What's under Kamiyama-san's paper bag? - 35 Chapter 33
What’s under Kamiyama-san’s paper bag?
35 Chapter 33 “With Kamiyama-san”
“And… is it already this time? I guess it’s about time to finish today’s club activities,” I said as the chime indicating the end of school echoed through the evening club room. I descended from the podium and stretched my arms wide. The autumn sunset cast its warm glow into the Conversation Club room, where the usual members were gathered: Arai, Harusame, and Kamiyama-san. Even after a week into the second semester, the four of us continued practicing our conversation skills diligently. The club room remained unchanged, as did the members. It was the same daily routine as before.
As I approached my desk, Arai stood up from her seat. “Oh, Komino-kun, I have something to do today, so I’ll head out first,” she said, swiftly leaving the club room before I could respond.
“Um… ummm… well, you see, Ah-chan! It just so happens that I also have something to do today, by pure coincidence! Will you accompany me? Huh? Come on, let’s go together! It’s settled then! Well, that’s the case, so I’ll head out first! I’ll be back soon! I promise, okay? I really mean it! See you tomorrow!” Harusame followed suit, not waiting for my reply, and left the club room, pulling the life-size panel of the magical girl Ah-chan she always brought along.
I wondered what was going on with those two. It was unusual for them to act like that. Well, Harusame has always been a bit peculiar, so it’s not entirely unexpected. And it seems Arai also had some business to attend to.
Several minutes passed since the after-school chime had rung, leaving only the two of us, Kamiyama-san and me, in the orange-tinted club room.
“I wonder what’s up with Harusame… Did something seem off to you? Well, I guess she’s always been a little strange. And it seems like Arai had something to do as well,” I said, addressing Kamiyama-san, who remained seated.
“Uh… umm… well… um… that…” Kamiyama-san mumbled nervously in response.
I looked at Kamiyama-san. There she was, the same as always, with a brown paper bag over her head, looking at me from the torn hole in the front with upturned eyes.
That day, when we gathered at the park and the two masked detectives defeated the evil magical girl Harusame… Kamiyama-san had said, “I’ll think about it for a bit,” before leaving the park. Even now, as school resumed and club activities began, she continued to come to school and participate in the club with the paper bag still on her head, just as before. Unchanged.
I deliberately refrained from confirming what conclusion she had reached that day. We had done everything we could. It was now Kamiyama-san’s issue to resolve. That’s why I continued to interact with her as I always had.
“Though it ended up being just the two of us, well, shall we walk home together? Or maybe make a detour somewhere――” Just as I was about to suggest a detour, Kamiyama-san, unusually, interrupted me.
“Uh… umm…! Um, you see! Today, I have something to talk to you about, Komino-kun…”
“A conversation? With me?”
When I pointed at myself, Kamiyama-san nodded and shook the brown paper bag up and down.
“Thank you for that day… Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot… and I finally found my answer… That’s why I wanted to ask you today… I asked the others to give us some time alone…”
I see. So that’s what Arai and Harusame meant earlier.
As Kamiyama-san stood up and spoke, her voice trembled ever so slightly. The paper bag on her head was moist, and drops of sweat were still falling from the hem of her skirt, staining the floor.
Kamiyama-san tightened her grip on both hands and directed the paper bag towards me, her back to the classroom window, and began speaking.
“That day, thanks to Harusame-chan and Arai-san… and also thanks to you, Komino-kun… I gained courage. So, I’ve been thinking… maybe I should take off this paper bag… I know I have to do it someday… I have to try my best… But… even though I made that decision once, I couldn’t take the first step… I couldn’t gather the courage to suddenly take off the bag in front of everyone… That’s why――”
Kamiyama-san took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“So, I thought maybe I could take off this paper bag in front of you first… If you could watch me, and if I gained confidence from that, maybe I could take it off in front of others too… That’s why… That’s why, starting from now… Can you watch me take off this bag…?”
I see. Kamiyama-san has made up her mind. If that’s the case, I have to respond. No, I want to respond.
I had to say something to Kamiyama-san in this moment. Realizing that, I frantically searched for the right words to say, and then I noticed that I, myself, was also feeling nervous.
My heartbeat rapidly increased.
I moistened my dry mouth with a gulp of saliva, attempting to speak. “Alright. Can you show me your face, Kamiyama-san?”
As I stood in front of Kamiyama-san with the setting sun behind her, I waited patiently.
The voices of students returning home could be heard from outside the window, accompanied by the evening sun’s gentle glow. The drops of water falling to the floor echoed in the silence. The ticking of the clock. The scent of the classroom.
Soon, all of those things stopped reaching me. It felt as if there were only Kamiyama-san and me in the world. I was trapped in that kind of sensation.
