Even so, we are living in the present

Chapter 17 – Rescue

“Yuu…!”

By the time Kyosuke found them, Reito had grabbed both of Yuu’s legs and was about to commit the act. Unspeakable madness was exuding from Reito to the extent that one wondered if Yuu, who was lying on the bed without any resistance, was still alive.

“… Kyosuke… would you mind not interfering with us?”

“…”

The atmosphere was drastically different from when they met at the hospital; the warm, soft aura cast by the former was frosty and searing. Even the light reflecting off the lenses of Reito’s spectacles created a dubious impression.

However, Kyosuke summoned up all his courage and refused to back down.

“I beg to differ. Please give Yuu back to me!”

“Pfft, hahaha… I refuse. All you have to do is watch me screw Yuu.”

Releasing an eerie laugh, Reito repositioned his arms around Yuu’s legs and slowly started to draw his body closer to him as if to flaunt him.

“S-Stop it!”

Kyosuke let out a scream involuntarily and tackled Reito. His body was usually trained through the club’s activities. The impact was greater than Reito had anticipated, and he was sent flying to the side, striking his shoulder against the wall and crashing down.

“Damn…”

“Yuu, Yuu!”

Taking advantage of the frightened moment, Kyosuke climbed onto the bed and touched Yuu’s right cheek to ensure that he was safe. Despite his calls, Yuu did not wake up. The bandages around his eyes, which he had been unwilling to take off, had been removed.

From the sight of his exposed lower body, coupled with the fact that he had been held by both legs earlier, it was easy to speculate that he must have been sexually harassed in some other way as well.

He wondered how much suffering he must have been going through. Kyosuke can’t even conceive of it.

If only I had gotten here sooner…

Behind Kyosuke, whose guilt was building up, Reito stood up staggeringly. As if he was intoxicated, his footing was unsteady like he had ingested some hazardous drug. The atmosphere was dreadful. Reito’s rage welled up and the air rumbled with it.

“You… you… don’t you dare touch my Yuuuuuuu!”

When his opponent swung his fist up to strike him, Kyosuke shielded Yuu by covering him and keeping his eyelids tightly shut. He braced himself to be confronted by the blow.

“…”

However, even after a few seconds, the impact did not set in.

“… After the semi-obscene indecency offense… now you want to commit assault? Don’t pile on the crimes, Professor Azusagawa.”

Natsume’s voice, quiet and low, sent a stillness over the place. His large, masculine, bony hand gripped the raised arm and refused to let go. As if to vent his impatience and fury, Reito began to bellow at Natsume. “… Let go of me! Who the hell are you! You’re trespassing!”

“Keep saying that, you stupid piece of crap. We’ve been given the keys by the resident himself to come in anytime. Besides, have you forgotten about me? It was only a few months ago when you presented your lecture.”

The taller Natsume looked down at his opponent and glared at him murderously. Although it was Kyosuke who entrusted him with the key, there was no mistake that he had come at Kyosuke’s request on this occasion.

“Well, I don’t give a crap about that.”

“Release me… Release me!!”

He caught him with one hand, but then pinned him down with both arms to prevent him from escaping further. Despite his resistance, neither his strength, height, nor physique could match Natsume.

“Release you? Are you an idiot? Hey, Kyosuke, spare the depression for later… If you can carry him, go ahead and do it.” He called out to Kyosuke, who was shocked by Yuu’s state and was stuck, prompting him to carry him.

“! Y-Yes…”

Upon hearing his voice, Kyosuke snapped out of his trance and lifted up Yuu’s unconscious body, wrapping him gently in a blanket and carrying him to the side.

“Look, take him to the living room. I’ve already called the police, so when they show up, have them deal with it right away. You need to maintain your distance from this guy.”

“I understand.”

The reason for Natsume’s delayed presence was that he had alerted the police. After nodding in response to the direction given, he left the bedroom while keeping his distance from Reito.

“Yuu… give me back my Yuu!!”

“Shut up. He’s not yours.”

When the voice of Reito, who was ranting behind him, and the voice of Natsume, who was listlessly restraining him were far away, Kyosuke laid Yuu down on the sofa in the living room.

“… Yuu…”

Upon closer inspection, Yuu’s cheeks were streaked with tears; his eyes were red; his eyelashes were damp.

He must have been hoping for help.

Contact, that was never feasible from the beginning…

“If I receive a contact, I will be there to help.”

He began to blame himself for such an overly naive view that he had. Even if he blamed himself, he could not shake off the guilt──

In no time, the sirens of police cars echoed. To the arriving officers, Natsume informed them of the situation as he witnessed it, and surrendered Reito to them. Afterwards, an ambulance arrived and Yuu has transported to the hospital again. Both Natsume and Kyosuke were questioned on the spot.

“… Are you going to the hospital?”

While watching the police car leave, Natsume asked Kyosuke.

“Yes…”

“…”

Once hearing Kyosuke’s dejected reply, Natsume gripped the other’s head in a stiff manner and roughly stroked his hair.

“W-What are you doing?”

Raising his eyebrows slightly, he took two steps away from the other party while fixing his hair.

“Here, get on the back of the motorcycle.”

“Ah, yes.”

Even from the apartment to Yuu’s house, he was given a ride on his motorcycle. After accepting the offered helmet, he put it on and straddled the back of Natsume’s motorcyle.

“I have to go home early and do something with Tomoya, so after I drop you off at the hospital, I’m heading back home.”

“I-I understand.”

Kyosuke nodded in reply a little awkwardly as he grasped the true meaning of what Natsume had said.