Chapter 04
AS SOON AS MY EYES cracked open, I wondered why my alarm clock had not rung yet this morning. Moments after, I realized that in my own fatigue, I had half-consciusly shut off the clock, which had done its duty properly. Still, it was a day off, so I was in no big rush. Plus, for the past several days, Himari diligently helped me out all day.
Still thoroughly groggy, I changed my clothes with some difficulty, and headed to the kitchen, yawning. Penguin No. 3 came running up before me as I did. I patted it on its head, which today was decorated with a blonde wig and three cheap-looking flower barrettes.
“Oh, morning, Sho-chan!” Himari called happily.
“Morning. Sorry, looks like I over…slept?” I looked up to see a cheerful Himari standing in the kitchen, along with Oginome Ringo.
“Why is… she here?”
“You’ve got a case of the bedhead, Sho-chan,” Himari tittered, trotting over and poking my hair.
“Sorry to barge in,” said Oginome Ringo, with a lighthearted nod.
“Welcome,” I returned the greeting, running my hand over my head.
“Hey, hurry up and wash your face, and then show me how to make tamagoyaki,” said Himari, grabbing my arm.
Today, Himari’s loose ponytail was arranged briskly with a hair clip with a flower decoration, maybe just to keep her hair out of her face while preparing the food. She wore denim jeans, with a beige cardigan over a lightly embroidered white dress. Her rumpled socks were a light pink, matching the color of the flower ornaments. A tender pink really did suit our little sister.
“Sure, I can do that, but…” But what was Oginome Ringo doing in our home first thing in the morning? I was suspicious, but instead I wedged myself between the pair, showing off my skills.
I preferred to make rolled omelets that weren’t too sweet. Don’t overbeat it, don’t use too much heat. Don’t pour too much of the egg mixture into the pan at once. Make it fluffy by adding just a little more milk.
“You’re amazing, Sho-chan! It looks so good already, I wanna eat it!” Himari jumped up, No. 3 bouncing around as well.
Oginome Ringo watched my hands eagerly, mumbling the steps in repetition.
Feeling like I had suddenly aged many years, I sipped some warm hojicha, watching as Oginome Ringo and Himari battled it out with the omelets, mimicking my preparations and chattering to each other. “That’s right.” “This looks good.” “Like this? Like this?” “It’s gonna burn!”
How was it that girls could still shine while doing something so childish, conducting themselves as if a music box played? We were all humans, but they seemed like a totally disparate life-form.
“Ta-da! A special deluxe field trip bento!” said Himari, placing an exaggerated, multitiered bento atop the low table. Penguins No. 2 and No. 3 applauded joyfully.
The way that Himari intoned her words was murderously adorable.
“We did it, Ringo-chan!” Himari and the penguins circled around Oginome Ringo, like Snow White and her dwarves.
“Yeah,” Oginome Ringo said happily, her cheeks pinking ever so slightly.
“Are you taking these out somewhere?” I asked with my eyes narrowed, like a sweet old grandfather, holding my teacup.
Himari grinned wide, as though she had been waiting for me to ask, and announced, “Ringo-chan’s got a date!”
“Huh?” The kindly look upon my face suddenly turned serious. Oginome Ringo looked bashful, while Himari muttered, “Sounds nice.”
“She asked me to show her how to make a tasty tamagoyaki, but I’m no good at it, either. Your help really saved us, Sho-chan!”
“Oh, well, that’s good.”
I did not want to dampen the smile blooming over Himari’s face, but the other party involved in said date was likely Tabuki Keiju, and there was a high probability that it was not a date, but another exercise in stalking. None of that sounded good at all.
Kanba, having finally finished his carefree morning routine, appeared from out of the washroom.
“Oho, looks like you did good. That’s our house husband for you,” he said, swiping a piece of the cut-up omelet on my plate and popping it into his mouth.
“Who are you calling a house husband?” I shot a glare at my ill-behaved brother. Kanba, who was terrible at mornings, seemed strangely alert for it being relatively early.
