Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatte Iru

Volume 14, Chapter 4

Chapter 4: And so, Yukinos.h.i.ta Yukino quietly waves her hand.

The early spring glow penetrated the windows, and a sense of formality filled the air along with the occasional bouts of sniffling. Before me were rows of people clad in black uniforms. With a short turn of my head, I could see I was enclosed by many in formal wear. Were it not for the fact that this was my school’s gymnasium, this gathering could’ve been mistaken for a funeral service.

However, the banner that gravitated over the stage above, displaying the words “Graduation Award Ceremony”, and the soft colored artificial flower corsages worn by all of those who lined up at the front made it clear this was a ceremonious occasion.

The sight of all the female students letting out stifling, short breaths, holding hands and leaning shoulder to shoulder with their friends was the very manifestation of partings. Reluctant to break free from their youth spanning three years of their lives in high school, it was only natural that such a solemn mood would dominate. Nonetheless, only those related to this event could truly appreciate the grandeur of this atmosphere. Outsiders like myself were merely forced to be witness to the deplorable sights of strangers. In my case, my nonexistent connection to the graduates meant this this was just a two to three hour period of being chained to a folding chair as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

There wasn’t a need to feel sentimental about the boys and girls who would embark on a new life on this fine day. After all, this event was just a screening of their long-awaited freedom from the shackles of scrutiny. That’s not to say I was fully void of attachment or interest; I certainly did possess some sympathy for them. Once they left this building, they would be stripped of their t.i.tles as high school students, their social status as children. Whether they were troublesome brats since their younger days, called a delinquent over ten times, or hurt everyone who touched them because they were as sharp as a knife, it didn’t matter. Even if their pa.s.sion was bound to their seats, or their dreams had been chipped away at their desks, they had to graduate from this domain. Going forward, they would become different from when they were pictured in their graduation alb.u.m, swept along by the wave of humanity.

That being said, many of the students here were advancing to college, which meant they could enjoy a moratorium of a few years, but regardless, high school students and college students were still treated differently in society. Nothing would change the fact that receiving a suspended sentence would be enough to lose the right to guardianship and patronage. With that in mind, the sight of everyone in lines was almost as if they were waiting to be shipped out after getting stamped under a consolidated standard, which made the silence all the more eerie.

I recalled having similar thoughts the previous year. There’s only so much you could do to stave off boredom when you were in a situation that made it difficult to use your smartphone, and that’s why my mind was filled with such nonsense. Last year, I played rock-paper-scissors by myself, but how should I spend the time next year…? I thought. Then, I had the realization that it would be my graduation ceremony next year.

Now, things made sense. There was a reason why our school made the current students attend, and I always wondered why; it was to make us aware of our limited time.

An esteemed individual on the stage began presenting their honorary speech. I ignored it while turning my head. It was almost certainly, probably, or very likely that after I graduate, all of those I could see were people I would never see again.

The rows were broken up by gender and cla.s.ses in the order of their names based on the j.a.panese syllabary1. Just how many of these people would I actually see again after graduation?

If I had personally gotten their contact addresses, then things could work out, but given my personality, I wouldn’t bother doing that. The more you integrated into a new environment, the less you would reminisce. It’s questionable whether I’d actually get used to that new environment, but it certainly applied to a large majority.

If there’s one example in particular, it would be Totsuka Saika. In his case, after an exchange or two, we’d probably try to stay in touch somehow. Heck, he was the first person that came into view just now! Tobe happened to be in my line of sight since he was next to Totsuka, but I was pretty sure I wouldn’t ever contact him. I mean, I didn’t even know his contact address in the first place.

Now, for Hayama Hayato, who was next to Tobe, or my immediate left, he was able to get my info unilaterally, but I had doubts he would go out of his way to contact me. On the off chance that he did, after going through a blubbering adolescent phase thinking, “I wonder if he’ll think I’m desperate if I respond right away,” it’s clear as day I would just ignore his call and never respond. It was never my intention to give him my info in the first place. I only gave him my number to get through the annoying mess that he caused during my coincidental reunion with Orimoto Kaori, so, as of now, I didn’t even have his info. Later on, he foolishly gave Haruno-san my info, and I was basically dealing with unneeded stress.

Feeling nauseated from recalling the series of events, I gave him a glare of contempt. I might’ve been doing it for too long, because he sent back a “What” with his eyes. I shook my head and looked farther out. In one of the front rows where cla.s.s C was sitting, I could see Zaimokuza’s large body. For him, well, I had the feeling I’d probably see him again after graduation.

What about the others?

When that came to mind, I felt oddly out of place and darted my eyes from place to place again. What came into view were a bobbing dark blue ponytail, a suspicion reflection of a pair of gla.s.ses,and a reddish brown short bob head. It was Ebinsan, Kawasaki, and Sagami Minami in that order. This was a refreshing piece of information, mainly because it’s something you’d only learn about during events like this. But it didn’t really matter at this point, because we only had about two weeks left in the same cla.s.s. The information was even more useless when it came to Sagami who I was absolutely not related to in the present and even further in the past, and this of course, included our graduation and cla.s.s change for next year.

In Kawasaki’s case, we’re likely to meet a few times at cram school, but our interactions would, at best, amount to short greetings and nods. Similarly, I doubt I’d ever see Ebinsan again unless there was someone to mediate. At the end of the day, the only thing connecting us was a shallow one, and that was Yuigahama Yui. Without her, it’s more than likely we’d never meet again. Of course, this wasn’t a special case for Ebinsan, because it applied to almost all of the people I could call acquaintances today.

I shook my stiff shoulders and hips for relief and stretched my neck. In that moment, I inadvertently caught glimpse of a bouncing pink hair bun with a neighboring blond hair swaying like a wave. Yuigahama Yui and Miura Yumiko were sitting side by side, and though it was hard to make out, they appeared to be holding hands.

Miura was sniffing and wiping her tears with her sleeves, either emotional from the atmosphere, or emotional from the realization of different cla.s.ses next year Yuigahama offered her tissues with a wry smile, and when she did that, they started whispering. Gradually, Yuigahama began to press against her eyes. As I watched her calmly wipe her tears, a sudden thought came to mind.

Would I see her again after graduation?

It was a consideration that was only a year away, but it was hard to imagine. Our connection was maintained only because we had club and cla.s.s together right now, but once those were out of the equation, would we be able to maintain the same kind of relationship?

Just as I was about to turn my head even more… I stopped. I doubt I could see the cla.s.ses that sat farther behind me. Even worse, because of the sitting order by syllabary, there’s no way I could see the people who were sitting at the far end of the rows.

Just what kind of expression was she, with her refreshing black hair and slender countenance, making right now? It’s something I would likely never see again.

I let out a short sigh and meekly faced forward. Then, a whisper that closed in on me from my left entered my ear. Though it was vocally delightful, and tonally refreshing, the voice somehow came off as detached.

“You can’t sit still, can you…?”

“I’m bored… If you’re not sitting next to people you’re close with, there’s nothing to do during an event like this.”

“You make it sound like it’s normal for you to have someone you’re close with.”

I gave his sarcasm a shrug. Then, I fixed my posture and deliberately looked forward, not giving him a single glance with the intention of ending the conversation there. However, his voice from my left didn’t stop.

“Are you searching?”

“For what?” I snapped back in irritation, along with a sidelong glare, feeling he had seen through my mind when I tried to turn around in my seat earlier. Then, Hayama pointed his chin diagonally to the front. I followed with my eyes, and what I was met with was the sight of adults in formal wear, and not the students; it was the seating area for visitors.

In that area, I spotted Yukinos.h.i.ta’s mother. Dressed in black traditional j.a.panese clothing, and along with her visual features, my eyes were able to easily pick her out out despite how far she was.

“Why is she here…?”

“It’s not uncommon for members of the local government to attend these ceremonies, but a lot of them in the area tend to have overlap in their schedules. She’s likely here as their sole representative.”

“Uh-huh…”

I gave him an indifferent response while finding sense in his explanation. Just earlier, some local government member was on stage. A little bit back further, and I think the teacher who served as the master of ceremonies respectfully read aloud congratulatory telegrams from a number of people, and omitted the rest after going through a majority of them.

“Now that you mention it, there was something like that in middle school, too.”

“It’s especially common for public inst.i.tutions. When they have the opportunity, they’ll use entrance ceremonies and graduation ceremonies to promote themselves.”

The words I casually whispered to myself (special skill) were met with a sign from Hayama. He was apparently planning to pa.s.s the time with me. Our eyes were fixed to the front without ever turning to the other, and we continued our meaningless exchange for this one occasion.

“Right, I doubt any of the students or parents are actually listening, though… I suppose they’re just doing it out of obligation,” I said.

Tired of my att.i.tude, Hayama sighed. “That’s a terrible way to put it… Call it tradition. There’s meaning in doing it, since teachers and parents are all potential voters.”

“That sounds way worse than what I said…”

I was similarly fed up with his att.i.tude and sighed. Then, I could hear a proud chuckle coming from my neighbor. He had to be wearing that twisted and refreshing smile that he wouldn’t ever show to anyone else. I didn’t even need to look at him, which just got on my nerves. And if there’s one more thing that got me even more annoyed, it was the person I noticed sitting beside Yukinos.h.i.ta’s mother who was alike in appearance. It was Yukinos.h.i.ta Haruno dressed in a black suit. She rested her hands on the bag on her lap and was gracefully casting her eyes downwards.

“And the reason for her being here is…?”

“Who knows? It’s either because of her position, or a courtesy call… something along those lines.”

“Uh-huh…”

I gave him another meaningless response, but at the time, I had a very unpleasant premonition clawing at me internally. Did this mean she would be present at the prom later? I was completely unrelated, but even so, the words she left me lurked as dregs inside my chest.

As I sat there unable to verbalize my feelings, Hayama let out a dry laugh. “I guess that explanation isn’t enough for you.”

“No, sounds like it makes sense. Not that I’d know.” I abruptly answered, feeling unknowingly perturbed.

Just past my shoulder, Hayama was wearing a thin smile. “Don’t say what you don’t mean.”

“Speak for yourself,” I said, glaring.

Unflinching, he ignored it and looked at the visitors. “I’m guessing she’s here to see things through…”

“Uh-huh, I see.”

I retracted my chin and gave him a reply that was meant to end the discussion. Typically, most conversations ended after an “I see.” It was a sign to the other person that you had absolutely no interest in what they had to say and wanted to be done with the conversation. But Hayama didn’t back down, and this time, continued with a quieter voice.

“You’re not going to ask ‘for what’ this time, huh?”

Though his voice was calm, it reeked of provocation. Whenever Hayama Hayato, or the one who influenced him, Yukinos.h.i.ta Haruno, tried to rile you up in this way, staying quiet didn’t do anything for you. They would use their gazes and the atmosphere to wring the words out of you. The part I hated about Hayama and Haruno-san were so awfully similar. Although I rarely caught glimpse of them talking to each other, I was sure they had thrilling conversations whenever they did. But their methods were something I had gotten used to recently. As a rule of thumb, this was the time to throw a smokescreen and end the conversation.

