Chapter 35: Strategy meeting

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Translator: Soafp

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The meeting between Ginji and Suzu was postponed to Wednesday, skipping over Tuesday. And so, on Tuesday after school—

Sora, having parted ways with Ginji under the pretense of having errands to run, boarded a train heading into the city.

“…Ugh.”

With a dark, heavy aura that seemed to ooze into the surrounding atmosphere, Sora walked into the café where the meetup was to happen.

It looked like the person she was meeting had already arrived.

“Hey, Sora! Over here!”

“Hey…”

“Come on, don't just say ‘hey'—you look totally down. Maybe I went about this the wrong way. C'mon, let's go grab drinks first.”

Suzu took her hand and led her to the counter, handing her a menu.

“What do you want to drink?”

“Anything's fine… Oh, they're doing a matcha fair.”

A small spark of light returned to Sora's eyes.

“It's really good. You like matcha?”

“Ginji does… Ugh…”

“Aah, you sank again! It's okay, I was just teasing. Here, let's order.”

They ordered a matcha latte and some cookies, then returned to their seats. Seeing how much more hurt Sora was than expected, Suzu quickly showed her something on her phone.

“I know this probably isn't the kind of thing I should be showing you, but I didn't want you to get the wrong idea. I only told you because I didn't want you misunderstanding.”

Looking at the phone screen, the darkness around Sora started to lift.

“…Ginji wants to know more about me? This… this is what the ‘date' meant? Oh, thank goodness… I thought you two were already, like, that kind of relationship…”

It was as if invisible energy was being poured back into Sora—her eyes sparkled again.

“Whew, I'm glad to see you're back to life. Guess I went a little too far with the prank. Sorry about that.”

Suzu ran a hand through her brown hair as she apologized, while Sora let out a long sigh of relief.

“…I thought I was gonna die.”

“That much!? Wow, heavy stuff… Anyway, do you have any idea why Ginji sent that kind of message? Depending on that, I'll know how to act going forward.”

“Uh… the other day, Ginji suggested I try drawing something and submitting it. I told him… that showing someone a drawing of mine—like, one that really represents me—is scary.”

“…Huh? Sorry, I'm not following.”

“Um… Showing someone my drawing feels like showing them me, like myself, or ‘watashi'… and that mismatch—it's scary… That's why I couldn't tell Ginji.”

“Look, I don't know why you're dressed like that. I'm guessing it has something to do with Hime and all that. But why exactly can't you show people the fact that you're a girl?”

“It's because… back in middle school, in an art contest, as a girl—”

Sora began to explain, and when she finished, Suzu downed her matcha latte in one go and held her head.

“What the hell is that? Sorry, but I just don't get it.”

“…I don't really get it myself. That's why I ended up dressing like this, just doing what Aika-chan told me.”

Sora tugged at her cardigan's collar and gave a self-deprecating smile. Suzu pointed at her sharply.

“Hold up. So for you to show your drawing… you'd basically have to come out, right?”

“Y-Yeah. I think so… Yeah, probably.”

“So, who would you come out to first?”

Suzu leaned in close, and Sora shrank back in her seat.

“T-That would be… Ginji… I guess.”

Hearing that, Suzu grinned triumphantly.

“So basically, you're saying you want him to see you. You're still scared because of what happened in the past, but with Ginji, you want him to know. Huh, interesting.”

“…You're such a bully.”

Flushed red and looking down, Sora clutched her pants, sweating as she took off her glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief.

“Okay, okay, sorry. As an apology, this Suzu-chan will give you her full support. Man, I'm thirsty again. Gonna go for a second drink. Something fruity this time—do they have orange?”

“Um, let me see—there are 12 options. Orange Frappuccino, Orange Latte, Orange Ice-In-Passion, and there is also…”

As she stirred her matcha latte, Sora started listing off the menu like she was reciting a script. Suzu was stunned.

“Wait a sec. Do you come to this café a lot?”

“Nope, first time.”

“Then how do you know the menu so well?”

“I saw the menu earlier, that's all.”

Not understanding Suzu's confusion, Sora tilted her head slightly.

“Wait. You mean… you've memorized the entire thing?”

“Yeah. Though the bottom right corner has a stain, so I can't see the prices.”

Not didn't memorize—it was can't see. A present-tense description, as if she were still reading it now. That caught Suzu off guard.

“Are you seriously saying you memorized the actual menu image and are reading it in your head right now?”

“Exactly. I draw a lot, so remembering what I see as images is kind of my special skill.”

They'd only looked at the menu for maybe ten seconds, if that. In Sora's case, it might've just been a glance. And yet she could recall even fine details like an image stored in her mind.

“…Okay, that's way beyond just being good at drawing.”

It didn't feel like memory—it felt more like a different kind of ability altogether.

“Maybe so? But anyway, about Ginji…”

“You're just gonna gloss over that? Fine. Let's make a game plan.”

“You know it.”

Sora, having taken off her glasses and fully recovered, now blushed like a girl in love—radiating youthful energy.

Suzu swallowed the words that almost escaped her mouth.

At this point, there's no way he can still call this one a ‘boy', huh?