「Yume, what’s wrong?」

     「Kurumi.  You’re, well. …You’re you, right?」

     「…? Getting philosophical?」

     「N-not really? You’re just very you today, like always! You’re, you know! Full of big sis vibes and super reliable! So, like, yeah.」

     Yume was behaving strangely.

     Was Valentine’s really something you needed to get this worked up over? While mulling over whether or not we’d been seen, I neatened up her hair. …Yeah, it should look something like this.

     Just then, the warning bell rang.

     Yume lowered her gaze.

     「I should get ready for the next class. See ya later.」

     「Yeah, later.」

     Yume returned to her own seat. I felt like her footsteps sounded similar to the ones I had heard just earlier. Well, in the first place, it’s not like anybody here was wearing anything but the same kind of loafers, so our footsteps probably all sounded the same. I was probably just nervous because my mind was still on what happened earlier.

     I couldn’t help but sigh.

     「That’s a big sigh.」

     「Wha… Mutsuki.」

     Mutsuki, who had somehow gotten behind me at some point, had called out to me. She was always popping up out of nowhere to give me a surprise.

     I wryly smiled.

     「That just reminded me. Did you know that cow burps contribute to global warming?」

     「Why are you bringing that up…?」

     「Well, you know. It just came to mind.」

     「O-oh, I see…」

     「By the way, it’s pretty chilly today.」

     「Yeah, it is.」

     「Be careful to keep your neck safe from the cold, okay?」

     「Huh?」

     「Okay, bye.」

     With that, Mutsuki returned to her seat.

     Why specifically my neck? Wondering that, I looked at my neck and could faintly see the bite marks that Sorahashi-san had left behind. I pulled up the collar of my blouse, trying to cover them up. Had Mutsuki noticed?

     Who knows? She was pretty hard to understand, so I had no clue.

     I was relieved, though, because if she hadn’t told me, I’d have left them in plain sight. I didn’t think anyone would be looking at my neck, but it was better to keep them hidden just in case.

     I took my textbook out from my desk and waited for the next bell to ring.

     As Valentine’s Day approached, even supermarkets often began to stock up on chocolate. But more impressive than that were shopping malls, which would start carrying incredible selections of it.

     They had all sorts of beautiful colors, all sorts of mysterious shapes, and all sorts of flavors that I’d never even heard of.

     The word “chocolate” usually made me think of the sort of stuff I’d find at supermarkets and convenience stores, but it seemed like the world of chocolate was surprisingly vast.

     「So, that shop over there is run by a famous chocolatier…」

     「Chocol…?」

     「Yume, you know so much about this stuff.」

     「Well, that’s because I’m a girl!」

     「Hey, hear that? Apparently we aren’t girls, Kurumi.」

     「Ahaha…」

     There were a lot of customers crowded around all the stores, all thoughtfully picking out chocolates. I thought that most people bought chocolate as a gift for someone else, but surprisingly, it seemed that it was more common to buy it for personal consumption. Maybe it was a way to treat yourself.

     However, just as you’d expect from stores like these, everything here was unbelievably expensive. There were two girls in uniforms talking about which single chocolate to get between the two of them, and the prices were so high that it was understandable why they were doing that.

     It was a world I didn’t know.

     For someone like me who had lived within the confines of my home, school, and the supermarket, it felt a little overwhelming. This was still fun in its own way, though.

     「Hmm. Hey, isn’t this all super pricey? I don’t have that much.」

     「Then should we all pool our money to get something?」

     「Sure. I’ve never bought chocolate from places like these, so I’ll leave it up to Yume to pick something out.」

     「Of course. Yume the Chocolate Professor is on the case!」

     What on earth was a chocolate professor?

     Smiling a little, I let Yume lead me all around the floor. The crowd was so big that I almost got separated from the others, but Yume seemed to notice and gently took my hand. By the time we finished up, Mutsuki had disappeared off to somewhere. Knowing her, she had probably just gotten interested in something else and went off on her own.

     「Any ideas?」

     「Hmm… No clue…」

     「Ahaha. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you looking so serious, Yume.」

     「I’m always living life on serious mode, you know. …In front of you, at least.」

     Yume said, gripping my hand tightly.

