Chapter 2 Part I

I wiped the sweat off my forehead, feeling the intense heat. 

"And---why is the actually crucial Kikyo-chan not here? Huh, Ayanokouji?!". And the first thing Ike asked me when I met up with him was asking me about the absence of Kushida. 

But I'd like him to not ask me that. Both Horikita and Kushida, it's not like I'm monitoring both their schedules. I think it's only probably because I'm an easy target for them to vent their frustrations on, but I'm also rather sick of this kind of interaction. 

"Think about it calmly, Kushida never said she'd go along with us. It's probably just that" I replied to him.

"I'm not going to be satisfied with just that excuse! If Kikyo-chan is not here, there's no meaning to this" Ike said.

That's going too far. I'd like him to stop rejecting this gathering. Leaving aside Ike and the others who were getting overly excited on their own, it seems Kushida invited her other girl friends and went out shopping. 

"So I have no choice but to go pre-shopping with a bunch of bastards that I'm not even interested in, that's sad!" Ike continued.

I can understand his feelings in wanting to scream out, but I too, don't wish to go out together with a bunch of sad men like this...and although I am saying this, I found myself enjoying it just a little bit too. 

Over the course of the summer vacation, other than the school lesson (examination), it was my first time hanging out with other men. But it seems they consider it normal to go shopping with friends and watching movies with them. 

"Screw going out shopping sadly with these three bastards. Haruki, I'm leaving the rest up to you. Choose an item that Kokoro-chan would love" Ike said.

"Don't joke around. You were the one who suggested this, live up to your own words" Yamauchi retorted to him. 

Those two exchanging complaints. I got in between Ike and Yamauchi who were in the middle of their conflict. 

"Calm down a bit. It'll be fine if the three of us just go and buy it. Sudou's already entrusted us with his portion of the points too" I told them.

"That's true, but I feel like we don't need all three of us to do it".

"We've already come this far. We can just quickly buy it and go back".

Since if we disband now I'd feel slightly lonely, I tried persuading them with those words.

"It'll be more of a waste of time and energy if we keep arguing in this scorching heat" I told them.

"Ahhhh---fine, I got it. Let's just quickly buy and go back. Ahh---this is boring.

Contrary to those two who had completely lost their excitement, I headed towards the shop with a slight excitement.

Even among the shops one does not normally enter alone, we came in particular to a shop where girls frequently spend their time. The clerk was a high-level, older beauty. And furthermore, the interior of the shop was colored all pink. It exudes an aura that would normally prevent a man from coming here alone. It seems ranging from stuffed toys to cell phone accessories, all things unnecessary for studies are on display here. I suppose this can be considered as exploiting private points from the students.

"I suppose since those points are also being issued to us from the school there's no real loss" I muttered.

"What are you going on about? Help us decide what to buy too".

What I'm thinking is that the two of you should feel ashamed, looking at the beautiful clerk and the other female customers in the shop. Even though you both claimed to hate doing this, you sure changed your opinions quickly. 

After that we split up and circled the shop to find a good birthday present to buy. But of course, from the start I had no intention of choosing the birthday present. It was because I had no idea what would make a good present or not to choose from. 

"What would she like...I have no idea".

This is my first time giving someone a birthday present. But since the three of us were collectively buying this present, it's a blurry line when it comes to whether or not it fits in the category of a "first" for me. 

In any case, I am inexperienced in regards to this. In addition to that, my knowledge of the matter is shallow, and the only things I could think of as appropriate gifts were "bonquet of roses" and "ring". Things that are far separated from common sense. But that was no longer just a birthday present but a proposal to the girl. After circling the shop once, I rendezvoused with Yamauchi. In Yamauchi's hands was a small, white stuffed bear. On the other hand, I was holding a cell phone cover in my hands. 

And upon seeing that, Yamauchi scowls at me.

"You know, drop that cell phone cover stuff. First of all, Kokoro-chan already absolutely has one and the level of preference between those covers is huge so it'd be troublesome for her too" I received such a warning from Yamauchi.

