Over the weekend, with no need to go to class, Hana had plans to go out with Suzu and Kikyou as a change of pace.
Hazuki saw Hana dolled up more than usual and asked, “Are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah. I’m hanging out with Suzu and Kikyou,” Hana answered.
“…That’s nice,” she said, her reply brief. Her expression was wistful.
“Do you want to come?”
Hazuki brightened. “Really? Can I?”
Hana had extended the invitation without thinking much about it, so she was surprised by Hazuki’s delighted reaction. She blinked in astonishment before saying, “Uh, yeah. If you’re cool with it.”
“Of course! I would love to! It’s the first time I’ve hung out with anyone.”
Hana couldn’t ignore what she had just heard. “What?!” she said in outrage. “You’ve never gone out with friends before?”
“No. I never had the time…”
Hazuki’s dispirited demeanor reminded Hana of something she had wiped from her mind.
Their parents had dictated Hazuki’s schedule down to the minute, from the time she spent in school to what she did at home and even on her days off. “Free time” wasn’t a concept that had existed for her, and she wouldn’t have had the time to hang out with friends the way normal teenagers did.
Fury boiled up inside Hana.
“Those piece-of-shit parents—” she cursed.
She should have punched them once or twice when she left that house. The next time she saw them, she resolved to do just that without hesitating.
However, Hana was guilty, as well, for being apathetic toward Hazuki.
She would jump at the opportunity to turn back time if only it were possible.
Now there was only one thing she could do to atone.
“Let’s go, Hazuki!” Hana declared. “Don’t worry. Suzu and Kikyou are both good people. We’re going to have so much fun, you won’t know what hit you.”
“Okay.”
Hana waited while her sister went to her room to get ready, and the two of them set off together.
Suzu and Kikyou were already at the meeting place by the time they arrived.
It may have been the first time Hana had ever seen Kikyou without Kiriya at her side. Hana had initially been worried whether Kikyou would be able to find the place without her brother, but it seemed that she had managed.
“Morning, Hana!” Suzu said.
“Good morning,” Kikyou said.
Then the two of them spotted Hazuki standing next to Hana, and they made identical expressions of surprise…
“You brought your sister with you,” Suzu remarked, genuinely pleased. There was no hidden meaning behind her words.
Kikyou, on the other hand, looked bewildered. “Why is she here?”
“Didn’t I mention? She’s living in the Ichinomiya residence now,” Hana said.
Suzu’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“I see. That’s why she’s been coming to school with you and Nozomu,” Kikyou said, satisfied by Hana’s explanation.
“That’s right. The newspaper club hasn’t caught wind of it yet.”
At least, they hadn’t posted anything about it. The club was slower on the uptake than Hana had thought.
But Hazuki contradicted Hana. “Not exactly. They know about it, but Lord Ichinomiya has issued a gag order.”
“Oh yeah?”
“He told me to keep quiet about my living situation as well. I wonder if he’s planning something.”
“Hmmm. I haven’t heard anything,” Hana mused. “Hold on. He should’ve told me sooner, before I blew the secret to these two.”
If he had a plan to combat their parents, she wished he would loop her in on it. He couldn’t imagine she would spill the beans, could he? She would be irritated if that was his impression of her.
“Not even the newspaper club can defy an order straight from Lord Ichinomiya,” Suzu said. “Oh, and don’t worry about me. I’m known for having tight lips!”
So Suzu boasted, but she was normally one to hop right on the gossip train. Hana was worried how long she could count on her friend to remain silent.
“I won’t say anything outside this group, either, so please rest assured,” Kikyou promised.
Hana was pretty sure she could rely on Kikyou. Suzu would be mad if she knew, Hana thought to herself.
“I trust you,” Hana said. “Anyway, shall we get going?”
Their plan had been to stroll around the town and pop into any store that caught their eye, but that was before Hazuki had joined them.
Hana directed her gaze at her sister. The other two naturally followed suit as well.
“Do you have anywhere you want to go?” asked Hana.
“I have to decide?” Hazuki replied, bewildered.
“Didn’t you say this was your first time hanging out with friends? Isn’t there anything you want to do?”
“What?! Your first time ever?” Suzu asked.
“Yes. Oh, and please call me Hazuki.”
“Okey dokey, Hazuki.”
It was rare for anyone to address Hazuki so familiarly, and she seemed bashful but happy.
As the top student in their school and the master of a human shikigami, she was often treated as different from the other students. It was quite possible that she had no one around her willing to speak to her as a friend. Suzu’s easygoing personality was a boon.
“Where to, then?” Suzu asked Hazuki.
“Um, I…,” Hazuki said hesitantly. Judging by the way she was fidgeting, it seemed like she had a place in mind. Eventually, she admitted, “I want to go to an arcade.”
“Is that a first for you, too?” Suzu asked.
Hazuki nodded self-consciously. Hana mentally smacked her parents several times over.
“Sounds great. Let’s go,” Hana said.
Suzu, who was always game for anything, pumped her fist in the air. “Aye, aye!”