I didn’t misplace my belongings very often. But whenever someone found something that was mine, they’d normally use it as an excuse to start a conversation with me. She didn’t seem very interested in me, though. How boring. Thinking that, I returned to the classroom to be met with a friend’s gaze.

     「Ah, the handkerchief made it.」

     「Hm?」

     「Nabana-chan was asking all over about whose handkerchief that was earlier. When I told her it was probably yours, she ran off.」

     「Huh…」

     It was strange that she’d go to such lengths just to return a handkerchief that had been lying around. If she’d just brought it to the staff room, it would have eventually found its way back to me.

     「Nabana-chan’s crazy diligent.」

     「That’s what’s so great about her.」

     「Wha—  …oh, Mutsuki. When’d you get here?」

     「Just now. You gossiping about Kurumi? 」

     「Well, maybe it’s gossip, maybe it’s the truth.」

     「Hmm… If you want anything from her, you’ll have to go through me. I’ll be charging a commission, though.」

     「Dude, what?」

     「It’ll cost you one candy.」

     「So cheap.」

     It seemed that Nakamura-san, who had appeared out of nowhere, was Nabana-san’s friend. Noticing me, she gave me a small wave. I waved back, a little confused.

     「I like your vibe. We’re friends now, Sorahashi-san.」

     「What’s with your sense of distance?」

     「If I forget my homework, let me see yours.」

     「Ahaha… Fine with me.」

     Her friend was quite the mysterious one. I didn’t know much about either of them, though, because they didn’t stand out very much in our class.

     From that day on, I began to keep my eye on Nabana-san.

     「Kurumiiii. Let’s go hang out somewhere today.」

     「Where do you have in mind, Yume?」

     「I’ll think about it after school! Anyway, I just wanna hang out with you!」

     「Sure, but… Are you getting in enough studying for the test?」

     「Tomorrow will be another day, so…」

     「Jeez. Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do about that.」

     Nabana-san belonged to quite a small group, mostly interacting with Nakamura-san and Futami-san. It seemed that she was closer to Futami-san, with Nakamura-san only occasionally joining them.

     It wasn’t like I’d never met people like her before. I recalled someone I knew in middle school who just couldn’t leave anyone in trouble by themselves.

     But there was something different about her. There was something familiar about her, something that made me want to talk to her more. I wasn’t sure why I felt like that, but I decided to trust my instincts.

     I stood up as she went to the bathroom.

     For some reason, I felt like it would get awkward if I just tried to normally start a conversation with her. After giving it some thought, I dropped my handkerchief near the entrance to the bathroom.

     After a while, she came out, picked up the handkerchief, looked around, and then found me.

     「Sorahashi-san. This is yours, right?」

     「Ah, yes. It seems I dropped it again. I suppose I’m quite careless.」

     「What would you do if you needed to wipe off your hands? Be more careful, okay?」

     She spoke with a smile.

     It wasn’t exactly a scolding, but my heart began to beat a little faster. It was the first time anyone had ever said anything like that to me, and it made my chest pound. I wondered what would happen if I were to be given a proper scolding for this.

     My heart continued to thump.

     「You’re right. Thank you for picking it up.」

     「You’re welcome. You know, I thought this last time too, but it’s a cute handkerchief.」

     I was a little surprised that my handkerchief was being complimented. I did like pastel colors, but I wasn’t especially fond of them. I just thought they’d suit my image better.

     I had been thinking of throwing this handkerchief out, but if she liked it, then I would continue to use it.

     I felt that she was a very kind person, although I wasn’t exactly sure what “kindness” exactly entailed.

     「Really? What sort of handkerchief do you have, Nabana-san?」

     「Just a navy blue one.」

     「Do you like that color?」

     「Not in particular, but that color’s the most reliable.」

     「Hmm…」

     I continued to converse with her as I headed back to the classroom.

     Her profile was so beautiful that I couldn’t help but follow her with my gaze. From her naturally brown hair to the way she looked in her uniform, it all was so different from me. Noticing those differences made me a little happy. And before I knew it, I began to seek her out all the time.

