Chapter 3: Until the end, Yuigahama Yui continues to watch
After coming out of the student council room, I dragged on my feet that felt heavier through every step. The fatigue accumulated throughout the day presses heavily onto my body and mind.
As I walked out of the school building, the sun has already went down, the chilly winds of the night started to erode my body.
I had the chills as a gust of wind blew across me, I reacted by putting on the coat that I've been holding in my hand up until now. The fatigue continues to crawl over my entire body, that I can't even get myself to properly roll up the scarf hanging around my neck. The way I'm dressing up probably looks familiar to Takanohana Koji's style in his early days[6].
As I dragged myself with what's left of my consciousness towards the bicycle porch, I remembered that I took the monorail this morning due to the rain.
I continued to drag on my feet, and turned towards the school gate.
On the road, I saw Iroha running in front of me, her skirt fluttering in the wind.
She seemed to have noticed me too. Before I could call out to her, she ran over with small steps, and then landed a punch onto the side of my waist.
"Ah, it hurts..."
Due to her wearing soft gloves, I didn't feel painful at all, but in front of her unhappy expression, I shouted out as if I was in pain to play along her act. However, Iroha did not seem to cheer up, staring at me with a cold sight.
"Are you stupid or something? Why did you have to make things so conflicting?"
"No, listen. It's not just me, Yukinoshita also acted really..."
I tried to give an excuse, but Iroha refused to listen, made a hmph sound and turned over, starting to walk away, I proceeded to follow behind her.
"Listen to me alright? You saw that didn't you, how stubborn, how super duper troublesome..."
"Oh hey, good job with your most accurate self-introduction ever."
"You're welco... wait I'm not talking about me. Even though I did acted the same way back there."
Saying that, I sped up my footsteps in order to catch up with Iroha. However, the distance between did not shorten at all.
"By the way, aren't you walking a little too fast? This is the kind of speed one uses when they're trying to get rid of this random annoying guy in front of the train station."
"Ah, I don't need these."
Without looking back back, Iroha replied in a low tone.
Yup, that was cold. I guess she won't turn around even if I start shouting Vanilla Vanilla high income[7]. So I continued to follow her footsteps.
If my memory serves me well, Iroha should be heading to the station a mile ahead of us. Even if the trains we take go in opposite directions, we'll still have to start out at the same station.
So I continued to step upon Iroha's shadow for quite some time.
During this period, neither me or Iroha said a single word. Only the rustling sounds of dried leaves, the ringing sounds of the bicycles passing by, and the roaring sounds of the wind could be heard.
It is natural for Iroha to feel so frustrated. The conversation between me and Yukinoshita never felt coordinated throughout the process, to the point that I had to declare my opposition against her. Iroha who was unaware about the competition going on in the Service Club probably felt really confused. I even promised her that I'll talk it through properly before we enter the student council, for things to result in such a way. I really felt sorry.
I guess its better if I apologize to her huh... as I was thinking, Iroha suddenly stopped in her tracks. Standing on the small road beside a park, and under the dim lights from the two vending machines nearby, she let out a weak, frustrated breath.
She then turned around, looking at me speechlessly. She then pointed her finger at the vending machine while remaining silent.
Is she asking for a treat? Well, if this can change her mood for the better, then its definitely a worthwhile investment. But to look it in another way, she's also offering a peace treaty through me buying her a drink. What a nice person....
I put some coins into the vending machine and started to choose drinks. Warm max coffee and...milk tea? No, perhaps bean soup is a better option...... or corn soup should be fine too. Eh, whatever. I then pressed on the button.
I then handed over the drinks that I chosen at random, Max coffee on my right hand, bean soup on the other. Iroha looked at my drinks of choice and shown a sign of disgust.
"Why does it have to be these two..."
While complaining, probably thinking that its not nice to straight up refuse, she took the can of bean soup reluctantly. Chiba residents are surprisingly incompatible with Max coffee huh...
She then squatted down, leaning her back onto the vending machine, took of her gloves, open up the bean soup, and took a sip. Releasing a puff of white gas in the process.
"...So uhm, sorry."
"For what."
Standing beside the squatting Iroha, I opened up my can. Awaiting her reply while drinking. Iroha who seemed to have some trouble speaking out, muttered slowly.
"If I never mentioned about the prom, perhaps things wouldn't have ended up being so conflicted."
The way Iroha said it sounded so awkward and intriguing, that I find it funny and cute, so I accidentally looked at her in an unnatural way. Iroha then reacted by pulled her scarf over her mouth, saying "what are you looking at..." in a muffled voice. I smiled bitterly and shook my head.
"...It has nothing to do with the prom. In fact this might be exactly what we needed."
"Eh?"