With a determined expression, Kamiyama-san slowly moved her long arm and grasped the hem of the paper bag, then stopped there. It may have only been a few minutes in reality, but it felt like an eternity to me.
Kamiyama-san’s arms, her hands, her pale fingers were trembling slightly. Eventually, when her trembling hand made a slight movement, she slowly lifted the paper bag. The paper bag rose slowly, revealing Kamiyama-san’s mouth from within the brown bag.
A single drop of sweat fell from the paper bag onto her tightly pursed lips. Then, Kamiyama-san paused for a moment with only her mouth exposed, as if gathering her courage, and swiftly took off the paper bag.
In my eyes, Kamiyama-san’s bare face was reflected. Her lips, tightly sealed as if enduring embarrassment, her flushed cheeks. Large beads of sweat dripped from her silky black hair, staining the clubroom floor.
Despite her height, her face still retained a hint of childishness. It seemed as if her entire face, no, her entire body was screaming with embarrassment. Her eyes, as if lost and unsure where to look, suddenly turned towards me.
Her lips, which were sealed, began to move.
“It’s been a while… Or maybe, nice to meet you for the first time…”
Kamiyama-san paused there, wearing a bashful smile as she spoke.
“Even though I’m like this… Please take care of me from now on, Komino-kun.”
With a joyful expression, Kamiyama-san expressed her gratitude towards me and extended her right hand, seeking a handshake.
“Ah, likewise, Kamiyama-san. Nice to meet you,”
I replied, shaking Kamiyama-san’s hand. The touch was soft, and I could feel the dampness from her sweat. The moment our hands touched, Kamiyama-san flinched for an instant but immediately squeezed my hand tightly, looking embarrassed, shy, and incredibly happy. While looking at Kamiyama-san’s face, I thought,
“It’s the same smile I saw in the park that day.”
After school, in the orange-colored clubroom, we laughed while still holding each other’s hands. However…
“Ah… Kamiyama-san… Maybe we can let go of our hands soon?”
We had been holding hands for several minutes. Then, with a deep red face, Kamiyama-san said,
“I-I-I-I’m sorry. I… I got too nervous and forgot how to move my hand…!”
Confirming the sensation of Kamiyama-san’s hand once again, I realized that her previously soft hand had now stiffened, as if it were made of metal or something. It firmly held onto my hand. Kamiyama-san herself seemed to be exerting force with her right hand, trying to let go, but her hand had completely frozen and wouldn’t budge. I tried to grab Kamiyama-san’s fingers with my left hand and peel them off, but they didn’t even twitch.
“What should we do…?”
“What should we do…” As we both pondered, a small voice was heard from outside the clubroom, from the hallway.
“Oh, it’s about time for school to end… Huh? Is someone still in this classroom?” Before the voice in the hallway could finish speaking, the door to our clubroom opened. The person who appeared through the open door was the teacher on patrol, presumably checking after school activities.
In that moment, Kamiyama-san’s hand, which had been stiff before, suddenly opened up. She swiftly turned her back toward the door, smoothly pulling a paper bag out of her pocket and placing it over her head. As she turned around, the sweat that scattered from her body landed on my face. With practiced movements, she tore off the part covering her eyes with her hand and faced the door.
“Oh, you’re still here. It’s already time to go home, so hurry up,” the teacher said before closing the door with a clatter and leaving.
Kamiyama-san let out a trembling voice from inside the paper bag. “Um… um… In front of other people, I still feel embarrassed, so I acted reflexively…”
Seeing Kamiyama-san like that, I found it funny and adorable, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Hahaha, it’s alright. Thanks to that, we were able to shake hands. Eventually, you’ll be able to do it in front of everyone too. Take your time, okay?”
“U-Yeah… thank you, Komino-kun… Someday… someday, I’ll be able to take off the paper bag properly anytime. So, until that time, will you stay with me…?”
Instead of giving a verbal reply, I nodded with a smile.
“Well… then, let’s go home. Oh, in celebration of Kamiyama-san being able to take off the paper bag, let’s stop by somewhere. It’s just the two of us today, and I’ll treat you. Let’s keep it a secret from the others,” I said, picking up my bag and walking towards the classroom door.
I heard Kamiyama-san’s voice from behind me. “Ah… wait. Um, actually, I wanted Arai-san and Harusame-chan to see it too… So, um… well…”
“Huh? Did you say something?” Without waiting for Kamiyama-san’s words, I stepped outside the classroom.
There, there were two figures and a magical girl panel, but I couldn’t see them at that moment.
Afterward, I ended up buying four crepes, but well, this kind of school life isn’t too bad, I guess. Probably.