And like so, the RPG team of a male player consisting of one guy and three girls headed toward the Touwa household after school. With a flower in each hand, I didn't even have another for the girl stuffed in the basket. I found her walking back home from work with no shoes on, so I picked her up. The tension between her and Ryuushi-san seemed to only exist for the latter though. As for Erio, she'd shown nothing but a blank face.
Ryuushi-san sighed on the way to the bicycle lot: “Ah~ Now the position of starters is further away from me~ I don't wanna be the secret weapon anymore~” The Touwa household isn't exactly a paradise of hope and dreams that's worth visiting. There is someone who can light firecrackers with her brain there though.
“Hoh~ So this is Touwa's house?”
Parking first into the front yard, Maekawa-san carefully observed that residence that should be a fairly normal house. Perhaps due to looking up for too long (like five seconds) she moaned, 'wuu~' almost stumbling. Although she seemed the type who won't give in to pressure, her body seems slave to her blood flow. She mentioned before that 'I've never been to a hospital;' if possible, I hope she could live on peacefully.
“Whoa~” With a helmet still on her head, Ryuushi-san awed at the building and trod to my side as if avoiding Erio: “I thought maybe the walls would be covered in futons, but it's just a pretty house!”
Ryuushi-san earnestly reported on the gap between her imagination and the real deal. Hearing the comment, Erio shot her a glance, but didn't dissent. She merely stared at her house. For her, she might have the terrifying thought of 'that's not bad at all.' She is, after all, the fanatic that would surprise people if she doesn't collect blanket catalogs.
“I thought it'd be covered by a white sheet.”
Maekawa-san, too, followed. I've seen this somewhere![1]
Bell signifying some sort of break resounded from an elementary school nearby. I've been there before: it's a school about ten minutes away from the Touwa residence. Erio attended there as well. Contradicting the problem that is the falling birthrate, the amount of students there seem to multiply like biscuits in a pocket. Currently, the school is undergoing renovation and expansion of classrooms. This probably means that couples get along well around here. [2]
Affected by the bell, we moved toward the entrance like students at the field toward classrooms after lunch has ended. Judging strictly by her appearance, the warrior Maekawa-san took vanguard, followed by Ryuushi-san, me and Erio. Being in the middle of Ryuushi-san and Erio, I should feel proud. But for Erio, maybe she just wanted to 'prepare for an ambush.' What could she possibly be fighting against? The world has an apparent animosity for her, so she probably doesn't have many comrades. There's Meme-san and Tamura Oba-san.
And... me? At least for now. Would this be considered as indecisiveness?
“Hm, door's locked.” The leading Maekawa-san voiced her objection at the solidity of the door and the common sense of all households.
“Usually people lock their houses when they leave.” I took out the key and went next to Maekawa-san.
“We don't, more often than not.”
“For whom it may concern, did you hear that~?”
I ridiculed her and opened the door. “It's opening!” For some reason, Maekawa-san became excited. Pulling the door ajar, she seemed strangely cheerful, closing and opening it repeatedly. I decided to let her be.
Taking the key out, I glanced back, only to find Ryuushi-san and Erio fixed on their spot.
“And why are you two just standing there? Saving someone's spot?”
There isn't entrance limit, and no one will get mad if you cut the line.
“Since Niwa-kun is the third, I'm saving your spot as a healer.”
She maintained a cheery look; with a victory sign, she boasted.
You're the most healing thing here.
Yet from just a second ago, Nervousness— or rather, anxiety — crept up in my guts. Strictly speaking, this isn't my house, but the fact that two girls are coming into my room choked the top of my stomach.
Not one on one, but one vs. many. It's an anomalous situation. The Youth-points who thought their time has come froze, doubtful and without direction. I too wondered what would happen.
“We're coming in!” Finally tired of the toy that is the door, Maekawa-san entered the entrance with a casual greeting. “Excuse me, I'm coming in!” Ryuushi-san bashfully spoke, turning to Erio halfway through the sentence. As expected of the polite helmet girl.
And the last two said 'I'm home.' We even received the normal reaction of 'welcome!' Maekawa-san, who had speedily took off her flats, welcomed us kindly. A lot about this was questionable. She must have realized too, awkwardly scratching her head:
“I screwed up. That's for my house; it should have been welcome home.”
Seemed like she still couldn't amend the mistake completely. Hm, if I could trade the house owner with Maekawa-san, I will gladly toss that big kid out. Only, she would come back faster than a salmon.
“House? What does your family do, Maekawa-san?” Setting her shoes next to Maekawa-san's, Ryuushi-san inquired with a straight back. “Oh, you live in the city, so you don't know, huh. Ryuushi.”
“I told ya I'm Ryuuko.”
“My house runs a pub in the shopping district, so you have to come when you're old enough, Ryuushi… Given that if the pub is still runnin' by then!”
Ahahah~ Since I can't articulate any better, I'll just laugh. Maekawa-san's expression conveyed so.
“Anyhow, let's go to transfer student's room. Which floor?” Maekawa-san pointed toward the hallway.
“Second floor. But there's seriously nothing interesting in there.”
“What are you on about, transfer student? Using poker as an example, there's nothing fun about a single card: the point is how to use that card in an interesting way.”
She dauntlessly asserted the lack of fun of a room she's never been in. I couldn't help but feel that maybe I should have put something like a game console in my room, knowing that others will criticize my lack of entertainment value. I had one in my old home, but I think I sold it when I moved.
A person befitting of being a tour guide, Maekawa-san led us forward as if directing her family. With this kind of advance, the distance sound of a whistle was almost audible.
A guy mixed with three girls. This made me think of Sw*mmy for some reason. Man, I miss that! Speaking of which, wasn't there a story called “The Red Fruit Has Burst” in our textbook? What was it about? I thought it's about a girl going out to buy fishes… I think, but that's not the point of the story. But whatever with that.[3]
Maekawa-san stepped onto the stairs, peeking inside Erio's room.
“Mm? This Touwa's room?”
“Yes.” A tiny confirmation from the back.
“I see~ It sure suits you… Ah, that's the school uniform. For cosplaying?”
“No, it is not.” Erio denied Maekawa-san's biased evaluation of the uniform.
Then why? I wanted Erio to spill the answer, but she simply looked down and grasped at her skirt, silencing the owner of the voice.
“Ah, it's Mr. Pluto!” [4]
On the other hand, what piqued Ryuushi-san's attention was the tan-coloured doll sitting on the ball chair. It's a… creature (?) of roughly forty centimeters long. On it's head was a hair not unlike the parents of a certain Isono family, and he's even got a red ribbon. Pluto? Does it have anything to do with space? It is sitting in Erio's room. Um… Is the discovery of such creature on Pluto human's spearhead of discovery? NASA would drop their jaws.[5]
It's a cute doll that girls seem to like. Ryuushi-san hurried into the room and hugged the doll that's strikingly larger than her face. “How cute~ Boing!” You are so damn cute, I thought as I peered at that face.[6] Tug, tug. Erio pulled on my sleeve from behind. I only looked back.
“T-that's mine...”
She's like a little girl angry with her older sister who stole her toy, telling her mom.
“...Then tell her.” I am not your brother — we're practically the same age.
“Wuu.. Wu...”
Erio closed in onto Ryuushi-san and forcefully took the plushy away. Uh, back? It is hers, but her action was unreasonable.
“Eh? ...Ah?” Ryuushi-san's dreamy visage was torn by that momentum; her fingers quivered.
“H-he sits here.” Erio put the plushy back to where it was.
“S-sorry…?”
Ryuushi-san haltingly apologized like she'd just accidentally sat on a house made of match sticks.
Just like before, an enigmatic air twisted between the two. As if veiled by a thick cloth, they could never reach each others.
Why are these two so awkward? The girl who has the sensibility of the world (? Questionable, but I won't take it back now) just can't be friends with the futon roll who strayed from common sense?
Then the bystander Maekawa-san spoke her thought regarding the plushy:
“How childish of you, Ryuushi, satisfied with a doll of only that size.”
A giantess preached so. She even sighed disapprovingly. She also seemed to have misunderstood why Ryuushi-san was so happy.
“If it were me, a 179.9cm Mr. Pluto is totally possible.”
“Don't do it.” It would be a different breed of creature at that point.
“Hm. 'Kay, now, to the long-awaited room of Niwa-kun!”
Ryuushi-san went 'Oh~!' leading her feet out with her right arm. Becoming the leader, she traded place with Maekawa-san, increasing the distance from Erio by one more space. If we do the same thing again, would this team of four recombine like in old games, letting Ryuushi-san follow Erio next? I suddenly had the feeling. Is my brain also shorting out because of Meme-san's radiation? The thought worried me.
“Hoh~ So this is Niwa-kun's room?”
Ryuushi-san firstly peeked into my room, leaving phrases of impression.
“Hoh~ So this is the room where transfer student rolls around on the floor in.”
Maekawa-san described the space. Apparently even the way I use it was set.
“Hoh~ The cousin's room.” Why did you follow them, Erio? Don't you come here all the time?
From my point of view, it would be terrifying if things worth looking increased in my room. I sat on the chair pulled away from the desk, observing the two classmates wandering the room. Hmm, the usually boring room suddenly lit up.
As long as these two are in the room, they could even replace an air freshener.
Erio, finding nothing interesting in the room, jumped onto the bed; then as if rolling the futon on her, she spun to the side….
“What kinda prank is this?” I pulled on her right leg.
Extracted by me from the futon, Erio blinked as if wondering 'what's the problem?' head slightly cocked.
“What are you doing?”
“That is my question: what is the cousin doing?”
“I'm only doing what's natural as your cousin. Stop putting that on.”
“I am playing as the hardworking sixteen year old who wants to wear relaxing clothes at home.”
“Shut up.”
“My smell might get on it.”
“I. Don't. Care.”
I can't believe she remembered that irrelevant detail. The strange prediction-sketch of Erio turning into Meme-san in twenty four years has been penciled. Rough draft next?
“Hey… Hey~ Niwa-kun.” Ryuushi-san called. Slightly thorny in her enunciation, I reflexively straightened my slightly-hunched back.
“Hm? What is it?” The eyes that gazed lost their sharpness, round like always:
“Is this the deep-see animal atlas ya mentioned?”
Ryuushi-san, who had scanned the bookshelf, put her finger on the spine of a book.
“Yeah, that's it. There's a ton of picture in there. It's a lot cooler than the other books!”
“Hoh~” She retrieved the atlas and flipped through it: “Uwah, the naked photos of ugly-cute characters!” As usual, her impressions were kind of twisted.
If Ryuushi-san were brought to a zoo, would she accuse them of public display of indecency?
“Um, which do ya like, Niwa-kun?”
She sat directly on the floor, opening the atlas about the size of a hardcover book. Then Ryuushi-san beckoned, asking me to come to her side. “Coming.” I accepted the invite.
I kneeled on one knee next to Ryuushi-san's right. On the page that Ryuushi-san had open were four deep-sea octopuses. My favourite creature was not swimming in there.
“This is so cute!” She pointed at the Dumbo Octopus in the middle.
“I know!” I indulged her. It's not like it'd be a problem liking one more animal.
“Then which one do ya recommend the most?”
“Um, I would say~” Confirming the page on the bottom left, I calculated how many pages need to be flipped back. Sixteen pages later, I pointed at the picture on the bottom left.
“Helicolenus Hilgendorfii?” Ryuushi-san read its name.
“Yeah, isn't it pretty?”
A red fish with a white crown flung its tail fin.
“It is, even though it's around a buncha freaky animals.”
“I like the way it stands out.”
“Oh~ But Niwa-kun, you shouldn't stand out, okay?”
“Hm, of course...” Sensing a gaze on the top of my head, I looked up.
Erio sat on the bed, her eyes fixed on us. The moment our sight met, she seemingly intentionally hid into the futon. “Haa, really?” What does she want, my attention?
Damn kid. If this goes on, she might become a great big kid.
I loosened the curled leg and waist, moving toward Erio. I can fly~ I lightly landed, and from the corner ripped the futon off. This was even more ungentlemanly than tono-sama's sash-pulling game![7]
“Oh~ no~” For some reason Maekawa-san provided a voice-over from behind. Speaking of which, what is Maekawa-san looking for around the room? I did have a prediction though. [8]
Because the way she walked and scanned was just like a certain 39 years old child.
“This room lacks the colour of skin.”
What kind of thought was that? This isn't where a serial killer hides dead bodies.
“Hey~ Niwa-kun, c'mere~ c'mere!”
Ryuushi-san waved at me again with a warmer attitude. Am I a hot item or what?
What, has my time of being popular come? But don't let all of it out, drag this out forever!
Youth-points are thing that won't react if directly approached.
“I'm coming~” I held onto the corner of the blanket, stretching my body as far as I can toward Ryuushi-san. My neck extended to the maximum, peering over the atlas from the top. My head almost rammed into Ryuushi-san's.
“What else do ya like? ...Hey, why not just let go of the blanket?”
“Uh. Well, if I let go, a certain someone will become the local mascot.”
“Why not just tie her up? Let her roll around over there.”