Iroha looked up at me looking confused. Is it because of the warmth and sweetness of the coffee? My voice sounded a lot more softer than I thought. This made me feel a little shy, so I raised my head looking towards the sky.
"If we don't bring things to an end, we'll end up being stuck with our current situation. A destination, or specifically a goal is needed. Its not just the prom, whatever request we're taking on will turn up the same way it is right now."
"Is that……so."
Her weak reply made me feel concerned, as I looked back. Iroha is hugging onto her knees looking down, as if she is thinking over something. But, Iroha really shouldn't really feel sorry about it.
Me, Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. The relationship between the three of us became distorted before we could realize it. Yes, our relationship did started out being somewhat distorted. But it has been corrected little by little as time passes, and at some point we managed to create a space that seem comfortable for the three of us.
I am responsible for the collapse of this comfort zone. Even if there are things that I can't stand with, things that I find unnatural, but on the other hand I also ended up wishing, that things could stay the way they are, and have the days pass through as we conceal ourselves with shallow words.
Such an unstable state, will easily collapse no matter what junctures come upon it. This time it just happened to be the prom, and Yukinoshita Haruno's interference. Iroha was simply dragged into our mess. So I should be the one to apologize.
"I'm sorry too, for making things so chaotic."
Hearing that, Iroha simply shrugged and answered in a lazy tone.
"Ah... that doesn't matter actually. Like I said, as long as the prom can be held successfully, I'm fine with anything~"
"Hmph……"
Replied me with a similarly lazy tone, and our conversation came to a sudden halt.
The warmth from the can in my hand is slowly fading. However, neither I or Iroha were in a hurry to finish off our drinks, as we stared quietly into the night. Perhaps the fatigue accumulated from this busy day is starting to show itself again. We might be even more busy starting tomorrow.
I never wanted to be related to work and labor, yet before I realize it I'm already actively trying to get myself involved with the prom. In fact I was against this during the beginning, yet I got defeated by Iroha's enthusiasm. Like seriously, where did all her enthusiasm even came from?
"...Hey, honestly speaking, why did you want to organize the prom so badly?"
Iroha glanced at me looking surprised, then pulled herself a distance away from me step by step.
"I mean, you never gave us an actual reason back then."
At least she did show us her determination. But one could say that, she only conveyed her determination.
But due to us being familiar with Iroha to an extent, just listening to her determination is enough for us to decide on helping her out.
She talked about wanting to become Prom Queen back then in the clubroom, but that's probably not what she really had in mind. There are times where Iroha would use really shallow words, there are times where she would blow things out of proportions, there are also times where she would make silly jokes, and sometimes she would just come out with random words that popped up in her head.
But, Iroha is also smart enough to be aware of the true nature of things. So she probably has an intent of her own with organizing the prom.
"Well...its about that you know, the thing about Hiratsuka sensei being shifted away."
"...You already knew that since the beginning?"
"Well, yeah. There was this time where I was going to hand in a report, where I overheard about it through the conversation among the teachers."
Iroha said it without paying too much attention. This girl is truly amazing. Not telling anyone else about the news after learning about it, and silently worked on the prom...
I nodded in admiration, Iroha then said with slightly embarrassed tone.
"It was that time where I thought that, if I don't properly send her off, that if I don't give her a proper farewell I'll definitely regret it."
"I never knew that you felt...that way towards Hiratsuka sensei....sniff."
I covered my mouth to hold back my sobs. Muh man, she really, really is a good person. Such a beautiful mentor pupil love...That Iroha, who gets scolded by Hiratsuka on a daily basis, and always shrugs off her comment with a poker face.... Hiratsuka sensei, your love has really reached into your students hearts...
As I was feeling moved, Iroha silently gazed away and whispered.
"Ah, well, yeah, I don't... to that kind of degree you know."
"Erm? What? What did you just say?"
But then again, this sounded more like a shitty excuse than an actual reason.
Iroha cleared up her throat through a few light coughs, then made a really cute smile, and looked at me teasingly.
"Well, isn't senpai the exact same kind of person? The kind of person who, will tell himself that he didn't manage to do anything, and feel regretful over it."
"Well yeah, I guess so..."
It is true that I'm currently feeling regretful at the moment, which made my true feelings blend into my voice, giving it a sense of solidness. Iroha then nodded in satisfaction.
"I'm probably this type of person too."
Her words surprised me a little. As I looked at her in confusion, Iroha made a pale, lonely smile, and looked into the distance.
"I mean even for someone like me, I don't actually have a lot of friends, isn't so?"
"What kind of person did think you look from the outside..."
"Uhm hmm."
"Please continue"
Realizing that I've interrupted her, I nodded a few times as an apology, and allowed her to continue. Iroha gave me a cold look, and sighed deeply, she then lowered her head, playing with a small stone beside her shoes, and slowly continued to speak.
