Chapter 5 - Birds of a Feather?
(１)
"Huh? Is Otonashi-san absent today?"
Mayumi-chan said, looking at the empty seat.
I also instinctively looked toward Kanna's seat.
I wonder what happened? She was energetic yesterday.
The people around us were whispering.
"Skipping already from the start, huh..."
"I guess she really was a huge delinquent over there?"
"I heard someone saw her smoking."
"Maybe she's into gambling and stuff too..."
"P-please be quiet!"
When Mayumi-chan raised her voice, the commotion died down.
She wasn't that kind of person, though...
Thinking that, I gazed at the seat next to me.
When the first period ended, Airi came over.
"I wonder what happened to Otonashi-san? Toya-kun, have you heard anything?"
I shook my head.
"She's not the type to skip class, though."
"I saw Otonashi-san with Yaguchi-senpai!"
Saying that, Makoto joined in.
"Yaguchi-senpai? As in that Yaguchi-senpai?"
When I asked back, Makoto nodded triumphantly.
"Yeah, yeah, that Yaguchi-senpai. While I was doing morning practice, she was being led behind the clubroom. I guess it's a case of birds of a feather flocking together."
"Kanna isn't that kind of person."
"It's not good to judge a person by their appearance, Tada-kun."
Surprisingly, Airi took her side.
"B-but it's a fact that they were acting together. If Otonashi-san didn't do anything, then she must have been messed with..."
"What did you say about me?"
Hearing that voice, Makoto turned around in surprise.
We were just as surprised.
The owner of that voice was unmistakably Kanna.
"N-no. It's nothing..."
With a strained smile, Makoto said this and distanced himself from the spot.
"Kanna, what happened?"
"Otonashi-san, what happened?"
When the two of us asked Kanna simultaneously, Kanna made a face as if it were a bother.
"Who cares? It's no big deal."
Saying so, Kanna sat in her seat and slumped over her desk to sleep.
"Is it true you were with Yaguchi-senpai?"
"Yeah."
"What were you doing?"
"I told you, it's no big deal!"
After that, Kanna fell silent.
(２)
She didn't tell us anything during lunch break either.
Let me talk a bit about Yaguchi-senpai.
To put it simply, she is a delinquent.
She smokes, she engages in prostitution, she skips class, she fights... if I listed them one by one, there would be no end.
Has Kanna been influenced by her?
No, today is still the first day.
There is still a chance to help her.
When the closing meeting ended, I called out to Kanna as she was trying to go home.
"Kanna! Wait a second..."
"Otonashi! Come here for a sec!"
As if she had been waiting, Yaguchi-senpai appeared.
Kanna started to follow as told by Yaguchi-senpai.
I summoned my resolve and grabbed Kanna's arm.
Kanna turned toward me in surprise.
"Excuse me, Yaguchi-senpai, Kanna has a promise to go home with us."
"Huh? Otonashi, who the hell is this?"
Yaguchi-senpai glared at me. S-scary.
"It's nothing. Hey, don't decide things on your own!"
Was it my imagination that this sounded like she was trying to protect me rather than being bothered?
Yaguchi-senpai approached me and suddenly grabbed me by the collar.
"If you keep doing unnecessary things, I'll beat the crap out of you!"
That loud voice was enough to make everyone in the classroom stop moving.
The classroom fell silent.
"Senpai! This guy really has nothing to do with it! Look, Toya, apologize too!"
"Shut up! Otonashi, stay out of this!"
Saying so, she shoved Kanna, who was pulling on Yaguchi-senpai's sleeve.
I instinctively flared up.
"Don't lay a hand on Kanna!"
"Huh? Who the hell do you think you're talking to!"
It was the first time I had been punched in the face by a girl.
I was blown backward. How uncool.
"Toya-kun!"
Airi's scream echoed through the classroom.
The classroom became noisy.
Someone must have gone to notify the faculty office, because the student guidance teacher arrived.
"What is going on!? Yaguchi! You again!!"
"Tch! It's nothing!!"
Saying that, Yaguchi-senpai kicked the door and left the classroom.
"Toya-kun, are you okay!?"
Airi took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood seeping from my mouth.
