Saki Kawasaki problem (2)

I endured Miss Hiratsuka's lecture and chastisement for a little under an hour

before being allowed to head home. On my way back, I stopped by the

bookstore at the Marinpia shopping mall. After perusing the shelves, I bought

one book. My thousand-yen bill disappeared, leaving some change jingling

around in my wallet. After that, thinking I might study, I went to a café. But

apparently, everyone else had had the same thought, and the place was

packed with students. Right as I was considering bailing, I caught sight of a

familiar face.

Totsuka, in his gym uniform, was staring down a cake in the display case.

(On a side note, at our school, you're allowed to show up in either the regular

uniform or the gym outfit.) This sight, sweeter than whipped cream,

commanded my attention, and like ants swarming sugar, I was drawn toward

him. It's like in that song, the water over here is sweet! . No, wait, that was

fireflies.

"Okay, it's your turn to give me a problem, Yukinon."

And then there were two more familiar faces. Yuigahama and Yukinoshita

weren't wasting any time in the line for the cash register; they were studying

hard. "Then I'll give you one from Japanese. Complete the following idiom:

'If the wind blows…'"

"'…the Keiou Line stops'?"

Correction. This was just the Trans-Chiba Ultra Quiz. Also, Yuigahama's

answer was wrong. The correct answer was "…lately it's been avoiding a full

stop and just running slow."

Unsurprisingly, this mistake made Yukinoshita frown. "Incorrect. Next

question. This one is from geography. 'Name two local products of Chiba

prefecture.'"

The second hand of the clock prodded ticktock, ticktock. Yuigahama gulped, her expression serious. "Miso peanuts and…boiled peanuts?"

"Come on. Is this prefecture nothing but peanuts?"

"Ack! Oh, it's Hikki. I thought some weirdo had snuck up on me…"

Whoops. I'd been planning to come back another time, but jumping on

Yuigahama's error had trapped me in this stupidly long line. Damn it! Curse

my love for Chiba!

Yuigahama's dramatic reaction pulled Totsuka's attention toward us, and

a sunny smile blossomed across his face. "Hachiman! So you were invited to

study with us, too!" Beaming, he sidled up next to me. But of course, there

was no way anyone would have invited me along, and Yuigahama had this

awkward look on her face that said, I knew it…he's come to crash our party.

Hey, stop giving me that look. You're reminding me of my classmate's

birthday party back in elementary school. Even though I brought a present,

they'd had no chicken for me, and I almost cried.

"We didn't invite you to study with us, though. Did you want

something?"

"Yukinoshita, you don't have to state facts just to hurt me." Good grief, if

I were a little more emotionally fragile, this could really go south.

Specifically, I'd scream Yaaaagh! and hit you with a chair. I think I deserve a

thank-you for being so exceptionally strong.

"Uh, well…I thought about asking you to come, but the teacher called you

to her office, so…"

"Whatever. I don't really care." I was used to this stuff now.

"Did you come to study for the test, too, Hikigaya?" asked Yukinoshita.

"Yeah, I guess. You guys?"

"Of course. It's less than two weeks until exams now."

"Hey, before you study, you need to brush up on Chiba prefecture again.

Those questions you just gave her were freebies, weren't they?"

"I don't think they were freebies. Geography question: 'Name two local

products of Chiba prefecture,'" Yukinoshita asked in the exact same tone as

she'd used with Yuigahama, as if testing me.

"The correct answer is 'Chiba is famous for festivals and dancing.'"

"I said 'products,' didn't I?" And nobody knows the lyrics to 'Chiba

ondo.'" Yukinoshita shrank back, appalled.

Come on, you clearly know the lyrics. You're the appalling one. And by

the way, 'Chiba Ondo' is the Bon Odori of Chiba. Around here, it's about as big a deal as 'Nanohana Taisou.' People from Chiba can sing and dance both.

Also, there're no lyrics in 'Nanohana Taisou,' but for some reason, we can

sing it.

Meanwhile, the line to the register was advancing, and I was next.

Yuigahama gave me a sly smile. "Hikki, treat me! "

"Huh? Sure, I guess… What do you want to drink? Liquid sweetener?"

"Do you think I'm a beetle?! If you don't want to treat me, then just say

it!"