"I only have you senpais. Which is why, I wanted to properly send of you, Yukino and Yui senpai, Hayama senpai...and even Tobe senpai and a lot of my other senpais off."
Her intermittent words weaved themselves into a gentle sound, which made the edges of my mouth to lose tension. Boi, what an incredible kouhai that I have here. If I don't reply her with a joking manner, I might really wet my eyes before I know it.
"Ahaha, were you always that good of a person?"
"I'm doing this so that I won't have any regrets. It was all for myself, not for the sake of you senpais alright."
Iroha emphasized her intent, and made a hmph sound while raising up her chest. Under the illumination of the vending machine, her slightly reddish ears were exposed among her swaying hair. I should probably pretend that I never saw that.
To claim that all her actions were for the sake of herself, I don't necessarily dislike such an attitude.
"...And that's why I wanted to make a prom."
Iroha looked up into the night sky with a dreamy expression, saying out her wishes.
"Like this, to purposely work on something troublesome, spend a lot of time, to think, to drown deep in thoughts, to the point where we feel stressful, panicked, and starting to feel tired of each other ... and finally find ourselves at peace, letting go of something we once held dear to. Is this not a refreshing way to bid farewell?"
Looking at how Iroha raised up both of her arms with a wow, I finally understood what she was talking about.
That process she said of is probably the path that I once walked on. Can I struggle till the end in such an unpleasant way, and willingly accept our separation?
"... Well, it's not that hard to understand."
"Really?"
Asked Iroha half teasingly towards the words that went out of my mouth. Even if I knew that she was joking around, her eyes that are staring at me shone with sincerity. So, I remained silent, only showing her a faint smile.
"If that's the case..."
Saying that, Iroha pulled onto the my scarf and stood up. She the made a turn with her arm, and wrapped it around my neck like a gymnastic ribbon.
"Then be a little serious."
Even though she's still wearing a smile on her face, yet using a tone completely different from the joking sounds from just now, she rebuked me. This distance where we can feel each others white breath, and the surprise from being scolded by a girl who is younger than me, made me froze for a moment.
"Ah, ah, sorry..."
I took a few millimeters of distance away from her, and readjusted my scarf. In order to hide my surprised and blushing face ninja style.
Seeing my reaction, Iroha sighed deeply, and then grabbed onto the corner of my scarf, playing with it.
"If you start acting more serious, I can't get myself to feel serious too. It's a problem alright, this kind of thing. It's so annoying to think of, it's so hard to deal with, and it's so troublesome. Like very very troublesome."
Said Iroha, as she tightens the scarf, pinching it onto my chest. After she beautifully rolled the scarf to the point no air could pass through its gaps, she gave me a neko punch across the scarf.
"Ouch it hurts..."
Across the soft gloves and tightly wrapped scarf, I don't feel any pain from her fist at all.
Yet, its sensation continues to echo solidly within my chest.
3-2
I turned on the lights in the living room, and whispered that I have returned.
However no one responded, only the chilly air swirls within the house.
My parents are still at work, Komachi might have gone out too. So where's our beloved cat ... I made some thinking, and flipped up the quilt placed over the heater. Among the darkness, a pair of flashy things could be seen, my eyes lined up with that of Kamakura's, who's lying down comfortably beside our heating machine.
Kamakura simply stared at my face, not meowing nor growling, staying motionless. Telling me through its eyes "Human, the cold air is entering, hurry up and close the kotatsu." Huh, it greets Komachi whenever Komachi she comes back, but treats me with such an attitude? Why can't he be a little more close to me, guess Kamakura doesn't like me getting near him huh... I felt uneasy with that thought, telling him "I'm back.", let go of the blanket, while turning on the switch to the heater, which tends to be turned off when no one is left in the house... Time to warm myself up...
Since the cat already had its share of air conditioning, its time for the human to enjoy his. I pressed on the remote control, adjusting the air conditioner to greenhouse mode. Warm air then started to blow out, which made me finally feel comfortable. I untied the scarf wrapped around my neck, and took a deep breath.
I would usually spend the next few hours laying around lazily, but I don't have that much free time to stay comfy right now.
After taking off my coat, I lay down on the sofa. Held my phone in my hands, and started to search for information. The keywords being, prom nights.
'I will make the prom happen,' even though I made such a solid statement, and even though me and Yukinoshita have decided on the directions we'll take on separately. I'm still lacking actual content and resources.
First of all, I'll have to obtain as much info about proms as possible, before shortlisting the things I can do.
After researching a certain amount of into, I paste them into the notebook, writing down my own comments and ideas, and repeat the same process.
The information that I could find on the internet, are most probably content that Yukinoshita and Iroha have went through and taken consideration of, which makes me feel that no actual progression has been made. No matter how much information I collect, it won't be easy to come out with a proposal that could stand out more in comparison to that of Yukinoshita's.