Dammit, she's only so relaxed because she's not dealing with her. She even started pouting. Is she jealous? I'm gonna assume you are. Don't underestimated the power that is the delusion of a self-conscious highschooler. If that was true though, uh… The hell do I do? Crap, the solution known as 'experience' isn't doing it's job on guiding me. Because it doesn't exist!
“Hey~ Transfer student, look.”
“Hah?” I looked back to Maekawa-san's voice.
With half the blanket rolled on her, Erio hopped on my bed!
“Gah~!!” The dust's everywhere! What a waste, I'm going to have to vent the room now!
And why are you just sitting there elegantly with a smile, Maekawa-san?! Go find some porn!
“Niwa-kun, click, click!” As if to sooth me, who had left, Ryuushi-san summoned.
Am I a stray cat? Is this below or above being classmates?
In the end, I ran around the blanket between Erio and Ryuushi-san thirty times.
Drenched in sweat, I opened the window regretfully. The air of girls and the heat escaped outside.
Out of the window, the colour of dusk began to swallow the edge of the sky. The world was as if flipped.
Only one person would appear when trouble's amok. Everyone should know.
The person whose personality and other aspects vex people to no end — Touwa Meme-san. When the girls were about to take off, they bumped into the returning Meme-san. Incidentally, they both called her smooth-skinned sensei.
Looks like both Maekawa-san and Ryuushi-san had met Meme-san. Now that I mentioned it, Ryuushi-san seemed to have received cola from Ryuushi-san before, but Maekawa-san… What was it? I don't see their connection.
Meme-san whispered a few words to Maekawa-san, clapped her hand saying 'Okay~! It's settled!' first and then declared 'I'm heading out again;' Maekawa-san also claimed that she is heading home and put on her shoes. She said she was going to get something to bring back here… What on earth is going on?
If it were the usual, Meme-san shouldn't be baited by this kind of a festival. But she did look busy. Is she conniving something? It's hard to tell because she's always playing practical jokes.
Meme-san further proposed something similar to this: “Since I won't be home, how about the girls do some cooking?”
“Cough, cough, so I don't have to cook, cough cough.”
“I don't get why you coughed.”
After waves of disturbance, Ryuushi-san decided to call home first. Decided to stay in the Touwa household till later, she planned on going home after waiting for Maekawa-san, doing some activities; and cooking and eating.
And thus Meme-san and Maekawa-san left the house. Erio, Ryuushi-san and I remained.
…This is practically a development for 'let's build a love triangle.'
Well, it's because of the words Meme-san tossed us that muddled the air, making me and Ryuushi-san extra conscious of each others.
We stared at each other with a twisted smile. One of us moved first, and the other two followed behind. Step, step. Only the sound of footstep echoed lightly.
In the living room, with Erio as the apex, adding me and Ryuushi-san, we mimicked a triangle sitting in front of the table.
“…...” Erio, who rarely sat upright, said nothing. She rubbed her upper arm as if conveying her anxiety over bare skin. Her eyes oscillated.
“Ah, uh… I wonder what Maekawa-san's bringin'~”
Ryuushi-san faced me, talking to me instead of Erio.
“I have no idea. What could it be?.” Could be a costume. But I refrained from speaking.
“Hm, I wonder...” Voices trailed off, and the conversation paused here.
If it were only me and Erio, or only me and Ryuushi-san, then any sort of conversation could become lively, but at the moment… How strange.
The ticking of clock that should be the sound of a daily life did not resonate. The room was completely silent. Ringing in the ear proliferated. The chirping of crickets that starts in the beginning of autumn shared the same unpleasant feeling as the current situation.
My nose dried; the taste of burn permeated in my throat. This was the syndrome of boredom.
“Want to watch… TV?” Erio held the remote and peeked at my face. Is this the conclusion she reached to cope with idleness?
“Sure.” I agreed; the TV shone.
On the screen gradually lighting up, sushi appeared. It looked to be a show promoting shops with fresh and delicious high-class sushi. The reporter and celebrity whose name escapes me shoved tuna sushi into his mouth, yelling 'so good.' He said nothing else in terms of compliments.
Since the volume was set on loud, the initially silent room suddenly flooded with noise. The various sound effects and BGM forced into my eardrum, suffocating me.
Now we're even more anxious. The overfilling noise and the current status of the room was too different.
I couldn't stand it anymore and left the seat, taking my time in the kitchen making tea.
After preparing tea for three people, I returned to the living room. The two still bored holes into the TV.
“Here, some tea.”
I put the tea in front of Erio. She looked down on the tea, staring into her reflection within.
For reasons unknown, she pushed to slide the tea in front of Ryuushi-san. The rising steam followed after.
“Here, tea.”
Basing her conclusion on something, Ryuushi-san slid the cup of tea to me. Are we playing the game of 'the bar scene you always see in cowboy flicks'?
“… A cup of tea.”
I attempted to give the tea to Erio again. She unhesitatingly handed the tea to Ryuushi-san. “Here, tea.” Though frowning, Ryuushi-san still returned the cup of tea to me. As if annoyed with following behind, the steam occasionally moved to the side instead of wasting energy going up.
I thought the thirst of boredom seemed to moisten by the ascending steam.
After that, the cup of team circled endlessly on the table.
The remaining two cups of tea were ostracized from the table, slowly losing the steam that is the candle of life.
In the midst of it, I reminisced the day of being forced to do can-crushing during an activity of kid's day.
✩
After about forty minutes, Maekawa-san came back.
“I’m home!” Somehow, she announced her return with the manner of the patriarch of the house.
Yet, there isn’t anyone who could change the ambiance better than she. As expected of ‘when you’re troubled, just find her’ Maekawa-san.
The light steps unfitting of her height approached the living room.
The person who entered the room was a Santa in white carrying a bag with no dreams inside.
“Since I am taking up role of professor, I am returning to the basics: lab coat.”
With the height of 179.9cm (self-proclaimed) and a lab coat over her uniform, the infirmary doctor with glasses moved forward briskly, carrying on her shoulder a plastic bag. If she were to appear during play house, you’d worry about having your stomach cut open — that’s the anxiety caused by the sharp aura exuding from her.
Empty bottles filled the bag. In addition, things that resembled nozzles lied on the bottom.
“By the way, the glasses are fake. For fashion purposes.” She pushed the glasses up with her free hand.
“Whoa~ That’s so cool!” Ryuushi-san looked up in awe.
Indeed, with her complimentary height, the outfit beautifully conveyed the sense of coolness.
“Hehe.” Having her serious cosplay praised accordingly, Maekawa-san chuckled joyfully and said: “I’m taking this cup of tea.” Her long arm lifted the blue cup and dumped the tea in her mouth.
“What the? It’s at the perfect temperature!”
It didn’t sound like a protest against the cold tea, but a praise. Looks like Maekawa-san is afraid of heat.
“Okay, so what you got there?”
I queried for the three of us. “Oh.” The cup left Maekawa-san’s lips.
“We’re making bottle rockets! That’s smooth-skinned sensei’s request. She said to have Touwa and the transfer student make them. These are the material.”
Swoosh~ She lifted the bag. This was Meme-san’s malicious plan? Or a part of it?
“I got some for Ryuushi too — you’re joining us too, right?” Maekawa-san watched for Ryuushi-san’s reaction; she tilted her head with finger on her lips:
“Hmmm. I… donno how to make one. And I told ya I’m Ryuuko. Don’t go settling on that nickname.”
“No problem, I’ll teach you. I know the steps enough to teach.”
“Then I’ll try~ But why, all of the sudden? I mean Touwa-san’s mom.”
“Who knows?” Maekawa-san revealed a meaningful smile, dodging the question.
“Touwa or transfer student, one of you go get scissors and knives from Meme-san’s room… I mean, could you bring me to her room? I think the tools we need are in her room.”
“Then, follow me.” I stopped Erio halfway as she got up and left the living room with Maekawa-san.
Using the chance that we had walking in the hallway with lights brighter than the sun, I questioned Maekawa-san.
“Hey, Maekawa-san.”
“Hm? What is it? Also starting from now and throughout the bottle making, call me doctor.”
Hands in her white coat pocket, Maekawa-san requested a change in profession.
If only Ryuushi-san could change her name as easily as she.
“…Doctor Maekawa.” Rolled off the tongue easier than Meme-chan.
“Hm, hm!” Shoulders trembling, she smiled satisfactorily.
“The rockets from a while back — are they related to this?”
“Hoh, how keen of you!”
Mae… Doctor Maekawa whistled as if complimenting the exceptional answer from her student:
“But one does not need to know the language of flower to appreciate its beauty, transfer student.”
“What I’m concerned with is if this is somehow related to me and Erio.”
“Neither do I know the meaning of flower, unfortunately.”
Her metaphoric response blurred my comprehension.
“Oh, I know this: red spider lily means ‘sad recollection,’ ‘the desire to meet again,’ and ‘I miss only you.’”
“I think the topic is going into the wrong direction…”
“In any case, it’s not a big deal! They are just bottles.”
Ultimately, she brushed me off.
In the story that progressed elsewhere, what role do I exactly play?
“Alrighty. Doctor Maekawa’s class will now begin.”
In the living room sitting on the opposite side of the table, Doctor Maekawa declared the start of her crafting class.
On my sides were Erio and Ryuushi-san. The students were fully prepared. Only…
…Um, am I being used as a screen to separate the two?
Won’t it be better to have these two get along? Ryuushi-san seems to frequent Tamura shop anyway. But is it okay for me to be so nosy? This was the true question.
“Do you remember how to make them, Touwa?” Maekawa-san surveyed to see if Erio had the proper knowledge.
“…Don’t know.” My left neighbor hurriedly shook her head.
“You should have made them in art class before, since we went to the same school.”
“Um, I took it home to have mom help me, so…”
Erio shrunk embarrassedly and confessed. Have mom help probably actually meant ‘Meme-san made almost everything.’ Appeared to have noticed, Maekawa-san grimaced:
“Then we’ll say you have a permit! Alright, first grab a bottle.”
Following her direction, all three of us laid the bottles on the table. We had a total of five, which will all be used when we finished. I didn’t know that till today.
“Next, pick up the nozzles that was given beforehand and screw that onto the bottle.”
I screwed the nozzles that sat on the bottom tightly onto the neck of the bottle. Compare to me and Ryuushi-san, Erio had a bit of trouble, but still successfully completed the task.
“Now we’re done with that, set it aside. Prepare the second bottle.”
“Done, Doctor Maekawa!” Ryuushi-san feigned an innocent reply. She’s pretty good at being a student. Wait, she is a student.
“See that line on the lower half? Cut the bottom off with the box cutter. Since we only have one, we have to take turns.”
Like doing a demo, Maekawa-san adroitly cut off the butt: “The trick is to not move the knife, but rather spin the bottle forward to cut it — just like shaving an apple!”
After giving the advice, Maekawa-san passed the box cutter to Ryuushi-san. “Whacha call it, I miss crafting classes~” Ryuushi-san worked while humming a tune. I’m envious of how she could seemingly enjoy everything.
I too finished without any problem. As for Erio, everyone held his or her breath as we watched. Erio clamped the knife with strength enough to bruise her fingers. “Uh, relax a little. But do hold on to it.”
She slightly loosened the grip. Then she clawed the bottle, her fingers digging in. “This isn’t a disposal site… But do hold on to it.” She eased a bit. And so… screech, screech… the knife sunk into the bottle. She gingerly exerted enough force that might snap the blade. If the cutter slip off, a part of Erio along with the clothes might end up split apart. I prayed for her safety.
Perhaps it was answered: she cut opened the bottle safely. Is everyone going to be on the edge from now on when it’s Erio’s turn? I swallowed the epiphany like a stone.
“… Uh, well then. Next step is to cut the extra part below that line. The key is to start from the bottom…” And like so, the project proceed under Maekawa-san’s guidance.
Next was to use the third bottle to make the base. Again, a rough cut with the box cutter, and then finer detail with the scissors; thus the rocket was mostly complete.
“With the PE rocket head as the tip, the second bottle on the top, the first on the bottom, and the base last… Here we are, the completed body!”[9]
Combined with their parts, the rockets without wing stood on the floor. Ryuushi-san and I both tried putting the rockets together while Erio cut away on the bottle.
Although I offered help, she insisted, ‘No need. I must do it this time.’ Hence I stared from the side. From the bystander’s view point, I was terrified. Now I understand why Meme-san is so protective of her.
“Apparently the rockets are undergoing test-flight tomorrow.” Maekawa-san spoke.
“Tomorrow?”
“Eleven of clock, the closest beach. Meme-san’s instruction.”
If she whispered the instructions of making rockets to Maekawa-san, then I imagine Meme-san must be related to this whole thing. The closest beach — is it the one Erio and I went on that night? Riding there takes at least an hour!
After Erio’s finished with her work, Maekawa-san shifted direction to the making of wings. The parts cut off from the bottles were flattened with a piece of wood. This was the only part Maekawa-san performed poorly on. After forcing it down for a while… “Gwahh…” This person planned on throwing her dignity away with the lab coat effect.
