Volume 3 - CH 5.1(2/3)
"This, is good."
"Really? Let me have look at it as well afterwards."
This was the first time I ever saw Oreki-san with such an expression, and it piqued my interest in the manga as well. Taking a closer look, the cover had a cute yet sad-looking girl drawn on it. The way the girl's expression was drawn was amazing, and the way the fabric of her sailor uniform, which was similar to mine, was drawn was also an eye-opener. I could even sense the wind blowing from the direction she was facing as well.
......
Umm.
As a habit, I tilted my head. Fukube-san saw me and asked,
"What's wrong, Chitanda-san?"
"Well......"
I looked at the illustration once again. A pitiable yet cute looking girl. The way the fabric is drawn.
"Haven't I seen this drawing somewhere before?"
"Must be your imagination,"
Oreki-san immediately responsed,
"I only got this manga from my sis earlier today, so there's no way you could've seen it."
Is, that so?
I looked at the manga once again...... No, there's no mistake. I'm confident of this myself,
"I've seen this before. This drawing, or rather, the drawing style of this manga."
"From long ago?"
Fukube-san asked, to which I shook my head,
"No, probably recently,"
But I couldn't quite remember when! If I can't clearly remember when I saw it, then I must have only taken a glimpse of it. Once I have seen something, I never forget it too soon.
Umm, ummmm......
"I, I..."
"Chitanda, we've got our hands full right now,"
Oreki-san as though chiding me. I understood it myself, we're at a very busy period. Even when we aren't busy, Oreki-san would frequently give a grim expression everytime I feel curious about something. It's something I understand very well. But, I couldn't help myself. Feeling a desire to find the answer, I ended up saying it,
"...... I'm?really?curious about it."
I placed my hand on my throat,
"It's on the tip of my tongue,"
"Swallow it back,"
"I can't do that,"
"Then do something about it,"
"Let me have a look at other pages!"
Giving a sigh, Oreki-san handed the manga over to me. Looking at the cover, I don't remember seeing the title?Ashes at Dusk?anywhere else before. Seems like it's only the drawing that I remember seeing.
Flicking through the pages...... I came across the drawing of a boy, to which I exclaimed,
"Ah!"
"What? You remember something?"
For some reason, Oreki-san looked as though he was disappointed, which got me somewhat curious. I nodded lightly,
"Yes, probably. The drawing of this boy, it resembled what I saw. I remember seeing it by the notice board besides the Conference Room, one of the Cultural Festival promotional posters, I think......"
I lowered my voice as I reached the end of my response. I was not very good with manga, so while it does resembled what I saw, I couldn't say I was absolutely sure.
"That poster, huh?"
Fukube-san seems to know something about that poster, which made sense since he works with the Executive Committee, after all. While I was pondering all this time, his eyes were focused on something,
"...... Hmm, it does feel like that poster, but I'm not completely sure. But you might be able to figure out something if you compare the drawings,"
That's it, that's a wonderful idea!
"Oreki-san, can I borrow this manga for a while?"
Oreki-san leaned backwards as I made my request. Oh, looks like I moved too close to him again. Shaking his head gently, but rather than refusing my request, it was more a sense of feeling resigned,
"Sure thing. As long as you're feeling curious about something, nothing will get done until it's finished...... Just, make sure you return quickly, I'm not done reading it,"
"Yes, I'll be right back!"
I said as I held?Ashes at Dusk?manga towards my chest.
055 - ?11
Both Fuku-chan and Chi-chan were looking forward to the third day of the Cultural Festival in order to boost the sale of?Hyouka, yet they're not alone in wishing to sell all their anthologies in the final day. The same goes for the Manga Club.
Before we were even ready to begin the day, a few members were already waiting besides the opened door of the First Preparation Room in expectation of visitors. Thankfully, there were more people coming in than the previous two days. Personally I too was glad about it, with many people happily buying the character posters without even asking for the price. If we were serious, we would break even if we sell each poster at 100 yen, though it's actually taboo to be selling merchandise during the festival as per the school rules. Even though President Yuasa was not one to make such dangerous risks, she still sold many posters to anyone who would ask for them.