Yukinoshita and the others were not wrong with their direction of fixing the issues of the parents' concerns, but their plan doesn't seem to guarantee anything either. Another rejection from the parents or the school will mean that they'll have to start from scratch... urghhh... I don’t understand this~ can’t think anything~ can't find any inspiration at all~ I struggled with my brain to figure out an idea, while rolling on the sofa.
There are less than two weeks until the graduation ceremony. If we take the actual preparation time into consideration, I'm left with two to three days' time to think of a solution. The proposal has to be done before that, its a deadline that must not be exceeded.
No, wait a second, think about it in a more flexible mindset...
It is true that the deadline cannot be broken, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it can't be delayed, isn't so? Ah hah, now that's how you deal with an editor flexibly! Truly well played, man am I a genius.
Unfortunately, unlike the flyers back then, the opponent is not an editor, but a scheduled activity that will not change its date, a much stricter timetable is upon us.
We're being forced to a desperate situation right now.
For now, a change in perspective is necessary. This is when I have to change my point of view. As I continued to think, I rolled down from the sofa, and kept rolling until I went under the warm quilt kotatsu.
This is definitely a very weird act from the viewpoint of an outsider, but history has proven that people who do strange things tends to lead them into new ideas, especially when they give up on caring about the views of others.
After rolling myself under the blanket, under the dim light, Kamakura seemed shocked, and fled to the corner furthest from me, looking at me with eyes that spells "What is wrong with this guy ..."
AHA! EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED! This is time where, even a cat's paw could be of use! If I place the ball of meat on its paw to rubs onto my eyelids, it could heal up my tired eyes, bringing my soul towards inner peace, such serene grace, leading us towards world peace, and the new series of ARMORED CORE will be released!
Trying to get Kamakura lend me its paw, I reached out my arm towards it. Which Kamakura responded by jumping out of the stove.
As I popped my head out of the kotatsu, not sure when exactly did she came back, my eyes lined up with that of Komachi's, who stood in front of me with a stern look.
"...What are you doing brother?"
As she stared at me coldly, Kamakura moved towards her feet, rubbing his face onto her feet. Komachi then kneels down, rubbing all over Kamakura's body. While maintaining her cold attitude towards me.
"Don't roll around in your uniform, go get a change clothes first. Its wrinkled and there's sticking hair."
"Oh, alright..."
I answered while standing up, and began to loosen my tie while walking into my room.
I quickly changed into my jersey and walked back into the living room. Komachi who has also changed into her casual wear could be seen walking into the kitchen.
"Onii, have you eaten yet?"
"Ah, no."
"Mom prepared a pot of stew , are you okay with it?"
"Well sure... not like there are any other choices."
I too, walked into the kitchen, secretly looking around to see if there's anything else. But other than the bubbling contents within the clay pot, nothing else could be seen above the stove. Come to think of it, we've been having nothing else but hotpot for dinner recently ... The pitcher for noodles in the summer, and the pitcher for hotpot in the winter, the battle for the strike king title in this year is as exciting as usual.
As I shown a displeased face, Komachi pointed at me with a ladle while placing her hand on her waist.
"If you have a problem with it, then make your own food."
"Alright……"
She seemed so upright about it, that I could only nod obediently. Preparing dinner for us even when you're so busy, thank you mum and dad, very cool.
Well, in comparison to the days where we only had plain noodles, the charm of hotpots lies in how they can come out with different trick balls, sumo pot assorted pot chicken pot spicy cabbage curry and even porridge udon and so on, which makes it just so much better. If you post such a thought on Twitter, chances are that you'll receives a bunch of trash replies like "HaNGiNG nOoDLeS ArE NoT thAt BaD! aS LoNG aS yoU pUt iN eFForT, yOu cAn COmE ouT WiTH mANy VariATiOnS toO! LOL." that shit is truly annoying, look our family cook noodles for the sake of its simplicity alright, spending effort on making variations of it is doing the exact opposite. If your reply them this way, you'll get even more dumb answers like "ThE kEY oF CooKInG DeLIciOuS nOoDLeS, oNlY rEQuiReS PlAiN NoOdLEs. CoME ovEr To MuH pLAce, I'lL ShOW yOU HoW iTS DoNe." this is just so annoying, inviting people to their place the next day just to prove that, look I have own plans too alright. This kind of person would spend a few hours talking about the different tastes of plain noodle, just eat them that way, with no other seasoning but a pinch of salt. Looking at these ingredient enthusiasts, salt enthusiasts and soup enthusiasts arguing with each other is just simply abnormal.
