Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 11 - Chapter 1.5

5

Takumi dragged him to a building a good five minutes away from the bustle of the main square.

“This is it,” he said after carefully comparing the sign outside with the directions on his phone.

Takumi pulled Sakuta into the elevators. The crowds had thinned out enough that there was no risk of getting lost anymore, but Takumi showed no signs of releasing the rucksack strap.

They rode the elevator to the fourth floor, where the restaurant was waiting. Takumi stopped in front of the floor map, his eyes searching for a creative Japanese cuisine izakaya.

Takumi finally released his strap once they were outside the restaurant doors. They pushed through the (extremely modern-looking) hanging curtains.

“Welcome,” a young male staff member said with impeccable manners.

“Oh, they’re with us,” said a bespectacled college guy behind them.

“Kodani!” Takumi raised a hand. “Sorry, we’re a bit late.”

This must be Ryouhei Kodani.

“This way,” Ryouhei said, waving them farther in.

The interior had that upscale, successful shop atmosphere and just the right amount of customers.

“Here we are!” Ryouhei said, at the very back. The meeting place was a semiprivate room with tatami floors, and pits beneath low tables. There were partitions so you couldn’t see the next table over. It had enough space for six adults to kick back and relax.

The window offered a view of the night scenery outside. Sadly, it didn’t include the Ferris wheel, but the reflections of the city lights on the water were plenty colorful. The view was spectacular.

“C’mon in, sit! The girls said they just reached the station.”

Sakuta moved to the back corner, Takumi next to him, and Ryouhei by the door, all on the same side of the table.

“One girl’s running late, so we’re gonna start when the other two get here,” Ryouhei relayed, eyes on his phone. He seemed like he knew what he was doing; he must have set up plenty of mixers before.

When his eyes met Sakuta’s, Ryouhei sat up straight on his knees as he formally introduced himself.

“I believe we met before at the core curriculum party, but I’m Ryouhei Kodani. I’m a second-year in international management.”

He then held out a small piece of paper—his business card. It said:

Ryouhei Kodani, Social Ecology Club, Ecologist/Director

“Hi, first-year statistical science, Sakuta Azusagawa. I don’t have a card.”

“That’s fine! No formalities needed here.”

“I concur.”

“A very formal word!”

Ryouhei was the only one laughing.

“So what exactly is a social ecology club?”

He knew what each of those words meant on their own but had never seen them all together like that.

“Oho, are you interested by any chance?” Ryouhei asked like he had been waiting for this exact moment. He pushed up his glasses as he launched into a detailed explanation.

“We’re partnered up with similar groups at schools around the city, but basically, the idea is that environmental issues are connected to the systems of control within our society, and we meet up regularly to debate and exchange views related to that concept. Our membership includes a famous sociologist who’s been on TV, and our meeting the other day covered the economy, power structures, hierarchies, and the potential that resides in sustainable decision-making, which included discussions about SDGs and ESG investment. We went all night long!”

An absolute stream of unfamiliar jargon poured out of his mouth and left Sakuta even more clueless as to what this club actually did.

“I see,” he said, nodding.

“If you want to know more, hit me up any time. Use the code!”

Ryouhei tapped a QR code on his business card.

“But I am relieved you came,” he said, sitting back down. “I’ve been looking for a chance to talk to you.”

“Already spoken for.”

“Not like that!” Ryouhei laughed heartily. Then—

“Oh, here! Sorry, we’re one minute late!”

“That’s basically on time.”

Two girls came in. One was short with long hair, and the other average height with a bob cut.

“Coming in!”

The smaller one pulled her boots off and stepped into the room first. She wore a dress with a cardigan over it. The other wore a long skirt and a sweater and had a denim jacket slung over her shoulders.

They sat down, and once their drinks arrived, Sakuta’s first ever mixer that wasn’t for school got underway.

“Thanks for coming out today! It’s a pleasure,” Ryouhei said.

They all tapped glasses, and he introduced himself. Name, major, year, what he was into these days. Takumi followed suit, and Sakuta after him.

There was a round of applause after each little speech, which helped keep the party going. Ryouhei, Takumi, and the girls were all smiling happily.

Sakuta was doing his part to keep the party going, but half the things they said went in one ear and out the other. Half his mind was on something else.

Specifically, what he’d seen outside the station.

What did Ikumi Akagi’s behavior mean?

He couldn’t stop thinking about it.

So despite them all introducing themselves, he was none too confident on the girls’ names. They were calling each other Chiharu and Asuka, so he went with that.

The smaller one was Chiharu, and the one with an average build was Asuka.

The conversation drifted from introductions to their backgrounds. How close their high schools had been, where they’d gone for sporting matches, speculating if they’d ever run into each other, et cetera.

It was a city college, so lots of students were from Yokohama, or at least Kanagawa Prefecture. Everyone but Takumi here.

There were many moments of finding common ground, a whole chorus of “I know!” and “I’ve been there!” Chiharu and Asuka were pulling up pics from high school so Takumi could follow along. The first half hour flew by.

Everyone ordered a second drink, and Chiharu was hunting for another photo to share when her phone vibrated.

“Oh, the last girl just reached the station.”

If she was on the platform at Sakuragicho Station, it’d take her ten minutes to reach them. The Halloween crowds would slow her down a bit.

“Oh, right, look here!”

Chiharu fired off an answer, then turned her phone to the boys.

The screen was showing a tweet.

Going to a mixer in Sakuragicho on October 31! Might meet the boy of my dreams! #dreaming

“This hashtag dreaming tweet came true!”

Sakuta hadn’t heard that phrase often, but he figured it meant the blue word at the end with the symbol in front.

“You go to mixers every day,” Asuka said, eating her yakitori. “It was bound to come true eventually.”

