Editing Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu:Volume1 Chapter2 (section)

===2===

And that was how I decided the way I was to spend my Sunday.

To be honest, I wasn't particularly excited.

Of course, it's not that I didn't want to spend Sunday together with Haruka. I should be barking with excitement at Haruka's invitation, since it was a Sunday that I would be spending with the 'Nuit étoile' alone, something that was way better than washing clothes at home. And, Haruka's very cute, so I should be as happy as a mouse when I'm with her.

The reason for my lack of enthusiasm was because I only have bad memories of Akihabara.

That day was the third time in my entire life that I've been to Akihabara. The previous two experiences were painful, to say the least...of course, it wasn't Akihabara's fault, but the fault of the idiot who dragged me to Akihabara. But the deep mental scars that I had from my first two trips to Akihabara would not disappear so easily.

I first came to this place when I was in first grade.

At that time, I had accepted Nobunaga's invitation, leaving the familiar surroundings of my house to this huge street with an adventurous mindset. But in merely just an hour later, I had already regretted accepting his invitation.

Because I got lost. 

I was alone on the crowded and chaotic street. 

The reason was simple, the fellow who had brought me here forgot about my existence the moment he ran off to buy the things that he wanted. He was the same age as me, but nonetheless Akihabara was already his second home, unlike me, who was unable to differentiate North, South, East, and West the moment I walked into the place (though this happens frequently to me), which was why it didn't take long for me to get lost.

After getting lost, I obviously was unable to find my way to the train station.

After two long hours, the crying and wailing me finally received the protection of the police.

The second time was a few years later, when I was in my senior year at my primary school.

Even though I had already swore never to come to Akihabara ever again, I once again accepted that his invitation. This time, that fellow ran off again when we were shopping, leaving me behind. It's been an extremely dark part of my life until now, despite managing to get home by myself this time.

And that is why I view this street with a slightly fearful and suspicious look.

We had agreed to meet in front of the Akihabara train station. Because it was a Sunday, the station was flooded with people. Oh right, Haruka had said that it was her first time coming to Akihabara. I was surprised when I first heard that, but upon closer inspection, it actually wasn't anything to be surprised about. I had already come to know that Haruka was a clever, beautiful, kind-hearted and talented daughter of a rich and powerful family in our one month's worth of interaction. Which means that as an Otaku, she wasn't very experienced, but I could see that her potential was probably higher than Mount Everest.

Just as I was lost in my own thoughts...

"...Have you been waiting for long?"

Speak of the devil. In the time that I was embroiled in my own thoughts, Haruka had already arrived. 

"I'm sorry, I had wanted to be on time..."

"No, you're not late, I was early."

I was speaking the truth. To be precise, as I was so looking forward to spending the day with Haruka that I woke up extremely early. That kind of excited feeling was like that of a primary school kid before going on a field trip. Because it was so embarrassing, I didn't dare to mention it to Haruka. 

But even then!!!

"...Mm..."

Today was the first time I've seen Haruka in casual clothing...How should I describe her? She's really extremely cute. A white ribbon was tied around her silky long hair, coupled with a white one-piece western dress and a cream cardigan, she really looked like the daughter of a rich and powerful family. This combination served to amplify her charm by a full 2.5 times in comparison with any other daughter of a rich and powerful family (My personal subjective opinion). Every inch of her being simply oozed class......Ah! I was already at a loss for words, so in short, she was so cute that she had the power to attract the entire galaxy.

"What...What's wrong? I'll be embarrassed if you continue to stare at me like this..."

"Ah, I'm sorry."

I couldn't help but stare at her dazedly. But the way Haruka raised the edges of her eyes and looked at me while blushing was so cute...

No, I can't continue to fantasize! I'm worried that something will happen to my brain if I continue in this vein.

I shook my head vigorously, throwing all my prior thoughts out of the window. Haruka, on the other hand, looked at me apprehensively.

"...Is there something wrong with me? It's my first time wearing this dress...Is it ugly?"

"No, of course not."

Of course there wasn't anything wrong with her, the dress suited Haruka perfectly.

