Volume 4 - CH 5

It may have been because of the unusually cold fall, or maybe it was because my days lost their color after Ayase-san and I started talking to each other less, but September seemed to pass incredibly quickly, and we seemed to quickly reach the day before the parent-teacher meeting.

“This is just a hypothetical question, okay?”

Lunch break arrived. While poking my chopsticks at my side dish, I called out to Maru amid the background noise inside the classroom.

“When you end up with a broken heart…”

“Hm?” Maru glanced up.

“If you really need to get over your feelings for that girl, what do you do?”

“With your established conditions being far too vague for me to guess, there’s no way I can give you a concrete answer, Asamura.”

“Right, my bad.”

“Well, it’s fine. So, just as an example… when it’s a girl close to you that you meet on a daily basis, and a girl that you only know online, the difficulty of getting over her can be completely different.”

Ahh, that makes sense. The distance between you and her is crucial, huh?

“Then a girl who’s pretty close, I guess? Hypothetically.”

Maru looked up from the lunch box in front of him and glanced at me. He then directed his daze downward again, picking up some rice with seaweed. Considering how deeply he was able to stab his chopsticks into the rice, he must have at least 1.5x the amount of rice in there than I have in mine. I guess that’s what you’d expect from a sports club regular. After chewing for a moment, Maru took a sip from his tea-filled bottle.

“How about hanging out with a lot of other girls? It’s hard to really define what romantic feelings are. Maybe something else would develop from that.”

Romantic feelings. When I heard that term, I froze up for a second. While hoping that he didn’t notice my hesitation, I nodded, urging him to continue.

“However, these kinds of burning feelings might just be a hallucination as well. If you meet another good woman, you might find out that your feelings weren’t all that serious, and your feelings might change a lot faster?

“I wonder if they will really change… Also, What kind of environment would even allow someone to easily encounter women like you’re suggesting?”

“Asamura… Where are you looking? Listen, there are at least twenty girls in our classroom. And even beyond that, there are plenty of chances around you, no?”

Plenty of chances, he says.

“But isn’t that just you paraphrasing the idea that half the world is women, so you have no lack of ability to have new encounters?”

“But it’s true. In the end, the chances of you having a new encounter completely depend on your own mental attitude.”

“Another woman, huh?” I started thinking.

Simply existing together and actually building a relationship that goes beyond being strangers are two simple yet completely different things. However, it is a thankful piece of advice from my good friend. I should probably give it some thought. Especially when it comes to the mental attitude he mentioned. Basically, this is what he was trying to say.

Normally, we don’t see the strangers around us as individuals who have any connection to us. Strangers are random, alienated people. If not for Ayase-san’s mother marrying my old man, I probably would have never seen her as someone more than a girl who wears flashy clothes and who attends the class next to mine. Even if we had gotten to know each other through some kind of event, the closest we’d have gotten was greeting each other in the hallway, I’m sure.

Yet simply because she became my step-sister, we were forced to live together, deepening our bonds and knowledge of each other, and the more I learned about her, spent time with her, the more my feelings were kindled. If that’s the case, then I just have to actively work to try to get to know the girls around me. If I do that, there might be a woman who can awaken my feelings even more than Ayase-san—

“Then again,” Maru continued, “if you can’t see anybody around you as a potential target, then just approach the people closest to you. The theory is that conquests are easier the more information you have.”

“What are you talking about?”

“A common opinion.”

And what kind of sources support this common opinion, huh? But that does make sense. A stranger who is close to me. That would mean someone like—

‘Now now, tell your older sister about all your problems, young lad. Come on, open your heart and jump into my arms.’

The first person who came to mind was my senior at work and university girl Yomiuri-senpai. The other day, she said something along those lines, offering to hear me out if I wanted to discuss my problems.

“Well, setting aside the whole thing about another woman, maybe just challenging something new in your life might do wonders to distract you from her?” Maru said as I was lost in thought. “Anyway, just cheer up.”

“Yeah… Wait, I mean no. That was just a hypothetical question.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I just gave you an example.” Maru put the lid back on his lunch box. “Now then, if you would excuse me.” He said as he left the classroom.

He finished eating his lunch, which was significantly bigger than mine, before I could polish off mine, and then left for lunch break practice. I’m worried he might ruin his stomach from eating that fast. I let out a sigh, ate the rest of my own lunch, and put my lunchbox away.

I had another shift at work that day. When I parked my bike in the bike rack like always, I once again thought about how it’s fall season now. Even though I had been pedaling with all my might, I wasn’t sweating nearly as profusely as I did back in August. I entered the bookstore, and the vice manager called out to me.