So she figured it out. Why would I ever treat her in the first place?

Watching our exchange, Yukinoshita released a short sigh. "You're an

embarrassment, so stop it. I don't appreciate that kind of behavior. People

who sponge off others are trash."

Yukinoshita and I were on the same page, for once. "Yeah. I hate people

like that, too."

"Huh?! Th-then I won't ask again!"

"I think it's fine as a joke between friends, though," I said. "Why don't

you just stick to doing it with your clique?"

"Yes, that's true," Yukinoshita agreed. "It's not my clique, so I wouldn't

mind."

"I can't believe you two don't consider me part of your clique!"

I watched from the side as Yuigahama tearfully clung to Yukinoshita.

Then it was my turn at the register. I ordered a coffee, which the cashier

quickly poured for me.

"Three hundred ninety yen, please."

I stuck my hand in my pocket, and that was when it hit me. A recent

memory suddenly bubbled up in my mind. I'd bought a light novel at the

bookstore, and then what happened…? I'd had exactly one thousand yen and

paid for the book, and the change was…

I didn't have enough money. But the coffee was already made, so I

couldn't refuse it. Smiling, I appealed to the pair behind me. "Sorry. I didn't

bring any money today. If you don't mind, can you treat me?"

"You're trash." Not missing a beat, Yukinoshita certified me as garbage,

and Yuigahama sighed, exasperation etched on her face.

"Agh, I guess I've got no choice."

Y-Yuigahama! Yes! What a goddess! Yuigahama saves! But Yukinoshita

takes full damage! "I'll order that coffee as my drink and pay for it, so why don't you have

some sweetener, Hikki?"

Who is this demon? This is less Ah! My Goddess and more Shin Megami

Tensei.

"H-Hachiman, I'll pay! So don't worry about it, okay?" Totsuka smiled

kindly at me. He was a goddamn angel. Just as I was about to embrace him,

Yukinoshita's chilly voice cut between us.

"Nothing good will come of spoiling him."

"You've never spoiled me before! How would you know?"

In the end, Totsuka paid for me. I thanked him and looked for a seat. I

figured I should do at least that much while the other three were waiting for

their orders. There was a party of four leaving, so I quickly snatched their

spot. I put my tray on the table, tossing my bag onto the seat. I flung it a little

too hard, though, and it slid down the long padded bench.

A pretty girl in a school uniform one table over quietly pushed it back to

me. As she performed this act of kindness without a single complaint, I

bowed in deference to her refined and modest attitude.

"Oh! It's you, Bro!" That beautiful girl was my sister, Komachi Hikigaya.

Still in her middle school uniform, a happy smile on her face, she waved at

me.

"What're you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just listening to Taishi talk about his troubles," she said,

turning back to the seat across from her. A middle school boy sat there in a

gakuran. He bobbed his head at me in greeting.

I reflexively went on guard. Why? Why was Komachi with a boy…?

"This is Taishi Kawasaki. I told you about him yesterday, right? The guy

whose sister's gone bad."

Now that she mentioned it, I seemed to remember her telling me

something like that. I hadn't been listening to most of it, and all I could

remember was 654, licks live boar. I wonder what the heck happened in

654…?

"So he was just asking me what he should do to get his sister back to

normal. Oh, that's it! You help him, too, Bro. You told me to tell you if I had

any problems."

Oh yeah. I seemed to remember running my mouth the day before and

saying something like Leave it to me and go ahead on the spur of the moment. Of course, I had every intention of going out of my way for my

sister, but I didn't have the slightest inclination to do anything for her friends,

much less her male friends. "Oh, I see. You know, though, I think he should

talk with his family first. I don't think it'd be too late if we regrouped after

that. Yeah, in fact, it's probably premature now." Maybe that smart-sounding

lip service would be enough to convince him. And maybe he'll get away from

Komachi and leave, I thought, making a show as if I knew what I was talking

about.

"Yeah, I know, but…lately she's always coming home late, and she

doesn't listen to our parents at all. And if I say anything, she's just like, 'It's

got nothing to do with you' and snaps at me…," Taishi said, head drooping.

He seemed quite worried about her. "You're the only person I can rely on,

Bro."

"You've got no business calling me 'Bro.'"

