NKwjwHKb

1Seishun Buta Yarō - Volume 03
2青春ブタ野郎はロジカルウィッチの夢を見ない
3Rascal Does Not Dream of a Logical Witch
4
5
6
7
8Contents
9
10Prologue
11Chapter 1 — A Wonder Came to be Called a Wonder
12Chapter 2 — Youth is a Paradox
13Chapter 3 — Friendship Moves at 40 km/h
14Chapter 4 — Wash it all Away on a Stormy Night
15Epilogue — Summer Memories, Remaining after the Fireworks
16Afterword
17Bonus — A Pubescent Low-Life's Impish Kouhai
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26PROLOGUE
27
28
29Hey, let’s kiss.
30
31Said the girl who should have been a high school student, but after two years had become a middle school student.
32
33In short, what on Earth had happened?
34
35
36
37
38CHAPTER 01
391
40
41
42Sakuta dreamed that day. He dreamed of days gone by… though it was actually only about two years in the past.
43
44He dreamed of when he was in his third year of middle school, of the time ten days after three mysterious gouges had been carved into his chest and he had been taken to the hospital covered in blood… Sakuta had grown tired of looking at the doctor’s troubled face and left the hospital before boarding a train from the nearby station.
45
46He didn’t care where it went and decided to just go to the sea because the TV show he had watched to kill time the day before had a character that had looked out to the sea with a melancholic expression. It seemed a fitting place to go with being in the doldrums.
47
48That was how he came to Shichirigahama beach and walked through the surprisingly loud sounds of the crashing waves until he reached the water’s edge.
49
50The sea breeze carried the scent of salt, and the early-afternoon sun was pleasant on his skin. There was a path towards the sun on the surface of the sea. Was the atmosphere clear past that far off distance? He could clearly see the horizon.
51
52He stared at the boundary between the sea and sky for a while and then noticed someone next to him.
53
54“Did you know? The distance from a person’s eye-line to the horizon is about four kilometres.”
55
56The voice was barely there and had a weak timbre, but there was a cool purpose contained within it.
57
58Sakuta remained silent for a while and glanced to his side. Standing there was a girl in high school uniform, holding her hair down against the wind. She was wearing a beige blazer and a navy blue skirt as she stood barefoot on the sand.
59
60He didn’t recognise her face, and didn’t know her name.
61
62Noticing Sakuta’s look, the girl gave a slightly playful smile. At the very least, there was no one else around. He could see an elderly couple walking their dog, but there was no other explanation than that the girl was talking to Sakuta.
63
64“Are the people around here all like that?” He asked her.
65
66“Hm?” The girl tilted her head, not quite understanding the main part of his question.
67
68“Do they all just start talking to strangers out of nowhere?”
69
70The area was a seaside tourist destination. Enoshima was to the west, and Kamakura to the East, so there might be the culture of being friendly to visitors to make them feel welcome.
71
72“Ah, did I make you think I’m a strange person by any chance?”
73
74“Nope.”
75
76“Thank goodness,” the girl breathed a sigh of relief.
77
78“I just think you’re annoying.”
79
80“Calling a high school girl that is a taboo,” the girl pouted with her hands on her hips, apparently miffed, “annoying, lame, incapable of reading the atmosphere, those are the three great taboo insults for high school girls.”
81
82“You’re an irritant then,” he revised.
83
84“And that’s the fourth.” The girl gave a somewhat reproachful look before carrying on. “You look rather far from home, did something bad happen?”
85
86“About earlier,” Sakuta answered, completely ignoring the actual question. It was probably this kind of attitude that a girl he had just met was telling him he looked far from home.
87
88“Yes?”
89
90Even with her question ignored, the girl didn’t frown and instead smiled cheerfully, her expression changing from the earlier pout.
91
92“You were talking about the horizon,” Sakuta stayed before her, still discouraged, “is it really about four kilometres?”
93
94“It’s surprisingly close, isn’t it?”
95
96The girl picked up a twig from the beach and drew a circle in the wet sand. Atop that circle, she added a person that consisted of a circle and a straight line before finally adding a straight line that touched the circle.
97
98“If you use the geometry that you learn in high school, you can easily calculate the distance to the horizon.”
99
100Using the beach as a board, the girl wrote out an equation, but it was washed away by a strong wave. Flustered, she moved a step back up the beach.
101
102Sakuta fell back into silence and stared back at the horizon. It had seemed so distant before, but now seemed strangely close.
103
104“Now it’s your turn to answer my question,” she said.
105
106The moment that she said that, Sakuta had decided to ignore it, but in the end, Sakuta ended up talking to her about why he had come to the sea.
107
108“I…”
109
110He started by telling her that he had a sister, then that said sister had been bullied in middle school.
111
112Once he opened his mouth, he couldn’t stop talking. He spoke of his sister getting strange cuts and bruises with the bullying, how he couldn’t do anything for his injured sister, and then eventually, even about the bizarre wound on his own chest. Finally, he finished by telling her about nothing going well… about how he had come here today to escape from the all-pervading sense of powerlessness that weighed on him.
113
114It wasn’t that he wanted sympathy, and nor was it that he wanted comforting. He had in fact thought that the girl, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, would recoil and leave once she heard. Those malicious feelings were what drove Sakuta to speak. That itself was just as the girl had said, Sakuta was far from home.
115
116“So that’s what happened.”
117
118Surprisingly, the girl didn’t show a hint of doubt, even once he had finished relating everything to her. She didn’t give him sympathy or try and console him. She didn’t even allude to the scars on his chest or seem to doubt that the tale was the truth, she just offered her right hand.
119
120“I’m Makinohara Shouko, Makinohara Shouko is from the Makinohara in the ‘Makinohara Service Area’, and the Shouko in ‘a child soaring through the sky’. What’s your name?” Said the girl.
121
122“I’m…” Sakuta opened his mouth reflexively, haltingly reaching to respond to her handshake, but before he could grasp her hand, the dream ended.
123
124
125
126Sakuta’s hand that had moved in vain within his dream touched something. A round and soft sensation filled his hand…
127
128From there, Sakuta noticed the warmth of a body on his own, the slightly damp skin against the right side of his body. The softness and weight of it brought a girl to mind.
129
130As these thoughts danced vaguely through his head, he felt a tongue lick his lips.
131
132He slowly opened his eyes.
133
134There was a fluffy white creature in front of Sakuta’s eyes, a white-furred kitten that was licking Sakuta’s face with its rough tongue.
135
136There was a reason for this, it was the cat that had come to live in Sakuta’s house a fortnight ago… on the last day of the school term.
137
138He picked the white cat up off his face. However, he still couldn’t get up. There was another little one… well, calling her a little one wasn’t quite right, another large creature was lying across Sakuta.
139
140She was a panda, or well, his little sister wearing panda pyjamas. She was fifteen this year, but still sometimes crawled into Sakuta’s bed like this.
141
142Atop her chest was the Azusagawa household’s pet cat, Nasuno, who was a female calico cat. The source of the soft and round sensation in his hand was apparently the cat’s backside and Sakuta breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t accidentally groped his sister.
143
144Sakuta removed his hand from Nasuno and pinched Kaede’s nose as it whistled slightly with her breath as she slept.
145
146“Mgh.” Came a noise from Kaede’s throat as she made a pained expression, but she soon opened her mouth and maintained her oxygen supply. He considered covering her mouth too, but decided it wasn’t something he should do to his teenage sister.
147
148“Kaede, wake up,” he told her instead.
149
150“Ngh? Ah, Onii-chan, good morning,” she answered, suppressing a yawn as she rubbed at her eyes.
151
152“How many times do I have to tell you to stop crawling into my bed?”
153
154“Is it because you’ll awaken to a forbidden love?”
155
156“No, it’s not.”
157
158“It’s okay, I’ll sink to whatever depths you want me to.”
159
160“It’s just because it’s too hot.”
161
162It being summer, it was the time of year when the warmth of a person’s skin wasn’t the slightest bit pleasant. If anything, it was the season where you wanted to avoid contact as much as possible.
163
164Of course, his older girlfriend, Sakurajima Mai, was an exception, and he would rather be in contact with her all-year-round.
165
166However, the world wasn’t fair, and the days with no skinship from Mai continued and they had only been able to meet a few times since the holidays had begun.
167
168Mai had gone back to show business and so was busy recording for TV dramas, adverts, and even modelling for the covers of fashion magazines, doing interviews and appearing at publicity events, so her days were filled with work.
169
170She had said “Half of it I’ll be working” about the holidays, but her schedule had been filed in the blink of an eye and she barely had any time off.
171
172“Hah…”
173
174It was because of this that Sakuta would sigh dejectedly once or twice throughout the days.
175
176“What’s wrong, Onii-chan?” Asked Kaede.
177
178“Kaede, what day of what month is it?”
179
180Kaede checked the digital alarm clock and then answered.
181
182“It’s the second of August.”
183
184“So we’re about a fortnight into the holidays.”
185
186“We are.”
187
188“And yet, I’ve not been able to have any fun with Mai-san.”
189
190“Then do you want some fun with me?” She asked, suddenly moving her face close to his.
191
192“No, I don’t,” Sakuta answered, pushing himself up past Kaede who still showed no sign of getting off of him.
193
194“What’s displeasing about me!?” Kaede yelled, leaning forwards suddenly. She was awfully close to pushing him down, so Sakuta quickly got up off the bed.
195
196“You’re being pretty desperate today.”
197
198“That’s because I’m currently facing the largest crisis in the history of Kaedeism.”
199
200“The hell’s that supposed to mean?”
201
202“I need to master imoutodo as soon as possible!” Kaede proclaimed loudly, with a nod at her own words.
203
204Just what was imoutodo? Sakuta wondered to himself. Well, it was made up of the characters for ‘little sister’ and ‘way’, much like ‘kendo’ was made up of sword and way, and judo was made up of ‘gentle’ and ‘way’, so maybe it was something similar? No, he decided, if I put them together like that, I can just see the organisations that deal with them phoning up to complain.
205
206Whilst his mind was occupied with that kind of pointless thoughts, the doorbell sounded. Looking at the clock, he could see it was ten o’clock in the morning, so he already knew who it was before he got to the door. There was only one girl that came at this hour.
207
208“Yeah yeah, I’m coming,” Sakuta said, stifling a yawn as he went to greet his guest.
209
210
211
212The visitor was a prim and proper looking young girl with a white dress that promoted her innocence all the more.
213
214She was twelve years old and in her first year of middle school, but her polite bow and composed greeting, “Hello, sorry to intrude,” made her seem more adult and her general demeanour was polite and courteous.
215
216She entered the hall and shed her shoes when the white cat came running from Sakuta’s room to curl around her… Makinohara Shouko’s feet, rubbing its back at her.
217
218“We haven’t eaten yet,” Sakuta told her.
219
220“Ah, then can I feed him?”
221
222“Would you do Nasuno’s food at the same time?”
223
224“I will.” Shouko smiled happily.
225
226He showed her into the living room, the kitten running around underfoot.
227
228“Onii-chan, come here a second,” Kaede beckoned him as they passed past his him. Sakuta went to the living room with Shouko, then came back to Kaede.
229
230“What?”
231
232“Do you prefer younger younger sisters?” She asked, seeming near tears.
233
234“What’s with that question?”
235
236“Are you the kind of person that prefers polite and courteous little sisters?” She continued, shooting furtive glances at the living room. Apparently, that was the largest crisis in the history of Kaedeism to Kaede.
237
238“I’m the kind of person that prefers you as my sister.”
239
240“R-really?”
241
242“What did you think I’d say, I-”
243
244“T-then what is Shouko-san to you?”
245
246“…I wonder…”
247
248Two weeks had passed since their shocking meeting. He had speculated a lot, but there were no answers to the existence of ‘Makinohara Shouko’.
249
250Her face was too similar to just have the same name, and a family wouldn’t give siblings the same name. At the very least, she didn’t know Sakuta, so he thought that she wasn’t the same girl as he had met two years ago. But still, Sakuta couldn’t see the first year middle school student looking after the kitten as anyone but the second year high school student he had met two years prior from her appearance, to an unthinkable extent…
251
252There was thus one possibility he could think of.
253
254It was some form of Adolescence Syndrome. It was usually spoken of online as some kind of false supernatural phenomenon, consisting of urban legends like ‘a person suddenly disappearing from in front of you’ or ‘being able to hear people’s thoughts’. However, Sakuta knew that it was not a simple internet rumour. Sakuta had experienced two instances since the year had begun. The first was Mai’s and the other was his junior Koga Tomoe’s.
255
256Perhaps something similar had happened with Shouko, though there was no way to know whether it was happening now or two years ago…
257
258“Um, Sakuta-san?” Asked the girl, turning around from where Sakuta was observing her and thinking.
259
260“Hm?”
261
262“I’m, uh, sorry.”
263
264“What for?”
265
266“For this little one,” she answered, gently stroking the kitten’s back as it ate. “I said I wanted to adopt him, but I haven’t been able to bring it up with my parents.
267
268
269
270
271
272Nasuno came up next to the kitten.
273
274“I’ll definitely speak to them about it, so please wait for a little longer,” she said.
275
276That was the reason the kitten was in Sakuta’s home.
277
278“Are your parents strict?”
279
280“They’re very kind to me.”
281
282“Are they bad with animals?” Sakuta suggested.
283
284“I think they like them, they’re always just as happy as me when we go to the zoo.”
285
286“Are they allergic to cats?”
287
288“No,” she shook her head.
289
290“Do you actually live in a restaurant?” He asked, maybe it was a consideration towards hygiene or customers with allergies themselves.
291
292“Dad has an office job and mum is a normal housewife, we’re just a normal household.”
293
294“I see,” was all he said, wanting to refrain from making it seem like an interrogation.
295
296However, then Shouko spoke, “If I said ‘I want a cat’, then I’m sure they wouldn’t object.” Her face clouded slightly there. She was being oddly indirect, so though he was, of course, curious, Sakuta didn’t question her, if she could put it straightforwardly from the start, Shouko wouldn’t have picked this way to say it. “But, that’s why I can’t say it…”
297
298He still didn’t really get what she meant, but answered with, “I see.”
299
300“I’m sorry, you probably don’t get what I mean.”
301
302“Yeah, not at all.”
303
304Sakuta answered with what he’d been thinking and Shouko seemed to find something about it amusing as she started to giggle.
305
306“Well, he can stay for a while. Nasuno’s happy with it too,” said Sakuta as Nasuno licked the kitten’s face, “and you can practice how to take care of a cat here too.”
307
308“Right!”
309
310“Oh yeah, have you chosen a name?”
311
312“I have,” nodded Shouko with a sudden smile.
313
314However, she didn’t continue and they both fell silent.
315
316“Aren’t you going to tell me?”
317
318“Eh? Ah, right… please don’t laugh?”
319
320“Is the name that funny?”
321
322“I-it’s not, I think it’s normal, but… It’s Hayate.”
323
324The cat looked up at Shouko, looking at her in puzzlement, almost like it somehow knew they were talking about it.
325
326“He’s like a white whoosh, so I thought of Hayate.”
327
328“That works, he can be Nasuno’s Tohoku buddy.”
329
330Apparently, the connection with the Shinkansen hadn’t come through, it wasn’t worth explaining, so Sakuta just waved it off.
331
332Shouko then played with the cats for a while before looking up as something occurred to her.
333
334“Um,” she began with a whisper and upturned eyes. Her gaze darted to the side, behind Sakuta… where Kaede was watching from the slight opening of the door. “Does Kaede-san hate me?”
335
336“That’s just her normal reaction to people, don’t worry about it.”
337
338“It does worry me though,” she replied with a reasonable point of view. And now she mentioned it, it was more relevant to Sakuta too.
339
340“Kaede,” he called out, “have you finished what you were studying today?”
341
342“There was some stuff I didn’t get, so I want you to explain it to me,” she answered.
343
344“Come here then.”
345
346Clutching her books to her chest, Kaede timidly came out into the room and immediately clung to Sakuta’s back.
347
348“And how am I supposed to teach you anything like this?”
349
350“Here,” she said, putting her book in front of his face. The pages were on factorisation, with the calculations written out in full and all the questions solved.
351
352“I don’t get what you don’t get.”
353
354“I don’t get when factorising will be useful in my life.”
355
356“It’s useful when you take an exam for the high school you want to enter,” Sakuta answered with the one time he had found a use for factorisation.
357
358“Got it,” said Kaede in understanding, writing ‘useful in exams!’ on the book. He wondered if she really did get it and if she would be fine with that answer or if she would ask for something more concrete, but Sakuta would have no answer for her. Sakuta himself wanted to know what use differential and integral calculus would have, and trigonometry for that matter. Who on earth thought that up? Sine, cosine, tangent…, While lost in his thoughts, he felt Shouko’s gaze on him.
359
360“What’s up?” He asked.
361
362“Can I do my homework here too?”
363
364“Your summer homework?”
365
366“Yes.”
367
368“Sure, use this table,” he answered, gesturing at the table in front of the TV.
369
370“Thank you,” she said politely before sitting and taking a print-out of her homework from her tote bag. Apparently, she was doing maths too, the sheet having a list of simple linear equations to solve, twenty in total. A little concentration should see the whole exercise done within fifteen minutes.
371
372In spite of this, Shouko sat stiffly in front of the sheet, her mechanical pencil held in her hand. The first question was ‘3?=9’, just dividing both sides by ‘3’ would give ‘?=3’, but Shouko’s hands didn’t move an inch.
373
374A minute passed like this.
375
376Just when he thought she was about to start, Shouko stretched out a hand to her bag and took out her maths textbook. She then opened it to, of course, linear equations and began to read, her expression twisting in confusion.
377
378“Want me to show you?” Sakuta offered, making Shouko raise her head in some surprise, “you look like you’re struggling.”
379
380“I-I’m okay. I think I can do it.”
381
382She resumed her staring contest with her textbook.
383
384After about five minutes, she started working on the first question, dividing both sides by ‘3’ and getting ‘?=3’.
385
386She then looked up at Sakuta for confirmation and he answered her with, “Correct, well done.”
387
388After that, she solved the questions smoothly, apparently now understanding what linear equations were and barely hesitating. But that itself was what Sakuta thought was strange. It didn’t seem like she had just remembered what she had learnt in class, but more like she had understood a question she had seen for the first time. She finished the questions without trouble in much the same way.
389
390“Hey,” said Sakuta, causing Shouko to immediately look to him now that she had put the paper away. She still kept to the lessons of ‘look at people when they talk to you’ that were taught in elementary school. “Can I ask something strange?”
391
392“Umm…” Shouko seemed slightly guarded and her cheeks were tinged red for some reason, “is it something perverted?”
393
394“No, it’s not,” he told her.
395
396“I-I see…”
397
398He was curious about why she would think that, but getting distracted would make him lose the chance to ask, so he cut straight to the point.
399
400“Makinohara-san, do you have an older sister?”
401
402“I don’t.”
403
404“Any relatives that look really similar to you?”
405
406“I don’t think so…” The way she trailed off let Sakuta understand that she wanted to know why he was asking.
407
408“I met someone really similar looking to you before. Well, she was older than you… so I wondered if you had an older sister or something.”
409
410“I’m an only child,” she told him.
411
412“I see.”
413
414“How much older was she?”
415
416“Hm?”
417
418“The person that looked a lot like me.”
419
420“She was in her second year of high school two years ago, so if she went to university, she’d be a first-year… so probably nineteen this year.”
421
422“Nineteen…” Shouko muttered to herself. Sakuta hadn’t thought the number would have any meaning to her, but she seemed to be saying it like it did. He was probably imagining it, he figured.
423
424“What’s up?” He asked.
425
426“Ah, nothing… I just can’t imagine myself in university, so I was just wondering what I’d be like.”
427
428She’d only just become a middle-schooler, so that was probably normal.
429
430“Don’t worry about it, I’m in my second year of high school, and I can’t either.”
431
432“I think you should start thinking about that soon, Sakuta-san,” Shouko corrected him shyly.
433
434“Guess you’re right.”
435
436They continued the meaningless conversation for a while before Shouko stood up just before midday, the same time she always left.
437
438He saw her down to the ground floor and just before she left, promised, “We’re bathing Nasuno tomorrow, so you can practice with that.”
439
440Hayate was still small so wouldn’t deal well with the water and regulating his body temperature, which meant that they would postpone bathing him.
441
442“Look after Hayate then,” she said with a bow before starting to walk off with a small wave.
443
444As he watched her walk off into the distance, Sakuta muttered, “So nothing new on what happened two years ago today either, huh?”
445
446He paused for a moment and then boarded the lift again, saying “I guess I’ll talk to Futaba about it.”
447
448
449
4502
451
452
453
454After parting with Shouko, Sakuta left a little ahead of normal for his shift, heading to the electronics wholesaler building instead of going straight to the restaurant he worked at. He walked through the rows of the latest smartphones and rode the escalator straight up, without a glance at either the audio floor or the household appliances floor.
455
456The general mood of the area changed as he reached the seventh floor, because this and the next floor were full of general bookshops.
457
458The large floor had bookcases lined up on it, filled to bursting with books. The seventh-floor dealt in speciality books so had a large age range and a calm atmosphere, almost like a library. Sakuta walked between the shelves, checking them as he did.
459
460He wasn’t looking for any book in particular, it was because when he had contacted Futaba Rio earlier to consult her, she had told him she was just in one of these stores and to come himself.
461
462He couldn’t spot her anywhere. He had been sure that she’d be in the physics book corner, but the only person there was a girl with her hair up and a Minegahara High School uniform. With no other option, he took a lap around the floor. She really wasn’t there.
463
464“It’s times like this a phone would be helpful,” he said to himself. He could email, phone, or even just message her and check her location in real time.
465
466As he was passing by the physics section on his second loop, someone spoke to him from behind, “Azusagawa.”
467
468He stopped and turned around.
469
470“Are you trying to harass me? Just walking past like that,” said the girl Sakuta had spotted earlier, and on closer inspection, he could see that this was Rio.
471
472“Futaba?”
473
474“I guess the summer heat is getting to your head,” sighed Rio. She was wearing the familiar uniform, and of course, not being in school she wasn’t wearing the lab coat. But there was a separate reason that Sakuta had walked past her, even after having seen her twice.
475
476Her hairstyle was different than usual. It normally fell casually about her shoulders, but was now tied up behind her, exposing the pale white skin of her nape that was completely untanned. Rio was always rather reserved, so that on its own was rather tempting.
477
478“It’s too hot to wear it down,” Rio told him before he could ask, noticing his gaze. Even her reason was very much like her. However, Sakuta didn’t just have one question, the next thing he wondered about was her eyes. “I’m not wearing glasses because I’ve got contacts in today,” she answered before he could ask again.
479
480With her hair up and no glasses, she was rather different from his usual impression of her. However, her disinterested answering of his question was just like her.
481
482“Why the uniform?” He managed to ask, his last question. Rio wasn’t the type to advertise herself as a high school student during the holidays.
483
484“I’m going to school after this.”
485
486“Kunimi’s at work with me, so he won’t be there,” he told her.
487
488“I’m the only member of the science club, if I don’t leave something behind, it’ll be abolished,” she told him with a reproachful glare. “What’d you want then?”
489
490“Hm, yeah. About that-”
491
492“Is this going to be another annoyance?” She asked as she took a book from the shelf disinterestedly, flipping through it. It was a quantum mechanics book that was far from Sakuta’s comfort zone.
493
494“Maybe, maybe not.”
495
496“So indecisive.”
497
498“I met Makinohara Shouko.” He got right to the point.
499
500Rio looked up from the open book at that point, surprise in her gaze. He’d brought her up to Rio before, Shouko was his first love that he had taken the exam to get into Minegahara High School to follow. She wasn’t at the school when he arrived. There was no trace of her having graduated or even being enrolled. With those bewildering circumstances, Sakuta had ended up lovelorn, and Rio knew all of this.
501
502Because of that, he could understand Rio’s surprise with her next words:
503
504“So she actually existed.”
505
506Sakuta himself had thought they would never meet again, and hadn’t dreamt of meeting her in nearly a year.
507
508“What’s more surprising is that she’s now a middle school first-year.”
509
510“Huh?” Said Rio in shock, nearly dropping her book.
511
512“When I met her two years ago, she was in her second year of high school, but when I met her again on the last day of term, she was in her first of middle school.”
513
514“Azusagawa, are you sane?”
515
516“Unfortunately.”
517
518“It doesn’t add up then.”
519
520If she was in her second year of high school two years ago then assuming that she went straight to university, it would be odd for her not to be in her first year there, but being in her first year of middle school was a regression.
521
522“And you?” She asked.
523
524“She doesn’t remember me… or rather doesn’t seem to know that we’d met.”
525
526She had actually given a full ‘first-time’ greeting immediately after they met.
527
528Rio fell into thought with a frown.
529
530“Azusagawa,” she said eventually, only looking at him at the corner of her eye.
531
532“Hm?”
533
534“Do you think she might not just be someone with the same name that looks the same?”
535
536“That seemed like the most likely thing, yeah,” answered Sakuta, having thought so himself. He had thought so, but also thought it seemed too coincidental.
537
538“Apparently, there are three people in the world that have the same appearance.”
539
540“That’s just an urban legend, isn’t it.”
541
542“Yes, just an urban legend,” Rio answered, looking away. She acted completely unconcerned, like it didn’t really concern her, but something about it stuck in Sakuta’s mind because he couldn’t see any reason it would move her. Normally she would have bluntly mocked him at this point.
543
544“Futaba?”
545
546“The other possibility is that she is Makinohara Shouko’s little sister and introducing herself with her sister’s name for some reason?” Rio continued with no concern, so Sakuta gave up asking after it now.
547
548“What kind of reason would that be?” The set-up for that was far too complex.
549
550“Just ask her yourself.”
551
552“If I ask too many strange questions, she’ll think I’m a weirdo.”
553
554“And it doesn’t matter if I do?”
555
556“I’m just saying I’d rather not.”
557
558“It’s surprising to see you want to look good to anyone but Sakurajima-senpai.”
559
560“Just making sure you know, but I’m not lusting after a middle-schooler.”
561
562“That doesn’t matter. The other possibility I can give is that the Makinohara Shouko you met two years ago was through you seeing into the future from then… or something like that.”
563
564“It wasn’t me that caused that,” Sakuta insisted. The future simulation was caused by Koga Tomoe’s Adolescence Syndrome. She was a student that went to the same school as him and was in the year below, his cute, peach-backsided kouhai.
565
566“I don’t think it’s possible to categorically state that you weren’t the cause when you experienced it together.”
567
568“In that case, my age doesn’t match up.”
569
570“True, but… there’s been no harm now, has there?”
571
572“Well, no.”
573
574It was fundamentally different than with Mai and Tomoe. He didn’t know if this was Adolescence Syndrome, but nothing bad had happened yet. Rio closed the book and put it back, taking another from the shelf. Two girls in yukata walked past them. They were talking about some kind of reports so were probably university students here to find some reference book. Sakuta followed them with his eyes as they passed.
575
576“Azusagawa, you’re staring,” Rio pointed out sharply.
577
578“You wear that kind of thing to be looked at.”
579
580“Probably not to be looked at by you though.”
581
582“Is there some fireworks display on today?”
583
584“Chigasaki has one.”
585
586“Didn’t expect you to know.”
587
588“It’s written over there,” Rio said, flicking her eyes to the wall at their side, where a poster advertising a fireworks display at Chigasaki overlooking Sagami Bay, two stations down from Fujisawa Station on the Tokaido line. It was listed for the second of August, which was indeed today.
589
590“Oh yeah, we went to one last year.”
591
592It was the Fireworks Display in Enoshima, held on the night of the twentieth of August to get away from the summer heat.
593
594“We did,” Rio agreed, sending an unimpressed look after the departing girls.
595
596“You just wore normal clothes then, Futaba.”
597
598“You did too.”
599
600“Me and Kunimi were looking forward to it,” Sakuta said. It was around that time that he found out that Rio had feelings for Yuuma. Actually, it was that day that he became sure of it as he saw Rio staring at Yuuma’s face as he watched the fireworks. “You should have dressed up for it.”
601
602“Why would I have gone to all that effort to show off to you?”
603
604“It would be to show Kunimi.”
605
606Rio looked unhappily at him.
607
608“Regardless,” she said, “it wouldn’t suit me.”
609
610“Wouldn’t it?”
611
612“It wouldn’t.”
613
614“Ah, ‘cause yukata don’t suit big chests?”
615
616With Rio, even her uniform made her size clear.
617
618“That’s not what I mean,” Rio said, guarding her chest with the book in her hand, not wanting it to be seen too much.
619
620“Then what did you mean?”
621
622“I don’t need to answer you.”
623
624“Why?”
625
626“You already think you know, you’re just trying to get me to say it.”
627
628“If you think you’re too plain to pull it off, you’re dead wrong.”
629
630Her look asked him what he actually meant.
631
632“I think wearing a yukata with your hair like that I think it’d be pretty nice.”
633
634Her hair up like that seemed like it would go well with a yukata.
635
636“Besides, you’ve tried wearing one before, right?” Sakuta asked.
637
638Rio’s expression shifted into caution.
639
640“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
641
642“The way you put it, you’ve probably got one.”
643
644“What basis have you got for thinking that?” She asked, her question being much the same as an agreement.
645
646“If you didn’t, then you’d have said so rather than saying whether it suited you or not with how you normally talk about things.”
647
648Rio was always grounded in logic and reality.
649
650“…You really are irritatingly observant with that kind of thing.”
651
652“Don’t say it like you actually dislike it.”
653
654“I have to, I really do dislike it.”
655
656“How awful.”
657
658Rio ignored Sakuta’s strained smile and pulled a book titled The Future of Quantum Teleportation.
659
660“Forget it, I’m going,” she said, heading off to the tills.
661
662“Thanks for the talk,” Sakuta called to her back.
663
664
665
6663
667
668
669
670As Sakuta parted with Rio, his shift was approaching so he headed for the family restaurant he worked at.
671
672“Good morning,” he greeted the manager, who was standing at the till, before looking over the area. At this time of evening, there were few customers, mostly just groups of mothers taking tea, students studying for exams, and suited men working on laptops, all coming together to be a rather peaceful atmosphere.
673
674Sakuta didn’t break stride as he stepped into the break area, he had to clock in and get changed after all.
675
676
677
678Kunimi Yuuma, one of Sakuta’s few friends was sitting in a chair in the break room, having already arrived and had finished changing.
679
680“Yo,” he called, raising a hand as Sakuta entered.
681
682“You get even more tanned?” Sakuta asked. They’d last met three days ago on a shared shift, Yuuma had already been tanned then, but his skin had grown darker.
683
684“I am? Well, I went to the beach a couple of days ago.”
685
686“With your girlfriend?”
687
688“Yeah?”
689
690“Ugh, so annoying.”
691
692“What’s with that, you’ve got a ridiculously hot girlfriend too, right?”
693
694“And she’s so busy that I haven’t seen her all week.”
695
696“I saw her on TV yesterday.”
697
698“Don’t worry, I see her on TV every day too.”
699
700He didn’t know how many contracts she’d already managed to get, but she was often in adverts for soft drinks and new sweets. She was also on signboards for cosmetics and shampoos that made the best use of her beauty.
701
702“Well, my condolences then,” Yuuma smiled mockingly at Sakuta as he came from around the lockers.
703
704Just as Sakuta was about to start complaining:
705
706“Good morning,” came a familiar voice from the hall outside. The footsteps, however, were rather unfamiliar as they approached, with refined clacking noises on each step.
707
708After a second, Koga Tomoe entered the break room. The squalid area for the two boys suddenly grew much more luxurious. Tomoe was wearing a bright yukata, zori attached to her feet with cute straps, and a goldfish-patterned pouch hanging from her hand.
709
710“Ack, Senpai!” Tomoe exclaimed in displeasure as she saw Sakuta.
711
712“Did you come to show off your cute yukata?” Sakuta asked, she wasn’t on the shift list for this week, so shouldn’t be here for work.
713
714“I just hadn’t put in my plans for next week so I came to do it,” she said, taking the blank schedule from the plastic bookcase on the table before opening it. She carefully seated herself on a stool, taking care not to ruin her yukata before filling in her plans for the next two weeks. They submitted their plans like this in the schedule and they were then combined into shifts. It could all be done on phones or the like, so Sakuta was extremely grateful for an analogue method like that.
715
716“Koga-san, you look cute in your yukata,” said Yuuma naturally in place of Sakuta, who had said nothing.
717
718“Eh? T-thank you,” Tomoe reddened and panicked slightly, glancing at Sakuta.
719
720“Yukata suit you,” he offered.
721
722“That’s harassment, Senpai,” pouted Tomoe even though he’d actually praised her.
723
724“What’s that supposed to mean…?”
725
726She’d accepted Yuuma’s praise so easily, but not his?
727
728“You were staring at my chest.”
729
730She covered her chest with the hand holding her pouch.
731
732“How rude, I also took the balance of your hips and backside into account.”
733
734“You don’t need to! Anyway, I don’t have a great chest I can rest on the obi, I’m just stumpy!”
735
736She was just sulking about something.
737
738Yuuma couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched them.
739
740“When did you two get so close?” He asked.
741
742“W-we’re not close!” Tomoe answered sullenly.
743
744“Something happen?” Yuuma asked Sakuta with a sidelong glance.
745
746“I made her an adult.”
747
748“S-Senpai! Wha’cha sayin’!?”
749
750“I see, you’re already an adult, Koga-san,” Yuuma added with a laugh.
751
752“Even you, Kunimi-senpai…” she looked at him in betrayal. “I’ve got plans so I’m going. Excuse me, Kunimi-senpai.”
753
754Tomoe gave a proper bow as she huffed and went to leave.
755
756“Koga,” Sakuta called out to her back.
757
758“Hm? What?” She asked, stopping to listen.
759
760“Girls in yukata should keep an eye out when they’re around.”
761
762“Senpai, that’s creepy, stopping me to say that,” said Tomoe, scrunching up her face in displeasure.
763
764“That was just a joke.”
765
766“What is it then?”
767
768“I can’t see any panty lines so I wondered if you were going commando.”
769
770“I’m just wearing ones that won’t show!”
771
772“So a thong? Just like you.”
773
774“I-I wouldn’t wear those! Hey, don’t imagine them!?”
775
776Tomoe put both hands behind her back and covered herself.
777
778
779
780
781
782“I’ve long since imagined it, so give up,” Sakuta said.
783
784“Just so you know, they’re more complete ones, they’re like boxers.”
785
786“Uwah, my dreams are dead, I shouldn’t have asked.”
787
788“Geez, don’t just go getting depressed after asking something embarrassing! I’m ‘censed! I’m going!”
789
790“Ah, wait,” Sakuta called.
791
792“You’re annoying, seriously,” Tomoe said, looking up at him with clear wariness.
793
794“Careful if you get hit on.”
795
796“Eh? Ah, yeah… thanks.”
797
798“You’re cute after all.”
799
800“Don’t call me cute,” she pouted at him.
801
802“Okay, you’re super cute so be careful.”
803
804“We’ll all be together so we’ll be fine. I’m gonna be late!”
805
806This time Tomoe actually did leave, and it was just the two boys again.
807
808“Hey, Sakuta?” Asked Yuuma.
809
810“Hm?”
811
812“What’s ‘‘censed’ supposed to mean?”
813
814“Who knows?”
815
816Sakuta followed Yuuma as they clocked in.
817
818“Koga-san sometimes uses phrases I’ve not heard before.”
819
820“They’re probably just ‘in’ with schoolgirls nowadays.”
821
822Tomoe was keeping the fact that she came from Fukuoka a secret, so Sakuta gave her the help he could.
823
824
825
826There was less footfall than usual that day, and the restaurant was quiet. It was probably because a lot of the people that lived nearby were at the fireworks display in Chigasaki.
827
828At just past eight, a yukata-clad family entered. Judging by their looks, they were on the way home from the display. The four or five-year-old boy was probably worn out from playing around in his hero-show patterned yukata and had his eyes half closed. There were other customers wearing yukata dotted about the restaurant too.
829
830After taking their order, Sakuta went into the storeroom to get some straws to refill the drinks bar. He took a box down from the shelf and left the room to find himself face to face with Yuuma’s smile.
831
832“Oh, there you are, Sakuta. Go to table five next.” Yuuma told him.
833
834“Huh?”
835
836“You’ll get it when you’re there.”
837
838Yuuma’s smirk made him think that it wouldn’t be an enjoyable experience. He’d specified the table, so it was probably someone there for him, but no one that would visit to see him really came to mind. There was the newswoman, Nanjou Fumika, but that was about it, and she hadn’t shown herself for two or three months.
839
840There was also Mai, but she had told him that she was coming back from filming in Kyoto tomorrow.
841
842“I wonder who it is,” he asked himself as he headed over.
843
844Table five was a booth table further in to the area. As he approached he could see a silhouette from behind. They had a small carry-on case next to them, with an old-fashioned design that would have shown up in movies at the time.
845
846When Sakuta stood next to the table, the person looked up from the menu, and when she spotted that it was Sakuta, her imperious gaze softened slightly into a smile.
847
848“Why are you here, Mai-san?”