We've ended up digging a hole for ourselves.
As we didn't draw a lot of variations for the characters, all that's left is just to draw the characters in differing poses. Dressed in a khaki Mao suit with many pockets alongside an army cap today, there were many people who guessed as to what I was cosplaying, yet it was Kouchi-sempai who made the correct guess,
"...... Could it be, the parakeet chasing detective?" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Parakeet)
"Yes."
"More like the miniature version, huh?"
Ignoring the remark about my height, I noticed Kouchi-sempai was also dressed as a detective character - her character was more or less?the?original fighting game Chinese female warrior. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chun-Li) She wore a qipao with pretty much nothing covering her thighs, I had no idea whether she made this costume herself, but I had to admit it was pretty amazing in its attention to detail, and the spikes jutting out from her gold bracelets looked quite menacing.
Re-immersing myself in my work, I quickly left many thoughts behind me, like what went through yesterday, the "Juumoji" incident, and?Ashes at Dusk?as well. It's just that, if I forget it all, then I'll just find myself feeling miserable again once I'm done drawing. Having finished drawing one poster, I put my pen aside and begun erasing up the rough patches until I'm done.
"This one's done. Next,"
"Please draw this one for me,"
Alright, sir.
Placing the drawing paper before me, I was at a lost on what to do next. The classroom was now pretty packed, which means business is no longer as bad as before.?Zeamis?seems to be selling well. Kouchi-sempai's cosplay was quite popular with the older male visitors, and as a result with greeting them, she wasn't able to concentrate on her poster drawings. Her followers took on the duty from her, a glance at them showed they were neither as skilled or fast as she was. While I did not get along well with Kouchi-sempai, and I was at a lost for words at the conduct of her followers, I had to admit that she was pretty skilled in her drawing.
The water cup holding the pastel pen was becoming rather muddy, so someone decided it was time to change the water. It was a first year whom I had no recollection before. Instead of crossing through the middle of the room, which was packed, she took the long way via the side of the room. As she walked past me, her expression was one of relish, as in a dragon encountering a tiger, or a cat coming across a mouse.
"Oh my,"
As though on purpose, she suddenly lost her balance and splashed a few drops of water onto my desk.
I understood at once, as she was rather inactive until now. She was hear to teach me a lesson for daring to speak up against her beloved Kouchi-sempai. She was probably content with just flicking a few drops at my way.
Yet, things did not end there. No one knew who bumped into whom, including myself, but someone must have bumped or tripped within the crowded room, and ended up colliding into the girl, who greatly lost her balance and yelled as she spilled the water in her cup.
The water ended up covering me all over.
"......"
On the bright side, at least the water didn't splash on my head. A whole cup's worth of water splattered on my chest, and as a result, the clothes from my lower right shoulder all the way to my stomach was drenched with water, water that was stained with paint and supposed to be replaced. I think I stink.
The drawing paper of which I was still thinking of what to draw on was also soaked in a grey-yellowish colour.
"I, I'm so sorry Ibara! I didn't mean to......"
The girl looked as though she was about to cry.
I wonder why, perhaps it was the sudden splash of cold water that numbed my senses, I don't know.
But I hardly felt angry. Taking a handkerchief out of my pocket, I wiped away the water droplets that was dripping from my shirt. The white handkerchief was quickly dyed in the same grey-yellowish colour.
Well, it is a khaki coloured shirt anyway, so the stain shouldn't stand out too much.
Still lively only a while ago, the First Preparation Room was now stunned in silence. Well, sorry about that. I stood up from my chair, finding the President, I said to her,
"I'm sorry, President. Please take care of the rest."
Unlike Kouchi-sempai, who couldn't possibly wear her costume outside the school premises, I was able to come to school in my costume without having to change. I was after all still quite resistant to wearing something that people would quickly associate with cosplaying, besides, Fuku-chan had said it would be hard to find any spot to change at school during this period. Though more importantly right now, I haven't got any uniform to change into as I left it at home.
