“…It’s been one weird thing after another lately,” Tobi muttered.
It was pleasant out, and the courtyard had filled up over the afternoon break. Several of the benches were completely full. Tobi’s wasn’t quite as packed, but he still wasn’t sitting alone.
“Friggin’ tell me about it,” said Baku. He was with Tobi, too, of course—slung over his shoulder. But he wasn’t the only one.
“Right?” said Monika. She was sitting with her legs crossed to Tobi’s right.
“Oh, really?” added Ryuuko, from his left.
The bench was wide enough for the three of them to sit side by side with room to spare. Some of the other benches had four or even five students packed together on them. Tobi would have felt guilty for monopolizing a whole bench, but three people seemed like a reasonable number.
Why were the three of them sitting together? That was the question Tobi had yet to find an answer to.
Haizaki was nearby, wandering aimlessly around the parking lot across from the courtyard with a watering can in hand. Tobi wasn’t sure what the man was meant to be doing. If he was supposed to be watering plants, he was in the wrong place. Tobi also wished that Haizaki would stop glancing over at him. He was doing it so often, it was starting to become a nuisance. If he wanted to say something, he should just come over and say it. As things stood, he was just getting on Tobi’s nerves.
“One weird thing after another.” Monika paused to stretch, then casually added, “Oh, by the way, I can see zingai.”
“…Mo—,” Ryuuko began. Tobi assumed she’d meant to say “Monika” but cut herself off. She was leaning forward, staring in wide-eyed shock at the other girl.
Tobi hadn’t expected Monika to simply come out and say it, so he was a little taken aback as well. Not as much as Ryuuko, though. After all, he’d been more or less convinced already.
“Knew it,” said Tobi.
“You figured it out, huh?” Monika raised one eyebrow as the corners of her lips twitched upward. “Guess I was a little too obvious.”
“So?” said Tobi.
“So what?”
“Do you have one? A zingai, I mean.”
Judging by Ryuuko’s reaction, that possibility hadn’t even occurred to her until the moment Tobi asked. “Oh… That’s right!” she said. “If you can see them, then that means—”
“Wanna search for it?” Monika spread out her arms, palms up, like a magician showing them she had nothing hidden up her sleeves.
Ryuuko stood up, walked over to Monika, and leaned in, observing her from close up. She looked less like she was inspecting the other girl and more like she was sniffing her, in the same way one dog might sniff another. Tobi didn’t see the point in getting so close. Unless Ryuuko was tremendously nearsighted, they should be able to see her zingai from where they were.
Maybe it was hiding somewhere? Tobi glanced under the bench, just for good measure, but didn’t see anything. In fact, there wasn’t even any stray garbage around. Whoever cleaned the courtyard must have done a very thorough job.
“I don’t have one,” Monika said after Tobi and Ryuuko had searched everywhere they could think of.
“How’s that work?” Baku asked, trembling slightly. He seemed keenly interested, which came as no surprise. He was pretty invested in the topic, after all.
“That’s a good question.” Monika’s gaze drifted up toward the sky as she crossed her arms. “I don’t remember anything about it, so I couldn’t say.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Baku said indignantly. Tobi tightened his grip on his strap.
Monika had paused before she’d replied. She’d stopped and thought for a moment, then had said she didn’t remember.
“Anyway, I can see zingai. I can tell when they’re around, too. It’s like I can sense them,” Monika continued, turning her gaze back toward Ryuuko—specifically, toward the red pouch she kept slung across her body.
“In that case…” Ryuuko opened the pouch, and Chinurasha poked her head out without delay.
Monika squinted slightly, then reached out to trace a finger along Chinu’s horns. At that, Chinu dove straight back into the pouch. Maybe she didn’t like being touched or maybe Monika had simply startled her.
“I always knew it was there,” Monika said with a shrug.
“Just who are you?” Baku asked. That was what Tobi was most curious about, too.
“That’s a secret,” said Monika. “’Fraid I can’t tell you.”
“Oh, come on!” shouted Baku. “What the hell does that mean?!”
“It’s, like, grown-up stuff.”
“Grown-up stuff, my ass! You’re a middle schooler! You’re not even close to being grown up, you little brat!”
