The town of Kawaramachi is centered around a single main street, with a network of narrow alleys spreading out like an ant’s nest, and boutiques and cafes are dotted throughout those alleys. When the curtain of night falls, the scenery transforms, and the signs of izakayas tenanting the first floors of multi-use buildings, yakiniku restaurants with narrow entrances, and stylish restaurants reflecting chic interiors on their glass-paned windows begin to shine brilliantly.
When Himari-san asked me, “What do you want to eat?” I immediately replied, “Anywhere is fine as long as I can be alone with you, Himari-san,” which caused an incomprehensible phrase, “Close encounter of the third kind!” to fly from her mouth, leading to utter confusion. As a result, we ended up having dinner at an eatery on the top floor of a shopping mall.
“I really ended up getting treated… by a younger boy…”
“You paid for the cafe, so this makes us even.”
“The acts may be even, but the monetary values aren’t equivalent…”
In the left hand of Himari-san, who said this with slumped shoulders, was a paper bag stuffed with the clothes I had bought. I had tried to decline, but she insisted with the words, “I’m used to carrying heavy things. Leave it to your Onee-san,” and so she was carrying more than half of it for me.
We continued walking without a set destination, but as we proceeded along a stone-paved sidewalk overlooking a riverbed to our side, our feet naturally turned towards the subway station.
My date with Himari-san is about to end.
In a situation like this, what would an adult man do?
How would he invite her out for what’s next?
Where to?
For what purpose?
“Mayuki-kun?”
“Hyah!”
I was ashamed of myself for being possessed by indecent fantasies. My face is hot. I’m glad it’s dark. Even with foundation on, I’m sure it would be obvious that my face is bright red.
“Are you taking the train home? Or a taxi?”
“Ah… uhm… a taxi, I’ll, be taking…”
“I see. Shall we wait together at the taxi stand then?”
“No, I’ll just hail one, so it’s okay!”
“Really? You don’t have to hold back.”
Himari-san offered, but since she was carrying my bags as well, I felt hesitant to take her up on her kind words.
We headed to the roundabout in front of the subway entrance, and I took the bags from Himari-san. The whole time I felt a lingering regret, but unable to do anything about it, I went through the motions of our exchange mechanically.
“————————h”
Himari-san was making a difficult face. Unable to grasp her intention, I timidly checked.
“Is something wrong?”
“—No, it’s nothing. Be careful.”
The distance I had felt when we first met up had vanished at some point, but a sense of strangeness from a different vector lingered. I couldn’t read anything more from Himari-san’s words and actions; I figured she must be thinking about something. So, I made an effort to see her off cheerfully.
“I had fun today. It was my first time shopping with someone.”
“I had fun too… I feel like a pretty big coming-out just happened, though?”
“Like I said, it was my first time shopping with someone.”
“A shocking revelation!”
Good, her usual retort. I felt relieved and waved as I watched her silhouette go.
Himari-san headed towards the station, frequently turning back towards me. When her back was finally out of sight, I let out a sigh, “Fuu.”
It really was my first time going out shopping with someone, so sweat was starting to bead on my back now that it was over. Because in my daily life, I’m a gloomy, argumentative person who rarely shows the bright smile I do on the internet, unable to escape from my stagnant life. With Hasumi gone, my social life at school completely closed off, but even before that, I never had anyone I could call a best friend. In the end, I think borrowing the form of ‘Kamimura Mayu’ today was the right move.
I was concerned about the stern look Himari-san had on her face from time to time, but it was truly only for a few moments, and once we started talking, she responded cheerfully, and I don’t think that was a lie.
Besides, Himari-san’s expression when her atmosphere changed—it was beautiful.
“…Not good, not good, this is not good!”
I shook off my worldly desires and readjusted my grip on the paper bags. Ugh, I nearly staggered from the weight. The guilt swelled up thinking I’d made her carry this. Or rather, I’ve seen firsthand that Himari-san’s arm strength is impressive, but what kind of human anatomy does she have to be able to carry this so easily?
When I looked towards the taxi stand set up in a corner of the roundabout, it was more crowded than I’d imagined. Kawaramachi is the only place in this area where you can hang out from day to night, and on top of that, it’s a tourist spot, so it made sense. However, I was hesitant to mix into a crowd in this outfit, and if there was anyone who recognized me, there was even a chance I’d be surrounded.
After thinking for a moment, I decided to call a taxi to a slightly more distant spot and wait in a back alley. The area around the station is crowded with chain cafes and fast-food restaurants, so there’s a lot of foot traffic, but go one street over and there’s a quiet road dotted with streetlights. It’s a one-way street and hard to enter, so it would probably take time for it to arrive, but it was still better than waiting at the stand.
Grumbling to myself, I carried the paper bags and moved to the location I specified to the taxi company over the phone, then sighed again. To kill time while waiting, I took out my smartphone, and when I swiped through my camera roll, the two-shot photo I took with Himari-san earlier came up.
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, I noticed something was off.
I displayed another photo and zoomed in on a part of it.
“This one too…”
The sense of wrongness chained together, taking form.
In the photos I took with the front-facing camera, the same two men appeared repeatedly.
Behind me and Himari-san as we walked through the shopping arcade. Behind us in the photo taken when we bought bubble milk tea at a stall in the plaza. And their figures were also in the window behind us as we leaned close in the cafe.
What was most inexplicable was—that these men were complete strangers.