Pliers could be used to stabilize the ridges on the flattened wing prototype. Next, label it with a marker and cut it. Stick the two pieces together with double-sided tape and staple them. Finally, cover the staple mark with electric tapes. The wing is now finished.
Now to put the wings on in an X shape on the body (this was is the hardest part). Connect it to the rocket with electric tape, then you can yell ‘done!’ And then wait for Erio to finish. I knew it. Ryuushi-san’s and my rockets weren’t exactly artistic on the taping part, but they at least had the shape. I inspected it in my hand. The forgotten sense of achievement from making something alleviated the growing exhaustion that weighed my skull down, warming up my head.
I switched the TV that’s never been off onto the news to check the time. It was already past seven, almost eight. In other words, we spent about an hour and half on making rockets. On one hand, I understood starvation. On the other, I was shocked at how late city girls are allowed to stay out. If it were where I used to live, if there was someone outside after eight PM, they’d be considered suspicious. A lax night like this would be upon every family by now.
“The night is full.” Eyes glued on the TV, Maekawa-san mumbled. Eh? So the city uses the same standard?“Yeah, it’s about time to go home.”
“We have to prepare dinner for Touwa and the transfer student first.”
Hearing Maekawa-san’s words, Ryuushi-san winced. She stared at me, while I her. Ugh, Meme-san’s words echoes in my head. Just like the person herself, they were annoying.
In the spare time, Maekawa-san even decorated the rockets. She coloured the thing white to imitate a certain stream-line creature with strange wings. She called it ‘skyfish.’ [10]
“I’ve never seen the actual thing, so this is just referring to the manga.”
“Of course ya wouldn’t!”
Ryuushi-san’s sheepish eyes moved away from me, observing the rockets from all sorts of angles while replying to Maekawa-san.
But in this town, it is said that skyfish has been witnessed frequently. Maekawa-san spoke as if to herself:
“Since tomorrow is flight, we won’t have time for a test. Having all of them fly up gracefully would be impossible though. These rockets probably won’t be mistaken as UFO trails; they’ll just crash midway. Maybe my skyfish will end its life as a seafish.”
And then Maekawa-san looked askance at Erio, divulging a jeering grin:
“I guess the only way is to have a fishing line hang it from space, huh.”
Was Erio equipped with the sense to detect that she had just been the butt of a space joke?
She ceased the work on hand, slightly pouting. Maekawa-san, who looked from the side, relaxed her expression and squinted. Instead of a quip, it was more a subtle smile:
“I look forward to it, Touwa. Use your space power and send these rockets upward!”
Okay, class is over. Now to the self-provided lunch. Meme-san’s still not home.
Looking at it this way: having done an unusual project and cooked dinner, it’s like a summer camp or something. It’s rather exciting.
And I get to eat food made by girls. This was unquestionably a three-pointer. The food itself is trivial — what matters is the act.
The conclusion was that everyone including me had to make a dish. The maximum occupancy of the kitchen was two, so we decided to have Maekawa-san and Ryuushi-san go first, then me and Erio next.
Erio and I sat in the kitchen’s chairs, appreciating the beauty in front of us. Sitting from the back and seeing the classmates in apron, I savoured the taste of youth. Maekawa-san still had the lab coat though.
Not too long ago, Erio, whose mother remarked her cooking skill as ‘as long as it’s a ham sandwich, she can make it,’ seemed satisfied with the rocket she made. She went as far as carrying it here, unable to stop grinning at her own creation. The surface was painted black; the uneven texture further emphasized the handmade feeling.
“This is the third one ever made.”
“Oh? Meme-san made the other?”
Slumping as if her spine was shattered by shame, Erio shrunk her chin. But she sat up again. The black rocket danced in the air via human power, occupying my view.
“But this one is mine.”
“Yes, yes, very impressive.”
I casually rubbed her head.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t a bad feeling seeing her shook around happily.
Because of the knife that shone dimly on the hand of Ryuushi-san who looked back, I terminated my action swiftly. Um… She does look like she’s sulking! In other words, she is somewhat interested in me? Umm… This requires further inspection.
If Ryuushi-san’s target turns out to be Erio, then I will be mortified.
The complicated feeling of joy and confusion swelled in my chest; looking at the back of the girls, I awaited my debut. Occasionally I have to deal with the rocket girl neighbor; I even thought about having the hydro-powered rocket fly into space.
“It’s done!” In just about twenty minutes, Maekawa-san reported. Only, both of them hid their dishes behind. “Before the last dishes are done, they’re secret.” Ryuushi-san said coyly.
Following their wishes, I avoided looking at their food and simultaneously switched place with them. Erio ruefully put the rocket in the corner of the kitchen, stiffly taking from Ryuushi-san the apron. “Looks like you two need to be lubricated!” Maekawa-san teased. I thought the same thing too.
As I contemplated on what to make, Erio returned from the fridge with some ham, laid them on the cutting board and chopped — or battered — away. I thought of the zombie mom of a dead family who went inside an abandoned house and pretended to be alive by making sounds. What does she plan on making? [11]
I just made something simple. I picked up two eggs, since making anything extraordinary was impossible.
And like so, Erio and my dishes were complete. We both set them on the table.
Four bowls embellished with food, the colour combination sufficiently covered by just grey scale.
“Why did everyone decide to have rice covered by things?”
“It’s easy.” “My specialty.” “Here, ham.”
I wanted to stamp ‘learn Japanese’ on the forehead of the last person.
“This is an Oyakodon. It got cold though.”
Maekawa-san began the introduction of her dish. Compared to the ones served at school café, hers had prettier egg, and better smell. Everyone wordlessly extended their chopsticks, screaming ‘so good!’ like the celebrity on TV. It wasn’t that we didn’t have the vocabulary, we just rather spend time eating than talking — compliments should only be mentioned after eating the meal.
Since Ryuushi-san avoided those chickens, I snatched them away.
But, shouldn’t the best be the last? From the half-full stomach, I pulled out a similar regret:
“But, hm, this definitely deserves three points.”
To secure the sudden points, dibs must be called. Since I’ve been taking care of Erio recently, I felt as if my Youth-points had been dropping.
“Points… Well, I take that as a compliment.”
Maekawa-san didn’t seem unaccepting, taking the cleaned bowl away.
Next up, Ryuushi-san raised the bowl with a smile of slight embarrassment and anticipation like when she showed me the doodling on her notebook:
“Mine is an Oyakodon with no chicken.”
So the ‘Oya’ part evaporated?
“Uh… Then it should be called Tamagodon?” I stared at the bowl with a question.
“But I heard that Niwa-kun likes Oyakodon!”
She grumbled. Where did that rumor come from? …Ah, from Maekawa-san? True, I remember praising the Oyakodon served at the school cafeteria a month ago. But that was just a comment on the school’s cooking, not for Oyakodon itself… Well, it isn’t too late to make this my favourite dish today.
Also, since it’s the same as Maekawa-san’s, she had meant it to be? Hmm, the smell of gunpowder.
“What’s the big deal~ Just try it. Here ya go~”
Ryuushi-san passed the bowl to my mouth; the other two crossed their chopsticks in the air. The atmosphere now does not permit food sharing.
Is Ryuushi-san’s food only for me (俺専用)? Or is it for folding (折れ専用)? Not knowing her intent, I wavered.
In the background, Maekawa-san grinned mischievously. Hm, eggs, hold up… There's something else in there. I rolled the object several times on my tongue. It's shaped like a carrot. Not chicken, but it's a bit soft. Oh well, I bit down on this mysteriously textured object. Then, sweet juice flowed between the teeth. One hundred percent fruit.
“...” I swallowed the thing first. “Hey, Ryuushi-san?” The after taste was just as mellifluous.
“How was it?”
Just like the 'how does it look?' after a girl tried on new clothes, it was a forceful rhetorical question.
However, before I critic the taste, I must point something out:
“Is there pineapple in here?”
“Mm.” She confirmed earnestly, the smile still intact.
“So Ryuushi-san likes the pineapple in sweet and sour porks, huh?”
The background with two people setting their chopsticks on the table and sipping their tea looked mighty alluring.
“I love it. Personally I love sweeter flavour.” I especially spoke with the volume audible to Maekawa-san while shoving the pineapple-don in my mouth.
“Um… Is it good? How's it taste?”
“Mom taught me to not talk with my mouth full.”
“Weren't ya just talking normally?”
Once people start asking about my thought on the taste, I gloss over with that phrase. In the end, I cleaned the entire bowl on my own.
My throat is so sweet. Upon downing the tea, a blurring bitterness suffused in my mouth, somehow nauseating me.
The next two entrees weren't interesting, so I'll introduce them both.
“Fried-egg don.” Mine. Referring to the cooking manga Meme-san has.
“Ham-don.” It was literally sliced ham slapped on steaming rice. Because of the remaining amount of rice in the steamer, there's wasn't much in there. This was of course Erio's product.
With nothing particularly worth noting, the four of us ate quietly. Not that I moved my chopsticks. Although toward the end everyone entered the mode of 'I'm tired of rice' and dropped his or her chopsticks, we finished laboriously.
“Thanks for the food...” The listless voices of thanks crawled in the kitchen.
Perhaps having eaten Maekawa-san's Oyakodon first was the right choice. In the end, my stomach was too filled to taste anything anymore.
Being too full, no one planned on leaving his or her seat. We merely waited lethargically.
Though the thought of cleaning dishes poked from the corner of my mind, the lower half of my body refused to move the encumbering torso.
“Ah, it's almost nine. Aren't ya heading back, Maekawa-san?”
Ryuushi-san seemed to probe her with a 'I won't leave before ya do!'
“Yep.” Maekawa-san nodded affirmatively, even smirking. But before anything came from her lips, Erio, sitting beside me, popped up:
“Um, staying… over?”
“Eh?” Maekawa-san and I both seized.
The shock wasn't just from the act of 'staying over' — it was from the act of Erio's proposal.
In addition, the only vegetarian in a sports club jumped at the words:
“W-w-w-what are ya saying~!!”
Ryuushi-san pecked furiously at Erio. She's pretty energetic after the meal.
“Uh… I mean… Is it not good? It's… dark out… and dangerous… Like, aliens… and stuff.”
Erio stuttered incoherently for excuses. But Erio, the androphobic girl, was suggesting others to stay.
Is she happy to be able to spend times with girls of her own age after so long?
Well, since she had the attitude of wanting to connect with others, her return-to-society points indeed increased… Uh, this might be the first and the last time it will ever increase along with my Youth-points.
Originally gawking, Maekawa-san quickly went along with Erio's proposal:
“If you insist. Meme-san did mention that we could stay if it took too long. I got clean clothes when I went to get bottles, so I'm all good!”
Ahaha! Maekawa-san laughed heartily; the lab coat fluttered.
In other words, I'm spending a night with Maekawa-san under the same roof? Ung… My heart seemed to be strangled on the top.
Ryuushi-san spun back to face us, for a second giving the illusion that only her head moved. “Absolutely shameless!” She had to give preface:
“What about Niwa-kun? Stop lazing around like a slime!”
“Hmm. I mean, what's the problem? As long as Meme-san and Erio agreed to it.”
“Whazzup with that indifferent reason?!”
“Well, this isn't exactly my house.” I am living under someone else's roof. Totally different story if it's my house though.
If a girl wanted to stay over, isn't the necessity to deny her non-existence?
“Right?” I casually sought agreement from Erio. “Right~” She parroted me. Wait, this is your house right? The persuasiveness of my statement plummeted, bring even my cognition down.
“T-t-then I'm staying over too?! W-w-what am I gonna do??”
“Ryuushi-san too… Isn't that okay though?” My heart accelerated. We're talking about living together!
“This is cheating before the graduation trip! As the disciplinary committee, I cannot over look this!”
“Oh, Ryuushi-san's disciplinary?”
While I was hospitalized during May, the class' committees had been decided; thus I was shoved into the spot of Class Meeting Committee — which no one picked. So far, I'm not thrilled by this leftover.
However, telling everyone at school that 'Ryuushi-san and Maekawa-san lived at my house~' and turning the school life around awaits me! Disregarding the feeling of superiority of course.
“What about your change of clothes?” We don't have basketball club uniforms here.
“Uh, oh, I'll go grab em.” Ryuushi-san decided to sneak out of the kitchen.
“I'll lend you… mine?”
Erio once again suggested an unexpected assistance. I oh'ed, exhaling a short breath of admiration.
Ryuushi-san too, showed a look of surprise; but she nodded vaguely:
“Mm, please then?”
“Good. Goood~”
Perhaps her brain cells finally gave up, Erio replied innocently.
I could no longer deny the possibility of sleep invading her head. She usually sleeps around ten, after all.
Confused by Erio's airy mien, Ryuushi-san pulled a cellphone out of her skirt. She's calling someone, probably her parents.
“...Hello, mom. So...” Saying so, she proved my theory.
Only, the part where she contended 'I told ya I'm not running away this time~' stood out to me. Ryuushi-san ran away from home before, huh. Hearing her unexpected past, I breathed out. Yet, peering over at that soothing back, I could not make the connection with the rebellious act of running away.
Everyone has a past, sculpting him or her in ways unseen by others.
