So, judging by this conversation, apparently Ido-san had asked her to buy a sports bike so they could go on a cycling trip together, and the price tag was enough to make Hanamizawa-san recoil. I’d inherited mine from my uncle, but I imagine it’d be pretty expensive for a high schooler to buy one.
Just then, Ido-san whacked my desk. “I know! Why don’t I see if I can enjoy cycling by myself? What do you think? I’m sure I’d have fun with friends, but I wanna learn how to do it solo!”
“You want to see if you can have fun cycling alone?”
“You have fun doing it alone, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah.” I always had a great time cycling by myself.
“Then prove it to me. Let’s do it this Sunday.”
“Let’s”? “I’ve got plans on Sunday. But if you go by yourself, I can help you plan things out. I don’t mind doing that...”
“Okay! It’s decided, then!”
“Darn, I have a family party I gotta go to this Sunday, so I can’t make it,” Hanamizawa-san said, looking very disappointed. Honestly, I didn’t want to go either, but I didn’t think Ido-san would take no for an answer. Besides, Hadori-kun had asked me to be friendly, so I might as well do it.
“Fine. But...there’s something you have to prepare ahead of time.”
“There is?” Ido-san gave me a puzzled look.
I nodded. “Yep. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”
The next day, I spotted Hanamizawa-san and Ido-san laughing and talking at their seats in the classroom. I fished around in my pocket and walked over to them.
“Oh! Morning, Yashiro-kun!” Hanamizawa-san greeted me with a smile.
“Morning, Yashiro.” Ido-san also said hello, albeit somewhat awkwardly. Still, it was a considerably softer reaction than before, when she treated me like I was her mortal enemy.
“Here you go.” I took the thing out of my pocket and handed it to her.
She stared at me blankly for a second and then took it. “A music player?”
“Yep. I don’t use it anymore, but will you listen to the music on here and keep it on a heavy rotation until Sunday?”
“This is what I have to do to get ready?” she asked. I nodded.
“Yep. It’s a little trick to enjoy cycling by yourself. Well, I’m not actually sure if it’ll work on someone else yet.”
“Hmm...” She turned the music player around in her hands, examining it. “Where are the headphones?”
“Oh, I know some people don’t like using someone else’s headphones, so I figured you could just use your own.”
“I guess there are people like that! They don’t mind borrowing someone else’s headphones, but they think sharing earbuds is gross. And if they’re really clean freaks, they won’t even share headphones!” Hanamizawa-san nodded emphatically. There were all kinds of people in this world.
“I don’t mind... But I don’t have any headphones with me, so I’ll have to listen at home.” Ido-san put the music player in her pocket and stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
“Are you going to the bathroom, Chi-chan?”
“Why do you have to ask if you already know the answer?” Ido-san blushed slightly and left the classroom.
“Have fun!” Hanamizawa-san called after her. Once she was gone, Hanamizawa-san turned towards me. “So what kind of songs are on the player?”
“Hm? Mostly songs from Adiemus.”
“Adie-who?”
“Adiemus. How can I explain it... It’s like a cross between orchestral music and African tribal music. It’d be easier to just listen to it.” I got out my phone and let her listen to an Adiemus song. It was the theme song to a show called “Beyond the Century” that was broadcast on NHK, and it was used in some other things too, so I had a feeling she’d recognize it if she heard it.
And just as I expected, she said, “Ohh, I think I’ve heard this somewhere before! But why are you making Chi-chan listen to Adie-whatever?”
“There’s a lot of songs that sound mysterious and spiritual. You know, ones that make you think of nature and spiritual things. So that’s why I want her to listen to those kinds of songs until Sunday.”
“And that’s how she’s going to prep for her trip?”
“Yep. I’d also like her to listen to some songs by the voice actress Sakura Tange. Her songs make you feel like you’re daydreaming, or excitedly wandering around unexplored territory. Like ‘metropolis’ or ‘inner space trip’ or ‘Fantasy~wanna get lost in the white night sky.’ Songs like that.”
“H-Huh? Sorry, I’ve never heard of that person or any of those songs before.”
“Figured. That’s why I wanted to start with Adiemus,” I said with amusement.
She gave me an exasperated look. “I don’t know what you’ve got up your sleeve, but it’s definitely something...”
◊◊◊
Sunday, 11 a.m. JR Akabane Station, south gate.
I got all decked out in cycling clothes (complete with a windbreaker) and rode my sports bike to meet Yashiro. He was already there waiting for me once I arrived, leaning on a thick column while reading a book. Hmm, so that’s what he looks like when he’s not wearing his school uniform. I figured he’d just show up in a sweatsuit or something, but he was wearing a sports coat. It was refreshing to see him in that instead of his uniform.
“Sorry I took so long, Yashiro,” I called out.
He looked up. “Hey, good morning. Don’t worry, I haven’t been waiting that long.”
“I did keep you waiting though. Anyway, why are you dressed up? I figured you’d just roll out of bed and head over here.”
“I told you I have plans after this, remember? I’m meeting someone later.”
“Oh, right. Sorry about that.” So that’s why he was dressed like that. I felt bad that I’d dragged him away from his plans, but he just gave me a smirk.
“It’s fine. I already told my friend about it.”
“O-Oh? Anyway, here you go.” I reached into the pocket on my back—most of the pockets on cycling shirts were on the back—and returned the music player he’d lent me. “I listened to it over and over again. I thought the songs were kinda mysterious. They had this, like...spiritual, world music-type feel to them.”
“Yeah, I think that’s accurate.” He nodded, looking satisfied. “All right, so about your cycling trip today—I want you to go to Asukayama Park outside of Oji station.”
“You want me to go to Oji from Akabane? That’s not that far.”
They were two stops apart on the Keihin—Tohoku Line. It wouldn’t even take me half an hour to get there on this bike.
Yashiro smirked, as if he’d been expecting that reaction. “It would be boring if you went straight there, so I’m giving you a specific route. Do you know that big university hospital by Jujo?”
“Yeah. Right along the river.”
“I want you to ride along the river near that hospital. Avoid main roads as much as you can and use back roads instead. Follow the road you can see from here.” He turned and pointed at a road that stretched out from the viaduct. “And you can’t use your phone to look at any maps, unless it’s an emergency.”
“So I have to try to find the correct route myself.”
“Exactly.”
Well, there was only one station between here and Jujo, so I doubted I’d get lost. Once I figured out which direction to go, I was sure I could find it eventually.
“Text me as soon as you get to your destination.”
“Roger.”
“Oh, and make sure to take in the scenery as much as possible,” he added, seemingly meaningfully. He smiled and then waved. I felt like he was making fun of me a little, so I decided to get there as fast as I could and text him. I mean, it was only two stations away!
I thought it would be simple.