Convergence

Part 2 : chapter 10

Mid-August 2005, Okinawa:

"Oh look there, I found a clownfish!!!"

Utahime had been marveling at the underwaters for over an hour. She had never seen a water color so beautiful. The water here was turquoise, truly turquoise and transparent! Like the ones you  see in advertisements for some paradisiacal destinations! You could even see the corals, along with the tiny fish darting around their feets. It was breathtaking!

Dressed in a one-piece swimsuit, Utahime was having fun observing the corals with Shoko — MeiMei had refused to swim, claiming it would ruin her hairstyle, so she preferred to read fashion magazines on a deckchair. As for Suguru and Gojo, they were playing against other boys from school in a beach volleyball match. Many girls had gathered to admire them..., oops sorry, I mean to watch the match.

Fortunately, after the events of the night in "Akihabara," Professor Gakuganji had immediately taken Utahime to the infirmary at the exorcism school. Utahime had almost begged the nurse to focus all her cursed energy on her legs and arms. The rest she could find a way to hide it.

The events of that night quickly became known to the rest of the exorcist community in Tokyo. When a group of exorcists finally arrived on the scene, they could only sadly witness the damage caused by Hajime Kashimo. Four dead and one seriously injured—Naoya Zenin—who, by some miracle, had managed to survive. He had (only) broken ribs and a leg in a cast.

When Utahime regained consciousness in the infirmary, she immediately asked Professor Gakuganji to hide her involvement in this incident. She really had no desire for people at  school to know she had been present during those terrible events and, that she had been mistreated by Naoya Zenin and his's deceased minions.

The students from the Tokyo exorcism high school had already arrived in Okinawa for two days now. And everything was perfect. Really. It was like a dream. The hotel, the views, the food, the weather. Utahime had almost forgotten her hours of work as a maid in the Akihabara district. She had never had the chance to visit the Okinawa archipelago before and now she understood the enthusiasm of tourists for these incredible islands.

Utahime shared her room with Mei Mei and Shoko. Suguru and Gojo, on the other hand, shared their room with a second-year boy from the Kamo clan. The atmosphere wasn't that good with this boy, which made Suguru and Gojo often hangouts with their female friends—to the great dismay of the latters. Apparently, the second-year guy in question snored like a tractor!!

Utahime really felt like she was living in a dream. Each day was peaceful. Every day was sunny and warm. The landscapes were heavenly. Her daily activities could be summed up to swimming, enjoying the sun, playing games, eating good food, and sleeping. Heaven really! The worries that affected her daily life seemed to have disappeared: no more missions, no more homework, no more existential questions, no more injuries, no more deaths...

Well, almost. Satoru was still one of her worries.

Since May, they had unfortunately seen little of each other. Not that they didn't want to, but they had both been very busy with their exams, their respective missions, and who knows what else... Besides, Satoru and Suguru had notably been selected to become "1st grade"; they were therefore undertaking more missions than the other first-year students.

Their relationship was now ambiguous, without really being so. They had more or less accepted the fact that they liked each other more than just friends, but neither had dared to take the next step. Satoru was still teasing (and annoying) Utahime every occasion he had, which still irritated Utahime so much... But nothing more. Well, for now.