"You sound like a stubborn old man." A cold voice rained down on me

from behind. I turned to find that Yukinoshita and the others had already

arrived.

Komachi, judging that we were acquainted by the fact that we wore the

same uniforms, quickly adopted a businesslike smile. "Hey, how are you! I'm

Komachi Hikigaya. I'm so glad to meet my brother's friends," she declared,

bobbing her head in greeting. She's always had a special knack for putting on

a good "people face."

On the other hand, there was Taishi, who basically just lowered his head

to a middling angle in a half-baked excuse for greeting before stating his

name.

"You're Hachiman's sister? Nice to meet you. I'm his classmate, Saika

Totsuka."

"Oh, nice to meet you! Wow, you're so cute! Right, Bro?"

"Hmm, yeah. But he's a guy."

"Ha-ha! You're so funny. Don't troll me, Bro."

"Oh, um… I'm…a boy…," Totsuka stammered, shyly blushing and

averting his eyes.

Wait, was he really a boy at all?!

"Huh…? Really?" Komachi asked, poking her elbow into my side.

"Sorry, I'm not really sure anymore myself, but he's probably a guy.

Though he is cute."

"O-oh…" Her expression still half-incredulous, Komachi intently

scrutinized Totsuka's features. Every time she said, "Your eyelashes are

soooo long! Your skin is sooo pretty!" Totsuka, red-faced, fidgeted, as if

trying to escape her gaze.

He was so cute when he did that, I wanted nothing more than to watch

him, but I caught the S-save me! plea he was giving me and peeled Komachi

off him. "I think that's enough. And this is Yuigahama; that's Yukinoshita." I

briefly introduced them, and Komachi finally turned her attention to the girls.

When Komachi's eyes met hers, Yuigahama tittered and introduced

herself. "N-nice to meet you… I'm Hikki's classmate, Yui Yuigahama."

"Oh, nice to m—huh? Hmm…" Komachi stopped. She stared at

Yuigahama hard until sweat dribbled down Yuigahama's face, prompting her

to avert her eyes. Were they a snake and a frog or what? After they'd been

squaring off with each other for about three seconds, the silence was broken.

"Are you done?" Apparently, Yukinoshita was done dutifully waiting, as

she now cut between Komachi and Yuigahama with a frigid voice. Her tone

alone was enough to make them go quiet and acknowledge her. It was

amazing. Her cool, clear voice was very soft and sedate. But even so, you

could hear it distinctly. It was like trying to listen to the sound of fresh snow

gently piling on the ground. I think it would be accurate to portray the two

girls—rather than having fallen silent—as having had their collective breath

stolen away. Komachi opened her eyes wide, unable to look away from

Yukinoshita. From where I was sitting, for an instant, it looked as if she was

mesmerized.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Yukino Yukinoshita. I'm Hikigaya's… Hikigaya's

what, I wonder… We're neither classmates nor friends…so while it truly

pains me…acquaintances?"

"Why'd you have to say it 'pains you' and phrase it as a question?"

"No, perhaps acquaintance is fine. Though all I'm really acquainted with

is his name. To be precise, I don't want to be acquainted with any more than

that. Can you still say that I'm acquainted with him?"

What cruel remarks. But when you think about it, the definition of

acquaintance is vague. I get friend better, somehow. Can you call someone

an acquaintance after only having met them once? Then if you see someone

more than once, are they an acquaintance? How much information do you

need about someone to call them an acquaintance?

I think it's a bad idea to use a designation with a vague definition. In a

case like this, I thought it preferable to adopt more concrete terminology.

"Can't you just say we go to the same school or that we're schoolmates or

something?"

"I see… I shall amend my statement, then. I am Yukino Yukinoshita, and

while it pains me to say it, we attend the same school."

"So it still pains you, huh…?" Yeah, well you're a pain in the butt.

"But there's nothing else I could call you." Yukinoshita looked a little

stumped.

"Oh, no, what you two just said told me all I need to know about your

relationship, so it's okay," Komachi said kindly. It's nice that my sister

catches on so quickly, but I think she's lacking in sisterly love.