849
850Indeed, sitting at table five was Sakuta’s girlfriend, Sakurajima Mai. She was wearing more adult clothes than usual and had a light dusting of makeup. It might have been to hold her back, but the presence of a skilled actress flowed from her.
851
852Of course, the customers in nearby seats were all muttering simple impressions like ‘is she the real thing?’, ‘her face’s small’, or ‘huh, she goes to family restaurants’.
853
854“I thought you were coming back tomorrow?” Sakuta asked.
855
856“There were a lot of veterans there, and I didn’t have any slip-ups either, so we finished early.”
857
858“I see, so you came back a day early so you could see me sooner?”
859
860“I did,” said Mai, turning aside Sakuta’s minor provocation with an impish smile. “The hotel was already booked so I could have stayed another night and had a nice trip home, but I got my manager to buy a ticket for the bullet train. Are you happy?”
861
862“So happy,” said Sakuta monotonously.
863
864“What’s with you?” Mai frowned at him, perhaps displeased at his reaction. Sakuta pretended not to notice and opened his order terminal.
865
866“If you’re ready to order?”
867
868She stared at him silently.
869
870“I’ll take your order,” Sakuta pressed with a customer service smile.
871
872“What are you sulking for?”
873
874“I’m not sulking.”
875
876“You clearly are.”
877
878“And whose fault do you think that is?”
879
880“That’s, um…”
881
882“Um?”
883
884“…I’m sorry,” Mai apologised meekly after a moment, “I’m well aware I’ve been an awful girlfriend that’s been neglecting her boyfriend for work just after they started dating.”
885
886“Well, I wouldn’t say awful, but…”
887
888“But?”
889
890“But I am looking forward to your apology.”
891
892“Fine, I’ll do something for you,” Mai allowed.
893
894“Even something perverted?”
895
896“Just a little.”
897
898“I’ll forgive you then.”
899
900“Don’t get carried away,” she said, grinding her foot into his under the table as she kept a straight face, listing out her order.
901
902Sakuta put it all into the terminal before murmuring so only Mai could hear, “I’m really happy you came back early for me.”
903
904“Moron, you should have said that first,” she said, her tone angry, but with a happy smile, “what time are you working to?”
905
906“I’ve got half an hour left. Man, I want to see you home.”
907
908It was half-past-eight now, and he finished at nine.
909
910“I’ll wait after I finish eating, then.”
911
912“I’ll call you when I’m done then.”
913
914“No slacking off then, get back to work.”
915
916“You were the one that called me.”
917
918After voicing his complaint, Sakuta returned to the storeroom to finish his job from earlier.
919
920
921
922Sakuta worked assiduously for the next thirty minutes and so could clock out bang on time.
923
924“I’m going on ahead,” he called out as he finished changing and exited into the main area just as Mai was settling her bill. If he was a little later, Mai might have left on her own. They left the shop together.
925
926“Mai-san, here,” said Sakuta, offering a hand for Mai’s carry-on as they left.
927
928“Thanks.”
929
930As he started pulling it along, they walked side by side.
931
932“Is she coming every day?” Mai soon asked unconcernedly, like she was discussing the weather.
933
934“Hm?”
935
936“Makinohara Shouko-san.”
937
938“She is.”
939
940“Don’t ask when you already know what I mean,” she said, lightly pinching his cheek.
941
942“Does it bother you?”
943
944“Of course it does, the girl you met as a high school girl is now a middle school girl,” the aghast expression on her face all but saying ‘I’m hardly going to be jealous of a middle school girl’.
945
946“I wish you were eaten up with it though,” Sakuta said.
947
948“With what?”
949
950“With jealousy, of course.”
951
952“You’re not lusting after a middle-schooler when you have me as your girlfriend, are you?”
953
954“I might just fall to the path of the lolicon under the pressure of a life with no dates if I don’t get a wonderful reward from you.”
955
956“I’m letting you carry my luggage aren’t I?” She looked back at the case, “It’s got my underwear in.”
957
958“Can I open it?”
959
960“So you know, they’ve been washed.”
961
962“Didn’t I tell you that I prefer them washed?”
963
964“You didn’t?” Unfortunately, Mai’s expression was surprised.
965
966“It isn’t the underwear themselves I want to see, it’s your embarrassment while I can see them.”
967
968“I wouldn’t get embarrassed by something like you being able to see my underwear.”
969
970“I can look then?”
971
972“Enough of that, back to the point,” she told him.
973
974“I wanted to flirt more with you though, it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other.”
975
976“You can do that as much as you like later,” Mai said with a sigh.
977
978“Ehh, but I wanted to now,” Sakuta whined.
979
980“Fine fine, I’ll hold your hand.”
981
982“We’re not a middle school couple, that wouldn’t satisfy me, would it?”
983
984“Ah, okay then,” Mai said, withdrawing her hand. Sakuta reached after that hand and took it rather than answer. Mai immediately intertwined her fingers with his, squeezing gently.
985
986“This is fine, right?” She asked.
987
988Sakuta didn’t answer.
989
990“What are you going so quiet for?”
991
992“I just thought you were super cute,” Sakuta answered.
993
994“I know that,” she said shortly, but she seemed somewhat embarrassed as she looked away, “So?”
995
996She directed the conversation back to the original topic, still facing forwards. Of course, this was asking about how things were going with Shouko.
997
998“She comes every day to look after the cat.”
999
1000“Anything strange happen?”
1001
1002“Not really.”
1003
1004“Did you figure anything out?”
1005
1006“I talked to Futaba earlier, but nothing. She just shot me down saying that she’s probably just someone with the same name.”
1007
1008“Of course. I think the same… Besides, is she that similar to the girl you met?”
1009
1010“She’s younger than I remember, so I couldn’t say for sure, but well, if she keeps growing I guess so. Her personality seems rather different though.”
1011
1012Maybe it was because she wasn’t used to him, but Shouko now felt much more reserved than then. The high school girl from two years ago hadn’t felt that way at all and was quick to close the distance between them.
1013
1014“Hmm,” noised Mai ambivalently. She hadn’t known the girl from back then, so just listening to Sakuta talk about her didn’t entirely help.
1015
1016“I shouldn’t worry about it unless it’s causing harm like it was with you, that’s what Futaba said at least.”
1017
1018“Okay, if you’re fine with that,” she said, not really agreeing at all.
1019
1020Mai’s mouth then opened for a second as she stopped.
1021
1022“Mai-san?”
1023
1024“Isn’t that Futaba-san?” She asked, pointing at a nearby convenience store.
1025
1026The high school girl walking out with a carrier bag was indeed Rio. She was wearing her school uniform when they met earlier, but was now wearing a baggy t-shirt and a pair of trousers. Her hair was no longer tied up either and fell in its usual artless way about her shoulders, she was even wearing her glasses again.
1027
1028“What’s she doing…?”
1029
1030Looking closely, he could see that the bag she was carrying was flat-bottomed, so had a box of food inside. When he noticed that, a sense of unease suddenly welled up within him. Rio normally wasn’t the type to participate in the city’s nightlife, so her walking around the business district after nine at night was odd. Besides, it would take a while for her to get food from the convenience store by Fujisawa Station as she had rather than one stop up on the Odakyu-Enoshima line where she lived in Honkugenuma which also caught his attention.
1031
1032More than anything, the amount of attention she was paying to her surroundings, seeming to try and avoid people, which actually made her all the more noticeable.
1033
1034“Mai-san, mind if we make a stop?” He asked.
1035
1036“Going to interfere?”
1037
1038Her tone was condemning, but she was the one that followed after Rio first.
1039
1040
1041
1042Sakuta and Mai followed Rio back towards the station to a seven or eight storey building, seeing her enter it. Looking up at the building, they could see that there was a bank, a bar, and a net cafe in there. Amongst them, the bank was closed and the staff at the bar would turn her away, so they knew her destination.
1043
1044However, even the net cafe had a curfew for high school students of ten PM. Her time would be limited, but the meal made it seem like she might be planning to stay the night.
1045
1046“Mai-san, would you wait here?” Sakuta asked. Taking a celebrity like her in would cause far too much of a tumult.
1047
1048“I’ve never been in one,” she said, apparently set on going in with him, and brooking no argument.
1049
1050With no choice, he and Mai boarded the lift.
1051
1052
1053
1054They rode the lift up to the seventh floor and, after waiting for the automatic doors to open, entered the net cafe. The harsh pressure of the lighting transitioned into a chic and calm set of interior decorations.
1055
1056“Welcome,” said the receptionist in her twenties, her tone fit the atmosphere of the cafe as well. Even as she looked curiously at Mai as she peered about curiously behind Sakuta, she continued, “how much time would you like?”
1057
1058There was a list of costs on the counter, with the costs for ‘three hours’, ‘five hours’ and ‘until morning’ listed one after another.
1059
1060Sakuta pointed at the top row saying, “This please.” The first thirty minutes was two hundred yen, and then the costs increased with the amount of time used. They were only there to look for Futaba, so thirty minutes should be plenty.
1061
1062He finished paying, buying Mai’s time as well and accepting the two vouchers.
1063
1064Mai herself was in the drinks corner, looking at the ice cream machine.
1065
1066“We can have one once we find Futaba.” Sakuta told her.
1067
1068“How much are they?”
1069
1070“They’re free once you pay the basic usage fee.”
1071
1072Well, strictly speaking, the cost was included. There were carbonated drinks, oolong tea, orange juice, and a coffee maker and espresso machine. There was a similar lineup to a family restaurant, and it had an ice cream machine so was better if anything.
1073
1074Sakuta went as if he was going to move to the seats and wandered into the inner area. The centre of the space was filled by bookcases with manga lined up on the shelves. As if surrounded by them, there were rooms with numbers written on each.
1075
1076Let alone Rio, there were no other customers there either, apparently, everyone was in their individual rooms. The only noise was the periodic clack of keyboards. There was no way to know where Rio was like this.
1077
1078He thought about asking the receptionist, but of course she wouldn’t tell them anything about another customer.
1079
1080“If you remember her number, you can phone her,” Mai suggested, holding out her bunny-cased phone to him. Even as he took the phone, Sakuta’s gaze was focused on Mai’s other hand.
1081
1082She was holding a shallow cup with a coil of soft-serve ice cream. He’d said ‘once we find Futaba’, but she hadn’t listened at all. That was just like her.
1083
1084She used a small plastic spoon to scoop up some of the ice cream and held it in front of Sakuta’s mouth.
1085
1086“Here, open wide,” she said.
1087
1088Just as she said, he opened his mouth, thinking it would be a trap, but she really did feed it to him.
1089
1090“Is it tasty?” She asked.
1091
1092“It is,” he replied, prompting a satisfied smile from Mai as she filled the spoon again, moving it to feed Sakuta once more.
1093
1094“Didn’t you make it because you wanted to eat it?”
1095
1096“I just ate earlier, so I’m full.”
1097
1098“So that’s how it is?”
1099
1100“What? If you don’t like this you can eat it yourself?”
1101
1102Apparently, Sakuta finishing it was a foregone conclusion, in which case, he’d rather she fed him.
1103
1104Wordlessly, he opened his mouth and Mai forced all of the ice cream left onto the spoon and then into his mouth.
1105
1106He felt a sharp spike of pain through his head like when he ate shaved ice. When Mai saw that, she muttered, “There’s no helping you,” and returned to the drinks corner and brewed him an espresso.
1107
1108“Thank you,” he said.
1109
1110“You’re welcome.”
1111
1112He blew on it and once he had downed the whole drink, he binned the paper cup and returned the coffee cup to the slot. Once done with this, he punched in Rio’s phone number to Mai’s phone.
1113
1114The call connected in the middle of the second ring.
1115
1116“Yes?” Answered Rio’s voice warily. Probably because of a phone call from an unfamiliar number.
1117
1118“It’s me.”
1119
1120“Why are you calling from a mobile?”
1121
1122“I borrowed Mai-san’s.”
1123
1124“If you’re going to show off, find someone else,” was her reply, mixed with a sigh. It was her usual reaction, but was too natural and didn’t seem to be close. “What did you want then another annoyance?”
1125
1126“Am I just synonymous with annoyance to you?”
1127
1128“That’s right, your existence is an annoyance.”
1129
1130“Hey-” Sakuta began to retort as a door opened behind him.
1131
1132“…Sakuta, look,” said Mai, poking his shoulder.
1133
1134Sakuta turned unconcernedly and met the gaze of the customer just leaving their room. In that moment, an uneasiness filled his body.
1135
1136It was Rio. The person Sakuta was looking for. She wasn’t holding a phone, and nor did she have an ear-piece in. His ear was filled with the sound of someone talking.
1137
1138“Azusagawa, what’s wrong?” He heard from the phone.
1139
1140The Rio in front of him, however, had only looked at him in slight surprise and not moved her lips in the slightest.
1141
1142“Ah, sorry, Futaba, the phone’s flat, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
1143
1144“Ah, okay. I don’t mind if you don’t exactly rush.”
1145
1146“See you.”
1147
1148He touched the screen as he moved the phone from his ear, ending the call before raising his eyes from the phone and meeting Rio’s gaze again.
1149
1150She immediately went back into the room.
1151
1152“Ah, wait!” Sakuta called. Heedless though, Rio firmly shut the door. He moved to the door she had shut herself behind and knocked lightly.
1153
1154“Futaba?”
1155
1156No reply came.
1157
1158“You can’t pretend you’re not there in this kind of situation.” He told her, prompting the lock to rattle and the door to slowly open.
1159
1160Rio exited. She was without a doubt Sakuta’s friend Futaba Rio. She was wearing baggy trousers with large side pockets and a similarly loose T-shirt with a striped tank top beneath.
1161
1162“Was it me you were on the phone to?” She started off with what would sound like an utterly bizarre question but was perfectly valid in this situation and something Sakuta himself wanted to ask.
1163
1164“Yeah,” he answered.
1165
1166“Then there’s no use trying to hide it.”
1167
1168Rio’s tense expression twisted in defeat.
1169
1170
1171
1172Rio had said, “Let’s talk outside,” so Sakuta returned his and Mai’s vouchers to the receptionist and left the building. Rio stopped in between the JR station building and the passageway to the Fujisawa Enoden Station. Then began to talk detachedly.
1173
1174“There are two of me,” she started with.
1175
1176Rio watched the people walking through the passageway as she rested both of her hands on the handrail.
1177
1178“What do you mean by that?”
1179
1180“Exactly what I said, there have been two Futaba Rios since three days ago.”
1181
1182He understood what was being said was absurd. He understood, but couldn’t bring his mind to deny it. On the phone earlier he had been, without a doubt, been talking to Rio. The same Rio he knew so well. And then there was another Rio in front of him, a Futaba Rio.
1183
1184“Is it Adolescence Syndrome?” Asked Mai.
1185
1186Rio turned back and spoke: “Though I’d rather not admit it.”
1187
1188“Do you have any ideas?”
1189
1190“If I did, I’d have already dealt with it.”
1191
1192“Well yeah, you would have.”
1193
1194A question suddenly came to mind as he listened. Her hair around her shoulders and her glasses marked her as having a different outfit than the Rio he had met at lunch.
1195
1196“So I met the other one at lunchtime?” He asked.
1197
1198“I haven’t met you today, so yes.”
1199
1200“I see…”
1201
1202“That fake is such a nuisance. She’s just going about my life at home, so I can’t even go home myself, my parents finding out would be bad in several ways.”
1203
1204“Yeah,” Sakuta answered.
1205
1206Her parents probably wouldn’t be able to understand suddenly having two daughters.
1207
1208“On top of that, the fake is going to school and throwing herself into club activities.”
1209
1210“Futaba was wearing her uniform when I met her and said she was doing club work after that.”
1211
1212“That just makes going out even more dangerous. If anyone that knows me sees me, it’ll be awfully inconvenient. I’ve just got to hide for a while.”
1213
1214“So that’s why you were in the net cafe. That’s a bit of a-”
1215
1216“I don’t have the money to stay in a hotel,” Rio added, not sure how long he’d carry on.
1217
1218“Are you a moron?” Asked Sakuta.
1219
1220“It’s humiliating to be called a moron by you,” said Rio.
1221
1222“Just call me straight away.”
1223
1224Rio’s sarcastic smile faded as she seemed to notice that Sakuta was actually angry, and she couldn’t answer.
1225
1226“Think about it, you’re a high schooler, right? And you were thinking of staying in a net cafe for days at a time? Are you sane?”
1227
1228The rooms might have locks, but that was no guarantee of safety. It might be fine for a male, but something might happen to a girl. There were men that would aim for a girl that had all but ran away from home. It might be because of a serious reason, but Rio’s choices were too reckless.
1229
1230Besides, the staff would have eventually noticed she was a high school student and she wouldn’t be able to continue like that forever. They might contact the police, who would then do the same to her parents, outing her in one fell swoop.
1231
1232Rio seemed to be regretting what she’d done and was just looking wordlessly at the ground.
1233
1234“Say, Futab-ah!” As Sakuta was about to continue, Mai poked Sakuta’s head from the side.
1235
1236“Mai-san,” he turned to her, “I know you’re bored without the attention, but this is import-ow ow ow!”
1237
1238This time, she yanked on his ear.
1239
1240“She can’t just call you that easily,” Mai told him, her eyes telling him that he didn’t get anything, “You don’t understand any of this,” she finished, saying it verbally too.
1241
1242“Umm, what do you mean?”
1243
1244“Let’s say that she did and explained everything to you, what would you do?”
1245
1246“Well, let her stay at mine.”
1247
1248“You’re a man too though.”
1249
1250“Well, yeah, but…”
1251
1252“You probably know her quite well, would she call up a boy and ask to stay at their home?”
1253
1254“Honestly, I doubt it,” he answered honestly, gaining a large sigh from Mai.
1255
1256“That’s what men are like.”
1257
1258“Sorry,” he apologised.
1259
1260“That’s what you’re like.”
1261
1262But, you know, Futaba’s a friend, I wouldn’t do anything weird.”
1263
1264“Hehhh, so you wouldn’t have any perverted feelings if a girl that had just gotten out of the bath was in your room.”
1265
1266“I would.”
1267
1268“Don’t just jump in with an awful answer like that,” she jabbed him in the forehead.
1269
1270“Well, of course imagining her in just a bath towel would give me sexual feelings.”
1271
1272“I didn’t tell you to imagine her,” said Mai with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
1273
1274Rio herself was looking at him with displeasure in her gaze.
1275
1276“Of course, you were the model I imagined, Mai-san.”
1277
1278“That’s fine then.” She answered.
1279
1280“Fine.”
1281
1282Ignoring Sakuta, Mai turned back to Rio.
1283
1284“You’ve been found out, will you rely on Sakuta?” She asked her. Her tone was not quite pushy, not quite gentle as her adult nature suddenly came to the fore. She was only a year ahead of them in school, but at times like this, Mai’s seniority and composure really showed. “If you keep being stubborn now, Sakuta will just think you’re being childish.”
1285
1286He didn’t know if she didn’t want that, but Rio let out a small sigh and looked at him.
1287
1288“Azusagawa.”
1289
1290“Sure you can.”
1291
1292“I didn’t even say anything yet,” said Rio, breaking into a smile now her nerves had settled.
1293
1294“So then, Mai-san.”
1295
1296“What?”
1297
1298“Futaba’s staying at mine for a while, is that okay with you?” He asked, just to make sure.
1299
1300However, Mai’s answer was, “No.”
1301
1302“Huh?”
1303
1304He really didn’t get what she meant, she herself seemed to have been pointing Rio towards staying with Sakuta, gently cutting off any means of escape for her.
1305
1306“Why are you surprised?” Mai asked.
1307
1308“‘Why’ is what I’d like to ask you,” he said, truly not understanding it.
1309
1310“Are you really asking that?” She asked, her gaze seeming to call him an idiot. No, there was no ‘seeming’ to it, her gaze was calling him an idiot. “I’ll ask you then… if I said a male friend was staying with me, would you be okay with it?”
1311
1312“I don’t even want to imagine it, seriously.”
1313
1314“Right?”
1315
1316“Yes, I’m sorry.”
1317
1318But what would they do about Rio now? He folded his arms in thought, almost mockingly; Mai smoothly said, “That’s why I’ll be staying too.”
1319
1320“Huh?”
1321
1322“Come on, let’s go pick up Futaba-san’s things,” she said, walking back towards the net cafe without waiting for his reply.
1323
1324Rio and he exchanged looks before following after her.
1325
1326“That went surprisingly well,” Rio said with a glance at him.
1327
1328“Don’t look at me like I’m whipped.”
1329
1330“Well done, you got it,”
1331
1332“This kind of thing makes relationships go well,” Sakuta defended.
1333
1334“Making excuses like that, how fitting for a low-life.”
1335
1336Sakuta followed after Mai while feeling Rio’s scornful gaze wash over him.
1337
1338
1339
13404
1341
1342
1343
1344When Sakuta arrived home, he explained the situation to a sleepy Kaede. Skipping past Adolescence Syndrome when it would come up, he got her agreement to have Mai and Rio stay.
1345
1346“You brought another new girl home…” Kaede murmured.
1347
1348“My reputation’s awful, huh?”
1349
1350“B-but, I’m your little sister, so I’m prepared to accept that you’re like that as well.”
1351
1352Kaede was nervous at first, but her wariness towards Rio soon faded. She seemed to find a sense of security in Rio’s relatively subdued nature, and she was already used to Mai with her having come over on several occasions, so that was probably a big part of it.
1353
1354With Kaede’s agreement, they now had to decide the order they would bathe. Kaede had already done so, so it was between Sakuta, Mai, and Rio.
1355
1356“I’ll go last,” Sakuta suggested, purely out of the kindness of his heart, but Mai and Rio both reacted in distaste.
1357
1358“I feel like I’d get pregnant,” Mai said.
1359
1360“Mai-san, what logic are you working on there?”
1361
1362“I’ll go home for a while to deal with my luggage, so I’ll have a bath there. I want to get a change of clothes too.”
1363
1364She declared unilaterally before leaving.
1365
1366“You’re first then, Azusagawa.”
1367
1368“I see, so you think that I’m a pervert that would get aroused over bathwater that a girl had soaked in?”
1369
1370Going out of his way to protest it wouldn’t help, so Sakuta bathed first. After ten minutes in the bath, he came out into the living room to switch with Rio, who was sitting meekly on the settee.
1371
1372After a while, he realised that he had forgotten to leave a towel out for Rio and took a laundered and folded towel into the dressing area.
1373
1374The steam in the air told him that Rio was already in the bath behind the door.
1375
1376“Futaba,” he called out to her, garnering a large splash in return.
1377
1378“W-what?” She asked in an unusually flustered voice. Apparently, she had recoiled at his call and taken refuge in the bath water. Maybe she thought he would open the door or something, not trusting him at all.
1379
1380“I’m leaving a towel here.”
1381
1382“Right.”
1383
1384“Do you have a change of clothes?” He asked.
1385
1386The things they had retrieved from the net cafe were all contained in a large tote bag.
1387
1388“I do.”
1389
1390“If you don’t, I can lend you a bunny suit or panda pyjamas.”
1391
1392“I just told you I do.
1393
1394Of course, she wouldn’t wear the bunny suit, but Kaede had many spare sets of pyjamas so he’d really like to see Rio wearing them.
1395
1396“I can wash the clothes you were wearing earlier, right?”
1397
1398The washing machine had Sakuta and Kaede’s washing in it, he tossed Rio’s shirt in too and switched it on. It filled with water and started going about its work.
1399
1400“I’m capable of wa… Wait, that sound, it’s already going?”
1401
1402“It’s filling now.”
1403
1404“T-the underwear?”
1405
1406“Hm? Are you the type that doesn’t like her washing in with guys’ underwear?”
1407
1408Unfortunately, Sakuta’s underwear was in there too.
1409
1410“I-I was talking about mine!”
1411
1412“I’ll need to hand-wash them, right? I know that.”
1413
1414The bra and panties that Rio had been wearing today were in the basket, and Sakuta reached out his hand to the soft-looking pale yellow fabric.
1415
1416“You don’t know anything! Don’t look at them! Don’t touch them! Get out!”
1417
1418“This is my house.”
1419
1420“I meant of the changing room.”
1421
1422“All that aside, are you okay?”
1423
1424“I will be once you leave.”
1425
1426Sakuta gave up on washing the underwear and sat down with his back to the washing machine with a slight grunt of effort.
1427
1428“What are you settling down for out there?” She asked.
1429
1430“I was asking about your Adolescence Syndrome.”
1431
1432Rio probably knew that as well, her long silence before she answered was proof of it.
1433
1434“…I don’t really know.” Was her eventual, unsure response, with a somewhat reserved tone.
1435
1436“Is that all?”
1437
1438“What do you want me to say?”
1439
1440“Nothing really, I just wanted to hear your frank opinions.” The situation was making even Sakuta’s skin crawl, and he wasn’t the one affected, there was no way that Rio didn’t feel anything about this.
1441
1442“I’m… a little scared,” she said, shifting in the bathwater.
1443
1444“Only a little?”
1445
1446“When I was alone in the net cafe, I was really scared,” she answered, her voice shaking with the memory of those emotions.
1447
1448There was another of her. She was trapped in fear of a situation that no-one had experienced, of course she would be scared.
1449
1450“But is all this even possible? I mean, one person becoming two?”
1451
1452Sakuta remembered a rumour of something like that spreading for a while when he was in elementary school. The rumour of a doppelgänger and that you’d die if you met them, the very picture of an urban legend.
1453
1454He didn’t feel like laughing at it in this situation though.
1455
1456“It might be, if quantum teleportation holds true in the macroscopic world.”
1457
1458“The word quantum just makes me twitch.”
1459
1460“And teleportation?”
1461
1462“That’s a thing in sci-fi stories, right?”
1463
1464“No, it actually happens.”
1465
1466“Seriously?”
1467
1468Teleportation was a term that was solely confined to stories for Sakuta.
1469
1470“We talked about quantum entanglement before, yes?”
1471
1472“Yeah, something about distant particles sharing stuff?”
1473
1474He certainly did remember talking about two particles becoming entangled and sharing information instantaneously.
1475
1476“Right, so if I were to adapt that to this situation and put it simply… Say that there was an information framework that I was made up of.”
1477
1478“That’s simple?” He interjected, already feeling the twitches.
1479
1480“Now say that framework was instantaneously transmitted to another location.”
1481
1482“So like the information of you in my bath getting transmitted to school?”
1483
1484“That works. The framework at school becomes definite when it’s observed by someone, so becomes the Futaba Rio that you know,” she explained.
1485
1486“Observation theory, huh.”
1487
1488“I’m impressed you remember.”
1489
1490“Well, I keep hearing about it.”
1491
1492In the quantum world, everything was defined by observation, until then, everything was just a probability… apparently.
1493
1494However, his understanding of it was just the surface level, he didn’t really feel like he truly understood it. Bringing teleportation into it now had no difference from saying ‘magic exists’ to him.
1495
1496“But at that point, two of you wouldn’t be able to exist, would they?”
1497
1498Quantum teleportation was different than copying something.
1499
1500“That’s true… I’m impressed you realised without it being explained.”
1501
1502“Well once it’s observed, it’s not a probability, so it can’t be in both places? If the framework is observed in my bath, you’re there, and not at school, yeah?”
1503
1504“I really am surprised, you actually understood it,” she told him.
1505
1506“I had a good teacher.”
1507
1508“But yes, you’re right. I actually haven’t seen the other me.”
1509
1510“Eh?”
1511
1512“So when you ask if there’s two of me at the same time, I can’t state conclusively there are. I just think there’s something that looks the same as me in a different place, doing different things. My room and phone match that hypothesis, there were changes and marks that I don’t remember making.”
1513
1514“So if I keep observing you, another you can’t exist?”
1515
1516“If you were the observer that defined my existence, maybe. Strictly speaking… it might be that ‘as long as the one is being observed, that observer cannot observe the other’…”
1517
1518“Hm? I don’t get it.”
1519
1520“It’s talking about multiple viewpoints. In this situation… Sakurajima-senpai could see the fake outside.”
1521
1522“Right.”
1523
1524“It’s possible that if she then brought that fake here, in the world you and I can see, the fake wouldn’t be here. Conversely, in the world that Sakurajima-senpai could see, I wouldn’t be here.”
1525
1526“…That seems ridiculous,” said Sakuta, and it really did.
1527
1528“It is. In that situation, with the worlds that you and Sakurajima-senpai see not agreeing, it would create a paradox.”
1529
1530“But when we met at the net cafe, I was talking to the other you on the phone, and you were right in front of me.”
1531
1532“Were they really me?” She asked meaningfully.
1533
1534“It was you.”
1535
1536“Definitely?”
1537
1538“Well, I couldn’t see her for sure.”
1539
1540“So you can say that it wasn’t ‘definitively the same existence as me’. In other words, the me on the other end of the phone had undefined factors.”
1541
1542“So you could exist at the same time?”
1543
1544“This is all supposition in the end, just one possibility. It might just be pure chance that I haven’t encountered the fake. I can’t discard the possibility that other people can see both of us at once.”
1545
1546“Then you really can’t go out carelessly.”
1547
1548In one way or another, letting the students see that there were two of Rio would be an issue. It would need some kind of explanation, and he didn’t think they’d be able to pass themselves off as twins.
1549
1550“Ah,” he realised, “but that quantum teleportation thing? Wouldn’t have the same memories and consciousness whichever of you was observed?”
1551
1552If the observation simply defined the location, then once they returned, the information wouldn’t change from being ‘Futaba Rio’. If they had separate memories and consciousnesses then there would have to be two existences calling themselves ‘Futaba Rio’.
1553
1554“This is just a hypothesis, but…” Rio began before trailing off, making the washing machine sound all the louder.
1555
1556“Futaba?” He pushed the conversation gently on.
1557
1558“If… If I myself was the existence observing ‘Futaba Rio’, but there were two consciousnesses of me performing that observation, that might explain this.”
1559
1560“Is that like a split personality?” Sakuta asked.
1561
1562“There’s not that much separation I think.”
1563
1564“If that was the case… why?”
1565
1566“I told you that I didn’t know about that.” Rio insisted.
1567
1568“Did you have a big shock, or were you under some kind of stress?”
1569
1570“You can ask that kind of thing oddly easily. Even I’ve heard of that kind of thing causing damage to the consciousness and memories though.”
1571
1572Sakuta had experienced something like that before when Kaede was bullied two years ago, he had seen the intense stress at the time being a negative influence on physical health.
1573
1574“Well, I’ve talked a bit about it before, yeah.”
1575
1576“…About your mother?” Asked Rio in a voice that seemed unsure of how to ask. He had talked to Rio about his mother’s reaction to Kaede’s bullying before, and how she had been taken to the hospital.
1577
1578“That’s right.”
1579
1580“Sorry.”
1581
1582“It’s fine, I was the one that brought it up.”
1583
1584“Right… Now, Azusagawa.”
1585
1586“Hm?”
1587
1588“I want to get out, the heat’s gone to my head.”
1589
1590“Got it,” Sakuta answered, still sitting in front of the washing machine.
1591
1592“That means get out,” came Rio’s fed up voice. It echoed around the bathroom, doubling how unhappy she sounded. Sakuta rose without complaint.
1593
1594“I’ll leave, but you can stay as long as you like.”
1595
1596“…Uh, sorry.”
1597
1598“Don’t worry about it.”
1599
1600Thinking that it was just like her not to simply say ‘thank you’, Sakuta left the changing area and firmly closed the door.
1601
1602As he did, the doorbell rang as Mai returned.
1603
1604“Right, right, on my waaayyy,” he called.
1605
1606
1607
1608When Rio was done in the bath, the next topic was who would sleep where. Sakuta and Kaede lived in a two-bedroom flat, there were only the two beds, one in each of their rooms. They did have bedding for a guest so could comfortably house three.
1609
1610“I think that Mai-san and Futaba-san can use Onii-chan’s room, and Onii-chan can sleep with me,” Kaede suggested.
1611
1612“Denied,” said Sakuta, brushing the suggestion aside. In the end, Kaede was in her own room, Mai and Rio would use Sakuta’s room and the guest bedding, and Sakuta would crash in the living room. It was a reasonable conclusion… but then again there weren’t really any other options to begin with.
1613
1614“Good night.”
1615
1616Once the two doors had closed, Sakuta turned the lights off and lay down in front of the TV.
1617
1618There was still a faint light from the LED bulb on the ceiling, and the hum of the fridge filled the silence. Even lying there with his eyes closed, he couldn’t immediately fall asleep.
1619
1620After a while, he heard a door open, his own room’s judging by the direction of the sound. The footsteps, that Sakuta had originally thought were heading to the toilet, approached Sakuta, before finally stopping next to him.
1621
1622And then, he felt someone lie down next to him. He didn’t think Rio would ever do something like that, so he opened his eyes, thinking it was probably Mai.
1623
1624Just as he thought, Mai’s beautiful face was near his as he lay on the floor. Even the dim light let him clearly see the contours of her face, and see that she was somehow enjoying herself.
1625
1626“Mai-san?”
1627
1628“Hm?” She asked, even her voice was in high spirits.
1629
1630“What are you doing?”
1631
1632“I’m looking at your face,” she answered.
1633
1634“Well, I can see that.”
1635
1636“I’m looking at my boyfriend’s face.”
1637
1638That was just unfair, his heart thudded within his chest, waking him up even more.
1639
1640“Heart skipped a beat, huh?” Her eyes sparkled teasingly at him.
1641
1642“You seem in a good mood, Mai-san.”
1643
1644“I finally got to spend some time with my boyfriend, and I’m even staying at his place, of course I am,” her act had some poorly concealed mischievousness, and her eyes had a spark of dissatisfaction. The very moment he noticed that, Mai reached out her hand and pinched his nose.
1645
1646“What about Futaba?” He asked with a nasal voice.
1647
1648“She’s sound asleep. I doubt she’s been able to sleep well for the last few days.”
1649
1650“I see.”
1651
1652Staying in a net cafe for several days certainly would wear on a girl’s mind, and he had a feeling Rio would be particularly sensitive to that.
1653
1654“So you’re more worried about Futaba-san than me when I’m right in front of you.”
1655
1656“It was just because you seemed in a bad mood, so I thought I’d be serious…”
1657
1658Apparently, that was a mistake too.
1659
1660“Hahhhhh, and I thought we could go on a date seeing as I have the entire day off tomorrow,” said Mai as she turned away, finally releasing Sakuta’s nose,
1661
1662“That’s why you came home a day early?”
1663
1664Mai didn’t confirm or deny his thought, just stared at Sakuta in displeasure, so he was sure he was right.
1665
1666“Why are you talking like we can’t now though?” He asked.
1667
1668“Well, you’re going to be looking into Futaba’s issue, right?” Asked Mai, hitting the nail right on the head.
1669
1670“The ‘fake’ should be at school for the science club tomorrow I think, so well, I was going to see what was going on.” He admitted, knowing there was no use in trying to hide it. He wanted to check whether there really were two of Futaba Rio.
1671
1672“See, I knew it.”
1673
1674“On that note, I have a favour to ask.”
1675
1676“No,” denied Mai before he even finished speaking, “you’re just going to ask me to watch the ‘real Futaba-san’ while you go to the ‘fake Futaba-san’.”
1677
1678“That’s my Mai-san, you know me so well.”
1679
1680Taking the real Rio to school and putting them both in the same place would be the fastest method, but that carried risks with it. If someone witnessed it, it would cause issues and a panic.
1681
1682There was also Rio’s hypothesis that it would be impossible to see them together. That coupled with the urban legend about doppelgängers as well meant that he felt it would be better if they didn’t meet each other.
1683
1684“Don’t be so happy about it,” she said, pinching his cheek.
1685
1686“Ow, ow.”
1687
1688“Don’t enjoy that.”
1689
1690“So yeah, please, Mai-san.”
1691
1692Mai fell silent and released his cheek.
1693
1694“Then we’ll be even.”
1695
1696“For you abandoning me for a while?”
1697
1698“That’s right.”
1699
1700“Ehhh.”
1701
1702“Of course we will be.”
1703
1704“As thanks, I’ll do anything you ask, so leave the apology as an apology.”
1705
1706“I’m lying next to you now.”
1707
1708“I’d prefer something that rhymed with ‘amiss’.”
1709
1710Mai seemed utterly shocked.
1711
1712“Oh, did you not get it?”
1713
1714Of course she got it, it was because she did that she was shocked, after all, ‘a kiss’ rhymed with ‘amiss’.
1715
1716“It’s not like it’d need to be an apology if you chose the time, place, and mood properly, I wouldn’t mind you taking the initiative.”
1717
1718Mai’s eyes had an impish glint about them as she started, but by the time she finished, she looked away in embarrassment.
1719
1720“Mai-san?”
1721
1722“W-what?” She asked, forcing herself to look up at him.
1723
1724It’d be okay now. It’d probably be fine. If it was, Mai would just scold him, and that was a reward for Sakuta in its own way, so there was no reason to hesitate.
1725
1726Their gazes locked.
1727
1728A second passed, then another… then after a third, Mai’s eyes fluttered shut.
1729
1730Sakuta leaned forward to kiss her, and at the same time, Mai tilted her head forwards slightly in embarrassment. Because of that, her forehead was further forwards than her lips, and both of their foreheads collided with a thunk.
1731
1732“That hurt,” said Mai with a sulky glare.