When you're eating something, its just best not be disturbed by anyone, this sense of freedom is just...how do I say it, like you've been granted salvation! In other words, eating with Komachi is simply the best isn't so? Like how that one best brother has always said, Imouto Sae Ba Ii[8].
I then prepared two bowls, scooped up enough rice for the both of us, and walked towards the kotatsu.
Komachi then carefully brought the pot over. After I cleaned up the table and placed a pad on the table, she then placed the pot onto the table, while I arranged the chopsticks and small bowls.
Komachi quickly filled up the small bowls with food and placed them in front of me.
"Here, which one do you want?"
"Aren't them both the same..."
The taste shouldn't be that different ... and I'm not expert about hotpots either. But after thinking for a while, I then compared the contents in both bowls.
One has slightly more cabbage, and the other has slightly more pork. Not too much of a difference.
But since I was asked to choose, I'll have to decide on one of them. Like how Iroha was forced to choose between the Max coffee and bean soup just now.
"Ah...ahhhh...so that's how it is."
A thought came to me that made me stared at the small bowls, so Komachi picked up her head.
"Is there anything wrong?"
"No, nothing."
Answering that, I took the one with more pork in it. Komachi pulled over the other small bowl to her side, and slapped her hands together.
"Well then, itadakimasu."
"Alright, itadakimasu."
Me and Komachi then started eating. The taste of the soup was properly incorporated into the cabbage and pork, making them quite tasty, very nice. Huh, it’s actually not bad. Might be an extreme statement but, boys won't complain on their food as long as there's meat.
We ate silently for some time, the sound of Kamakura munching on cat food could be heard from the far side of the kitchen.
"By the way, you came home pretty early today."
Its been a few days since the two of us had dinner together. I believe that today is the first time since we that day our family celebrated on Komachi passing her entrance exam. For the next few days after passing her entrance exam, Komachi has been eating dinner with her friends, and always returning home late in the night.
Komachi listened and nodded, answering as she chewed on a cabbage:
"Well, yeah, been pretty busy here ever since the result day."
"What are you even working on..."
Komachi then did some thinking, while counting on her fingers.
"Let see...thank you for all the hard work celebration, congratulations celebration, thank you celebration, the long time no see celebration, the nice to meet you celebration...and uhhhh..."
"How many celebrations are there exactly..."
By the way, what the hell is a nice to meet you day... who are you even having a first meeting with... Is this sadness? Or is this courage? If this is the case, then its time to say goodbye to my tears[9].
Looking at my puzzled face. Komachi, who's done counting her fingers, smiled and reached out to me with a fist.
"Then, then, since there is no reservation today, so it's a brother's day? Ehehe, Komachi scored very high with that one!"
"Yes...yes you did"
So she decided to have a brother's day through exclusion method huh, well, fine by me. Having that say, this girl is truly nuts. Having so many outdoor activities being planned for a few days time, she truly has the spirit of those young people who would decide to hang out somewhere on a whim. Won't she feel tired from being high for so many days... This sounds devastating to me mental and wallet health.
"Having too much friends is also a problem huh..."
I said that while drinking my soup slowly. At least I can't live that way. Komachi however, doesn't seem to bothered about my statement, and answered normally.
"It's not just the school, I have a lot of relations with your student council. We even contact each other on the SNS before entering school."
Ah, so that's what the nice to meet you gathering was about. But really? Starting a social group before even entering school? That's some high difficulty game mode.
"...Won't you feel awkward after entering school? For being so friendly with each other before entering school, with the chance of ending up as total strangers when you actually see them..."
Hearing that, the chopsticks that Komachi was holding froze in midair. She then looked at me with an awkward smile and disheartened eyes.
"You really like to talk about such unpleasant things don't you onii-chan..."
"But that is something that might actually happen..."
"Well... I guess you're right... but it can't be helped isn't so?"
How dry~ Komachi superdry~[10] she seemed troubled just now for a moment, but immediately replied me with a smile. Such a clean direct attitude my sister has ... While I started to feel terrified with how bright my sister’s future seems to be, I suddenly remembered of something.
"Is that Daishi guy coming too?"
Kawasaki Daishi, the brother of Sa WhateverHerNameIs Ki, also passed his entrance exam to Sobu High a few days ago. This kid seems to have an interest towards Komachi. If that piece of shit is also present at the nice to meet you celebration, then I must eradicate this bug from getting near Komachi! As I'm having very extreme thoughts, Komachi gave me a much more extreme answer.
"Who? Ah, yeah I think he's joining."
"Ouch..."
Without even looking at me, replied Komachi as she added more food into small bowl. In Komachi's heart, Daishi is just a far relative to us homo sapiens? I'm starting to feel a little sympathetic towards him being mistreated, press F to pay resp ... Nah what am I talking about, I don't care about that kid!
