They changed their shoes at the school entrance, went outside, and then passed through the gate.
It was only then that Sousei realized.
…We’re outside already.
Sousei cleared his throat, trying to indicate to Kuchina walking ahead of him that they were already outside. She was pretending not to notice.
“Umm, Miss Hitsujimoto…?”
“What?” She didn’t turn around or slow down, but she at least responded.
…Seriously? Is that really something to get so happy about…?
Sousei cleared his throat again.
“So, uh, can I…talk? I’d sort of…appreciate it if you’d listen to me.”
“If you want to talk, then go ahead.”
“It’s just that, like this…from behind, it’s hard to talk…kinda.”
“Is that so?”
“…You don’t think so?”
“Not really.”
“But human ears have a hard time hearing sound coming from behind them…don’t they?”
Was Sousei’s voice difficult for her to hear, as he’d assumed? Or did she have no intention of listening anyway? Kuchina didn’t utter another word after that, and before he knew it, they were already approaching the subway station.
“M-Miss Hitsujimoto?!” he said loudly.
Kuchina finally stopped.
“What?”
She didn’t turn around. It wasn’t so much that there was a wall, but that she was the wall. Kuchina Hitsujimoto seemed to be that wall herself. That was how it felt to Sousei.
“…After this, what…are you going to do?”
“I’m leaving.”
“You’re…going home?”
“That has nothing to do with you.”
“Uhhh… But that’s not what we agreed…”
“You asked me to listen, and I said you could talk if you wanted.”
“Wa… Bu— I… I thought we’d talk in a more relaxed situation, or more relaxed environment, or something. So that’s why… Umm… P-please! Could we go somewhere, like a café or a fast-food place or something, just for ten, or even five minutes?!”
“I don’t eat or drink outside.”
“But that’s…! How come?”
Kuchina sighed in disappointment. It was also a little aggressive. Her sigh seemed to be saying, You’ve let me down, Sousei Takarai.
“It’s difficult to ensure safety.”
“…Safety… Ah… I see. Yeah. I get that that, but…”
Sousei and Kuchina were in the same profession. People who were in their line of work had to be adequately cautious about safety. Assassins could be killed at any moment. Right now, they could be someone else’s targets.
…I was poisoned once, wasn’t I? …By Hitsujimoto. We have to be careful if there’s a chance we’re being targeted… Perhaps she’s suspicious of me? She thinks I might be targeting her? No way…
“I wouldn’t do that, you know. I have no reason to…”
“What wouldn’t you do?”
“…It’s all right, you know? If you feel that worried, I can taste test things for you to check for poison.”
“Like I made you do that time,” Kuchina said, the corners of her lips slightly lifting.
She had made him drink poisoned water at her house in Motomachi.
“I’d do it more…rigorously, so we wouldn’t be deceived. I could take a bite or a sip of something, make sure that it’s fine, and if it is…”
“You want me to have something you’ve put your mouth on?”
“No, that’s not… Well, I guess that is kind of what it is. Is that what I was saying? Yeah, I guess so. That’s a bad idea. I mean, what’s the word…? Hygienically?”
“Are you really that unhygienic?”
“…I try to be clean, you know. I do the absolute best I can… Ummm, are you making fun of me?”
“No.”
Kuchina was looking at him with her eyes half-closed. What could she be thinking about? How was she feeling? Sousei found it impossible to gauge.
…But Hitsujimoto is talking with me.
That was a ray of hope. A lifeline. He couldn’t let it be severed. He needed to find a way to keep the conversation going.
“Aaah, yeah, ummm… Isn’t there something? You know, uhhh… F-food. Or drinks, either way. Something you like…? Do you have a favorite food? Like…sweets, maybe?
“I don’t eat sweets.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“…I haven’t really eaten them before.”
“Oh, I see,” Sousei mumbled.
That hit him close to home, and he felt a strong pang of sympathy.
I suppose I could just eat delicious things all the time…but I somehow can’t bring myself to do that. I wonder if Hitsujimoto is the same way…
“…B-but isn’t there anything? Food you like or dislike, I mean. If you’re not really into sweet things, then maybe salty things? Or…sour things? Or spicy?”
“Salty…” Kuchina’s eyes flickered for a moment. Something had probably just come to her.
Salty things… Soy sauce? Salt? Miso? Those are all condiments, aren’t they? No, some kind of actual food…
Sousei wanted to throw up his hands and give in already.
I forgot I’m ignorant about food. Too ignorant. Someone like Moena would probably know a lot more. Nah, it’s not like I don’t know anything at all… When it comes to salty things…
“Fry…” Sousei started to say, but he didn’t immediately know where he was going with it.
…Fry? Small fry? Why do people call kids that? Where does the ‘fry’ come from? No, that’s not right. Fried…food. Some kind of fried food. What, though? Fried fish? I don’t think I’ve had that before. Fried… What’s normally fried…? Fried shrimp, maybe?
That seemed like it might be good. Fried shrimp. As foods went, it was pretty mainstream, and it was even something they might have had during school lunch. Sousei had probably eaten it before, too, though he had no memory of it.
When I had soba noodles with tempura with Asumin, that shrimp tempura was really good, so I’m sure it’d be good with fried shrimp, too. Do they have it with fried shrimp? Is that a thing? Yeah, I’m sure it is. Hang on. I wonder if soba noodles with tempura is also considered salty. Noodles are usually salty, aren’t they? They seem popular, too. Maybe ramen or something…
“Chips,” Kuchina said.
She spoke facing to the side for some reason. Her voice was quiet yet clear, but it still took Sousei about three seconds to register what she’d said.
“…Chips? Like, potato chips? Chips…”
“Fries,” Kuchina said, still facing sideways. “…French fries.”
“French fries!” he yelled without thinking. “Ahhh! French fries, huh? French fries are delicious, aren’t they? Well, I don’t really eat them often, or I guess I’ve only eaten them a handful of times in my life, but they’re salty and they taste like fried potatoes. Like salt. And potatoes… I guess that’s obvious, though…”
“I’ve never had them before.”
“You haven’t?!”
“But…” Kuchina glanced downward and to the side. She probably wasn’t looking at anything down there. Perhaps she was trying to unearth something that couldn’t be seen, like a buried memory. “There were food stalls set up somewhere…at some kind of festival. The smell of chips…or maybe they were french fries. I remember that…”
Sousei also remembered something. He’d had a similar experience.