Haruka may not have realized, but since her appearance, all eyes (especially the male ones) had been trained on her. In all honesty, no matter where Haruka went, she'll always be the focal point in a crowd. She has always stood out, like the beautiful swan that flies into a crowd of ugly ducklings (myself included).

"Let's go!"

"Ah, yes."

Upon hearing my suggestion, Haruka smiled shyly as her dress fluttered slightly in the wind. That simple action made everyone around her sigh in amazement, because it was.......really really really really really really cute.

I'm so lucky to be able to see her like this! I shouted out in my mind before walking off with Haruka.





I think I'll explain the reason behind our shopping trip to Akihabara.

No, I mean, of course we're here to buy something. I just wanted to describe in more detail what exactly we were here for.

Below is the contents of a conversation I had with Haruka.

"Well...I want to buy a silver Portable Toys Advance."

The 'Portable Toys Advance' that Haruka is talking about is an extremely popular handheld gaming console, commonly referred to as the 'PTA'. To my knowledge, the silver PTA should be an extremely rare limited edition model, something that even Nobunaga wants to get his hands on.

"Then we should go to the toy shop shouldn't we?"

"Right, I think that any toy shop or electronics store should have it. I'm not very sure either, I'm just following what's stated on the magazine."

She's not very trustworthy is she...

"Then let's go check out the electronics stores, since every store on this street is an electronics store..."

To be honest, it'll be harder to find a store on this street that isn't an electronics store.

"Then let's start from the electronics store on that corner alright?"

I attempted to steer us in the right direction.

"Ah, wait a moment."

My suggestion was rejected.

"Hmm...actually, I've specially prepared something for today."

Haruka fumbled in her bag for a while before taking out two pieces of paper.

"Hmm...Yuuto-san, this is your copy, I hope it'll be useful..."

"...What's this?"

"A shopping guide."

Haruka smiled proudly.

"Huh..."

What in the world is this?

"This is a guide that I specially created for today. I've already organized the places that we're going to, the path we're going to take, and our estimated time of arrival on this piece of paper, so it's a universal map. I spent three hours making this guide, hee hee."

Haruka laughed conservatively.

So it's actually a map. It's a good idea to plan out our schedule ahead of time, but after looking at the strange lines that bear a strong resemblance to two snakes entangled in a fight, I don't think any one would think that it's a map, right?

I didn't let my uneasiness show as I raised the guide up for a better look. Although I had already lost hope in the map part of the guide, the other parts seemed to have been done well, so we shouldn't get lost with the information written here. There shouldn't be any problem as long as we're able to reach our destinations without any trouble.

According to the schedule on the guide, Haruka had placed the buying of the PTA (estimated to be around 5 O'clock in the afternoon) as the last activity of the day.

"Why did you put the most important thing at the last place on the schedule? If you really want to buy it, shouldn't you get it earlier..."

I thought that the average Japanese citizen would want to get their hands on their target object as soon as possible. Perhaps Haruka had other intentions when she placed this as the last activity on the schedule, maybe she's saving the best for last?

In response to my question, Haruka squinted playfully at me.

"If we buy it at the beginning of the day, it would mean that our shopping trip has ended. Though it's something that I'm looking forward to... it'll be such a waste to just let it end so quickly. And also..."

"And also?"

"And also...I think that the most important activity should be saved till the end of the day."

Looks like Haruka is the type of person who would eat her favorite food last.





Anyway, the purchase of the PTA should be the main objective of the day.

But before the completion of the main objective, it seems like we have a few side objectives to complete first. So the two of us followed the schedule as we began shopping in Akihabara.

This place...is still as crowded as ever.

No matter where one turned to, one would always see posters of anime and video games, even some life-sized advertisements. To be here was like stepping into another dimension, giving one the feeling of being in a completely different world.

"Hmm...We'll turn left at this junction, walk forward for a bit, then turn right..."

Haruka looked at the map as she guided me through this strange new world.

...How does she read this map? To me, the map, looked more and more like eels with stomaches that were entangled with each other and a certain kind of talent seemed to be needed to be able to draw such a map. However in comparison, an even larger amount of talent was required to be able to decipher this map...Although, I would never want to have that kind of talent.

"And then after turning right here, we should see a white building."