3-3
After cooking some porridge using the rest of the soup, clearing up all of its contents, our stomachs were filled up, and I sat down leisurely drinking a cup of tea.
Komachi put Kamakura onto her lap, grooming him while humming a song, and I started scrolling on my phone while lying down.
A direction has been determined, but it's still lacking context. Prom night, graduation party, searched through all possible keywords, yet I never came across any inspiring information, I made a deep sigh and rolled over.
My eyesight eventually lined up with Komachi's, who is sitting in front of me. She asked me what's wrong, tilting her head with a cute smile.
Looking at her, I remembered of something.
"By the way... you are about to graduate soon right."
"Yep."
I asked her straightforwardly, which Komachi nodded while answering.
A strong atmosphere of celebration has been going on, since everyone's attention was put onto the the fact that Komachi will be entering high school, but before that, Komachi will also have to go through her secondary school's graduation ceremony. Even if junior high school and high school might have some differences, they are both based on the concept of graduates celebrating on the new phase of life they're about to step into.
I wonder if I can get any inspirations for the prom from her.
"Speaking of graduation, do you have any plans?"
"Hmm? That's a weird question."
Komachi smiled awkwardly, but she also looked up and did some thinking.
"Graduation... Ah, Komachi wants to go to her graduation trip."
Answered Komachi, as if she just remembered about it. In this instant, I sprung up.
"Yoooo, this is the first time I heard about it. What about me?"
"Huh, of course you won't be joining us. Its not like we're travelling with our parents or your friends."
I shook my hand towards Komachi in refusal. "No, no, nonononono, having an overnight trip is a no! I won't allo..." I tried holding back my words on my throat as I realized that I was about to say 'I won't allow it, but Komachi seems to have heard half of it, and stared at me with a cold look.
Komachi is no longer a child after all... continuing to act like an overprotective brother might be a little too much for us. As a result, Komachi started to look impatient, let out a deep breath, and continued saying.
"And there's the graduation party. Well, which is basically just everyone in the class having a meal together."
"Ok..."
I made a casual response, while secretly writing down notes on my phone.
The graduation trip kind of a problem, but the graduation party makes sense. Every one having dinner at the nearby barbecue shop, enjoy the food while chatting, something like that. Or even, go to a better place, like the legendary first class yakiniku restaurant in Japan 'Akamon' for example. At least Akamon's the best option for people living in Chiba. People who live outside of Chiba might probably choose somewhere like 'Sengoku'.
... But then again, when she said 'everyone' in the class, does she literally meant everyone? Like, there tends to be that one or two persons who never gets an invitation (through my observation) you know? The outlier of the class you know? Apparently I am quite familiar with this aspect you know!?
Cough.
Anyway, time to ask her something else.
"So is there any other plans? An activity of some sort."
"Oh? Activities?"
Komachi has seemed confused with my question. But, she suddenly seemed to have remembered something, and made a loud wow.
"...Ah, does the three-send party counts? Is that the one? I'm not quite sure actually."
"The three-send party...ah, you meant that kind of three-send party."
It's not a term that I'm used to, so it took me some time to figure it out, its basically what they refer to the farewell party for third year students.
Pulling out my memories from my middle school era, in addition to the graduation ceremony, there was such an activity that I went through. Where all members of each class were forced attend, while being forced to sing a song too. Which, the boys part in our choir got commented with stuff like "The boys! Sing properly!" it was so bad, that the girl playing the piano cried and ran out, with Orimoto leading the group to go after her, and me being forced to apologize or something...ouch.
"What do you do during that event again? I remember that you're supposed to sing a song. Graduation themed songs like kabosu I believe?"
"And sudachi."
"Ah, that one. There's also the song where you go, our dear mother earth~~I think?"
"Yeah, that kind of songs. Well, but people usually sing "Praise the Land" at the graduation ceremony, there's some other performance too, what was that again..."
Some other performance huh...... I picked up my head and suddenly a memory came to my mind.
"Performance.... ah, is that the one where you go? Hello spring~the light of early spring~ one two, everybody!"
Komachi then sang along.
"One two, everybody!"
"Graduate~"
"Graduate!"
We split up the boys and girls part, even the two tone pause in the middle was completely reproduced. Our stupid actions made me smile at Komachi.
"...This kind of feeling?"
Which Komachi responded with a smile, and then shook her head while still smiling.
"No, it's a completely different song."
"Eh... I even sang with all that enthusiasm..."
If that's not the one, why did she not stop me earlier... I looked at Komachi with a look of resentment, which Komachi replied.
"Also that's a slogan, the one we used back in our elementary school."
"Wait, really? I have no memory of that at all. Well, I've only graduated from elementary school and secondary school. So its not like I went through a lot of graduations."
