Editing Kaze no Stigma:Volume4 Chapter 1 (section)

=== Part 2 ===


One ordinary day after school.

One section of the practice ground was filled with a silence full of tension. Everyone was neglecting their practice and while holding a hand to their mouths, their gazes were concentrating to one point. 

Before their eyes...was that girl's figure. Elatedly reacting to the gaze that was already turned into physical pressure, she was standing there with a clear facial expression.

Someone gulped - strangely that sound clearly reached her ears. As if that was a signal, the girl lightly kicked the earth's surface and started running. Her route drew a light arc, a forward obliqueness, aiming at the bar the same height as her stature.

Stepping on her left foot, the girl was released from the restraints of gravity. Her bent chest aiming the sky, her slender limbs danced in midair.

"Oooh...."

While watching over the excited onlookers, the girl's head, then her beautiful arched body and her long stretched legs, passed above the bar.

The posture of a perfect jump. The body that jumped over the bar was once more caught by gravity but that one moment was beautiful.

With a light sound, the girl's body was buried in the mattress. Her limbs spread in abandon, overhead the bar was still, expressing the high success of the jump.

"........."

A moment of silence. And then - an explosion of applause and cheers.

"Veeeery goood! A new record!"

"Kudo-senpai is great!"

"Nanase, I love you!"

In the middle of the bursting cheers, the girl - Kudo Nanase slowly got up. 

Not really exposing her emotions, it didn't look as if she sympathized with the uproar.

Looking up at the bar overhead, her lips faintly raised. That was all the joy she displayed for breaking a new record.

Nanase Kudo - a beautiful girl with androgynous features and straight short-cut hair.

Always calm, with quick movements and not an easy going tone like most girls and yet not boyish, she was enjoying an overwhelming popularity between girls her age - that's why, this kind of scene was a daily occurrence.

"Senpai, please use this!"

A first year, winning through a violent competition presented Nanase, descending from the mattress a towel.

"Ah, thank you."

Nanase accepted it with a small smile. She returned it after lightly whipping off her sweat.

"Haa..."

Inhaling with yearning her senpai's perspiration, the girl embraced the towel with an ecstatic expression. The others in the big crowd, having been outwitted, glared at the girl with murder in their eyes.

Somewhere close to the development of the all-girl's school-like act - 

"........"

Clearly separating herself from that naive society, with a severe facial expression, Nanase looked in the way of the tennis court.

She glared at the blackish shadow clinging to the fence with a violent repugnance.

"Is he here again?"

"Senpai?"

A girl's voice asked a question in a surprised tone. Noticing that, Nanase looked at the girl and showed a harmless smile.

"Nothing important. Just, you know?"

While answering, she gently brushed the girl's head in a casual manner. It as an action with no significance in particular but -

".........uu?"

With a scream that didn't seem to reach the surroundings, the girl in question fell to the ground with a swoon face.

".....What happened?"

"No- no......nothing....."

With a red face and clouded eyes, as if fever made her delirious, the girl slowly shook her head.

"I see. Then, take care."

Not really thinking about it, Nanase started walking - aiming at the tennis court.

The moment she turned to it, she had already forgotten the conversation with the girl. She was concentrating on the suspicious figure clinging to the tennis court's fence.

With a cool expression, totally different from the one pointed at the girl before, unforgiving, as if giving a sentence.




"Hey, he's still coming?"

A second year in the tennis club, Sughino Mie murmured so, displeased from the bottom of her heart. Before her eyes, sticking to the tennis court's fence, a short and fat shadow was peeking.

Just by looking, he was a suspicious man. 

Setting up his digital camera, that figure taking snapshots of the girls' appearance, no other word described him better than ''degenerate''.

If this man wasn't a pupil of Seiryou Academy, they would definitely call the police. Or perhaps, there are a lot of people who think they should call the police nevertheless.

Utsumi Kousuke.

That is this man's name. He is a second year but his results were so poor it was a miracle he managed to promote.

His facial features resemble a frog. His whole face is full of pimples, and he had a greasy sweat regardless of the season so his frog image is spot-on.

He belonged to the photography club but the subjects of his photos are just a step away from criminal or maybe already crossing over that line, only that kind of crap.

But even so, the perpetrator is claiming that this is art, although nobody believed him.

It's only natural. If one were to see the expression on his while taking pictures, there can be no place for misunderstanding.

The feeling of various dangers emitted from his blood-shot eyes gave the impression of a real sex-offender.

"As I thought, he's dangerous. Shouldn't we do something?"

"That's right, he's also scaring the first years....."

Weirdly stared at by Utsumi, pressing his shutter as if possessed, the girls were murmuring between themselves.

As if hiding behind her back the first years that have just joined the club, revealed their thought when looking for the first time at the ominous living creature.

"Se- senpai......what is ''that''?"

"That's a pervert."

Mie immediately replied with no hesitation. That answer was something the first years, who didn't know the circumstance, could't comprehend but just because of that, their disgust and dread didn't soften.

"Can't you do something? Maybe calling the teacher..."

"Ah, yes.....he won't come...."

Staring at her kouhais, supplication clearly in their eyes, Mie's gaze wandered around, her face troubled.

No matter how suspicious he was, Utsumi was a pupil of this school. Moreover he had the pretext of being a member of the photography club.

That means, photographing as a club activity was for him very reasonable. They can't stop him from photographing just because his vulgar smile was eerie.

