“If you want to tell, go ahead. I don’t really care,” Fujishima Yutaka declared emphatically. Her feelings, however, seemed to belie her words. Although she’d said that she didn’t care, her voice sounded angrily wounded, emotionally extravagant, and fearsomely genial all at the same time. She spoke in a manner that seemed to announce, “You better not tell, you jerk! You know what’s gonna happen to you if you do, right?”
She wasn’t a modern girl for nothing.
“…I won’t tell,” Mitsuki responded meekly.
It was time for the fifth period, and Yutaka had taken advantage of their being partnered together to confront Mitsuki. Although it was lunch break, the teacher had called the two of them in, and they had gone to the cooking-preparation room.
The fifth-period class involved an experiment. At first, they worked on the experiment in silence. Perhaps unable to bear it any longer, Yutaka had finally blurted out those words to him.
Through the piranhas’ sacrifice, her plan had become a brilliant success, and pool class had been cancelled. But Yutaka couldn’t help but worry about Mitsuki, who knew all about the dirty deed.
She had steeled her resolve and confronted him, but Mitsuki’s response deflated her momentum.
“You’re not going to tell?” Yutaka asked, unsure.
“Like I said, I’m not gonna tell,” Mitsuki stated again, in his usual carefree manner.
Perhaps she finally believed him because she let out a great big sigh of relief. It seemed she was feeling a bit tense. “Oh, I see. Then… Well, that’s… fine…”
Relief set in and Yutaka’s steely expression crumbled. She began to fidget shyly with her hair. Perhaps she suddenly felt foolish for having been so serious.
This time, it was Mitsuki’s turn to ask, “Where did you get piranhas from anyway?”
She nodded. “That’s a hobby of my dad’s. We’ve got tropical fish tanks everywhere. I mean, our house is practically an aquarium. Seriously, I wish he would give it up.”
“Really…” he mumbled. It made sense.
Gotta hand it to Fujishima Yutaka, thought Mitsuki. The girl who commando’d a yakisoba bread with a punch. Who would’a thunk she’d steal her dad’s pets just to cancel pool day?
He chalked it all up to eccentricity. Plus, he had discovered something even more surprising. Awed, he stared blankly at Yutaka.
She confronted him, noticing his staring. “What are you looking at?” Her bad mood was back.
“Oh, sorry. I was thinking…”
“Thinking what?” she prodded.
“Uh. Well, y’know how it is? I mean, most people would call their old man ‘effing old man’ or ‘old geezer’—it’s like the ‘in’ thing to do. But you actually call him ‘dad.’ And I think it’s kinda surprising.”
“Huhhhh?!” Yutaka exclaimed. She blushed a deep crimson that reached all the way to her ears. She looked ready to pop steam from the top of her head like a boiling kettle.
“Are you an idiot?!” she blurted out. She looked down; perhaps she didn’t want to be seen with her face all red.
“I’m sorry,” Mitsuki said. “I didn’t mean to tease you about it. I just thought it was surprising, that’s all.”
“Shut up!”
So she was mad after all. He pondered what to do. Reluctantly, he decided to talk about an embarrassing incident in his own past. Something he had never told anyone else, something he kept secret in case things went beyond his control.
“Calling him ‘dad’ is still okay,” he said. “When I was little, I called my old man ‘daddy.’ I did that until I was in grade school.”
Yutaka looked up in surprise. “Huh? Are you serious?”
“I’m serious,” he answered. “It was a gag my old man played on me. And Subaru… my big sis, also called him that, so I never thought there was anything weird about it. That stupid old man.”
As Yutaka listened, she looked ready to burst at any moment. She made a valiant attempt to stop laughing.
I hope you’re happy, old man, Mitsuki thought. It seems your gag finally worked.
“Are you serious, Asano? ‘Daddy?’ Looking the way you look? Like some country bumpkin?!”
“Shut up!” he snapped. “Sorry for looking this way! That’s what I called him, okay?! Besides, this is the country! Ah, damn it! I shouldn’t have told you!”
“S-sorry,” she stuttered. “But, Asano… Pfffft!”
“Jeez, if you want to laugh, go ahead.” Somehow, the dialogue sounded familiar.
“Sorry,” she said. “Sorry… Phew! Oh, that was so funny.” She laughed heartily. Feeling as if he had found something surprising in an unexpected place, Mitsuki found himself staring at her again.
“Hm?” Yutaka asked. “Oh… did my laughing piss you off?”
“No, not really,” Mitsuki shook his head. “You know, Fujishima, you actually look good when you smile.”
In his usual carefree manner, Mitsuki complimented the girl. Sort of. He wasn’t teasing her either. There was sincerity in his words.
“…!”
Her face reddened even more than before.
“Oh,” he exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to tease you…”
“—Drop dead!” she mumbled, not letting him finish.
She looked as if nothing else could be more embarrassing. Then she smiled bashfully. It was a pretty smile. Mitsuki smiled too.
✦ ✦ ✦
Deep inside, however, he couldn’t smile. He couldn’t, not at a time like this. Maybe smiling was tiring…
He remembered, even if he didn’t want to, what the shinigami had told him.
According to that little girl, I am going to die soon.
I know that, yet here I am, smiling. I want to laugh it all off.
✦ ✦ ✦
Where is tomorrow?
He wanted to find it, but it seemed it couldn’t be found. Perhaps tomorrow would not come. It might remain unreachable. It might never come.
So I have to live now to the fullest. Even if my remaining time is dwindling, I have to live life to the fullest…
The time is now. That is the only thing.
In the science room, Mitsuki asked Yutaka, “So how are you planning to get pool class cancelled this time?”
Yutaka thought for a moment, then said, “Th-there’s lots of ways.”
She was mumbling nervously. Apparently, she hadn’t thought of anything.
“Then…” Mitsuki knew of an easy way to do it. He was about to suggest it, but he stopped. If they did that, pool would be cancelled again. Depending on the situation, pool class might be cancelled the entire summer.
With that possibility in mind, Mitsuki stopped himself from saying anything. If that happened, he wouldn’t be able to sneak into the pool anymore. It might be selfish on his part, but then she was being selfish as well. So it was mutual.
After all, I will die soon.
—Ring.