Chapter 10

"Alright, now's the chance. Tsugumi is away, so I've got some time to keep an eye on him and plan ahead."

Yuuna was muttering to herself in the hallway outside the classroom before homeroom. There was something in her mouth she was chewing, and she was spinning a pencil back and forth around her fingers while pacing.

"Knowing Tsugumi, she'll never make the first move. So, better leave it to me. If it looks like an accident, then she has no reason to turn away. Not that I've... ever dated any guys, but that's beside the point. You just walk up to 'em and say hi, right? Although, I guess that hasn't worked for me either. They either stand there like lemons or walk away. Whatever, guys are lame anyway. But Tsugumi likes this Shintaro guy so I guess I'll make an exception."

I was letting Shintaro settle in next door, and kept an ear out in case anything went wrong. He was managing just fine, though. He sat quietly and nodded when spoken to, and answered simply. That was the algorithm we had developed that meant I didn't have to babysit him all the time, although he could always call me back telepathically if things got sour. Not that he ever did. Most of the time, I would have to fly back in a hurry because he'd responded in a characteristically non-human way and find some way to cover for it. Today was already a hassle. At risk of arriving at school late on yet another day, I had to using my flight to lift Shintaro over some fences and ponds to make the walk to school shorter.

"Didn't you say this was forbidden?" he asked at the time.

"I know, I know, a lot of what we're doing right now is forbidden. But I'd rather get caught by a stray camera and a video with the caption 'schoolkid jumps super high over fence' on some nobody's 50 follower Isshuten account than have you be late again. Miss Yawara only has so much patience."

"Yes... maybe I should explain what happened this morning to her?"

"No."

"Really?" he questioned again.

"Really."

Anyway, I was curious about why Yuuna was making such an unusual amount of noise outside, considering that she's usually straight-to-the-point with anything she says. It was her being flustered that brought me out here. I'm not being nosy. Just... concerned.

"What are you loitering for, Butou?"

Oh no...

Somehow, Shigenori had enough confidence to address Yuuna at all, let alone in that manner, and he slunk down the hallway toward class.

"Why? Is it any of your business, Shigenori?" she tossed back.

"I...I suppose not, no, sorry, Butou-san..." he whimpered.

Well, that lasted about as long as I expected.

"Although," she realised, turning back toward him, "you are Shintaro's friend, right?"

"Why yes, his trusted compatriot, in fact."

Yuuna shot him a low glare.

"Y-Yes, he's my friend," he corrected.

"Then you must know what kind of girls he likes, right?"

"Girls, you say?" he pondered. "...No, I can't say I recall him mentioning anything of the sort."

"Hm, damn it..." she mumbled. "You look not busy, though. How about setting him up with Tsugumi with me? He'll probably be more convinced if you're around."

You underestimate how little Shintaro notices this guy.

"I'm not sure how I feel being complicit in this. Shintaro is dear to me, and he should only make such decisions when the time is right for him..."

"I'll talk to the weird girl about getting you into the Occult Club," Yuuna interrupted flatly.

"Deal. When do we start?"

So much for camaraderie.

"After homeroom. I've got a couple of set ups in mind already. All I'd need you do to is get Shintaro in position each time and, should things turn out right, everything will flow from there."

"You seem oddly composed, Butou-san. Are you knowledgeable in this fie- do you know a lot about romance?"

"No. Just read some trashy novels. Seems to work for them. You?"

"Not exactly..."

The copy of AmePuri Kiss: Sakura Sunset in your bedroom drawer begs to differ on that one.

"You'll be fine. Just do what I say, it's not like any of the actual romance stuff falls to you."

"And I will be properly repaid for this?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now come on" she said, dragging Shigenori into class by the arm.

They entered the classroom together, with Tsugumi looking up from a book she was reading and adjusting her glasses. Her face remained placid but there was a twinge of satisfaction that came to seeing Yuuna enter the room, as if some current or future fears would be passively allayed by her presence.

