Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 7 - Chapter 2.3

3

He normally walked to the hospital, but today they boarded a bus. It was hard walking through all this snow, and time was of the essence.

Sakuta moved to the back and sat on a seat for two, but instead of sitting down next to him, Tomoe took a seat in front of his. Sakuta’s costume was drawing a lot of attention, and she clearly wanted to pretend she didn’t know him.

“Oh, right, Koga…”

“……”

She even ignored him when he spoke.

“Did you have plans?”

“…For what?”

She glanced over her shoulder, keeping her voice low.

“Only reason you’d be there is if you were hopping on a train.”

Tomoe had found him at the JR gates. It was a bit off the path to the Odakyu Line or the Enoden, so only people taking the JR would pass through there.

“Like I’d have Christmas Eve plans,” she grumbled. “Unlike you, I’m not dating anybody.”

Christmas was evidently a sore point.

“Then why were you there?”

“……”

She turned sideways and gave him a searching look.

He hadn’t meant much by the question, but her reaction suggested there was something to it.

“Well?”

“No reason,” she said with a pout.

She let out a long sigh, and when the bus stopped at a red light, she stood up.

And sat down next to Sakuta.

When the bus pulled out again, she said, “Promise you won’t laugh.”

“I’d prefer a funny story, actually.”

It felt like a long time since anything had made him laugh. There had been too many not-funny things happening one after another.

“Then I’m not telling.”

“Don’t be mean.”

“You were mean first.”

“No, I genuinely meant that.”

“So you don’t, usually?”

“You are fun to tease, Koga.”

She sighed, giving up.

“I had a dream about you last night,” she said reluctantly.

“You did?”

“You were at the station, in trouble. Calling out to everyone around you…but nobody was paying any attention. I couldn’t make out what you were saying, but you sounded pretty desperate.”

“……”

That was exactly what had happened before Tomoe found him.

“But it was a dream, right?”

“Sure, but…we had some weirdness over summer, remember?” she said.

“True.”

That had been Tomoe’s Adolescence Syndrome. Crazily enough, she’d generated a time loop that lasted until she got the future she desired. They’d concluded that she was just simulating the future in her dreams, but Sakuta had gotten pulled into that dream and been forced to loop with her.

“So this dream super bugged me.”

“That’s all?”

“I’d never seen you like that.”

“……”

“I don’t wanna see you crying and screaming.”

“Yeah…”

Maybe what she’d seen was a future after her arrival. He’d certainly been getting pretty desperate, but not quite to the point of breaking down in tears. Tomoe had found him before that happened.

When Sakuta was caught up in Tomoe’s Adolescence Syndrome, Rio had explained the concept of quantum entanglement. Something about two correlated quantum particles capable of exchanging information instantly regardless of distance.

And for those particles to become entangled, there had to be a powerful stimulus—at least, he had a vague recollection of something like that.

“Everyone needs someone you’ve exchanged butt kicks with.”

“Seriously, forget that.”

“Like I ever could.”

“Force yourself.”

“I especially remember when you said, ‘Stronger!’”

“You’re horrible.”

She glared at him, her cheeks red. Her hands were clapped on her butt again, which made this not at all threatening.

“You’re extra cute today, Koga.”

“D-don’t call me cute!”

As they laughed about that, Sakuta hit the button for the next stop.

They got off at the stop by the hospital where Shouko was staying. The white building was right in front of them.

“You need my help…at a hospital?”

“Yeah.”

“We seeing someone here?”

She opened her umbrella and took a few steps forward…then stopped, realizing Sakuta was still at the bus stop.

“Senpai?” she said, turning around. She was already three yards away. “You aren’t coming?”

“Koga.”

“Mm?”

“I need a favor.”

“…What?”

She’d picked up on his grim vibe and was taking this seriously.

“I need you to find the other me.”

“……”

“……”

“Hurr?”

Tomoe let out a very dumb noise.

Several minutes later, Sakuta was in a small mall not far from the hospital. A supermarket, drugstore, bookstore, et cetera surrounded by a largish parking lot.

He was in a phone booth on the corner.

Standing by the phone, he checked the watch he’d borrowed from Tomoe. Before they split up, he’d promised to call her in ten minutes.

For one simple reason: so he could talk to this timeline’s Sakuta—present Sakuta. He had to warn him of what the future held. Present Sakuta needed to know that his actions would cost Mai her life.

