VOLUME 5
Chapter 5 – Come to think of it, the stage for the final chapter hasn’t been set yet
“Tomoya.”
“Mm…”
“d.a.m.n it, Tomoya!”
“…Huh?”
The cla.s.sroom was abuzz with activity during lunchtime.1
Several days after that hectic weekend, on a Thursday.
Not eating, but sleeping majestically on my desk since first period, I was unapologetically shaken awake.
“Hey, there’s something I gotta to ask you.”
“Hmm? Oh, you came at a great time, Yoshihiko. In return for robbing me of my precious naptime, you have the honor of buying me a curry bun for lunch.”
“…I’m not sure if that makes me proud or embarra.s.sed,” grumbled Cla.s.smate A (Kamigou Yoshihiko) as he produced a melon bun and sat on the chair in front of me.
“What’s up?”
To reward his devotion, I decided that it was only right of me to expend no more than 300 calories on this conversation.
“Man, you’ve been sleeping as soon as you step through the door lately. Been working hard?”
“Yeah, I’m kind of caught up in something right now.”
Despite somehow making it through that incredible weekend alive, it seems that I’ve only steadily gotten busier since.
I haven’t slept a wink at home. Instead, I’ve been abusing my brain and banging away at the keyboard until morning, all while writhing in agony from gastric pains.
Like Yoshihiko said, even though I’ve been coming to school during the week, I’m only here to recover as much energy and focus I’ve lost during the night as I can.
“I see, I see! So you’ve been working hard this year too, hmm?”
“…Huh?”
It was clear that Yoshihiko was at least confused—or more likely, completely ignorant—about my current situation, and I found the smug expression on his face as he repeatedly slapped my back extremely irritating.
What an idiotic waste of 100 calories.
“So what’s the deal? You can tell me.”
“Err…what are we talking about again?”
“The plan for the school festival? You know it starts tomorrow, right?”
“Oh…I see.”
Wow, it’s already that time of year?
No wonder n.o.body’s bothered to interrupt my sleep the entire week.
The feeling of sudden realization was so painfully surreal and I was so thoroughly disappointed by the opportunism shown by some of my cla.s.smates2, but I guess some things are better left unsaid.
“I’ll be disappointed if you hold an anime screening like last year. If I know you, you’re planning something that’ll blow everyone away again, right?”
“Nope, I’ve got nothing planned this year.”
“Come on, you know I can help if you need me to. Just tell me already.”
“Now look…”
Last year I spent a considerable amount of time and labor on advance preparations and negotiations to secure the permission of the school to occupy the AV room for an anime marathon, but I did all of that was while I was still a pure consumer otaku.
No matter that all the anime screened were my own recommendations and the intermissions were filled with my lengthy a.n.a.lyses – my event was the most popular amongst all the ones held in cla.s.srooms.
But this year’s different.
This year I’ve taken flight to join the ranks of creative otaku, and I’m not planning on turning back from this path.
“Well anyway, I’m still looking forward to another good school festival.”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah.”
With neither the time nor the patience to figure out how to explain myself, I had already mentally abandoned Yoshihiko’s long spiel about the school festival and was waiting for him to change the subject.
It doesn’t even matter if I’m planning an event; Yoshihiko’s only good at paying lip service.
“I hear this year’s Miss Toyogasaki pageant is gonna be a close fight. The true queen will always be the defending champ Sawamura, though.”
“Ho ho.”
I can still remember last year’s victor standing on top the podium with the gold crown on her golden hair, putting on her best face and delicate smile.
“But if she actually shows up this year, it’ll be interesting to see if she can pull off the triple sweep next year as well. That wouldn’t be anything to sniff at.”
Yeah, that would be pretty dangerous. Winning three in a row would be a straight ticket to failure in life.3 Usually.
“Speaking of which, who’re you bringing to the folk dance after the festival? It’s limited to living girls, so dakimakura are a no go, of course.”
“…You should have calculated my chances of going when you made that last statement.”
“Well you know, you should at least consider the possibility of a girl asking you out. That’s about equivalent to the girl asking you to date her.”
Once again, Yoshihiko is asking for blood. His.
“Oh, and I heard the drama club’s going to do a rerun of last year’s play.”
At least they’re consistent and not jumping all over the place like this conversation.
“A rerun, huh?”
“Apparently the reviews for last year’s performance were too good, with some even calling it ‘legendary’.”
“Ah, yeah…”
I’d heard that story before.
Actually, I watched the play myself, and it was as good as the rumors say.
But it definitely wasn’t because of the character-bankrupt club president’s solo acting, of course.
“It’s rumored that a famous author wrote the script. I couldn’t tell you for sure though.”
That’s because the scriptwriter’s nationally acclaimed.
And the drama club’s probably doing a rerun because that scriptwriter’s too busy to come up with a new one this year.
* * *
“Aki-kun.”
“Mm…”
“Aki-kun…”
“…Huh?”
As I lay face down in silent meditation, I couldn’t tell if the hand shaking my shoulder and voice calling my name were figments of my imagination or not.
Having fulfilled my 300-calorie obligation, I couldn’t be bothered to hide the displeasure on my face as I tried to look up and focus ahead even as I was sure our conversation had already come to an end.
“…Huh? Yoshihiko? Your figure’s become really thin since I last saw you…”
“I see you can still make jokes while you’re blind, Aki-kun.”
I found myself looking eye to eye with a ponytailed girl regarding me expressionlessly.
