Haruma-5
From Tokyo we took the train and got off in the backlands of Saitama at Chigusa’s say-so. The ground smelled strongly of thick, green grass. The mountain covered the area in a dark shade, but the path leading from the front of the station glimmered with the evening light and hazy sheen of old streetlamps.
We walked for a while after getting off at the station. When I looked over my shoulder, I couldn’t see the low buildings anymore, and when I looked in front of me, the land was filled with rice paddies.
On the winding path behind the private residences, frogs croaked in that hazy area between the fields. I could not see one flicker of uncertainty in Chigusa’s steps. Finally, after passing a cluster of houses, we came upon a house that was disconnected from all the others.
When Chigusa swaggered up to the house and checked the nameplate, it did indeed say Kuriu.
“…You sure know your way around here,” I said, half-surprised as well as half-intrigued.
Chigusa cocked her head questioningly. “Doesn’t everyone know where Sensei lives?”
“No, they don’t. This isn’t the Showa era…”
Back in the old days, teachers and students knew each other’s personal information, apparently. It’d be unheard of these days to carry around a sheet of paper with everyone’s phone number and address written on it.
We tried ringing the bell on the Kuriu residence door, but there was no response. We circled the perimeter, but we couldn’t see anything resembling lights even when we peered at the windows on the first and second floors. It was dusk time now, so there should have been at least one light on…
“It appears she’s not at home. That’s more convenient for us, though.” Chigusa tried turning the doorknob, but it was locked, as you’d expect. “Urk…”
Chigusa moaned in frustration and tried the same thing all over again like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!”
Well, it wasn’t like I couldn’t understand her aggravation. Depending on the situation, I’m pretty much guaranteed to get aggravated when some suspicious person makes eyes at Amane-chan. Er, not that I’m a siscon or anything, though.
I glanced around to get my bearings about this place and then put two and two together. “This house is quite some distance away from the others. There’s no traffic at all either.”
“Indeed. Haruma-san, if you were to infiltrate the house and shout for help at the top of your lungs, no one would notice.”
I sighed. “Idiot. Even if I was with my class in a big town, no one would notice me if I looked for help.”
“I think that’s just because they’re all trying to sever their connections with you, Haruma-san…”
Chigusa made a sound argument, but I decided to ignore her. People use sound arguments when they’re trying to blame others, not for listening.
“Meh, no one’ll notice if there’s no one around.” I paused. “Okay, should I chuck a rock at the window?”
I mean, come on, this was Saitama. Hardly anyone lived around here, so making a huge racket was no big deal! If there was some kind of noise, they’d probably be suckers and say, “The wind sure is playing up today, how spiffy!” The same action would be dangerous if we were in the sprawling metropolis of Chiba.
As I looked for a conveniently-sized rock, Chigusa’s eyes met mine.
“Hm? What are you doing? If you throw a rock, believing that dialogue is useless, doesn’t that make you a savage who wandered here from the Stone Age?”
“I don’t wanna hear that from you, damn it. It can’t be helped; the door’s locked. Besides, they say that when in Rome do as the Romans do.”
“Haruma-san, what on earth do you think of Saitama…?”
I think it’s the third-lowest prefecture in Kanto. North Kanto? Never heard of it. Is it different from South Tohoku? I, a seedy guy who was born and bred in Tokyo, am fond of the city of Tokyo. I don’t like how Kanagawa pretends to be trendier than Tokyo even though the only city it has that’s worth mentioning is Yokohama. On that note, Chiba attaches “Tokyo” to so many different things that you can’t help but respect Tokyo and see it favourably. I don’t know a thing about Saitama. What does it have going for it? Manju?
As I searched for another rock, deep in thought, Chigusa let out an exaggerated sigh of exasperation. She rustled her hand in her pocket and made a triumphant noise as she pulled out a screwdriver along with some other kind of contraption.
“You can just do it like this, Haruma-san. If I use this magic screwdriver and magic wand… oh my, just like that!”
Chigusa shoved the flathead screwdriver and slender contraption into the keyhole and startled jiggling them around.
“Isn’t that a crime…?”
“It’s magic.”
“I see, so it’s magic…”
At length, the door opened with a hard click. Open Sesame… Was this how this chick got onto the school roof…? I see! Miracles and magic are real!
“Now then, shall we proceed?”
Chigusa pointed at the door, cool as a cucumber.
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