Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 8 - Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2 - Walking Speed

1

The water in the beaker neared the boiling point, and bubbles started popping on the surface. At first, they were spread out, but they soon came faster and faster in a vaporous chorale.

Sakuta listened to the sounds as he scowled at the list of problems designed to help him prep for exams. Thinking about the answer to a question about the law of conservation of energy.

But as his frown deepened, someone interrupted his thought process.

“So…Azusagawa…”

“Mm?”

He looked up. One of his few friends was seated across the lab table—Rio Futaba.

Glasses signifying intellect, long hair bound at the back, short—only five foot one—and today she was once again wearing a white lab coat over her uniform.

“You said you were prepping for the same college as Sakurajima, right?”

Rio pulled the alcohol burner out from under the beaker and put the cap on, extinguishing the flame. She was talking to Sakuta but had not once looked his way. Keeping her attention firmly on the fire she wielded. Her vow to destroy Yuuma Kunimi’s future firefighting career was alive and well.

“Yep, like I said. Studying’s gonna be a nightmare.”

Mai just had to specify a national university. Which required all five Center Test subjects. Which meant he had that much more prep ahead of him.

Figuring it was best to figure out where he stood, he went through the problems from the Center Test Mai had taken that year—and the results were not promising.

Sakuta had only managed 505 out of a combined 900 total. Only 55 percent of his answers were right.

If this were a school test, that wouldn’t technically be a failing grade, but the Center Test didn’t work that way.

Mai had stealthily taken the test for real; official results weren’t in yet, but her self-evaluation had left her with 830 out of 900. She’d managed 90 percent correct answers.

She’d talked like it was only normal to get a perfect score in your better subjects. Especially in math. Apparently, Sakuta was expected to get the first perfect score of his life on the Center Test next year.

Despite the abject nature of his results, Mai hadn’t looked angry or even appalled. She’d smiled like a saint and said, “You love me, don’t you?”

Which was way worse.

He would much rather get yelled at, scorned, and scolded. There was a real comfort in being directly told, “Study harder.”

Perhaps he should be grateful she knew how to motivate him.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’ll be a pal and clue you in.”

Rio’s voice pulled him back to reality.

He looked across the table; she had the tin of instant coffee open. She dumped a spoonful into a new beaker and poured in the water she’d boiled over the alcohol lamp. Steam rose up, carrying the scent of coffee in all directions.

“What?”

Was this a “give up while you still can” speech? No, Sakuta knew her better than that. It wasn’t Rio’s style. If she planned to discourage him, she’d have done it the first time he mentioned the idea of getting into the same college as Mai.

Stirring her coffee with a glass rod (intended for experiment use), Rio finally looked his way. Their eyes met for a brief second, then she looked at his hands.

“The problems you’re looking at are for high school admission.”

She sounded genuinely worried.

Sakuta followed her gaze, looking down. The energy conservation question was definitely something for the high school entrance exam. Converting potential energy to kinetic. Junior high science.

“So I’m concerned on several levels.”

Behind her glasses, Rio’s eyes filled with pity.

“I’ve gotta help Kaede study, so I need to review.”

He snapped the book closed and dropped it on the lab table. The cover clearly stated it was a problem book for the prefectural high school exam.

“That is a huge relief,” Rio said, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Futaba, you knew all along.”

“I figured you weren’t reading that by accident, but I couldn’t completely rule out the idea that your foundation is so shaky you have to start over with junior high material.”

Sakuta was intently watching her sip coffee, so she pushed the tin of instant coffee his way. Permission to help himself to the leftover hot water.

He hadn’t been glaring at her out of desire for coffee, but it did seem like a good idea.

This can belonged to the physics teacher, so he had no compunctions about making himself an extra-strong cup.

It was a Friday, after six full periods of classes. January 23. It was four in the afternoon, and the baseball team was on the field, yelling. The science lab was well heated, and even instant coffee felt like a luxury. And they could boil water any time they wanted.

