3
They swung by the office, then left the school. The sky had given way to night.
Sakuta’s footsteps brought him toward the gate, and Ikumi’s followed alongside.
“We walked like this that day,” she said, facing forward.
She must have been talking about the day he’d spent in her world. His first time meeting this Ikumi.
“Do you remember what we talked about?”
“You yelled at me for not turning in the class log.”
“I was helping.”
Not yelling. She laughed.
“It was reasonably intimidating.”
“…Still, I’m surprised you remembered me.”
“Meeting you then is why I remembered. Like, oh yeah, she was in my third-year class.”
That was how fuzzy his memories of her had been. He’d only formed a clear picture of who Ikumi Akagi was in that other world.
If he hadn’t met Ikumi there, even if she’d called out to him that first day here, he’d never have dug up her name. He’d have had to go, “Who are you again?”
“So I guess you made an impact on me.”
“……”
Ikumi said nothing else. Like she had that day, she just walked quietly next to him. But they had said things then. Enough that she would ask about it.
“What did you almost say to me?”
“Azusagawa…”
She’d called his name, looking tense.
Her eyes turned his way for a moment, like she’d steeled her nerves.
“Seems like you’ve forgotten what I said next.”
“You just said, ‘Never mind.’”
Weird to remember her deciding not to say a thing.
“Did you say the rest to the other me?”
“If I’d finished the line then, what would you have done?”
Ikumi seemed a little unsure of herself.
“I’d have been pretty chuffed.”
“…Even with your amazing girlfriend?”
“I ain’t popular enough to get sick of confessions.”
“You just can’t answer a question straight, can you?”
“Like you do.”
She laughed.
They were both deflecting. Most of their conversations were like that.
“Is there a point in asking someone out when you know the answer?” Ikumi asked.
“A while back, I had someone I lost track of without saying my piece. I went after them but couldn’t find them anywhere. And I wished I’d said it while I still could.”
“So you think I should?”
“That’s just how it worked for me.”
He couldn’t say what was best for her. All he could say was how he’d felt about it when it was his turn.
“…Well, I’ll bear that in mind,” she said, after a long, thoughtful silence.
That was a very Ikumi response.
“If the other Sakuta’s better, you can say whatever.”
He’d probably handle it well.
“Say what you feel. Love, hate, frustration, I’m sick of your goddamn face—you know, whatever.”
“Should I tell him this was your idea?”
“Go right ahead.”
He’d never meet the other Sakuta. They were unable to coexist on a quantum level. Rio had explained that principle once.
They left the gates behind and moved to the railroad crossing. As if it had been waiting for them, the bells started ringing, warning of the next train’s approach.
He could see a train slowly rounding the curve from Kamakura, bound for Fujisawa Station. If he was headed home, he’d want to catch that train—or be stuck waiting more than ten minutes.
His high school years had ingrained that habit, and he started walking fast. He made it across the tracks before the gates dropped.
But Ikumi was no longer with him.
He turned back and found her standing on the far side of the crossing. Only five or six yards away. A few steps. But the path was already blocked.
“This is good-bye,” she said, yelling over the bells.
“You’re sure?” he said, calling back.
“I feel ready.”
Her smile was genuine, like she’d accomplished something. A much brighter expression than anything he’d seen in the classroom. Sakuta wasn’t sure what that meant, or what the word ready implied.
“What…?” But before he could ask—
“Message from the other me,” Ikumi said, bending down. She grabbed the left cuff of her wide-leg pants and pulled it way up, revealing her entire leg.
The pale skin of her thigh.
Something written on it in black marker.
Waiting at the reunion.
He was even more confused. But even as his head spun, he felt a wave of panic rising. Maybe this wasn’t over yet. If there was still a chance she’d hurt someone—
And the look on her face confirmed that fear.
She’d seen his expression—and smiled.
“You saw that post?”
The train was almost here. He could barely hear her.
“What’s your plan, Akagi?!” he yelled.
But all he got in return was her mouthing, “Good-bye.”
A moment later, the train from Kamakura hit the crossing. It rolled slowly between Sakuta and Ikumi.
A four-car train, two cars of one design, the others of another. That felt very long right now. The noise of bells added to his fretting, rising up through the soles of his feet. The stress squeezed his body. Each time there was a gap in the train, he tried to catch a glimpse of the other side, but it was too brief to make out much of anything.
That repeated three times, and finally, the train cleared the crossing.
And the view opened up again.
“……?!”
He’d anticipated it. Seen it coming.
And it was just like he’d expected. Ikumi was gone.
Yet his body still reeled with shock. New questions poured into his mind.
“……”
An entirely different girl stood where Ikumi had been.
The bells stopped.
The gates lifted.
And the knapsack kid walked over the crossing, careful not to get her feet caught in the rails.
He knew this kid.
She looked just like the child actress Mai Sakurajima.
Sakuta knew instinctively this was the same girl he’d met before.
The one who’d taken him to that other potential world.
But she’d grown up since then.
When they’d first met, she’d looked to be in first grade.
When he’d last seen her on the day of his college entrance ceremony, she’d still been pretty tiny.
But the girl coming through the crossing looked to be in fifth or sixth grade. The change in her appearance didn’t match the flow of time.
Paying no heed to his consternation, the Mai-like girl trotted right past Sakuta. Her hair flowed out behind her, catching the corner of his eye.
“Wait!” he yelped.
He turned—
“……Huh?”
—and she was no longer there.
“……”
Were his eyes playing tricks on him? He found that hard to believe. But he didn’t have time to stand here thinking about it.
Waiting at the reunion.
If that message was from Ikumi, he had to go.
If she really did hurt someone, that would sure suck.
Sakuta had hoped his role would end by summoning Ikumi to Minegahara, and he had very much not planned on going an extra round.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login