1
In the end, Komachi Hikigaya looks for divine help.
As I was reading the book, the sun sank entirely below the horizon.
During big cleanups or tidy ups, I’m especially vulnerable to catching the “whoops, I’m reading a book now” disease.
That was close… If I’d just been reading a series, then I would have let momentum take me through the whole set, then declared, The newest book isn’t out yet?! Do your job, writer!
I got up from the sofa and returned the book I’d just finished to the shelf.
Now my big clean was over. I hadn’t tidied up anything, but still. I was done.
In life, you can’t wipe away the stains of the past, so cleaning is both impossible and meaningless. Once your life is a mess, the cleanup will never end no matter how you try going about it.
Anyway, I’d finished sorting the bookshelf in my room, at least, so I withdrew to the living room in high spirits.
There were only a few days left in the year.
I remembered our parents had said they’d be finishing up their giant piles of work the following day and would be home late that night. That was why our mother had been getting the cleaning done bit by bit whenever she had a spare moment. The living room was already spick-and-span.
But there was someone boldly lying in that spotless living room and emitting a rather ominous aura.
It was my little sister, Komachi Hikigaya.
Her top half was sticking out from the kotatsu, while the family cat, Kamakura, was lying on Komachi’s back and grooming himself with long slurps of his tongue.
“What’s wrong with you…?” I mumbled, but there was no response. It’s just a corpse… Ohhh, poor Komachi, to die like this…
But it was probably uncomfortable to have a cat on her back. He was just like some kind of lingering spirit, possessing Komachi and refusing to budge. Wait, a cat ghost youkai? I wish they’d make it clear if he’s a cat or a spirit or a youkai, meow.
Getting into the kotatsu myself, I scooped up Kamakura and moved him onto my lap. Kamakura kneaded my lap two, three times to make himself comfortable, then flopped back down to go back to sleep. Sorry for bothering you during your nap! Forgive me, meow!
Freed from the weight, Komachi lifted her head. “Oh, Bro…”
The twinkle in her eyes was gone; now, they were as dull as those of a dead fish. Awww, just like her big brother! We really are related! And if I resemble adorable little Komachi, I must be cute! Erk, but those rotten eyes are seriously uncute. If they’re enough to undo Komachi’s cuteness, then I must be downright horrifying.
But this was the first time I’d ever seen Komachi this bummed.
“Komachi, are you okay…?”
“Nope…not at all…,” she whined, then once again buried her face in a cushion. And then, in broken fragments, she muttered like a delirious person, “I have to…do the big clean… Clean up garbage, garbage…clean up…Bro…”
“Calm down, Komachi. All the major cleaning is basically done. Besides, you can’t get rid of your brother that easily. Be patient about it.”
“Urrrk, gotta take out the trash, though, in Komachi terms…” She flicked me a dissatisfied look.
But I couldn’t do anything about that. You can put me out on the sidewalk, but nobody would pick me up. I’m too much of a hassle. Just like Miss Hiratsuka. But this was not the time to be setting up such defensive perimeters. Right now, this was about Komachi.
I was pretty sure of what was responsible for Komachi’s current state, or most of it anyway—entrance exams. I figured she was having a rough time studying, or a mock exam went awry, or something.
Komachi had been plugging away at her studies day and night since Christmas, but with New Year’s looming before us, it seemed she had run out of gas.
Sobbing, sniffing, and moaning, Komachi whined, “I’m boned, I’m boned…”
And then she glanced over at me.
When I said nothing, Komachi once again buried her face in the cushion with a fwump. I could just barely hear her muffled voice. “Sob…wahhh… I’m so tired…”
And then she glanced over at me.
What a pain in the butt she is…
But, well, I’m a veteran with fifteen or so years of big brother experience under my belt. I’ve made sure to learn what advice to offer at times like these. “Well, you know what they say about all work and no play. It’s just about New Year’s, so why don’t you go out a bit for a shrine visit, to take your mind off things?”
“Yeah!” Komachi answered instantly, leaping up. Looked like I’d answered correctly. Of course I had, being a professional big brother. After I graduate, I should get a job where I can make full use of this big brother skill—in fact, I’d even say the country should set up a big brother profession. What is a professional big brother? Is it his role to be financially supported by his little sister? It’s an unparalleled career—although I don’t think that’s the right word. Unemployed, that’s it.
But still, a professional socially conscious big brother does not just spoil his little sister. I made sure to offer advice, too. “That’s fine, but study hard until then.”
“I know, I know. It’s easier to work when I’ve got something to look forward to, you know?” Komachi said, but she wasn’t listening at all. She got up and started reaching out for the oranges.
Well, as long as she’s motivated…
“Is there a shrine you want to go to?” I asked. “Like a place you think would be worth praying at?”
“Hmm…” Komachi started to think.
Maybe which shrine you visit on New Year’s is pretty important to a student taking entrance exams. I mean, there is that saying about looking to the gods when you’re in trouble.
If you’re in it deep, then the gods are all you can rely on. Can’t rely on people, after all. And given how unreliable people are, you could even say that you should rely on the gods on just about a daily basis. If it’s pinch after pinch and another hopeless pinch. At times like that, you want something Ultra-ish, you know?
“Around here there’s, like, that one place. Dad said he stayed up all night waiting there—Kameido Tenjin,” I suggested. It’s not that far—just one stop away on the Sobu Line from our house. Of course, there’s a god of academics enshrined there, so you could expect it to be real crowded around this time of year. Imagining the crowds made me wrinkle my nose. I mean, I just don’t like crowds.
Then Komachi also got that same eugh look on her face. “Staying up all night… Dad can be kinda creepy, huh…?”
