On school days, we couldn’t spend much time together. After about two hours it had gotten dark, signaling that it was time to head home. Even though I didn’t have to cook dinner anymore, I didn’t want to be out too late.

     I looked up at the sky. Before I knew it, that crimson light had disappeared, enveloping the area in a deep ultramarine.

     「Kurumi, did you figure out what your favorite food is?」

     She said. I smiled.

     「Yeah. I have.」

     「And what is it?」

     She asked quietly. I looked over at her to see her usual happy expression. I couldn’t help but smile as well.

     「Guess.」

     I wouldn’t usually say something like this.

     Rather, they were more suited to Sorahashi-san. At the realization of just how much she had influenced me, my heart grew warm.

     Her hair swayed in the blowing wind.

     Those golden locks were as brilliant as ever.

     「Hmm… You didn’t seem to react well to the boba, and you didn’t seem particularly moved by the strawberry sweets either… Was it the crepe?」

     Certainly, the crepe had been delicious. It was familiar to me, and something that brought back memories. But crepes weren’t anything special.

     「That’s wrong.」

     「Huh. What is it, then?」

     「All of it.」

     “All of it” was quite a deceptive phrase. It seemed straightforward, but in reality, it was extremely vague and obscured all the details. But I decided to say it anyway. Her eyes widened.

     「My favorite food is whatever I’m eating with you.」

     「…I see. I’m glad to hear it.」

     「Mhm.」

     The conversation halted. Compared to how hard she’d tried to find my favorite food, I’d given her quite a lukewarm response.

     We walked side by side. The road to the station was packed with people.

     It was always crowded around here no matter the time of day. I was certain that it’d remain crowded into the night.

     I sometimes felt lonely in crowded places. For some reason, seeing things like a happily smiling couple or a child out to play with their parents made my heart grow heavy, made me feel like I was going to burst out in a strange laughter.

     But when Sorahashi-san was with me, it was different. That strange loneliness and weight in my chest disappeared, and all I felt was calmness. As long as she didn’t say anything weird to me, that is. If she said something to lead me astray, of course I wouldn’t be able to remain calm. My desires that were hidden underneath the calmness would begin to surface.

     Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing, though.

     As long as she was by my side.

     「Say, Kurumi.」

     Her voice was sweet. She looked at me with a somewhat nervous expression.

     「Would you like to spend the night at my house?」

     My eyes widened.

     「You don’t have to if you don’t want to.」

     She subtly looked away.

     For a moment, I was unsure.

     I didn’t have any plans with Mizuki today, and tomorrow was a day off, so I had no reason to refuse. Looking at that blue-tinged sky, though, I felt like I ought to go home.

     Well, even so…

     「…Sure. I’ll come over to your place today.」

     「Okay! Let’s hurry and get going, then!」

     「Woah, hey—」

     She grabbed my hand and started running.

     「We’re not in a hurry!」

     「I want to hurry up so we can take our time!」

     「Come on—」

     She was as unpredictable and pushy as ever. But before I knew it, I’d gotten used to her pushiness and found myself thinking that it wasn’t so bad to let her do whatever she wanted. I returned her grasp and ran along.

     We caught some strange stares as we ran through the busy streets, but I didn’t really care.

     Like that, we ran to the station and made it to a train that had just arrived. I felt jittery, as if I was rushing to catch the train, but for some reason, I found it all so silly and started to laugh. Sorahashi-san was giggling as well. We both took the moment to catch our breath and got off at the station nearest to her house.

     I was getting used to coming to this station.

     I no longer got nervous on the way from here to her place. I was able to walk there without any worries, as if I was going home.

     When we arrived, I took my shoes off like I always did.

     「I’m back.」

     「Welcome home.」

     That exchange had become natural to us.

     Like usual, I was led into the living room and sipped on the herbal tea she had made for me. And like usual, it was a little lukewarm and reminded me of her.

     She sat next to me, spaced out and not doing anything in particular. She was usually a bit more talkative. I took a sip from my cup, trying to cover up the silence. At that moment, I felt her touch my left hand.

     「Kurumi, how have things been with Mizuki lately?」

     「We’re getting along well. A lot happened, but we’ve made up.」

     「I see. That’s good to hear. You’ve seemed a lot brighter lately, Kurumi.」

     「R-really?」

     My relationship with Mizuki had changed. It wasn’t like everything was like it was before, but little by little, we’d started talking again and were making time for each other.

     She had behaved so coldly over the past year out of a clumsy sort of kindness. When I realized this, I began to reexamine both Mizuki and myself. In the end, I realized that she was much more mature than I was, and that I was still just a kid. So I stopped trying to put on a front.

     I’d come to accept that I couldn’t avoid not being able to get along with our parents, as well as the fact that I still couldn’t smile properly at home. That put my heart at ease just a little. Mizuki also respected those feelings and occasionally offered to help me out.

     I think that the fact that I could now smile a little in front of Mizuki, even when I was at home, was a step forward.

     I’d changed since meeting Sorahashi-san. I hadn’t believed so, but I really had. Mizuki was the one that had made me realize that. The person I was before was the real me, and the person I had changed into now was also the real me. Neither of them were lies.

     「There’s still a lot of tough things to handle, but I’m sure it’ll all be okay.」

     「I see, I see. …Is there anything I can do to help?」

     She asked in a quiet voice.

     Even as things were right now, she had done plenty for me.

     I took a moment to ponder. Come to think of it, I once said that I wanted to rely on someone and be spoiled by them. Back then, I was the one who spoiled Mizuki, so I was never on the receiving end.

     But now…

     「…Would it be okay if you spoiled me a bit?」

     The voice that came out was so quiet and hoarse that I could hardly believe it was my own. It could be quite difficult to let someone spoil you. For me, at least, I thought it was much harder than being a master.

     Hearing my words, she blinked.

     Of course. It was bound to be a bother to be told something like that out of nowhere. I hurriedly tried to take back what I said.

     「Ah, never mind. I’m okay with any—」

     「Go ahead. Feel free to indulge yourself however you like.」

     She turned her body to face me. I naturally did the same. Even though I wanted to be spoiled, I wasn’t actually sure what to do. When I was pretending to be her dog, I would lick her face and stuff like that, but right now, I wasn’t her dog. I was just Nabana Kurumi. And I had no idea how to be spoiled by a girl like Sorahashi Sera.

     Since I didn’t know what to do, I decided to just pull on her arm. She didn’t resist and just let it happen.

     I continued, hugging her arm. It wasn’t something I normally did, but it gave me a sense of satisfaction. I slowly wrapped my arms around her shoulders and gently pulled her in for a hug.

     I could smell her scent.

     It was a scent beyond just her perfume, one that smelled of life. When I pressed my nose to her neck, it became stronger and really put me at ease.

     「Your scent makes me calm.」

     「Is it a lewd scent?」

     「It’s not like that. Pervert.」

     「You said it was like that before, though.」

     「I did, but it’s not. Not right now.」

     The scent itself was the same as before, but it felt different. Could a scent really be so different just from the way it was being perceived?

     Right now, my chest and stomach weren’t tightened up at all.

     However, my body felt all light and fluffy. In this moment, my consciousness was definitely right here, but my body felt like it was floating away somewhere distant. It was the first time I’d ever felt like this.

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