The fateful birthday of Suzuka

TL: Furby

ED: DannY

Ishida, who was beside me, called out to me after the second period ended and I was storing away my textbooks.

“Yuu, what do you say we go outside and eat some authentic Indian curry?”

“Outside? You mean leaving the university? Going that far only to eat curry?”

I found it curious.

This because we had here in our university a cafeteria in which we could get a full course of authentic curry, naan, and a side dish for a mere 500 yen. Furthermore, it’s all authentic enough to have even received a Halal Certificate from the Islamic religion.

“Yeah, I thought it’d be a nice change of pace to leave the university for once. The class also finished somewhat earlier too. I found a store that had a buffet which included naan with kebab on it. I just got my pay from my part-time job, so it’ll be my treat.”

Saying that, Ishida patted my shoulders as he pushed me out.

We left the university campus and headed for the business district.

“Then, you met with Touko-senpai, and what did you talk about?”

Ishida asked me after a while since we had left the university.

Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t told Ishida about what happened after meeting with Touko-senpai.

Ishida had been considerate of me and didn’t ask until now despite how curious he must’ve been about it.

“Hm… We started by talking about watching and waiting for now. Things like first getting ahold of definitive proof that the two of them are cheating on us.”

“Proof? Don’t you already have that screenshot you took of Karen-chan and Kamokura-senpai’s messages?”

“She said that that alone was lacking as evidence. Touko-senpai seems to be determined on finding something along the lines of the two of them entering a love hotel or spending the night together.”

“A hotel would be difficult. But didn’t Kamokura-senpai live by himself in the metropolitan area? In that case, wouldn’t just standing guard near his apartment be enough?”

“I thought so too. But according to Touko-senpai, Kamokura-senpai lives together with his older brother.”

“If that’s how it is, you can’t really count on his apartment to be where they have their love affairs.”

“However, this week’s Saturday is Karen’s birthday. That day…”

“Ah, this is it, Yuu. This is the store.”

Interrupting my line as I was saying it, he pointed to the building in front of us.

The entrance to the building had a sign protruding that read, ‘Authentic Indian Style Cuisine’. The store looks to have 2 floors.

It was about 10 minutes away from the university by foot.

Regardless of it being before noon, when we entered the shop, we noticed it was already filled to the brim with salarymen.

“Wow, it’s crowded! I thought we’d be fine if we came at this hour.”

The male employee who looked to be of Indian descent came over to us and, with fluent Japanese, asked us.

“Would a shared table be acceptable?”

After we expressed our consent, the employee led us to a table further inside the shop.

“You may take your seats here.”

The employee pointed to a table for four. Seeing the customers who were already seated there, my body froze.

… Kamokura!...

The man who was with Kamokura turned to look at us. It was our group’s president, Nakazaki-san.

Nakazaki-san was the same age as Kamokura, a junior in electrical engineering, and, as you’d expect, a graduate from our same high school.

He had been together with Kamokura since high school, where they belonged to the same soccer club.

“Oh? Isshiki and Ishida? You guys came to this store too?”

Nakazaki-san spoke to us cheerfully.

However, for a few moments, I couldn’t move. To think that he would be sitting next to the man we were just talking about, the one who was having his way with my girlfriend!

Most probably, Ishida too was flabbergasted at the incredibly bad timing.

“What’s wrong, you two? What are you standing there for? Come take a seat.”

Nakazaki-san said as he pointed to the seat beside him.

Ishida and I kept quiet and took a seat. I sat next to Nakazaki-san, diagonally in front of Kamokura.

“Today’s special is butter chicken and bean curry. Also, kebab and Tandoori chicken make up the set meals of the day.”

{ ED/N: Ye they're true Indian Delights }

Nakazaki-san informed us as he passed the menu to us.

Ishida and I took the menu and ordered today’s special.

“By the way, you two, could you do me the favor of making the flyers for the refreshment stand we’ll be doing for the school festival?”

Nakazaki-san spoke out of the blue.

“Eh? Wasn’t it decided that the sophomore Suzuki-san was going to be the one to make the flyers?”

Nakazaki-san shook his head sideways at Ishida’s response.

“That same Suzuki is now incapable of doing so. That guy, he said he was leaving the group. It also seems like he isn’t coming to the university.”

“Did something happen?”

“He was dumped by his girlfriend. To make matters worse, his girlfriend launched a swift attack and found herself her next boyfriend. I hear that because of that, he’s now a complete disaster in the emotional aspect.”

Nakazaki-san answered in a resigned voice. Keeping my face facing downwards, I took a glance from the corner of my eyes at Nakazaki-san.

