Chapter 55: On the Brink of a Major Event #2 |
The academy was packed to the brim with people.
Both the enrolled students and the guests from outside were soaked into the noisy and lively atmosphere of the cultural festival.
Despite the sun still shining brightly, there was no space to set foot amidst the throng of people, but it grew quieter as I passed the main entrance and headed towards the gymnasium.
Vrrrrm-!
Pulling out my phone as it vibrated in my pocket, I pressed the call button.
“Yeah.”
-Arrived?
“Just now. What should I do now?”
-Masako will be waiting for you. You just have to listen to the explanation and start checking the tickets when it’s time.
-I’m in the makeup room getting my makeup done. Take care then.
“Alright.”
After hanging up the phone, I admired the gymnasium, which had been transformed into a haunted house.
Fake vines were placed here and there, the door was painted dark, and skull decorations were affixed to either side.
The setup was well done.
It must be thanks to Miyuki and the vice president.
Both of them had been even more busy after the day of the spar.
Slowly shaking my head, I looked around the gymnasium when,
“Uhm... Matsuda-kun.”
From behind, a very tiny voice reached my ears.
Turning my head, I gave a sly smile to Masako, who was holding a bag of bread in her hand.
“Hello, Bread Girl.”
“Ah, hello...!”
“You’re my partner?”
“Right... You’re to check tickets with me... W-want some bread...?”
She cautiously offered a piece of melon bread.
I unleashed a small chuckle and shook my head sideways.
“No. But why are there no customers?”
“Ah... Well... we haven’t started operating yet... and the haunted house usually gets crowded around sunset...”
“I see.”
“Mm-hmm...”
“You thought I was an idiot just now, didn’t you?”
“Oh, no...! Cough!”
“Guess I’m right, seeing you cough like that?”
“Huck! Cough! No, it’s not... Cough!”
With a forced smile, I supported Masako, who continued to cough while bent forward, and sat her down on a chair. By the time she calmed down, I offered her the white milk laid on the makeshift table.
“Th-thank you... Hm...!”
“Do you have something like asthma?”
“No, I’m healthy... I just get like this when I’m flustered...”
“What do I do now? Start checking tickets?”
“You can start from ten o’clock... and if the kids in makeup need something... you just go in and get it for them...”
“So, I need to run errands?”
My eyebrows tightened and my voice lowered, prompting Masako to hastily wave her hands.
“No, no...! I’ll do that, you just check the tickets...”
“Can’t even take a joke, I see… Just let me do it.”
“Ah, ok... And the tickets look like this...”
Masako handed me a ticket to the haunted house.
It was a cute rectangle ticket with a chibi ghost.
Judging by the drawing style, it was definitely drawn by Miyuki.
“It’s not scary at all.”
“That’s the point... They think it’ll be easy, then get a huge surprise once inside...”
“Did you go in?”
“Mm... It was super scary. And the set was no joke... Everyone worked really hard...”
While I didn’t do anything and just idled around...
I don’t feel guilty, but I should repay them with some snacks next weekday.
***
-Tear
After I tore along the perforated line and handed over the remaining ticket, a couple, their faces brimming with excitement, cautiously made their way toward the entrance.
Screech...
The door opened with an eerie sound.
A cold breeze gushed from within, touching our backs.
‘It’s chilly. Those inside must be pretty cold at this point.’
Having received our first customers, I turned to Masako beside me and asked,
“So those customers just go straight in? No briefing or anything?”
“Ah... there are two students at the entrance who explain the concept. They’ll take care of everything.”
“Pretty thorough, huh?”
“Right? All thanks to Miyuki.”
Miyuki enjoyed solid trust from her classmates.
But that girl, admired by others, flirted and acted cute in front of me...
It’s like a scene straight out of a romantic movie.
The time passed, and there I stood, checking tickets at the entrance with Masako.
After noon, people slowly began to flock.
There were hardly any families; the majority were couples and same-gender friends.
-Ahhhhhhhh!
-Ughhhhhhh!!
As faint screams from the customers inside the gym echoed, the complexions of waiting girls, who were just moments ago cooing about how cute the admission tickets were, turned pale.
The expressions of the boys, who had been maintaining a semblance of calm, were hardening as well.
While I was enjoying watching the various reactions of the customers, soon, the break time for the students in ghost makeup drew near. Noticing that, I sought Masako’s understanding.
Then, I dashed over to the skewer shop run by the kendo club.
“Come back again! Oh? Matsuda hubae-nim!”
Chinami, who was greeting customers with a smile all over her face, waved at me cheerfully.
Renka was... grilling skewers with her distinctively indifferent face.
I could see a twitch in her eyes as she spotted me.
“Hello.”
“Oh! Matsuda, you’re here?”
After the kendo match, the club members became notably friendlier towards me.
It wasn’t because I demonstrated skill during my match with Renka, but because I had goofed around, striking a funny pose before the match.
My modest and well-mannered behavior while quietly cleaning the equipment had slowly been raising my reputation until it burst that day.
As I walked toward Chinami, receiving warm welcomes from the club members who hadn’t participated in the spar, I spoke.
“Six pieces of leg meat, please.”
“Six pieces of leg meat? That’s too little for you, hubae-nim. Buy eight.”
“Are you hard selling?”
“Just kidding. Is the haunted house going well?”
“There are quite a few customers, even though it’s early.”
“Good to hear. Is it your break time now?”
“Yes. But how much is it?”
“It’s 2400 yen.”
400 yen each, expensive, considering this isn’t a specialized yakitori restaurant.
But overcharging is standard for festival stalls.
After paying for the yakitori, I chatted amicably with Chinami while waiting for the skewers.
Soon, Renka called out to me.
“Matsuda, they’re ready. Take this.”
Renka handed me a beautifully packaged box.
