V2 - Reporting Back

Katsumi was doing something he usually never did. He wasn’t at home in front of his Playstation, or drugged out on his couch. Where he found himself was at the university’s library reading.

It was Monday—another weekend had passed with Katsumi living much the same days. Except this weekend he did find himself reading everyday, a small change that he enjoyed thinking about.

You know, Akito has done something nice for me actually. I never really knew that I’d like the campus library so much. It has a nice atmosphere, plus it’s quiet.

Katsumi looked up from his book to the front-counter. There was an older girl with a similar hair-style to him behind the counter. She smiled and gave a little wave as he looked up.

It’s nice here.

However, as Katsumi was beginning to find some peace, a harsh reality fell upon him. A head of familiar, long brown hair filled his vision.

“Murakami, we need to talk.” Saki demanded.

“We have to? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“Trying to flirt with the library-volunteer and reading some nerdy book isn’t being busy.”

He responded with a grumble and set down the ‘nerdy’ book.

Saki sat across from him and folded her arms on the table, leaning forward slightly. “I want to know what you… found out about… Jackson.”

“Hm? Didn’t I tell you I wasn’t going to help?”

She gave a wary look, as if hoping he wouldn't mention that detail. Yet, her expression also hinted that she had something more to say.

“Out with it…” 

“Haa~ fine… On my date with Jackson over the weekend he told me you two met for breakfast. But he refused to tell me what you two talked about… and curiosity is killing me.”

I have a feeling he refused to spill, not to help me but so he wouldn’t have to listen to Akito rant forever.

Just as she was about to come in with another question, Katsumi asked one of his own first.

“How was your date with Jackson last Saturday?”

“H-hey, don’t just ignore my question.” She pouted

“I won’t—I won’t… Just answer mine first.”

“He was acting a little weird… Asking me a lot of odd questions like, ‘do you feel real?’ or ‘what was something interesting you thought about?’ I didn’t get it all.”

Jackson, you can’t just mess with this poor girl like that… “How did you answer?”

“I was confused at first but I said of course, then I told him some things I thought about. But it was like I didn’t answer the question right. Like, what does that even mean?”

"Maybe he wanted to learn more about you." 

"Really? What could he possibly gain from asking that?”

Katsumi gave it some quick consideration then shrugged. He didn’t want to think about the inner workings of Jackson’s mind more than he had to.

“Well?” Saki said—her eyes were big and expectant.

“Oh… right. Uhm, you did come up in our conversation.” I have two options here: One, I can tell her Jackson knows all about her scheme. Or two, I can make up some BS and have her continue being delusional.

Katsumi’s mental scale didn’t take much convincing for the lying option to outweigh telling the truth. The weight on the side of morality had been very light recently—for one reason or another.

“Actually, what he said relates to those weird questions he was asking. It could be an American thing with how he phrased them, but he was talking about getting to know you better.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. He mentioned he never felt like he’s had a great chance to connect with you.” What am I saying!?

“Was that all…?” She sounded highly suspicious 

“Yes.” Katsumi tried to sound as blunt as possible to sell his lie. “Why he wanted to meet was because some of my friends know his sister and he just wanted to talk about that.”

She gave his explanation a strange look. Like he said something she had no idea how to process.

“And don’t worry, I didn’t mention anything about your request.”

Saki’s expression lightened, as if a massive weight was taken off her shoulders. However, still unbeknownst to her, Jackson knew much more than she could imagine.

“Thank you…”

“Also don’t go thinking this means I’ve helped or will help you. Okay?”

“Yeah-yeah, I know.” She stood up and pushed in her chair.

After Saki departed, Katsumi spent the next ten-ish minutes trying to get back into his state of tranquility. However, from her unexpected disruption, he unfortunately could not. With a sigh, he closed his book and his eyes, letting his head fall back against the backrest as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

I won’t help Akito. Even if it was a different guy, would I still not help her? I think I wouldn’t. But in this case, it’s especially because it’s him.