Meeting directly would be easier, but if he understood Rio’s lecture correctly, it was impossible for future Sakuta and present Sakuta to meet face-to-face.

But he also knew of one exception. Last summer, during Rio’s bout of Adolescence Syndrome. Rio had been split in two, but they’d been able to talk on the phone.

He checked the watch again. The ten minutes was up.

Sakuta lifted the receiver and dropped in a one-hundred-yen coin—also borrowed from Tomoe. He dialed her cell phone number from the note she’d given him.

A few moments after entering the tenth digit, he heard it ringing.

That alone was a relief.

“Senpai?” Tomoe’s voice came on the line. She definitely sounded pretty rattled. And the reason for that was exactly why he was calling.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“There really are two of you!”

As rattled as she was, he could tell she really wanted to shower him with questions. Knowing that this must be Adolescence Syndrome helped mitigate some of the unavoidable shock.

When Sakuta said nothing else, Tomoe prompted him. “Senpai?”

But answering her questions was more than he could handle now. Confronting his past self had his heart racing.

“Let me talk to the other me.”

“…You’d better explain later.”

He could tell she’d moved the phone away from her ear. He could hear voices talking on the other end. Probably trying in vain to explain what was happening to present Sakuta. A hopeless task.

But it wasn’t long before he heard breathing on the line. Present Sakuta must have decided on the direct approach.

There was a brief intake of breath. Then…

“Are you really me?”

Was that really what Sakuta sounded like?

Present Sakuta wasn’t even trying to hide his suspicion. He came across like a cocky asshole, but it wasn’t like Sakuta didn’t already know that about himself.

“Yep. I’m you from four days in the future,” he said.

He could have started soft, eased himself into it—but he didn’t feel like it.

“Four days?”

“Yep.”

“But that means…”

“I know what’s gonna happen today.”

“……”

That sounded like a gulp.

“And that’s why I’m here to change it.”

“Wait.”

Present Sakuta’s voice was growing hostile.

Sakuta knew exactly why. If future Sakuta was actually from the future, that meant he’d survived. Present Sakuta had worked that out, and that led to the obvious question.

“I wasn’t in an accident?” present Sakuta asked. Clearly stifling his emotions.

“No,” Sakuta said.

“Then Makinohara…” His voice shook. He was obviously crestfallen, certain he’d robbed her of her future.

“Don’t worry. The transplant was a success.”

“……?”

A wordless question, one conveyed through breaths alone.

“Even though I wasn’t in an accident?” he asked slowly. Choosing his words.

“That’s right.” The reply was quiet.

“……”

“So there’s no need for you to go to the scene.”

“……That doesn’t make sense.”

He sounded calm. And very certain.

Present Sakuta knew that didn’t add up. Even this short conversation had been more than enough to tell him that.

He’d hoped to avoid spelling it out. But that didn’t seem like a viable option.

“If my future was a good one, would I have come back in time?” he asked.

“……”

“Someone else takes your place.”

Even if Sakuta didn’t say who, he was sure the possibility was crossing present Sakuta’s mind. And the eerie calm in his voice proved it.

“Who?”

It was less a question than a confirmation. Checking to see if his answer was right. Possibly hoping it would be wrong.

But future Sakuta could not answer present Sakuta’s plea. Only convey the truth.

“Mai.”

Just saying it aloud brought back those memories. An invisible force made his body creak. He could barely breathe. He gasped, desperate for oxygen but finding none.

All he could do was clutch his hand to his chest, waiting for the wave of pain and grief to wash over him.

“What…?”

“……”

“What did I do wrong?”

“Just before the van hit, Mai pushed me out of the way.”

“……”

“That’s how I survived.”

“……”

Present Sakuta had yet to experience any of this, but it still left him speechless. What look was on his face, Sakuta couldn’t guess. It was hard to imagine your own expressions, and trying seemed pointless, so he quickly abandoned the attempt.

“I survived because of Mai,” he said, making the facts crystal clear.

This was the future. This would happen. At six o’clock on December 24.

“So…what?” present Sakuta spluttered.

Having gone down this road himself, Sakuta knew what it was like to place lives on the scales. Sacrifice himself to save Shouko? Or survive into a future with Mai?

He’d had two options.

And had been forced to choose one.