     She was always putting in her best efforts. If she saw someone carrying something heavy, she would rush over to help, and if she saw someone looking troubled, she’d go speak to them. I thought it was strange how she looked like she enjoyed it all even without receiving any thanks.

     I never found it any fun to help other people, but maybe it was different for her.

     「Say, Kurumi.」

     「Sorahashi-san? What’s up?」

     「Kurumi, why do you help others out so much? Is it fun?」

     By summer, I had started calling her Kurumi. We weren’t particularly close, but I thought that doing so would make it easier to get closer to her. Unfortunately, she didn’t return the gesture and call me by my name.

     「Hmm… Well, rather than that, I guess I just can’t leave them alone? It hurts to see people in trouble. I want to do what I can to be of help.」

     So that’s how it was.

     I looked at her. There was no lie beneath her eyes, but it didn’t seem like the whole truth, either. There was a secret hidden deep behind her gaze. It was that secret, perhaps, that made me feel such an affinity with her.

     I wanted to know.

     I wanted to uncover it all, everything she was hiding. I didn’t really have an interest in other peoples’ deep secrets, though, so I found it strange that I wanted to know everything about her.

     Little by little, my heart began to arc in her direction.

     After observing her throughout autumn, I realized that to take care of others was her reason to live.

     There was one particular day where she had nobody to fuss over. That day, Nakumura-san had happened to do all her homework by herself, and Futami-san wasn’t particularly all over her either. She had suddenly become lost and started to wander all over the school. However, it seemed that nobody, neither in her class nor the upperclassmen, were in any sort of trouble that day.

     She was gasping for breath in a place without air — a painful sight indeed.

     That was when I realized she wasn’t simply kind. She was the type that couldn’t help but help others. And perhaps by helping others, she was helping herself. I found myself smiling at that realization.

     Maybe the reason why I found others’ hopeless sides so endearing was because I was the most hopeless person in the world.

     Beneath her gentle expression was the face of a lost child. Perhaps that’s why I felt such a connection to her. I, too, had been lost for a long time, unable to find an owner.

     I dropped my handkerchief in front of her as she stood on the landing of the staircase.

     She gazed up at me, looking like she was about to burst into tears. It was incredibly cute.

     「Sorry. It seems like I’ve dropped my handkerchief. Pick it up, Kurumi.」

     「…Okay.」

     She was trying to laugh like normal.

     But she wasn’t very good at pretending.

     I laughed instead — the way that she always did. And she laughed in response, as if imitating me.

     I was sure that she, like me, carried feelings that she couldn’t tell anyone. That was what I wanted to know. I wanted to know more and more about her. I wanted to see her gentle smile, her pained expressions, and everything else.

     What exactly was this feeling?

     I didn’t know, but I was certainly more drawn to Kurumi than before.

     Luckily, there was someone at our school that had went to the same middle school as her, so I was able to find out quite a lot about her, like how she had a younger sister or how she didn’t have many friends back then.

     The more I learned, the more I wanted to talk to her, to the point that I would drop my pens and erasers during class just as an excuse to do so.

     And then, I decided. Once winter came, I would tell her what I wanted.

     What kind of face would she make? Would she be shocked? Scared? Or something else? Whatever the case, I was sure she’d end up becoming my owner. Even she herself must have known that she was without salvation as she carried on with her everyday life.

     Right now, I didn’t know what sort of feelings, what sort of wishes she carried with her.

     I wanted to see it all.

     All the things that she couldn’t show to anyone — I wanted her to show me and only me, all of it. Every last bit. Her twisted emotions, her broken smiles, her lost countenance — I could accept everything.

     I felt like I’d found the one and only person like me on a planet far, far away from Earth. We were surely similar existences, so I was confident it would all turn out well.

     By the time that I had finished with all my preparations, the year had almost ended, so I hurriedly called out to her.

     And then…

     「Be my master, Kurumi.」

     On that day, our abnormal relationship began.

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