"How long has it been since then?"
A woman in her late 20s at the school rooftop wondered and reminisced some memories from her past. She kept looking at the blue sky, distracting herself from reality until a coworker called out for her name.
...
I chased after that coward because he broke his promise to reward the winner of our game.
He's fast, but I'm keeping pace. If it weren't for these tiny heels, I would have caught him by now.
I want to throw my pen at his head, but it would only waste time and slow me down for a few milliseconds.
* 5 minutes later
After five minutes of non-stop running, the distance between us hasn't changed. We were both soaked in sweat, but neither of us showed any sign of slowing down.
He kept glancing back, muttering, "Damn it, she's still here? I forgot she's an athletic freak. Is there anything she can't do!?"
"Stop running and give me my reward already!" I yelled.
"Ain't no way I'm gonna do something so humiliating."
"But it was a bet! You promised a reward!"
"Too bad! I didn't promise you anything."
"You cheater! You spineless bastard!"
"Shut up, chopping board! Two-faced cat!"
"I'm a dog lover!"
"Nobody cares about that!"
After a few more minutes of chasing, we reached a deserted park.
We stopped to catch our breath, standing three meters apart.
"Why... are you still following me? It's past 5. Shouldn't you be home by now?" he asked.
"I would be... if you'd just given me my reward." I replied.
"That ain't worth chasing me all the way here for."
"It is worth it! Seeing a prideful guy like you kneel, apologize, and show me respect. It would be the best sight."
"Narcissistic sadist."
"Shut up, cheater! I fought and won fair and square."
"So what? There ain't nothing fair in this world. Injustice and crime exist everywhere."
"You and your philosophical crap. At least let me stab you with my pen!"
"Hell no. Why would I let you?"
The moment he blinked, I bolted forward.
He's facing me, it won't be easy for him to turn around and run. In the worst case scenario, he might lose balance. I won.
As expected, I caught him off guard. By the time his eyes opened, I was just a meter away.
However, when I was about to reach him, a sudden glow surrounded us.
I couldn't explain what happened after that. Everything happened so fast, as if we traveled through time.
Then out of nowhere, we found ourselves falling a few meters above a very wide grassland.
We hit the ground and...
"Ouch! My butt!" I groaned, tears welling in my eyes.
"Does it hurt?" he asked.
"Of course, it does! I heard something cracked. It must've been the bone."
"I-Is that so? Well, I can't help you with that."
"It's not like you'll ever help me to begin with."
I slowly got up.
"What about you? Are you hurt?" I asked.
He sat on the ground, as calm as ever.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that... I can't feel my legs."
Huh!? What's fine about that!? This guy is hopeless.
"Geez."
I offered my hand to help him get up.
"Hmm?" He looked confused at first, then went to reach to my hand.
But before he reached it, I quickly moved it away and grabbed his collar.
"You think I've forgotten about our deal? Apologize to me right now!" I demanded
"You're still hung up on that?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Of course! Why else would I chase you?"
He sighed, exasperated.
"Listen, Sasaki. Look around."
"Huh!?"
I looked around us, just to find ourselves in the middle of a very wide grassland.
"Eh? Where.. are we?" I asked in amazement.
"Don't ask me. That's why you should stop thinking about that petty matter. We've got bigger problems in front of us. We have no idea what happened to us and where the hell are we."
"But I earned it! I won fair and square!"
"Tch! You're so stubborn."
"Excuse me? You're the stubborn one! All you have to say is I'm sorry, I won't disrespect you again, and we're done."
"Don't be an idiot. That's not worth wasting my saliva for."
"See? You just proved my point!"
"Oh my- What a cute couple." A woman with long black hair, black glasses, and an all-black outfit appeared out of nowhere.
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"Who the hell are you?" Fukuda asked, struggling to stand.
