I was at the Grill with an unusually large group of acquaintances. The food is that of a high-end traditional Japanese establishment, but it follows the innovations of the modern age. The most obvious innovation between traditional dining and this place is lighting; every wall and aisle rests beneath neon track lights of various shades. Corners darkened by shadows are eerie and psychedelic from the soft neon reflection. The next immediate contrast would be the distractions lining the walls. There are bubbling aquariums filled with fish, pearlescent paintings, and various other trinkets an epileptic should be cautious near.
Like most modern restaurants, they have a kitchen in back near the restrooms. To capture the more traditional feel, patrons can watch their food preparation on a cell phone with just the push of a button. Not very many are likely to watch such things, but it does have some resemblance to the past. A stage near the center of the restaurant probably used to be a sushi bar, but now it is just a display for two-bit bands and wannabes. Fish of a different sea I suppose. I am grateful enough for the entire building with the large sign plainly stating Karaoke starts later in the evening, much later.
I was just thinking of the many other things I was grateful for when I first heard war coming my way. Click-click-click-click. A jammed machine gun of the approaching enemy. Boom-boom. The artillery firing from the same direction. Run to the hills. I could read anxiety rising at the table; It started with Hayama and changed into so many different forms as I looked from person to person. The most revealing of all seemed to be faces of Yukino and Yui. The conversation had died. War smells like Gunpowder, blood, and the ocean. This smells like cherry blossoms, vanilla and the ocean. I can't distinctly recall it, but I remember the same smell from before. I can't help but wonder why Haruno is here.
Don't look her in the eye, lest ye best turned to stone. I casually glance lowly to my side to hide my suspicion. Click-click-click-click. My heart stops: single-shade high heels on small feet. Boom-boom. Condition: Critical, we have been outnumbered! I thought I hadn't been noticed, but the artillery now rests somewhat cock-eyed on my shoulder.
"You don't have to be all sneaky around a lady." Haruno has modestly exposed herself by slightly crouching over my shoulder. Left and right cannon snuff out Ooka and Yamato with ease. A pesky sensation grew around my neck and I could only hope it is my inner angel balancing this devil hanging at my side. " You can just say hello, Hiki – gaya."
She whispered my name slowly and it burned slowly. Fucking napalm. Hayama could feel it too, because he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He flashed me a look that said, "Listen Hikigaya, don't look this bitch in the eye… or whatever it would be in my nice terms." I try to think of something funny to keep myself distracted, but I see Miura and Isshiki are now her victims too. It is either envy or jealousy. Haruno has nearly massacred the whole table with just her presence.
Like Mcdunolds.
That is all I needed to think of. My throat hissed when I finally inhaled. I thought it would be a lot easier to deal with her once I regained coherency. It seemed stark and simple: Haruno is doing everything she can to feel superior to this table. I am naturally inferior and she is just using me as a lever to amplify her grace. This is a shrewd strategy. The guys are emasculated twice: first, they fall before her charm and, secondly, they imagine themselves as [me] just so they can be closer to that same charm. The girls are no better off. They just witnessed a primal takedown of their alpha and she clings to the beta like it wasn't worth her effort. It is simple. If I stay quiet and I keep my wall up, then I come out fine.
It all seemed logical in my head, but I knew something went wrong after I did finally look at her eyes. I had made a mistake. Medusa. It was exactly like the first time we met. She was showing me those fuck-me eyes. Who the hell gives looks at strangers that way, especially loners like me? What regular person would even respond to such an obvious manipulation? I felt exactly the same way I did back then. I just wanted to get her away. I think this feeling was the same as how people felt when they called me a creep.
I pushed Haruno away and attempted to muster disapproval on my face; however, I probably looked the same as any other time – that is, I don't usually express a wide range of emotions beyond bored and disapproval. I didn't have very much leverage at the time, or maybe it was just difficult to push someone away without groping them, but I only ended up sliding closer to Yukino. It was unfortunate because I knew the older sister had her in; will she always win?
"Aw, making room for your big sister." She found a way to flop down gracefully next to me. The side of her ass pushed me further down the seat. I turned sideways to avoid the danger zones to my left and right. One of her fingers traced spiral from the helix down to my earlobe. "Thanks, sweetie. I didn't mean to startle you, but I forgot about your sensitive ears."
I noticed the jacket and dress Haruno wore along with the rest of her charms. I couldn't exactly make out the color in the strange lighting, but they were dark blue or black. Gold, gemmed bracelets adorned her arms, and the two necklaces on her neck appeared to lay the yellow brick road to emerald city. Some may have found her ensemble to be sophisticated and elegant, and I knew that, because sophistication and elegance in fake world is gaudy and expensive in the real one.
Haruno had already won whatever this encounter was going to be. I couldn't tell how many she knew at the table, but they were still hanging on her introduction. I guess I was too, but I the only one with an excuse: she had turned me to stone.
"So this is your birthday party, Hayato. You should have told me you were inviting all of your cute friends." She giggled and it must have released her enchantment because Hayama could speak.
"I am surprised you could make it." Hayama replied in a nice way, but I could tell she wasn't invited.
"Well, you know how important childhood friends are, besides, our parents simply wouldn't have it any other way." Haruno confessed with sociopathic deflection and finesse.
"I guess that means you come with gifts." Hayama grimaced as the words came out of his mouth and for a fleeting moment it reminded me of when he told me that he really wasn't so nice. Of course, a façade will remain to the bitter end and a nice smile came out as he continued, "Of course, I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth." It didn't sound as smooth in Japanese.
"You are getting a horse!" Yuigahama shrilled, "That is so cool!"
I could see Isshiki and Miura nodding along with their eyes closed. They must be picturing Hayama riding along a desolate highway. I wondered if either would be riding along with him. I try to envision it, but an uncomfortable image of me riding in front of him came to mind. Fortuneteller Ebina must have been projecting with psychic powers; I could tell because of the creepy smile on her face.
"Wow, you really are perceptive." Haruno's reply didn't seem to make much sense at that instant, but she leaned over the round table to dangle a set of keys squarely in front of him. The added effect: now everyone knows he has a Lesux. I think Haruno is somewhat justified in her misunderstanding. A car could be comparable to a horse in some hybrid world of past and present. The ladies looked disappointed, but that is because they hadn't seen the wheels yet. They would certainly come to know a far more comfortable fantasy in the elegant and expensive vehicle.
I could read a lot of humiliation coming from Hayama as he reached upward for the keys. It wasn't obvious, but there it was in the way his other hand clenched the table. The keys were displayed the way a treat is presented to a puppy or a string held before a cat. My parents would have made it a point to give me this gift themselves. They would be there to share in the excitement. I guess if I were a father, I wouldn't want to see this smile on Hayama either.
Haruno came back down on the seat in the same graceful flopping. Once again, she was too close and I managed to somehow evenly divide the distance between the two sisters. I was now almost fully facing Haruno and my back faced nearly the whole table and my only friends. I considered this to be a continuing social maneuver. The sub-class loner who can't stand anybody appears to suddenly be only interested in the pretentious thing he hates.
I, too, am dead.
