Volume 27 Chapter 4 (2/2)
However, that concern was unnecessary
The ht were a couple arrived at the entrance to the cine under control as he walked over to the ticket counter
Well then, which one will it be Yoshi+no and Chisato-san nervously awaited the outcome Well, they didn't really have much time to really take it all in They followed him, because they had to buy the same tickets
Without hesitation, he stood in front of one of the ticket s
(Huh?)
”Two adults”
The ticket asn't for either of the
”Did you get them?”
The pair locked arms, and headed towards the movie theater entrance
”Please hurry The movie will start any moment now Next customer?”
The lady at the ticket counter addressed the two that had been left behind, dumbstruck
There was no point in co It was a rod that they'd made for their own back
”Two high-school students”
The tickets that had despairingly been purchased were for:
” … 'The Tale of the Blood-stained Mansion'”
- As suggested by the title, this was quite obviously a horror film
At the same time, shi+mako was in the food area in the department store basement
She was conscious of the girl in the Lillian's high-school uniform as separated fro in and out of her field of vision, and for the umpteenth time that day silently asked herself, ”Why?”
Why was she going on the exact same date as last year?
(No)
The 'exact same' was a faulty expression
Last year, shi+ that currently hung froetables dish, and the paper bag in her left hand contained baked cheesecake
(Moreover)
Last year they'd worn street clothes, while this year they were in uniforet, her partner was different too
”Sorry for keeping you waiting Did you make your purchases?”
”Yes This is the cake And this is the seafood”
As she said this, shi+e A couple of ten- and one-yen coins Since she'd bought exactly what she'd been told, the iven was almost exactly spot on
”But three-hundred grams of each, don't you think it's a bit too much?”
Perhaps not hearing what shi+s and looked at what she had bought
”Fried chicken and onigiri You don't have a microwave in the Rose Mansion, do you?”
”Ah, no”
”There was soainst it No ood it looks, when it cools the cheese hardens, and it won't taste the same”
”That's true”
As they headed towards the bus terminal on the north side of the station, shi+ their date?
The girl by her side was heading directly to the exit, her head fixed looking straight ahead
She'd called herself a fan of shi+mako's Yet, since the first time they'd met, Ami-san had never looked at her with a happy expression
At first, shi+ht this was because she was nervous But they'dthe date Surely she should have loosened up during that
So then shi+ht that maybe this was just her nature That her face was normally expressionless, that such was her personality, and that shi+mako wasn't the only one that she looked at with a stony expression
However, that was incorrect
One day during the previous week, shi+h the corridor on the first-floor of the school building
It was one of those rare mild February days, with few clouds, and you could almost mistake it for April or May Consequently, there were a lot of students who had taken their lunches out into the courtyard and were chatting y as they walked through the corridor
”Ah”
Noriko called out, drawing close to the glass
”It's her, right, shi+mako-san?”
Where Noriko pointed did indeed include Igawa Aure She ith another of her classainst the wall of the opposite building, obviously talking about so or other
”How did you know?”
shi+ Ami-san's desire to avoid any outside attention, Noriko would never have gone to her classroom and asked after her Then, somewhat aardly, Noriko admitted:
”I orried about what kind of person she was, so, this irl was the one who opened the peach group locker with 'Igawa' written on it, and changed into the indoor shoes kept inside … I'm sorry”
”It's alright, you don't have to apologize”
It was unlikely that anyone could get the wrong i in the first-year shoe-box area
”So, what did you think?”
shi+mako asked, as she looked at Ami-san Since Noriko had been worried about what sort of person Ami-san was, shi+ the real deal
”We-ll She did seeot from you, shi+mako-san, but it definitely looked like there was a part of her like that”
”I see”
Even shi+mako herself felt that occasionally Just what kind of person was Ami-san really?
At that moment
”Huh?”
