Anda Kokoro Connect Volume 9: Asu Random Part 1

1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7183-2616-3
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 350 Seiten

Reihe: Kokoro Connect

They thought «Heartseed» was gone. They thought they were finally free. But now, four months later, there's something weird going on at Yamaboshi High School. Why is everyone so afraid of the Cultural Research Club? Why is it suddenly so hard to hear a conversation happening a few feet away? And worst of all... why do the CRC second-years keep having bizarre memory lapses?! Here begins the thrilling final arc of the hit ensemble dramedy light novel from award-winning author Sadanatsu Anda!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Anda, Sadanatsu

Weitere Mitwirkende

Shiromizakana

Lee, Molly

Leseproben

Chapter 1: Just Another Day

“Hurry up and finish your breakfast, kids. I’m leaving for work a little early today.”

“Yes, Mom,” Yaegashi Taichi replied absently, his mind only half-awake, as he sat at the dining table and slowly worked his way through his meal of eggs, toast, and fruit.

“Quit taking tiny little nibbles! What are you, a squirrel? You’ll be there for hours!”

His mother’s nagging went in one ear and out the other. She was always yelling about something at all hours of the day, and it was exhausting to deal with.

His eyelids drooped. Last night, his sixth-grade (soon to be seventh-grade) sister Rina had begged him to stay up late watching a horror movie with her, and as a result, he was a little sleep deprived. Granted, they were only “up late” by a grade-schooler’s metric, but nevertheless, it had thrown his usual bedtime routine out of whack. This, in turn, had made it harder to get out of bed that morning.

“Alright, I’m done waiting! Whichever one of you leaves the house last, be sure to clean up, got it?”

“But Moooom! I’m not done styling my hair!” Rina complained as she devoured her grapefruit slices.

“Not my problem. Okay, I’m heading out!”

And so their mother dashed out of the living room.

“Mom, wait—ugh, fine! See you after school!”

“Have a good day, Mom...”

“Alright, Taichi, I’m leaving cleanup duty to you!”

“Nice try. If you’re the last to leave the house, then you have to take care of it, like Mom said.”

“I said I’m not done getting ready!”

“Don’t be lazy, Rina. Nobody likes a slob.”

“I’m not lazy! I’m helping with dinner tonight, remember? You’re such a jerk!”

“Less talking, more eating.”

“Forget it! I didn’t even want this toast. I’m done!”

“Hey! Don’t waste your food!”

“You sound like Dad. It’s not a waste if I already ate half of it!”

And with that, Rina disappeared back upstairs. She was turning into a real brat lately, and since their father wasn’t around these days, it fell to Taichi to straighten her out. He decided he’d give her a stern talking-to after school.

The Yaegashi household was the standard nuclear family: mother, father, and two children. Mr. Yaegashi was currently working out of town, so he hadn’t been home in a while, and Mrs. Yaegashi was a temp worker at a large corporation. Their house was empty five days a week.

Taichi finished his milk and rose from his chair. “Fine,” he muttered.

Then he stacked Rina’s plate onto his own and carried them both to the sink.

As soon as he stepped outside, he was immediately accosted by the chilly winter wind. He shrank into himself slightly, hunching over and crossing his arms. This was going to be one miserable walk to the train station.

Valentine’s Day had come and gone, and now it was nearing the end of February. Not only were Japanese winters chilly in general, but today was overcast, and the weather report had warned that a cold spell was setting in.

He stepped off the train at the station closest to Yamaboshi High School. . It was wild to think he’d attended this school for nearly two full years now.

As he walked down the street, he could see other students ahead of him, walking in unusually large clusters. Maybe it was their way of staving off the cold.

“Morning, Taichi!” a cheerful voice called, melting away the winter air’s bitter chill. Then he felt someone clap him on the back.

“ Morning, Nagase. I see you’re chipper as ever.”

“Who, me? Nahhh!” Nagase Iori grinned.

When she smiled, it felt like the wind and clouds and all his other wants and worries no longer mattered—if she was happy, then the whole world was happy. Of course, he knew this was a massive overstatement, but still, that was just how radiant she was. She walked beside him, her long, silky, dark hair blowing behind her in the breeze.

