Epilogue: Rock Their World
Epilogue: Rock Their World
“Explain yourself, mister!” Yui roared at me after the Sports Festival came to a close.
“Like I said, I was in love with you, past tense. It was a while ago. Surely it was bound to happen at some point, considering how long we’ve known each other. Am I wrong?”
Technically, when I say “a while ago” I mean “until yesterday,” but I digress.
“Nngh... You brought it up on purpose to make me all flustered, didn’t you?! But it’s not like you were lying, I guess...!” Clutching at her hair, she shook her head vigorously, as if to shake away her inner turmoil. “Rrrgh... We lost because of me... They’re never going to forgive me!”
But fortunately for Yui, as it turned out, the others didn’t hold it against her at all.
In the wake of our victory, Classroom 1-B’s festive mood showed no signs of fading anytime soon.
“Man, that was awesome!”
“I’m glad we decided to put in the effort. It actually paid off!”
“That was, like, sooo badass!”
“We owe a lot to the guys for kicking ass at Capture the Flag!”
“Nah, you ladies really stole the show in the relay race. You earned us a ton of points with that win!”
After dedicating so much effort to the festival and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, everyone was celebrating, guys and girls alike.
“I gotta say, I think the real MVP was Uwa-kun!” Higashino declared, pointing at me.
“Totally!”
“You rock, Uwa!”
“Wassup, Festival Champ?!”
“Sup, sports nerd!”
“No, I... What? I’m not a sports nerd! Where’d that come from?”
Apparently they mistook my motivational speech at the teacher’s lectern as a personal, vested interest in sports.
“From now on, we’ll call you Mr. Sports Festival!”
“Don’t you dare! If you’re going to give me a nickname, can you at least make it applicable to my personality?!”
“Well, what part of your personality can we riff on, then?”
“I dunno, uhh... Mr. Secretly Cares...?”
“Oh yeah? That’s the sort of vibe you’re going for? Interesting... I wouldn’t have expected that...”
“Sorry, bro, but that’s a bit of a stretch.”
“Hey! Don’t judge me! A guy can dream, can’t he?! Er... Not that I dream about it or anything!”
“Chihiro-kun is quite a tsundere... I wager he’s 80% ‘tsun’ and 20% ‘dere’...”
“Stay out of this, Enjouji! And since when do you know enough about tsunderes to make that approximation?!”
Later, the whole class met up at the bowling alley for our official victory celebration.
In the morning, the men of the household sit around the table, eating our breakfast of toast and salad, while my mother prepares boxed lunches for my brother and me to take with us to school.
I butter my toast and take a bite. For the most part, we eat in silence. My father sips his coffee while he reads the newspaper. As for my brother, he chews absently, humming to himself. Either he’s in a really good mood or he’s got a song stuck in his head.
In the background, the TV drones on in vain.
My father gets up to go get dressed for work. My brother’s plate is clean, save for the tomatoes from the salad. My mother knows he won’t eat them, but she serves them to him regardless.
It’s a familiar routine I’ve experienced dozens... no, hundreds of times.
But today, I’m going to change it up ever so slightly.
“That song you’re humming. Is that Yuraty’s new single?”
“Wait, you know Yuraty? Dang, your taste must be pretty niche. Their new single totally slaps, though! I really wanna buy the album, but I’m flat broke, so instead I’ve just been watching the music video over and over...”
“I own that album, actually. Want to borrow it?”
“What? You have it?! Dude, since when do you listen to the same stuff as me?! I thought for sure you wouldn’t like them! Heck yeah I wanna borrow it!”
“Okay, but you have to eat your tomatoes.”
“What? Aww, c’mon! What kind of deal is that?! Ugh... Fine, okay?! I’ll eat them!” He stuffs all the tomatoes into his mouth and begins to chew. “Ggllpp... There! I ate them! Happy?! Now you’d better loan me that album after school today, okay?!”
And with that, he dashes off to the bathroom to style his hair, leaving his perfectly clean plate behind.
“Thank you, Chihiro,” my mother says to me.
In the background, the TV drones on in vain... but as it turns out, if I listen closely, I can make out the peaceful sounds of my mother cooking, too.