He’d racked his brain until he was sick of thinking about it—and now here was future Sakuta, showing up at the last minute with a third potential outcome. It was no small task to grasp the concept, accept the truth of it, and sort through his feelings. Having to rethink the whole thing at this stage would make him want to insist it couldn’t be true.

And there would be no way of knowing what the right choice was.

“……”

Present Sakuta said nothing. Most likely, he wasn’t even capable of thought.

But future Sakuta was different. He’d already thought this through and found his answer. And because he’d made his choice, he’d come back in time. To force that path.

“I’m here to save Mai.”

“……”

“So don’t you dare go to meet her.”

“…But…”

“If you go, it’ll be Mai who dies.”

“!”

“If you go to the aquarium, Mai will die.”

As he said the words, tears began to flow. Halfway through the line, his voice broke, choked with tears. But he wasn’t about to stay quiet long enough for those emotions to subside.

“And I’m not going through that again!”

He had to get these feelings across somehow. He needed present Sakuta to know just how bad it was.

“Losing Mai…is not an option.”

“……But if I don’t go, what happens to Makinohara?!”

The obvious question. The emotions behind it were every bit as intense.

“……”

But Sakuta didn’t have an answer. And that silence spoke volumes.

“What are you doing?”

“I made my choice.”

“You’re me. How can you do this?” His voice low. He must have realized what Sakuta was doing. “You want me to give up on her?”

His tone was cold. Contemptuous. Outright refuting and rebuking Sakuta.

“You don’t care what happens to Makinohara?!”

“Of course I do!”

He definitely cared. He meant that. But he knew he had to make a choice. Having gone through Mai’s death, future Sakuta knew what choice he had to make.

“You saw her, too. Makinohara, lying in that ICU. Clinging to life.”

“……”

“Everything she’s been through…trying not to worry anyone, hiding her own suffering, keeping her fears hidden. Always smiling when she was with you.”

“……”

“And you don’t give a damn about any of that? You’re willing to just let that all go to waste?”

That low hiss was hitting Sakuta hard, ripping into him. Aiming right where it hurt the most.

His knuckles tightened on the receiver, but his expression never changed.

He’d made his choice.

And had come from the future to achieve it.

“I want to make Mai happy.”

“That’s not an answer!”

“I can’t do anything for Makinohara.”

“! Are…are you really me?!”

“I am.”

“You’ve lost it.”

There was nothing left but scorn.

“Maybe.”

“You’ve gone mad.”

Irritation and contempt.

“I can live with that.”

“……”

Sakuta didn’t waver, and that finally silenced his counterpart.

“If I live and can make Mai happy…that’s enough.”

“How can you say that?! I’d rather get run over than stand by while Makinohara dies! That’s what’s supposed to happen!”

“Even if it makes Mai cry?”

“! Just make sure you stop her.”

And with that, he hung up.

The phone on his ear, Sakuta muttered, “I’m so pigheaded.”

What a difference four days made. Back then, he’d have made the same choice. The events of December 24 had permanently changed him.

He put the phone down. Then he picked it up and called the same number again.

“Oh, senpai?” Tomoe answered.

“What’s up with the other me?”

“Dunno. He ran off somewhere,” she said. “What’s going on?”

“It’s what it looks like.”

“I’m asking ’cause looking didn’t help!”

“Something came up, and now there’s two of me. Happens all the time.”

“It does not!”

“Really?”

The causes were different, but between Rio, Shouko, and himself, this was already Sakuta’s third experience with it. Anything happening that often couldn’t really be called uncommon anymore.

“And is it really you I’m talking to, senpai?”

“Oh, that reminds me. Make sure that guy pays you back the three thousand yen I borrowed.”

“Never mind, it’s definitely you.”

He wasn’t sure why that was what convinced her, but at least she believed him.

“It’s Adolescence Syndrome, right?” she asked, lowering her voice.

“Well, yeah.”

“Anything I can do?”

“You’ve already bailed me out big-time.”

Honestly, it had never occurred to him it would be Tomoe who came to his rescue.

“But there’s still two of you! And you’re still wrestling with something serious, right?”

“I’ve got a plan there—don’t worry.”

“……”

He didn’t need any help to picture the disgruntled look on her face.

“No pouting.”

“I’m not pouting!”

She most certainly was.