He’s a good Dad—forgive him… If Mom hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve gone to Dazaifu… I get the feeling Mom was staying up all night, too.
“Well, never mind Dad. There’s also Yushima Tenjin…” Since this was also a Tenjin shrine, it was very popular during the entrance exam season. In other words, you could anticipate it being very crowded at this time and (the rest has been omitted).
As I was considering candidates, Komachi groaned. “Hmm, those famous spots are fine, but…I think I’d get more blessings from a place close to the high school!”
“You think? So then…Sengen Shrine?”
“Ohhh, the one that’s always having festivals.”
“Uh, they’re not always having them.” Just what kind of shrine would always have a festival going on? That would be pretty worthless. Is it like that shop in front of Akihabara Station that’s been having a closing sale its whole life? Do we really have to celebrate every day?
But Komachi wasn’t very familiar with Inage Sengen Shrine, so it wasn’t really a surprise that all it was in her mind was festivals. Big tourist spots are one thing, but you only go to neighborhood shrines during New Year’s and festivals.
Sengen Shrine, though, huh…? I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of going there, since I got the feeling a lot of people I knew would be there. Still, it might be better than the local shrine. Wait, isn’t it just that I don’t want to go anywhere?
Komachi was looking at me with concern—guess she could see my hesitation on my face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her, and she pulled her shoulders back while still seated, gathering herself.
“Hey, listen, Bro. It’s totally okay if you don’t come along. Komachi can just go with Mom anyway.”
Hmm, so we’re just leaving Dad out, huh? Sounds about right for him.
Well, I could kind of get why Komachi was trying to be considerate about this. She had to have her own worries about her big brother. Well, Big Bro also has his own worries about himself, you know? But I still hadn’t figured out the right way to conduct myself.
So I was fairly grateful for winter vacation, this period of just under two weeks. Of course, once school started, I’d have to face everything again, though.
But for now, it was a brief respite. When I get a break to rest, I take full advantage. Forcing your brain to work on vacation days is unbecoming for one who aspires to be a househusband. Conclusions should always be put off, and proposals taken home for further consideration. This is the rule of the corporate slave! Wait, am I a corporate slave or a househusband…?
In order to take full advantage of my vacation and this opportunity for procrastination, I decided to quickly dodge the topic. “You don’t have to worry about me so much.”
“Ohhh, Komachi would love that to be true, you know.” She sighed dramatically.
Sorry you got stuck with me for a brother. “Well, if you’re not going, Komachi, then I’ll just go alone, like I do every year. Less on my shoulders that way. It’s easier.”
“There you go, saying stuff like that again…”
“As the old saying goes, the year’s plans are to be made on New Year’s Day. So if you have a bad experience during your New Year’s shrine visit, then the rest of your year will suck, too, my dear Komachi. And don’t you think it’s foolish to ring in the glorious new year by making yourself miserable in a giant crowd?”
Komachi looked quite fed up by my eloquent lecture. But though she seemed completely unamused at first, she gradually started hmming with appreciation until she raised her chin to give me a serious look. “I see. The year’s plans on New Year’s… Komachi’s going with you after all.” Just a minute ago, she’d been eyeing me with disgust, but now she was all serious. Total 180.
That was just a little bit creepy, so I asked, “O-okay… What’s this all of a sudden?”
Komachi beamed at me brightly. “’Cause if Komachi spends New Year’s Day with you, that means we’ll be together all next year, too, right? And that was worth a lot of Komachi points.”
“O-okay. Yeah, that’s right…”
The directness of her remark kind of shorted out my brain for a sec.
…
…Oh man, my little sister is so cute! Especially if you ignore her stock phrase there at the end!
“K-Komachi…” I was choked with tears of emotion in spite of myself.
Komachi puffed up her blushing cheeks, jerking her face away, then gave me a sidelong glance. “D-don’t get the wrong idea! I just meant going to the same high school as you, so this is about praying to pass my exams! And this whole bit has been worth so many Komachi points!”
Whoa, that’s a cheap tsundere act… I figure about the only thing cheaper is the monsters in the underwater levels of Mario games. Why are they called Cheep Cheeps when they’re fish anyway?
Just now, she was trying a little too hard to be truly cute, but if I thought of it as hiding her shyness from what she’d said before, maybe I could still give it a pass.
“Then let’s go together,” I said.
“Yeah. Okay, then maybe Komachi should go back to the bedroom for another spurt,” she said and crawled out of the kotatsu to get up.
“Yeah, see you later.” I grabbed Kamakura’s front paws as he lay on my lap and waved at her with them, making Komachi smile.
“Yep, yep, Komachi’s gonna do her best!” she said and scooped up her cell phone. Humming, she tapped away at it, then headed to her room.
Only Kamakura and I remained in the living room. Kamakura huffed and shook his paws from my grasp, then stood up grumpily and stretched out long. Then he wriggled himself under the kotatsu and holed himself up inside.
I copied him, squirming into the kotatsu up to my shoulders to become a kotatsnail.
There wasn’t much of the year left.
Like every year before it, this one was coming quietly to a close.
The new year began peacefully.
Happy New Year—it always feels kinda stupid saying it back and forth among your family. It’s an empty phrase.
But you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do for that red envelope full of cash from your relatives to ring in the new year. Yes, the special lessons for corporate slavery begin in early childhood. You’ll close your eyes to a few unreasonable, unfair demands; bow when you don’t want to bow; and put on a thin, obsequious smile all for the sake of getting cash. That’s what being a corporate slave is all about!
