Chapter One
1.
KATAGAKI NAOMI WAS THINKING about going to the bookstore.
The idea first crossed his mind on his way to school, as he walked along bus-clogged Shijo Street reading a paperback. He’d visited the store the day before, which meant there wouldn’t be anything new for sale. But Naomi went nearly every day that he could. On the rare days he didn’t, he often went to the library instead. Often, he’d visit both.
Since reading was his only real hobby, these visits were a part of his usual daily routine. The only times he consciously thought about going to a bookstore were when he had some special reason to do so, like when he wanted a specific kind of book he didn’t usually read or when he felt like he really needed help.
Naomi rounded the corner at the Shijo-Horikawa intersection and Nishiki High School came into view. Just as he approached the crosswalk before the front gate, the walk signal started to blink.
He thought he had enough time to rush across the street, so he decided to go for it. Unfortunately, the few seconds it took him to reach that conclusion made him wonder if it was too late to cross at this point.
As Naomi hesitated, two boys wearing the same school uniform sprinted right past him and across the street. Just as they reached the other side, the signal finally turned red. He could hear them shouting “Safe!” and laughing happily.
I should go to the bookstore today.
2.
THE CLASSROOM WAS FULL of cheerful voices that morning. After he entered, Naomi looked around for his seat. He’d only been a high schooler for a few days, so he wasn’t used to his new spot yet. Actually, he did remember where his seat was, but he was always a little worried someone else might be sitting in it. This little ritual was his way of reassuring himself.
Naomi managed to walk over and take his seat without making a complete fool of himself. A group of guys next to him were already chattering about something. He kind of wanted to say hi, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, so he was reluctant to butt into the conversation.
After a few moments, he gave up on the idea and opened his book instead. The story he’d been reading a few minutes earlier quickly pulled him right back in.
Once first period class was over, there was a brief free period. The guy in the next seat put away his textbook. He wasn’t talking to anyone at the moment. This was the perfect chance.
But before Naomi could work up the nerve to say anything, someone else came over.
Oh, well. I guess my timing was off, Naomi thought as the two struck up a conversation. For lack of any better options, he opened his book again.
After second period, the guy in the next seat went off to visit a different class. With a shrug, Naomi went back to his book.
After third period, the guy in the next seat was reading a manga magazine. Naomi knew how engrossing that could be, so he didn’t want to interrupt. He read his book instead.
When fourth period ended and it was time for lunch, the guy in the next seat joined up with a bunch of his friends to run off loudly toward the school store. The idea of buying food inside the building was still fresh and exciting to the first-year students, since that hadn’t been an option back in middle school. Naomi wasn’t about to blunder over and delay them. That would have been inconsiderate.
When he thought things through more carefully, though, he realized he hadn’t brought a bento with him, which meant also needed to visit the school store.
By the time he finally got there, almost all the lunch breads were gone. There wasn’t a single meat, fish, or cream-filled one left on the shelves, and the leftovers were a sad smattering of less-than-appetizing options. Naomi went for something called a “twisty bread,” which turned out to be nothing more than a basic bread roll twisted into knots.
As he finished his meal, Naomi thought, I should really go to the bookstore today.
The moment the end-of-day homeroom period wrapped up, a hubbub of voices filled the classroom.
Naomi busied himself with packing up the books he’d be taking home tonight, trying to decide which bookstore to visit. His first choice was Oogaki Books near the corner of Shijo and Karasuma, followed by the nearby Kumazawa Bookstore. On second thought, Maruzen might have a better selection of the kind of books he wanted right now. If he headed in that direction, he’d also pass a Junkudo. Maybe the best plan was to hit up four or five places, one after the other…
“Hey, d’you want to come along?”
Naomi’s heart nearly jumped out of his mouth. He spun around a little too fast, cringing like a child who’d just been screamed at. At some point, a group of ten-odd people had gathered right next to him. He had no idea what was going on. What had they just asked him? What were they even talking about?
“Sorry, uh…”
The girl who’d spoken to him hesitated awkwardly. After a few seconds, Naomi realized that she was waiting for his name. “Um, it’s Katagaki.”
“Right, right. Anyway, Katagaki-kun, we’re gonna go hang out and get to know each other. Thought we’d sing some karaoke, you know?”
Finally, the pieces fell into place. He’d been invited out with his classmates.
“Um… Well…”
Now that he knew the question, he had to figure out his answer.
Naomi wasn’t a big fan of karaoke, honestly. He’d gone a couple times with his friends from middle school, but he’d been too shy to sing. And that was with people he knew and got along with. The idea of singing in front of people he’d just met was terrifying.
Maybe he wouldn’t have to sing, though? They probably wouldn’t force him. But if he kept refusing, that might get pretty embarrassing in its own way.
Also, there was the whole bookstore thing. He’d been planning that all day. But when he thought it through, the whole reason for that trip might be rendered meaningless if he just went to this karaoke thing instead.
So, there was no reason to turn them down. In fact, he should probably go, even if it did feel a little awkward. Naomi opened his mouth, his lips forming the word “sure.”
“Oh, sorry. If you’ve got something else to do, don’t worry about it.”
“Um, okay.”
“Let’s go, guys!”
“Wait for me!”
Chattering amongst themselves, the group of students left their classroom behind. Naomi was left standing by himself, listening as the noises grew fainter.
I really need to go to the bookstore, he thought. Right now.
3.
OOGAKI BOOKS SHIJO was a store on the second floor of a building near the intersection of Shijo Street and Karasuma Street, about a ten-minute walk from Nishiki High.
A similar, brand-new building not far away was home to Oogaki Books Kyoto, the main branch, but Naomi had always preferred the smaller Shijo store. Compared to the Kyoto branch, where a whole corner of the first floor was devoted to magazines, this felt more like a proper bookstore—every inch of available space was crammed full of bookshelves.
Fortunately, he had lots of other options when he wanted some variety. That was the best part of going to a high school so close to the Shijo-Karasuma area.
Riding up to the second floor of the building on a narrow escalator, Naomi gazed out over a familiar scene. He’d lost track of how many times he’d visited this place, but the sight of it never got old. Near the front entrance, there were a few tables of notebooks, stationery, and new releases. But once you got past those, you entered a forest of bookshelves that stretched the entire length of the floor.
Oogaki Books was a chain local to the Kinki Region, with thirty-odd branches centered in the Kyoto area. Everyone living in the city was familiar with it; Naomi had been shocked to learn it wasn’t a national brand. When a relative had told him, “They’ve got Maruzen and Junkudo in Tokyo, but no Oogaki Books,” he hadn’t believed her at first.
In all honesty, it was still hard to imagine living in a place without a single Oogaki store. Could you even call that living, really?
Passing by the stationery tables, Naomi glanced over the new releases, all of which he’d already perused yesterday. The sight was still kind of soothing—it felt a little like walking into his living room. This place wasn’t exactly his home, but he still felt a lot more relaxed here than in the halls of his new high school.
Naomi stepped confidently forward into his natural habitat.
Glancing up at the signs hanging from the ceiling, he made his way deeper and deeper into the shelves. He already knew where to find the genres that he usually read—he tended to buy novels, manga, magazines, art books, and the occasional science book. But today he was looking for a kind of book he’d never been remotely interested in before.
Naomi took a right turn into the “Hobbies and Practical Skills” section.
The shelves here were divided by a thicket of smaller signs, each marking a specific genre. Naomi’s eyes quickly focused on one sign in particular. The words on it seemed intense, even intimidating; just looking at them made him want to blush. But he screwed up his courage and approached.