Thanks to Haruka, we didn't get lost and got to each of our destinations safely, swiftly completing all our side objectives (shopping at anime stores, buying otaku merchandise etc). Right now, we're moving towards out fourth objective - an anime bookstore.

As we walked across the large road, we saw many small groups of people. There were even thirty, forty people forming a queue outside some shops. Maybe those people were participating in some event? On such a hot day, they really do have it hard. I would be happy to help them stand in for a while. But, obviously that isn't possible.

Just as I was looking at those people,

"Ah! That's!"

Haruka, who was standing beside me, suddenly ran off. Ah, not again! Her target was yet another store, and I could only quietly observe her excited figure. 

This was already the third time this had happened today, so I wasn't surprised anymore. 

I slowly walked towards where Haruka was headed.

Haruka had plastered her entire body onto the display window of that shop.

"So cute..."

Her gaze was fixated on a model of a red-haired girl playing the piano (the price was extremely expensive, at twenty-five thousand yen.....). The look in her eyes was exactly the same as the youth who goes to the music store everyday to look at his favorite trumpet.

Haruka would rush over like a bull charging towards a red flag whenever she saw anything that she liked, not caring about anything else that was happening around her. Even the me that's beside her would be completely forgotten.

Which is why for a few times already, I had been thrown into an uncomfortable situation whereby I was holding a handful of goods but abandoned by my shopping partner, which made me feel rather lonely and empty.

Why am I here? I began to question the validity of my existence in this place...But, I came to terms with this feeling of emptiness as time wore on.

"Wouldn't it be a form of happiness if one was able to see something as cute as this?"

However, being abandoned by Haruka didn't seem such a big deal after seeing how happy she was, something which I would definitely not have seen in school. Because being able to look at such an innocent and happy 'Nuit étoile' was the best form of payment.

After fifteen minutes, Haruka still didn't look as though she was going to peel herself off the display window.

"Umm...If you like it so much, why don't you just buy it!"

If this goes on, we'll be disrupting the store's ability to conduct business. But when I suggested this to her, Haruka answered with a gloomy expression on her face,

"There are too many things that I want to buy, but...I don't have the budget for it."

"Budget?"

Who'd have thought that the daughter of a family that's as rich as royalty would say something like that. Judging by their standard of living, Haruka's pocket money should be at least a million yen a month, and her new year's gift money should be at least five million yen right?

When I asked,

"N...not at all!"

Haruka shook her head violently in denial.

"My pocket money's really little...I have a hard time just trying to save up a bit of money every month."

"Just how much do you get a month?"

I wanted to know more, just for reference.

"Well..."

The amount that came out of Haruka's mouth was surprisingly similar to the amount of my pocket money.

"That's really surprising..."

I was really extremely surprised. The eldest daughter of the rich and powerful Nogizaka clan receiving exactly the same amount of pocket money a month as the son of the middle Ayase clan, that probably won't even be able to trace their family tree up to more than a few generations, would probably surprise anyone.

"My father's extremely strict...For today, I even took out my precious ten-thousand yen bill from my saving box...even my pig-san was called to be with the Lord."

Pig-san...Is she referring to her piggy bank?

"That's why I can't spend my money rashly...It's alright, I'll be happy just by looking."

Haruka laughed happily. She really attracts the affection of others, just for that (before the store assistants come out to chase us away), Haruka, Uncle promises to let you stare at the display for as long as you want!





And then, we stayed for about ten more minutes in front of the store display.

"Thank you for allowing me to have such a blissful experience."

Haruka was finally satisfied. But, just as we prepared to set out towards our next destination...

"Ah!"

Haruka seemed to have noticed something once again, as she rushed towards the side of the main road for the fourth time.

This time, her target was a shop selling anime merchandise. However, she didn't step into the store, but made a beeline for a block of squarish objects that were out in front. Ah! Isn't that the vending machines that sell what we call capsules! How nostalgic, I remember frequenting such machines during my primary school days. The capsules contained plastic figurines of the gundams and certain muscle-bound superheroes which I loved, and if I were to go through my old stuff, I'd probably turn up quite a sizable amount of those figurines.

"This should be what you're talking about right? A capsule will roll out if you put a coin in...Ah! Isn't that 'Clumsy Girl Aki-chan'?"