Fortunately, my PE uniform was still here. Normally I would bring the clothes back for cleaning, but as our last PE lesson was cancelled, I didn't get to wear it and so I left it here at school. Finding a room where the Drama Club members change into their costume, I got myself changed.
Come to think of it, I wonder how the Classics Club is doing. Fuku-chan seems to be planning something, while there doesn't seem to be much that Chi-chan could do. As the one who made the ordering mistake, I should at least help out as much as I can in the final moment.
I could describe Kami High's PE track suit colour as "asagi-iro" (light blue), but that specific colour name would invoke memories of the legendary Shinsengumi, so I guess "water blue" would do for now. Anyway, wearing the water blue track suit, I headed towards the Geology Room. Entering the Special Block, as I slowly climbed up the stairs towards the third floor, I heard the sound of someone's slippers running from the corridor ahead.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_colors_of_Japan) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinsengumi)
"Oh! Mayaka-san!"
It was Chi-chan, waving her hand happily. As I was about to ask why she was in such a hurry, she grabbed my wrist with her rather warm hands.
Speaking of which, we're on the stairs, so it was pretty dangerous,
"W, whoa! Chi-chan!"
Ignoring my protests, she began to spoke,
"Thank goodness, things would be much easier with your help. I'm not confident doing it myself, you see. Will you come with me? Are you free right now?"
With my help?
"Eh, hang on, just what is it that you want me to help you with?"
While she held on to my wrist with her right hand, in her left hand was an anthology-like booklet. It wasn't a really expensive booklet as its stapler binding was clearly visible. Anyway, I asked,
"What's that?"
As she turned it to show me its cover, I exclaimed,
"W, why on earth would you be holding this?!"
The cover showed a familiar illustration of a girl looking sideways, it was none other than?Ashes at Dusk!
"Well, it's not exactly mine, but Oreki-san's,"
Then allow me to rephrase my question. Why on earth would Oreki get his hands on this? It was only sold in last year's Cultural Festival, in a pretty hidden corner by the corridor. While mostly unlikely, I did for a moment suspect whether Oreki had stolen the book from me. Without thinking, I stretched my hand to reach out to the book, to which Chi-chan held it to her chest and asked,
"Mayaka-san, could it be that you've seen this manga before?"
I withdrew my hand,
"Well...... yeah, I have,"
"Then you must know the person who made this manga, right?"
The person who drew this manga? I wasn't sure whether to say it's Ajimu Takuha, the author's pen name, or Anjou Haruna, her real name. Perhaps sensing my confusion, Chi-chan rephrased her question,
"I meant the person who drew this,"
"That I don't know,"
Thereupon she said enthusiastically,
"You see, I'm trying to find out if the person who drew the promotional poster for the Cultural Festival is the same person as the one who drew this manga! I'm?very?curious about it!"
I see.
Now I get it. Chi-chan would usually get curious about things and then proceed to find out the answer to it, I could never get myself as curious as she would. But now I'm beginning to understand how she feels whenever she's curious about something. I would often see different mangas where the art style is similar and wondered whether it's by the same author.
And now she's saying the person who drew the promotional poster for the Cultural Festival is the same as the one who drew?Ashes at Dusk?
If that's true, then I must confirm it for myself. Once I do that, then I'll be able to find out the identities of both the writer?and?the illustrator. While the writer Anjou Haruna has already transferred schools, if the illustrator is still around, then it just might be possible for "Ajimu Takuha" to make a return.
Feeling excited, I raised my voice,
"Where's this poster right now?"
Chi-chan had begun to climb down the stairs while still holding my wrist. Without letting go, she replied,
"Besides the Conference Room!"
Okay, let's go!
The illustration showed a male and female student, with the caption "The 42nd Kanya Festival" written alongside the detailed schedules.
We were looking at the said poster's design. The contrast in shading was quite clear. As?Ashes at Dusk?was all in black and white while this was in colour, I must be more observant.
It was actually quite difficult in trying to determine whether the illustrations in a manga and a poster were by the same person.
