Prologue: A Reason for Misbehaviour
Rika found out about my collection. It was terrible, really terrible. Recently, my relationship with Rika was progressing smoothly. Though unruly as usual, Rika would sometimes say some gentle words. When we met our eyes together, she would say stuff like “What’s wrong?” in embarrassment. Rika was really adorable, so adorable one couldn’t help thinking of embracing her.
Anyhow, like a miracle, Rika become gentle, pumping up my spirits. She would specially leave for me the tasty pudding visitors left for her; sometimes she would even invite me for lunch, or share half of a peeled off orange. Every day was like living in heaven for me. Holding the half orange in my hands, I was spaced out for a good while.
It was particularly jovial, but there was something missing. If you had to ask what it was, it was...that, yeah...that last step! But that thought was casted millions of miles away at that instant on the second Sunday after the new years. At that time, my classmate Sansei would often visit me and spew out some boring jokes. We had met when since the third year of grade school. But since high school, we hadn’t much talked, as if a non-physical distance was created. Nevertheless, Sansei had been frequenting my ward recently. He had only one goal—my collection. Less than an hour after the last lesson, he would have come to my ward. He claimed a visit, yet he only used around five minutes to briefly talk about school and his new friends. After that, he would say, “I’m going back”, stand up, and, pretending to have something suddenly popping up in his mind, say to me, “Ah. Right. Do you mind lending me a few books?” Before even allowing me to answer, he would crawl under my bed.
“Hey, Sansei.”
Without moving an inch, I was lying on my bed, half astonished and half admired, saying, “You’re really a great person.”
“Wah? What did you say?” Sansei’s voice was extremely vague, for he was putting his ass into searching my collection.
“Ignoring any sort of dignity to accomplish your goal—isn’t this an act of a great person?”
“I can’t hear you! What did you say?”
“I’m complimenting you!”
A sudden anger was evoked in me.
“You’re the greatest idiot!”
“I said I couldn’t hear you. Oh, this is incredible!”
“I-Is it?”
“It’s really a wonder! Ezaki, do you want to have a look?”
“Oh, okay...”
To be honest, I didn’t really want to have a look. How should I put it...yeah, this should be called male socialising. If invited, a man shouldn’t reject the offer, should they?
Standing up, I crawled under my bed like Sansei.
“Woah,” Sansei exclaimed.
“Ohhh,” I exclaimed as well.
“Incredible.”
“In-Indeed.”
“I have to turn to the next page.”
“Hold on a minute.”
“Wow...”
“Oh...”
“Now we go...this is incredible too!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Fu...”
While we were indulged and talking, I suddenly felt a human presence, an appalling presence.
For an instant, my back shivered, my hands trembling, my mind blank. Noticing my aberrance, Sansei inquired, but I couldn’t answer him, or it should be said that I didn’t want to. If I did, I would have to face this reality. Of course, I would have to face it regardless.
I crawled from the bottom of the bed.
“Ah, Rika...”
As I expected, Rika was in the ward.
“What are you doing?” She asked curtly.
I could have got away with it should I make some excuses, yet at that time, my mind was turbulent. I had to weave a reason to make her leave...a reason...there must be a reason for this.
I told myself to calm down, as Rika hadn’t yet discovered it. Besides, she wouldn’t know what we had been doing since we were hiding under the bed. An old lady once said that you could calm yourself down by writing three “人” on your palms and then driving it down your throat. Forget it now. I had to...
As I thought in a mess, I felt a bug was moving on my back.
“Hey, what’s up?”
It was Sansei’s voice. That stupid Sansei.
“Ezaki, what’s up?”
Holding one of my collections, the stupid Sansei crawled out from the bottom of my bed.
“Ah...”
Looking at that piece of collection, I made a voice.
“Eh...”
Looking at Rika, Sansei made a voice as well.
The three of us were stunned.
Stupid Sansei. Hide it now! Hide it! Though I screamed from my heart, it didn’t reach my lips. It was too late. The eyes Rika had when staring at us were the eyes of looking something dirty. The big smile she had on her a while ago was completely gone, perhaps blown away to a faraway place even farther from the North Pole, having no trace of coming back. Then, a frosty wind even thicker than the centre of the North Pole blew in the ward.
Rika suddenly bent her body to peek into the bottom of the bed, her eyebrows becoming tenser every second. There seemed to be something swirling behind her back. Rika passed between us and crawled under the bed. Sansei and I were still frozen, losing the ability to comprehend what was happening in front of our eyes all in a sudden. No...perhaps we were just unwilling to.
Not long, Rika crawled out of the bed.
“Yuuichi,” she called my name with a tranquil voice.
“Are those yours?”
“...”
“Is that all?”
“...”
“That’s more than one to two hundred books, right?”
“...”
“Yuuichi, aren’t you incredible?”
Rika smiled, a terrible smile. Then, humming, she went out of the ward, leaving Sansei and me behind.
“Who’s that?”
“...”
I couldn’t yet commence.
“Your girlfriend?”
“...”
“That’s a yes.”
As if understanding something, Sansei patted my shoulder with a strange rhythm like a monk with great understanding of world affairs.
“It can’t be helped. Give it up.”
I smacked right at Sansei—it was justifiable.