In my dreamy mind, a sense of reverence grew for only the most natural thing.
✩
Although it was the rain season of June, the air outside still chilled at the eleven of night.
Wrapping a towel on my head, I came to the yard to cool down.
Grass shuffling underneath the shoes pleased the ear. Only, a melancholy followed — 'tis time to pull the weed.
Embedded with the June rain, wet wind melted in the warm skin just out of bath. Like making up for lost moisture, the usually sticky air soothed the skin. But I guess in about ten minutes, it'd become the fuel of a disagreeable sensation.
I walked to where the two bikes were parked, peeking toward the sky.
Cloud veiled the firmament; neither stars nor the moon hung in the air. I eyed at the obscure lights flashing above the distant town.
I did successfully bath, but the girls seemed to have fought a war.
Just earlier, they caused a racket in the bathroom.
To further the atmosphere of a grad trip, the three girls decided to bath together. But soon after they entered the bathroom, unattractive screams of 'Uwah~!' or 'Gawah~!' returned.
And then, steps fueled by rage stomped in the hallway.
With her right hand covering Erio's tiny head, and the left dragging Maekawa-san, who passed out sitting in the tub, Ryuushi-san charged into the room. The only thing on her was a big towel.
It's quite rude to say this when she's gone mad, but is it really okay to give me so much Youth-points in one go? I looked straight at Ryuushi-san.
“Why is she in there with her clothes on?”
“I messed up.” Reported the Erio with water dripped off of her.
“She said she messed up.”
“On what?!”
Hearing the explanation that explained nothing, Ryuushi-san let her voice fly. But since Erio's always ran into the bathroom fully dressed, I'd already habituated as one of the Touwa residents. It's nothing to be surprised by. She did took baths with the futon on before, which resulted in her almost drowning in the tub.
“C-coordinates.” Rambling, Erio answered Ryuushi-san's question. She was a little scared, under Ryuushi-san's menacing pressure. “X or Y-axis?!” Ryuushi-san, too, threw a mindless tantrum and exacerbated the pandemonium.
“Then… What about over there?”
“Ughhhh.” Maekawa-san's hand was lifted by Ryuushi-san, her head hanging languidly.
“Why did she fry like an octopus in just a minute of sitting in the tub?!”
“Circulation was too good.”
“Not… Not enough blood...”
“That sounds like the worst combination!”
So something like that happened. From the view of the disciplinary committee, does this suffice as the preview of the graduation trip?
Meme-san came back in about thirty minutes later. She stormed in her room quickly, grumbling something about being busy tomorrow. Perhaps she was planning something about the beach tomorrow.
'It's quite rude to say this when she's gone mad, but is it really okay to give me so much Youth-points in one go?'
Depthless wind blew. Branches on the neighbor's wall shook like fans. Maekawa-san should have come outside: it could improve the cooling rate.
Should I tell her? I turned, but changed my mind again and remained outside.
More than Maekawa-san's moaning, I wanted to continue listening to the sound of wind. The gale that blew today sounded like the echoes in the mountains of my old home — as if something soared in the sky.
Probably because of the nearby Self Defense airbase, the area was used to the sound of aircraft gliding. Was something flying? Could it really be a UFO? Or a floating bicycle?
At that moment, I heard the clank of the entrance door. Turning slightly, I saw Ryuushi-san wearing the slippers Erio doesn't like wearing. She planned on coming outside. Our eyes met; she smiled as if relieved.
“Heya.” I called out.
“Hey ya~!” She waved both hands at me. Wearing the white-blue striped pajama Erio lent her, she looked even younger. Accompanied by the slapping of slippers, she headed toward me.
“I went back to take a quick shower. It's so hot~”
“Yeah? How's Maekawa-san doing?”
“Just chilling on the hall's floor.”
“Erio?”
“Cooling that Maekawa-san with a fan.”
“Hm.” Maybe those two get along well.
“Here ya go.” Ryuushi-san stood next to me and passed a cold can of juice.
“Oh, thanks.” I took the juice, pulled the tab up and poured it in my mouth. The sour of orange.
“What if it rains tomorrow?”
“Hm. Well, if that happens, we'll just ask Meme-san.”
“True.” Ryuushi-san put her own can to her lips: “Hm, awesome.”
She gently exhaled and smiled. My heart raced at the shape of her lips.
“It sounds like something's flying through the air.”
Ryuushi-san mumbled at the cloudy sky. It sure sounded like it.
“What if a meteor came down?”
“I heard those can be predicted years before happening.”
“Jeez~ Stop saying dreamless things.”
Jokingly pouting, Ryuushi-san scolded my comment.
Dreams, you said. If a meteor hits us, the human race would be finished! But maybe some people do wish for that.
At least for now, I don't wish for a meteor. Not before I finish talking with Ryuushi-san.
“Tomorrow is actually my birthday.”
“Eh?” Surprise jolted my body, enough to necessitate my rebalancing.
Like confessing to a tiny prank, Ryuush-san smiled demurely.
If I knew a bit earlier, I would have prepared something beforehand!
“Really? We're a day early, but should we celebrate now?”
I passed the can in front of Ryuushi-san; she did the same. “Cheers!” The cans bumped. Let's celebrate a bit like this. The not-so-sweet orange juice flowed in my throat.
“I still wish that something special would happen on my birthday! I hope a meteor would come down, and bang!”
Ryuushi-san gestured her very own wish.
“Hmm. When we're done with the beach tomorrow, should we all celebrate?”
“Celebrate?”
“Having others celebrate for you isn't special or anything, but I think it's pretty important.”
Ryuushi-san blinked incessantly, finally saying with a red face: “That sounds nice too.” A tiny smile: “Mm, maybe it'd be the best!”
Perhaps assenting as well, she nodded deeply. Her gaze darted around for a bit:
“Even though it's kinda spur of the moment, but it's still kinda embarrassing.”
Heheheh. Ryuushi-san rubbed the back of her right hand:
“I mean, staying over at… A boy's place.”
“Yeah?” I played stoic. If it were me living at Ryuushi-san's house though…
“Yeah!” Ryuushi-san lifted a fist in hope for certainty.
“Well, I have already seen Ryuushi-san's sleeping face in math class before.”
“Why did ya look?!” Her eyes widened in retaliation: “And I told ya I'm Ryuuko!”
Seriously! She contendingly drank the juice. The exaggerated way she bit on the can, or rather poured the drink, was a bit childish, but cute.
“It'd be different if we shared a room. Since we don't, I'm not really that curious.”
Cough! Ryuushi-san's throat bulged. After choking, she tremblingly asked with tears in her eyes:
“D-different room… Right? Me and Niwa-kun?” Now's my turn to choke.
“D-different room.”
“Y-you’re right, mm...”
Both of our voice shifted in tone; both looked at our own feet.
Zephyr turning cold refreshed our burning cheeks.
Ah, that's right. Might as well make things clear with her.
“Ryuushi-san. About the t-t-thing from before.” My voice cracked halfway.
“B-before?” Oh? She's wavering.
The two of us hurried for a deep breath, waiting for the quake inside to settle.
“Good now?”
“Good now.”
“This is my report at this specific point of time.”
“Mm?”
“Hypothetically, Erio is walking around town when her old classmates came to harass her. And I happened to witness it.”
“...Mm.”
“If that were to happen, I will stand by Erio.”
Ryuushi-san's eyelashes shook; she looked down melancholily.
Well, I think it's dumb too.
However, I don't want to be smart enough to leave Erio to die.
“Uh… Even if it isn't Erio, but Maekawa-san or Ryuushi-san, I will stand by you as well.” I mean, everyone is a pretty girl after all.
“…...” Ryuushi-san remained mute, her left eyelid occasionally jumped.
“Whenever I plan on helping Erio, and you happen to be walking home with me, just kick me really hard in the back.”
I can't have Ryuushi-san suffer for my action. If she does just that though, she won't be seen as my friend. If she doesn't, she might even be branded as the leader.
“Even being alone, I'll still think of ways to be happy. Don't worry about me then.”
Even with just a person, a broom can still be used to rock the world. Enjoy life!
Moving forward to youth without accessories might be fun as well.
And as long as I stand by Erio, she would naturally do the same for me too, wouldn’t she?
Hence I tried to explain my attitude toward Erio to Ryuushi-san in the most cheerful manner.
If it does end up like that, Youth-points will probably bite the dust, falling with no way of recovering — this simultaneous, depressing feeling churned deep down in my chest.
Ryuushi-san kept her head low, wording her reply directly:
“This is purely for this specific point in time.”
“...”
Ryuushi-san looked up. It is not as if her face conveyed no emotion — a serene, almost defeated look:
“In that case, I will not stand with Touwa-san.”
“Hm.”
“But...”
After a pause, Ryuushi-san stood a step away from me.
With hands behind her back, she timidly leaned forward:
“But, I think I will stand with Niwa-kun.”
Finished, Ryuushi-san froze at the spot.
We gazed at each other.
Together we felt embarrassed.
Our faces reddened.
“Uwah~!”
She ran off. Scrambling to the entrance, she darted into the house.
I wanted to run somewhere too. Mostly to escape the embarrassment and the heart that raced even faster.
Just as I thought of this, Ryuushi-san peeked out half her face from the entrance and called me by a new name: “Mako-chan~!”
“Wha~t?”
“Ya are gonna get a cold in the wind out there, be back soon!”
“I know~!”
First replying to the mom character with shaky legs, I scratched my cheeks.
A certain object tore through the air still. I looked up to the sky.
Meteors did not slash through the clouds.
We will definitely welcome tomorrow.
“… Four, points?”
From the sense of fulfillment, and the proud smile on my face.
The following day came.
Under the urges of Erio and Maekawa-san, who were both regular early-risers, I woke up on the Eight o'clock of a day-off.
“That's pretty sad, transfer student. Can't you wake up without the chickens?”
“Waking before noon is considered as healthy in my household.”
We had the Maekawa-san's egg sandwiches and Erio's ham sandwiches for breakfast.
We shared the food, leaving the house with rockets in hand after dressing up.
As a side note, Erio wore twin tails today for some reason.
After my query in front of the shoe cabin, she quietly answered: “Because… It made the cousin happy.”
Since when have I cheered for twin tails? Is my spot in the Touwa household heading toward some weird direction? Including the various things involving Meme-san, concern brood over my mind.
“I wasn't expecting my plan of heading to the beach with you to be carried out like this.”
Maekawa-san saddled on the bicycle, flinging these words out expectantly. “Beep, beep!” Ryuushi-san, who prohibited the beach because of the jelly fishes, whistled. The frequency of that whistle was beyond my ability.
Erio naturally docked in her proper (?) spot of bicycle basket.
Touwa, you're hilarious! Like talking about escaping an island with four people on a raft that could only carry three. “When you're leaving, have one of you be part of the raft by holding on to the wood. That's how it's done.”
The example Maekawa-san drew balanced on the line between logic and nonsense, difficult to have a response for.
Thus we set off for the designated beach.
Why did I listen to Meme-san's instruction? Questions spun with the wheels, but I still pedaled onward.
The trip that took two hours with the old bike took only a bit more than an hour today.
On the beach with no superficial connection with Erio.
Six bottle rockets lined up on the platform, pointed toward the sky.
A visitor came before us. He was a suit-wearing man preparing for the launch.
Noticing us, he stopped and headed here.
“Ah, the space stalker.”
“My fan!”
“Stranger.”
“Who?”
Four people assessed the middle-aged guy in front of us. What's up with the first two?
“You are...”
“Ah, hello.”
Maekawa-san greeted. Another one of her acquaintances? Counting Meme-san, is her secret of having so many connections her vertical length? Something spoken so rudely awed me.
“Hm.” The man looked at the rockets in ours hands, nodding:
“Did Touwa Meme asked you to come?”
“Yes.” The person reacting the fastest to her mother's name was none other than Erio.
‘Just as I thought.’ The man happily softened his expression:
“Then let's get going; not that there's anything left to be done, but you all should prepare to launch your own rockets. If you need to, I'll help too.”
He directed with a kind attitude, willing to lend a hand.
Seemingly unfamiliar with him, Erio cocked her head quizzically.
“Let's get ready early, since we don't know when Meme's showing up.”
The middle-aged man urged us, his hands preciously holding on to a crimson bottle rocket.
Perhaps noticing my stare, he ostentatiously raised the red device with a wry grin.
“This is just a bonus; I'll get ready myself so don't touch it.”
“Oh no!” Now that I think about it, I think I forgot to wake Meme-san up.
The man turned to face the beach — in just a moment, he mumbled:
“My youth's on you. Counting on ya.”
The words floated into my ears. And so I decided to help out.
I'm a total adolescent guy (青春男). It might look like it's pronounced Ao-Haru-O, but I emphasize:
It's pronounced Seishun Otoko. Earnest to the point of stupidity.
Honestly, I had no clue why things ended up like this.
Am I entwined with something? I don't know, but I am currently swept up with it. That's what I thought.
But, well, who cares about the little thing?
Occasionally helping others get Youth-points sounds good too.
Especially if it's a five pointer, I will share the same glory.
