Adachi to Shimamura - Volume 7 - Chapter 1.1

Chapter 1.1 – If Adachi Had Stayed Like She Was at First

Like usual, I found Adachi sitting there on the second floor of the sports hall. I'd come there too, and I suppose you could also say that was like usual as well. The one thing that had changed was the temperature; summer had become autumn, rendering the air around us considerably colder. 
In the same way, the song of cicadas could no longer be heard either. 
"Ah." 
The sound of my approaching footsteps prompted Adachi to stop fiddling with her phone and to lift her head. The bored expression on her face let me know that she hadn't been up to anything interesting in my absence. 
"Yo." 
This short greeting was followed by her lifting her hand just a little bit. I greeted her back much in the same way before placing my bag on the ping-pong table and sitting down next to her. Next to her? Near her? Yeah, let's go with "near her". Somehow that felt more right. Anyway, with that mental conflict solved I then took out the bottle of mineral water I'd bought on my way here, twisted the cap open, and took a sip. 
"Oh, nice. Let me have some too", Adachi demanded, all the while holding her hand out in front of her. I placed the bottle on her palm, prompting her to thank me and take a sip herself—a large one at that; the angle at which she held the bottle showed that she didn't really care that I'd been the one to purchase it. Well, not that I did either. Remaining like I was, I continued staring at her. 
The clear water, its container, and then her. Adachi. 
The subdued colour of her hair, her slender throat. 
She really was quite pretty. So pleasing to the eye, some might even say. 
It was currently noon. Classes were taking place. And yet, as if it were completely natural for us to do so, we were here. 
I was personally more fifty-fifty on whether I decided to skip any given class, but Adachi, she hardly ever showed up. She didn't stray off the path of delinquenthood, nuh-uh. Naturally, that wasn't something that earned her much praise. 
I wonder, what did Adachi do while I wasn't around? Where did she go? 
I could ask her, sure, but I really didn't feel like she would be willing to give me a meaningful answer. She'd probably just say something akin to "you know, stuff" and that'd be that. 
"Thanks." 
Though she'd already thanked me earlier, she went ahead and did it a second time anyway. I took the bottle back, grasped it, and immediately proceeded to roll it around within my hand, almost as if stroking its surface. Small amounts of Adachi's residual warmth—slightly low in terms of temperature compared to mine—were transmitted to my palm as I did so. That sensation lasted only for a brief moment before completely vanishing, her warmth melting together with that of my own skin. I then lifted the bottle and stared at the wall of the sports hall through it. 
"........." 
I lowered my hand and gave Adachi a glance. She appeared to be spacing out. It wasn't the case that she was totally expressionless, although having said that, calling her relaxed felt wrong as well. Rather, the impression I got was that the look on her face was formed by the apathy she felt towards her surroundings. This was how she was going to remain till I went out of my way to address her. 
It was in that realisation that I noticed just how much time I had spent looking at her. 
I wasn't sure why, but thinking about that caused my palms to grow just a bit warm. 
"Hey", I spoke out, prompting Adachi to turn my way. The way her hair waved a little as she did so, it truly was pretty. That was something I found myself thinking about quite often. "What do you usually do when you're by yourself?" 
It wasn't my first time asking her this, and yet, I thought I'd do it again. A slightly bothered expression—the exact same as the last time—appeared on Adachi's face. 
"Well, you know. Stuff?" 
Her head remained slightly tilted to the side as she mumbled this. It seemed that the things she spent her time doing weren't the sort that could be easily put to words. 
I see. 
If she was unable to tell me, then I'd just have to have her show me instead. 
"Okay then. Pretend like you're by yourself." 
"Huh?" 
"I'll go over there and watch." 
Adachi proceeded to stare at me utterly confused. I got the impression she didn't understand anything I was saying. 
"What the hell?" 
"Like I said. I'll observe you." 
Watching, I added while using my hands to form binoculars around my eyes. 
Completely motionless, Adachi peered inside said binoculars. 
"You want me to... pretend like you aren't here?" 
"Yes, yes. Exactly." 
"Huh? But, that's tough. I mean, you are here." 
"I get that, yes." 
Having said that, I gave Adachi's shoulder a quick tap. 
"Good luck. I believe in you." 
"What?" 
Adachi's eyes grew narrow. She looked like she didn't really want to bother. However, after waiting for a few more moments, she eventually grabbed her bag and got up in a way that could only be described as reluctant. My, how exciting. I quickly followed after her. 