“Asamura-kun! Please take care of the register.” I moved over towards the cash register and started serving the customers. In all honesty, standing at the register is fairly relaxing. You simply scan the barcode on the books, and the machine calculates the exact price for the purchase. Of course, that doesn’t mean the amount of work at the register is insignificant. For example, you have to prepare covers depending on the size of the books, and offer the customer a plastic bag depending on how much they’ve purchased. That hasn’t changed.

If a customer with small children is trying to pay while taking care of their large amount of books, you would want to calm them down with a smile in the advent that they drop their wallet, and you also have to be careful to not put the coins in their change on top of each other, so that way the customer can easily confirm that they are getting the right amount of money back.

In recent years, the method of payment has changed quite a lot, which also impacts work at the cash register. Not only can you pay in cash, but also with various credit cards, and even smartphone apps. You have to remember all of them in order to properly handle every possible customer, so it’s quite right that a lot of employees start to dislike working at the cash register after a while. By the way, that ‘quite right’ just now basically means ‘I see, that’s true.’ I read that in a novel recently, and I actually like the sound of it a lot, but there are not many chances to actually use it, so—

“Yo, you can take a break now.”

“Hmm? Ah, yes.”

Someone called out to me, which pulled me back to reality. The more monotonous work you do, the more mechanically your body will move when performing that work, which really shows how well the human limbic system is calibrated. At some point, I had started just doing it automatically. I couldn’t help but admire that about myself. Thanks to that, I managed to calm down and think good and hard about what I had been worried about this afternoon and how to resolve it. It’s just as Maru said: Branching out and doing new things might be just what I need to do in order to get over these feelings. And the one person close to me who knows something new I can try is most likely—

“Do you have a moment, Junior-kun?”

“Ah, Yomiuri-senpai. What is it?”

She had her fingers interlocked behind her back, looking up at me.

“Do you think you can spare some time for me today after our shift?”

“For what?”

“I was thinking of showing you all sorts of new fun stuff, you see.”

“With pleasure!”

“An immediate answer. Wow, Junior-kun, have you always been this bold?”

“Ah, well, I was just thinking of doing something new anyway. Maybe I came across a bit too excited?”

“Not in the slightest; I shall allow it. Not to mention that young people like you are supposed to challenge themselves and keep up this kind of curiosity.”

“Thank you very much.”

This makes it the second time Yomiuri-senpai has asked me out like this. The first time was for a movie. It’s thanks to her that I got to watch a movie I almost missed during one of its final late showings. I guess university students are in an entirely different league from high school students. That’s Senpai for you. It’s like she totally realized what I was troubled about.

“Alright, that’s decided then!”

“But what exactly do you have in mind? It’ll be pretty late by the time our shift is over.”

“Hee hee hee. I shall take you to the world of adults, Junior-kun.” Yomiuri-senpai left these words behind and returned to her work.

Even when we ran into each other during the rest of our shift, she would just smile at me without saying a word. Just what is she talking about?

“So this… is the world of adults…”

Really now?

“It’s an essential course for a working member of society!”

“Are you some kind of old man from the Shōwa era or what?”

“Have some faith in Onee-san, okay?”

I really can never tell how serious she is with these kinds of things. After giving Yomiuri-senpai a dubious gaze, I looked up at the building in front of us. On the sign above the entrance, I could see the words ‘billards’ and ‘darts,’ as well as ‘Golf simulation.’

“I want to practice some of my golf swings!”

“You really are an old man with old-fashioned hobbies.”

“How disrespectful.”

“So we’ll be checking out this ‘Golf simulation’ thing, then?”

“You’ll see soon enough!”

With that, Senpai took the lead, and I quietly followed after her. After taking the elevator up, she took me to the golf facility inside the building, which I had heard of before.

“This is your first time, right, Junior-kun?”

“My first time playing it, yeah. A friend of mine who’s into these kinds of games has played it before, and he told me about it, but that’s about all.”

Inside a booth split off from a small box, deep in the back, was a golf course. The green grass continued endlessly below the blue sky. In the distance, I could see the faint curves of a mountain range. Of course, this was all just footage projected on a screen, as we were still in the middle of Shibuya.

“Nature really is wonderful, huh? Ah, the green is beautiful.”

“I don’t think this is very different from just putting on a screensaver on the TV at home.”

“Junior-kun!” She spoke with a reprimanding tone. “No emotion whatsoever! Understand this poetic sentiment! You’re not some withered old man, but a young man in his prime!”

“Right…”

Even if you tell me that…

“You’re looking at these beautiful swaths of nature, yet you don’t feel anything? You’ll make me cry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You can swing your club and land the white ball right into the hole, and you’re surrounded by nature on every side. How invigorating! What a great feeling!”

“Is that how this works?”

“It sure does. This is why all exhausted middle-aged men go play golf.”

