· 5 years ago · Feb 23, 2020, 06:10 AM
1 Chapter 7: What scenery Ebina Hina sees
2 beyond the lens of her eyeglasses.
3
4
5I hate going to school a lot.
6
7Or rather, I really hate going to the classroom.
8
9To put it more accurately, I awfully hate seeing Hayama Hayato.
10
11Or even more precisely, every time I meet Hayama, my body becomes uneasy and I
12stammer, but he, on the other hand, just acts normally as if there's nothing awkward at
13all. I absolutely hate this.
14
15Nope.
16
17If I have to spit out the truth from my heart, seeing him wearing a normal face, yet
18suddenly noticing him showing a somehow hurt face from aside, and in a flash it's gone -
19the fact that I noticed this series of his expressions is absolutely disgusting for me.
20
21Because we parted from each other yesterday without finishing our words but merely
22making excuses, I was not able to identify what type of reaction he was holding then - he
23opened his mouth widely, with a surprised face as if seeing some endangered species. I
24knew he was going to soon say something very annoying, so I quickly ran away from the
25scene.
26
27In the morning at the classroom, as I looked furtively at the window in the back, I could
28see Hayama and others chatting cheerfully as usual. I laid my face down on the desk
29immediately then.
30
31The scene there hadn't changed a bit from the usual one,
32
33where the sunlight poured into the room through the window, accompanied by cheerful
34conversations and delightful happy faces.
35
36However, just for fraction of a second, on that overflowed smiling face, I sensed a tiny bit
37of worry and anxiety.
38
39Perhaps there wasn't that much to read from the smile; or perhaps, just as usual, it was
40simply that very same pleasant smile that Hayama wears all the time.
41In that case, that tiny bit of worry and anxiety might just be my own interpretation that I
42read from and forced upon him at my own will. Or maybe it simply came from within
43myself.
44
45For this reason, I did not want to have any proper conversation with Hayama at all.
46
47I noticed that even though I pretended not to see it, but in the end I couldn’t resist but
48see through it so clearly - a sense of disgust began to spring up in my heart. Maybe
49Hayama was feeling the exact same thing as I was.
50
51Therefore, in the end, Hayama and I kept on further misunderstanding each other,
52without looking into each other's eyes genuinely, but merely finding mistakes from the
53other and conflicting with each other angrily.
54
55Because of the above realization, I decided to resist firmly against casting my eyes at
56Hayama.
57
58Well, actually it wasn't entirely a bad thing as it sounded. Thanks to this, I was able to
59confirm one thing. Putting it into words made me further solidify my intention to carry it
60out.
61
62I wanted to brag and talk big about man’s stubbornness.
63
64So, I idled my time away without looking at Hayama at all.
65
66I raised my head from the desk and peeked at the wall clock. I sighed so deeply as I did
67not remember how many times I had repeated this same set of actions. I stared at the
68hands of the wall clock and felt like they had been moving a lot slower than usual.
69
70Though I was sitting at my own seat, I felt rather uneasy and only wanted the school to
71end as soon as possible.
72
73
74 7-2
75
76Come on, end of class, please come now!
77
78Though I had been praying so, when the end-of-class bell actually rang, I immediately
79dashed out of the classroom and went to the Game Club room; there, I made an even
80deeper sigh.
81
82It all began with my briefing.
83
84"...Eh, so, Hayama said he won't help us."
85
86As soon as my memory from yesterday arose, I couldn’t help but put up a bitter face. Yet,
87it looked like everyone else's faces turned even more bitter.
88
89"Whaat..."
90
91"We are done for..."
92
93"We have finally reached the end of our rope..."[56]
94
95Hatano and Sagami both frowned and Zaimokuza sighed very deeply with a troubled
96face. Only Yuigahama smiled bitterly to try to comfort them.
97
98"Well, it's okay... We are still yet to talk to Kaihin-Sougou HS. Right, Hikki-?"
99
100"That's correct. So, let's contact them first."
101
102As I talked, I quickly turned my face to Yuigahama.
103
104However, while dropping her hands loosely under the table, Yuigahama tilted her head in
105question.
106
107"W...what?"
108
109"Eh, um, their contact..."
110
111"...Huh? You are asking me? I thought you knew it, Hikki-?"
112
113While still keeping her head tilted, this time she leaned her head in the other direction.
114
115Then, silence befell.
116
117It all happened in a flash - our eyes met and crossed - I quickly turned my eyes to
118Zaimokuza, who then looked at Sagami, who turned his head and nodded at Hatano, who
119threw his stares back at me. After our eye contacts made a loop, I turned my attention
120back to Yuigahama.
121
122"I see, you really didn't know it... I don’t quite want to reach out to them myself,... would
123they consider it awkward if I suddenly call them...?"
124
125Yuigahama sighed slightly exhaustedly, and then took out her smartphone from the
126pocket.
127
128It's all right. It's all right. All guys have undergone the exact same trouble as you were
129experiencing at this moment. In any case, it would definitely be considered awkward.
130"What's up with this dude suddenly asking me what's covered in the assignment...", - all
131girls think like this. Hence, I cast a warm, comforting gaze to Yuigahama, who then
132looked at me and said,
133
134"Speaking of which, Hikki-, don't you have... Orimoto-san's contact?"
135
136"I deleted it."
137
138"You dele..."
139
140After hearing my immediate response, Yuigahama immediately froze her hand holding
141her smartphone and went completely speechless.
142
143"Normally you would delete those right away after graduating from the middle school
144right? It's not like I will see them ever again in my life. I do not want to waste the
145memory space."
146
147"That's not normal at all!"
148
149I spat out my words but Yuigahama immediately denied them. Nevertheless, other guys
150showed very little response, or actually, they all sympathized with my verdict and
151nodded their heads together. Yuigahama then looked at them, twice again, and then for a
152third time.
153
154"Wait, what!? Am I the weird one here?"
155
156Yuigahama clasped her head firmly.
157
158"But didn't you exchange your contact information with Orimoto-san back then?"
159
160"... yeah, just in case... I was kind of acting as the point of contact at the Christmas event.
161But it's not like we talked to each other much either..."
162
163Yuigahama's voice weakened as she continued to speak, with her shoulders dropping in
164downcast.
165
166Actually now come to think of it, Yuigahama backed us up and was acting as a point of
167contact for us in various matters. She was also responsible for managing money related
168stuff, if I remembered correctly. However, since we couldn't have a proper conversation
169with those Kaihin-Sougou guys *at all*, we decided to instead reach out to those girls
170centered around Orimoto. I had no idea how many times Yuigahama had met Orimoto in
171person, nor had I seen two of them having a friendly conversation. If anything, I think
172they had more awkward encounters than normal ones.
173
174Communication Monster Yuigahama and Yes-woman Orimoto might not actually get
175along with each other. Well, that's because their first encounting was kind of an
176accident... I couldn't be helped, if I had to say... By the way, it was all Hayama's fault!
177Preach it!! Eh well not quite, it's not like I had no part to be blamed for at all... Having this
178realization, I decided to bring up my suggestion in a low voice.
179
180"If you tell me the contact, I'll send the message."
181
182Thereupon, Yuigahama looked up from her smartphone, on which she hadn't typed a
183single word yet, and turned her eyes to me with a swollen cheek.
184
185"Hikki-, you don't even use LINE."
186
187'Ugu', I was tongue-tied immediately. Kids these days... Their way of communication is
188already all high-tech stuff. Actually no, I also wished to use those Precure stamps too.
189However, due to lack of contacts, I'm perfectly fine at the moment not using LINE.
190
191Well, I felt sorry to Yuigahama for having to let her take the responsibility. Seemed to be
192a little bit troubled, Yuigahama began typing and composing her messages on LINE. As I
193was looking at Yuigahama doing her job, I heard some grumbles coming from nearby.
194
195"How does this guy live a normal life without using LINE..."
196
197"What a primitive man living in the stone age... A Chiba primitive man..."
198
199"This guy loves Chiba so much that he hasn't evolved a single bit from Chibanian.
200Because of the reversal of terrestrial magnetism, he didn't use LINE or any messaging
201app. He has only been using carrier mail so far."
202
203"That's not true! I also Web Mail and SMS."
204
205I quickly jumped up and argued against them. Three of them all went puzzled.
206
207"I haven't been using mail service at all lately..."
208
209"Speaking of Jomon people, is the local one here called Kasori Midden?
210"Hmm, looks like the time has advanced a little bit. Let's start using Hachiman pagers!"
211
212The three glasses filled themselves with bursts of laughs while talking mindlessly
213without caring about being offensive to me. I knew that Hatano says terrible things all
214the time but now Sagami was also being a terrible human being. Even his sister is cuter
215that way... That's a joke.
216
217No no, it wasn't the right time to care about all of this.
218
219Let me see. I cast my eyes aside to see how the contacting had been going. While
220mumbling "ok, ok" at the same time, Yuigahama kept typing sentences on her phone.
221
222"So... what should I ask them?"
223
224"For now just send them the prom proposal file as an attachment. Tell them that we want
225to set up a meeting with them with regard to the proposal as soon as possible. You could
226tell them to bring up the schedule for either today, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
227
228"File as an, attach,..., attachment?"
229
230Yuigahama just chanted 'File as an attachment'! Yuigahama was in great confusion! It's
231true that the name sounded a little parupint-ish... O Yuigahama-san seemed to have no
232idea how to send a file as an attachment. Then no wonder that she didn't know the
233meaning of the word 'attachment'.[57]
234
235Sagami could not stand to see this happen and pushed his glasses straight. He then asked
236politely.
237
238"Ah, you have to upload it to the cloud first. What cloud storage service do you use?"
239
240"Sto...rage?"
241
242Yuigahama waved her head left and then right, while Hatano made a long sigh and shook
243his head.
244
245"She’s hopeless... She definitely didn't understand a bit... Shall we upload it to Dropbox or
246something?"
247
248"Hmm... It might be easier for her to understand if we just do File Transfer, since we only
249need to give her the link."
250
251"Ah, that's true. Let me borrow the computer."
252
253Zaimokuza crossed his arms and thought hard with his head tilted. To that, I snapped my
254fingers and pulled over the Game Club laptop on the long table. I swiftly uploaded the
255proposal to some file transfer server and obtained the link. In addition, I further
256composed the message that asked for the schedule and sent it over to Yuigahama.
257
258"Here, just copy and paste it."
259
260"O...okay... At least I know how to copy and paste."
261
262Showing a relaxed expression, Yuigahama smiled gently at me and immediately went
263back typing on her smartphone. We just stayed there and all stared at her. Finally, 'fuu~',
264Yuigahama sighed in exhaustion.
265
266"Was it sent?"
267
268"Yep, just now."
269
270Yuigahama smiled bashfully while fondling her hair bun. And then everyone broke out
271their smiles in satisfaction. What is this feeling of being the Princess of an Otaku Club...
272[58] Even that Zaimokuza racked his brain order to assert his usefulness. Gahama-san,
273what a formidable girl!
274
275Anyhow, we just had to wait for the response from him.
276
277Meanwhile, I checked out the website that they made and exclaimed, "Looks really good!
278Looks so good that I want to try three more designs! Just let me see it by next Monday
279and it’s fine!" and etc - what was this stupid business-client game we were playing.
280
281Suddenly, Yuigahama's smartphone vibrated momentarily.
282
283"Did it come?"
284
285"No, it didn't. It's Yumiko. She asked when to meet?"