While privately entertaining such trivial thoughts, I graciously received another year’s red envelope from my parents. In the distant past, it had disappeared into the mysterious “bank of Mom” that should have saved up quite a bit by now. She’ll probably give it back when I move out. I think. Surely. I’m even praying that you can’t take the M off mother.
Now that I’d safely acquired that year’s funds, I got into the kotatsu, lay down, and did nothing.
And then, using a floor chair as a pillow, I clicked away on my phone.
With the arrival of this new year also came the vibrating of my cell phone for once.
The “New Year’s e-mails.”
First thing in the new year, I got one stupidly long and formal e-mail, one e-mail that was simple but so cute it was dumb, and one e-mail from an unknown sender that sounded like a prophetic text… Well, that was about it. I thought maybe one more might come, perhaps from some flighty individual, but it seemed not. It wasn’t like I was really expecting it. I rushed off some sloppy and careless responses to the M-2ish e-mail and the aggressively long e-mail.
But for the last one, the newest work in the Simple series, The Cute E-mail, I didn’t know how to reply. Getting too serious about it and replying with a long e-mail would be creepy, but it would also be gross to send back a sparkly monstrosity full of images and emotes. So then, a standard text—but that would also come across as curt and cold.
It’d be easier for me if there was some kind of template and a fixed character limit, like with New Year’s postcards… They’re so convenient because you can tell if it’s out of blatant social obligation or not. All of them just need a big illustration or photo printed on them, while in the margins you write Let’s go hang out again! or Let’s go drinking again, and it’s done. Japanese culture really is great. But there’s an abnormally high overuse of Let’s go drinking again! among university students when they don’t know what else to put. I think if you drink that much all year round, you’re gonna become an alcoholic. But the fact that they don’t probably means they’re just saying that out of politeness, and they won’t actually go drinking with you…
With such thoughts on my mind, I wrote, then erased, wrote, then erased my reply, erasing and writing and erasing and writing KESHITEEEE! RIRAITO SHITEEE! over and over.
I wanted to reply with something long, but too long would be creepy, but if I made it too short, would I just be curt? With these worries on my mind, I decided to reply with almost exactly the same number of characters as the message I had gotten. In psychological terms, this is what they call mirroring. By doing the same thing as the other person, you make them feel more positively toward you!
“Bro, let’s get going,” Komachi called to me as I was typing.
Checking the clock, I saw it was almost nine in the morning. Our parents were already heading for Kameido Tenjin. It was about time for us to go out, too.
“Yeah…let’s go.”
Checking that the e-mail had sent properly, I crawled out of the kotatsu and got up.
We trundled along in the crowded train for a few stations. Joining the waves of people spat out from the ticket gates, we walked down the gentle slope to eventually arrive at the first torii of Sengen Shrine.
They say that this big torii facing the National Highway 14 once stood in the ocean. That was tweeted by the Chiiba-kun official account, so you know it’s true. A long, long time ago, it must have been a magnificent spectacle, like the World Heritage site Itsukushima Shrine. In other words, there was once a chance for Chiba to have possibly become a World Heritage site. In my heart, it already is.
“What a turnout, though, huh…?” I was right to make it a World Heritage site… It’s really popular…
“This is the biggest shrine around here, right?” Komachi said. “Then of course everyone’ll come here!”
I see—that does make sense… Suddenly it hit me. If everyone was coming here, then if you thought about it, wouldn’t that mean others from my high school were also likely to show up…?
Oh crap, I went to the neighborhood shrine every year before, so I completely forgot…, I was thinking when Komachi started looking around beside me.
“Oh, there they are.” Then she pushed her way through the sea of people, trotting ahead.
“H-hey, Komachi. Where are you going?” You’ve got your entrance exams coming up, so I figure Big Bro has to hold your hand so that you don’t fall or slip or get lost; I mean, I could even carry you bridal-style! Bro will do it! I thought, reaching out my hand, when I was met with very familiar faces.
“Happy New Year, guys!” With a gleeful cry, Komachi rushed up to them like she was going to glomp them.
The girl ahead of her shot up a hand, and her light-brown bun bobbed on her head. “Yahallo in the new year!”
“What’s with that greeting…? Happy that,” I replied, feeling aghast.
Yuigahama had a warp-knit sweater and a beige coat with a long scarf wrapped around her neck, and her raised hand was snugly tucked into mittens.
Right beside her was a girl in a white coat, a checked miniskirt, and black tights. That was Yukino Yukinoshita.
“…Happy New Year,” Yukinoshita said, burying her face in the softness of her scarf. Well, formal New Year’s greetings are really awkward to say.
I fiddled with the tassel ends of my scarf, too. “Yeah… Well, uh. Same to you.”
“Then let’s get going,” Komachi said. She moved forward into the crowds, and we followed after her.
While we walked, I poke-poked at Komachi’s back. “Komachi-chan, can Big Bro ask you something?”
“What?”
Sneaking up beside her, I lowered my voice. “Why are they here?”
“Komachi planned to meet them here. ”
“Uh, you what…?” I said, a little aggrieved.
Komachi pouted. “They’re Komachi’s friends, so what’s the problem?”
“Yeah, but… If you’re gonna invite someone…like, you know?” I said with a thoughtful hmm as I scratched my cheek.
Normally, if you’re going to invite someone out at a time like this, wouldn’t you invite friends from your own school? Well, I never had any friends in middle school, so I don’t really know what’s normal, though. Maybe that was because of youkai? Maybe that’s what they call a Yo-kai Botch—I mean, my social life has been pretty thoroughly botched.