"Um, so what should I do, then?" asked Taishi.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah." I turned to find the kid apparently near the end of his

rope, his face troubled. Here I was feeling as if I'd been left out today, but it

must have been even more uncomfortable for him. The only one he knew

here was Komachi. It's really awkward getting dragged into some weird

scenario by someone who's just an acquaintance of an acquaintance, to say

nothing of the rest of us being older. You feel even more out of place and

reserved. You get self-conscious and avoid saying anything that could be

rude, and then everyone else is like, What's wrong? You're so quiet, and

things end up going the other way entirely. They start tiptoeing around you,

and you end up wanting to die. Then there's nothing you can do besides

pretend to listen, say things like Mm-hmm and Really? with a vague smile

tossed in every so often.

Taishi had actually tried his best to confide in us about something, though,

so that meant he had fairly strong communication skills. He was a boy with a

promising future. Not so promising that I'd let him have Komachi, though.

"Um…I'm Taishi Kawasaki. My older sister is a second-year at Soubu

High. Oh, her name is Saki Kawasaki. She's, like…a delinquent now, or I

guess you could say she's gone bad…"

I recalled hearing that name quite recently. Trying to remember when that

had been, I put a drop of milk in my coffee, and that's when a deluge of

memories assaulted me. The black-and-white contrast in my cup changed to

gradations of brown, stimulating my vision.

That's it! The black lace girl! "Saki Kawasaki from our class, huh?"

"Saki Kawasaki…" Yukinoshita looked puzzled as the name came to her

lips. Apparently, she didn't know her very well.

But Yuigahama was in our class, and so she clapped her hands. "Oh!

Kawasaki, right? She's kind of…a bad girl? Like, sorta the scary type."

"You're not friends?"

"Well, I have talked to her before, but…I guess maybe we're not

friends… And hey, don't ask girls questions like that. They're hard to

answer." Yuigahama was obfuscating. I guess there's all sorts of groups and

factions and associations and guilds and stuff between girls. Anyway, from

the way she talked, Kawasaki and Yuigahama's relationship probably wasn't

that close.

"I've never seen Kawasaki being friendly with anyone, though… I feel

like she's always looking out the window and zoning out."

"Yeah, I get that impression, too," Totsuka said, reminding me of how I'd

seen Kawasaki in the classroom. Her grayish eyes and how she watched the

clouds, alone, as they flowed by. Her mind was indeed elsewhere, focused on

something far away, someplace that wasn't there.

"When did your sister start turning into a delinquent?" asked Yukinoshita.

"Y-yes'm!" Taishi twitched at the unexpected question. Just so you know,

I'll add that it wasn't just that Yukinoshita was scary. Taishi was nervous

because a pretty older girl was talking to him. This is the correct response for

a middle school boy. If I were in middle school, I'd probably have felt the

same. Now that I'm in high school, though, she's just scary to me. "U-um…

she was able to get into Soubu High, so when she was in middle school, she

was a real serious student. Plus, she was pretty nice, and she cooked for me a

lot. She didn't change much in the first year of high school, either… It's only

been recently."

"So when she started second year?" I asked.

"Yes," Taishi confirmed.

Taking that in, Yukinoshita began pondering the question. "Can you think

of anything that has changed since she started second year?"

"I guess the easy answer would be changing classes? Since she changed to

Class F," I suggested.

"In other words, since she was put in your class."

"Hey, why are you saying it like I'm the cause? Am I a virus?"

"I'm not saying that. I think you have a persecution complex, Herpegaya.

"I heard that! I heard you call me a disease!"

"Slip of the tongue," Yukinoshita said, looking unconcerned.

Being treated like a disease unearthed some old trauma for me, so I really

wished she would stop. Just one touch and they'd be going:

It's Herpegaya!

Tag!

I just put up a barrier!

Little kids can be too cruel, am I right? Barriers don't work on

Herpegaya! they'd say… Just how powerful am I?

"But, like, when you say she comes home late and stuff, though, just how

late is that?" Yuigahama asked. "Like, I stay out pretty late, too. It's not that

weird for someone in high school."

"Oh, y-yes, I know, but…" Taishi turned away from her, flustered. This

was because, well, he was shy having an incredibly sexy woman talk to him.

This is a very middle school boy response. Now that I was in high school, I

didn't give a damn what I said to hos like her.

"But she comes home at, like, after five."