286
287Yuigahama covered her lips with her smartphone and looked at me. It was about the
288request that asked Miura to serve as the model in the photograph.
289
290"Since the sunset takes place at 5:30PM, let's convene at 4:30. We could get our hands
291ready and then wait for the evening glow before we start taking photos.”
292
293"Okay."
294
295As I finished my words, Yuigahama immediately started typing. I looked at her sideways
296and then turned my eyes to look beyond the window.
297
298Just according to my research yesterday, today's weather is clear.
299
300There were some clouds here and there but perhaps that'd be great for creating a
301beautiful evening glow.
302
303After I stared at the setting sun for a while, I promptly began preparing for
304photographing next.
305
306
307 7-3
308
309Soon after the sunset, the wind by the seaside turned more chilly and the smell of tide
310stronger. The mild ripples hit the shore, bounced back and then emitted twinkling lights.
311
312Being forced to squint my eyes due to the burning red evening glow, I put down my
313belongings that I held in hand on the beach with a thud. We decided to use the gazebo a
314little far from the beach as our preparation spot and there we began preparing for
315photographing.
316
317We borrowed a washtub and couple thermal pots from the school, placed them all on the
318ground heavily, along with some body warmers that we bought from a 100-yen shop.
319This beach was used as a seaside resort during summer times, with well-equipped
320facilities like shower rooms. But now in this season, it didn't look like it was serving that
321purpose at all. For this reason, just in case someone got wet or dirty, we had to rely on
322our own washtub and warm water to gently wash off the ocean water and sand. We also
323prepared a good amount of hot water needed to serve our dear models.
324
325There, Zaimokuza, who helped moving stuff here with us, cast his eyes at me awkwardly.
326
327"What a strong Assistant Director ability you have!"[59]
328
329"That's not quite right. I hoped we had blankets and bigger bench coats..."
330
331and tents, and a fire stand... Maybe it's finally about the time for me to prepare for Solo
332Camp[60]. After all, we were talking about bring girls out in this place of chilly wilderness.
333We needed to at the very least get those equipment ready. We wanted to be perfect in
334our readiness for this kind of cold weather, but unfortunately due to lack of support and
335money, we couldn't. So as I spoke, Zaimokuza held his coat collar tighter.
336
337"I.. I won't give you this coat!"
338
339"No need, thank you..."
340
341Even I got so sickened by him. If he said that to a girl that'd be much grosser. Well, let me
342check out how the models were doing now. So I looked into the direction where the
343bench was, and saw Miura Yumiko trembling, holding her arms crossed tightly and
344rubbing frequently.
345
346"Damn! Cold, cold, cold! Yui, the body warmer, body warmer, body warmer!"
347
348"Behind? Or the front?"
349"Both!"
350
351Miura rolled up the hem of her blazer and showed the back of her brouse. There,
352Yuigahama stuck the body warmers one after another. The scene looked too immoral
353and indecent to me so I sensed that I just saw something that I shouldn't be seeing[61].
354Welp, I was paying very close attention though.
355
356However, it looked like they were already done with their preparations.
357
358I let Zaimokuza watch out our stuff and headed towards the girls with the camera in
359hand.
360
361"I'm really grateful for your cooperation. It really helps."
362
363"...huh??"
364
365After seeing me lowered my head slightly, Miura expressed perplexity on her face. She
366gazed at me intently as if she just saw a muntjac wandering in a city. Hey, it wasn't that
367surprising, okay? Recently in Chiba the number of muntjacs also seemed to have
368increased a lot, too many that they always roar "Kyon-kun! Kyon-kun!".[62]
369
370"Yoroshiku-!"
371
372Ebina stood aside and waved her hands gently at me with a delightful smile. Hearing her
373voice, Miura froze for a while, but soon came back to herself.
374
375"...ah, um, well. I was asked by Yui, so."
376
377She dodged her face away as if trying to peek at Yuigahama. She explained curtly while
378pulling her curly hair. Probably because of the sunset, her face wore a slight flush. Oh
379well, oh well! Looked like she was feeling shy and embarrassed, hehehe...
380
381Hold on, not quite the good time to be amused by the situation. Time's limited for the sun
382to stay above the horizon.
383
384"So, let's get started, okay?"
385
386"Ah, okay."
387
388Yuigahama responded me with a nod, then turned her urging eyes to Miura and Ebina
389and started walking along the beach. After confirming the feeling that I was trampling
390sand in my shoes, I decided to follow her.
391
392Immediately following the tide hitting the beach, I told them to stop briefly, and then
393took a few steps back and hold up the camera.
394First of all, let me determine the composition of the photo.
395
396Using the wide angle lens, the evening glow should be captured as its main big subject,
397with the glowing sky reflected and the pale ocean along the bottomline. The lens was set
398to focus on somewhere slightly above the horizon line. Right in front were the sand and
399the beach that began darkening, followed by the shoreline dyed in orange, and then the
400red-melted cloud that created a gradation effect. Yuigahama and Miura's back view were
401shown with slight bokeh effect to the right of the photo.
402
403Two maidens stood side by side before the evening glow, yet each with a different pose.
404
405Miura left her hands in the pocket and stared into the sun setting ocean afar in awe;
406whereas Yuigahama turned her body slightly around in my direction as if she was caring
407about something here.
408
409While I pressed the shutter many times, I directed them their standing positions with my
410hand gestures, and also took some effort to change my own shooting positions.
411Meanwhile, since the air was quite freezing, both of them wore their coats and tracksuit
412pants below their skirts... Hmm, it looks quite good this way... I felt like I just infiltrated
413into an all-girl high school!
414
415As I was thinking so and peeked into the viewfinder, Miura complained "Eh, so cold!"
416loudly enough so that I could hear it, and turned her body around and stared at me
417angrily.
418
419"Hikio-, quick!"
420
421"Yes..."
422
423I held up the camera again.
424
425The evening glow was drawn and sank into the clouds.
426
427I tried to take a few photos, but none of them so far were satisfiable.
428
429I bore the reference photo and its composition in mind while hitting the shutter button
430but for some reason I still couldn't capture it well enough in the frame.
431
432On a sun-setting beach, girls wearing school uniforms stood side by side - should be as
433simple as that, but still I could not turn it into a photogenic scene. Honestly, I don't think
434it'll ever look attractive. I would like to have it look like something that could be printed
435on an H.I.S. pamphlet titled 'Graduation Trip in Hawaii', or like like some cover photo for
436'We were here'.[63]
437
438While I was holding the camera and scratching my head, Ebina suddenly showed up from
439behind.
440
441"Can I borrow it?"
442
443Saying so, she just took the camera from my hand.
444
445"Here, do this, this way."
446
447She returned the camera to me after hitting the shutter button a few times. When I
448looked at the preview, it turned out to be precisely the composition I had in mind.
449
450"Oh wow, looks so professional...!"
451
452"Right!?"
453
454I couldn't hold back my exclamation but to express it. Ebina straightened up her chest
455proudly.
456
457"A~l~s~o~"
458
459Perhaps because of her good mood, Ebina hummed happily and ran towards Yuigahama
460and Miura. And then, she suddenly assaulted them in surprise, stripping off both their
461coats and their pants.
462
463"Dyufufufufufu. Isn't this better? Isn't this better?"
464
465"Baka baka baka! Ebina you really are..."
466
467Ebina pressed the resisting Miura even harder - taking off her shoes and was about to
468even remove her socks. Is she a Datsueba?[64] The scenery in front of me almost unfolded
469into a Rashoumon-like situation.
470
471"Let me do it myself. I said I'll do it myself!"
472
473Yuigahama distanced herself from Ebina for a few steps, took off and threw away both
474her shoes and socks. Miura failed to resist Ebina, who pressed Miura down on the ground
475and removed her socks.
476
477Thereupon, I was able to respectively behold dear Miss Miura's feet. I felt like I was also
478able to peek into her skirts in a glance, but then I quickly turned my face away from her
479and timely pushed the shutter button. Hey, it's not like it! It was merely out of my instinct
480and I just unconsciously pressing the shutter button again and again!
481
482"So cold!"
483
484"Cold, cold, eh, sands so cold!"
485Yuigahama pattered on the ground rapidly, while Miura trembled and was bewildered by
486this freshly surprising situation.
487"Fufufu. Of course, as I expected, naked feet is the best together with girls wearing school
488uniforms by the sea!"
489
490Ebina put up a satisfying smile and walked back towards me. I know right... I nodded to
491her. Ebina held out her hands to me - seemed like she offered to take photos! Thank
492goodness. It's the best to just entrust the job to those who possess the photographic
493skills and senses!
494
495I handed the camera over to her obediently. After mumbling some terms like 'daytime
496synchronization of the flash light', 'the subject depth of field' and such such, Ebina held
497up the camera.
498
499"Okay---! Ready?"
500
501After hearing the call, Yuigahama and Miura stood still by the sea. Perhaps because it was
502too cold, they naturally stuck even closer to each other. Suddenly and unexpectedly,
503Yuigahama held Miura's hand and said something to her in low voice. Due to their
504faraway distance and the wind noise, I was not able to catch any of it.
505
506However, with their smiles that were decorated by secrets crossing over - that
507picturesque scenery was so extraordinarily beautiful that it completely rendered me
508speechless and stunned.
509
510That was a short moment after the day ended but right before the night fell. The time
511that we were spending now was perhaps already beyond our imagination and
512comprehension.
513
514As I was being charmed by the moment, Ebina sighed quietly and put down the camera.
515
516"Later let's take some casual photos. Both of you can go romp freely now!"
517
518Ebina shouted at those two and then handed the camera back to me. It looked like I
519needed to take the photos from then on. 'Don't stop the shutter!' as I was told so, I had no
520choice but to obey her. So I started taking pictures of the romping two.[65]
521
522"Yui, you are getting me wet, you are getting me wet! Yabai yabai yabai!"
523
524"Wait for me, wait for me!"
525
526Miura and Yuigahama ran along the shoreline. Whenever the tide hit the beach, they
527would scream in 'hyai hyai!' and ran away in a fuss.
528
529"Yep yep, all good photos..."
530
531While I was talking photos, Ebina next to me was already taking photos herself with her
532smartphone before I could notice when she began doing so.
533
534"By the way, you were also called here to be a model though!"
535
536"Ehh? It's beautiful enough already with you two. I am too rotten to be a model!" (too
537rotten sounds the same as ‘not enough (beautiful)’)
538
539"Ah..."
540
541"Well, speaking of models I think Hikitani-kun and Hayato-kun were also good choices in
542my opinion. Ah, that's rotten...! And there, with Hayato-kun he begin to...!"
543
544Rotturbing... Eh no! Disturbing giggles Ebina had, she secretly peeked at me and then
545loosened her lips promiscuously.
546
547"Is this kind of a sexual harassment?"
548
549As I said so and took three steps back away from her, Ebina leaned back straight and
550exclaimed in exaggeration.
551
552"No problem at all! I'm not that sexy after all. I am not sure if sexual harassment from
553someone who isn't sexually appealing can be still be called that way."
554
555"What kind of explanation is that, I can't really answer you... isn't it still sexual
556harassment?"
557
558I really had trouble answering Ebina, since I never treated her as someone who's
559attractive to me. By the way, now come to think of it, I felt like I started to think of her
560that way though! That way!
561
562That's true. To a girl saying things like "it's because I'm not cute~", I still had no idea how
563to respond correctly. I bet in most cases flatterings like "that's not the case at all!" should
564work. Yet I felt like the same scenario doesn't quite apply in the case of Ebina Hina.