But what about Komachi’s social life if she’s compromising for her brother’s sake on New Year’s? When I gave her a look of concern, she seemed to guess what I wanted to say and cleared her throat with a deliberate-sounding ahem.
“Well, around this time, it’s only polite to not invite friends from school, you know…,” she murmured softly.
Ohhh. Now I got it. The reason her friends from her class weren’t an option here was because of pre-exam anxieties.
Entrance exams create sharp contrasts.
Two friends might take the exams for the same school, and one fails while the other gets in. It’s a common enough story. Hearing about a couple where both took the exams for the same school and one failed is absolutely delicious, and if on top of that, it leads to them growing distant and breaking up, then you’ll be eating like Gohan ga Susumu-kun.
When you’re around middle school age, that will put a definitive crack in your friendship. Especially if you’re taking the exams for an exclusive university-oriented school, someone will be crowded out. And that one who was crowded out will come in full force to end that relationship. I’d do that.
You do it out of embarrassment, resentment, and jealousy. Sometimes you’ll bare those negative feelings, but sometimes people will put on a smile and shove down their feelings at first, only to later end the relationship.
Even knowing your relationship is going to end either way, it’s rather complicated. If you want to graduate with a smile, then you should probably stay away from your friends during the entrance exam period. Times like these, it’s superconvenient to not have friends! Hachiman thinks probably the first thing cram schools should be teaching you is how to destroy your friendships!
I’m sure that’s why Komachi felt more at ease at a time like this with friends who were a bit older. They could approach each other without reserve.
Right that very moment, Komachi was saying something to Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. The pair responded with smiles, and they all chatted animatedly as they walked. After being hounded by her studies all through winter vacation, maybe this was a good de-stressing time for Komachi.
Among the surging crowd, Yuigahama’s neck craned as she glanced all around. It looked like she was being drawn to the food stands that lined the sides of the road to the shrine.
“It’s like a festival!” she said.
Komachi’s eyes were sparkling, too. “It is! Oh, how about something to eat?”
“I like that idea! Then I’ll have…a candied apple maybe.”
As the two of them talked, they started wandering off the shrine way. Beside them, Yukinoshita tugged on Yuigahama’s scarf to stop her. “After we finish praying at the shrine,” she said.
“Okaaay…” The other two reluctantly returned to the crowds.
What a sisterly exchange… There’s no room for Big Brother…
Maybe it was Yukinoshita’s sensible personality, or Yuigahama’s easygoing ability to accommodate other people, or maybe this feat was accomplished by the elemental power of the greatest and most famed little sister in the world, Komachi Hikigaya. Whatever reason it was, these girls were pretty compatible despite their differing ages.
Yuigahama took the lead with the group; Komachi followed after, laughing boisterously; and Yukinoshita followed the other two calmly, as if watching over them.
Observing the three from the very back, I walked along.
Then suddenly, something about the word that had just come to my mind, sisterly, stuck on me.
…Crap.
Thinking incredibly stupid thoughts first thing in the new year brought up the corners of my mouth a bit, and my cheeks couldn’t help but relax in a smile. I tugged up my scarf to hide it.
While I was at it, I also looked away from the front over to the waves of people.
Urgh, can’t we do anything about these absolutely awful crowds? I am an inch away from vomiting. I wanna go home right now…
But the crowds did ease a little once we were up the stone steps and into the shrine grounds—probably because there were no food stalls there. Since the shrine was right in front of us, everyone was going straight ahead to worship without getting distracted by the sights. We joined the flow of people as well and came up before the shrine.
“What is everyone gonna wish for?” asked Yuigahama.
“You don’t do that sort of thing at New Year’s,” I said. “This isn’t Tanabata.”
“Indeed,” Yukinoshita agreed. “Making a wish in the hopes of receiving something is too utilitarian for this.”
“Woooow, you two are boring…,” Komachi said, sounding deeply put off, and Yuigahama seemed to agree.
“Yeah! Praying basically means asking, so it’s better to pray for something!”
Whoa, I didn’t get a single thing about that logic.
Yukinoshita also seemed to struggle to understand, putting her hand to her temple as she breathed a sigh. “Agh… Well, I suppose it’s fine. Though I feel that if anything, the nuance for this practice favors making a vow.”
When Yukinoshita cracked a little smile, Yuigahama responded with a big nod and stuck herself to Yukinoshita’s arm. Together, they tossed coins into the slatted offertory box and swung the big rope to ring the bell. Then they bowed twice and clapped twice, closing their eyes quietly with their hands together.
An oath before a god has a somehow solemn atmosphere to it.
I did the same as the girls, and after going through with the etiquette, I put my hands together as well.
A wish…or something I should swear, huh…?
My eyes slid sideways over at Yukinoshita and Yuigahama.
Yukinoshita’s eyelids were softly closed as she expelled a faint breath. Yuigahama had a crease between her eyebrows as she moaned, “Mmmgh.” I don’t know what they wished for or what they swore.
I closed my eyes like them. I had nothing like a wish, but I wouldn’t ask for anything I could manage with my own efforts.
For now, I would wish for Komachi to pass her exams…since this was the one thing I couldn’t figure out a way to do for her.
Once we were done praying, I was finally freed from the river of people.
As I scanned the broad shrine grounds, there were shrine maidens all over the place. It was miko miko nurse here. Just kidding, there were no nurses.
On the wide grounds, Yuigahama found something and called out, “Oh, fortunes!”
“…Then let’s go draw some,” I said.
We got in line to do just that. The sticks inside the wooden hexagonal cylinder rattled as I shook it. I told the number on the stick that came out to the shrine maiden, and when she gave me a fortune, I opened it up.
