing too fancy or big but still an honor to the poor soul that lost his life here. There's a picture of the boy surrounded by a large display of flowers. Hisao Nakai looks at me with his innocent, smiling face. It's hard to believe that this messy-haired boy discovered a secret about them. He looks too inexperienced and average to have done something by himself. What a shame that he never learned the value of avoiding the fashion that the Feminist try to force down our throats. Maybe if he had something that set him apart from others, like my scarf for instance, he wouldn't have fallen so easily.

I offer my respects to my fallen brother-at-arms and begin my investigation. I spend several minutes inspecting the area for any clues left behind by the clean-up crew. Nothing. Not even a speck of dust from the rock-fish-kid weapon. I sigh loudly before starting again. This time I take careful precautions not to overlook even the small-

"What are you doing here?" Somehow a small, timid, feminine voice managed to sneak up on me.

I had rehearsed for this exact situation. "Oh, hey. I'm just saying paying my respects to an old friend."

The long-haired brunette makes her way towards the shrine and stands in front of it for a few moments. She has a sad expression on her face as she stares at the picture. "So you knew him too?"

"Yeah, he and I go way back. Shame that we never got a chance to hang out again." You're never supposed to lie about those who can't speak but I think the universe can forgive me this one time. It's for the greater good.

Tears begin to form at the corner of the girl's eyes. She wipes them away before she places a flower in front of the shrine. "I come here every day and ask for his forgiveness. I didn't mean for this to happen. I just wanted to," she begins sobbing and her words get muffled. "I just wanted to love him."

A Feminist that wants love? It has to be a trick, it must be the way that the rock-fish-kid works. I have to keep up this facade so I don't get caught

"Hey don't cry. I'm sure that-" a quick look at the name plate, "Hisao wouldn't have blamed you for any of this."

My words don't help as the girl falls on her knees and begins crying without restraint. "I know that he wouldn't blame me, no one ever did. But it's my fault, he died because of me!"

The sound of her crying is painful to hear. It's not one of a cold-hearted killer but of an inexperienced one regretting her first kill. It's really sad but good for me, I can use this to find out about the rock-fish-kid.

I sit down next to her and put my hand on her shoulder. "Hey listen, you don't have to blame yourself. Things like this happen and people eventually die, but they wouldn't want you to just regret their loses." The girl stops crying and stares at me, she's actually kinda cute. "You have to cherish the memories they left you and honor them by being happy because of it."

Or something like that. I'm honestly just pulling clichés from old movies. Seemed the best way to comfort her.

I'm caught off guard as the girl wraps her arms around me. This is it! I screwed up and now I'm going to die like that kid. I close my eyes and brace myself for the cold grasp of death. I sit there for what feels like eons but it never comes. The girl buries her head into my chest and cries into it.

Is this a hug? My shirts getting wet though. I guess the common response would be to return the gesture.

We sit there for a few moments until the girl stops crying. I help her off of the ground and she once again bows her head in front of the shrine. We walk together towards the edge of the woods and back to the sights and sounds of the city.

I turn my head and look at the girl next to me. She still seems sad but she has a slight hop to her step. She must have strengthened her resolve back there, but she is still vulnerable enough to spill the beans on about the Feminist agenda.

I have to remain undercover and try to find the secrets she's hiding. "Hey, do you feel up to doing something today? Maybe bowling or something along those lines."

A small smile is visible on her face, "I'd like that. I'm Iwanako, by the way."

By the looks of things, I'll be undercover for a long while. Might as well get used to it. I smile and warmly answer, "I'm Kenji."

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