Yet, this time, there wasn't much difficulty. Though the artist did change his style in his drawing of female characters, the style for male characters remained the same. Just one glance and I'd recognize the similarities. To make sure, I took a step back to look at the whole drawing, and then stepped forward to examine the details. While Chi-chan mentioned how the clothing fabric was drawn similarly, the decisive spot was actually the ears, where they're completely identical.
I turned to face Chi-chan,
"I'm 80-90 percent, no, I'm 99 percent sure it's the same person,"
Upon hearing that, Chi-chan placed her hand on her chest as though looking relieved,
"I see. Thank you very much, you've taken a burden off my chest,"
It seems like I've helped her a lot, so I smiled, which was something I haven't done in quite a while.
"Haha, you seemed really curious about it, weren't you?"
"Yes, but I wasn't confident in making the comparisons myself......"
"Me neither, it's not like I have any special methods for identifying the similarities,"
Now, I might as well satisfy my own curiosity, I knocked on the door to the Conference Room besides the notice board.
"Coming,"
A person opened the door. He looked just like the guy in the poster. A glance at his collar indicated he was a second year. He looked at us and wondered who we were.
"Greetings, Tanabe-san,"
Chi-chan said and bowed her head. This must be Tanabe, president of the Executive Committee then. He seemed like a nice guy. By the way, Chi-chan really is good with remembering people's names. While my own memory isn't that bad, but I can never reach Chi-chan's levels.
Upon hearing his name, Tanabe-sempai smiled,
"Well, hello, umm......"
"We're with the Classics Club,"
"Ah, of course. How may I help you this time?"
It's actually me that needs a favour this time. So I stepped forward in Chi-chan's place, and as we've formally met before, I skipped the formalities and asked,
"Excuse me, but would you happen to know who drew the poster in that notice board over there?"
Tanabe-sempai raised his eyebrows. There were many types of posters for the Cultural Festival after all, so it was probably hard even for him to answer right away. Of course it would help immensely if he could answer, but I shouldn't expect too much,
"Hmm, that one, right?"
"Yes, the one with the boy and girl standing together,"
After a short pause, Tanabe-sempai nodded gently many times. Did he recall something? As expected of the president of the Executive Committee. He replied briefly,
"That one would be by Kugayama,"
Eh?
Chi-chan asked from behind me,
"Would it be Kugayama Muneyoshi, the Student Council President?"
"Yeah, that Kugayama,"
It was a name I didn't expect. Even I knew who President Kugayama of the Student Council was. He gave me the impression of a sportsman-type image, but never did I expect him to be capable of drawing a manga.
Now I see, so he's the illustrator for Ajimu Takuha. His face began to appear in my mind even though I could hardly remember him before that. Meanwhile, Tanabe-sempai seemed pretty proud as he said,
"You guys are probably thinking 'Wow, so he could actually draw this well', right? He's pretty good, isn't he?"
"Yes! I think it's wonderful!"
"Haha, I'm sure he'd be glad to know if he heard it,"
I've now learned who the author and illustrator were, it's as though good things were happening in quick succession now, much like how the bad things came just before. Though like a fan chasing her idol, I had wanted to ask about whether Kugayama-sempai was using any pen name, but Tanabe-sempai probably wouldn't know. No matter, I'll just have to ask him in person afterwards. It could be just possible that he might reunite with Anjou Haruna to bring back the dream team.
If that happens...... I'd be dying to read their new work. An expectation suddenly floated in my mind.
After bowing politely, we exited the Conference Room.
Chi-chan was now smiling from ear to ear after fulfilling her objective. We now happily raced each other up the stairs towards the Geology Room.
056 - ?15
"We know who it is now!"
Chitanda said as she ran in. It didn't take her that long to return, which I'm kind of grateful, but then again, she wasn't doing it for me, but to satisfy her own curiosity.
"Really? So is it the same person?"
Satoshi raised his head to ask, but without awaiting an answer, he continued,
"Huh? Mayaka?"
Sure enough, coming in behind Chitanda was Ibara, who was wearing her tracksuit when she's supposed to be cosplaying right now. Or could that tracksuit be part of her cosplay...... Nah, not possible. That's the PE uniform for Kamiyama High School no matter how you look at it. She looked cheery as though looking forward to something good to happen.
