Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 12 - Chapter 1.5

5

Fourth-period core curriculum ended ten minutes before the bell rang.

“It’s a bit early, but that’s all for today.”

The professor piled up their things and left the room. Not one student complained about the early dismissal. They were already chatting with friends.

“Ready to hit the road?” Takumi Fukuyama asked. He was a friend of Sakuta’s from class. He packed up and shouldered his backpack.

“Sorry, I got stuff to do.”

“Another date? Jealous! You go have fun, then. Later!”

After delivering a dizzying array of emotions, Takumi stalked away.

“Boy needs to get a grip,” Sakuta muttered.

Then someone else approached.

“Azusagawa, hola.”

This greeting came from the international business major Miori Mitou. Since Sakuta was a statistical science major, their only classes in common were the core curriculum and their secondary foreign language course—Spanish.

“On your own today, Mitou?”

She usually left class with her female friends.

“Manami’s crowd all skipped together.”

“Just the girls?”

“And some guys.”

“From the mixer you got lost on the way to?”

“Yep.”

She seemed mildly miffed—had she been left out? Probably.

“Well, that’s nice.”

“Aggravating!”

She narrowed her eyes and lashed out at Sakuta, even though her other friends were to blame. For some reason, he always found that side of her likable.

“I mean, if you go, you’ll snare all the boys’ hearts and leave the other girls empty-handed.”

“I am that bitch.”

That sounded like both a joke and genuinely bitter.

At the very least, Miori was well aware of how other people saw her.

“Oh, and I saw Mai,” she said, changing the subject and putting both hands on the desk, leaning in.

“That happens. She does go here.”

“We had core English together third period. And her hand was all sparkly.”

She was really playing that up to tease him.

“Was that a birthday present from you?”

“Mai didn’t tell you?”

“She was radiating happiness too hard. I didn’t dare ask. Rings sure are nice!”

Miori turned her gaze to the ceiling, rapturous.

This surprised Sakuta.

He found it hard to imagine her putting any special value on jewelry.

And that impression turned out pretty accurate.

Her next line revealed what was really going on here.

“I wanted to give Mai a present.”

“You’re more the type people give to.”

“But I’ve got no one promising, so I wouldn’t want any gifts to begin with.”

Sakuta found this reasonable, more or less. She was checking to see if he’d followed, and he probably did. The gift giver and receiver each had their own feelings, and it was only enjoyable for everyone involved when those feelings aligned. There was no inherent meaning in the ring itself.

And Miori currently had no one she wanted a gift from.

“Oh, and my birthday—”

“Lines like that are why you’re in demand.”

He interrupted her to point out what was causing her problems. It was the right thing for him to do as a potential friend.

“I only talk like this with you, Azusagawa.”

“And lines like that are why you’re in demand.” It’s like she hadn’t heard a single word he’d said.

“Then how should I talk to boys?” she asked grumpily. She almost made it seem like this was his fault.

“‘Nice weather we’re having’?”

“What’s fun about that?”

Being boring was the point, but Miori didn’t seem to get it.

At this point, a bell rang, indicating the end of fourth period.

“I’ve got a fifth—better run. Chao!”

Miori waved and left the room, tote bag in one hand.

Sakuta didn’t watch her leave. He just got up and put his backpack on.

Once the bell rang, there was no time to waste.

Sakuta had promised to call Touko after class.

Miori aside, there weren’t many students with fifth-period classes, so once fourth period ended, the campus vibe switched to “after class.”

Students headed off to practice or clubs, or they rushed off to their jobs.

Sakuta left the building and found a throng headed down the tree-lined path toward the main gates.

He stepped out of that flow of people by the clock tower to use the public phones there.

Sakuta had never seen anyone else use them. They might as well have existed exclusively for him.

He lifted the receiver and dropped in a coin. He set a stack of ten-yen coins on top, just in case, and punched in eleven digits.

The call was picked up as soon as it rang.

At that speed, she’d likely been using the phone as it started ringing.

“Azusagawa speaking. I believe I have an appointment.”

“I’m by the front gate.”

She hung up without another word.

After collecting the unused coins, he left the phones behind.

He headed down the path to the main gate.

