Vol 6 Chapter 1 (1/2)

What's Missing from the Box[edit]

1[edit]

I's that have already co or other had definitely happened, say in elementary or middle school, all too often I could only stare blankly back at the an unsure ”Did it now?” in response And yet, though there were also experiences I shared with others, I was occasionally the only one able to retain lucidwhat it was that separated that which I would eventually forget and that which I would always remember

Tracing through ray of uncertain places and events—there were occasional moments of vivid recollection These mostly chronicled events like sports festivals, daytih the woods, while others covered pointless events I didn't dee of time, still found themselves somehow cemented in a special spot in e sense of admiration at their tenacity On the other hand, I realized there were also tiuishable froazine article-liketheet, raph you couldn't bear to throay For exa the whirlpools born froination sprung on by rows of i volu for the last book at a store on the way hoive it up in autumn What exactly was it that separated these otten?

Then there were : “I et this” Won't I always reht as well, under which I walked the city streets enveloped by a lukewaruess I won't be able to confir of mine until ten, twenty years in the future

It all began with a single phone call

2[edit]

I

It had been fairly clear out in the afternoon, but because the clouds gathered as the day set and see back into the sky, the night air around me was humid and none the cooler, despite the absent sun As everyone else insounded like it'd be a pain, so I peeked through the fridge in the hopes of finding leftovers or so else that didn't require effort to prepare and spotted some chilled noodles meant for yakisoba

I found some shriveled lettuce, dried enoki mushrooms, and stale bacon, so I cut the pan and threw in the noodles first, letting them sit there for the meantime White steam started to billoards from the pan, and I became soed to suppress

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that feeling in the end and waited a couple ofthe noodles apart every now and then I then transferred them—crunchy, al the other ingredients When those were cooked as well, Ichopsticks and poured Worcestershi+re sauce in the now erance wafted up from the pan and dyed the kitchen air around me with yakisoba tones I finally added the sauce to the noodles and lightly tossed the mixture With that was one order, ready to serve

I carried the plate froht out a pair of chopsticks with a glass of barley tea to finish my preparations On the table was so ”Class 3-I Reunion Notice” I don’t want to ietting sauce on it, so I moved the postcard to the letter rack, and finally, I was ready to dig in without any further distractions I brought ether, and just as I picked up the chopsticks, the phone started to ring

I looked up at the clock on the wall and it read exactly half past seven The nerve of someone to call at a time meant so perfectly for dinner To add to that, I was the only one home, so whoever they wanted to speak to was likely not even here in the first place At first, I was just going to let it continue ringing as I picked up the stea so incessant and sincere that ignoring it any further caused a strange feeling of guilt to well up frohed and put my chopsticks back down I stood up and picked up the receiver

”Yes?”

”hello, is Oreki-kun—”

I had assu to be for my father or sister, but the voice fro one I was all too fa fro suddenly switched from his polite tone to his usual one

”Houtarou?”

”Yeah”

”Whehat a relief I didn't think you'd be the one to answer I'd have no idea what to say if that sister of yours picked up the phone instead”

Although it ht've been fortuitous for Satoshi+ fukube, I couldn't say the same for me

”Sorry, but for every second I talk with you, ets colder and colder”

”What?! Yakisoba you say?! What a tragedy!”

Yes, a tragedy, indeed

”I'et to the point, then”

I heard laughter in his voice ”You wouldn't have this probleot a cellphone already That's not what I wanted to talk about, though I was hoping you'd take a little ith me You free after this?”

As I wasn't really the type of person to party late into the night, I rarely left the house after dinner It’s not like it wasn't unheard of, though Thinking back on it that's right I had gone on an evening stroll with Satoshi+ once before I glanced at the clock again It'd probably take me fifteen minutes or so to finish the yakisoba, and soe

”Yeah, I can leave at about eight”

”Okay I'lad to hear that Should I come pick you up?”

I drew a map in my head of the distance between both of our houses I' to co he was the one who asked uess there was no reason to bully hiht up a location that was more or less an equal distance between our houses

”Let's e”

”Sounds good It'd be terrible to let your yakisoba get any cooler, so let's continue our conversation then See ya”

The call pro reer would only annoy me; that sensitivity was just like him

When I returned to the table, the surface of the yakisoba had in fact cooled With a simple one, two tosses of what previously seean to rise from the dish once more

Moonlight pierced down through the thin clouds in the sky, and a damp wind bleeen thea wool shi+rt at first but ihttied into a cotton one instead

Although I couldn't fita bag with me sounded like a hassle At the same time, however, I couldn't really rely on Satoshi+ to coverto spend money and I didn't have any on me, so I took two thousand yen notes from my wallet and put them into my shi+rt's pocket I stuck my thumbs into my pants pockets and left the house at the proht fell early in Kamiyama City, and the narrow streets had already descended into soft silence

Although I didn't really rush at all, I ed to arrive at our rendezvous point in less than ten e,” it was exceedingly co at wasn't even called that in the first place It was called that, as you inal naotten all too easily The area itself was often crowded in the afternoon because of the banks and the post office nearby, but I had no idea it becae, illuhts, but I saw no one there How strange, I thought, I thought he would've left first As I looked around, however, a hand suddenly touched my shoulder from behind

”Evening”

Although I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised, I wasn't that taken aback either It's possible I sensed his surprise attack when I didn't see hi around, I responded with a simple ”Hey”

”What a let-down Where's the love?”

