Published at 26th of March 2019 12:07 am

Volume 1, Part 2

Kasumi Mogi's basic attire during P.E. is her regular uniform rather than a gym outfit.

Today, she is once again watching the boys play soccer. She's wearing her uniform like normal while remaining as expressionless as an ornament.

The white legs that peek out from Mogi-san's skirt are so thin, they seem as if they could snap at any moment.

And I, for some reason, am sleeping with my head on her lap.

Ah, yeah. I don't have a clue anymore about what's going on, either. While I'm certainly feeling a sensation of bliss, I can't really enjoy it since I'm desperately trying to stop my nosebleed with a tissue. Things wouldn't go well if I failed.

By the way, I can remember how I ended up this way. Because Otonashi-san's actions had left me all confused, I let a soccer ball hit me right in the face during gym class and got a nosebleed. Mogi-san was worried about me and for some reason, let me rest my head on her lap.

Mogi-san's legs aren't soft at all; to be honest, lying on them actually hurts my head a bit.

I wonder why she cares for me that way. I look up at Mogi-san, but her expressionless face tells me nothing.

But I am happy.

Very, very happy.

Otonashi-san's comment about 'panties'.

Of course it surprised me, and not just due to its abruptness and lack of context. What I mean is, Otonashi-san said 'I'll tell you something good.' Basically, she declared that information about 'Kasumi Mogi' was 'something good' for me.

I haven't even told Kokone or Daiya about my crush on Kasumi Mogi. So there is no way Otonashi-san, who I met for the first time today, could know about it. Nevertheless, she still said what she said.

"…Say, Mogi-san."

"What is it?"

Mogi-san answers quietly. Her voice is like that of a little bird's, which dovetails nicely with her small body and delicate appearance.

"Today, um, did Otonashi-san talk to you?"

"…The transfer student?…No."

"You two aren't otherwise acquainted, right?"

Mogi-san nods.

"Did she do something suspicious to you?"

She thinks for a moment and then shakes her head. Her slightly wavy hair sways.

"Why are you asking about this...?" she asks and inclines her head.

"Ah, no…if nothing happened, that's fine."

I shift my sight to the field. Otonashi-san stands alone in the center of the schoolyard with a daunting pose, showing no interest in the ball or the girls swarming after it. When the ball rolls casually toward her, she weakly kicks it back.…Err, did she just kick it to a girl on the other team?

"Mmhh."

I might have been reading too much into what she said, thinking that Otonashi-san noticed my feelings for Mogi-san.

Otonashi-san had quite an impact on me because of her appearance and attitude. Yeah, I merely read too much into her comment because it was made so abruptly by a person with remarkable presence. That's logic anyone could agree with.

And yet—why can't I believe that?

Otonashi-san fixes her gaze on me, not looking away for a moment.

Staring straight into my eyes, she boldly lifts the corner of her mouth. Although class has not yet ended, she starts walking toward me.

Before I know it, I stand up. I've abandoned the privilege of sleeping on Mogi-san's lap, which is supposed to be the source of my utmost happiness. My entire body shudders. It's not hyperbole—I really am shuddering from head to toe.

Mogi-san, who seems to have noticed Otonashi-san as well, tenses up anxiously and stands up next to me.

With a daring smile, Otonashi-san points at me…no, at Mogi-san.

Just then.

There's a sudden gust of wind—a completely random gust. A gust no one could possibly have foreseen.

This sudden gust lifts Mogi-san's skirt.

"~~~!!"

Mogi-san immediately pushes her skirt down, but only in front. I am standing behind her. Right after the gust passes, Mogi-san turns around and looks at me. She is indeed expressionless as always, but her cheeks seem a little red.

She silently forms the words "did you see them?" with her mouth. Actually, she might actually have spoken out loud, but I can't hear her low voice. I shake my head frantically. I guess that my frantic reaction clearly indicates that I've indeed seen her panties. But Mogi-san doesn't respond and instead casts her eyes downward.

By this point, Otonashi-san is standing right next to me.

I get a glimpse of her expression.

"Aah—"

I realize why I am trembling so hard—I understood Otonashi-san's expression. It reflects a feeling that has never in my life been aimed at me until now.

—Hostility.

Why? Why is there hostility directed at someone like me?

Otonashi-san raises the corner of her mouth and scowls at me. While I am still shaking but otherwise paralyzed, she places her hand on my shoulder and puts her lips to my ear.

"They were light blue, weren't they?"

Otonashi-san knows everything. My affection towards Mogi-san, that a sudden gust would expose her panties, she knew it all.

Otonashi-san's statement this morning wasn't some kind of joke. It was a—threat to insinuate that she knows me perfectly, that she has grasped my way of thinking, that she's in control of me.