Not long after, he saw his destination through the crowd.

But a miniskirt Santa was nowhere to be found.

Even after going past the gates, he failed to locate Touko’s red outfit.

“Should I just wait?”

But on the phone, she’d said she was already there.

Not sure what to make of her absence, Sakuta stepped off to the side.

And found someone already there.

Like him, they were waiting for someone?

She wore short culottes, black tights, and boots. On top, she had a shaggy sweater with a long coat over it.

Sakuta didn’t want to get uncomfortably close, so he stopped a good five steps away and waited for Touko to show.

But for some reason, the girl called out to him.

“Is this a joke? Or just spite?”

He only worked it out when he placed her voice.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Kirishima,” he said, as if nothing had happened. “Turns out even Santa Claus wears street clothes.”

Sakuta had just assumed he’d be meeting a miniskirt Santa, so he failed to spot her even though she was in plain sight. Even her makeup was a dramatic departure from her Santa style. The emphasized eyes had given way to a more natural look.

“If you’re that dense, you must be a constant disappointment to that girlfriend of yours.”

“Every now and then she tells me she loves me.”

“This way.”

Touko stalked away from the gates, clearly not in the mood for his boasting.

She turned away from Kanazawa-hakkei Station. They followed the Keikyu Line toward Yokohama for a good five minutes. When they reached the river, they followed that for another five.

The more time passed, the more residential the scenery got.

Fifteen minutes after leaving the college, they were lost in a sea of apartment buildings. Upscale exteriors could be seen in every direction. To Sakuta’s eye, they looked rather European. And from the warmer end.

This neighborhood had a very different energy compared to the area around the station and college. If he’d been brought here blindfolded, there was a good chance he would’ve assumed himself in another country.

“You live around here?”

“……”

She pointedly ignored his question.

Their path took them through the complex. He wasn’t sure this place was even open to the public. He was still worrying about that when Touko finally stopped.

They were at the corner of an apartment building, and it had a cake shop in the first-floor retail space.

Touko took a seat on the deserted patio.

“Mont Blanc and an Earl Grey,” she said, looking at Sakuta.

He didn’t want to annoy her, so he entered the shop and put in the order. This was proving to be a very expensive day. His wallet was almost empty.

He asked the staff to bring it to the patio and then went back outside.

Apparently, this place only pureed the chestnut cream to order. That explained why he hadn’t seen any Mont Blancs sitting in the display case. But since this establishment was all about fresh ingredients, the finished cakes expired in two hours.

“You like Mont Blanc?” Sakuta asked, sitting down across from her.

“This place is especially good.”

He’d half expected her to ignore him again, but this time he got an answer. Touko Kirishima did like Mont Blanc. This was not meaningful information, but Sakuta was one small step closer to learning who she was as a person.

At this point, the Mont Blanc arrived. It and the teacup were placed in front of Sakuta.

“You like Mont Blanc?” the waitress asked, setting down a fork next to it.

“I hear this place is especially good,” he said.

Did he look like a boy with a sweet tooth visiting a cake shop alone? Probably.

She smiled at this, said, “Enjoy,” and went back inside. Not once did she notice that Touko was seated across from him.

Proof again that only Sakuta could see her. That didn’t change whether she was dressed as Santa or in ordinary clothes.

“Here,” he said, sliding the cake across to her, along with the fork and tea.

Touko picked up the fork, placed her hands together, and whispered, “Itadakimasu.”

These habits persisted, even alone, even with no one watching. That’s how natural the gesture came out.

And at last, it was time to Mont Blanc. Touko took a bite. The flavor immediately brought a smile to her lips, her whole face singing its praises.

“Anything else bothering you, Kirishima?”

“What do you mean, ‘else’?”

“Anything you can’t do without me around. Like order Mont Blanc here.”

“……”

“This is Adolescence Syndrome, right?”

“Beyond the lack of Mont Blanc, I’m not especially bothered.”

She sounded quite firm.

“Shopping?”

That had been an issue for Mai.

“You can buy anything online.”

“But receiving the packages?”

You couldn’t exactly sign for them while invisible.

“They have drop boxes, and these days, most places will just leave it at your door.”

