“Oh, no, hata like in hashikko.

”
Akiyoshi pulled her cell phone out of her bag, tapped at it in a practiced fashion, and then
tucked it back away. The strap of the bag dug into her shoulder.
“Note taken!”
Grinning, with eyes narrowed and teeth bared, she lifted her spoon and took a bite of her katsu
curry as though it were some long-awaited treat. Realizing I had, for some reason, watched this
entire sequence of actions, I averted my eyes and once more took a bite of the fried fish atop
my own plate.
“Gosh, I was hungry. My stomach was growling all the way through class! You hear it?”
“No, I didn’t.” I was not paying attention to such things whatsoever.
“Well, that’s good. I’ve always got a pretty healthy appetite. Don’t judge me if I end up eating
more than you, ’kay?”
“Good metabolism, huh?”
“Old habit from when I played soccer for a bit in high school. I probably need to start eating
less, though.”
A bit, I noted, which led me to the independent conclusion that she probably had not attended
some kind of powerhouse school that was all about winning. The fact that she needed to cut
back also meant that she probably had no intention to continue playing through college.
“You play any sports, Tabata-kun? Er, sorry… I’m asking a lot of questions.”
Apparently, she did have some tentative measure of consideration. I had assumed from her
display in class that she was the sort of person who would step all over others’ personal
boundaries. At least she apparently had the courtesy to take off her shoes before doing so.
“It’s fine. I didn’t really do any physical activities in high school.”
“Oh, more of the artsy type?”
“I was part of the go-home club.”
“No plans to do anything in college, either?”
“Not really, currently. Oh, what about you, Akiyoshi-san?”
“I was thinking I’d join something, but when I looked into all the groups on campus, including
the unofficial ones, there were just way too many options. Sort of interested in the Model UN
or something, though.”
“Mottle Yuen?” I parroted.
“Yeah, it sounds really cool!” she said, taking the opportunity to immediately launch into an
explanation of the group. To simplify Akiyoshi’s exposition, this club was apparently one where
students interested in international affairs took on the roles of different nations and carried on
mock sessions of the United Nations. Of course. I was starting to form a more solid internal
picture of her.
“How’s something like that sound to you, Tabata-kun?”
“Sounds like an overly complicated TTRPG game.”
I had no reason to either criticize or laud the model UN concept, so I simply voiced one of my
opinions on the matter that did not lean either way. This time, Akiyoshi was the one to parrot,
“Tee tea are peegee?” Given the way that the conversation was going, it would be odd of me
not to take my turn at explaining. I gave her a brief, simple, and objective as possible
explanation of what a TTRPG, or tabletop roleplaying game, was.
“So, yeah, it’s also the kind of game where you play different roles, I think.”
“Whoa! That’s so cool! I would definitely want to play some type of hero!”
She held her still curry-covered spoon out in front of her face, perhaps attempting to mime the
wielding of a sword. Seeing this joyful reaction got a surprising stir out of me.
“I guess the model UN really is kind of the same. Wanna go check it out with me? If you’re up to
it.”
“Oh, ah…no, I can’t.”
Whenever I had to refuse an invitation that came my way, I hated having any looks of
disappointment cast on me, or having to do the same, or even someone being disappointed
about it at all. Thus, though refusing this casual invitation of Akiyoshi’s conflicted slightly with
my own philosophies, Akiyoshi, who had no idea that I was this way and smiled, clasping her
hands in front of her chest with a, “No, it’s cool! Sorry for imposing on you so suddenly.” The
fact that she seemed to realize that there were some drawbacks to her own personality gave
me a slightly more favorable impression of her.
Just slightly.
“Oh, no, it’s okay, I really don’t mind it,” I said.
“Really? I’m glad. I know that I can be a bit much sometimes.”
So I had gathered. I had assumed from her bubbly nature that she was not capable of such self-
awareness, so I was surprised at this newfound calm of hers. It made me wonder if she was the
sort of person who really only thrived within a small, close-knit group.
I have no idea whether telling her that I didn’t mind had merely encouraged her, but her
barrage of questions continued. I answered them as well as I could and learned more about her
in return. She was born in Ibaraki, currently enrolled in school, lived alone, and had applied for
a part-time job at a cram school. She liked shonen manga and was a fan of Asian Kung-Fu
Generation. Based solely on this information, she should have seemed like a