“I definitely won’t lose…!”
“What…?”
Thus came a sudden declaration of war. Inside the classroom, Iihoshi-san pointed at me, with a vexed expression on her face. Where did that come from? Did I sexually harass her without realizing? Just looking at her is safe, right? I mean, I wasn’t staring either, just looking at her normally.
“What should I do for you to forgive me?”
“No need to apologize. I was just not going all out.”
“Um…? So, the fault is with you, Iihoshi-san?”
“Nope, it’s all yours, Sajou-kun.”
“Someone save meeeee!?”
This is what I mean! At least tell me why you’re angry! I just got my reputation up, Iihoshi-san! A crude personality would be much more comfortable in this case…Big Sis’ attitude makes it really easy to understand, which is great…Well, not exactly great.
“Hmm, what happened?”
“What are you doing…”
“What did you do now?”
“Sajou, you moron~”
As if they heard me thinking that, the other peeps from the class approached us. Also, why is me messing up the premise? 70% were just annoyed at me, whereas 30% were actually interested. This ain’t some circus, okay. The class rep and I were just in a heated—
“Y-You’re not fair, Sajou-kun! Screaming your love in the middle of the classroom…!”
“I wasn’t doing any of that.”
What’s wrong with class rep today? She’s prioritizing her feelings rather than rationality…Where did the girl go that I saw like an adult…As I was in the center of attention—or rather, in the corner of the classroom at my own seat, Shirai-san and the other classmates arrived as well…No but seriously, why are you all coming over here!?
“What are you…Ahh, are you talking about yesterday?”
“Yesterday? What happened, Maichi?”
Standing behind Shirai, Saitou-san showed a wry smile, seemingly the one person who understood best what exactly was going on. Seeing her talk in such a girly fashion despite knowing she’s part of the tea ceremony club is greeting quite the great gap, not gonna lie. But, enough about that. Great follow-up there, Ashida. Hit some great spikes today…of course, not on me. On the enemy’s court.
“She was pushed down by Airi-chan after all.”
“More detail, please.”
“Speak.”
“Sajocchi, Yamazaki, sit.”
I’m not a dog, okay. I just reflexively spoke up when the calm and proper Saitou-san said the words ‘pushed down’. I wouldn’t ask for such greater detail—Natsukawa-san? The way you glare at me like that almost reminds me of Big Sis, you know!? You have the eyes of Big Sis who would see me on the sofa, just saying ‘Move’ while shoving me off!
“For crying out loud…Yesterday when everyone came over to play, Airi just jumped at Iihoshi-san.”
“Oh my, how could that have happened?”
“Who knows…But, she definitely mentioned your name after that…”
“She told me ‘Weaker than Sajo~’…”
“Hah, I won.”
“That’s not the problem here! You were both pushed over!”
So it’s my fault? Well, I feel oddly relieved, so I don’t mind it being my fault. Also, didn’t she just say ‘I won’t lose’? Fight’s on, should we charge into each other? Ah, I’m sorry.
“More importantly, did Sajou-kun meet Airi-chan!?”
“In London at night…it was a fateful encounter.”
“That girl’s five.”
It was a moonlit night—Hey, don’t look at me and Natsukawa like that. I didn’t ask for it, and it’s definitely a bother for Natsukawa. Also, are you really going to complain about who I’m flirting with? I’m not a handsome guy or anything, right.
“That’s unexpected. I always thought that Natsukawa-san kept her guard up quite high when it came to Sajou-kun…”
“Wasn’t she all ‘I definitely won’t let you meet her!’ before…?”
“Eh? Ah, well…”
Gazes all over gathered on Natsukawa. Personally speaking, I didn’t think it was anything that needed hiding, but seeing Natsukawa fidget nervously and look towards me in search of assistance, I couldn’t help but…Wait, we’re keeping this a secret? A secret just between the two of us? That sounds mighty delicious. Can you not make my heart skip a beat like that? I’m getting convulsions.
“Ahhh…Well, you know. I was out shopping, when I suddenly saw the Kano sisters1 walk towards me. That happens a lot, right?”
“She’s five.”
I messed up. To think that the first sisters popping up in my mind would be these two…There’s no way I would ever run into them either. Never even saw a luxurious flat from the inside. Not to mention that these two don’t even resemble Natsukawa.
“Well…because of her bad luck, Airi-chan happened to run into me.”
