Track 1 - Root-bound

It was raining.

It'd been raining for three days now, and long spells of rain like this always made me drowsy.

If I could, I’d have slept like the dead until it stopped.

“Mnn...”

When I woke up from my nap, I could still hear the rain through the curtains.

As I rolled over to shake off my sleepiness, a flash of green entered my sight.

The moment I saw it, I jolted wide awake.

"Ohhh, yeah. The reason it’s looking a little down is because it’s time for a repotting."

I'd caught the florist in the dorm’s living room and showed “her” to him. After examining it for a moment, that was what he told me.

"The roots are starting to come out from the bottom of the pot. It’s still okay for now, but I think if you leave it be, it’ll end up root-bound."

"Wow, Nagi-kun. You could tell from just a quick glance."

The chief, who happened to be there, praised the florist.

But the florist deflected the praise with some flattery of his own. "Actually, I think Ten-san is the amazing one here." This guy was good-natured, so he always said stuff like this.

"Even though you’re not an expert, you noticed something was off with the Aglaonema when there were hardly any visible signs yet. You’ve got a talent for being a florist. Ever thought about it?"

"Haha. I’ll keep it in mind. But anyway, thanks for taking a look."

I casually replied to the florist’s compliment, though it didn’t really bring me any joy.

"The fact that it’s starting to become root-bound is proof that it’s growing healthily. It’s not sick, so you don’t have to worry."

Yeah, well, I already knew that.

...This wasn't the first time I’d dealt with repotting season after all.

The chief watched me, his head tilted curiously.

He probably noticed that as I looked down at the pot now back in my hands, I didn’t look very happy, and I wasn’t smiling as much as usual either.

But I didn’t feel like putting on an act.

What these “decent people” thought of me didn’t really affect my life anyway.

More importantly, I had other things to think about.

It was like I was being told it was time to choose again, and just thinking about it felt like a major drag.

A white sheet swayed on the balcony of a run-down apartment.

Outside, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, the breeze carrying their petals into the cramped room.

This was a memory from when I was still in elementary school.

The homework spread across the small table had long been finished.

Between the insultingly simple math and the teacher-pleasing answers for reading comprehension...all of it was boring.

The “Ninth” smiled at me as he watered the plant on the shelf—apparently it was called an Aglaonema.

"It’s spring break, Ten¹. Aren’t you going to go out and play with your classmates?"

He said it wasn't often someone like me got the chance to go to elementary school, so I should enjoy it.

I put away my homework, and while writing a reflection paper on an assigned reading, I responded, "There’s no way I’d play with them."

After a while, the Ninth came over to peek at my reflection.

"‘Gauche the Cellist,’ huh... I read that a long time ago too. What did you think of it, Ten?"

What did I think?

The Ninth sometimes asked me pointless questions.

Like earlier, when he asked about whether I was going to go play with my classmates.

"I didn’t think anything of it, just that it was a boring book."

"Even though you’re writing your reflection so effortlessly?"

"I just have to write it the way the teacher wants. I can at least do that much no matter how boring the book is."

When I replied that, the Ninth laughed.

"You’re a clever one, Ten."

He said that and started petting my hair.

Stop that, I’m not a kid. I thought, but didn’t say.

When he stopped, he absently glanced over at the plant.

The one that showed up in this room recently.

I didn’t understand how something like that could be so important, but the Ninth’s gaze always softened whenever he looked at it.

"Hey, Ten."

And then he said something strange to me.

"If there ever comes a time when I don’t come back—..."

I hated the way his profile looked in that moment.

"Ten! It’s rare seeing you here!"

When I dropped by the florist’s flower shop²...that’s kinda overkill, huh?

When I dropped by Nagi’s shop, the dog happened to be there too.

Seriously? What a pain, was what I thought, but then again, this guy was always hanging out with Nagi.

Whether it was the roses or just them having matching wavelengths or whatever, weren't they way better friends than I'd ever be?

Well, I guess it didn’t matter.

As soon as the dog saw me, he started wagging his tail and grinning happily.

Nagi came out from behind the counter in his usual low-key way and greeted me with "Ten-san, welcome."

There were two empty teacups on the counter, which Sonia was diligently cleaning up.

Ah, so the dog had been treating Nagi to some tea.

"Ten-san, are you looking for a pot by any chance? For the Aglaonema?"

"Wait, is your Agonoema not feeling good!?"

The dog, who’d overheard, started worrying all on his own.

*Sigh*... Why was this guy like this?

Could you please not get emotionally attached to other people’s belongings?

"Renga, the Aglaonema is fine. It just looks like it’s starting to get root-bound, so it needs to be repotted."

"Oh, so it’s like what you taught me with the mini-roses the other day."

After Nagi explained it to him, the dog got fired up and said, "I’ll help you look for a pot too!"

What a pain.

"Did you know they have high-tech pots now that automatically water your plants when the soil dries out? I repotted some of my mini-roses recently."

"Oh, really. Maybe I’ll let you choose for me then."

When I said that casually, the dog’s eyes lit up, and he started asking Sonia for recommendations.

"Thish one hash lots of depth and ish highly recommended."

"Nice, I’ll go with this one!"

"But thish one looksh very fashionable."

"You’re right, then I’ve decided on this one!"

Watching the dog get easily swayed out of the corner of my eye, I idly looked at the pots myself. But when Nagi asked me, ‘Which one will it be?’ the words were out of my mouth before I even realized it.

"Hmm... I’m short on cash, so I think I’ll decide next month."

I gave a casual laugh and said, "Sorry about that, Renga-san," before leaving the shop.

The dog was worried and asked, "Is the Agonoema gonna be okay?" But he calmed down after Nagi told him, "It won’t wither right away."

I seriously didn’t get why he cared so much about someone else’s plant.

As I left the shop, a light rain was falling. On a tree, there was a crow with a mangy coat that looked one size larger than usual.

I let out a small sigh.

I went to the top of a skyscraper and made the call as ordered.

The ringing tone echoed in my ear.

One, two... I had a habit of counting the rings whenever I called this number.

I told myself that if this heavier-than-usual ringing went on nine times without an answer, I could just hang up.

But this time, the call went through on the seventh ring.

We were connected, but as always, there was only silence on the other end.

"...Sensei."

I had no choice but to call out first.

«It's a Black Case.»

All I got in return was just a short reply.

I merely responded “Understood” to the words I’d expected.

I didn’t get a say. That's just how it was.

I thought to myself as I ended the call, what I hated about «Black Cases» was that they didn’t pay.