Yep, it’s a hobby for old men, just as I thought.

“Stop nitpicking about every detail. We’re wasting our time here.” She complained and held out a golf club towards me.

You have to keep in mind that this is my first time ever handling a golf club. How do I even hold this thing? Like a baseball bat? When Yomiuri-senpai realized this, she used her fingers to correct my hold. Wow, her nails are so beautiful to look at…

“Hmm, like this, I think? Come on, try it.”

“I see.”

With my left hand supporting it, I held the club, used my thumb to cover it slightly, and then held it in my dominant right hand. This apparently is how Yomiuri-senpai holds a club. I imagine there are many other ways of doing so, but she just said ‘Look into it yourself later’, so I didn’t ask. Either way, this is the beginner’s guide, so it should be fine.

“Come on, put some more strength into your shoulders.”

Senpai grabbed both of my shoulders and pushed them down. When she did so, they ended up slouching a bit. I guess that makes sense. When you put strength into your hands, you automatically relax your shoulders.

“That’s it. Just like that. And now you just have to hit that ball towards the screen.”

She had just called it ‘beautiful nature,’ and now she’s calling it a screen. She sure knows how to ruin her own immersion, huh?

“Can I really hit such a small hole on the first try?”

“Hmm… since it’s your first time, it might be a bit hard to hit the hole. You just have to get used to it, so it’s fine.” Senpai said. She backed away out of golf-club-swing range.

It’s similar to baseball swings, but it’s dangerous to swing a club around if there are people nearby, so after making sure that nobody was standing behind me, I swung my club. It made a sound like I was cutting through the air, and the club was so surprisingly heavy that it felt like it almost pulled my arms out of their sockets. But I wasn’t even close to the hole.

“Swing and a miss.”

“It’s a lot harder than I anticipated.”

“Not at all. Lend me the club for a second.”

I handed her the club. The ball was automatically set on the course once more. She grabbed the club and performed a few test swings. Once she was satisfied, she stood in front of the ball and swung with all of her might. The ball flew off with a sharp clacking sound. The golf tee that had been stabbed in the ground danced through the air. The system traced the ball’s trajectory, which drew a beautiful parabola as it arched back down to the ground. The words ‘Nice Shot!’ appeared on the screen, and the ball rolled along the green grass a few times before finally coming to a stop. Finally, it showed the distance she had hit the ball.

“Phew, that one flew a long way. Ahhh, such free-dom~” She sang while holding the golf club almost like a rifle.

“What’s that about?”

“It’s from an old movie1. That one sure blasted off, though, huh?”

The number on the screen must have indicated that it was a good result, judging from how happy she is, but I couldn’t really comprehend why she was so happy about this.

“That’s how it is. Simple, right?”

“It sure didn’t look it, but I understand the possibilities of humanity now, so thank you.”

After that, we both alternated shooting around ten more balls. At first, I would either miss the ball entirely and hit empty air or hit it off in random directions, but maybe thanks to Yomiuri-senpai’s good teaching, I eventually managed to hit the ball directly ahead of me.

“You’ve got talent, all right.”

When I started to get used to it, I was greeted by a refreshing feeling of accomplishment, like I was hitting the ball straight ahead at a batting center. This does feel pretty great. Although it never said ‘Nice Shot!’ for me, which is a shame. Seriously, how is she this good? Is she actually an old man?

“Senpai, do you practice golf swings regularly?”

“Hm? Well, from time to time.”

“Wow.”

“Are you surprised?”

Maybe. She looks like a Japanese beauty with long and beautiful black hair, but I’m pretty sure she’s a middle-aged man on the inside.

“Maybe not surprised. I guess it makes perfect sense.”

“And what exactly do you mean by that?”

“To me, you are an experienced senior above everything else.”

“I believe I once again must draw your attention to, you know, my sex and the fact that I am a woman.”

“You’re free to change your approach, but here I am, completely agreeing to the fact that taking a high school student to some late-night golf is a total university girl move.”

She is gorgeous, she’s always funny, and it’s always pure joy to talk to her. If we were together, I’m sure that every moment would be pure bliss. I have never been part of any club, but interacting and spending time with a senior in a club would probably feel like this. There’s no mistaking that hanging out is fun at all times.

“Junior-kun.”

“Yes?”

“Feeling a bit better?” Senpai asked, flashing me a faint smile.

Only then did I realize why Yomiuri-senpai had brought me to this place. She knew I was constantly troubled by something, and wanted me to forget about all of that at least for a short bit of time. That’s why she invited me here.

“Yes. It was lots of fun.”

“Very well, very well.” Yomiuri-senpai tapped me on the shoulder.