And like so, the RPG team of a male player consisting of one guy and three girls headed toward the Touwa household after school. With a flower in each hand, I didn't even have another for the girl stuffed in the basket. I found her walking back home from work with no shoes on, so I picked her up. The tension between her and Ryuushi-san seemed to only exist for the latter though. As for Erio, she'd shown nothing but a blank face.
Ryuushi-san sighed on the way to the bicycle lot: “Ah~ Now the position of starters is further away from me~ I don't wanna be the secret weapon anymore~” The Touwa household isn't exactly a paradise of hope and dreams that's worth visiting. There is someone who can light firecrackers with her brain there though.
“Hoh~ So this is Touwa's house?”
Parking first into the front yard, Maekawa-san carefully observed that residence that should be a fairly normal house. Perhaps due to looking up for too long (like five seconds) she moaned, 'wuu~' almost stumbling. Although she seemed the type who won't give in to pressure, her body seems slave to her blood flow. She mentioned before that 'I've never been to a hospital;' if possible, I hope she could live on peacefully.
“Whoa~” With a helmet still on her head, Ryuushi-san awed at the building and trod to my side as if avoiding Erio: “I thought maybe the walls would be covered in futons, but it's just a pretty house!”
Ryuushi-san earnestly reported on the gap between her imagination and the real deal. Hearing the comment, Erio shot her a glance, but didn't dissent. She merely stared at her house. For her, she might have the terrifying thought of 'that's not bad at all.' She is, after all, the fanatic that would surprise people if she doesn't collect blanket catalogs.
“I thought it'd be covered by a white sheet.”
Maekawa-san, too, followed. I've seen this somewhere![1]
Bell signifying some sort of break resounded from an elementary school nearby. I've been there before: it's a school about ten minutes away from the Touwa residence. Erio attended there as well. Contradicting the problem that is the falling birthrate, the amount of students there seem to multiply like biscuits in a pocket. Currently, the school is undergoing renovation and expansion of classrooms. This probably means that couples get along well around here. [2]
Affected by the bell, we moved toward the entrance like students at the field toward classrooms after lunch has ended. Judging strictly by her appearance, the warrior Maekawa-san took vanguard, followed by Ryuushi-san, me and Erio. Being in the middle of Ryuushi-san and Erio, I should feel proud. But for Erio, maybe she just wanted to 'prepare for an ambush.' What could she possibly be fighting against? The world has an apparent animosity for her, so she probably doesn't have many comrades. There's Meme-san and Tamura Oba-san.
And... me? At least for now. Would this be considered as indecisiveness?
“Hm, door's locked.” The leading Maekawa-san voiced her objection at the solidity of the door and the common sense of all households.
“Usually people lock their houses when they leave.” I took out the key and went next to Maekawa-san.
“We don't, more often than not.”
“For whom it may concern, did you hear that~?”
I ridiculed her and opened the door. “It's opening!” For some reason, Maekawa-san became excited. Pulling the door ajar, she seemed strangely cheerful, closing and opening it repeatedly. I decided to let her be.
Taking the key out, I glanced back, only to find Ryuushi-san and Erio fixed on their spot.
“And why are you two just standing there? Saving someone's spot?”
There isn't entrance limit, and no one will get mad if you cut the line.
“Since Niwa-kun is the third, I'm saving your spot as a healer.”
She maintained a cheery look; with a victory sign, she boasted.
You're the most healing thing here.
Yet from just a second ago, Nervousness— or rather, anxiety — crept up in my guts. Strictly speaking, this isn't my house, but the fact that two girls are coming into my room choked the top of my stomach.
Not one on one, but one vs. many. It's an anomalous situation. The Youth-points who thought their time has come froze, doubtful and without direction. I too wondered what would happen.
“We're coming in!” Finally tired of the toy that is the door, Maekawa-san entered the entrance with a casual greeting. “Excuse me, I'm coming in!” Ryuushi-san bashfully spoke, turning to Erio halfway through the sentence. As expected of the polite helmet girl.
And the last two said 'I'm home.' We even received the normal reaction of 'welcome!' Maekawa-san, who had speedily took off her flats, welcomed us kindly. A lot about this was questionable. She must have realized too, awkwardly scratching her head:
“I screwed up. That's for my house; it should have been welcome home.”
Seemed like she still couldn't amend the mistake completely. Hm, if I could trade the house owner with Maekawa-san, I will gladly toss that big kid out. Only, she would come back faster than a salmon.
“House? What does your family do, Maekawa-san?” Setting her shoes next to Maekawa-san's, Ryuushi-san inquired with a straight back. “Oh, you live in the city, so you don't know, huh. Ryuushi.”
“I told ya I'm Ryuuko.”
“My house runs a pub in the shopping district, so you have to come when you're old enough, Ryuushi… Given that if the pub is still runnin' by then!”
Ahahah~ Since I can't articulate any better, I'll just laugh. Maekawa-san's expression conveyed so.
“Anyhow, let's go to transfer student's room. Which floor?” Maekawa-san pointed toward the hallway.
“Second floor. But there's seriously nothing interesting in there.”
“What are you on about, transfer student? Using poker as an example, there's nothing fun about a single card: the point is how to use that card in an interesting way.”
She dauntlessly asserted the lack of fun of a room she's never been in. I couldn't help but feel that maybe I should have put something like a game console in my room, knowing that others will criticize my lack of entertainment value. I had one in my old home, but I think I sold it when I moved.
A person befitting of being a tour guide, Maekawa-san led us forward as if directing her family. With this kind of advance, the distance sound of a whistle was almost audible.
A guy mixed with three girls. This made me think of Sw*mmy for some reason. Man, I miss that! Speaking of which, wasn't there a story called “The Red Fruit Has Burst” in our textbook? What was it about? I thought it's about a girl going out to buy fishes… I think, but that's not the point of the story. But whatever with that.[3]
Maekawa-san stepped onto the stairs, peeking inside Erio's room.
“Mm? This Touwa's room?”
“Yes.” A tiny confirmation from the back.
“I see~ It sure suits you… Ah, that's the school uniform. For cosplaying?”
“No, it is not.” Erio denied Maekawa-san's biased evaluation of the uniform.
Then why? I wanted Erio to spill the answer, but she simply looked down and grasped at her skirt, silencing the owner of the voice.
“Ah, it's Mr. Pluto!” [4]
On the other hand, what piqued Ryuushi-san's attention was the tan-coloured doll sitting on the ball chair. It's a… creature (?) of roughly forty centimeters long. On it's head was a hair not unlike the parents of a certain Isono family, and he's even got a red ribbon. Pluto? Does it have anything to do with space? It is sitting in Erio's room. Um… Is the discovery of such creature on Pluto human's spearhead of discovery? NASA would drop their jaws.[5]
It's a cute doll that girls seem to like. Ryuushi-san hurried into the room and hugged the doll that's strikingly larger than her face. “How cute~ Boing!” You are so damn cute, I thought as I peered at that face.[6] Tug, tug. Erio pulled on my sleeve from behind. I only looked back.
“T-that's mine...”
She's like a little girl angry with her older sister who stole her toy, telling her mom.
“...Then tell her.” I am not your brother — we're practically the same age.
“Wuu.. Wu...”
Erio closed in onto Ryuushi-san and forcefully took the plushy away. Uh, back? It is hers, but her action was unreasonable.
“Eh? ...Ah?” Ryuushi-san's dreamy visage was torn by that momentum; her fingers quivered.
“H-he sits here.” Erio put the plushy back to where it was.
“S-sorry…?”
Ryuushi-san haltingly apologized like she'd just accidentally sat on a house made of match sticks.
Just like before, an enigmatic air twisted between the two. As if veiled by a thick cloth, they could never reach each others.
Why are these two so awkward? The girl who has the sensibility of the world (? Questionable, but I won't take it back now) just can't be friends with the futon roll who strayed from common sense?
Then the bystander Maekawa-san spoke her thought regarding the plushy:
“How childish of you, Ryuushi, satisfied with a doll of only that size.”
A giantess preached so. She even sighed disapprovingly. She also seemed to have misunderstood why Ryuushi-san was so happy.
“If it were me, a 179.9cm Mr. Pluto is totally possible.”
“Don't do it.” It would be a different breed of creature at that point.
“Hm. 'Kay, now, to the long-awaited room of Niwa-kun!”
Ryuushi-san went 'Oh~!' leading her feet out with her right arm. Becoming the leader, she traded place with Maekawa-san, increasing the distance from Erio by one more space. If we do the same thing again, would this team of four recombine like in old games, letting Ryuushi-san follow Erio next? I suddenly had the feeling. Is my brain also shorting out because of Meme-san's radiation? The thought worried me.
“Hoh~ So this is Niwa-kun's room?”
Ryuushi-san firstly peeked into my room, leaving phrases of impression.
“Hoh~ So this is the room where transfer student rolls around on the floor in.”
Maekawa-san described the space. Apparently even the way I use it was set.
“Hoh~ The cousin's room.” Why did you follow them, Erio? Don't you come here all the time?
From my point of view, it would be terrifying if things worth looking increased in my room. I sat on the chair pulled away from the desk, observing the two classmates wandering the room. Hmm, the usually boring room suddenly lit up.
As long as these two are in the room, they could even replace an air freshener.
Erio, finding nothing interesting in the room, jumped onto the bed; then as if rolling the futon on her, she spun to the side….
“What kinda prank is this?” I pulled on her right leg.
Extracted by me from the futon, Erio blinked as if wondering 'what's the problem?' head slightly cocked.
“What are you doing?”
“That is my question: what is the cousin doing?”
“I'm only doing what's natural as your cousin. Stop putting that on.”
“I am playing as the hardworking sixteen year old who wants to wear relaxing clothes at home.”
“Shut up.”
“My smell might get on it.”
“I. Don't. Care.”
I can't believe she remembered that irrelevant detail. The strange prediction-sketch of Erio turning into Meme-san in twenty four years has been penciled. Rough draft next?
“Hey… Hey~ Niwa-kun.” Ryuushi-san called. Slightly thorny in her enunciation, I reflexively straightened my slightly-hunched back.
“Hm? What is it?” The eyes that gazed lost their sharpness, round like always:
“Is this the deep-see animal atlas ya mentioned?”
Ryuushi-san, who had scanned the bookshelf, put her finger on the spine of a book.
“Yeah, that's it. There's a ton of picture in there. It's a lot cooler than the other books!”
“Hoh~” She retrieved the atlas and flipped through it: “Uwah, the naked photos of ugly-cute characters!” As usual, her impressions were kind of twisted.
If Ryuushi-san were brought to a zoo, would she accuse them of public display of indecency?
“Um, which do ya like, Niwa-kun?”
She sat directly on the floor, opening the atlas about the size of a hardcover book. Then Ryuushi-san beckoned, asking me to come to her side. “Coming.” I accepted the invite.
I kneeled on one knee next to Ryuushi-san's right. On the page that Ryuushi-san had open were four deep-sea octopuses. My favourite creature was not swimming in there.
“This is so cute!” She pointed at the Dumbo Octopus in the middle.
“I know!” I indulged her. It's not like it'd be a problem liking one more animal.
“Then which one do ya recommend the most?”
“Um, I would say~” Confirming the page on the bottom left, I calculated how many pages need to be flipped back. Sixteen pages later, I pointed at the picture on the bottom left.
“Helicolenus Hilgendorfii?” Ryuushi-san read its name.
“Yeah, isn't it pretty?”
A red fish with a white crown flung its tail fin.
“It is, even though it's around a buncha freaky animals.”
“I like the way it stands out.”
“Oh~ But Niwa-kun, you shouldn't stand out, okay?”
“Hm, of course...” Sensing a gaze on the top of my head, I looked up.
Erio sat on the bed, her eyes fixed on us. The moment our sight met, she seemingly intentionally hid into the futon. “Haa, really?” What does she want, my attention?
Damn kid. If this goes on, she might become a great big kid.
I loosened the curled leg and waist, moving toward Erio. I can fly~ I lightly landed, and from the corner ripped the futon off. This was even more ungentlemanly than tono-sama's sash-pulling game![7]
“Oh~ no~” For some reason Maekawa-san provided a voice-over from behind. Speaking of which, what is Maekawa-san looking for around the room? I did have a prediction though. [8]
Because the way she walked and scanned was just like a certain 39 years old child.
“This room lacks the colour of skin.”
What kind of thought was that? This isn't where a serial killer hides dead bodies.
“Hey~ Niwa-kun, c'mere~ c'mere!”
Ryuushi-san waved at me again with a warmer attitude. Am I a hot item or what?
What, has my time of being popular come? But don't let all of it out, drag this out forever!
Youth-points are thing that won't react if directly approached.
“I'm coming~” I held onto the corner of the blanket, stretching my body as far as I can toward Ryuushi-san. My neck extended to the maximum, peering over the atlas from the top. My head almost rammed into Ryuushi-san's.
“What else do ya like? ...Hey, why not just let go of the blanket?”
“Uh. Well, if I let go, a certain someone will become the local mascot.”
“Why not just tie her up? Let her roll around over there.”
