Chapter 180

The couple was getting ready to move into their new home, and they drew close to one another as they picked up different dishes, laughing together as they chose. Both of them were full of enthusiasm, and as they carried on a conversation that made Amane flush as he watched them, they placed dish after dish into their basket and laughed happily together. Watching them do that, he came to a halt. Huh? he thought. Could it be that’s how we look to people around us? he wondered. The moment he realized that, the heat rushed to his face so quickly, it felt like flames might shoot out of his head, and he felt anguished, as if the surface of his face had been scorched. The couple in question didn’t seem to pay any attention to Amane’s presence, and they promptly moved along to another section of the store. “Amane?” He wasn’t able to look directly at Mahiru, who was peering up at him with concern after he’d abruptly stopped walking. “…Hey, can I say something I just thought of?” “Sure.” “…Doesn’t this look like we’re a couple living together that’s out shopping?” Keeping the question to himself seemed like it would make the heat get too intense and scorch his insides, too, so he attempted to spread the fire under the guise of sharing his thoughts. In the corner of his vision, he could see Mahiru burst into flames right beside him. Mahiru was quietly letting little repeating sounds fall from her trembling mouth, in almost a musical rhythm, “Li…li…li…?” Her face was glowing with heat just like Amane’s, and she used her free hand to cover it. The fact that she didn’t shake her other hand free only stoked the fire already blazing inside Amane. Mahiru had been looking very strange, trembling and shaking in the shop, but after taking a moment and several deep breaths, she looked up at Amane. In her caramel-colored eyes, which were so wet, the tears threatened to spill over at any moment, there was a vivid mix of embarrassment and confusion but, behind that, a glimmering blend of passion and hope. “…I-it’s s-still early…for that.” After she said that, Mahiru stomped off desperately toward the registers like she was trying to escape, dragging Amane along by the hand. “R-right, yeah. Still too early.” Too early…for now. Rolling the words for now around in his mouth while somehow trying to contain the heat in his body, Amane followed the path his girlfriend blazed toward the registers.