565
566While I was having trouble coming up with a proper response, Ebina cast her eyes to the
567horizon afar. And then, suppressing her skirt gently, she lowered her body and squatted
568down, resting her head on top of her knees. She then started mumbling in short words.
569
570"... this is kind of annoying to me..."
571
572"What's annoying?"
573
574"Love, affection, sex, and so on..."
575
576"Eh, well... I'm getting really embarrassed and don't really want to talk about that right
577now though."
578I quickly turned my face away. After hearing her say it in a serious tone, so frankly and
579without any reservation, I started feeling quite uneasy and embarrassed. To me it didn't
580sound like a philosophical discussion at all, but simply a half-hearted talk about the
581reality. It wasn't a really topic that I want to be fond of.
582
583Nevertheless, after hearing my response, Ebina shook her shoulders and smiled gently.
584
585"Since we aren't interested in each other at all, we can technically talk about it right?"
586
587"... well, that's true..."
588
589Being told that way, I could not make any denials.
590
591In a way, I trust Ebina Hina's way of taking her distance from others - not too far as
592strangers but not too close to be called friends. She placed herself in a sweet spot where
593relationships like acquaintance or neighbor were not easily breakable.
594
595While keeping distance that won’t absolutely get closer, Ebina continued her words on
596her own.
597
598"Well, everything will be fine in the end, right?"
599
600"What are you referring to?"
601
602I was a little bit afraid of asking something that's too ambiguous or off the point, and thus
603getting ignored by her, so I phrased my question more concisely.
604
605"After all, Hikigaya-kun is different from me."
606
607Perhaps I had heard the very same cold voice somewhere else. I couldn’t really see her
608eyes with which she looked at Miura and other, but even so, I could tell that deep beyond
609her glasses were her abysmal pupils that looked like deep sea.
610
611"...did you hear anything?"
612
613When I asked her, she finally turned her eyes to me.
614
615"From whom? About what?"
616
617Her pupils were so cold that it did not reflect any bit of the color of sunset. Nevertheless,
618she broke into smile as if she was teasing me. That made me feel slightly uncomfortable. I
619shrugged my shoulders lightly and looked down to the camera in my hand.
620
621"Never mind. Nothing actually."
622
623After I dodged her questions, Ebina turned her eyes back to the shoreline at Yuigahama
624and Miura, who were still running back and forth like puppies.
625
626"... I just observe you normally, and I get *it*. In some sense I'm also involved in it. Also I
627heard things from Yui as well."
628
629As I expected, you did hear things...
630
631That was the reason why you felt like wanting to talk to me. I had no idea what she heard
632and how she heard it, and had no intention to ask her for further explanations.
633
634However, I was a bit concerned by her verdict that she just observed me normally and
635understood. I don't think I'm a simple-minded human being. It's also slightly annoying
636and unsettling that she was able to understand the situation that easily. After all, I put a
637lot of effort into thinking and planning all this, but then you talked to me as if you had
638seen everything through - this is making me quite uneasy...
639
640Despite so, people always say 'Lookers-on see most of the game.' It's true that,
641sometimes unexpectedly bystanders other than us could understand the situation much
642better. Even much more so if that bystander is Ebina Hina.
643
644However, I didn't want to ask her too attentively. So I put up a poker face, and asked her
645casually while pretending to operate the camera.
646
647"... when you said *it*, do people all get *it* and understand *it*?"
648
649"Needless to say, Hayato-kun does, right? While, Tobecchi is too kind of that to get it.
650Others, I don't really care... As for Yumiko..., let me stop here right now."
651
652"Huh, what is that? That sounds scary..."
653
654I totally forgot to keep putting up the poker-face and instinctively looked in her direction.
655Ebina then laughed gently as if she meant to imply something from it. Once she was done
656laughing, she looked sideways at me.
657
658"It's not like I have any idea why things ended up this way, nor am I qualified to say or
659comment on them. In any case, isn't there an easier way to approach it?"
660
661I smiled bitterly at her words.
662
663I was always told the same thing by someone, actually, by everyone.
664
665Even one sentence is definitely enough to solve and end the problem.
666
667Nevertheless, as simple and easy as it sounds, I would never allow it to be said.
668
669"The easiest thing is the hardest. To me what I am doing now is the easiest."
670As I finished my words, Ebina turned her head to me and stared at me.
671
672"Pfumm, gross."
673
674"...eh, okay."
675
676Being blatantly told so in such an uninterested voice, I dropped by shoulders. Well, I'm
677well aware of how gross I am, so I have nothing to complain about that part.
678
679Yet Ebina's face didn't show as much disgust as her words did, but still filled with her
680smile.
681
682"Well, I can sort of get it. I don't really hate this kind of pessimism."
683
684I nodded in response without speaking a word, and then cast my eyes to the surface of
685the ocean where the evening sunlight glittered glamorously.
686
687Perhaps our parts of our philosophy are close already. Giving excuses such as 'I am
688rotten from inside' and so on, and the putting up a facade that we both painted and
689solidified in front of others - these are the parts that we are able to both sympathize with
690each other.
691
692If I had to explain my actions in the words of Ebina, then the answer would probably
693something similar to pessimism. I wouldn't say it the correct way, but it wouldn't also
694diverge too much from the right one. That tiny little nuance has made me confirm that.
695
696Ebina and I were different indeed. Although we sympathized with each other, we
697reached different conclusions. This distance, in some sense, was similar to the one
698between Hayama and me.
699
700Despite being similar, or close, or seemingly the same, they were in fact different. Over
701the past year, I had been trying to confirm that.
702
703Perhaps, she and I are again, the same.
704
705Instead of correcting Ebina's statements, I chose to stay silent. It was meaningless to try
706to correct it at this point.
707
708Mixed with the noised of the tide was their voices of happiness and enjoyment.
709
710"Ebina-! Let's take-"
711
712"photos together-!"
713
714Miura and Yuigahama waved their hands widely at the shoreline and called Ebina loudly.
715Maybe because they had been running here and there, the air that they breathed out
716turned white, their cheeks were dyed in red, but they definitely didn't feel cold at all; or
717rather, that was the only warm place.
718
719"Yeah, coming-"
720
721After being called out, Ebina quickly stood up and peeked quickly at me and the camera
722in my hand. She gently tucked her hair which was trimmed down to her shoulders
723behind her ears and smiled at me as if saying just 'Yoroshiku' to me. She then
724immediately pattered towards them.
725
726After seeing her off, I held up the camera.
727 7-4
728
729On the next day following our photograph event, the weather was as clear as the day
730before.
731
732The sun had already risen high, with the sunlight penetrating through the gap between
733the curtains and eventually burning on my eyelids.
734
735Today is March 3rd, Saturday, 10 days before the graduation ceremony.
736
737More importantly, today is the sister of the world Hikigaya Komachi's birthday.
738
739Despite so, my schedule was fully occupied from the morning to the evening.
740
741Normally I would prepare a luxury present full of my love for Komachi's sake, and
742celebrate her birthday with a grand party. Unfortunately, for the past few days I was
743occupied and postponed by a series of dummy prom related matters. Hate it! I hate
744work...! Just as usual I wanted to spit out this feeling of hatred and roughness. But this
745time since I acted out of my own will to choose to take all this work myself, this time I
746swallowed back all the pain, cheered at myself and suddenly jumped out of the bed. This
747is the road that I chose to walk on myself so it'd be quite wrong to grumble about it
748afterwards. Given that I was my own employer all the complaints and pains that I
749grumbled about and words that I cried out would ultimately get sent back to myself. In
750other words, self-employment is indeed very tough.
751
752While my brain spun as if covered by mist that arose from couple days' of tiredness, I
753headed over to the washroom. Even though the date had changed, the cold water that I
754splashed over my face hadn't turned warmer by a bit. I then forced my eyes to open.
755
756I quickly turned my eyes to the clock - it was already past 9 o'clock. If I didn’t hurry then
757I'd probably miss the meetup soon. I climbed up the staircase, rushed back to my room
758and took the school uniform that hung on the wall. I quickly put my arms through the
759sleeves, grabbed my bag in my arms and hurried downstairs.
760
761I was thinking about saying goodbye first before leaving the house, so I peeked into the
762living room and saw Komachi - who was still wearing a pajama and watching TV lazily
763while sticking her feet inside the kotatsu.
764
765It looked like my parents were still sleeping soundly at the moment. In the living room,
766besides Komachi there was also Kamakura sleeping by the window under the sunshine
767and making a quiet snoring noise from his nose.
768
769"So, I'm about to head out..."
770"Alright, Itterasshai!"
771
772I put on my coat as I spoke, whereas Komachi just slowly waved her hands without
773looking in my direction and Kamakura hit the ground with his tail.
774
775That was a scene that didn't change a bit from a usual weekend. Although it was her
776birthday, she didn't seem to have any particular reaction to it. On the other hand, I was
777so impressed that the field was so moistened with this much irrigation. Well, that's a
778different kangai though.[66]
779
780Nevertheless, no matter how impressed by the scene I was, I was still so poorly prepared
781for any Komachi's birthday celebration whatsoever. Recently even our dinner table
782conversations had been contaminated by topics related to my work, so needless to say I
783hadn't had the chance at all to talk to Yuigahama about buying a birthday present for
784Komachi.
785
786Even if I wanted to celebrate her birthday after coming back home, I don't think I had the
787time, nor the money, nor the spirit to carry it out. Maybe Komachi didn't care about it so
788much, but for me I'd feel extra uneasy if I don't at least say a word about it.
789
790"Ah... Komachi, happy birthday."
791
792I coughed a couple times as I said so in a low voice. If I had said so while looking straight
793into Komachi's face I'd be really embarrassed, but thank god Komachi was facing at
794somewhere else... As I thought so, Komachi reversed her body and laid down on the
795ground.
796
797Then she rolled on the ground for a couple rounds and while keep lying on the ground,
798she rested her chin on her hands and giggled.
799
800"Onii-chan, thank you!"
801
802Just a few seconds ago, she was facing away from me as if she wasn't paying attention to
803my words at all. But as soon as I congratulated her, Komachi showed a happy smiling
804face at me. Couldn't resist that kawaii face, I also broke into a smile. As soon as I did it,
805Komachi again laughed with her nose - hmph hmph hmph... with her nose!? I cast my
806eyes at her in doubt. She then began talking restlessly.
807
808"Pretending that everything was just like usual as if nothing was happening, but as soon
809as hearing Onii-chan's congratulations I quickly turned super cheerful... That scored very
810high in the Komachi standard!"
811
812That's true... If you hadn't said that it would have scored even higher though... But I
813already knew that this was Komachi's world-class way of hiding her shyness. Because of
814this, I was about to have a very tough time saying the following words.
815"So, as for today's arrangement..."
816
817"Yep, I totally understand. Don't worry about it!"
818
819Komachi nodded and smiled gently.
820
821"Yui is waiting for you, right? So hurry up!"
822
823"... how do you know?"
824
825I didn't say anything about today's arrangement to Komachi though... so as I asked her in
826surprise, Komachi grabbed her smartphone and started flicking the screen.
827
828"At 12am I got the HBD message from her, and then, she just told me about it."
829
830"Ah, I see..."
831
832Komachi phrased it as if it wasn't anything impressive, but that genuinely scared me.