     「…Alright, I’ve decided! It’s gotta be that one!」

     The shop she chose was the one she had said was run by a famous chocolatier. Seemingly quite popular, it had a long line. I didn’t usually wait in lines this long, so it was a refreshing experience. The only lines I’d ever had to wait in were at the checkout for the supermarket. I hadn’t even been to the supermarket in the past year, though.

     As we continued to chat, our turn approached surprisingly quickly. Yume picked out chocolates with all sorts of flavors.

     We pooled our money together to buy it and then escaped from the crowd. There was hardly anyone on the stairs, so we took them up to the landing. We both sat down on a bench up there, and perhaps because we were all tired out, there was a moment of silence.

     「I’m happy that we were able to get some chocolate.」

     「Yeah. Wanna eat it right here?」

     Saying that, Yume patted her handbag.

     「We should find Mutsuki first, though.」

     「Do we really? She ended up not paying for anything. The two of us should just have it.」

     「But that’s kinda sad…」

     「Jeez. You’re so nice.」

     She put her handbag down and leaned on my shoulder.

     「…She’ll come back by herself, even if we don’t look for her. Because she’s a cat.」

     「Hehe. She really does seem like a cat. So capricious.」

     「What about me?」

     「Hm?」

     「If I was an animal, what would I be?」

     「Hmm… A rabbit, I guess? You give rabbit vibes.」

     「A rabbit…」

     Yume said as she closed her eyes.

     「Then you would be… a dog, maybe?」

     I was taken aback.

     I had become Sorahashi-san’s dog just earlier during lunch break, after all. But since the one saying this was Yume, I could tell she bore no ill will or hidden intentions.

     「Why is that?」

     「…Just a feeling.」

     The conversation fell silent once again.

     I sensed Yume’s warmth on my shoulder. The feel and temperature were different from Sorahashi-san’s. Her scent was different as well, of course, and it gave me some sort of strange feeling.

     「Kurumi, do you remember how we became friends?」

     Yume suddenly said.

     「It’s because… our seats were next to each other, right?」

     「That’s part of it, but…」

     She quietly opened her eyes and gazed intently into mine.

     Her eyes were a beautiful color, one different from Sorahashi-san’s.

     「It’s because you didn’t make fun of me.」

     「…?」

     「About my name.」^[1]

     「…I see?」

     I’d never really thought about it, but some things about Yume reminded me of how Mizuki used to be. Well, it’s not like everyone was the same, though.

     「Before, someone made fun of me, saying I was childish all the way down to my name. I liked my name, so that made me super sad. So I tried to avoid it as much as I could. But when we started talking, Kurumi, I ended up feeling like I used to, before all that. Do you remember what you said to me back then?」

     When she asked me that, I remembered.

     Back then, I had said—

     「That’s a cute name. I really like it.」        

     「…That’s right.」

     Yume brightly smiled.

     「Because you said that, I stopped forcing myself to act in a way that I really wasn’t. You just accepted me like it was the most natural thing in the world… and because of that, I’ve come to love the name “Yume” even more. I’m okay with it now, even if it sounds a little childish.」

     「Yume…」

     「I really like you a lot, Kurumi. I want to spend more time with you, talk to you about all sorts of things, and keep getting to know you even better.」

     Yume stood up and got in front of me. She grasped my hands and tightly held on to them.

     「So please, Kurumi. Trust in me too.」

     「I do. I really do.」

     「…Really?」

     「Yes, really.」

     「Then tell me.」

     Her large, round eyes carried my reflection. The commotion from the floor below seemed impossibly far away.

     「What’s your relationship with Sorahashi-san?」

     Her voice was quiet.

     My eyes widened. Why now? Why Sorahashi-san?

     「We’re friends.」

     「…Just friends?」

     「…Yeah. Normal friends.」

     「…」

     She looked a little sad, as if she knew what I was saying was a lie.

     Even the sound of my heartbeat began to grow distant.

