The string of holidays crammed into this past week came to an end, and the Adsiard had commenced. Since I’m performing the music for the Ar-kata during the closing ceremony, the following few days for me consist of attending shortened classes and helping out with a few things here and there. When Shirayuki and I returned to Acadamey Island yesterday, she said something about forgetting some item or other and went back to the girl’s dormitory she had stayed at before. After that, she sent me a single e-mail.
“Kin-chan, I’m really sorry about tonight. You must be angry, I know. I’m too ashamed to face you, so I’m just going to sleep here in my own room.”
To be honest, I was pretty fed up this foolishness of constantly preparing for an enemy that didn’t even exist. The truth of the matter was that we spent the whole night playing around with our guard down, and nothing ever happened, so I just replied to her e-mail…
“I’m not angry. What happened early is done and over. Don’t dwell on this, okay? Also, it would be a problem if the educational affairs department were to give me any bad marks on my record for abandoning a mission, so I’ll still continue acting as your bodyguard. Give me a call tomorrow when you finish with your duties for the student council.”
…and went right to bed.
However, for some reason, I had a difficult time falling asleep last night. I thought about the incident at the artificial beach that ended on a sour note, but…I also felt an odd sense of foreboding. It was inexplicable and I couldn’t determine what the cause if it was. And as a result, I was suffering from a major lack of sleep today. I had to use every ounce of my willpower to stay awake for my shift. Muto and I were collecting tickets from guests at the entrance to the auditorium, which is where the opening ceremony for the Adsiard is taking place. There were other gateways leading into the auditorium as well, but the structure was situated fairly close to the center of Butei High, so there was no need for any security. Additionally, this particularly gate we were stationed at only led to an anteroom where the press would be, so I was bored out of my mind. Before the start of the opening ceremony, there were a decent number of cameramen and reporters holding microphones passing through here, but now that it was going on three in the afternoon, no one would be showing up this late.
“…The song we’re performing, ‘Who Shot the Flash,’ is a variation of a copy of a cover version of the original song. When it gets that bad, you just can’t help but laugh, really,” grumbled Muto, sitting in a steel folding chair and having nothing else to do with his free time.
“Why did it get chosen then?” I asked, also having nothing better to do and stirring up a conversation with him.
“There’s a part of the lyrics that goes ‘bangbabangbabang.’ You notice how that line wasn’t changed, right? It’s because that part sounds like gun shots.”
“Oh. …Well, I guess that certainly is typical of Butei High…” I said, gritting my teeth to stifle a yawn as I looked through the window at the clear, blue skies outside.
“So…is Hotogi not going to take part in the Ar-kata cheer after all?”
“Shirayuki? She said she wouldn’t.”
“Oh,” Muto said, sounding rather disappointed. “By the way…you were acting as Hotogi’s bodyguard, weren’t you, Kinji?”
“Yeah. Me and Aria.”
“I’ll bet guarding Hotogi just kind of felt natural, didn’t it. She is the type of girl that makes you want to protect her.”
“I can’t say I felt there was a need to protect her.”
She can fight on par with Aria anyway.
“…So? ... Which is it, Kinji?”
“Which is what?”
“Between Hotogi and Aria, which is more your type?”
“Huh?” I said, bringing my eyebrows together. Before I could say that neither of them was, Muto turn his chair towards me with a loud thud.
“Aria, right?”
“Why Aria?”
And why am I so shaken up by the assertion?
“Umm … you know. I have a feeling you get along well with girls who look younger than you.
“I don’t get along with that lion cub. I’m a Homo sapiens.”
“The other day, Aria was in the general education sector talking with the other girls in our class. Everything she talked about was related to you. I’m telling you, the both of you are interested in one another.”
“Not a chance.”
“Well then … are you by any chance hitting it off with Hotogi?”
“…What gives? Why are you also making these dumb assumptions now?” I was becoming sullen after remembering what took place between Shirayuki and I yesterday.
“Uhh … well, you know. Buteis are a bunch of jack-of-all-trades who always want to know about everything.”
“…Curiosity killed the cat. That’s from a book that was written by a butei,” was all I said as I placed by elbows on the desk and avoided answering the question.
“Answer the question. If you don’t answer I’m gonna run you over with a four-ton truck.
“Bring it on. I’ll take you down with my Kinji Model Beretta.”
I started a very Assault-like exchange with my friend and went into “ignoring Muto mode.” He still refused to give up though. He kept staring at me with a look that said “Say something already.” A minute went by. Then a second minute passed in the same fashion. By the third minute, Muto bent his head downwards, pointing his spikey hair at me.
“…I’m sorry!”
“What is it all of a sudden? You’re being pretty loud too.”
“I almost resorted to underhanded tactics!”
“?”
“By recommending you go out with Aria. I’ll … I’ll pray that things work out between you and whoever it is you’re interested in,” said Muto, resolutely crossing his arms and looking upwards diagonally.
…Makes no sense. Not a single one of them makes a lick of sense.
I didn’t want to prolong the conversation any further, and Muto seemed willing to drop the subject, so we went back to killing time by talking about music and movies and motorcycles and whatnot. Muto’s shift ended at four, and I was left alone to supervise this gate at which no one ever made an appearance. With nothing to do, I idly dawdled away my time. My eyes began to repeatedly open and close themselves. Sitting on my steel folding chair and in the rays of the sun, both the lethargy that follows a long vacation and my lack of sleep were overwhelming me, and I finally dozed off. I was dreaming of Aria crying as she ran down a hill in pursuit of a runaway peach bun and fell into a manhole. Just then … “Hey, Kinji!”