Yeah—I really like her as a person. Those were my honest feelings, and yet I heard someone’s whisper. That summer, in that one moment, that emotion I felt inside of me, which surged up from deep down my throat when I saw the girl cross her fingers as she stretched her arms far above her head—that emotion is different from what I feel right now.

After swinging at the golf balls for another hour, my arms had gotten quite good and tired. I started to miss more, and the balls stopped flying as well, so one of us brought up the idea of slowly making our way home. It had gotten pretty late, and the parent-teacher meeting was the next day.

“Before that, I need to visit the bathroom for a moment.”

“Then I’ll clean up the rest of the gear here.”

“Please do.”

I grabbed the golf clubs we had been using and took them with me. Yeah, that was fun. Although my arms had started to feel numb, I’m glad I came here. As the outsider kind of personality that I am, I always thought that playing golf was part of the world of light, but if it’s just an indoor simulation like this, I guess it is fun. Maru was right. Trying something I normally wouldn’t has allowed me to vent some stress and frustration.

While I was thinking about that, I ran into an individual who just walked into the establishment—a single girl. Her hairstyle and clothes didn’t stand out too much, but there was one thing that drew my attention to her—Her height. She’s quite tall, to be exact.

“Wait… that girl, where did I…?”

I dug through my recent memories and found something. She’s the girl who sat next to me during my summer classes. That means she must be a second-year in high school like me. She was all alone, so she probably came here on her own. Despite it being so late? She’s playing golf by herself? She started checking rooms, looking for an open space where she could play. Since Yomiuri-senpai and I just finished, she came walking directly towards me. Right as she walked past me, she seemed to notice that I was there.

“You are…”

“What a coincidence. Good evening.” I bowed slightly in greeting.

“Good evening. Um, we haven’t seen each other since last summer break, yes?”

“I think not, yeah.”

“…Um, are you still attending that preparatory school?”

“Yes, though only on Saturdays.”

Telling her this much should be fine. We know each other from preparatory school after all.

“I see. I’m actually attending it on a regular basis right now.”

I was surprised to hear that. After all, once summer break ended, I hadn’t run into her once. When I asked her about that, she mentioned that she doesn’t have any classes on Saturday. She doesn’t like the cramped classroom on those days, which is why she’s using the self-study room at the preparatory school.

“The self-study room?”

“That’s right. It’s a lot more convenient for me than a library room.”

“I see… Ah, my name is Asamura Yuuta, by the way.”

“I’m Fujinami Kaho. Summer and sail make Kaho.”

“Sale?”

“Not the selling one, but the sail you set up. The name is written fairly simply with kanji, so it’s easy to remember.”

“Ah, Like a ship’s sail. I see.”

“See? You’ve already remembered it.” She flashed a faint grin.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

If she introduces herself as ‘Fujinami Summer Sail’, it really is easy to remember. She looked like more of a docile girl to me, but I guess she’s got surprisingly good communication skills. She bent forward slightly, giving me a formal ‘Please take care of me’ greeting. I followed suit, doing the same. Right as this exchange ended, Yomiuri-senpai came back.

“Ah, you were on a date.” Fujinami-san glanced at her, and then back at me.

I frantically shook my head.

“No no, she’s just my senior from my part-time job. We’re not like that.”

“I see. Then if you would excuse me.” She once again bowed slightly and entered the booth Yomiuri-senpai and I had been using.

I did the same, and when I raised my head, Yomiuri-senpai was standing in front of me.

“Hey hey hey, Junior-kun.”

“Welcome back, Senpai.”

“What’s that nonchalant expression about? Who was that girl just now?! What kind of playboy are you to hit on another girl while you’re on a date with me?!”

“Wha, ah, I’m sorry…?”

She called it a date, but I don’t have enough confidence to see it that way. I bet that from a university girl’s point of view, a high school boy like me is nothing but an adorable junior. The way she teases me like this is proof enough of that. Earnestly apologizing was the best choice. If I tried to argue, she’d just play devil’s advocate and bully me even more.

“It’s not fun if you apologize immediately.”

“Is there any need to make it fun?”

“Well, it’s gotten fairly late today, so I guess I’ll let you off the hook with this.”

“I’ve accepted my fate, so please let me go.”

Thankfully, Yomiuri-senpai forgave me with a smile. After we finished paying at the front desk, we returned to the train station. Just like with the movie before, I sent Senpai off to the place where I could see the parking lot, and then pedaled my way home on my bike. While enjoying the calm breeze Shibuya at night blessed me with, I once again thought about what Maru had said. Trying out something new, huh? Oh yeah, that reminds me. I’m attending that preparatory school, but I haven’t even fully used all of their faculties.

“The self-study room…”

While storing my bike in the parking lot of the flat, I started thinking that maybe I should check it out sometime.

1 Sailor Suit and Machine Gun