Sendai-san and I started walking down the same path I’d been taking with Maika these last few days.

         This was the very definition of reaping what I had sown.

         Streetlights lit the path, but Maika’s words from earlier were still trapped in my head, making the road ahead feel darker than it actually was. I knew I was the one at fault for lying, but I couldn’t stop myself from complaining to Sendai-san anyway.

         「Sendai-san, what was that about?」

         「What do you mean?」

         「You told Maika that we were living together, didn’t you?」

         「Well, of course I did. I didn’t really have much of a choice.」

         「We promised not to tell anyone about us.」

         「That promise only applied while we were in high school.」

         Sendai-san said without looking at me.

         Even though we were walking side by side, her gaze seemed fixed on something other than me.

         「Even so, it was still wrong of you to tell someone about us without asking me first.」

         I said, knowing full well I was just taking my anger out on her. But when I thought about how she had called out to Maika, I couldn’t hold my tongue.

         「If anything, you’re the one in the wrong here, Miyagi. You never came home, and you never told me where you were. Of course I’d get worried and look for you. Besides, last time I asked, you said you’d already told Utsunomiya we were living together. So it only made sense that I’d go to her and ask if she knew where you were.」

         She was right.

         She had once asked if I’d told Maika about us living together, and I’d said I had, so it wasn’t unreasonable that she’d gone to Maika for help. But she must have known I was lying, and she didn’t have to tell Maika the truth either.

         I shouldn’t have been blaming her.

         I knew I shouldn’t be pushing the blame onto her or snapping at her.

         So instead, I decided to change the subject to something I’d been planning to do, but couldn’t bring myself to follow through on.

         「I would’ve gone home even if you hadn’t come looking for me.」

         「And when exactly would that have been?」

         「Tomorrow.」

         It wasn’t something I’d fully decided on, but I had thought about it.

         「You never mentioned that.」

         Sendai-san muttered.

         She still wouldn’t look at me. Her eyes stayed on the ground as we walked. She didn’t sound angry, but she wasn’t facing me either. I wasn’t sure how to face her myself, so in a way, I was relieved she wasn’t looking at me. But at the same time, I felt a little disappointed.

         「Well, you showed up before I got the chance to message you.」

         「If you were planning to message me, you should’ve done it earlier. You really kept me waiting, you know.」

         「… I’m sorry.」

         I finally managed to say the words I should’ve said the moment we left Maika’s place, but even then, Sendai-san still wouldn’t look at me.

         「I’m sorry for telling Utsunomiya about us.」

         She said, still staring at the ground.

         I had thought I’d be the only one feeling awkward, but maybe she was too. Still, thanks to Maika, who had guided us like a bright streetlight, we’d at least managed to keep a conversation going. Her cheerful presence had kept things from feeling too heavy.

         「… Why did you go all the way to my university to look for me, though?」

         I knew it was because she was worried, but I asked anyway.

         「Like I said, it was because you wouldn’t come home.」

         She mumbled.

         She still wasn’t looking at me, so I couldn’t tell what kind of face she was making. Maybe if I grabbed her arm and called her name, she would’ve turned toward me. But the chance she might not was enough to make me lose my nerve. So we just kept walking under the night sky toward the train station.

         「You didn’t have to call out to Maika, though.」

         I said without looking at Sendai-san, and she quietly answered,

         「Well, I ran into Utsunomiya first, so I didn’t have much of a choice. I felt bad about it, but I was short on time, and since I couldn’t find you, I had to ask her for help.」

         「… Did you tell her about anything besides us living together?」

         「I told her about how you lent me money at the bookstore once. Since Utsunomiya didn’t know why we were living together, she kept pressing me for details, so I ended up telling her we were friends. I also said if she wanted to know more, she should ask you. So there’s a chance she’ll bring it up.」

         After saying something so irresponsible, Sendai-san walked a couple of steps ahead of me.

         I instinctively grabbed onto her clothes.

         I knew it was my fault Maika was now asking about my relationship with her, but I hadn’t expected Sendai-san to dump everything onto me without explaining anything herself.

         「Not only did she bring it up, she asked me to explain why we’re living together. I don’t even know what to tell her.」

         「Did you really not say anything about me to her during high school?」

         She asked from just ahead of me, as I still held onto her clothes.

         「Of course not. We promised not to tell anyone about what we did after school, remember?」

         「Well, for some reason, Utsunomiya always thought you and I were friends, so I thought maybe you might’ve told her a little bit about us.」

         「Did you ever tell your friends about us, Sendai-san?」

         「Even if we hadn’t promised to keep it a secret, I still wouldn’t have told them anything.」

         She let out a huge sigh and came to a stop.

         I released her clothes, and she finally looked at me.

         Under the streetlight, I saw her face, beautiful as always. She wasn’t smiling like she often had been lately, but she looked just like she used to on the mornings before school. Seeing her like this made me feel like things between us had gone back to how they’d always been.

         「What am I supposed to tell Maika the next time I see her?」

         I asked, swinging my big shoulder bag against her.

         「Just be honest—tell her how you used to pay me five-thousand yen to order me around, and that led to us living together.」

         「There’s no way I could tell her that.」

         「Then just say we became friends because you lent me money a few times, and leave it at that.」

         Her voice sounded brighter than before as she started walking again. The streetlight shining on her and the path seemed unusually bright.

