Wasn’t every day you got to go on late-night walks in unfamiliar places. The prospect made me giddy.
At the end of my curiosity, I found myself standing on a stretch of sand. The southern edge of Toyohashi City faced the Pacific, and the coast ran from Hamamatsu, one prefecture over, all the way along the Atsumi Peninsula, like one big beach. Along that, my current location was a place called Omotehama, fifteen minutes from the Houkobaru residence. The sand beneath my feet reminded me of the beach Yakishio had tugged me along last summer. But there’d been a few more people at that one. And less stars. Here, they drowned the sky from zenith to horizon.
The path had been steep. About five times along the way, I considered turning back. I was glad I hadn’t. The view made it worth it.
I continued toward my destination: a large, white something standing at least three meters tall. It looked like someone had taken a big slice of bread and stuck it in the ground. Carved into it was a hole shaped like a thought bubble, like out of a comic. The closer I got, the bigger it seemed to grow. The cloud-shaped hole was a bit above me, so I had to crane my neck just to see through it. The stars it captured twinkled gently, comfortable in their frame. I wished I had someone to share the sight with.
Imagine that. Me, of all people, wishing I had company. But I was fine with the loneliness. It was just one of those nights.
But then a plap broke my silent solitude. On the other side of the hole, a hand was gripping the edge. I flinched as another one shot up. They quickly slid back down, though. Lifelessly.
“Too…high.”
I knew that breathy rasp. I circled the thing to find a girl sitting against it, hugging her knees. Moonlight fell on her wavy hair and wan skin.
“What are you doing here?”
“Trying to climb… It’s not going well.” I figured as much, knowing Shikiya-san. Also, that didn’t answer my real question. She patted the ground next to her. “Don’t stand. Sit.”
“Uh, sure.” I did, leaving ample space between the two of us. She patted again. I hesitated. Then scooted. “So, uh, what are you doing here?”
“Wondering…why we came here.”
As in, she followed me?
“Sorry. Did I wake you?”
“Night is my element.”
I didn’t doubt that for a second. She leaned her head back and looked up at the stars. Her lips parted, betraying a hint of surprise in an otherwise unreadably blank expression. “Pretty. Is this why?”
“Not specifically. Just went for a walk. Couldn’t sleep.” I looked up with her. “Kinda glad for that now, though.”
“Me too.”
We didn’t talk anymore. But we sat. And we looked. I wasn’t even sure at what. I didn’t know constellations or anything. But I could tell they weren’t mine. They transported me. Made me imagine a life beyond my own. Think of a world outside my status quo.
I looked at Shikiya-san. Her eyelashes, still so long and full, flitted in the salty breeze. Her eyes—her eyes struck me. They were different. It took me some time to pinpoint why, but then it hit me.
She didn’t have her color contacts in.
The stars swam in them, islands of light in pools of faint hues. Hues I couldn’t quite make out in the darkness. Streaks glistening on the waves cast lifelike ripples in them.
Suddenly, I saw myself. Shikiya-san noticed me staring. “What?”
“Oh, um, just realized you don’t have your contacts in.”
“I take them out…when I sleep.” She hid them behind her bangs. “I…don’t like when people stare.”
“S-sorry!”
She wasn’t wearing makeup either. Come on. Guys should know better. That was a litigable offense right there. I hung my head in shame.
Something tickled my ear suddenly. Breath.
“Can I ask a question?” Shikiya-san whispered.
“Y-yeah! Sure! Hit me!”
“Why do you…try so hard?”
She wasn’t threatening legal action? Well. All right.
“You mean at my race with Yakishio?”
She nodded. “Do you…like her?”
“Huh?! No, not like that!” I cleared my throat. Lecture time. “I mean, okay, so here’s the thing about that question, right? It means a lot of things. Guys and girls? People jump to conclusions about them. But me and Yakishio? Just friends. That’s all. She’s been going through some stuff, questioning what she wants, and the point of this race is to kinda help push her toward a decision, so it’s not about me, like, trying to get with her or score brownie points or anything so much as it is just helping her out, because, I mean…” I paused to breathe. “We’re friends. And I’m president of the lit club.”
I put on the best, most charismatic leader-face I could.
But Shikiya-san just stared. “I see. You’re nice…to everyone.”
Was that a compliment? It sounded like a compliment. “Eh. I dunno about that.”
“You tried hard…for me too.” It seemed like she had more to say but fell silent.
“Senpai?”
“I’m gonna go.” She staggered to her feet.
“I’ll join you.”
“I know the way.”
She shuffled off. Weird. Was it something I said? I started to chase after her, until she came to a certain part of the path and froze. Looking up. It had been steep going down. Deductive reasoning could then tell us what going up would be.
Indeed. Steep.
“You, uh, gonna be able to handle that?” I asked.
Shikiya-san whirled around to me and held her arms out. “Uppies.”
“Huh?! I-I dunno, are you sure that’s a good idea? I’m not very strong, and, well, I’ve never lifted anyone bigger than my sister.” Shikiya-san simply grunted and thrust her arms out again. “Okay. Okay. What if we did piggyback?”
She considered my offer and eventually accepted. Granted, it wasn’t happily. Still, negotiations were successful.
One last workout. On the bright side, it did wonders for knocking me out when I got back to bed.