2: The meeting smoothly jumps into
motion but gets nowhere.
The community center where I was meeting with Isshiki was fairly
close to our school, and I got there in only a few minutes by bike.
I'd never actually gone inside the community center before, but I'd
seen it many times just passing by, so I didn't have trouble finding it.
It was right by the station, on the same street as a large mall, the
Marinpia (nickname: Maripin), and a lot of neighborhood housewives
were there in the evening. There were also kids mixed in here and
there among them. The Maripin in the area made it the perfect place
for high school kids to stop by and hang out after school—I myself
would occasionally stop by the bookstore, arcade, or batting center.
Upon arriving at the community center, I parked my bike in the
bicycle lot.
I looked around the area a bit, but I didn't see Isshiki. Well, it wasn't
like we had specified a clear time to meet.
If I'd known it'd be like this, maybe it'd have been better to come
together…
But in order to avoid Yukinoshita and Yuigahama suspecting I was
helping Isshiki on my own, we had to meet away from the school.
Right now, it would be cruel to take a student council–related
request in front of Yukinoshita. But still, it would be irresponsible for
me to not help Isshiki at all. There was also the option of excluding
Yukinoshita only, but that would seem like a cruel betrayal, too.
Considering the way things were with the Service Club at the
moment, the optimal decision would be for me to operate
individually in this matter.
Mentally summarizing the conclusions I'd come to once again, I sat
down at the entrance of the community center by the stairs.
As I stared off into space, Isshiki came out of the convenience store
on the other side of the street. She was carrying a heavy-looking bag
in one hand. Noticing me, she trotted over.
"Sorry to make you wait! I was just doing a little shopping…" The
convenience store bag must have been heavy, as she exhaled a little
tired breath.
"…No, it's fine," I replied as I reached a hand out to her.
For some reason, she avoided my hand, staring at me. She tilted her
head, as if she didn't get my meaning. "What?"
"Why're you glaring at me? Weren't you playing up how heavy your
stuff was 'cause you wanted me to carry it?" I asked.
Isshiki stroked her hair and looked away. Out of surprise or
confusion, her face was pink. "Agh… Oh no, it really was just heavy…"
Oh, is that right? I got the impression she'd see most guys as heavy
lifters and nothing more, so I'd read too deep and assumed that was
the message. You know, since Tobe had been running errands for her
automatically.
Isshiki was frozen for a while, but then a thought seemed to hit her,
and she suddenly stiffened and took a step away from me. "Ah! Ah!
Wait,
wereyoujusttryingtoputthemovesonmeI'msorryitalmostgottomefora
second,butI'vegotmyheadonstraightnowandnoway."
"Oh, uh-huh…"
How many times does she have to reject me…? Denying it is just a
pain in the ass, at this point…
But if her heart will start pattering over something that meaningless,
she'd better watch out, or she'll be a whole bundle of nerves when
she's traveling. Is your heart gonna pound every time the flight
attendant lifts your luggage? It won't, right? …Ah, mine would
(revised for flight attendants). Wait, hold on. Even if it's not an FA, if
it's a blue-collar sort of lady, I'd feel some butterflies… A woman who
supports herself really is great! (Revised for aspiring
househusbands.)
"Well, whatever." Completely ignoring everything she said and did, I
yoinked the bag from her hands.
"Ah… Thank you…" Isshiki squeezed the sleeves of her cardigan and
offered a vigorous bow. It meant I couldn't see her face, but her
surprisingly honest thanks embarrassed me.
"…It's nothing. Just a part of the job."
If you have to say thanks for every little thing, it winds up turning
into like what Komachi always says: Thank you! I love you, Big Bro!
I'd meant to indirectly tell her not to worry about it, but I instantly
wound up regretting my statement.
"Wow! You're so reliable! Then I'll ask you to handle it next time,
too. " She squeezed her hands in front of her chest with a
beamingly bright smile.
Ahhh, suddenly this bag feels heavier… What's in here anyway?
The unexpected weight of the bag made me peek inside to see
various snacks and juice. Well, I guess it was what you'd call tea
snacks, or catering, the sort of thing that's typical for these types of
meetings.
Whenever you don't know what to say, you eat these snacks and
drink tea to fill the silence. It's like how when you burst out with an
insincere-sounding Ha-ha! in conversation, then you suddenly pop a
mint. Whenever someone does that, you realize, Oh, this person
feels awkward talking to me…
By the way, if they ask, Do you want a mint? even when you're not
talking, that's an indirect way of saying Your breath stinks! So be
careful! You might actually be sick! Wait, that's what you're
supposed to be careful about?
But anyway, picking out snacks of this nature is difficult. Anything
that makes too much noise or smells too strong will just be a bother.