Satoshi+ circled in front of rin on his face, but it felt like there was so hidden behind his smile His eyes didn't e as he continued

”Where should we go now?”

”I'll leave it up to you”

I didn't have s, so I didn't knoas norhttiet a little uess we can't go through the streets with all the bars They're pretty scary”

”Probably, yeah, Mr General Committee Vice President”

”There’s a family restaurant up ahead if we follow the bypass It's open 24 hours”

That was far, though We wouldn't be able to get there without a car, or at least a bicycle I guess Satoshi+ wasn't being serious, however, as he continued, ”Well, let's just see where the wind takes us”

I didn't htest

Satoshi+ crossed Akabashi+ Bridge and started to follow a s the city river There was more water in it than usual, probably a result of the rainy season, and I could hear the gushi+ng sounds of its strong currents There were no streetlights in this part of the city, so I could only rely on the glow seeping fro houses and the occasionally hidden moon to see my path That said, my eyes eventually becanarled knothole in an aging wooden fence, past a curiously constructed sake bar with a traditional ball of interwoven cedar leaves functioning as a customer chime from the eaves, past the front of a rundown public bath with a ”closed” sign lying on its side, alked slowly through the city night

Embankments had been constructed on both sides of the river, and they looked soood nu them were some that curved out above the water's surface, al theht I suddenly stopped and placed a hand on one of those roadside trees Its surface was abundant with stiff bumps and protrusions, and its leaves resembled a shi+so's in size It was a cherry blossom tree I bet this was a popular spot for cherry blosso, and these well-kept streets al seasons At thisthem, and these trees which have already discarded their blossonized for their true nature without a closer look It seemed a bit sad, but what can you do? Time moves on

I lifted ?”

Satoshi+ hadn't called ht, of course

Sure, our friendshi+p had gone on for some time, but it wasn't all that deep We rarely ever ether, it was usually only because we finished up at school at the same time The fact that Satoshi+ had calledhe needed to talk about, and not only that, it also ent to put off until to ears at school

The Satoshi+ I knew often beat around the bush, but tonight, that wasn't the case

”I'm in a difficult situation,” he said as he started to walk once more

”I don't want anything to do with trouble”

”Trouble, huh? At the very least, I can say with certainty that I' part of it forto do with my situation”

Unable to cohtly in response He shrugged and continued

”In other words, the trouble for me is that I need to ask you for your help, Houtarou, even though you have absolutely zero stake in it”

”I see If I were to go along with your request—”

”—it would go against your motto, 'If you don't have to do it, you won't'”

What Satoshi+ was saying was correct in principle, but I had already rushed to finishhi to do withthe sauce-covered frying pan right now at home instead

”Well, you can tellon at least”

Satoshi+ nodded ”You're too good to me You remember that the student council president election was held today, right?”

”Yeah”

Although it had happened et After school ended, we casted our votes for the next student council president as the terayama, came to a close

At Kah School, this election period was set to last for a week During that period, the candidates put up posters all throughout the school grounds,school-wide assemblies, and debated one another over the interco club All of that came to a close yesterday, and today e voted

”Do you remember the candidates?”

I racked my mind for the answer to Satoshi+'s question ”There were two no, three people I think”

He returned an almost sad smile

”I was going for names, but to think you didn't even remember how uess you'd have to pay attention to know that Our school is bursting at the seae clubs, but the student council doesn't really stand out in comparison”

”That's true The candidates were both sophomores, too”

”You remember that, huh? It's only natural they were sophoot here in April, and the seniors are going to be busy taking tests now”

I guess hearing the reason did make it pretty obvious

”It was a face-off between Haruto Obata froht think everything ended after the voting, but I was actually one of the people tallying the votes”

I wasn't that interested in how the Kah School student council president election worked from behind the scenes, but his statement certainly piqued my curiosity The jack-of-all-trades Satoshi+ fukube is involved in a variety of clubs and groups, just for the hell of it Especifically, he was a member of the Classics and Handicrafts Clubs and had been involved with the general committee ever since he was a fresh as its vice president No anizations in our school, even I remembered that there was an election administration committee as well

”What happened with the election?” I asked

Right as I did, Satoshi+ smiled ”Of course, it's the election administration committee that's responsible for the ballot boxes and vote counting I was in charge of the oversight A school elections, there's a regulation stating that there has to be at least two students overseeing the vote counting process The rules say that the only qualification needed to beone of the candidates or in the election committee So apparently, you used to be able to apply for it Now, though, it's becoeneral couess it would be a pain to have to search for people to do it every time”

Although he explained it so smoothly for me, it was precisely that lack of hesitation thatabout, after all As if picking up on my doubts, he quickly continued

”I' Not one bit!” he insisted repeatedly

”Fine, fine So?”