That line he just mentioned could be applied to me too… The moment that thought appeared in my mind.

“How boring.”

Kamokura said it in a tone which was nothing if not boring.

“It’s a most natural thing for women to switch from their current boyfriend to another when they find a better man. It’s precisely because he frets over every little thing like that that women dump him.”

“Those are some words you’re saying.”

Unintentionally, I opened my mouth.

After saying it, Kamokura looked at me with startlement. He mustn’t have imagined that I would ever rebuke him.

“But is it the truth, y’know? The goal of all living things is to pass over their genes as much as they can. That’s why males can procure themselves more females, while females can choose as their partner the better male. It was by following this simple rule that living beings evolved into what they are now. It’s the law of survival of the fittest.”

“And you can apply that to humans too?”

“Humans are animals too. It’s only proper for men and women both to look for companions apart from their partners. Men can have more offspring by cheating, and women can take in more outstanding genes by cheating.”

I got the feeling that something inside me had snapped.

 “You mean to say that women cheat because they are looking for a man with superior genes?”

“I’ll bet that’s part of it.”

Kamokura spoke with a face as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

… This guy, just how shameless can he be…

“But humans have ethics, right? And those ethics say that they shouldn’t cheat.”

“There’s nothing more questionable than those ethics. Game theory proves that.”

Preventing the anger from showing on my face was already the most I could do. Kamokura continued his speech.

“In the case that your partner has cheated on you, wouldn’t you yourself cheat on them too before not doing so? Not cheating despite the other side having already done so is the worst choice you could take.”

Ishida peeked over to see how I was. It’s ok, Ishida. I’m not so big an idiot as to get pissed right now.

“If your partner isn’t the type to cheat, the cheating route is still the one with the best rewards. In short, regardless of whether your partner cheats or not, your best choice is to always aim to cheat.”

“That’s the ‘prisoner’s dilemma’, right? But the lesson learnt from that theory is that, more than by betraying each other, at the end, there is a greater gain to be obtained by both parties if they cooperate.”

“That’s right. If every one of them was a ‘good person’, they would all be able to be reasonably benefitted. However, the moment a single one of those is a ‘traitor’, they would be the single winner who hoards all the profits.”

“In other words, that a ‘traitor’ exists is already a given fact?”

“That’s how the laws of nature are. Only thing is, unless you have real strength, you can’t become a traitor. The moment a weakling betrays the group, all it’ll lead to is them receiving ‘retaliation’ from everyone else.”

… Basically, you’re saying that because you have real strength you can do whatever you want with Karen while still keeping Touko-senpai, and that because I’m a weakling it’s only natural that my girlfriend will be stolen from me?...

“Kamokura, stop it with that talk already. It’s because you say things like that and you're always misunderstood by others.”

Nakazaki-san made a bitter face as he spoke.

“You mean like how pioneers and revolutionaries have always been looked at with animosity by the masses?”

Kamokura shrugged his shoulders in a dramatic gesture.

Seeing Kamokura like that, I knew it.

… There’s no doubting it. This guy is cheating with Karen. Even worse, he doesn’t even think anything of it.

At that moment, four servings of food were brought over to our table. We stopped our conversation and set out to eat our dishes. However, as I was then, I couldn’t taste the flavor of even the long awaited authentic Indian curry. All that was inside of my stomach was the ire I had towards Kamokura.

Having finished my meal, I drank my lassi (a yogurt drink often drunk in India) dessert, after which I rose from my seat.

“I have to prepare for the next class, so I’ll be taking my leave first.”

Hearing that, Ishida hurriedly swallowed his lassi and stood up.

“Okay. See you again in the group.”

Nakazaki-san said that Kamokura didn’t pay any special attention to me.

I stared at Kamokura and spoke.

“Kamokura-senpai. The talk just now, it was interesting. I think that, like you said, it’s natural that people that are superior to others are more popular than them, and traitors that have power increasing their influence is also a fact. However, that method from game theory where the traitors receive retaliation and allies work together is the strategy that gives the greatest possible score. And that’s what I want to aim for.”

Kamokura glared at me. But he mustn’t have considered me to be an opponent on the same level as him.

“Isn’t that fine too? To each their own.”

He’s not worthy of being taken as an opponent… His tone all but said that.

I turned on my heel and headed for the store’s exit door.

This had been my warning to Kamokura. And the moment we found solid evidence of their affair, these words would then become the declaration of war.

“I’m sorry. I made you go through all that.”

Soon after we left the store, Ishida lowered his head and said that.

“It’s not your fault, Ishida. This was what you call a coincidence, so it couldn’t be helped.”