Even though I said that, I still written about the three-send event into my notes. It might not be something that I can take reference to, but it could give me some inspiration. After all no one really knows what kind of things could give one an inspiration. So I continued to write down singing, performance, slogans and other related things.
This kind of note-taking action works similarly to that of brainstorming. Like what president Tamakoma once said, never rush to a conclusion, and that any opinions can be considered...
As I started to think about people that I remembered deep in my memories, immersing myself in the nostalgia, Komachi for some reason, looked at me with pitiful eyes.
"Indeed ....Onii-chan still haven't graduated from Precure and school idols..."
"What are you talking about, there's no graduation to those, its lifetime education. People don't just graduate from them by not watching. That's just them being a dropout, a cultural studies dropout!"
"Onii-chan at this point you're just a repeating student..."
In respond to my protest, Komachi gave up debating and sighed deeply.
Ayyy that's my Komachi, she truly understands me. As I review the events that happened throughout the year, and how I still didn't manage to grow. The repeating student statement surprisingly fits me. Without realizing it, I let out a smile mixed with self-abuse.
Seeing my expression, Komachi tilted her head in grief. But she seems to have decided to not talk further about this topic, and asked me a different question.
"Is there no three-send ceremonies in high school?"
"Ah, no there doesn't seem to be such a thing."
At least for this year, there are no signs that this activity will be held. Probably because every clubs might have their very own annual party. Back then I never joined any clubs so I'm not quite sure about that. Perhaps I should ask someone else about this next time? So, on my notes, I wrote down "Chat with Totsuka❤".
The result of my solo brainstorming brought me to a pretty good conclusion. I had a sense of satisfaction, so I put down my phone, and looked at Komachi, who lay down her head on the kotatsu.
"Is that so... Well, I guess it makes sense that high school students won't do such an activity."
Muttered Komachi, seemingly disappointed, she continued to hum and played with Kamakura. The melody sounded familiar, probably a classic graduation song?
As I listened to this lonesome song, I turned off the notepad on my phone.
"Well we don't really have a three-send activity, ... but starting from this year, we'll be doing a prom."
I opened up the browser, and showed her the prom related web pages that I just went through, Komachi looked through the pictures and videos I showed her, and gave off a surprised expression.
"Oh.... Wow, what is this, this is so cool! Oh my, onii-chan~...are you really gonna do this?"
Komachi’s looked up, her eyes sparkling with strong expectations. My mouth twitched for a moment, but I managed to force a smile while nodding at her. Even though I did not make a direct statement, my reply also implied that the prom will become a reality.
There's no proof to show her that it'll actually happen, and we're behind schedule for any preparations. In fact I don't even know how we'll work it out.
But, the prom will happen.
At least this one statement, is what I can be sure of.
3-4
Even after a night's sleep, the fatigue from yesterday continues to linger.
After laying down inside the kotatsu for some time alongside Komachi, midnight falls, and I traveled across somewhere between reality and dreamscape, fell down on my bed, and completely snoozed off.
When I came to my senses it was already morning, and its about time I head to school. I went out after having breakfast and changing into my school uniform, but I can't be sure if I can even make it before the class bell rings.
Komachi seems to have slept at the same time as me, but she woke up looking energetic, and has already changed and went out earlier than me.
As I calculated, my sleeping time should be that of an average person. But sleepiness continues to shroud over my head. Thanks to that, my feet felt heavy as I paddled on my bike.
The gears within my brain and the gears on my bicycle don't seem to move a lot, as opposed to the needles that continued to turn on my wristwatch.
I have to make preparations for the prom starting from today.
There's not much time left, and the means that can be taken are limited. Even under such circumstances, I have yet to lay out a specific plan. Not to mention that there are people that I made big promises to.
The more I think about of it, the more tired my legs felt. But after using all my strength on paddling, I finally passed through the main gate a short moment before the bell rang.
I sped up my steps walking forward, the stairs linked towards the classrooms seemed crowded, as students who just ended their morning club activities, and students who're almost late like me rushed along.
Among them, I noticed a slightly peach colored hair, walking so quickly, that her bag and her long scarf, and that hair bun leaped up and down along her footsteps.
After recognizing Yuigahama, I hesitated to call her, as I was reminded of that scene from yesterday. Soon, Yuigahama came shoe closet area, and began to change into her indoor shoes.
The moment she noticed my presence, her actions paused for a moment. Then, with a faint smile she placed her small hands over her chest, something seemed to have jiggled in my view.
This action made me felt a slightly embarrassed, I nodded at her a few times, then pulled my scarf up and ran towards the shoe shelves in small steps.
Yuigahama whispered to me while poking her hairbun.
"Good morning."
"...Morning."
After a short moment of eye contact, I immediately shifted my line of view towards the indoor shoes that I just threw on the floor. As I pulled onto the end of shoes trying to wear them, Yuigahama waited quietly beside me.
