Chapter 63 - Katagiri Toya
(1)
"Toya-kun, morning~"
I catch Airi as she throws herself at me.
The usual Airi check.
Her hair smells nice. She isn't wearing perfume.
Clothing, the usual uniform.
Face, she's wearing light makeup. I prefer it when she doesn't, but she gets angry if I say so, so I don't.
...Yeah, everything is as usual.
"You're beautiful."
"Thanks~"
A bird kiss, which has become a fixed routine every morning recently.
I wonder how we don't get tired of it every single morning.
Me included.
"Shall we head out soon?"
When I say that after enjoying ten minutes of skinship, she nods with a beaming smile.
Kanna was waiting in the living room.
"Yo, Toya."
"Morning, Kanna."
Is Kanna in a good mood?
Did something good happen after that?
The prefectural tournament soccer ended with Ida High winning the championship.
With this, they've secured the right to participate in the Inter-High.
That means Kanna will be spending her summer vacation alone.
Isn't she lonely?
"Nah, I'll be preoccupied with part-time jobs anyway."
Kanna is unusually cheerful.
Did something happen after all?
"What's up, Kanna? Did something good happen after that~?"
That's way too direct, Airi.
"Well, yeah. A lot happened."
"What happened~?"
I strain my ears to listen while eating breakfast.
"It's a secret from Toya."
Eh?
"Kidding, kidding. I just thought having a secret between just me and Makoto wouldn't be so bad."
"Eeeh~ I'm so jealous~"
Airi says it enviously.
Airi looks at me and speaks.
"I wonder if we have any secrets that are just between the two of us~"
Airi is usually the one exposing everything, though.
"...If you say it now, it won't be a secret, right?"
"Ah, I guess so. You're right."
"After exposing things like that, what kind of secrets could there possibly be at this point?"
"Huh?"
"Y-You idiot..."
Saying that, she looks at my parents' faces.
It seems they were listening to the conversation.
"W-Well, I admit it, but..."
"Be careful, Airi-chan too."
"Yeees!"
Airi answers energetically, whether she understands or not.
So this is a conversation between parents and a girlfriend.
"By the way, Toya-kun, time's up!"
She points to the clock.
Crap!
I hurriedly get ready.
"You never change..."
Mother said, looking exasperated.
(2)
"Good morning, Ijuin-san."
"Ijuin-san, you're beautiful today as well."
I smile back at the boys who greet me.
Annoying.
That's what I thought internally.
Romance isn't necessary for high school life. It's a hindrance to studying.
That's what I thought.
However, I suffered a humiliation during the first test after enrollment.
For the first time ever, I had fallen to second place.
The name in first place was Tosaka Airi.
Just how much does she study?
Fortunately, we are in the same class.
I observed her.
And then, what do you know.
Without even reviewing at all, she heads toward Katagiri-kun's seat every single break, saying "Toya-kun~".
Apparently, she even makes his portion of the lunch bento and they eat together.
There were students who teased them for how much they flirted, but it had no effect at all.
On the contrary, it resulted in them fighting or flirting even more.
It was a sight unimaginable from him, who usually just spaces out.
Is he a delinquent?
Looking at how he usually spaces out, he doesn't seem like one.
An elusive personality.
Before I knew it, I had become interested in him.
Let me be clear, it's not that I have feelings for him.
I just became interested for some reason.
Toya Katagiri
1st year high school.
Hobbies: None in particular
Special skill: Soccer (not in a club)
Has a girlfriend.
But he seems more interested in food than his girlfriend.
Grades: Upper-middle.
Well, I suppose he's neither exceptional nor deficient.
Information I heard from a boy who went to the same middle school as him.
"What? Do you have a thing for Katagiri?"
A boy speculates maliciously.
"It's nothing like that."
I respond with a smile.
More and more, I don't understand the reason why Tosaka-san is dating him.
As I thought, I have no choice but to ask someone close to Katagiri-kun.