         「If I told her we were friends, how would I explain lying to her about us not being friends in high school?」

         「Just say it was hard to explain because we didn’t have much in common.」

         「Sendai-san, you’re just making up half-baked excuses because you’re not the one who has to deal with it. Think harder. I doubt Maika will be mad, but I don’t know how she’ll react if I give her another flimsy explanation.」

         「If she gets mad, then apologize. Utsunomiya seems like the type who’d forgive you if you apologized sincerely.」

         「Of course I’d apologize, and I know she’d forgive me too. But I don’t think she’ll let me off with another weak excuse.」

         She was right—Maika would probably forgive me if I apologized sincerely. Even if I gave her a flimsy excuse, she wouldn’t force me to tell her more than I wanted to, and she’d probably let it slide no matter what I said. But I’d lied to her too many times when it came to Sendai-san. Normally, Maika wouldn’t pry, but I couldn’t be sure how it would turn out this time.

         「Then just tell her I didn’t want Umina and the others to know, so I made you keep it quiet.」

         「That just makes you the bad guy, Sendai-san.」

         「I’m fine with being the bad guy.」

         Sendai-san said nonchalantly as she smiled.

         It wasn’t fair how she could smile so brightly at times like this.

         She was always so kind to me, and somehow, right now, she seemed even kinder than usual.

         It made me feel like I wanted to stay by her side like this forever.

         「But I’m not okay with it.」

         I said, pausing to smack her with my bag.

         But she didn’t stop walking.

         「It’s fine. That’ll explain why you couldn’t tell her about us back in high school. We can figure out the rest later—like how we became friends or why we stayed quiet about being roommates.」

         She said in a gentle voice as she walked ahead of me.

         My eyes stayed fixed on her back.

         「Hey, Miyagi. Don’t just stop walking.」

         Now ten steps ahead, she turned to face me.

         Our eyes met, and my heart skipped a beat.

         「Sendai-san, why are you being so nice to me? I would’ve gone home tomorrow even if you hadn’t come looking for me.」

         「Really?」

         「I was going to send you a message, too.」

         「Even if you had sent me a message, I probably still would’ve gone looking for you.」

         Her flat tone gave nothing away, and I had no idea what she meant by that.

         「Why would you do that?」

         「If I told you I simply couldn’t wait another day, what would you say?」

         「There’s no way you couldn’t wait just one more day.」

         「I wanted to see you so badly I couldn’t wait another day, Miyagi.」

         Sendai-san said in a serious tone as she started walking toward me. One step, then another, then a third. She approached me slowly, then stopped right in front of me.

         「You’re such a liar.」

         I said, neither too harshly nor too softly, and she laughed awkwardly.

         For some reason, I suddenly felt like I’d done something terribly wrong, and I couldn’t bring myself to move.

         There was no doubt she’d been worried about me—I could tell from all her messages.

         But there was no way she couldn’t wait one more day to see me.

         Even looking back on everything between us, I couldn’t think of a single thing about me that would make her want to see me that badly. I’d always been selfish with her, I’d pushed her away countless times. Even now, I’d run away from her again. It made no sense to me that, despite all that, she still wanted to see me.

         「I’m not as much of a liar as you are, Miyagi.」

         Sendai-san said with her familiar smile.

         「It’s getting late. We should head home soon.」

         Her voice was kind and gentle.

         But still, my feet wouldn’t move.

         「If you’re not going to start walking, I’m going to hold your hand and drag you along with me.」

         Sendai-san said, and then she started walking.

         I watched her back in silence, but she soon turned around.

         「Come on, Miyagi. Start walking already.」

         「Didn’t you say you were going to hold my hand and pull me along if I didn’t?」

         「Quit acting like a kid. You can walk by yourself.」

         She sighed, but came back anyway. After a moment’s hesitation, she grabbed the handle of my bag and tugged me forward.

         We weren’t holding hands, but it at least made my bag feel lighter.

         She walked ahead, and I followed as if chasing after the bag she was pulling along.

         「Why were you gone so long, anyway?」

         She asked softly, now walking beside me.

         「… I wasn’t sure how to face you.」

         「I thought that might be the case.」

         「Sorry.」

         I apologized, and she looked at me as she said,

         「Hey, Miyagi.」

         「What is it?」

         「Let’s go shopping for earrings together.」

         「For you?」

         「No, for you. I want to buy you a cute pair.」

         Her voice was soft as she kept pulling my bag.

         「I don’t need them.」

         「Think of it as your punishment. You broke our rule about contacting each other if we were going to stay out overnight, so I want you to accept them.」

         「I did send you messages, though.」

         「That hardly counts as contacting me. And if I hadn’t messaged you first, you probably would’ve just come home eventually without saying a word.」

         I didn’t want to admit it, but she was right.

         Well, one or two more pairs of earrings wouldn’t hurt.

         It wasn’t like I wanted her to buy them for me or anything. I just didn’t have much of a choice.

         「… When do you want to go?」

         「Whenever you want, Miyagi.」

         Her gentle voice melted into the night sky.

         She walked slowly, and as I matched her pace, it felt like time itself was passing just as slowly.

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