"Hoshino, you should have recalled it by now, right?"

Otonashi-san observes me while I stand petrified. We stay like this for a few moments, but when I stay silent, she lets out a sigh and drops her gaze to the ground.

She murmurs her complaint: "So it's useless, even though I went this far…I see, you're even one level duller today."

"If you've forgotten, remember it now. My name's 'Maria.'"

…'Maria'? No, err…you're 'Aya Otonashi', aren't you?

"…I-Is that your pen name or something?"

"Shut up."

She scowls at me, not even trying to hide her irritation.

"Well then. You aren't challenging at all like this, but in that case I'll act at my own convenience," Otonashi-san says and turns her back to me.

"Ah, wait…"

I instinctively stop her. She turns around, appearing stressed out. I can't help but wince at the sight of her frown.

I'm not sure. But judging from Otonashi-san's attitude, maybe—

"Could it be that we've met in the past?"

Hearing these words, Otonashi-san raises the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah, we were lovers in our previous life. Oh mine beloved Hathaway, how miserable thy current state! Thou wert not so lily-livered when thou cameth to save me, princess of thine enemy's land."

"………Umm, what?"

I am at a loss for words. Otonashi-san seems satisfied after seeing my confused state. For the first time today, she displays what seems like a genuine smile.

"I'm joking."

✵

The next day.

I saw Aya Otonashi's corpse.

Note: Umaibō (うまい棒) or "delicious stick" is a small, puffed, cylindrical corn snack that resides at the bottom of most Japanese convenience store candy shelves

8,946th time

Upon hearing my words, Mogi-san's eyes turn sad and she ponders for a while. With an uncomfortable look on her face, she then mutters:

“Please wait until tomorrow.”

2,601st time

"I'm Aya Otonashi."

The transfer student murmurs only these words, and nothing more.

✵

"Oh my god! That's intense!"

My friend Haruaki Usui, who is sitting next to me, says so in a rather loud voice. He does so even though class is still in session, and vigorously slaps my back.

Haruaki? You know, that really hurts, and the looks that our classmates are giving us are also quite embarrassing…

Haruaki's gaze is already turned toward the back of the room, where the transfer student, Aya Otonashi, is sitting.

"Our eyes met! That's intense!"

"Well, when you turn around to look at her, then it's only natural that your eyes meet."

"Hoshii, it's DESTINY!"

Wait, what? Destiny?

"Anyway, she's just too pretty! She would definitely pass muster as a work of art on the world market…and then be acknowledged as a national treasure. Oh, it's too late for me, my heart has already been stolen…I'll go confess to her."

That's fast!!

The bell rings. After we stand up and bow to our teacher, Haruaki makes a beeline for Otonashi-san without bothering to sit down first.

"Aya Otonashi-san! I fell for you at first sight. I love you!"

Uwaa, he's seriously doing it…

I cannot hear Otonashi-san's reply but Haruaki's face is a dead giveaway. Ah, no…it's not even necessary to look at his face.

Haruaki comes back and stands in front of my desk.

"Absurd…I got dumped?"

He thought his confession could succeed…? It's scary because he actually seems serious.

"Isn't that obvious? Confessing to her out of nowhere will only annoy her!"

"Mh, I see your point. Well then, I shall confess again. But next time, I won't do it so suddenly! My feelings are bound to get through to her one day!"

On the one hand his positive way of thinking is almost enviable, but on the other hand, I'd rather just avoid it entirely.

"Having fun? You're providing me some pretty good entertainment, but the girls are giving you guys some serious looks of disdain."

Daiya joins us with these words.

"Eeh?! Isn't it only Haruaki who's getting looked down on?!"

"Nope, you are, too. The girls regard you as birds of a feather."

"Oho, flocking together with me as the same kind of bird? What an honor! Don't you think so, Hoshii?"

A-Anything but…

"Leaving that aside, Daiyan, even you'd want to make a move on her, right?"

Haruaki elbows Daiya. He's able to do that to Daiya without fear, probably because they are childhood friends. Or maybe it's just because he acts impulsively without any concern for consequences…

Daiya sighs and answers right away.

"Not at all."

"That's impossible! In that case, Daiyan, who could possibly move your heart?"

"It doesn't matter whether my heart beats faster because of Otonashi-san's looks. I may have to acknowledge her beauty, but I still have no desire to make a move."

"Huuh…?"

"Haruaki, you have zero understanding, don't you? Well, of course such feelings can't be understood by a monkey like you, who lives by following his instincts and would take any girl as long as she's got a pretty face."

"What!? To begin with, what does instinct have to do with caring about appearances?!"

"It's human instinct to be attracted to someone beautiful because a beautiful child will increase the chances that your bloodline will survive."

