After riding the train for a while, we finally reached our stop.

         Now, I was walking beside Sendai-san.

         The reason for that was simple — when we’d left the house this morning, she’d said she wanted to keep our destination a surprise. Even now, I still had no idea where we were headed.

         Only Sendai-san knew.

         Of course, I had complaints.

         I’d asked Sendai-san—who’d been in an unusually good mood—where we were headed, pointing out that I couldn’t even decide what to wear if she wouldn’t tell me. But instead of answering, she’d just handed me a skirt and said,

         「Come to my room after you’ve changed into this.」

         She’d chosen my outfit like it was the most natural thing in the world. I’d even put on a bit of makeup for today, and now here we were, out together just like we’d promised.

         「Are we there yet?」

         I asked Sendai-san, who was walking right next to me.

         「Almost.」

         She replied.

         「How much further is that, exactly?」

         「Just a little more.」

         I had no idea if she was telling the truth or not, but she kept walking ahead.

         Today, Sendai-san was wearing a camisole, a blouse, and a light-colored skirt. She looked good in almost anything, but somehow, she looked even prettier than usual. Maybe it was just my imagination. Or maybe it was because we were somewhere new together.

         Either way, something about her felt different, and it made me a little nervous.

         「We’ll be there once we take this.」

         Sendai-san said, stopping in front of an elevator.

         「You wanted to take me to an aquarium?」

         「Yep. Looks like you figured it out.」

         She said.

         The elevator arrived, and we stepped inside.

         「Of course I figured it out. There’s literally a sign outside that says ‘aquarium.’ Why did you even keep it a secret?」

         「Hmm…」

         Sendai-san let out a small hum and fell silent.

         The blue-painted elevator was filled with children’s voices. Probably because it was summer break, it was packed full and noisy. But Sendai-san stayed quiet.

         After a while, the elevator stopped, and we stepped out.

         「I kept it a secret because I was afraid you’d say you didn’t want to go.」

         She said at last, as we followed the crowd toward the entrance.

         She was smart, beautiful, and good at everything she did.

         And yet, despite how confident she always seemed, here she was admitting she’d been too afraid to tell me where she wanted to take me just because she thought I might say no. It didn’t sound like she was lying, either.

         You could’ve just invited me normally, I thought to myself.

         I had no intention of backing out of our promise to go somewhere together, so I wouldn’t have refused if she’d told me she wanted to go to the aquarium.

         「But why an aquarium?」

         I asked as we waited in line to buy tickets.

         I’d never once heard her say she liked aquariums—or sea creatures, for that matter. Aquariums weren’t exactly the kind of place friends usually went together, so I couldn’t help wondering why she’d chosen it.

         To me, it was the kind of place you’d go with family, or on a faraway vacation… or on a date.

         … No, that last thought was just me overthinking it. It was Maika’s fault for putting weird ideas in my head.

         「Because you like animals, don’t you, Miyagi?」

         Just as my head was about to get crowded with all the things Maika said, Sendai-san suddenly said something completely nonsensical, and I found myself staring at her.

         「… Aquariums are a place to look at fish, though.」

         Whether or not I actually liked animals aside, her logic made no sense.

         「Good, I’m glad we’re on the same page. I don’t know how I would’ve reacted if you told me you were expecting to see giraffes here.」

         「That’s not what I meant. Normally, if you’re taking someone who likes animals somewhere, you’d take them to a zoo.」

         「Well, if you think about it, fish are animals too – like giraffes – so it’s basically the same thing. And besides, zoos are hot because you have to walk around outside. Don’t you think an aquarium’s better since it’s cooler indoors?」

         Sendai-san said cheerfully, looking at me like she wanted me to agree.

         「I guess that’s true.」

         If I had to choose, I definitely preferred being somewhere cool over sweating outside, but I couldn’t help thinking that Sendai-san’s logic in lumping fish and giraffes together was a little ridiculous.

         「Would you rather go to the zoo, Miyagi?」

         「No, the aquarium’s fine.」

         「Alright, then we’ll do that today, and visit the zoo once the weather cools down.」

         Sendai-san said, already making plans for the future without asking, so I immediately replied with,

         「We don’t have to go to the zoo.」

         「Come on, what’s the harm? You like animals, don’t you?」

         「I wouldn’t say I like them that much.」

         「Guess you better start liking them, then.」

         There were a lot of people waiting in line for tickets, and it was packed. I wasn’t so lacking in common sense that I’d complain or kick Sendai-san in a place like this, so all I could do was go along with what she was saying.