"No way..."

At that explanation, based on last year's events, the first year's crying faces were pitiable but nothing could be done at the present. Just when she was instructing them to give up, it happened -

"Huh....Kudo-san...?" murmured Mie, recognizing the girl walking behind Utsumi. 

Simultaneously Utsumi also realized this and turned around, separating his eyes from the fence.

At that moment -

"Bukyaa!?"

A foot sole with no leniency stroke Utsumi's back of the head. The blow, more like stepping on him than trying to kick, forced Utsumi to strongly kiss the fence.

"Gyaa.....Gyaabii.....?"

To Utsumi's ears, as he was wordlessly screaming, reached a cold notice of conviction:

"How long did you think I would overlook your vulgar molestation, low-life?"

"Guugyaaa....bebii...."

Although Utsumi was trying to escape the restraint, his lazy, neglected body couldn't overcome the force of the foot trampling his head.

Vainly resisting, he was pressed down by the already doubled force. The flesh of his loosen face was squeezed through the mesh of the fence.

"Uuu......"

Because his already ugly face was distorted even more, all the girls in the tennis club simultaneously adverted their eyes.

A dozen seconds after - at the time everyone was starting to see his face really getting cut in the mesh, the girl - Nanase removed her leg.

The released Utsumi crouched holding his face. Crawling unsightly, from the gaps between his fingers he raised his eyes to Nanase.

"Hiii......please....stop the violence...."

A high shriek escaped. He tried to escape, stepping back as if crawling on his ass, but in the crowded place the fence blocked his escape route.

Fleetingly watching behind him, Utsumi's face became even more grim. On the other side of the fence, the girls belonging to the tennis club were watching him with grim eyes.

Being encouraged by Nanase's strong entrance, their eyes lost their fear for the ominous thing. Their looks filled with anger and flared up while their restraints towards the punishment of the insolent peeping demon broke.

In confusion, Utsumi started an explanation,

"Please, please wait. As a member of the photography club, for the sake of the year book photos, I - "

"Don't joke around!"

"Hiii -"

In a fit of rage the women kicked the fence and Utsumi fled that place as if tumbling.

But of course, Nanase is in that direction. This time his face, receiving a Yakuza Kick, was once again dragged in front of the girls.

"N- no, hey, listen....."

"Only lies, huh?" one of the girls shouted.

"How can you take such low angle photos for the year album? Everyone knows that you take dirty photos for the sake of your hobby!"

"That's true! That's true!"

"You rotten fat otaku shit! Diee!"

"It stinks! Don't get closer than a hundred meters!" several girls unanimously shouted. 

Obviously there were some unjust accusations mixed in between but Utsumi was quiet.

Originally, except for taking pictures of girl's lower parts he is a timid person. While being surrounded by female students, it's impossible for him to object coherently.

No matter how unreasonable the verbal attacks he received, there was nothing to do but to put up with it in silence.

"Uuu, uuuu....."

"This should be fine, right?"

But a helping hand appeared from an unexpected place.

That was Nanase.

Naturally, she had the character of someone feeling refreshed after <<splitting the bamboo>>. She doesn't like the act of a large group ganging up on someone.

To say nothing of the girls' words which had already entered into a state of wild excitement and began to drift from the original point, changing into nothing but slander and ridicule.

Nanase disliked that development so she got back to the point.

It was just that, but -

"Ku- Kudo-san!"

With a face as if seeing Buddha from the depths of hell, Utsumi's eyes sparkled. It seems that he was convinced that Nanase became his ally.

"I - I knew you would understand! That's right, my photos are art. These women can't understand that!"

Bracing himself he stood up while talking non-stop. He didn't notice the cold anger filling Nanase's eyes. 

"Aah, I understand! That's why you were angry. Because I didn't look at you and was taking pictures of this bunch. You don't have to worry, you're my most important subject. From now on, always - "

Perhaps Utsumi's character wasn't vulgar but simply stupid. If a neutral person were to stand there, he or she could only think that.

In the tennis girl's expressions, there was already no anger. What dwelt there was pity and dread. As if looking at a bomb timer decreasing each moment, they nervously observed Utsumi and Nanase.

And then -

GASYAN!

An ominous sound interrupted Utsumi's triumphant speech. His camera, rolling on the ground, was trampled upon with all her strength by Nanase.

"Aah, aaaaaaaaaa!?"

The expensive lens turned into shards of glass. Utsumi cried in a bitter voice.

"Wh- what are you doing!?"

Without answering, Nanase kicked the camera with her foot. Placing the camera with a crooked frame on the top of her foot, she used a half rotation to volley-kick and sent it flying.

The camera that flew with power crashed into the school building and smashed.

"Hiiiiii!"

With a pose similar to Munch's Scream, Utsumi shouted.

"Ah, ah, a..."

Leaking out as murmurs, as if his soul escaped his body, he looked up at Nanase in blank amazement.

A frozen gaze looked down on Utsumi.

"Hi, hiii......"

Nanase ordered the pale Utsumi with indifference.

"Get out of my sight!"

"Ah, waaa........waaaaa...."

Revealing a meaningless cry, Utsumi started running on all fours.

"Fucking trash! Just die!!"

"Don't ever come back!"

Showering his back with the tennis girls' boos, Utsumi ran away faster.

Nanase stared at that retreating figure thoroughly indifferent.