I felt a chill and impulsively opened a messaging app to contact Himari-san.
Just then.
Sss,
An unfamiliar van stopped in front of me.
Strange. According to the ride-hailing app, there was still time before the taxi arrived, and I booked it for one person. I didn’t specify this type of vehicle. Above all, the van had neither the mark indicating its taxi company affiliation nor a roof sign.
It happened in an instant.
Clank, the driver’s seat door opened, followed by the rear door sliding open with a rumbling sound. Someone got out, stood in front of me, they were much taller than me,
“Hey, hurry up before someone comes.” “Be quiet.”
Before I could grasp what was happening, my arm was grabbed,
“Ah!” “You’ll regret it if you struggle.” “Hey, I said hurry up.”
I desperately tried to shake free, but I was no match for the muscular strength of the log-like giant,
“Stop, let go!” “Don’t dawdle, shove him in.” “Shut up, I know!” “Nooo!” “Hey, you wanna get punched!?”
And then, that hand was raised high—
“Haaaa!”
Along with a war cry that carried the force to tear silk, something came flying towards them,
“Guh, buh!”
The grip on my arm suddenly loosened.
Without even understanding what had happened, I used the opening to throw myself to the ground. I couldn’t break my fall, so I rolled ungracefully across the pavement. It hurt. But compared to the fear that had bound my body, it was nothing. I crawled along the ground to create distance.
When I looked back towards the van, there stood—
“Don’t worry—your Onee-chan will protect you.”
—Himari-san’s figure, standing in the faint light of the streetlight, carrying the fighting spirit of a demon.
Beside her, the giant man lay collapsed. My thoughts gradually started to catch up.
Himari-san, who had come running at full speed, had unleashed a dropkick using that momentum.
It was a situation that could only be interpreted that way.
“How, why…?”
When I squeezed out a hoarse voice, Himari-san answered amidst the tense atmosphere.
“I noticed we were being tailed. But I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to make you anxious, Mayuki-kun. I’m sorry, I should have told you when we parted.”
Then it all clicked. I understood the true meaning behind the dubious expressions Himari-san had shown from time to time.
“But, you went into the station just now…”
“I was planning to come back from the start. I thought you might feel reserved if I stayed by your side forever… But, I’m glad. It looks like I made it in time.”
And, at that moment. In the light of the streetlight, the figure of the other man emerged.
“Look ou—”
Before I could get the ‘t’ out, Himari-san had already lowered her upper body and spun herself around in a half-circle.
A fluid roundhouse kick, converting centrifugal force directly into propulsive power.
The leg, arcing as if to mow down the very atmosphere, came to a halt right in front of the face of the man who was about to attack. There was no sound of contact, but the opponent, his momentum killed, slumped to the ground.
“I’ll ask you plainly, is your goal money?”
Although her tone was clearly filled with anger, Himari-san’s voice as she calmly questioned the pair was nearly the same tone I always heard, which conversely added to her intimidating presence. As the men remained silent and didn’t answer, Himari-san continued with a sigh.
“Do you know that people are gathering at the rotary over there? I asked someone to call the police before I came here, and gawkers are starting to gather too. There’s nowhere left to run.”
At those words, the man who had been on the receiving end of the halted roundhouse kick clicked his tongue loudly. He glanced at the large man who was still out cold, showing a look of resignation.
“…Must be nice, being a streamer.”
Then, he muttered as if he were truly weary from the bottom of his heart. Clearly directed at me.
“Just by blabbering away by yourself in front of a camera, you make money. I bet brats like you who make a living on the internet look down on adults who work up a sweat, huh?”
That’s not what I think.
Adults manage to belong to society as if it’s a matter of course, but as for whether I, who can’t even fit into school life, can do it… I don’t know. Because I haven’t entered society yet.
But I’m sure it must be difficult. I’ve gained a certain level of fame in the world of the internet, but that doesn’t mean I can lead a harmonious social life.
Besides, just as I can’t understand the feelings of adults, adults surely can’t know my feelings either.
“Answer the reason you attacked him. I’m not listening to your complaints.”
“Shut up, it’s money, money. Streamers must be saving up a ton from ad revenue and whatnot, right? I got fired from my job, and my life’s shit anyway, the world’s shit. I was thinking ‘to hell with life’ when I happened to see you, so I thought I’d shake you down for some pocket money.”
In response to Himari-san’s questioning, the man answered with a flippant grin.
There were things I wanted to say. But I kept my mouth shut. Is the reason I can’t properly verbalize the feelings budding in my head because of this bizarre situation, or is fear making my lips rigid?
However, it was no longer necessary.
“Thank you for answering, but—”
Himari-san then raised her leg again.
CLANG!
As if kicking a pebble by the roadside, she unleashed a toe-kick into the side of the light van.
“If you talk any more, I’ll break your nose, so could you please shut up for a while?”
The side sill was dented so deeply it looked as if a brick had hit it. Without even glancing at it, Himari-san spoke.
“There’s no way scumbags like you could understand his feelings. A piece of shit human who only thinks of themselves could never comprehend the mindset of someone who puts on a smile for so many viewers. That’s why I won’t tell you to correct yourself. But—”
A crowd began to gather in droves. People clad in police uniforms were mixed in.
In the center of that circle, the voice of the onee-san protecting me rang out with dignity.
“If you ever lay a hand on this child again, I will show no mercy.”