The sun gradually sank in the sky, its reddening rays streaming into the UG Club room.
It was around the time when the other clubs would start wrapping up. Already, the ring from metal bats could no longer be heard, and it had been a long time since the valiant cries of the rugby club had waned. Standing from my seat, I looked from the window into the courtyard to see that the soccer club guys were starting to disperse.
“All right, guess that’s about it. Finish up whatever you need to on your own,” I said, turning away from the window again.
Everyone rotated their necks and shoulders with tired sighs. Yuigahama was rolling her shoulders, too, as she turned back toward me. “Are you going to see Hayato?”
“Yeah,” I answered.
She pulled out her phone and brought it gently to her lips. “How about I call?”
“Yeah…” I considered a moment, then rethought it. “Ah, no, it’s fine. Got a better shot of actually catching him if I go myself.”
Phones, e-mail, and messaging apps are truly flawed methods of communication. If Hayama were to ignore these contact tools, we would be out of luck. I didn’t notice, or I was asleep, or My battery died, or I lost my cell phone, or Now that I think about it, I don’t use LINE, or I just remembered, I don’t even have a cell phone—it’s rare but often happens. Source: me.
Besides, though I’m sure Hayama wouldn’t ignore a call from Yuigahama, I didn’t want the hassle of trying again another day. Given that we had no time to spare, I wanted to get this done within the day.
Yuigahama nodded, thinking along a similar line. “Oh…but I’ll send him a message on LINE, just in case. I’ll let you know if he replies.”
“Okay. Thanks,” I said, quickly getting my things together, and then I left the room.
After I exited through the front entrance, I headed for the sports field.
The courtyard was sandwiched between the main school building and the special-use building, and with both blocking the light, the evening came faster here than elsewhere. Under the pillared overhang of the main school building, the eastern side was in the shadow of the special-use building, and so the darkness was even thicker.
In the dim light, I caught the motion of a shadow.
Focusing my eyes to look, I saw someone at the vending machines under the overhang of the school building. As I came forward, I gradually got a clearer view of their back—probably a girl.
She’d bought some kind of drink. There was a clunking sound, and then she squatted down. When she stood up with the thing she’d purchased in hand, her long, glossy black hair swayed. The pallid, inorganic light from the vending machines lit the ephemeral smile on her narrow white face.
There was no mistaking Yukino Yukinoshita.
She squeezed the can tight and adjusted the coat draped over her shoulders before making her way into the courtyard. Then she sat down on the bench in the middle of the courtyard and vacantly gazed up at the sky.
The desolate, wintry cluster of trees overhead, illuminated by the streetlight, seemed to be watching the bench below it, with orange light raining down through the gaps between their barren branches.
It was just like a painting, and I was tempted to stare at it forever.
But I had to go through here to get to the field and the bicycle parking lot. So while I was aware it would shatter this perfect world, I stepped forward.
She must have heard the sound of my feet then, as she turned toward me. “Oh, Hikigaya.” She was wearing a calm smile, and I gave her a chin nod back.
“…Hey.”
She had apparently been trying to warm her hands with the can, but then she seemed to suddenly realize something, and she hid it behind her. But there was no way I’d ever miss that characteristic design.
“Unusual drink choice,” I commented.
“…It’s good for replenishing sugar,” she said with an ironic smile, and then with pink cheeks, she tugged her jacket closer together in front, hiding the can inside.
So she’s finally realized the charms of the Max can, huh? Excellent.
When I shot a look to the field, I could see the soccer club starting to clean things up. I’d probably have to wait for a while if I wanted to catch Hayama.
When I asked Yukinoshita with a glance, Mind if I sit? she nodded, lifting herself up a moment to shift to the side. Leaving a gap of about one person’s worth between us, I sat down. “On break?”
“Yes, to get some air,” she answered, glancing toward the school building. The student council room was there, still with the lights on. Unlike the Service Club room, which was kind of deserted and empty, the student council room had the heater and everything Isshiki had hauled in there, so perhaps it was more heating efficient.
“I get that. When the heat’s on too high, it makes you zone out,” I replied. There was a lot of stuff in the UG Club room, too, to hold the warmth, and I found myself agreeing.
Then Yukinoshita put a hand over her mouth, tittering. “My, so then is the heat always on around you? The utility costs there are concerning.”
“Relax. I get so many cold glares, it all balances out.”
“That’s a very eco-friendly lifestyle.” Yukinoshita shrugged.
A smile quirked at the corners of my lips. “Yeah. Alternating between hot and cold gets me sorted out, like with a sauna.”
“Is that the correct usage of that term…?”
“Oh, I dunno. But with saunas, everyone says sorted out. And actually, when you throw on some extra rouryu and then go from the gurushin pool to an open-air bath, the only way you can express that is sorted out,” I lectured with a cool, sharp expression.
Yukinoshita’s shoulders slumped. “There’s nothing sorted about that chaotic mess of words… I didn’t understand anything of what you just said.”
While I hadn’t quite been able to get Yukinoshita to understand, I could stay in a super sento my whole life, you know! Sometimes I’ll follow my dad along when he goes, and he pays for me. Some places even have manga there, too, and you can enjoy your weekend more fully than going to some manga café. It’s great. Saunas are a pretty old-man hobby, but anime about old-man hobbies are popular these days, so I’ve got a good feeling the next hot thing will be a manga and anime about girls enjoying saunas. Since it’s, y’know, the next hot… Never mind.
While we were having this trivial exchange, I stole a quiet glance at Yukinoshita’s face.
The determination she’d shown me just a few days earlier when we’d parted ways in the student council room had become a peaceful smile. This expression had become familiar to me, too.
This distance between us made me think of old times, and with a little smirk of my own, I asked, “How are things going?”
Yukinoshita stared at me, a little surprised. But that immediately turned into a teasing smile. “…It’s unusual for you to be concerned about someone else.”
“That’s not true. Did you think I wouldn’t perform enemy surveillance?” I replied with a deliberate show of carelessness.
Yukinoshita was momentarily taken aback, but then she smiled again, and she shrugged. “…Well, that’s true enough. Things are going fairly well.” Her gaze rose, and she seemed to be confirming each item as she said it. “We have a thorough understanding of the tasks at hand, and we’ve coordinated matters with related parties. I suppose all that’s left is to work out the execution on the day of the event.” Judging from her tone, it didn’t sound like she was pushing herself too hard.
“Wish I could say the same… Well, don’t force yourself too much. You should wring every last drop out of Isshiki. That one has promising potential as a corporate slave,” I said, half joking.
“Oh, I intend to. You don’t have to tell me.” A shrewd smile came to Yukinoshita’s lips.
Geez… I can’t quite tell if she’s kidding…
“What about you?” she asked, expression softening.
“Eh, pretty good,” I answered, muffled under my scarf. “We don’t have to do overtime anyway. I’ve got a little outside thing that I don’t know when will end, but after that, I’ll go straight home and handle the rest there.”
“So only your attendance management is going well…” Yukinoshita put a hand to her temple as if she had a headache and sighed. Then she lowered her gaze to stare at the ground. “There’s no need to push yourself so hard,” she added so quietly, it seemed it would disappear along with her white puff of breath.
I replied with a barely perceptible nod, pausing a moment as I tried to grasp for what I should say. “…I’ve always been pushing myself. This is normal for me.”
“I see…” Yukinoshita nodded, digesting this, and didn’t say anything more after that. Instead, she dug her hands into her coat and then held out something to me gently. “If you like…” It was the Max can she’d just bought. When I touched it, it was still warm. Maybe because it had stayed in her inner pocket, unopened.