“But I wrote this a month ago! I’d totally forgotten!”

“Are you sure?” Ryouhei asked, looking suspicious.

“I swear!” Chiharu cried, a reaction Ryouhei had clearly been hoping for. She insisted he check the tweet’s date.

Takumi was laughing at this.

Only Sakuta was totally lost.

“What’s this hashtag dreaming thing?” he asked, figuring he’d be left behind otherwise. Chiharu, Asuka, and Ryouhei all looked shocked.

“You’ve never heard of it?!”

“Azusagawa doesn’t have a phone, so he’s clueless about these things,” Takumi explained.

“For real?”

“Are you insane?”

Chiharu and Asuka looked even more shocked. Like they were encountering an alien life-form.

Sakuta was both real and sane.

“I’ve had this conversation before, so let’s skip to the part where it’s over.”

“Well, it’s new to us!” Chiharu laughed, enjoying his dry humor. She talked all sugary sweet but caught on quick. It was surprisingly fun to talk to her.

“So what is this hashtag thing?” he asked.

Ryouhei stepped in to answer. “It was originally just a tag for dreams you had.”

“And tags are markers for particular conversation topics,” Takumi added, tipping back his glass.

Ryouhei nodded. “But lately there’s a rumor going around that tagged dreams are coming true,” he said. “I’ve looked into it a bit, and there are people out there who dreamed about the next big celebrity scandal or major flooding. Prophetic dreams.”

“And I dreamed about this mixer!” Chiharu said, showing him her phone again as if demanding he add her to the list of dreamers.

“Dreams that tell the future, hmm?” Sakuta said, taking a sip of his oolong tea. He wasn’t sure if he believed this, but it wasn’t entirely out of the question. He knew a high school girl who could run a simulation of several months in the future while she slept. This would be easy enough for the petite devil.

“Nobody’s buying it, Chiharu.”

“Mean!”

Anyone could see that Chiharu wasn’t the least bit upset. It didn’t seem like she actually believed the rumors, either. It was just another topic to keep the conversation hopping, no more, no less. For all his claims of looking into it, Ryouhei didn’t seem to feel any different. Takumi and Asuka, too—it was just another urban legend. Just a fun thing to chat about. No one would take something that silly seriously.

Any other day, Sakuta would have let it pass himself.

He would have loved to do that today.

The reason he couldn’t was simple—he’d seen what Ikumi Akagi did outside the station.

And once the idea was lodged in his head, he couldn’t let it drop.

“Um, were there any posts about the square outside Sakuragicho today?”

“Ho-ho. You’re more curious about social media than I thought, Azusagawa. Lemme check.”

They didn’t suspect a thing. To them, it was just part of the fun. A few seconds later, all four found the post.

“‘I dreamed a pumpkin lantern fell and hurt a kid dressed as Little Red Riding Hood. Worst dream ever,’” Takumi read.

Sakuta leaned over and checked the day. September 30. One month ago.

He would rather not have known.

How had Ikumi known to stop the girl before the lantern fell?

The mystery was solved.

Just rumors and urban legends. But Ikumi had believed them and saved Little Red Riding Hood.

Like a real hero.

Now he knew how she’d done it, but that still left a lot of mysteries.

If anything, it raised more questions than it answered.

Why had she acted on it?

Had she found the post by accident and just been curious?

Miniskirt Santa had said she’d given Ikumi a present. Was that related?

Before Sakuta could collect his thoughts, Chiharu handed him a menu. “What’re you drinking next?” she asked.

He still had half his tea, but he’d probably finish that before the next round arrived, so he ordered a third.

Then he handed the menu back.

She took it from him, making eye contact, cheeks a bit flushed. Eyes filled with curiosity. He could tell where this was going.

“Want some edamame?” he asked, attempting to deflect it.

“Thanks,” she said. Chiharu opened the pod and ate the contents with almost palpable relish. “Yum—wait, I was just about to ask you something!”

She dropped the pod, catching on to his ploy. No worming out of it now.

“Azusagawa, is it true you’re dating Mai Sakurajima?”

Asuka and Ryouhei were staring at him, too.

Only Takumi was still oohing over how good the tomatoes were.

“Not at all,” he fibbed. He was pretty sure this room would get the joke.

“I knew it!” Chiharu played along without missing a beat.

“You are, though!” Takumi yelped, thumping him.

“I guess,” he admitted reluctantly. He didn’t want to say too much—Mai did not need another media frenzy.

“How do you even meet famous people?” Asuka asked.

“Go to the same high school?”

“That wouldn’t get you anywhere! There had to be an event that started everything.”

Chiharu held out a fake microphone in his direction. She even did the reporter voice.

“I slipped out of class in the middle of exams.”

“You did?!” both girls squealed.

“Went out to the empty field.”

“And?!” Ryouhei joined them.

“Then I yelled ‘I love you!’ so loud the whole school heard.”

“Seriously?” Chiharu asked in pure disbelief. Asuka and Ryouhei matched her.

“All true. I was in class, watching,” a woman’s voice said. Not Chiharu or Asuka. And obviously not Sakuta.

He’d heard that voice before…

…but couldn’t quite put a face to it.

Sakuta looked up and saw a college girl peering into the room.

“Huh?”

He made a very stupid-sounding noise. Not further words followed it. Just a strangled little croak.

Ignoring him, the third girl took off her shoes and stepped up onto the tatami.

“Sorry I’m late. First-year in nursing school, Saki Kamisato,” she said.

Sakuta’s brain flashed back to Yuuma’s remarks the day before.

 “You got anything to say to me?”

 “I knew you hadn’t noticed.”

 “I ain’t telling now. It’ll be funnier that way.”

And Sakuta realized that had all been leading up to this.