1733
1734“It’s because you looked down in embarrassment.”
1735
1736“I-it’s because you’re too greedy,” she complained at him, sitting up.
1737
1738“Mai-san?”
1739
1740“That’s all for today,” she said. He couldn’t really see her face, but he had the feeling it was dyed slightly red.
1741
1742“Ehh,” having it be put off after coming this far was painful.
1743
1744“It’s because you suck.”
1745
1746“Uwah, that hurts. I’ll lose my confidence as a man and end up scared of women.”
1747
1748“That won’t happen,” Mai denied flatly.
1749
1750“What makes you say that?”
1751
1752“Because I’ll let you practice until you can do it well.”
1753
1754“…Mai-san.”
1755
1756“What? You don’t want to?”
1757
1758“I really love you.”
1759
1760“I know,” she said. Her tone sounded bored, but there was a smile on her face as she looked back at him. “Good night then,” she finished, standing up.
1761
1762“Right, good night.”
1763
1764Mai went back into his bedroom with a small wave and Sakuta closed his eyes as the door shut,
1765
1766Though that aside, he didn’t think he’d sleep soon. Asking him not to get worked up by Mai’s words and actions was unreasonable. There was something else bothering him as well.
1767
1768Rio went through his mind, the Rio he had talked to at lunchtime, and the Rio in Sakuta’s bedroom.
1769
1770The Rio sleeping in his room called the other a ‘fake’. If he could agree, then maybe he wouldn’t be bothered by it, but Sakuta had a different impression.
1771
1772They both seem like Futaba Rio, he thought to himself.
1773
1774If one was a fake, they could just get rid of them, but he didn’t think the situation was so simple, and that was what was bothering him.
1775
1776But if both were real, that would cause problems, at home, at school, and probably even with society itself, they wouldn’t be able to accept that there were two Futaba Rios. Sakuta could feel it in his bones, so his heart wouldn’t settle.
1777
1778“Ahh, damn. Remembering Mai-san in her bunny outfit is definitely the best at times like this.”
1779
1780
1781
1782
1783CHAPTER 02
17841
1785
1786
1787
1788He looked out at the sea. He from two years prior sat on the stairs down to the sand, gazing vaguely out into the waves.
1789
1790It was a dream of Shichirigahama beach he had seen over and over. So even in his sleep, Sakuta was sure that this was a dream.
1791
1792He knew how things would progress from here, Shouko should get there soon.
1793
1794“You seem tired again today, Sakuta-kun,” said Shouko, skipping to his side and sitting next to him.
1795
1796“And you’re still a touch annoying,” he answered.
1797
1798“Is coming to the sea each day not soothing your aching heart?”
1799
1800“Knowing how far it is to the horizon is the problem.”
1801
1802Even though the horizon seemed so distant, it was actually only a mere four kilometres. It probably taught some lesson about how things that seemed so far away were actually surprisingly close.
1803
1804“Oh my, I can feel the responsibility. How can we get you back to being happy? I’ll do what I can to help,” she suggested, looking into Sakuta’s face from the side. As she did, her flowing hair swayed to the side as she tilted her head adorably.
1805
1806“I think I’ll be happy again if I can touch your breasts,” Sakuta returned negligently.
1807
1808“Will that really make you happy again?” She asked with a doubtful look.
1809
1810“It will.”
1811
1812“But, I’m… not exactly big?” She questioned with upturned eyes.
1813
1814Sakuta didn’t reply and just kept looking at her, her cheeks steadily growing redder.
1815
1816“…J-just a little,” she finally allowed.
1817
1818“I was just joking, don’t take it so seriously please,” Sakuta retracted, seeing as it seemed like she actually would let him at this rate.
1819
1820“I know that much.”
1821
1822“Reaaaalllly?”
1823
1824“Though if it would actually make you feel better, I have an idea.”
1825
1826Shouko smiled like an older sister might.
1827
1828“Don’t be so confident with that size would you.”
1829
1830“You’ve done it now!” She exclaimed, getting fired up, circling behind him. With a short yell, she jumped at his back, putting her arms around him over his shoulder. Of course, this meant that Shouko’s chest pressed into his back. Thanks to that, Sakuta’s entire concentration was focused there.
1831
1832“Shouko-san,” he said.
1833
1834“What could you want?”
1835
1836“You have more than I thought.”
1837
1838“That’s right, that’s right,” she answered into his ear with a satisfied voice.
1839
1840“Well, it’s still only more than I thought.”
1841
1842“Your heart’s pounding away and you’re such a stick in the mud.”
1843
1844“Yours is too,” he pointed out, but even with that, she didn’t move away from him for a while. They just looked out at the sea, talking in dribs and drabs as they remained in their positions. Their conversation wandered, and Sakuta felt himself relax with the heat from Shouko’s body. Because of that, he didn’t know what had prompted the topic, but just thought that the conversation had naturally ended up this way as Shouko said:
1845
1846“You feel guilty for not being able to help your sister, don’t you?”
1847
1848“…Is that so bad?” He asked in turn.
1849
1850“It’s not bad, just if you’re not happy, I think it will be tough on your sister. She’ll think it’s her fault that your smile died and be sad because of that.”
1851
1852“It’s not Kaede’s fault she was bullied.”
1853
1854“Even so.”
1855
1856Sakuta had no answer for her.
1857
1858“The feeling of an apology is important you know?” She continued. “It’s important, but if a person has those feelings directed at them constantly, they’ll be crushed under the weight of the apology.”
1859
1860“What should I do then?”
1861
1862“What words do you like to hear?”
1863
1864Again, he had no answer.
1865
1866“Do you like to hear ‘sorry’?”
1867
1868“I don’t.”
1869
1870“I don’t like to either. ‘Thank you’, ‘you fought hard’, and ‘I love you’ are the words I like to hear, my three great lovable phrases.”
1871
1872Shouko slightly tightened the grip she had on him from behind, embracing him closely. It made it a little hard to breathe, but it was pleasant and warm.
1873
1874“You fought hard, Sakuta-kun.”
1875
1876“Wha!?”
1877
1878Sakuta’s heart thudded at her words into his ear.
1879
1880“You fought so hard for your sister.”
1881
1882A burning blossomed behind his eyes at her continuation and by the time he realised what was coming, it was too late. In the blink of an eye, tears welled forth from Sakuta’s eyes.
1883
1884He hadn’t been able to rely on anyone, hadn’t been able to ask anyone for help, and had been able to do nothing but watch as his sister’s body was covered in wounds by Adolescence Syndrome. No matter how much he had wanted to do something, he couldn’t, no one even believed in the mysterious phenomenon that was assailing her.
1885
1886Sakuta had explained what was happening, but no one would listen. His parents hadn’t accepted reality and the school teachers began avoiding responsibility, none of his friends would approach them. The harder he tried, the more the surrounding people distanced themselves from Kaede and him. They were just seen as people who couldn’t read the atmosphere. It was painful, tiring, unavoidable, and just frustrating.
1887
1888“I…”
1889
1890“You fought plenty hard enough.”
1891
1892Those words broke right through the dam of his feelings, and he couldn’t stop his tears from flowing. He had thought that no one would understand, but here was someone that did. Someone that understood… It was a purely happy feeling, it itself becoming the feeling that saved him.
1893
1894“Shouko-san, I…”
1895
1896He tried to let the waves of his emotions turn his head around, but he couldn’t, instead, he suddenly found his cheeks both held tightly, stopping him from moving his head…
1897
1898
1899
1900Sakuta awoke, remembering the pressure on his face.
1901
1902His right cheek was hot, his left was too. They were both stinging like he’d been slapped.
1903
1904As he opened his eyes to that pain, and the first thing he saw was Mai’s upside-down face.
1905
1906Her expression of displeasure ruined the look of the apron she actually had worn. She was upside-down because she was squatting just above Sakuta’s head as he lay on his back, her hands holding his head between them.
1907
1908“I’m sorry,” he said, starting with an apology as his mouth was crushed up into a circle.
1909
1910“What for?”
1911
1912“Umm…” He had a single idea, that he had called a name he shouldn’t have, while sleep-talking.
1913
1914“I’m sure you can infer the reason?” He suggested hesitantly.
1915
1916“I was just angry at seeing you sleeping so peacefully when we were under the same roof,” she lied with pursed lips as she looked away.
1917
1918“Because you couldn’t really sleep in your boyfriend’s house?”
1919
1920“Staying over at my younger boyfriend’s house doesn’t really matter,” she said, regaining her normal disposition. However, as she finished the sentence, she let out a small yawn. Even though she had slept so soundly when they were in the same bed in Ogaki… Perhaps she took more notice of him as a man now, or possibly she was just still tired from the filming in Kyoto… Sakuta decided to be optimistic and stick with the former.
1921
1922“Don’t go thinking cheeky things when you’re just you.”
1923
1924“Oh, what gave me away?”
1925
1926“It’s written all over your face.”
1927
1928“What, that I think my innocent Mai-san is just too cute?”
1929
1930“You really are cheeky,” she said, smacking him loudly on the forehead. “I made breakfast, so go wash your face.”
1931
1932Sakuta raised his head off the floor to see French toast and scrambled egg laid out on the table.
1933
1934“I’m sorry for using your ingredients without asking though.”
1935
1936“Please think of this as your own house and do what you want,” he said.
1937
1938“Hup!” Sakuta let out, looking like he was about to get up but actually just lifting his head onto Mai’s thighs into something that would usually be called a lap pillow. However, it wasn’t perfect, Mai was kneeling so Sakuta was oddly bent with his torso off the ground.
1939
1940“Mai-san, my neck hurts.”
1941
1942“Don’t do something and then complain about it,” she scolded. But even so, she made no attempt to move his head and the time passed blissfully.
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948“Huh!?” They heard out of nowhere from a little distance away, as Kaede exited her room.
1949
1950“Ah, morning Kae- Ah!”
1951
1952In the middle of his greeting, Mai suddenly stood, so Sakuta’s head lost its support and smacked into the living room floor.
1953
1954He couldn’t even cry out in surprise, and just writhed on the floor, holding the back of his head.
1955
1956“Morning, Kaede-chan,” said Mai with an unruffled expression, ignoring her boyfriend’s awful fate. Sakuta decided he probably had accidentally called out Shouko’s name in his sleep. Mai hadn’t explicitly said so, but that was her pride as his girlfriend, she didn’t want to admit to being bothered by Shouko.
1957
1958“G-good morning. I didn’t see anything!” She cried as Sakuta finally got up to see her fidgeting with both hands covering his eyes, “I still can’t see anything, everything is dark!”
1959
1960“Well yeah, it will be if you cover your face.” Sakuta retorted.
1961
1962“I can’t see tomorrow either!”
1963
1964“That’s just life.”
1965
1966“It’s like a drama without a plot, isn’t it?”
1967
1968“Mornings sure are lively in your house, Azusagawa,” said Rio as she left the bathroom, a strangely troubled expression behind her glasses. He was sure it was because she didn’t know how to fit in with the atmosphere here.
1969
1970
1971
1972The four of them then surrounded the breakfast that Mai had prepared.
1973
1974They began eating with a, “Let’s eat.”
1975
1976It was the first time the dining table had been filled like this since Sakuta and Kaede had started living here.
1977
1978It took a little while for them to all seat themselves, but Kaede and Sakuta sat next to each other and started ferrying the soft French toast to their mouths. It was strangely too perfect, so it was a little hard to eat.
1979
1980“Onii-chan, this is tasty, it’s so fluffy!” Kaede exclaimed.
1981
1982“The eggs are good too,” Sakuta told her.
1983
1984“They’re melting in my mouth.”
1985
1986“Let’s have Mai-san cook for us every day from now on.”
1987
1988“Let’s!” Kaede nodded with a smile.
1989
1990“Don’t exploit Kaede-chan,” Mai warned him, stepping on his foot under the table.
1991
1992“Ah!”
1993
1994“What’s wrong, Onii-chan?”
1995
1996“My love’s being tested,” he said as Mai ground her foot on his.
1997
1998Kaede tilted her head in question, and Rio stopped eating for some reason as well.
1999
2000“Futaba-san, do you not like it?”
2001
2002“Ah, that’s not it,” said Rio at Mai’s question, moving some of the French toast to her mouth, “It’s just been a while since I’ve eaten breakfast with someone.”
2003
2004Now that she mentioned it, Sakuta realised she often ate toast in the lab and drank the physics teacher’s personal jar of instant coffee… Perhaps she didn’t eat breakfast with her family.
2005
2006Just as he opened his mouth to ask, a quiet vibration broke through the air. It was a faint sound that you had to listen closely for, but Sakuta could immediately tell that it was a mobile ringing, as Kaede began to shake next to him.
2007
2008“Ah, sorry, that’s me,” said Mai, bringing the bunny-covered phone out of the apron pocket, “Give me a minute, it’s my manager.”
2009
2010She excused herself from the table and went out onto the balcony, putting the phone to her ear.
2011
2012“Hello?” She answered with an adult tone.
2013
2014“Ah, Mai-san?”
2015
2016Sakuta wasn’t sure whether it was because the other person was speaking loudly or because the phone’s volume was high, but the voice reached him as well.
2017
2018“What’s wrong?” Asked Mai.
2019
2020“I’m sorry to bother you so early, are you free to talk?”
2021
2022“I am.”
2023
2024“Good work on the filming… Are you out by any chance?” They asked, probably hearing the sounds picked up by the mic. Well, strictly speaking, she was on the balcony.
2025
2026“I’m at my boyfriend’s house,” Mai replied easily, as if her manager should already know she was dating.
2027
2028Or so Sakuta thought.
2029
2030“Ahh, your boyfriend’s… what!?” Came the managers yell of surprise. Apparently, this was the first they’d heard. “T-that was a b-boy!? You said boyfriend?”
2031
2032“I did,” she replied unconcernedly to her flustered manager.
2033
2034“D-don’t move from there, please! I’ll talk to the boss! I’ll visit your home later!”
2035
2036Apparently having hung up, Mai came back inside, even saying, “Now we’re fine,” as she removed the phone’s battery.
2037
2038“I’m sorry, Kaede-chan,” she apologised gravely to Kaede as she sat back down.
2039
2040“I-it’s okay! I just shiver when I hear that sound.”
2041
2042“Are you okay, Mai-san?” Sakuta asked.
2043
2044“Thanks to you, I’m going to get a lecture from the agency’s boss later.”
2045
2046Sakuta remained silent.
2047
2048“That was a joke,” she smiled like nothing had happened, moving some of the French toast to her mouth. “This is pretty good,” she praised herself. It actually was very tasty, and Sakuta wasn’t joking when he said he wanted her to make it every day.
2049
2050“I can’t tell whether your showbiz jokes are jokes or not, so please don’t.”
2051
2052“Having a boyfriend is fine.”
2053
2054“What about your manager then? They seemed pretty panicked?”
2055
2056“We just got an advertisement contract, so she’s sensitive to anything that could become a scandal. Well, we’ll probably just be told not to go out together for a while.”
2057
2058“That’s not okay at all, is it?”
2059
2060That just sounded like it would develop into telling them to break up.
2061
2062“Ah, and as far as her being panicked, she always is.”
2063
2064“That’s not okay either, is it?”
2065
2066He didn’t know much about it, but a manager should be dealing with talent work and organising schedules. If they had a disposition like earlier, that would be a worry. And in the end, she had hung up even though she hadn’t brought up what she phoned for… And now Mai had removed the phone’s battery out of consideration for Kaede, so if she realised that she hadn’t told Mai what she was supposed to, she’d probably panic again.
2067
2068Well, Sakuta worrying about it wouldn’t help, so he just decided to keep eating the delicious breakfast.
2069
2070
2071
2072When the clock struck ten, Shouko visited as always. She was wearing a wide-brimmed hat today, looking like the daughter of some well-off family out for a summer walk.
2073
2074“Mother said that I should wear it because the sun’s strong,” she excused as she noticed Sakuta’s gaze. “Um, do you have guests over?” She asked, spotting the unfamiliar shoes in the hall.
2075
2076“A few things happened, you’re fine to come in though.”
2077
2078Shouko shed her shoes and moved through to the living room to see Mai and Rio there as well as Kaede.
2079
2080“You have a lot of female acquaintances, Sakuta-san,” she said.
2081
2082Sakuta just looked at her.
2083
2084“Ah, I didn’t mean anything bad by that,” she said, waving her hand in front of her chest to try and dispel the misunderstanding.
2085
2086“I didn’t,” she repeated, even though Sakuta had said nothing.
2087
2088“Do you think I’m some player?”
2089
2090“No, I just think you’re surprisingly like one of the maharajas maybe,” she said carefully. Before the misunderstandings could develop further, Sakuta introduced her to Rio, her and Mai having met when they picked up the cat.
2091
2092“This is Futaba Rio, she’s in my year at school.”
2093
2094“I’m Makinohara Shouko,” Shouko said with a neat bow, prompting a slightly tense expression from Rio. After that, she glanced at Sakuta. He gave a slight nod. Yesterday he had talked with the other Rio, but hadn’t mentioned Shouko to this Rio yet, so it was only natural that she was surprised.
2095
2096He’d talked with ‘Rio’, so even though he’d meant to have already spoken to her, he’d completely forgotten.
2097
2098While Shouko was playing with Hayate, Sakuta spoke to Rio about her.
2099
2100“Adolescence Syndrome really does love you, doesn’t it?” She said, not at all happily.
2101
2102Later on, as promised, Sakuta and Shouko bathed Nasuno. Shouko held her up and took her to the bath. Hayate seemed to prance after them too, but was perhaps wary, as he didn’t follow them into the bathroom.
2103
2104Sakuta filled the basin with warm water, and at his signal, Shouko put Nasuno into it. She sat obediently in the basin, and they used a jug to pour water over the part of her back that was out of the water as she closed her eyes in pleasure.
2105
2106They then added shampoo.
2107
2108“Go slowly with the direction of her fur.”
2109
2110“Right.”
2111
2112Shouko scrubbed Nasuno with her small hands, getting every nook and cranny and putting bubbles all over the cat’s body.
2113
2114“Right, done.”
2115
2116Nasuno exited the basin with an answering mewl, padding out right in front of Shouko.
2117
2118“Ah, crap,” said Sakuta.
2119
2120“Eh?” Questioned Shouko.
2121
2122At nearly the same time, Nasuno shook the water off her body, spraying water everywhere.
2123
2124“Kyaa!” Shouko screamed, falling back on the wet floor in surprise. Pointing the shower head at herself at the same time, “Kyaa, kyaaa!”
2125
2126Shouko dropped the shower head in surprise at being soaked, the water making it write all over the floor, mercilessly soaking Shouko’s entire body.
2127
2128She let out a whine as Sakuta hurriedly turned the shower off.
2129
2130It was too later though. Shouko was soaked from head to toe, her thin white dress clinging to her skin, showing not just her underwear, but her skin as well.
2131
2132Nasuno passed by her with no concern, leaving into the corridor. She was still wet, so they couldn’t just leave her.
2133
2134“Kaede! Nasuno’s on her way, dry her off!”
2135
2136After he’d finished yelling to Kaede, Sakuta offered Shouko a hand up. She was actually surprisingly light. He led her by the hand to the changing room and started to towel off her head.
2137
2138“It’s okay, I’ll do it myself.”
2139
2140“Fair enough,” he answered, she wasn’t a little child after all. “I’ll get you a change of clothes, so strip out of them. You don’t want to catch a cold.
2141
2142“Right.”
2143
2144Shouko put her hands to the buttons on her chest, but because of how wet they were, she didn’t seem to be able to unfasten them.
2145
2146“Give them here,” Said Sakuta, holding his hand out. Shouko obediently turned the buttons over. They were certainly tough, but he managed to undo the first, and then the second.
2147
2148The dress’ front was open and the white camisole she was wearing underneath was visible. That too was soaked through and transparent.
2149
2150Just as he was about to undo another to make it easier to remove, he felt someone behind him.
2151
2152“Sakuta, what are you doing?” Asked Mai from where she was standing in front of the room.
2153
2154“Taking Makinohara-san’s clothes off.”
2155
2156“Don’t just boldly admit it,” she said, apparently angry.
2157
2158“Eh? Huh? Do I look like some pervert taking advantage of an innocent girl?”
2159
2160“You do.”
2161
2162“Wait a minute, Mai-san, she’s still a child, right?”
2163
2164Shouko was too young for Sakuta to think of her as a member of the other sex.
2165
2166“She’s a girl,” Mai continued, still displeased, apparently there was a difference in viewpoint between them. They definitely needed a clear delineation here.
2167
2168“Makinohara-san,” he said.
2169
2170“Yes?” She answered, calmly even as the conversation suddenly swung back to her.
2171
2172“Do you bathe with your father?”
2173
2174“I did until my third year,” she answered.
2175
2176“What about now?”
2177
2178“Not anymore,” she answered plainly.
2179
2180Now that she mentioned it, even though she was younger, Shouko was already in her first year of middle school, and not a small child, she was a girl, like Mai had said…
2181
2182“Umm… Mai-san, please deal with the rest,” he tried to misdirect her with a forced smile.
2183
2184“When I’m done, we need to talk,” she said, unfortunately not misdirected at all.
2185
2186“I hope it’s something fun.”
2187
2188“Um, I’m okay with it, so please don’t be angry with Sakuta-san,” said Shouko, her pure gaze focused on Mai.
2189
2190He was thankful for the help, but in this situation, it accomplished the exact opposite.
2191
2192“Haven’t you tamed her well,” she said, her eyes unsmiling.
2193
2194“I didn’t do anything, she’s always been like this.”
2195
2196“Just get out already,” she said, ousting him from the room and closing the door firmly.
2197
2198“Crap, she’s seriously mad…”
2199
2200“I can hear you, idiot.”
2201
2202“…I’m sorry, please forgive me.”
2203
2204
2205
22062
2207
2208
2209
2210After a reaming from Mai and eating his lunch, Sakuta changed into his school uniform and headed towards school as he had planned. About a ten-minute walk under the scorching sun saw him to the nearby Fujisawa Station. It was in the centre of the town with a population of about 400,000. General stores and volume retailers practically surrounded the station, and the station itself was a meeting point between three lines, the JR, Odakyu, and Enoden lines, so had a lot of commuters even today.
2211
2212A leisurely ride south-east on the Kamakura-bound Enoden took about fifteen minutes before he alighted at Shichirigahama station, a small station with just a single track going through it.
2213
2214Sakuta exited through the ticket barriers and was greeted by the smell of the sea. He’d thought he’d get used to it with always catching the train, but the instant he stepped out of the carriage, he could feel the sea even now. If anything, his awareness had actually grown to the point where he could spot the subtle differences that came with the season and weather changing.
2215
2216However, on this occasion, he couldn’t help but be conscious of his legs as Mai had made him kneel for a long time, making them feel funny.
2217
2218There were no other students on the short road in to school, He saw the odd local surfer carrying their boards which really brought the summer home. University students headed towards the sea, laughing as they went.
2219
2220He passed through the gate, roughly a third open, into the school. He could hear the shouts of club activities from the sports ground, the baseballers rushing after their ball. Occasionally, the pleasant clang of a metal bat hitting the ball also sounded through the air.
2221
2222With the summer tournament over, the third years had retired, so the team should be reorganising themselves into a new system. Only a few of the many players across the high schools in Kanagawa would have the opportunity to step out onto the field at Koshien Stadium. The Minegahara students this year had encountered the reigning champions in the second round and been soundly defeated. Precisely because the summit was so distant, it was rather dazzling to see those students working themselves to the bone for a chance to reach it.
2223
2224Listening to their yells, Sakuta headed away from them towards the school building in search of some shade.
2225
2226
2227
2228“Futaba, you here?” Sakuta called lightly as he opened the door to the physics lab.
2229
2230There was no reply, and the room was empty. However, there was a half-drunk cup of coffee in the lab sink, so it seemed the ‘fake’ had indeed come to school.
2231
2232Maybe she’d gone to the toilet he thought, sticking his head into the corridor and glancing at the girl’s toilet down the hall. No one seemed to be coming out.
2233
2234Her bag was under the desk, so she didn’t appear to have gone home.
2235
2236Sakuta wandered the lab, intending on waiting for Rio to return. The room was about as big as two normal classrooms, far too big to spend your time in alone. He could feel the traces of people having been here from the haphazardly placed chairs, and the distant yells from students going about their club activities made the silence in the room even more conspicuous.
2237
2238Being here made it feel like he had been left alone within the school. Even though mere moments ago there were so many people, there weren’t anymore… or so the atmosphere in the lab seemed to say.
2239
2240That feeling grew into an uneasiness, a building pressure around his stomach, He wondered if Rio felt like this every day, or if it was just his imagination.
2241
2242To try and change the mood, Sakuta opened a window, letting in a warm breeze along with the cheers from outside. Putting his head out of the window allowed the enthusiasm from the crowd around the gym to reach him. Many students in basketball uniforms were around the building, with some in a different colour, maybe from a different school.
2243
2244“Oh yeah, Kunimi said he had a practice match,” Sakuta said to himself, repeating what Yuuma had told him the day before during work, that they apparently had a match with a nearby high school.
2245
2246In that case, Rio’s location went without saying.
2247
2248
2249
2250Going back to the entrance, Sakuta switched to his outdoor shoes and headed over to the gym, the noises of the ball bouncing, the players’ yells and the squeal of their shoes on the floor becoming clearer as he approached.
2251
2252The three equally-spaced doors were open to let the breeze in, and Sakuta saw Rio at the furthest one.
2253
2254“So she is here…” he muttered, his voice slightly nervous.
2255
2256He had met the ‘fake’ yesterday, and spoken to her properly, taking her advice. At the time he hadn’t felt anything, but now knowing there were two Rios and laying eyes on the other one made a chill run down his spine.
2257
2258He watched her steadily. She had her hair up in the same way as she had when they met at the bookstore the day before. She wasn’t wearing her lab coat, and her legs, usually hidden by its long hem, were completely on display, letting her slightly plump thighs be seen. Her blouse seemed tight across her chest, and the vest on top of it pushed it up into a curve. Her collar was properly done up, and coupled with her serious looks, made the growth of her chest draw even more attention.
2259
2260Some of the boys from the other school were stealing glances at her, and as he passed them, he heard:
2261
2262“Huh, is she a third-year?”
2263
2264“She’s kinda hot, smart-hot.”
2265
2266“Go talk to her.”
2267
2268“You do it.”
2269
2270He could understand their feelings as their pointless conversation unfolded. Rio certainly did look more adult with her hair up like that, and she looked sexy too. On top of that, her gaze without her glasses hiding it seemed rather listless and made you want to go talk to her.
2271
2272However, Rio only had eyes for one person, and was following them. Rio wasn’t watching the match, she was watching Kunimi Yuuma, her eyes not following the ball at all.
2273
2274
2275
2276
2277
2278“Kunimi doing well?” Asked Sakuta, drawing alongside her, speaking as if everything was normal.
2279
2280She started in surprise.
2281
2282“Huh, her boyfriend?” Came one of the voices from earlier.
2283
2284“I don’t think so,” was the reply.
2285
2286Rio glanced at Sakuta and immediately looked away. Looking at her face from the side, she looked rather uncomfortable, and like she wasn’t enjoying herself.
2287
2288“I just came to watch while doing club work,” she said faintly.
2289
2290“I didn’t say anything though?”
2291
2292“You’d have asked anyway.”
2293
2294“Well, yeah, seeing you embarrassed is a precious sight.”
2295
2296“Die.”
2297
2298“There’s still lots I want to do with Mai-san, so wait eighty years.”
2299
2300“You think you’ll still be alive at ninety-five?”
2301
2302“People like me have long lives, right?”
2303
2304“That’s not a line you’re supposed to come out with yourself,” said Rio with a sigh, her eyes following Yuuma.
2305
2306Sakuta checked the score. The match was close, Minegahara had a slim lead of a mere three points. Basketball had three-pointers, so that could change in an instant. At that very moment, one of the yellow-shirted opponents took one of those shots.
2307
2308The ball traced out an arc in the air… before bouncing off the rim. A tall, white-clad player scooped up the ball and flung it in a long pass to Yuuma, who was already near the other side’s net.
2309
2310The hurried footsteps of both teams running off filled the gym.
2311
2312Yuuma received the pass and immediately dribbled it through the other half, feinting passing it between the yellow player’s legs and leaving him behind, arriving in the now free space and going to jump to take a shot. Suddenly, a huge player leapt in front of him, he was nearly two metres tall. However, Yuuma’s motion was another feint, and his feet were still firmly planted on the ground.
2313
2314Now that the defence was fully committed, he re-aimed and shot for real this time.
2315
2316The basketball drew out a lazy parabola through the air, spinning beautifully through the net. The girls that had come to watch the match cheered shrilly, they were probably first years. There were girls from the other school cheering too.
2317
2318“The hell, this scene just pisses me off, I’m ‘censed.”
2319
2320“You’re too narrow-minded, Azusagawa.”
2321
2322“Aren’t you going to squeal ‘kyaa, Kunimiiiii’ as well?”
2323
2324She just glared at him.
2325
2326“You’ll surprise him and definitely get him.”
2327
2328“I am supporting him.”
2329
2330“On the inside?”
2331
2332Her silence was confirmation enough.
2333
2334“You’re not appealing to him enough,” said Sakuta as another cheer went up as the opponents scored. The reaction let him know that the match had been a back and forth like this, a close match. There were three minutes left in the match.
2335
2336“Say, Futaba,” Sakuta started.
2337
2338“I’d rather you didn’t interfere.”
2339
2340“What do you like about him?”
2341
2342The ball was thrown right into the middle of the court.
2343
2344“You’re his friend and you don’t even know that?”
2345
2346“He’s a good guy, nice enough that it pisses me off, and doesn’t judge people based off preconceptions.”
2347
2348He could see things for himself, not based off rumours or hearsay from other people. Yuuma had said that it was how he was taught by his mother, but Sakuta didn’t think that was something you could teach. The way of the world was that if you were with people who had bad reputations, your own reputation would suffer, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t understand Kamisato Saki’s feelings when she told him to stay away from Yuuma. It wasn’t pleasant to be told that, but…
2349
2350“What makes you like him though? I’m a guy, so I don’t get how someone like him charms girls.”
2351
2352Sakuta knew that Yuuma had a good-looking face, and was taller than him. He was good at basketball and handsome in general. He’d heard female university students saying that he looked oddly childish and cute when he laughed. However, he had a feeling that none of that was the reason for Rio’s feelings towards him.
2353
2354“And what will you do when you know?” She asked.
2355
2356“Nothing really, I’m just curious. It’s the kind of conversation high school students have, right?”
2357
2358“That’s the right of normal high school students.”
2359
2360“Are you trying to say you’re special, Futaba?”
2361
2362“I’m saying that I don’t have a normal high school life,” she said, unimpressed, her eyes still following Yuuma alone.
2363
2364“Everyone has the right to love, it’s not like a car, you don’t need a licence.”
2365
2366Everyone was allowed to love. If anything, it was beyond being allowed or not. The heart moved as it willed, left or right. There just needed to be someone you enjoyed yourself with, that you worried about, that your worries felt like they’d crush your chest…
2367
2368It was nothing special.
2369
2370“I’ve thought this before as well, but you really are a romantic at heart.”
2371
2372“I am?”
2373
2374“You came all the way here to chase after your first love, and it took you a whole year to forget her, then you’re dating that celebrity, it’s not normal.”
2375
2376“I’ll start to blush if you compliment me like that.”
2377
2378“This should go without saying, but I’m not.”
2379
2380“What a shame.”
2381
2382“I’m not complimenting you, but I am a little jealous of your loyalty to your feelings. People normally pull back, honesty, straightforwardness and loyalty aren’t popular nowadays.”
2383
2384Even as Rio said she was jealous, her demeanour remained unconcerned, and she didn’t seem it at all.
2385
2386“You don’t care about fashions either.”
2387
2388“If I went at it straightforwardly, it would ruin what we have now.”
2389
2390Of course, Rio was talking about Yuuma.
2391
2392“So? What made you fall for him in the end?” Asked Sakuta, forcefully returning the conversation back on track as he felt her start to skillfully change the topic.
2393
2394Rio just glared at him before giving a blunt sigh, her eyes telling him to read the atmosphere.
2395
2396“Huh, sighing at a love story.”
2397
2398“Hearing the words ‘love story’ from your mouth gives me chills.”
2399
2400“Then I’ll be careful not to say it a second time,” Sakuta allowed.
2401
2402Somehow, he had the feeling that this was the first time in his life he’d said it.
2403
2404“A chocolate cornet,” Rio suddenly muttered.
2405
2406“Want me to run and buy one?”
2407
2408“No, Kunimi gave me one when I didn’t have my lunch one day.”
2409
2410The school didn’t have a wonderful cafeteria, so bringing packed lunches was the standard. If you didn’t have one, then there was a small van that came and was used by an older woman to sell bread, a bakery open just outside the gate during lunch time.
2411
2412There was also a convenience store near to the school, so if you decided to use it, you could. However, it was against the school rules to leave the grounds, so the number of people who did was limited.
2413
2414So with the only rule-abiding way to get lunch being the bakery, it was naturally always packed, thronged by hungry students that descended like a plague of locusts, emptying the cases of bread.
2415
2416Once they dispersed, the only things left were empty plastic cases, and a satisfied woman.
2417
2418“It was in the first term of first year… it was the first time I’d gone to the bread van…”
2419
2420The students surrounding the van could certainly be overpowering, and weaker hearted students probably couldn’t find the courage to plunge in.
2421
2422“And then Kunimi appeared in shining armour?”
2423
2424“He appeared eating his spoils, a curry bread.”
2425
2426“The Curry Bread Prince, huh?”
2427
2428“He spoke to me when I was overwhelmed… he smiled and said, ‘You’re a girl, Futaba, so I figured you’d want something sweet’.”
2429
2430Even not having witnessed it himself, Sakuta could picture the scene. Rio would have been standing a little way away from the crowd, wanting to buy food but not having the courage to join the throng. Then, just as she gave up and headed off sadly, Yuuma would have appeared, wearing his usual carefree smile…
2431
2432He could understand how that was the impetus.
2433
2434Sakuta nodded with a “Hmm,” and awaited her continuation.
2435
2436However, Rio just stood there and slowly flushed slightly red.
2437
2438“And then?” He urged, once it became clear she wouldn’t continue.
2439
2440“That’s it,” said Rio as usual.
2441
2442“I see, that was it.”
2443
2444“Right.”
2445
2446“How much is a chocolate cornet?”
2447
2448“Two hundred and thirty yen.”
2449
2450“You’re cheap, huh?”
2451
2452“If it was you then I wouldn’t have fallen in love.”
2453
2454“So it’s his looks in the end.”
2455
2456“Kunimi was the first one other than you to call me ‘Futaba’.”
2457
2458Sakuta, Yuuma, and Rio had all been in the same class the previous year, class 1-1. Rio stood out because she always wore the lab coat, and didn’t join any of the girls’ groups. Of course, the boys didn’t talk to her either. The sight of her just sitting alone in her chair gave a strange impression, like she was unconcerned by anyone. Their classmates often called her ‘professor’ or ‘lab coat’ behind her back.
2459
2460“Would falling for me be that bad?”
2461
2462“I’m not your type anyway,” Rio said.
2463
2464“Well, you’re the type I’d rather have as a friend rather than a girlfriend,” Sakuta answered.
2465
2466Rio laughed at his unchanging personality as he spoke.
2467
2468“In the end,” she continued, “I think it was the timing. I was really down back then.”
2469
2470“Hm? Did something happen back then?”
2471
2472“Nothing really, I just felt depressed, I’m sure that’s never happened to you.”
2473
2474“You might not be aware of this, so I’ll let you know, but I’m a human just like you.”
2475
2476“That’s a shocking revelation,” she returned.
2477
2478“Well, whatever. So? You thought Kunimi was special because he was kind to you when you were down?”
2479
2480“…I certainly do sound cheap when you put it like that,” snorted Rio self-deprecatingly.
2481
2482As he was searching for an answer, the buzzer to signal the end of the match sounded.
2483
2484“Thank you!” Came the thunderous yell through the gym.
2485
2486
2487
2488After the match, the sweaty players came out of the gym in groups, whipping their tops off and yelling about diving into the sea before rushing over to the water supply and starting to wash themselves off. They were all toned from their exercises. The other school was apparently a seaside school too, as it wasn’t just the Minegahara students that were tanned.
2489
2490The first year girls were whining, half in shyness, and half in happiness. The girls from this school were mostly frowning and saying that boys were the worst, with this being something that only they could do after a match.
2491
2492All that aside, Sakuta wasn’t interested in men’s bodies, so stopped watching, it was just sordid.
2493
2494Rio did likewise, looking away. However, it was for a different reason than Sakuta. That the yells from Yuuma and the others as they messed around with the water reached her ears was clear from her reaction as she flushed right down her neck.
2495
2496“Just watch if you want to watch,” Sakuta told her, as Yuuma shook the water off like a dog, before using a towel and drying himself then changing into a new T-shirt. “Ahh, he’s dressed again.”
2497
2498Rio turned ever so slightly to face him, the cold promise of death in her eyes. He should probably stop teasing her, he decided, lest he ruin their friendship.
2499
2500“So? What did you want?”
2501
2502“Huh?”
