Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 12 - Chapter 3.7

7

“This is getting weird.”

Relaxing in the tub, Sakuta was talking to himself again.

He glanced at the water and saw his own goofy mug looking back at him.

It really had taken an odd turn.

Yet despite that, two things were clear.

First, the dream he’d had about Christmas Eve. At least now he knew why he’d been with Sara.

Second, the nature of Sara’s Adolescence Syndrome.

He hadn’t observed any supernatural stuff going on around her, and this explained why.

“Remote viewing…”

She’d said no matter how far away she was, she could tell what someone was doing and thinking. The whole thing took place entirely inside her mind. That would make it hard for him to tell.

But what was that like?

If he took what she’d said at face value, she could even see him now, in the bath. But assuming she had kept her word, she was showing discretion and not peeping at him at times like that. In other words, she wasn’t viewing him right this instant. Logically, no matter what he did or thought, Sara wouldn’t know.

“If the cause really is quantum entanglement…”

An idea was forming in his head.

Rio had given him a lecture on quantum entanglement a while back. Two particles that struck each other with a certain degree of force inexplicably began to behave alike. Once connected like that, no matter how far apart, they would always act the same—a baffling fact.

Naturally, all that occurred on a scale too small for the human eye to see.

Rio had insisted it was ridiculous to apply this to a macro level.

But if you chose to be ridiculous, then no matter how far apart he and Sara were, his state would be communicated to her. That’s how she could see what he saw and know what he was thinking.

And if that was true, the reverse might be, too.

Could Sakuta share Sara’s state?

Maybe he already was.

And just hadn’t noticed.

Didn’t know they were entangled.

Or didn’t believe it.

The truth became manifest when it was perceived.

“Feels like a long shot…”

But he tried closing his eyes.

Naturally, he couldn’t see a thing.

All he could hear was the whir of the bathroom fan.

He couldn’t see or hear anything else.

This was normal. The natural result. It made sense that things weren’t going to be that easy. Sakuta’s ideas rarely worked out. Maybe if Rio had suggested it…

But no sooner had that thought crossed his mind than he heard music playing.

“……”

He wasn’t hearing things. That was music. It felt like he had headphones on. And now he was pretty sure that’s exactly what he was hearing.

He’d heard this song before.

It was one of Touko Kirishima’s numbers.

He opened his eyes and found his mind no longer in the tub.

He was lying on a bed in an all-new room. Face down, with a pillow as a cushion, playing with a phone.

Looking at winter date outfits.

Obviously excited.

That thrill of anticipation.

There were clear thoughts, too.

 That’s cute.

 Would Sakuta-sensei like this sort of thing?

 Urgh, I just don’t know. What do I go with?

 Let’s find something better.

Fingers ran across the screen.

 Gotta decide where to go.

 If we end up at his college…

 We hafta hit Kamakura first, yeah.

 In which case…

As if interrupting the stream of thoughts, a voice came from outside the room.

“Sara, take your bath. Or Dad’ll go in first!”

“Augh, wait! I’m coming!”

The music stopped, and the headphones popped out.

While getting up from the bed, he caught a glimpse of a cutesy girl’s bedroom. The curtain pattern, the little decorations on the desk, complete with a miniature cactus…

The girl opened the closet and grabbed some pajamas and clean underwear. He could see Sara reflected in the mirror nearby.

The entire sequence felt like looking into a mirror and seeing someone else.

He flinched and opened his eyes.

“……”

Back in the old bathroom.

His dumb face still floating on the water.

“I guess that’s what it feels like.”

When Sara had talked about remote viewing, she hadn’t meant she could see him. She saw what he saw. His thoughts echoed inside her own head.

A strange experience, indeed.

He thought about experimenting further…

But Sara had been about to take a bath, so this was hardly the time. And he’d be better off not letting her know he could view her right back. She probably wouldn’t appreciate that.

Sakuta considered what he’d seen.

She was really looking forward to it.

To December 24.

That was what he’d wanted…

But seeing it for himself brought a twinge of guilt. Not a pleasant feeling. He wasn’t comfortable with much of this, especially trying to take advantage of her Adolescence Syndrome.

“Yeesh…”

But he couldn’t afford to back down.

He didn’t intend to either.

“Sakuta, phone call from Mai.”

Kaede’s voice, outside the door.

“Tell her I’ll call her right back!” he said, heaving himself out of the tub. He’d been in the water longer than usual and felt a little light-headed. But he didn’t have time to sit around fanning himself. Even in this condition, he had to think fast.

How was he going to tell Mai about the twenty-fourth?

“It’d be great if we could postpone the trip…”

Outside the bathroom, he said a silent prayer and dialed Mai’s number.