Monday, May 23, 2016
Sobu High School
Class 1-E, 11:20 a.m.
During the brief break between classes, while waiting for the next teacher to arrive, Hikigaya Hachiman sat at his desk, completely bored.
With his cheek resting against his left fist, he stared at the silver-gray pendulum he held in his right hand.
At the end of the rod, a diamond-shaped mass resembling an elongated gemstone floated slightly in the air, swaying with the currents while its tip seemed to tear through the air.
I had been thinking quite a bit this morning.
First of all, I didn't have many materials to practice divination with. All I had was this pendulum that had come in that childish little package.
It was probably one of the older models because, at the very least, this pendulum looked decent. If it were a modern one, it would probably be made of cheap, useless plastic.
Besides, I didn't even know how to perform divination with cards.
Although I had a feeling that if I researched and studied cartomancy for a while, I could learn it in a short amount of time.
I don't know everything.
I only know that spirituality is like another sense to me. I can feel it. It's as if something guides me, but I shouldn't rely on that alone.
That would be too ignorant.
Relying too heavily on a single thing eventually turns you into a dependent person, someone incapable of recognizing their own mistakes because they blindly trust whatever they believe is right.
And second...
The name itself says it.
I have to act like a Seer.
Ever since I awakened, I've felt like something was incomplete. As if I still hadn't gotten used to being a Seer.
So I have to act like one.
This school wasn't exactly lacking in those recreational clubs that existed for no other reason than to let students spend their time playing video games or doing whatever other nonsense they could think of.
I'd even heard that, although not at this school, some fans of mystery movies and anime would create clubs dedicated to mysticism or supernatural phenomena just to live out their fantasies.
I don't know how teachers agreed to that kind of thing.
Well, that's their decision.
But I think I'll need a club.
After all, if I'm going to act like a Seer, constantly being alone isn't going to help.
A Seer needs to predict other people's futures and talk to them about anything related to their lives in order to make them believe in their predictions.
That's what those frauds who set up booths in cities, markets, and similar places do.
I can already picture the scene.
The local weirdo sitting across from someone at a table with a crystal ball, predicting the poor sucker's future while wearing a cloak and maintaining a mysterious atmosphere.
Goodbye to my normal, peaceful life.
"Puff..."
I still remember that scene from The Smurfs where Gargamel, trying to look mysterious, stood inside the white smoke surrounding him before making a dramatic entrance.
Yeah.
I definitely need to avoid ending up like that.
Now that I think about it, pendulum divination should be pretty simple.
I just need to establish which directions represent positive and negative answers.
For the positive side, I could use a clockwise movement toward the left. And for the negative, a counterclockwise movement toward the right.
The real difficulty of divination lies in asking the right questions and, above all, asking them in a specific way.
As a Seer, my spirituality is quite strong. I can interact with divination through my spirituality, in the same way I can use Spiritual Vision.
Although the latter has its limits too.
For example, this morning I used Spiritual Vision too much without controlling myself. I was able to see the different colors surrounding my classmates, many of which kept changing constantly.
I also experienced some hallucinations and heard faint whispers.
And then I started getting a headache.
I definitely need to learn how to control it better.
"Pay attention, students."
The teacher had arrived.
I'd gotten too lost in my thoughts.
I quickly put away the pendulum.
There would be time to use it later.
I'll have to ask Hiratsuka-sensei about the club.
....
"Hey, Hikigaya-kun."
Sitting on my favorite step and drinking my iced coffee, I heard someone call out to me.
"Gokou, what's up? Do you need something?"
I'd noticed that she'd been rather quiet during class, although that wasn't exactly unusual. However, I had noticed that every now and then, she kept glancing at me from the corner of her eye.
Does she want something?
"Do you think you could accompany me to a gathering with some friends?"
She quickly added,
"Don't get the wrong idea. It's not like I'm embarrassed to go alone or that I need company."