2503
2504“You don’t like school enough to come in during the holidays if there wasn’t something you wanted.”
2505
2506“Well, I wouldn’t mind the holidays continuing forever,” if he could meet Mai every day that is.
2507
2508“Your dreams are just like an elementary schooler’s,” Rio cut him down, the look in her eyes telling him to get back to the point.
2509
2510“I’ll put it bluntly then.”
2511
2512“Put what bluntly?”
2513
2514“Futaba’s at my house right now.”
2515
2516Rio’s gaze suddenly wavered.
2517
2518“I see, so that’s why you were acting weirdly on the phone last night,” Rio muttered to herself.
2519
2520“What on Earth’s happening?”
2521
2522“Why don’t you ask the other me?”
2523
2524“You admit that there’s more than one of you so easily.”
2525
2526Her tone was business-like, as if she was talking about somebody else. That was just like the Rio that Sakuta knew though. Her reaction to talking about Yuuma was just the same as well. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see a single thing about her that wasn’t Rio, how could he call her a fake?
2527
2528“What’s the other me’s opinion?” She asked.
2529
2530“That if it’s possible, it’s through quantum teleportation or something.”
2531
2532“The same as me then.”
2533
2534Now that she mentioned it, when they met in the bookstore, Rio had bought a book on quantum teleportation.
2535
2536“In that case though,” she continued, “there wouldn’t be more than one of me at the same time, and we’d have to have the same memories.”
2537
2538The other Rio had said that as well.
2539
2540“That’s why the other you said that it was your consciousnesses themselves observing you, split in two for some reason.”
2541
2542He didn’t know whether the explanation was correct, but he understood it.
2543
2544“I see, and the reason they split?”
2545
2546“She said she didn’t have any idea.”
2547
2548“And you believed that obvious lie?”
2549
2550“I don’t suspect my friends of lying,” he said.
2551
2552“You do, you actually think I’m a fake, don’t you?”
2553
2554Rio stamped sharply on the ground.
2555
2556“Honestly, I thought you might be at first.”
2557
2558“That sounds like you don’t anymore.”
2559
2560“No matter how I look at you, I can only see Futaba. Anyway, if you have any idea why your consciousness split into two, tell me.”
2561
2562“Can’t you just ask the other me? She should have an idea.”
2563
2564“Why do you think that?”
2565
2566“Because I do,” she answered.
2567
2568In other words, she was trying to say that if the other was ‘Futaba Rio’, then she should know, and conversely, if she didn’t then she was the fake.
2569
2570“If it’s the same whichever I ask, you can just tell me, right?”
2571
2572Rio’s gaze slipped past Sakuta for a moment, to where Yuuma should be.
2573
2574“I’m going back to the club,” she said, brooking no argument and walking off towards the building, nearly running in fact…
2575
2576“You don’t want to talk to Kunimi?”
2577
2578With trying to talk about Adolescence Syndrome being pointless, Sakuta called after her the same way as he normally would.”
2579
2580All that she replied with was silence. She didn’t stop and continued on into the building, finally going out of sight.
2581
2582“That restraint is just like her too,” said Sakuta, feeling the pain himself from watching.
2583
2584“What’s up with Futaba?” Came the question from behind him, asked by Yuuma who had a towel on his head and was wearing a T-shirt and shorts. He had a blue-labelled sports drink in his hand, a two-litre bottle, already two thirds empty as he downed the last third all at once.
2585
2586“Hahh, I’m alive again,” he sighed.
2587
2588“So you were dead until now?”
2589
2590“Near enough… So, what’s with Futaba?”
2591
2592“Nothing really, Futaba’s being as Futaba as always.”
2593
2594“What’s that supposed to mean?”
2595
2596It was just a worthless distraction, but Yuuma decided to let it slide. Obviously, he couldn’t say about there being two Rios, Yuuma would think he was crazy. Actually, Yuuma would probably listen until he understood, but Rio probably didn’t want him to know.
2597
2598“She was just here, right?” Asked Yuuma.
2599
2600“You noticed?”
2601
2602“I saw her watching from here right from the start of the match.”
2603
2604“Focus more on the match itself.”
2605
2606“Of course I can see my friends around the court,” he excused as he threw the now empty bottle into the rubbish bin. Sakuta thought hard at it, willing it to miss, but it went right in.
2607
2608“You just thought ‘miss’, didn’t you?” Yuuma asked.
2609
2610“You can read minds?”
2611
2612“It was all over your face,” he replied, jabbing lightly at his head.
2613
2614“Does Futaba often come?”
2615
2616“Hmm, I don’t know, I guess sometimes while she’s here for club stuff?”
2617
2618“I wonder which one she’s actually here for,” said Sakuta, looking meaningfully at Yuuma.
2619
2620“You’ve been pretty forceful recently.”
2621
2622“I just won’t let you play around with Futaba.”
2623
2624“That’s putting it bluntly,” Yuuma said as the girls’ match began in the gym, “I’ll be careful with it… What’re you here for?” He asked as if it was the natural question.
2625
2626“Should I not be?”
2627
2628“You don’t like school enough to come in during the holidays.”
2629
2630“Futaba already told me that.”
2631
2632“…Is there something up with Futaba?” Yuuma suddenly asked after a moment’s thought.
2633
2634“What do you mean, something?”
2635
2636“There’s nothing really going on with me, and you’re here even though it’s the holidays… so I thought there’s got to be something up with her.”
2637
2638The logic was based on whether Sakuta was at school… It was a conclusion that he never would have come to without knowing the two of them well.
2639
2640“Kunimi-senpai, the coach wants to go over the match,” a first-year took advantage of the gap in their conversation.
2641
2642“Got it, on my way,” said Yuuma, moving as if to go inside, but stopping and looking back at Sakuta first. “Call me if anything happens?”
2643
2644“Hm?”
2645
2646“With Futaba.”
2647
2648“I’d have called whether you asked me to or not, you’d better come flying even if it’s the middle of the night.”
2649
2650“I can’t fly myself, so I’ll just make my bike fly instead,” Yuuma answered with a smile, heading back inside.
2651
2652
2653
26543
2655
2656
2657
2658Sakuta left the gym behind and headed straight for the visitor’s entrance, about thirty metres away from the main entrance. There was an office just inside, that wasn’t somewhere he went often, and wasn’t a place the students went in general. They normally used the infirmary, two doors down.
2659
2660He took off his shoes in the quiet visitor’s entrance and changed into slippers. He didn’t go towards the unlit office, stopping instead in front of a green payphone. Taking a single ten yen coin from his wallet and lifted the handset, just depositing that one coin.
2661
2662He dialled his house phone, and it was soon picked up.
2663
2664“Hello, this is Azusagawa.”
2665
2666He could immediately tell that the person who answered was Mai.
2667
2668“Mai-san, please say that one more time.”
2669
2670“Hello, this is Azusagawa,” she repeated, sounding more like she was answering a business call this time rather than the gentle voice from earlier and he could practically see her tired expression.
2671
2672“Try more like a newlywed.”
2673
2674“You’re awfully excited over a phone call,” she said.
2675
2676“Well, that’s because it’s a call with you.”
2677
2678“I won’t act like a newlywed, even if you say that.”
2679
2680“You don’t need to be embarrassed.”
2681
2682“How are things there?” Mai returned to the main conversation, completely ignoring Sakuta’s needling.
2683
2684He wanted to keep it going for a while longer, but ten yen had its limits, so he decided to answer honestly, after all, that was what he had called for.
2685
2686He took out another ten yen.
2687
2688“Futaba came to school,” he told her.
2689
2690“I see. She’s been here for the whole time too.”
2691
2692“What’s she been doing since I left?”
2693
2694“Mainly watching Kaede study. She’s teaching science now.”
2695
2696“To Kaede?”
2697
2698“Well, there’s a bit of distance between them,” she said, letting out a tiny laugh. Kaede was probably peaking out of her room and Rio was teaching her from the living room. Kaede was bigger than Rio, so it certainly did give a rather amusing impression. Kaede was 162 centimetres tall, and Rio was only about 155, so he could understand Mai’s laughter.
2699
2700“And what have you been doing?”
2701
2702“I cleaned your room,” she answered, purposefully adding some mischievousness to her tone.
2703
2704“So, Mai-san, you opened my wardrobe and looked at my boxers.”
2705
2706“I disposed of all the illicit things within your room.”
2707
2708“…Seriously?”
2709
2710“You don’t need the bunny suit anymore, right?”
2711
2712“That’s my second most precious thing!” He leaned in closer to the handset.
2713
2714“What’s the most precious then?”
2715
2716“You, of course.”
2717
2718“Right, right.”
2719
2720“I was being serious,” he said.
2721
2722“Then you don’t need the second onwards.”
2723
2724“Eh?”
2725
2726“If you have me, that’s enough, right?”
2727
2728He had no answer.
2729
2730“Am I wrong?” Came her sharp question.
2731
2732“It’s enough,” he answered quietly, with nothing else to say.
2733
2734“You don’t need to be so upset about it. I put it all aside rather than throw it away.”
2735
2736“You’re mean, Mai-san.”
2737
2738“Oh yeah, do you like idols?” Asked Mai, suddenly changing the topic. It was too sudden, so Sakuta didn’t know what she was getting at.
2739
2740“Eh? Why do you ask?”
2741
2742“There was a manga magazine with an idol gravure shot on the cover, from about three months ago.”
2743
2744“Ah, I just forgot to throw it away, you can get rid of it.”
2745
2746“I see,” Mai agreed shortly. Her reply sounded like she was thinking of something else though.
2747
2748“Mai-san?”
2749
2750“Oh yes, my manager is coming in about ten minutes, is it alright if I let her in? Um… I should keep my eye on Futaba-san after all, right?” She asked, speaking more quietly out of concern for Rio.
2751
2752“If you say that greeting again.”
2753
2754“Hello, this is Azusagawa,” she said softly, giving an aura of happiness to the words, just as a newlywed like Sakuta had imagined. “Sakuta, do you want to marry me?”
2755
2756“Right now, I want to be your boyfriend,” he answered.
2757
2758“I didn’t want you to just answer ‘yes’ right away, but that seems oddly like a refusal.”
2759
2760“Honestly, marriage doesn’t really feel real to me yet.”
2761
2762“Hmm,” she said, still not fully convinced it seemed, “Well, I agree with that, a happy family scene doesn’t really have any reality to it.”
2763
2764Mai was almost speaking to herself, Sakuta thought because her parents had split up when she was young and she had lived with her mother for a long time, and now she had a poor relationship with her mother and lived apart from her.
2765
2766“Actually, I do want to get married,” Sakuta said.
2767
2768“What brought this on so suddenly?”
2769
2770“I want to have a happy family with you.”
2771
2772“Right right, so? Are you coming home now?”
2773
2774“That’s the plan, I have something to ask that Futaba.”
2775
2776“I see. Well, I’ll talk to you later.”
2777
2778“Right.”
2779
2780Sakuta waited for the call to end and put the handset back and returned the remaining coin to his wallet before turning around to leave.
2781
2782“Geh,” he couldn’t help but see when he saw someone standing behind him. Yuuma’s girlfriend, Kamisato Saki, was standing four or five metres away.
2783
2784“What’s ‘geh’ supposed to mean,” she asked, looking at him with her hands on her hips.
2785
2786Their gazes locked for several seconds without them saying a word. Deciding that was a good thing, and because he didn’t have anything he needed to talk to her about, he immediately went to change back into his shoes.
2787
2788“Hey,” she called sharply, her displeasure evident in her words.
2789
2790Sakuta continued to just put on his shoes.
2791
2792“Pretending you can’t hear me is seriously annoying,” she said coldly.
2793
2794Sakuta gave a mental sigh and turned to face her.
2795
2796“My bad, I just didn’t even dare dream that you, Kamisato Saki, seen as the cutest girl in our class would talk to me, the class loner. Uwah, I’m so surprised,” he answered in a dull monotone to convey his own mood.
2797
2798“What’s with you, that’s seriously annoying,” she said, looking at him like he was trash. How humiliating. If he was going to be looked at like that, he’d prefer it to be by Mai, that would end up being a reward for him, but from Saki, it was just unpleasant.
2799
2800“I’m well aware I’m being annoying,” he answered.
2801
2802Of course he would be annoying if he was called annoying, but particularly the lack of denial about her being known as the cutest must have been pretty pleasant for her.
2803
2804“What’d you want then?” He asked. “Here to ask me to break up with Kunimi again?”
2805
2806“I’m the one dating him.”
2807
2808“We’re actually fudge packers.”
2809
2810Saki didn’t answer, but her cheeks reddened slightly.
2811
2812“You’ve got an interest in that, Kamisato?”
2813
2814“No!”
2815
2816“Rest assured, I don’t either. I’ll pass on men, I like women. So much so that if I try and write ‘woman’, it ends up as ‘wow, man’.”
2817
2818“What are you on about?”
2819
2820“So, to avoid me getting even more troublesome, hurry up and get to the point.”
2821
2822Mai was waiting for him at home, so he wanted to get back quickly.
2823
2824Even though she had started the conversation, Saki hesitated slightly, looking around like she was searching for the words.
2825
2826“Azusagawa, you’re friends with that woman, right?”
2827
2828He remained silent.
2829
2830“What?” She asked.
2831
2832“By ‘that woman’, I assume you mean Futaba?”
2833
2834“The lab coat woman.”
2835
2836“So yeah, Futaba.”
2837
2838Saki shut her mouth again, but this time her gaze immediately returned to his with her usual expression of confidence, the first expression he had seen from her.
2839
2840“That woman’s doing some pretty risky stuff don’t you think?”
2841
2842“Risky stuff?”
2843
2844For a moment, he thought she was talking about Rio’s Adolescence Syndrome, but she had said ‘doing’, which didn’t fit with that, and it made him feel a little uneasy.
2845
2846“What, is she making a bomb in the lab?” Asked Sakuta to prompt her, unable to derive what she meant on his own.
2847
2848“Huh? Are you an idiot?” She looked at him, disgusted from the bottom of her heart.
2849
2850“What then, just hurry up and tell me,” he prompted, keeping a hold on his anger.
2851
2852“She…” Once again, Saki stopped speaking. This was the first time he had seen her so inarticulate and just as it was starting to grate on him, Saki sad something unthinkable. “About a week ago… she took a picture of what’s under her skirt.”
2853
2854It took a moment for him to understand what she’d said.
2855
2856Silence fell between the two of them and they could faintly hear the calls from the gym.
2857
2858“Huh?” Sakuta finally managed after about five seconds.
2859
2860“I’m telling you! She took her phone camera, and…” Saki slipped her own phone under her skirt and crossed her legs, taking some strange pose that managed to hide her underwear.
2861
2862“I guess some perverted games are popular with schoolgirls at the moment.”
2863
2864“They’re not.”
2865
2866“Kamisato, are you turned on?”
2867
2868“I’m not!”
2869
2870“Keep things in moderation.”
2871
2872“Like I said, it’s not me! It’s that woman Futaba! You’re really annoying, just die.”
2873
2874The last sentence was said in a cold tone, all-together seriously. Sakuta realised he’d pushed her too far and apologised mentally.
2875
2876“…Futaba is?”
2877
2878However, he couldn’t believe what Saki had said.
2879
2880“She is,” nodded Saki at his question to himself.
2881
2882“Is she?”
2883
2884“Yes.”
2885
2886“Isss sheee?”
2887
2888She didn’t reply further and they just looked at each other for several seconds.
2889
2890“…So, was that it?”
2891
2892Sakuta was plenty surprised, and honestly more so at this than there being two Rios. However, he hadn’t seen it himself, so it didn’t feel really realistic, so he couldn’t help but be less moved by it than Saki.
2893
2894Besides, after Adolescence Syndrome, Sakuta was prepared to accept far more ridiculous things.
2895
2896“You don’t get it at all, do you, Azusagawa?”
2897
2898“She took a selfie up her skirt? I get that.”
2899
2900“Don’t you think she might be showing it to someone?”
2901
2902“Huh?”
2903
2904“You really didn’t,” she said, looking aghast at his perceived stupidity.
2905
2906“I don’t get what you mean by showing it to someone, ain’t the foggiest.”
2907
2908Saki averted her eyes at Sakuta’s statement and started messing with her phone, her expression bored.
2909
2910She then raised her face from her phone and approached him with long strides and that bored expression on her face. The breeze carried a citrus scent to his nose, probably Saki’s perfume.
2911
2912“Here,” she said, thrusting the screen in front of Sakuta’s face.
2913
2914It was someone’s twitter account. The display picture was just a photo of her mouth down, so it was hard to tell who it was, but Sakuta had a single idea. The two small moles on the right side of her lips were in a rather similar place to Rio’s.
2915
2916The top post was ‘just a little’, and posted yesterday with a single photo. It was of her blouse with the top three buttons undone, and open somewhat sexily. The angle from above gave a brilliant view of her cleavage.
2917
2918The photo was only a narrow shot, but it looked like a familiar school uniform.
2919
2920“This is that woman’s hidden account.”
2921
2922“Hidden account?”
2923
2924“An account kept secret from real life friends and acquaintances,” Saki told him tiredly.
2925
2926“Hmm.”
2927
2928Were these dozen-odd characters really that?
2929
2930“That woman doesn’t seem to have a public account, so it could be either though.”
2931
2932“So, why do you know about Futaba’s secret account?”
2933
2934A hidden account would have no meaning if people that knew her in real life could find it. They weren’t friends, or even acquaintances, so they wouldn’t exchange accounts.
2935
2936“I saw her phone when I went to the lab earlier,” Saki easily admitted to taking it upon herself to look.
2937
2938“Seriously, what are you getting up to while your boyfriend’s playing his practice match…”
2939
2940“This has nothing to do with Yuuma!” Saki overreacted, glaring at him.
2941
2942“What, are you fighting?”
2943
2944Saki remained silent and just glared murderously at him. Apparently, he was right, and something had happened in the intervening days since their beach date.
2945
2946“Well whatever, Futaba’s been careless and you’ve been reckless,” Sakuta said. Thanks to that, Sakuta had come across some information he wouldn’t have otherwise, but… “Do you go through Kunimi’s phone like that too?”
2947
2948Saki didn’t say anything and just kept glaring with the same scary expression as early. Maybe that was what had caused the fight. Best not to follow that rabbit hole any further, he thought, before the anger was directed his way.
2949
2950“Can I look?” He asked.
2951
2952With that, he took Saki’s phone and scrolled through the submissions.
2953
2954He soon reached the end, there weren’t more than ten. The first one was a picture of her pyjamas, a fluffy, hooded set, with shorts for the bottoms, so her legs were clearly visible with her soft thighs at the top. Her soft, arousing thighs. It had been posted with ‘I’ll post again if people like it’.
2955
2956There were nine other similar posts, none of them with the face showing. The first post was dated the twentieth of July, a week prior.
2957
2958On each of them were long threads of responses.
2959
2960These are good thighs!
2961
2962Those PJs are cute, I want to wear ones like that!
2963
2964A high schooler? With THAT cleavage!?
2965
2966That ‘I’ shape shows these are natural, fake ones make a ‘Y’…
2967
2968Lol, here comes the tit-maestro.
2969
2970And so on… Many responses asking for more, and to see more.
2971
2972“If that’s really Futaba.”
2973
2974“I’m sure,” Saki snapped in confirmation.
2975
2976“Why’s she doing it then?”
2977
2978“To get more followers.”
2979
2980She currently had around two thousand.
2981
2982“What does that do?”
2983
2984“It doesn’t do anything.”
2985
2986“The hell?”
2987
2988“The sexy stuff is because she wants attention,” Saki told him.
2989
2990“I see,” Sakuta agreed, still not really getting it, he couldn’t see a reason for her to take the pictures, or to upload them. Thinking logically, it was a stupid action, that was all. But Rio herself would definitely know that, so if there was a reason she would do so despite that knowledge, it didn’t come to mind.
2991
2992“When do high school girls do this kind of thing?” He asked.
2993
2994“I don’t.”
2995
2996“Just tell me without the bluster.”
2997
2998“I already said I don’t, are you an idiot?”
2999
3000“Even though you take these photos?” He asked, showing her a photo he had opened up.
3001
3002It was a selfie of Saki hugging a metre tall bear, a character with a fiendish ‘Gaburincho bear~’ expression.
3003
3004“H-hey, don’t just go through my phone! What are you thinking!?”
3005
3006“When you complain at people, it’s important to remember what you’ve done yourself.”
3007
3008She snatched the phone back off of him.
3009
3010“Geez, you can just ask her about the rest,” she said before stalking off in a huff.
3011
3012“She has a strange way of worrying about people,” Sakuta muttered to himself as he watched her leave. She had a strange sense of justice.
3013
3014“What now then…?”
3015
3016Now that Saki had left, his thoughts turned back to Rio. She was now in the physics lab performing some experiment, so talking to her would be simple, but he had noticed something.
3017
3018The account Saki had shown him had the first photo posted a week ago, and Rio had said yesterday that it had been three days since there was another Rio. In other words, a week ago, there should have only been the one… so Rio was taking erotic selfies and uploading them before her Adolescence Syndrome was an issue.
3019
3020“Honestly, what do I do…”
3021
3022He had the knowledge that there were high school girls that used their sex, that used it… or were used for it. The phrase JK Business was often on the news nowadays.
3023
3024Sakuta used to treat that kind of thing as something happening in some far-off country, and wasn’t really aware of it. He hadn’t heard any rumours of any of his classmates doing so, and had never been involved with anything like it himself.
3025
3026“I need to talk to someone…” he said to himself, but couldn’t think of anyone that was knowledgeable about this kind of thing, “…Actually, there is someone.”
3027
3028They weren’t someone he wanted to meet, and even less wanted to be indebted to her, but there was no one else he could talk to.
3029
3030Sighing, he took his shoes off and returned to the payphone, taking out a business card from his wallet at the same time as the coins.
3031
3032
3033
30344
3035
3036
3037
3038“Welcome!” Came the adorable voice of a waitress as Sakuta entered the restaurant he worked at, “Huh, senpai?”
3039
3040Tomoe was the one greeting customers, the doubt on her face was probably because she knew that Sakuta didn’t have a shift that day.
3041
3042“I’m a customer now,” he told her.
3043
3044“Table for one?”
3045
3046“I’m meeting someone, they’ll be here later.
3047
3048“Sakurajima-senpai?” Tomoe asked hesitantly, with adorably upturned eyes.
3049
3050“No.”
3051
3052“Kunimi-senpai?”
3053
3054“Not him either.”
3055
3056She fell silent for a moment, apparently, she couldn’t think of anyone else he would be meeting.
3057
3058“An imaginary friend?” She asked rudely.
3059
3060“I’ll grope you,” he warned.
3061
3062Immediately, Tomoe covered her backside.
3063
3064“Wouldn’t you normally think I was talking about your chest?”
3065
3066“You know I haven’t got enough chest to grope.”
3067
3068“When did our relationship get so erotic?” He asked.
3069
3070“I-I didn’t mean it like that!” Tomoe protested with a pout.
3071
3072“Well, you’re really cute, Koga.”
3073
3074“That’s enough, this way.”
3075
3076That should have been a compliment, but Tomoe didn’t seem pleased and showed him to an inside booth while complaining under her breath. It was table number five, where Mai had been sitting yesterday.
3077
3078Sakuta sat down obediently.
3079
3080“Senpai, why are you in uniform?” Tomoe asked as he did.
3081
3082“I went to school.”
3083
3084“For remedial lessons?”
3085
3086“I’m not you.”
3087
3088“I don’t have any either.”
3089
3090“Just some errands,” he told her.
3091
3092“Hmm,” she noised, dissatisfied at him avoiding the question as she glared at him. She didn’t question him further though.
3093
3094“Just access to the drinks bar,” Sakuta gave his order.
3095
3096“Right, enjoy yourself,” she said with a smile and a polite bow after putting the order into the terminal.
3097
3098It was then that the customer bell rang.
3099
3100“Welcome!” She called as she trotted over to the entrance.
3101
3102However, she soon returned to Sakuta’s table.
3103
3104“U-umm, your guest,” offered Tomoe with a nervous expression, looking questioningly towards Sakuta. This was because of the ‘guest’ at her side.
3105
3106She was a woman in her late twenties. She was wearing a cool-looking white blouse and an adult pair of trousers that went down to her calves. She had a light coating of makeup that gave her an active impression, like that of a news reporter… that said, she was a real-life news reporter.
3107
3108“I thought things had gone too far between us, but then you called me and asked me to meet,” said Nanjou Fumika as she sat down opposite him with a smile.
3109
3110“Stop talking like a wife counting down the days to her divorce.”
3111
3112“Oh, you got it,” she said, apparently having actually been going for that set-up.
3113
3114“Would you like anything to eat?” Tomoe asked, holding out a menu.
3115
3116“Could I get a cheesecake and drinks bar set?” She asked without taking the offered menu, giving a smile to Tomoe.
3117
3118“R-right, a cheesecake and drinks bar set.”
3119
3120Tomoe entered the order with jerky movements, looking at Sakuta as she did, but obviously couldn’t ask what kind of relationship they had.
3121
3122“Enjoy yourselves,” she said as she left the table.
3123
3124“She was cute,” Said Fumika.
3125
3126“Right?” Agreed Sakuta.
3127
3128“What are you so proud of?”
3129
3130“She’s my wonderful kouhai,” he told her.
3131
3132As he spoke, Sakuta stood up and headed to the drinks bar, making two coffees, one hot and one iced.
3133
3134When he got back, Fumika already had her cheesecake in front of her, and already having started to eat as the pointed end had been broken.
3135
3136“Here,” he said, placing the coffee cup in front of her.
3137
3138“Thanks” she replied, immediately putting her glossy lips to the cup and blowing lightly over it.
3139
3140“You wanted to ask about how high school girls live nowadays, right?” She asked.
3141
3142She was currently focused on a lunchtime variety show as the assistant presenter. It was wide-ranging, covering entertainment, politics, and economics, among other things. They often touched on issues and society in general concerning minors, so Sakuta had gotten in contact with her, assuming that she would know about it.
3143
3144“There’s been a lot with issues on online dating sites and compensated dating with the JK Business recently,” Fumika recited as she had on the phone. Then she had gone so far as to say that she was free now, and come to meet him. She then let her true aim out, “Ah, of course, I’d like to interview you at some point to make up for this.”
3145
3146“I don’t get what you mean by that,” Sakuta said.
3147
3148“You should know what I want even if you won’t say so.”
3149
3150Even so, Sakuta maintained his carefully blank expression. Sakuta rather liked her frankness at times like this, and would probably like her if she didn’t want to report on him. However, that was exactly why he couldn’t let his guard down.
3151
3152Fumika wanted to know about the Adolescence Syndrome that Sakuta had experienced. The abnormal incidents would never be accepted as the truth by society, and he’d be denounced as a braggart and maybe even hounded by cameras. There was the risk that that could involve Mai, Tomoe, and Rio right now.
3153
3154“So, what exactly did you want to know about?” She asked, ferrying a bite-sized piece of cheesecake to her mouth.
3155
3156“About girls taking pictures of their cleavage and putting them on social networks.”
3157
3158“Is that voluntary? Or are they being coerced by someone on some dating site?”
3159
3160“I think it’s voluntary.”
3161
3162“So that’s it…?”
3163
3164“What do you think?”
3165
3166“I think that high school girls grow up quick nowadays.” Fumika’s gaze slipped past Sakuta. He turned to follow her look to see a group of four uniformed students crowded around a phone, laughing away, entirely in their own world. “Back when I was in high school, I didn’t have any cleavage no matter how much I tried.”
3167
3168“I don’t really care about your development.”
3169
3170The white blouse that she was wearing now couldn’t hide the large swell of her chest.
3171
3172“And yet I can still feel your gaze right on my chest?”
3173
3174“As far as the conversation goes, think of looking like a compliment.”
3175
3176“It could be because men react like that,” she suggested.
3177
3178She only continued when Sakuta’s silence made it clear he had no answer, “Because there’s a demand for it,” apparently she was now moving to the main topic, “when I feel your gaze on my chest, it gives me no small amount of satisfaction.”
3179
3180“You harlot.”
3181
3182“Being seen as a woman is important in its own way. Well, it depends on who by, I’ll pass on perverts and bosses using their position for that.”
3183
3184“So they upload pictures like that for that satisfaction?”
3185
3186“That’s one reason that their actions can escalate. First, it starts with their legs, a hint of underwear, then they get comments like ‘nice’, ‘show us more’, and ‘I want to see a swimsuit next’, and it all gradually escalates.”
3187
3188Sakuta just looked wordlessly at her.
3189
3190“You don’t look like you believe me, but girls that I’ve interviewed have all said it differently, but said something like ‘I wanted to think someone needed me’.” He really didn’t get it. “Sorry for putting this slightly out of order, but girls that do this tend to have a stronger sense of isolation than others.”
3191
3192“Isolation…”
3193
3194“They couldn’t make friends at school, or things didn’t go well… They don’t talk with their family much, or have a strong sense of expectation from them, and either way can’t come to a mutual sense of understanding… then they start to think no one understands them.”
3195
3196“I see,” Sakuta said, mostly just nodding along, barely understanding anything.
3197
3198“But because of that, they’re always looking for validation, and I think that as soon as anyone says something nice, they’re satisfied.”
3199
3200“So because that makes them happy and satisfied, they think they need more and escalate, like you said earlier?”
3201
3202“That’s right.”
3203
3204“But what do they think of what they’re actually doing? Do they think it’s right, do they want to do it?” That was the question most on his mind.
3205
3206“The second-year I interviewed said she always felt dirty doing it, like she was pathetic taking pictures of herself in her underwear and that she was embarrassed… Then when she uploaded them was worried about not getting any replies, or that even if she did they’d be things like ‘cow’, or ‘creep’.”
3207
3208“Then surely they can just stop?”
3209
3210Thinking that they shouldn’t have in the first place was probably too simplistic.
3211
3212“That unease and worry is the problem,” said Fumika, before continuing when Sakuta frowned in thought, “The bigger that unease and worry gets, the bigger the happiness when they get positive responses.”
3213
3214Sakuta nodded, understanding how that amplitude could make them happy.
3215
3216“The simple word ‘nice’ gets rid of that discomfort and gives a huge sense of satisfaction it seems,” added Fumika.
3217
3218“But isn’t that counterintuitive?”
3219
3220“It is, it satisfies them temporarily… but their discomfort soon returns and they want more.”
3221
3222“So it’s to bury that unease and loneliness…?”
3223
3224“It creates a vicious cycle that’s hard to escape from. They don’t want anyone close to them to know, so they can’t talk to them. It starts as just giving into temptation slightly. I suppose that’s what it seems like… from the girls I’ve seen at least.”
3225
3226He thought that he understood, but didn’t have any confidence that he actually could.
3227
3228“How should you bring it up?” He asked.
3229
3230“The worst option is saying things like ‘don’t do stupid things like that’. They know what they’re doing is stupid, and don’t think they can be forgiven for it.”
3231
3232He could understand that at least. Memories of when Kaede was bullied passed through his mind. When she stopped going to school, people had told her ‘you’ve got no will-power’ and ‘get a hold of yourself’.
3233
3234But Kaede wasn’t distancing herself from school because she liked to, she hadn’t become a home-loving girl like that.
3235
3236Kaede had suffered not going to school and had tried to do better, but even now he thought that it might have just made her wounds worse.
3237
3238What was necessary was to understand her feelings, and for people to praise her for the effort. She didn’t want to not go to school, she wanted to but couldn’t. She needed people that could understand that.
3239
3240Sakuta had come to understand that from her wounds… and Shouko had finally explained it to him. Explained that he should give her happy words instead.
3241
3242“Well, you probably already know that much,” she said.
3243
3244Even so, he was grateful to have had it put into words, while he may have somewhat understood it, it was important to ready yourself before you confronted that kind of situation.
3245
3246“Not at all, thank you.”
3247
3248“Seeing you come so meekly to me is a precious sight, am I close to getting you?”
3249
3250“This and that are separate things.”
3251
3252“Oh my, what a shame,” she said, not seeming particularly upset at all as she ate the last of her cheesecake. “Were you asking about a friend?”
3253
3254“No comment.”
3255
3256“How could you be so cold? Even after I told you all this.”
3257
3258“It’s a friend, yes.”
3259
3260Letting her make it seem like she was doing him a favour would get irritating, so Sakuta admitted it easily.
3261
3262“Be careful then,” she told him.
3263
3264“I intend to be.”
3265
3266The question was actually what he could do.
3267
3268“Once things are online, they’re rather difficult to remove. Once they’re there, stopping isn’t necessarily the end.”
3269
3270That was also an issue, it wasn’t necessarily a lie that they would stay with you for your entire life when you did something like that.
3271
3272“Even if they don’t show their face, there’s still the risk of being identified, being found, or being caught up in issues or crimes. Phones with GPS can include location information in photos depending on the settings.”
3273
3274While it could be convenient, once that information was out there, it couldn’t be contained as it propagated at the speed of light.
3275
3276“There are still pictures of my skirt getting blown up during a broadcast, it’s a real issue.”
3277
3278“Aren’t you glad to be in demand?”
3279
3280“I was wearing black underwear then, so I got awful calls like ‘You’re so shameless, wearing those on daytime TV’. I wanted it to be forgotten quickly, but I still sometimes see it on the internet when I’m researching.”
3281
3282So would they have been fine if it was at night? Sakuta wondered. He didn’t get people that would go out of their way to call up and complain.
3283
3284“Well, that’s enough about me,” Fumika said with a smile.
3285
3286“What?” Sakuta pressed her to ask what she wanted.
3287
3288“What kind of relationship do you have with Sakurajima Mai-san?”
3289
3290“We’re schoolmates,” he answered dully, slaking his thirst with his iced coffee.
3291
3292“Is that all?” She asked, clearly doubting it, with some basis as well.
3293
3294Sakuta had allowed his scars to be photographed in exchange for information about Mai, and Mai had then negotiated to avoid it being published, offering the news of her own return to show business.
3295
3296In essence, Mai had covered for him, so of course, Fumika thought there was something more than being schoolmates there. If anything, it would be stranger if she didn’t think that.
3297
3298“She hasn’t had any love scandals yet, so something like ‘She’s found a boyfriend’ would be a great scoop.”
3299
3300“In that case, I would never answer that in an interview I think.”
3301
3302“I think there are other companies aiming for that too, so take care. I can’t accept our relationship souring because of something like that.”
3303
3304“I understand,” he answered. Though he didn’t know how realistic that was, Mai didn’t seem to be worried about it at all. During the last term, they had normally gone to and from school together and she had stayed at his house yesterday with great pleasure. Either she didn’t feel any sense of danger from doing so, or was doing it despite the knowledge. He should check with her when he got home.
3305
3306“So?” Fumika asked, leaning forward conspiratorially.
3307
3308“So what?”
3309
3310“How far have you gone?” She asked girlishly, her eyes sparkling.
3311
3312Sakuta couldn’t help but look aghast at her.
3313
3314“Have you kissed?” She continued, unconcerned.
3315
3316“Nanjou-san.”
3317
3318“Well? Have you? Have you?”
3319
3320“You sound like an old gossip.”
3321
3322“You can tell me that much,” she sulked childishly, slumping back into her chair.
3323
3324“Do you not have a boyfriend?” Sakuta returned bluntly.
3325
3326“You know, listen to this, he’s awful…” She started, before complaining about her boyfriend for over an hour.
3327
3328They had been dating since they were students and they were the same age. He worked at a major communications company and they had been living together for three years. Fumika seemed to be waiting for a proposal, but he didn’t seem to feel the same way. It seemed that compared to her work as a newscaster, he wasn’t quite there yet, so she told him about what he had said last night.
3329
3330“So what happened in the end?” Asked Sakuta, having been swept up in her anger as well.
3331
3332“He said that we should break up if I don’t like it. I could get a pro-baseballer, definitely.” She said, but it still seemed like she liked him.
3333
3334In exchange for all of the information she had given him, Sakuta continued on through that conversation for the whole hour.
3335
3336
3337
33385
3339
3340
3341
3342Sakuta was walking towards home alone after parting with Fumika at the restaurant. The time was approaching seven PM, and though he couldn’t see the sun itself, the sky was still plenty bright enough.
3343
3344As he passed by a nearby park, he could hear cicada calls from the trees just inside. There was only the one calling, and from the call itself was probably a large brown cicada. There were many more around noon, enough of them to make a real racket, but the cry now seemed somewhat sad.
3345
3346Sakuta stopped and looked up at the tree, but couldn’t spot the actual insect.
3347
3348“…Isolation, huh?” He muttered unconsciously. That was the word that had most concerned Sakuta from the earlier conversation, the word that had lodged itself in his chest. If what Fumika had told him was the case, then Rio would be being tormented by that isolation. “She doesn’t really have the personality to fit in with any of the groups in class.”
3349
3350Rio’s argumentative nature would definitely backfire in those communities that required empathy and sympathy. Rio herself probably knew that as well, and that might be why she always distanced herself from their classmates.
3351
3352She only spoke with Sakuta and Yuuma, perhaps that wasn’t enough. Or perhaps she was isolated outside of school as well.
3353
3354“I wonder what things are like at her home,” Sakuta wondered to himself, giving up on searching for the cicada and heading home again.
