「Hey, Kurumi, listen! Apparently, there’s been a ton of raccoons showing up around where I live recently.」

     「Sounds rough, Yume.」

     「Yeah. There’s all sorts of stuff going on. People are getting scratched up, fields are getting damaged… I think if I end up going to college, I’m going to live in the center of Tokyo.」

     「What do you mean, center of Tokyo…?」

     I was sure damage caused by animals could be plenty of trouble.

     Animals. Beasts, huh.

     I recalled the events from before. On that day that Sorahashi-san had urged me to become a beast, I had gone somewhat — no, I had gone quite crazy. To have buried my face in someone else’s chest and gone on about erotic scents — to be honest, the only thing I could be is a pervert.

     A few days had passed, and I had now calmed down a bit.

     I had become my normal self again, and since then, I hadn’t engaged in any strange role-play with Sorahashi-san. We’d hung out a few times since then, and she hadn’t mentioned it at all.

     The agitation I felt at that was probably just my mind playing tricks on itself.

      「There haven’t been any raccoons around where I live, but there’s been a lot of stray cats.」

     Mutsuki said.

     「Hmm… What about you, Kurumi?」

     「Huh?」

     「Has it been fine where you are?」

     「Ah, yeah. There hasn’t really been anything…」

     「I see. Wait, where do you live again?」

     「Ah, uh…」

     As I chatted with Yume, my gaze suddenly met Mutsuki’s. She was looking at me with sleepy eyes.

     Being stared at like that made me uneasy.

     Right now, I had a lot to feel guilty over. I was afraid that if I acted strangely, she’d see right through me. Thus, I pretended to act normally and just returned her stare.

     「Say, Kurumi.」

     Mutsuki spoke softly.

     I felt my heart beating faster.

     「Did you get a boyfriend?」

     「Huh?」

     My eyes widened in surprise at those sudden words, and my heart began beating even louder.

     「Why do you ask?」

     「Just a feeling. You look like you’ve been enjoying yourself lately.」

     「…Is that so?」

     I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the time I spent with Sorahashi-san. Setting aside the stuff about her being a pet and me being her owner, I thought we’d become pretty good friends. In fact, I felt that recently, We’d been able to spend time together and converse like normal.

     If nothing weird happened and things continued on like this, I’d be quite happy. No, really.

     「Yeah. So, have you?」

     「I don’t have a boyfriend. It’s just that something nice happened.」

     「Hmm…」

     「Ah, something nice happened to me recently too.」

     「I see. Good for you, Yume.」

     Mutsuki said with complete disinterest.

     「At least take a little interest, please.」

     「What happened?」

     When I asked her, she smiled.

     「You celebrated my birthday.」

     I rolled my eyes for a second, and then laughed.

     「I’m glad you had a good time.」

     「When’s your birthday, Kurumi?」

     「It’s—」

     At that moment, a commotion formed outside the classroom.

     I looked over to see Sorahashi-san surrounded by a ton classmates.

     「Happy birthday, Sera!」

     Apparently, today was her birthday. Plenty of people, even those from different classes, were here to wish her well. She seemed to be used to receiving presents. I wondered if her birthday was like this every year, with a bunch of people coming from all over to celebrate.

     It was amazing how beloved she was.

     I’d only ever celebrated my birthday with family, so I wondered what it was like to celebrate it with friends like she was.

     It was kinda awkward to have my birthday on Christmas. By that time, the second term would be over and everyone would be busy picking out Christmas presents. I’d never exchanged Christmas presents with any friends before.

     As I listlessly gazed at Sorahashi-san, Yume suddenly stared at my face.

     「Are your birthday celebrations as lively as that?」

     Yume spoke with excitement.

     Hey, now. It’s not like I didn’t enjoy celebrating my birthday, but I wasn’t as glamorous of an individual as Sorahashi-san, and I preferred to keep those sorts of things more low-key.

     And in the first place…

     「No, no… there’s no need to do anything for me.」

     「Huh. …Wait, when even is your birthday? You didn’t answer when I asked.」

     「It might have already passed.」

     「What’s that supposed to mean?」

     Yume frowned in dissatisfaction.

     It wasn’t that I didn’t want to celebrate it. I just felt bad when other people spent their time and money on me. My parents had adjusted their schedules a few times before to celebrate, but even then, my sense of awkwardness and guilt won out over the happiness of being celebrated.

     The rest of the world was celebrating Christmas, so there was no need to celebrate me.