Ishida was worrying for me. Of course, I imagine he also had a certain amount of curiosity as an onlooker.

“Even so...”

Ishida paused for a moment.

“That Kamokura bastard, he really is trash. It’s obvious he knows about Karen-chan and Yuu, and he still dares say those things right in front of the man himself…”

I said nothing more regarding that matter.

All that’s left is to find proof of them.

And the day we’d carry out our plan was this week’s Saturday, Karen’s birthday.

Hence came the Saturday of late October. Today was Karen’s birthday.

I pulled out all stops today and made a reservation at an Italian restaurant. 

Though it wasn’t high-class enough to be recorded on the Michelin Guide, from the perspective of a student like me, it was already a considerable splurge.

I met with Karen at Shibuya before noon, and we headed for the Italian restaurant where we had our reservation.

“Karen hopes that today Yuu-kun didn’t make a reservation at a family restaurant, but instead in a proper establishment, as is to be expected.”

Karen said satisfied with herself. I informed her that I had already made the reservation for today in advance.

I had booked a lunch course at the restaurant. Compared to the prices of a dinner, it was only about half, but it still amounted to 8000 yen per person. Also, the drinks were an extra charge.

However, the moment we arrived before the restaurant, Karen’s expression clouded.

“The restaurant you made the reservation in, is it this one?”

“Yeah, something the matter?”

At my answer, Karen let out a pensive sigh and put on a complicated expression on her face.

We entered the establishment and, under the guidance of our waiter, arrived at our table.

“May I inquire about what your beverages will be?”

Asked the waiter.

The food had already been taken care of thanks to the course, but the drinks had to be ordered in the restaurant. I ran my eyes over the prices’ column of the menu.

“Then, we’ll have this.”

Among the many different types of wines they had, I chose one from the non-alcoholic ones.

Taking into account what’ll follow this, I can’t allow myself to drink alcohol here.

“Certainly. A glass of Vintense Merlot for you, correct, sir?”

Having confirmed our order, the waiter took his leave. Just as I was thinking that even non-alcoholic wine was quite expensive, Karen once again had a dissatisfied look.

 “So, not a bottle, instead glasses? And moreover, non-alcohol?”

“We couldn’t finish a whole bottle, and two minors drinking alcohol from noon would be bad, you know?”

Karen pouted discontentedly at my answer.

“Karen would’ve liked her boyfriend, ordered the sommelier a bottle, then elegantly uncorked it and served both of them wine in their glasses, before tasting it and then drinking together…”
(TL: One word in Japanese, ホストテイスティング, became the whole thing starting from “elegantly” to the end… Can’t help loving waseieigo)

That whole process of wine-tasting is something supposedly done by the man who orders the wine. I did have at least that much common knowledge, but I didn’t know the etiquette and manners for it.

“Nope, I don’t have that kind of high-class abilities.”

“Karen doesn’t think it’s such a special ability, though… That kind of things about Yuu-kun are so ***…”

She said the last part of that sentence in a voice so small I couldn’t quite hear it.

“Because it’s her birthday, Karen thought that Yuu-kun would do something like prepare a bottle of wine from the same year she was born… There’s no surprise like that?”

Once Karen’s mood worsens, it’s very hard to get her to brighten up.

That said, if I were to act as if I hadn’t noticed, she’d come pricking at me with all her anger.

All as if saying, ‘Be more considerate of my being angry!’.

That’s why, before Karen’s mood actually got worse, I moved to appease her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think that far. But I did prepare a proper present for you. I’ll give it to you later.”

Perhaps the word ‘present’ worked, since for the time being, Karen’s sour look disappeared.

Soon after, the waiter came with our dishes. The hors d’oeuvres were a tomato, mozzarella, and basil caprese salad. Next to be served to our table was a tomato soup and a carbonara pasta. 

Karen said,

“The Italian primo piatto is always a carbohydrate-heavy dish, right?”

 When I asked what a primo piatto was, she explained with a slightly smug face.

“It means ‘first course’. The main dish is called ‘secondo piatto’ and it’s a protein-heavy plate with meat or fish.”

“You’re quite knowledgeable.”

I said it without any special meaning behind it. Nonetheless, Karen answered in a fluster.

“Eh? No! Isn’t this normal?”

She went on without pausing.

“In the first place, it’s Yuu-kun who’s too uninformed! To begin with, if they’re bringing their girlfriends to this kind of establishment, isn’t it only natural for boyfriends to know that much?”

Having said that, she once again directed a reproaching glare at me. 

The main dish was a puff pastry-wrapped sea bream.

Seeing that, Karen whispered.