“……”

“Cat got your tongue?”

“Just feeling my dreams crumble. Santa shopping online, using drop boxes, getting packages piled up on your door.”

“I think having the world made easy is a dream come true.”

That interpretation did make a certain sort of sense. Perhaps to people from the olden days, they were now living in a world only dreamed up in novels and old movies.

“So you’re satisfied with what you’ve got.”

“I’m pretty far from ‘satisfied.’ I want my music reaching way more people.”

Sakuta wasn’t talking about her career. Touko knew that. She’d just said her piece anyway, deflecting from the topic at hand.

Formidable.

“You can do that even if you’re visible.”

“And I can do it even if I’m not.”

Touko was definitely formidable.

“Any idea why you’ve ended up like this?”

With Mai, she’d had an extremely convincing reason why people had stopped perceiving her.

Everyone knew “Mai Sakurajima.” She’d been acting since she was a little kid. Anytime, anywhere—there were eyes on her.

The entire student population at Minegahara had been unsure how to handle the celebrity in their midst.

In a sense, their goals had aligned.

The school had pretended not to notice Mai, and as they ceased to see her, they forgot she existed.

Touko was also not being seen or perceived, but the cause of Mai’s case had been pretty specific. He couldn’t just assume this case was triggered by something similar. The underlying circumstances didn’t line up. The world knew all about Touko Kirishima and her music—but as an anonymous online singer. No one knew who she really was, what she looked like, how old she was, where she was from, her shoe size, or whether she liked Mont Blanc. There was no need to look away, no one unsure how to behave around her.

“But you had a problem that led to this.”

She couldn’t even order her own Mont Blanc and needed Sakuta to do that for her.

“You want to cure my Adolescence Syndrome, then?”

That wasn’t an answer to his question, but it wasn’t a denial, either.

“If you’re deflecting this much, I take it you do know why.”

She hadn’t said she had no problems.

“Is this for me?” Touko asked. Again, not a denial. “Or for someone else?”

She was only answering with questions. Not changing her attitude one bit. Nothing he said rattled her or made her bat an eye.

It didn’t seem like asking again would get him anywhere.

“For me, of course,” he said. Following her lead seemed to be his only option. Maybe that would give him something to work with.

“I don’t see how me being invisible has anything to do with you.”

“I had one of those dreams. The ones that come true.”

He wasn’t sure when he’d received that present. It wasn’t even obvious he had gotten a present until it became impossible to ignore. Sakuta only realized after a suspiciously realistic dream came true. Sara had become his student.

“If that dream is Adolescence Syndrome, it sounds like you’ve got the problem.”

“I certainly do. I keep running into this Santa only I can see.”

“Aha! In that case, curing my Adolescence Syndrome would benefit you.”

Nothing she said offered any real information in it. The smell of the Mont Blanc was richer.

“You plan to keep doling out cases?”

He’d prefer those around him not start sprouting supernatural shit. Especially if that posed a threat to Mai; he had to put a stop to that.

“I’m releasing music. People who watch the videos are just responding to it. ‘That’s a good song!’ ‘It spoke to me!’ ‘It’s like she’s singing what I feel!’ ‘I want to hear more!’ So I keep on singing.”

She gave him a look that demanded to know what was wrong with that.

Nothing was. Touko herself had committed no crime.

But it also wasn’t something he could just let drop. She hadn’t corrected him, either. The words she tossed out were hewing closer to the crux of the matter.

“So you’re aware your music is triggering Adolescence Syndrome?”

“……”

Her fork paused inside the Mont Blanc.

That was why she’d said she let Uzuki read the room. It had reached her through a song. Spread via video-sharing sites.

That’s how she’d given Adolescence Syndrome to ten million people. Looking at the replay numbers, that number was hardly exaggerated. If anything, it was evidence.

Sakuta was one of the people who clicked play.

“When’s your next song coming out?” he asked.

Touko let out a little sigh.

“You calling me constantly is incredibly obnoxious, so I guess I can tell you.”

She turned to him, brimming with confidence. She smiled, relishing this moment.

“I’m working on a new song. A Christmas number I want people hearing on the eve.”