     「More importantly, where should we go for Christmas?」

     「Hmm… How about we go see the illuminations?」

     「Just us three girls?」

     「Isn’t that fine? Yume, are you the type that can’t enjoy yourself if there aren’t any guys around?」

     「Hey… You can’t just say that! I was just asking!」

     「Okay, fellas, break it up.」

     「Kurumi! Mutsuki’s being rude!」

     「You’re like a kid tattling to her mom.」

     I couldn’t tell if those two got along well or not. As I smiled wryly, the bell rang and students began gathering up in the classroom. The group surrounding Sorahashi-san eventually dispersed back into their own classrooms as well.

     Homeroom ended and the first period began.

     Exams were just a few days away, but our classes weren’t that different from usual. Our usual teacher was writing on the board like usual, and we were just doing a review of the content we’d learned so far.

     I usually paid attention in class, so my grades were pretty good. As I looked at the blackboard like I usually did, I suddenly heard the sound of something dropping onto the floor. I looked over to see Sorahashi-san’s mechanical pencil laying there.

     She had dropped her fork that other time as well, and it had been pretty common for her to drop her pencil and eraser like this for a while now. I picked it up and handed it to her. But, unlike usual, she didn’t take it.

     Our eyes met.

     Just like when we were playing at pet and owner, she gazed at me with an expectant look.

     Her irises, their color indescribable, were awfully dazzling. Not knowing what she wanted, I stared back. Her hand slowly reached out to me.

     「And for this problem… Nabana, you give it a try.」

     「Ah, of course!」

     I swiftly put her mechanical pencil into my breast pocket and stood up. Thankfully it wasn’t that difficult, so I was able to solve it pretty quickly. As I returned to my seat our eyes met again, but she immediately turned her gaze down to her nails.

     Was there something she wanted me to do?

     It was unusual for her to be so indirect. I wondered if it was something that was pointless if I didn’t do it myself.

     In other words…

     I looked over at her desk. A large paper bag was hanging off of it, presumably stuffed with birthday presents.

     Come to think of it, Mizuki, too, would get excited on the morning of her birthday. And as I pondered, I realized that I hadn’t wished Sorahashi-san happy birthday yet. I’d have to buy her a present later. But for now…

     I got back in my seat and wrote something on the edge of my notebook with her mechanical pencil.

     Then, I discreetly cut it out with scissors so that she wouldn’t see. Right before I gave it to her, I noticed that there was a small blank space left on the paper, so I drew a little rabbit there and then placed it onto her desk along with her pencil.

     I wondered what sort of present she’d like.

     For a girl like her that had probably received all sorts of presents before, I couldn’t come up with anything I could give her that she’d be happy with.

     As I continued to rack my brains, I felt a tug at the bottom of my blazer. I thought that it might have gotten caught on my chair, but that wasn’t it. It was actually Sorahashi-san tugging at it.

     「Thank you, Kurumi.」

     She giggled.

     She was in such high spirits now that it seemed like her dissatisfied expression just before had never happened, and she began to listen to the lecture enthusiastically.

     I breathed a sigh of a relief and returned to focusing on class as well.

     And so, the day passed by just like normal. Sorahashi-san’s birthday had become a massive event at school, and people continued to stream in to the classroom even during the afternoon.

     I knew she was popular, but the extent of it was unfathomable. I guess it just goes to show how charming she was. Even though I’d only interacted with her a little bit, I was still happy to be her friend.

     But what was it, I wondered?

     Looking at how she was today, the sense that she lived in a different world altogether was quite palpable. Even though we were friends, we weren’t exactly a good match. We didn’t share any hobbies, nor did we like to talk about the same things.

     …Hobbies.

     No, that was her hobby, not mine. I certainly didn’t have any hobbies like that.

     「Kurumi.」

     As I aimlessly walked through the school building, her voice suddenly called out to me. I looked up to see her at the top of a set of stairs.

     「Come over here.」

     「Sorahashi-san? What’s up?」

     I walked up the stairs to her.

     She was sitting on a chair in the school’s free space. It was usually bustling with people, but because it had been a while since the last period had ended, it was now deserted. Perhaps because of this, even when I took light steps, they strangely echoed out.

     Tap. Tap. Tap.

     I felt the unordinary creeping in, even though these were the same footsteps as usual.

     She motioned for me to sit next to her. Unlike when I saw her in class, she was now wearing a coat and scarf.