As she said that, she glanced at me before quickly turning her head away.
Huh?
I, Hikigaya Hachiman, a loner, had just received an invitation to a gathering of friends.
And the strangest part was that it came from another loner.
Should I be surprised by this?
I know we've had quite a bit of contact over the past few days after being on the same team. But for her to invite me like this...
Is she really so afraid of going alone that her only option ended up being the guy who is always standing in a corner?
Or maybe she simply considers me a close acquaintance now.
I'm definitely confused.
I don't have much experience with this kind of thing, so I can't exactly predict what it means.
"You'll only be there as company. You don't need to talk or anything."
She said it with difficulty, her words coming out in broken fragments.
I didn't know how to respond.
The only thing I managed was a small reaction, a slight start that made her turn around.
Maybe she was embarrassed?
I sighed.
"You know my situation. I'm not very experienced with this kind of thing. It never even occurred to me that you'd invite me."
I paused for a moment.
"But I'll accept. Just as company."
There was no way I was going to start talking to people I didn't even know.
It would just be a small experiment.
Right now, all I wanted was to try divination.
Gokou looked at me in surprise.
Did she think I was going to say no?
Then why did you invite me?
I sighed.
I didn't know what to think anymore.
Is she stupid?
"I... I'll let you know. J-Just give me your contact information."
She said it softly, her voice getting quieter with every word.
Her ears were completely red.
Out of instinct, I activated my Spiritual Vision.
I focused on the colors surrounding her. Among them, bright shades such as orange, yellow, and red stood out.
Those colors definitely had different meanings too.
I'd have to research them later.
But I was fairly certain that those colors indicated a person's emotional state.
Wait!
I know how to make up for this.
I could ask her to cooperate with me in my divination.
As long as she kept quiet about it.
Yeah, that's a good option.
It'll save me quite a bit of work once I start.
I'm a genius.
We exchanged our contact information.
You know, seeing her get so nervous just from inviting me is pretty amusing.
Although, to be honest, I prefer the Gokou who maintains that haughty attitude and her childish way of speaking.
It's not like I'm a masochist or anything.
Gokou quickly ran off.
Yeah.
I definitely prefer Gokou in queen mode.
Glug, glug.
I finished my can and threw it into the trash.
...
Teachers' Room
3:35 p.m.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, I'm interested in starting a club. I want to try something on my own, but I need an empty classroom."
I was in the teachers' room because if I wanted to try something related to a club, I needed to find an available space.
"Try something on your own?"
Hiratsuka-sensei raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Have you gotten tired of being alone and now need some company?"
She said it with a touch of sarcasm and amusement.
I sighed.
If I put it that way, she'll think I'm just a kid. But I don't have much of a choice.
I already knew how intelligent sensei was, and giving her only half the story had never been my style. Besides, she'd find out sooner or later anyway.
"I want to try performing some divinations with volunteers. I won't hurt anyone."
"Wow... I definitely didn't expect that from you. That you'd want to do something like this. I'd expect it from someone else, but not you."
She paused for a moment.
"But you're going to perform those divinations on other people, right?"
She was already starting to figure things out.
"Yes. Depending on who wants to do it. I won't pressure anyone."
"In that case, I suppose I can consider it a way of helping your classmates who want to know what their day will be like."
She nodded to herself.
I looked at her.
I already knew she'd come up with an idea.
I could probably even guess what it was.
"I wouldn't put it exactly that way, but if that's how you want to see it, it doesn't contradict anything."
I sighed inwardly.
"Anyway, that classroom is empty. So, Hikigaya-kun, I'll take you to where your club will be. Don't worry about them trying to close it down. I'm the teacher in charge. Until now, there simply hasn't been anyone using it."
She stood up from her seat.
"Follow me."
She walked out the door.
I wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
I sighed.
There was no turning back now.
....
We arrived at an empty classroom.
