3.4
Thirty minutes after I’d spoken with Horikita’s older brother, I watched Katsuragi approach. He wore the same thing he’d had on yesterday and held some kind of shopping bag. Perhaps it contained his purchase.
What’s this all about? I wondered.
There was still some time left before the twenty-ninth. But if Katsuragi was carrying the gift with him now, that probably meant he planned on handing it over immediately. Right?
At any rate, I still wanted to know why he was wearing his uniform. Maybe he planned to meet with this person in formal wear, but I honestly couldn’t imagine doing something so important while wearing a uniform in the heat. I held my breath as I watched Katsuragi arrive at the crossroads.
He didn’t take the path toward the upperclassmen’s dorms. Unbelievably, he headed in a direction I hadn’t expected: towards the school. I followed, taking care that he didn’t notice me.
“That’s why he’s wearing his uniform, huh?”
I finally understood. He wasn’t doing so because he liked the uniform—it was to enter the school building. Katsuragi walked straight through the main entrance, and I couldn’t just follow. Entering the school building while wearing casual clothes was forbidden.
Did you meet Katsuragi?!
My cell phone vibrated with a rather thoughtless chat message, undoubtedly sent by someone back in their room. I deliberately put my phone away, then changed my plan of attack.
I headed toward the shop where Katsuragi had picked out the present yesterday at the Keyaki Mall. Curious about the kinds of things sold in the other stores, I initially entered a shop that catered specifically to girls, but couldn’t understand the difference between the items on sale. In the end, I returned to the shop where Katsuragi had been the other day. I stood before the stacks of chocolate boxes and tried to picture him buying the gift for a man, but it didn’t seem very likely. The boxes had flourishes such as hearts and other designs that would appeal primarily to girls.
“Ha ha ha! I know, right?”
Some boisterous female students passed behind me. I felt a light thump on my back.
“Oof.”
Reflexively, my elbow brushed the stacks of boxes. The chocolates came tumbling down in an avalanche. The girls, completely absorbed in their conversation, did not notice the tragedy that had just unfolded. They kept on walking.
“Jeez,” I muttered. I'd like them to notice me at least a little…
“What are you doing?”
“Geh!”
As I frantically tried to re-shelve the boxes, a giant man called out to me. It was Katsuragi. He looked extremely perplexed.
“I came here to buy…a birthday present,” I stammered.
That was the only answer I could come up with. Katsuragi looked down at the scattered boxes, then bent and started picking them up.
“Ah, it’s okay. I can do that,” I said.
“Don’t worry about it. I think this mess might make other customers uncomfortable. It’s best we clean up quickly. Two are better than one.”
There wasn’t any hint of dislike in his voice. I’d probably only spent around thirty minutes in the mall. I wondered if Katsuragi had finished his business at school so quickly. However, he still held his gift bag. I stealthily peeked inside and saw a thin, gift-wrapped box. The present. He hadn’t given it away yet.
We finished cleaning up before we knew it. Fortunately, neither the clerks nor the other customers had noticed us tidying.
“Thanks a lot.”
Katsuragi was a good guy. Even on the uninhabited island, he’d shown a strange goodwill toward us when we discovered the corn. I didn’t expect him to be merciful if push came to shove, but he didn’t appear to be a bad person.
“Are you giving your girlfriend a present?” he asked me.
“Huh? Uh, no, I don’t have a girlfriend. The present is just for a classmate. I think I’ll buy something next time, though,” I answered.
I moved farther from the shelves. Katsuragi, as if in sync with me, also moved backward. I decided I’d try to extract more information.
“Are you buying a birthday present?” I asked.
“Hmm? Why would you think that?”
“You’re holding a bag from this store,” I said.
“I see. Well, yes, you’re certainly right. I suppose I didn’t think about it,” Katsuragi mused.
His eyes met mine.
“I couldn’t find what I wanted. The selection’s not great. What did you buy?” I asked.
“Nothing major. One of the boxes of chocolates. I don’t think the selection in this store is bad at all, but I suppose it comes down to individual preference. I ought to look around elsewhere,” he replied.
