Fushimi said she wanted to visit my house. Naturally, my house wasn’t a café, and we didn’t serve pancakes. As for ice cream…we did have some in the freezer. I also happened to have some snacks I hadn’t opened yet, so no problem there. Mana would get mad if we ate them, but this was an emergency. I couldn’t tell what Fushimi was really after here, but I answered ambivalently. “Yeah, okay.” My house happened to be on the way to Fushimi’s, so a pit stop was easy, with no backtracking. But…why? I turned to look at the prettiest girl in school, who was walking beside me. She was smiling, and the expression wasn’t quite the same as the Hina Fushimi on display in the classroom. I told her multiple times there wasn’t anything interesting in my house, but she replied that it was fine. She was in her little-Hina mode from our childhood, which meant I had no idea what she was thinking. Before I could figure any of it out, we reached my home. “It’s been so long since I came here!” It was the same Western-style house from back then. The parking spot for the pimp ride—that was what I called Mana’s bike—was still empty. My mom should be at work, so I guess no one’s home. …Is it okay to let a girl in when no one’s home? Fushimi blinked her long eyelashes a few times and tilted her head sideways like a little bird. “What’s the matter?” Her face wasn’t the only reason for her 100 percent approval rating among the boys—it was these mannerisms, too. I immediately understood how her fans felt. “No, it’s nothing…” She had visited many times before, and plenty of those times, we’d played in my room. Still… I started feeling queasy. I opened the door, let her in, and gave her some slippers. She thanked me while taking off her shoes and slipping her small feet in. Now, where do I take her? We’ve played in the living room before, so… “We’re not going upstairs?” “Bwuh?! My room?! Y-you sure?” “Yes. Let’s go!” Fushimi already knew the place, so she went right upstairs, her slippers echoing against the floor with every step. I’ve got everything she shouldn’t see out of sight, right? Thank God my mom taught me to always put away my things after using them. “C’mon, you come up here, too.” Fushimi was already at the top of the staircase, her head turned to look back at me. “I’m co—” It was the perfect angle—I could…I could… Nope, I couldn’t see up her skirt. “…” “?” I was relieved and slightly disappointed at the same time. Is the length of that skirt calculated precisely for this? Nah, there’s no way. Hiding my disillusionment, I went up the stairs and past her. I walked through the hallway and opened the door to my room. There were some clothes and manga lying around but nothing pornographic. Once again, I felt relieved. My room was about a hundred square feet and had a simple interior: just my bed, a desk, and two shelves for manga. “Wow, it’s all cluttered,” she muttered, peering into my room from behind me. “But it’s just like I remember it.” I stepped inside and picked up my clothes from the floor to put them on the bed. I think I had some cushions in my closet. I looked for something to sit on, and Fushimi just up and sat on my bed. I instinctively glared at her. “Oh, sorry. I can’t sit on the bed?” “No, I don’t really mind it, but…” What do you think would happen if I didn’t have morals? I’d have you pinned there, ready to get down to business! “Hmm? But what?” “Fushimi, you should be more cautious. You’re too suggesti—” I broke off when she lay down on the bed. “Suggestive? You mean like this?” “Okay, come on…” “Ah-ha-ha.” Fushimi rolled around laughing while I sighed. “When was the last time you came to my house? Middle school?” “No, it was in sixth grade, on…” Fushimi paused at a strange spot in her reply, still staring at my ceiling. Sixth grade? Really? “In sixth grade, on…what?” She turned her back to me. “You don’t remember, Ryou? That day in sixth grade was the last time.” I have no idea. That day? What day? Didn’t you hear me say I thought it was in middle school? I can’t remember.
✦ ✦ ✦
“So do you want tea or juice?” “Gosh, you’re so bad at changing the subject.” Fushimi laughed out loud, still lying down. “Juice, please.” After she told me, I left the room and headed for the kitchen. “Sixth grade? Yeah, we played together like five days a week back then… Agh, it’s so hard remembering specific things with her… We spent so much time with each other, it all blends together…” While I was muttering to myself, I poured two glasses of apple juice. I took a bag of chips and went back to my room. Since I didn’t have a table, I put them on my study desk. “So what happened when we were in sixth grade?” I turned around and saw her still lying on my bed. Sheesh. I sighed. My glance glided from her shapely nose to her well-defined eyebrows. Her large, pretty eyes were closed, and her lustrous hair spread all around her on my bed. I could hear her faint breath escaping through her thin peachy lips. “A-are you asleep?” She cracked open her eyes and looked at me. Is she just pretending to be asleep? Is this supposed to be a continuation of that suggestiveness talk we had? “Fushimi, please stop messing with me already. And don’t forget not all guys are like me.” I’ll teach her a lesson. I straddled her body, putting my hands beside her face. What now? Are you scared? O-oh God, this is closer than I expected… Now I’m the one getting anxious. Fushimi opened her eyes wide. Her expression was unexpectedly serious. “I’m not messing with you. It’s just that you forgot.” “C’mon, tell me what it was.” “It was one of our promises.” That’s the thing… I can’t remember them all. Now, one single promise would’ve left a bigger impression. “You do know doing this—lying around in a guy’s bed and pretending to be asleep—is something you should only do with the one you love, right?” “…You’re stupid.” Fushimi blushed and looked away. “Stupid.” “Why’d you say it two times, stupid?” “You’re the stupid one! You forgot our promise!” Agh, there’s no winning this! “How long’re you gonna stay there anyway? Get off me.” “Ah, sorry.” I instinctively rolled off. The mood got kinda awkward, but we started talking again once I broke out the snacks. She even started folding my scattered clothes, saying she needed to do something with her hands while talking. After a while, Fushimi grabbed her bag and stood up. “It’s time for me to go,” she said. It was already getting dark outside. I offered to take her home, so we walked under the streetlights carving a path in the darkness. “I’ll concede on me being stupid, but please just give me another hint.” “A hint? After all those promises we made…I’m in shock, honestly.” Fushimi pouted. “I’m telling you, I’m sorry.” “No, it’s fine. Sorry for being mean. Of course you forgot something from that long ago. Although, I have all our promises written down.” “For real?” Now that she mentioned it, I did remember her taking lots of notes. “You even said you’d do it, too, you know?” “For real?” “For really realsies.” Actually, I do feel like I have something written somewhere. “Hey then, couldn’t you just show me what you wrote? I’ll do my best figuring out which one it was.” “You…will…?” Fushimi got so red she started steaming. “N-n-no! I mean…th-there’s a lot there beside just our promises. It’s too embarrassing.” “Hmm… I see.” So she wants to keep that dark past buried. We eventually reached Fushimi’s house. “Thanks for everything today. See you tomorrow.” “No problem. See you.” Fushimi waved her hand, and so did I before turning my back. I wonder if I can find my memo pad.