“Of course, right away.”
The staff member behind the counter displayed impeccable professional conduct, nodding with a smile as she retrieved the Sony phone and handed it to Kyousuke.
This actually caught him somewhat by surprise.
“Thank you.”
Kousaka Kyousuke took the phone and began trying to operate it with a touch of unfamiliarity.
In his memory, phones had long since evolved into the era of touchscreens, so the device in his hands felt rather foreign.
After test-using it for a short while, he confirmed it had all the functions he needed and handed it back unchanged.
“Please get me one of these.
I’ll pay in cash.”
“Eh?”
The staff member blanked for a moment, as if failing to process what she’d just heard.
“Pardon me?”
“I said I’d like to purchase one.
Please bring me a brand-new unit.
Also, please help me set up a SIM-card along with it.”
Kyousuke pulled the cash from his bag and placed it on the counter.
“Certainly!
No problem at all!
Please wait just a moment!”
A look of delighted surprise spread across the staff member’s face as she hastily put the display model away and jogged off toward the back.
Kyousuke wore an expression of long familiarity.
Being young certainly had its inconveniences.
Perhaps he ought to put together an outfit that made him look a bit more mature?
It would help avoid a fair number of situations where people got the wrong idea.
The clothes he wore outside were mostly picked out by his mother, which meant they largely consisted of boyish, rustic attires.
“On second thought, no.
If I came home lugging shopping bags, Mother would definitely interrogate me.”
He mulled it over and abandoned the idea.
He wasn’t quite ready yet to explain his plans for the future to his family.
Knowing his mother, the moment she found out about his income, she’d likely confiscate his money for “savings” and not return it until he graduated high school.
The limitations of the era, he supposed.
Parents always wanted to minimize risks for their children, never realizing they were also closing off opportunities in the process.
He didn’t have to wait long before the staff member returned, bringing an unopened new device along with the paper documents for setting up a phone card.
In the 90s, mobile phone sales and telecommunications services were far more tightly bundled than they would be in the future — most purchases came as packaged deals.
While Kyousuke was filling out his information, a somewhat familiar voice drifted to his ears, causing him to glance over without thinking.
“Ayase, over here!”
At the counter up ahead, he spotted a striking figure crowned with blonde hair.
Even without seeing her face, the voice alone was enough for him to identify her — the very same cheap little sister who had been crying her eyes out back at the Kadokawa building.
What kind of twisted fate was this, running into her at the same department store while simply trying to buy a phone?
Kyousuke shrank back slightly, positioning the staff member to completely block him from view.
Running into her once might be written off as coincidence, but twice within two hours?
“Is something the matter, sir?” The staff member looked at him quizzically.
“Nothing.
Please just process this as quickly as you can.
I have other matters to attend to.”
Kyousuke brushed it off hastily.
….
Aragaki Ayase had her arm looped through Kirino’s as the two paused in front of the mobile phone counter.
Faced with the dazzling array of electronic goods, she paid them no attention whatsoever, instead simply savoring the warm sensation against her arm.
But this bliss was soon broken when Kirino let go.
Her companion turned to face her and pointed at a flip phone inside the display case, its front cover adorned with an adorable cat accessory.
“This character — I’m pretty sure that’s Hello Kitty, isn’t it?
Sony actually put out a collaboration model.”
Kirino’s voice held a note of excitement.
“You have a keen eye, miss.
This is a limited edition.
Only three stores in all of Shinjuku carry it, and our shop happens to be one of them.
Would you like to try it out?”
The sales staff who worked the front lines at these counters all possessed sharp judgment.
They could tell the brands of the two girls’ clothing at a single glance and had approached them immediately.
Compared to the cold reception Kyousuke had received, these two fashionably dressed young beauties gave off a far stronger impression of having real purchasing power.
“Yes, yes.
Please take it out for me.”
Kirino nodded repeatedly, then took the phone from the store clerk and handed it to Ayase.
“Go on, try it out, Ayase.
If you like it, I’ll buy it for you — as a thank-you gift for bringing me good luck.”
“Eh?
That’s way too expensive.
Besides, I already have a phone.”
Ayase came from a reasonably well-off family to begin with, and with her part-time modeling work on top of that, she had been enjoying the convenience of a mobile phone for quite some time now.
“That thing’s an antique from over a year ago.
It’s long overdue for a replacement!
Don’t be so formal with me.
We’re good friends, aren’t we?”
Kirino’s declaration drew envious glances from the staff behind the counter.
This kind of reaction from onlookers pleased Ayase immensely.
So this was what it felt like to be doted on.
“Alright.
Since you’ve set your heart on it, Kirino, I’ll treasure whatever you give me.
….
Their conversation wasn’t particularly loud, but with only a single counter’s distance between them, Kyousuke heard every word clear as day.
Just giving it away like that?
Must be nice having money.
He had noticed that Sony Hello Kitty collaboration flip phone earlier as well, only to be immediately scared off by the price tag.
It was the exact same model as the one he was holding, with more or less the same specs and identical functions, yet it cost nearly twice as much.
He had been wondering just what kind of person would pay a premium solely for a cute accessory, and now the answer had materialized right before his eyes.
He couldn’t resist glancing over again, and this time his gaze fell upon the face of Kirino’s companion.
Pure, refined features — by Kyousuke’s estimation, she even possessed the kind of looks that could debut as an idol.
“It looks like Father’s worries were unfounded.”
With that kind of appearance, her style of dress, and the air of refinement she carried, the family she came from was surely far from ordinary.
So Kyousuke mused as he leaned his chin on his hand against the counter — only for his eyes to suddenly meet another’s gaze.
….
Aragaki Ayase had been modeling part-time for a year or two now, and she had developed a sensitivity to being watched, almost like a sixth sense.
The moment she felt an unfamiliar gaze land upon her face, she instinctively looked directly back at its source.
Their eyes met.
She detected none of the feelings that normally made her skin crawl in that gaze.
The other party seemed to be merely sizing her up — more of an appraisal than anything else.
It was a look she had experienced many times before, usually from street scouts.
But his clothes suggested he was around her age.
A student, perhaps?
She didn’t find his looks off-putting.
Clean-cut and neat in appearance, his expression carried none of the childishness typical of his peers.
“Hm?
Ayase, what are you looking at?”
Kirino noticed her friend’s distraction and followed her line of sight.
“Tch.
How am I running into him again?
Did this guy plant a tracker on me or something?”
The instant she spotted Kyousuke, the smile on Kirino’s face vanished, replaced by a look of undisguised annoyance.
Ayase observed how, practically the very moment her friend looked over, the boy immediately averted his gaze and pretended not to know them.
“Someone you know?”
“That’s the guy.
The brother my stepmom brought along.”
Ayase froze, and every alarm in her head went off at once.
The enemy had appeared!
The enemy who now held Kirino’s secret!
Her previously gentle gaze abruptly sharpened as she swept it toward Kyousuke — but then, in a flash, something seemed to occur to her.
Ayase reined in her hostility and hooked her arm back through Kirino’s.
“Since we’ve run into him, why don’t we go over and say hello?”