Curious as to what sort of things Isshiki had bought, I took a little
peek in the bag.
Hmm. Mild-flavored chocolates, fruit-flavored hard candies, and soft
crackers… Yeah, these aren't bad choices. I'd give her points for the
fact that all of them were individually wrapped. Then there's no need
to set out plates and whatnot, and you won't get your hands dirty.
It's not a hassle to take them home after, either.
"Huh, you're being surprisingly considerate," I said, a little
appreciative, and Isshiki puffed up with a pout as if that was quite
unfair for me to say.
"What do you mean, surprisingly? I'm a pretty considerate person,
you know! Well, the other school will be bringing some stuff, too."
"Oh. Then isn't this unnecessary? Since this is in their budget
anyway. You should just eat all their snacks."
"We can't do that…," Isshiki replied, stiff-faced.
Huh, she really is thoughtful about certain things. She had to mean
we couldn't come empty-handed every time when the other school
was bringing things.
If they were entertaining us and we were totally guests, that sort of
consideration would actually be unnecessary, but we were going to
be jointly hosting this event, and since we would be equal
participants in this, it would probably be best to maintain that
equality, even concerning something as minor as snacks.
Dealing with another school is a pretty big hassle. When I thought
about how this was bound to affect matters when we actually got to
the task at hand, the bag in my hand felt quite a bit heavier.
Isshiki brought me along through the community center.
I'd never really been there before—what do you do in a place like
that? Does it have a doo, doo, doo-da-loo BGM that has a recovery
effect on the community? No, that's a PokéCenter…
The interior was kind of like a government office, with a cold and
tranquil air flowing through. It felt like one of those places where you
couldn't talk too loudly. Maybe that was because there was a library
on the first floor.
I followed Isshiki up to the second floor, and there, the look of it
changed a little. I could hear people's chattering and the sound of
music coming from somewhere.
The stairs continued upward. I ascertained the music was coming
from the third floor.
When I looked up the stairs, wondering what they were doing up
there, Isshiki's eyes followed mine. "There's a big hall on the third
floor. We'll be doing the Christmas event there."
"Oh…"
I could hear faint thumping; maybe there was a dance club in session
or something.
Hmm…so it's basically like a type of citizens' public hall. It's like a
facility for people of the region to gather and hold various activities.
So then how is it different from a normal public hall? Does it just feel
bigger?
Being not very familiar with this sort of facility, I was goggling all
around while Isshiki walked ahead of me and stopped directly in
front of a room.
Over the door, a sign read LECTURE ROOM. It seemed this was where
they were holding the meetings.
Isshiki knocked on the door.
"Yes, come in!" A voice came from within, and Isshiki took a breath
before she put her hand on the door.
A wave of chatter flowed out from the opened door. It looked like a
school classroom inside, with desks and chairs.
"Hiii, guys!" Greeting them all in a cutesy manner, Isshiki went in
first. When I followed her, there wasn't any particular sign of the
chatter settling down—no one was even looking at me. It seemed
they were all caught up in their own conversations and not paying
attention to me.
But they did notice Isshiki, and a voice called out above the
commotion. Looking over, I saw a boy wearing the Kaihin High School
uniform raising his hand. "Iroha, over here, over here."
"Oh, hellooo!" Waving her hand, Isshiki headed for that group.
Naturally, I wound up following after her. Unsurprisingly, they were
capable of perceiving me when at close range; the guy who had
called out to Isshiki gave me a questioning look before he whispered
into her ear to ask, "Who's that?"
"Oh, he's my helper!"
That's a pretty sloppy explanation to give with such a broad smile,
Isshiki.
But that must have been enough to satisfy him. He offered an
appreciative "Ohhh" before turning to me. "I'm Tamanawa. I'm the
student council president of Kaihin High School. Good to meet you!"
"…Uh-huh, likewise." Struck by his particularly brisk self-introduction,
I was wondering if I should say my own name or not.
But Tamanawa wasn't at all bothered by things of that nature. "Oh,
it's so great to be able to plan together with Soubu High!" he said.
"I'm hoping we can cultivate a robust, respect-driven partnership to
enable the most synergistic effect possible."
…That's a real punch to throw right at the beginning. Half of it was
gibberish to me, so I had no idea what he was saying, but anyway, it
seemed Tamanawa was the one who'd arranged for this Christmas
event. That much was clear from every word he said.
Since he was Kaihin's student council president, when he started
talking, those nearby all shuffled over. He introduced everyone to me
as they came, but frankly, I couldn't remember them all. Well, I
doubted I'd ever see them again once this event was done, so it
wasn't like I had to commit their names and faces to memory.
Just meeting so many people was exhausting, drawing a sigh from
me. Leaving it to Isshiki to handle that situation, I took a seat a little
ways away and watched her and the others.