“If you have to ask, then I have an idea. When it comes to her, it’s usually to see what her little sister is up to. Seriously, she’s got way too much time on her hands…” I said, looking annoyed.

Hayama unconditionally spat out. “You’re right. On the other hand, she’s taking time out of her own schedule to check up on her, so she’s concerned to some extent.”

“Uhh, that’s just scary… she’s just as clingy as I am when it comes to my little sister…”

She had as much free time as me? If it’s for Komachi, I would open up my schedule at any time, though I haven’t had the opportunity lately. If you bother her too much, she’ll end up hating you, you know! Are you listening, Yukinos.h.i.ta’s older sister!? She’ll start hating you if you keep bothering her! Also, Hikigaysan’s older brother, make sure you listen, too!

I let out a dry laugh as did Hayama. In that way, I would try to end the conversation with a joke, but Hayama was no longer smiling.

“But she’s not here just for her sister. I’m sure she’s here to see the decision you’ll make.”

“…”

I couldn’t give him an answer this time, because what he said was was likely to be true. As I sat there unable to reply, he lightly b.u.mped me with his elbow to see if I still had his attention. I clicked my tongue and gave him a mouthful out of spite.

“You can’t sit still, can you? You’ll get marked down on your report card, you know.”

“I’m bored… If you’re not sitting next to people you’re close with, there’s nothing to do during an event like this.”

I frowned at his sarcasm. Um, you realize you were saying you weren’t close to Tobe, right?

Then, Tobe, who he wasn’t apparently close with, poked his face out from Hayama’s side. “What, what’s up? Something going on over here?”

“It’s nothing, Tobe. You’re too loud, settle down,” Hayama said instantly with a beaming smile. Tobe had a bewildered look and returned his head back to its original position.

Once we quieted down, I looked to the front toward the stage, and the guests of honor had finished their honorary speeches. The master of ceremonies advanced the ceremony along.

“Next, the student body representative will present her farewell address.”

Upon being called, an adorable, candy voice responded in acknowledgment. This deliberate foxy and cute response was… I thought, and Isshiki Iroha stepped onto the stage.

Oh, speaking of which, she mentioned something about having to do the farewell address… she was in discussion about it with Hiratsuksensei at some point, but then tried to run away from the job… In any case, let’s see what the combined efforts of Irohasu and Hiratsuksensei, though mostly the latter, could do. I straightened my posture and looked at Isshiki as she bowed in front of the microphone.

“The relentless winter has come to an end, and under the gentle warmth of the sun, we are welcomed by a faint aroma of the new season of spring.”

The microphone picked up crumpling noises as she unfolded her paper that was folded like an accordion. Then, Isshiki calmly a.s.sumed the demeanor of an honors student and began her speech. The impish behavior she usually flaunted was tucked away, and she answered to the expectations of the teachers and parents of what a exemplary student council president should be. As she progressed through her address, boldly retelling the memories she shared with her uppercla.s.smen, her voice suddenly choked up.

“In looking back on my memories, my uppercla.s.smen had always been supporting me…”

Occasionally, she would sniff and pretend to wipe the nonexistent tears at her eyes. As foxy as ever, Irohasu…

In all the events we’ve worked on so far, I had always been observing her like a producer from backstage. But today, I was part of the audience. When your seat as the viewer changed, so would your perspective. And of course, the correct pose to make in the audience of an arena was the Vega pose with the att.i.tude of a boyfriend. But everyone would think I was crazy if I suddenly stood up now. So, for today, I’d pretend to be a related person and act like an ex-boyfriend from long ago while playing a BGM by Yamazaki Masayoshi in my head and going, “Looks like you found the place you belong, huh? You’re shining brighter than you ever did before.” Yeah, you’ve got a few screws loose doing that, too.

But regardless of your position, the sight of someone holding back their tears as they presented their farewell address pulled on your emotional strings. Even if it was just fake crying to rouse the audience, her commendable behavior scored a lot of Hachiman points.

Yep, yep, Isshiki, you did your best. Cute, very cute. Even when Hiratsuksensei was angry at you, and you tried to skip out on your responsibilities, or just ran away with excuses, you still did your best. Or did you?

I watched over her with the eyes of a father and brother, and I suddenly felt tears welling up. I slightly stuck out my chin and looked up at the ceiling, so Hayama wouldn’t notice.

If she ended up as the student council president again next year, then that would mean she’d give the farewell address for my graduation. So, the sight I was witnessing right now may very well be the same one next year. As I felt moved by the thought, the farewell addressed proceeded to its conclusion. She folded her paper and waited for the applause. Then, she faced forward, wiped the tear at the corner of her eye with the tip of her finger and smiled.

“Last but not least, I would like to pray for your continued health and wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. I end my farewell address as the representative of the current student body, Isshiki Iroha…”

After concluding with the enunciation of her name, she bowed. With an upright posture and poised expression, she elegantly descended the stage. To see a first year handle such a heavy responsibility with dignity caused the audience and me to give a thunderous round of applause.

The applause gradually simmered, and my excitement reached its peak. After this, I was stuck watching the awards ceremony where the socialities would mistaken the calls of their names as roll call and dumbly respond, “Yes, I’m healthy!” and trip over themselves.

A graduation ceremony where you had no emotional connection with the people involved was truly the peak of boredom.

X X X

…There was a time in my life when I had such a mindset.

“Next, the graduate representative will present her formal response.”

The former student council president Shiromeguri Meguri-senpai energetically answered her summon and ascended the stage. She bowed at the center, and then examined the students below her, as if making eye contact with each one. I had the feeling she even looked at me as well. Then, she beamed, wearing a soft and warm smile that she had shown me in the past before, and began her speech, speaking in a voice that was smooth enough to dissolve the formality permeating the ceremony.

“Today is a wonderful day as the sun showers us with its warmth…”

As she progressed through her speech, her voice began to crack, and she bit her lips that formed her initial smile in grief, almost as if she was trying to tell herself not to cry. Such a sight couldn’t be described as nothing other than emotional. I was even muttering to myself, “Oh G.o.d, oh G.o.d, this is so emotional…”

A problematic thing with otakus was that they were proprietors of the the term “emotional,” and were p.r.o.ne to becoming emotional as well. The simple act of attending a live concert would have them in tears. On top of that, they’d start bawling again while tweeting their experience in a poetic fashion on their way home. And the process would repeat when the live concert had a BD release. In other words, they were hardwired to becoming emotional at a moment’s notice. It was a testament to their love for all things that invoked emotion. They were indigenous emoskis who hailed from tsundere regions2 and were predisposed to becoming pretentious on live call-in shows, at handshake events, or on a voice actor’s radio program.

The thoughts that filled my head were absurd, but truthfully, I was on the verge of tears.

“My most irreplaceable experiences were the student council activities over the course of my high school career. Because of the cooperation of all the cla.s.ses, clubs, and volunteers, we were able to hold many events. There were two in particular that had the biggest impact on me, and they were the culture festival and the sports festival… Boy, they were a lot of work!”

Her face glowed like a flower that waited for its moment to blossom. That tingled my nasals, and my vision began to blur.

Looking back on the past year, a lot of things happened. I had a flashback of all the emotional memories like a revolving lantern. Wait, this sounds like I died, didn’t it?

If there was one person I could truly call my senpai, it was the person on stage. In listening to her trembling voice and her act of wiping her tears, I sniffed over and over. Suddenly, my shoulder was tapped by my sitting neighbor.

My face distorted with disgust saying, “The h.e.l.l do you want, I’m busy, can’t you see I’m soaking up the atmosphere right now, I’ll kill you,” and I turned to see Hayama was making a similar look. He pointed his index finger to his side, and I could see Totsuka, the neighbor of Hayama’s neighbor, taking out tissues from his pocket.

“Hachiman, you okay?” he whispered, sounding worried. He pa.s.sed the tissues down the row like a bucket relay. When they reached Tobe, he also gave me a concerning look.

“Yo, Hikitani-kun, got hay fever? Hay fever, right? It’s pretty bad, yeah.”

Wrong. Shut up. I don’t have hay fever. Sure, my eyes and nose tended to get all itchy around the beginning of spring and the early parts of summer, but that’s just my imagination at work. It’s my loss if I acknowledged it. I groaned at him, which prompted Tobe to add even more tissues.

“Here, pa.s.s this over to Hikitani-kun. But nah, I’ve got hay fever too, you know? Especially around the beginning of spring, it really kills me.”

“Tobe, you’re too loud…” Hayama said. reprimanding him

Reprimanded, Tobe let out a voiceless groan or something to that effect. He was whispering, yet he was still loud and obnoxious. How did that even work? I mean, hes’ a good guy, but he’s really obnoxious. Anyway, I shouldn’t have expected less from someone with hay fever. Boys who had tissues handy scored high in Hachiman points. People who didn’t, like me, scored low in Hachiman points.

By the time the tissues reached Hayama, there was a large stack. Hayama took some from his breast pocket and pushed the bag of tissues onto me. I accepted and blew my nose.

“Changs…” I said with a sobbing voice, and pa.s.sed back the tissues.

Hayama was appalled. “You’re crying way too much…”

“No, you’ve got it wrong. It’s just the older I get, the more susceptible I am to crying… Nowadays, I cry just from the start of a Precure episode…”

“Are you crying every Sat.u.r.day morning…?”

“Weekdays too, because of reruns.”

“R-Really…” Hayama looked even more appalled.

My tear glands were trained by the kids anime, Precure and Aikatsu, and I could activate them within zero frames. And so, I would find myself in a blubbering mess every Sat.u.r.day and Sunday, two times a week. If we included the reruns on the MX and Chiba TV stations, that would make it four times a week. Once the opening of Aikatsu on Parade started, I’d shed a gallon’s worth of tears. As I continued to sob, Meguri-senpai continued with her speech.

“From this point onward, we will take one step at a time toward our individual futures. Even if we encounter an insurmountable wall, the memories, lessons, and pride we gained from Sobu High School will serve as the backbone that propels us to live strongly. I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

And so, she moved on to the conclusion of her speech. If this was a live concert, the tension would be similar to the final song. Though for me, I felt like I had only just arrived. Every live concert regardless of the wishes of the audience would always end just like Meguri-senpai’s speech marched on to its finale.

“In honor of all those who gave us a supporting hand… I end my formal response as the graduate representative, Shiromeguri Meguri.”

She lowered her head and maintained a beautiful bow. A long period of silence followed as did the lamenting wails of the audience.

“Everyone, thank you! I had a blast! I had the best time ever! Thank you so much!”

Soon after, she lifted her face and sported her special Megu-Megu-Megurin☆Megurin smile.

“Hey, you guys, are you ready to culture!?”

Before descending the stage, she gripped the microphone and loudly declared causing a stir in the audience. Those who were seated in the visitors’ area were bewildered, but the students responded in kind after recalling her words with a “Yeaaah!”

Meguri-senpai sweetly smiled and took a deep breath.

“Chiba’s specialties!”

“Festivals and dancing!”

“Since we’re all fools!”

“We’ll dance!”

“And sing a song!”