It seemed I had cut the inside of my mouth.
"The nurse's office should still be open at this time. Let's go."
And so, Airi and I... and for some reason, Kanna as well, headed to the nurse's office.
(３)
Nurse's Office.
Reflected in the window was the practice scenery of the Soccer Club and the baseball club.
People are often told not to make noise in the nurse's office, but in reality, I've never seen anyone making noise there.
I was receiving treatment in that silent room.
Though, that just meant having a compress put on my swollen cheek.
"There, that's all. It's good to have energy, but you mustn't do things that make a girl cry."
She's misunderstanding something, but I deliberately said nothing.
"You too, don't push yourself too hard."
Kanna also seemed to have hit her hip hard when she was shoved, so she was having a compress applied.
"Thank you very much."
When Airi said that, Kanna and I also bowed our heads and left the nurse's office.
"Why did you do something like that?"
Kanna asked as we left the nurse's office.
"You're not that kind of person, right? I thought maybe you were being threatened."
"Are you an idiot? Because of that, you're in pain and she's crying. I didn't ask for that."
She said this while looking at Airi, whose eyes were still red and swollen.
Kanna's eyes were also red, though.
"I couldn't just leave it alone. It couldn't be helped."
"You really are an idiot... Since you went this far for me, I can't just stay silent."
Saying so, Kanna stopped for a moment, glanced at Airi, and spoke.
"Can I visit your house tonight?"
"Hmm? Then, shall we skip studying today?"
Airi said this with a bit of dissatisfaction.
"It's not that, it would be better if Tosaka-san were there too. I don't want to be misunderstood strangely."
"Well, I don't have a problem with it..."
Saying so, I glanced at Airi.
"Well, if that's the case, it can't be helped. Then, at the usual time..."
Airi sighed and nodded.
(４)
My room.
"Auntie's food is delicious as always."
Kanna lay down on the floor with a sigh.
You're making yourself too at home.
At that moment.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
It was Airi.
"Oh, Airi-chan, good evening. Thank you as always."
"No, it's more fun than doing it alone. Is Toya-kun upstairs?"
"Is that so? She's with Kanna-chan."
"Excuse me!"
The sound of the stairs creaking echoed.
Bam! The door was opened with force.
What entered Airi's field of vision was Kanna, lying with her feet pointed toward Airi, and me beside her.
"Otonashi-san, sit up!"
"Eh? Why?"
"Just sit up! Toya-kun, where were you looking!?"
"I-I wasn't looking at anything!"
Well, in the end, overwhelmed by Airi's intensity, I reluctantly sat cross-legged on a cushion.
Airi also sat down, though she looked like she still wanted to say something.
A few minutes passed with the three of us at the table.
For a while, silence flowed.
"Um..."
"So..."
Airi and Kanna started talking at the same time.
"Ah, sorry."
"No, please go ahead, Otonashi-san."
The air was somehow awkward.
Finally having summoned her resolve, Kanna began to speak softly.
"...I was told to sell."
"Eh?"
I asked back.
"I said I was told to sell my panties!"
I panicked a little. If my parents had brought tea or something, they would have undoubtedly heard her.
It was that loud of a voice.
Fortunately, they didn't come.
Airi said nothing, perhaps because her mind couldn't keep up with the sudden event.
Instead, I asked.
"And... did you sell them?"
"Like hell I would!"
Her face was bright red; I couldn't tell if she was angry or embarrassed.
Kanna's story continued.
"And then she said, 'That's normal where you're from, right? Don't be shy while dressing like that'..."
Sorry to everyone living in Tokyo.
I thought in my heart, but.
Kanna looked at me intently.
"Hey? Do I look that easy? Do I look flashy?"
I hesitated on the answer.
I didn't know if I should answer honestly.
Brown dyed hair and piercings in both ears. A skirt length so short you'd wonder how many centimeters it was above the knee.
She also seemed to be wearing pink lipstick.
"I think it is an appearance that invites misunderstanding."
Airi answered in my stead.
"I see, it was normal over there, though..."
Kanna looked crestfallen.
"However, I understand that you are not that kind of person."
Airi followed up.
"I see, so what do you think I should do?"