"Good morning," she uttered to Yuuna.

Yuuna whispered something into Shigenori's ear, then approached her desk. "Mornin', bookworm."

"I'm so sorry that I actually take the time to study and read. Remind me what you got on your midterms again?" returned Tsugumi.

"...Touché, smartass," said Yuuna, her voice sinking. "Anyway, I have something I need you to do after homeroom..."

"I had a feeling you would have an agenda for me today."

Meanwhile, Shigenori, having seen how Yuuna and Tsugumi interacted, looked to Shintaro to see if he had noticed him walk into the classroom, an expectant gleam in his eye.

Though, Shintaro was completely ignoring him. He was also reading a book, but a much simpler one. On the outside was the cover of an 'Advanced Japanese Grammar for High School Final Examinations' textbook, but the inside content of the book itself was 'Learning Japanese with Yamada: First Grade', complete with helpful and colourfully illustrated diagrams and large, bubbly text. This idea was courtesy of yours truly. Shintaro, blissfully unaware, actually regarded it with focus and attention, much akin to a middle-aged man reading the newspaper on the train.

'Ka Ki Ku Ke Ko... hm... this language actually follows quite a nice pattern. How com...compr...comprehensive," I heard him mutter to himself.

Glad he's having a nice time of it. Maybe he'll be able to write his name soon. So proud of him.

Shigenori waddles over to his desk and plonks his bag down on the table, jostling glances over at Shintaro with each movement to see if he's caught his attention. He hasn't. He then clears he throat, which stuns Shintaro into dropping his book onto the table. I swiftly fly over and slap it shut. It may not be embarrassing for him, but it would be for me.

"Ahem, Shintaro, my compeer. Are you occupied today? Perhaps you would like to accompany today, for some... leisure, of some sort."

Shintaro sat there in silence, reaching for his book again.

"Sh-Shintaro?"

"Oh, yes?" he responded, realising it was directed at him.

"...Ahem, well, I will assume that you are, aside from the Occult Club meeting, otherwise unoccupied. If you could meet me by the corner of the hallway that leads to the faculty office after class, then that would be... nice."

"The corner of the hallway that leads to the faculty office..."

"Correct."

Before Shintaro had a chance to ask any further, Miss Yawara strutted into the classroom.

"Alright, you ruffians. Let's take stock."

...and homeroom began.

---

Shigenori snatched his bag under his arm and dashed out of the classroom as soon as it ended, earning a faint, confused look from Shintaro. He also rose from his seat, and turned to me.

("Nare, where is this 'faculty office' and which hallway leads to it? The human with the eye injury requested me.")

(It's left out from the classroom then the first right. Also, it's not an injury, he just wears it.)

("...Why?")

("Don't ask.")

("I see...")

I can't tell Shintaro about what's actually going on. Well, I could, but it might ruin the moment. Shintaro wanted to earn this on his own, and I'm here to help him achieve it, but I'm not going to level skip if I can afford it. Besides, this is a story. It won't exactly be fulfilling if we ignore all of the progress that leads to the payoff.

I had spotted Shigenori and Yuuna hiding behind a door at the far end of the hallway as well, waiting. I had to keep my answers short.

Soon, both by sensing her and Yuuna shuffling around from her hiding spot, I recognised that Tsugumi was coming around the corner. She was carrying a tall stack of papers for the printer.

Ah... now I see.

I nudged Shintaro. (Go on then, he's probably waiting.)

("I will go, then.") He started toward the corner, and they were on course for the collision that Yuuna had been hoping for.

Then, he leapt backward like a startled cat.

(W-What are you doing?)

("Someone is approaching from around the corner.")

(How do you know?)

("My proximity sense.")

Of course he has one of those...

A mere second later, Tsugumi appeared. It took her a moment to register that it was Shintaro, who was in a sort of readied crouch position on the floor. Her reaction was a mix of embarrassed blush to have run into him unexpectedly, and bewilderment.

