Book Girl and the Captive Fool (22 page)

Read Book Girl and the Captive Fool Online

Authors: Mizuki Nomura

Tags: #Young Adult, #Fantasy, #Fiction

On the other hand, there were some notes mixed in that said things like “Let’s see you dress up like a nurse” or “Next time, please slash Nojima and Omiya.” She dutifully ate these, too, whining as she went.

“Urk, this is so weirrrrd. It’s like roasted chestnuts and mashed sweet potatoes with
mayonnaise
on top! It’s like smoked squid with condensed milk sprinkled
all over it
!”

“How has Akutagawa been?” Tohko asked me when I reached the club room after school, her legs pulled up on a fold-up chair as she read Chekhov’s
The Cherry Orchard.

“He’s staying upbeat. He said that Igarashi came to the archery hall yesterday and apologized. Oh, there’s a match next week,
and I promised I’d go cheer them on. And then we found out we both like movies, so we’re going to see one together sometime.”

I told her various tidbits as I set my pen case and paper on the table.

“That’s nice.”

Her eyes softened, and the corners of her mouth curved into a smile like a violet blooming.

I felt a tickle deep in my chest.

Just then, Kotobuki popped in.

“Ummm… sorry to bother you. I just… wanted to apologize for what happened at the culture fair. So, uh, I made some more cookies. I want you to have them as my way of saying sorry.”

She bowed to Tohko, then stole a glance at me and flushed.

“Oooooh, thank you, Nanase. I’ll share these with Konoha, then. Why don’t you join us?”

“
What—?!
Uh, no, I have library duty. I’ve gotta go.”

“Oh. That’s too bad.”

“Next time, then, Kotobuki.”

I smiled at her. Her eyes went wide, and she turned even redder.

“S-see you.”

Then she speedily left the room. I thought she was kind of cute when she acted like that.

Hugging the bundle of neatly wrapped cookies to her chest, Tohko bent forward to peer up into my face and, a teasing glint in her eyes, she asked, “All right, Konoha, did something happen between you and Nanase?”

“I’m not telling.”

“Ohhh, so something
did
happen!” she shouted and puffed her cheeks out indignantly.

I probably ought to sit down and talk to Kotobuki soon. Ask her where we met back in middle school.

“Come on, Konoha. You can tell your president. Just whisper it.”

“I can’t respond to private questions.”

“Oh, I’m scandalized!”

“What’s that supposed to mean? What are you picturing?”

Tohko whined, “No fair keeping secrets.” But then she looked down at the bundle of cookies and sadly murmured, “I’m… lying to Nanase and to all the others, aren’t I?”

Her sudden admission lodged into my heart.

Tohko untied the ribbon and opened the bundle. Cookies shaped like hearts and stars sat cheerfully atop a flower-print napkin, sending the fragrance of sugar and butter into the cramped room.

Sweet treats that Tohko couldn’t taste.

She plucked out a star-shaped cookie with her slender fingers and tossed it into her mouth, chewed it hungrily, and then smiled brightly.

“I bet this tastes like Travers’s
Mary Poppins
! Sweet, crunchy, and redolent of its almond topping!” she exclaimed breezily, then ate up one cookie after another, rhythmically chewing it up and swallowing it with a smile.

“This one tastes like Webster’s
Daddy-Long-Legs
! The scent of lemon spreads so brightly over my tongue! This one tastes like Burnett’s
The Secret Garden
! Like rose-colored jam that’s sweet, tart, and totally romantic. Could this cookie with the tea leaves in it be
Alice in Wonderland
? The slightly bitter parts are the tastiest thing ever!”

Tohko was boundlessly cheerful and optimistic as she related what she imagined each cookie tasted like.

They were all impenetrable mysteries to her.

Secreting gloomy thoughts such as
I’m different from other
people
away in her heart, Tohko pictured the flavors of sweet treats and beamed joyfully.

I was sure of the book girl’s existence, and just like you and I, she laughs, and whines, and cries, and fails when she tries to do handstands, and leaps in the air dressed like a cheerleader, and cheers people up, and falls down, and gets back up.

I sat in a fold-up chair and flipped through the paper in the notebook I’d set on the table.

Then I started to write a treat whose sweetness Tohko would be able to appreciate.

My prompts today were “friends,” “buddies,” and “friendship”…

Ms. Miu Asakura,

When this letter reaches you, I’ll visit.

And I’ll tell you the feelings I couldn’t write in a letter, and tell you clearly and with my own voice about becoming friends with Konoha Inoue, who even now dominates your heart.

Kazushi Akutagawa

Afterword

Hello, Mizuki Nomura here. This is the third installment of the
Book Girl
series. We’re right at the halfway point in the story, and even Konoha, who bursts into tears every time, has grown up a little bit.

The inspiration was Saneatsu Mushanokōji’s
Friendship.
The protagonists of Mushanokōji’s story are so passionate! They’re a treasure house of famous lines! I can’t say enough good things about his book! I drew from the source more than I usually have in this story, but there are spots where I tweaked things slightly for the play, so please don’t be mad. I stayed true to the phrasing of the original as best I could. There are lots of famous lines I didn’t have the space to introduce, though, so you should definitely get your hands on a copy of
Friendship
or any of his other stories and read it for yourself. I’m certain you’ll encounter words that will echo through your soul.

This time, as usual, I felt terrible for poor little Kotobuki. She never has a very big role, and she keeps getting sidelined without ever getting involved in the central story. In a sense, she might be the most unfortunate person in the entire series. I’d like to try and do something for her in the next volume.

And now, the thank-yous.

Thank you to the illustrator, Miho Takeoka, for her always amazing drawings. The prefatory color drawings in the second installment were fantastic! In fact, in the yearly rankings of
This Light Novel Is Amazing!
which is published by Takarajimasha,
the first installment of this series (
The Suicidal Mime
) was ranked first in the cover art category! Thanks to that, we managed to rank in the top ten for the overall category and character category, too. My editor was extremely pleased, and I was very happy, too. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us.

I struggle over this series every time and I’m writing down to the very last second, but I’ve received a lot of encouragement and joy from it. I’m going to stay fired up and fighting till the very last volume, so I hope you’ll stick around. Until next time.

Mizuki Nomura

December 3, 2006

Copyright

BOOK GIRL AND THE CAPTIVE FOOL

Story: MIZUKI NOMURA

Illustrations: Miho Takeoka

Translation by Karen McGillicuddy

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Bungakushoujo to tsunagareta fool

First published in Japan in 2006 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION ENTERBRAIN

English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION ENTERBRAIN

through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.

Cover design by Kirk Benshoff