Both graduate and enrolled students alike performed the mysterious call and response, or CaR, with idiotic voices. Everyone broke into smiles after remembering that memorable moment from the culture festival. The atmosphere that was stifled by grief moments ago was instantly turned upside-down, and of course, in a good way.

This was the kind of atmosphere that only Meguri-senpai was able to build during her time as the student council president. While I didn’t know a single thing about the majority of my uppercla.s.smen, nor do I care to, I thought this turned out to be a great graduation ceremony. Just being able to witness Meguri-senpai’s glowing smile was enough to make partic.i.p.ating all the worthwhile.

Phew, could anything ever top this? As soon as I get home, I’m going to poetically recite my experience on Twitter!

X X X

The school day ended after we had a simple homeroom following the ceremony.

Today wasn’t just an emotional day of parting for the graduates, but also for the remaining students. Many had already left the cla.s.srooms to see their uppercla.s.smen, either because they were in the same club or something else. Even Hayama and the extra three idiots, the usual suspects who’d stay behind in cla.s.s, were already gone. Similarly, Totsuka had left with heavy luggage as the captain of the tennis club.

As for me, heading straight home was the only thing I could do, since I had nothing to do with my uppercla.s.smen. The cla.s.sroom proceeded to empty, and I made my preparations to head home until Yuigahama came by.

“Do you wanna stop by the student council? Meguri-senpai’s there.”

“Ah… well, I’d like to say h.e.l.lo if possible, but…”

This might be the last time I could get to see her. Considering how much she’s done for me, it was only proper I should say my goodbye at least. But after all the bawling I did during the ceremony, seeing her face to face was a little embarra.s.sing.

Will I be okay? My eyes aren’t swollen or anything, right? G.o.d, there’s no way I can meet Meguri-senpai looking like this… There’s this commercial with an office lady on her third year as a working adult who sat against a refrigerator and pressed a chilled spoon against her eyelids and whispered to herself, “Don’t lose, me…” I’ need to act like that!

Yuigahama made a clueless head tilt to my hesitant pause. “But…?”

“No, forget it. It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

There’s nothing more shameful than explaining why my girlishy maiden heart, full of maiden circuits3, was on the verge of short-circuiting. I ended the conversation abruptly and stood up with my coat and bag in hand. I started walking, and Yuigahama, still clueless, followed. Then, just as I was about to exit the cla.s.s, she overtook me by a few steps and turned to examine my eyes.

“Ohh… Hikki, you cried a lot, didn’t you? That’s hilarious. Are you embarra.s.sed?” she said, trying to hold in her laughter. She gave me a teasing look, acting like an older sister, and the shame and embarra.s.sment caused me to stammer.

“Am not,” I said, trying to be blunt. That only made her giggle more, however.

“Yumiko actually cried a lot, too. She was so embarra.s.sed afterwards, and it was the cutest thing ever…” she smiled in satisfaction after recalling the sight. I see, that explained why Miursan immediately went home, because she was too embarra.s.sed, huh? What a cute person… Nonetheless, I was on the same boat, so she had my sympathies…

“Come on, anyone would cry if they were there… I mean, Isshiki did really well with her farewell address, and we all know how hopeless she can be. More importantly, don’t even get me started on Meguri-senpai. The way she tried so hard to keep smiling but still kept crying, and then that smile she made after her speech? Amazing. Oh, and the CaR they did? That was definitely done on the spot. Simply ama—d”

“You’re talking too much! Wow, that’s gross… freaky… just no…”

Well, that’s a normal reaction. Otakus had the tendency to claim something was improvised and get emotional. The fact they would do that even when it was all according to an actual script made them suitable for spectating professional wrestling. Therefore, Bushiroad4 was amazing for realizing the compatibility of otakus and professional wrestling. What’s amazing? The spirit of “I won’t stop until I win.” It’s one of the most essential policies to have as a content owner these days.

I was eager to outwit her with my logic, but there was a far more effective choice of words I could use.there were a few words that proved to be far more effective.

“Speak for yourself, you were obviously crying, too…” I said, giving her a fixated stare.

“I mean, it’s because Yumiko kept crying… and when I thought about how our cla.s.ses are gonna change and how we’re gonna graduate soon, I couldn’t help it.” Yuigahama tried to make excuses for herself, looking flushed with embarra.s.sment and vexed. She looked away and continued, “Actually, could you not watch me when I’m like that…?”

“Same goes to you…”

We made our way down the stairs while chatting, and the number of people we came across began to increase. The third year cla.s.ses were on the first two floors of the main building, and as soon we entered the hallway, there were students idly chatting and taking photos with each other. Even after standing shoulder to shoulder and taking a picture, some catalyst would lead them into continuing their conversations instead of leaving. I wasn’t sure if it was because they were reluctant, or they were garbage communicators that couldn’t find the timing to leave, but either way, it was a difficult to do.

We walked down the hallway while avoiding being a hindrance to the graduates, and we pa.s.sed by a group with the flower corsages pinned to their breast pockets. They were holding a graduation alb.u.m, and seemed to be collecting autographs from people to fill in the final blank pages.

“I’m definitely gonna be a crying mess next year…” Yuigahama whispered just as we pa.s.sed by the group. The words seemed to be for herself, so I just mindlessly gave her an acknowledging breath.

It’s very probable she was going to cry next year. Together with Miura and Ebinsan, shoulder to shoulder, hands linked, and intimately whispering to each other, they would no doubt lament their separation.

The tears they had shed today weren’t solely because of the proliferating influence of the graduation ceremony, nor was it the overlapping realization that what they witnessed today was a road they would eventually travel down. I think it’s because they were aware that their parting was in fact closing in on them right before their eyes in reality. Our acts of opening the door of cla.s.s 2-F, which we had just left, was numbered.

It wasn’t too long until our routine cla.s.ses, listless lunch breaks, and the deserted but srene after-school campus would be all gone. Even if they were all similar after becoming third years, the people we see in them would be all different.

In Miura’s case, she had an emotional attachment to our cla.s.s. Hayama Hayato was self-explanatory, but the friendships she forged in our cla.s.s weren’t things you could come across easily. The conflict she once had with Yuigahama, for example, made it all the more important to her. In that sense, this made Yuigahama similar to Miura.

Conversely, how was it for me? I wouldn’t just write it off as a simple cla.s.s change, but it never really did invoke any significant emotions from me to this day. I never went out of my way to stay in touch, nor did I put in the effort to stay close, or even maintain, a close relationship with anyone. Orimoto Kaori was the only one who I saw again after graduating from middle school, and that was merely a byproduct of coincidences.

It’s a universal truth that people who don’t meet would fall out of contact, and if they established new relationships, they would maintain a similar distance. People were quick to adapt to a change in environments. They would get used to it, be friendly, and then go their separate ways again. If a bye was good, then it was a goodbye.

We were always in the middle of saying goodbye no matter when and where.

Perhaps, changing cla.s.ses and graduation ceremonies were to help us practice. We were given a finite amount of time, and our partings were prepared for us regardless of our individual feelings and consent. It’s a generous plan that allowed even the worst garbage communicators to say a clean goodbye. It also came with an after service bonus in the form of two excuses, “We graduated, that’s why,” and “We changed cla.s.ses, that’s why,” in case we wondered why people never saw each other again.

Having experienced many short-lived partings, I was a professional. My technique in the art of farewells had already reached the level of mastery that allowed me to flawlessly and wordlessly end a relationship. It was a natural conclusion that the other party would fail to be conscious of; the skill of a technician. The speed at which my partings happened was frighteningly fast that only I could notice. Living while erasing my existence was a part of me now.

So, basically, if you looked at it from another perspective, I never went through a proper parting before. I was someone who would act out a memorable parting after skipping out on work at a part-time job and then sending back the uniform in a COD package5 on another day.

Now, just what could I talk about with Meguri-senpai…? As I mulled over the thought, we arrived at the door of the student council. Feeling somewhat nervous, I knocked.

“C-Come in…”

The knock was answered by a disjointed voice. Since it came from the other side of the door, it was a little hard to understand, but it was likely Isshiki. I opened the door, curious about her exhausted voice, and my question was immediately answered.

At the center of the room, Meguri-senpai was bear hugging Yukinos.h.i.ta and Isshiki in tears. “Thank you! Thank you so much! Gosh, I just love the student council so much!”

“So close…”

On one hand, Yukinos.h.i.ta was at a loss, while on the other, Isshiki looked away and sighed in annoyance. Yep, yep, you earned some brownie points for making sure Meguri-senpai didn’t see that. I was able to see something good today…

As I watched them, Meguri-senpai noticed us. “Oh! Yuigahamsan, Hikigaykun! You came!”

This time, she pounced at Yuigahama. Accustomed to the physical intimacy between girls, she hugged her back. A real natural, indeed… As for me? My heart was pounding, and I was thinking, “Hawawa! What should I do if she hugged me, too!?”

“Thank you so much, you two! A lot happened along the way, but I had a ton of fun!”

“Me too!”

Meguri-senpai and Yuigahama held hands and began to hit it off. Finally released from her embrace, Yukinos.h.i.ta ma.s.saged her chest in relief. I couldn’t help but break into a smile after seeing such a nostalgic gesture from her. Then, our eyes met for just an instant, before she averted them to the clock.

She said to Isshiki, “The vendors will arriving soon, so I should get going.”

“Hmm, isn’t it a bit early?” Isshiki dubiously turned her head. She took out a piece of paper that looked like a progress schedule. “Hmm, it’s kind of a weird time for you to go, but I guess it’s better to be early than be late. Should I tag along?”

Yukinos.h.i.ta shook her head. “I’ll just be supervising, so I can do it alone. Shiromeguri-senpai, I’ll be on my way now, so I’ll see you again at the prom.”

“Sure! See you later!” Meguri-senpai said with a smile, and waved as Yukinoshtia left the room. After seeing her off, she glanced at the clock, and whispered, “There’s prom preparations to take care of, huh? I should get changed and get going, too…”

Yuigahama sparkled. “Oh! What kind of dress are you wearing?”

“It’s really amazing, I tell you. Like, it’s just so erotic.”

“Erotic…?”

Hearing such a frank declaration, Yuigahama faltered for just an instant. However, Meguri-senpai a.s.sumed an oddly look of elation as she took out her smartphone. When Yuigahama looked at the screen, they began whispering.

“It shows a lot of skin, but the way it outlines my silhouette is just so erotic, and I mean, super erotic.”

“Ohh… it is really is erotic.”

As the two engaged in their chatter, Isshiki peeked in. “You’re picking one that just barely skirts the dress code, huh? Like you’re trying to fetishize your natural cuteness in a way.”

“Right? The moment I saw it on the catalog, I just knew I had to try it!”

“Wow, you went with the other third years? That sounds like a lot of fun!”

“Yep, yep. I contacted a few people just in case, and things just turned out that way while we were talking.”

As Meguri-senpai slid her fingers on her smartphone, Yuigahama gave her astonished glitterrific☆ reactions. Isshiki, on the other hand, was composed.

“Oh, I see. Also, thank you for spreading the word about our dress code.”