Dammit, she's only so relaxed because she's not dealing with her. She even started pouting. Is she jealous? I'm gonna assume you are. Don't underestimated the power that is the delusion of a self-conscious highschooler. If that was true though, uh… The hell do I do? Crap, the solution known as 'experience' isn't doing it's job on guiding me. Because it doesn't exist!
“Hey~ Transfer student, look.”
“Hah?” I looked back to Maekawa-san's voice.
With half the blanket rolled on her, Erio hopped on my bed!
“Gah~!!” The dust's everywhere! What a waste, I'm going to have to vent the room now!
And why are you just sitting there elegantly with a smile, Maekawa-san?! Go find some porn!
“Niwa-kun, click, click!” As if to sooth me, who had left, Ryuushi-san summoned.
Am I a stray cat? Is this below or above being classmates?
In the end, I ran around the blanket between Erio and Ryuushi-san thirty times.
Drenched in sweat, I opened the window regretfully. The air of girls and the heat escaped outside.
Out of the window, the colour of dusk began to swallow the edge of the sky. The world was as if flipped.
Only one person would appear when trouble's amok. Everyone should know.
The person whose personality and other aspects vex people to no end — Touwa Meme-san. When the girls were about to take off, they bumped into the returning Meme-san. Incidentally, they both called her smooth-skinned sensei.
Looks like both Maekawa-san and Ryuushi-san had met Meme-san. Now that I mentioned it, Ryuushi-san seemed to have received cola from Ryuushi-san before, but Maekawa-san… What was it? I don't see their connection.
Meme-san whispered a few words to Maekawa-san, clapped her hand saying 'Okay~! It's settled!' first and then declared 'I'm heading out again;' Maekawa-san also claimed that she is heading home and put on her shoes. She said she was going to get something to bring back here… What on earth is going on?
If it were the usual, Meme-san shouldn't be baited by this kind of a festival. But she did look busy. Is she conniving something? It's hard to tell because she's always playing practical jokes.
Meme-san further proposed something similar to this: “Since I won't be home, how about the girls do some cooking?”
“Cough, cough, so I don't have to cook, cough cough.”
“I don't get why you coughed.”
After waves of disturbance, Ryuushi-san decided to call home first. Decided to stay in the Touwa household till later, she planned on going home after waiting for Maekawa-san, doing some activities; and cooking and eating.
And thus Meme-san and Maekawa-san left the house. Erio, Ryuushi-san and I remained.
…This is practically a development for 'let's build a love triangle.'
Well, it's because of the words Meme-san tossed us that muddled the air, making me and Ryuushi-san extra conscious of each others.
We stared at each other with a twisted smile. One of us moved first, and the other two followed behind. Step, step. Only the sound of footstep echoed lightly.
In the living room, with Erio as the apex, adding me and Ryuushi-san, we mimicked a triangle sitting in front of the table.
“…...” Erio, who rarely sat upright, said nothing. She rubbed her upper arm as if conveying her anxiety over bare skin. Her eyes oscillated.
“Ah, uh… I wonder what Maekawa-san's bringin'~”
Ryuushi-san faced me, talking to me instead of Erio.
“I have no idea. What could it be?.” Could be a costume. But I refrained from speaking.
“Hm, I wonder...” Voices trailed off, and the conversation paused here.
If it were only me and Erio, or only me and Ryuushi-san, then any sort of conversation could become lively, but at the moment… How strange.
The ticking of clock that should be the sound of a daily life did not resonate. The room was completely silent. Ringing in the ear proliferated. The chirping of crickets that starts in the beginning of autumn shared the same unpleasant feeling as the current situation.
My nose dried; the taste of burn permeated in my throat. This was the syndrome of boredom.
“Want to watch… TV?” Erio held the remote and peeked at my face. Is this the conclusion she reached to cope with idleness?
“Sure.” I agreed; the TV shone.
On the screen gradually lighting up, sushi appeared. It looked to be a show promoting shops with fresh and delicious high-class sushi. The reporter and celebrity whose name escapes me shoved tuna sushi into his mouth, yelling 'so good.' He said nothing else in terms of compliments.
Since the volume was set on loud, the initially silent room suddenly flooded with noise. The various sound effects and BGM forced into my eardrum, suffocating me.
Now we're even more anxious. The overfilling noise and the current status of the room was too different.
I couldn't stand it anymore and left the seat, taking my time in the kitchen making tea.
After preparing tea for three people, I returned to the living room. The two still bored holes into the TV.
“Here, some tea.”
I put the tea in front of Erio. She looked down on the tea, staring into her reflection within.
For reasons unknown, she pushed to slide the tea in front of Ryuushi-san. The rising steam followed after.
“Here, tea.”
Basing her conclusion on something, Ryuushi-san slid the cup of tea to me. Are we playing the game of 'the bar scene you always see in cowboy flicks'?
“… A cup of tea.”
I attempted to give the tea to Erio again. She unhesitatingly handed the tea to Ryuushi-san. “Here, tea.” Though frowning, Ryuushi-san still returned the cup of tea to me. As if annoyed with following behind, the steam occasionally moved to the side instead of wasting energy going up.
I thought the thirst of boredom seemed to moisten by the ascending steam.
After that, the cup of team circled endlessly on the table.
The remaining two cups of tea were ostracized from the table, slowly losing the steam that is the candle of life.
In the midst of it, I reminisced the day of being forced to do can-crushing during an activity of kid's day.
✩
After about forty minutes, Maekawa-san came back.
“I’m home!” Somehow, she announced her return with the manner of the patriarch of the house.
Yet, there isn’t anyone who could change the ambiance better than she. As expected of ‘when you’re troubled, just find her’ Maekawa-san.
The light steps unfitting of her height approached the living room.
The person who entered the room was a Santa in white carrying a bag with no dreams inside.
“Since I am taking up role of professor, I am returning to the basics: lab coat.”
With the height of 179.9cm (self-proclaimed) and a lab coat over her uniform, the infirmary doctor with glasses moved forward briskly, carrying on her shoulder a plastic bag. If she were to appear during play house, you’d worry about having your stomach cut open — that’s the anxiety caused by the sharp aura exuding from her.
Empty bottles filled the bag. In addition, things that resembled nozzles lied on the bottom.
“By the way, the glasses are fake. For fashion purposes.” She pushed the glasses up with her free hand.
“Whoa~ That’s so cool!” Ryuushi-san looked up in awe.
Indeed, with her complimentary height, the outfit beautifully conveyed the sense of coolness.
“Hehe.” Having her serious cosplay praised accordingly, Maekawa-san chuckled joyfully and said: “I’m taking this cup of tea.” Her long arm lifted the blue cup and dumped the tea in her mouth.
“What the? It’s at the perfect temperature!”
It didn’t sound like a protest against the cold tea, but a praise. Looks like Maekawa-san is afraid of heat.
“Okay, so what you got there?”
I queried for the three of us. “Oh.” The cup left Maekawa-san’s lips.
“We’re making bottle rockets! That’s smooth-skinned sensei’s request. She said to have Touwa and the transfer student make them. These are the material.”
Swoosh~ She lifted the bag. This was Meme-san’s malicious plan? Or a part of it?
“I got some for Ryuushi too — you’re joining us too, right?” Maekawa-san watched for Ryuushi-san’s reaction; she tilted her head with finger on her lips:
“Hmmm. I… donno how to make one. And I told ya I’m Ryuuko. Don’t go settling on that nickname.”
“No problem, I’ll teach you. I know the steps enough to teach.”
“Then I’ll try~ But why, all of the sudden? I mean Touwa-san’s mom.”
“Who knows?” Maekawa-san revealed a meaningful smile, dodging the question.
“Touwa or transfer student, one of you go get scissors and knives from Meme-san’s room… I mean, could you bring me to her room? I think the tools we need are in her room.”
“Then, follow me.” I stopped Erio halfway as she got up and left the living room with Maekawa-san.
Using the chance that we had walking in the hallway with lights brighter than the sun, I questioned Maekawa-san.
“Hey, Maekawa-san.”
“Hm? What is it? Also starting from now and throughout the bottle making, call me doctor.”
Hands in her white coat pocket, Maekawa-san requested a change in profession.
If only Ryuushi-san could change her name as easily as she.
“…Doctor Maekawa.” Rolled off the tongue easier than Meme-chan.
“Hm, hm!” Shoulders trembling, she smiled satisfactorily.
“The rockets from a while back — are they related to this?”
“Hoh, how keen of you!”
Mae… Doctor Maekawa whistled as if complimenting the exceptional answer from her student:
“But one does not need to know the language of flower to appreciate its beauty, transfer student.”
“What I’m concerned with is if this is somehow related to me and Erio.”
“Neither do I know the meaning of flower, unfortunately.”
Her metaphoric response blurred my comprehension.
“Oh, I know this: red spider lily means ‘sad recollection,’ ‘the desire to meet again,’ and ‘I miss only you.’”
“I think the topic is going into the wrong direction…”
“In any case, it’s not a big deal! They are just bottles.”
Ultimately, she brushed me off.
In the story that progressed elsewhere, what role do I exactly play?
“Alrighty. Doctor Maekawa’s class will now begin.”
In the living room sitting on the opposite side of the table, Doctor Maekawa declared the start of her crafting class.
On my sides were Erio and Ryuushi-san. The students were fully prepared. Only…
…Um, am I being used as a screen to separate the two?
Won’t it be better to have these two get along? Ryuushi-san seems to frequent Tamura shop anyway. But is it okay for me to be so nosy? This was the true question.
“Do you remember how to make them, Touwa?” Maekawa-san surveyed to see if Erio had the proper knowledge.
“…Don’t know.” My left neighbor hurriedly shook her head.
“You should have made them in art class before, since we went to the same school.”
“Um, I took it home to have mom help me, so…”
Erio shrunk embarrassedly and confessed. Have mom help probably actually meant ‘Meme-san made almost everything.’ Appeared to have noticed, Maekawa-san grimaced:
“Then we’ll say you have a permit! Alright, first grab a bottle.”
Following her direction, all three of us laid the bottles on the table. We had a total of five, which will all be used when we finished. I didn’t know that till today.
“Next, pick up the nozzles that was given beforehand and screw that onto the bottle.”
I screwed the nozzles that sat on the bottom tightly onto the neck of the bottle. Compare to me and Ryuushi-san, Erio had a bit of trouble, but still successfully completed the task.
“Now we’re done with that, set it aside. Prepare the second bottle.”
“Done, Doctor Maekawa!” Ryuushi-san feigned an innocent reply. She’s pretty good at being a student. Wait, she is a student.
“See that line on the lower half? Cut the bottom off with the box cutter. Since we only have one, we have to take turns.”
Like doing a demo, Maekawa-san adroitly cut off the butt: “The trick is to not move the knife, but rather spin the bottle forward to cut it — just like shaving an apple!”
After giving the advice, Maekawa-san passed the box cutter to Ryuushi-san. “Whacha call it, I miss crafting classes~” Ryuushi-san worked while humming a tune. I’m envious of how she could seemingly enjoy everything.
I too finished without any problem. As for Erio, everyone held his or her breath as we watched. Erio clamped the knife with strength enough to bruise her fingers. “Uh, relax a little. But do hold on to it.”
She slightly loosened the grip. Then she clawed the bottle, her fingers digging in. “This isn’t a disposal site… But do hold on to it.” She eased a bit. And so… screech, screech… the knife sunk into the bottle. She gingerly exerted enough force that might snap the blade. If the cutter slip off, a part of Erio along with the clothes might end up split apart. I prayed for her safety.
Perhaps it was answered: she cut opened the bottle safely. Is everyone going to be on the edge from now on when it’s Erio’s turn? I swallowed the epiphany like a stone.
“… Uh, well then. Next step is to cut the extra part below that line. The key is to start from the bottom…” And like so, the project proceed under Maekawa-san’s guidance.
Next was to use the third bottle to make the base. Again, a rough cut with the box cutter, and then finer detail with the scissors; thus the rocket was mostly complete.
“With the PE rocket head as the tip, the second bottle on the top, the first on the bottom, and the base last… Here we are, the completed body!”[9]
Combined with their parts, the rockets without wing stood on the floor. Ryuushi-san and I both tried putting the rockets together while Erio cut away on the bottle.
Although I offered help, she insisted, ‘No need. I must do it this time.’ Hence I stared from the side. From the bystander’s view point, I was terrified. Now I understand why Meme-san is so protective of her.
“Apparently the rockets are undergoing test-flight tomorrow.” Maekawa-san spoke.
“Tomorrow?”
“Eleven of clock, the closest beach. Meme-san’s instruction.”
If she whispered the instructions of making rockets to Maekawa-san, then I imagine Meme-san must be related to this whole thing. The closest beach — is it the one Erio and I went on that night? Riding there takes at least an hour!
After Erio’s finished with her work, Maekawa-san shifted direction to the making of wings. The parts cut off from the bottles were flattened with a piece of wood. This was the only part Maekawa-san performed poorly on. After forcing it down for a while… “Gwahh…” This person planned on throwing her dignity away with the lab coat effect.
