Early Morning School Blues
“Huh? Shiki, you came to school early today? I figured you’d still be the top scorer again.”
The man greeted me as he always did. He tossed his bag carelessly aside and dropped into the seat beside me.
“I always arrive on time. Did something good happen today?”
“No. Just woke up a little earlier and got here first.”
“Somehow I wanted to come in even sooner today… is this fate?”
He flashed me a playful grin. The man who either answered or simply didn’t care for my replies kept chattering to himself as if he had the best news in the world.
“Haha, it’s a bit chilly out today, Shiki. Aren’t you cold?”
“I don’t catch cold.”
Only this one man ever worried about such things. From childhood, Shiki had been built different when it came to heat and cold, and the trait had carried over into me. The Ryougi family knew it well.
He kept coming closer despite knowing nothing about me.
“So you still wear kimonos even in winter…?”
“...”
“Wow. I figured you would. That’s why I brought you a present.”
The man pulled a small plastic bag from behind him. It looked like something from a department store. Inside lay a red leather jacket with soft fur collar, the kind that looked warm and inviting.
“Here, take it. A gift. Don’t worry about the price—it’s not expensive at all.”
A price tag still clung to the jacket. The man who spotted it first had already torn it off before I could notice.
“Hmph. Here, hurry.”
I almost said no. But I gave up. The man never gave up until I accepted. This man had always been that way.
The leather jacket fit perfectly. No awkward spots like the clothes Akitaka had brought.
“…I should thank the department-store clerk, right?”
The man clapped his hands while exclaiming in confusion. For some reason, I felt strangely embarrassed.
It was the opposite of how the family reacted—cold, stone-like praise. I didn’t know how to answer pure admiration.
It was embarrassing, but not unpleasant.
A little later, the sound of a door opening reached us.
I immediately slipped out of the jacket and stuffed it back into the plastic bag. The man murmured something about regretting it, but I ignored him.
He kept talking about ordinary things and occasionally asked questions. I couldn’t understand why this man acted this way toward me.
“See you at lunch,” he said, standing up. The bell rang, signaling the start of classes.
‘Akagawa.’
In my mind, I called out his surname. A name like that of some novelist. A foolish, happy man whose emotions showed plainly on his face.
Being with him made me restless. Impulses stirred. A hand carrying purpose yearned for that old memory. Even so, I felt fondness for him—it wasn’t for me. Perhaps it was the lingering purity of a child.