3355
3356Sakuta had never visited her house, and didn’t know what kind of home she lived in, whether it was a detached house, a flat, or something else. He didn’t even know what her parents did for a living. All he knew was that she lived one station up the Odakyu Enoden line from Fujisawa Station, in Honkugenuma. It was a little late, but Sakuta only now realised that he knew surprisingly little about Rio’s personal information. She didn’t tend to speak about herself without prompting, and only answered questions with what was actually necessary, so there were rather few opportunities to learn about her in derailed conversations.
3357
3358“Well, I can just ask her in the end,” he said. After all, you couldn’t change a situation by just watching from afar, so he would just need to involve himself even if it would make her think he was annoying.
3359
3360These were the thoughts that occupied Sakuta’s mind as he yawned into the sky.
3361
3362
3363
3364“I’m back!” Called Sakuta as he opened the door.
3365
3366There was no response though. Normally, Kaede would come pattering out to greet him, but even as he looked towards the living room, there was no sign of her.
3367
3368“Maybe they’re asleep,” he said as he took off his shoes and headed inside and washing his hands before entering the living room.
3369
3370As he had thought, Kaede was lying in front of the TV, napping with the two cats.
3371
3372“Welcome back,” came a voice from the kitchen, making Sakuta turn to look quizzically in that direction.
3373
3374Rio was standing there with a flame under a pan, stirring the contents to avoid it burning.
3375
3376“Futaba, what’re you doing?”
3377
3378“Making curry,” she answered.
3379
3380“Dressed like that?” He asked in turn, pointing out the lab coat she was wearing.
3381
3382“The curry might splash,” she defended.
3383
3384“Is that even edible?”
3385
3386Her appearance was like a scientific witch, an expressionless, logical witch, and she seemed like she might have even added some dubious chemicals.
3387
3388“I followed the recipe to the letter, so it’s fine.”
3389
3390Now that he looked, Sakuta could see an open recipe book next to the pan that he had bought when they first started living on their own to learn how to cook. He had barely opened it recently, so had forgotten where it even was.
3391
3392“Oh yeah, where’s Mai-san?” He asked. Kaede was still sleeping on the floor in front of the TV, but Mai was nowhere to be seen.
3393
3394“She’s reading a script in your room. She also said to tell you to go see her as soon as you got back.”
3395
3396“I’ll go get changed while I’m at it then,” Sakuta couldn’t calm down if he was at home in his uniform, it was uncomfortable, “I’m one of the ones that gets changed right away when they get home.”
3397
3398“I didn’t want to know,” Rio retorted, not taking her eyes away from the curry.
3399
3400Sakuta moved to his door and knocked, just in case.
3401
3402“Mai-san, can I come in?” He asked.
3403
3404There was no reply. He’d gone through the right motions, so even if she was changing when he entered, she shouldn’t be angry. While hoping for a happy coincidence along those lines, Sakuta opened the door.
3405
3406He immediately saw her, she was lying on the bed, her legs about a shoulder’s width apart as her eyes scanned over the script in her hands.
3407
3408She was wearing a hooded top and a pair of trousers that came to just past her knees. The calves of her legs, usually hidden by black tights, were visible.
3409
3410Her expression was stern, and her piercing concentration mixed into the air of the room, giving it a strained atmosphere. It really didn’t feel like he should call out to her.
3411
3412For the time being, he quietly entered and carefully shut the door before kneeling in the corner of his room and waiting, naturally sitting in deference to the tension she was creating.
3413
3414The steady rise and fall of Mai’s chest showed that she was breathing, and the repeated blinks made it clear she wasn’t about to slip off to sleep. Sakuta decided to kill some time so he wouldn’t cause a nuisance. He looked around his room and saw that it was beautifully tidied away. She really had cleaned up for him, and even the three-month-old magazine he had just dumped on the floor was neatly put on the desk.
3415
3416With nothing else to do, he stretched his hand out for it. Like Mai had said on the phone, there was an idol group adorning the cover, seven fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls with smiling faces. Looking more closely at their clothing, he could feel the edge of something like a rock-band. Mixed with their nature as a group of idols, it ended up like a well-made Halloween costume, looking cute and stylish.
3417
3418Flipping the magazine open, the first few pages were a gravure shoot of the girls, with introductions for each of them. Apparently, they were called ‘Sweet Bullet’, and they were introduced with ‘Is this year their break!?’ in big, shiny letters.
3419
3420Suddenly, his eyes caught one of their profiles, under the heading of ‘Favourite thing’, beneath height and hometown, was ‘Sakurajima Mai’.
3421
3422Her name was Toyohama Nodoka, sixteen years old. Despite the other members all having black hair, she alone stood out with her blonde hair. Wouldn’t you usually say something like ‘strawberries’ for that? Sakuta wondered. The other six had all written things like that.
3423
3424Sakuta ended up reading their profiles unexpectedly closely and then closed the magazine and returned it to the desk.
3425
3426Checking on Mai again, he saw her pretty lips moving, maybe she was reading along to the lines, he thought.
3427
3428“…Mai-san?” He called quietly, tired of waiting.
3429
3430Mai didn’t shift at all.
3431
3432“Does that mean I can play whatever sexual joke I want?”
3433
3434“I can hear you,” she said, finally looking away from the script to Sakuta.
3435
3436“Did I interrupt you?”
3437
3438“If I didn’t want to be interrupted, I wouldn’t have read the script here, welcome home.”
3439
3440“It’s good to see you again.”
3441
3442Mai closed the script and sat up, re-seating herself on the edge of the bed. Sakuta went to sit next to her.
3443
3444“You sit on the floor,” she said, like she was pointing at a kennel.
3445
3446Sakuta reluctantly sat down on the floor.
3447
3448“Your manager came?”
3449
3450If Mai wanted something with him, that was what came to mind, so Sakuta started the conversation.
3451
3452“She did, but she’s left.”
3453
3454“Did you talk?”
3455
3456“We did, that’s why she came here.”
3457
3458Well, of course. Judging from her slight displeasure, Sakuta could more or less imagine how it had gone.
3459
3460“What did she say?”
3461
3462“She didn’t say to break up, but that we shouldn’t meet alone for a while.”
3463
3464That was more or less as expected.
3465
3466“Can I ask for their reasoning?” Sakuta asked.
3467
3468“I’ve only just started work again, and she wants to avoid a scandal. We only just got an advertisement contract, so we need to be conscious about the sponsors. If it came out that I had a boyfriend, the company’s image might be tainted by my own.”
3469
3470“A sports drink seller’s stocks will drop just because you got a boyfriend… that’s amazing.”
3471
3472Though he had a feeling that it wouldn’t affect the drink that much…
3473
3474“I could understand if I was dating some handsome idol and she was getting complaints from their fans, or if there was an affair with some married actor, but… If just going out with my junior from school, especially one as plain looking as you gives me a bad image, then the world’s beyond saving.”
3475
3476“Well, I agree with that.”
3477
3478“Ryouko-san seems to be under the impression that I’m one of those idols she can forbid from dating.”
3479
3480She glanced at the magazine on Sakuta’s desk he had been reading earlier.
3481
3482“Ryouko-san’s your manager?”
3483
3484“Yes, Hanawa Ryouko-san. She hates her surname since it got her the nickname ‘Holstein’ when she was a child.”
3485
3486Hanawa was said the same as the word for a nose-ring, and from there they went to Holstein cows. Sakuta was sure that the one that gave her the name was some moronic teenage boy, but he could appreciate the naming sense.
3487
3488“Just so you know, Ryouko-san is slender,” Mai told him.
3489
3490“I didn’t say a thing though?” Said Sakuta, keeping quiet that the nickname had made him picture someone with large breasts.
3491
3492“She said she hates the sarcasm behind it too.”
3493
3494“How long?” Sakuta asked.
3495
3496Mai’s expression suddenly gained some scorn to it as she looked at him.
3497
3498“I was asking about how long she’d been around,” Sakuta defended, of course he wouldn’t be asking about how long her bra straps were.
3499
3500“She’s been at the company for three years, and she’s twenty-five.”
3501
3502“So, did you agree with twenty-five-year-old Hanawa-san’s demands?”
3503
3504“It’s not something I can decide on my own, so I postponed it.”
3505
3506“You mean it’s for us to decide?”
3507
3508“Right, it’s a problem for both of us, isn’t it?”
3509
3510That sounded nice, a problem for them both. Thought that said, there was only ever really one answer.
3511
3512It was because Mai knew that that she was in a bad mood.
3513
3514“I guess we’ll have to for a while, won’t we?” He asked.
3515
3516That was the only real choice so Sakuta decided to say that to end the conversation.
3517
3518“What do you mean by that ‘have to’?” Asked Mai, her expression vanishing and her voice becoming toneless.
3519
3520Mai had been angry at her manager earlier, but now Sakuta felt a lump in his throat.
3521
3522She was being quiet, but was clearly furious.
3523
3524“Huh? Why are you angry? Did I make you angry?”
3525
3526Sakuta thought that if he took it completely seriously, it would turn into a real fight, so he exaggerated his fear.
3527
3528When he did, Mai’s bearing changed and she glared purposefully at him.
3529
3530“Don’t run away,” she said, it was scary, but also not, her anger having changed into something more playful.
3531
3532“It’s a strategic retreat,” he insisted.
3533
3534“You really are shameless.”
3535
3536“You shouldn’t fight battles you can’t win.”
3537
3538“You liar, you fight when you need to.”
3539
3540“That makes me sound pretty cool actually.”
3541
3542“Don’t say that about yourself,” she scolded, rolling up her script and whacking him over the head.
3543
3544“Ow. If I start enjoying this kind of thing, I hope you’ll take responsibility.”
3545
3546Mai just looked at him.
3547
3548“I’m sorry, that was a joke,” he corrected himself.
3549
3550“Are you okay with not being able to see me for a while?”
3551
3552“If you think about it, we’ve barely been able to see each other recently anyway.”
3553
3554“I’m impressed you can say that in this situation,” she said, glaring with narrowed eyes. It scared him, so he decided to go back to the main topic.
3555
3556“I really don’t want to,” he admitted, “But, well, your manager’s right. You’ve only just started working again, so you should behave for a while and get your popularity back up, shouldn’t you?”
3557
3558“That’s annoyingly logical,” she said, but she seemed to have wanted that answer. She had probably known that it would end up like this from the beginning, but still chosen to go through the motions and bring it up as something they both had to decide.
3559
3560Just as the conversation finished, the door slowly opened and Kaede peeked in from the crack, having woken up from her evening nap.
3561
3562“Onii-chan, welcome back, are you finished talking with Mai-san?”
3563
3564“I’m finished,” he answered.
3565
3566“Then Rio-san said it’s currytime.”
3567
3568“Not dinnertime?” He asked.
3569
3570“Ah, it smells good,” said Mai. And she was right, the spicy scent filled the room.
3571
3572
3573
3574The curry was cooked well and turned out nicely.
3575
3576“Futaba, you’ll be a good wife someday,” Sakuta told her.
3577
3578“Anyone can make curry like this,” she said, not at all embarrassed.
3579
3580“The way you cook it makes it seem like an experiment though.”
3581
3582The measuring spoons and scales, often unused by Sakuta, were on the work-surface. It was easy to imagine she had treated the ingredients like she would the reactants in an experiment and measured the spices out to the milligram.
3583
3584Even though he hadn’t seen it, he was sure he was right. Coupled with the lab coat in place of an apron, it made the curry taste vaguely chemical.
3585
3586
3587
3588Once the four of them finished dinner, Sakuta left with Mai to see her home. They rode the lift down to the ground floor and exited the building.
3589
3590The sky watching over them was, of course, dark, the time being nearly half-eight. Even so, the nearly cloudless sky looked like a deep blue.
3591
3592Mai only lived over the road, so it didn’t take even a minute to arrive. The two of them stopped a little before the auto-locking doors.
3593
3594“Good night, Mai-san.”
3595
3596“Yeah, night, Sakuta.”
3597
3598“See you,” said Sakuta, raising his hand slightly before turning around.
3599
3600“…Ah, wait,” Mai called quietly.
3601
3602“Did you want a goodbye hug?” He asked, only to be answered with silence, “Huh? I was right?”
3603
3604“No… but also yes,” said Mai, looking around carefully.
3605
3606“Mai-san?”
3607
3608“We won’t be able to see each other for a while.”
3609
3610“We won’t,” he answered, not being able to just say ‘yes’ to that. But Mai had decided.
3611
3612“Maybe not until the second term starts.”
3613
3614“I’ll go and find some hidey-holes in the school then.”
3615
3616“And you’re fine now?”
3617
3618“Eh?”
3619
3620“You’re fine parting like this?” She asked, tempting him with her upturned gaze, keeping her eyes on him even as she cast her head down slightly in embarrassment.
3621
3622“Umm,” said Sakuta, looking away himself. Covertly checking the path to the station and the surrounding area.
3623
3624“There aren’t any pedestrians,” Mai forestalled him, making his back stiffen.
3625
3626“There aren’t any cars stopping either.”
3627
3628If they didn’t have to worry about pedestrians, then there shouldn’t be any paparazzi around either.
3629
3630He couldn’t back out after having said so much, of course he wouldn’t.
3631
3632Sakuta gently placed his hands on Mai’s shoulders. Their gazes locked for several seconds and Sakuta moved his face towards Mai’s. Her eyes fluttered closed in a probably unconscious action. Mai hunched forwards slightly, tucking her head down. Gazing at her face himself, Sakuta took her lips.
3633
3634"Ngh..." Came the slightly erotic noise from Mai's nose, her hot breath brushing against his cheek. It tickled oddly. Focused as he was on her lips, Sakuta forgot to breathe, and pulled away from Mai just as he began to feel the lack of oxygen.
3635
3636
3637
3638
3639
3640Mai looked at Sakuta as if nothing had happened, but she couldn’t hide the blush on her cheeks.
3641
3642“D-don’t you have anything to say?” She asked after several seconds.
3643
3644“Thank you for the feast.”
3645
3646“Idiot,” she said, sounding like she was trying to hide her embarrassment.
3647
3648“Then, I want seconds.”
3649
3650“You really are an idiot,” she said again, this time meaning it, her embarrassment fading into exasperation, what a waste, “We’ll continue this later.”
3651
3652“Eh, but the fires are burning now, you can’t ask me to hold it in.”
3653
3654“You’re not a monkey in heat, so bear with it.”
3655
3656“You’re the one that made me a monkey in heat.”
3657
3658“I don’t need a monkey boyfriend.”
3659
3660“I was only answering your pleading.”
3661
3662“I-I wasn’t pleading at all.”
3663
3664“Werrren’t you?”
3665
3666“I wasn’t.”
3667
3668“You were really damn cute then though.”
3669
3670“You can’t say that,” Mai protested, “you’ll get carried away.”
3671
3672Sakuta just stared into her eyes.
3673
3674“Don’t look at me like a dead fish either.”
3675
3676“It was supposed to be like an abandoned puppy.”
3677
3678“You have zero acting talent, actually, it’s more like negative acting talent,” she said harshly, “good night then.”
3679
3680Sakuta tried to wordlessly resist.
3681
3682“Sakuta, I said goodnight,” she repeated as one would to a misbehaving child.
3683
3684“Good night,” Sakuta replied flatly.
3685
3686“I’ll call you.”
3687
3688“Uwahh, I’m looking forward to it.”
3689
3690“Hahhh…” Mai let out an exaggerated sigh. A deep, deep sigh. “You’re only allowed to be selfish for today, okay?”
3691
3692After saying that quickly, Mai took a step closer and stretched up, putting a gentle kiss on Sakuta’s lips, a short kiss with fleeting contact.
3693
3694“This won’t happen next time,” she warned him.
3695
3696“Eh? That’s the system?”
3697
3698“It is,” Mai smiled happily at playing with Sakuta before twirling around and going inside, disappearing from his sight.
3699
3700“Damn, I’m way too wound up now, what do I do…”
3701
3702However, Sakuta couldn’t just spend the rest of the day in arousal, he still had things to do today, he had to go home and have an important conversation with Rio.
3703
3704“I wonder if I can leave Futaba until tomorrow…” Deciding that he probably couldn’t, Sakuta retraced his steps back home.
3705
3706
3707
37086
3709
3710
3711
3712When he got back from seeing Mai home, Kaede was in the bath and Rio was reading a hardcover book at the table, probably a novel.
3713
3714The kitchen, which he had intended to tidy once he got back was already clean, the pots and pans put away and the leftovers boxed up and in the fridge.
3715
3716“Thanks, Futaba.”
3717
3718“Sure,” she replied shortly, focused on her book, “You took a fair while to see her home,” she added oddly meaningfully, but didn’t seem to be condemning him. She just sounded like she was stating a fact.
3719
3720“What are you reading?” He asked.
3721
3722“Your sister said it was good and lent it to me,” she answered, lifting the book to show him the cover. The title was The Naked Prince and the Unhappy Witch, and the author was Yuigahama Kanna, Kaede’s favourite author.
3723
3724Sakuta had read many of her books at Kaede’s recommendation, but not gotten in to any of them. Most of them didn’t have endings he was happy with, they all left an unpleasant aftertaste. When he told Kaede, she said she hadn’t recommended those, but…
3725
3726“Is it boring?”
3727
3728“Hm? Not really… It’s about a girl that just got her first boyfriend and’s worrying about it.” Just hearing that he could tell the story was pleasant. “Her boyfriend is popular… so she worries that someone ‘plain like me’ isn’t good enough for him, and if a pretty girl comes near, she starts hating herself and thinking that they would be much happier together than he would with her. She’s still not honest though, so she takes that out on her boyfriend.”
3729
3730That was a fairly specific description, and it sounded like the girl was rather irritating.
3731
3732“Is it enjoyable?” Sakuta asked simply.
3733
3734“It is, I can sympathise with her personality.”
3735
3736“Is that really fun…?”
3737
3738“Girls are creatures of sympathy and empathy,” she told him, seeming to be analysing it more than feeling it, even though she was a girl herself. If she was analysing herself so objectively, could she really be enjoying reading it?
3739
3740“I’m done in the bath, I’m really warm,” came Kaede’s voice, prompting him to pass her a drink from the fridge. “I’m really chilly now!”
3741
3742“Futaba, you can go ahead into the bath.”
3743
3744Rio finally looked up from her book and directed a scornful gaze at him from behind her glasses.
3745
3746“Just to make things clear, I have no intention to do anything with your bath broth.”
3747
3748“Azusagawa.”
3749
3750“You got it?”
3751
3752“You needed to die the moment you said ‘broth’.”
3753
3754“…I’m going to go ahead and take a bath then, you sure?”
3755
3756“I’m sure, this is a good bit,” she answered, once more moving her eyes across the rows of characters.
3757
3758“Is there a kiss scene?”
3759
3760“She’s disciplining her boyfriend by looking at him like excrement on the floor.”
3761
3762That sounded like an interesting scene slightly off from what he was expecting.
3763
3764“Sounds fun, I’ll borrow it when you’re done,” he said, heading for the bath.
3765
3766He showered after stripping, scrubbing his dominant arm with body-soap on a sponge, the same way as he always did, before using that arm to scrub the rest of his body. Once he was done, he rinsed the suds off and shampooed his hair, finally washing his face and cleaning everything off with the shower and then soaking in the bath, taking about ten seconds before leaving.
3767
3768“Futaba, the bath’s free.”
3769
3770“Did you use a birdbath?”
3771
3772“The summer’s too warm,” he said. Of course, he would take longer during the winter.
3773
3774“I’ll go use the bath then,” Rio said, putting a bookmark in between the pages and entering the dressing room, firmly shutting the door. However, the only doors in the house with locks were the front door and the toilet.
3775
3776He could faintly hear the rustling of clothes beyond the door. Listening in would feel creepy, so Sakuta sat in front of the fan and switched it on, letting the wind cool his body.
3777
3778“Take me to your leader!” He said into it, but it felt oddly pointless.
3779
3780After about five minutes of cooling himself, he stood and headed towards the bathroom.
3781
3782He opened the door into the changing room, hearing a clatter from the bathing area, the basin falling on the floor.
3783
3784He could see a female silhouette through the frosted glass, with her back to him, apparently she had been in the middle of washing herself.
3785
3786“Futaba, you got a minute?”
3787
3788“Can I start?”
3789
3790“Hm?”
3791
3792“Why do you always talk to me when I’m bathing?”
3793
3794“Because it arouses me to only have a door between me and a naked girl.”
3795
3796Only silence answered him.
3797
3798“Probably because it’s easier to talk about some things when you’re not face to face.”
3799
3800“What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked, guardedly. Even so, she began to move again, covering herself in bubbles.
3801
3802Sakuta stayed away from the door and sat on the dressing room floor. He didn’t think that their conversation would end quickly.
3803
3804“What kind of house do you live in?”
3805
3806“What are you asking for?” She asked doubtfully, but Sakuta paid her no mind and continued.
3807
3808“A flat? A detached house?”
3809
3810“A detached house.”
3811
3812“Is it big?”
3813
3814“Are there ones that aren’t?”
3815
3816“Are you rich by any chance?”
3817
3818“Maybe,” she answered easily, not really seeming like she was talking about herself. Sakuta had a feeling it was because she didn’t see herself as rich, but that it was her parents.
3819
3820“What do your parents do?”
3821
3822“My dad’s a doctor.”
3823
3824“Seriously!?”
3825
3826“It’s nothing to be surprised at, surely?” She asked.
3827
3828“Is your house a hospital?”
3829
3830“He’s not a GP, he works at a teaching hospital.”
3831
3832“Is there a rivalry between the two types?”
3833
3834“Apparently so.”
3835
3836“That’s amazing.”
3837
3838He could hear the water flowing and washing off the bubbles from the bathroom. After a few moments, Rio’s silhouette moved to soak in the bath.
3839
3840“What about your mother?” He asked.
3841
3842“She manages an import clothes shop.”
3843
3844“So she’s the president.”
3845
3846“She is… so, what did you want to ask?” Came her calm question, having noticed that Sakuta knew a secret about her, “You heard something from the fake, didn’t you?”
3847
3848“Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that,” he never would have thought that Saki would have gotten involved, “I know what you’ve done.”
3849
3850“I see,” she said emotionlessly, almost speaking to herself.
3851
3852Silence fell for a while.
3853
3854“I made the account before the summer holidays,” she admitted quietly, “but I didn’t know what I should write.”
3855
3856She put it like it was some school exercise.
3857
3858“Anything would have done, right? Something like ‘I’m in love with a hot guy that has a girlfriend’.”
3859
3860“Would other people want to see that?”
3861
3862“Aren’t girls creatures of sympathy and empathy?”
3863
3864“Besides, they’d just think I was some bitter woman, and say that a hag shouldn’t get ahead of herself.”
3865
3866“How humble,” he said. At the very least, he’d never once thought Rio was a hag or anything like that. She gave a plain impression, but that was one of her charming parts.
3867
3868“I’m not insensitive enough to confess to a country-famous celebrity in front of the whole school.”
3869
3870“You’re doing something even more daring.”
3871
3872She gave no answer.
3873
3874“You’ve never shown me your brilliant cleavage, even though we’ve known each other for more than a year.”
3875
3876“I’ve got no reason to give you any service like that.”
3877
3878“If it doesn’t matter who you show it to, shouldn’t I be fine too?”
3879
3880“You really are an idiot.”
3881
3882“Mai-san told me that too.” In pretty much the same way as well… “I don’t really get it, you’re usually so guarded.”
3883
3884“…I really hate that you’re so perceptive.”
3885
3886“Nope, you’re just easy to read,” Sakuta told her.
3887
3888She wore her skirt longer than the other students, and always had her blouse completely done up. She even wore her lab coat in school during a time of the year when most of the girls didn’t even wear their vests. On top of having long sleeves, the long hem also hid most of her legs.
3889
3890“And you still harass me even so.”
3891
3892“I’m always careful to not really step over the line.”
3893
3894“You’re awful.”
3895
3896“Then you got tired of me and decided to try and make friends online?”
3897
3898“I wonder… I think it’s a little different.”
3899
3900“Different?”
3901
3902“I think… I might have just wanted attention,” she said, mocking herself. She was acting the same way as she always did, she didn’t seem to have given in and was just speaking in her usual plain tone.
3903
3904That actually made Sakuta more concerned though. It was clear that something had happened to make Rio upload the selfies, but that wasn’t the case. The gloomy days just piled up and things had ended up like this without anything dramatic happening.
3905
3906He thought it had been like the glass of her heart being filled with resentment, drop by drop, before finally overflowing. Slowly, slowly encroaching on her, so Sakuta hadn’t noticed anything.
3907
3908“Sexy stuff right from the get-go isn’t fair.”
3909
3910“That’s all I have.”
3911
3912“Oh, are you that confident with it?”
3913
3914“…If anything, it’s more of a complex.”
3915
3916If that hadn’t been the case, he wouldn’t have understood why she was so guarded.
3917
3918“In middle school… I grew as a woman quicker than my classmates, so I got to know how the monkey-like boys looked at me.”
3919
3920“Saying stuff like ‘man, her tits’?”
3921
3922“They actually said exactly that.”
3923
3924Sakuta himself knew about being monkey-like in middle school. Even now, he didn’t think that had really changed, they were at the age they were engrossed in female bodies, the age where even bra lines through the school blouse got them hot and bothered. If one or two girls had grown more, they’d be the focus of attention like that, and in Rio’s class, it seemed that it had been her.
3925
3926“One day after school, I came back from taking the class’ rubbish for cleaning duty and heard the boys talking about me… then I hated my body, and thought I was dirty…”
3927
3928It had left a long-lasting impression, either because she was sensitive, or just the shock of puberty itself. Even if it had just happened the once, it would stick in your heart and influence how you lived for a long time in the future, even if you didn’t realise that at the time…
3929
3930“Sorry about that.”
3931
3932“Why are you apologising?”
3933
3934“As a representative for monkey-like boys.”
3935
3936He heard a slightly tired laugh from the bathroom.
3937
3938“Since then, I grew to hate the looks from boys.”
3939
3940He got the particulars of what had happened until then, but it was inconsistent with what she was doing.
3941
3942“But you still post those photos?”
3943
3944That seemed completely counterintuitive. Rio hated the looks from boys, but even if she hid her face, she was still uploading risqué photos.
3945
3946“They get reactions.”
3947
3948“Do you want to be fawned over by creepy old men?”
3949
3950“The only people that can choose are the ones with the charm to be able to, not everyone can get what they want.”
3951
3952“I never asked you to give me the facts.”
3953
3954“Just their reactions made me feel at ease, whoever they were from.”
3955
3956“It certainly sounds like that’s not how you wanted it to be.”
3957
3958“That might be why. In the end, I couldn’t let go of my hatred of being looked at… which meant that the method I was using was contrary to the goal, creating more stress. Then that made my consciousness diverge, it seems plausible at least,” she analysed herself calmly.
3959
3960“Separating into the ‘Futaba that wanted attention’ and the ‘Futaba who couldn’t allow those methods’?”
3961
3962He thought it sounded ridiculous, but it fit together well, and Rio could well be right.
3963
3964“I don’t think it’s that clear a distinction… but that fits the trend of the explanation.”
3965
3966“I see…”
3967
3968He looked up at the ceiling, to where the light was flickering. Unrelated thoughts filled his head for a moment, about how he should replace the bulb, but then about how expensive they were, but they soon vanished.
3969
3970“The other Futaba is still uploading them.”
3971
3972“I know. I checked in the net cafe. I was going to delete the account, but she’s already changed the password.”
3973
3974“What will you do?”
3975
3976“There’s nothing I can do,” she said resignedly.
3977
3978“What’s that supposed to mean?”
3979
3980“She’s me too, she won’t just stop easily, if she would she just wouldn’t have done it.”
3981
3982“You didn’t say no one could stop her easily though.”
3983
3984Rio remained silent.
3985
3986“What do you want?”
3987
3988“I want to stop her, if possible.”
3989
3990“Got it, leave it to me.”
3991
3992He hadn’t thought of a method, and he didn’t think she’d respond to his persuasion. Just like Rio had said, if she would stop easily, she wouldn’t have done so in the first place.
3993
3994It wasn’t logical. If it could be stopped logically, then Rio would have been better to deal with the situation than Sakuta. However, it was because it wasn’t that the situation had evolved like this.
3995
3996Sakuta heaved himself up.
3997
3998“Azusagawa, what are you going to do?”
3999
4000“I’ll go to school tomorrow.”
4001
4002“And then?”
4003
4004“Talk to her all day.”
4005
4006“And after that?”
4007
4008“Go the day after too.”
4009
4010“I see… and then talk to her all day again.”
4011
4012“I guess so.”
4013
4014“That sounds annoying.”
4015
4016“Well, you wouldn’t come to the beach if I invited you, would you?”
4017
4018“I’d turn you down, a hundred and twenty per cent.”
4019
4020That was rather persuasive, and definitely what Rio would say.
4021
4022“You were right,” she said, “there are things it’s easier to talk about when you’re not face to face.”
4023
4024Sakuta pretended he couldn’t hear the last sentence and left the room, racking his brain over the increasing questions…
4025
4026
4027
4028
4029CHAPTER 03
40301
4031
4032
4033
4034The next day, Monday the fourth of August, dawned bright and clear.
4035
4036Sakuta stepped out onto the balcony to hang out the washing. Pure white clouds were flowing across the sky from the west to the east. There was a slight breeze, but the sun’s dazzling light bathed the entire area, so it seemed today would end up rather hot as well.
4037
4038The clock showed ten AM, usually, this would be where the bell sounded, but today it didn’t. Instead, the phone rang.
4039
4040“Yeah yeah,” said Sakuta as he looked at the monochrome LCD display, upon which a familiar number was displayed. Eleven digits, starting ‘090’, it was Shouko’s mobile number. “Hello, this is Azusagawa.”
4041
4042“Good morning, this is Makinohara,” came the answer.
4043
4044“Morning,” he greeted.
4045
4046“Um… I’m sorry,” she apologised out of nowhere.
4047
4048“Hm?”
4049
4050“I won’t be able to visit today,” she told him. Something seemed to have happened, and Sakuta was slightly worried about the downtrodden tone in her voice. They’d only been speaking for a few moments, but something was clearly bothering her.
4051
4052“I see, I’ll make sure to feed Hayate properly then.”
4053
4054“Right, thank you. And, um…”
4055
4056“Yeah?”
4057
4058“It’s not just today… I won’t be able to visit for a week, or maybe even longer.”
4059
4060“Are you going abroad?” He asked. Even so, she was being oddly indirect, the ‘maybe even longer’ and the general lack of surety seemed to say her plans weren’t fixed.
4061
4062“No, I’m not going on a trip, but I’ll have to be away from home for a while.”
4063
4064So she wouldn’t be at home for a while for something other than a trip. After a little thought, only one conclusion came to Sakuta’s mind. Sakuta had had that experience in the past once before, but he didn’t want to ask Shouko the question he would need to to make certain of it.
4065
4066She had been choosing her words carefully since the start of the conversation, so she probably wanted to keep Sakuta in the dark, for now, there was no need to bother her by going out of his way to ask.
4067
4068“Got it, give me a call when you can come over again. I’ll look after Hayate for you.”
4069
4070“I will, I’m sorry.” He heard a woman call her name from the other side of the phone, and she answered that she was coming before speaking to Sakuta again, “Until I can call again then.”
4071
4072Still downtrodden, right until the end of the conversation, Shouko hung up, and Sakuta put the phone back too.
4073
4074“Kaede,” he called.
4075
4076“What is it?” Asked Kaede, looking up happily from her studying at the dining table.
4077
4078“Makinohara-san won’t be coming for a while, so make sure to take care of Hayate too.”
4079
4080“Right, leave it to me!” Kaede cried, puffing out her non-existent chest.
4081
4082
4083
4084Later, after a slightly early lunch, Sakuta changed into his uniform to head to school.
4085
4086“You’re really going then,” Rio said to him as he stepped out into the hall in his school uniform. Nasuno was rolling about her feet, fairly used to her now.
4087
4088“You going to come too?”
4089
4090“It would be wiser not to.”
4091
4092“Why?”
4093
4094“The urban legend. The one about dying after meeting a doppelgänger, or someone with the same face as you.”
4095
4096“Ah, yeah.”
4097
4098“Both of our existences being fixed at the same time is unthinkable with quantum teleportation, so… just in case.”
4099
4100“If you follow that hypothesis, what do you think would happen if you both met?”
4101
4102“I suppose one of us would be removed to resolve the paradox… or perhaps the paradox would collapse and we’d both vanish.” None of this was even vaguely amusing. “There was also a rumour that a famous literary prize-winner died like that… Maybe there really is another person that experienced the same doppelgänger phenomenon as I am.”
4103
4104That author had actually written a novel involving a doppelgänger. Back in elementary school when the urban legend formed… Sakuta remembered his classmates getting excited at the degree of reliability in the tale.
4105
4106“That’s why it would be wiser for me to stay,” Rio finished.
4107
4108“Look after the house then,” he answered, moving to the door and putting his shoes on.
4109
4110“I’ll get dinner ready.”
4111
4112“It’s sorta like we’re living together,” he said, intending it as a joke but making Rio’s face twist in real displeasure.
4113
4114“That’s the second time today.”
4115
4116The first time was that morning. Rio had said that in exchange for letting her stay, she would help with the washing. She seemed surprisingly au fait with the washing and smoothed out the creases well. Her motions showed that she normally did her own washing, and when she was putting Sakuta’s underwear to dry, he had said the same thing.
4117
4118That had resulted in her throwing the pair of underwear at him.
4119
4120“Now you just need to come greet me in an apron and it’ll be perfect.”
4121
4122“That’s not ‘living together’, that’s ‘being newlyweds’.”
4123
4124“Ah, it is?”
4125
4126“Do that kind of play with Sakurajima-senpai.”
4127
4128“Great idea,” he said, leaving the house with the memory of Mai’s figure in an apron in his mind.
4129
4130
4131
4132The summer air was muggy, and the sun gradually beat down on him. Following the heat-hazes he could see on the asphalt, Sakuta walked along his usual route.
4133
4134After ten minutes, he arrived at Fujisawa Station, dripping with sweat. He climbed the stairs and passed through the corridor straight to the Enoden station.
4135
4136Sakuta passed through the ticket barriers as the green and cream train pulled into the station. Seeing the train from the front let it show its charming retro face as it gallantly ferried passengers from Fujisawa to Kamakura, even under the scorching sun.
4137
4138Taking the opportunity to take a seat in the cool, air-conditioned carriage and cool down, Sakuta saw a familiar face board the train from a nearby station.
4139
4140She was wearing Minegahara High School’s uniform, a white blouse atop a navy-blue skirt. The tie, done up to her throat, was red. It was the standard uniform that was recommended by the school, but there were actually very few students that wore it that way.
4141
4142Rio’s eyes met Sakuta’s and she sat down wordlessly next to him.
4143
4144A final group of panicked school girls boarded as the departure chime sounded. The doors closed a moment later then the train left the platform.
4145
4146“Did you… find anything out?” Asked Rio, looking out at the passing scenery.
4147
4148“That you’re amazing under your clothes,” he paused to allow her to reply, then continued when she didn’t, “though I know you’re amazing even if you don’t take them off too.”
4149
4150Looking at her chest now would invite derision, so he followed her example and focused on the passing scenery outside as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that she had her hair up again today and wasn’t wearing her glasses. Actually, the other Rio was wearing them, so maybe this Rio didn’t have a pair of her own.
4151
4152“So you came to tell me not to do stupid things?”
4153
4154“As if, too much effort.”
4155
4156“I can’t date Mai-san, and I’ve got too much free time, so I figured I’d come chat to you for the day.”
4157
4158Rio thought for a moment.
4159
4160“I see, so you came to do something that takes even more effort.” Sakuta gave no answer and just looked into her face. “What?”
4161
4162“You taken any other photos? Other than the ones you’ve uploaded.”
4163
4164“I have, why?”
4165
4166“Show me.”
4167
4168Rio’s expression twisted unpleasantly.
4169
4170“Showing me now shouldn’t matter, right?” He asked.
4171
4172The light provocation prompted her to wordlessly hand over her phone. He opened the photo folder and scrolled through the previews.
4173
4174“You really do…”
4175
4176There were over three hundred photos there, ten times what he’d imagined.
4177
4178However, they weren’t just erotic images. There were some photos simply of the palm of her hand, or just her toes, along with recordings of what was in her bag.
4179
4180Moving on to the older data, he found Rio wearing an unfamiliar school uniform. She was wearing a navy-blue blazer and a knee-length skirt. She looked younger than she did now, and her hair was short, but it was unmistakably her.
4181
4182“What’s this?” He asked, showing her the screen.
4183
4184“It’s from middle school.”
4185
4186So she was taking selfies even back then, that was a strong tradition.
4187
4188“There are quite a few with your face or full-body shots.”
4189
4190The older the images, the stronger that trend was. And the newer the photos were, the less often her face appeared. In contrast, photos showing the lines of her underwear or glimpses of skin with strong hints of sexuality increased.
4191
4192“At first, I wasn’t going to show anyone or upload them.”
4193
4194“It’s just an album of yourself?”
4195
4196“Are you trying to make me out to be a trying woman?”