833How scary it is to have my movement leaked from some other source to my sister! Is it
834not scary? Hey, speaking of which, Gahama-san, you seemed to be telling various things
835to Komachi. I would really like to learn about the entire network - the source, and the
836destination of this network of connections... However, I'd rather not get into trouble for
837asking it the wrong way... Guy’s complicated issues!
838
839As I was moaning to myself, Komachi bent backward, lifted one finger and laughed in 'fu
840fu fu'.
841
842"I would love to enjoy a birthday celebration and also really appreciate receiving
843presents. But I'm okay with delaying them until everyone is together."
844
845"...ah, right.."
846
847As I responded in a few words, I suddenly began thinking myself.
848
849'Everyone'... Who was she referring to? I could somehow guess but I have zero
850confidence in my ability to grant her the wish.
851
852Maybe she was a little bit surprised by my voice that ended up going down
853unconsciously in the end; Komachi looked at me while still resting her head on her
854hands. Her eyes were raised up as if trying to look for something. Our eyes met. I couldn't
855help but begin to wear a bitter smile on my face. Komachi shrugged her shoulders and
856began murmuring.
857
858"Well, I'm okay if not everyone can come. I even consider it barely safe, in the worst case
859scenario, to only have only Onii-chan present.”
860Her voice were filled with warmth. Thanks to it, I was able to wash off the stiffness on my
861face and responded to her with a light laugh.
862
863"The worst case scenario...eh? *barely* safe?"
864
865"I meant whatever, I don't really care much. By the way, don't make Yui wait!"
866
867She waved her hand at me to urge me to leave quickly, and then started rolling back
868again. I sighed deeply, as if I just let go a huge burden that suppressed me. I peeked one
869more time at her and left the living room.
870
871
872 7-5
873
874Since I left my home late, I gave up riding my bike and decided to head over to the
875meetup place by train and bus. I flipped and scanned through the materials in the moving
876train carriage to get myself prepared for the meeting.
877
878Partly thanks to Yuigahama's help, we were fortunate to be able to quickly settle down
879on a meeting date and time. Since I felt it was quite burdensome to talk to Tamanawa, I
880took it as part of my job to skim through some business terminology books in order to
881increase our share of common language.
882
883Soon, I arrived at the closest station near the meetup place, and quickly hurried over to
884the community center where the meeting took place.
885
886It would have been a lot easier if we could just hold the meeting in our school. However,
887our school usually doesn't let outsiders in, unless by going through some official
888procedures. But as someone who doesn't even belong to the Student Council, that'd be
889nearly impossible for me to do. On the other hand, it would seem a little too informal and
890casual if we held the meeting in a coffee shop. Considering the fact that we needed to
891upload a photo of the meeting on the SNS later, a more or less formal place would
892certainly be more preferable - just enough feeling of formality to make our dummy prom
893plan look more realistic... As I was thinking so and taking my steps forward, my
894smartphone began vibrating.
895
896After I checked the notification, it was a message from Yuigahama. The text
897straightforwardly wrote 'Expect to take a little longer?'. Thinking that this was pretty
898rare for Yuigahama given that she normally types much longer messages, I simply
899replied 'Almost there'.
900
901In fact, I already arrived at the front of the building. I looked around the entrance and its
902surroundings but was not able to spot Yuigahama there. It seemed that she already went
903inside.
904
905I climbed up the stairs in a rushed pace and then quickly headed over to the small
906meeting room that we reserved in advance.
907
908A few steps away from the room that I was about to enter, I could already vaguely hear
909Orimoto's voice. Without double confirming the room plate, I knew this room would be
910the small meeting room that we reserved. I knocked on the door and then opened it.
911
912After that, I saw Yuigahama already in there, and opposite to her sat Tamanawa and
913Orimoto.
914"Ah-, Hikigaya-, long time no see-"
915
916Orimoto waved her hand softly at me in a very delightful mood; whereas Tamanawa
917sitting next to her crossed his arms, blew up air over his forehead, and peeked at me
918briefly.
919
920In response, I also greeted them lightly with a nod and pulled out the chair next to
921Yuigahama, who then without saying anything out loud but only with her mouth
922movement said 'Yahallo-' to me. Indeed, it would be a little bit embarrassing to say that
923in front of other people, yep yep. Nevertheless, that way of secretly conveying things also
924felt somehow embarrassing to be seen by other people still!
925
926In order to cover up that embarrassment, I whispered at Yuigahama.
927
928"Didn't we agree to meet first at the entrance?"
929
930“Yeah… Eh, we met at the entrance first, and then, since it was too cold outside…”
931
932Yuigahama fuddled her hair bun as if she was a little troubled by it. She put up a bitter
933smile. Probably Orimoto talked to her light-heartedly just as usual, and then following
934the flow dragged Yuigahama inside. And then just like that, before I showed up, both of
935them probably had a not-so-close uneasy talk with each other… gross, I feel kind of sorry
936for her.
937
938“Ah, I see… I feel kind of sorry…”
939
940As I lowered my head, Yuigahama shook her head and put up a gentle smile. Maybe this
941exchange between us was seen by Orimoto, she deliberately clapped her hands loudly.
942
943“Ah… Really sorry about that! Yuigahama was planning to wait outside there but I told
944her to come in. It was quite cold outside, right? that’s also a preach-it...”
945
946If you had to say that was like Orimoto, it was quite like her – frankly expressing her
947apology. Rather than saying that she didn’t care about a sense of distance, she would still
948try to approach it knowing that the distance exists. She’s been like this for a while.
949
950“I… I see…. It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
951
952As I said so, Yuigahama also nodded her head in agreement. Orimoto also smiled.
953
954“Right, right! I also felt it was quite cold outside. It’s really okay.”
955
956“Alright. Then it’s fine...”
957
958Orimoto also put up a smile trying to cover it up, and at the same time fuddled her perm
959back and forth.
960How… how should I put this… This embarrassing atmosphere…. Just seeing Orimoto
961alone felt like “Crap…” but then together with Yuigahama it’d turn into a “Damn, crap,
962crap…” god-punch situation...[67]
963
964Yuigahama and Orimoto both smiled at each other lightly. I was not able to peek into
965what kind of expression laid deep underneath those smiles.
966
967With that moment of heavily bitter silence kept going on, Orimoto finally opened her
968mouth after spitting out a short sigh.
969
970“Speaking of which, by the way, why didn’t Hikigaya contact us? The fact that Yuigahama
971was the one that contacted us really freaked me out.”
972
973Orimoto, who stared at me while complaining, filled her voice with dissatisfaction, but
974what she said was quite jocular. Thanks to that, the tight atmosphere was able to loosen
975up a little bit. I finally was able to slowly open my heavily-sealed mouth.
976
977“Ah, well, when I switched to a new phone at that time, eh things like this and that
978happened, so…”
979
980I couldn’t just say I deleted your contact right into her face, so I just mumbled it through
981trying to round up the story. Orimoto then interpreted it arbitrarily and then followed
982me up with her yeses.
983
984“Ah, the address book got changed right. Why don’t you tell me your LINE?”
985
986“I don’t use LINE though.”
987
988“That’s funny. Isn’t that an excuse used by girls?”
989
990“No, it’s not funny. Eh, girls’ way of refusal is quite terrible...”
991
992Judging from the fact that she mentioned it as girls’ excuses, perhaps it does happen
993quite frequently around Orimoto… ‘Is that Nakamachi-san? I feel you~ That person feels
994like that type~’, etc. I feel sorry for thinking it this way… Orimoto then tilted her head in
995her way.
996
997“Eh, what now then…”
998
999Casting her eyes afar, Orimoto hit her face with her smartphone and thought hard.
1000Meanwhile, Tamanawa who sat next to her kept blowing the hair on his forehead, and
1001sometimes coughed once or twice.
1002
1003And then, just as I expected, he looked at me with a very sharp gaze. I read into the air
1004and returned him with another cough to prevent Orimoto from furthering the
1005conversation. I then opened my bag and started grabbing things.
1006
1007“Well, let’s put that aside for now… So today, I’m here as a representative of the
1008President of the Student Council, or rather as her deputy.”
1009
1010And then, the thing that I took out from the bag was the main topic of our meeting today -
1011the proposal for the dummy prom. Though we had already sent digital copies to both
1012Tamanawa and Orimoto, I still wanted to prepare a physical copy for the meeting today.
1013This is an iron law for being a Company Slave[68]. RIP the so-called ‘paperless’...
1014
1015“Recently we had been planning a prom, and gradually we had been thinking about
1016scaling it up. I’m not saying we are going to do it right now for this upcoming one, but
1017more like looking into it as an option starting from next year…”
1018
1019As I was speaking, Yuigahama next to me looked at me in surprised in a flash. I nodded to
1020her in acknowledgement.
1021
1022To us, this dummy prom plan itself was targeting the graduating class of this year, but
1023that was only limited to within our Soubu HS. In fact, the website that we were preparing
1024then did not explicitly mention whether it was targeting this year or next year, but
1025merely titled itself as the “New Prom”.
1026
1027From Tamanawa’s perspective, they couldn’t possibly accept holding such ridiculously
1028absurd prom plan this year. If only we had enough time to do it, it would probably be
1029easier to get them aboard. There was no need for us to tell them the whole story.
1030
1031Nevertheless, those small number of annoying parents from our school were only
1032nagging about the prom this year. For this reason, when there’s a new prom plan that
1033comes into the picture, obviously they are going to tag it along and start thinking about
1034it. Seeing a prom plan that they already dislike become even more ridiculous, they would
1035for sure stand up and try to destroy it right away.
1036
1037In fact, with regard to the when-to-happen concern that I just mentioned, neither
1038Orimoto nor Tamanawa seemed to care about it. They took it for granted that I was
1039obviously referring to next year or even later.
1040
1041Orimoto grabbed the proposal booklet in hand, and then made a sound as if she just lost
1042her incentives.
1043
1044“Eh, this thing…”
1045
1046The front cover of the proposal that Orimoto was flipping then had rather meaningless
1047characters and words printed in exaggerated fonts. With that Tamanawa could
1048definitely…! He would definitely get it all! While thinking so, we quickly turned our eyes
1049to Tamanawa bearing a sense of hope in mind.
1050Thereupon, Tamanawa carefully read the proposal page by page, and sometimes as if
1051finding something that concerned him, he would stop flipping and wear a difficult face.
1052And then, he just sighed deeply.
1053
1054Eventually, he seemed to finish reading it and carefully closed the booklet. He raised up
1055his face and poured his stare at me.
1056
1057“... so I have carefully read the proposal.”
1058
1059While saying so, Tamawana kept tapping the table with his finger in a slow tempo. He
1060then blew up some air over his forehead.
1061
1062“It’s good that there’s a lot of diversity in it. However, other than that everything else is
1063simply too abstract. There are so many needless things in it that the intention of the
1064proposal simply digresses from its focus.”
1065
1066After hearing his words, I was so shocked that I had my mouth open widely and froze in
1067amazement.
1068
1069“What… did you... say…”
1070
1071He did not use any of those attractive foreign terminologies at all…? When I was still in
1072surprise, Tamanawa continued his words
1073
1074“I think it’s better to focus on words that have better expressive power. You want to
1075make the proposal look realizable. Of course, I can understand the fact that you want to
1076incorporate a sense of ‘upcoming expectation’ for an experimental event. But
1077unfortunately, I don’t see any possible ways leading to it eventually.”
