Formido

During the rest of that week, my days passed with a sense of monotony.

After class, I had to attend Kobayashi’s calls, even though we hadn’t made any progress after convincing Kaede’s brother.

“So, what exactly is your plan?”
“Are you going to try convincing one person at a time? By the time you’re done, the year will already be over.”

“Don’t be stupid; of course, we don’t have that kind of time.”
“But I already have the perfect moment in mind.”

“Perfect moment?”

“We’re getting close to the Cultural Festival.”
“All we need to do is create a situation that exposes the fraud that revixits really are.”

“Fraud?”

“Why do you keep questioning everything I say instead of thinking for yourself a little?”
“I already told you; you’re unreliable. I’d never reveal my trump cards to you.”

“Well, but you’ll need to tell me if you want me to help you, won’t you?”

“You’ll find out when the time is right.”
“Your only concern right now is finding someone willing to join us.”

“I don’t think there’s anyone else like that in our class…”

“You’ll find them if you look hard enough.”

“Ugh, it’s not like I talk much with the rest of the class.”

“Putting that aside, I have real council duties to deal with, so if you’re not going to help, you can go home.”

“Ah, it’s not like I have much to do anyway.”
“Because I’ve been following you around, I’m no longer going home with Sakura, and Kaede keeps ignoring me.”

“The two of them seem to have gotten pretty close since Kaede came back.”

“That’s true, I’m a little envious.”

“Hmm, I think you don’t understand what’s really happening.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Kikuchi, you like to pose as a smart and mysterious guy, but deep down, you’re just a fool who can’t even hold a proper conversation with anyone.”

“I’m going to start charging you for your insults. I’m tired of receiving them for free.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with Sakura getting closer to Kaede. They were already friends before Kaede died.”
“In fact, it was Sakura who introduced me to Kaede and warned me to be cautious around you.”

“Cautious around me?”
“And here I thought she’d soon become another ally.”

“Sakura? Your ally?”
“Hahaha!” I laughed out loud.
“That’s absurd!”

“If you say so…”
“But perhaps you’ll be surprised at how things might turn out.”

“Leave Sakura out of this!”

I let my anger get the better of me and left the room without saying goodbye to Kobayashi. Fortunately, that was the last school day of the week, so I would soon have the weekend free from her.

…

I was heading straight home when my mother texted me, asking me to buy some items at the market.

“... Eggs, check. Now let’s see, tomatoes, eggplants, leeks…”

My mother was careful to list the brand for most items, but when it came to vegetables, things got tricky.

“I have no idea how to pick vegetables,” I muttered to myself.

“Oh, do you need help?”

A feminine voice came from beside me.

I reacted with surprise, turning immediately. It was just a supermarket employee, a girl a bit shorter than me, probably the same age, with short black hair and wearing a green apron.

“Hm? Kikuchi?”

“Yes…”

For some mysterious reason, this girl knew my name.

“It’s me, Rin.”

“Rin…?”

“Yes, Inoue Rin, we’re classmates.”

“Ah, Inoue!”

I didn’t recognize her with her hair tied up and out of the school uniform, but this girl was Inoue Rin. She doesn’t stand out much in our class, and even if she did, I doubt I’d recognize her since I don’t pay much attention to the other girls in the class—I only have eyes for Kaede.

“It’s funny that you only recognize me as Inoue since almost everyone in class calls me Rin.”
“But now that I think about it, the only people I ever hear you calling by name are Sakura and Kaede.”

“Using first names is something you should only do when you’re close to someone, no?”

“Wow! Isn’t that a bit outdated?”

“Maybe I’m just a traditionalist.”

“So, you’re just a traditionalist?”

“Yes, I think so…”

It’s a lie. I simply can’t bring myself to call people by their first names unless I know them well enough. It’s not about being traditionalist—it’s about my introverted nature.

“Good thing, I thought that was part of your isolation.”

“My isolation?”

“Yes, you always seem so distant from the rest of the class.”
“I think everyone was caught off guard when you did that at Kaede’s party.”

Thinking from her perspective, I’d be surprised too if someone like me made that declaration outta nowhere.

“Oh, about that…”
“I ended up regretting it in the end.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I think I only caused trouble by doing that…”

“Really? But you acted so cool during that fight.”