Then, my gaze landed on someone among the masses who was
staring at me in surprise. She was blinking, apparently shocked to see
me here. Then she stood up and came over to me. "…Wait,
Hikigaya?"
"…Hey." Hearing this unexpected someone say my name had startled
me, too, and it took me a moment to reply. I started sweating in
spite of myself.
She wore the uniform of Kaihin High School in a slightly casual
manner, while her hands combed through her wavy, artfully messy
black hair.
Kaori Orimoto.
She had been in my class in middle school and was also the girl I had
confessed my feelings to long ago. I'd had another unexpected
encounter with her recently and gotten her involved in an
unexpected situation, too. Both the distant and more recent past
between us had not made for very pleasant memories.
Now that I think about it, Orimoto goes to Kaihin. If she's here, does
that mean she's on their student council…?
It seemed she was wondering the same about me. "Huh?" she said in
surprise. "You're a part of Soubu's student council, Hikigaya?"
"Not really…," I replied.
Orimoto nodded as if that made sense to her. "Oh, really? Then
you're in the same spot as me. I'm here 'cause a friend invited me."
As she spoke, she was peeking behind me and glancing all around.
Was she searching for something? "You're alone, Hikigaya?" she
asked.
"Yeah, I generally am," I answered, and Orimoto sputtered, then held
her stomach as she burst into laughter.
"What the heck? You're such a riot."
"Uh, that wasn't a joke…" There was nothing to laugh about there,
was there…? I can't be the butt of the joke when there's no joke… But
if there was one, would that make the joke the seme and me the
uke? I'm neither, though!
But thanks to Orimoto, I had learned a bit about this group. Though
this was going to be a joint event between the Soubu and Kaihin
student councils, it seemed there were some volunteers
participating, too.
"It kinda seem like there aren't many kids from your school, doesn't
it?" Orimoto asked. "Or is it just that we have lots?"
"I dunno…" This was only my first day, so I didn't know much about
the interior workings of things. But when I looked around, I saw
more than ten kids from Kaihin. By comparison, on the Soubu side…
Wait, huh? Our student council is… Oh, there they are. They were all
clumped in the corner. Aside from Isshiki and me, in our school's
uniform there were one, two…four, huh. What's more, compared
with the kids from Kaihin, they were kind of shrinking away. It was
like they felt inferior.
"True, there aren't many of us…"
"I mean, you can tell just by looking, right? Well, not like it matters,"
Orimoto said, and then she seemed to lose interest, gliding away
from me and back to her seat.
As if switching places with her, Isshiki returned. She gave Orimoto a
once-over, then muttered, "Is that someone you know?"
Your tone suggests the idea of my having acquaintances is what's in
question here, so please lay off, Irohasu. Also, hey, you've seen her
once already, okay? Well, that had been from a distance, so maybe
she didn't remember. That meant I wasn't quite sure how to explain
the situation, but in the end, I decided to go with the usual
explanation.
"Yeah. Well, she was in my class in middle school."
"Huh…" Though Isshiki had been the one to ask, she didn't seem very
interested in the answer. She sat down in a nearby chair and started
opening the snacks and stuff she'd bought. Once the Kaihin students
took notice, they started setting out their own drinks and snacks,
too.
It seemed the meeting was going to start soon.
Everyone headed for their designated seats at desks that were
arranged in the shape of a blocky U.
Now then, which corner shall I occupy…? Hey, protecting one of the
four corners actually makes me feel like one of the four holy beasts, I
was thinking when I felt a little tug on my sleeve.
"Heeey, come over here."
"Oh, I'm fine in the corner, though…," I said, but Isshiki would not let
go. I tried tugging back to escape her grip, but it remained firm.
Why's she so strong? She's holding on to it in a cute way, but I totally
can't shake her off…
"Come onnn, come onnn, it's gonna get started."
Then she tugged me again.
"I get it! You're gonna stretch my shirt."
Well, no matter where I sat, I wasn't going to be saying anything
during this meeting anyway, so it'd all be the same. So I can at least
sit in a spot close to the snacks. Reluctantly, I gave in and sat next to
Isshiki.
Though the desks were arranged in a U shape, sitting right at the
head, in what you would call the seat of honor, was the student
council president of Kaihin High School, Tamanawa. We were in the
corner on the right side.
Looking around again, I saw that just as Orimoto had said earlier,
there were more people from Kaihin. Numbers-wise, they had about
twice as many bodies present, but the difference felt bigger than the
number itself. The biggest reason for that had to be the noise level.
The Kaihin side was quite lively, with boys and girls mixed together,
but the Soubu kids were very markedly quiet.