All things considered, Monika took getting called a brat by a backpack reasonably well. She didn’t seem offended anyway. But then, suddenly, a strange look came across her face. It was like, for a moment, her spirit had departed from her body.
“Monika?” Ryuuko stooped down and waved a hand in front of Monika’s face, which seemed to snap her back to reality.
“…There’s something I have to do,” Monika said, planting her elbows on her knees and resting her chin in her hands. “Think you could lend me a hand?”
“Is that any way to ask a person a favor?!” barked Baku. Tobi was right there with him.
“You’re not a person,” Monika countered. Once again, Tobi had to agree.
“Umm… Do you mean me as well?” asked Ryuuko.
“Of course,” Monika replied. “I need you and Tobi to help. And your zingai, too.”
“What, so I’m a friggin’ afterthought?!” Baku griped.
“Who knows? Maybe you’ll be the main player.”
“Oh? Well, in that case, maybe I’ll think about it!”
“…I haven’t agreed yet, you know,” Tobi grumbled. He glanced at a group of boys running around the courtyard. “Also, we’re not alone here. Shouldn’t we discuss this in private?”
“Don’t worry. Nobody’s eavesdropping.” Monika paused to stifle a yawn before continuing. “Barely anyone can see zingai anyway. You two are a very rare case. There’s, what, thirty-five people per class in this school? Thirty-six? Anyway, two in thirty people being zingai-aware is practically unheard of.”
“A rare case…,” Ryuuko muttered. She looked conflicted.
“You said this school was especially weird. Is that what you meant? Were you talking about us?” Tobi asked.
Monika furrowed her brow. Apparently, the answer was no. Were he and Ryuuko normal by her standards, then? And if so, what was so weird about their school?
“This is just a rough estimate, but I’d put this place’s numbers at one in ten. Maybe even more than that,” said Monika. She was speaking in extremely vague terms, but Tobi realized what she was talking about immediately. “Has it always been like this?”
“No,” Tobi replied, shaking his head. “It seems like there are a lot lately. I don’t…think it was like that before. I’m not really sure when things changed. I think…their numbers might be growing.”
“Oh! Now that you mention it,” said Ryuuko. She must have noticed as well, at least on some level.
Among the group of boys and girls on the bench across from was a boy with an oddly flat lizard-like creature clinging to his shoulder. Ryuuko pointed at him.
“Do you see the little, umm…well, you know, on that person’s shoulder?” she asked. “I feel like I’ve been seeing more and more things like it recently.”
“That’s definitely weird.” Monika sat up straight and crossed her arms. “If that was all, though, it wouldn’t be a huge deal. However, I’ve been seeing some pretty weird zingai around, too. I’d like to look into it, but, well, I’m a transfer student, so it’s not that easy.”
“Is that what you were hoping we would assist with?” asked Ryuuko.
“You got it,” Monika replied.
“Well, I’m not sure if there’s much I can help with, but I’ll lend a hand in any way I can!” Ryuuko declared. She’d barely taken any convincing at all.
Was it really all right for her to be so credulously helpful under these circumstances? Tobi was concerned, to say the least. “Maybe you should give it some thought before you agree.”
“But I want to help her,” said Ryuuko. “After all, we’re friends! It’s only natural.”
“Friends?” Monika repeated, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar.
Ryuuko frowned. Monika seemed dumbfounded by Ryuuko’s assertion, and Ryuuko was, in turn, distressed by Monika’s confusion. What’s with these two? thought Tobi. They’re actually kind of entertaining.
“…A-are… Are we not friends…?” asked Ryuuko.
“Friends, huh?” Monika said the word again, then she stood up and laid a hand on Ryuuko’s shoulder. “Yeah, sure. Why not? Friends it is, Ryuuko.”
“Yes! Friends it is…!” Ryuuko replied much too loudly. Monika flinched, and even Tobi was a little caught off guard.
“Well, someone’s pleased as punch,” Baku grumbled.
If it made Ryuuko happy, then it was fine by Tobi. And if she intended to help Monika, he had no choice but to pitch in as well. Okay, so he did have other options, but he knew he’d wind up helping in the end, so why fight it?
The real question was whether he could trust Monika. Tobi wasn’t convinced just yet. In fact, he still found her quite suspicious.
In the end, she’d never answered Baku’s question. Tobi still had no idea who Monika Asahi really was.