“Minor luck…”
Very meh… But you can’t complain if you get nothing much when you just paid a hundred yen for it. I skimmed over the headings, but all of them were meh. For example, under health it said, Be wary of ill health before symptoms appear. See? Just meh.
You couldn’t say it was a fully bad fortune to get, so I was waffling about whether to tie it up on the tree or not when Yukinoshita, who was standing to my side, waved her own fortune at me.
“…Luck,” she said with a smug smile on her face. Hey, is luck better than minor luck? No matter how you look at it, it’s too normal, and it really doesn’t seem like it’d be much, though? But if Yukinoshita was that happy about it, well, luck had to be the better fortune. Though I’m sure this depends on the shrine.
She’s just as competitive as always, huh…? I was thinking when Yuigahama came to show off her fortune with a proud chuckle.
“I got major luck!”
“…I see. Good for you,” Yukinoshita said, but her eyes were blazing fire.
Is she okay…? She’s not gonna keep drawing fortunes until she gets major luck, is she…?
As I was watching in suspense, Komachi trudged out from Yukinoshita’s shadow with a dark expression. “Komachi got bad luck…”
Getting a bad luck fortune when you’ve got entrance exams… Yuigahama’s cheerful smile faded, and the fire of Yukinoshita’s antagonistic spirit was quenched. This atmosphere is getting kinda heavy, guys…
Yukinoshita cleared her throat to fill the silence and kindly patted Komachi’s shoulder. “It’s all right. Your family may invite ill omens, but that means nothing.”
“That’s a pretty awful kind of encouragement…,” I said. “Well, but, Komachi, fortunes aren’t something you need to worry about. You’ll forget whatever you pulled within a week.”
“Is your encouragement supposed to be better…?”
“I kinda feel less glad about getting major luck now…”
Yukinoshita and Yuigahama both looked at the fortunes in their hands with complicated expressions.
That’s odd… I was really trying my best to encourage my sister, thinking of what was best for her, but that just brought in more misery.
Then, suddenly, Yuigahama clapped her hands as if she’d just come up with an idea. “Oh, I know. Here, let’s trade,” she said and offered the fortune she’d just drawn to Komachi.
“Huh? You don’t mind?”
“It’s fine!” Yuigahama replied with a smile, but Komachi still waffled about accepting it, looking over at me for help.
“Well, it’ll be lucky. Just take it,” I told her. This was a major luck fortune drawn by Yuigahama, which meant it had to be lucky. I mean, it was absolutely baffling that she’d gotten into our school. I bet you can twist fate a bit, and hey, maybe you can ignore the laws of physics, too.
“Thank you so much… Komachi’s gonna work real hard!”
“Yeah. I’d like it if you could be at our school, too, Komachi-chan,” Yuigahama said, handing her fortune to Komachi, and in exchange, she took the bad luck fortune Komachi had drawn.
Then Yukinoshita touched her hand to her chin and considered. “Yuigahama, could you lend that to me?”
“Huh? Sure, but…”
Accepting it from Yuigahama, Yukinoshita tied the two together into one. “Now taking the average, the both of you should get about minor luck.”
“How does that math work?” I said. Does that mean that (bad luck + luck) ÷ 2 = 2 × minor luck? In terms of the math, it seems scientific, but the idea feels kinda artsy. Maybe it’s that dual-discipline thing that’s in right now.
“Now we all match,” Yuigahama said gladly.
Yukinoshita smiled in satisfaction as well. “Yes…now it’s an even draw.”
“That’s what you were after?!”
“This method of resolution feels like some nineties participation trophy–style education gone wrong…” This is as bad as the whole class at the school arts festival playing the lead role of Momotaro, all holding hands as they cut through the finish-line tape together.
“I’m joking,” Yukinoshita said with a smile.
Gleefully tucking the fortune she’d gotten into her wallet, Komachi jerked her head up. “We’re done praying and drawing fortunes, so what should we do now?”
“Let’s go look at the food stands!” Yuigahama proposed—she’d been fully intending to do that since she’d been on the way to the shrine—and Yukinoshita nodded in agreement.
We’d be going back along the same shrine road anyway. I wasn’t opposed. Rather, it seemed I had no right to comment in the first place, and the three girls had already started walking.
When we returned the way we’d come, we reached a corner with a line of stalls. Not only did they have standards like okonomiyaki and takoyaki—there were also stalls selling amazake. It had to be a seasonal thing.
Among all the food-type stalls, there was also a sharpshooting booth. You see those a lot at summer festivals, but when I looked over, thinking, They even have those in winter? I caught the sound of someone muttering beside me.
“Why is there sharpshooting at the shrine on New Year’s…?” Yukinoshita was eyeing the booth, probably thinking, How strange…
“Yeah, sure, it’s weird, but I’m sure kids come, too. It’s normal to have things if they figure they can make a profit, right?”
“It’s baffling… Why would one be in a place like this…?” But Yukinoshita wasn’t listening to me, and she still continued to stare at the sharpshooting booth. And there was something that looked like Ginnie the Grue.
Ohhh, that’s why she’s staring… “…You wanna do sharpshooting?”
“No, not really,” Yukinoshita said, but she was fidgeting.
She definitely wants to…
Still continuing to mutter to herself, Yukinoshita was looking over at the thing that looked like Grue-bear. Guess she wasn’t going to move from the spot unless she got it. What do I do here? I’m not really confident in my skills, but maybe I’ll give it a shot and see if I can get it…
As I was calculating the state of my wallet, Yuigahama called out quietly, “Ah!” then gave my sleeve a tug.
“What?”
