The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
After meeting up with Takagaki, we decided to grab an early lunch first.
The airport we visited had a food court accessible via escalator from the departure level. The restaurants there were a bit pricey for high school students like us, but… well, we all decided to just accept it as part of the experience.
“Seriously? This is all I get for this price?”
Actually, we hadn’t accepted it at all.
Especially Takagaki-san. She’s usually very particular about ethics… but apparently, when money is involved, she’s a different person.
“Well, restaurants inside airports basically cater to people with foreign currency. With the yen getting weaker, this is just a natural result.”
“Tch. Politicians really can’t be trusted.”
As always, Takagaki-san’s insults are sharp.
“…If the food hadn’t been a little tastier, I would’ve given it one star in my review.”
Perhaps because the food was delicious, her dissatisfaction seemed to have lessened somewhat.
“Akkun. Akkun.”
“What?”
“So, what are our plans from here on out?”
Just as we finished eating and were enjoying a quiet moment after the meal, Kanade asked me.
“Exactly. Making us eat lunch the moment we arrived at the airport… If you try to say this was all unplanned, I’ll get mad.”
“…Ayaka-chan is going to get mad at A-kun?”
“The pressure is intense…”
Takagaki-san was cowering under Kanade’s smile.
“Hahaha. It’s okay. I’ve got a plan all worked out.”
“I hope so.”
“…Hmm. “Well then, I guess I’ll explain things right here.”
I took a few sheets of A4 paper out of my bag and spread them out on the table.
“…W-what is this?”
“What do you mean? It’s reference material for today’s photo shoot.”
I handed the printouts to Takagaki-san.
The printouts contained details on the wrapped airplane she wanted to photograph, a runway map of this airport, And the hourly weather forecast for today.
“First off, today’s subject is, of course, this plane. They’ve been operating these wrapped planes in partnership with a certain famous IP and various airlines for quite some time now, and this is the latest version.”
“Huh.”
“This plane is headed to New Chitose. Since it’s a domestic flight, we’ll need to move to a different terminal first.”
“Wait, can’t we just take photos in this building?”
Takagaki-san looked a little surprised.
“Yeah. It’s the building over there.”
“…Huh? Then why did we meet at this terminal?”
Well…
Takagaki-san and I glanced at Kanade.
“…Sorry. I really wanted to stop by here.”
Kanade looked apologetic.
“Well… I guess it’s just the right amount of exercise after a meal, don’t you think?”
“…Let’s just go with that.”
I handed Takagaki-san the next printout.
“This is a diagram of the runways at this airport. Since the’re flying to New Chitose, they’ll probably use this runway.”
I had already marked the runway where the plane was scheduled to take off with a highlighter.
“And this runway can be seen in its entirety from the sixth-floor observation deck of this terminal.”
“Hmm, hmm.”
“The departure time is 12:20, so we’ll probably take the photo around 12:30. The weather at that time will be clear and sunny. Those are pretty much ideal conditions.”
“…So we’re not taking the photo at the departure time?”
“The departure time refers to when the plane leaves the gate and starts moving. It won’t enter the runway until later than that. Plus, runways get pretty crowded during the day, so the takeoff might actually be a little later.”
“You’re creepy how detailed you are.”
“So, if we’re taking a photo… the composition you’d want is the plane taking off into the sky, right? But actually, that shot is pretty hard to get. After all, the subject is moving at breakneck speed.”
“T-true…”
“There’s a handy item for that…”
I pulled the thing out of my bag with a smug look on my face.
“…Heh. This.”
I felt a little relieved to finally be able to bring out into the light the thing that had been weighing heavily on my shoulder during the trip.
“…A camera.”
“No. A DSLR.”
“…Huh?”
“And it comes with a telephoto lens.”
“Whoa…”
“This lens was expensive. It cost 200,000 yen, after all.”
“Where did you get that kind of money?”
“…Heh.”
I put on a smug look.
“I begged my parents for it.”
“…Don’t suddenly go back to acting like a kid.”
“They said it was okay because, for a kid our age, I’m studying hard and seem serious about it.”
“That’s why you’re acting like a kid…”
“They bought it for me, hoping that my hobby of photography would help me make some friends…”
“Whoa, I just dug up a tragic past out of nowhere…!”
……Don’t call it tragic. It makes me sad, you know?
“Akkun. Akkun. Well then, I’ll join you in your hobby too.”
“Ka… Kanade…?”
“Yeah. Let’s have fun together—taking pictures.”
“…Ka… Kanade…”
“Ah, the atmosphere just got weird again. Seriously.”
Takagaki-san looked exasperated.
“Anyway… Hagiwara-kun, thanks.”
Takagaki-san thanked me, looking a bit embarrassed.
“…Asking you was definitely the right choice.”
That’s actually quite a nice thing to say.
“A-alright then, let’s head out soon! We’ve got to find the best spots for taking photos!”
Kanade and I watched Takagaki’s back as she stood up and headed to pay the bill.
“Hey, A-kun.”
“What?”
“Takagaki really is… a tsundere, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“She’s cute.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
…Suddenly, Kanade snapped her head around and stared at me with her lifeless eyes.
Maiasa