Suddenly, Ahed too Iteach other on the shoulder as they laughed together
”Like a different person … ”
Noriko's dumbfounded voice made its way to shi+mako's ears
A watched by the white Rose sisters, continued to laugh
So, given that, shi+mako was unable to come to a satisfactory conclusion
The Ami-san that she'd seen in the courtyard that day may have been the real A her partner was the problely put souard
”Rosa Gigantea”
Hearing this, shi+mako looked towards Ami-san, and saw the bus that went past Lillian's Girls Acade into the terminal
”Please get on ahead of me I'll follow some time later”
”Okay”
As instructed, shi+mako obediently boarded the bus She didn't bother to ask why She'd become accustomed to this pattern
Since the bus had only just arrived, it was quite e to sit beside her, shi+mako sat down at one of the double seats towards the back of the bus Filling theseat, leaving the aisle seat open
Inside the bus, with neither the sound of the engine nor the announcer, shi+o by outside She hadn't checked the tiain soon
Two girls were laughing as they walked across the pedestrian crossing in front of the train station
(Oh)
shi+ looked familiar about them, then realized it was Mami-san and Hidemi-san If it had just been one or the other, then it's possible that it could have been a case oftheir school uniforether left no doubt
(They look like they're having fun)
It was possible that they weren't on a date but were instead collecting infor the of jealousy to swell up in shi+mako's heart She wondered if she and Aether like that
A girl in a Lillian's uniforht it was A her coht behind the driver
The driver started the engine Just as the door started to close, Aot on board As shi+mako expected, Ale seat right in the middle of the bus Perhaps she would have sat beside her if there wasn't that other Lillian's student in the front Who knows
”Thank-you for riding with us again today, this bus is - ”
The announcer called out, and the bus slowly started to move
They were going from the front of the train station to the front of Lillian's Girls Academy But they were both still separated
Even though they were taking the sa they would be very different dates
Winding the clock back a bit
It's 8:50am Yumi is at M station
They had arranged to meet at 9, but she hadn't been sure what traffic would be like on a Sunday , so she'd left home with plenty of time to spare The roads hadn't been all that busy but the bus hadn't arrived on time As a result, she'd arrived just a little bit early
Yuate, and five minutes later Touko-chan appeared
”Gokigenyou”
Beneath a shortish red coat Touko-chan earing a long denim skirt She had on short-heeled shoes, or, rather, fashi+onable leather boots Seeing her outfit, Yuh of relief
”That's good It seems my choices weren't too out of line”
”Huh?”
”Ion a mystery tour, so I couldn't take into account our destination I'd been puzzling over what to wear the entire time”
At that point, Touko-chan finally understood, and said, ”Ahh”
Incidentally, a mystery tour is one where the participants don't know the destination until they arrive The lady that lives next door to Yuo on them quite often, and it's all anticipation and excite, or whether to buy souvenirs along the way, and so on The previous year, she'd brought a salted salmon back as a souvenir from her mystery tour, and shared it with the fukuzawa family
Well, with only 2000 yen each, they weren't going to be participating in any group travel booking So while it was still a et tour that traveler Matsudaira had wracked her brains to come up with
”See, if I'd worn a frilly skirt and ent , it wouldn't end well But if I wore jeans and a t-shi+rt then they wouldn't let us in at a fancy restaurant”
People varied their clothes based on where they were going
”Since we have to be back within the day, even if entof a mountain, so a skirt wouldn't be a proble a 2000-yen lunch, then there's no restaurant around here that would refuse you entry just because you're in jeans, right?”
Touko-chan said In other words, it wasn't so too worried about
”Well, I guess Still, you called it a mystery, so I didn't knohat to expect”
Consequently, Yue wool slacks and a black turtle-neck sweater, then throwing on her usual duffel coat as she left She'd initially put on her sneakers, then thought better of it, and swapped theth boots
But seeing what Touko-chan earing had filled her with confidence It appeared they weren't goingor to a fancy restaurant
”Well, shall we get going?”
”But, what about the tickets?”
Yu at the ticket machines Touko-chan may have had a train pass, but Yumi went to school by bus, so she'd have to buy a ticket to get past the gate
”We won't be buying them here There's no need to”
”Huh?”
True to her words, Touko-chan headed away fro her way through the waves of people, and heading down the stairs
And then
”First we'll be taking a bus”
Touko-chan said, then headed towards a bus terminal that serviced a different company to the one Yumi took to school