Chapter 4

Class was over for the day. Were we really going back home together? I was skeptical up until it was actually happening, but, well…it was actually happening. “Let’s go, Ryou.” “S-sure…” That stuttered syllable felt like the only word I could say to her anymore. Fushimi grabbed her bag, stood up, and made her way to the exit. Her every movement was so bouncy I could almost see a musical note with every step. “Hey, Hina,” said one of her friends, “where should we go toda—?” “Sorry, I’m going back home with Takamori today.” “What? O-okay…?” Fushimi’s friend stared in shock. As I walked after Fushimi, her friend studied me with some bemusement. Yeah… Me too. The girl had been in our class the previous year, and naturally, she never saw us acting all chummy. Really, no one would have thought we got along at all then. I had no idea why Fushimi was reverting to how we’d been in our childhood. You could also ask why we’d even stopped after grade school, though, and I’d still have no idea. Fushimi rejected a couple more invitations from friends on her way out of the classroom. They were all similarly weirded out. Yes, I get you. I don’t understand any more than you. I still can’t believe it. I’d accepted the invitation only because I had no reason to turn her down, but still, how did this happen? “You sure? You don’t wanna go for some fast food or karaoke with them instead?” “Huh?” She looked over her shoulder while combing her silky hair, uncovering her ear. “I’m asking why you want to go home with me.” Surely she’d have a way better time stopping by somewhere with them than going straight home with me. Fushimi pouted. “I’m not telling you anything, you promise forgetter.” “What the…?” I pouted, too, and she laughed out loud. Ah, dammit, this is kinda fun… Just like old times. We exited the school building and walked side by side. Everyone was staring at us, even the first-years. Now this is awkward… “And I always go straight home after school. Just so you know.” “What?” “In case you were assuming li’l Hina was the kind of girl to go out and enjoy the nightlife. I’m not.” Li’l Hina? What’s with the cutesy act? “And I don’t think I like that being your impression of me,” she was saying. “Sorry, I assumed. You get along with the kind of people who seem like they do.” “Even when I do humor them, it’s only for a bit. I always go home at, like, six.” So she’s the model student in class and outside it, too. Then what was the school princess, so beautiful she made the prettiest flower blush, doing at home so early? We got to the nearest station in under five minutes and boarded the train. “Oh,” I accidentally said aloud, realizing why she had asked me to go home with her. “Huh? What is it?” “Fushimi, check out the train.” A question mark appeared above her head, but she took a look. Around half of the people inside were students, the other half were quite varied. “What am I supposed to be seeing here?” “The train isn’t packed. No weirdos. It’s all students like us.” “Yeah, and?” “That means you don’t have to worry about gropers on the way back.” “What? But I’m not?” “…” “I’m not.” “I heard you the first time.” “Then say something the first time. Wait… You think I was bringing you along for that?” “O-o-of course not!” “You’re such a bad liar!” Fushimi flashed me an impish smile and poked at my chest. Agh! Don’t you tease me! “Would you protect me again if the train was packed like that morning?” Fushimi seemed strangely peppy. “Again…? I only did it that time by chance—plus, the train back home is never that crowded.” “Oh, come on! I’m speaking hypothetically! Don’t be so nitpicky about the details.” Those “details” are kinda important, though. She stared at me with a pout so I had no option but to sigh in defeat. “Y-yeah, I would. Protect sounds kinda embarrassing, but I wouldn’t let anyone do that to you.” The bashful smile she gave me in return told me my answer was satisfactory. “But I almost never take the train back home anyway,” Fushimi said. “There goes your entire argument…” What even is this conversation? It was true; I never saw Fushimi on my way home. I’d assumed that was because she didn’t go home around the same time I did, but I guess I was wrong. “Then why did you take it today?” “Because…you…” She murmured something and stared out the window, flustered. I couldn’t hear anything. “Huh? What? I couldn’t hear you, sorry.” The train swayed as Fushimi turned half of her face to me. Her voice was still quiet, but this time, I was able to get what she said. “Because you take the train back home…!” Her cheeks started turning red, and it wasn’t only because of the sunset. “And I’m the one…who wanted to go back with you…” She looked down at her feet and fidgeted. I still couldn’t believe what she’d just said—or this whole situation, for that matter. This had to be a prank or something. Someone was around here filming and streaming it all. “Huh? What? What do you mean?” “Oh, come on! Please stop making me repeat myself! You’re so mean! I’m gonna die from embarrassment!” Don’t even suggest it! Or I’ll die, too!