"Oh, um, hello, Shintaro."

"Hello, huma-"

I was about to slap him.

("What is this human's name?")

("Tsugumi")

"Tsumugi. Hello Tsumugi." Shintaro paused, then corrected himself: "...Tsugumi."

A ripple fluttered up along Tsugumi's body, as if she were pleased he remembered her name. She pursed her lips to hold herself back.

"I-I'd like to talk, but I have to take these papers to the reprographics room. I'll... see you later."

She darted down the hallway as fast as she could without dropping the papers. Shintaro righted himself again and wiped his brow, no doubt an action he'd copied from somewhere.

("That was close. It would have posed a problem if she had dropped those papers. Not an inconvenience Shintaro would want either, yes?")

(You're telling me...)

---

Yuuna and Shigenori gathered themselves together in their hiding spot at the far end of the hall.

"Nngh... we need more drastic measures. We can't bet all our chips on luck alone."

You ever played poker, Yuuna?

"I see what you mean," contemplated Shigenori. "Although, there may be a way around that."

"And what'd that be?"

"Well, we obviously cannot involve Shintaro, lest the plan be foiled. However, there is no harm in Otonashi-san contributing to her own goals, surely?"

Yuuna pressed her fingers against her chin. "You might be right, actually. Never thought I'd hear myself say that. We don't have to get her to do everything, there's no way she'd be down for that. But just having her join in wouldn't hurt."

Without much prompting, Yuuna strolled off to the reprographics room in pursuit of Tsugumi. So rapid was her approach that she arrived at the door just as Tsugumi did.

"Tsugumin-!" exclaimed Yuuna.

"Huh? Oh, hi, Yuuna. Did you come to help me with the printer?" Tsugumi wondered, struggling to open the door with both of her hands full.

"What? No. Look, forget the printer. You saw Shintaro earlier, right?"

"I-I did. Hold on, how do you know that?"

"I can just tell. Your face gives it away."

"There's no need to point that out..."

"Anyway, I bet I have a way I can get you two talking."

"You... do?"

"Yep. It'll be easy. And, we can put it into place during next class."

"Next class? Isn't that a bit... soon?"

"Soon schmoon, you want to talk to him or not?"

"Well... I... Uh... Yes... Wait... Maybe... Um..."

"There was a yes in there somewhere so I'll take it. Now hurry up with that printer crap and we'll plan before class."

Yuuna departed just as quickly as she'd appeared.

"But... you asked me to help with the printer," bemoaned Tsugumi, looking as if she was at the point of collapse from the weight of the paper.

---

Modern Literature class was in full swing. I admit, during these classes, I had to help Shintaro out when he was called upon, and would often use my Shintaro impression (which is improving, I promise) to read out passages from novels, while he stands there and flaps his lips in the vague shape of words. It has earned some disturbing glances from the teacher a few times, but nothing that will keep anyone up at night.

For this plan, it seemed, Yuuna was taking advantage of the seating layout.

"Your and Shintaro's desks are behind and to the left of mine and Tsugumi's," mentioned Yuuna to Shigenori before class. "Here's the deal..."

Partway through their scene analysis essay writing session, Tsugumi subtly shuffled her sleeve toward the precipice of the desk. It shoved up against her pencil, which teetered off the edge and landed on the floor with a hollow clink. Tsugumi had done her best to maximise the noise potential, and throughout the entire operation, her eyes swivelled toward Shintaro, selecting a suitable time to drop so that it would catch his attention.

"Augh, oh no..." she sighed in exaggeration. "My pencil..."

Shigenori, realising his cue, placed his pencil down and stopped writing. He drew his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat.

"Truly, this is unfortunate. I cannot reach Otonashi-san's pencil from here. Ahem... Sh-Shintaro, dear boy, perhaps you could reach it from here?"

"Hm? Wh-"

Oh no.

(Tsugumi. Otonashi-san is Tsugumi. It's her surname.)