I made an effort to change myself, and the world changed with me. I changed my viewpoint, and the world changed with me. The world we all share? That will always exist unembellished. But as it turns out, my life is something I can affect directly. And in a sense, that makes it my world.
I get ready for school and leave the house. It’s the day after the Festival. What will the mood in the classroom be like? What if everyone reverts back to their original apathy? What if the camaraderie we built was only temporary?
To be fair, that would be pretty interesting in and of itself. And supposing that did happen, what action would I take then? Would I rest assured in the knowledge that our class is at least minimally capable of caring when the time calls for it, and decide to let things lie? Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. If we were constantly firing on all cylinders at all times, I think it would wear me out. I just don’t have that much energy to spare.
Ideally I’d prefer if we only got that emotionally invested in school events... but knowing how the world works, it’s not going to go my way. The world isn’t designed to cater to me, after all. Everyone has their own concept of “ideal,” and these differing ideals constantly conflict and influence each other... and the world is built to contain them all. So really, it just depends on how you look at it—at life.
I look up at the sky. Vast, sprawling, blue. And each time I see it, I think of the club—and the people in it—that rocked my whole world.
+++
Have I actually made an impact on someone’s life? Yaegashi Taichi wondered to himself.
After the impostor phenomenon came to an end, Chihiro and Enjouji both thanked him and the other second-years for helping them change their lives.
The entire concept of changing someone’s life was a pretty serious one. This was not something most people could simply set out to achieve. And yet, even with «Heartseed»’s phenomenon hanging over them, the first-years believed it had happened. But how exactly had Taichi himself contributed to that?
He hadn’t even realized the phenomenon was happening. At one point Chihiro told him, “I could never hold a candle to you,” but Taichi was inclined to disagree. There had been some really close calls. Frankly, he could think of nothing scarier than a world full of lurking impostors. And if there had been even one misstep, who knows what might have happened then...
According to the others, at one point, he’d fallen victim to amnesia. He could only imagine how hard it must have been on them. But fortunately, they were able to work together to overcome it.
This wasn’t like «Heartseed»’s usual style, though. It was nowhere near random this time; Chihiro was in full control of when and where it happened at any given moment. But to the phenomenon’s victims, it certainly seemed like the impostors were appearing at random, so in that sense, perhaps it was thematically appropriate after all.
But if «Heartseed» was switching up its tactics, then... maybe there was more to it. Something big, perhaps. Was it setting the stage anew? Or would the curtain fall at last?
Either way, the Cultural Research Club had proven victorious, and that was all that mattered. Not only that, but Chihiro and Enjouji were now officially part of the club. Though Taichi had encouraged them to consider quitting, they hadn’t budged. In spite of «Heartseed», in spite of everything, they wanted to stay. Why? Because, according to them, “the club matters more.”
They seemed so... strong. Chihiro was still his usual snarky self, but Taichi got the sense he’d opened up a bit more. And as for Enjouji, she seemed more confident in herself. In all likelihood, those weren’t the only changes, either—just the only ones he could see. He simply hoped they were good changes, and if he had somehow contributed to their self-improvement, then he couldn’t be happier.
So how exactly did I—we—change them?
He still didn’t have an answer to that... but if he had to guess... perhaps the simple act of living life to the fullest had enough of a ripple effect to change lives.
+++
The amnesia wasn’t permanent. I am so, so, so grateful. You have no idea.
If the memories we shared were just gone forever, I... Fuck, I don’t want to think about it.
All those sleepless nights... I was barely holding it together. My little tough-girl act was on the verge of shattering completely. But thankfully, the situation was resolved before the worst-case scenario came to pass. Otherwise I probably would’ve freaked everyone out.
The whole thing made me realize... my entire life is directly centered on what we have now. This club is my life. This club makes me who I am. And oddly enough, this most recent phenomenon got me thinking about the future.
Frankly, I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to imagine a world where things are different... and yet I know it’s coming. So what will happen to me then? I can’t even begin to guess. I’m just... terrified out of my wits.
Who is Inaba Himeko without Yaegashi Taichi?
The End