Rukana Shizukudani stepped out from the staff entrance, accompanied by her four-legged zingai. “Hey! Sorry for the wait,” she said.
“All right, then. Let’s be off!” Ryuuko enthusiastically declared. With that, the four of them set out together.
Haizaki, who was watering the flower beds, watched them pass by with a look of bug-eyed astonishment, his jaw nearly scraping the ground. Tobi couldn’t understand why he was so flabbergasted. But on the other hand, Tobi was quite bewildered himself. How and why had things turned out like this?
Ryuuko and Asahi walked side by side at the front of the pack, with Tobi trailing slightly behind with Baku. Bringing up the rear was Shizukudani, followed by her four-legged zingai. As far as groups went, theirs was downright bizarre. Then again, since most people couldn’t see the four-legged zingai, maybe they didn’t look that outlandish. Still, Tobi couldn’t shake the feeling that, even putting the zingai aside, they were a peculiar combination of people.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Boy, oh boy, it’s been forever since I’ve walked home with anyone!” said Shizukudani. “Now this is a classic youthful moment! Don’cha think, Tobitobi?”
“…Would you mind not calling me that, Shizukudani?” Tobi replied.
“The funny thing about human nature is that when someone tells you to stop calling them something, it only makes you wanna do it even more!”
“Okay, then don’t stop.”
“Can do! Carrying on, as requested!”
“What’s your problem?” Tobi grumbled.
“That girl’s got a way with words, huh?” Asahi commented from up front.
“Umm, excuse me, Monika?” said Ryuuko. “Before you transferred into our school, where were you…?”
“Out west,” Asahi replied vaguely.
“Oh, I see! Do you mean the Kansai region?”
“Something like that.”
“How interesting! Though I have to admit, I’m a little surprised.”
“Why?”
“Well, you don’t speak with a Kansai accent. Your intonation doesn’t strike me as particularly Kansai-esque, either.”
“That’s because I’ve lived in a bunch of places. I’ve been all over the country.”
“Do the circumstances of your parents’ work force you to move often?”
“Basically. Work stuff, yeah.”
“I see. That’s very impressive!”
“How’s that?”
“I haven’t transferred even once, you see. I’ve always fantasized about the possibility. I’m sure that an actual school transfer is nothing like what I’m imagining, of course. Having to say farewell to everyone you’re close to must be terrible.”
“Eh. You get used to it.”
“By the way, Shiratama Dango,” Shizukudani said, cutting into the conversation.
“Ah, yes? What is it, Shizukudani?” said Ryuuko.
“You sure you’re feeling all right now?”
“I’m just fine, thank you very much! I feel like I could run a half-marathon even!”
“You know a half-marathon’s more than twenty kilometers long, right? I dunno if you could pull that off even if you were in tip-top shape.”
“I most certainly couldn’t. I was exaggerating. I’m afraid that I’m by no means athletically gifted, in terms of either coordination or endurance.”
“You know, I don’t get marathons in general. Kind of a mystery why anyone would bother, right? Abusing your body like that probably shaves years off your lifespan.”
“Perhaps people see value in attempting the impossible…?”
“Okay, but tons of people have run marathons before. Nothing impossible about that.”
“Oh! That’s true…”
The banter was never-ending. Everyone was talking, sometimes at the same time. Ryuuko, Asahi, and Shizukudani jumped in and out of exchanges with dizzying speed, and the most Tobi could do was match their sluggish walking pace. On more than one occasion, he considered slipping away from the group. Walking with them wasn’t excruciating, but it did make him feel quite out of place.
At the end of the day, Tobi preferred being alone. And Baku was always with him, so he was never really alone, even when no one else was around.
“Hey, Tobi,” said Asahi. She’d fallen back to walk next to him while he wasn’t paying attention.
“…What?”
“Say my name.”
“Asahi.”
“Monika.”
“…Monika Asahi.”
“I’m saying you can just call me Monika.”
“Ugh…”
“Y’know what, Tobitobi?” said Shizukudani. She’d been walking up front with Ryuuko but now hopped back to take up a position on Tobi’s left, across from Asahi. “It sorta feels like you’ve got some reason why you don’t wanna call Monimoni Monika! Feel like sharing?”
“It’s not a big deal or anything,” Tobi muttered. His gaze dropped to the ground before him, and Baku let out a knowing snicker.
What are you laughing at? You’re just a backpack. Stay in your lane, Baku.
“Oh? You started calling Shiratama Dango ‘Ryuuko’ in no time at all, though!” Shizukudani countered. “Why’s that?”
“That’s—”
“Why, huh? Let me guess: Monimoni only just transferred in, so calling her Monika would be way too embarrassing. Is that it? Is iiit?”
“Well…”
“Or maybe you just don’t wanna call her Monika in front of Shiratama Dango? Could it have something to do with why you call her Ryuuko?”
“Mnh…”
Tobi, truth be told, hadn’t put much thought into the matter. Now that it had been pointed out to him, however, he had to admit that he really did feel a distinct reluctance to call Asahi Monika. It wasn’t a life-or-death situation, though. He could have forced himself to call her anything—he just didn’t understand why he had to force himself to begin with. He wasn’t under any obligation to call her by a certain name, was he?