1078
1079He waved and moved his hands about widely as if practicing Tai chi. Tamanawa said so
1080word by word in his reasonings, and in the end, pushed his forehead hair upward.
1081
1082“For this reason, your proposal doesn’t work.”
1083
1084Tamanawa’s eyes looked like as if they were implying “You have not yet reached that
1085stage yet.” in sympathy.[69]
1086
1087Why did it turn out like this… As I was thinking so, Yuigahama looked at me in a ‘Is he
1088really this kind of person?’ confusing face. I shook my head gently in response, implying
1089‘I don’t know and don’t care after all’.
1090
1091Following my confusion, I cast my reserved eyes to Orimoto, who then put up a bitter
1092smile and scratched her cheek. Judging from her reaction, it seemed that Tamanawa-san
1093had been like this recently.
1094It’s been a while since those who were regarded as ‘holding high consciousness’ had
1095been made fun of.[70] It looked like Tamanawa-san had been reading into this kind of
1096atmosphere from his surroundings recently and perhaps started to consider changing his
1097own image. In some sense, he had grown up and become more mature in a way. People
1098always say “One who has been away for three days must be looked at with new eyes…”
1099This saying describes him precisely… If I keep following his pace like this, I’d definitely
1100get GAAAAAHHHH! wrecked by him while screaming hysterically.
1101
1102Wait, it wasn’t quite the time to be impressed by him. If Tamanawa refused to hop on
1103board then my plan would be all over.
1104
1105What should I do now… as I was panicking, I started to shake my knees unconsciously.
1106Tamanawa kept tapping the table with his finger as if he was waiting for my response.
1107Yuigahama looked at me and then Tamanawa anxiously, and then sighed gently. Seeing
1108this, Orimoto couldn’t hold her laugh but let it slip away.
1109
1110All these noises crossed over and became a disturbing track of cacophony. Its rhythm
1111and beat further accelerated my feeling of anxiety. In any way, I had to open my mouth
1112because I felt compelled to say something at that moment.
1113
1114It’s truly ‘freestyle’ just to lash out words one after another that jump out my mind.
1115Words with high consciousness sounded abnormally harmonious with Japanese raps.[71]
1116
1117“Your worry is the budgeto? But we used to having insufficient budgeto. So now we need
1118to use the gadgeto! Think about the scale and adjusto! All I want to do is suggesto!”
1119
1120I did not think much about either the verse or the flow but just spouted out words at will.
1121Tamanawa nodded his head rhythmically and took it all in. And then, he waved his hands
1122in circle and soon replied.
1123
1124“Your argument is only temporal. The content of your proposal is only trivial. In case we
1125need to work together, if not concrete we’d all get fucked over. Can you not see the
1126direction? If you can’t answer this then the proposal go boom disappear. So all we need
1127to do is to think together!”
1128
1129Tamanawa rapped and explained it all at ease, making me rather speechless. Despite so, I
1130still responded.
1131
1132“We also just finished our draft. We simply need a native billboard. Though the direction
1133is clearless, the concept only from Lincoln it comes, we then need to use our own hands
1134to build the nests. But, if there’s nobody leading we then keep unmoving. On the budget
1135we can crowdfunding, as long as it comes to people’s sight it’s relaxing.[72]
1136
1137While I wiped off the sweat on my forehead, Tamanawa raised his eyebrows and listened
1138to me light-heartedly in a relaxed way. Confirming that it had been one beat after I
1139finished my rap, he flipped through the proposal booklet and tapped the part where it
1140was fully loaded by my counter-Tamanawa high-consciousness measures.
1141
1142“Indeed there are some interests. But what I care are the excuses. Only small part of the
1143proposal is of importance. Other contents are just nonsense. If we do it together then we
1144work as a phalanx. But now we are simply inharmonious!”
1145
1146I believed he just waved his hands around a lot faster than before, and towards the end
1147he pointed his finger as if he was firing a bullet at me.
1148
1149Though we joked around at each other, Tamanawa’s gaze penetrated me deeply and
1150rendered me speechless. Indeed, just as Tamanawa said, this proposal took Tamanawa
1151too lightly. I took it for granted that Tamanawa would hop on board if I simply write
1152down a bunch of business terminologies without putting much thoughts about it.
1153
1154Nevertheless, human beings do change a lot. After all, Tamanawa was taught a lesson by
1155Yukinoshita during the Christmas event. He should learn to change by then.
1156
1157“Eh, well, that is…”
1158
1159I gave up talking. Whatever. I didn’t have any words left. This guy was just as strong as I
1160expected. I was out of ideas. So strong… After I sighed deeply to acknowledge my defeat,
1161Tamanawa put up a smile full of his pride of winning it.
1162
1163“That’s why your proposal doesn’t work.”
1164
1165Being told straight into my face again so blatantly, I lost my words again. The game had
1166eight sections and two turns. Before even reaching the third round, I already
1167surrendered after taking a critical hit.
1168
1169“Eh… What now then…”
1170
1171As I dropped my head downcasted, Yuigahama, who had been observing our flow of
1172exchanges until then, finally couldn’t bear taking at it anymore and opened her mouth
1173carefully, half troubled half astounded. Orimoto instead had been looking at our
1174exchange and holding her giggles back. She quickly wiped off the laughing tears that
1175appeared by her eyes and took a deep breathe out. And then, she took the proposal book
1176in her hand.
1177
1178“But this proposal looks quite fun still, doesn’t it?”
1179
1180“Ah, I know right!”
1181
1182As soon as Orimoto said so to Yuigahama, Yuigahama’s face quickly turned sparkling.
1183Orimoto didn’t put much into thought while saying so, but seemed to merely express her
1184honest interests in the proposal. Hearing her words, Tamanawa immediately put up a
1185gentleman smile on his face. Along with that he also snapped his finger and winked.
1186
1187“That’s true. That’s also a *sorearu*!”
1188
1189“Wut…...”
1190
1191Just a moment ago he was arguing vehemently against me, but after seeing the reversal
1192of his attitude, I couldn’t help but show my surprised reaction, and then stared at
1193Tamanawa. Maybe he finally felt embarrassed by it, Tamanawa coughed several times
1194gently, and then turned his attention back to the proposal booklet.
1195
1196“Of course, it’s not like we oppose this proposal or anything. However, if we do not stay
1197on the same wavelength from the very beginning, we will soon run into conflicts and end
1198up going into different directions. So, I think we should first solidify that part first.”
1199
1200While speaking, he quickly turned his eyes at me. I nodded my head gently in response.
1201
1202“Think of this proposal as our tentative plan. We just want it to look flashy. It’d be sorry if
1203it turns out to be difficult to understand. Therefore, shall we first set the practicality
1204aside, go back to the starting line and discuss from there?”
1205
1206Laying my hands on my knees, I lowered my head a little bit. Yuigahama also followed
1207me.
1208
1209“Please…”
1210
1211Tamanawa then looked at us attentively, while Orimoto blinked her eyes. A strange
1212moment of silence befell and made me feel rather itchy, so I moved my body uneasily.
1213Orimoto sighed mildly with her light smiles.
1214
1215“... sounds good to me. Let’s do it, President!”
1216
1217Orimoto then hit Tamanawa’s arm with her elbow for a couple times. Every time
1218Tamanawa got hit by her, he made an indescribable ‘nfu, nnnn’ sound. Yep, I knew that
1219feeling. Back in middle school, with that skin-contact I almost died at the spot…
1220 Tamanawa kept still there for a while and finally seemed to calm down. He gently
1221rubbed the place where he got hit and went back talking again.
1222
1223“... Alright. Luckily we still have time. There’s enough time for us to discuss it more.
1224Bearing in mind that we want to realize the plan, we need to carefully work on the
1225unification of the understanding of the our goal.”
1226
1227“Preach it!”
1228
1229Orimoto immediately raised her thumb up. Perhaps Tamanawa got quite delighted by it.
1230He quickly put up a smile, rubbed his chin and leaned forward with his hands crossed.
1231
1232“Speaking of the goal, there’s this story from the past. Once upon a time, there were three
1233bricklayers in a town… If you ask one of them, what’s your ultimate goal? How do you
1234think he would respond?”
1235
1236Tamanawa snapped his fingers loudly, and then pointed at me. It looked like he was fired
1237up. Bringing up some business training story that he heard from somewhere, he even
1238intentionally wanted me to answer it. But, sadly, when I worked on the proposal, I
1239actually learned about stories like this then.
1240
1241“Building a marvelous grand church that keeps standing generations after generations.”
1242
1243Feeling sorry for my immediate response, I quickly gave the correct answer. Tamanawa
1244nodded to me proudly.
1245
1246“That’s correct. While stacking the bricks, he says so. And then, you turn to another
1247bricklayer and ask him. What do you think he would say?”
1248
1249This time, Tamanawa snapped his fingers using both hands and then pointed at me. After
1250hearing his words, Yuigahama looked rather confused. I shook my head to tell her not to
1251care about it. You lose if you get serious.
1252
1253Knowing that my words won’t simply be delivered to Tamanawa’s ears, I gave the very
1254same answer again.
1255
1256“...building a marvelous grand church that keeps standing generations after generations.”
1257
1258“Right. He says so while keeping his hands busy on his job… and then the third person...”
1259
1260Tamanawa looked around at three of us, then took long enough break, and finally opened
1261his mouth solemnly.
1262
1263“... ‘building a marvelous grand church that keeps standing generations after
1264generations.’ says the third bricklayer.”
1265
1266“Oh, oh…”
1267
1268Looking at Tamanawa’s twinkling eyes, I had no words left to say but only surprises. I
1269wasn’t sure how Tamanawa interpreted my surprise, but he took a long breathe out in
1270satisfaction.
1271
1272“We need to very carefully ponder what our ultimate goal is.”
1273
1274He stood up heavily, and then turned his body halfway facing us.
1275“Do you know how we can defeat Disneyland?”
1276
1277Without waiting for my response, Tamanawa began walking around in the room while
1278his shoes were making loud noises.
1279
1280“If we take the normal approach, we will never defeat Disneyland, because Disneyland
1281has nearly reached complete perfection. So, we need to think from another angle - create
1282something that’s incomplete, where the sense of entertainment actually lies.”
1283
1284Eventually, after making two circles in the meeting room, Tamanawa headed towards the
1285whiteboard. He started drawing some mysterious diagram on it.
1286
1287“An exam where you always score 90/100, versus an exam where you used to score 0
1288but this time score 50 on it. Which exam gives you more happiness? What we need to
1289consider is not how we can gather 10,000 people, but rather how we can celebrate with
129010,000 people.”
1291
1292Tamanawa knocked the whiteboard loudly. Perhaps being overwhelmed by his vigor,
1293Yuigahama clapped her hands in admiration.
1294
1295“Ohhh~ I got it!... maybe... in a way…”
1296
1297I cast my stare at Yuigahama in doubt. She then averted her eyes from me and talked in
1298broken words. Meanwhile, Orimoto was playing her smartphone and nodded her head in
1299agreement.
1300
1301“I know right! Preach it!”
1302
1303Hey, you were barely listening… Despite so, what Tamanawa just said indeed wasn’t
1304completely wrong. The arguments themselves weren’t exactly unreasonable, if you have
1305to say Sorearu then it’s quite a Sorearu… By the way, I sense strongly this feeling of ‘you
1306are not in the right position to say it’... Maybe these high conscious people will eventually
1307all end up joining the IT industry. It felt like a CEO of some IT company just rolled a
1308gatcha and got a 1-star card.