“Mkay, let me ask you for one other thing.”

“Okay, what?”

“If you see me tomorrow or after that…just be yourself.”

“……Sure.”

She might not fully understand, but Sakuta’s earnest tone had made an impression on her. Tomoe had answered in kind.

“It’ll help a lot if I can just harass you like always.”

“I oughtta press charges.”

“That’s the spirit.”

“I’m legitimately worried here!”

This made him laugh out loud. He hadn’t done that in a while.

He wasn’t trying to keep secrets from her. Once this was all over, he planned to tell her what he could. But until it was over—specifically after six PM—he couldn’t be sure what would happen to him. He didn’t want to make any promises.

Sakuta had been to the future because of present Sakuta’s Adolescence Syndrome. What would happen to future Sakuta if that was resolved? Would he go back to the future? Or would he and his future cease to exist? He didn’t know. He couldn’t say for sure until it happened.

“Well, I’m not exactly happy about it, but okay. Senpai, you’re pressed for time, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then we’ll talk later.”

“Yep. Later.”

Yet here he was agreeing to talk again. He laughed at himself as he put the receiver down. Then he remembered he wasn’t done yet and picked the phone up again.

He had to pull this number out of the depths of his memory.

He punched in all eleven digits, then let the air out of his lungs.

He put the receiver to his ear, listening to it ring.

“C’mon, pick up,” he muttered.

It was an obvious sign that he was stressing out about this.

It rang five times.

“……”

Still no answer.

Seven rings. It might send him to voice mail any second now. But before it did, the ring cut off. The call went through.

“Yeah?”

A girl answered, keeping her voice down, clearly on guard. The call would have come up as a public phone.

But she’d answered anyway—because she knew someone who used those all the time.

“It’s me. Sakuta.”

“I figured,” she said, her voice back to normal. If slightly annoyed. “What?” she asked.

This was Nodoka.

“Sorry. Busy prepping for your concert?”

Nodoka was part of an idol group called Sweet Bullet, and he knew they had a Christmas show.

“Just finished rehearsal. I’m on break, so…what is it?”

“Any idea where Mai is right now?”

“At the TV station. Filming interiors.”

“I was wondering where that station is.”

“Huh?”

“Wanted to go see her.”

Might as well be direct.

“They aren’t gonna let you in if you just roll up there,” she said.

Like she thought he was an idiot.

“Are you completely stupid?”

She also said it out loud.

“I mean, that’s why I’m asking you.”

“Huh? You call this asking?”

“Please.”

“……”

“Seriously, please. I wanna surprise her.”

He dug in. There would be no backing down.

“…What happened Sunday?” Nodoka asked, answering with a question. “After Kaede’s haircut…something went down between the two of you.”

“……”

He remembered. Like Nodoka said, they’d all gone out together to take Kaede to a hair salon. On the way home, Sakuta and Mai had split off. They’d taken a train away from home, down the Tokaido Line, all the way to Atami. Mai had cried a lot there.

Until that moment, Sakuta had been ready to sacrifice himself if it meant saving Shouko. But Mai’s tears had left his head spinning. Seeing her cry had shaken his resolve.

For the first time, he wanted to live.

The need had never felt so great.

He knew he never wanted to make Mai cry like that again.

But he hadn’t managed to tell her that. He couldn’t bring himself to say something that awful. Awful because that meant abandoning Shouko to her fate.

“She got back late and…went straight to her room. She didn’t say a word to me.”

“Mm.”

“Don’t just grunt at me!”

“I figure you’ll wind up punching me for it.”

“Oh?” She was growling already. “Where are you, Sakuta?”

“Fujisawa. By the hospital.”

“Get your butt to Shinbashi.”

He looked at the watch.

“That’ll take an hour.”

“Not if you hop on an express. Four o’clock at JR Karasumori Exit. Shiodome side.”

“Huh? But don’t you have a show?”

“I got time before it starts, and apparently, I gotta punch you first.”

“Wow. Now I don’t wanna go.”

“And I haven’t picked a Christmas present for her yet anyway. I’m not doing this for you, got that?”

“Don’t worry—nothing you’ve said could possibly give me that idea.”

“See you at four.”

“Got it. On my way.”

He repeated Shinbashi, Karasumori Exit, Shiodome side and hung up. He gathered up the row of coins and left the phone booth.