Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 8 - Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3 - Open the Door

1

The morning dawned in a way that made Sakuta go, “Ugh, morning already?” before his alarm even went off.

Only his head and cheek were out of the comforter, but the air felt cold. He didn’t wanna leave his cocoon. Losing the battle, he lowered his lids to go back to sleep…and then the alarm clock started screeching.

His hand shot out from the covers to turn it off, slapping the top of the clock. He managed to pry his eyes halfway open again, enough to focus on the digital display.

Six AM. February 16. Monday.

Far too early to get ready for school.

Normally, he’d have sworn at himself for setting his clock wrong and sunk back into a blissful slumber.

But today he fought off the allure of his warm bedding and sat up. He yawned once and rolled out of bed. His eyes were still only half-open, but that was enough to pick his way into the hall.

In the bathroom, he washed his face, then his hands. Even gargled.

He moved to the living room and found sun streaming through the gap in the curtains. There was a gurgling noise from the dimly lit kitchen. He glanced at the rice cooker and saw steam rising like an old locomotive.

Almost done.

Sakuta opened the curtains and went back to the kitchen. The light on the rice cooker switched from COOK to KEEP WARM.

Sakuta had washed the rice last night and set the time so it would cook in the morning.

He moved past the workhorse cooker over to the fridge. He took out an onion, peeled it, and chopped it up. He began sautéing it on the stove.

When it was golden brown, he grabbed a bowl, plopped in a mix of ground beef and pork, and stirred in milk, eggs, bread crumbs, and nutmeg. He dropped in the sautéed onions, gave it a twist of salt and pepper, and mixed some more.

Ready to cook.

After rolling the mix into bite-size balls, he coated the pan in oil and started frying.

The tantalizing aroma of browning meat filled the room.

When both sides of the balls were seared, he lowered the flame and put the lid on the pan. Now he just had to let it steam until they were cooked through.

He wrapped up the rest of the meat mixture and stuck it in the fridge. That would be his lunch.

Sakuta put another pan on the second burner. This one had four corners.

Once it had warmed up, he poured in beaten eggs and started rolling them. He moved the finished roll to a dish and sliced it into bite-size pieces.

He put the finished meatballs on the same dish.

The scent rising from them whetted his appetite, and he went ahead and popped a slice of rolled egg in his mouth. Savoring the hint of sweetness, he opened the rice cooker. A rush of steam rose up from the white grains.

He gave them a gentle stir with the rice paddle, put some cling wrap down on the table, and set aside some rice for onigiri.

He let that sit.

Once it had cooled a bit, he got out the pickled plums and pollack roe, then balled the rice up around them.

He wrapped the rice balls in seaweed and stuffed them in a two-layer bento box. Two onigiri filled the lower layer. In the top layer, he piled meatballs and rolled eggs, then added some lettuce and cherry tomatoes. He finished off the lunch with a scoop of the potato salad he’d made the day before.

“That should do it.”

Sakuta sounded satisfied, but his work was not yet done. He put some sliced bread in the toaster, washed the frying pan, and melted some butter over a low heat. Once it was ready, he poured in some eggs he’d scrambled with milk.

He kept it moving with a spatula, mixing the eggs so they didn’t cook too fast. They gradually solidified, staying nice and fluffy.

He turned off the flame before they got too hard and heaped the scrambled eggs onto a pair of plates. Next to that went some octopus-legged wieners.

The toast popped up nicely browned, so he put that on the plates as well and placed them on the table. Then he moved to Kaede’s door.

“It’s morning!” he called, opening the door. “Up and at ’em!”

Something shifted under the round pile of covers. There was a noise, but it was hard to tell if that was just noisy breathing or sleeptalk.

“You’ve got exams today. You can’t be late.”

That got through. Kaede’s head popped out of the heap.

“What time is it?!”

“Seven.”

“Oh…then I’m not late yet.” She looked relieved. “Don’t scare me like that!”

Kaede got out of bed, shooting him a look of protest. This was soon interrupted by a huge yawn. Her eyes were still bleary with sleep.

His gaze seemed to make her uncomfortable.

“I couldn’t fall asleep last night,” she admitted. He hadn’t even asked, and she was already making excuses.

“What, were you excited about something?”

“It’s the exam today! Argh, you knew that.” Kaede screwed up her lips, disgruntled. “This is bad! What if I nod off during the exam?!”

“No big deal,” he said, shrugging.

“It’s a huge deal!” Kaede was getting more and more worried.

“Nobody there’ll have slept much, I promise. Everyone’s anxious and worried.”

“You’re sure?” She did not seem to find that comforting.

“Everyone’s in the same boat.”

“Well, okay. I’m just like everyone else, then.”

She finally sounded convinced. There was a hint of a smile showing.

“Were you stressed out?” she asked.

“Yeah, so stressed out I had to make a bathroom run midtest.”

“I think I would worry about that more.”

“It was a number two, by the way.”

“Gross!”

She stuck out her tongue and left the room. She saw breakfast on the table and let out a squeak of joy.

“Scrambled eggs! They look so good.”