"That's more like morning," I observed. That'd make you late all right.

Even if you could get any sleep, you'd only manage about two hours.

"Y-your parents don't say anything…about her coming home that late?"

Totsuka fretted, concerned.

"No…both our parents work, and we have a younger brother and sister, so

they don't get on her case much. And because all three of them are out a lot,

they don't see each other very often… Well, it's a big family, so my parents

have their hands full just managing it all." Taishi answered Totsuka's

question relatively normally. Hmm, so middle school boys don't get

Totsuka's appeal yet. Now that I'm in high school, he's actually really cute.

"Even when they do see each other, they just get into fights, but if I say

anything, it's always just 'It's got nothing to do with you'…" Taishi's

shoulders slumped, and he seemed quite distraught.

"Family issues, hmm… Any family has them," said Yukinoshita, her

expression turning melancholy in a way I'd never seen before. It was as if she

was on the verge of tears, just like Taishi when he came to talk to us about

his problems… No, even moreso.

"Yukinoshita…," I started to say. Maybe a cloud had been hiding the sun,

because suddenly a shadow fell over her downturned face. I couldn't make out her expression very well. All I could see were her shoulders sagging

weakly, telling me she'd let out a short sigh.

"What is it?" she prodded, lifting her head, her cold expression unchanged

from its usual posture.

The sun had been obscured by clouds for only an instant. I still don't

know the meaning of that sigh. Perhaps I was the only one who'd noticed that

she seemed different in that instant. Taishi and the others carried on as if

nothing had happened.

"And that's not all… People from sort of…odd places keep calling her."

Taishi's statement prompted a question mark from Yuigahama. "Weird

places?"

"Yeah. A place called Angel or something, I think it's a business… The

manager calls her."

"What's weird about that?" Totsuka asked.

Taishi smacked the table. "I-I mean, it's called Angel! That's gotta be

sketchy!"

"Huh? I don't get that impression at all…," Yuigahama said, slightly

taken aback, but I understood perfectly.

Why, you ask? Because my eighth-grade-level naughty sensors were

telling me so. For example, let's try adding 'Kabuki-cho' to the word angel.

See, it sounds 50 percent sexier now. By the way, if you add super to it, too,

it becomes another 40 percent sexier. This was definitely a sexy sort of

business. This kid had potential, noticing something like that.

"Now, now, hold on and calm down, Taishi. I understand everything."

Taishi seemed happy that I got him. His eyes still fierce, he wiped them

and enveloped me in a warm embrace. "B-bro!"

"Ha-ha-ha, don't call me 'Bro,' all right? I'll kill you, okay?"

While us men were busily erecting firm bonds over what is known as

Eros, the girls, unperturbed, were settling on a proper course of action. "At

any rate, if she's working, then first we must ascertain where," Yukinoshita

strategized.

"Even if it isn't some dubious establishment as those idiots

suggest, it isn't good that she works there until dawn. We must find out

where this place is and make her resign as soon as possible."

"Hmm… But if we force her to quit, she might just start working again

somewhere else, you know?" Yuigahama said.

Komachi nodded. "It'd be like a viper and a mongoose, huh?"

"Are you trying to say whack-a-mole?" Yukinoshita corrected.

Oh, sister mine. Please refrain from shaming the Hikigaya name.

Yukinoshita is rolling her eyes here.

"In other words, you're saying that we must treat both the symptoms and

the root of the disease simultaneously." Yukinoshita drew her conclusion just

as I was finally prying Taishi off me.

"Hey, hold on a second. Are you expecting us to do something?"

"Why not? Saki Kawasaki is a student at our school, and given that her

younger brother's concern is related to her, I believe this falls within the

scope of Service Club activity."

"Bro." I felt some tiny jabs in my back. I turned to find Komachi smiling

sweetly. It was the smile she busted out when she wanted something. A long

time ago, my sister had gotten that same look on her face when I had spent

my Christmas wish on her. Why'd I have to ask Santa for Love and Berry

cards?

I couldn't fight Komachi. She held the ultimate trump card, which was

our parents' affection. Damn it, she was so uncute. "Fine," I conceded

reluctantly.

Taishi erupted in joy and fired off some high-speed bows. "Th-thank you!

Sorry, thank you so much!"