Pliers could be used to stabilize the ridges on the flattened wing prototype. Next, label it with a marker and cut it. Stick the two pieces together with double-sided tape and staple them. Finally, cover the staple mark with electric tapes. The wing is now finished.
Now to put the wings on in an X shape on the body (this was is the hardest part). Connect it to the rocket with electric tape, then you can yell ‘done!’ And then wait for Erio to finish. I knew it. Ryuushi-san’s and my rockets weren’t exactly artistic on the taping part, but they at least had the shape. I inspected it in my hand. The forgotten sense of achievement from making something alleviated the growing exhaustion that weighed my skull down, warming up my head.
I switched the TV that’s never been off onto the news to check the time. It was already past seven, almost eight. In other words, we spent about an hour and half on making rockets. On one hand, I understood starvation. On the other, I was shocked at how late city girls are allowed to stay out. If it were where I used to live, if there was someone outside after eight PM, they’d be considered suspicious. A lax night like this would be upon every family by now.
“The night is full.” Eyes glued on the TV, Maekawa-san mumbled. Eh? So the city uses the same standard?“Yeah, it’s about time to go home.”
“We have to prepare dinner for Touwa and the transfer student first.”
Hearing Maekawa-san’s words, Ryuushi-san winced. She stared at me, while I her. Ugh, Meme-san’s words echoes in my head. Just like the person herself, they were annoying.
In the spare time, Maekawa-san even decorated the rockets. She coloured the thing white to imitate a certain stream-line creature with strange wings. She called it ‘skyfish.’ [10]
“I’ve never seen the actual thing, so this is just referring to the manga.”
“Of course ya wouldn’t!”
Ryuushi-san’s sheepish eyes moved away from me, observing the rockets from all sorts of angles while replying to Maekawa-san.
But in this town, it is said that skyfish has been witnessed frequently. Maekawa-san spoke as if to herself:
“Since tomorrow is flight, we won’t have time for a test. Having all of them fly up gracefully would be impossible though. These rockets probably won’t be mistaken as UFO trails; they’ll just crash midway. Maybe my skyfish will end its life as a seafish.”
And then Maekawa-san looked askance at Erio, divulging a jeering grin:
“I guess the only way is to have a fishing line hang it from space, huh.”
Was Erio equipped with the sense to detect that she had just been the butt of a space joke?
She ceased the work on hand, slightly pouting. Maekawa-san, who looked from the side, relaxed her expression and squinted. Instead of a quip, it was more a subtle smile:
“I look forward to it, Touwa. Use your space power and send these rockets upward!”
Okay, class is over. Now to the self-provided lunch. Meme-san’s still not home.
Looking at it this way: having done an unusual project and cooked dinner, it’s like a summer camp or something. It’s rather exciting.
And I get to eat food made by girls. This was unquestionably a three-pointer. The food itself is trivial — what matters is the act.
The conclusion was that everyone including me had to make a dish. The maximum occupancy of the kitchen was two, so we decided to have Maekawa-san and Ryuushi-san go first, then me and Erio next.
Erio and I sat in the kitchen’s chairs, appreciating the beauty in front of us. Sitting from the back and seeing the classmates in apron, I savoured the taste of youth. Maekawa-san still had the lab coat though.
Not too long ago, Erio, whose mother remarked her cooking skill as ‘as long as it’s a ham sandwich, she can make it,’ seemed satisfied with the rocket she made. She went as far as carrying it here, unable to stop grinning at her own creation. The surface was painted black; the uneven texture further emphasized the handmade feeling.
“This is the third one ever made.”
“Oh? Meme-san made the other?”
Slumping as if her spine was shattered by shame, Erio shrunk her chin. But she sat up again. The black rocket danced in the air via human power, occupying my view.
“But this one is mine.”
“Yes, yes, very impressive.”
I casually rubbed her head.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t a bad feeling seeing her shook around happily.
Because of the knife that shone dimly on the hand of Ryuushi-san who looked back, I terminated my action swiftly. Um… She does look like she’s sulking! In other words, she is somewhat interested in me? Umm… This requires further inspection.
If Ryuushi-san’s target turns out to be Erio, then I will be mortified.
The complicated feeling of joy and confusion swelled in my chest; looking at the back of the girls, I awaited my debut. Occasionally I have to deal with the rocket girl neighbor; I even thought about having the hydro-powered rocket fly into space.
“It’s done!” In just about twenty minutes, Maekawa-san reported. Only, both of them hid their dishes behind. “Before the last dishes are done, they’re secret.” Ryuushi-san said coyly.
Following their wishes, I avoided looking at their food and simultaneously switched place with them. Erio ruefully put the rocket in the corner of the kitchen, stiffly taking from Ryuushi-san the apron. “Looks like you two need to be lubricated!” Maekawa-san teased. I thought the same thing too.
As I contemplated on what to make, Erio returned from the fridge with some ham, laid them on the cutting board and chopped — or battered — away. I thought of the zombie mom of a dead family who went inside an abandoned house and pretended to be alive by making sounds. What does she plan on making? [11]
I just made something simple. I picked up two eggs, since making anything extraordinary was impossible.
And like so, Erio and my dishes were complete. We both set them on the table.
Four bowls embellished with food, the colour combination sufficiently covered by just grey scale.
“Why did everyone decide to have rice covered by things?”
“It’s easy.” “My specialty.” “Here, ham.”
I wanted to stamp ‘learn Japanese’ on the forehead of the last person.
“This is an Oyakodon. It got cold though.”
Maekawa-san began the introduction of her dish. Compared to the ones served at school café, hers had prettier egg, and better smell. Everyone wordlessly extended their chopsticks, screaming ‘so good!’ like the celebrity on TV. It wasn’t that we didn’t have the vocabulary, we just rather spend time eating than talking — compliments should only be mentioned after eating the meal.
Since Ryuushi-san avoided those chickens, I snatched them away.
But, shouldn’t the best be the last? From the half-full stomach, I pulled out a similar regret:
“But, hm, this definitely deserves three points.”
To secure the sudden points, dibs must be called. Since I’ve been taking care of Erio recently, I felt as if my Youth-points had been dropping.
“Points… Well, I take that as a compliment.”
Maekawa-san didn’t seem unaccepting, taking the cleaned bowl away.
Next up, Ryuushi-san raised the bowl with a smile of slight embarrassment and anticipation like when she showed me the doodling on her notebook:
“Mine is an Oyakodon with no chicken.”
So the ‘Oya’ part evaporated?
“Uh… Then it should be called Tamagodon?” I stared at the bowl with a question.
“But I heard that Niwa-kun likes Oyakodon!”
She grumbled. Where did that rumor come from? …Ah, from Maekawa-san? True, I remember praising the Oyakodon served at the school cafeteria a month ago. But that was just a comment on the school’s cooking, not for Oyakodon itself… Well, it isn’t too late to make this my favourite dish today.
Also, since it’s the same as Maekawa-san’s, she had meant it to be? Hmm, the smell of gunpowder.
“What’s the big deal~ Just try it. Here ya go~”
Ryuushi-san passed the bowl to my mouth; the other two crossed their chopsticks in the air. The atmosphere now does not permit food sharing.
Is Ryuushi-san’s food only for me (俺専用)? Or is it for folding (折れ専用)? Not knowing her intent, I wavered.
In the background, Maekawa-san grinned mischievously. Hm, eggs, hold up… There's something else in there. I rolled the object several times on my tongue. It's shaped like a carrot. Not chicken, but it's a bit soft. Oh well, I bit down on this mysteriously textured object. Then, sweet juice flowed between the teeth. One hundred percent fruit.
“...” I swallowed the thing first. “Hey, Ryuushi-san?” The after taste was just as mellifluous.
“How was it?”
Just like the 'how does it look?' after a girl tried on new clothes, it was a forceful rhetorical question.
However, before I critic the taste, I must point something out:
“Is there pineapple in here?”
“Mm.” She confirmed earnestly, the smile still intact.
“So Ryuushi-san likes the pineapple in sweet and sour porks, huh?”
The background with two people setting their chopsticks on the table and sipping their tea looked mighty alluring.
“I love it. Personally I love sweeter flavour.” I especially spoke with the volume audible to Maekawa-san while shoving the pineapple-don in my mouth.
“Um… Is it good? How's it taste?”
“Mom taught me to not talk with my mouth full.”
“Weren't ya just talking normally?”
Once people start asking about my thought on the taste, I gloss over with that phrase. In the end, I cleaned the entire bowl on my own.
My throat is so sweet. Upon downing the tea, a blurring bitterness suffused in my mouth, somehow nauseating me.
The next two entrees weren't interesting, so I'll introduce them both.
“Fried-egg don.” Mine. Referring to the cooking manga Meme-san has.
“Ham-don.” It was literally sliced ham slapped on steaming rice. Because of the remaining amount of rice in the steamer, there's wasn't much in there. This was of course Erio's product.
With nothing particularly worth noting, the four of us ate quietly. Not that I moved my chopsticks. Although toward the end everyone entered the mode of 'I'm tired of rice' and dropped his or her chopsticks, we finished laboriously.
“Thanks for the food...” The listless voices of thanks crawled in the kitchen.
Perhaps having eaten Maekawa-san's Oyakodon first was the right choice. In the end, my stomach was too filled to taste anything anymore.
Being too full, no one planned on leaving his or her seat. We merely waited lethargically.
Though the thought of cleaning dishes poked from the corner of my mind, the lower half of my body refused to move the encumbering torso.
“Ah, it's almost nine. Aren't ya heading back, Maekawa-san?”
Ryuushi-san seemed to probe her with a 'I won't leave before ya do!'
“Yep.” Maekawa-san nodded affirmatively, even smirking. But before anything came from her lips, Erio, sitting beside me, popped up:
“Um, staying… over?”
“Eh?” Maekawa-san and I both seized.
The shock wasn't just from the act of 'staying over' — it was from the act of Erio's proposal.
In addition, the only vegetarian in a sports club jumped at the words:
“W-w-w-what are ya saying~!!”
Ryuushi-san pecked furiously at Erio. She's pretty energetic after the meal.
“Uh… I mean… Is it not good? It's… dark out… and dangerous… Like, aliens… and stuff.”
Erio stuttered incoherently for excuses. But Erio, the androphobic girl, was suggesting others to stay.
Is she happy to be able to spend times with girls of her own age after so long?
Well, since she had the attitude of wanting to connect with others, her return-to-society points indeed increased… Uh, this might be the first and the last time it will ever increase along with my Youth-points.
Originally gawking, Maekawa-san quickly went along with Erio's proposal:
“If you insist. Meme-san did mention that we could stay if it took too long. I got clean clothes when I went to get bottles, so I'm all good!”
Ahaha! Maekawa-san laughed heartily; the lab coat fluttered.
In other words, I'm spending a night with Maekawa-san under the same roof? Ung… My heart seemed to be strangled on the top.
Ryuushi-san spun back to face us, for a second giving the illusion that only her head moved. “Absolutely shameless!” She had to give preface:
“What about Niwa-kun? Stop lazing around like a slime!”
“Hmm. I mean, what's the problem? As long as Meme-san and Erio agreed to it.”
“Whazzup with that indifferent reason?!”
“Well, this isn't exactly my house.” I am living under someone else's roof. Totally different story if it's my house though.
If a girl wanted to stay over, isn't the necessity to deny her non-existence?
“Right?” I casually sought agreement from Erio. “Right~” She parroted me. Wait, this is your house right? The persuasiveness of my statement plummeted, bring even my cognition down.
“T-t-then I'm staying over too?! W-w-what am I gonna do??”
“Ryuushi-san too… Isn't that okay though?” My heart accelerated. We're talking about living together!
“This is cheating before the graduation trip! As the disciplinary committee, I cannot over look this!”
“Oh, Ryuushi-san's disciplinary?”
While I was hospitalized during May, the class' committees had been decided; thus I was shoved into the spot of Class Meeting Committee — which no one picked. So far, I'm not thrilled by this leftover.
However, telling everyone at school that 'Ryuushi-san and Maekawa-san lived at my house~' and turning the school life around awaits me! Disregarding the feeling of superiority of course.
“What about your change of clothes?” We don't have basketball club uniforms here.
“Uh, oh, I'll go grab em.” Ryuushi-san decided to sneak out of the kitchen.
“I'll lend you… mine?”
Erio once again suggested an unexpected assistance. I oh'ed, exhaling a short breath of admiration.
Ryuushi-san too, showed a look of surprise; but she nodded vaguely:
“Mm, please then?”
“Good. Goood~”
Perhaps her brain cells finally gave up, Erio replied innocently.
I could no longer deny the possibility of sleep invading her head. She usually sleeps around ten, after all.
Confused by Erio's airy mien, Ryuushi-san pulled a cellphone out of her skirt. She's calling someone, probably her parents.
“...Hello, mom. So...” Saying so, she proved my theory.
Only, the part where she contended 'I told ya I'm not running away this time~' stood out to me. Ryuushi-san ran away from home before, huh. Hearing her unexpected past, I breathed out. Yet, peering over at that soothing back, I could not make the connection with the rebellious act of running away.
Everyone has a past, sculpting him or her in ways unseen by others.
