"Pfft—Little Tomo, look, Taki just posted a silly little cat in the group chat!
It even has heterochromia—so cute."
"Eh? Little Chiose, so you're on your phone during class too, just like Taki?"
"Yep, we chatted hundreds of posts deep last period. I was wondering why Little Tomo hadn't said a single word—turns out you were actually paying attention in class."
"Hundreds of posts! I—! Ah... I was taking notes just now! I... haah..."
"Why are you sighing! Is it because you regret not joining in the conversation? You're not allowed to feel regret! I'll recount every bit of it for you right now, hehe."
The three of them had a little group chat, completely private—a paradise belonging solely to friends and to the space between friends.
The last morning class had ended as well, and many of the classmates had already headed off to lunch in twos and threes.
Chiose held Tomori's little hand as they strolled leisurely through the stairwell, their lunch destination being the Astronomy Club upstairs.
The Astronomy Club—within Hane-oka, it was a world belonging to Tomori and Chiose alone.
Even if the apocalypse struck outside, if zombies broke loose, if aliens invaded... Noshiro Chiose could still bare her heart to Tomori one last time in that private little space.
As they reached the turn of the stairs, Chiose glanced back with a smile, lifting the atmosphere between them to a new level.
[Holding each other's soft little hands just like this—isn't that pretty nice, too?]
A whole lifetime is made up of holding hands and hugging, again and again!
Not a single one can be missing!
You have to hold little hands every day to stay healthy!
"Little Chiose, what are you thinking about? You seem a bit odd."
When she was with Chiose, Tomori didn't need to worry about so many things—a fact that even she found strange.
After all, the country and the society they lived in placed great value on the ability to 'read the air,' yet for some reason, in front of Chiose, Takamatsu Tomori didn't need to read the air at all.
She only had to voice what was in her heart, and she'd receive the gentlest response in all the world!
This was... Chiose!
"I'm thinking about you, of course, Little Tomo, Little Tomo—did you pick up any cute little stones this morning? Hurry, take them out of your pocket and show me!"
Reaching the door of the Astronomy Club, Chiose put one hand on her hip and pushed it open, and once there was no one else in the space, she reached out her hand to Tomori.
"Eh? Little Chiose, how did you know I went to pick up stones today?!"
So amazing! Does Chiose-Chiose know mind-reading magic?!
A gleam flashed in Tomori's eyes. Though she had no idea how Chiose did it, she was so happy that Chiose knew about her hobby...
"That's right, I do know mind-reading—isn't that super cool?"
"So impressive!
Idiot! You silly little idiot Tomori!
Chiose couldn't help but laugh out loud—she just knew a silly penguin like Tomori would be thinking such a jumbled mess of things inside her head.
"I won't tease you anymore—it's because I felt them when I was hugging you."
"Ohh! So that's what it was... Chiose, look! This stone is—"
Even lunch was set aside; once Tomori got excited, she loved to talk on and on.
What should one do at a time like this?
At a time like this, ah...
Chiose listened carefully to Tomori's words with a beaming smile, even chiming in whenever Tomori reached the important parts.
[At a time like this, you just have to obediently listen to what the other person says.]
Being a good listener is something a friend ought to do, too.
"Chiose! Tomori! I'm here!"
With a "clang," the door was suddenly shoved open from outside by Shiina Taki, giving both Tomori—who was explaining the types of stones—and her little audience Chiose a fright.
"Uwah, wait! Little Taki, why are you here?! Isn't this Hane-oka?! No, no... isn't it lunch break right now?!" Chiose glared with an incredulous look at that panting big black-furred doggy.
"Yeah, it's Hane-oka, and it's lunch break too..." Taki said, sitting down on the floor beside them, her own lunch bento still dangling from her hand.
"So then, Taki, why did you come here?" Tomori tilted her head, her mind still stuck in a state it couldn't quite work its way around.
"Because... ahem, I woke up late today and didn't bring my bento. At noon I had a sudden whim to go home and get it, and on the way back to school I had another sudden whim to come to Hane-oka... Anyway, don't worry about it! I climbed over the wall to get in—it's totally safe."
Truly safe and sound, indeed.
Chiose sighed and used a handkerchief to wipe the dust from the hem of Taki's skirt, and in the meantime didn't forget to wipe clean Tomori's little army of stones as well.
Being with them was just like taking care of little children.
"Little Tomo, hurry and go wash your hands—how can you eat right after touching stones? And you too, Little Taki—don't climb the wall next time! If you want to come to Hane-oka next time, I can lend you my spare Hane-oka uniform so you can disguise yourself... Haah, there are so many ways to come to our school, why are you so reckless!"
"I get it, I won't next time," Taki said with an embarrassed little laugh.
Her reaction was much like Takamatsu Tomori's—except that Taki's attention had been entirely captured by the latter half of Chiose's words.
[Little Chiose's clothes... she'll lend them to me?! For real?!]
"But, Chiose... I..."
Tomori didn't want to leave Chiose's side for even a moment—she couldn't set her mind at ease...
What if the classroom collapsed after she left?
What if she was gone for just a moment and Chiose got kidnapped?
So worrying! Chiose was so fragile, so unlucky... Tomori felt that the instant she lost Chiose's scent from her nostrils, she'd become terribly anxious.
"What, you don't dare go wash your hands by yourself? What a childish little idiot! Honestly—fine, I'll go with you then."
"Eh? Walk slower, you two, wait for me!"
Shiina Taki chased after them.
After all, she had skipped class specifically for Chiose's sake to come to Hane-oka—how could she be left off to the side?
Nagasaki Soyo had, after all, skipped class specifically for Chiose's sake to come to this crossroads... how could she come away empty-handed?!
A crossroads, people coming and going, the blazing sun overhead—this was Soyo's impression of the crossroads at East Avenue in Akabane Ward.
She was waiting for a person who might never come.
Would that person pass by? That wasn't important.
When would that person come? That was unclear, too.
It didn't matter—Soyo simply wanted to wait here, that was all.
At the crowded crossroads, Soyo felt she must surely be an oddity.
Everyone around her was so hurried; only she stood motionless beneath the traffic light, like a statue.
The red light ended, another batch of passersby left, and a new batch arrived.
But the resilience within Nagasaki Soyo's heart was not shaken in the slightest.
She just stood there, and as each unbearable second of waiting ticked past, her heart, on the contrary, grew steadier, more at ease.
"I'll definitely wait for her to come! I'll definitely wait for her..."
By then, Soyo would be able to be with Chiose for a lifetime... to be family for a lifetime.
Never to be parted again.
This time they wouldn't go to the beach to feel the cool breeze, and they'd also go for a full-body checkup once a week.
From then on, they'd be happy!
From then on, they'd be able to...
Soyo had slipped into her fantasies again.
Amid the crowded throng, the corners of her mouth were turning up.
And that's how it was.
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