”There was a proble”

I see

”At present, Kah School has 1,049 students, that is to say, 1,049 eligible voters”

When I first enrolled, there were 350 freshht classes, so Satoshi+'s nurades

He let out a forced sigh ”So, we totaled the votes and we found out that there were 1,086 submissions”

”How…?”

It slipped from my mouth before I realized it I'd understand it if there ended up being fewer votes than students Soht've abstained, after all But ravely

”I have no idea Taking into account the absent students, the ones that left early, and those who just didn't want to vote, I wouldn't really care if the total number of votes was any less, but if the number is more than the possible limit, you can't chalk it up to just a simple mistake”

He paused for a second and then continued

”Someone did this out of spite”

I said nothing in return

Just as Satoshi+ had said, judging solely by the information I had at the moment, I found it hard to believe this situation ca it was out of spite seeh, and it was probablylike that What did seem certain, however, was that somebody had somehow diluted the votes

”In reality, the final tally showed that the difference in votes closely corresponded with the nuitimate ones were all blank, then that ed anyways The problele rooainst the rules took place, the election administration committee would have to hold another election I don't really care who put in the illegitiin to co this, I doubt I'll even be able to figure out who did it in the end What I have to figure out is hoas even able to cast those votes in the first place”

””

”The ement of the official ballots was so half-assed, anyone could've created new ones All you had to do, after all, was mark the paper with the official sta around in the council rooe to slip those ballots in with the rest? There's a hole soh School student council president election process As long as we continue to leave it unsealed, this kind of thing will continue to be possible, and conversely, even if future elections o off without a hitch, we'll never be able to be certain that there wasn't an illegitimate vote submitted somewhere”

”Makes sense”

”I've thought about it a lot o That's why, even though I didn't want to, I called you, Houtarou”

Satoshi+ broke off

If that's was all he was going to say, then I pretty ist of the situation I scratched h the clouds before dropping aze down to my feet

”It looks like I should be getting back now,” I said

The s the river and passed by two bridges We headed upstream, but how far did it continue like that? I suppose it was already too late to go on an adventure to find the source, though

”You're going ho as if he'd aluess it was a bit too much to ask for, after all”

It wasn't that I thought he was asking for too much; the only problem was that he’d made a mistake I'm sure he was fully aware of that himself but wanted to put it out there anyways

”Well, so others is all it takes to help yourself understand it better, so I don'tat least I'd appreciate it if you could leave that for to for me back home, and if I don't take care of the like sauce”

”It ht be a little too late for that”

He had a point I should open all the s the second I get home

A light approached us fro in the opposite direction Until it passed us by, neither of us opened our mouths

Satoshi+ finally broke the silence

”To”

”Considering that you need to post the results by the end of the day at the latest, I guess I can understand That should be the election coh”

A sh escaped my lips, and I continued

”I knew you joined the handicrafts club and general co I personally can't understand for the life of me—but I was a little surprised when I heard you becaeneral committee activities partly for fun, so I never expected that you of all people would accept an official position Did soe your mind?”

”Yeah I guess you could say that”

”I see I'ratulate you or not, but that aside, just because you've taken on a role full of responsibilities like that doesn't et involved in any of its probleation as a student in our school to help maintain the soundness of our election system?”

He returned a conflicted smile

”I'd never be able to say so totalitarian like that Someone like me's much more suited to a bureaucracy”

”I'd say so A nightti for a conversation with Satoshi+ fukube, but if it's for a consultation with the general committee vice president, leave it for the committee room”

Satoshi+ didn't seem all too ruffled by my response, but replied with a hint of loneliness, not necessarily in jest

”You sure don't mince your words, do you”

It's true that I may have been too harsh, but Satoshi+ had only himself to blame If he refused to talk to me without a facade, then I had no choice but to reply in kind with my own—one of rejection of responsibility

As I thus concluded lanced at him out of the corner of my eye and started to speak

”So? What are you hiding?”

”Hiding? What do you mean?

