"Rukawa isn't escorting your sister?" I asked casually. Aiko gave a negative reply.
"She must be a beauty," I said thoughtfully. I can't imagine Rukawa falling for anything less,"
"Oh, quite on the contrary!" Aiko replied. "She's quite plain, you know."
But my first sight of Shina was anything but. Her tall, slender form moving with effortless grace down the stairs, she reminded me very much of a mannequin. She took Maki's arm, and together they walked over.
"Sendoh – my sister Shina. Shina, meet Akira Sendoh."
I was quite disappointed, however. Shina had looked gorgeous from afar, but up-close she was really very average. Shina was no beauty, and I had to admit myself quite mistaken. But she was an intriguing creature. As soon as my disappointment faded, I found she possessed an intense power of stillness, almost severe in its austerity, and yet I felt that beneath her mask of reserved composure was a spirit wild and untamed.
"Hullo, Sendoh." She smiled indulgently at Aiko and I both, then turned her attention back to her brother.
"Where's father?" She asked.
"He's gone ahead of us. My, you look beautiful tonight, Shina."
"I'm sure you're only saying that because you picked the dress!" She accused jokingly.
Maki pleaded guilty with a little laugh. She squeezed his arm.
"So, shall we go?"
"No, we're waiting for someone." Maki replied.
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "And who might that be?"
"A team-mate of mine, to whom I really regret telling about tonight." He said dryly.
Moments passed.
"There's a cute guy," Aiko remarked appreciatively at someone at the door.
Kiyota!
Very soon, we were seated in a spacious car.
"You're Maki's sister?" Kiyota asked in disbelief.
"Why yes, I am," she said, smiling. She seemed amused by this monkey in a suit.
"Stop asking silly questions, Kiyota."
"What school are you from?" Kiyota continued.
"Shohoku,"
"Shohoku!" He echoed in excitement. "Do you know the redheaded monkey, then?"
Shina reflected.
"If you're talking about Sakuragi – " Kiyota nodded vigorously at this, "Yes, I do,"
"Goodie!" He exclaimed. "Would you please help me pass the message – 'you stupid redheaded monkey! You still owe me the money for the train fare – and you said you'd pay me back 5 times the amount!'"
"Sure I will,"
Thereafter, Aiko and Kiyota plunged into conversation whilst I wished I could do the same with Shina.
The sitting arrangement for dinner delighted me. Maki, Kiyota, Aiko, I, Shina – in a round table. My girlfriend continued to flirt under my nose, and for once I couldn't care less.
"So, what are you into?" I asked. "Any hobbies?"
"I'm very much into literature and politics – a bit of a weird mix, isn't it?"
Politics! Oh my god.
"Literature, like Shakespeare?" I said, hoping to avoid politics altogether.
"Oscar Wilde,"
Oscar Wilde. I'd heard of that name before. He wrote Macbeth, right?
"I've read Macbeth," I informed her.
"That's Shakespeare," She corrected.
Ok great. Now what?
"Othello,"
"That's Shakespeare."
"Pride and Prejudice."
Now I was quite confident about my latest mention. Pride and Prejudice – that was a play by Oscar Wilde!
"That's Shakespeare – " she stopped short. "- Jane Austen, I mean."
This was going horribly wrong.
"You said you've read Othello," she said.
I dreaded what she was going to say next.
"What do you think of it? Iago – a brutal murderer, isn't he?"
"Yes, of course." I didn't know what I was talking about. Iago? What was that?
"Are you a fan of music?" I asked, avoiding any more awkward questions.
"Yes," her eyes lit up. "Yes, I am,"
Aha! So, she was a music lover.
"Any favourites?"
"I'm sure you haven't heard of them," she said, smiling. "I listen mostly to independent music."
So she was one of those weird indie kids. Hmmm. The most "indie" band I'd heard of was…
"Weezer?"
"Oh yes, Weezer," she said fondly. "they were good once,"
I thought there was a tinge of sadness in her voice. As though sensing my bewilderment, she continued.
"The media corrupts, you know." She sounded slightly bitter.
"Well, what other bands d'you listen to, then? Maybe I'd know," I encouraged.
"Belle and Sebastian, Trembling Blue Stars, Badly Drawn Boy, Pearl Jam…"
I made a mental note. After that I took the conversation into my own hands, and described several interesting incidents in a way that, I was pleased to see, amused her. Handsome lad he might be, but Rukawa could hardly converse.
After a delectable dinner, Shina excused herself on the plea of an engagement, with whom she would not tell. I offered to escort her, but she declined. Then, my little flirt of a girlfriend insisted I should (I'm glad she did, though), expressing concerns about rapists and robbers and whatnot. Shina agreed rather reluctantly.
We arrived at our destination – a beach – at about 11pm via a taxi. She thanked me and bid me goodbye. I pretended to walk away, but really I wanted to see who she was meeting. I saw her remove the chopsticks in her bun so that her hair fell about her shoulders, kick off her heels, then hurry to join someone. I could only see his back, but I couldn't be wrong. Kaede Rukawa. She sat beside him on the sand with her evening dress, but he didn't even stir. The two of them just sat there doing nothing. Yawn. Even I – the onlooker – was getting bored. Just when I was about to leave, he passed her something. A gift. Kaede Rukawa got someone a present. Kaede Rukawa. The stars stood still in their courses!
Even when I reached home, I was still replaying in my mind over and over again the way Shina had cast off her usual reserve as if she had not a care in the world. She was… strange.