“I’m shocked you can say that so indifferently…”
I say it like that, but in reality I was invited there. Never would have imagined that such a day would come for me. Even now, it still doesn’t feel real. After all, Natsukawa probably still sees me as a bother…Although it doesn’t look that way…But, reality is…
“Natsukawa basically goes ‘Ah, he saw me’, to which I respond ‘This is pretty awkward’, and freeze up.”
“That’s a more proper train of thought than I assumed!?”
“Then Airi-chan grabs me.”
“Why!?”
“Then we were both wrestling with strength about equal.”
“She’s five.”
You’re wrong…Airi-chan’s weapon isn’t her muscle power correlating to her age, but rather her endless endurance and will to never give up…! Why am I so desperate to win against her?
“—So, because the selfish me wasn’t there, Iihoshi-san became my stand-in.”
“So it’s still your fault, Sajou-kun.”
“Right.”
We struck a deal with a piece of éclair.
*
Following that, my days of observing the situation around Natsukawa related to Blondie continued. However, Claumaty didn’t contact her ever since. After learning of the ‘east and west’ rumour, it was clear where this awkward atmosphere came from. As of right now, there’s rumours here and there coming up from clubs about members being unfriendly with each other. That being said, since both Natsukawa and I are in the go-home club, we don’t know anything regarding that. Ashida said that the volleyball club doesn’t have any west-side students either. Saitou-san’s tea ceremony club apparently works on the acquaintance principle, so they don’t talk too much.
Information is a weapon after all, and although I’m worried about Natsukawa, I want to avoid trouble as best as possible. I’ll never know when something will happen again, so I’ll be on the watch about that. Oh, aren’t I actually more adaptable than usual? Haha.
“……Haa.”
The rain’s on the strong side of things today. Summer is baptism. Talking about the rainy season, you generally think of June, but these rainy seasons actually often continue into July and August. Even if you protect yourself with an umbrella, the ground is still all wet and slippery. Because of that, the time spent at school is pretty much ruined because of your drenched socks, building up frustration with every step.
Walking my way to school, I was humming a popular song with the rain falling as a musical accompaniment. The rain hitting my umbrella completely drowned out my voice. The moisture, this unpleasant feeling, this karaoke-esque feeling healed it all—hey now, didn’t that sound like a poem just now?
With these pointless thoughts in mind, I heard the sound of a large truck approaching me from behind. I need to get out of the way—Well, I was on the sidewalk, so I don’t need to worry……No, wait a second?
“Crap—”
*
“The dripping man…”
“Both his eyes and face look dead…”
The tension went reminiscent of a miracle ball-esque fork ball. It fell so much that it landed a straight hit directly into the catcher’s balls. Quite the powerful word. If that happened, let alone his baseball career, his life as a man would be over.
“I’m out of luck, huh…”
I was attacked by mayhem caused by the water. Ashida’s grossed out expression was a mental attack in the style of a spike. I didn’t expect to get handkerchiefs or towels handed to me at every corner. Yamazaki, how long did you keep that towel in your bag?
Adding to that, the dirt and sand that splattered on me I could only wipe away, not completely wash off. You know this sense of discomfort when you wash the tableware with detergent, and this bit of dirt won’t get off no matter what.
“I’m shocked you have your jersey with you, it’s summer already…Not to mention an unopened one.”
“Because I don’t have anything to wear for a few consecutive days…At the beginning of spring, you basically had enough with just one, right.”
“Also, there’s still the price tag on there.”
“3980 yen…So that’s my value right now…”
“Wha…”
“Ahh, I totally get it~ When you’re down, you’re down for good~”
“Urk…”
“That sure gave off a dull sound…”
My forehead fell down on the desk ahead of me. It hurt, but it also didn’t. More than anything, I just didn’t care. Even without the rain, there’s just times where I feel that way. The only good thing about this is Natsukawa’s faint kindness.
“This is purely because of your bad luck, right.”
“Why would a truck drive by there on a rainy day of all times…”
“Probably to annoy the people on the sidewalk…”
Is having a truck drive this close to the residential district really a good idea? I’d make sense if they’re some moving company, but that was clearly just the logistics-type…
“………”
“Wha, eh, Wataru!? Don’t just sleep, at least remove the price tag first!”
“Eh? He fell asleep? Like this?”
“He’s faster at falling asleep than Airi…”
I’m not sleeping…But, this ain’t half bad. Resting my head like this is much more comfortable. The more I move, the more I feel my drenched underwear glued to my skin.
Despite the first period not even having started yet, I already feel exhausted…Is it a mental problem? Maybe I should watch some cat or dog videos…But, I don’t wanna watch videos on mobile data…Mom will get angry at me…
Ahh, I can’t muster up any motivation. Is there no switch I can flick for that…? Well, it doesn’t matter if there isn’t. I’ll just wait for my clothes to dry.