“But Kaede’s gunning for a prefecture school?”

“Mm? Yeah, she wants to get into Minegahara.”

“……”

That briefly silenced Rio. Likely a reaction based on full awareness of the admissions system. Without proper attendance, Kaede didn’t have grades. And trying to get into Minegahara with that disadvantage…well, Rio was smart enough to know what that meant.

“That’s a lot to handle.”

“You’ve helped, too.”

“……?”

She gave him a “What did I do?” look.

“You helped her study, right?”

“Over the summer? When I was staying at your place?”

For complicated reasons, she’d lived with them for a while.

“Yeah.”

“But that was the other Kaede.”

“She doesn’t remember doing the studying, but she remembered what she learned.”

So she was picking up math and science readily enough.

“Then you specifically came here to say that?” Rio asked, pulling tools for her next experiment out from under a desk.

“Nah, I had time to kill before my shift. And the coffee here is free.”

“If you have time, spend it with Sakurajima.”

“Mai left town yesterday to film a commercial. She’s out today, too.”

He was pretty sure she’d mentioned…somewhere in Nagasaki. She’d be home late tonight. What did people bring back from Nagasaki? He could only think of castella.

“Well, either way, glad this isn’t more Adolescence Syndrome.”

“Oh, about that…”

Her hands froze, and her gaze turned toward him. He awkwardly shifted his eyes until he looked out the window.

Rio sighed dramatically. “Azusagawa, you never learn.”

It wasn’t like he’d willingly participated in any of this, so that seemed unwarranted.

“This time, it’s just a small thing bugging me. I don’t think it’s actually full-blown Syndrome.”

He couldn’t be totally certain of that, which was why he wanted her take on it. Couldn’t hurt to ask.

“Really?” she said, skeptical. “Your instincts aren’t exactly trustworthy here.”

“I swear!”

“Then I guess I’ll at least hear you out,” she said. She looked annoyed but did ask, “So what happened?”

Her tone made it sound like she had experiments to do and wanted to get this over with, but he pretended not to notice.

“I had a dream about Mai, but she was a little kid in it. Think that means anything?”

He asked seriously, and Rio averted her eyes, sipping her coffee.

She sighed and then said, “A precursor to a one-way trip to the slammer.” Very hostile.

“Fear not, I much prefer the current Mai.”

A six-year-old in a red backpack did nothing for him.

“That statement does nothing to assuage my concerns.”

“If I’m gonna dream about her, I’d far rather spend time with modern Mai.”

“Wouldn’t it be best to do that in real life?”

“An excellent suggestion, Futaba.”

He fully planned on doing just that. Mai actually existed, and he was literally dating her. There was absolutely no need to seek fleeting comfort in dreams.

“But seriously, what do you make of it?”

He knew most people would assume it was just a dream. But Sakuta had good reasons to be less sure. Everything he’d been through made him aware that it could be a warning or a sign, or something already in progress.

“So what if it is?”

Rio seemed thoroughly uninterested.

“What if it’s what?”

“Even if your dream is some sort of Adolescence Syndrome, it won’t matter.”

Her words sounded dismissive, but her tone had a breezy confidence.

“Because?”

“Whatever happens, you’ll do something about it.”

She glanced at him. Not joking or teasing. She genuinely thought that.

“You have far too much faith in me.”

“I think you’ve earned it.”

The more evasive he got, the more earnest she looked. He couldn’t handle this. Didn’t deserve it.

“Just look at what you’ve done already, Azusagawa.”

“I barely did any of that on my own.”

He wasn’t even the one who’d created this timeline. That was a woman he’d looked up to. A girl he admired. Her courage had given him the happiness he currently enjoyed.

“You’re more reliable than I’ll ever be, Futaba.”

With that, he downed the last of his coffee.

“Thanks for this,” he said.

He still had time, but he decided to head in to work. If he talked to Rio any longer, she’d likely say something that made him squirm.