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Chapter 71: Chapter 4

December 13th (Sunday) – Ayase Saki

The hands on the clock next to my pillow were moving towards midnight. I finished all my studying for tomorrow, finished my bath, and as if she had waited for that exact time, a message from Maaya came in. After putting her brothers to bed, getting her own studies done, and watching the currently-airing late-night anime, she texts me during this time pretty often. For crying out loud… I turned on speaker mode and answered Maaya's call.

'Sakiii, did you give Asamura-kun my present?'

That's the first thing she asks me?

"I did."

'Oh! And how did it go?'

"I'm not sure. He had a weird look on his face, though I don't know why."

'I see, I see… Good, good. Hee, hee.'

…Something about this is making me feel extremely suspicious.

"You gave him a book, right?"

Judging by the shape and weight, I don't think I'm wrong, at least…

'Yep, yep! Asamura-oniichan loves books, after all!'

Why'd she suddenly change her tone when saying that? And why did it sound like she was grinning to herself? Actually, Asamura-kun is my brother, and not Maaya's. And yet whenever it's just the two of us talking together, she'll start calling him 'Onii-chan' and such. Maybe it's because of that, but I'm starting to feel like they're actually siblings, and I'm just a friend.

"It was just a book…right?"

'Of course, of course. Not to mention a book that should definitely help a young lad like him through the many problems that life may throw his way!'

Sounds fishy. I should investigate that.

"Really? That sounds interesting. I should borrow it from him after he's done with it."

'You can't! You hear me?!'

She didn't even waste a single second, not even a microsecond to immediately tell me off… Yep, I've gotta ask him about it tomorrow.

'But anyway, what did you give him?'

I sighed in disbelief at how nonchalantly my friend could change the subject and responded.

"A neck warmer."

We discussed it beforehand and decided on presents for the other person. I'd consider that to be a suitable method. It'd be such a waste to give the other person something they wouldn't like. However, Maaya didn't seem to feel that way.

"Whaaat?! No waaay!"

Since the call was on speaker mode, I was thinking I'd be able to handle the volume a bit better, but her voice still reverberated inside my brain.

"Wh-What's that reaction for?"

And since she seemed so shocked, even I found myself becoming worried.

'That's so boring! It's got no personality to it!'

"You're exaggerating. It's perfectly normal."

'That's not the problem! Sasaki no Jou!'

"I thought you called me 'Sasakinosuke' earlier…"

'How about Sasakigorou?'

"No thanks."

'Anyway, forget about that! Don't try to change the subject!'

Wasn't she the one who did that not even a minute ago?

'A surprise is the true spice of a present! Don't you know that?!'

She seemed oddly displeased. Also, why is a surprise what's important, of all things? I think that giving the other party a surprise present has pretty much zero chance of being beneficial for the other person. It's basically like you're both strangers. Isn't it much more respectable to be aware of the other person's preferences? However, Maaya didn't seem to particularly enjoy my response. She's trying to tell me that the joy of a surprise improves the other party's mood or something along the lines of that.

'The argument of usefulness is something you talk about on the daily instead!'

"What do you mean?"

'Things you need and want are things you should be telling each other at any given moment! Why did you give him something boring for a special event like this?!'

"Because this is a special event?"

'If you just give him what he expects, he'll never remember it. The surprise is what makes the present and event memorable! The idea is to betray their expectations and get their hearts really racing, you hear me?!'

"R-Right…I guess?"

As expected, Maaya's example was extreme. But since she always talks about anime, games, or manga, I can't follow her at all. Instead, it makes me assume she may just be making stuff up. I mean, if I followed her advice, then I'd just feel restless, not knowing if the other person liked the present or not. And at some point, I'd probably just ask. I wouldn't want them to hate my present, after all.

…The importance of a surprise, huh? I mean, if Maaya is that adamant about it, then maybe I should actually give it some thought. But since it's already too late now, I shouldn't stress over it too much. Because even if it is that important, I can just try again next year. And I should ask him if he likes surprises or not.

However, Maaya wasn't done yet. She gave me a long oration about surprises and what makes them great. As my eyelids grew heavier, we both just stopped talking and ended up ending the call. I rolled around on my bed, feeling the urge to hug my pillow.

If a surprise really is that important, then I wish she'd told me sooner.