"...I see. Then how about this protective film?" I asked him.

As a backup measure, I brought out something else I had chosen. But when I did, Yamauchi's facial expression turned into a frown. 

"No, no, no. That's something she doesn't need. Ayanokouji, you really don't have a sense for this kind of thing".

"But things like stuffed animals, wouldn't that be a real problem for her?" I asked Yamauchi.

Even if she gets a stuffed animal it does not fulfill any purpose. It simply takes up space in her room. 

"Sure it may be a problem for her, but she can use it to decorate her room's interior. Kokoro-chan likes this white bear series of stuffed animals so I think she'll be happy with this. More like, I don't want to hear that from a man who bought a cell phone cover and a protective film" Yamauchi retorted.

When I was mocked by Yamauchi like that I don't know why but...it was really a shock. But I was honestly impressed that Yamauchi had thoroughly researched the tastes of the person we were buying a gift for. As for me, I had enough trouble matching Inokashira's name to her face, and I could clearly feel the difference in the level of friendship between us. 

"So where's Kanji?".

"I wonder---".

When the two of us looked through the shop for him, we found Ike standing by the keychain corner. He seemed to be strangely serious, so without calling out to him we approached him in silence. 

It seems Ike is holding in his hands so-called character goods with an orange motif on it. But in his hands, Ike was already holding something else, a cloth with the white bear that Yamauchi had printed on it. 

"Oi, Kanji".

"Uwaaa?! D-don't surprise me like that" Ike said.

Having heard us call out to him, the surprised Ike panicked and almost dropped the keychain he was holding. And then, for some reason almost as if to hide it, he immediately returns it to the shelf. 

"H-have you already decided?" he asks us.

"Ahh, I thought we'd go with this. A white bear towel. Hahaha...".

"That's not it. Why were you looking at keychains?".

"Ehh? It's not like I have any secret motives or anything. More importantly, let's go see what's over there" Ike replied.

In response to the Ike who tried to change the subject like that, Yamauchi turned his eyes in suspicion. 

"Hey...if I remember right, the one who liked that orange character. Wasn't it Shinohara?" he asked Ike.

Once again, Shinohara was an unexpected name to hear here. She's a girl from Class D too and during the island test, I recall she fought frequently with Ike regarding their opinions.

"R-really? No, I was just thinking about Kikyo-chan is all. That's really all there is to it" Ike replied to Yamauchi. He did say that, but I could clearly see Ike's unrest as he said that. 

"You, it can't be but are you thinking about Shinohara?" Yamauchi again asked Ike.

"Huuuuuh? Definitely not, that ugly girl! I'm absolutely not thinking about her!" Ike quickly retorted.

Indeed, if compared to someone like Kushida, it might be the case but Shinohara is also a girl who's plenty cute. Her personality surely isn't the best but that too could be counted as part of her charm. 

"Are you telling the truth? Something seems fishy here, right Ayanokouji?" Yamauchi turned to ask me.

"I wonder.....it certainly wasn't a very Ike-like response" I told him. 

Even though he had a welcoming attitude towards all the other girls, Ike seemed to blatantly dislike Shinohara. In a sense, that means it can be taken as proof that he is conscious about Shinohara. But it doesn't seem like Ike is keen on admitting that, he was vehemently denying it. 

"You guys, don't misunderstand this. Listen up, about Shinohara. If I go out with a girl with an attitude as bad as she has and as ugly as she is, I would be so embarrassed I wouldn't be able to go outside anymore. I absolutely refuse" Ike denied it.

"Ahh---". 

Yamauchi and I both realized a certain presence at the same time and panickedly tried to change the subject.

"I got it, I got it. We already get it. Let's choose Kokoro-chan's present". 

"No, you still don't understand. The degree to which I think Shinohara is ugly. Please listen. Firstly, it's not just her face that's ugly but also her personality. And on top of it all, her body is also lacking. In any case, it's like she's the ugliest among the uglies---" Ike continued.

