Chapter 20: Curious Questions

The week after the school festival felt strangely empty. Decorations had been taken down, the booths dismantled, and the echo of cheerful crowds replaced by the usual sounds of shuffling papers and creaking chairs. Students returned to their routines—though not without the occasional mention of takoyaki and cat ears.

For Yaso, it was almost like waking from a dream. A weird, loud, slightly humiliating dream that somehow didn’t leave a bad taste in his mouth.

He was eating lunch on the rooftop again, this time with company.

Daichi sat next to him, legs stretched out, munching noisily on a convenience store sandwich. Between bites, he nudged Yaso with his elbow.

“So,” Daichi said, voice casual, “you ever had a girlfriend?”

Yaso paused mid-chew, blinked once, then slowly looked at him.

“…No.”

Daichi grinned. “Never? Not even a middle school crush?”

Yaso took another bite of his onigiri, clearly unbothered. “No.”

“Wow, you’re either very mysterious or just… emotionally constipated.”

“I prefer ‘reserved.’”

Daichi laughed. “What about now? Anyone catching your eye these days?”

Yaso didn’t answer right away. His gaze drifted toward the clouds. He didn’t mean to think of a certain science teacher standing by the rooftop rail that day, sipping canned coffee and teasing him about being a cat.

He blinked that image away.

“No one,” he said flatly.

Daichi didn’t look convinced, but he let it go.

A short silence settled between them as they both ate. Seagulls could be heard in the distance, and the sun was unusually gentle for a midweek afternoon.

Then Daichi leaned back on his hands and exhaled.

“You know,” he said, “when you first joined our little takoyaki squad, I thought you were gonna ghost us after one meeting.”

“I considered it,” Yaso admitted.

“But you didn’t,” Daichi said with a grin. “And now look at you. Volunteering for social events, wearing questionable accessories, attracting fan clubs.”

“Don’t start.”

Daichi snorted. “No, really. It’s cool. You’re different now. Not completely changed, just… less ghost-like.”

Yaso didn’t know how to respond to that, so he just nodded and opened his drink.

Daichi kicked at the air for a second, as if thinking, then said, “Hey, what’re you doing this weekend?”

Yaso raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“There’s a summer festival happening in the city. Lanterns, food stalls, yukata—very classic. I’m going with Sunohara-chan.”

“She agreed to go with you?”

“Hey, she asked me, okay?” he said quickly, then added, “Well, kind of. It was a shared idea. Mutual decision. Whatever.”

Yaso nodded, unimpressed.

Daichi grinned again. “You should come with us.”

“…Why?”

“Why not? You’ve already survived one festival. Might as well go for round two.”

Yaso didn’t answer.

Daichi pressed on. “We’re meeting in the shopping district Saturday night. It’s nothing formal, just hanging out. And there’s one more person joining us too.”

Yaso looked over. “Who?”

Daichi smirked but shrugged. “Someone cool. You’ll see.”

“That’s suspicious.”

“Only if you make it that way.”

Yaso narrowed his eyes. “It’s not one of your weird friends, is it?”

“No, no. Just… come. You won’t regret it.”

Yaso stared at the last bite of his rice ball, then quietly said, “…I’ll think about it.”

Daichi leaned forward with a grin. “That’s practically a yes coming from you.”

As the school day ended, Yaso found himself thinking more than usual. About how things had shifted. About Daichi’s strange but sincere friendship. About the way Sunohara occasionally looked at him now—not cold, not curious, just... acknowledging him as part of something.

And about that "someone else" who’d be there on Saturday.