“I did?”

“Yes, you did!”
“But honestly, both of you were so cool!”
“Ah, a duel driven by the same passion, it’s so romantic!”

“Hey, don’t let your imagination run wild…”
“And even so, in the end, Kaede ended up being upset about it…”

“Well, I think that’s something personal for Kaede.”
“I believe most girls would want to be in her place!”
“At least, I would…”

“Wait, does that mean…”

“Ah!”

Inoue blushed, realizing what she had just said.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that! It’s not like I want either of you, it’s just the idea…”

“It’s okay.”

I can’t imagine any other girl in our class liking me; my only hope for a love life is Kaede, assuming I even have hope with her.

“Well, you need help with the vegetables, don’t you?”

“A little, I don’t quite understand…”

“Leave it to me, I’ll help you!”

She covered her mouth with her right hand and whispered to me:

“Talking is much more fun, but if I take too long, they’ll catch on.”

In the end, her interest in the conversation was more about escaping work, but I couldn’t complain about Inoue’s effectiveness. She really helped me pick the vegetables, giving tips about the qualities of each one.

At that moment, Inoue stopped being just a background figure in the class and slowly started becoming a friend. I felt that behind her words, there was an effort to show me how I could make more friends in the class.

I hope it wasn’t just my imagination.

“Ah, excuse me!”

Another customer appeared to ask Inoue for help.

“Yes?”
“!?”

Inoue’s face seemed to suppress a scream of astonishment.

I didn’t understand at first. When I looked at the customer, there was nothing remarkable about his appearance, until I noticed… his eyes were golden. He was a Revixit.

It was impossible not to notice how terrified Inoue was of the Revixit. She spoke looking down and struggled to finish her sentences. She was almost trembling with fear.

The Revixit likely noticed her reaction and tried to keep it brief, asking for directions to a product and leaving shortly afterward.

After that, Inoue took about a minute to compose herself. A bit embarrassed, she asked:

“I couldn’t keep my composure. Was that very rude of me?”

“I think you handled the situation well. He didn’t seem offended.”

“That’s a relief…”

“May I?”

“Ask about my reaction? Go ahead.”

“If it’s something you can’t talk about, that’s fine with me.”

“No, I think I needed to talk to someone in the class sooner or later.”
"I'm glad that happens to be you."

"Why glad?"

"Well, you're close to Kaede, I guess."

“So, you’re afraid of Revixits?”

Inoue pondered for a few seconds.

“If it were just fear, maybe… but I feel an overwhelming dread when a Revixit gets close to me. I think that’s what they call a phobia.”

“Revixiphobia. It seems to be increasingly common.”

“Yes, it’s a fear I can’t control.”

“But then, how do you deal with Kaede?”

“…I don’t.”
“I don’t want to upset Kaede, but I try to avoid her as much as possible.”

“That sounds complicated.”

“Ah, please don’t tell her.”
“I know you like her, so it must be weird hearing someone say they’re afraid of her.”

“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to feel guilty about it.”
“But is there something I can do to help?”

“I don’t know; I’d also like to fix this.”
“Revixits are made to perfectly mimic humans, but even so, there’s that feeling that they’re not human.”

“The fear of Revixits seems to fit into what’s called the Uncanny Valley.”
“Maybe it’ll get easier if you avoid looking at their eyes.”

“Their eyes?”
“Right, that might work, but it still feels weird to talk to someone like that.”

“Kaede wouldn’t mind. Even if you explained your fear to her, I don’t think she’d get upset.”

“All right...”

Inoue managed to give a strained smile.

After I said goodbye to her, I continued shopping, but one thought kept hammering in my head.

In Inoue’s case, wouldn’t it be the "right thing to do" for her to try to get rid of Kaede? It’s not like she has any shady motives like Kobayashi; she’s simply afraid of Revixits.

And yet, she didn’t vote against Kaede’s return. She’s either genuinely trying to overcome her fear for the sake of her friend or just to fit in with the class.

If it hadn’t been me but Kobayashi who discovered her fear, what course would things have taken? I need to stay alert about Inoue; she seems like someone who could end up being persuaded.

“You’ll find them if you look hard enough.” this idea is starting to bother me.