“Better wash your face before they get cold.”

“Right…”

Kaede padded off to the bathroom. He heard water running, then the sound of her gargling…and when she came back, she was finally fully awake.

They sat down on opposite sides of the table and clapped hands.

Kaede grabbed her spoon and dug into the eggs. They were still piping hot. Fluffy and creamy.

Mai had taught him the trick to making them just right. She’d made them several times while she was over, and Kaede had swooned over them every time.

That was why he’d picked them for her exam breakfast. Anything to put her in a good mood as she headed out the door.

From the look on Kaede’s face, his scheme had paid off. She was savoring every bite with a look of bliss.

“These are just like Mai’s scrambled eggs,” she said.

If a single meal was all it took to put her in the right frame of mind for a big day, then great. Waking up a bit early was worth it.

The one downside was that Kaede was eating extra slow. She was never exactly a fast eater, but she was trying to get the most out of every bite and was only halfway through her eggs by the time Sakuta finished his.

“Better eat up, or you really will be late,” he said, carrying his dishes to the sink.

“It’s a waste to wolf this down!”

If she could relax and enjoy her food, then he felt like she’d be okay for the test, too.

“If you like ’em that much, I’ll make ’em tomorrow, too.”

“But I do think Mai’s are better,” Kaede added.

Also a promising sign.

“Well, yeah. Mai’s the best.”

“……”

Spoon in her mouth, Kaede gave him a searching look.

“What, is there a ghost behind me?”

He made a show of looking over his shoulder but found only wall.

“You’re acting weird, Sakuta.”

“I am?”

“Usually, you’d be all, ‘That’s not true.’ Or ‘Then don’t eat ’em!’”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I think most people get happy when someone compliments their girlfriend.”

“I guess that makes sense. Still…”

“Still, what?”

“You aren’t most people.”

As he answered, Sakuta was putting the lunch box together, stacking the two layers, then the lid, then putting a rubber band around the whole thing. He wrapped it and a chopsticks case in a napkin and took it back to the table.

Kaede had sped up at last and was putting the last bite of wiener in her mouth. As she chewed away, he dropped the napkin-wrapped lunch box in front of her.

“Don’t forget this.”

She looked it over.

Then she swallowed and asked, “What is it?”

“What does it look like?”

“Lunch.”

“Correct.”

“Didn’t I say I’d just buy some onigiri at a store?”

“If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it.”

He reached out for it, but Kaede’s hands shot out first, pulling it toward her and hugging it tight.

“I want it.”

“Don’t shake it up too much, or the food’ll mix together.”

“……”

She gingerly put it back on the table. Then she looked up at him.

“U-um, Sakuta…”

“Don’t yell at me if it tastes like ass.”

“I—I totally will! But that’s not the point.”

She shot him a glare for forcing a tangent.

“…Thanks for the lunch. I’m glad you made it.”

“You’re welcome.”

He cleared the rest of the table.

“I can clear my own!” Kaede said, too late.

“You wanted to get going early, right? Better go change.”

You had to account for delayed trains and whatever else. Plus, Kaede was supersensitive to unwanted attention, so it couldn’t hurt to get there ahead of the crowds. Hence the early departure.

So Sakuta took over the cleanup, carrying the dishes to the sink. As he did, Kaede thanked him again.

“We’ll meet up in the living room once you’re changed.”

“Okay!” she said, and she headed to her room.

When he was done washing the dishes, Sakuta went to his own room and changed into his uniform. When he got back to the living room, their cat, Nasuno, was coming out from the half-open door to Kaede’s room, so he put some food in her bowl. She meowed at him once and then started munching away.

Kaede emerged right as Nasuno emptied the bowl.

She had her coat on over her junior high uniform, scarf and mittens, thick black tights—ready for the cold. Her outfit might be warm, but as she put her backpack on, her cheeks were stiffening up. That much was unavoidable. If telling people not to worry actually eased stress, nobody would ever be stressed in the first place. So Sakuta paid it no heed, focusing on other things.

“Got your admission slip?”

“Mm.”

Very small nod.

“The lunch in there?”

“It is.”

Bigger nod.

“Pencil box?”

“Ready to go.”

“You’ve got everything?”

“Yeah…,” she said, then let out a squeak and ran back in her room without saying why. The door slammed so hard Nasuno jumped.

He could hear her footsteps running back and forth inside.

“What do you make of it?” Sakuta asked, but Nasuno didn’t answer. Instead, Kaede’s door opened, and she came out.

She didn’t look any different. She maybe had a tighter grip on the straps of her backpack. She still looked tense, but there was a note of steel in her eyes.

“Now I’m good!”

He had no clue what was good, but she seemed more prepared, so he decided not to pry.

“Get too fired up now, you’ll wear yourself out.”

“I-I’ve got it under control.”

“Then let’s hit the road.”

Peppering her with questions wasn’t gonna help her relax. So Sakuta headed for the door.

He got his shoes on and waited for Kaede to do the same.

“……”

Kaede gave him a silent nod. Good to go. Sakuta looked down the hall, spotted Nasuno’s face around the corner, and said, “Guard the fort.”