“Oh, don’t sweat it! It’s been a while since I got to partic.i.p.ate in an event, so I had a lot of fun!”

The young ladies were truly having the time of their lives looking at their smartphones, while I was acting suspiciously with the hope of catching a glimpse. This kind of situation was something a boy couldn’t nonchalantly partic.i.p.ate. Rather, it’s wiser to stay out of it entirely. Even if I could manage a “Hey, let me see, too!” I don’t think I had it in me to provide impressions that didn’t violate the ethics code. I guess the most I could say was “Huh, that’s pretty lewd.” At that point, it’d be better not say anything at all.

While lending an ear to the frolicking noise of the girls, I entered Jizou time. I a.s.sumed a stillness that would net me offerings, and Meguri-senpai sent me a smile after putting her phone away, apparently not forgetting about me.

“I don’t get very many opportunities to wear dresses like that, so I’m so happy you guys are doing the prom. Thank you, Hikigaykun.”

“Oh, no… It doesn’t have much to do with me, since Yukinos.h.i.ta and the others are the ones doing it.”

“Oh…”

Fl.u.s.tered when she suddenly brought me into the conversation, I gave her an awkward laugh. This caused her face to slightly cloud with melancholy. Upon seeing such a face, I was attacked with guilt, and my chest stung. Because of that, I unknowingly added onto my statement.

“Well… I plan on helping at least, so I’ll be there.”

“Really? That’s great! I was just thinking how nice it’d be to see you all again, since it’ll be the last time.” Meguri-senpai smiled with rea.s.surance. Her ending words, however, sounded lonely, something she seemed to be aware of.

“I didn’t think I’d actually be graduating…” She whispered as she made a loving look around the student council room. It’s likely her words weren’t meant for us. With everyone unable to say anything, she quickly interjected with a jolly shake of her hands, and added, “Oh, don’t get me wrong! I was going to graduate for sure, and I’m definitely going to college! But, I mean, it’s just…”

The warm and soft smile she had always worn began to break down along with her words, and her eyes suddenly misted over. “It’s just… it’s just, you know?” As if to hide the tears welling at her eyes, she let out a bashful giggle.

Yuigahama nodded tenderly. “I think I kind of get it.”

Meguri-senpai gave her appreciation and faced us. “You guys should all try to do something fun again… I’ll be gone, but you all still have a lot of time left!”

“Yes…”

“I’ll do what I can…”

Yuigahama answered, and I followed. We didn’t think that was possible, but there wasn’t any point in saying that now. I think Yuigahama and I had the same expression, one that looked like we were trying not to smile, as if we were trying to put up with something. Our eyes were downcast as we lightly bit our lips.

Meguri-senpai watched us with a gentle gaze and said nothing more. Then, she turned to Isshiki.

“Isshiki-san, the Sobu High School student council is in your hands,” she said, and then did a beautiful bow.

Isshiki made baffled blinks in a daze. But she immediately straightened her posture and looked at Meguri-senpai head on.

“Yes…. though it’s been in my hands for a while now,” Isshiki said with a wry smile.

“Ahaha, that’s true.” Meguri-senpai made a nonchalant laugh. Then, she slapped her cheeks for motivation. “Okay, that’s it! Goodbye time is over!” She took a step. “I’ll see you later at the prom! Let’s talk more there! That’s a promise!”

She energetically waved her hands as she made her way out. Right before the door closed, she peeked her face in the opening and waved again. I wanted her to stop, because she looked just like Jack Nicholson from The Shining. Not to mention, it just made me want to wave back, too… When the door finally closed completely, I was able to drop my arms and let out an exhausted sigh.

Isshiki who had been watching our interaction blurted out. “Is it just me, or do you like Meguri-senpai a lot?”

“Oh, I was thinking the same thing.”

“Excuse me…? You’re saying there are people who don’t like her?”

“Ahh, it’s hard to imagine. Wait, why do you sound a little angry…?”

Yuigahama laughed. But Irohasu, why were you being quiet? It’s not nice to be crossing your arms with a face saying, “Uh, I’m sure pretty sure there are…” That’s the problem with you!

I gave her an admonishing look, and upon noticing, she cleared her throat. Then, she changed the subject and made an unpleasant grin. “Well, anyway, for the Meguri-senpai you love so much, why don’t we go get some work done?”

Hmm… Putting it that way kind of bothers me…

X X X

Isshiki headed to the venue of the prom, the school gymnasium, with us in tow. The bending rays of the sun dyed the floor and walls with a pale orange. The heater placed at the rear blazed with a bright red and kept the open s.p.a.ce surprisingly warm.

I made a sweeping glance to see the decoration of the venue was proceeding smoothly, and the various arrangements of the balloon art, flower stands, and dis...o...b..a.l.l.s made for a flourishing interior. It wasn’t too long ago that the gym was permeated with a stifled atmosphere of the graduation ceremony, but now, it was as festive as far as the eye could see.

In such a brilliant interior, only the place Yukinos.h.i.ta Yukino stood had a frigid professionalism. She was engaged in a meeting with the vendors in workwear jumpsuits. Isshiki watched afar and waited for their meeting to end before leaving us behind.

“Yukino-senpai! It’s almost time.”

Yukinos.h.i.ta courteously bowed to the vendors after noticing Isshiki and hurried toward her. But then, she stopped. “Hikigaykun…”

She gripped the collar of her blazer, and looked as if she wanted to say something more, but swallowed them instead. The corner of her brows curled downwards, and her downcast eyes questioned why I was even here.

Maybe it would’ve been better if I had given her an excuse. Sadly, I didn’t have one that could convince her. On the other hand, there was no point in forcing my random logic on her, either. At the end of the day, I was swept along in recent events and had pushed the responsibility onto someone else and ultimately ended up here by coincidence. Unable to respond, I pulled my head back and could only nod with a moment of eye contact.

“Hey, Yukinon! We’re here to help out!” Yuigahama stepped forward when the two of us stood in silence.

Yukinos.h.i.ta made a penitent bow. “I see… I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“It’s fine! Don’t worry about it! I was always planning to help,” Yuigahama said, brightly.

“Thank you.”

Finally, she smiled. I was just about to open my mouth, because I felt I needed to say something as well, but Isshiki tapped my shoulder in deliberate interruption.

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to have more helping hands. Senpai, thanks for the help.”

Although Isshiki stated casually, I could tell she didn’t want our back-and-forth to escalate into anything bigger. Her decision to immediately begin distributing the event schedule was a physical manifestation of her concern.

“In any case, let’s start our meeting.”

Once everyone received a copy, Isshiki retrieved a pen from her breast pocket and started the meeting.

“Yukino-senpai will be supervising the event in its entirety, and I’ll be the MC as well as the sound operator. Our vice president will handle the stage lighting while secretary-chan will be in charge of catering. The soccer club grunts will take care most of the odd jobs with some helpers from various clubs.”

Half of what Isshiki said went in one ear and out the other as I looked around the gym, and I certainly did spot unfamiliar faces that weren’t apart of the student council. With Hayama’s cooperation as an execute of the club captains’ a.s.sociation, they were able to secure extra personnel for the miscellaneous jobs. This meant Yukinos.h.i.ta and the student council could focus on their responsibilities as the main staff of this event. The planning was meticulous, I thought.

Isshiki quickly added, “Oh, we also have a scary person scheduled to handle any wardrobe issues.”

What? Did she mean Kawasaki? She sounded like she belonged to an influential criminal organization or something. Kawasaki’s such a good person, too… I stood there in shock.

Meanwhile, Isshiki made notes on her schedule. Afterwards, she looked up at Yukinos.h.i.ta. “What should we a.s.sign these two?”

Yukinos.h.i.ta placed her hand to her mouth and went into thought.

“Since they’re offering, we can have them help with the reception, the sound, or the lighting.”

“I’ll do the reception. We can’t really leave that to Hikki, so…” Yuigahama raised her hand and quickly volunteered, though her words started trailing off near the end. Isshiki continued after her with an agreeable nod.

“That’s true.”

Great job, Gahamsan, Irohasu, you two understood me well. Since I, too, understood myself very well, I nodded along. Yukinos.h.i.ta didn’t, however, and faced Yuigahama.

“We’re not expecting a large turnout, but there will be parents visiting, so make sure to register their names. For students, check their student ID.”

“We’ll station Tobe-senpai and the other grunts at the reception, so if there’s any trouble, let them handle it, and please call either Yukino-senpai or me.”

“Okay-dokey.”

Yuigahama casually acknowledged Isshiki’s additional instruction. Wait, Tobe’s just a grunt…? And you’re making him stand the entire time…?

“As for senpai…”

“Let’s see…”

Isshiki looked at Yukinos.h.i.ta and me in turn. Yukinos.h.i.ta didn’t say anything more, but she was weakly biting her lip and seemed to be in thought. That being said, she didn’t provide me with a designation. Based on our discussion so far, only the sound or the lighting were available.

“The lighting seems pretty integrated throughout the event, so that might be too difficult to do if I don’t have an idea how everything works,” I said, looking at Isshiki.

Isshiki nodded. “That’s true. Please help as a sound a.s.sistant, then. It’ll be my main responsibility, but I’ll still have to go in and out during the event. Having a stand-in would help a lot.”

“Roger that. Anything I need to keep in mind?”

“Music numbers are printed on the event schedule, so there shouldn’t be any issues as long as you follow the playlist. We’ll also call the song cues, so I think we should be okay.”

“Uh-huh, I see.”

A playlist was built in advance, and the songs had also been secured. On top of that, they would call the cues for each song. The only remaining concern was the technical aspect.

“Do you mind if we do a quick test run?”

I pointed my index finger at the control booth on the mezzanine floor located in the wing of the stage to my right, or the stage left. She said I just needed to help as an a.s.sistant, but anything could happen during the event. It stood to reason that I had the basics down on operating the controls.

“Oh, sure. Let’s go take a look,” she said, and politely led the way. We followed her to the control booth. After we ascended the dimly lit stairs from the wing, we entered a small room. Yukinos.h.i.ta entered, followed by Yuigahama who looked around the room in interest. It’s certainly a place you wouldn’t visit normally. There was the one time during the culture festival where I had a rough overview of the sound facilities as part of my odd jobs, but I never actually had the chance to fiddle with them.

Feeling a little concerned I could fulfill my duties, I looked at the PA sound mixer near the wall with a small window, and there was a faintly lit red lamp. I took a seat in front of the mixer as Isshiki recommended. Above the mixer was a laminated user manual along with a written playlist. Paper tape was clearly pasted on the mixer’s meters that looked related to the sound levels to make it easier for students to operate. The sliders of the faders were wrapped with colored tape that could easily be utilized with a single glance. With this much preparation, the controls shouldn’t be a problem.

“I’m going to play a song.”

“Sure.”

After attaining Isshiki’s permission, I pressed the b.u.t.ton. Then, an EDM track began to play, making beats6 that someone like Tobe would make. Next, I checked the event schedule and the playlist, and verified that each song was available using the playback controls to get a rough overview of how the controls worked. So far, so good.