     「I just wanted to chat. I’m glad you were still here.」

     Saying this, she smiled.

     It was an innocent smile, like that of a friendly dog.

     My heart skipped a beat. It was rare for just a conversation to stir my emotions like this. It hadn’t felt this way back when I talked to the popular kids in middle school. Maybe it was because the person I was talking to was Sorahashi-san.

     「Happy birthday.」

     I thought it would be better to tell her verbally, not just through writing. When I gave that thought form, my words for some reason sounded very light.

     「Mm. Thank you.」

     Although she said she wanted to talk, she didn’t say anything else. It didn’t feel as awkward as before, but I thought it would be weird if we stayed like this, so I spoke up.

     「You’re incredible, Sorahashi-san.」

     「What about me?」

     「How everyone likes you. It made me realize again how incredible you are.」     

     There was no need to force myself to be her friend.

     I was already great friends with Yume and Mutsuki. I was already enjoying myself with the two of them without making any forced efforts to expand my circle. I didn’t need to concern myself with making friends with someone who belonged to a different world.

     However…

     I wanted to get even closer to Sorahashi-san. There wasn’t any need to. We weren’t a good match. I didn’t even know if we shared any hobbies. Even so, I wanted to become good friends with her. I’d been acting so strange lately.

     「You think so? But Nakamura-san and Futami-san like you well enough, don’t they?」

     「That’s because we’re friends.」

     「Is there really a difference? I don’t think the amount of people that like you really matters.」

     「…Maybe so.」

     Perhaps because the building was made of glass, the crimson light shining in was dazzling. I wondered why it felt so strange to be at school at this hour.

     Like always, another day had come to an end.

     Compared to summer, the sun set much earlier than usual, and it was colder. I wished a little bit for spring to come quickly.

     「More than when anybody else did, I was really happy when you wished me happy birthday, Kurumi.」

     「Huh?」

     She murmured with an earnest expression.

     Her eyes, as beautiful as the sunset, seemed so far away. If we just continued talking like this, our worlds would never intersect. At least, that’s what I felt.

     「Say, Kurumi. When’s your birthday?」

     She asked, scooting her chair a little closer to me.

     I turned my eyes away.

     「It’s not that important.」

     「Which month, and which day?」

     Her hand touched my cheek.

     I jumped at the cool sensation. I felt like she was telling me that she wouldn’t allow me to lie. After hesitating a little, I returned my gaze to her.

     「It’s on the same day as Christmas.」

     「So December 25th, then.」

     「…Yeah.」

     「I see. Then I’ll have to prepare both a Christmas present and a birthday present for you.」

     「You don’t have to go that far…」

     「I do. …I want to. I want to properly celebrate both Christmas and your birthday.」

     「…Sorahashi-san.」

     She was looking straight at me.

     I didn’t think my birthday was particularly special, but I’m sure I’d be happy if she celebrated it.

     「…Then I’ll have to give you a present as well. What would you like?」

     「Not telling. I want you to pick it out yourself, Kurumi.」

     She flashed me a slightly cheeky smile.

     I thought it would be for the best if she just told me what she wanted, but maybe it would be a more meaningful present if I seriously considered what she might want.

     However, I felt like if I chose something that she had zero interest in, then there wouldn’t be any point to it.

     「…I guess you’re right. I’ll give it to you tomorrow, then.」

     「There’s no point if you don’t give it to me today.」

     「Huh? But…」

     「If you’re going to buy something, then I’ll come along. Where are you headed?」

     「Let’s see…」

     Picking out a present in front of the person I was going to give it to seemed kind of strange.  I was sure she wouldn’t change her mind no matter how much I protested, though. Although she seemed gentle, her core — or rather, her will — was quite strong.

     「First things first, let’s head to the station. I’ll think about it there. …Let’s go.」

     「Sure. …Ah. Just a moment. What’s this?」

     She pointed at the table. There was something like a string laying on it. It wasn’t there before.

     When I picked up that light pink string, it felt comfortable in my hand. It was even as if I’d seen it somewhere before. I felt some resistance when I gave it a gentle pull. At the same time, I heard a faint sigh. I looked towards Sorahashi-san to see that the string was connected to her.

     In disbelief, I pulled at the string once more.

     Her scarf gently swayed.

     My heart skipped a beat. After a moment of hesitation, I touched her scarf. Slowly undoing it, I revealed her neck.

     「…Why?」

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