4197
4198“You already are, right?”
4199
4200“Maybe so,” Rio smiled derisively at herself. Sakuta thought that it was a bad smile, and he didn’t want to see Rio make that kind of face. “When I started, I think I just wanted to look at them objectively and think I was doing something stupid.”
4201
4202“What for?” He asked.
4203
4204“Seeing my stupidity for myself refreshed me.”
4205
4206It was growing further and further from Sakuta’s understanding.
4207
4208“It would be amusing to call it self-analysis,” she continued, “but I think it’s actually a type of self-harm.”
4209
4210The things she was saying were far from being funny, but saying it about yourself could indeed be humorous. Even being aware of that, Rio was continuing, and certainly escalating.
4211
4212“You might not understand, Azusagawa… but I hate myself.”
4213
4214“The other Futaba said that too.”
4215
4216Her body’s growth had caused it, she had experienced the reaction of the boys to that and said that it had made her feel filthy. From that, she had grown to hate her feminine nature.
4217
4218“That’s why I hurt myself, because I hate myself.”
4219
4220“So you suppress yourself, and that makes you feel better even if it’s just for a moment?”
4221
4222“You’re smarter than you look.”
4223
4224“But the one suppressing yourself, in the end, is you, right?”
4225
4226So it wouldn’t solve anything. Once some time had passed, she would, of course, notice that she had gone back to being herself. She would look back on her actions and hate her weakness. Then she would hate herself even more, and repeat the same thing yet again to hurt herself. Each time her actions would grow in severity and go further towards extremes.
4227
4228That vicious spiral assailed her heart with instability. Then the result was this, an outbreak of Adolescence Syndrome and a division of her consciousness… together that brought two Futaba Rios into existence.
4229
4230Rio was carrying a paradox within herself that couldn’t be reconciled by herself.
4231
4232He had no intention to say he could understand that, but there was a single point Sakuta could empathise with. Kaede had been in her first year of middle school when she was bullied. Sakuta couldn’t do anything when she was suffering right in front of him. The powerlessness and cowardice that had formed in his heart at the time had eaten at Sakuta from the inside rather than the outside.
4233
4234Consumed by disgust at himself, Sakuta kept condemning himself, and at the end of those days of hatred, Sakuta had had three scars carved into his chest. If there was a single reason for those wounds, he would think of them as a punishment he gave himself, a sign of shame for not being able to help his younger sister.
4235
4236“Say, Azusagawa?”
4237
4238“Hm?”
4239
4240“Whose side are you on?”
4241
4242“I’m on Futaba Rio’s side,” he answered without the slightest hesitation.
4243
4244“Clever answer,” she told him.
4245
4246“Woah, from up on high.”
4247
4248“However, ‘we’ can’t understand each other.”
4249
4250“Don’t be selfish.”
4251
4252“From on high from you, too.”
4253
4254“I’m the type of guy that doesn’t have any restraint with his friends,” said Sakuta, despite the embarrassment, he knew that Rio would push back, but instead she smiled slightly.
4255
4256“Then I’ll say this without restraint as well… Giving up on one of us would be quicker.”
4257
4258“Quit it with the scary stuff, I’ll wet myself.”
4259
4260“If you’re answering with that, you should understand, right?” The train stopped at Shichirigahama, “The world doesn’t need two Futaba Rios.”
4261
4262Her voice was somehow cold as she spoke, before standing from her seat and alighting from the train. The chime of the train departing sounded immediately afterwards.
4263
4264While Sakuta was searching for a reply, the doors closed and the train continued on with Sakuta still in his seat.
4265
4266“Seriously, quit it with the scary stuff, I really will piss myself,” he said to himself. The only one to hear him was the woman sitting next to him, who discretely pulled away from him, making him add, “I’m joking.”
4267
4268Of course, she didn’t move closer to him again.
4269
4270
4271
4272Sakuta had thought to get off at the next station, Inamuragasaki, but ended up riding all the way to the terminus at Kamakura.
4273
4274Again, ending up outside of the station, he went into a shop that caught his eye and bought five pigeon-shaped shortbread biscuits, the representative souvenir for Kamakura. They had been a familiar food to Sakuta, from the Kanagawa Prefecture himself, for his entire life, on the same level as shumai.
4275
4276Souvenirs in one hand, Sakuta returned to the train station and quietly retraced his steps to the Enoden.
4277
4278This time, he got off at Shichirigahama. It was a bit of a detour but Sakuta arrived safely at school, albeit forty minutes later than planned.
4279
4280
4281
4282“Here, a souvenir,” said Sakuta as he placed a yellow bag of pigeon shortbread on the table Rio was using when he walked into the lab.
4283
4284“What did you do.”
4285
4286“The emergency called for a visit to Kamakura.”
4287
4288“I see,” she said disinterestedly, even as she reached out for the package. She seemed to have just brewed some coffee, and would have it to accompany the drink. Apparently, Rio was one of the ones to start with the tail.
4289
4290Sakuta, who started with the head, took one as well.
4291
4292“Have you decided which one of us you’ll go with?” She asked.
4293
4294“You know, Futaba?”
4295
4296“What?”
4297
4298“Decide that sorta stuff on your own.”
4299
4300Rio gave no answer for a moment, so Sakuta continued, “You should decide things about yourself for yourself.”
4301
4302“I see, that’s logical.”
4303
4304Sakuta pulled a stool from under a desk and sat down. Then, to fill the space, he reached out for the remote for the TV and hit the power button. The TV at the side of the board, hanging from the ceiling, lit up. Shown on the screen was an afternoon variety show.
4305
4306A familiar face was looking into the camera and presenting a segment about a sand art competition on some beach. The presenter Nanjou Fumika was holding a microphone and looking into the camera, apparently away from the studio again today.
4307
4308“Look at this wonderful piece!” Came the woman’s excited voice as she showcased the sand sculpture. Filling the screen was the famous Sagrada Família from Barcelona, with all eighteen towers completed as well. It was perfect, certainly as wonderful as Fumika had said. The other contestants’ pieces paled in comparison.
4309
4310“These two people here are the creators,” she continued, introducing a man and woman. They both looked to be in their mid-twenties. The man was tall and slender, wearing glasses that gave him a handsome air as he smiled with nary a flinch at the camera’s presence. The woman was petite, and had a cute face. Despite that, she still had a great figure, that much was visible even through the T-shirt she was wearing atop her swimsuit. Her red bikini showed through her shirt, holding the swell of her chest tightly, and her shirt fell just short of her toned stomach, giving a peek at her tight waist.
4311
4312She was rather similar in height to Rio and he found his eyes looking her way to compare them.
4313
4314“I’m not that thin,” said Rio, reading his mind. Though on the other hand, that could be taken as an agreement for the rest. Maybe she’d look even better than Sakuta thought out of her clothes.
4315
4316“Are you two in a relationship?” Asked Fumika on the television.
4317
4318“You’re prettier in real life, aren’t you?” The man asked in return, ignoring her question, but at the twitch of her eyebrow, he continued smoothly, “She’s my wife.”
4319
4320Immediately, the woman showed the gleaming ring around her finger, making a sparkling ping sound as she did.
4321
4322“You’re rather young, are you newlyweds?” Fumika questioned further.
4323
4324“Not at all, we got married at eighteen.”
4325
4326The man looked off into the distance. To get married at eighteen, quite a lot must have happened. Maybe he was thinking of those hardships. Sakuta would be eighteen next year, but the concept of marriage still felt like some term from a fantasy.
4327
4328“G-getting married at eighteen is quite impressive,” said Fumika, thrown by the unexpected answer before turning the microphone to the woman, “Now then, this was mostly made by you, so where there any particularly difficult parts?”
4329
4330“I’ll be bringing it out at the event at Kugenuma on the twenty-thiiiird! Come get a handshake there!” The woman suddenly yelled, completely ignoring the mood. Sakuta didn’t have a clue what she was on about. She then advanced on the camera making mock roars. Then, the man… her husband, grabbed her arms from behind and took her out of frame.
4331
4332Fumika was taken aback, but soon regained her composure.
4333
4334“Let’s go back to the studio,” she deflected with a smile. Once back in the studio, which was slightly out of it too, the main host followed up with the adverts.
4335
4336The screen switched, showing another familiar person, Mai this time. It was a shampoo advert, her smooth and glossy hair was swept out and then settled back into order as the narration said, “Soft and supple, every day.” At the same time, Mai laughed slightly in front of the mirror, like she was ticklish. It was a devastating expression combining both cuteness and beauty. No matter how many times he saw it, it would take his breath away, it was a great sight.
4337
4338As the TV switched to another advert, Sakuta picked up a hand fan from the desk and moved to by the window. The air conditioning seemed a little weak, so it was a touch hot in the room as he fanned himself.
4339
4340As he looked outside, he could see five people running around the fields. The one running out in front was Yuuma, so they were probably basketball club members.
4341
4342“Say, Futaba?”
4343
4344“What?”
4345
4346“How do you think you can go back to being one?” He asked suddenly, still looking out of the window.
4347
4348“The world doesn’t need two Futaba Rios.”
4349
4350Rio herself had said that, and it had remained in Sakuta’s mind the entire time. Uploading the suggestive photos was an issue, but the case of Adolescence Syndrome couldn’t be left alone either.
4351
4352“We can’t.”
4353
4354“If you’re saying that because of the personality divergence, you could if they went back to being one?”
4355
4356“…Maybe,” Rio answered negligently and like she had given up.
4357
4358“How do we do that then?”
4359
4360“Currently at least, we’re diverging more and more. We’re doing different things and have different memories and experiences. As they become more disordered, I don’t think we can go back to being one.”
4361
4362“Be a bit more optimistic, I’ll get ulcers.”
4363
4364“I suppose once we feel the same then.”
4365
4366“Filled with love for Kunimi?”
4367
4368His only reply was a cold silence. If he turned around, he was sure she’d be glaring daggers at him, so he didn’t turn.
4369
4370“I think we both already feel the same with those feelings,” she said eventually.
4371
4372“Go back to being one then,” he said.
4373
4374“The fact that we haven’t might mean that it needs stronger feelings.”
4375
4376“Do you have stronger feelings for anything other than Kunimi?” Sakuta didn’t think so at least.
4377
4378“I don’t know,” surrendered Rio. It felt like he’d asked an unanswerable question. His expression twisted and he switched his attention to the last of his biscuit. As he chewed the remnants of the tail, Yuuma finished circling around the fields and approached the building.
4379
4380Yuuma’s eyes met Sakuta’s, and his expression relaxed slightly when he noticed him. He then came running right over to Sakuta before practically collapsing against the wall.
4381
4382“Ah, I’m dead!” Sakuta heard as he opened the window.
4383
4384He was gasping for breath and sweat trickled off him onto the concrete.
4385
4386“You’ve got a good thing in your hand there,” said Yuuma, looking up at Sakuta as he leaned out of the window. Yuuma made a fanning motion with his hand, asking Sakuta to fan him. As proof, his eyes were focused on the fan in Sakuta’s hand.
4387
4388“Nope,” said Sakuta.
4389
4390“Why?”
4391
4392“I don’t have a reason to service you.”
4393
4394“Breeze please!” Yuuma implored.
4395
4396Ignoring that, Sakuta turned back to face the lab.
4397
4398“Futaba,” he called, beckoning her from preparing test tubes.
4399
4400“What?” She asked, moving towards them even as she frowned.
4401
4402He handed the fan over to her.
4403
4404“Fan Kunimi.”
4405
4406“He asked you, didn’t he?”
4407
4408“If you’re gonna get fanned, it should be a girl doing it.”
4409
4410Her unhappy expression was at least half embarrassment.
4411
4412“Futaba, breeze please!” Cried Yuuma piteously, completely exhausted.
4413
4414After a moment of thought, Rio wordlessly flapped the fan back and forth.
4415
4416“Ahhh, that feels good.”
4417
4418The other four members were still running, staggering onwards around the fields.
4419
4420“The club’s in the gym, right? Why are you five running alone?” Sakuta asked. There should be more members.
4421
4422“It was a penalty for losing the friendly.”
4423
4424“You lost?”
4425
4426“My team was all first years,” he defended.
4427
4428“Pushing the blame onto your teammates isn’t like you. You must be a fake.”
4429
4430“The hell do you think of me?”
4431
4432“That you’re irritatingly popular.”
4433
4434“You bastard,” Kunimi replied, before breaking out into laughter.
4435
4436“It really is a mystery how you two became friends,” Rio muttered, almost to herself.
4437
4438Yuuma just grinned broadly, and Sakuta followed his example. He didn’t really want to answer her, and had never put it into words. Anyway, putting it into words was difficult, at its most basic, they just got along. They said what they wanted to each other without restraint, and Kunimi had always had an atmosphere about him that let you know whether he was joking or not.
4439
4440He could say the same about Rio too. The first time they had properly spoken was in the first term of their first year, after the rumour of Sakuta turning violent and sending his classmates to the hospital had already spread.
4441
4442At the time, Sakuta had been looking for somewhere he could eat his lunch in peace and ended up at the physics lab, but there was already someone there.
4443
4444“I’m impressed you can show up to school every day with everyone looking at you like that, Azusagawa,” Rio had said, in his class at the time.
4445
4446“Thinking ‘everyone’s avoiding me’ is probably too self-conscious,” he had answered.
4447
4448“I don’t think it is at all. Are you alright in the head? Actually, obviously you’re not, you’re coming to school.”
4449
4450“You’re interesting, Futaba.”
4451
4452“Huh? How?”
4453
4454“Talking to me like this means you’re the same.”
4455
4456That had been how it all started, with a conversation with not a hint of reservation in it. He could remember it well even now, and the feeling between them hadn’t changed even a little despite over a year having passed.
4457
4458“One last dash!” Called Yuuma to the four first-years, causing them all to put on a spurt of speed, all stampeding for Yuuma as if competing.
4459
4460Reaching him, they all fell forwards, supporting themselves with their hands on their knees, gasping for breath.
4461
4462“Ah, no fair!” They shouted at Yuuma getting fanned by Rio, “You’ve got a girlfriend and you’re gettin’ another girl to do that, why’re you the only popular one!?”
4463
4464Sakuta was in agreement there and nodded deeply.
4465
4466“Come on, introduce us to that wonderful girl.”
4467
4468“She a second-year?”
4469
4470“Huh, you lot don’t know Futaba?” He asked.
4471
4472Rio was a little famous within the school, she was known as the weird second-year that always wore a lab coat. Even though they were in different years, they should have realised that too.
4473
4474“Eh?” The four of them noised in surprise, looking at each other.
4475
4476“She was this cute?” One of them said quietly, but Sakuta could clearly hear them. Rio wasn’t wearing her lab coat now, her hair was up, and she wasn’t wearing her glasses, so the impression she gave was too different and they couldn’t tell. Sakuta had been the same at first.
4477
4478“You lot ain’t discerning enough, I ain’t going to introduce you. Come on, back to the gym,” Yuuma shooed them away. They left, occasionally looking back and talking between themselves, getting more excited:
4479
4480“Second-years really do look adult.”
4481
4482“She’s just my type.”
4483
4484“She’s sexy-smart! Actually, smart-sexy!”
4485
4486“Damn, I want her to teach me some things.”
4487
4488“Gotta say, I don’t think much of your discernment either,” Sakuta chided Yuuma as he watched the first-years leave. In his mind though, he was thinking something different.
4489
4490He was remembering this Rio’s words.
4491
4492“The world doesn’t need two Futaba Rios.”
4493
4494It was certainly true, the world couldn’t accept two Futaba Rios. They couldn’t both come to school when the second term arrived, and they couldn’t both live in the same house. There were also problems with what would happen with residence certificates and on top of that, it was unquestionable that the Rio currently having a social life was this Rio. The Rio living at Sakuta’s house was only known to a very few people.
4495
4496So things couldn’t continue like this. Though Sakuta hadn’t been taught how to make two people into one at school. Rio had said about strong attachments, but he couldn’t think of anything she was more attached to than Kunimi.
4497
4498“Seriously, what do I do,” he muttered to himself.
4499
4500“Hm?” Kunimi asked in response.
4501
4502“Nothing,” evaded Sakuta, having nothing else he could do.
4503
4504
4505
45062
4507
4508
4509
4510“So, how long are you going to keep this up?” Asked Futaba with no preamble as they sat at Shichirigahama Station, waiting for the train home.
4511
4512Today it was already the twelve of August and Sakuta had spent every day for the last week in the lab with Rio.
4513
4514“Till you stop doing that stuff I guess,” he answered.
4515
4516Even now, Rio was uploading risqué photos. He had checked on his way home from work last night and she had posted an image of a test tube in her cleavage, apparently in response to the demands to ‘put something between them’, but it was probably just Sakuta who thought it seemed even sillier, and not particularly erotic.
4517
4518“Or you could just show them to me I suppose,” he added.
4519
4520“You’re getting further from your goal each day then.”
4521
4522“That’s a shame.”
4523
4524He leaned forwards and looked up towards Kamakura, there was still no train. The clock was ticking towards six PM, but the sky was still light, with just a tinge of red in the west.
4525
4526“What are we doing tomorrow?” He asked. There had been a lot of fairly dull experiments in the last week, mostly using a trolley to measure things like gravitational acceleration. There was no interest in just seeing things that were easily broken down and understood.
4527
4528“Maybe we can make a rocket so you don’t get bored?”
4529
4530“Seriously?”
4531
4532“A bottle rocket, yes.”
4533
4534“You can go and fetch them.”
4535
4536“That supposed to be helping? This is when you’re supposed to have a contest to see whose rocket goes further.”
4537
4538“Well, it won’t be much of a contest with you,” she said, looking at her phone. Some kind of notification seemed to have gone off.
4539
4540The moment she looked at the screen, her shoulders shook and her expression clearly tightened. She soon looked away from the screen but then checked again, and the blood drained from her face. Seeming to remember something, she hid her phone. Putting it face down on her thighs and then covering it with both hands.
4541
4542“What’s wrong?” Asked Sakuta.
4543
4544“Nothing,” she replied without looking at him, surveying the other people waiting for their train. There were several Minegahara students and groups of students scattered about the platform. While she was doing that, her phone buzzed.
4545
4546“Futaba?”
4547
4548“…It’s fine,” she insisted. It didn’t look like it was ‘fine’ at all, her reactions were delayed and her voice was faint. Looking, he could see that her hands in her lap where shaking too, in a way that had nothing to do with her phone’s vibration.
4549
4550“Someone reply?”
4551
4552Rio simply gave a small nod.
4553
4554“Can I look?” He asked, gesturing towards her hidden phone with his eyes.
4555
4556“No.”
4557
4558Even so, Sakuta reached out his hand and touched the phone case between her fingers.
4559
4560Hunching slightly, Rio didn’t really resist him pulling the phone out, essentially letting him look.
4561
4562He checked the phone in his hand. Shown on the screen were several direct messages.
4563
4564“That’s Minegahara’s uniform, right?”
4565
4566Said the first message.
4567
4568“I used to go there, I can tell.”
4569
4570Came the second after mere seconds.
4571
4572“I’m nearby today, let’s meet up?”
4573
4574The third continued, and as he was reading it, several short messages came in succession:
4575
4576
4577
4578“I can pay my way, 15k?”
4579
4580“If you don’t, I’ll tell your school.”
4581
4582“Risky, ain’t it?”
4583
4584“Hey, let’s meet, will you?”
4585
4586
4587
4588Rio, watching from his side, gripped at the hem of his shirt uneasily, her shaking intensifying, directly showing him how uneasy she was.
4589
4590“So people like this actually exist,” he said as he manipulated the phone, writing out a message. Even as he did, the messages didn’t stop.
4591
4592
4593
4594“I wanna meeeeet.”
4595
4596“I’m waiting.”
4597
4598“Oi, you listening?”
4599
4600“Don’t blame me.”
4601
4602
4603
4604They piled up as he was typing. It was an annoyance, but Sakuta completed the message he had been typing.
4605
4606“Azusagawa?”
4607
4608He sent it regardless.
4609
4610“What was that!?” She asked.
4611
4612He showed the screen to Rio, the message still showing.
4613
4614“I’m calling the police.”
4615
4616At that message, the phone had fallen dead silent, the messages stopping.
4617
4618“It should be fine now,” he said.
4619
4620“…Delete it.”
4621
4622“Hm?”
4623
4624“Delete… that account.”
4625
4626“Got it…” he said, keeping the screen visible to Rio so she could make sure he was doing it correctly as he deleted the account. “Is that okay?”
4627
4628“Yeah,” she answered before they boarded the train to Fujisawa. A group of older women returning from Fujisawa had bags of souvenirs, and there were also young couples that seemed to have gone to the beach along with university student groups.
4629
4630Sakuta guided Rio into an empty seat right in the middle of the carriage. For the entire time, she kept her grip on his shirt. He could feel the warm gazes from around, they apparently looked like a new couple.
4631
4632“Sorry,” Rio said quietly, “It’s what I deserve, but…”
4633
4634Her body and voice both held a deep fear, she was utterly terrified.
4635
4636“I don’t really get it… I’m just really scared…” she continued, her shaking still not having stopped, as he could tell from where their shoulders were touching.
4637
4638“Emails and messages stab right into you,” he said in his usual tone, still looking forwards.
4639
4640Rio made a questioning noise.
4641
4642“It’s something… the counsellor told me when Kaede was bullied, humans take in about eighty per cent of their information in through their eyes.”
4643
4644“…That seems likely.”
4645
4646“That’s why there’s more impact from a message or a letter telling you to die than from just being told it verbally.”
4647
4648On top of that, they were sudden too, if there was someone in front of you, you could generally gauge how the conversation was going and be ready for it, but a digital letter sent out of nowhere could easily surprise you and suddenly gouge malice into your heart before you were ready.
4649
4650That was exactly the situation that Rio was in now.
4651
4652
4653
4654Arriving at Fujisawa Station, Sakuta passed through the Odakyu-Enoshima Line ticket gates. Normally he’d walk on home from here, but he couldn’t do that today.
4655
4656At a glance, the platform was long enough that it looked like a terminus. However, even without a dedicated rail, you could catch the train both up and down the line through the switchback towards either Shinjuku or Katase-Enoshima.
4657
4658“Um… I’m sorry,” Rio apologised as they were walking alongside the other passengers. She was probably apologising for causing him trouble or being a nuisance.
4659
4660She couldn’t remove her hand from his shirt, possibly because of how long she’d held the grip.
4661
4662“I got to see you being cute, so I’ll just brag about it to Kunimi.”
4663
4664She glared at him wordlessly, but still in the midst of her fear, she looked closer to crying.
4665
4666They boarded the train as it arrived. He couldn’t leave her alone like this, so Sakuta was planning on taking her home.
4667
4668
4669
4670The white train with a blue line on it left the station right on schedule. Because Rio lived near Honkugenuma Station, which was only one stop down the line, it didn’t take long to arrive. From there, they walked for about five minutes.
4671
4672“We’re here,” murmured Rio quietly, stopping on the corner of a quiet residential street. It was a calm street with detached houses lined up along it. The biggest buildings of flats nearby were only about five storeys tall and the sky seemed more open.
4673
4674Rio put her hand on the wide double gate. Above it was an archway decorated with delicate ornaments, just looking at it gave the impression that rich people owned the house.
4675
4676Entering, it grew even more apparent, tasteful, wide slabs of stone paved the way to the fashionable, cuboid house. There was a large garage to the side that looked to have an automatic door on it, it could easily fit three cars inside.
4677
4678“This is definitely something,” Sakuta couldn’t help but say.
4679
4680“It’s just a cold-looking house,” Rio said unimpressed.
4681
4682“Well, it doesn’t look like anyone lives here, no,” he agreed. It felt like something you’d see on a TV show to promote the Shonan area.
4683
4684“That’s normally where you disagree.”
4685
4686“Don’t expect so much of me.”
4687
4688“Well, that’s true.”
4689
4690They finally arrived at the door and Rio produced her key, unlocking the door. The lights were on, but no one was home. There was probably some sensor near the gate that turned them on.
4691
4692The time was just passing seven, and even though the sky was light, it was starting to show hints of night.
4693
4694“Make sure you lock the door,” he told her.
4695
4696“Azusagawa,” she said, holding the door and looking back at him with an uneasy look on her face.
4697
4698“Hm?”
4699
4700Honestly, he knew what she was going to say without asking. She was still scared because of the message from some unknown man, and couldn’t shake it off.
4701
4702“Um… I want you to stay here tonight,” she said faintly, but still clearly.
4703
4704“Your parents?”
4705
4706“My Father has gone to Germany for work, and Mother is in Europe for a business meeting.”
4707
4708“That sounds like something out of a drama.”
4709
4710“It happens fairly often for us.”
4711
4712“Just making sure you know, but I am a guy.”
4713
4714“If anything happens, I’ll tell Sakurajima-senpai about everything that you did or didn’t do.”
4715
4716“Just stick to the things I did.”
4717
4718“I trust you.”
4719
4720“I’d personally rather be the kind of guy you felt on guard around though.”
4721
4722“Idiot, get in.”
4723
4724“‘Scuse me then.”
4725
4726He went inside and the silence deepened. The crinkling of their uniforms sounded awfully loud in the quiet. The entrance was more of an atrium, so that would probably happen.
4727
4728Following Rio, he stepped into a similarly huge living room. It was probably about twenty tatami mats in size, or about thirty square metres. The decoration was relatively monotone, based on black and white. In front of a comfy looking sofa was a massive sixty-inch TV, and a well-maintained garden was visible through the window.
4729
4730The kitchen was open plan, and within the glass-fronted cabinets had spices and tableware lined up in them like a showroom. The hall itself was all lit fashionably with indirect lighting.
4731
4732The entire area was simple and refined, but still had an air of luxuriousness about it, the kind of house anyone would want to live in.
4733
4734However, there was something missing from the house in Sakuta’s opinion. He could feel it even before entering the house. It had no scent to it, no character.
4735
4736As a place to store things, it was wonderful, but it somehow didn’t feel like Rio lived here, there was no warmth to the house. He was assaulted by the sensation of being lost in an unfamiliar place, just standing there made him uneasy.
4737
4738“Are your family often not at home?” He asked.
4739
4740“That’s not the case.”
4741
4742“I see.”
4743
4744“Only for about half the year.”
4745
4746“Oi, that’s often.”
4747
4748It was too often. When she had denied it, Sakuta had expected something like two or three times for a year. But at the same time, he could strangely see it being the case, the house wouldn’t feel like this if that weren’t the case, if her parents came home each night, that wouldn’t have happened.
4749
4750“Father rents a room close to the hospital, and Mother is often abroad for her business, so this is normal.”
4751
4752“In what world is this supposed to be normal?”
4753
4754Now he understood why the other Rio was so at home with cooking and washing, because she lived alone here for half the year, so of course she was used to it.
4755
4756“This is normal here. Neither of them are suited to being parents,” she told him unconcernedly, almost as if informing him of something that was common knowledge. It looked like she didn’t feel anything about that anymore, she had given up long ago and it had become normal… That was the impression Sakuta got. “It seems that Father married for success within the hospital.”
4757
4758“The hell?”
4759
4760“Apparently, it’s a world you cannot succeed as a bachelor.”
4761
4762“And your mother agreed?”
4763
4764“Mother married because she wanted the title of ‘Professor Futaba’s Wife’, so they both had the advantages. They both do what they like as well, so neither of them are unhappy. You have a surprisingly old-fashioned way of thinking.”
4765
4766“Well, I’m a primitive that doesn’t have a smartphone in this day and age.”
4767
4768“Where’d that come from?”
4769
4770“My cute little junior said it.”
4771
4772“Ah, Laplace’s Imp from before, she has a point,” said Rio, laughing slightly. She normally wouldn’t have laughed at something like that. He didn’t know if she realised, but she was distracting attention by forcing herself to laugh. Rio quickly turned on the necessary lights and pressed the button to fill the bath.
4773
4774“Once it’s done, go on ahead,” she told him.
4775
4776“Sure thing,” he answered, reluctant to tell her that he’d go after in this situation, so took her invitation and was soon entering the bath.
4777
4778Just as he was considering that and entering the bath, Rio told him, “Don’t come out until the washing and drying is done.”
4779
4780“How long?”
4781
4782“Thirty minutes.”
4783
4784“Are you trying to kill me?”
4785
4786Mercilessly, no reply was forthcoming.
4787
4788
4789
4790Switching with Sakuta, who was now light-headed, Rio spent an hour bathing. She told him to wait outside while she did. Apparently, she really didn’t want to be alone. With no other options, Sakuta sat himself down against the wall outside, just as he had talked with the other Rio twice before.
4791
4792“Azusagawa.”
4793
4794“I’m here,” he answered.
4795
4796“Right…”
4797
4798Silence fell for several moments, before, “Azusagawa?”
4799
4800“Here.”
4801
4802“Right…” Before once more, “Az-”
4803
4804“I’m still here!”
4805
4806The conversation repeated several times.
4807
4808“Say, Azusagawa?”
4809
4810“This is annoying, want me to just get in with you?”
4811
4812“…If you keep your eyes closed the entire time,” she answered after a slight pause. Rio would absolutely never say that normally, it was proof of her doubt.
4813
4814“No way, that’d just be torture.”
4815
4816“Sing a song or something then.”
4817
4818“That’s even worse!”
4819
4820
4821
4822After Rio finished her long bath, they had a simple meal. Using that wonderful kitchen, they had prepared cup ramen. Sakuta couldn’t help but laugh at the amusing scene, but Rio didn’t seem to see anything odd about it. She lived here though, so that was only natural.
4823
4824While they waited the three minutes, he phoned home and let Kaede know that he wouldn’t be coming home tonight. The two of them then sat down in front of the TV and ate their noodles. Instead of music, Rio put a foreign drama on the Blu-Ray player and they whiled away the time.
4825
4826Though that said, trying to appreciate a drama for five consecutive hours certainly did wear on them.
4827
4828“Let’s sleep,” said Rio as the clock hands swung around to half-past one in the morning and their eyes grew heavy.
4829
4830Rio, having been wearing pyjamas since she left the bath, stepped onto the stairs. They were the fluffy pyjamas he had seen in one of the photos before. The bottoms were shorts, so her legs drew the eye a little.
4831
4832Thinking that he couldn’t just follow her to her room, Sakuta stopped at the bottom of the stairs. As he did, Rio noticed him stop and turned around mid-way up the stairs.
4833
4834“We’ll sleep in the living room actually,” she decided.
4835
4836“What a shame, I thought it was my chance to pay my respects to your room.”
4837
4838“It’s because you talk like that that I don’t want to show you. You’d talk to Kunimi about it too.”
4839
4840“Well yeah, I already said.”
4841
4842“Hahh…”
4843
4844Rio returned to the living room and used the sofa in place of a bed. Sakuta… after moving the table next to it a little to make some space, quietly lay down on the floor.
4845
4846The carpet was soft, so it wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, it was fairly nice, a big change from Sakuta’s own floor.
4847
4848“Night then,” he said.
4849
4850“Yeah, night”
4851
4852
4853
4854While they were watching the TV, Sakuta had been yawning constantly, but now that he lay down, he wasn’t sleepy in the slightest.
4855
4856It was convenient at first when he decided to stay up until Rio had fallen asleep, but… It was already close to an hour since Rio had laid down on the sofa. Guessing from her uneven breathing, she definitely wasn’t asleep.
4857
4858Slowly, she let out a long breath, the kind you did when mentally sorting something, an intent sigh.
4859
4860As he listed, Sakuta gazed up at the ceiling, cast in a pallid light from the faint illumination through the crack in the curtain.
4861
4862After a while, Rio spoke:
4863
4864“Azusagawa, are you awake?”
4865
4866“I’m asleep.”
4867
4868“So you are up.”
4869
4870“I’m sleeping now,” he said, forcing a yawn. He wanted Rio to fall asleep, if she was awake, her unease would just create worse thoughts. Nothing was better than sleep when you were troubled, you could think later.
4871
4872“I think I was scared,” she admitted.
4873
4874He gave her no answer.
4875
4876“I’ve got you and Kunimi now, but I was sure I’d end up alone again.”
4877
4878“Why’d you think that?”
4879
4880“I wasn’t so uneasy until I entered high school. I was always alone, whether it was at home or at school. Then I met you and Kunimi and grew to dislike it…”
4881
4882“Kunimi’s a bad guy, huh?”
4883
4884“It’s half your fault. I didn’t enjoy going to school up until middle school, but after high school, I enjoyed it a little.”
4885
4886“Just a little?”
4887
4888“Well do you enjoy school?” She asked.
4889
4890“Nope, just a bit at best.”
4891
4892“It’s the same,” she said.
4893
4894But that ‘just a little’ had made Rio uneasy. If people came to enjoy something, they would want it to continue forever, and if they thought they might lose it, they would grow uneasy. “When Kunimi got a girlfriend, I was terrified…”
4895
4896“That’s where you’re supposed to think ‘why her?’.”
4897
4898“I did…”
4899
4900“So you did, nice, Futaba.”
4901
4902“But a gorgeous girl like her suits him. I wouldn’t go together with him.”
4903
4904“Man, Kunimi’s awful, he just keeps making you sad.”
4905
4906“You can’t talk either.”
4907
4908“Huh?”
4909
4910He’d thought he was safe, but apparently not.
4911
4912“You got a beautiful girlfriend yourself, so I thought you’d stop caring about me.”
4913
4914“Moron,” he snorted, “It’s true that I’m head over heels for Mai-san-”
4915
4916“That’s the first time I’ve heard someone say head over heels, when was that even used?” Rio laughed.
4917
4918“But I’m going to have you be my friend for the rest of my life,” he finished.
4919
4920“You don’t have friends either, huh?”
4921
4922“That’s right, so don’t just fade out, I’ll cry.”
4923
4924Rio didn’t answer, seeming to keep her distance.
4925
4926“Besides, you don’t get a thing.”
4927
4928“About what?”
4929
4930“You’ve fallen for Kunimi, but you don’t get him at all.”
4931
4932“That’s not tr-”
4933
4934“It is true,” Sakuta interrupted her, “I’m borrowing your phone.”
4935
4936He turned on the phone he was still looking after, the backlight illuminating his face.
4937
4938“What are you doing?”
4939
4940“I’ll show you just how amazing Kunimi is, you’ll fall for him all over again.”
4941
4942Yuuma’s phone number was displayed on the screen, and Sakuta pressed the call button.
4943
4944“Azusagawa, you can’t!” Rio cried, bolting upright, “He’ll think I’m ridiculous, calling at this time of night…”
4945
4946On her face were panic and confusion… and also the feelings of a maiden in love. A desire to not have Yuuma hate her was written on her face.
4947
4948“It’s too late,” said Sakuta as he put the phone to his ear and listened to the dial tone. However, at half-past two in the morning, it was unlikely he’d pick up, but Sakuta didn’t doubt him.
4949
4950The call connected on the sixth ring.
4951
4952“Ngh, Futaba?” Came Yuuma’s sleepy voice, he really had been asleep it seemed.
4953
4954“It’s me.”
4955
4956“Sakuta, what?” Frankly speaking, Sakuta was disappointed, that reaction was too dull. Even so, realising who it was without Sakuta naming himself was just like Yuuma.
4957
4958“Futaba’s in trouble, come to Honkugenuma Station right now.”
4959
4960“Right, got it,” he said, his tone suddenly changing, like he had leapt out of bed, “I’ll be right there.”
4961
4962Immediately after giving his short answer, Yuuma hung up. Because of the volume, Rio had been able to hear the last sentence as well.
4963
4964Sakuta turned the phone off again and stood up, Rio just watched him blankly from the sofa.
4965
4966“Kunimi’s coming,” he told her.
4967
4968“You’re insane.”
4969
4970“Kunimi’s the insane one, agreeing to come right away at this time of night.
4971
4972Yuuma lived to the north of Fujisawa Station, about three or four kilometres from here. The trains obviously weren’t running, so he’d have to find some other way there, and that would take a fair amount of time.
4973
4974“You should wash your face,” he told her. She hadn’t been crying, but her eyes were puffy, “get dressed too.”
4975
4976Her fluffy pyjamas were fairly cute, but he couldn’t take her out like that.
4977
4978“Are you telling me to dress up?”
4979
4980“Just get changed normally.”
4981
4982“Wait outside then.”
4983
4984Sakuta walked out to the entrance, leaving Rio in the living room.
4985
4986
4987
4988It was about fifteen minutes since he had stepped outside, and his backside was getting quite familiar with the stone slabs he was sat on.
4989
4990“Sorry to keep you waiting,” said Rio somewhat shyly.
4991
4992It seemed like she had washed her face and freshened up like Sakuta had said, and her hair was held up by a scrunchie. She was wearing a baggy T-shirt that didn’t show off her body. She was covered from head to toe, wearing jeans under the shirt, only showing her ankles.
4993
4994He looked closely at her outfit in deference to the time she’d kept in waiting.
4995
4996“W-what?” She asked, putting herself on guard.
4997
4998“It doesn’t show enough, do it again,” he said, pointing inside.
4999
5000“I don’t want to keep Kunimi waiting,” she said, walking off towards the station. Her sandals had slight heels, not even making her taller by five centimetres. That was the most she could do right now it seemed.
5001
5002“Well, it’s a good effort for you.”