That obviously meant Christmas Eve. December 24. If Touko’s songs had the power to trigger Adolescence Syndrome, then it was all too possible that it would kick off something. Or that song would make it more likely something might occur after that.

“So be a good boy and wait.”

“Why—will something good happen?”

“Santa Claus’s presents make everybody happy.”

Touko did not sound like she was lying. Or like she was making fun of him. She genuinely thought releasing her new song would make everyone happy. She was certainly looking forward to it. But it didn’t have any discernable connection to the threat against Mai. Or explain why he had to find Touko Kirishima.

“Everyone? Even that high school kid?”

He glanced across the lot, where a boy in uniform was parking a bicycle.

“If he’s a good boy.”

“And her?”

A college girl working in the shop was bringing coffee to a table.

“If she’s a good girl.”

“Then what about Mai?”

He was getting nowhere, so he threw out his girlfriend’s name.

“……”

He felt the look in Touko’s eyes shift momentarily. It was too brief for him to read any emotion in them. But there was no denying that Mai’s name had provoked some sort of reaction.

“She doesn’t need it. She’s got everything.”

Her tone hadn’t changed. She was the same Touko he’d been talking to all along. Only the words had changed. He was pretty sure this was the first time she’d expressed a personal opinion about anyone other than Sakuta himself.

“Do you not like Mai?”

There’d been a hint of that behind her words.

“I used to have it in for her. Once.”

Touko admitted it readily, but as a thing of the past.

“Not now?”

“She’s dating this really weird dude, and I kind of admire that.”

That was not necessarily a compliment. It was almost certainly half-sardonic. She was definitely mocking Sakuta himself, twisting the knife. But the “admire” part felt real to him. Authentic.

If he trusted that hunch, then Touko wasn’t trying to harm Mai. That made things easier, but he still couldn’t quite rule out the possibility, even if it seemed all too remote.

Seeking a more definitive answer, he probed deeper.

“Are you doing anything to Mai?”

He forced himself not to blink, watching closely.

And Touko’s response was confusion.

“What are we talking about?” she asked, a beat later. It was a genuine question. Her head was slightly tilted as she looked him right in the eye, evidently thrown by his question.

“How much I love Mai,” he said, looking away and leaning back in his chair. He was relieved. Her reaction suggested Touko herself was extremely unlikely to be the “danger.”

“She really does have the oddest taste in boys. Strange, considering how she must have been spoiled for choice in her line of work.”

Touko polished off the last bite of Mont Blanc, savored the flavor, then washed it down with the long-since-cold Earl Grey.

The empty cup landed on the saucer.

And Touko silently stood up.

This was an unmistakable signal their talk was over. But he couldn’t just let her leave like this. He had to get enough to justify the expense of the cake and tea.

“Can I ask one last thing?”

“What?”

“How does it feel to have that many people hear your music?”

Sakuta stayed seated, peering up at Touko.

Singing—

—and having everyone hear her songs.

That was what mattered most to her right now.

What she’d said today made that clear to him and had prompted this question.

A genuine smile appeared on her lips. It was like she’d been waiting for him to ask.

“There’s nothing like it. Nothing else feels this good.”

She looked fulfilled. The light of accomplishment filled her eyes as she smiled at him from a place of sheer gratification.

A pure, innate emotion.

How could she stop doing something this fun? Why would she even consider it?

Her words, feelings, expression—it all spoke to how absorbed she was in her music.

“Thanks for this,” Touko said. Like his final question had made her day. She waved once and walked merrily away. Sakuta sat watching until she was out of sight.

At last, the lights on the patio came on. Day had turned to night.

It was hard to put his feelings in words.

He’d learned about certain things. And grown more confused about others.

Urgency and understanding were all tangled up in Sakuta’s mind.

But he felt like he’d gained one major hint.

Touko Kirishima’s new song.

He’d have to be extra careful on Christmas Eve.

“If nothing else, I oughtta take some Mont Blanc home.”

When he’d heard the bit about the two-hour time limit from the shopkeeper, he’d wanted to try it himself. He’d give this matter some more thought once he had some sugar in him.

It was Mai’s birthday, and what better reason could there be to eat some cake?