I stared at the schedule and mixer thinking of any remaining items, and a realization hit me. Sound operators didn’t only play the music. They also handled everything else that involved sound, which included the microphones.

“What about the mics? How many do we need, and where do we put them?”

“Huh? Oh, give me one second…” Isshiki flipped through the event schedule. There, Yukinos.h.i.ta spoke up.

“A wired one for me at the stage right, a wireless one for Isshiki-san, and a spare one at the stage left,” she said while taking out white masking tape from her blazer’s pocket. She cut three small pieces and put each one under their respective fader sliders.

I grabbed a sign pen that was on the mixer, and wrote down “Yukinos.h.i.ta,” “Isshiki”, and “Spare” one by one. The microphones were now accounted for. Next was… I flipped through the event schedule, and I came across an unfamiliar word.

“What’s this ‘slideshow’ about…?” I asked, tapping on the booklet.

Isshiki looked down. “Oh, this? It’s a picture compilation of the graduates from all sorts of people. It wasn’t really edited, though.”

“Uh-huh..”

It looked like the details of the prom had changed without my knowledge. We were now in a period when slideshows could easily be produced on a smartphone. I couldn’t say much about the quality, but it didn’t require much effort, and if it’s enough to make the graduates happy and even excite them, it’s a very cost-effective program item. The thoroughness had me impressed, and I checked over the relevant sections on the schedule while marking them in red circles.

“So, the most annoying item is the slideshow, huh? What are we using to play it?” I rotated my seat, and Isshiki was in front of me. However, my question was immediately answered by a voice beside her.

“We’ll be using the PC’s line out for sound. We’ve also confirmed the lighting during technical rehearsal, so you only need to worry about the faders. We’ll take care of playing the video on our end.” She began preparing a PC as she spoke, looking to give me a demonstration. With that out of the way, that cleared up any of my remaining doubts.

“Roger that. Will the video start with a black screen? How many seconds?”

“It’ll be an initial ten seconds followed by another ten for the countdown.”

“Can we give that a try?”

“Yes. Isshiki-san, can I ask you to run through the process?”

“Huh…? Oh, yes!” Isshiki snapped out of her daze when her name suddenly came up. Yukinos.h.i.ta gave her a confused look.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um, I was just thinking how you two were talking a lot…” She looked at Yuigahama for agreement.

Yuigahama made a nervous laugh. “Well, it happens all the time, so…”

Seeing Yuigahama rubbing her hair bun with a troubled smile, both Yukinos.h.i.ta and I went quiet, and it got awkward. Any longer, and the control booth would’ve been dominated by silence. Unable to stand it, I spat out a response.

“I’m sorry, okay? I barely talk, and when I do, it’s only at times like this, so it’s kind of gross, right?”

“Well, yes, but…”

…Really? Irohasu, you thought I was gross this entire time?

When I gave her a resentful glare, she coughed as if to check her throat. Then, she pretended to hold an air microphone in one hand. Looking ready to begin a rehearsal, she opened her mouth.

“Okay. Next, we have a slideshow. Yay! Clap, clap, clap.”

“After that, Isshiki-san will exit the stage. The lighting will slowly black out, and the video will play.”

Yukinos.h.i.ta continued to explain the rest of the proceedings like a stage director while operating the PC. When she finished, she tapped the enter key. A screen lowered over the stage and displayed a silent black screen. In the meantime, I lowered the fader slider for the BGM and microphones while increasing the slider for the PC’s audio.

I looked at the stage from the small window, and the screen transitioned to a countdown. The numbers made a rolling film sound as it ticked down. Once it reached zero, an emotional song that was commonly used for commercials accompanied the slideshow. With a melody that evoked tears, images depicting the daily lives of the graduates displayed one by one.

As I indifferently watched the slideshow thinking how well done it was, it made me realize something. This was the first time I had ever seen this video. Yet, I could feel some kind of emotion welling up inside of me…

The question popped up in my mind, but Yuigahama whispered the answer. “It kinda feels like I’ve seen this before…”

“Well, that’s what happens when you use this kind of music…”

Unable to verbalize the déjà vu, Isshiki, who was apparently in charge of the creation of the slideshow, sulked. “It’s better this way. We wanted to prioritize simplicity, so it’s okay to cry.”

“They might just laugh it off as a parody, though…” Yukinos.h.i.ta made a hopeless smile.

Isshiki had a point, though. The video wasn’t exactly put together well or had any sense of direction. It was just a successive display of photos of the graduates or photos taken from someone’s smartphone. But the music was enough to get people emotional, which would be a guaranteed hit with the graduates. I’m sure they’d find it difficult to put their feelings into words.

Eventually, the music faded out, and the video ended on a frame with a fancy background that read, “Congratulations on your graduation,” and so forth.

“After the video ends, the lighting will come back on, and the MC will take the stage again.”

As I nodded to Yukinos.h.i.ta’s voice, I made memos of the video’s duration on my schedule.

“I think I’ve got it mostly down now, so I should be able to handle the controls when the video plays…”

“That would save us a lot of trouble if you could. We had someone available do it during the technical rehearsal, but once the event begins, we might not have that luxury…”

“Hm, well, I’ll probably be here for most of the night, so I can do it. Do you mind if I fiddle around with the controls while checking a few things? I’ll probably play a few songs.”

“You’re free to do so until the venue opens.”

“Roger that. Is that about it for our meeting?”

I flipped through the schedule, verifying there wasn’t anything else that we could’ve missed, and looked up. When I did, Yukinos.h.i.ta and my eyes met. Even though she was smiling with narrowed eyes, there was just something so distant about it that I found myself looking away.

“Yes, that should be it… Thank you, and please take care of the rest. Isshiki-san, let’s head to the lighting area.”

Yukinos.h.i.ta called out to Isshiki, turned, and began walking away. Isshiki went after her in a panic.

“Huh? Oh, roger. Okay, senpai, see you later.”

I lifted my hand in response and turned my chair toward the sound mixer. The hurried footsteps behind me grew farther and farther. And then, there was the creaking noise of a chair. I looked over to see Yuigahama was sitting next to me.

“Everything okay?” she asked with concern.

I shrugged. “Yeah… We should be fine.”

She then made a slight anxious face. “Oh, okay… the conversation was a little hard to follow, so I was wondering.”

“Things will work out one we get used to it,” I said, smiling. Then, my eyes sank to my hands.

Right, I wasn’t used to things yet. So, to make that happen faster, I extended my hand to the playback b.u.t.ton on the mixer. I raised the fader with my cold fingertip, and an unknown track, an EDM that I had never heard before, began to play. It was the kind of modern song you’d find at any club, and my eyebrows unknowingly formed a frown. But the more I listened to it, the more I would get used to it.

Whether it was the usage of the mixer, the unfamiliar EDM, the grating test blows of the air horns, or the low ba.s.s from the backside of the speakers, they were all things I would eventually get used to, as if they were the most natural thing in the world.

X X X

The light of the setting sun peeked through the openings of the blackout curtains that hung at the catwalk, and the intermingled strobes of spotlight and diffused reflection of the dis...o...b..a.l.l.s glistered. Presumably, they were performing final checks on the lighting. It wasn’t long until the venue was open. As the sound operator, I also went through my remaining work.

“Test, test… ahh, test, test…”

I verified the connection of the stage right’s wired microphone with a voice test, which the speakers shot back at me. I looked up at the small window of the control booth in the stage to see the person with the same responsibilities as me, Isshiki, peeking out the window. I signaled to her using my hands to form a large circle. In return, Isshiki slightly leaned out and formed a similar shape like the Hakutsuru circle with her arms. Such a foxy and adorable gesture…

“Hikigaykun.”

I turned around to see Yukinos.h.i.ta approaching. She was holding a black object corded with a microphone and an earphone, or also known as an intercom headset.

“We’ll use this to call the cues.”

“Ooh, that’s a little nostalgic.”

After accepting the headset from her, I inspected it. I blurted out my honest feelings having recalled its usage back during the events of the culture festival.

Yukinos.h.i.ta didn’t say a word and turned. “Can you give the other one to Isshiki-san?”

“Y-Yeah.”

That marked the end of our conversation. Words were flowing right out of our mouths in the earlier meeting, but now, there was just silence suffocating the air as we stood in the dark wing of the stage. It wouldn’t have bothered me so much if I was working on something, but once I looked at my hand, I realized I was still holding the wired microphone.

“Oh, right, you’re going to use a stand, right?” I asked when the thought came to mind. She turned back, and she had an addled expression.

“Y-Yes, that’s the plan…”

Upon her acknowledgment, I went to grab the stand that was farther in the wing. I walked back to Yukinos.h.i.ta and began setting it.

“How high should it be? About this much?”

I bent over to make the adjustments, and Yukinos.h.i.ta let out an awkward sigh overhead.

“That’s perfect, but… I can do this much by myself,” she whispered, angling her head downwards.

My hands stopped. As much as I wanted to do away with the awkwardness, a bitter taste filled my mouth from self-disgust for almost sticking my nose where it didn’t belong again.

“Right… sorry.” I released the stand, stood up, and took two steps back.

“No, you’ve got nothing to apologize for…”

“Ahh… right.”

In the wing shrouded in darkness, excluded from the overhead lighting, our wordless breaths were like solids that clogged the air and made it difficult to move. Not much time had pa.s.sed, yet it felt like we had been frozen for ages. Similarly feeling the same discomfort, Yukinos.h.i.ta let out a shallow sigh and reluctantly spoke up.

“Um… if my att.i.tude’s been unpleasant in any way, I apologize.”

“Huh? Oh, no, I thought you were just acting normal…”

Her words were so abrupt, it caused me to respond strangely.

“I wasn’t really sure what kind of face I should make when talking to you.”

Wow, she’s something else… Of all the things she could say in this awkward mood, she went with that…?

But that’s really just like her. She wasn’t exactly the type of person who could read between the lines. Heck, she couldn’t, period. Or perhaps, it might be more accurate to say she was never put in a situation where that was necessary. At the very least, in the past year she’s spent with Yuigahama and me, I think she was starting to get the hang of it. Whether that was a good thing or not, I wasn’t sure. After all, I was someone who read between the lines too much, to the point I felt it was second-nature, but that at times strangely left me in the same position I was initially.

Truthfully speaking, I had no idea how I was supposed to interact with her, either. And when she made an expression that looked confused or embarra.s.sed, and was seconds away from breaking into tears, it only made it harder. What exactly was I supposed to say when she kept constantly adjusting her bangs, combing the hair at her shoulder, and restlessly moving her eyes? I just didn’t know.

“Oh, okay… I think you can just act like normal…?”

After such a long period of hesitation, I could only give her a lazy, unreliable answer.

“Normal… R-Right.”

She nodded as if digesting the concept, and I similarly nodded back in silence. If someone had been watching us, it would’ve looked like we were pigeons embroiled in a turf war. She repeatedly whispered “normal” to herself to regain her composure. That conversely made me calm down instead. The corners of my mouth grew lax and enabled me to speak freely.

“Well, things are a little hectic right now, so I doubt you had the time to relax and think things through. You’ll get better at being normal in time. Not that I’d know.”

