My Classmate Is An Agent?

“a, a… Agent… Agent…!”

When I got home after the first day of my sophomore year of high school, I pulled out my Japanese dictionary to look up the meaning of the word ‘Agent’.

‘A person who engages in espionage activities. An intelligence officer. A spy. A secret informant. Agent.’

As expected, the letters were lined up together in a row. I quietly closed the dictionary to the array of solid words that I would never see in my usual day-to-day life.

Kinoshita-san thought I was cool and was happy to be in the same class with me, plus she’s also an agent…

But… What if my psychometry is buggy and she’s trying to trick me or something? Maybe it’s some kind of a conspiracy?

As I was staring at my left hand and fretting over the thought that such a thing was impossible, there was a knock at the door of my room.

“Big bro, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“What is it…?”

As I reply back sarcastically, the door opens up and a scowling face pops out of the frame.

It was my younger sister, Sanae.

“Can I play the piano?”

Sanae, who will be in the third year of junior high school this year, smiles at me as if she’s trying to put me in a good mood whilst shaking her twin-tailed hair, which she is in the process of growing out currently.

Sanae is so active and cheerful that I can hardly believe that she’s actually my younger sister. She has been loved and cared for ever since she was a little girl, and recently she has even learned to be cheeky and smart. She is what is commonly referred to as an ‘unparalleled younger sister’ .

“Did you know that the street piano under Paleo was completed? We’re all going to play together next time, and I need to practice for that!”

Street pianos are pianos that are installed in towns, train stations, and other public places where anyone can play them freely. While I was surprised that a street piano had finally been set up in Hiroshima, it seemed like Sanae wanted to go all the way there to play the piano. 

“You don’t have to ask me every time for permission, why don’t you just play it when you feel like it?”

“Because if I played it without permission, my big brother would get angry!”

Sanae’s cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish.

“I won’t get angry. Do as you please”.

The piano Sanae refers to is the electronic piano in the Japanese-style room on the first floor.

Our mother is a piano teacher and we have been surrounded by music ever since we were children. Due to her influence, my sister and I also started playing the piano as a hobby.

“I sure will then!”

“Ah! Hey, wait a minute, Sanae!”

I stopped Sanae as she was about to close the door.

“What’s wrong?”

Sanae peeks into the room again with a quizzical look on her face.

“You have dirt on the back of your uniform.”

“No kidding? Where?”

I get up from the bed and approach Sanae, who has her hands behind her back.

“I’ll brush it off so turn around… Also, you… what do you think of my piano skills?”

As I asked her a question awkwardly, I wiped Sanae on the back. In actuality, there was nothing on the back of her uniform at all. 

I had another purpose for doing so….

“What, out of nowhere? You’re pretty good with it, aren’t you?”

Sanae answered honestly with a furrowed brow, but that wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

“You’re good, but it’s gross how drunk you look like when you do play it.”

Behind Sanae’s flattery, I heard a bitter inner voice reply back in unison.

I casually touched Sanae with my left hand to make sure my psychometry skills weren’t buggy.

“Did you get the dirt off?”

“Um…”

Sanae’s mental voice causes a rather large amount of damage to my heart.

Sure, I’m the type of guy whose performance shows on my face, but isn’t gross a bit much…?

It is true after all, psychometry is not something to be done unintentionally.

“Well, brother, you haven’t been playing much lately, have you?”

Something prickles in my chest as Sanae gazes at me with her evil eye.

“I’m busy, you know. You’re bothering the neighbors, so play with your headphones on.”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Leaving a peace sign through the door, Sanae trudged down the stairs quickly.

After a while, up-tempo piano music could be heard coming from the first floor. It seems she’s playing a song by a band called “Northern Brand,” which is very popular right now.

“I told you to put on your headphones…” (TLN: I’m no musician, but what the hell would wearing headphones do? I may be wrong)

I stare at my left hand as I listen to the bouncing eight-beat rhythm play from below.

There’s no doubt in my mind. That really was Sanae’s real thoughts. My psychometry seems to be functioning properly. For better or worse, it does read the voice of the other

person’s mind clearly.

If that’s the case, then Kinoshita-san really is working as an agent.

I thought our high school didn’t allow any part-time work? But I guess she’s getting paid by the hour if she has one though.

I mean, what is an agent anyway? Who is Kinoshita-san really?

One mystery led to another, and once again I was left scratching my head with no answer in sight.

A week has already passed since I became a sophomore.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning! You’re early today.”

In the classroom, my classmates’ voices overlapped each other’s greetings.

The groups of the class slowly began to form, and I was able to match the faces and names of my classmates and fit in. The second-year students must have gotten off to a good start. 