They stepped outside, he locked the door, and they took the elevator nonstop to ground level.

Outside there was a chill in the air, and their breaths formed clouds in front of them.

Kaede was definitely walking slower than he was, so he matched her pace. They headed for Fujisawa Station. On the way, they caught a red light and had to wait for it to change. They reached the main road and crossed the bridge over the Sakai River.

The whole time, Kaede didn’t say a word. Neither did Sakuta. She looked like she was thinking hard. Probably reviewing everything she’d studied one last time. Seemed stupid to interrupt.

If her head was full of test stuff, that could only be a good thing. If she was focused, then she’d spend less time worrying about anyone looking at her, and they could avoid her Adolescence Syndrome flaring up again.

And if she could safely get through the exam itself, that would give her more confidence. And the more confidence she built, the less worried she’d be about the attention and opinions of strangers.

Right now she had a fragment of courage not yet converted to confidence. This was just the first step.

She was scared, but she was working hard. She’d made up her mind to do so.

“…What, Sakuta?” she asked, catching him looking at her.

“Nothing,” he said, but she clearly wanted more, so he added, “That’s a nice scarf.”

“Mai gave it to me. It’s very warm.”

She seemed pretty proud of that.

“That’s my Mai.”

“You always say that.”

For some reason, she sounded rather annoyed.

On his own, this walk usually took Sakuta ten minutes, but it took twice that today. Sakuta and Kaede reached the station after a full twenty-minute walk. They went up the stairs by the electronics shop one at a time and reached the elevated walkway.

Since they’d left early, the station was mostly filled with suits on their way to work. There were uniformed students, but far fewer than when Sakuta usually passed through.

But the building that housed the Odakyu Enoshima Line and the JR station was, as always, absolutely jam-packed. If he wasn’t careful, he and Kaede could easily get separated.

Well aware of the risk, Kaede stuck to his back like glue, without him needing to say a word. They pushed through the congestion to the south end of the station.

Across the connective bridge was a department store. At the entrance, they turned right and saw the Enoden Fujisawa Station up ahead.

They paused at the ticket machines.

Kaede went to buy her own ticket. She put money in, pressed the button, and came back with the ticket in hand, looking proud of herself.

“I’ll have you know, I can also buy tickets.”

“I know that!”

Obviously not the response she’d wanted. Kaede pursed her lips at him.

They moved toward the gates a few yards away.

“Don’t get off at the wrong station.”

“I already went to Shichirigahama to deliver the application. I’ll be fine.”

Kaede buried her cheeks in her scarf, clearly not wanting him to baby her further.

“Well, we did everything we could, so go do everything you can.”

“Mm.”

This was as far as he could go. She’d have to make it all the way to the testing center at Minegahara on her own, take the test alone, and come back flying solo.

They’d talked about it a few days earlier and decided as much.

Sakuta had been planning on going all the way to school with her, explaining her history to them, and hanging out in an empty class until she was done, but Kaede had insisted she wanted to do things the way everyone else did.

He’d talked with Miwako, and they’d decided to respect her wishes. The whole goal here was to attend a conventional school. If she passed and got into Minegahara, she’d spend the bulk of the next three years going to school, often alone. It would be routine. It wasn’t just today.

“Talk to a teacher if anything goes wrong.”

“Mm.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, wait…Sakuta.”

He’d turned to go, but she called out, stopping him.

“Mm?”

“……”

She clearly had something to say, but nothing came out. She just gripped her backpack strap even tighter.

“Better get it off your chest, whatever it is. You don’t wanna be thinking about it during the exam. And if you do get distracted by whatever this is, I don’t want you blaming me.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Then let’s hear it.”

“Er, um.” Kaede hung her head, really struggling to say what was on her mind.

“Yeah?”

“I can work hard, too.”

“Don’t push yourself.”

“I’m being serious.”

“Seriously, you’re already working plenty hard.”

“But I can work harder, too.”

She caught his eye for emphasis. Behind her, the green-and-cream retro car was pulling into the station.

Kaede heard it and looked over her shoulder.

“Train’s here.”

“I know! Thanks for walking me here.”

Kaede waved, ran her ticket through the gate, and stepped inside. She glanced back once, making sure he was still watching, smiled sheepishly, and then darted toward the train.

She got at the back of the line and safely made it on board.

Sakuta watched until the train pulled out, and then he left the gates.

He headed back the way he’d come, through the Odakyu/JR building, and out the north side. Across the pedestrian overpass, thinking about Kaede’s words.

 “I can work hard, too.”

That too stuck with him. Who did she mean by it?

There were lots of people out there working hard.

Kaede was hardly the only exam student doing as much.

Sakuta himself was working hard, prepping for his college exams next year.

Mai was working hard at being famous, Nodoka was working hard at the whole idol thing. People all around the world, working on one thing or another.

But Kaede’s too wasn’t talking about any of them. There was only one person she could mean by that.

Someone always on her mind.

Someone she’d never met but would never forget.

The other Kaede.

“Can’t exactly tell her not to let it bug her, can I?”