✦ ✦ ✦
Wait a second. Why was Aoi Hinami, the perfect superwoman, asking me this question? Since she was friends with Nakamura, asking him would have been more natural. Was she making conversation to put me at ease because we’d never really talked before? No, someone as attuned to the social climate as Aoi Hinami would have already figured out that Nakamura had lost from the general atmosphere at school lately. Given that, bringing it up with me as a topic of conversation would be an odd move. What was going on?
…I couldn’t come up with anything. As I considered how to answer, Nakamura suddenly spoke up.
“God, Aoi, just shut up. I lost, okay? Let’s get going and forget about this dweeb,” he spat in the most irritated tone I’d ever heard.
The air between us froze. Uh-oh, now what?
“Wow! Really? Tomozaki-kun, that’s amazing! Come on, Shuji, don’t you worry!”
She said “don’t you worry” very affectionately, even a little teasingly. The tension softened.
“…Aw, shut up!” he retorted, this time smiling with exasperation.
“But Shuji’s good at everything! Wow, you must be super-good if you beat him! That’s amazing…”
“N-no, it wasn’t a big deal…”
“I want to play you next!”
“I—I don’t think that’s a very good idea…”
“Yeah, maybe not. Sorry, just got carried away!” She giggled.
For some reason, she was really easy to talk to. I guess this is what people mean when they talk about “communication skills.” And Nakamura was standing next to her with this tiny smile, like he was watching over a child, even though she’d just made him admit he’d lost. It must have been the way she teased him a little afterward that did it. If that was the case, she really was amazing.
“Uh, well, I’m off to the cafeteria.”
“Okay! See you later. Teach me some of your tricks next time!”
“Uh, yeah.”
“…ing…” Nakamura was muttering something.
“What?”
“Nothing. Bye.”
What just happened? “Uh, bye.”
“Bye!”
I walked off toward the dining hall while Aoi Hinami’s second “bye” reached the back of my head.
…Whew. I survived. I let out a sigh of relief.
But now it was all starting to make sense. She must have known from the start that even if she brought up that topic, she’d be able to get everyone feeling okay, even excited, by the end of the conversation. A decision only a normie could make. There was no way my brain could have predicted it.
All the same, I hadn’t expected Nakamura to reveal that he’d lost. Hopefully that won’t make him hate me even more… With that thought on my mind, I arrived at the dining hall.
✦ ✦ ✦
That’s how the little explosion in my everyday life was softened by the formidable communication skills of Aoi Hanami before it shrank and faded away. I normally can’t stand the weird confidence and excessive enthusiasm of normies, and I used to think it didn’t serve any purpose. But I had to admit, Aoi Hanami was incredible. My values had shifted a little, marking a small milestone in my life.
✦ ✦ ✦
The following Saturday, a much bigger event occurred.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’m here!”
“I’ll be there in two minutes.”
“Okay!”
The day of my meeting with NO NAME had arrived. I’d gotten a message saying, “If you need to contact me, use this e-mail address!” so now we were e-mailing. It seemed NO NAME was already waiting. I took the train one stop and arrived as well.
“I’m here.”
“Okay! I’m waiting outside the convenience store by the east exit.”
“Got it. What are you wearing?”
I could see the convenience store right across from the east exit. There was an ashtray outside with a couple of guys standing around it, smoking. Which one is NO NAME?
My cell phone vibrated. I opened the message. Okay, then.
“I’m wearing a white and blue shirt and a black skirt!”
A girl. Well, I guess that’s possible. I assumed it was a guy, but there’s no reason for it not to be a girl.
I walked over to the convenience store and looked around until I spotted a girl in front of the vending machine. White and blue shirt, and a black skirt. It was her.
From the back, I could see she had silky black shoulder-length hair and skin so fair it was nearly transparent. I couldn’t see her face, but she was probably young. Even from behind, I could tell she was cute. Oh shit. Now I’m nervous about saying hi. Hope my voice doesn’t crack.
