Boogiepop Returns VS Imaginator Part 1 by Kouhei Kadono Read Free Book Online Page A

could be taken as a glare.
    “Ah, no, I don't mean it like that. Uh. . . if you'd prefer to call me. . . yeah, we should do it that way.”
    “Orihata.”
    “Mm?”
    “My name. Orihata Aya. You are. . . ?”
    “Oh, uh, I'm Taniguchi Masaki.”
    “Masaki. . . that's a nice name,” and at last she smiled. A very small smile, the corners of her mouth turning up ever so slightly, but there was enough power in it to grab me by the heart.
    Was this what they called love at first sight?

    ***

    “I. . . I got tickets to a movie that's supposed to be really good. You. . . you wanna come?” I asked, finally working up the nerve to ask out Orihata. It was over the phone, but you have to go with what you have.
    “Are you sure? With me?” The voice on the other end of the line said, faintly.
    Hiding my tension, I replied cheerily, “I still haven't thanked you for last time. If you've got other plans, I. . . I understand, but. . .”
    “. . . Thank you. Okay.”
    “You'll. ..you'll come?! Awesome! !”
    “But Masaki, I'm really. . .”
    “Mm? What?”
    “No. . . never mind.” And she fell silent.
    Further details were basically all decided by me, and she simply agreed to everything I suggested. I couldn't think of any clever way to say good-bye, so ended up sort of hanging up awkwardly.
    I heard someone giggle behind me. At some point, my sister had come downstairs. My parents were still living abroad, so the two of us were alone in the house.
    “And here I thought you were a playboy. Awfully stressed for a simple date, aren't we?”
    “It's not nice to eavesdrop.”
    “I couldn't not hear you. Your voice was so loud, I heard it upstairs. I thought something had happened.”
    Considering that she spent basically all her time poking at computers in her room, she was awfully nosy at times like this.
    “None of your business, Nagi! Leave me alone.”
    “Okay, okay. I'm not that bored,” she said, playing dumb.

    ***

    And on the day of our date, we got to the movie theater and realized we had underestimated the situation a bit. There was a huge crowd with the line snaking all around the theater and back out onto the street.
    “The end of the line starts here,” shouted a theater employee at the end of the line. “Please be advised that there is a four-hour wait!”
    “Oh, wow. . . what should we do?” I clutched my head. I'd blown our first date. “Should we try some other day?” I asked.
    Orihata looked puzzled. “'Why?” she asked.
    “We'll have to wait a really long time. It'll blow our whole day.”
    “You don't want to wait?”
    “Well. . . doesn't it make you tired?”
    “Then I'll wait in line. You go play somewhere,” she said calmly, and took her place at the end of the line.
    I was a mess. “What?! I can't do that! I should be the one who waits!”
    “I don't mind. I'm used to doing nothing.”
    “No, I mean. . . this is supposed to be me. . . thanking you.” Even as I spoke, several people got in line behind her.
    “Right!” I made up my mind. I turned and ran back towards the station.
    The road was filled with people. I looked around me as I ran.
    “Oh, Study Abroad. What are you doing here?” someone asked. I spun around. It was one of the guys from my class, Anou.
    “Ah, um, you know.”
    “Yeah, I do. You're making some chick wait for you, huh?”
    The boys in my school didn't like me in the first place, but this Anou guy was one of the most aggressive. Usually, I could handle him okay, but I had no time for it today.
    “Sorry, in kind of a hurry,” I said, brushing him off, and dove into a fast food joint. I bought an assortment of food and drinks, and hurried back.
    “Excuse me! Excuse me! Coming through. . .” I wormed my way through the line, earning the hatred of every single person I passed, and finally caught up with Orihata. “Sorry to keep you waiting, heh heh. . .”
    “I thought you weren't coming back.”
    “We need an endurance strategy for this. Thought we