บท 28: The Calm Before the Storm

Even while shopping, he restlessly fidgeted his knees. Watching his behavior, Nakayama let out what must have been the umpteenth sigh that day.

"You're going overboard?"

"Can't be helped. Can't smoke outside either, goddammit."

She was fed up with Muroya's addiction. There were times when he begged for money to buy drugs. Nakayama would seriously consider breaking up during those moments, but they always ended up continuing their drawn-out relationship.

They had met after getting caught up in Gantz. There was probably some momentum involved. And in that kind of situation, having someone to lean on was absolutely necessary. Otherwise, he would have died long ago.

Nakayama looked up at the sky. At this rate, she was a typical hopeless woman who couldn't escape from being hopeless. Even thinking that, she had already become jaded. Thinking "this is fine too" was probably part of the problem.

It was certain that it wouldn't last forever. She didn't know about Muroya. But she couldn't keep fighting forever. There was a limit. The moment to choose liberation would definitely come.

If she did that, she might completely forget about Muroya too. She thought that would be the breaking point in their relationship. They both knew it and kept dating anyway. She even felt a strange comfort in having such a pragmatic relationship.

So, even towards Muroya like this, Nakayama felt complicated.

She was a little jealous. Especially after that foreign woman named Shirona appeared, it felt like there was always a part of her that was constantly irritated.

Her natural blonde hair was different from Nakayama's dyed hair. She had quite the proportions too. It was hard not to think anything. Even though she knew it wasn't good, she kept taking a harsh attitude towards her.

But now, she was starting to feel confused. Unlike her, the other party at least didn't seem to dislike her. In fact, there was even a time when she unhesitatingly saved her life.

It only made Nakayama feel more miserable about herself. Feeling cheap. But after saying such a thing instead of thanking her, she felt awkward about going to meet her and saying anything now. She figured it would be enough to just say a word or two once the next game started.

"Huh? What's that?" Muroya was also looking up at the sky.

When she turned her gaze in that direction, a familiar silhouette approached. She felt a fidgety sensation. The one she really needed to thank was someone else. And Nakayama wasn't averse to that existence. In fact, she actively wanted to communicate with it, because it was adorable.

When it landed, the people around them became restless. That was only natural. Despite hardly flapping its wings, that bird had flown through the sky. Furthermore, it was carrying multiple beings on its back. It was certainly an unusual sight.

"Ah..."

She recognized the faces. Her Gantz acquaintance Yamada Sumiko seemed to be interacting with the one who was apparently housing Shirona, Anzu. She had noticed them.

On her shoulder, she was also carrying an adorable creature. Apparently called Gastrodon. It seemed Anzu was wearing the Gantz suit as her innermost layer. Otherwise, she would have collapsed from Gastrodon's weight.

"Yo, can I bother you for a sec?"

"What's up all of a sudden?" When Muroya asked, stopping his knee fidgeting, Anzu responded with a somewhat frantic expression.

"Sis, have you seen Shirona anywhere? She seems to have gone somewhere. I'm worried since she seemed cornered..."

While she was also concerned about that, Nakayama was preoccupied with a different interest. She took the opportunity to approach Togekiss fanning its cheeks with its own wings.

"Hey, um..."

When it noticed her, it tilted its head while looking at her with large, round eyes.

Unable to resist its almost predatory gaze, Nakayama unconsciously pounced on it. She buried her face in its soft, fluffy body.

"Thank you. For saving me."

"Pew…" Gastrodon that had gotten off Anzu was crying out enviously for some attention.

***

"Lighter, please, George."

Wordlessly holding out his lighter, Yamada brought the tip of her cigarette close. After properly placing an ashtray to prevent ashes from falling on the bed, she slowly exhaled the smoke.

"So bored."

"I hear ya."

That said, George felt a bit of the same way. While it was nice to spend time in his own home like this, he would inevitably get bored if it went on for too long.

Once she had changed clothes, Yamada was still leaning on the pillow. George sat down on the edge of the bed, and Yamada smiled as she shifted the comforter.

"Again?"

"Yeah. Gotta water them."

"Ugh, what a turn-off. A little consideration would be nice."

"Unlike you, I've got lives to take care of."

He tilted the watering can towards the pots that had been set up. And as he started humming, the now upright Yamada spoke.

"Bored."

"I know."

"How about we go today? I think we can still get planetarium reservations even now."

"What's with your obsession? You said next week."

"But I was thinking, wouldn't it be less crowded on a weekday?"

"Not today. Too much hassle. Let's do something simpler."

"Ehh..."

For a little while, Yamada seemed to be thinking. Watching her, George continued tending to the plants. For him, there was never really any free time in the true sense. If he was home, there were infinitely many things to do. Just recording the changes in the plants alone made time fly by.

Yamada stood up from the bed, her expression brightening as if she had thought of something.

"Got it!"

"What?"

"I had something I wanted to do! Anzu's around, right?"

"Yeah."

Honestly, he had thought she would die right away, but of course he hadn't expected Shirona to revive her. That was an utter waste as far as he was concerned. For George, the idea of not taking the clear reward was unthinkable.

"Let's go play."

"Huh?"

"I can't wait any longer! I wanna see Anzu. And Gastrodon-chan too. It's so close by, so convenient."

Realizing that her goal was simply to dote on Shirona's pets, George felt exasperated. It wasn't that he wasn't interested. It would certainly be a good way to kill time. Just as long as there weren't any undesirable beings present.

He had started considering how to dissuade Yamada when the intercom rang.

Yamada deliberately covered her chest with her hand, likely indicating that George should be the one to answer it. With an exasperated sigh, George headed for the door. He assumed it was the new pots he had ordered online a couple days ago. But when he opened it, there was no one there.