"First, you should do something about your clothing... Toya-kun, could you wait outside the room until I say it's okay?"
When told that, as I was about to leave the room, I encountered my mother, who had brought tea.
"W-what's wrong?"
Did she possibly hear the conversation just now?
"It's nothing, they just wanted to be alone, so I just stepped out. Ah, I'll take that."
Saying so, I took the tray she brought.
"It's fine, go back down."
Mother didn't go down and whispered in my ear.
"Is Kanna-chan involved in something terrible?"
"It's okay."
"You also came home with an injury today."
"A ball just hit me, don't worry."
At that moment.
"It's okay now—"
It was Airi's voice.
It was surprisingly fast.
"Well, Mother, that's that."
Leaving those words, I returned to my room.
Then, Kanna was standing there, fidgeting.
The length of her skirt had become longer.
"I didn't know this, but it wasn't that you cut it, was it?"
Airi said, laughing.
Is the impression this different just because the skirt length got longer?
When she let down the hair she had in a side-pony, the piercings were hidden and the flashiness had decreased significantly.
"Brown hair isn't that conspicuous, is it?"
"Maybe I should do it too?" Airi added.
"Also, it's better to hold back on the makeup. I think it's much better with that."
"Thanks, Tosaka-san."
"Airi is fine, I'll call you Kanna from now on too."
The two of them were becoming intimate in places I didn't know.
Before I knew it, they had even exchanged mobile numbers.
"Right, Toya too... ah, but..."
Kanna said this and glanced at Airi.
"I'm fine with it, if it's Kanna."
"Then, Toya..."
Saying so, I exchanged numbers with Kanna.
"Well, my business is done, so I'll go home."
"No way, since you're here, why not stay and study together?"
Airi called out to her.
"Nah, I'm no good at studying."
Kanna said, scratching her head.
"Toya-kun was like that at first too."
"Toya was able to do reasonably well at anything if he just did it."
"Kanna, you can do it too."
"But, it would be a bother to interrupt you two being alone at night..."
"Well, there's nothing going on, so it's fine, right?"
(Well, I am expecting something, though)
I added in my heart.
Under Airi's persistent recruitment, Kanna finally gave in.
"Then, well, let's make it from tomorrow. I haven't prepared anything for today."
"Decided. Then, from tomorrow! Also, come to Toya-kun's house tomorrow morning. Let's go to school together."
"Huh? Surely not that far... I'm not good with mornings..."
"If we go to school together, you won't be messed with by weirdos! Right, Toya-kun?"
"Well, I guess so."
"Then it's decided! You just have to come to Toya-kun's house by 8 o'clock."
Whether this strangely pushy side of Airi is a strength or a weakness.
"...Fine. 8 o'clock. If I'm late, just go on ahead."
"Okaay."
"Well, that's it for tonight."
"Ah, I'll walk you to the entrance."
Saying so, I left the room, leaving Airi alone.
"...I can say this for sure. She was the one who confessed, right?"
Kanna said one thing on her way out.
"...Well, yeah."
"Do your best so you don't get dumped! See ya."
"It's late, be careful on your way home."
"Yeah."
Saying so, Kanna left the house.
When I returned to the room, Airi was preparing for study.
"She's a good girl."
Airi said.
"Right? People aren't always what they seem, are they?"
In the first place, why did she end up like that?
She wasn't originally that kind of personality.
What happened in Tokyo?
I'll try asking her next time.
"Well, it's getting late, shall we do this quickly?"
"Yeah, I want to at least finish the homework."
Saying so, we returned to the usual time.
And finishing the study at the usual time, I walked her home.
And I was supposed to return after seeing her disappear into her house, but.
"!?"
Following yesterday, we shared a light kiss tonight as well.
Was it a slightly longer time than yesterday?
Because it was a dark road at night, I couldn't read her expression.
A short silence flowed.
And then.
"Well, see you tomorrow."
Saying so, she went into her house.
I also returned home, took a shower, and got into bed.
The clock had passed 23:00.
I turned off the lights to sleep.
Then, my phone rang.
I hurriedly picked it up.
"Hello, Toya?"
It was a call from Kanna.