1309
1310Even after this guy stopped using those annoying foreign big words, the essence of his
1311arguments did not change a bit.
1312
1313This was something that we hear all the time around Inage Kaigan. Perhaps the fact that
1314we considered it lack of freshness is indeed the proof of our growth.[73]
1315
1316As I was thinking about these trivias, Tamanawa, who just a moment ago was talking
1317nonsense, started mumbling while staring at the whiteboard.
1318
1319“... Looking into next year and beyond, we need to begin our preparation right away. We
1320have to stack our results one by one starting from now…”
1321
1322After that, he turned his face to us, with a slightly bitter smile on his face.
1323
1324Maybe Tamanawa himself had already noticed the emptiness of his own words.
1325Therefore, still he had been borrowing words from others. Yet, despite so, he still kept
1326praying. Once following the actions come the results, all the words he said must then
1327become Tamanawa’s own sayings. I looked forward to his future!
1328
1329Despite of the enmity between us before, I still cherished the fact that only this time I
1330was able to team up with Tamanawa, not only for the sake of strong factors like the
1331dummy plan, but also for the sake of having a strong helping mate that can support
1332Iroha’s prom next year and beyond. Worthy of Represent Kaihin Sougou! As a ‘homie’
1333hyped with ‘hood’, I can almost call you ‘my man’! I need to take a ‘my man’ photo with
1334you![74]
1335
1336“... can we take a photo of this meeting? Also, if possible, I’d like to have it displayed on
1337the website.”
1338
1339“Of course, go ahead. Ah, in that case, maybe I should write it in a more easily
1340understandable way…”
1341
1342Tamanawa agreed happily with me in consent. And then, he fixed a couple places on the
1343whiteboard, and then began talking stuff and circling his hands as if he was operating a
1344potter’s wheel.
1345
1346Soon, before we barely ran out of the remaining time we reserved the meeting room for,
1347Tamanawa’s speech finally finished up. When we left the community center the sun was
1348already at the zenith, and the busy streets were decorated by its liveliness.
1349
1350Before joining the crowd in front of the station, Orimoto turned her body around facing
1351us.
1352
1353“What should we do after? Go home, or lunch?”
1354
1355“We have some errands to run at our school later…”
1356
1357“I see- then let’s leave the meal for next time!”
1358
1359After Yuigahama said so in a apologetic tone, Orimoto frowned a little bit. Yuigahama
1360then joined her hands together and lowered her head in apology. I also bobbed my head.
1361Thereupon, Tamanawa next to me gave a cough to clear his throat, quickly took a step
1362forward and stood next to Orimoto.
1363
1364“So, we shall dismiss here. By the way, now that both Orimoto and I had some spare time
1365after this, why don’t we…”
1366
1367Slightly blushed, Tamanawa peeked aside to probe her reaction and mumbled. His tone
1368was quite strong in the beginning but as he went on, it became softer and softer. I was
1369not sure if Orimoto was paying attention or not. She simply nodded as if nothing
1370happened.
1371
1372“Right, go home.”
1373
1374“Oh, okay…”
1375
1376Tamanawa only responded that, with his mouth twitching. But soon he pulled himself
1377together, slowly walking straight towards me while blowing air towards his forehead.
1378
1379“... when you decide the next meeting time, could you give me a reminder?”
1380
1381To be honest, we had no such plan, but out of pressure I had to nod my head in response.
1382
1383I don’t quite get the situation but… Ganbare! Tamanawa-san!
1384 7-6
1385
1386The school campus during the weekend was extraordinarily quiet - all sounds seemed to
1387get reflected and bounced back in void.
1388
1389Starting from the playground, outside the campus the noises were all over the place,
1390whereas once entering the campus, I started to feel a cold sense of rejection.
1391
1392Nevertheless, at the Game Club room, the atmosphere there was all fired up and felt like
1393a casino.
1394
1395“... yay! Finally got it done!”
1396
1397“Just in case, let’s do a test run and bring the website up.”
1398
1399Hatana pressed the enter key and then suddenly laid down on the table. Sagami the little
1400brother pushed the laptop to me powerlessly.
1401
1402I looked at the laptop screen to check out the progress. An official website that almost
1403matched the original specification exactly showed up on the screen. The main subject,
1404our stylish photograph, was also displayed along with some other information in text.
1405The only thing left was to add our social network accounts to it. It almost seemed to be
1406ready as the teaser website. I was quite impressed by their ability to produce something
1407like this just in a few days.
1408
1409“Zaimokuza, can you try to publish something?”
1410
1411“Okie… one sec!”
1412
1413As I said so, Zaimokuza soon published quite a happy article full of hashtags. After
1414refreshing the page, in the SNS main body, along with a photo that we just took in which
1415Tamanawa circled his hands as if he was operating a potter’s wheel, an article titled “We
1416exchanged our opinions with Kaihin-Sougou HS on the topic of prom! From now on we
1417would like to bring more schools in!” showed up immediately.
1418
1419“Woah, looks amazing! Great!”
1420
1421Behind me, Yuigahama peeked at the screen and hit my shoulders excitedly. Being
1422slightly bothered by the close distance, apart from giving the laptop back to Sagami, I
1423also quietly escaped from Yuigahama’s hands.
1424
1425“Okay, now let’s migrate it to production environment. Zaimokuza please take the job of
1426updating the SNS for the next few days.”
1427“Acknowledged.”
1428
1429“You can count on me!”
1430
1431Both Sagami and Zaimokuza nodded in response. Except one person - Hatana put up a
1432difficult face in front of the monitor.
1433
1434“Is it really okay to look like this…”
1435
1436“Yep, in terms of the content it’s more than enough already.”
1437
1438We not only presented the accomplishment of our discussion with Tamanawa, but also
1439hinted that we might tag more schools along. That should already make us look like we
1440can no longer be left unattended and uninterrupted. Given that our discussion with
1441Kaihin-Sougou was described as being on hold at the stage of ‘exchanging ideas and
1442opinions’, we would have strong enough excuses to give if the dummy prom plan gets
1443abandoned. We should then naturally make those who complained about the prom look
1444like overreacting idiots.
1445
1446Just as I was about to explain so, Hatano tilted his head and his eyes squinted at me.
1447
1448“... uh, I feel like as the source of information the website might be a little too weak for
1449that…”
1450
1451“Well, that’s true.... But it would serve its purpose even if a small fraction of our parents
1452see it. In fact, it would be quite troubling if more than necessary number of people learn
1453about it. I think the level of influence it has right now is precisely what we need.
1454Furthermore, just in case, I will set up a leak to the parents so we should expect some
1455reactions from them soon.”
1456
1457Especially, that person who leaks the information was the most annoying part though…
1458Thinking about the errand that I need to run next, I accidentally ended up wearing a
1459bitter face. I couldn’t help but naturally break out my sigh. Yuigahama looked at me in
1460wonder. I continued my words in order to cover up.
1461
1462“Sorry guys, just for the next two days, pay attention to the website and see if the website
1463has any bugs or glitches.”
1464
1465Hatano nodded his head gently and turned back to his laptop. He then started talking to
1466Sagami about their next steps.
1467
1468I looked around at everyone again and sighed quietly.
1469
1470By this time, we almost finished dealing with the hardware part. It was a rush-through
1471product that might contain obvious flaws and signs of rough work. We nevertheless had
1472all tried our best. Actually, they all tried their best for my sake. Thanks to them, as long as
1473I manage to get through this weekend, what’s next should be more or less chill. I had to
1474express my genuine gratefulness to Zaimokuza and the two Game Club members.
1475
1476“If things go well, we might be able to see results as early as the beginning of next week…
1477All in all, thank you all so much! Much appreciated all your help!”
1478
1479How deplorable I was - only being able to say it in a low voice. Even so, I opened my
1480thighs apart, rested my hands on them and slowly lowered my head in gratitude.
1481
1482Thereupon, Zaimokuza and the two Game Club dudes looked at me as if seeing an
1483endangered species. Only Yuigahama showed a satisfying smile on her face. Feeling
1484rather uneasy to be stared at, I cleared my throat.
1485
1486“Well, let’s put our thanks aside. I’m sorry to bring you all here on a weekend day. Please
1487wrap things up if you wish now… In all, thanks for all your work!”
1488
1489As soon as I finished my words, I took my belongings and quickly stood up from my seat.
1490It would be mindless for the employees to leave if the manager still stays after all! How
1491considerate and mindful I am! All managers should learn from me.
1492
1493“Ah, wait.. wait for me…! Th...thanks everyone! Let’s have a celebration some time!”
1494
1495Following me, Yuigahama stood up from the seat as well. After that, I turned to
1496Zaimokuza and others and raised my arm high to cheer them up. In response, Hatano
1497and Sagami returned ambiguous complicated smiles to me.
1498
1499“No, that…”
1500
1501“Well, I will give it a thought…”
1502
1503“Alright, for now let’s say we will go if we can.”
1504
1505Only one person, Zaimokuza, responded cheerfully. Normally that’s something you
1506would say if you want to find an excuse *not* to go, but in the case of Zaimokuza, he
1507totally would just simply go... Strange right?
1508
1509After having their work done, three of them were filled with senses of liberation and
1510accomplishment. I peeked at them from aside as they began chitchatting. Then both
1511Yuigahama and I left the clubroom quietly.
1512
1513Unfortunately that didn’t mean my work had been done. I took out my smartphone from
1514my pocket, touching the screen while walking. Yuigahama besides me was also on her
1515phone, and then she looked at me.
1516
1517“Hikki- You have plans next? Or just go home?”
1518“Well, I have a phone call next… And depending on its outcome…”
1519
1520As I said so, I kept holding my smartphone in hand yet to make the call. I looked at the
1521contact book displayed on the screen and sighed deeply.
1522
1523Originally I was planning to call earlier and should have done so.
1524
1525However, it’s quite normal to put off calls and messages that you are unwilling to make
1526or compose, such as progress report or notification of delays. For those calls that involve
1527apology or sorry, you would always end up delaying it if possible, a typical hopeless
1528procrastination psychology. In the end, when you are barely at the deadline before it’s
1529too late, you end up causing more damages. You knew all the rationales yet still couldn’t
1530help but procrastinate anyways....
1531
1532But only for this time, no matter how much I hated doing it, as long as I had no other
1533choices, I had to resort to this way.
1534
1535Suspicious of me, who kept frowning and staring at my smartphone, Yuigahama moved
1536her eyes back and forth between her smartphone and me.
1537
1538“Calling… who?”
1539
1540“Eh… the helper that will do the leak for me.”
1541
1542After we reached the overpass connecting the special purpose building and the main
1543building, I finally made up my mind. Knowing that Yuigahama had been looking at me in
1544concern, I decided that it was the time to act.
1545
1546Breathing out a long sigh, I turned my face to Yuigahama.
1547
1548“... excuse me, I need to make a quick phone call.”
1549
1550“Of course.”
1551
1552I said my words with the implication that she should leave first, but Yuigahama just
1553stood there still, waiting for me to begin my call. Given that she already acted that way, it
1554would have been tough for me to explicitly ask her to leave...
1555
1556It can’t be helped. I pointed at the bench in the middle of the overpass, telling her with
1557my eye contacts to sit down and wait for me there. I then pressed the call button with my
1558hand holding the smartphone.
1559
1560After two or three beeping tones, the other end picked it up immediately.
1561
1562“Hyahhallo-! How are you?”
1563“...I’m doing well.”