Checking the number of skewers inside, I asked,
“There are seven?”
“It’s a service.”
“Service?”
“We add one more as a service when club members order. There’s no other meaning.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll order one leg each, five more times. Give me ten.”
“.....”
“Just kidding. Thank you, I’ll enjoy it. Stop by the gym and have fun when you take a break.”
With a sly smile and a brief bow, I waved heartily to Chinami and headed toward the gym.
***
Ding-! Ding-! Ding… ding… ding...
The delicate sound of string instruments echoed creepily.
[Oooohhh...!]
And then, a creepy wail emanated from the installed speaker.
Entering the haunted house, I felt a slight tension in the decently scary atmosphere.
Meticulous Miyuki must have sharpened her knife - as, for a student festival, the quality is very good.
As I walked through the maze-like path, trying hard to ignore the background sound,
“Gwaaak...”
A ghoul, drooling with saliva, approached and rustled its long fingernails.
I shuddered almost convulsively.
“Ahahk! Fuck!”
“Kyaaaak!”
And that ghoul, too, let out a startled scream following my own outburst.
Somewhat soothed by its unexpectedly high-pitched voice that didn’t match its appearance, I, who had almost dropped the yakitori box, tightly gripped it and spoke.
“What is this...?”
“Ma, Matsuda-kun...? What’s happening...?”
“I came to tell you it’s lunchtime. Why are you acting during break time?”
“No... I thought... you were the last customer... Sorry.”
“Didn’t you get the message to eat in the waiting room?”
“Ah... my phone is off... Can I go now?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me with that makeup on. It’s scarier.”
“Yep.”
The classmate chuckled, perhaps finding my reaction amusing.
Creeped out by her bizarre appearance, I hastily exited the place and went around telling the remaining ghosts to return to the waiting room.
Afterward, I stopped at the Snow Woman course where Miyuki was.
A place colder than elsewhere.
It’s incredibly desolate, with even a smoke machine turned on.
The set was well-crafted, resembling a snowy mountain.
As I entered that place, I saw Miyuki, dressed in a kimono elaborately adorned with vintage decorations, sitting crouched down.
She wore a pure white wig amidst the smoke.
Her makeup was so intensely white that it was impossible to believe it was human skin, and she even wore red contact lenses from somewhere.
That look was so stunning that I almost lost my focus for a moment.
No wonder the guys coming out of the haunted house were saying the Snow Woman was incredibly beautiful.
“Matsuda-kun.”
Seeing Miyuki greet me with a deliberately cold voice, I turned off the smoke machine and blew away all the lingering smoke.
Then I closed the door and began to block it with a nearby prop.
Baffled by my actions, Miyuki moved her bright red lips.
“What are you doing...? Why are you blocking the door...?”
“Just wait and see.”
After casually moving the objects around, I checked if the door was well closed and then crouched down in a corner.
“Sit down. Let’s eat yakitori.”
“Yakitori?”
“I bought your favorite leg meat. Let’s eat before it gets cold.”
When I opened the box and offered it to Miyuki, she cautiously sat beside me and picked up a skewer.
“When did you buy this?”
“Just now.”
“Just for me?”
“Uh.”
Was she delighted that the food was just for her?
Miyuki, slightly tottering, bit into the yakitori. As she began her belated lunch, she mumbled between chews.
“Matsuda-kun. I heard all the swearing from earlier.”
“Did you?”
“Your voice was so loud, I couldn’t help but hear it...”
“If one gets scared, anyone might swear a bit.”
“You looked so cheap.”
The word ‘cheap’ felt like something I hadn’t heard in a long time. It was again proof of how much I’d improved in Miyuki’s eyes.
There was yakitori sauce on the corner of Miyuki’s mouth, who was scolding me.
Struck with an idea, I leaned closer to Miyuki’s face.
As her eyes widened, and she attempted to pull back, I grabbed Miyuki’s nape, holding her neck still. I then extended my tongue and licked the sauce off the corner of her mouth with a light flick.
“Wha- What are you doing...!”
Seeing her body shuddering with surprise at the abrupt action, I grinned mischievously and said,
“You had sauce on you.”
“You, you could have just wiped it with a tissue, why...!”
“Aren’t you cold?”
As I slyly changed the topic, she, with her hand trembling around the skewer, bit her lower lip gently.
“A little...”
Miyuki then leaned on me and took a bite of the yakitori, seemingly to remove the awkwardness.
As I wrapped my arms around her, my hands slid under her kimono.
At that, Miyuki jolted, giving a sharp reaction.
“Ah!”
Miyuki’s body felt even warmer than usual.
As I touched Miyuki’s warm, soft body in the chilly room...
I felt holding Miyuki close during winter might give a similar feeling.
“Matsuda-kun...! You blocked the door for this...!?”
“Noisy... And since when is the snow woman this warm? Aren’t you supposed to freeze people to death? With this warmth, you might even revive someone.”
“...Well, at least I look cold on the outside, so it’s okay, right?”
“Maybe… Guess we won’t be seeing the cultural festival today?”
“I have to stay late for the haunted house... Sorry...”
By the time the haunted house event would end, it would be the time for the band’s performance - the highlight of the cultural festival. Ideally, we’d watch the band together, but our current relationship was far from typical.
There’s a much bigger event awaiting us, one that can’t be compared to the band’s performance. I can’t waste time on something so trivial.
With a light rub to Miyuki’s waist, I spoke.
“I’ll leave once this is over. Just contact me after the party.”
“Mm... But my yakitori...”
“Eat it.”
“You have to let go for me to eat.”
Even as she said this, Miyuki was holding onto me tightly, as if she didn’t want to let go.
She even set aside the yakitori she had been eating.
︵‿︵‿୨ * ୧‿︵‿︵
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