Well, Kaihin had been the ones to come up with the idea, so it was
no wonder they were more enthusiastic about it. They were like the
organizer, or the sponsor or whatever. Our seating placement
expressed that even further.
Inferring the power balance from this situation, it seemed Kaihin was
in charge of various affairs, while our school's position was…more
often devoted to support, if I had to put a name to it.
After confirming that everyone had taken their seats, the Kaihin
student council president, Tamanawa, clapped his hands. "Right,
then—let's begin the meeting! I'm glad to be working with you all
today," he said as if he was used to this sort of thing, and everyone
bobbed their heads casually in response.
Finally, the meeting had begun.
Tamanawa called out to one of the Kaihin kids and had them go to
the whiteboard. Watching the pen squeaking out the characters out
of the corner of his eyes, Tamanawa announced, "Let's begin with a
thought shower, like the last time."
Huh? What's that cool-sounding thing? That's not in my moveset.
Or so I wondered for a moment, but it was actually nothing, just
brainstorming. There are various more minute definitions, but
basically, it means for a group to freely present ideas.
"The topic of discussion will be, continuing from last time, cogitating
on the content and presentation of concepts for the event…"
As Tamanawa moved things along, the Kaihin students raised their
hands here and there, and they began to present the ideas each of
them had come up with.
I watched in silence for a little while. I mean, like, jumping in when
you don't really understand the situation causes trouble for others! I
wasn't cutting corners and slacking. I was being considerate!
Someone from Kaihin said, "Considering the market demands of us
high school students, we really must actualize innovation based on
youth-minded values…"
Hmm, I see. They have a point.
Yet another person from Kaihin chimed in, "So then, of course,
expediting a win-win relationship between us and the community is
a prerequisite."
Y-yeah. Well, I get it.
A different Kaihin student added, "This may necessitate strategic
thinking on matters of cost performance. And then pursuing
collaborative consensus…"
Uh—uh-huh… That's right.
After listening in silence to their meeting thus far, it hit me.
…What the hell is this meeting?
Not only did I have no idea what they were doing, I didn't really get
what they were talking about, either. Am I stupid or something?
Feeling uneasy, I looked over at Isshiki beside me to see her nodding
and making appreciative sounds like "Oooh" and "Ahhh." Did you
know, Raiden?
It would have been awkward if I fell too far behind when I'd come to
help, so I stealthily checked with Isshiki. "Isshiki, what are they saying
right now?" I asked her quietly.
She turned her head slightly toward me. Her head was tilted cutely.
"Huh? Uh…" And then she made a vague sort of exhale with a shrug.
What's that supposed to mean? That sounds like the noises Ai-chan
makes when she plays table tennis.
She was reacting with all those oohs even when she didn't
understand things? I gave her an exasperated look, but she didn't
seem bothered. She was smiling casually as if to say, Don't worry
about it!
"Well, they're proposing lots of stuff."
"Uh-huh…" I guess if they're saying they'll come up with ideas, then
we have to be the one to carry out their plans… Well, I think I could
cover that well enough on my own.
I don't hate simple labor. Repetitive mechanical tasks are acerbating
to the spirit, but the acerbating of my spirit has long been thoroughly
exacerbated to the point of reprobation. If you don't have to act with
care or use your head, that's easy in its own way. I figured, eh, I'd make sure to be good and listen to precisely what it
was we would be doing. But the discussion didn't seem to have much
substance…
Tamanawa, who was in charge of proceedings, also appeared to
realize that.
"Everyone, I think there may be something more important here…,"
he declared in a weighty tone, and tension ran through the
assembled crowd. As expected of a student council president, he had
a certain amount of gravity. Attention gathered on him, everyone
wondering what he would say next.
He swept his gaze over the whole lecture room, and then with a
slightly exaggerated gesture like spinning a pottery wheel, he began.
"We should think logically, utilizing the rational formation of ideas."
Isn't that saying the same thing? How many times are you going to
think?
"We should take the customer's view, fostering a client-side
perspective."
Like I said, aren't you saying the same thing? How many times are
you going to become the customer?
I think I had a slightly strained smile on my face. But everyone else
was in awe, staring at Tamanawa with sparkles in their eyes.
…This is no good. It looks like the president is the same as all the
rest of them…
More likely, similar sorts of people had come together here—had
been gathered here.
After all that, the meeting continued along the same lines.
"So then we should consider outsourcing…" "But that methodology would be a nonoptimal strategy."
"I see. So then we should account for possible re-sche, going
forward."
What the heck isre-sche, a restaurant with great beef tongue? Why
are these guys all using nothing but technobabble? What is this,
Mahouka?
This sort of discussion continued, like, "Game-changing innovation!"
"Dialoguing and collaborative negotiation!" "The solution is results-
oriented!" This was beyond the sort of added English in modern hip-
hop music—I think they might have been some hip-hop hiiighly
intelligent individuals.