“Mm,” she said, then further gestured at me to make me bend over a little. Following her direction, I lowered my head slightly, and Yuigahama gently tilted her face toward my ear as if she were going to tell me a secret.
Upon assuming this position, I’d been fully aware that there was about to be some proximity. There was nothing to get startled about now, and nothing to bother getting hyperaware about.
But her citrus perfume was different from usual, and it tickled my nose, and when her cheeks, slightly ruddy under the winter wind, leaned right up in front of me, I didn’t know which way to turn my face.
After expelling a shallow, quiet breath, I looked over at Yuigahama to prompt her to talk, and she let out the very tiniest sigh. Then she began to murmur into my ear. “Hey, what are you gonna do about going to get Yukinon a present?”
“Oh yeah…”
Now that she mentioned it, I considered.
It was almost Yukinoshita’s birthday. And on Christmas not long ago, I’d promised to go buy a present for her.
Oh, it’s not like I’d forgotten that promise—in fact, I’d been thinking about what I should do. I’d been thinking about the whole 5W1H of it: who, what, where, when, why, and how—and not just that but how I should even broach the subject. It’s hard to be the one to invite someone else, you know. I really don’t like deciding on dates and stuff. I’m sure she wouldn’t like it if I just made a decision, but then asking When’s good? is like throwing it all on the other person, and that feels awkward. What the heck? Now it feels like I’ll never decide my whole life.
But anyway, I was grateful she was the one to bring it up. If I put that off too much, my train of thought would start spiraling until I wouldn’t want to go anymore, and then I’d just be like, Hachichika is going home! So I decided to make the decision immediately.
“…Do you have time tomorrow?”
“Y-yeah. I do.” Yuigahama was smushing her bun, maybe a little taken aback.
“Okay, then tomorrow…”
“Yeah…,” Yuigahama replied, then fell silent. I couldn’t really find anything to say, either.
Then Komachi came over and tugged at my sleeve. “Bro, Yukino isn’t moving from her spot over there…”
Yuigahama’s face jerked up. “Oh, why don’t you come, too, Komachi-chan?”
“Huh? For what?”
“Um, well, I was thinking about going shopping tomorrow together with Hikki for Yukinon’s birthday present…”
“Oh, that’s a good idea!” Komachi said, but then she seemed to have a sudden realization. And then smiled a very deliberate smile. “…But on second thought, you know, Komachi’s got to study.”
“O-of course… Mgnh,” Yuigahama moaned. She’d only just given Komachi her fortune a moment ago, so she also remembered Komachi was studying for exams. But then after some more groaning, she lifted her head up and took Komachi’s hand. “B-but, you know, what about a study break? And plus, I’m sure Yukinon would be glad to get something from you, Komachi-chan! I—I also kinda want to get some help from you, too…”
“Huh? O-oh, sure… Hmm?” Even as Komachi replied, she glanced over at me with doubt in her eyes.
“Since she’s inviting you, why not?” I said.
Komachi tilted her head. “Hmm… Why are they moving backward…? But they went together in summer…,” she muttered quietly.
Uh, look, there’s a lot going on, okay? Like, I just can’t quite figure out how much distance to place between us and stuff…
“Well, if you say so…,” Komachi replied, sounding a bit hesitant.
Yuigahama nodded gladly and pulled out her cell phone. “Then it’s decided! I’ll text you later, okay?” Then the cell phone in her hand buzzed. “Oh, sorry a sec,” Yuigahama said, going a little ways away from us to answer her phone. The call seemed to be from someone she was close with. But it would be crass to ask who—well, more like, Just who do you think you are? So I couldn’t ask.
We couldn’t move on until Yuigahama was done with her call. So there was nothing for it but to wait. Regardless, since Yukinoshita was trapped in front of the sharpshooting booth, we couldn’t go anywhere anyway.
With that thought, I looked over to the sharpshooting stall to see Yukinoshita trudging back to us with slumped shoulders.
“What, you’re done?” I said to her.
A sad smile flickered across her face. “Yes. Never mind that trash…”
“Huh?” Wondering just what had happened, I peeked over to the sharpshooting stall. And there, I found the stuffed animal Yukinoshita had been eyeing the whole time was not Ginnie the Grue but Jenny the Grue. Ahhh, you get that sometimes, at these sorts of festival-y places. Like it’s not Nacchan but Occhan orange juice, or Kajidas instead of Adidas or something.
Komachi, who had also been taking a look at the stalls, nodded with understanding and said, “Ohhh, it’s one of those knockoffs, huh? It does kinda look like a cheap Hatchimal…”
Hearing that, Yukinoshita put her hand to her jaw and tilted her head. “Hatchimal? I feel like I’ve heard that name before. I think his surname was Hi…Hiki…”
“Hey? You don’t mean me, do you? You can’t even get my family name right?” I said.
Yukinoshita swept the hair off her shoulders as if she were quite offended. “How rude. I do remember it.”
“You’re the one being rude here, though…”
“More importantly, where’s Yuigahama?”
So the discussion’s over on my name, huh…?
“On the phone over there.” I indicated with a jab of my chin, and over that way, Yuigahama was talking on the phone as she looked around.
“Uh-huh, yeah, like the stone steps? We just came down. We’re already there.”
“Ah, Yui, there you are.”
Walking over to us with her phone in hand was Yumiko Miura. Even in these crowds, the fur at her collar was luxurious and rich, and her bare legs beneath her miniskirt would always draw attention.
Following behind her was Ebina, too. “Happy New Year, Yui. And same to you, too, guys.” Unlike Miura just now, Ebina addressed us, too. She’s a good person.