“By the way, Oginome-san, where are you going birdwatching today?” Kanba asked her, without hesitation.
Birdwatching. I could not readily remember where I had heard a discussion of that.
“In Wadazuka Park,” Oginome Ringo replied, without a hint of suspicion.
“Whoa, what a coincidence! Shoma had something to do over there today too. Right, Shoma?” said Kanba, flashing me his best smile.
“Huh? N-no. I do not!” I started to say, when I was suddenly gripped in a headlock and dragged to the corner of the room.
“Hang on, what is going on?!” I asked, my voice naturally growing softer.
“Listen. This is our chance to search that chick’s bag.” I followed his glance to see Oginome Ringo’s tote bag. “We gotta find the You-Know-What.”
“By the You-Know-What, you mean the Penguindrum?”
Kanba pressed a finger to his lips with a “Shh!”
Looking around to ensure we hadn’t been heard, he said, “This chick said that things were going, ‘just as written.’”
“So, you’re saying that it’s something written on paper, like a book or a journal?” She mentioned something about things being written, or engraved. We flipped through plenty of books, journals, and other written items in Oginome Ringo’s home, but we wouldn’t have found it if she carried it around with her.
“Yeah, that’s a good assumption. It must have some connection to this Penguindrum we’re after. It’s probably the key to unlocking this mystery.”
“Yeah.” I nodded, glancing at Himari and Oginome Ringo, who were now quietly sipping some freshly brewed hojicha. What a cruel irony in this scene, if the girl sitting next to Himari was the one who held her life in her hands.
“The reason that it hasn’t turned up yet is probably because she keeps it hidden on her at all times. Maybe even somewhere even closer than in that bag.”
“Huh? Somewhere closer than her bag?” I momentarily imagined something improper, and felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment.
“I’m kidding, stupid. Though, we can’t entirely rule that out, either.” As usual, no color appeared on Kanba’s face.
“In that case, why don’t you go? You’re way better at getting close to girls, aren’t you?”
“Hm? I’ve got some stuff to take care of. I’m leaving today’s mission to you. Break a leg out there!” He slapped me on the back heartily.
“Another girl? Aniki, you’re definitely gonna face some divine punishment one of these days.” I pouted, deeply exasperated with him.
“Whatever.” My words had fallen on deaf ears.
Things went rough after that. Oginome Ringo made a dreadful face when I tagged along on her date. The effect of Kanba’s killer smile was lost on Oginome Ringo, who was smitten with Tabuki, and even Himari chided me, but in the end, I followed her along to Wadazuka Park.
The train ride was awkward. I sat beside an unhappy Oginome Ringo, my head slightly hung, occasionally looking up at our reflection in the window opposite us. Oginome Ringo, her tote bag on her shoulder, wore a hat down over her eyes and a vest with many pockets, with a pair of binoculars hanging from her neck. She seethed in quiet anger. I was in casual clothes, my back rounded, carrying the heavy, three-tiered bento, a sullen look on my face, looking utterly forlorn.
“Um, so. You’re going to the park to do some birdwatching today?”
“That’s right,” she said, quite curtly. Girls were scary when they were angry.
“Is this also, um, how did you put it, part of your, ‘fate’?”
“Huh?” She did not even spare me a glance.
It was a single word, and yet I felt as though I had been thoroughly redressed.
“Ah, well uh, the other day, you were saying something like that.”
“That’s right,” said Oginome Ringo, though she didn’t seem to be speaking to me. “Everything that happens from now on today is a matter of fate. I’m on a very important mission. There is no room for failure,” she elaborated, as though to herself.
“I… see.”
Her reflection in the dark window seemed like a completely different person from the girl who smiled with Himari this morning. She was obstinate, and it wasn’t that she wasn’t charming, but she exuded an unapproachable standoffishness, truly like a different life-form. Plus, she was a stalker.