“…Sorry, were you hoping for someone else?”
“What? No.”
Me? Disappointed? As if.
While her clothes were nothing to write home about, her natural blonde hair was exotic and gorgeous. At our school, she couldn’t take a single step without attracting attention. This added an extra layer of difficulty during basketball games.
“You retired from the team, right? I’m impressed you still practice,” she mused.
“It’s just a way to kill time.”
“Shouldn’t you be spending that time studying for high school entrance exams?”
“I’ll be fine.” I noticed she didn’t ask me how the final tournament went. Maybe she could read between the lines. “What about you, Senpai?”
The newly minted high schooler gazed up at the hoop, then slowly shook her head. “These days I’m not doing anything. No sports, no study group…just vibes.”
“Huh.”
Her pale complexion was further washed out by her light hair, magnifying her aura of fragility. Unlike me, she could easily rank first or second place in beauty, and people fixated on her to an abnormal degree. But she always seemed to have her plate full, because she’d never socialize more than strictly necessary…and today, I sensed that same energy from her.
This was a reminder: when people walked out of your life, they left no trace behind. But even on the off chance you reunited, it would only end in awkwardness. Most likely this was exactly what would happen if I ever saw Tarumi again.
When the conversation petered out, Senpai took the hint and waved goodbye. “See ya.”
“Have a good life.” I didn’t realize how heartless it sounded until after I’d already said it, but she turned and walked away without taking offense.
Looking back, her level of friendliness had suited me perfectly. Of all the older students, she was the one I’d spoken to the most; neither of us were especially amiable people, but maybe that was what made it easier to relate to each other. She would always complain to me about all the chores she had to do after practice, and I felt vaguely sorry for her without being emotionally invested. Her life sounded complicated.
I’ll probably never see her again, I thought to myself. Even though we lived in the same town, somehow that was how it went for all my ex-friends. Strange, since one would think we were all still traveling to the same places. If I had to guess, it was proof that there were more people living in this dump than I could even fathom.
Rolling the basketball in my hands, I started walking back to the court to continue with my practice. Just then, I gasped and whirled around. A shadowy figure peeked out from behind a bridge beam, staring in my direction…and even at a distance, I recognized those olive eyes. I looked at her; she looked at me. Silence.
“…Uh, hello?”
Since she made no move to step out from behind the beam, I contemplated whether to go over there myself. Experimentally, I beckoned to her; only then did she leap out into view, as if she’d been waiting for a formal invitation. Today, instead of a layered kimono, she was wearing a thin yukata. Because of that, she appeared to move with even greater ease than usual.
“Good morning!”
“…Morning. Why were you hiding?”
“Mmm, no real reason. I was just having fun spying.”
“Uhhh…okay.” It seemed this woman could find the fun in any circumstance. What are you, my mom?
“When I arrived, I saw you standing there all zoned out, so I thought I’d see how long it would take you to notice me. Turns out, not very.”
“…I just thought I felt someone watching me, that’s all.” I didn’t want her to think I was actively looking for her or anything.
Evidently, she hadn’t seen me talking to Senpai, because otherwise she would have been over the moon to meet a high school girl… Out of context, she really did sound like a predator, didn’t she?
“No little sister with you today? That’s a shame.”
She peered down at my chest like she was scanning for my sibling. Don’t you have eyes? I chuckled. “You really like her, huh?” Likewise, my sister had opened up to her quite a bit, all things considered.
“It’s not that I like her, per se. But I like seeing you be so sweet to her.”
Her words turned to silk at the drop of a hat, and it flustered me. Not that I cared that she said she liked me.
“I noticed you haven’t been by in a while. Been sleeping in?”
“…It’s not like we made plans to meet up or anything.”
“That’s true,” she replied, in a perfectly calm and gentle voice. “Truth be told, I finished my business two days ago, but I really wanted to say goodbye, so I’ve been loitering around here every morning.”
Somehow she seemed to add a hidden meaning to every word she said. “Goodbye…?” I muttered as I digested this information. “So you’re not coming back?”
“Right. Not for a long while, at least.”
“…Huh.”
“Gonna miss me?”
“Nope.” But it was a bit of a stretch to insist we were still strangers.
“Anyway, I was thinking we could chat for a bit.”
“Sure, I guess…”
Kimono Lady walked over to the bench and sat down without a second thought. She gestured for me to join her, but the visible grime kept me at bay.
“What, you don’t want to get dirty? You can sit on my lap, then.”
She spread her arms wide, grinning from ear to ear, as she jostled her knees enticingly. She wanted me…a junior high schooler…to sit on her grown adult lap? Maybe if it was my sister, but… How would I manage to keep my balance there?
Regardless of the logistics, I knew she was just messing with me, so I decided to see what would happen if I walked over. Her smile remained as wide as her arms. I came to a stop directly in front of her. Still smiling. I turned around and bent my knees slightly—
“No, you’re supposed to refuse!”
“You’re the one who offered.”
“I mean, yes, but…”
Even then her smile didn’t falter, her wavering beauty provoking caution and relief in equal measure. Her expression was so flawless, surely anyone would wonder whether they were supposed to play along or not. Even I wasn’t confident that I understood fully. But one thing was for sure: I felt weird continuing to point my butt at her. Still, I’d have to overcome a lot in order to actually sit on her. I wasn’t used to making physical contact with people I wasn’t related to.
“Ah, the mysteries of the human body…”
“What?”
“I look at your junior high butt and I feel nothing! How does the brain categorize these things, anyway?”
“How should I know?!”
“If you were in high school, my eyes would be glued to you. But for now, I have the composure to enjoy the moment.”
Wait a minute… Is she a complete and total loser? Outside of her good looks and affability, I couldn’t see any other positive traits. Maybe that was all she needed.