“Karen would’ve preferred a French one.”

… Don’t say things like that when I even went so far as to make a reservation to celebrate…

Started to feel that I couldn’t keep this up for much longer.

I got the feeling Karen had been particularly fast in finding faults with me today.

Was it my imagination? Am I only feeling like that because the idea that Karen and Kamokura are cheating is constantly on my mind? Had I not seen those SNS messages, would I have been able to enjoy this day, thinking that this capriciousness of Karen was ‘cute’?

… Not good, being overly suspicious isn’t good. At least on her birthday, try to believe in Karen…

I shook my head lightly to the sides and left those thoughts behind.

We finished our vegetable side dishes, and the dessert came in last.

The dessert was gelato. It was then that Karen, who had finished eating hers, spoke.

“This place is famous for its ‘cannoli’. Can Karen order some?”

“It’s okay, but, what’s a ‘cannoli’?”

“It’s an Italian pastry consisting of fried wheat flour dough rolled into a cylinder and filled with ricotta cheese and chocolate or pistachios.” 

“I see. Karen, you’re very knowledgeable about this. Have you heard of this restaurant before?”

For an instant, Karen’s eyes wavered at my question.

“Y, yeah. A little bit. It was featured in a magazine.”

“Hmm, just as they say, women sure are knowledgeable about sweets.”

At that time, I didn’t pry anymore into it, nor did I think too deeply about it.

All the plates of the full course had been brought to us, and as we waited for the cannoli Karen ordered to come, I took out the present box.

“Karen, happy birthday. This is your present.”

“Thanks! Can Karen open it?”

Karen asked with a smile as she took the present.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

As I answered, I remembered the happiness I had felt at the time I chose this present.

During that time, I didn’t think the slightest bit about Karen cheating on me.

Even when I was working in my part-time job for the sake of buying this birthday present, I felt incredibly happy imagining the moment I gave it to Karen.

“Waaahh! A purse from Coach!”
(TL Note: A luxury brand. Google it: Coach brand)

Karen spoke in a cheerful voice.

“I remember you said before that you wanted a new purse since you were now a university student, Karen. That’s why I decided to go for that, but I wasn’t really sure what brands would be popular between girls.”

“So you remembered that. Thank you, Yuu-kun!”

Seeing that happy smile of Karen’s in such a long time, I felt that the ill-feelings that I had harbored were dispelled a little.

… There’s no way you’re meeting with that good-for-nothing of Kamokura, isn’t that so, Karen?...

I gathered my courage and decided to ask her.

“Karen, what’re you doing after this?”

“After this?”

“Tonight, for example.”

For an instant, it looked as if her expression had frozen over.

However, immediately after it went back to her cheerful smile.

“Sorry~. Tonight, there’s a friend from Karen’s hometown that said she’d celebrate her birthday with Karen. That’s why Karen was thinking of going back at around dusk. That’s why, there’s no need for Yuu-kun to call her.”

… ‘I knew it’…

… ‘It’s gotta be a lie’…

Those conflicting thoughts were clashing with each other inside of my heart. I felt like my eyesight suddenly darkened.

“Well, it’s fine so long as Karen leaves Shibuya at around 6pm, so we still have lots of time to enjoy ourselves. There Are recently opened stores and shops that Karen wants to visit, so let’s have fun until then!”

Those words of Karen were like meaningless noises sounding inside of the empty hollow. 

After our meal at the restaurant, I went window shopping with Karen, played at the game arcade with her, and other things, but I didn’t really remember them well. It was as if those memories were empty, as if they didn’t have any color, that kind of sensation.

Six in the afternoon. I parted from Karen at Shibuya Station.

Karen’s house was in the Saitama prefecture’s Koshigaya city. If you went from Shibuya, you could ride the Hanzoumon Line and arrive by boarding a single train.

My house was in the Chiba prefecture’s Makuhari. You could reach it by taking the Yamanote Line until Yoyogi and then changing to the Soubu Line.

Whichever of the two routes you took, you crossed Kinshichou, where Kamokura’s apartment was. 

I typed an SNS message.

> (Yuu) I parted ways with Karen just now. I am heading for Kinshichou Station now.

The response was immediate.

> (Touko) Undestood. I’ll do the same after I delay Tetsuya a bit more.

> (Yuu) Please do. I shall rent a car at the station.

I closed the SNS. At last, we were moving into the main part. I already had a rental car booked.

With hurried footsteps, I went up the stairs that led into the boarding area of the Yamanote Line.

All that’ll be left after this is whether or not Karen makes an appearance at Kamokura’s apartment.

This was the moment Karen’s and my love was to be put to the test.