Putting aside Satoshi+'s story of the s didn't add up The first point hat I mentioned earlier: namely, why did he come to me for help? The second point, however, was even more fundamental

”Don't play du should be the election co about it you should've had nothing to do with it in the first place, Mr General Committee Vice President”

According to Satoshi+'s story, the general committee's president and vice president were responsible for nothing itimate votes were certainly ato solve it? He had remained silent about this point

To think that Satoshi+, self-proclaimed natural denizen of bureaucracy, would rise above his post and pure-heartedly try and unravel the proble the election system for the sake of justice I refused to believe it I suppose it was theoretically possible that he had intervened as a et around the restrictions holding the election committee back, but I was just as ready to crumple that delusion up and throw it out with the rest of the burnable trash on collection day Satoshi+ hied, but I found it ie that drastic and fundamental That's hen he, someone who always joked around but never uttered even a word of coht to ask for help, I knew there was more to the story

”What i' the reason why you yourself want to solve the mystery”

Satoshi+ smiled faintly

”I just can't hen it comes to you”

I smiled as well

”I'lad you've come to terms with it You shouldn't even be surprised at this point”

”I guess so I thought I could hide it from you, but so much for that”

Satoshi+ ju to so backwards as he spoke

”I' froh I caI needed to hide, but you know”

Although I wanted to tell hi about, we've already known each other for a long ti I did

”The adhtly—not really the kind of person that others tend to feel fondly about,” said Satoshi+ as he put his hands together behind his head ”He acts all high and h school committee, you know? I'uy that just isn't satisfied without telling so around,' even if they're working hard like always His favorite phrases are: 'Don't go deciding everything for yourself' and 'Figure it out yourself;' I heard them five times already, just today”

I knew there were people like that, but this was the first tie If his descriptions were in fact accurate, I'd iine he orst case scenario for someone like Satoshi+ to deal with He continued

”Though, you were right, Houtarou I didn't have anything to do with him”

”Which means it looks like someone else was involved”

”Sharp as always”

Satoshi+ gave me a thumbs-up

”It was a freshman member of the election administration committee, from Class E I don't remember his name I probably heard it at soetic kid, always saying 'Right away!' when so I don't think ould've gotten along, but I could tell he always did what he was supposed to well tried, at least He was pretty short; looked like a middle school student”

”I can see where this is going”

”Can you? Well hear me out until the end, at least For one reason or another—maybe he was really efficient or his class worked hard to finish quickly—he was the first person toarea in the council rooot there—and if you ask me it was the president's fault—he messed up the proper procedures”

Satoshi+ put his hands out in front of hi an invisible box

”You probably know this already, considering you voted as well, but in Ka their ballots into the designated ballot boxes Those boxes are then taken to the council room and—and this is the important part—opened in front of the overseers Mr Class 1-E opened the box up before the overseers came and spread out the votes in the middle of the table”

I thought for aa deal, though”

”Me too The overseers' sole job is to make sure that the boxes are co it to the classroo out the votes, before the tallying begins I did confirm that Mr Class 1-E's box was, in fact, eue that we did actually follow protocol But the election committee president insisted that there was no way to know for sure that he didn't dilute the votes while the overseers weren't present”

I see

”Putting aside the mistake co that he was the culprit,” I said

”Everyone else felt the same way Even I did But apparently the election co to protocol, so there wasn't any chance for soitimate votes with the rest That's why he decided that the fault couldn't have possibly lain with anyone else, and of course, verbally lashed out at the freshman”

Satoshi+ suddenly paused for a brief

”The fresh, you know”

So that's what it was

What it all boiled down to was: Satoshi+ wanted to prove there was another point at which it would've been possible to h no one had asked him to, all for the sake of some nameless underclassman who had been verbally abused far beyond the justified amount for his minor mistake

Completely taken aback, I could only offer this in response:

”I swear you never change, do you? Always playing the hero in the shadows”

He smiled hesitantly back

”Give ry, is all Besides, if you don'texcuses, it wasn't like I felt it was absolutely necessary to rely on your insight I thought it would've been si It turns out our elections are surprisingly foolproof”

”Didn't we have a sihttime walk like this?”

”Yeah that was back in our last year of s me back”

I stared at Satoshi+ fukube Overall he looked frail and somewhat unreliable, and yet, his expression alone was bri with confidence—the same Satoshi+ I've always known

He wasn't particularly kind or gentle, nor did he even have a strong sense of integrity In my opinion, however, what he did have, even if it didn't show on his face, was a stronger than nors I dismissed with a ”Well, that's life,” he would furrow his brow and do everything in his power to fix ithin his reach

That aside, however, I guess I could understand where he was coure it out as part of soeneral committee and Kamiya ood one for the sake of a crying freshman

Part ofwhy he didn't tell me that at the start

A gust of wind blew through the town

3[edit]