“Y-You’re right. Once things settle down, I should be able to improve and be more natural at it…”

We believed this was what it meant to be normal. That’s why we were trying to be normal, because we wanted to believe this relationship wasn’t abnormal.

Yukinos.h.i.ta was eventually able to regain her composure after finding some sense in my words. She lightly coughed and tried to start over.

“I wasn’t trying to be mean or anything earlier… Um, it’s true we’re short-handed, and in that respect, I appreciate your help, so…”

“Mm, yeah, I got it. I wasn’t really thinking when I came here to help… things just turned out this way. It’s not like I can just sit around doing nothing, anyway,” I said, wryly smiling.

Yukinos.h.i.ta shook her head. “I don’t think that’s your fault. Isshiki-san’s also depending on you.”

Finally, she smiled. It’s been a while, but I could even feel a bit of teasing coming from her. Anyway, “depending on you” was a wonderful choice of words. Was this the recent trending political correctness I had been hearing about?

“Isshiki’s gotten pretty reliable lately, so we’ll probably be relieved of our posts eventually. And that means we won’t be getting these kinds of jobs anymore.”

“That’s debatable. I don’t think she’ll let you go very easily.”

“Oh boy, that’s a frightening thought, very scary…”

The stiffness left my body once I was able to talk more freely, and I continued my work. I reeled in the wire of the microphone while ensuring it didn’t get entangled. Interjecting into the sliding noise of the cord was a m.u.f.fled vibration.

“Excuse me for a moment.” She took out her smartphone. After seeing the screen, she let out an exhausted sigh. The brightness illuminated her wrinkling brow, and she looked up toward the small window of the voice room. My eyes followed, and I could see Isshiki near the window of the control booth clapping her hands together with a bow of her head.

“What’s up? Did something happen?”

“It’s nothing important,” she said, and left the wing in a hurry.

Wondering if something had happened, I followed after her and stuck my face out from the wing. Below the stage, I could see Yukinos.h.i.ta and Hiratsuksensei in a discussion. Approaching them from behind was Yukinos.h.i.ta’s mother and Haruno-san.

I had a suspicious look, questioning why Hiratsuksensei, or rather, why the other two were here. Then, Hiratsuksensei’s eyes met with mine.

“Oh, Hikigaya, you were here? Sorry for interrupting your preparations.”

“Ahh, not at all…”

She gave me a casual wave. Then, Yukinos.h.i.ta’s mother noticed me and did a similar gesture. “Hikigaykun, I’m happy to see you again.”

“Haha, h.e.l.lo…”

I wanted to be on my way after a quick exchange of pleasantries. Unfortunately, she beckoned me over and had every intention of continuing the conversation. With Haruno-san staring, I had no room to flee. I resigned myself to fate and made several sluggish steps closer, and Yukinos.h.i.ta’s mother cheerfully began talking.

“I see you’ll be attending the prom. I’m rather excited to see your excellent dancing.”

“Hahaha…” I let out a dry laugh.

Haruno-san gave me a dubious half-smile. “You can dance? Really?”

“I hear he’s quite the dancer, enough to make me want to dance myself,” Yukinos.h.i.ta’s mother jested, showing an unexpected innocent side.

“Ooh…” Haruno-san had an impressed tone, but her eyes were indifferent. As I stood there entrapped by her connotative eyes, Yukinos.h.i.ta intervened.

“I believe you’re here to inspect the venue, correct? We’re rather hard-pressed with our backlog, so can you make this quick?”

“You’re right.”

In response to her daughter’s impatient sigh, she retracted her smile and examined the interior. Judging by the conversation just now, she was here to a.s.sess if the prom venue was at an acceptable standard for high school students. Isshiki was given notice, but she left the negotiations to Yukinos.h.i.ta. As the event planner, it was only natural.

“It’s impressive you were able to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. It seems your throw-away plan to buy time is paying out in spades.” Yukinos.h.i.ta’s mother surveyed the walls to the ceilings and nodded. Then, her gaze slid into my line of sight. “Considering how extravagant your initial plan was, there’s really no room for us to voice our complaints. I suspect even the most meticulous individuals will find this up to standard… You did your research, I must say.”

“Oh no, it’s not like I did anything. Everything was all because of—”

Your daughter. I wanted to finish, but when I caught glimpse of Haruno-san’s narrowing eyes, as if she was testing me, behind her, I stopped. It wasn’t my place to say anything more. There wasn’t any meaning in a.s.serting my contributions. Even worse, it could backfire.

Yukinos.h.i.ta’s mother tilted her head when I went quiet and waited for me to continue. I merely looked at Yukinos.h.i.ta. No matter how trivial their exchange was, she was the one who ought to confront her mother, not me. After all, the person we were dealing with was someone who was quick to point out the little things but was also quick to turn every one of them upside down on their heads. If I didn’t maneuver around this person carefully, I could hinder Yukinos.h.i.ta.

Taking notice of the silence, or my gaze, Hiratsuksensei let out a chuckle. “This was all because of the generous understanding and cooperation of the parents. Don’t you agree, executive chairman?”

She took a joking tone and patted Yukinos.h.i.ta on the back with a smile. Suddenly thrown into the conversation, Yukinos.h.i.ta had a bewildered look, but quickly composed herself after realizing Hiratsuksensei’s intention from her initially polite sentence and trailing words.

“Y-Yes. As the planner, I would like to express my grat.i.tude.”

She expressed her appreciation and performed a beautiful bow to her mother with a formality that was unlike the crudeness she had moments ago.

“I believe there may be some things that may not be up to standard, but as this is a joyous occasion, I would be most grateful if you could watch over this event in kind. Should there be any claims from our dear guests, I will see to it that they are all handled with the utmost urgency.”

She slowly raised her head and met her mother’s eyes directly. Both her gestures and expressions exuded a tangible feeling of reservation and tension.

“I see. I may be your mother, but it’s important to maintain your dignity at times like this. I’m glad to see you’re finally showing a look befitting your position… In any case, as the director of the parents a.s.sociation, I would like to proceed with my inspection.”

“By all means.”

After seeing her daughter’s resolute att.i.tude, her lips teared at the seams and formed an intrepid smile. She quickly hid her mouth with her folding fan and cheerfully whispered like the tumbling of a bell.

“Let’s get down to business, shall we? First, I’d like to look over the closing schedule and the procedures after the event ends…”

“Yes. This is in regards to venue security, correct? I have the doc.u.ments prepared over there. May I have you accompany me?”

Yukinos.h.i.ta led the way and was followed by her mother and then Hiratsuksensei. After a delay of a couple of steps, Haruno-san started after them. Upon pa.s.sing me, she tapped my shoulder and whispered into my ear. “Good job on holding yourself back… that’s how things should be.”

Her gentle voice was laden with a sweetness that sent chills down my spine, but accompanying it was a proportionally higher sense of loneliness. Not bothering to wait for a response, she continued on.

Left behind, I stood there alone. I let out a tired exhale and pushed my sight to the ceiling.

X X X

Had things been like always, I was sure I would’ve come up with something pretentious and stuck my nose in where it didn’t belong. But that was no longer necessary. Correction, I finally understood that I mustn’t do it anymore.

The things I could do—the things I was allowed to do—were extremely limited. In terms of the present, there was only one thing I could do—work.

I let out a hearty breath and made my way to the control booth. I noisily climbed the narrow stairs and opened the door.

“Good work out there.”

Isshiki was leaning against her office swivel chair and was spinning out of boredom. I took the seat beside her in front of the PA mixer while handing her the headset in my hand.

“Yeah. Here’s the headset.”

“Okay, thanksies.”

Isshiki rolled her seat over and accepted. On top of that, she leaned closer to my ear and whispered, “Is everything okay? Did that hag say anything?”

“Ha—look here, missy…”

She looked quite young despite her age, you know, not that I knew her age or anything. She was the mother of those two daughters, so it was only natural that she was just as beautiful. Of course, she’s outright scary, but she’s got this adorable side to her too, you know? Though that just made her even scarier.

I considered giving her a retort, but I felt it didn’t even matter. Isshiki didn’t seem to have a good opinion of her after their last bout. What a coincidence! I felt the same way!

So, instead of defending her, I answered her first question. “Yukinos.h.i.ta took care of it, so we’re fine.”

“Ohh,” Isshiki said indifferently, and rested her cheek in her hand with her elbow against the table. Then, she continued with a grumble. “I guess you two won’t need an interpreter anymore.”

“Huh?”

“You were talking just fine with Yukino-senpai, weren’t you? Like, when we had the meeting and earlier.” She directed her chin in the direction of the small window, apparently witness to our exchange in the other wing.

“Oh… yeah, well, we don’t need one if it’s for work. It’s really just because I’m bad at conversations and idle talk. If anything, I’m good at business calls.”

“Uh, I’m not sure why you’re so proud of that…” Isshiki shook her hands in disagreement. Then, she placed that hand on her cheek and sighed. “Well, there are guys who think they had a conversation just because of a business call.”

“Hey, stop it. There are guys who need excuses to even talk to girls. Don’t you feel bad for them? Stop it.” I attempted to keep her from continuing, but she wasn’t listening.

“Those people are usually the ones who start calling you by your first name after they talk to you for about three times. Then, around the fifth time, they start inviting you out. But after they confess, they just stop talking to you.”

“Stop, stop, stop. Really, just stop. Wait, did you go to my middle school?”

“No… But that’s exactly what you do, senpai. You do something like that and use it as an excuse to…”

Isshiki looked at me apathetically, but on immediate realization of something, she jumped back.

“Oh! Don’t tell me you were trying to use business calls as an excuse to get closer to me so you can confess? I’m fine with hanging out, but you’ll have to wait until this is all over if you want to do anything more, I’m sorry.”

She then courteously bowed.

“Yeah, yeah, after this is over. Now, do your job. Otherwise, this will never end.”

“There he goes again… he’s not even listening…”

You’d be crazy to actually listen to that spiel in the first place…

“It’s not like I hate doing the work here, though.”

Isshiki wore her headset while fuming and opened the event schedule with exaggeration. Then, she pulled the laptop closer and began clacking away. I went over the controls of the PA mixer while watching her from the corner of my eye.

Suddenly, she let out a chuckle. “I’m actually pretty fond of spending our time like this…”

“Well, the backstage is fun in its own way.”

As a matter of fact, operating a mixer and wearing a headset made me feel like an a.s.sistant director, so it was oddly fulfilling. I thrust the earphone into my ear to check its status, and Isshiki rotated her seat toward me.

“Do you want to do it next year, too?”

“I’ll be leaving next year, you know…”

This work didn’t bother me as much as I thought, but continuing until graduation wasn’t my idea of fun… I had an averse smile, but Isshiki didn’t.

“I didn’t mean that. I was talking about the Service Club.” Isshiki had an emotive tone, wearing an earnest look, and a.s.sumed an upright position with her hands on her lap. Her suggestion had a number of implications, but my answer wouldn’t have changed even if I thought through them all.