1564
1565The person I was calling, whose name is Yukinoshita Haruno, acted delightfully as if the
1566conversation on the other day never happened. After hearing her voice, I clearly felt my
1567cheek had just twitched briefly. Because of that my voice might get a little too high, I
1568could hear joyful gigglings from the speaker.
1569
1570I wiped off the unpleasant feeling of being seen through, and quickly resumed to talk my
1571business.
1572
1573“I need to have a small conversation with you. Is it okay?”
1574
1575“Of course. Warmly welcome!”
1576
1577“Sorry for my sudden notice, but is tonight a good time…”
1578
1579As I said so, I heard the other end make a sigh as if she had to think about it briefly.
1580
1581“Hmm…… It really is quite ‘sudden’. Well, alright. In that case, can you come over here?
1582There’s a coffee shop right by the entrance of the outlet.”
1583
1584“Ah, that outlet close to your place?”
1585
1586I was still more or less bothered by the fact that soon after she showed a troubling tone
1587and then immediately replied yes. While trying to think of the place that she designated, I
1588replied to her valuely.
1589
1590Meanwhile, Yuigahama, who was supposed to be sitting down, suddenly stood up, leaned
1591towards me, and stealthily placed her ear next to my phone. Being approached so
1592suddenly and unexpectedly, I almost freaked out at the spot, with my heart speeding up
1593immediately. Unfortunately, I was unable to shake her off, so I took several steps forward
1594to distance myself from her. Yuigahama then showed dissatisfaction on her face, trying to
1595approach me again.
1596
1597Feeling suspicious of what was going on here - the silent attack and defense between
1598Yuigahama and me, Haruno-san asked me from the other end.
1599
1600“What happened?”
1601
1602“No, nothing.”
1603
1604I responded quickly. Covering the microphone with my hand, I reproved Yuigahama in a
1605low voice.
1606
1607“... what do you think you were doing? I’m on my phone right now.”
1608“Are you meeting Haruno-san?”
1609
1610As I was about to go back to the call, Yuigahama interrupted me. Her voice was sharper
1611than usual. Her face seemed a little bit worrisome. After seeing that face, I was unable to
1612evade her question or put up a joke. I had no choice but to give a quick answer.
1613
1614“... eh, with regard to the website, I think that person would be able to leak the
1615information for us.”
1616
1617“It is bad... if I also come with you?”
1618
1619Yuigahama said it with a voice sharper than usual. Her face seemed rather serious and
1620worrisome.
1621
1622“Why do you…”
1623
1624Even if I asked, she wouldn’t open her mouth. No reply. Her eyes were telling me firmly
1625that even if I said no to her she would still tag along with me anyways.
1626
1627To be honest, I really didn’t want her to come with me. Every time I meet Yukinoshita
1628Haruno nothing good turns out in the end. I would really feel terrible if in addition
1629Yuigahama gets involved. As I thought so in hesitation, ‘Hello? Hello?’ with rather
1630irritated tone came from the speaker. Panicked and hurried, I quickly held the phone up
1631back to my ear.
1632
1633“Ah, I’m really sorry… Yuigahama and I will come together then.”
1634
1635“Gahama-san? Oh, sure thing!”
1636
1637Without taking a moment to think about it, Haruno-san responded light-heartedly. After
1638we decided on a time and a place to meet, the other end hang up the call abruptly.
1639
1640I put down the phone loosely and powerlessly, and glanced at Yuigahama, who was
1641holding the straps of her backpack firmly and biting her lip.
1642
1643“Let’s go…”
1644
1645After I briefly told her my words, Yuigahama nodded her head with a gentle smile on her
1646face. However, the footsteps following that no longer sounded as energized as usual, but
1647rather quiet and lonely.
1648
1649Slowly, quietly, without letting anyone notice.
1650
1651That sound was perhaps, very close to the sound that implies the ending is close.
1652 7-7
1653
1654The sun set over the horizon of the sea. Only the afterglow was left spreading over the
1655west sky. Lit from the lingering evening glow, the streets were also brightened by street
1656lights and building lights. Shadows of the pedestrians stretched in various directions.
1657
1658Although the designated coffee shop was quite packed already, thanks to the European
1659stylish decoration and the quietly playing BGM, the ambience there was pretty relaxing
1660and comforting.
1661
1662I told the staff that I was meeting someone inside, then I was taken to an open terrace.
1663Chilling wind of the early spring was blowing over my skin. After the night befell, the
1664temperature went down by a bit, so there appeared to be a few customers here and
1665there.
1666
1667Nevertheless, deep in the corner, around Yukinoshita Haruno was an empty area where
1668no one was sitting.
1669
1670Haruno-san wore a dark red coat on her shoulder, along with a long skirt and short boots
1671on her feet. Over her knees she was gently covered by a blanket that probably came from
1672the shop. She was reading a book quietly under the parasol heater. She occasionally held
1673the mug to warm up her hands, and then took a sip from it.
1674
1675I was amazed by her appearance, stopped my foot there and squinted my eyes. The aura
1676around her overlapped with a scene from some time ago that I hadn’t seen for a lot time.
1677
1678However, I was only dazzled by it for a brief moment before she noticed us. She smiled
1679gently and waved her hands at us.
1680
1681I lowered my head a little bit in courtesy. While she kept beckoning to us, both
1682Yuigahama and I sat down opposite to her.
1683
1684“Want to drink anything? The bread here is also very delicious.”
1685
1686I wanted to get it done as soon as possible, so I was gonna say the same thing… But then I
1687decided no. The mug that Haruno-san was holding seemed to have mulled wine in it.
1688When the red purple liquid in it was shaken, it released a strong smell of cinnamon.
1689
1690“I’ll go with regular coffee.”
1691
1692“I’ll… I’ll have the black tea.”
1693
1694We promptly finished our ordering and waited for the drinks to be brought over.
1695Meanwhile, Haruno-san placed a bookmark inside the book that she just stopped
1696reading, putting the book back to her handbag.
1697
1698“So, what’s this conversation about?”
1699
1700With her body slightly leaned forward, Haruno-san rested her cheek and stared at my
1701face. Those eyes reminded me of the bad experience I had the other day. Her sexy lips
1702were accompanied by her smile. Her big eyes squinted like an arrow while looking at me.
1703She crossed her long legs on top of each other under the table, with the tip of her foot
1704touching my knee gently.
1705
1706The words that I was about to say turned out to be only sighs. I felt my throat was
1707tangled and for some reason thirsty.
1708
1709To be honest, I really do not want to talk to this person. It’s not like I personally hate her,
1710since I am not good at dealing with females in general. If I have to think, simply factor by
1711factor, then it’s not like I’m holding a grudge against her. No matter from the perspective
1712of her appearance or her personalities, I can’t say there’s only few parts that I like about
1713her.
1714
1715But still, I was scared of her - like looking into a mirror at night, looking through the
1716opening of a door in a dark room, the uneasy feeling from the back while taking a
1717shower, such and such… It’s that kind of fear that you don’t even dare to figure out or
1718confirm what it actually is.
1719
1720Whatever I put it into words, from that end, everything becomes tied up together. I feel
1721like being aimed at by something that I don’t even want to learn about - I was dominated
1722by this kind of fear and anxiety then.
1723“Eh, it was something… about the prom.”
1724
1725While I lost my words, Yuigahama couldn’t bear seeing me like that so she opened her
1726mouth.
1727
1728“I was thinking what it is… that’s the matter…?”
1729
1730The delightful face that Haruno-san had been putting until then soon disappeared as if it
1731was all just a joke. Apparently having lost all her interests, Haruno-san leaned her body
1732back onto the chair-back.
1733
1734“When you said you wanted to have a conversation, I thought it would normally be a
1735love-talk, right?”
1736
1737Saying her words half jokingly, she shrugged her shoulder widely. Seeing that Haruno-
1738san lost her interest, I made a shallow sigh.
1739
1740“When I said it’s a conversation normally it should imply asking you for a favor, right?”
1741
1742I took a small sip of the coffee that was just delivered to me and made a light-hearted
1743comment. In response, Haruno-san broke her smile.
1744
1745“What a business life you are living!”
1746
1747“Well, I do hate work though.”
1748
1749I muttered sarcastically with half of my face twisted upward. Soon I could feel that the
1750atmosphere was relaxed. Yuigahama sitting next to me also sighed in relief. How
1751miserable I was! It was good to have Yuigahama tagging along with me after all. Had I
1752come here alone by myself, I would have totally got caught into her pace from the
1753beginning to the end. Even if I manage to dodge on the surface, deep inside, my heart
1754would be completely captured anyways.
1755
1756I nodded to Yuigahama to tell her that I was fine by then already. Although I wasn’t able
1757to easily dispel my sense of fear towards Haruno-san at all, I did not want to show any
1758weak and clumsy side of me.
1759
1760After taking another sip of the coffee again, I took out my smartphone.
1761
1762“I want you to properly leak this piece of information.”
1763
1764I showed her the official website of the dummy prom that we just freshly finished.
1765
1766Haruno-san looked at the website for a few seconds, and soon made a small sigh.
1767“Hmm… I’m not sure about this…”
1768
1769“Eh… our prom faced very strong oppositions, so we wanted to consider something else
1770new.”
1771
1772As soon as Yuigahama wanted to explain it further, Haruno-san put up a gentle, kind
1773smile on her face and interrupted Yuigahama.
1774
1775“Kay, I understood that part already so it’s okay.”
1776
1777It seemed that Haruno-san already understood the outline of what was going on after
1778skimming through the texts on the website. Thanks to that, we were able to proceed
1779quickly.
1780
1781Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that I didn’t have to explain thing
1782in detail, I held my breath back.
1783
1784Yukinoshita Haruno stared at me with her cold eyes. I noticed that and quickly lost my
1785words.
1786
1787“What I do not understand is, why are you resorting to this way… Didn’t I tell you earlier
1788about the relationship of you three?”
1789
1790Although her smiling voice contained her teasings, I could also hear the sadness that
1791almost conveyed a sense of hopeless with it. As if being tortured by its incorrectness, as if
1792being grieved over the mistakes, every single word that she said hurt me as if it was
1793pouring ice water over my neurons, freezing me immediately.
1794
1795“You really have in mind that this is also for the sake of that kid?”
1796
1797“... this really has nothing much to do with Yukinoshita. It’s not like I was asked by her to
1798do so. Rather, I chose to act on my own. So it was really just serving for my self-
1799satisfaction.”
1800
1801I let out words that I carefully prepared beforehand.
1802
1803I understood very well that as long as I decided to ask Yukinoshita Haruno to do the
1804leaking, I could no longer dodge this question from her. Therefore, I straightforwardly
1805chose to say it in the least mistaken way. Despite the fact that there was no absolutely
1806correct answer, I still firmly believed that I said was not the wrong thing at least. At the
1807very least, it was one of the truths that I believed myself.
1808
1809Unfortunately, I didn’t think my excuse could possibly work for Yukinoshita Haruno.
1810That was precisely why I wanted to avoid this person unless absolutely necessary.
1811
1812Haruno-san broke out her smile and took a quick sip of the hot wine. While scrubbing the
1813edge of the glass, she began talking to me slowly as if trying to correct my reasoning of
1814things.
1815
1816“Yukino-chan did not ask for your help, yet you decided to act voluntarily on your own…
1817Hence like I said, isn’t it co-dependence…… Precisely just as the word suggests, right? In
1818the end, there’s no difference at all.”