I greeted any classmates whose eyes met mine at random and took my seat.

As I put my textbooks away on my desk, it had become a part of my morning routine to check on Kinoshita-san, who was sitting by the window.

A week has passed, but Kinoshita-san has not made any friends, and she has remained alone this entire while. Her solitary back figure had already become a part of the scenery of Class 7 of the second year.

Perhaps it was the effect of her ‘Stay away from me’ aura, but no one approached her, nor did she try to talk to anyone herself. During the lunch break, she ate her lunch alone, and during recess, she simply read books all by herself.

She does not seem to be in a rush. She seems to have deliberately chosen solitude and does not even seem to have the concept of the importance of the start of a new semester.

I had not had the chance to exchange even a single word with her during the past week, except for when she yelled at me when I collapsed in the hallway.

“Yes, take your seats!”

I was still stealing glances at Kinoshita-san when our homeroom teacher, Shinoda-sensei, entered the classroom.

Why is she always alone?

What is the job of an agent?

I was certain that Kinoshita-san’s secret was not going to be solved by just idly gazing at her behind.

“Hey, Satsuki?”

It seems that the short homeroom was over while I was looking at  Kinoshita-san. I was brought back to reality when Mayama called out to me.

‘Hmm, what’s wrong?’

I rubbed my eyes blankly and pretended to be sleepy, and Mayama came up to my ear with a coy grin.

“You were watching Kinoshita-san again, weren’t you?”

Mayama whispers to me, and my heart skips a beat at those words.

“I was just looking out the window! Look, Hiroshima Castle looks magnificent today!”

“Satsuki’s agitation is really easy to recognize, you know.”

Trying to cover it up, I pointed to the Hiroshima Castle seen from the window, but Mayama snickered back dismissively.

“I know you’re in shock, You’re not even recognized as a classmate to her, you know.”

He’s referring to the time Kinoshita-san yelled at me when I fell down on that opening day.

…That’s because I’m an ‘unknown’ person.

In my heart, I know she calls me “Satsuki-kun,” but I end up being self-deprecating at times. If I had not known Kinoshita-san’s true feelings, I surely would not have recovered from that time.

“But a week has passed since then, and I’ve been especially active in class and asserted my presence at every opportunity, unlike ‘Mob-kun’ over here.”

“You’re just trying to show off. Also, don’t call me ‘’mob’.”

“As one would expect, Kinoshita-san knows my face and name. doesn’t she?”

Mayama clenches his fist and asks for my approval.

Indeed, Mayama was already becoming the center of the class. It’s a little awkward to praise him, but it’s a testament to his comical and behavioral skills.

“You wish she did…” 

“Your death will not be in vain.”

Mayama gave me a manly thumbs-up, and then turned and headed straight for Kinoshita-san’s seat.

“What? What are you doing?”

I look over at Mayama, not expecting him to do this.

“Kinoshita-san, good morning!”

Mayama stands in front of Kinoshita-san’s seat while she is reading and greets her in a pleasantly loud voice.

This drew the eyes of the entire class.

I watched from a distance, hoping that he would get yelled at, too.

“My name is Mayama.”

Mayama cheerfully introduces himself in the tense air. Showing his white teeth, he flashed his best smile. What more could one ask for in a first impression than a combination of courtesy and freshness!

“Nice to meet you, Kinoshita-san!”

Mayama’s carefully designed lines of communication quieted the noisy classroom.

With no one able to speak to Kinoshita-san, everyone looked on with anticipation at this courageous act of Mayama.

Would the mountain finally move – or would it remain the same?

We hold our breath and wait for Kinoshita-san’s response.

But… 

“…………”

She did not move. She didn’t even twitch at his words. This is what I mean by ‘calm and composed’.

Kinoshita-san continued reading her book without changing her expression. It was as if she was completely oblivious to Mayama, who was standing right in front of her.

Poor, poor Mayama. The air of resignation in the classroom was filled with a feeling of ‘I guess it was all for naught,’ and Mayama was frozen in a state of absentmindedness.

Don’t say it. I gave him a look and told him to come back as soon as possible.

Then Mayama noticed my gaze and raised his eyebrows as if he was planning something.

Isn’t that guy’s eyes looking pretty evil? I have a bad feeling about…

“…Satsuki had told me to do this!”

Mayama pointed at me and added an extra word in retaliation.

It was as if I was using Mayama to mess with Kinoshita-san!

“Hey, Mayama!”

I was so involved in the incident that I couldn’t help but get to my feet at his words.

Kinoshita-san couldn’t continue to ignore this and looked at me.

“Ki-Kinoshita-san, I didn’t say that…”

I tried to deny it by waving my hands, but Kinoshita-san’s eyes changed.