Together, we exited the sports hall, and sticking as close to the wall as possible in order to minimize the risk of being seen by a teacher, made our way towards the main gate with Adachi in the lead. After a few dozen or so steps, a gap appeared in the shadow cast by the building's wall, placing us in direct sunlight as we continued walking forth. There, I shifted my gaze upwards. 
"Whoa..." 
The ringing in my ears was accompanied by white clouds swimming in an azure flow. 
Truly, how lovely the sky was. 
That was a line I'd once read in a certain manga, and ever since then, I often found myself repeating it in my mind. 
As much as I personally thought that this weather was perfect for a nice stroll, I knew that I couldn't do so. Not today. I had to keep my eyes on Adachi. Maintaining some distance between us, I continued staring at her from behind. 
Her posture was just a bit hunched. Not only that, there was something off about the way she was walking too. If I had to describe it, I'd say that it almost seemed like she was choosing to take multiple smaller steps where a single larger one would've sufficed just as well. All this was to say, there was nothing delinquent-ish about her appearance. Nevertheless, I did get the impression that this wasn't her first time doing this—walking outside when she was supposed to be sitting in class, that was. 
It was there that Adachi turned to look at me over her shoulder. I lifted my hand and waved at her. Feebly, she returned the gesture before turning back around. 
She continued walking forward with short steps. Thinking about it, wasn't it true that Adachi came to school by bike? 
Every now and then, Adachi would sneak a peek at me, and each time she did so, our eyes ended up meeting. She really wasn't doing a good job with regard to the whole ignoring me part, was she? Hmm, yes. I'd figured that this might be tough for her, and it seemed like I had been right. After the umpteenth time of that happening, Adachi stopped to a halt. 
She waited for me to catch up to her before throwing in the towel. 
"Yeah, no. This is impossible." 
"Huh?" 
"Can't we just walk together?" she added, all the while using her hands to showcase the ample amount of empty space next to her. 
These words of hers were followed by her quickly shifting her gaze to the side. It was almost as if she felt too embarrassed to look at me straight. Why was it that I found the way she did that so adorable? I wondered about that myself. 
Staring up at the sky, I came to the conclusion that one of these ways was definitely better than the other. 
"Sure, let's do that." 
That's enough observing you for one day, I proclaimed while taking my place next to her. Still walking, we then exited the school premises. 
Where to go now? 
I found all this strangely exciting for some reason. It was as if I was walking along a crosswalk that never ended while only stepping on the white parts. 
"It's so... boring." 
"Huh?" 
This time, Adachi didn't turn to look my way. 
"I do that often when I'm walking around by myself. I think about how boring everything is." 
It took me a few moments to realise what she was talking about here. Yes, yes. That was supposed to have been a comment she'd make when by herself. It seemed like she'd actually been paying attention to what I'd talked about. How nice. 
"That's all." 
Satisfied? Adachi asked with her eyes. 
Yep, I replied using my own. 
Really, who did I think I was? I couldn't help but feel like bit of a goof. 
"I see..." 
Like water seeping through the cracks in a block of ice, what Adachi had just done was expose a part of herself to me. It was quite the rare occurrence. 
While the sudden change in temperature did cause my body to shiver slightly, I still accepted her gesture nonetheless. 
It was only after taking a few more steps that a question appeared in my mind. 
"........." 
What about walking with me? Did she find that boring? 
I found it impossible to glean anything off her plain expression. 
It was for that reason exactly why I decided that one of these days, I would ask her directly. 

That day was followed by another. 
Like usual, we were there, sitting on the second floor of the sports hall. 
I really did find it quite comfortable up there. My heart felt like it was resting on something soft. 
Truly, this was my sanctuary. Haha. I guess that was one way to put it. 

Today's Adachi 

I had a dream last night. 
In it, I was soaring through space on the head of a giant Yashiro. 
It was quite fun. 
I can remember myself grinning. Of course, were I to ever find myself that high up in reality, I'd probably feel more uneasy than anything. It's one of the reasons why I'm of the opinion that dreams should always stay just that, dreams.