“You’ll have to ask the president about that. I don’t have jurisdiction in our activities,” I said, but her eyes wouldn’t let me end with this ambiguity. I turned away from her pressure. “Plus, the club will be gone.”

This might’ve been the first time I was able to put that reality into words. Yukinos.h.i.ta, Yuigahama, and even Hiratsuksensei were vaguely aware of it themselves, but they had never really affirmed it up until now. There were occasions where we casually alluded to it in playful conversations, but there had never been a moment where we had put it in tangible terms. That’s why, we could avert our eyes from it. But now that I had finally verbalized it, it became an unavoidable truth.

“There won’t be any reason for me to work.” I a.s.serted, and could finally look back at Isshiki’s eyes. Her gaze softly turned into a sympathetic one, and her lips relaxed into an indifferent smile.

“I knew you’d say that, but it’s not that big of a deal, right?”

“Wha… how is it not…?”

“I mean, you don’t need a club. That’s not the issue. You can still work as part of the student council,” she said, wearing a determined grin. Then, she jokingly added. “To tell you the truth, there’s an open spot right now.”

I smiled. “Talk to Yukinos.h.i.ta then. That’s definitely right up her alley.”

“That’s the plan. I also plan on inviting Yui-senpai, too. It’s fine as long everyone’s in.”

“That’s crazy talk. There’s only one opening, right?”

Isshiki puffed her chest with a smug laugh. “That’s where I’ll fire the vice president.”

“That’s just mean…”

He’s been working so hard, too… I was going to break down in tears from the pity. No, wait, hasn’t he been hitting it off with the secretary lately? Forget the pity. Don’t screw with me, do your d.a.m.n job.

I knew her words were a joke, and I knew they were an unattainable dream. That’s why I wouldn’t outright reject it, because it was something that should be kept as a pleasant and enjoyable topic for later. If I didn’t do that, I would end up thinking “it might not be a bad idea.” I figured I was making a decent smile, but as I thought, it was one of the things I just wasn’t good at.

She wore a faint smile and looked at me with a gentle gaze. Her expression, her hair, and her hand on her ear made her look just like an adult. No, she was more of an adult than I could ever be.

“I honestly think it’s the most realistic option, though. I mean, keeping a relationship that lets you have fun with your cute little junior while listening to every one of her cute demands doesn’t sound too bad, right?”

It was an awfully attractive offer. Perhaps, it might’ve been the most ideal of all the options. My heart wavered for an instant. As if discerning that moment, she made an alluring smile and thrust herself from her seat.

Her beige hair swayed against my cheeks, and I could make out the smell of shampoo along with a sweet perfume arousing my sense of smell. She placed one hand on my chair’s armrest and used her other hand to support her mouth and whispered into my ear. “I can give you an excuse if you want…?”

i-0237_01

I instinctively pulled away, causing the rattling of the casters of my chair, and opened some distance. Isshiki sat back in her seat.

My heart was beating, I was sweating, and I was fl.u.s.tered. On the other hand, she was collected, as if she was confident nothing had happened.

If she had truly asked for my help, it’s likely I would’ve lent her a hand, whether it was as vice president or general affairs for the student council. But the position didn’t matter, because I was willing to lend a hand personally. This was Isshiki we were talking about, someone I treated on a similar level as my little sister, Komachi. I knew that at least. I had a reputation for being weak when it came to my little sister and her. If she had seriously asked, there’s no doubt I’d end up helping at the end of the day despite my complaints. That’s how it had always been, and she should’ve been aware of this. But the intention of her coaxing act just now was something even I could understand.

“You really are a good person…” I let out a deep breath and smiled.

Isshiki did a side peace sign and winked. “I know, right? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a pretty convenient woman.”

Her expression and gestures were truly cute, foxy, and deliberate. With her demeanor, she did her utmost to be there as my junior, as our Isshiki Iroha. I wasn’t sure about her convenience, but at the very least, she was a good woman. I had to give her an answer that only I would say.

“I’ll do what I can to see if I can optimistically take your proposal into consideration.”

“That’s the kind of answer you’d say when you’re definitely not going to do something… That’s just like you, though.” Isshiki hopelessly sighed, but transitioned to an unpleasant smile. “But in case you haven’t noticed, I’m the kind of woman who’s bad at giving up.”

“Yeah, that’s easy to notice…”

We faced each other and smiled. Then, she looked at the clock. “Looks like it’s almost time…”

Static filled the earphone of our headset, and a calm voiced followed.

“This is Yukinos.h.i.ta. We’ll be proceeding as scheduled, and the venue will be opened to the guests.”

“Isshiki here, roger. Playing venue BGM.”

She made eye contact with me, and I nodded. I pressed the play b.u.t.ton on the PA and slowly raised the fader. No problems so far. My current job was to loop the song that served to energize the venue while everyone was on standby.

With the entry of the guests, the interior grew noisier. If we had at least one monitor, we could get an idea on the situation out there, but we didn’t have that luxury. I leaned over the small window and poked my face out. Expanding below me was a scenery of extravagance. The fluttering of all the gorgeous dresses looked like cherry blossom petals from afar.

Fully bloomed flowers were beautiful precisely because they would scatter. Perhaps, because this was the end that the sight expanding before me was so stunning.

And so, the event for our finale would begin at last.

X X X

We had a lot of back-and-forth struggles in order to reach this point, but as soon as the prom began, we flew through the program with flying colors. The opening went well, and we progressed along without any problems. The slideshow that was the most concerning item in the program ended without issue. After a moment of respite, it was almost time for dancing.

Isshiki spent some time ramping up the excitement in the venue as the MC, and I played through the music playlist in accordance to Yukinos.h.i.ta’s cues. The music was all queued up for the dancing period, so there wasn’t any need to do any more operation.

I leaned against my chair. I was stationed here for a fairly long time, so I did a stretch to relieve the stiffness from my back. The chair creaked along with the satisfying cracking of my hipbone.

“Good job so far.”

I turned to the voice to see Isshiki had just returned from her MC responsibility.

“Hm, yeah, same to you out there,” I said, casually praising her.

Isshiki made a “this person sure is hopeless” face and pulled a seat next to me. “Why don’t you go take a break? I’ll cover for you.”

I could only imagine she had heard me cracking my hips, because she was giving me some time. I wasn’t actually that tired, but I did want to go pick some flowers. I accepted her offer.

“Mm, I’ll be back in a bit, then.”

“Sure thing.”

After her listless reply, I left the room. I rotated my stiff arms while removing the earphone from my ear, and briskly descended the stairs with light steps. The successive soft, metallic taps converged with the stomach-shaking ba.s.s of the club music. When I made it to the ground floor, the venue was engulfed by the fervor of the crowded center. As an onlooker, it was probably safe to say the event was booming.

Within such a dressy crowd, people in uniforms were conspicuous. I was able to see Yuigahama sitting at the end of the long table for food and drink catering at the corner of this floor level. She beckoned me over as soon as she noticed me and I nodded while making my way there.

“Hey there, Hikki.” Yuigahama stood up right next to me to avoid having her voice drowned out by the explosive sounds of the speakers.

“Yeah, how’s the reception going?”

“Pretty good, it’s pretty late now, so I don’t think anyone else is coming. We’ve been taking turns going on break.”

“Makes sense, the prom’s almost over.”

“Hey, I’m getting kinda hungry. You are too, right?” She began ama.s.sing sweets and other things on the table. “You’re going to eat some, right?”

I was going to tell her I wasn’t hungry, but she didn’t wait, and before long, a kingdom of sweets was constructed before me. Erected at its center was the honey toast palace. I see, it was a very delightful selection… Unlike what we had from students during the culture festival, this one was topped off with fruits and cream and was visually-appealing. But this was bread, wasn’t it? Yeah, it’s definitely bread. No matter the toppings, bread was still bread. Surely they could’ve put more effort into hiding the fact that was it bread. Just look at how much bread it was. It’s so bread.

“Here!”

Yuigahama let out an unexpected perky yelp that sounded like when she was distributing her cooking and gave me a piece of the bread on a paper plate. You used your hands, huh…? Not that it’s a big deal or anything. As I was in a state of stupor, Yuigahama began eating.

“So good! The fresh cream’s so good!”

As always, she’s always enjoying the heck out of her food… Seeing that only made the honey toast look even better. The one we tried last time was made by amateurs, but this time, we had one procured through food delivery or some service called UBEReats, so it was professionally made. It clearly had to be good…

With that belief in mind, I took a bite. Om, nom, nom. Hmm… tastes like bread…

A patchy texture spread throughout the inside of my mouth. Some time had pa.s.sed since this was put out, hadn’t it…? It might’ve been better to eat it a lot earlier. Well, the cream and honey were delicious, so I guess that’s okay… As I gnawed at my food, Yuigahama giggled.

“You have the same face as last time.”

What did you expect? It’s just so bread… My eyes stated as such while the inside of my mouth was stuffed with an absorbent sweet body of ma.s.s that had a hardness between a sponge and gritty sand. Once I managed to swallow it down, I was finally at ease. I extended my hand out to the table for some coffee, but in that moment, the music playing on the floor changed as did the colors of the lighting.

The spectrum of red and green lights bounced off of the slowly spinning dis...o...b..a.l.l.s matching the house music tempo, and the strobe lights rained down on the floor like a faint, burning white beam. It looked almost like Yuigahama’s smile was hidden in my flicking field of vision.

“Did you figure out what you want for you request…?”

I moved my face so I could make out her hushed words. “No… I haven’t thought of anything yet. You?”

“Um… you’re already did most of what I told you before, like helping out with the prom, going to the party, and celebrating Komachi-chan’s birthday… Oh, I forgot we still need to hang out.” Yuigahama folded her fingers one by one, but then unfolded the last finger after remembering.

“Do you want to go somewhere after finals?”

“After finals, huh…? Oh, that might actually motivate me more!”

Her shoulders sank upon hearing “finals,” but the plans for after left her happily smiling. For being such an honest girl, I just had to give her some extra service.

“If you have any other requests, please feel free to let me know at any time.”

“Really? Maybe I’ll ask for one more then,” she said, and took a delicate step away from me. Then, with the hems of her skirt in her hands, she drew her right foot backwards, slightly bent her knees and her waist. “May I have this dance?”

She bowed, and the bouncing bun on her hair resembled a tiny tiara. I was taken aback by the sight. No, I was captivated.

In time, Yuigahama lifted her head. Despite looking collected, I could tell how flushed her face was in the darkness.

“O-Or something like that, ahaha…” She fiddled with intense velocity in an attempt to hide her embarra.s.sment.

That freed me from my stiffness, and I made a bittersweet smile. “This isn’t exactly the place for that kind of dance…”

“I-I know, right? Ahh, G.o.d, so embarra.s.sing…” Yuigahama fanned her face with her hands, only for her to immediately look up at the ceiling, and fan even harder with her palms.

Good grief, she was getting too influenced by the atmosphere. Why were you letting it make you dance instead of doing the dancing yourself? I let out a deep sigh along with a feeling of astonishment. I really was astonished… astonished at what I was going to do.

I exhaled one more time, not in astonishment of myself, but as encouragement. I took some distance from the catering table and twisted half of my body. Yuigahama had a puzzled look.

