Aina came back after a short while, looking like the personification of the word ‘fashionable.’ Her newly donned blouse went well with the shorts, which in turn accentuated her long legs. She retained a natural appearance despite her sophisticated apparel, and her bed head had been replaced with straight, silky black hair. Given Kai’s memory of her appearance just moments before, Aina’s transformation was magical. Without so much as uttering a word, she was commanding him, “Forget what you saw earlier.”
The only reason Kai was still sitting in the living room was because Aina had told him to wait (surely a terrible fate would await him had he gone home), and he planned on knocking back the rest of his tea and heading out as soon as she returned.
But then Haruko said, “Oh, it’s noon already? I’m boiling somen noodles, so have a bite before you go,” effectively cutting off his escape path.
To be more precise, Kai wanted to push through and decline her offer, but Aina snuck up behind him and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. “...Don’t worry about me, just nod along with Grandma,” she whispered. He couldn’t sense any ulterior motive, so he found himself staying put.
As a result, there was now another cup of tea on the other side of his own second helping, and farther beyond that, Aina was sitting across the table.
“...This is the happiest Grandma’s looked in a while, so.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“...You’re so softhearted,” she accused.
“I mean, it’s just lunch.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. Well, that too, but... the thing with Miyo... I’m not sure what happened, but you helped her out, right? In that case, thanks,” Aina said. “She’s... getting old, after all.”
Miyo moved from the sunny spot outside in order to lay across Aina’s lap, as if to declare that it was her destiny to ball up there. She let out a happy purr as Aina’s white fingers scratched gently at her neck.
“...You don’t have to think too much about what Grandma told you,” Aina said after a while.
“Huh?”
“My room is right above this one. The house is old... I could hear you.”
“...I’m sorry,” Kai apologized.
“Stop.” Aina’s clear voice carried directly to Kai. “There’s nothing that warrants an apology just for knowing. The past is the past; the present is the present. I... am me.”
Miyo twitched awake, and Aina petted her head to make it up to her for moving. “...This girl was a stray,” she explained. “I’m not too different, myself. Grandma picked us up, and now our family is Grandma, Miyo, and me. That’s all there is to it.” Her words were cold, but carried no loneliness. In fact, they conveyed a core strength that made the table’s worth of distance seem far out of reach.
“Um...” For whatever reason, Kai found himself thinking of Nanaka’s smiling face as she set aside the reason for her tears. He was scared that he might be hated, but he’d had enough of thinking, if only I had asked back then. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. “We’re in the same club, and I think... we’re friends,” he added slowly.
“............Huh?” The exasperated look on Aina’s face was physically painful to see. “Are you... trying to console me?”
“Um, well... Yeah... I’m sorry.” Why didn’t I just say yes? Kai wondered, and instantly felt regret. He wanted to hang his head in shame at how pathetic he was, but this was the best he could do.
Aina heaved a sigh and quickly turned away. Her manner of snubbing him was far more cat-like than the old furball sleeping on her lap. “If you’re going to apologize afterwards, then don’t say it at all... You’re confusing me,” she told him.
Then, changing the subject, she said, “Anyway! Hurry up and go make a super-plan that makes good use of me! Going for a walk is well and good, but you have been working on the Summit proposal, right?”
Aina hit him where it hurt. Kai reflexively winced, which was met by another sigh when she noticed. “Well, I’m not exactly surprised. I had a feeling it’d turn out this way when I saw you at the bookstore. What, are you the artsy type? Do you have something against discussing with the other members?”
“N-No,” he denied quickly, “I don’t.”
“Then it’s simple,” she said with another deep, exasperated sigh. “If you have someone you can talk to when things don’t pan out, then go talk to them.”
“...That’s... true....”
—To ask is a moment of shame. To not ask is a lifetime of shame. These are words that all know, yet none can execute, Shiraseki. Planners worry over much, and they decide much, as well. However, trusted advisers are among a planner’s greatest assets... Oftentimes, proposals made with the cooperation of many minds contain their passions, too.
Another lesson from Akane sprang to life, triggered by Aina’s refreshing advice. That’s it, Kai thought. With infinite time to ponder, he could deliberate all he wanted. There were some things that only revealed themselves after exploring his own mind.
But the situation at hand was different. Their time was limited, and he was wholly inexperienced. He could think and think and think, but it would all be for naught if he dug a hole to nowhere. “...You’re completely right, Aina-san,” he admitted. “Thanks.”
“‘Thanks’?” Aina repeated. “...I can’t tell if you have too much pride, or too little... Oh,” she paused. With a sly grin, she took Kai’s hand and pulled him up to his feet. “In that case, come with me. Grandmaaa! We’ll be upstairs!”
“Mmkay!” came a delayed response as Kai went down the same path that the bedraggled Aina had disappeared into earlier. Back in the hallway, he walked up the wooden staircase with his clubmate and made his way to the farthest doorway on the second floor. There was a nameplate that read ‘AINA,’ which felt out of place in the Japanese building. Clearly, this was her room.
“Come on, come on, ♪” Aina sang, and beckoned Kai through the door before he could prepare himself to enter. The room was again of Japanese style, and was six tatami mats in size. Other than the drawer, wardrobe, and full-length mirror, the only things in her room were a desk and chair. He would go so far as to describe it as being drab. However, her desk was cluttered with school supplies, cheap cosmetics, and scripts with tabs sticking out of the top. He felt like that space alone showed a glimpse into her daily life.