Chapter 9: Reflections in the River
Group 7.
Four people. One broken circle.
Haruki. Rinako. Yua. Kenji.
Three were ready.
One wasn't.
Kenji slouched in his seat, tossing a pencil between his fingers like the group project was a waste of time.
"You done pretending to be a lone wolf yet?" Rinako asked, not even looking up from her notebook.
"Why don't you go eat another breadstick, pork buns?" he shot back.
Haruki's eyes narrowed. "Enough."
Kenji met his eyes and scoffed. "Don't get cocky just 'cause you found a personality."
The tension in the group was suffocating.
Even Yua stayed silent.
That day, they didn't work.
They argued.
Kenji left before they could even assign topics.
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A Look Into the Past
Kenji Nakamura wasn't always a problem child.
But life taught him cruelty early.
His mother left when he was eight.
No fights. No yelling. Just gone.
He remembered her last words clearly:
"I can't live like this anymore, Kenji. Your dad is too soft. Too weak. And I can't raise a family in failure."
Kenji never saw her again.
His father? A kind man. A humble man.
A spineless man.
Always apologizing. Always quiet. Always scared to speak up.
He worked double shifts as a janitor. Still smiled. Still said "thank you" even when people looked down on him.
Kenji hated that smile.
He hated his father's weakness.
He hated that he looked like him.
And he hated Haruki the moment he saw him last year—soft-spoken, always quiet, always shrinking under pressure.
He bullied Haruki not for fun...
But because every time he saw him, he saw the same pathetic softness he hated in his dad.
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The River Incident
It was a quiet Sunday. No group meeting that day.
Haruki walked through the old part of town to clear his mind, heading past the river that cut through the suburbs.
That's when he heard it—
"Help!! Somebody help!!"
A little girl. Struggling. Splashing. The river had caught her under the current.
No one was around.
Haruki didn't think twice.
He dropped his bag.
Dove in.
Pulled her out.
By the time people came running, Haruki was soaking wet, holding the girl, shivering—but calm.
The girl was okay. Crying. Scared. But okay.
Her name? Aiko Nakamura.
Kenji's little sister.
---
The Next Day
Kenji didn't show up to school.
The day after that, he did.
Silent. Headphones on.
But when Haruki passed him in the hallway…
"…Hey."
Haruki turned.
Kenji looked at him for a long second.
No smirk. No attitude.
Just eyes full of something heavy.
"…Thanks."
Haruki blinked. "For what?"
"…For saving my sister."
They stood there. Quiet. Time slowed.
Kenji looked down, ashamed. "…You know, when I heard it was you… I wanted to laugh. I thought, no way that weak kid would jump into a river."
He paused.
"But you did. You did what I couldn't. And I've hated myself for that."
Haruki said nothing.
"…I used to bully you because you reminded me of my dad," Kenji confessed. "Soft. Quiet. Kind. I thought those things were weaknesses. I thought people like you were… pathetic."
Haruki finally replied.
"…Maybe I was. But I didn't stay that way."
Kenji nodded slowly. "…Yeah. I can see that."
They didn't shake hands. No big moment.
Just honesty. Real and raw.
---
Later That Week: Group 7 Meet Again
This time, Kenji came on time.
He didn't speak much.
Didn't apologize dramatically.
But he sat down.
Opened his book.
And started working.
Yua looked surprised. Rinako raised an eyebrow.
Haruki?
He simply passed Kenji a pen.
Kenji took it. "I'll handle the history section."
Rinako smirked. "Look who's behaving now."
Kenji rolled his eyes. "Shut up, pork buns."
"You shut up, trauma arc."
They all laughed. Even Kenji.
A little.
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