"W-we understand that. Cut it out already, Kanji. Because, behind you---" Yamauchi trailed off. 

"Huh? Behind?".

The Ike who had been going on about how much he hated Shinohara passionately, slowly turned around. When he did, he saw the form of Shinohara who seemed to almost be breathing fire as well as her group of friends. And amongst them, there was also Kushida.

I suppose it was only natural. If they were intending on picking a birthday present for Inokashira, it would be no surprise if they also happened to pick the same place. 

"Ike should just go and die!".

Leaving behind those violent words, Shinohara angrily left the shop. It seems Ike, who was left behind, didn't even have the words to reply to her since he only absentmindedly stared at the leaving back of Shinohara.

"W-w-what does she mean by die? Shit, she's saying too much for being just someone ugly. R-right?" Ike said that while trying to project a calm image to us despite having received a shock. 

We couldn't interject strongly here, so all we could do was slightly agree with him. 

"O-oi. Ayanokouji look at this, there's a baldie here!".

Yamauchi, who had been attempting to lighten the mood up by changing the subject, suddenly said that while shrugging his shoulders. He did say there was someone bald here, but as soon as I thought that I was convinced of it. In this cute shop, an incongruous giant of man was looking at a shelf stacked with goods with his back faced towards us.

It was Katsuragi of Class A. He was wandering through the shop with a sharp and angry expression. 

"Think he's here to shoplift?".

Whatever happens, I doubt he'll do something like that. But without thinking, I ended up hiding myself along with Ike and the others to watch the situation. The reason I took this action was because I was also curious partly because of his appearance.

"Perhaps that's the case". If you think of it that way, perhaps you might be convinced. It seems Katsuragi is buying a present for someone as he came here after all. And it seems like he's attempting to purchase something now. It seems he's being cautious of his surroundings because he doesn't wish for others to realize this fact. Eventually, Katsuragi chose one box and then started to head for the counter. Ike and the others finally leaped out of the shadows and gathered in front of the shelf from which Katsuragi chose his present. 

It seemed to be something with the shape of a thin board stacked up one over another. Ike and the others took it into their hands and turned it around to read the product information on the back.

"This is...chocolate, right?". 

It's safe to assume it's a present Katsuragi bought with the intention of giving it to someone. It was supposed to have only been that, but Ike and the others trembled as if mesmerized by something. 

"I-it can't be. That baldie already has a girlfriend?"

"Seriously? So this is the power of Class A!".

It seems from something this trivial, they were both mesmerized and jealous and those feelings were laid bare here.

"That's not really the case though. It might just be a present to a friend" 

"You normally won't give a friend a present with a wrapping this cute. Would you? Would you!? You wouldn't".

"...I suppose".

Indeed it is a cute little box, the ribbon that's on the package isn't really something you would hand to a friend...

At the very least, it's not something you would hand to a member of the same sex. So going from that, it would have to be an intimate girl he's giving it to. If I think of it that way, the idea of him having a lover that was suggested to me, I would inevitably be drawn to think of that as a possibility. Ike and the others once again glance at the Katsuragi who was still advancing towards the counter, and from the shadows of the shelves, continue their information collecting. 

"Is it a birthday present?".

"Yes".

"Will you be attaching a birthday card to this?".

"Please. The birthday is August 29".

Katsuragi answered the clerk's questions. I wonder whose present it is? In any case, it seems the product itself is meant to be a birthday present. Having overheard that too, Ike and the others began to whisper amongst themselves.

"Did you hear that? Which girl has her birthday on the 29th?".

"I-I don't know...today is the 21st and it's a Sunday so...it'll be the Monday of the week after the next. Do you know anything, Ayanokouji?".

"I wonder. I have entirely no idea" I replied.

If even those two, who have completely familiarized themselves with the girls don't know, there is no way I could possibly know of it too.