*
There was a cup. Inside a pure white space, I could see a transparent cup, and I was only staring down at it. Then, a faucet appeared. It’s a stylish one you would see in a new family home. The handle was turned upwards, pouring water into the cup as if to entice me. I could tell how the cup was happy about that.
Then, the water stopped. An amount comfortable to drink was inside the cup. Since I might as well, I tried reaching out for it with my hand, but my hand didn’t even appear in my view. I was left baffled, but that cup still seemed satisfied. I could see a bit of steam rising from that cup. I tried touching the cup with the hand I couldn’t see, but there was no heat. When I held my hand above the cup, I could feel the warmth on my palm. Is the watter…evaporating?
There I realized that the stylish faucet was gone. At the same time, the water inside the cup started to vanish like the speed of reality was upped to 100x. I could even hear the cup screaming ‘Wait, don’t go!’, desperately begging for the water to stay.
Slowly but steadily, the leftover water reached the bottom of the cup, leaving it completely empty. It felt like the cup was tormented with grief. It was screaming and lamenting. ‘Why, why would you…’, and so on. Watching this, I felt a sharp pain assault my chest.
This time continued for a bit longer. The cup stayed empty. It seemed like time went by faster in this space. I watched the cup dry up completely. The cup accepted its fate, and almost seemed like it was sitting still in wait.
There, I heard the sound of water. I raised my head, and the cup seemed shocked as well. I looked around and searched for the faucet. Then, it appeared right above the cup. Different from before, it was a rusty faucet, the one you would see in a public park, and yet the cup seemed happy nonetheless.
Right after that, water came gushing out of the faucet. The cup was delighted for a moment, but after the water started to flow out of the cup because it couldn’t contain anymore, it started to panic. ‘That’s enough, don’t pour me any more’, the cup pleaded, but the water came gushing into it endlessly.
As if the faucet wasn’t satisfied just yet, almost like it was saying ‘More, accept more’, it kept pouring more and more. I don’t get why he would be so forceful. The cup ended up angry at the faucet.
The gush of water grew weaker. Looking at the faucet, I could see water leaks next to opening where the water came from. That must have happened because it was rusty, and the gush of water was probably too much for it to bear.
I was curious, and looked over at the cup. The cup was overflowing with water, and averted its ‘face’ like it was sulking. It probably didn’t have the time or leisure to look up at the faucet.
More time passed, until the sound of water coming from the faucet changed. Looking up, I saw the exact moment the spout blew off. Broken, more parts and water came gushing out. I tried to stop it, and reached out for it with my hand, but my hand wasn’t shown again. It’s almost like I didn’t even exist in this space.
Of course, the cup realized as well. Shocked because of the incoming amount of water, the cup looked up, and was baffled to see the faucet ended up like that. The cup called out to the faucet with an ‘Are you okay?’, but that voice didn’t reach the faucet.
Right as the faucet broke, the cup regained its posture. The water stopped overflowing, and it seemed to have grown the ability to care for the faucet. Seeing this, the broken faucet seemed happy.
The water stopped. It looked like the faucet changed shape, blocking off the water by itself. The passion from before had now vanished. It seemed like a being with no consciousness—just like a broken faucet.
At the same time, the cup was humming to itself, seemingly in a great mood. It wasn’t even doing anything, but the water inside the cup gently shook left and right. I grew worried if that was really the right thing to do. At the same time, the water started evaporating again. However, the cup didn’t even realize this.
The water started to vanish. When about half of it was gone, the cup finally realized. It panicked, but it couldn’t stop the water from vanishing. Different from the stylish faucet before, the broken and rusty one stayed over it. The cup must have felt fulfilled being full to the brim with water, because it didn’t allow the water to vanish.
Stop, don’t go, I need water. Without water, I—
The water vanished. The cup started crying. Tears might have been streaming there, but there was no saddened expression to see. Even though it was quiet in this atmosphere, I could hear the cup wailing. Watching this, my chest started to hurt again. I could only watch the fate of the cup, unable to do anything myself.
The cup didn’t stop crying. Even though the water was drying out entirely, the cup asked for more. Isn’t there no other chance but to accept its own fate? Because this is the only way for things to end? That’s how reality works, right?
That’s all I thought. I didn’t even put it into words—and yet, as if that message reached the cup, it turned towards me. The cup seemed shocked, and closed off its consciousness.
—Finally, the cup broke.
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