“Happy New Year.”
“Wow, I haven’t seen you in a long time! Happy New Year.”
“I haven’t seen you since summer, huh, Komachi-chan?”
As Ebina was conversing with Komachi and the others, I responded with a little nod and a “Hey” as I looked over at the group of girls chatting.
“Miura’s crowd, huh…?” I muttered, realizing who it had been on that phone call just now. Yuigahama must have heard, as she turned back to me and nodded.
And then behind them, there were some more familiar faces.
The blond-haired, excitable Tobe, the bovine and indecisive Yamato, and the virgin opportunist Ooka. They were the new Three for the Kill! trio. But Tobe’s hair is less blond and more brown, huh…? Though I really don’t give a damn, so I’ve never paid it much attention.
The three of them were a little ways away from us.
Paper cups in hand, they were being loud and boisterous. It looked like they were drinking amazake. Tobe tossed his paper cup back in one go, then called out, “Ahhhh.”
“The sake really gets to you, man! First drink of the year, whoo! Seriously, guys, have some more.”
“Totally,” Ooka replied, then drank down the contents of his paper cup and breathed a sigh of satisfaction. It’s just amazake, guys. It’s not like it’s really alcoholic.
“Dude, I’m drinking so much, Bro. I feel so warm now. Damn, it’s cold out, huh? Running the school marathon in this is like, whoa, man.”
“Totally.”
“Totally, man.”
Yeah, totally, man…
I was mentally nodding in response to Yamato’s and Ooka’s remarks. Because of the way the calendar happened to work out that year, the school marathon, which was usually in February, had been shifted to the end of January. Soon, we’d have to be running right by the ocean while it was getting colder and colder by the day.
Thanks for starting my new year with a memory of that…, I thought, shooting a resentful glance over at the three stooges.
Then I suddenly realized.
Tobe and his stooges, Miura and Ebina—it was the usual faces.
But the one who was normally in the center of this roster was absent.
“Just them, huh…?” I said.
Yuigahama heard me and slid one step back to line up beside me. “They said they invited Hayato, too, but he couldn’t come.”
“Figures,” Yukinoshita replied with a nod.
That remark was unexpected.
Miura, Ebina, Yuigahama, and I all turned toward Yukinoshita.
“Huh? Do you know something?” Yuigahama asked. She must have been curious about the way Yukinoshita so easily accepted the news.
“His family has always been like that.”
“Oh, really?” Yuigahama nodded like this made sense to her.
Well, Yukinoshita had originally been acquainted with Hayama—or to be more precise, they had been childhood friends, so it wasn’t strange for her to know what was going on with his family.
“Huh…,” I replied noncommittally. But I was now reminded of how I still didn’t know much about Yukinoshita or Hayama. Not like I know Yuigahama all that deeply, either.
Aside from Yuigahama and myself, there was one other person who responded.
“…Hmm. Uh-huh,” Miura huffed quietly, then looked away from Yukinoshita. Then she went a few steps away, spun her hair around her finger, and sighed like she was bored. “I’m hungry.” With that, she trudged away without looking back at the others.
“Ah, Yumiko!” Yuigahama called out, and Miura stopped, shifting her body in their direction. She didn’t say anything, though, and her face was still turned away.
A little smile crossed Ebina’s face, and she started walking. “Then maybe I’ll go get some food, too.”
Tobe’s keen ears picked up on that, and he sidled up to Miura and Ebina. “Oh yeah? You’re going out to eat? Then that’ll be my first meal of the new year!”
Oh, some guys are like that, huh? They celebrate every first in the new year. It’s so obnoxious…
“Ah, um…” Looking back and forth between Miura’s crowd and us, Yuigahama seemed to be struggling to decide.
“You’re not going with them?” I asked her.
“Um…wh-what are you guys doing?” Yuigahama laughed awkwardly.
Yukinoshita gave her a hard look, then smiled just a little. “I’m about to head home. I’m not fond of the crowds,” she said.
Yuigahama’s expression turned complicated. “Huh? But…”
Yukinoshita seemed to sense her worry, laying a gentle touch on Yuigahama’s shoulder. “We can see each other again soon.”
“Yeah…,” Yuigahama replied quietly, though that didn’t really seem to convince her.
Well, none of us really wanted to start off the new year watching Miura and Yukinoshita going at it.
There was no doubting that Yuigahama’s desire to get closer was an expression of her deep affection.
But it’s the way of the world that a friend of a friend is not necessarily your friend, and it’s not always best for everyone to be in the same space, spending time together.
Yukinoshita isn’t very expressive, but I can tell when she’s being considerate. Her ideals for proper behavior aren’t so different from mine. So it was already settled what I would do now.
“Then I’m gonna get going home, too,” I said.
Yuigahama looked up with some surprise. Not that it was anything to be surprised about.
“I just came to visit the shrine anyway. I’ve got to take Komachi home and make her study.”
“Oh, yeah…uh-huh.” Yuigahama nodded.
Beside me, Komachi tug-tugged at my sleeve. “Bro, don’t worry about Komachi—just go!”
I’d triggered some kind of flag—I don’t know if it was a death flag or a survival flag, but I was going to knock it down. Whatever it was, me joining in with that group was not an option.
“Then see you.”
“See you at school.”
After Yukinoshita and I had said that, Komachi had no choice but to bob her head, too. “…Yeah, see you.”
Yuigahama gave us a little wave in front of her chest, and we headed out. Yuigahama was probably going to follow after Miura and her friends, now.
Yuigahama’s friendships in the Service Club were not the only ones she had.