5003
5004“Why do you have to talk down to me like that?”
5005
5006“I just think that if you’re wearing that kind of top then you should wear shorts underneath.”
5007
5008As she walked, Rio looked down at her hips.
5009
5010“Then it would look like I wasn’t wearing anything.”
5011
5012“That’s good, presentation is important.”
5013
5014“…Um, Azusagawa,” she suddenly spoke, her tone dropping.
5015
5016“Hm?”
5017
5018“Is this really not good enough?” She asked, looking uneasily up at him.
5019
5020“Who knows, I don’t know Kunimi’s tastes.”
5021
5022“I was asking for your opinion, as a boy,” she said, her angry voice belying her nervous gaze.
5023
5024“I think it’s good, very you.”
5025
5026“What’s that supposed to mean?”
5027
5028Sakuta was sure that nothing he said would get rid of those feelings, that was why they were going to meet Yuuma.
5029
5030
5031
5032Of course, it being three AM, they didn’t encounter anyone, the first person they saw was when they arrived at the station, a silhouette straddling a bike just by the ticket gates, wiping the sweat from their forehead with their shirt sleeve,
5033
5034“You’re late,” he said with a laugh, noticing Sakuta and Rio and riding gently over to them. Yuuma came out into the light. Sakuta really hadn’t expected him to already be here, he must have raced off immediately after he had finished on the phone and ridden full pelt.
5035
5036“You’re just too early.”
5037
5038“You were the one that told me to come flying, Sakuta.”
5039
5040“What, are you just made of muscle?”
5041
5042“Well, close enough,” he said before moving on from Sakuta and looking at Rio, “are you okay, Futaba?”
5043
5044“Eh?” She answered.
5045
5046“Did Sakuta do anything to you?”
5047
5048“As if I would.”
5049
5050“I was sure you’d gone after her or something.”
5051
5052“Why would I have called you then?”
5053
5054“Maybe a guilty conscience? Actually, I guess you don’t have a conscience like that.”
5055
5056Even though he’d ridden here so late at night, Yuuma was just the same as always.
5057
5058“Why…” said Rio with a sigh.
5059
5060“Why…” she repeated. And then everything all happened at once.
5061
5062Tears welled up in her eyes and then tracked down her cheeks, dripping off like heavy rain onto the asphalt.
5063
5064“Why… why…” she kept repeating.
5065
5066“Don’t make her cry, Kunimi.”
5067
5068“This is my fault?” Yuuma winced at Sakuta’s reproach, probably even more than he would have had he known the situation.
5069
5070“It’s definitely your fault.”
5071
5072“Well damn,” said Yuuma, scratching his head in real worry.
5073
5074“It’s not his fault…” Rio said tearfully, wiping at her face with both hands, almost like a child would cry.
5075
5076“It’s not his fault…” she repeated, to make sure it had gotten through her tears, “Don’t cause trouble…”
5077
5078She moved her hands from her face and glared at him, but in this situation, he couldn’t see anything but a child ready to cry.
5079
5080“You’ve got a pretty cute way of crying,” said Sakuta, making her look down in embarrassment.
5081
5082“Don’t ask me… It’s been so long…”
5083
5084Maybe she didn’t know how to cry because of that, she had just grown into high school with the same way of crying as a child.
5085
5086“But… But…” she started, once again becoming overcome with emotion and starting to cry again, “I… I…”
5087
5088She sniffled, her face already messy.
5089
5090“I wasn’t alone…” she finished, “I wasn’t alone…”
5091
5092Rio was crying with a peaceful expression, so Sakuta didn’t say a word. Yuuma likewise, while not understanding the reasoning, quietly watched over her. Rio repeated herself several times, murmuring to herself. She tried to stop her tears, but was assaulted by a new wave each time.
5093
5094“Sakuta.”
5095
5096“Hm?”
5097
5098“Go buy me and Futaba a drink.”
5099
5100“I don’t get why you’re exploiting me, ain’t the foggiest.”
5101
5102“We’ve got to rehydrate,” Yuuma said triumphantly.
5103
5104“Sure, it ain’t great though, but well, today’s special.”
5105
5106“I’m fine with something fizzy, what about you, Futaba?” Yuuma asked.
5107
5108“I’ll have an iced coffee,” she said, still looking firmly towards the nearby convenience store even as she cried. Apparently, a vending machine wasn’t good enough.
5109
5110Grumbling, “Don’t blame me if you can’t sleep,” Sakuta gave in and headed in.
5111
5112
5113
5114Sakuta, having entered alone, picked up a blue-labelled sports drink from the shelf. A two-litre bottle just to annoy Yuuma. He took it to the till and had the university-age looking person manning it add an iced coffee to the order. As he did, the fireworks display next to the till caught his eye. He picked one up and added that before paying the total.
5115
5116“Thank you for your patronage,” the attendant said listlessly as he left.
5117
5118When he exited, he arrived next to Yuuma and Rio, and Rio’s face was slightly red.
5119
5120“Did he say something perverted,” asked Sakuta.
5121
5122“He didn’t, it was about my clothes…” Rio told him quietly, and judging from her reddened cheeks, it was probably praise. That was Yuuma for you… he understood.
5123
5124Sakuta passed over the coffee in his hand with a straw already inside. Then he took the bottle from the bag and handed it to Yuuma, it was the one from Mai’s advert.
5125
5126“You’ve been totally domesticated by Sakurajima-senpai, haven’t you,” Rio laughed, traces of tears still on her face, but finally having stopped crying.
5127
5128“He’s devoted in the weirdest ways,” Yuuma said, not complaining about it not being a fizzy drink, nor even commenting about the bottle size. Actually, he drained half the bottle in a single draught. Apparently, he really had been thirsty. He put the bottle and what was left in his bike’s basket.
5129
5130“So what are we doing now?” Yuuma asked, still sat on his bike. The time was passed three AM.
5131
5132“This,” Sakuta answered, putting the bag in his basket as well, letting the fireworks set he had just bought show itself.
5133
5134“Is there even anywhere nearby we can light fireworks at this time of night?”
5135
5136Looking in both directions, it was a completely residential area, so he could understand Yuuma’s feelings.
5137
5138“What about the beach?”
5139
5140“It’s a fairly long walk from here,” said Rio calmly, the most familiar with the area.
5141
5142“If I ride with Futaba on the back of the bike, and you run, it should take about ten minutes.”
5143
5144“You do know it’s my bike?”
5145
5146“What, you’re saying that Futaba should run?”
5147
5148“I’m saying you should,” Yuuma laughed as he surrendered the bike to Sakuta. He was stretching, particularly his Achilles tendon, completely ready to run.
5149
5150“Well, making you run wouldn’t be too different from just walking.”
5151
5152“Don’t make fun of me. I’d have to take breaks, it’d take longer.”
5153
5154“Don’t sound so proud about it,” Yuuma cackled, but soon remembered what time it was and stifled his laughter.
5155
5156“Futaba,” said Sakuta, urging her to get on the bike.
5157
5158“I’m going on ahead,” said Yuuma, meaning that Rio couldn’t refuse, nor would she hold back.
5159
5160“We’ll get arrested for riding on one bike together,” she said aghast, but still sitting side saddle on the rack on the rear, holding tightly to the saddle.
5161
5162“You could hold on to me instead you know.”
5163
5164“You really are a pervert.”
5165
5166“It was a jo-oooh.”
5167
5168The strange noise was because Rio had unexpectedly grabbed onto him, putting her arms around his waist and clinging to his back, a soft sensation across his back.
5169
5170“I’ll make sure to tell Sakurajima-senpai you were lusting after me.”
5171
5172“She’ll start scolding me, I’ll look forward to it.
5173
5174“And that’s why you’re a low-life.”
5175
5176Laughing at that, Sakuta started pedalling, snaking left and right until he got speed up.
5177
5178“M-moron, ride straight,” Rio panicked, a rarity for her.
5179
5180“You’re heavy,” was all Sakuta offered.
5181
5182“Die.”
5183
5184Somehow he corrected their course and they caught up with Yuuma.
5185
5186“You pair are enjoying yourselves,” he said with a laugh as he looked at them.
5187
5188“I’m not enjoying myself at all,” Rio said embarrassedly, as any normal girl would after having her weight commented on.
5189
5190
5191
5192Fifteen minutes later, after leaving Honkugenuma Station, they were one station south at Kugenumakaigan Station and reached Kugenuma. It was a corner of the Shonan area facing out into Sagami Bay. The area was a park that faced out onto the beach and had maintained paths down to the sand. There were also areas set aside for beach volleyball and skateboarding, though Sakuta had never used those in his life…
5193
5194Enoshima was visible off to the east, and because of the distance, the Benten bridge looked like a narrow tightrope.
5195
5196“Hey, Sakuta,” said Yuuma.
5197
5198“What?”
5199
5200“The wind’s a bit strong, isn’t it?”
5201
5202The three of them had lined up with their backs to the sea, Sakuta first, then Rio, then Yuuma, making a wall against the wind, but the candle wouldn’t light.
5203
5204“Apparently there’s a storm coming in tomorrow night.”
5205
5206The wind itself was damp.
5207
5208“Get in closer, Kunimi, use your massive body to block the wind,” Sakuta said.
5209
5210“You too,” he answered, as they gathered in closer, sandwiching Rio.
5211
5212“Y-you’re too close,” she protested quietly, but they pretended not to hear her, “I said you’re too close.”
5213
5214Rio curled up between the two of them.
5215
5216“Ah, it’s lit!” Yuuma cheered in joy from where he was holding the match, “Futaba, hurry.”
5217
5218At his urging, Rio put the end of the firework she was holding near the candle’s small flame. It lit perfectly, green sparks spurting out, changing to yellow and then finally pink.
5219
5220Sakuta and Yuuma both lit their own, creating an island of light around the three of them.
5221
5222The scent of scorched gunpowder really brought the summer home.
5223
5224Because of how long it took to get them lit in the first place, there was an odd sense of accomplishment when they finally caught. They then almost competed, lighting firework after firework.
5225
5226After a while, the wind stopped, and the three of them reached out for sparklers as if it was almost planned, lighting them on three, all of them quietly snapping away as they shed sparks.
5227
5228
5229
5230
5231
5232“Aren’t you going to ask, Kunimi?” Rio asked, her gaze unwavering from her sparkler.
5233
5234“Hm?”
5235
5236“About me?”
5237
5238“Back when Sakuta called me, obviously I wondered what was going on,” said Yuuma unconcernedly, Rio watching his face from the side, “But then when I saw you crying earlier, I decided it didn’t matter.”
5239
5240“Forget that…”
5241
5242“Ah.”
5243
5244“Oh.”
5245
5246Sakuta and Yuuma’s sparklers both ran out nearly simultaneously.
5247
5248“Fuck, we lost!” Said Yuuma, stretching and standing. It wasn’t like they’d really made it a contest, but Sakuta felt the same way, “We should be able to see them from here,” he added, looking towards Enoshima.
5249
5250“Huh? See what?” Asked Sakuta.
5251
5252“The Enoshima Fireworks, they’re next week, right?”
5253
5254Sakuta stood as well and moved next to him. The moderate distance certainly did seem like it would make the fireworks easily visible.
5255
5256“I said that last year, you know?” Rio said, her sparkler still lit.
5257
5258“Did you?”
5259
5260“I did, then you both said ‘I want to seem them up-close’.”
5261
5262In the end, there had been lots of people, it had hurt their necks, and the sound had been overwhelming.
5263
5264“Shall we watch them from here this year then?” Asked Yuuma with a carefree smile on his face as he looked back at Rio.
5265
5266“Don’t you have plans with your cute girlfriend?” Asked Sakuta in place of Rio, who didn’t answer immediately.
5267
5268“Ah, we’re having a bit of a fight,” he answered with a forced laugh.
5269
5270“You see?” Sakuta turned back to Rio.
5271
5272“What about you, Azusagawa, don’t you have plans with Sakurajima-senpai?”
5273
5274“Her agency has banned us from dating for now.”
5275
5276“Well, she is really famous,” Yuuma laughed at his misfortune.
5277
5278“I’ve got work that day, but well, I can just get Koga to switch with me.”
5279
5280“Koga’s plans don’t matter then?” Asked Yuuma with an appalled laugh.
5281
5282“What about you, Futaba?”
5283
5284“I don’t really have any plans.”
5285
5286“It’s decided then,” Yuuma said.
5287
5288“And as thanks for today, you’ve got to wear a yukata,” added Sakuta.
5289
5290“Eh?”
5291
5292“Oh, that’d be nice,” Yuuma said.
5293
5294At that, Rio shook clearly.
5295
5296“It’s hard to get them on though,” she complained quietly without really complaining.
5297
5298“So you need some help to get it on.”
5299
5300Realising what she’d implied too late, Rio glared at him, approaching him and lightly punching him in the shoulder.
5301
5302“Say,” Yuuma spoke from where he was still looking towards Enoshima, “Is the sky getting brighter?”
5303
5304Looking from Mount Fuji to the west towards Enoshima to the east, they saw Yuuma was right, the eastern sky was definitely lightening.
5305
5306“This is the first time I’ve spent a whole night like this,” said Rio, “what on Earth am I doing?”
5307
5308“Something stupid, obviously,” Sakuta spoke his mind.
5309
5310“It definitely is,” Yuuma agreed.
5311
5312She then let out a sigh before murmuring, “It’s such a disappointment.”
5313
5314“She’s talking about you, Kunimi.”
5315
5316“Nah, it’s definitely about you.”
5317
5318“It’s both of you,” she said, making the pair exchange uncomprehending glances. Seeing their confused expressions, Rio laughed slightly, “I wish you’d both been girls.”
5319
5320Once more, Sakuta and Yuuma exchanged glances.
5321
5322If they were girls, there would have been less distance between them, they could have talked about more things, she wouldn’t have fallen for Yuuma and they could have stayed friends forever.
5323
5324That was probably what she wanted to say.
5325
5326“You need to wear a skirt from tomorrow, Sakuta.”
5327
5328“I’ve always wanted to try one,” Sakuta added immediately to Yuuma’s suggestion.
5329
5330Rio laughed loudly.
5331
5332“You idiots,” she looked happily at both of them, “you really are, you’re the worst, but…”
5333
5334Here, she stopped.
5335
5336“But?”
5337
5338“Nothing.”
5339
5340“Seriously, what?”
5341
5342“I’m not telling you.”
5343
5344“The hell?”
5345
5346Sakuta and Yuuma both voiced their displeasure, but she wouldn’t say, so they stopped asking her. They could imagine what they’d say easily enough as well.
5347
5348“You really are, you’re the worst, but that’s why we’re friends.”
5349
5350They were sure it would be something like that.
5351
5352“Kunimi,” Sakuta said, flinging a phone towards him without waiting for a response. It was Rio’s phone, still in his care.
5353
5354“Hm? Woah.” Even with his surprise, he easily caught in one-handed, a question on his face, but when he saw Sakuta arranging Rio at his side with the sea as a background, he made a sound of understanding, standing on her other side.
5355
5356“W-what?” Asked Rio, uncomprehending.
5357
5358“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Yuuma insisted, pointing the lens towards them and opening the camera app, stretching his arm out to the limit to get them all framed.
5359
5360“What’s made by fermenting milk?”
5361
5362“Cheese,” Rio answered monotonously. A moment later, the pleasant shutter noise echoed around the beach.
5363
5364
5365
5366From then until the sun rose, Sakuta and the others just chatted. About if Rio was aiming to be a doctor like her father, about getting aroused by unsociable nurses, about if she wasn’t aiming to be a doctor, about how Yuuma had bad taste in girls, how she had her own good points, and how they were fighting… they just said what they wanted to without hesitance or restraint.
5367
5368As the sun rose they talked about how it looked great and was emotionally moving, but the bright sun on their tired eyes wasn’t enjoyable, so they left the beach.
5369
5370Of course, they collected all of the rubbish from the fireworks, putting the cinders in a bottle filled with seawater like skewers they were finished eating.
5371
5372“Ah, the trains should be running now,” said Sakuta as they walked up to the Katase-Enoshima Station, the red building based on the Palace of the Dragon King. They parted with Yuuma at the ticket gates.
5373
5374“Thanks then, see you.”
5375
5376“Yeah,” Yuuma replied as he rode off, soon speeding up and disappearing past the building.
5377
5378Right up until the end, he hadn’t asked Rio a thing.
5379
5380“I can get why you fell for him I guess.”
5381
5382“What brought this on?”
5383
5384“Kunimi’s just too good a guy.”
5385
5386“You are too,” Rio said as she passed through the ticket barriers. Sakuta walked after her.
5387
5388“Don’t lump me in with that bastard.”
5389
5390“So you get shy too,” laughed Rio without turning around. They boarded the train at the platform amongst the other few passengers. They were mostly youths, university students mainly. They seemed to have been out all night and drifted to the station in the morning like Sakuta and Rio had. About half of them seemed to be exhausted, and they could even hear people sleeping.
5391
5392The train quietly left the station.
5393
5394“Azusagawa,” Rio’s voice broke the characteristic quiet of the early-morning train carriage. Her gaze was watching the passing scenery through the window opposite.
5395
5396“If you’re scared, I can stay today too.”
5397
5398“That’s fine, I just want to go home and sleep now,” she said while suppressing a yawn.
5399
5400“I agree there,” Sakuta said, her yawn prompting one of his own, “so?”
5401
5402“It’s about the other me.”
5403
5404“Well, I figured.”
5405
5406“She’ll be worse off than me.”
5407
5408Sakuta looked sidelong at her, trying to divine her meaning.
5409
5410“She hates me,” Rio added.
5411
5412“I see.”
5413
5414“She hates me, the proof of her wants to be desired by men. I disgust her, and she thinks I’m not her.” That was probably why there were two of them, “But however much she hates me, and is disgusted by me… I’m sure she still knows that it’s still her.”
5415
5416“It sounds awful.”
5417
5418“It is.” The other Rio hating this Rio meant that in the end, she was hating herself, there was no word for it other than awful. “So please, look after the other me.”
5419
5420“I will, but.”
5421
5422“But what?”
5423
5424“In thanks, make me coffee whenever I turn up at the lab.”
5425
5426“Sure. It’s not mine, but… I guess it’ll be fine?”
5427
5428Rio didn’t hide her unease.
5429
5430“Who knows, I don’t. But when I saw you crying, I just kind of got it.”
5431
5432It might have been his imagination, but that might have been what Rio had really wanted, that’s what he thought at least.
5433
5434“Forget that already, it’s really embarrassing…”
5435
5436Rio hunched in on herself as the train stopped at Kugenumakaigan Station and then left again, arriving at Rio’s station, Honkugenuma Station after about a minute.
5437
5438“Ah, your phone?” Sakuta asked, still having it.
5439
5440“Keep it, for a while at least.”
5441
5442Judging by her face, she didn’t even want to touch it.
5443
5444“Sure, night then.”
5445
5446“You too,” Rio waved, smiling gently in the morning light. Even for Sakuta, who had known her for over a year, that smile made his heart skip a beat.
5447
5448
5449
5450Rubbing at his sleepy eyes, Sakuta got home at around half-past five. Everyone seemed to be sleeping inside, but as Sakuta was taking his shoes off:
5451
5452“Welcome back,” Rio greeted him.
5453
5454“Yeah, I’m home…”
5455
5456“You look tired.”
5457
5458“Futaba, here,” he handed the phone to her as he went inside, “She probably won’t do it anymore.
5459
5460“…I see,” she said, casting her eyes down at the phone. The photo of Sakuta, Rio, and Yuuma had been set has the lock screen.
5461
5462Rio was looking blankly at the camera in the middle, Yuuma was smiling brightly on the right, and Sakuta was on the opposite side, only half visible. The sea was in the background, with Enoshima and the lightening sky. It was by no means a professional photo, and wasn’t cleanly taken, but was the best they’d taken.
5463
5464“I’ll tell you everything properly later, but I’m tired now, going to sleep.”
5465
5466He staggered into the living room and dropped himself to the floor, he didn’t want to move anymore, and couldn’t in fact. As he closed his eyes, he was immediately swallowed into dreams.
5467
5468That was why he didn’t hear Rio speaking to him, and didn’t notice the sound of the door closing after a few moments.
5469
5470
5471
5472That evening, when Sakuta woke up, Rio wasn’t in the house.
5473
5474
5475
5476
5477CHAPTER 04
54781
5479
5480
5481
5482When Sakuta opened his eyes, it was to find a white cat, Hayate, right in front of them. He had jumped up and was playing around on top of Sakuta. At least he seemed to be growing up well.
5483
5484Sakuta got up and looked around. He was in a familiar room, his own living room, having been asleep on its floor.
5485
5486Finally, his brain started working and he remembered coming home that morning. He looked at the clock and saw that it was approaching six o’clock in the evening so he had slept for about twelve hours. Even so, his body was heavy and he still felt sleepy.
5487
5488Regardless, he realised he still had to prepare dinner and stood up, first taking a shower to wash off the sweat. The cooling shower felt great and by the time he left the bathroom, he was fully awake. As he went back to the living room in his boxers, Kaede came out from her room.
5489
5490“Good morning, Onii-chan,” she greeted him.
5491
5492“Evening, Kaede.”
5493
5494“Good evening.”
5495
5496“Is Futaba in her room?” He asked, his own room having completely turned into Futaba’s for now.
5497
5498“No, she’s not back yet.”
5499
5500“Huh? She went out?”
5501
5502“Yes, she said she was going shopping right after you got back.”
5503
5504“Shopping?”
5505
5506Sakuta had gotten back at around six that morning, and going shopping that early was bizarre. Most traders would be stocking at that hour. Sakuta opened his, now practically Rio’s, room. It was oddly tidy, and there wasn’t a single item of Rio’s left, and there were even signs she’d cleaned up.
5507
5508A cold sweat ran down his just-washed back.
5509
5510“That idiot,” he said to himself, following the instincts from the core of his body and running out of the front door. However, he soon stopped. He had no idea where to go. Besides, he was still only wearing his boxers. It might be the time of the year for business casual, but society in general probably wouldn’t allow his outfit. He was about ten years too early for that, he’d have to wait until the advent of dangerous business casual.
5511
5512Sakuta returned to his room and put on a pair of three-quarter cargo trousers and moved in front of the phone as he put on a T-shirt, dialling his friend’s mobile number, Rio’s phone number.
5513
5514No matter how many times it rang, she didn’t pick up, and when she thought she did, it was just the voicemail.
5515
5516“It’s me, Azusagawa. Where are you? Are you not coming back? Call me when you hear this, do it,” he left a message, even though he thought it was pointless, and put the receiver back down. He then picked it right up again, intending to call the other Rio. However, when he went to dial her number, he realised he didn’t know her home phone number. There was the class network back in elementary school, but he hadn’t seen anything similar since starting high school, and there hadn’t been any real need to know until now.
5517
5518“Kaede, I’m going out for a bit,” he told her.
5519
5520“Right now?” She asked.
5521
5522He placed his hand on her head as she looked lonely.
5523
5524“Sorry.”
5525
5526“N-no, it’s not your fault. I’ll be fine!”
5527
5528“Thaw some curry for dinner.”
5529
5530“I will.”
5531
5532“I’ll probably be back late, so you don’t need to wait up.”
5533
5534“I’ll wait as long as it takes,” she insisted, prompting him to rub her head before leaving.
5535
5536
5537
5538Sakuta raced through the streets astride his bike, first heading to Fujisawa Station where he was going to switch to a train to go to Honkugenuma Station by Rio’s house before deciding that a single stop would be quicker on the bike so continued pedalling.
5539
5540The wind against his body was oddly warm, and soaking wet, and having lived this long, Sakuta had a good idea of what that meant, a typhoon was nearby.
5541
5542He continued pedalling without slowing as he looked up at the sky to see it blanketed by a thick layer of dark clouds. They writhed as if they were living things, flowing northward as they undulated and shifted strangely.
5543
5544“Come on, don’t.”
5545
5546The instant he opened his mouth, a large drop of rain fell from the sky, followed shortly by a second and third striking his body. It grew stronger quickly, soon turning torrential, heavy enough that the entire area around him seemed white.
5547
5548“No way,” he cried out, his T-shirt sticking heavily to him with water.
5549
5550He thought of heading back, but he’d still be soaked either way.
5551
5552“This is the worst, fuck!” Sakuta yelled in displeasure, still pedalling desperately away.
5553
5554
5555
5556By the time he arrived at Rio’s house, he was soaked through to his skin. Bluntly, it felt awful, but this wasn’t the time for complaints.
5557
5558He touched the button on the intercom. With both of her parents out, he thought it might be meaningless, but Rio answered.
5559
5560“Azusagawa?” Came her voice from the intercom.
5561
5562“How could you tell?”
5563
5564“The camera.”
5565
5566“Huh, high-tech.”
5567
5568“They’re not that rare nowadays, come in.”
5569
5570The gate opened and Sakuta took his bike through. It still had its aura of richness that Sakuta would never get used to, however many times he came. It seemed to reject Sakuta, even scruffier with being soaked.
5571
5572Sakuta stopped his bike and Rio opened the door, looking out in her cute and fluffy pyjamas.
5573
5574“What’s wrong?” She asked.
5575
5576“Futaba’s gone.”
5577
5578“Eh?”
5579
5580“She was there when I got back, then I crashed… when I woke up, she’d completely gone, her things and everything.”
5581
5582“Just so you know, I don’t think we’ve gone back to one.”
5583
5584“I figured.”
5585
5586Somehow he had thought that would be the case, there was no reason for them to.
5587
5588“Do you have any idea where she would have gone?” He asked.
5589
5590“…Maybe the school,” Rio answered strongly without much hesitation. She seemed somehow certain of it. “If the other me is intending to disappear from us… I think she’d probably do that, I’d go to the place I was finally not alone at the end.”
5591
5592“Got it, thanks.”
5593
5594Then, there was a thunderclap, shaking the air.
5595
5596“Kya,” Rio screamed in surprise, covering her ears.
5597
5598“So you make that kind of noise as well.”
5599
5600“I-it was just so sudde- kya!” In the middle of her excuse, the sky lit up again, soon followed by the sound from nearby.
5601
5602Sakuta looked at her for a moment.
5603
5604“I’m fine,” she insisted.
5605
5606“If you get scared on your own, call Kunimi.”
5607
5608“I won’t call him.”
5609
5610“You could go ‘I’m scaaared’ and cling to him though.”
5611
5612“I wouldn’t say something like that.”
5613
5614“If you manage to get him to come on to you, he’ll take responsibility.”
5615
5616“I don’t want to get together like that.”
5617
5618“Well, do your best normally then,” Sakuta answered and swung his leg back over his bike.
5619
5620“I’ll come too.”
5621
5622“You stay here. Ah, tell me your home number too.”
5623
5624Rio went back inside and then came out with a piece of paper which she gave him.
5625
5626“I’ll call if I find anything. Also…”
5627
5628“She might come here,” Rio preempted him. Her gaze was nervous and she was probably thinking of the doppelgänger legend where you would die if you encountered your own. There were actually two Rios right now, so that couldn’t be ignored. No one knew what would happen if they met, and Rio’s hypothesis also included that.
5629
5630“If she does, talk to her calmly.”
5631
5632“I intend to, but…”
5633
5634He knew what she wanted to say, they didn’t know how the other one would react, and they couldn’t discount some suspicious developments being the reason she left. If the two couldn’t become one again, only one of them could live as ‘Futaba Rio’. They had to consider the possibility of both of them vying for the same place.
5635
5636As he considered that absolute worst case, Sakuta once again rode off, needing to search for Rio as quickly as possible.
5637
5638
5639
5640He had thought to return to Fujisawa Station and ride the Enoden to school, but he soon rejected that idea. He was already dripping wet, so would cause issues riding the train one way or another, and it would definitely get in the way.
5641
5642The wind was his next concern, it was fairly strong, possibly gale-force, and that coupled with the heavy rain might interrupt the train service, and force it to halt.
5643
5644So Sakuta left Rio’s house and headed towards Enoshima. He took route 134 along the coast. Taking that road, it was about two kilometres to Shichirigahama.
5645
5646The wind from the sea was strong and the sea looked pitch black, towering waves assailing the usually peaceful beach.
5647
5648Squinting through the driving rain and wind, Sakuta pedalled onwards past Enoshima. He couldn’t even see the hanging lanterns that would usually be shining at this time of year, they’d probably been taken down in preparation for the storm.
5649
5650The wind beat against his body repeatedly, nearly knocking him over on several occasions. The road saw a lot of traffic, there were dangerous spots and the cars passing him drenched him in spray.
5651
5652“Ah, dammit, this is so annoying!” He complained to no-one, the rain drowning out his voice. “It really is!”
5653
5654He still didn’t stop yelling though, and he didn’t slow down. He stood on his pedals, Shichirigahama in sight, and sped up even further.
5655
5656“Dammit, Futaba!”
5657
5658
5659
5660Shichirigahama was a familiar sight to him, but looked completely different. The waves were favoured by surfers from the beginning, but they seemed like they would swallow you at a single glance now. Turning his back on them, Sakuta put on a final burst of effort towards the now-visible school.
5661
5662“Hahh… Ah, I’m gonna throw up, I’m gonna,” he said, swaying as he stopped at the gate.
5663
5664He climbed over the shut gate and entered the school premises.
5665
5666There wasn’t a sign of anyone. There were the Obon holidays from the thirteenth to the sixteenth of August, so students couldn’t come to school. There might have been some teachers, but Sakuta couldn’t see any signs of them, and of course, the entrance was closed.
5667
5668“If she’s not here now, I’m gonna cry,” he complained as he went around the school to the outside of the physics lab.
5669
5670The other Rio had recently told him that the window lock was broken on the second one from the inside.
5671
5672“This one,” he said, putting his hand on the glass and easily slid it to the side.
5673
5674He put his foot on the window frame and entered the room.
5675
5676“Futaba, you here?”
5677
5678There was no reply.
5679
5680“You not here?” He asked.
5681
5682Of course, there was no reply.
5683
5684He took his shoes and socks off, moving over to the sink and taking his shirt off before wringing it out. A ridiculous amount of water poured out. Then he did his trousers, and because no one was there, his boxers as well, the amount of water making it seem like he’d practically upended a bucket.
5685
5686He didn’t want to hang around school in the nude, so pulled on his still unpleasantly-wet clothes. It felt awful, but he had to bear with it. The bigger problem was that Rio wasn’t in the lab. When the other Rio had suggested the school, Sakuta had assumed that this was where she meant.
5687
5688However, she wasn’t here, maybe she wasn’t even at the school.
5689
5690When he thought that, Sakuta spotted a familiar thing on the table by the board, a smartphone. When he picked it up and used it, he soon found that it was Rio’s.
5691
5692She had definitely been here, so he’d have to make that she wasn’t still.
5693
5694Trying to shake off his unease, Sakuta stepped out into the corridor to search for her, walking off randomly. For now, he decided to go to the second-year classrooms, maybe she’d be in her own classroom.
5695
5696As he headed towards the stairs, Sakuta passed by the first year classrooms. All of the year classrooms were on separate floors, the first-years on the first floor, the second-years on the second, and the third-years on the third.
5697
5698Class 1-1’s door was half open.
5699
5700Sakuta paused.
5701
5702That was the classroom he had had last year, with Rio and Yuuma.
5703
5704He opened the door fully and entered.
5705
5706The sound startled the person inside.
5707
5708Rio was sitting in the furthest seat on the window side, holding her knees as she sat, staring wide-eyed at Sakuta as he entered the room.
5709
5710“Azusagawa, why…”
5711
5712“Man that was a pain,” Sakuta said as he slumped into a seat a fair distance away from Rio, right in front of the teacher’s desk. This was where he had sat in the third term last year, the board was easily seen from there.
5713
5714Rio’s gaze stabbed into his back, letting him keenly feel how guarded she was. He pretended not to notice and opened his mouth.
5715
5716“I forgot to ask you something yesterday… actually, I guess that’d be this morning.”
5717
5718“…What?”
5719
5720“Want to come to the fireworks next week?”
5721
5722“Eh?” Asked Rio in plain surprise, that probably having been the last thing she expected to hear.
5723
5724“The ones at Enoshima, we went last year, right?”
5725
5726“That’s not what I meant,” she said, somewhat angrily, annoyed at what he was doing.
5727
5728“Kunimi’s coming too,” he told her.
5729
5730Rio was silent for several moments, so Sakuta continued.
5731
5732“We’re going to watch them from Kugenumakaigan like you said last year.”
5733
5734“I…”
5735
5736“You’ll come too, right?”
5737
5738“…I won’t.”
5739
5740“Already have plans?”
5741
5742“I’m going to disappear from here,” she said, her emotions suppressed from her voice, “I’m going to disappear away from you, and from this town.”
5743
5744Her voice was quiet and cold.
5745
5746“What’s that supposed to be?” He returned lightly, ignoring the mood.
5747
5748“This world doesn’t need two Futaba Rios.”
5749
5750That was what the other Rio had said. They were the same person so they said the same things, that obvious thing somehow put Sakuta at ease, they really were both Rio.
5751
5752“If I’m not here, that will solve everything.”
5753
5754“Will it?” He asked.
5755
5756“The other me has stopped with those indecent photos.”
5757
5758“Yeah, she said she would.”
5759
5760“And I’m sure she’s living in that big, empty house as Futaba Rio, right?”
5761
5762“Right.”
5763
5764“She comes to school every day and does the club activities properly as well.”
5765
5766“Well, she sometimes goes in to watch Kunimi practise.”
5767
5768“She’s living perfectly well as Futaba Rio,” she said quietly, removing any objections and narrowing down her own existence. She had completely closed her heart off and was trying to vanish. What on Earth must that feel like, he wondered.
5769
5770“The first-year basketballers think she’s cute as well.”
5771
5772“Then she’s being an even better ‘Futaba Rio’ than I am,” she said, another piece fitting in, a piece of despair… “She’s already part of this world, living happily as ‘Futaba Rio’.”
5773
5774The puzzle was nearly complete. Actually, it was already complete, all that was left…
5775
5776“If I vanished, it would solve everything.”
5777
5778Was to throw away the left-over pieces.
5779
5780“That’s definitely wrong as a solution,” answered Sakuta with no hesitation, just the same as always…
5781
5782“It’s not wrong at all, it’s a completely correct answer.”
5783
5784“It’s utterly wrong, right from the start.”
5785
5786“Then why!?” Rio stood with a clatter, “Why did you show me that picture!?”
5787
5788Sakuta’s eyes dropped to the phone in his hand, with the background of him, Rio, and Yuuma. It would be cliché, but there was something extra in the picture that you couldn’t see. He was sure that if you put the word ‘friendship’ into a thing, it would be this picture.
5789
5790“There’s nowhere for me to go anymore!” Rio cried out in a shaking voice, “What else would I think when you showed me a picture like that!?”
5791
5792He heard a sniffle from behind him.
5793
5794“Obviously you don’t need me anymore… You, Kunimi, you both have that me!” That was why he thought she was crying, crying right from the bottom of her heart, ready to lose everything… “You’re so insensitive!!”
5795
5796Rio’s words were offensive and piercing, and in this moment, she hated him, and feeling that was the only thing that hurt him about this.
5797
5798“You moron,” Even so, he laughed those feelings off, “Why are you saying that now, Futaba?”
5799
5800“Because…”
5801
5802“I already know I’m insensitive, you’ve told me often enough.”
5803
5804“…That’s what I mean! Being able to say stuff like that in this kind of situation! That’s why-!” Rio tried to continue, but Sakuta just calmly spoke over her.
5805
5806“So yeah, half six at Kugenumakaigan Station on the nineteenth.”
5807
5808He was speaking in the same tone he always used when they chatted in the lab, in the same tone as he used when teasing her about her feelings towards Kunimi.
5809
5810Rio was completely lost for words.
5811
5812“That’s all I had to say,” he spoke, putting the phone in his pocket and standing up. Still looking at the board and not turning around to Rio at all.
5813
5814The rest was up to Rio. If she wouldn’t grab the offered hand, there was nothing more Sakuta could do. You couldn’t save someone from despair on your own, he wasn’t so prideful to think he could.
5815
5816There was no reason for him to stay here, so he went to walk away.
5817
5818It was at that moment that his vision blurred and his body swayed. When he realised it was dizziness, he was already falling unconscious.
5819
5820“Azusagawa!?” He heard Rio’s strained voice from far, far away.
5821
5822His vision was completely black, and he couldn’t see anything. For a moment he thought he could, but it was just the pattern of the floor tiles. They might be dirty, he thought before finally falling completely unconscious.
5823
5824
5825
58262
5827
5828
5829
5830His body was being shaken, something was clattering underneath him and he could feel a sway to the left and right.
5831
5832When he noticed that, he also realised someone was speaking to him.
5833
5834He slowly tried opening his eyes.
5835
5836An unfamiliar ceiling greeted him, but it was a ceiling he had seen once before. He also remembered the sound of the sirens. The other things he could hear were the rain pounding against the windows and the regular sweep of the wipers.
5837
5838“Are you awake?” Asked a man in his thirties, peering at Sakuta’s face, wearing a paramedic uniform.
5839
5840“Azusagawa,” Rio said worriedly from next to him.
5841
5842“Ah, did I collapse?” He asked, remembering the awful dizziness. Everything was black after then, and he only realised now.