“May I have your hand…?” I said. I placed my left hand on my chest, bent my waist, and extended out my right.

She gave me a blank stare for a moment, but then quickly burst into a laughter. She held her mouth back with her fingers and teasingly looked up at me. “Even though this isn’t the place for this kind of dance?”

“You started it…”

I was merely returning the favor after her earlier act. Still this was super embarra.s.sing. I shouldn’t have done it… When I started to feel the regret and remorse, my extended hand dropped. But before it went all the way, Yuigahama gripped my hand.

“Let’s go!”

She pulled me by the hand and made our way to the center of the floor while avoiding the waves of people. The spotlights and the dis...o...b..a.l.l.s bounced from spot to spot, and the people on the dance floor rivaled that irregularity with their bodies.

The song playing was upbeat and hip in tone. I had no idea what kind of song it was because the genre it was a part of was broken up into so many subgenres, but I suppose there wasn’t any issue cla.s.sifying it as club music. At the very least, it wasn’t the kind of music male and female pairs would dance cheek-to-cheek to.

My hand still held by her was flung all over, my body spinning in response, and I stamped in place of a foot bellow. Surrounded by all the noise, fervor, and lights, I was jostled in all directions by the ma.s.ses, performing a messy dance that was far from what you could call stylish.

But it didn’t matter how terrible I looked. Everyone here was merely content with having the time of their lives. Whether I danced or posed like Vega, no one would care. No one would see me. Only one person was looking at me, and that was Yuigahama.

The overhead lights flashed place to place indiscriminately and moved only to the beat of the music, making our expressions difficult to make out. But her smile, and our connected hands were things I could see clearly.

In the ma.s.s of extravagantly-dressed people, those who were clad in uniforms were a visual abnormality, but no one paid any attention. They were all engrossed in the moment, and this allowed Yuigahama and me to mingle among them. On the dance floor overflowing with people with their backs against each other, Yuigahama and I continued to dance, occasionally moving my hand around her shoulders, occasionally follow the momentum of the crowd, and occasionally turn to avoid the people.

As we showered in the booming sounds raining down on us from high overhead, our knees would tap to the beat and our shoulders would flounder with the rhythm, and we would toss our hands up in celebration.

Despite how much of a mess my dancing was, there was a big difference between watching and actually doing it. It was painful exercise. I began to feel fatigued, and my eyes met with Yuigahama’s. She then burst into laughter.

“You must really hate this!”

“This kind of request is actually really painful…”

“Sorry, sorry! I won’t ask for this anymore!” Her voiced mixed with the music and disappeared together. Then, she interjected a whisper. “My next one will be the last.”

She was right next to me, within the bounds of my arms, and b.u.mped her forehead against the tip of my shoulder. I thought I could answer her back with my disjointed voice, but it, too, was drowned out by the music.

In time, the music faded out and transitioned to a different song. It was slower in tempo, as if indicating the end to the dancing. In terms of the playlist, the next song would be a high tension standard number and that would set the stage for the finale. In other words, it was the timing for the final chill out, and also the timing for me to return to my post

“I should get going.”

“Okay, I’ll head back, too.”

Our hands went undone, it being unclear who let go first, and we both retreated backwards one step at a time. Before long, a low frequency noise that resembled the chimes of a bell spelled the end of this magical moment.

X X X

Soft taps echoed as I climbed the stairs to the control booth. I made my steps, not with gla.s.s slippers or beautiful naked feet, but with my dirty and frayed indoor slippers. The magical moment was long over as I made my return to the dusty room that appeared blanketed in ash.

What awaited Cinderella after the dissipation of the spell were her malicious stepmother and stepsisters, but what awaited me? I opened the door with that question in mind.

“Welcome back! You’re late, you know! Do you want to work? Or do you want to work? Or maybe… work?”

What awaited me was my junior acting like a clearly upset demon wife despite displaying a glowing foxy and cute smile that a new wife would have on my return. She played the role of a new wife so well, yet the three choices I was given had absolutely little to do with the family household.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll do work…”

“You know I’ve been calling you over the headset, right? Well, whatever, you made it back on time, so that’s fine.” She mumbled her complaints and stood up. “Anyway, I need to get ready for my closing speech, so please take care of the rest.”

“Will do. Good luck.”

“Sure.”

After watching her upbeat exit, I was the only one left in the room accompanied by the speaker’s heavy ba.s.s.

I used the time to refer to the event schedule. While there was some pressure, after making adjustments as needed, we were able to proceed as scheduled toward the ending. Once Isshiki finished her speech, it would be time for the long-awaited grand finale. I put back on the headset I took off earlier for my break. A brief static of noise filled the earphone, and a collected voice followed.

“—Isshiki-san, are you on standby?”

Yukinos.h.i.ta, who was in charge of coordinating the event, called for a status. Seconds later, a response came.

“—Isshiki here, I arrived at the stage left. I’m ready. Removing headset.”

“—Understood. Standby for your cue from the backstage narration.”

“—Roger. Talk to you in a bit.”

All communication over the headset went silent since then.

I leaned against my chair with my hands behind my head and looked up at the ceiling. Then, the playing music transitioned to its next phrase. It must’ve been a well-known club number, because the voices from the ground floor grew animated. The playlist marched on to its final track.

I gripped the mic of the headset clipped at my chest and pressed the b.u.t.ton, an operation I had already known how to do. I waited a few seconds to make sure my entire voice was picked up and started.

“—PA reporting, this is the last number.”

“—Understood. I’ll call the ending cue from the stage right. Don’t miss it.”

After her response, I stuck my head out the small window. Yukinos.h.i.ta was standing behind the drapes at the stage right. I rested my chin in my hand as I watched her, and she glanced up at me. She then slowly moved the microphone at her collar to her mouth.

“—Can you see me?”

“—Yeah, I can see you.”

“—Okay. So, where are you? In the audience?”

Yukinos.h.i.ta peeked her face out onto the stage and enacted a search.

“—I’m up here. Look up. Wait, you looked at me earlier, didn’t you?”

I answered her back with a deplorable tone. Then, she withdrew back into the wing, and her back was rounded with her shoulders trembling. Her voice wasn’t captured on her microphone, because she wasn’t pressing the b.u.t.ton, but I could see she was laughing. Eventually, she looked up at the control booth, still smiling.

“—I’m not used to looking up at you, so I couldn’t help it.”

“—You’re used to looking down at me? But that’s okay, I’m used to being looked down at.”

“—Your subservience is certainly something to look up to. My neck and shoulders might get sore, though.”

You’re not even big enough for that to happen… I won’t say what, though!

Then, she gave me a stern glare and gripped the mic at her lonely bosom.

“—Did you say something just now? I didn’t catch it. Can you say it one time?”

“I didn’t say anything…”

I instinctively retorted, making it possible that part of my words didn’t get picked up by the microphone. I broke into a smile when I recalled a similar conversation we once had over these headsets. Though at the time, there were other people listening to us, so it made for an embarra.s.sing memory.

Now, it was just the two of us. With enough distance, equipment, and a worthless topic, we were able to talk just like this. It’s possible we could’ve kept on going forever. But time itself would put an end to it for us. The seconds above the table displayed the remaining playtime of the song. Only a few seconds left until it was time for the end.

I shifted my gaze from the monitor and stuck my face out the window again. Yukinos.h.i.ta looked up at me while bending her head slightly to the side, and wordlessly asked me if something was wrong. She must’ve found it suspicious when I suddenly disappeared from the window.

Nothing at all. Without using my headset and without the slightest movement of my lips, I whispered the words that she couldn’t possibly hear.

Still curious, Yukinos.h.i.ta tilted her head. I shook my head in response, and she nodded back after looking convinced.

The stage wings were enshrouded in darkness, but when they occasionally brightened up from the light of the dis...o...b..a.l.l.s, I could easily make out her fine features, innocent gestures, and beautiful smile. The backlight of the control booth, however, must’ve made it somewhat hard for her to see from her position. But thanks to that, she wouldn’t be able to see the face I was making right now. There’s no way I could show her this idiotic face; I was smiling from the ridiculousness of the thought that flashed through my head.

I’m sure the absurd thought only came to me because of how we were positioned, composed of two segregated stage wings with one person looking up and the other looking down. Almost as if it was a stage play I once watched long ago.

The height of the window on the balcony was extremely different from the small window of the control booth, and even our gender positions were the complete opposite. Our whispers were far from what you would call affectionate, and our business talk wasn’t similar in the least. That’s why, the end that awaited us would most certainly not be the same.

The thought left me smiling. Although it wouldn’t be anywhere close to that happy ending, we waited for the end to this time to come.

After calculating the remaining length of the song from the clock display, I squeezed my microphone.

“——The song’s ending momentarily.”

We couldn’t avoid the time lag over the headset. Yukinos.h.i.ta pressed her earphone with her fingertips and dropped her eyes.

“——Understood.”

A brief reply followed by static, indicating that she was still pressing down the b.u.t.ton of her mic. Two seconds pa.s.sed. Then, three. She squeezed her collar together with the microphone and softly whispered.

“Hey, Hikigaykun…”

I waited, and waited, but the rest never came, only the static and her quiet breathing.

“Make sure you grant her wish, okay…?”

And then, her voice cut off. I wasn’t able to see her expression.

There was a small time difference and distance between us, and the static was a one-way street. We had a meeting over work, bounced some worthless jokes off of each other, but never touched upon anything else. Without a doubt, this must’ve been the correct distance for us. And so, my answer was already set in stone.

“——I know.”

In just a few moments, the song would end. After the final explosive sound, the remaining outro gradually transitioned to silence. The lighting faded in conjunction, and the guests interpreted that to be the end of the dance, and pepped up for the party of partings. Applause, whistling, and cheers filled the ground floor.

“——Thank you. Let’s end this.”

After waiting for the clamor to subside, she raised her hand to signal.

“Got it.”

I answered to myself, and not over the headset.

Once the song chosen for the ensemble on stage began, the boisterous audience grew silent. After waiting for that, I gradually raised the fader. This made for an emotional ending.

After pressing the b.u.t.ton on the headset, I waited a few seconds before speaking.

“—Music’s playing.”

“—Understood. After the backstage narration, lower the fader when Isshiki-san arrives at her position. I’ll handle the timing.”

After the song went through one phrase, the guests settled down and waited for the ending. Then, Yukinos.h.i.ta began the backstage narration.

“Graduates, thank you all for attending the Sobu High School prom. I would like to express our warmest congratulations on your graduation. Next, the chairman of the executive committee will present her closing remarks.”

Together with a round of applause, Isshiki took the stage with the spotlight focusing on her. The trail of the light eventually halted at the center.

Yukinos.h.i.ta looked up at me. In the glittering s.p.a.ce of scattering particles and within the depths of the shadows, she quietly raised her hand. Her slender arm was brought halfway up, unsure of whether to go higher or to go lower.

With a seemingly sad smile, she gave the signal for the end. And then, she quietly waved her hand.

And I, in accordance, gently lowered the fader, as if to draw the curtains on a play.