I don’t know if she believes in having best friends, and I don’t know who decides that, either. But I’m sure there have to be days when she worries about it.
I hope the care she shows there will not turn into something that exhausts her.
Returning back along the shrine road we’d come down, we passed through the big torii and came out along the National Highway.
A cold wind blew along the wide road. I found myself shivering, and me and Komachi both drew the collars of our coats closer. Yukinoshita, on the other hand, didn’t seem particularly bothered by the cold. She just quietly adjusted the scarf around her neck.
Komachi tug-tugged at Yukinoshita’s sleeve. “Yukino, let’s stick together until we’re close to your place!”
Yukinoshita hesitated just a little, but then a slight smile came to her face as she replied, “…Sure.” Well, we were going back in the same direction anyway. There was no need to deliberately go our separate ways.
The road from here to the station was a commercial district, and it seemed they were expecting a New Year’s rush, as there were little stalls out under the eaves here, too. It was just as bustling as the shrine area.
Komachi and Yukinoshita chatted over various things related to entrance exams and about what had happened during winter vacation.
Walking slowly along the gentle slope, when we approached the ticket gate at the station, Komachi suddenly stopped.
“Ah! O-oh no! Silly Komachi just forgot to buy a luck charm! I can’t believe it! And I also totally forgot to write my wish on an ema board, so I’m gonna run back! Yukino-san, this is where I leave you guys!”
“Oh, then maybe I’ll buy a lucky charm, too,” I said.
Komachi gave me a look, unimpressed. “What are you talking about, Bro? You big dumb junk brother! Dim bulb! Hachiman! Listen, both of you just go back without me!”
“O-okay… Wait, hold on a second. Hachiman isn’t an insult,” I shot back at her, but Komachi never heard, as she’d already run off.
Uhhh, it’s a little awkward if you disappear that suddenly… I’m kinda stuck here… Thanks to Komachi’s antics, I was somewhat at a loss, but there’s no resisting the little sistering. Oh nooo, I’ve been little sistered.
I turned back to Yukinoshita, wondering just what to do here, and saw her shoulders were trembling, her face turned away.
“What…?” I asked.
Yukinoshita expelled a phew and evened her breathing. Then she said quietly, under her breath, “Dumb brother, dim bulb, Hachiman…”
I suspect Miss Yukinoshita’s insult vocabulary dictionary has gotten a long-awaited update… I gave her a dull look in rebuke, and Yukinoshita cleared her throat to avoid it.
“Oh, no, I just thought, you really are close,” she said with a gentle smile, then immediately spun around to face forward, passing through the ticket gates. I followed after her, heading up the stairs to the train platform.
As always, there were a lot of people on the platform. We must have just hit the exact peak time when people were coming back from visiting the shrine.
Even once the train eventually came and we got on, the seats were quickly filled, and we were forced to stand. Well, it was about two stations at the most. I was tired, but I could deal.
The train swayed as it left the station, and I staggered reflexively, my hand grabbing for the hand strap.
That was when I felt something catching on the edge of my coat. Looking over, a small white hand was grasping the hem.
It steadied my grip on the hanging strap and my legs against the inertia.
The train was filled with noise: the vibrations of the wheels running along the tracks, the sound of the wind hitting the windows, and the murmuring of the riders within. And yet, with each sway of the train, my ears just barely picked up the breathing coming from my right.
…Well, it’s crowded, and we’re swaying. It’s fine.
Though we were standing pretty close, we didn’t really talk, and my eyes drifted toward the hanging ads and the ads above the windows.
Eventually, they landed on a transit map, which brought a sudden question to mind.
“Wait, should you be coming this direction?” I asked.
Yukinoshita tilted her head, looking puzzled. “My home is toward Tokyo, so this should be the right train…” Setting her hand against her chin, Yukinoshita checked the transit map as well. Is she not sure? Well, she does lack all sense of direction…
“No, I just thought maybe you’d be going to your parents’ place, since it’s New Year’s.”
“Oh, that’s what you mean… I’m not going back this year. It’s not as if I have any particular business there. And it’s troublesome, for various reasons…”
“I see.” I didn’t know very much about Yukinoshita’s relationship with her family. Not sure how far I should be intruding, I just made a remark of acknowledgment.
That hesitance must have revealed itself on my face, as Yukinoshita smiled. “It’s not really a big deal. New Year’s is a very busy time. I just avoid unnecessary contact because I doubt it would be pleasant for either of us if I were to go back. And…,” she continued, “it makes little difference whether I’m there or not.”
With that, she looked out the window toward the scenery quickly flowing past.
“I think that’s fine.”
“Hmm?” She turned around, a little surprised.
“If it doesn’t matter if you’re there or not. That’s easy to deal with, and you aren’t causing trouble for anyone. Some people make things uncomfortable just by being around, after all.”
“Is that a self-introduction?” Yukinoshita giggled with a somewhat mean little smile.
“You got it. That’s why I’ve always avoided contact with people as much as possible. Everything is nice and peaceful because I’m so considerate, so I’d appreciate some thanks for that.”
“If you were truly considerate, you wouldn’t be asking for a reward.”
I see. Chii is learning. Consideration…doesn’t expect…reward. But though consideration won’t get you rewards, a lack of it will get you in trouble. It’s so unfair.
Eventually, the train stopped.
This was my station. Yukinoshita would be getting on the bus a station ahead.
“Ah, this is my stop,” I said.
“Mm-hmm.”
With a nod her way, I stepped off onto the platform. “See you.”
I turned around to add Take care on your way back right before the doors closed. In the train, Yukinoshita was looking down as she said in a little whisper, “…Let’s have another good year.”
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