Whaaa…? They're so intellectual and socially conscious… I feel like
all this big brain energy is gonna cause me to lose consciousness,
here…
Where do we come from, and where do we go?
It was the sort of meeting where such thoughts would cross your
mind. Just where had this meeting come from, and where was it
going?
Before I knew it, the meeting had ended without anything
resembling a proper conclusion.
But brainstorming is often like that. It's about trying to get as great a
variety of ideas presented as possible. It's done with the sole goal of
creating ideas. So then perhaps this meeting had not necessarily
been entirely useless.
However, I was bothered a little by the fact that nearly all the ideas
had come from the Kaihin side. Though the Soubu students had been there, they'd hardly said anything. Well, after that barrage of
highbrow lingo from earlier, it was no wonder those of us from
Soubu shrank away. Not even Isshiki, the president, would feel like
she could voice her own ideas in an atmosphere like that.
She was currently in an animated conversation with the Kaihin
student council.
There was nothing in particular for me to do, so I kept to myself
across the room, zoning out as I watched Isshiki. When she noticed
me, she found an appropriate moment to finish her chat and then
came over to me.
"Hey, did you get the gist of it?"
"Nope…I didn't understand anything."
Isshiki was probably asking me if I had recognized the point of this
meeting or not. Of course I got that much, but unfortunately, with all
the business speak flying back and forth, I wasn't sure it would be
accurate to say I comprehended what was said.
Isshiki must have picked that up from my expression. She breathed a
short sigh. "Yeah, it all sounded kinda difficult, huh?"
Well, it wasn't so much that the words used were difficult, but rather
their vagueness rendered the ideas they were conveying
incomprehensible. A trivial distinction to Isshiki, I guess, as she put
on a charming and cutesy smile.
"But they really like it when I go, Wooow! Or I've got to work hard at
this, too! For the rest, all I have to do is respond to the lingo, and
we're good."
"You're gonna get stabbed one day…"
Even if that method worked now, I worried that eventually, she'd
face severe retaliation. Seriously, omega males will fall for that so easily; it causes so many tragedies… These types can be weirdly pure,
single-minded, wholehearted, and earnest, so they misunderstand
easily. Damn, when you really think about it, these types are really
great guys! Why don't girls like them?! How bizarre!
As I was pondering this, Isshiki mused out loud, "Hmm…but you're
sometimes like that, too. It's sorta like you're overcompensating for
something…" She almost laughed. I swear I heard a lol added after
that comment…
"Don't assume I'm like them. I'm not overcompensating. I'm overly
self-conscious."
An overcompensating type is basically someone who wants to
emphasize their strong ambition for personal growth. They're mildly
cringey kids who try to present themselves as competent and
different from other people, and they throw around cool-sounding
business and economics terms in a pseudo-intellectual manner. It's
not that different from M-2 syndrome.
Meanwhile, the overly self-conscious types are basically mildly
cringey kids. It's not that different from M-2 syndrome.
"Aaagh, I don't really get it," Isshiki muttered, exasperated.
Well, neither do I. But regardless, I'm sure both groups are cringey to
others around them.
"Anyway, I've worked out what it is we're doing, so let's get on that."
Isshiki pulled out a handful of papers.
Oh, so her conversation with them wasn't just chitchat. Was she
asking about what roles those of us from Soubu would be filling, since
that didn't come up in the meeting?
Meetings are often pointless. I think it's more common for the
important things not to be decided in meetings but in private discussions between VIPs. Isshiki's rather shrewd in that regard. And
perhaps because she's a cute first-year girl, they've been treating her
well, too.
"You're getting along with them pretty well, huh?"
"Hmm. Well, I suppose so." Isshiki put her pointer finger to her chin
and tilted her head in thought before letting out a laugh. "…Wait,
aren't you the one who taught me that it's cute when a younger girl
wants to learn things from you?"
"I didn't teach you anything like that…" I mean, yes, I did suggest
the merits of skillfully using that position. But I didn't recall saying
anything so specific. Wait, maybe this is what happens if you interpret
something in the Isshiki manner… Oh dear, have I unknowingly created
a monster? This sort of thing is bound to tear the soccer club apart…
"But, well, given the way things are going, can't we let them handle
everything? You don't need me," I said.
Isshiki looked at her shoes, struggling to reply to that. "Ahhh, um, I
guess so…"
I assumed there had to be something she was worried about, so I
waited for her to continue.
But I didn't get to hear that because someone rapped on our desk.
"Hey, Iroha-chan. Can I ask you to handle this, too? We went and
handled the bigger part, after all."
