Tobi ignored him, of course. He could feel the breeze more clearly up there than he could on the footpath. Every once in a while, a particularly strong gust would make him sway, and each time, Baku would let out an exaggerated “whoooa!” in response.
“I’m not going to fall,” Tobi commented.
“I dunno about that,” Baku replied. “Don’cha know the meaning of ‘complacency’?”
“Of course I do. I’m not being complacent, though.”
“Come on—you’re so used to stuff like this, you totally underestimate how dangerous it really is! There’s nothing scarier than getting used to stuff, y’know? The people who get into accidents are always the ones who assume it’ll never happen to them!”
“Why is a backpack like you so worried about being cautious…?”
“I dunno if I’d call myself cautious. I’ve just been a prudent sorta guy since the day I was born!”
“The day you were born…?”
“Got a problem with that?”
“Not really. I was just wondering how backpacks are born, that’s all.”
“Huh? Well, that one guy— Hmm…,” Baku began before pausing and sinking into thought.
Tobi remembered “that one guy” very well—the tall, one-eyed man in the top hat who had set Baku down on the ground in front of him. But Baku himself didn’t seem to remember much of anything that had happened before he started speaking.
Tobi came to a stop and turned to face the river. Then he sat on the railing, dangling his legs over the edge. It felt like gravity might pull his shoes right off his feet, sending them plunging into the river below.
“Hey, Tobi?” said Baku. “You know doing that here’s gonna make people think you’re about to jump off the bridge, right?”
“I’m not going to jump,” said Tobi. “And even if I fell, there’s a river down there, and I can swim.”
“A shallow river, yeah. That’s kinda right in the name, remember?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Just be careful, okay?”
“Uh-huh.” Toby nodded. Then, a moment later, he started rocking his body forward and backward.
“Oh, come on!” Baku yelped. “I literally just told you to be careful, didn’t I?!”
“This isn’t enough to make me fall.”
“You listening to yourself, kid?! This is straight-up, textbook complacency right here!”
“I’m not being complacent about anything. I’m doing this on purpose.”
“Oh! Great! It’s on purpose! You’re doing this ’cause you feel like it! Well, friggin’ stop! Cut it the hell out!”
“I dunno. You’re not making a very strong case…”
“I’m not kidding about this! You get that, right?! Enough! Quit messing around and let’s just go home already!”
“Ugh…”
“Your curfew’s coming up anyway, isn’t it?”
“I guess, yeah.”
“So what? Don’t wanna go home?”
Tobi pretended he hadn’t heard Baku’s question, and Baku cackled.
“Just can’t bring yourself to like that institute, can you?”
“It’s whatever… I don’t like or dislike it.”
“Y’know, the other folks there might not take the biggest shine to it, either, but at least they all still call it home in the end. Not you, though. You just can’t see it that way, no matter what. Right?”
Tobi kicked his legs in the air. He’d leaned quite far forward at some point without realizing it and found himself looking down at the water’s surface. He didn’t feel like sitting up straight. Or facing forward, or looking up, for that matter.
“…It’s not that I have a problem with the institute. It’s just—”
“Just?”
“I’m just not a good match.”
“Oh? With what?”
“Other people.”
“So basically, you’re a misanthrope.”
“It’s not that I hate other people. I’m just not a good match with them. That’s all I’m saying.”
“What you are is a picky pain in the rear.”
“Oh, shut up…”
“By the way, Tobi.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you noticed?”
“Noticed what?”
“Her.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Right over there!”
“Over where?”
Tobi looked up again, glancing around to either side of him. His gaze quickly fell on a girl standing barely a meter away—though she, of course, was behind the railing rather than on it, her feet firmly planted on the Asakawa bridge. She was wearing the uniform from Tobi’s middle school and had rather sharp facial features and long hair done up in a pair of buns.
“…Whaaat?” Tobi muttered. What a weird coincidence.
This wasn’t the first time Tobi had found himself in this situation. In fact, it had happened earlier that very same day—a matter of minutes ago, even. Once again, he found himself being stared at by Ryuuko Shiratama. It wasn’t a wide-eyed stare of astonishment but a very pointed, focused look that felt intended to bind its target in place. That target, of course, was Tobi.