“Uh, ’scuse me, are you NO NAME?”
I managed to say it okay. The pure and innocent black-haired girl started to turn toward me. What would she look—huh?
“Hi! Yes, I’m NO NAME…huh?”
“…Uh…? …Err…”
“Ehhhhhh?!”
Before I could even express my surprise, Aoi Hinami screamed.
Aoi Hinami?! What’s going on?
“Um…Hinami…san?”
“Okay, give me a sec. I need to calm down… You’re definitely Tomozaki-kun, right? From my class?”
“Uh, um, yeah…”
This was no Aoi Hinami look-alike. It was the real deal. But what hit me before the surprise was her strange behavior. She sounded totally different from usual. Like, not at all cheerful. Cold. At the same time, though, it didn’t feel like an act.
“You’re nanashi?” Her tone was kind of aggressive.
“Yeah, that’s me…,” I answered awkwardly.
“…!”
A sharp crease appeared between her eyebrows. Huh? The Aoi Hanami I knew didn’t scowl like that. She was more innocent, daintier…
“Well, this sucks…”
“Huh?”
“I don’t want to believe this. I don’t want to believe the real nanashi is a loser who’s going nowhere in life.”
“H-Hinami-san?”
What did she just say? “A loser who’s going nowhere in life”? She wasn’t the type to insult a guy right to his face, was she? What’s going on? Does she have a split personality? Or was I too much of a freak even for her?
“Wh-what’s wrong? Hinami-san, you’re not…yourself. The way you’re talking and stuff.”
“!”
She leaned way back, looking extremely uncomfortable. Her face is very expressive, so it was easy to read her mood. Normally, she uses that quality to a much cuter effect, of course.
“Oh… I’ve got to stop forgetting myself when it comes to Atafami…”
“Huh?”
“But if that’s all you saw, it’s whatever.”
“Whatever…?”
“You said I’m just talking and acting weird, right? If that’s all you noticed, then it’s not a problem.”
“Not a problem…?”
Um, yes it is. It’s a huge problem. Who are you and what have you done with Hinami-san?!
“…”
“…”
An unexpected silence descended over us. Well, this is awkward. But Aoi Hinami just stood there with that intimidating frown on her face, making no effort whatsoever to ease the tension.
“W-well anyway, so you’re NO NAME. That’s a surprise…I mean…”
I even stumbled over finding a couple of words to fill the silence. Well, at least I’m consistent.
“Yup. I’m disappointed, too. I can’t believe that nanashi, the one person I respected, turned out to be garbage without the slightest spark of ambition. You’re the type who’s willing to just give up and lose at life.”
“…Huh?”
I was already busy beating myself up, and here comes the outside world to give me another kick when I’m down. She was being really harsh. I mean, “garbage”? She did say something about respect, but that was in the past tense. I’d been preoccupied by how different she was from her school self, but I couldn’t let her diss me this badly without saying something.
“W-wait a second. Um, was all that…necessary?”
“I only said it ’cause it’s true.”
“Just because it’s true…doesn’t mean it’s okay to say it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You don’t even know me, and you’re saying I d-don’t have any ambition and that I just let myself be a loser… What I’m trying to say is, you don’t have any right to lecture me. I think it’s rude.”
“Maybe you should stop talking with your mouth full before you start telling people not to be rude, don’t you think?”
“I don’t have anything in my mouth!”
I opened my mouth wide and finally managed to talk without stuttering. Aoi Hinami eyed me coldly.
“…Okay, I’ll give you that. I guess I was rude. I owe you an apology. I’m sorry. When it comes to that game, I get kind of worked up… But I’m gonna to tell you something, and I’m giving you fair warning it’s rude… I’m upset because the only person I respected turns out to be the type of person I hate most.”
“That’s what I’m talking about…”
“You have no right to talk about manners. Look at what you’re wearing.”
Huh? What do my clothes have to do with anything? It’s not like there’s a dress code.
“Wh-what do you mean? People can wear whatever they want.”