Chapter 26 – After the Storm
The classroom was quiet.
Outside the window, students filled the courtyard again. The festival had resumed. Music blared from cheap speakers. Laughter spilled from booths. The debate stage had been packed away like it never existed.
But Kotarō still sat in his seat.
His notes were spread across his desk, untouched. His blazer hung on the chair behind him. The speech badge he'd worn all week was in the trash bin beside him.
He hadn't moved since returning.
"We gave everything. And it didn't even shift the scoreboard."
He leaned forward, staring at the creases in his own handwriting.
"He didn't just beat me. He walked through me.
Every counter he used... I can trace it now. The metaphors. The framing.
Even the way he ignored my POI? It invited the collapse."
He covered his eyes with one hand.
"I studied logic. But I never learned to defend myself."
Haruka walked in quietly. She didn't speak right away. Just stepped past the door and looked at him.
Then she pulled the chair next to his and sat. Back straight. Eyes forward. Her hands folded loosely on her lap.
"You know... A month ago, you couldn't even speak in front of the class."
Kotarō said nothing.
"Now you stood on a stage, Took fire from a national-level debater, And still answered him."
Still nothing.
She didn't sigh. Didn't smile. Just stared ahead.
"You were good, Kotarō. We weren't perfect.
But you weren't a passenger."
He exhaled. The words came low.
"I wasn't fast enough. Not sharp enough. Even when I landed a line, he just... swallowed it. Turned it into part of his rhythm."
"I spoke from a scaffold he already built."
He gritted his teeth.
"And I hate that I respect it."
Haruka stood up. She walked over to him slowly. And without warning, she grabbed his hand.
Not hard. But firm.
Kotarō looked up, startled.
She didn't let go.
"You're allowed to be upset. But you don't get to disappear."
"There's still plenty of time in the English club."
She turned toward the window. The festival buzzed outside.
"And the day's not over. So come on. Let's enjoy it."
She tugged his hand slightly. And for once, Kotarō didn't resist.
Chapter End