Arthropod's Invitation

I really hate the subject of [Sociology]. Just hearing the general questions they bring up makes my head spin. To put it bluntly, it's nothing more than so-called philosophy of history. To set up an entire course for this kind of boring dialectic is nothing but a decision that tortures students.

What is society? What determines the development or decline of society? How do various social phenomena (economy, law, science, religion) relate to each other? What are the reasons for their development? What are the various historical forms of society? What are the reasons for the replacement of social forms?

Seishiki wasn't interested in any of this. Sociology is just a messy blend where "philosophers" who've had a rough life drag past historical processes into their own scientific insights and philosophies. They even founded a so-called 'Christianity' that believes in science—complete lunatics.

Seishiki exhaled a puff of toxic smoke.

"As expected, a good man needs a rooftop, a cigarette, and light, airy clothes."

Seishiki climbed up onto the roof of the building. The surveillance cameras didn't cover this spot. The cramped little space up here was barely big enough. Usually, no one would climb up here to look at the scenery anyway.

(The roof is just the rooftop. In anime, you often see a vertical ladder outside the rooftop door that you can climb up.)

After all, this top floor was far too ordinary. Every building has a roof—it's nothing novel. Unlike the rest of the school building, the top floor wasn't decorated with any care. Barren and desolate, it showed the raw color of cement, weathered by wind and sun into a rough, shabby state.

Completely lacking in aesthetics, it was an unpopular place for students. Just a very boring rooftop. Maybe someone climbed up here out of curiosity, only to be thoroughly disappointed.

It was so quiet that only birds ever stopped by. No one had any intention of coming here. It was too peaceful. The only place in this crowded school building where you could actually stay. People avoided it like it was filth.

And that's exactly why Seishiki liked it here. At least this boring, rough place wouldn't become some gathering spot for teenagers to indulge their youthful romances.

"Our minds are wider than the sky, our minds are deeper than the sea."

Seishiki enjoyed this brief moment of peace. Class would start soon.

Feeling the nearly spent toxic substance, he pressed the glowing end against the ground, then tossed it into an opaque plastic bag.

Listening to his own unsteady footsteps, he pushed open the creaking door with a groan.

Seishiki fished two pieces of gum out of his pocket and popped them into his mouth, chewing as he occasionally blew white bubbles. The gum could mask the toxic residue left in his mouth.

Letting his mind go blank, he thought about what to eat for lunch today. This was a matter of life and death. He headed down the stairs.

Strolling slowly to the classroom door, he noticed a girl standing there. She looked kind of familiar... but she definitely wasn't from Class A. Was she doing cross-class socializing? That's some terrifying social skills.

"Um... can I get past?"

Seishiki spoke up weakly.

"So Otonashi-chan is in Class A."

"Huh..."

Seishiki had a vague impression of the girl in front of him. The tea-haired big-breasted girl from the bus... Arthropod Miss. What was her name... he'd forgotten...

"I'm Kikyou Kushida. Don't you remember?"

"Umm... well... I remember."

Seishiki nodded awkwardly. He'd been targeted by an arthropod. He wasn't good at dealing with two-faced girls like this.

A female classmate beside him reminded Kikyou Kushida that Seishiki's gender was male.

"Male?! Then I should call you Otonashi-kun?"

Seishiki nodded helplessly. Being mistaken for the opposite gender wasn't anything new—he was used to it by now.

"Then, Otonashi-kun, would you be willing to go to a café with me after school? I want to make up for what happened the day before yesterday."

She crossed her fingers, placed her hands between her legs, slightly bent her knees, and leaned forward. Her wine-red pupils sparkled. She was putting on quite the act.

Seishiki was disgusted inside. This venomous woman didn't need to put on this delicate act in front of him. This kind of performance only made him nauseous.

"Sure~."

Seishiki replied with a smile. He had nothing better to do anyway. Let's see what this arthropod was really up to.

"Then I'll come find you in Class A after school. It's settled, Otonashi-kun."

"Okay~."

As soon as he returned to the classroom, some girls who loved stirring up trouble gathered around him with grins.

"Otonashi-kun is still popular with the girls."

"To win Little Kushida's heart so quickly—that's really something."

"After all, Otonashi-kun's face is just too cute. If a girl with no resistance to guys saw you, she might shout, 'You're so cute I might fall for you!' You'd better watch out for other men, Otonashi-kun."

"Hey... don't tease me! Something just happened on the same bus..."

Seishiki really wasn't used to the group dynamic.

He caught Tamiya Emi's gaze. Her shimmering eyes seemed to carry a hint of displeasure...

Huh... was she jealous? Probably not. They'd only been friends for about two and a half days. How could a girl fall in love with someone in such a short time? Seishiki shook his head. He was definitely overthinking things.

"So tired..."

"You sure have an unexpected way with women, Seishiki Otonashi."

Sakayanagi Arisu's confident, composed face carried a hint of mockery.

"Hey... even you're teasing me now. I don't have anything like that. My luck has always been the worst."

"The worst?"

"I once pulled all the bad luck slips out of a shrine's lottery box. The shrine maiden next to me kept comforting me, saying they were all fake and not to worry."

"Oh my, how amusing."

"Classmate Sakayanagi, are you actually a terrible person who enjoys schadenfreude?"

Looking at Sakayanagi Arisu, who could barely hold back her laughter, Seishiki Otonashi broke into a cold sweat.

"Not at all, Seishiki Otonashi."

"No, you were clearly laughing just now."

Sakayanagi Arisu was exactly the kind of person Katsuragi the Little Fist Stone described—a nasty piece of work whose insides didn't match her outsides...

Finally, noon arrived, and Otonashi let out a yawn.

English was completely Otonashi's weak point, and just thinking about how the class was taught by homeroom teacher Majima made his head ache. A flood of words assembled on the blackboard, and the lines of white cheese-covered spaghetti pasta made his stomach growl. Did an exquisite strawberry cake need English chocolate decoration? No, it didn't, since he wasn't going out anyway.

Otonashi took the initiative with Tamiya Emi, who was currently tidying her desk.

"Tamiya~, let's go eat lunch together."

"Let's go, Otonashi."

"Okay~."

On the way to the cafeteria, Tamiya Emi didn't speak first.

"Umm... Tamiya, what's wrong?"

"Hm?"

"I feel like Tamiya's a bit distracted. Did you not eat enough breakfast?"

"No..."

Otonashi tilted his head, staring at her.

"Really?"

"Well... Otonashi, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Tamiya. What do you want to know?"

Tamiya Emi met Otonashi's clear, bright purple eyes, and her heartbeat inexplicably began to race.

"Well... how did you meet Kushida?"

"Ah, that's what you wanted to ask?"

Otonashi then recounted what had happened on the bus.

"I see, but Kushida is really strange, isn't she?"

"What do you mean?"

"Even though the old lady was carrying a heavy bag and was in the wrong, why didn't she help carry it? Instead, she got hung up on the seat—it felt like she was putting on a show."

"Well, well, who knows? Don't assume the worst about others. Maybe Kushida just didn't notice."

In telling the story, Otonashi deliberately dropped clues, guiding Tamiya Emi to think along those lines.

"Otonashi, you think everyone is too kind and naive. You'll definitely get taken advantage of out there."

"Huh... but is being kind and naive wrong?"

That question stumped Tamiya Emi.

"Because most people have lost their kindness, the world has become this way. But I believe that in this world... kindness is the one thing that should never be betrayed."

Otonashi was like an unsullied lotus, possessing a fragile kindness that needed careful protection. That childlike sincerity and pure innocence was endearing.