Tamanawa, the student council president of Kaihin High School, had
appeared. It seemed he had an addendum to his recent discussion
with Isshiki, as he handed her a few more papers.
"Oh, sure!" She accepted them smoothly. No trace of her earlier
gloom could be seen on her face.
"Thanks. If there's anything you're confused about, feel free to ask.
I'll be sure to fill you in." Tamanawa gave a charming smile and
waved before leaving. Isshiki returned the gesture as she watched
him go.
"Okay, let's do this." Turning back to me, she gathered up the extra
printouts she'd been given and started passing them out to the other
members of the Soubu student council. "So that's the deal. It looks
like our job will be writing up the record of proceedings. Right,
then—I'll be counting on you all to handle that," she said, allotting
work to each member. Their reactions were quite lacking. They
seemed far less motivated than the other student council, which was
harmonious and happy.
Well, it'd be weirder to be fully enthusiastic about work. Real weird.
But I could understand our student council not hopping to work
when their responsibility was merely to carry out what the other
school had planned. They probably didn't want to be treated as an
afterthought.
I accepted the records from Isshiki, too. Aside from that, there was
also the schedule for future meetings and the task checklist. It
seemed our job for now was to brush these up.
We carried out this work in silence.
Then one of the student council members suddenly stood to hand
the printouts to Isshiki. "Is this all right, President?"
"Ah, I'll check over it." Upon accepting them, Isshiki's expression
stiffened.
The boy facing her opened his mouth, too, as if he wanted to say
something. "Oh, about this…"
"Yes…?"
"No, actually, never mind…" The boy, who looked like a student
council executive, swallowed the rest of what he was going to say
and looked away. "Thanks," he said quietly, then returned to his
seat.
When I followed him with my eyes, thinking, Haven't I seen him
before? Isshiki noticed and explained in a whisper, "That's the vice
president."
I suddenly realized. Oh, that guy from second year… I didn't know his
name, but I'd kind of seen him around on the same floor at school.
So he was our vice president, huh? Well, even if I knew the
president, it wasn't as if anyone else would be that well-known.
He's in the same year as me, huh? That would explain why Isshiki was
speaking politely to him.
Hmm. This is rather complicated.
It's difficult to have an underling who is older than you, and it can
also be a little disconcerting to have a superior who's younger than
you. When I had that convenience store job, it was really hard to get
along with this new employee who was older… When they're
learning about the job from you, they act diffident, almost tiptoeing
around you.
It seemed even Isshiki, who was used to being cosseted by her
elders, knew that struggle.
"Seems like you're having a rough time," I commented.
"Yeah… I don't think he likes me very much. But that's how things
are, at first." Isshiki's face clouded for an instant. But then with her
usual, somehow provocative smile, she quickly added, "He'll get used
to me eventually."
Well, it's true that it's hard to get along perfectly as best friends from
the very start. There will be some disputes, disagreements, and
differences of opinions.
But there's potential there. If something has just begun, it can
change in any number of ways. At the very least, it's not like a certain
room that's now closed.
"Hey…"
Hearing her call me, I jerked my head up, and there was Isshiki's face
with a questioning expression. It seemed my hands had stopped
working. To fill the awkward silence, I started talking as I wrote.
"Anyway, how long should we keep doing this?"
"Yeah…it's almost time to wind down for the day."
Following Isshiki's gaze, I looked at the clock hanging by the
entrance. It was already quite late. Most clubs would have called it a
day by now.
Then the door underneath the clock opened.
"Oh, you're here." The one who appeared was a woman in a suit and
a white coat: my homeroom teacher. She walked over to us, long
black hair fluttering and high heels clicking.
"Miss Hiratsuka."
Why is she here…? I thought, confused.
She sighed in dissatisfaction. "It seems this is being added to my
workload, basically… Good grief. Us young underlings are constantly
being loaded with more work; it's awful."
Of course, you're one of the young ones… I found myself giving her a
gentle look.
But she looked back into my eyes—and her gaze wasn't so different
from mine. "…You're alone, Hikigaya? What happened to Yukinoshita
and Yuigahama?"
From the way she spoke, she seemed to take it for granted that I
would be there, but she'd also figured the other members of the
Service Club would be present, too. Oh, now that I think of it, Isshiki
said the one who told her to do this joint event was Miss Hiratsuka,
huh?
In other words, she had to have sent Isshiki's request to be accepted
by the Service Club. And indeed, in the past, maybe we would have
accepted this request as a club.
But things were different now.
"Oh, no, I'm just helping as an individual." I shifted my gaze to the
printouts in my hands.
"Hmm…" Miss Hiratsuka watched me steadily as I worked, saying
nothing for a while. I didn't explain any further, either, focusing on
moving my hands and copying out sentences and words that meant
nothing to me.