...I seemed to have heard that name somewhere. The rectangular box that Haruka was pointing her finger at had a picture of the figurine of a familiar-looking blue-haired girl on a piano.

"That's...really cute."

Haruka had a childish look in her eyes. I felt like I was becoming more and more familiar with Haruka's interests.

"Why don't you try it?"

This was different from what she was looking at just now, so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

"Hmm? Try it? You're saying that I should try this machine?"

"That's right."

"Hmm...But..."

I encouraged her to try the machine, but for some unknown reason, Haruka was extremely hesitant about my suggestion. Ah! Could it be that she wasn't interested in these things?

In response to my question, Haruka answered in a tiny voice.

"Umm...To tell the truth, it's my first time trying something like this."

"Your first time?"

Her first time using a capsule vending machine?

"Yes."

Haruka nodded abashedly.

"Today's the first time I've ever seen something like this, and it's also my first contact with it. Hmm...How should I put it...This should be my first experience right? That's why I'm a bit worried...would I be able to do it?"

"..."

The word is probably correct. However I'd like you to stop speaking of your first experience in the middle of the afternoon in the presence of others.

"W...what do you think?"

"Hmm... you're probably right. It's not something particularly difficult."

Just put the coin in and turn the handle for the capsule to roll out. Even kindergarten kids can do it.

"Is that so? Then I guess I'll give it a try."

Haruka seems to have finally made up her mind. She took out her purse from her bag and approached the machine with an extremely serious expression reminiscent of a middle-aged technologically-challenged employee's expression towards the company computer on his desk. Looks like I'll have to gently watch over her for the time being...

"A...ah? Ah? It's strange... what's happening?"

Suddenly, I saw that Haruka had a confused look on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Yuuto-san...Is this machine broken? I can't put the money in."

"It shouldn't be broken...Let me have a look."

I leaned over for a closer look.

"..."

Only when I leaned over did I see that Haruka was attempting to stuff a ten-thousand yen bill into the coin opening. My clever Haruka-sama, if it's a paper note, you'll never be able to stuff it into an opening designed for coins.

"??"

"...Haruka, you can't use notes for capsule machines, they only accept coins."

"Ah? Seriously?"

"...Yes."

I beg you, please don't ask such questions with a perfectly straight face.

"I get it, it only accepts coins."

Haruka opened her purse once more, only to give an upset expression, as though she was unable to eat a delicious dish that's right in front of her.

"...I don't have coins."

"...I'll lend you some!"

If this goes on, god knows when Haruka will finally start turning the handle of the capsule machine, so I made that suggestion.

"...I'm sorry to bother you."

I placed a thousand-yen bill into the coin exchange machine in return for ten hundred-yen coins. Looking at the transmutation of my paper note into coins, I felt as though I had lost money, since after all, I'm just your average stingy city-dweller.

"Here, take it."

"Th...Thank you."

Haruka nervously took a hundred-yen coin from my hand.

And that was how Haruka began her first experience with capsule vending machines...Even though...I personally felt that this first experience was rather dangerous.

I was worried about whether she would become addicted to the machine. 

From past experience, I know that for anyone using the capsule vending machines, it's extremely hard to stop once one has chosen a target. Unless the target object has been obtained, the person using the machine would usually not be able to bring him/herself to stop.

If that person is a primary school kid, then it isn't that bad, because no matter how much he/she wants to continue playing, he/she has to stop once his/her money is used up. In other words the wallets of primary school children are natural deterrents. If at that exact moment, the person next to that particular primary school kid coincidentally gets the figurine that he/she wants, that kid will surely burst into tears on the spot. But, after going through countless such trials and tribulations, that primary school kid will eventually mature and grow up...Wait, I seem to have gone off topic here.

Anyway, what I want to say is that, if the person playing is a high school student with a significantly bigger wallet, what would the situation be like? 

Just thinking about the probable outcome gave me a headache.

Though I fervently hoped that my predicted answer was wrong, the truth has no pity...



As I expected, in order to obtain her target object (The piano-playing 'Clumsy girl Aki-chan'), Haruka sent four pieces of Natsume Soseki(1000 Yen) up into heaven, while the emptied capsules rolled around on the ground beside us like pebbles on the riverbank.