1819
1820I was unable to deny her statement right away, losing all my words. Yuigahama casted
1821her mindful eyes to me first, and then to Haruno-san.
1822
1823Not only just Isshiki and Hayama, but I’m afraid also Yuigahama all had something in
1824their mind without saying them explicitly with their mouths. Even I myself had realized
1825that I simply treated it as a word-game, an excuse that I was evading from.
1826
1827“Yukino-chan chose independence, wanting to end that relationship. What Hikigaya-kun
1828can do is to watch over her that way, isn’t it?”
1829
1830Using her voice that could not be gentler and kinder, Haruno-san said so as if she was
1831teaching an infant.
1832
1833I could no longer look straight into her eyes, so I lowered my eyes. What she said was
1834definitely correct - I ended up having a tangible feeling like that. I noticed that I was
1835already holding the sleeves of my coat firmly in hand at that moment.
1836
1837“… I still do not think you are correct."
1838
1839Yuigahama muttered. Though her voice was so low that could have immediately gone
1840with the wind, it clearly entered my ear unambiguously. I was not able identify her facial
1841expression since she had suppressed her emotion in her voice. I looked at Yuigahama’s
1842face.
1843
1844Her eyes were not looking at either me or Hakuno-san. Yuigahama straightened her back
1845and stared firmly at one single spot on the table.
1846
1847Haruno-san’s eyes, which had been focused on only me until then, finally quickly turned
1848to Yuigahama’s direction. And then, she leaned her head slightly and urged Yuigahama to
1849keep talking. Acknowledging her eye contact, Yuigahama began talking falteringly.
1850
1851“It sounded good when you said ‘watch over her’, but ultimately the only consequence
1852left is us distancing from each other. Avoiding each other, taking distance from each
1853other. If we simply let it happen, we won’t change a bit in the end. In that case, perhaps, it
1854would all end up in tragedy - not only us but also the prom…”
1855
1856Lit by the retro-fashioned light in the coffee shop, her profile looked a lot more adult-like
1857than usual, leaving a transient shadow. Looking at that beautiful ambience and her
1858peaceful face, my heart grew painful from inside. Or perhaps, it was because the ending
1859scene that she just mentioned was so easily imaginable for me.
1860
1861“So, we want to stay closer even just for a little bit. We have to be involved. *It* was
1862something necessary in order to end *it* properly. So, so…”
1863
1864Sentences that were fabricated non-stopped, word by word, turned into a long sigh in the
1865end. There was no way for me to know what Yuigahama wanted to say next. I also could
1866not read into her facial expression when she casted her eyes downward.
1867
1868Despite so, there is something that I do understand. Actually, it was something that I
1869understood a lot time ago.
1870
1871“That’s true… we need to end it properly…”
1872
1873I wasn’t saying it to anyone per se, but I mumbled as if I was talking to myself.
1874Yuigahama quietly nodded her head to me.
1875
1876Perhaps, we all had been holding the same wish that we wanted to end *it* properly.
1877After double confirming that, I was finally able to lift up my face.
1878
1879As soon as our eyes crossed, Haruno-san put up a gentle smile, leaned her head slightly
1880and squinted her eyes.
1881
1882“Does that mean any kind of ending is okay? Even an ending that is unwanted by Yukino-
1883chan or anyone else?”
1884
1885“Yes, that’s okay.”
1886
1887Without a slightest bit of hesitation I let out my words. Looking at my face, Haruno-san
1888swallowed her breath quietly in surprise. And then, killing the smile that she was
1889wearing, she asked me in a voice that was much colder than before.
1890
1891“… just curious, why does Hikigaya-kun have to go this far?”
1892
1893To her question, I was unable to give an immediate answer. It wasn’t like I was still
1894hesitating or wavering at that time, but rather, the answer was already there. It was only
1895because I had been already asked similar questions a couple times until then, and thus I
1896had trouble picking my words. Next to me was Yuigahama who stiffened her body there
1897and listened to me carefully.
1898
1899Therefore, I tried my best not to lie, not to conflict with any statements that I had made,
1900and chose to give an answer that had my consistency in mind.
1901
1902“It was perhaps just … the spirit of volunteering. A heart that desires helping each other.
1903Do we need any reason to help others?”
1904Forcing out my words shamelessly, the chair next to me began shaking. I could tell that
1905Yuigahama’s shoulders just lost its strength. Haruno-san sighed shortly and turned her
1906face up to the sky.
1907
1908“You are quite an interesting person.”
1909
1910“If you had to say so, then at least I want you to laugh at the same time.”
1911
1912I wasn’t sure whether Haruno-san had noticed it or not, but her face had no signs of a
1913smile at all. Only her voice resonated. After I pointed it out, Haruno-san finally broke her
1914smile out as if she just realized it.
1915
1916“Telling only the lies… Not saying a single word of truth.”
1917
1918“Whether it’s real or fake. I really don’t have anything to say in particular. Even if I do…”
1919
1920I swallowed back what I wanted to say, I changed my words to something else.
1921
1922“…you are not the person that I would tell.”
1923
1924“……… that’s true…”
1925
1926Haruno-san squinted her eyes as if she suddenly saw something very dazzling in a flash.
1927Without changing the smile on her face, she responded to me half-jokingly. Nevertheless,
1928her voice was somehow accompanied with a very chilling tone, followed by a dry and
1929small sigh after. Perhaps she knew it already. Her hand reached out to the mug. She
1930drank up the beverage inside that already turned cold and wiped her lips with her finger
1931tip. Nodded her head as if she just got ready to talk again, she raised her face up and put
1932up a gentle smile.
1933
1934“I will do the favor for you and help you with the leaking with my best effort.”
1935
1936“Thank you.”
1937
1938Both Yuigahama and I lowered our heads. Haruno-san then rested her cheek on one hand
1939and began touching her smartphone screen with the other hand.
1940
1941“However, it’s still tough with just this little help?”
1942
1943Being told so unexpectedly, I became a little bit confused. Seeing my reaction, Haruno-
1944san smiled naughtily.
1945
1946“Although you have already gathered all necessary elements, the people that you are
1947dealing with can’t really be argued with proper reasonings, right? Furthermore, your real
1948opponent is my mother…”
1949“Eh… that’s true…”
1950
1951Thinking about the Yukinoshita sisters’ mother made both Yuigahama and I look at each
1952other and smile bitterly.
1953
1954Just as I expected, if a certain number of parents want to express their complaints about
1955the dummy prom, they would do so via that mother that served as their representative.
1956Then naturally I would become the person bearing the responsibility from the students’
1957side.
1958
1959Coming to think of the confrontation that happened the other day, to be honest I didn’t
1960believe I could possibly win the argument by either appealing logically or lyrically.[75]
1961
1962While I frowned and mumbled my words out, Haruno-san stretched herself and yawned
1963uninterestedly. She then continued her words as if it was just a follow-up byproduct of
1964her yawn.
1965
1966“But as long as you bring up the conversation with her, I think there should be a way
1967around it, right…? I don’t think that person really cares about proms and stuff in the
1968end.”
1969
1970I was not able to grasp the intention or the connotation of her words, so I leaned my head
1971in question. However, Haruno-san had no intention to elaborate on it further. Rather, she
1972began looking at the drinking menu and humming with her nose.
1973
1974“... well, I will try my best.”
1975
1976“Yep, please do.”
1977
1978I took her carelessly phrased words of encouragement which she said without even
1979looking at me. I then ran out of words to say.
1980
1981Considering the time by then, I thought it was just about the right time to go. I told
1982Yuigahama that it was about the time to leave using only eye contact. She nodded in
1983reply.
1984
1985“... It’s about time for us to leave now. I’m sorry for taking your time!”
1986
1987“Thank you very much for your time!”
1988
1989“No problem. Seeya.”
1990
1991When we both stood up from the chairs, Haruno-san waved her hand gently at us. Given
1992that she already pulled out the drinking menu at hand, it seemed that she still intended
1993to stay there longer.
1994After nodding to her in courtesy, we both left the coffee shop.
1995
1996The distance from the coffee shop to the station was quite short. On a weekday it would
1997have been the rush hour then. On a Saturday like today, since there wasn’t any
1998prominent event happening then, it wasn’t as crowded at all.
1999
2000We finally reached the station plaza that also served as a small bus terminal, I looked at
2001Yuigahama in question of what to do next.
2002
2003Ever since we left the coffee shop Yuigahama had been silent along the way, as if she had
2004been thinking of something all along. As I was concerned by that, I quickly peeked at her
2005face. Yuigahama then put up an exhausted smile on her face.
2006
2007She soon suddenly stopped walking and opened her mouth in difficult.
2008
2009“...just now, what was the ‘co-dependence’ that Haruno-san mentioned about?”
2010
2011Despite the troubled smile that she put up, her voice was rather serious. Unable to dodge
2012her question, I sat down on a bench nearby and tried to look for words to say. Yuigahama
2013also sat next to me, holding her backpack to her chest.
2014
2015“It’s kind of hard to explain… … you do somehow understand the ‘dependence’ part,
2016right?”
2017
2018To my question, Yuigahama nodded her head and tried to bury her face into the
2019backpack she was hugging. I responded with a light smile and continued my words. I
2020tried to explain it plainly, without using terminologies and omitting the nitty-gritty
2021details if possible.
2022
2023“To put simply, co-dependence means that the person who *is relied on* is fine with
2024his/her role of being depended on, maybe. Knowing that he/she is deemed needed, the
2025person who is depended on finds his/her value and gain satisfaction and peace of mind
2026out of it… In the end, both the dependent and the dependee become unwilling to get out
2027of this situation.”
2028
2029While I was explaining, I noticed that my voice dropped suddenly. The more I thought
2030about it the more I noticed myself fitting exactly into that definition. Gradually I started
2031feeling bitterness in my mouth.
2032
2033Perhaps Yuigahama was also reminded of something. She bit her lips slightly.
2034
2035“That, isn’t something good, right…”
2036
2037“...well, it isn’t exactly wholesome, I guess…”
2038
2039--- therefore, that is, perhaps, as wrong as I expected.
2040After hearing my words, Yuigahama’s face turned gloomy. It made me grow really painful
2041to see it, so I quickly stood up from the bench as if trying to tear myself away from it.
2042
2043“What that person said isn’t completely true, in fact. It’s merely one of the ways to look at
2044it.”
2045
2046Thus, there’s no need to be concerned about her words - I tried to convey this layer of
2047meaning to her. I then smiled at her awkwardly.
2048
2049In response, Yuigahama also put up a gentle smile that somehow felt sad and sorrowful.
2050She nodded and stood up as well.
2051
2052Unknowing who had begun walking, both of us eventually arrived at the station
2053turnstiles. Yuigahama gently raised her hand and waved at me.
2054
2055“So, I have to take the train now.”
2056
2057“Alright then, take care!”
2058
2059“Thanks. See you at school soon… Good night, Hikki-”
2060
2061Yuigahama waved her hand gently by her chest. I saw her off and began walking off.
2062
2063After taking a few steps, I turned back and saw Yuigahama still standing outside the
2064turnstiles. As our eyes met, she waved her hand even more widely. I raised my hand
2065slightly in reply. Feeling slightly embarrassed, I quickly left the station.
2066
2067Becoming alone by myself, I hurried home against the night wind.
2068
2069At this point I had completed all the tasks that I scheduled for today. I also finished as
2070much of the preparation as I could.
2071
2072The only thing left to do, is to *end things properly*.