"Mayaka, isn't the Manga Club busy?"
Satoshi asked, to which she smiled gently and shook her head,
"Oh, I've had someone stand in for me,"
Someone to stand in for her? I'm not really familiar with the going-ons over there.
Like a spring, Chitanda moved towards me and placed the?Ashes at Dusk?copy on the desk,
"It's the same person, we also found out his name,"
"Really? That's great,"
"It's Kugayama Muneyoshi-san! I always think of him as a dignified person, but I never would have thought he would draw so well, so it's surprising,"
Who's that?
I looked at Satoshi,
"Do you know him?"
Upon hearing my question, Satoshi froze,
"H, Houtarou, you're joking, right?"
"Is he someone famous? I'm never really familiar with these strangers and freaks that you're acquainted, you know,"
Satoshi covered his eyes as though I'm a lost cause and shook his head slowly. Standing besides him, Ibara looked at me as though I was a fool and whispered,
"He's the Student Council President,"
The Student Council President, Kugayama Munayoshi.
"Oh, ohhhh! Of course..."
My voice trailed off as I spoke. And I thought his last name was read as "Rikuyama" all this time, not that I could tell them that. It's not like he's someone whom I wouldn't have heard of, but neither is he someone whom I care a great deal about. Trying to change the subject, I picked up the?Ashes at Dusk?and said,
"So, Kugayama is the illustrator for this Anshinin Takuha?"
Despite changing the subject, Satoshi continued with his "facepalm" as he covered his eyes and shook his head. Man, he's annoying. He removed his facepalm and said,
"What's this Anshinin you're talking about? Some kind of temple?"
"Isn't that how you read that?"
"Though it's spelled that way, it's read as 'Ajimu'. It's a place in Kyushu, known for its grapes,"
"Is that a city?"
"It's actually a town, legally speaking,"
Is that trivia supposed to be required knowledge? Besides, do the others know about this...... I looked at Chitanda with misgivings, to which she looked puzzled and said,
"There's a small print next to the name to indicate how it's pronounced...... Right here,"
Huh? Oh, there, the print's kinda small: "AJIMU TAKUHA"
Surprisingly, Ibara seemed quite sullen. Her eyes were wide, while her mouth was open as though wanting to say something. After seemingly reading the thing which Chitanda borrowed from me, she seemed kind of shocked. I wondered if it's something to do with her specific interest in mangas.
Standing besides me, Satoshi looked at the?Ashes at Dusk?copy and said,
"Well, if it's something that even Houtarou would approve, then surely this manga is something,"
"...... Ugh......"
Was it Ibara that made that strange grunt? Satoshi didn't seem to hear it as he continued speaking cheerfully,
"But this pen name, Ajimu Takuha, how should I put it? Surely they could come up with a shorter surname, three characters (A-JI-MU 安心院) is just a bit too unrefined,"
Should you be saying something like that?
"...... T, this can't be......"
Chitanda staggered and lost her balance, since her surname had three characters, (CHI-TAN-DA 千反田)
"I, I didn't know my surname would be so unrefined......"
"No! That's not what I mean!"
Satoshi panicked and waved his hands, trying to undo what he just said,
"When I said three characters, I was referring to given names! Yeah!"
Oh really?
Sensing my gaze, Satoshi moved his eyes away from him. Since my given name has three characters. (HOU-TA-ROU 奉太郎)
"Well, Houtarou's special, you see,"
I wonder how he made that deduction. Besides, the real problem is how on earth did you not notice that I had a three character name when you made that statement?
"So, Oreki's special, huh?"
Seems like Satoshi's finally realized what he's done, as tears begin to come out of his eyes. This was because Ibara's given name had three characters as well. (MA-YA-KA 摩耶花) It's not like three character names are rare at all, but in an attempt to cheer Chitanda up, he ended up digging his own grave. He ought to have said he was referring to pen-names instead of given names.