He could recall a time when the two of them had been in love... but that romance never led to anything more. Instead, she was now one of his most trusted friends, always pushing him to be his best self.

“Whenever it gets this cold outside, you know the end of the school year is right around the corner! Nothing left to look forward to,” Nagase sighed, exhaling a white fog.

“We still have finals coming up. Oh, and club presentations.”

“Yeah, but those aren’t , Taichi! And we’ve already got everything prepped for our presentation, so there’s nothing really left to do!”

“That reminds me—are you doing another high-speed cosplay show this year? It was a big hit, you know.”

“Hell yeah! I’ll wear a swimsuit, a maid outfit, and of course, last year’s dark horse favorite, the pro wrestling costume... I wouldn’t do that crap again even if you paid me! ...Okay, maybe if you paid me... No, no, definitely not!”

Only Nagase had the energy to subvert her own jokes this early in the morning.

Club presentations were both a showcase of each club’s activities as well as a graded performance that would directly determine said club’s funding for the next school year. This year, similar to their presentation from last year, the CRC was planning to present a “Special Edition” of the Culture Bulletin. Unlike last year, however, they had the forethought to start prepping their presentation materials ahead of time.

“Well, if you’ve got nothing you’re looking forward to, then why don’t we come up with something ourselves?” Taichi suggested.

“Wait... Holy crap, you’re a genius!”

“ Please. It’s just common sense.”

“Yeah, but you’re the last person I’d expect to have any!”

“...You think I’m stupid, don’t you?”

“Haha! Oh my god, Taichi, I’m . My point is, it’s a great idea. I know we’re already planning a CRC outing over spring break, but it’d be awesome if we could get the whole class together for something, too. Maybe a giant sleepover!”

“A sleepover? Sounds fun.”

“Sweet! I’m gonna talk to some people and see if we can make it happen!”

Beaming from ear to ear, Nagase bounced around like an excitable little puppy.

It was just another peaceful day.

As soon as Taichi arrived at the classroom, he dropped his bookbag off at his desk and walked right back out again. The weekly school assembly was scheduled that morning in the gymnasium.

The building was large enough for three basketball courts, but when accommodating nearly a thousand people—the entire student body plus the staff—things could get a little cramped. This week, both the principal the student council president were presenting speeches.

“The first- and second-years are preparing for finals while the third-years are busy studying for college entrance exams. I encourage all of you to practice self-care so you can keep operating at 100 percent for the days ahead...”

Taichi didn’t know how anyone could find the courage to give a speech in front of literally hundreds of people, but it was an impressive feat however you looked at it.

“It impressive, isn’t it?”

“Wh...?! Quit scaring me like that! You made me think you could read minds for a second!”

It was Fujishima Maiko, former president of Class 1-C and current self-proclaimed “apostle of love,” being her usual enigmatic self. For whatever reason, their fates kept bringing them together, often at highly inopportune times.

After the dramatic showdown during the Hokkaido trip—not to mention whatever mischief she’d gotten into with Enjouji and Chihiro recently—Fujishima seemed to be back on top of her game. With her hair tied back, her bangs pinned up, and her glasses spotless, she was looking as stylish as always.

“For the record, Yaegashi-kun, I didn’t to read your mind. You literally said ‘whoa’ under your breath just now.”

“Oh.”

The rest of the class had lined up in alphabetical order, but Fujishima had arrived late due to her morning club duties, and the only space available to her was directly behind Taichi.

“Anyway, yeah, his charisma is really something else. You can instantly tell why he won the student council election,” Taichi noted.

“That’s Katori Jouji for you. He has looks and brains in equal measure.”

“Whoa. That’s high praise, coming from you.”

“Perhaps it is. As a member of the Student Council Outreach Committee, it’s my job to enforce the rules set by the student council, and this current president has certainly earned my respect, I’ll say that. He could stand to be a little less demanding of us, but in our line of work, that’s hardly uncommon. If he didn’t have the bite to back up his bark, I would have had him ousted a long time ago!”

Katori Jouji was a fellow second-year student. With a handsome face, an athletic body, and hair so perfect he could be a salon model, it was no wonder he was popular. Not only that, but he was a diligent...