In my dreamy mind, a sense of reverence grew for only the most natural thing.
✩
Although it was the rain season of June, the air outside still chilled at the eleven of night.
Wrapping a towel on my head, I came to the yard to cool down.
Grass shuffling underneath the shoes pleased the ear. Only, a melancholy followed — 'tis time to pull the weed.
Embedded with the June rain, wet wind melted in the warm skin just out of bath. Like making up for lost moisture, the usually sticky air soothed the skin. But I guess in about ten minutes, it'd become the fuel of a disagreeable sensation.
I walked to where the two bikes were parked, peeking toward the sky.
Cloud veiled the firmament; neither stars nor the moon hung in the air. I eyed at the obscure lights flashing above the distant town.
I did successfully bath, but the girls seemed to have fought a war.
Just earlier, they caused a racket in the bathroom.
To further the atmosphere of a grad trip, the three girls decided to bath together. But soon after they entered the bathroom, unattractive screams of 'Uwah~!' or 'Gawah~!' returned.
And then, steps fueled by rage stomped in the hallway.
With her right hand covering Erio's tiny head, and the left dragging Maekawa-san, who passed out sitting in the tub, Ryuushi-san charged into the room. The only thing on her was a big towel.
It's quite rude to say this when she's gone mad, but is it really okay to give me so much Youth-points in one go? I looked straight at Ryuushi-san.
“Why is she in there with her clothes on?”
“I messed up.” Reported the Erio with water dripped off of her.
“She said she messed up.”
“On what?!”
Hearing the explanation that explained nothing, Ryuushi-san let her voice fly. But since Erio's always ran into the bathroom fully dressed, I'd already habituated as one of the Touwa residents. It's nothing to be surprised by. She did took baths with the futon on before, which resulted in her almost drowning in the tub.
“C-coordinates.” Rambling, Erio answered Ryuushi-san's question. She was a little scared, under Ryuushi-san's menacing pressure. “X or Y-axis?!” Ryuushi-san, too, threw a mindless tantrum and exacerbated the pandemonium.
“Then… What about over there?”
“Ughhhh.” Maekawa-san's hand was lifted by Ryuushi-san, her head hanging languidly.
“Why did she fry like an octopus in just a minute of sitting in the tub?!”
“Circulation was too good.”
“Not… Not enough blood...”
“That sounds like the worst combination!”
So something like that happened. From the view of the disciplinary committee, does this suffice as the preview of the graduation trip?
Meme-san came back in about thirty minutes later. She stormed in her room quickly, grumbling something about being busy tomorrow. Perhaps she was planning something about the beach tomorrow.
'It's quite rude to say this when she's gone mad, but is it really okay to give me so much Youth-points in one go?'
Depthless wind blew. Branches on the neighbor's wall shook like fans. Maekawa-san should have come outside: it could improve the cooling rate.
Should I tell her? I turned, but changed my mind again and remained outside.
More than Maekawa-san's moaning, I wanted to continue listening to the sound of wind. The gale that blew today sounded like the echoes in the mountains of my old home — as if something soared in the sky.
Probably because of the nearby Self Defense airbase, the area was used to the sound of aircraft gliding. Was something flying? Could it really be a UFO? Or a floating bicycle?
At that moment, I heard the clank of the entrance door. Turning slightly, I saw Ryuushi-san wearing the slippers Erio doesn't like wearing. She planned on coming outside. Our eyes met; she smiled as if relieved.
“Heya.” I called out.
“Hey ya~!” She waved both hands at me. Wearing the white-blue striped pajama Erio lent her, she looked even younger. Accompanied by the slapping of slippers, she headed toward me.
“I went back to take a quick shower. It's so hot~”
“Yeah? How's Maekawa-san doing?”
“Just chilling on the hall's floor.”
“Erio?”
“Cooling that Maekawa-san with a fan.”
“Hm.” Maybe those two get along well.
“Here ya go.” Ryuushi-san stood next to me and passed a cold can of juice.
“Oh, thanks.” I took the juice, pulled the tab up and poured it in my mouth. The sour of orange.
“What if it rains tomorrow?”
“Hm. Well, if that happens, we'll just ask Meme-san.”
“True.” Ryuushi-san put her own can to her lips: “Hm, awesome.”
She gently exhaled and smiled. My heart raced at the shape of her lips.
“It sounds like something's flying through the air.”
Ryuushi-san mumbled at the cloudy sky. It sure sounded like it.
“What if a meteor came down?”
“I heard those can be predicted years before happening.”
“Jeez~ Stop saying dreamless things.”
Jokingly pouting, Ryuushi-san scolded my comment.
Dreams, you said. If a meteor hits us, the human race would be finished! But maybe some people do wish for that.
At least for now, I don't wish for a meteor. Not before I finish talking with Ryuushi-san.
“Tomorrow is actually my birthday.”
“Eh?” Surprise jolted my body, enough to necessitate my rebalancing.
Like confessing to a tiny prank, Ryuush-san smiled demurely.
If I knew a bit earlier, I would have prepared something beforehand!
“Really? We're a day early, but should we celebrate now?”
I passed the can in front of Ryuushi-san; she did the same. “Cheers!” The cans bumped. Let's celebrate a bit like this. The not-so-sweet orange juice flowed in my throat.
“I still wish that something special would happen on my birthday! I hope a meteor would come down, and bang!”
Ryuushi-san gestured her very own wish.
“Hmm. When we're done with the beach tomorrow, should we all celebrate?”
“Celebrate?”
“Having others celebrate for you isn't special or anything, but I think it's pretty important.”
Ryuushi-san blinked incessantly, finally saying with a red face: “That sounds nice too.” A tiny smile: “Mm, maybe it'd be the best!”
Perhaps assenting as well, she nodded deeply. Her gaze darted around for a bit:
“Even though it's kinda spur of the moment, but it's still kinda embarrassing.”
Heheheh. Ryuushi-san rubbed the back of her right hand:
“I mean, staying over at… A boy's place.”
“Yeah?” I played stoic. If it were me living at Ryuushi-san's house though…
“Yeah!” Ryuushi-san lifted a fist in hope for certainty.
“Well, I have already seen Ryuushi-san's sleeping face in math class before.”
“Why did ya look?!” Her eyes widened in retaliation: “And I told ya I'm Ryuuko!”
Seriously! She contendingly drank the juice. The exaggerated way she bit on the can, or rather poured the drink, was a bit childish, but cute.
“It'd be different if we shared a room. Since we don't, I'm not really that curious.”
Cough! Ryuushi-san's throat bulged. After choking, she tremblingly asked with tears in her eyes:
“D-different room… Right? Me and Niwa-kun?” Now's my turn to choke.
“D-different room.”
“Y-you’re right, mm...”
Both of our voice shifted in tone; both looked at our own feet.
Zephyr turning cold refreshed our burning cheeks.
Ah, that's right. Might as well make things clear with her.
“Ryuushi-san. About the t-t-thing from before.” My voice cracked halfway.
“B-before?” Oh? She's wavering.
The two of us hurried for a deep breath, waiting for the quake inside to settle.
“Good now?”
“Good now.”
“This is my report at this specific point of time.”
“Mm?”
“Hypothetically, Erio is walking around town when her old classmates came to harass her. And I happened to witness it.”
“...Mm.”
“If that were to happen, I will stand by Erio.”
Ryuushi-san's eyelashes shook; she looked down melancholily.
Well, I think it's dumb too.
However, I don't want to be smart enough to leave Erio to die.
“Uh… Even if it isn't Erio, but Maekawa-san or Ryuushi-san, I will stand by you as well.” I mean, everyone is a pretty girl after all.
“…...” Ryuushi-san remained mute, her left eyelid occasionally jumped.
“Whenever I plan on helping Erio, and you happen to be walking home with me, just kick me really hard in the back.”
I can't have Ryuushi-san suffer for my action. If she does just that though, she won't be seen as my friend. If she doesn't, she might even be branded as the leader.
“Even being alone, I'll still think of ways to be happy. Don't worry about me then.”
Even with just a person, a broom can still be used to rock the world. Enjoy life!
Moving forward to youth without accessories might be fun as well.
And as long as I stand by Erio, she would naturally do the same for me too, wouldn’t she?
Hence I tried to explain my attitude toward Erio to Ryuushi-san in the most cheerful manner.
If it does end up like that, Youth-points will probably bite the dust, falling with no way of recovering — this simultaneous, depressing feeling churned deep down in my chest.
Ryuushi-san kept her head low, wording her reply directly:
“This is purely for this specific point in time.”
“...”
Ryuushi-san looked up. It is not as if her face conveyed no emotion — a serene, almost defeated look:
“In that case, I will not stand with Touwa-san.”
“Hm.”
“But...”
After a pause, Ryuushi-san stood a step away from me.
With hands behind her back, she timidly leaned forward:
“But, I think I will stand with Niwa-kun.”
Finished, Ryuushi-san froze at the spot.
We gazed at each other.
Together we felt embarrassed.
Our faces reddened.
“Uwah~!”
She ran off. Scrambling to the entrance, she darted into the house.
I wanted to run somewhere too. Mostly to escape the embarrassment and the heart that raced even faster.
Just as I thought of this, Ryuushi-san peeked out half her face from the entrance and called me by a new name: “Mako-chan~!”
“Wha~t?”
“Ya are gonna get a cold in the wind out there, be back soon!”
“I know~!”
First replying to the mom character with shaky legs, I scratched my cheeks.
A certain object tore through the air still. I looked up to the sky.
Meteors did not slash through the clouds.
We will definitely welcome tomorrow.
“… Four, points?”
From the sense of fulfillment, and the proud smile on my face.
The following day came.
Under the urges of Erio and Maekawa-san, who were both regular early-risers, I woke up on the Eight o'clock of a day-off.
“That's pretty sad, transfer student. Can't you wake up without the chickens?”
“Waking before noon is considered as healthy in my household.”
We had the Maekawa-san's egg sandwiches and Erio's ham sandwiches for breakfast.
We shared the food, leaving the house with rockets in hand after dressing up.
As a side note, Erio wore twin tails today for some reason.
After my query in front of the shoe cabin, she quietly answered: “Because… It made the cousin happy.”
Since when have I cheered for twin tails? Is my spot in the Touwa household heading toward some weird direction? Including the various things involving Meme-san, concern brood over my mind.
“I wasn't expecting my plan of heading to the beach with you to be carried out like this.”
Maekawa-san saddled on the bicycle, flinging these words out expectantly. “Beep, beep!” Ryuushi-san, who prohibited the beach because of the jelly fishes, whistled. The frequency of that whistle was beyond my ability.
Erio naturally docked in her proper (?) spot of bicycle basket.
Touwa, you're hilarious! Like talking about escaping an island with four people on a raft that could only carry three. “When you're leaving, have one of you be part of the raft by holding on to the wood. That's how it's done.”
The example Maekawa-san drew balanced on the line between logic and nonsense, difficult to have a response for.
Thus we set off for the designated beach.
Why did I listen to Meme-san's instruction? Questions spun with the wheels, but I still pedaled onward.
The trip that took two hours with the old bike took only a bit more than an hour today.
On the beach with no superficial connection with Erio.
Six bottle rockets lined up on the platform, pointed toward the sky.
A visitor came before us. He was a suit-wearing man preparing for the launch.
Noticing us, he stopped and headed here.
“Ah, the space stalker.”
“My fan!”
“Stranger.”
“Who?”
Four people assessed the middle-aged guy in front of us. What's up with the first two?
“You are...”
“Ah, hello.”
Maekawa-san greeted. Another one of her acquaintances? Counting Meme-san, is her secret of having so many connections her vertical length? Something spoken so rudely awed me.
“Hm.” The man looked at the rockets in ours hands, nodding:
“Did Touwa Meme asked you to come?”
“Yes.” The person reacting the fastest to her mother's name was none other than Erio.
‘Just as I thought.’ The man happily softened his expression:
“Then let's get going; not that there's anything left to be done, but you all should prepare to launch your own rockets. If you need to, I'll help too.”
He directed with a kind attitude, willing to lend a hand.
Seemingly unfamiliar with him, Erio cocked her head quizzically.
“Let's get ready early, since we don't know when Meme's showing up.”
The middle-aged man urged us, his hands preciously holding on to a crimson bottle rocket.
Perhaps noticing my stare, he ostentatiously raised the red device with a wry grin.
“This is just a bonus; I'll get ready myself so don't touch it.”
“Oh no!” Now that I think about it, I think I forgot to wake Meme-san up.
The man turned to face the beach — in just a moment, he mumbled:
“My youth's on you. Counting on ya.”
The words floated into my ears. And so I decided to help out.
I'm a total adolescent guy (青春男). It might look like it's pronounced Ao-Haru-O, but I emphasize:
It's pronounced Seishun Otoko. Earnest to the point of stupidity.
Honestly, I had no clue why things ended up like this.
Am I entwined with something? I don't know, but I am currently swept up with it. That's what I thought.
But, well, who cares about the little thing?
Occasionally helping others get Youth-points sounds good too.
Especially if it's a five pointer, I will share the same glory.