5843
5844“It looks like you were dehydrated. The fainting appears to be a symptom of light heatstroke,” said the paramedic, using words you often heard on the news at this time of year. Sakuta had never thought that would happen to him. “Does anything hurt? You may have bumped yourself as you fell.”
5845
5846He considered himself, nothing really hurt.
5847
5848“Nothing hurts, no.”
5849
5850“She says you may have hit your head, so when we arrive at the hospital, I think you’ll be examined.”
5851
5852“Right,” Sakuta answered in agreement, thinking feigning toughness after collapsing was foolish himself.
5853
5854
5855
5856After ten minutes, they arrived at the hospital and Sakuta was taken to a fairly normal examination room. He had somewhat expected to be taken in to an emergency care room like you saw on medical dramas, but apparently not.
5857
5858A doctor in his late twenties examined him.
5859
5860“Just in case, we’ll take a CT scan,” he said, and they moved to another floor. Just as the doctor had said, Sakuta’s head was put in the big machine and a scan was taken before they returned to the initial examination room.
5861
5862“We’ll put you on an IV, just in case.”
5863
5864It was a disquieting way to put it, but he’d just have to trust the doctor. He was put in a bed and a needle put in his arm and an IV drip put at the side of the bed and connected to Sakuta by a tube.
5865
5866“I’ll come when it’s finished,” said the doctor before hurrying off. Maybe there was someone more urgent he had to see.
5867
5868Sakuta quietly watched the IV as it dripped. Then became comfortable and drifted off to sleep.
5869
5870
5871
5872When Sakuta woke up, it was because of a discomfort in his cheek. It was a strangely stiff feeling, like someone had been pinching his cheek.
5873
5874Overcoming the languidness filling him, Sakuta slowly opened his eyes.
5875
5876“Morning,” came the voice of a woman looking unhappily down at him. It was her fingers that were pinching his cheek.
5877
5878For now, he just looked steadily at her.
5879
5880“What are you so fascinated for?” She asked.
5881
5882“My amazingly beautiful senior is right there, couldn’t help it.”
5883
5884“I suppose you’re fine then, judging by that.”
5885
5886Sakuta heaved himself up. There was no dizziness accompanying the motion, and the IV bag was completely empty and had been disconnected at some point, replaced by a patch of gauze on his arm.
5887
5888“So, Mai-san… what’s this punishment for?”
5889
5890Mai’s fingers still hadn’t left his cheek.
5891
5892“It’s a punishment for the older brother who made Kaede-chan worry before sleeping there happily.”
5893
5894“I see, understandable,” he said in agreement, “I’m sorry.”
5895
5896“It’s Kaede-chan you should apologise to, go phone her now.”
5897
5898“Right,” he answered, about to ask to borrow Mai’s phone, but then worried about whether he should use it in a hospital and decided not to. A hospital should have plenty of payphones, “Oh yeah, how come you’re here?”
5899
5900“Futaba-san called me.”
5901
5902He had called Rio from Mai’s phone before, so her number was in the call history he guessed.
5903
5904“But is it alright to come here?” He asked, thinking of her manager saying they shouldn’t meet for a while. He hadn’t heard anything about that being rescinded.
5905
5906In this examination room, they weren't in public view, but the corridor connected to other rooms and the doctors and nurses going backwards and forth had all noticed Mai. A white-coated man earlier had made a noise of surprise, and the nurse that had come to check his chart had looked twice. There were also younger doctors that had taken pointless trips past to look at her.
5907
5908“Before all that, isn’t there something you should be saying to your girlfriend after worrying her?”
5909
5910She asked unhappily as she stood from her stool.
5911
5912“I’m sorry for worrying you.”
5913
5914“Do it over.”
5915
5916“Ehh.”
5917
5918“Do it over,” she repeated, more and more unhappily. This would just continue until he told her what she wanted to hear, and if he couldn’t get there quickly, she’d start treading on his foot.
5919
5920“I don’t want you not to be able to work because of this.”
5921
5922“You know,” she said sulkily as he still wouldn’t say what she wanted, “I do like work, it’s fun, and I want to keep doing it, but.”
5923
5924She finished with a clear division, her eyes seeming to urge him. He more or less got what she wanted to say, he did, but he wanted to hear her say it if he could.
5925
5926“But?” He asked with an innocent expression.
5927
5928“You already know, right?”
5929
5930“No, not at all.”
5931
5932Mai pouted slightly, but opened her mouth in surrender.
5933
5934“Work is important, but… I want to look after you if you get a cold, I want to have dates on my days off,” she looked sulky, her face blaming Sakuta for making her say it, “I’m only working again because of you, it’s pointless if it means I can’t see you.”
5935
5936That whole thing was so destructive, the words cute or happy didn’t do it justice.
5937
5938“Mai-san!” He exclaimed.
5939
5940“W-what?”
5941
5942“Can I hug you?”
5943
5944“Why?” She asked guardedly, leaning back.
5945
5946“I want to show you how happy I am.”
5947
5948She paused to think for a moment, and then said with a smile, playing tough, “Three seconds.”
5949
5950“Ehh, I need at least a minute.”
5951
5952“If you hugged me for that long, I’d get pregnan- kya!”
5953
5954As she spoke, Sakuta hugged her tightly, putting both arms around her back. Her body was soft and warm, and she smelt nice.
5955
5956She put both hands on his chest as she shrunk in his arms.
5957
5958“That’s three seconds.”
5959
5960“Give me an extension.”
5961
5962“You already have things you need to do.” She said.
5963
5964He had to phone Kaede and thank Rio for calling the ambulance and riding with him to the hospital.
5965
5966“When I’m done, can we carry on?”
5967
5968“It’s already been more than ten seconds, so no.”
5969
5970“Ehhh.”
5971
5972“It’s your fault for not keeping your promise,” she said, making him immediately move away.
5973
5974“Too late,” she added, poking him in the forehead.
5975
5976He pleaded desperately with his eyes.
5977
5978“Looking at me like a dead fish won’t help.”
5979
5980“I’m looking at you like an abandoned puppy.”
5981
5982“Hurry up and go, I’ll listen when the doctor comes back for you.”
5983
5984“Please do,” he said, leaving her in the room and heading out into the corridor, “First I need to phone Kaede.”
5985
5986
5987
5988The nostalgic green phones were next to the closed and unlit shop, to the side of four vending machines.
5989
5990He put in a ten yen coin and dialled his home number, the answering machine picking up the call.
5991
5992“Kaede, it’s me, are you still up?”
5993
5994“Onii-chan!?” Kaede’s voice came from the phone after a few seconds.
5995
5996“Yeah, it’s your Onii-chan.”
5997
5998“Thank goodness, you’re still alive…”
5999
6000“Don’t go killing me off. There’s still some things to do here, so I’ll be a little longer before I’m back,” he said, looking at the clock on the wall and seeing it was ten PM, He’d prefer to return home today, “You don’t need to wait up.”
6001
6002“I’ll wait,” she insisted.
6003
6004“I see, well, don’t push yourself,” he said, sure she wouldn’t listen even as he said it, so he carried on, stopping her from answering, “Kaede.”
6005
6006“What is it?”
6007
6008“I’m sorry for making you worry.”
6009
6010“I’m your little sister, of course I worry about you!”
6011
6012“Well, thank you for always being my sister then.”
6013
6014“R-right! I’ll keep doing my best!”
6015
6016“Later then,” he said, putting the receiver down.
6017
6018As he did so, he suddenly noticed how quiet it was, and then a chime of a lift arriving broke that silence from just past the vending machines.
6019
6020The doors opened and a girl stepped out.
6021
6022“Ah,” said Sakuta, because he knew the girl’s face.
6023
6024“Eh?” She was still looking at Sakuta in surprise. The girl that had appeared in pyjamas and slippers… was Makinohara Shouko. “U-um… Why are you here?”
6025
6026She asked, casting her gaze about as she tried to maintain herself, with that particular expression you have when you’re seen somewhere you don’t want to be.
6027
6028“An ambulance brought me here after I collapsed from heatstroke.”
6029
6030“A-are you okay?”
6031
6032“The symptoms were light, and they gave me an IV, so I’m even better than normal.”
6033
6034“You need to keep yourself hydrated,” she said, finally looking at him properly and speaking to him as an older sister would, “and you need enough salts too.”
6035
6036“Yeah, guess so.”
6037
6038The conversation paused for a moment.
6039
6040“Uhmm, why are you here, Makinohara-san?” He asked, unable to avoid the question after an encounter like this. Not asking would look unnatural, and Sakuta was honestly concerned.
6041
6042“I caught a cold,” she answered flatly.
6043
6044“Let’s see,” he said, approaching her and putting his hand on her forehead, “doesn’t look like you’ve got a fever.”
6045
6046“R-right.”
6047
6048“Your voice is the same as normal too, no cough?”
6049
6050She was silent.
6051
6052“Doesn’t look like your nose is running either,” he said, cutting off her avenues of escape one by one.
6053
6054“I’m sorry, I lied,” she admitted easily.
6055
6056He’d known that from the beginning. She was in her pyjamas and slippers, and the hospital wasn’t open to out-patients this late. If she wasn’t brought in by an ambulance like Sakuta, then there was only one possibility left, she was an in-patient.
6057
6058“…What’s wrong?” He asked, not sure whether to ask, but when he saw her forlorn expression, he started to talk.
6059
6060Shouko opened her mouth, but then immediately closed it again.
6061
6062“If you don’t want to talk about it, don’t force yourself to.”
6063
6064“No, I think I should tell you,” she said, looking up at him with a resolute gaze.
6065
6066
6067
6068They sat on a bench by the vending machines and Shouko told him about her illness in a slow, calm voice.
6069
6070He had never heard the name before, and had no idea how to write it, but he was able to understand it was some kind of heart disease.
6071
6072At any rate, it was a serious disease and Shouko’s condition was worsening as she grew. She told him that there were several methods for prolonging her life, but the only way to properly treat it was a transplant. However, there were far fewer child organ donors than adults, and they had apparently not been able to find one. Because finding one would mean that someone else had met with misfortune, Shouko had a complex expression as she talked about it.
6073
6074She wanted a donor to appear, but at the same time, felt like that meant she wanted someone else to suffer so it pained her.
6075
6076“What happens if they can’t find a donor?” Sakuta asked.
6077
6078“When they realised what illness it was, the doctors said it might be difficult for me to graduate middle school.”
6079
6080Shouko spoke relatively plainly about her own final moments, and her expression even seemed relieved, which Sakuta didn’t understand at all.
6081
6082However, there was something he did understand.
6083
6084“So that’s what it was.”
6085
6086“Sakuta-san?”
6087
6088“I finally got it.”
6089
6090“Got what?”
6091
6092“Remember when we were talking about Hayate? You said that if you told your parents ‘I want to get a cat’, that they’d definitely let you.”
6093
6094Without a donor, Shouko might only live to be fourteen or fifteen. There was no way her parents would turn a deaf ear on her words in that case, they’d naturally try and do everything for her that they could. If Shouko said she wanted something, then they’d do their best to buy it for her, if she said she wanted to do something, they’d do their best to make sure she could.
6095
6096“They’re both very kind to me,” she said.
6097
6098Sakuta just waited.
6099
6100“They’re so kind… If I ask for something, they just say ‘sure’, no matter what it is. It makes me really happy, but it’s just as painful.”
6101
6102“Yeah,” Sakuta returned, just to let her know he was listening without interrupting her too much, he couldn’t say that he understood their feelings.
6103
6104“After she says ‘sure’, she’ll definitely apologise when I’m not there… for giving birth to me with this body…”
6105
6106“Right…”
6107
6108“So… I still haven’t talked about Hayate,” she said, her expression shadowed. Sakuta noticed it, and realised what was causing it, so he wordlessly pinched her cheek.
6109
6110“W-what was that for?” She asked panickily at his unexpected action.
6111
6112“Punishment for blaming your mother,” he answered.
6113
6114“Eh?”
6115
6116“If you ask for something with such a gloomy face, of course your mother would feel sorry.”
6117
6118“…But-”
6119
6120Before she could say anything, Sakuta pulled at her other cheek as well.
6121
6122“S-Shakuta-shan!?”
6123
6124That was probably supposed to be ‘Sakuta-san’, he guessed.
6125
6126“Makinohara-san, as long as you feel sorry for being ill, that won’t change. I’m sure your parents have noticed those feelings of guilt, don’t you think harbouring those feelings of sorrow towards you is the most painful for them? Your mother feels sorry for giving birth to your body like that.”
6127
6128“…That might be true,” she continued in slight agreement and a quiet voice, “But what should I-”
6129
6130“Makinohara-san, what do you think of your parents? You don’t want them to feel sad and apologetic, do you?”
6131
6132“I love them both, I adore them,” she answered without hesitation, doubtlessly honestly.
6133
6134“And have you told them that?”
6135
6136“…I haven’t.”
6137
6138“Rather than being told ‘I’m sorry’, it makes me happier to hear ‘I love you’. Something like ‘I adore you’ would put me on cloud nine.”
6139
6140“Ah…” She said, finally seeming to understand what Sakuta wanted to say.
6141
6142“Someone once told me that ‘thank you’, ‘you fought hard’, and ‘I love you’ were her three great lovable phrases.”
6143
6144“I…”
6145
6146Sakuta let go and she stood up.
6147
6148A moment later, the lift arrived, a married couple in their late-thirties stepping out. He could tell from their reaction on seeing Shouko. They had come to look for her when she hadn’t returned.
6149
6150“Mother, Father,” she said, trotting quickly over to them.
6151
6152“Ah, Shouko, don’t ru-” Shouko buried herself in her mother’s chest as she worried over her, “Oh my, what’s wrong?”
6153
6154She was taken aback, but still gently hugged her back.
6155
6156“Mother, Father, thank you for everything.”
6157
6158“What? What’s wrong?”
6159
6160Her parents exchanged looks.
6161
6162“I love you both, I utterly adore you.”
6163
6164“We both adore you too,” answered her father, softly stroking her head.
6165
6166“That’s right,” answered her mother.
6167
6168“I’m glad that you’re my parents,” she said, looking up at them from where she was still hugging her mother, a smile in full bloom on her face.
6169
6170“Shouko…” Her mother said before choking up, tears glistening in her eyes. Her father looked away slightly as well, wiping tears from his own face. A warm atmosphere enveloped them, full of the caring of a family between each other.
6171
6172“I… have a request,” she said.
6173
6174“What is it, Shouko?”
6175
6176“I want to get a cat,” she answered, still with her bright smile. They both accepted that with a gentle expression.
6177
6178“That sounds good, let’s do it.”
6179
6180
6181
6182“Azusagawa,” came a voice from behind him as he watched Shouko leave again, hand-in-hand with her parents. It was Rio, possibly having been there for a while, “Should you be on your feet already?”
6183
6184“Even if I collapse again, I’m already in the hospital, so it’s fine.”
6185
6186“You’re a troublesome patient aren’t you?” Rio asked, a sigh mixed in with wry amusement.
6187
6188“I caused you trouble too, sorry.”
6189
6190“That was just cheating,” she scolded him, her eyes unhappy, “I couldn’t just leave you there.”
6191
6192“It was worth it then,” Sakuta said, sitting on the bench, Rio doing likewise, with two people’s worth of space between them. “Thanks for calling Mai-san.”
6193
6194“You’d better be thankful.”
6195
6196“That’s why I said thanks.”
6197
6198“Not to me, to Sakurajima-senpai.”
6199
6200“…Was she really worried?”
6201
6202She hadn’t shown even a hint of it when they were talking earlier, but she had rushed over here for him, so she must have been more worried than he thought.
6203
6204“She was holding your hand the entire time since she got here.”
6205
6206“Did you get a picture?” He asked.
6207
6208“Of course I didn’t.”
6209
6210“Uwahh, I really wanted to see that.”
6211
6212“You really are an idiot,” she said with an astounded laugh. That dry sound echoed around the corridor.
6213
6214They stopped talking, the quiet air of the late-night hospital seeming to increase, the quiet hum of the vending machines filling the silence.
6215
6216Rio looked at her stretched out toes, seeming to search for the next thing to say…
6217
6218“Azusagawa, I-”
6219
6220“If you’re going to say something like ‘I’m not necessary anymore’, ‘everything would be fine if I wasn’t here’, or ‘but I’m really scared and don’t know what to do’… then don’t bother.”
6221
6222Rio’s utter silence was enough to let him know he was completely right.
6223
6224“You can hate yourself if you want,” he said, his voice filling the quiet corridor.
6225
6226There was another long pause before he added, “I just think ‘well, that’s how it is’ as I live.”
6227
6228“That’s just like you,” she said with a small laugh, “isn’t this where you say ‘you can come to like yourself a bit at a time,’ or ‘you have lots of good points’?”
6229
6230“That kind of optimism is exhausting. People that love themselves are annoying.”
6231
6232Forcing yourself wouldn’t make you love something you hated, trying to do so would just cause friction and pressure, making it worse. If that would just hurt yourself, giving up preemptively was one method. Sakuta had learnt that doing so could save you two years ago with Kaede; fighting wasn’t everything, and that was fine.
6233
6234“You’re the worst, Azusagawa. You are, but… that kind of helps.” Rio’s face relaxed like some demon had been driven out, “It really does help.”
6235
6236If they were kept taut, a thread of emotion would eventually snap. You should relax every so often and let them have some slack. Things would be much better, and that slack could change how you saw your surroundings, like with Rio now…
6237
6238Rio needed that slight latitude with what she had stashed away inside herself, just a little bit of relaxing.
6239
6240Those were Sakuta’s thoughts as he watched Rio’s slack face from the side.
6241
6242“Say, Azusagawa,” Rio said hesitantly after a while of silence.
6243
6244“Hm?”
6245
6246“…The fireworks.”
6247
6248“Yeah?”
6249
6250“Can I come too?”
6251
6252“No.”
6253
6254Rio fell silent again.
6255
6256“Not if you’re asking like that.”
6257
6258A sigh of consideration left her mouth, but all she needed was a few seconds.
6259
6260“I-I want to go see the fireworks as well,” she said, unusually hurriedly for her, having trouble showing her honest emotions with how unused to doing so she was.
6261
6262“You’re telling the wrong person,” he said, flipping his remaining ten yen coin. The coin traced out a gentle parabola before being caught two-handed by Rio, her eyes naturally going towards the phones.
6263
6264She stood up alone and walked over to the phone. She lifted the receiver and put the coin in, dialling a number. Sakuta listened from behind.
6265
6266He could hear Rio’s nervous breaths. He could tell the phone was immediately answered as she took a slow breath in.
6267
6268“It’s me… Yeah, I met Azusagawa. Also, um… I have a request.”
6269
6270She stopped talking for a moment and took another long breath, then continued with feeling, “I want to go to see the fireworks too.”
6271
6272Nothing followed that. Her breathing itself seemed to have vanished. Then he heard a clatter.
6273
6274He turned around to look.
6275
6276He saw a completely ordinary payphone, the receiver swinging from it. He looked to the right and left, but there was no one there, just the long corridor. As far as he could see, there was no one else there.
6277
6278Standing, Sakuta picked up the receiver and spoke somewhat playfully, “Hellooo.”
6279
6280“Go back to the examination room, Sakurajima-senpai is waiting for you, isn’t she?” Were the words that answered him.
6281
6282“I’ll finally be able to play around with Mai-san.”
6283
6284“I didn’t ask about that.”
6285
6286“You should, just a little.”
6287
6288“More importantly, the fireworks?” Rio forcibly changed the topic. “Don’t be late, Azusagawa.”
6289
6290“You can be a little late though, Futaba. It takes a while to put a yukata on.”
6291
6292“Do I really have to wear one?”
6293
6294“There’s no point in going to the fireworks if there’s no girls in yukata.”
6295
6296“I see… then I guess I have to promise,” she said, her voice somewhat cheery.
6297
6298
6299
6300
6301EPILOGUE
6302
6303
6304It was the nineteenth of August, the day of the evening fireworks festival at Enoshima. Sakuta arrived at the meeting place, Kugenumakaigan Station, and found Yuuma already waiting there.
6305
6306“Hey.”
6307
6308“Yo.”
6309
6310They greeted each other.
6311
6312Yuuma was clad in a yukata. Sakuta too was wearing a yukata too, both of them having been coerced by Rio saying that it would be embarrassing if she was the only one wearing one.
6313
6314Sakuta’s was all-together reasonable, at eight-thousand yen. While he was at it he had bought Kaede one as well, and that had cost more so he would have to work more shifts for a while.
6315
6316“Oh yeah, Koga-san really did switch shifts with you then,” said Yuuma, knowing that Sakuta had originally been scheduled to have a shift today.
6317
6318“I’ll have to treat her to some parfait though,” he answered, deciding to tell her that they were eight-hundred Calories at the time.
6319
6320“You’ve got a good friendship.”
6321
6322While they were talking, a train came in to the platform from down the rails. The time for their scheduled meeting had already passed.
6323
6324There were several passengers also wearing Yukata amongst the crowds coming from the ticket gates. Sakuta then spotted a familiar face bringing up the rear.
6325
6326“Hey, Futaba!” Yuuma waved to tell her where they were.
6327
6328She met their eyes and then looked right back down again. Even as far away as she was, they could see she’d gone red to her ears.
6329
6330Rio approached with small steps, her eyes still downcast.
6331
6332Her yukata was a plain yellow with a madder-red flower pattern. The sash was a soft yellow and cutely pulled the entire outfit together. She had her hair up, but was wearing her glasses, the navy-blue pouch in her hand tying the hues together.
6333
6334“Futaba, you went back to glasses,” Yuma commented.
6335
6336“D-does it look weird?” She asked, touching her finger to the frame and worrying about them.
6337
6338“They go with your yukata, right, Sakuta?”
6339
6340“It’s kinda sexy, right, Kunimi?”
6341
6342“Well, you’re right there.”
6343
6344“This is why I don’t like them,” Rio said disgustedly, but not as displeased as she’d have them believe.
6345
6346
6347
6348They took a slow, ten-minute walk from the station and arrived on the beach just as the first fireworks were launched.
6349
6350A beautiful flower bloomed in the sky, accompanied by a loud sound. As that vanished, the next firework light up the skies above Enoshima with vivid colours.
6351
6352There were fireworks which arced over like the branches of a willow, fireworks that exploded into countless rings on top of each other, and as soon as each vanished, the next shone in its place…
6353
6354Sakuta, Rio, and Yuuma all watched the fireworks in the skies, barely exchanging a word.
6355
6356As the finale approached, a large spherical firework dyed the sky. Lighting the sea, Enoshima itself, and the Benten bridge.
6357
6358The series of fireworks were impressive, and the sound passed through the sky as tremors.
6359
6360“Kunimi,” Rio said quietly, her voice mixing with the sound.
6361
6362“Hm?”
6363
6364Rio’s voice was then drowned out by the sound of the fireworks.
6365
6366“What?” He asked, apparently, Yuuma couldn’t hear her either, so Rio moved next to his ear and spoke again.
6367
6368She cupped both of her hands around her mouth and stretched up, whispering something into his ear. It was a short sentence, and Rio moved away in the time it took a set of fireworks to go off and fade away.
6369
6370Rio immediately looked down and chewed at her lips in embarrassment. Her face was red, and clearly not from the light given off by the fireworks.
6371
6372“Futaba, I-” Kunimi started, only to be interrupted by Rio.
6373
6374“You don’t need to give me a reply, I already know.”
6375
6376“…I see.”
6377
6378“If you said anything, I think I’d cry,” she admitted.
6379
6380“Sakuta can lend you his sleeve if you do.”
6381
6382“You can blow your nose if you want to,” said Sakuta.
6383
6384“Morons,” she said, looking at Sakuta and laughing, then looking at Yuuma and doing the same. She then grabbed Sakuta’s arm in her right hand and Yuuma’s in her left and pulled them tightly to herself as she looked up at the fireworks.
6385
6386Both of them let out simultaneous noises of surprise at her unexpected action.
6387
6388“I’m sure I’m the only one,” she said.
6389
6390“Hm?”
6391
6392“The only one that can watch the fireworks between you two.”
6393
6394There were tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, but she was smiling, so Sakuta didn’t say a word and returned his gaze to the sky, Yuuma doing the same.
6395
6396A large flower burst into being in the night sky over Enoshima, the light burning itself into their eyes, as a memory that would never fade… as a memory the three would one day look back on fondly as their second summer at high school…
6397
6398
6399
6400
6401
6402Then ten or so days after that which remained of the summer holidays passed by peacefully.
6403
6404The dating ban was still in effect, so Sakuta couldn’t go out with Mai, and the amount of work she had meant that they couldn’t meet anyway.
6405
6406With nothing else to do, Sakuta buried himself in his own work, sometimes going to school and visiting the physics lab to chat with Rio. She had said he was getting in the way of her club activities and not to come, but he just ignored that.
6407
6408
6409
6410The summer holiday, which should have been long, soon ended like this. It was the thirty-first of August, and Shouko came to visit with her parents that morning. Shouko’s condition had improved so she was discharged two days prior, and they had come to collect Hayate.
6411
6412Nasuno saw them to the entrance and gave a lonely meow. Kaede was much the same as she peeked out from the living room, but still waved and gave a final farewell.
6413
6414This was a good thing, so they had to be happy.
6415
6416As they left, Sakuta saw them down to the bottom of the building.
6417
6418“Um, Sakuta-san?” Shouko spoke somewhat nervously.
6419
6420“What?”
6421
6422“U-uhmm…” Their eyes met, and Shouko looked away, which was rather unlike her. She looked down slightly and her cheeks grew slightly red. “Could I come over again sometime?”
6423
6424Regardless of her embarrassment, she still looked up at Sakuta and asked straightforwardly.
6425
6426“Sure, you can bring Hayate too, Kaede and Nasuno will be happy too.”
6427
6428“And you?”
6429
6430“Hm?”
6431
6432“Will you be happy too?”
6433
6434Sakuta gave no answer.
6435
6436“Sorry, I asked something weird…”
6437
6438Sakuta put his hand on to her head as she shrunk in on herself and went red.
6439
6440“Come again,” he said.
6441
6442“I will!” She answered energetically as she looked up, even as embarrassed as she was. She then smiled and waved and left with her parents.
6443
6444“Well, it’s fine,” said Sakuta to himself as he thought on how he still didn’t know about the Shouko he met two years ago, but still watched her as she left happily.
6445
6446
6447
6448The next day was the first of September, and the start of the long-dreaded second school term.
6449
6450The summer heat was awful, but Sakuta headed to school regardless. He would be able to see Mai there, so that had become his driving force.
6451
6452Yuuma and Rio were both on the Enoden Fujisawa platform. It was rare for them to all be there at the same time.
6453
6454“Hey.”
6455
6456“Yo.”
6457
6458“Morning.”
6459
6460They all greeted. Rio had her glasses on and her hair up, giving an intellectual, adult image, and seeming slightly refined.
6461
6462“What are you staring at?” She asked to stop him, but she had probably realised why, so he decided not to mention it.
6463
6464“Did you do your homework?” He asked instead.
6465
6466“That’s just like you to ask when the holidays are already over.”
6467
6468As they talked, the retro-styled train pulled into the station, and Sakuta enjoyed the nostalgic trip into school as the second term started.
6469
6470Rio boarded by the back door, Sakuta and Yuuma following her. As they did, Sakuta felt a gaze on him from Yuuma’s girlfriend at the next door. Their eyes met and she turned away immediately.
6471
6472“You still fighting?” Asked Sakuta.
6473
6474“It’s a cold war,” Yuuma answered, a troubled expression on his face.
6475
6476“You go that way then,” said Rio, using her small body to push Yuuma’s larger one.
6477
6478“O-oi, Futaba?”
6479
6480“You haven’t given us a reason, so it’s because of one of us, right?”
6481
6482“Ahh, well,” Yuuma said, not replying immediately but looking chagrined. Sakuta realised as well.
6483
6484“What happened?” He asked.
6485
6486“Well, she sort of… deleted you from my contacts.”
6487
6488“Me and Futaba?”
6489
6490“Nah, just you.”
6491
6492“That bitch.”
6493
6494“You should hurry up and make up,” said Rio, despite her own lack of involvement.
6495
6496“But, you know.”
6497
6498“If you stay like that, my resolve will weaken,” she warned him.
6499
6500“Man, I can’t stand against that,” Yuuma replied, seeming to make up his mind and leaving from the door, getting on at the next one before the train left and moving next to Saki and started talking to Saki. Saki seemed somewhat confused, but after a while smiled happily, looking relieved.
6501
6502Rio didn’t seem to want to see their happy conversation and used Sakuta as a wall as she leaned against the door to hide herself.
6503
6504“You could have just let it be,” Sakuta told her.
6505
6506“This is fine. If we became boyfriend and girlfriend, that only lasts until we break up.”
6507
6508Sakuta waited for her to continue.
6509
6510“I want something that lasts longer.”
6511
6512“Wow, you’re an awful loser.”
6513
6514“Shut it,” she said, pouting childishly. It was the first time Sakuta had seen such an expression from her. It would probably take her a while longer to sort out her feelings, but this was fine for now, because that was how she felt…
6515
6516The short four-carriage train trundled slowly off today as well.
6517
6518
6519
6520The opening ceremony attended by all of the roughly thousand students at the school spoke of the heat itself with the sheer number of students carrying fans.
6521
6522Even the headmaster’s greeting was accompanied by the fluttering of the tanned students fanning themselves. The teachers didn’t stop them either, someone collapsing because of heatstroke would be an issue.
6523
6524Sakuta’s gaze wandered as the head’s speech entered its fifth minute with no sign of stopping, focusing on the third-years, where Mai’s class was.
6525
6526However, he couldn’t spot Mai at all.
6527
6528Yesterday evening had seen a call from her where she had said they would be able to see each other today so he had been looking forward to it, but she didn't seem to have arrived yet.
6529
6530When the opening address finished, each class had homeroom. Sakuta’s teacher started with, “Well, just ease in.”, which Sakuta didn’t really get. It was probably just to match with the lack of motivation the students would have just after the holiday.
6531
6532Sakuta picked up his bag and left the classroom, heading up to the third floor, the third-year’s floor.
6533
6534He looked in on the class that was still going through homeroom.
6535
6536Mai definitely wasn’t there, her seat was open and her bag wasn’t there, so she wasn’t at school.
6537
6538Sakuta went down to the first floor to use the payphones to check, moving to the office in a corner of the school.
6539
6540Sakuta put a ten yen coin into the phone that was probably only used by him and dialled the number.
6541
6542It didn’t connect, and the voicemail answered it after ten rings.
6543
6544“Uh, it’s Sakuta. I called because it didn’t look like you’re at school, I’m going to go home for now.” Sakuta left a message and put the phone down, letting out a breath.
6545
6546Having been sure he could see her today, his disappointment was huge.
6547
6548“Well, I can get just as big a reward in return,” he told himself, thinking optimistically as he headed home.
6549
6550
6551
6552He rode the train from Shichirigahama Station for about fifteen minutes and alighted at Fujisawa station before walking for about ten minutes and arriving outside his building.
6553
6554He stopped in front of the building and looked up at the opposite one, where Mai lived.
6555
6556As he worried about whether he should call her on the intercom, the auto-locking doors opened and someone walked out.
6557
6558It was Mai.
6559
6560Sakuta met her eyes and she blinked twice, but she looked away unconcernedly and went to walk past.
6561
6562“Mai-san?” He called, putting a hand on her shoulder.
6563
6564When he did, she shook off his hand and whirled around to look at him guardedly as she observed him.
6565
6566“Eh, what?” He asked, with a disquiet within him at this strangeness. This was definitely Mai, but she seemed like a different person.
6567
6568“Who are you?” She asked.
6569
6570“Huh?” He answered, not having realised what she had asked at first.
6571
6572“I asked who are you?” She said bluntly. Not at all like her usual relaxed demeanour. Her gaze was quizzical and didn’t hide her distrust. She really did seem like a different person.
6573
6574They’d only just dealt with Rio’s incident, had another doppelgänger appeared?
6575
6576“As you are aware, I am Azusagawa Sakuta, in a pure and loving relationship with your good self, Mai-san,” he said, his voice full of sarcasm.
6577
6578“Huh? There’s no way a dead-eyed guy like you would be Onee-chan’s boyfriend,” she said as if talking to a fool.
6579
6580“Huh?” He replied unintentionally. Mai had just said ‘Onee-chan’, maybe she was a younger twin? No, when they had spoken about siblings, he had asked Mai before and she had said that she had a younger sister she had a slightly complicated relationship with. Mai’s father had divorced her mother and left them before remarrying another woman and having a daughter with her. A younger sister from another mother, they weren’t twins and they shouldn’t even be the same age, it was nearly impossible they would look identical.
6581
6582However, then what other possibility was there? He didn’t have the slightest idea.
6583
6584But because of that, “Who are you?” was the only thing that he could ask…
6585
6586
6587
6588
6589
6590AFTERWORD
6591
6592
6593
6594This is the third volume of the Pubescent Low-Life Series.
6595
6596The first volume was called A Pubescent Low-Life Dreams Not of a Bunny Girl Senpai, and the second was called A Pubescent Low-Life Dreams Not of An Impish Kouhai, so if this series gained your interest from this book, it would make me happy if you were to also pick up those volumes too.
6597
6598To those that bought this thinking it was the first volume… I’m sorry.
6599
6600I’m also sorry for writing an afterword that has some deja vu.
6601
6602
6603
6604I have had some questions about it, so I’ll talk a little about the title.
6605
6606I decided to not number the volumes and just change a part of the title for this series because each volume has a clear heroine.
6607
6608I think you can understand it with something… like parental affection making me want to have the character with the spotlight on the cover.
6609
6610
6611
6612And so, volume four will be A Pubescent Low-Life Dreams Not of A ○×△□. The main word is ‘Idol’ currently, but what will it be!? What kind of idol!?
6613
6614Mai should feature a lot next volume. Those are only plans in the end, but they shouldn’t change… I don’t think they will… They won’t, alright?
6615
6616Many thanks to my illustrator Mizoguchi-san and my editor Araki-san for all of your efforts with this volume. I hope to work with you for the future as well.
6617
6618
6619
6620I give my deepest gratitude to everyone that has been with me so far and hope that we can meet again in volume 4. It will probably be in spring… I think.
6621
6622— Kamoshida Hajime
6623
6624
6625
6626
6627
6628BONUS — That Summer’s Imp
6629
6630
6631
6632It was a certain September weekday, just after the summer holidays had finished. Sakuta had sluggishly taken his lessons since that morning and when school finished had headed to the family restaurant for his part time work.
6633
6634He stepped into the break area to change into his water’s uniform. There was someone else in there, a petite girl sitting quietly on a stool, his junior at school, Koga Tomoe. She had a magazine spread out over the table and was looking over it.
6635
6636“What are you looking at?” He asked.
6637
6638“Uwah, Senpai!” She cried out, covering the pages in a fluster. Apparently, she didn’t want him to see.
6639
6640“So then, something erotic?”
6641
6642“Don’t lump me in with you,” she told him, glaring at him. Her lips jutted out as if to protest as well.
6643
6644“What is it then?”
6645
6646“It’s nothing, really…” she mumbled out, sitting up. She had been hiding last season’s area listing, open to ‘Summer Date Spots’ which introduced places around Enoshima.
6647
6648Enoshima was between the Nishihama and Higashihama beaches. There was also a nearby aquarium, Enoshima Shrine, walks across the island, even the scenery around Chigogafuchi were listed… They were all listed with the time needed for them and articles. They were all places Sakuta had visited at least once.
6649
6650“We went to the beaches,” Sakuta said.
6651
6652“Yeah.”
6653
6654“We went to the aquarium too.”
6655
6656“…Yeah.”
6657
6658“We even walked all over Enoshima.”
6659
6660Tomoe fell silent. This had all happened in June and July, they were all places the two had gone when Tomoe had asked Sakuta to pretend to go out with her, places they’d had dates.
6661
6662In the end, it hadn’t ended with just a pretence, and Tomoe had confessed to Sakuta on the last day of term. Tomoe’s odd reaction was doubtless because of the feelings from those circumstances. Even Sakuta felt just as awkward about it as anyone else.
6663
6664When Sakuta looked up from the articles, he was met with Tomoe’s sullen gaze.
6665
6666“Koga, you can’t take orders with that expression,” he told her.
6667
6668“It’s your fault…” self-consciously, she looked more and more unhappily at Sakuta, “Take responsibility…”
6669
6670“I’ll tell you something you’ll like then.”
6671
6672“What?”
6673
6674“I haven’t gone to a single one of them or done anything at any of those places with Mai-san. Actually, we haven’t even gone on a date.”
6675
6676“Eh? What did you do in the holidays?”
6677
6678He had stayed at his friend Futaba Rio’s house and gone through many troubles, but that was another story.
6679
6680“Counted down the days until we could I guess…” Said Sakuta, letting out his true feelings as he gazed off into the distance.
6681
6682“The hell? That’s hilarious!” Said Tomoe, bursting into laughter. She seemed to be rather enjoying herself, so Sakuta messed up her hairstyle, her hairstyle that she was supremely proud of and got up at six o’clock in the morning to put in place.
6683
6684“Ahh, geez, seriously, stop doing that!”