(3)
"Toya's good points?"
Otonashi-san asked back.
I nod.
"Let's see, for better or worse, he's got nothing."
Huh?
"He's clumsy, he has no motivation, and he's all smiles and breezy with everyone."
Isn't that the typical type of a useless man?
"Above all, he prioritizes food over his girlfriend. As far as the person dating him is concerned, he's the worst."
The worst...
There are zero elements to fall in love with.
While I was thinking that, Otonashi-san grinned.
"If I put it that way, there's absolutely nothing to like about him, right?"
Absolutely nothing.
"But you see, just by adding a certain element, it changes completely."
What is this certain element?
"I guess it's the way he pulls off things that normal people can't."
...?
"You'd better not pay too much attention to Toya. Even if you get involved with him clumsily and fall for him now, Airi is there..."
"That is absolutely impossible."
I don't understand the meaning of listing his bad points and then telling me to be careful because I might fall for him.
What part of a man like that could one possibly like?
Hmm...
Maybe it's best to ask the person directly?
"Toya-kun's good points?"
I tried asking Tosaka-san directly.
"Hmm... that's difficult~"
Eh?
"Now that you ask, there aren't any~. He's got nothing but eating on his mind. He has no motivation. He feels like he does everything reluctantly. He's clumsy. He's dense..."
You can really run down your own boyfriend to that extent, can't you?
Couldn't you defend him a little bit?
"Then, why did you fall in love with him?"
"Eh?"
"You're dating Katagiri-kun, right? Aren't you dating him because you like him?"
"I love him."
She answers with a beaming smile.
"The pattern of falling for a useless man?"
"That's not it~"
"Then, what part of him did you fall for?"
"Maybe it was triggered by something very trivial. But there are parts that only become visible because we're dating. Including the useless parts I mentioned earlier, I guess everything is the reason why I like him?"
"That's not an answer."
"Akira, you'll understand if you try falling in love. It's not logical. The answer doesn't come out like a mathematical formula."
"I don't have the luxury to spend time on such things."
"I see~, well, Akira has Akira's own values. Yeah."
Tosaka-san is convinced on her own, but I cannot understand it at all.
Liking him including the useless parts?
Does that mean it looks that way because she's seeing him through the rose-colored glasses of a girlfriend?
It's not that he's useless.
It's not logical. There is no clear answer like a mathematical formula.
That's what I've been told repeatedly by other people.
Triggered by something trivial?
Isn't that just unfortunate?
It felt like something I would not be able to understand.
(4)
Art class.
It was while we were taking a sketching lesson in the art room.
While the teacher in charge was away, horseplay began among the boys.
A piece of paper saying "I am an idiot" was stuck to Kuroki-kun's back.
Kuroki-kun tries to peel it off, but Takeshita-kun, the culprit who stuck it, intimidates him as if to say "Don't you dare peel it off."
Nobody says anything.
Katagiri-kun, who was behind them, is scratching his head as if it's a bother.
I also pretended not to see.
At that moment, Katagiri-kun stood up.
Then, as he approached Kuroki-kun, he peeled off the paper from his back with a rip, saying, "Heh, Kuroki-kun, you're good at drawing, aren't you?"
"Katagiri, what the hell do you think you're doing!"
Takeshita-kun stands up and shouts.
"Ah, this belongs to Takeshita-kun. I'll give it back."
Saying that, he stuck it on Takeshita-kun's back with a pat.
An infuriated Takeshita-kun grabbed Katagiri-kun's drawing, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it in the trash.
Katagiri-kun silently picked it up, smoothed it out neatly, and began to draw again.
He should have just not done anything unnecessary.
He should have been able to predict it would turn out like that, right?
When he submitted the drawing at the end of class, Katagiri-kun was naturally scolded.
He receives the reprimand with vacant eyes.
When Kuroki-kun tries to say something, he raises his right index finger and wags it toward him.