Then, scanning my surroundings, I realized that the cla.s.sroom, basked in evening red, was now empty, save Katou and I.
I couldn’t seem to remember what happened in any of that afternoon’s cla.s.ses.
* * *
So we found ourselves a little later than usual on the way home to the station.
“But it’s been a while, Katou.”
“Mmhmm, even though we see each other every day. Aki-kun always seems to be sleeping, so we haven’t talked much.”
“Aw come on, I haven’t slept at all this week…”
“Aki-kun gets six hours at school every day, and that’s only when I’m watching.”
“…Wait, doesn’t that mean you’ve been watching me for six hours every day?!”
“Hold on, give me a minute… I believe on the third page, I said ‘You…you gotta be kidding me! Who would want anything to do with this loser?’”4
“Yeah, I remember you said something like that. And you have to stop looking at those cue cards all the time, Katou.”
Talking to Katou for the first time in the four days, I wondered where all the excitement she had that weekend went as she rolled on with her usual deadpan5 way of speaking.
I’m also beginning to wonder if going through all this trouble of being on edge when talking to Katou is worth it.
“Anyway, Aki-kun.”
“Hm?”
“We finished the game.”
“Only the α-version though.”
“Did you manage to play it to the end?”
“Yeah, on Monday morning.”
“Wow, that’s fast. It took me until yesterday to complete.”
“Ah well, we’ve got different levels of experience as gamers, so…”
It was slipped casually into the conversation, but I was fairly surprised to learn Katou had actually played the game.
She’s the one who suggested the emergency sleepover, but I’d thought that was simply an extension of her principle of helping me as much as she possibly could. Until now.
Now Katou’s become an indispensible circle member, equally committed as Eriri, Utaha-senpai, and I in making this product as good as it possibly can be.
Her seriousness alone was enough to move me.
…It’s truly unfortunate that she’s incapable of projecting that same seriousness through her appearance though.
“And so?”
“Hmm?”
“That thing we could only understand by playing… did you find it?”
“…Yes.”
“So you realized too, Aki-kun.”
“You did too?”
“Mm.”
Along with her enthusiasm, I’ll remember the birth of this otaku.
Could we have finally arrived?
Arrived at that something hidden within the scenario, something that could be revealed only by playing the game?
“So what are you going to do, Aki-kun? You can’t run away any more.”
“…I know.”
I know I have to decide.
“So you’ve chosen, then. You finally have an answer for Kasumigaoka-senpai.”
And I’ll have to tell her.
“Well, after all, I’m our circle’s representative, and I’m responsible for making the game…”
“And also a boy.”
“Mm…what?”
I couldn’t say for sure, but I thought Katou had a bit of her earlier inscrutability replaced by a little skittishness and a little anxiety, accompanied by a face that seemed somewhat… lonely.
“Meguri and Ruri… who will you choose?”
I had decided long ago on my answer, and I gave it.
“I didn’t choose either of them. I chose both.”
“…………Eh?”
My answer to the heart of our project.
“Now I understand, Katou… Now I’ve finally got it!”
“Ah, hmm, one second… Is this one of those ‘You are both my wings’ moments?”6
“What did I say about those cue cards?”
Having heard my august and weighty conclusion, Katou had for some reason reverted to dryness.
Where’s she getting all the lines in these prompts from anyway?
“Anyway, what I meant was that it never really was a choice between the either of the heroines. We’ve been missing the major, fundamental problem plaguing the game all this time!”
Maybe it was because of the shock she received from my discovery for the ages, but next Katou very subtly adopted a discomforting expression and inquired darkly:
“Erm, maybe you’d like to make yourself a little clearer?”
* * *
“Wow. I really didn’t need to hear that.”
“What?”
I explained myself as clearly as Katou wished with regards to my choice, what I was going to tell Utaha-senpai, and what I was going to do next.
Truthfully, wholeheartedly, and without deception.
It had quite obviously turned Katou off, indicated by her expression, att.i.tude, and the way she now gazed fixedly at my face, sighing disgustedly.
Her character’s really standing out now… in a bad way.
“Erm, I’m not sure how to say this but… as the circle’s representative, Aki-kun’s opinion may be correct… and also pretty intelligent, because he’s the one who’s ultimately in charge of making the game… but those… abilities won’t allow him to survive in this world.
“Erm, maybe you’d like to make yourself a little clearer?”
Even the way she speaks shows she’s finally waking to her potential as a deadpan snarker.7
“Well, whatever. Aki-kun should go whichever way he thinks is right. Even if that way’s diagonally upward.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
I’d frustrated three days and three nights over what to do, from square one all the way…
“It’s all right, Aki-kun. Even if you’re ridiculed as a good for nothing, a numbskull, a piece of trash, and/or the worst main character of all time, I’m sure there’ll be some people kind enough to understand you. Some people.”
“And just who are these people?!”
I was sure I’d made the best decision for our circle…
“Well, I’m heading home. I’ll have to consider my options.”
“Like I said, what’s that supposed to mean?! What about the circle? Hey!”
How did things turn out this way?
Deadpan’s Wonderland:
1Sound familiar?
2Probably referring to otaku haters. The war never ends.
3See Ogiso Setsuna, White Alb.u.m 2.
4Volume 5, Prologue. Finally a reference that exists!
5The streak continues! Can we go for the splash?
6Said by protagonist Alto in Macross Frontier, managing to infuriate both Sheryl x Alto and Ranka x Alto camps in one of the most infamous unresolved anime love triangles of all time.
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