("Oh, I see.")

"Can she not reach it herself?" he asked Shigenori.

"That would disturb the class, surely..."

"Then would it not also disturb class for me to get it as well?" Shintaro pressed, but in a way that resembled a child innocently requesting answers.

"That... be that as it may, it is my belief that you should help out Otonashi-san in this situation." 

"I see... and that is something Shintaro would do?"

Don't say it like that to him...

"...Well, I personally would say so, yes. It is a Shintaro-like act, in keeping with your nature."

"Then I shall."

But before Shintaro could reach down, the pencil had already been lifted from the floor.

"Did you drop this?" the offending pencil-holder asked.

It was the person who sat directly to Tsugumi's left. A truly ordinary boy. It was... Bonta Tsumanaigawa.

Damn it, Bonta...

"Th-Thank you, Tsumanaigawa-kun..." responded Tsugumi, a flat expression painted over her face. She drooped the pencil back onto the page and returned to writing. Yuuna spotted Tsugumi going to attempt the trick again, checking around her, but reached over the desk and grabbed her arm, shaking her head.

"I have another idea after this, don't worry," she whispered. "Best not try that one again, unless you want Tsumanaigawa getting any ideas."

---

The next class of the day was Home Ec, and we all relocated into the slightly better-equipped classroom opposite. A cheery teacher with her soft blonde hair woven into buns clapped her mitten-laden hands together when we were all standing at the desks.

"Good day, class. I'm going to put you into pairs so you can all have a go at baking cookies. Food preparation is a vital skill in the future, but remember, baking is an art as much as it is a science, so try to enjoy yourselves too. Failing is all part of the process."

All of the kids lingered there waiting for the speech to end, except Shintaro, who was oddly intent on taking notes. We were set into casual pairs, which everyone picked amongst themselves. As to be expected, Yuuna's machinations meant that she and Tsugumi were together again, and Shintaro was dragged along into a duo with Shigenori.

"This idea is the best one yet, I promise ya," assured Yuuna, fastening her apron.

"That remains to be seen," replied Tsugumi, tying up her hair in the fabric headcloth.

"Come on, even someone as serious and cold as you can admit that the quickest way to anyone's heart is food. Cookies and chocolate being the best options, of course."

"Sounds like personal experience talking, to me."

"And am I wrong?"

"...No, I suppose not. I do like baking, too," Tsugumi conceded. "So, you're suggesting I just bake him a cookie and give it to him? You must be insane if you think I have even remotely the requisite amount of courage to manage that."

"No courage required, here. All I'll need is a finishing touch. But, if you wanna make an impression, I'll leave the flavour and fillings to you."

"It's just a cookie..."

"Oh? Is it now?~" teased Yuuna. "Huh? Huh?" She prodded an increasingly reddening Tsugumi.

"Leave me to it..." she pouted.

"Alright, but tell me when you're done. I'll get the surprise ready." Yuuna strolled away.

"W-Wait, you're supposed to help me with the dough."

"Sorry, can't. Too busy working on the surprise."

"You did this just to get out of home ec, didn't you."

"Too busy. Can't hear you."

Tsugumi grumbled and began preparing the ingredients. After much egg cracking, measuring, whisking, and sneezing brought on by billowing clouds of errant flour, the dough was ready for the oven.

"Alright Yuuna, what's your surprise?"

Yuuna stepped away and revealed what was hiding behind her back.

"Ta-da!"

It was a note, a small piece of paper with a message scrawled on it.

"It took you half an hour to do that?"

"No. About five minutes. For the other twenty-five, I was taste testing over at Shintaro's desk," she admitted.

"Shintaro's desk? Uh... how are they getting on?"

"Let's just say the kitchen's not the right place for either of them..."

Hey, he's trying his best. And I'll have you know, I'm giving him tips.

"Still," she continued. "Not half bad. After their first four tries, at least."