Katsuragi walked toward the door, and I followed him. We left the store together before I could ask who the gift was for.
“Why are you wearing your uniform?” I inquired. I wouldn’t have broached the topic yesterday, but he’d been wearing it for two days straight.
“You’re required to wear your uniform if you enter the school,” he replied.
“So, you went to the school?” Of course, I knew that already. What I really wanted to ask was who the present was for. I’d thought the information would be easy to obtain, but unfortunately, it didn’t seem like things were going my way.
“Uh, well, I’ve various private matters to attend to,” he replied.
Although Katsuragi was being vague, he seemed to have something on his mind. He glanced in the direction of the school briefly.
“Hey, have you ever thought about the disadvantages of attending this school?” he asked.
“Disadvantages?”
“Yeah. I don’t mean being divided into classes. I mean something that affects all students equally.”
I considered his mysterious question. The class system had its downsides, of course, but the problems it created mostly affected the lower classes—like Class D’s current points shortage. It was hard to imagine Class A in a similar situation.
Since Katsuragi said the disadvantage applied to all students equally, that probably wasn’t it. But then, what in the world was he talking about? Nothing came to mind.
“You know. The stipulation that you can’t contact anyone on the outside,” he explained.
“Ah, I see.” I personally considered that an advantage, but it was probably bad from a normal person’s perspective.
“Don’t you want to contact your parents or siblings?”
“Eh. Well, I do get the feeling that lots of students would agree with you,” I replied.
Quite a few girls, in particular, said they felt lonely. The school was strict about controlling the flow of information, so it forbade communication with the outside world. Breaking that rule could mean expulsion.
“But the benefits you get from the school are tremendous. That one disadvantage isn’t enough to make you feel dissatisfied, right?” I asked.
“True. Both the points system, and the quality of the facilities here, are things that ordinary students can only dream of,” he replied.
On top of that, Katsuragi would also graduate from Class A. Wait, why was I talking so casually with Katsuragi? And during summer vacation, no less.
“You’re close with Horikita, aren’t you?” he asked.
“Is that misconception making the rounds or something?” I asked.
“Misconception? I saw you working together earlier.”
“Well, it’s just one of those things. It’s not exactly what either of us wanted, but we were kind of forced into a partnership, I think. We really only talk because we’re seated next to each other,” I explained.
Katsuragi seemed to understand. He nodded. “Ah, so that’s how it is. Well, despite seeming like I know a lot about other classes, there’s quite a bit I don’t know. If I offended you, please forgive me. I had no ill intent,” he replied.
“Nah, I get that a lot. Don’t worry about it. Horikita’s pretty active, and she does a lot,” I answered.
“It does appear that way.” Katsuragi didn’t seem as though he was going to elaborate any further. Instead, he changed the subject. “To tell you the truth, this is the third time I’ve visited this store. I’m the kind of person who tends to agonize over things. Even if it’s just a single present, I can’t make a snap decision when someone’s feelings are involved.”
Someone he agonized over giving a present to? Who in the world could that be? I decided to try digging a little deeper.
“You’re a really sincere person. I mean, to go out and buy someone a birthday present,” I replied.
“Is it strange to celebrate someone’s birthday?”
Looking at the giant chrome dome in front of me, I did feel like his forbidding appearance contradicted his kind actions. But that was entirely my own bias. I mean, the world even contained delinquents who’d save a cat left out in the pouring rain.
“Okay, I’ll just ask straight out. Who’s the gift for?” I asked. Questioning Katsuragi in a roundabout way would get us nowhere.
“Who am I giving it to?” He seemed perplexed. “It’s personal. It’s not for you to hear.”
He’d dodged the question. If we’d been best friends, I might have been able to push further, but as it was, I couldn’t do much.
“Please excuse me,” he added. With that, Katsuragi headed back toward the dormitory.
I’d managed to solve the mystery of why he was wearing his uniform, but more mysteries had sprung up in its wake. Why was Katsuragi going to the school building? Why had he returned to the store? I had no idea at all.
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