「See you tomorrow!」

     「Snowball fights are pretty fun.」

     In the end, we decided to both have a snowball fight and make a snowman after school. It wasn’t exactly what high schoolers usually got up to, but the two of them were too eager to turn down, so that’s how we ended up messing around in the snow for two hours.

     It was getting dark and the snow was starting to fall harder. Neither of them lived that far from school, so I was sure they’d be able to get home safe. As I headed towards the station, taking care not to slip, I saw a line formed by the ticket gate. Just as I had feared, the trains had stopped.

     There was no way I could take a taxi, and the bus was way too crowded. I couldn’t just walk home, either.

     I figured I should kill some time until the trains started moving again — well, that’s what I wanted to do, but all the cafes near the station were packed full. I thought about heading to the bookstore in the station and browsing around, but my legs were really tired from all that playing in the snow.

     I went to brush some snow off of a bench at the station and sat down. My butt was a little cold, but it was more comfortable than standing.

     I hoped Mizuki was okay.

     Her middle school was close to home so I didn’t think that she’d get lost or stuck, but I was worried she’d slip and fall or get sick.

     「…Achoo.」

     It was cold.

     Even with a coat and scarf on, it was cold.

     I buried my face in the scarf. The one that Sorahashi-san was supposed to be wearing had somehow become mine, and the one that was supposed to be mine had become hers. I’d washed it a few times though, so it shouldn’t smell like her anymore.

     So why was it that right now, I could pick up her scent?

     I suddenly looked up and felt something touching my hair. It was someone’s hand.

     「Sorahashi-san. So you haven’t gone home yet.」

     「For some reason, I just got the feeling that you were still around.」

     「Ahaha, what’s that supposed to mean?」

     It was too cold for me to properly put a laugh on my face. She was holding her umbrella up to me.

     「There’s so much snow on your gloves… are you okay?」

     「I’m a little cold, but I’m fine.」

     「Were you playing in the snow, perhaps?」

     「Yeah. It just sorta happened… It was surprisingly fun. Maybe I got a little carried away.」

     「Gosh. It’s fine to play around, but you have to be careful not to catch a cold.」

     Saying that, she took off my gloves and grasped my hands tightly. Her hands usually felt a little cold, but right now, they were quite warm — hot, even.

     「…See? Look at how cold you are. You were so engrossed in the snow that you’ve gotten like this.」

     「Ah, ahaha…」

     I knew myself how childlike I seemed right now, but I couldn’t help but get all caught up in it when I saw my friends having that much fun. Maybe that was just a result of my instincts.

     「I’ve called a taxi. I’ll take you home.」

     She said, holding my hands.

     I slowly got up. The umbrella she was holding was a cute light pink. It totally fit her image as a princess, but I wondered… I didn’t know what her favorite color was, but I felt like there was one that suited her better.

     Wait, was this okay?

     We didn’t have much to do with each other at school, but if we were to walk hand-in-hand with each other by the station, rumors would probably start to fly around. Even so, I didn’t feel like letting go of her hand right now.

     I let myself be led by hand to a nearby taxi. I felt a wave of sleepiness as soon as I sat down, maybe because they had the heat on. I was more tired than I’d thought. When I closed my eyes, I felt something touch my shoulder.

     「You should get some rest. I’ll wake you up when you get home.」

     「Mm… thanks.」

     I cracked my eyes open slightly and noticed her arm around my shoulder.

     She was unlike me in that she could so naturally put her arm around someone else. I wasn’t really one for physical touch. Maybe it wasn’t so bad when it was her, though. I didn’t know how long it would take to get to my house, but I felt like I’d have a nice dream.

     I closed my eyes once more and leaned into her. The warmth and softness I felt on her shoulder was different from mine, and it was comfortable.

     I dozed off for a while. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but she shook my shoulders with a surprising speed and I slowly opened my eyes.

     「Wake up, Kurumi. We’re here.」

     「Ah, yeah.」

     「Good morning. It seems you slept well.」

     「Mornin. …I guess snowball fights really take the energy out of you. I’m so tired.」

     「Hehe. You have a surprisingly childlike side to you too.」

     Apparently she’d already paid the bill, so Sorahashi-san simply said thank you before getting out of the taxi. I also said thank you and got out.

     「So col… Wait, what?」

     「What’s wrong, Kurumi?」

     The snow was still heavy, so I hadn’t been able to see very well through the taxi window, but when I got out and got a closer look, what laid in front of me wasn’t my house. Rather, this house was…

     「Sorahashi-san, isn’t this your house?」

     「That’s right. Didn’t I say I’d take you home?」

     「I didn’t think you meant you’d take me to your home.」

     「Well, I don’t know your address, Kurumi.」

     I may have invited her over before, but I supposed I might not have given her my address. There wasn’t any helping it, then.

     「Besides, I felt like talking with you a little more. …Is that asking too much?」

     「…No. I’d like to talk with you more as well.」

     「Wonderful! Come on in!」

     She spoke with an innocent laugh.

     I walked through the front door, just like I did on her birthday. I’d only been to her house a few times, but I somehow felt like I was getting used to seeing this entrance. The scent of the forest that I had picked out for her wafted through it, and it felt a bit familiar.

     「Welcome home.」

     She said, just as she did on that day.

     I smiled.

     「I’m back.」

     「…Hehe. Ah, the bath is probably prepared already, so you can go in. It was pretty cold out there.」

     「Uh, you sure?」

     「Yeah. This is your home too, you know.」

     At that, she guided me over to the bath. I hesitated for a moment before taking off my uniform. I’d never stripped in someone else’s house before, so I felt uneasy. The same diffuser as the one by the entrance was in here, though, and perhaps because of that it eased my mind a little.

     I washed the snow off my hair, cleaned up my body as well, and then went to soak in the bathtub.

     Unlike the bathtub at home, the one in here was big enough to stretch my legs all the way out. It made me feel a little guilty about using it alone. In the first place, it was my first time taking a bath in someone else’s house. Was it really fine to make myself at home?

     「Kurumi. How’s the water temperature?」

     「Um—」

     Just as I heard Sorahashi-san’s voice, the door opened.

     「Wha— why?」

     「Well, I was feeling cold as well, and I thought I’d get sick if I just sat around like this.」

     「Then I’ll be getting out.」

     「But you’ve only just gotten in, right? There’s no point in getting out before you’ve warmed up.」

     「….Ugh.」

     She had a point. But taking a bath alone with a classmate I wasn’t particularly close with was a bit weird. Well, thinking about it, it was much weirder to be playing at pet and owner.

     Seeing her with the collar on melted away my reason and left me to act on instinct alone. But when I saw her with nothing around her neck and making the expressions of a human, I too became human again. Regardless of the class we were in, the friends we had, the group we belonged to, and everything else, none of that changed the fact that we were here together like this.

     Maybe it was hard to be always just human or always just a beast.

     What exactly was I, then? What was right, and what was wrong?

     「Kurumi, open your legs a little.」

     「Huh? Oh, sure.」

     Before I knew it, she had finished washing up and was over at the bathtub. I didn’t really know what was going on, but I opened my legs up as I was told and she sat down, sliding in between the gap.

     It smelled of her shampoo.

     I couldn’t help but draw my attention to her clear, pale nape. She pressed her back against me. Our wet skin pressed together, and it felt different from usual.

     My heart was racing. The things we did regularly were unusual enough, but what was happening in this moment was the most unusual of all. She was naked, with her back pressed into me. What in the world was going on?

     We’d hardly been involved with each other up until now, so why were we alone together here?

     The sound of water was distant. Whether this warmth was because of the bath or because of her, I couldn’t tell.

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