"That explains why the bin at that side of the room is so full..." She eyed the bin for a suspiciously long time, as if a part of her wanted to pinch one from there just to get a taste of Shintaro's baking without having to ask him face to face.

"W-Wait. You wrote a note, which is going in a cookie intended for Shintaro, on behalf of me... on his desk?"

"Nah, I made sure I covered it with my hand while I was writing."

"That doesn't relax me that much..."

"Chill out, he won't notice a thing until we need him to. So, let's slip this note on in."

"...Right now?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Yuuna. These are going in the oven."

"Mmh, exactly."

"..."

"Oh. Oh yeah. Crap."

"Put it in afterwards."

"Got it."

After a stint in the oven, the cookies were removed with a gentle lowering of the door, a veil of steam lifting out from inside and imbibing the room with the sweet scent of sugar.

"God I'd kill for one of those right now."

"You'd die first, they're freshly baked. Unless you really have forgotten what happens inside an oven."

"Leave off, I was in a hurry, okay? Besides..."

She reached to the baking tray and snatched a cookie, popping it between her teeth before an anxious Tsugumi could stop her.

"Like that'd stop me anyway."

"Fair point..." surrendered Tsugumi.

While the cookies were still warm, Tsugumi broke one of them open and scooped out a slot inside for the note with a knife. Folding it neatly, she slid it inside and pushed the halves back together, smoothing over the cracks with some of the leftover melted chocolate.

"Pretty good, pretty good," spluttered Yuuna, swallowing the remnants of her pilfered cookie. "All we need to do now is leave it on his desk before the start of next period and let the note do its magic."

"That reminds me... what did you write on the note? I hope you didn't actually say it was from me..."

"Nope, I said... from a secret admirer," emphasised Yuuna, wiggling her fingers.

"You really do pick this up from romance novels."

"Sure do. Oh, and I said that if he's interested he should buy a sandwich for me from the convenience store near the entrance."

"That's basically giving away the fact that it's me," lamented Tsugumi.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I just asked him to go there after school. Then, if we run into him, we can make it look like a coincidence. Besides, you might as well make the move if this works out, since it'd mean he's down to meet whoever sent the note."

"But what if it's not me he wants..."

"So what? It's you he'll be getting if he's there. Let's just wait and see what happens."

By the end of the class, Tsugumi had snuck out early, feigning a toilet break. She slipped the cookie onto Shintaro's desk and returned unnoticed.

"Success?" asked Yuuna.

"It's on his desk, at least."

"Great. Now we just sit back and watch."

"You do. I still have a part to play in this."

"Sure, sure."

The chime sounded and everyone packed up their materials, with cleaning continuing a short while afterwards. Tsugumi elected to be one of the students to stay behind. I, meanwhile, accompanied Shintaro back to the previous classroom. The cookie was there, waiting for him. He inspected it between his fingers and gave it a sniff.

("What is this suspicious thing? Is it food? Poison?")

(It's a cookie, just like the ones you were making a moment ago. Although, that first batch you made could easily have been mistaken for poison...)

("Why has it been left here, in my personal territory... is it a trap? A threat on my life?")

(I think someone just made a cookie and wanted you to have it. I can even try a bite if you don't believe me.)

("Good idea.")

He handed me the cookie and I nibbled off a corner, not wanting to reveal the note. Chewing it, the flavour was silky and subtle. Tsugumi was actually a pretty good baker...

(You're safe, nothing in there that could kill you.) I passed it back to him.

("Really? Phew... I have been hungry as well. Human sustenance is still a challenge. This small, conveniently-shaped food will help.")

He then thrust the cookie into his mouth, whole. As he chewed, my expression sank. I don't even think he realised he was eating paper.

("Mm... delicious.")

(I'm sure it is...)

No matter what they attempted, I knew that for as long as they had no idea about Shintaro's identity, they wouldn't stand a chance. As risky as I realised it might be, I had no other choice: I had to take matters into my own hands.