"…Well, all right, then." With a short sigh, Miss Hiratsuka looked at
Isshiki, then back at me again. "Hikigaya and Isshiki, huh…? An
interesting combination."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I didn't find it amusing to be
paired up with her. Isshiki seemed to feel the same way. I could
almost hear the extreme displeasure on her face: eugh.
That's a little mean, Irohasu…
Seeing our expressions, Miss Hiratsuka gave a bemused smile. "Well,
it's a little… Anyway, it's getting late. Go home now and do the rest another time. It looks like that's what the other kids are planning to
do."
Now that she mentioned it, some of the Kaihin people were starting
to get ready to leave.
"Yeah, then I guess we'll go, too," Isshiki announced to the rest of
the student council, and they all started tidying their things.
Then Isshiki lowered her voice—she must have been trying to keep
Miss Hiratsuka from hearing—and whispered in my ear, "I'm gonna
go eat with their student council before I go home, so you can go
ahead and leave first."
Inviting me isn't even an option, is it…? I'm thankful that she really
gets it. "Then I'm going," I said.
"Roger. Well then, I'll see you again tomorrow." Isshiki gave me a
joking salute, and I replied with a casually raised hand before
heading to the door.
That was when I remembered something I'd forgotten to ask. "Oh
yeah. Can I take it we're starting at about the same time tomorrow,
too?"
"Yeah, that's generally right."
"Roger, got it."
The start time was probably later in the day because the Kaihin
students needed a little more time to arrive at this location. For us,
that meant there was some time before the meetings started.
As I wondered about how I should spend that narrow slice of time, I
left the community center. What is happiness?
It is a kotatsu.
"Oh, Big Bro! Welcome home."
When I finished the long day and returned home, Komachi was in the
living room. Her eyes were half-closed. She was looking pretty
sleepy. The cause of her sleepiness was probably the kotatsu, a
heater that uses a heavy blanket underneath a tabletop, which I
hadn't even noticed had been brought out into the living room.
So at last, it's returned…this devilish machine. A kotatsu is a machine
for the production of useless people. In my opinion, if you sent a
bunch of kotatsu to an enemy nation in the winter, you could invade
it easily.
"Komachi, don't study under the kotatsu. It'll make you sleepy, and if
you fall asleep there, you'll catch a cold. Those things ruin people," I
scolded her, but she shot me an unamused look. Oh dearie me, is this
girl in a rebellious stage…?
"Uh, that's funny coming from someone snuggling into it himself…"
Ha-ha-ha, what are you talking about, dear Komachi? I'm not in the
kota… Ahhh! I slid under the kotatsu without even realizing it?!
While putting on this very stupid act, I really was already inside the
kotatsu.
…Iz so warm, meow…
After a long day and the return along the cold road at night, the
infrared rays felt so nice. I stretched out my legs lazily, and they
touched something soft. And then that soft thing came to wrap around my leg. A soft
something that moves… Is it Komachi's leg? I thought, looking over at
her, and when her eyes met mine, she grinned.
To think she'd flirt with me by twining her leg around mine in the
kotatsu… Recently, my sister has been unusual… Actually, oh man,
what the heck, this is really embarrassing! …That needy little brat.
I kicked my leg out as if to say, Cut that out, and that soft sensation
moved away.
And then something crawled out of the kotatsu. It was the cat,
Kamakura. What had been twining around my leg had been not
Komachi but him. Why do cats immediately make human legs their
pillows?
After leaving the warmth, Kamakura stretched out long and exhaled
a hmf.
C'mon, are you like a middle-aged man coming out of the sauna?
Kamakura snorted when he saw my face, disgruntled about having
been kicked out. Or was it that my feet smelled…? Don't act like that.
It makes me anxious…
"Bro, why're you glaring at Kaa like that?"
"No reason…"
He had left the kotatsu, but Kamakura must have been a little cold
after all. He leaped onto Komachi's lap, and this time he curled up to
nap there with his paws tucked in. I'm sure he slept plenty in the
afternoon, but he's still gonna sleep?
Must be nice to be a cat. I'd like to live that kind of lifestyle, too.
Komachi started petting Kamakura on her lap. Ahhh, if you do that,
he's never gonna leave…
Oh yeah. Watching her, I remembered something. "Hey, Komachi.
What's this?" I pulled out the letter that was still in the chest pocket
of my uniform. Taking care not to move Kamakura, Komachi leaned over to examine
it. "Huh?" she said calmly. "It's exactly what it looks like."
"Uh-huh…" Does she seriously want household appliances…? What
the heck is with this girl? If I do say so of my own sister…
But Komachi wasn't interested in explaining further and just petted
Kamakura while humming.
…Well, I didn't want to make things awkward by pressing her and
bringing up her message at the end. I decided to take that list as a
reference, while I carefully considered something else to get her.