         「… Fine. If you’re going to insist that much, then I’ll go.」

         It wasn’t like I loved animals, but I didn’t dislike them either, so I didn’t mind the idea of going to see them someday.

         「That settles it, then.」

         After casually deciding our plans for after summer vacation, Sendai-san paid for our tickets with one of the five-thousand-yen bills I’d given her back in high school. I wasn’t thrilled that she was using that money on me, but she’d been insisting on it since morning, so I couldn’t really stop her.

         I swallowed down the complaint rising in my throat and stepped into the aquarium.

         A vast expanse of blue—like the depths of the sea—unfolded before me. The place was crowded and noisy, packed with as many people as there were fish, but being surrounded by the deep blue around me somehow made the noise fade away.

         「Should we follow the route?」

         Sendai-san asked, and I replied, “Sure,” as we started walking together.

         We passed by tanks filled with brightly colored fish, schools of sardines, and oddly shaped sharks. The aquarium was packed with people—children walking happily beside their parents stood out to me the most—but I didn’t feel like comparing what I was seeing now to my own past. Looking for fish together with Sendai-san was far more enjoyable.

         Still, something else kept catching my attention.

         Seeing all the couples holding hands or linking arms reminded me that aquariums really were meant for dates. And it made me think back to the day Maika came over.

         Maika had once asked Sendai-san if she’d ever had a crush on anyone, but she never gave her an answer.

         I stopped in front of a large tank where stingrays and sharks drifted through the water.

         「… Sendai-san, do you not plan on getting a boyfriend?」

         It was a bit of a roundabout way to ask what I really wanted to know, but in a place like this—where people often came with their partners—it didn’t feel too strange to bring it up. I watched the stingrays swim by, graceful as if they were flying through the air, and waited for her reply.

         「No, not really. I don’t feel the need to go out of my way to find someone either.」

         Sendai-san answered without hesitation.

         「Why not?」

         「Well, it’s not like you can just decide to have a romantic partner. Things like that happen naturally when the timing is right.」

         「”When the timing is right,” huh. That sounds like something only popular people get to say.」

         「I’m not that popular, you know.」

         Sendai-san immediately denied it, then pointed toward one of the tanks.

         「Hey, isn’t that yellow fish kind of cute?」

         「Not really.」

         I answered flatly, then steered the conversation back to what I actually wanted to talk about.

         「Didn’t you get confessed to a lot back in high school?」

         「I mean, I guess that did happen a few times. But if it’s not from someone I like, it doesn’t really mean anything, does it?」

         Sendai-san, who had been staring intently at a tank that looked like a piece of the ocean itself, said that in an unusually serious tone before turning to look at me.

         「What about you, Miyagi? Do you want a boyfriend?」

         「No.」

         「I see.」

         Her eyes drifted back toward the fish.

         Even without her swearing it on my earring, I could tell she wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t plan on finding a boyfriend.

         But whether she liked someone or not—that, I couldn’t tell.

         It wasn’t something I’d ever know unless I asked. And if there was ever a time to ask, it was now.

         I took a quiet breath, slowly exhaled, and finally asked the question that had been sitting in my head.

         「… Do you have someone you like? You didn’t answer when Maika asked you before.」

         「Wow, that’s rare. For you to bring up something like this.」

         「So what if it is? Just answer.」

         「Someone I like, huh… let’s see.」

         She said quietly, her words trailing off.

         Then, under the soft blue glow, she turned toward me with an unusually bright smile.

         「— Yeah. There is.」

         「Huh?」

         My voice slipped out before I could stop it. I wanted to cover my ears.

         I didn’t want to hear any names—whether I knew them or not. I hesitated, unsure if I should ask who it was.

         I knew it was unnatural for me to stay silent for so long, but I couldn’t get any words out.

         Before I could decide what to do, Sendai-san followed up with,

         「I really like Cali. She’s just so cute.」

         「… That’s not a person. That’s a cat.」

         I couldn’t tell if she was being serious or just teasing me, but hearing that name made the tension in my shoulders fade away.

         When she started laughing, I lightly smacked her arm.

         Cali was a stray cat she often saw on her way home from university—a cat she was rather fond of. But I hadn’t been asking about her favorite cat.

         「Well, these days, cats are the only ones who catch my attention anyway.」

         Sendai-san said. Then, she followed up with, “Anyway, shall we get going?” and started walking ahead.

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