It was an unused room with multiple chairs and desks stacked in the back. It was practically an abandoned classroom that nobody used.
We were in the school's special building, where several of the clubs were normally located.
"Welcome to the Service Club."
Hiratsuka-sensei opened the door and gestured toward the inside.
"I created it and gave it that name because I wanted there to be a place where students could help others who needed it. But..."
She sighed.
"Nobody showed any interest or wanted to join. Well... until now."
She glanced at me.
"Hikigaya-kun, since you're the first member, I'll appoint you as the founding president. And don't worry about the paperwork. I already prepared it."
She winked mischievously.
"You..."
I didn't know what to say.
Had she already planned this?
Or had she simply been waiting for an opportunity to force me into the position?
"Come on. We're already here. Chin up."
She didn't seem willing to let me escape.
"I created this club for one purpose: to provide guidance and assistance to students in areas that I couldn't or didn't want to handle directly."
She paused for a moment.
"You can imagine how strange it would be for a teacher to give advice about matters of love."
"Yes. You're still a sing-"
I couldn't finish the sentence.
Hiratsuka-sensei grabbed my shoulder tightly and stared directly at me with an expression that made it very clear what was about to happen.
"Hikigaya-kun, I recommend that you don't finish what you were about to say. It's not wise to say certain things about an adult woman."
She smiled.
Although the slight twitch in her face made that smile much more terrifying.
How scary.
"I understand, sensei."
A little more and she'd kill me.
I sighed.
This brat always says things at the worst possible moments.
"Good. As I was saying, this club was created for one purpose: to help."
"Don't worry. I'll take care of that."
I looked at her.
"Since I'm alone, in my case it'll be divination or something similar. I'll look for volunteers or hand out some flyers."
"That sounds good."
She smiled with satisfaction.
"Your good and pretty teacher will take care of making the flyers for you. I hope you're grateful."
...She's definitely enjoying this.
"If you have any students who are dealing with some kind of problem, bring them here so they can join the club."
"Think about how you want to organize things and let me know. I have work to do. See you."
She turned around.
"You already have my contact information."
"Bye-bye."
She gave a small wave before leaving and closing the door behind her.
Silence.
...
"At least I'll be alone."
I looked around.
There was a considerable amount of dust covering everything.
"..."
Silence again.
I'll have to clean.
I sighed.
....
After the cleaning, which took quite a while, by the way, I placed a table and a single chair in the center of the room and took out my pendulum.
I stared at it for a long time, not knowing what question to ask.
So I turned my thoughts toward something else.
Spiritual Vision.
I can't keep activating it instinctively. It gives me pretty bad headaches.
I have to learn to control it like a switch, with a lever or a button to turn it on and off.
Hmm...
What a good comparison.
I closed my eyes and relaxed my mind, letting everything go blank.
I imagined the spheres of light that would serve as representations of its two states.
I repeated each one in my mind:
Off.
On.
Just like a switch I would have to operate.
I don't want to make any conspicuous movements.
Just two small taps with my finger against my hand.
The same for turning it off.
I extended my hands and tapped my left hand twice with one finger.
I opened my eyes.
The colors emanating from my body immediately appeared before my eyes.
It worked.
I rubbed my eyes.
Had I seen it wrong?
I had just seen a deformed shadow floating in front of me.
I looked around.
There was nothing there.
Maybe I'd overused Spiritual Vision again and was now hallucinating.
I tapped my finger twice again.
Spiritual Vision disappeared.
I sighed.
I had what I needed.
Tomorrow, I'd have to come prepared.
First, I'd get a general understanding of how cartomancy worked. I'd just have to look up some videos on the Internet.
I know I'll learn it quickly.
In the end, I first need to know exactly what I'm going to do and why.
I just can't neglect other things.
Like my little sister.
I sighed.
I looked at the sunset through the window.
The sky was dyed red as I spun the pendulum around my finger.
Tomorrow will be another day.