Perplexed, he lowered his gaze, and there stood a stately plant figure. That part was fine in itself. The problem was that Roserade was extending a whip-like appendage from her flower and using it to touch the intercom button.

"What are you doing?"

A small amount of liquid dripped from that whip. Its color clearly indicated it contained poison. That was what had wetted the button area, although fortunately the paint didn't seem to be peeling off. Still, it was probably inadvisable to touch it carelessly now.

"How did you find this place?"

Roserade placed one of her hands over the flower near her nose area. Then, she puffed out her chest proudly, as if boasting.

The meaning was barely understandable. She had apparently tracked the scent here. Whose scent, didn't need to be spelled out. With her other hand flower, she gestured towards George.

"Just dropping in? Be ready to face the consequences."

As he spoke, he felt a slight dissonance. Even as he taunted her, Roserade's vigor didn't seem to change at all. In fact, she almost seemed more subdued than usual. After appearing conflicted for a moment, she lowered her gaze. As if she wanted to say something but couldn't. That was the vibe she gave off.

"Persistent with your invitation, huh. Let me handle this."

Perhaps interpreting the prolonged exchange differently, Yamada reached her hand out from behind. Grabbing George's shoulder, she stuck his face out from there. Immediately, Roserade let out a delighted shriek.

"Oh, if it isn't Miss Flower. Come to play? Sure, come on up. It ain't that big, but make yourself at home."

"Hey - "

At the same time as those words, Roserade had already leapt forward. She deftly slipped past George's outstretched arm, landing in the entryway. Without stopping, she climbed onto Yamada's shoulder and headed further inside.

Watching her go with annoyance, George closed the front door. It seemed pretty clear that something had happened. The crucial point was that Shirona was nowhere to be seen. There must have been a reason for this plant to come alone like this.

But before she could convey that, Roserade seemed to have shifted her interest to something else.

"Don't touch. These are the real deal."

She had shown considerable interest in the plants placed in various locations: next to the sofa, on the desk beside the bed. Sniffing them, observing them up close. It seemed unclear when she might unleash her thorns or whips and destroy the precious plants.

Roserade also showed interest in the flowers on the shelf. After stretching herself a bit, she turned back towards George.

"Don't go messing with them, alright?"

Ignoring his words, she leapt up onto George's shoulder. From there she jumped again, this time placing her feet on his head. Leaning her body forward, she began observing the lined-up flowers.

"This thing..." Yamada burst into raucous laughter. "Yeah, no kidding. That spot must feel pretty comfy for her. Ahaha, smooth as can be."

"Shut it."

Before he could try to grab her, Roserade had already climbed down. Then she started twitching her nose in the direction of the balcony. Not even giving him a chance to stop her, she casually walked over there.

The flower that seemed to catch her attention the most was the red one. Amid the clustered small, vivid red petals in the pot placed in a well-ventilated spot, it was due to have its perfect photo taken soon, before its brief blooming period ended.

Roserade was vigorously sniffing at the red geranium, known for having an especially strong scent among the scented geraniums.

For a while, George silently watched her observe the potted flower and her own hand flowers in turn. Then, feeling some vexation at his own speechlessness, he squatted down.

At this proximity, the strong sweet scent of the geranium should have been apparent. But instead, a different aroma seemed to overpower it and reach his nose. Clicking his tongue self-assuredly, he spoke.

"See?"

Roserade turned towards him, seeming to snap out of her reverie.

"This is the model. Not some shoddy imitation like you. This is how it's supposed to be. Get it?"

Furrowing her brow, she gave a small cry in response.

"Don't give me that. Have you lost your mind? There's no way."

After shaking her head, she stretched up higher, as if to say she was the superior one. Her overly confident demeanor was gradually wearing on George's composure.

"Hey, you know how many varieties exist in this world?" He used his hands to demonstrate a multitude. "You're at the very bottom of the barrel. The bottom of the bottom, even. Laughable."

Roserade's gaze sharpened in response. Likewise opening up her hand flowers in a challenging manner.

"Well if you're going to go that far, let's settle this. You free next week?"

"Huh?"

George had already steamrolled ahead in his zeal.

"There's a little known garden nearby. Smaller in scale than the place you went before. But they have some pretty rare species too. Let's go see for ourselves. I'll knock that snooty nose of yours down a peg."

"Hang on a sec." Yamada cut in. "What about the planetarium?"

"We can do that at night. This is for the morning."

"Well if that's the case, I wanna go too."

"Huh? Thought you said you weren't interested anymore."

Scooping up Roserade, Yamada brought her nose close to her white fluff. Fully savoring her aroma, she spoke. "With this girl though, it seems like it'll be fun. Let's all go together, whaddya say?"

"..."

He snapped back to his senses a bit. What had he been saying just now? He also felt a tinge of resignation though. It was true that he disliked Roserade's attitude. If his cherished hobby was being denigrated like that, he couldn't just let it go. It felt like there was some other underlying sentiment too, but he stopped thinking about it any further.

Roserade seemed to have completely shed whatever aura she had when she first came, hopping over to the balcony railing. She nodded towards Yamada. Then, after meeting George's gaze for a few seconds, she flew off outside.

She had descended from the second floor and landed solidly on the ground. From there, she toddled off in the direction of the main road.

In the end, the reason for her visit remained unclear, but he was aware of his aversion to her having diminished slightly. He couldn't avoid her forever. Once Gantz's game started again, he would inevitably have to see her regardless.

It ended up taking twenty minutes to clean the intercom as well, making him think again about what a troublesome plant she was.