Tobi looked up in front of him and ended up catching sight of Ryuuko’s back. Just then, she turned around. It was only for a moment—just enough to get a glimpse—but then she did it again and again, four times in a row, before finally opening her mouth. “Mo…”
“…Mo?” Tobi repeated.
“M-Monika is, umm… Personally speaking—and I apologize if this is presumptuous of me to say—I think it’s a wonderful name…”
“Thanks,” Asahi muttered, glancing away. The corner of her lip twitched upward. Tobi could tell she was pleased.
“L-likewise, of course!” Ryuuko immediately replied, throwing in a bow for good measure. “…Wait, is ‘likewise’ the right word? Maybe not. I-in any case, it seems that Monika would like for you to call her by her first name, and I’m certain she has a good reason for it! Don’t you think it would be best to respect her wishes?”
“So you’re saying I should quit whining and call her Monika?” asked Tobi. The question came out cold and curt, though he hadn’t meant it to. His tone was entirely unintentional.
“N-no, that’s not it!” Ryuuko said, shaking her head vigorously. “I didn’t mean to put it that way at all! I was just trying to say that if Monika wants you to, then I don’t see any reason not to oblige her. It was just a suggestion…”
“Fine, then.” Tobi looked to his right, where Asahi was walking. “Monika. Does that work for you?”
“Well, it is my real name,” Monika replied with a shrug. “Feels better than getting called something else.”
“I—I really meant it!” Ryuuko yelped. “I think it’s a wonderful name! It sounds so international!” Her gait had grown clumsy and heavy, and her tone was fluctuating wildly.
“…Is Oryuu losing it or what?” Baku muttered.
Ryuuko opened her mouth, presumably to reply, but then closed it again without saying a word. She’d stopped herself just in time.
“Hey, here’s a fun piece of trivia: You know how the Japanese word for ‘youth’ is written with the characters for ‘blue’ and ‘spring’?” Shizukudani said with a smirk. “Well, that spelling actually ties all the way back to the Chinese philosophy of Five Phases, which says that everything in the world is derived from five basic elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The character we use for ‘blue’ now and the one we use for ‘spring’ were both associated with wood. Back then, they were used together to mean ‘spring.’ In other words, the spelling we use for ‘youth’ now used to just mean ‘spring.’”
“The hell’s she rambling about?” Baku griped.
“Ahh, the springtime of our youths!” Shizukudani said as she started skipping ahead of the group. She couldn’t possibly have been replying to Baku, but it almost felt like she was. Her four-legged zingai chased after her, bouncing along in time with her skips.
“What’s so important about youth anyway?” Tobi spat under his breath.
Apparently, Shizukudani heard him. “Youth’s a huge deal!” she shouted over her shoulder as she kept skipping away. She’d already gained a solid ten meters on the rest of the group and showed no signs of turning around. She skipped her way across an intersection, hung a right, and finally vanished from sight.
“I wonder,” Ryuuko said, stopping and turning to face Tobi. “What do you suppose ‘youth’ is, really?”
“…Who knows?” Tobi replied.
“Well, we’re just a bunch of fourteen-year-olds in full bloom,” said Monika. Tobi wasn’t sure if she’d meant to affirm his confusion or critique it. He couldn’t make sense of her words at all.
“Ah!” Ryuuko yelped, pointing a finger at Monika. “In bloom! Flowers! Because the ‘ka’ in ‘Monika’ means flower! I understand!”
“Not really what I was getting at… But sure, that works,” Monika said before heaving a sigh. She looked around at Tobi, Ryuuko, and all the other middle schoolers on their way home around her. “Like I said, schools are weird places. And your school’s even weirder than most.”
Tobi didn’t really fit in at school, and he still found Monika’s words hard to accept. Especially when she was the weirdest transfer student he’d ever encountered. Where did she get off calling his school “weirder than most”?
“Why…? What do you mean?” Tobi asked.
“What do you think I mean?” Monika replied.
Tobi knew he probably wouldn’t get a straight answer out of her. If you’re not going to explain yourself, then stop saying ominous nonsense, he thought.
“We’ve got one quirky transfer student on our hands,” Baku said with a sharp laugh. “In fact, she’s basically nothing but quirks!”
“See you around,” Monika said as she mimed patting Ryuuko on the shoulder. She didn’t actually touch her, but she did lightly pat Tobi a moment later—or really, she patted Baku. Then she walked off in the opposite direction, retracing her steps. It seemed her house was in a completely different direction.
“S-see you tomorrow…!” Ryuuko called after her with a wave. Monika raised one hand listlessly, without even turning around.
“You’ve caught on by now, right, Tobi?” asked Baku.
“Yeah,” Tobi replied.
“Huh?” Ryuuko was still waving after Monika as she cocked her head in confusion. “Caught on to what? Oh! You mean, why Monika did a U-turn like that…?”
“I mean that weirdo transfer student can hear my voice,” Baku explained.
“She— Huh? Your voice…? Whaaat?!”
“She can see zingai,” said Tobi, his eyes narrowing into a squint.
Monika had stepped off the sidewalk into the road. He thought she might be heading for a car, and sure enough, she walked straight toward a big silver minivan that was parked nearby. Monika pulled open its side door and climbed inside. Then, a moment later, the minivan drove off.
“She’s gotta be the same as us.”