A long time ago, when Tobi was younger, one of the institute’s teachers had scolded him for not looking people in the eye when he spoke to them. Tobi had tried to obey, looking his teacher in the eye, but for some reason, the teacher had started avoiding his gaze, focusing instead on his nose or his mouth.
There was something about looking people directly in the eye that had always felt a little uncomfortable to Tobi. He’d read a book in the institute’s collection once that said that cats hated it when humans made direct eye contact with them. Apparently, that sort of unreserved stare was generally taken as an expression of hostility.
Ryuuko Shiratama, however, didn’t project hostility so much as curiosity. She seemed to be observing Tobi in the way you’d observe a strange, unidentifiable creature you happened to stumble across. It was like she wanted to conduct a detailed study of his behavior. That was the kind of stare she was giving him.
What’s her deal? The first time was one thing, but how did she run into me again?
Was it just a coincidence? That wasn’t too difficult to believe, but it was certainly odd. There was something peculiar about this girl—in fact, she was kind of scary.
Tobi felt the sudden urge to run away. If he hadn’t been sitting on the bridge’s railing, he very well might’ve bolted without sparing her a second look. Actually, he thought, why not? He could just run away. He could stand and sprint along the rail or jump back down to the bridge’s walkway first, if he liked. If he wanted to get away, he could be gone in the blink of an eye. But he stayed put. For some reason even Tobi didn’t understand, he didn’t move an inch. It was just like what he’d experienced back at the school gate. When he locked eyes with Shiratama, he found himself inexplicably unable to look away.
“Umm, so,” Tobi began.
“Otogiri?” Shiratama said at the exact same instant.
“Yeah?” he replied reflexively. “…Wait, huh? What?”
“Do you know who I am?” Shiratama asked, still looking him straight in the eye. She hadn’t blinked at all since the moment Tobi noticed her. He found himself incredibly curious about how she kept her eyes from drying out.
“I do, uh…basically,” said Tobi. “You’re Shiratama. From my class. Ryuuko Shiratama.”
“Oh, so you noticed me after all?” she replied. At long last, she blinked—two, then three times in a row—before tilting her chin a touch upward, narrowing her eyes, and putting on a faint smile. “I’m glad. I was a little worried you weren’t interested in other people at all.”
“…I’m not, usually.”
“Oh, really?” Shiratama asked, her eyes now widening with surprise as she pursed her lips. Her expressions changed so dramatically, it almost felt like Tobi was looking at a new Shiratama each time—and yet she remained herself throughout. “Then why do you know my name?”
“Well… I mean, it’s kind of weird, right?” Tobi admitted.
“People say that to me all the time! Ryuuko and Shiratama are a strange combination, after all. I think Tobi Otogiri is just as rare, though. Maybe even rarer!”
“I…guess so. Anyway—”
“Heeey, Tobi!” Baku chimed in with a snicker. “Speaking of rarities, when was the last time you chatted with a friend from school? Now that’s an unusual sight!”
She’s not my friend, Tobi almost replied. But he knew that Baku was going out of his way to rile him up, and he couldn’t exactly tell his backpack to shut up in front of Shiratama.
“I guess my name isn’t super common either, when you…,” Tobi began, but before he could finish the thought, he noticed something strange and trailed off. Shiratama wasn’t looking at him. She was looking toward him, but he could tell he wasn’t the subject of her interest.
Instead, her gaze was fixed on the backpack slung over his shoulder. Shiratama was looking straight at Baku.
“…What’s wrong, Tobi?” Baku asked. He sounded a little puzzled.
Tobi didn’t reply; he just pulled on Baku’s strap, drawing him closer to his body. “It’s…not that common, when you think about it… I mean… Huh? What? What’re you…looking at…?”
Shiratama didn’t reply. She just stood there, staring straight at Baku.
“Wha—?!” Baku yelped. He’d finally started losing his composure, too. “Wh-what’s with this girl? Sh-she couldn’t know about me, right…?”
“To be honest,” Shiratama piped up. Her gaze never strayed from Baku for a moment. “I wanted to talk with you, Otogiri. That’s why I decided to ambush you.”