I knocked on the floor with the tip of my shoe, indicating that we can head over now, she nodded, and began to walk as is she's guiding the way.
"Ahhh, that was so close, we're almost late back there."
Saying that, Yuigahama took off her scarf, rolled it into a ball and hugs onto it. Using her usual cheery expression and tone.
But the way Yuigahama is acting like she always does, made me feel unnatural in return, but I can only go along with her words, nodding in reply.
Even though I'm aware that something felt off, since she is acting in her usual self, it's better not to bring up what happened yesterday, but the thought of not mentioning it made me feel dishonest. So I made sure that there were no other students nearby us, and whispered to her.
"Were you fine yesterday?"
"Eh?"
I wonder if that question was said too straightforwardly that I surprised her, as she stared at me, tilting her head. But, she seemed to have remembered yesterday's events, and put her hands over her cheeks.
"Ah, um. No problem at all! Sorry, I felt a little... ehehe, like, a little embarrassed about it... I said it before didn't I, that kind of things happen often to me."
Anxious, shy, embarrassed, awkward, after a series of changes in her expressions, she finally let out a smile. Noticing that is her signal to end this topic, I smiled and nodded in reply. Even if something felt odd, avoid to pursue it naively, to break it down, to push it away. It might not be long, but the time we spent with each other, is enough to make finding a comfortable distance for each other a common skill between us.
I began to climb the stairs, while Yuigahama willingly stepped in front of me, which I followed up at a slower pace. Have most students already entered their classrooms? No other people could be seen us. As we stepped onto the wide platform at the middle of the stairs, Yuigahama looked back at me from her side.
"So what about Hikki? How did things went after that?"
"Well... a lot of things happened. As a result I decided to intervene with the prom."
"I see,"
She made a smile looking relieved, then turned back and continued to move forward. I nodded while looking at her back, and said with my heavy mouth.
"So for today... you should go back before me."
In reality, we didn't actually make an appointment to go home together. Realizing that I acted overly self-aware by saying this, a felt of disgust emerges from the depths of my heart. As I was criticizing myself for misunderstanding things, Yuigahama nodded in reply.
"Sure."
Feeling that I got saved, I continued my sentence.
"Not just today, for this period, it will be this way."
"...Yeah, I understand. Its to help out Yukinon after all."
Yuigahama continued to walk up the stairs step by step. We then soon reached the third floor where our classroom is located. While looking at her at half a step's distance, I pull my scarf, after getting rid of the suffocating tension over my neck, I turned my head a few times to relax myself.
It’s better if I talk to Yuigahama about how things went yesterday. Putting aside whether she could understand it fully, its better to let her learn more about it.
"No, actually... instead of helping her I actually ended up going against her."
"Uhm, su....re? What??"
Yuigahama who has been walking smoothly all the time made a sudden stop, turning her entire body around. With her mouth wide open, with her shocked and confusion being expressed throughout her whole body. Her reaction is so huge to the point it actually felt refreshing. Guess being honest about my mistake was a good idea after all.
"Uhhh yeah, how do I say this.... She was so stubborn, that my request to help out became a no go. So I decided to oppose her. Otherwise I can't find another way to get involved."
"Ha...ha..."
Yuigahama started from struggling to receive the info, to slowly understanding the things that have happened, turning her confused expression into a conflicted one.
"How do I say it... Hikki you make super clumsy decisions at times..."
"The other way of saying that is. That I'm occasionally super smart."
I gleefully walked past Yuigahama, raising my chest for no apparent reason, while wearing a smug smile over my face.
As she seen my expression, I could hear that Yuigahama snorted, she then seemed to struggle for a while, and asked me.
"Did you talk through it properly?"
"......Can properly talking through things solve anything?"
Its me and Yukinoshita, mind you. I added such a reminder. Yuigahama then made a deep sigh, seeming to have understood the situation.
As expected of Yuigahama, she really understands us.
"It can't. Which is why we agreed on having a competition. Anyway, we first have to complete the prom. Otherwise nothing else can be done.... stuff like club activities, or even thinking on how do we move on from here."
The more I speak, the more questions that come into my mind.
End the prom, and then what? What should I do about the service club, how do I deal with this medium that no longer operates? How do we think about our futures?
As I continued to think, I have reached in front of our classroom.
Yuigahama's footsteps sounded light and slow, as if she was feeling moody as we were walking, but when she was about to reach the door, she suddenly stopped. What happened, I look back and saw Yuigahama thinking through something.
She then looked up, staring at me seriously.
"...Can I help?"
Yuigahama can be seen gripping tight onto the strap of her schoolbag, her eyes filled with unwavering determination. Looking at the strong expectations shown in her closed mouth and big eyes.
Such an expression, made it impossible for me to refuse.
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