Neither of us really talked, just passing the time in mindless silence.
Suddenly, Kamakura twitched and stood up. He scratched his ears
with his back leg, and then with a crisp expression on his face, he left
the living room. It looked like he was heading for the door.
That meant our mother had come home. What's amazing about
Kamakura is the way he goes to greet Mom and Komachi. By the
way, he never comes to greet me or Dad.
After a while, there was the clack of the front door opening, followed
by the tmp-tmp of footsteps going up the stairs, and then Mom
appeared in the living room. Kamakura was following behind her.
"I'm home. Agh, I'm tired." She threw her bag down where she stood
and tossed back the coffee she must have bought at a café on the
way back. Seeing how tired she looked, Komachi and I offered her
some appreciation.
"Welcome home, Mom!"
"Yeah, bet it was a long day. Where's Dad?" I asked, thinking that if
he was home, I'd pester him for money to buy Komachi a present.
But Mom tilted her head, gave me a blank look, and replied with a
vague noise.
"Huh?"
Hey, hey, Mom? You can speak words, right? You can communicate
with your husband? Or are you just not interested in him at all?
"The schedule is packed at this time of year, so I doubt he can come
back so easily. I've brought home work, too," Mom said naturally,
without any particular attempt to hide it. It seemed less that she was
uninterested and more that to her, something so obvious wasn't
even worth trying to hide. Huh, I'm sure it depends on the industry,
but employees at this time of year sure are busy. I wouldn't be able
to take still having to work even when it was this close to Christmas,
come on. I want to become the sort of adult who makes sure to
spend the Christmas season with family. I'm absolutely not going to
get a job.
As I was cultivating an unwavering spirit of unemployment, my mom
opened her mouth as if something had suddenly struck her. "Oh
yeah, Hachiman. You're not doing anything, are you? Reserve us a
tub of chicken pieces. And a cake, too."
"Hmm?" I replied. Why me? And wait, you don't necessarily know
that I've got nothing to do, right? Or Hmm? for short. Wait, that's not
a great abbreviation, is it?
"I've always asked Komachi to do it, but this year, she's a little
busy…"
"Oh, it's fine. Gimme money." I wasn't unwilling to do it if that was
the reason. I'd never really thought much about it before, but when
I'd been studying for exams, I'm sure Komachi did lots of stuff for me, too. Plus, she does most of the chores, normally. I should do it at
times like these, at least.
When Komachi heard my reply, she jumped in. "Komachi can do that
much, at least."
But for some reason, my mother waved her hand, almost laughing.
"It's fine, it's fine, we're already placing a burden on you as it is,
Komachi, because of our work. You should make your brother do
things sometimes."
Hey, that's not how it is. It's not. I do actually have the intention to
do chores. But once I decide in my heart that I'm gonna do the
chores, the deed's already been done! (By Komachi.)
I was about to make an excuse, like, It's helpful to have a competent
little sister, but also tough! But my mother was completely ignoring
my reaction, pulling her wallet out of her bag. "Oh, I forgot to
withdraw some cash. You mind waiting until next time?"
"Sure." After that brief reply from me, my mother gave a thank you
and yawned, then cracked her shoulders and left the living room.
Watching our exhausted mother go, Komachi muttered, "She doesn't
have to worry about Komachi."
"Well, that's parental affection for you. Don't worry about it. Just
study hard," I said.
Komachi frowned for a moment, then tried to cover it with a
somewhat cynical smile. "Hmm, I can't say I like hearing people say
that…"
"Oh, sorry. I couldn't think of any other way to say it." I'd told her to
study hard on instinct. But someone studying for entrance exams
hears that so often, they get sick of it. Besides, my dumb little sister
can't be slacking on her studies. I don't think you should tell someone who is already working hard to
work hard. And really, when you hear that from someone who isn't
working hard, it only comes across as annoying.
So then how should I support her? Mmmgh…
As I groaned to myself, Komachi smiled. "Bro, at times like these, I
love you works."
"Is that right? I love you, Komachi."
"Komachi doesn't love you back, but thanks, Bro!"
"So cruel…" Tears welled in my eyes. Big Brother put quite a lot of
heart into saying that. I'll even flash my brake lights five times for
you!
After a stint of gleeful laughter, Komachi stood up. She was probably
going back to her room to study. "Okay, that was a nice break."
"That's good…"
"It's important for you to have breaks, too, Bro. Like, if you're
worrying too much about things, doing something else will distract
you, right?"
"Well…I guess, yeah, that's right." I had been about to say, Isn't that
an excuse for running away?
But then I remembered a certain someone who was also averting his
eyes, and I couldn't bring myself to give Komachi a hard time
anymore.