"Ooh", "Ooh" Haruaki and I let out simultaneous breaths of admiration. Daiya looks amazed, as if he were shocked that we didn't know something so basic.

"Ah, I got it, Daiyan! So you're saying that her beauty is so far beyond our reach that even you can't make a move on her! Inevitable defeat! That's it, right? Like that fox who made himself think that 'this grape is sour' when he couldn't reach it. Your behavior is called rationalization. How uncool! That's so uncool, Daiyan!"

"How much of my talk did you listen to? What the hell?…well, the first half of your statement wasn't necessarily wrong. But as for the other half of your speech—I'll kill you!"

"Oho, so you really can't make a move on her."

Haruaki has a triumphant look on his face. Daiya finally punches Haruaki. Uwaa, it looks like all of Daiya's frustration went straight into his punch …

"It's not 'I can't make a move on her.' It's 'she won't make a move on me.'"

"How cocky…hey, Hoshii, isn't that guy getting carried away just because of his looks?" Haruaki says without showing any sign of remorse.

"It's not that she won't make a move because I'm out of reach! Well, that could be possible as well, but in her case that doesn't even apply."

"Uwaa, he's boldly saying strange things."

"She doesn't regard me as outside her reach, no, she doesn't even engage in such a classification. She's not interested in us to start with. She's not even looking down on us. Just as we only register bugs as bugs, she registers people as people. That's all. She doesn't care about slight differences among people like my pretty face or Haruaki's ugly face. Just like the gender of cockroaches doesn't even cross your consciousness. How can you possibly make a move on such a girl?"

Even Haruaki seems overwhelmed by this merciless statement about Otonashi-san, and stays dead silent.

"…Daiya."

I open my mouth in Haruaki's place.

"Looks like you're surprisingly interested in Otonashi-san."

Daiya is at a loss for words. Ah, that's an extremely rare reaction. But aren't I right? Setting aside whether his opinion is correct, he must have observed her a decent amount in order to perform such an analysis.

"…tch, I have no interest!"

"Oh, you blushed!"

"…hey Kazu. You're going to step on a land mine if you keep going down that road. Do you want me to show you a way to use a leek that you can barely imagine? You'll end up with such a bad case of PTSD that the mere sight of leeks will cause you to break out in hives! "[1]

I realize that Daiya is quite angry, so I try to change the subject by laughing awkwardly.

Anyhow, Daiya seems to understand that he and Otonashi-san are totally incompatible.

"Despite your crap sense of intuition that's on par with that of an insect, even you'll soon become aware of her abnormality."

It sounded a bit like a bad excuse.

But it really wasn't.

You know, he was totally right.

✵

Right after homeroom has ended, Otonashi-san suddenly raises her hand. Our teacher, Hokubo-sensei, notices her, but Otonashi-san doesn't even care if he acknowledges her or not. She stands up and starts speaking before he even assents.

"I'm going to have everyone in class 1-6 do something right now."

Otonashi-san ignores our dumbfounded response, and continues.

"It will take five minutes. You can spare that much time, right?"

Nobody replies, but she heads for the platform anyway. She nonchalantly ushers Hokubo-sensei out of the classroom, and then takes his place at the platform. Although this is definitely an abnormal situation, she somehow makes it seem totally natural. Judging by the my classmates' reactions, they feel the same way.

It's dead silent in the classroom.

While standing on the platform, Otonashi-san speaks as she gazes straight ahead.

"You will now write 'a certain thing' for me."

Otonashi-san steps down from the platform and hands some papers to the students in the front row. Those students each take one sheet and pass the rest on to the students behind them; it's just like they normally do with handouts that need to be distributed to the entire class.

I finally receive a copy. It is an ordinary, plain sheet of recycled paper that's about 10cm long on each side.

"When you're done, please hand it back to me."

"So what's that 'certain thing'?"

After Kokone asks the question that's buzzing through everyone's head, Otonashi-san responds plainly:

"My name."

With this comment, the previously silent classroom starts to get noisy. Fair enough, I don't get it either. Her name? Everyone knows her name. She just introduced herself as "Aya Otonashi" this morning after all.

"How idiotic!" someone exclaims. There is only one person who could possibly say such a thing to Otonashi-san.

Daiya Oomine.

My classmates all hold their breath. Everyone knows that Daiya would make a terrible enemy.

"Your name's Aya Otonashi. Why do you want us to write that down? Do you want us to memorize your name that badly?"

Otonashi-san stays composed despite Daiya's aggressive speech.

"I would write 'Aya Otonashi'. But I just told you that. So there's no need for me to write it anymore, right?"

"Yeah, I don't care."

Apparently he didn't expect such a simple affirmation and is left bereft of speech.