     「You were smiling.」

     「Huh?」

     「You were smiling. …In a way that I’ve never seen you smile. Kurumi… what were you doing with Sorahashi-san in that classroom earlier?」

     I felt like my heart was going to stop.

     The one who had seen us was Yume. So that’s why Sorahashi-san had said it was going to be fine. But how much had she seen? Had she seen me licking Sorahashi-san’s belly? Had she seen me being pulled around by the leash? Or maybe…

     My throat went dry.

     I had felt like wanting everything to just fall apart, but now that Yume had actually found out, I was speechless.

     「I couldn’t see very well, but I could tell she was doing something to you. She told me to keep it a secret, but… I can’t help but wonder.」

     Yume was worried about me as my friend.

     Because of that, I had no clue what to say.

     「If Sorahashi-san is doing something weird to you, please, say something. I might not be able to do a lot, but we’re friends, right…?」

     I couldn’t say it. There was no way I could.

     All the things I did to Sorahashi-san, and all the things she did to me — there was no way I could expose any of it myself.

     I took a deep breath and squeezed her hands back.

     「I’m fine.」

     「…Kurumi?」

     「I’m fine. There’s nothing to worry about, Yume.」

     「But, Kurumi! You’ve never even had anything to do with Sorahashi-san before, but recently, you’ve been suddenly—」

     「What’s all this fighting over?」

     We heard a voice from above.

     I looked up to see Mutsuki coming down to us. When had she gone all the way to another floor? I blinked.

     「Oh, you bought some chocolate. Good. I’ll have some later.」

     「You’re not getting any.」

     「Stingy.」

     「I don’t mind being stingy. …You’ve got some horrible timing.」

     「Well, even if you say that, things would have just gotten more heated if I hadn’t stopped you.」

     「…You were listening?」

     「Yume, even if you’re getting cheated on, you can’t be letting your emotions lead you around like this.」

     「It’s not like that.」

     Yume let go of my hands and turned away.

     The mood got awkward, but Mutsuki didn’t seem to mind it at all and grabbed the bag of chocolates. Before I knew it, she had unwrapped one and popped it into her mouth. The moment that Yume tried to raise her voice in protest, Mutsuki popped a chocolate into her mouth, too.

     Yume’s unhappy expression gradually transformed into a smile.

     As I watched, Mutsuki forced a chocolate into my own mouth. As I chewed on it, I tasted some bitter notes within the sweetness.

     「Alright, all made up. What should we do now? Wanna look at something else?」

     「…Kurumi, are you still free?」

     「Yeah.」

     「Alright, then let’s go.」

     「So Kurumi’s still your top priority, just like usual.」

     「It’s because she’s my… best friend.」

     「So she’s not your mama anymore.」^[2]

     Mutsuki smiled and walked on ahead. As I tried to catch up, Yume tightly grabbed my pinky.

     「…Are you sure it’s fine?」

     「…Yes, really. Sorahashi-san isn’t anyone dangerous.」

     「Okay, but… If anything happens, please tell me. I want to be of help to you.」

     「Thank you. If I’m ever in trouble, I’ll let you know.」

     「Promise?」

     A promise.

     That word reminded me of Mizuki. I had broken one that I made to her. But that was precisely why I had no intention of breaking any more.

     I smiled.

     「Yeah, I promise.」

     Yume gave me a slightly forced smile.

     I supposed I was just making her worry. After all, it’s not like Sorahashi-san and I were originally very involved with each other. It’s just that somehow, by mistake, we had become deeply intertwined and ended up doing all these dangerous things.

     I was relieved that nobody had seen anything damning. It probably was best not to go too far at school after all.

     I’d have to let Sorahashi-san know that next time as well.

     With that in mind, Yume and I went to catch up with Mutsuki. After a while, Yume was able to smile like normal.

     But what about me?

     Could I properly smile like I could before?

---

^[1] This entire following chunk gave me an aneurysm while translating it. This is because the original text refers to how Yume uses her own name as a first-person pronoun, and how that’s seen as childish. There’s no truly proper way to convey that in English, especially since I made the decision earlier to omit that from her speech (refer to the footnote in part 7.)

^[2] Refer to part 7.

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