Because of that gesture, the reprimand lasts even longer.
When class ends, Kuroki-kun thanks Katagiri-kun, but he listens as if it's a bother.
If it's such a bother, he shouldn't have done it...
I asked him directly.
"Why did you act like you were helping Kuroki-kun? Were you trying to look cool? If so, you're quite the idiot."
After thinking for a while, Katagiri-kun answered.
"Does helping someone need a reason..."
Poke
Tosaka-san flicks Katagiri-kun's head.
"I told you to stop saying lines from movies or manga!"
"It's not from a movie or manga!"
"Then what!?"
"...A game,"
Katagiri-kun says in a small voice.
"...It's the same thing,"
Otonashi-san says, looking exasperated.
"I was worried, you know. Doing things like defying Takeshita-kun again... you knew it would be bad if you were targeted, right?"
"It couldn't be helped. My body just moved on its own... ah, this part is original!"
Katagiri-kun asserts something that doesn't matter.
"You don't get it, do you?"
Otonashi-san spoke to me.
"Yes, I don't get it at all. Isn't he just an idiot?"
"Yeah, he's just an idiot. From the outside, anyway. For someone who acts like it's a bother, he does things that aren't worth the effort."
"...Are you trying to say that's his good point?"
"The way people take it probably differs from person to person. But it resonated with Airi's heart, right?"
"It's hard to understand."
"That's fine. Toya isn't doing it for someone else. He's not doing it to get someone's attention. He's just moving as he feels."
"...You're praising him quite a bit, aren't you? Did you like Katagiri-kun too, Otonashi-san?"
"...I got rejected, though,"
Otonashi-san says, laughing.
Acting as one feels.
There is no logic or reason there.
Acting naturally regardless of profit or loss.
Then, what is he thinking and feeling when he acts?
Will he continue to live like that in the future?
I asked Katagiri-kun.
"Katagiri-kun. You'll ruin yourself one day. Think about the consequences a little before you act. What are you thinking, and what are you feeling as you live?"
Katagiri-kun tilts his head.
"I'm not thinking anything in particular. ...But I believe that even if I'm ruined, Airi will still be there for me."
"W-Wait, what are you saying?"
Tosaka-san is flustered.
She pokes Katagiri-kun repeatedly.
"Ow! I thought I said something pretty good!"
"Don't say such unlucky things as being ruined!! ...Because I'm here, I'll absolutely never let you be ruined."
Will these two always be like this from now on?
I often see them bickering, but they always seem happy.
These two must be tied together by a deep bond that is hard for others to understand.
Is that... what it means to like someone?
...I feel like I understand just a little bit.
And I've become just a little bit interested too.
It's impossible for Katagiri-kun, but I wonder if such a partner will appear for me too?
"You thought you were a little jealous, didn't you?"
Otonashi-san asked.
"Well, just a little,"
I respond.
Though it's more than just a little.
And another interest sprouted.
"Hey, Katagiri-kun?"
I call out to Katagiri-kun, who is frolicking with Airi.
"What?"
"I feel like I've somehow understood the reason why Tosaka-san fell in love with you. But I've become interested in the reason why you fell in love with Tosaka-san. What is it?"
"W-Wait, Akira,"
Tosaka-san cuts in.
It's not something to hide at this point, right?
"Hmm... I feel like it's mostly the same reason why Airi fell in love with me. I admired her long ago, and while dating, I liked her more and more."
Katagiri-kun says nonchalantly.
"Uuu... Toya-kun never says things like that when he's with me!"
"I'm always saying it. 'I love you' ...Ow!"
"Idiot! You don't have to say it now!"
I don't quite get it, but the common point is that the bond deepens more and more by getting to know each other.
Indeed, there may be no answer.
I may not be able to compete with Tosaka-san.
To have someone who understands him this much.
I wonder if someone like that will appear before me too.
Looking at the two of them, for the first time, I began to take an interest in the thing called love.