She glared at me with a ginormous grin, just like last time.

She stabbed me with a cruel glare, and Kinoshita-san immediately turned her head forward.

Worst of all. I couldn’t make any excuses, and the situation came to a head when the mastermind of the incident was ‘declared’ to be me.

Mayama came back looking a little uncomfortable and coughed a little.

“I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“You little…”

Why do I have to be the only one getting stared at! How many times have you done this to me!?

Since the second year, I’ve been getting into a lot of accidents with Kinoshita-san, haven’t I?

I was not in a good mood that day, thinking that Mayama had caused Kinoshita-san to misunderstand me.

But why does Kinoshita-san so stubbornly distance herself from others? There must be a reason as to why she is so blatant about it.

I wondered if it was because she was an agent, but I had no idea what the real answer was after all.

And she’s especially hard on me, isn’t she? She said I was cool though, right? Right?

At any rate, I must at least clear up the misunderstanding I had earlier.

If I talked to her in the classroom again, I would have to repeat the same mistake that Mayama had made earlier, so I was trying to find a good time to be alone with her, whilst thinking about it, it became lunchtime. 

Kinoshita-san ate her small lunch all alone, as per usual, and then chewed her cream puffs for dessert with a blank expression on her face.

I wonder if she likes sweets? If that’s the case, why doesn’t she eat a little more deliciously? This is the meal of a monk.

As I watched the cool Kinoshita-san, who was continuing her diligence, she suddenly got up from her seat and left the classroom in a short run.

…Where are you going?

None of my classmates were paying attention to her, so only I followed her figure walking by the halls through the window.

Kinoshita-san was in no particular hurry to get out of the classroom; she just put her hand on the corridor railing and peeked down from the stairwell.

I wondered if she was taking a breath of fresh air after lunch to freshen up.

No, wait. If I want to clear the misunderstanding, wouldn’t now be a good time to do so?

“All right then…”

I was quick to see the opportunity, and so I got up from my seat, while also being scared to death.

As I stepped out into the hallway, a gust of wind blew by and I could see raindrops falling through the sky. It looked like it had just started to rain.

It’s a nuisance at our high school that the rain comes in through the roof atrium, but Kinoshita-san was looking downstairs without caring much about the rain.

….What are you doing?

Kinoshita-san seemed to be looking for someone as she was drenched in the rain.

When I was unable to speak to her, the chime for the beginning of class rang mercilessly.

Kinoshita-san suddenly turned her head to look at me, perhaps startled by the chime or perhaps noticing my gaze.

“Oh!”

When her eyes met mine, Kinoshita-san let out a strange voice.

She probably didn’t think I was behind her. Her surprised face gradually turned into something scary. Why does she do that whenever her eyes meet mine? Is this some kind of Pavlovian nonsense? (TLN: Pavlovian means “being or expressing a conditioned or predictable reaction” as per Mirriam Webster)

“What are you doing there?”

Kinoshita-san immediately asks me a question.

She stares at me with a vicious glare, and I can’t tell if it’s rain or sweat dripping down her forehead.

“No, actually, it’s…”

As I tried to clear up this morning’s misunderstanding, Kinoshita-san approached me rapidly.

“Did you see anything?”

I shake my head so hard, I feel as if my neck is about to give way and just snap. I couldn’t say that I had been staring at Kinoshita-san the entire time after all.

“Then why are you here?”

“I think it’s raining, right?”

I pointed to the sky above us, and Kinoshita-san moved her head slightly to look up at the sky. She lightly stroked her wet hair as if she just noticed that it began raining.

“…I guess so.”

Convinced, Kinoshita-san slipped past me and went into the classroom.

I looked on in dismay at her appearance.

What was that all about? Did I do something wrong?

They say that “All roads lead to Rome,” but in my case, everything Kinoshita-san does leads to her being an agent.

I lean over from where Kinoshita-san was just now and look downstairs. The chimes were already ringing and it had begun to rain, so very few students were out in the hallway.

However, I saw someone coming up the escalator with an umbrella.

Who was it? From above, I could not see his face because the umbrella was in the way. I did notice that he wasn’t a student. He’s wearing a suit instead of the traditional uniform.

The person got off the escalator on the third floor.

It was the vice principal.

Were you looking for the vice principal, Kinoshita-san?

I don’t think this is what agents do though?

The rain began to intensify, and the raindrops soaked the corridor in a dotted pattern. My heart was beating faster as the rain fell into a unique rhythm.

Is Kinoshita-san an agent after all….?

I had seen something I shouldn’t have, and my interest in Kinoshita-san had only deepened even further.

TL: “”

ED: Spynine01