Letting the drama play on on its own, I returned my attention to the copy of?Ashes at Dusk?in my hand. It was an interesting manga, yet the afterword at the back seemed pretty relevant to what's been going on lately.
Unexpectedly, Ibara decided to stop her scolding of Satoshi and moved towards me,
"While President Kugayama did the illustrations, the writer is someone called Anjou Haruna,"
"Really?"
I said as I moved my gaze from the book,
"You familiar with this book?"
"It's my favourite manga. I bought one from the Cultural Festival last year,"
Ibara was not someone who would easily give her approval to something she likes, but I never expect her to utter the word "favourite". Well, now that's interesting. Looking at the book, she said without any tension,
"Hey Oreki, mind if you could lend me that?"
...... Man, this book is popular, isn't it? First Chitanda, now Ibara wants to borrow this? Though I had wanted to lend it to them, I replied,
"Sure thing, but just hang on for a while,"
"I can wait, but how long are you going to make me wait anyway?"
I thought for a while, and soon taped on the page with the afterword on it and said,
"At least until I've memorized this...... Once I make a copy of this, you can have it right away,"
Ibara looked at me in puzzlement. Maybe I wasn't good in explaining myself, to begin with, not even I was sure what purpose doing this would serve me. Maybe I should say "until I figure out whether this afterword serves any purpose or not".
Chitanda suddenly clasped her hands together,
"Oh yes, I have something to tell you,"
"What is it?"
"Well, I've been invited by the Broadcast Club to appear in their lunchtime broadcast,"
What?
"The program that was aired yesterday and the day before?"
"Yes,"
Satoshi whistled,
"That's fantastic, Chitanda-san! You did well to get the biggest media club in Kami High on board! This way we could use the 'Juumoji' incident to ensure 'Hyouka' gets sold!"
"Actually, it wasn't me who made the request. It was more like I was asked to appear on their programme."
"That's even better! Alright, as a frequent listener, allow me to teach you what kind of questions a guest like you should be anticipating......"
Well, guess we'll let Satoshi deal with the media stuff, I turned my gaze back to the afterword.
For some reason, I sensed some clues relating to "Juumoji" in here. Being in charge of the stall for three days, I no longer view this duty as just something I had to keep as simple as possible. For me, it's now to ensure the improvement of sales. In order to do that, "Juumoji" must be captured somehow. How ironic that Chitanda had suppressed her own curiosity in order to see that?Hyouka?sells well, and yet here I am, striving for the same objective in spite of my energy-saving principles. Resting my chin on my hands, my eyes landed on the pages of?Ashes at Dusk, yet I made no effort to read it.
And so I began to think.
[118 COPIES REMAINING]
057 - ?13
As I listened to Fukube-san's advice, I noticed Oreki-san had began to behave differently.
Mayaka-san and Oreki-san have been classmates since primary school, while Fukube-san was the closest male friend he had as far as I know.
And yet, why didn't they notice this change in behaviour?
Oreki-san would stop moving like that while his gaze would lose all focus.
...... That was when he would go into deep thought.
The outcome of such thinking was that he would come up with answers which I would totally not expect. And when the facts come out afterwards, it would always match his deductions.
And so, while listening to Fukube-san's words, I would keep glancing over at Oreki-san's direction.
058 - ?16
"...... That's what I think, what about you, Houtarou?"
Hmm?
Hearing my name being called, I looked up, and saw Satoshi, Chitanda and Ibara all looking at me. I scratched my ear,
"Sorry, say that again?"
Satoshi gave a deep sigh,
"Houtarou...... We're discussing how to deal with the radio interview that will determine the fate of the Classics Club. This attitude won't do, man,"
Since when did we start having a discussion, and such an important one at that as well?
I then realized for some reason Chitanda was looking at me with her breath held back. Her eyes were large as always, but that's not the point,
"W, what is it, Chitanda?"
"...... What do you think?"
"Of what?"
"Nevermind......"
She sighed, though it was more natural than Satoshi's. W, what's going on? To have her sighing naturally at me, did I do something wrong?
Oh well, my thinking is a bit stuck at the moment. I was thinking of asking these guys for their opinion in -->>