He clicks his tongue, tears up the paper as noisily as possible and leaves the classroom.

"What's wrong? Why won't you start writing?"

No one was able to start writing. It may not be obvious, but everyone is surprised and overwhelmed by her and her behavior. She just talked back to Daiya. As Daiya's classmates, we know just how impressive that is.

Everyone stays frozen for a while. But once the scratching sound of someone's pencil breaks the silence, the sound of scribbling starts to echo across the classroom.

I bet no one understands Otonashi-san's intentions. But it doesn't matter. In the end, there is only one thing we can write, after all.

There's only the name 'Aya Otonashi'.

The first person to deliver his paper to Otonashi-san is Haruaki. Once he stands up, several classmates follow suit. Otonashi-san's expression doesn't really change when she accepts Haruaki's paper.

It was probably…the wrong answer.

"Haruaki."

I call out to him as he returns to his seat after exchanging a word or two with Mogi-san.

"What's wrong, Hoshii?"

"What did you write?"

"Mh? Well, you can only write 'Aya Otonashi', right? I almost forgot to write the last letter, though," Haruaki says while seeming a bit disconsolate for some reason.

"…well yeah, I guess that's the only choice…"

"Don't vacillate so much—just write it down!"

"Do you really think she went through all that just to make us write down her name?"

If that were the case, I can't understand why she bothered.

Haruaki immediately answers with "Of course not," confirming my doubts.

"Eh? But…you wrote 'Aya Otonashi', didn't you?"

"Yeah.…listen, Daiyan is so intelligent it's not even funny, right? Well, on the other hand, his personality is so bad it's not funny, either."

Because he suddenly changed the topic, I incline my head.

"And he said he would simply write 'Aya Otonashi'. So he couldn't think of anything else to write. Of course I'd do no better. What I'm trying to say is, well, we can't come up with an alternative, so we can't write anything else, either."

"If you can't think of something…you can't write it down."

"Exactly. In other words, this exercise wasn't directed at us."

I get the feeling that Haruaki just hit the bull's eye. He must be right.

In other words, Otonashi-san doesn't care about most of her classmates and is only doing this for the person who can actually think of something else.

I understand why Haruaki seemed so depressed just now. I mean, he fell for her at first sight. His confession might have been half in jest, but I don't know of anyone else he's confessed to. So he was actually more or less sincere.

But she didn't return his affections. His existence was being ignored…just like Daiya said.

"…Haruaki, you're surprisingly bright."

"The 'surprisingly' is unnecessary!"

While I try to hide my rude comment behind a bashful smile, Haruaki reacts by smiling bitterly.

"See you later. If I don't leave now, I'll get killed by my seniors. No, I'm not exaggerating!"

"Ah, yeah. Go for it."

Our so-so baseball team seems to be pretty demanding.

I look down at my blank sheet of paper. I am about to write 'Aya Otonashi', but just can't do it.

I gaze at Otonashi-san. Her expression doesn't change in the slightest as she looks through the papers that were handed to her. I guess 'Aya Otonashi' is written on every single one.

—someone who can't think of anything can't write anything.

"——"

Then what am I supposed to do?

After all that, I do manage to think of something. For some reason, the absurd name 'Maria' comes to mind.

I'm aware that something's wrong with me. 'Maria' of all things. I have no idea where this name came from. If I hand my paper to her with this name, she will just roar something at me, like 'You've gotta be kidding me!'

But what if this is, by chance, the answer she's wishing for…?

After some severe equivocation, I start writing on the piece of 10cm by 10cm recycled paper.

'Maria'

I stand up and head over to Otonashi-san. There isn't a line anymore. Looks like I am the last person left. I nervously hand her my paper. Otonashi-san accepts it wordlessly.

Then she looks at what's written there.

And her expression changes. Massively.

"…eh?"

Otonashi-san's eyes are wide open, even though she didn't show the slightest stirrings of unease when facing off against our teacher and Daiya?

"Fufufu…"

She suddenly bursts into laughter.

"Hoshino."

"Oh, you remembered my name."

I instantly regret saying that. Because, when she stops laughing, she scowls at me as if I were her arch-enemy.

"…You…! Are you freaking kidding me?!?"

She seems to have frantically suppressed her anger, since she only manages to speak in a low, chesty voice. I expected the 'kidding' part, but the tone of her voice is rather surprising.

She seizes me by the collar with all her strength.

"Wa! I-I'm sorry! I-It's not like I was messing with you…"

"So you're telling me that you can write such an answer without it being some kind of joke?"

"…err, well. You…might be right. I might have been kidding around."

This may have been the finishing blow.

Without ever letting go of my collar, she drags me in her wake, all the way to the back of the school building.

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