「Liar. Even though you said it was just for me. That all of it, you’d only tell me.」
「Mizuki…?」
「Why did you tell someone else? Onee-chan, has Sorahashi Sera really changed you? You weren’t ever the type to break your promises, Onee-chan. …So why?」
Mizuki gazed downward. I didn’t think she’d remember those times this clearly. She was right. I’d broken a promise I’d made to her. No matter how old of a promise it was, I shouldn’t have thoughtlessly trampled on it like that.
I slowly reached my hand out to her.
Then, I felt a pain in that same hand. That pain made me realize that she had hit me.
It was the first time she’d ever done something like that.
My freezing hand began to feel hot. It hurt so much that I couldn’t move it.
「…I’m sorry, Mizuki.」
「I don’t want your apologies. …The one who forgot was you, Kurumi. And you’ve forgotten that other promise too.」
「Other promise…?」
「Whatever. I’m going on ahead.」
Saying this, Mizuki walked on by herself.
As my gaze fell on her back, I could tell there was no need for me to worry. She was headed straight for Sorahashi-san’s house.
As I cradled my reddened hand, I tried to dredge up past memories.
Another promise.
The only one I could remember making to Mizuki was the one about telling my secrets to only her.
Her memory seemed to be much better than mine. But judging from the way she was acting, I was certain she wouldn’t tell me even if I asked what it was.
I sighed.
My breath formed a thick fog, filling my vision for a moment before thinning out and disappearing. It was just like an old memory, something that was vivid in the moment but faded into nothingness alongside the passage of time. Or perhaps, I was simply shutting away the happy times that I didn’t want to remember.
What was I to Mizuki?
After a bit of walking, I caught up to her. She was standing at the side of a plain and ordinary road.
「Are you okay? Do your legs hurt?」
「Cocoa.」
「Huh?」
「Gimme the cocoa.」
I tilted my head slightly as I handed the can to her. She silently put it to her mouth and gulped down the contents.
「It’s lukewarm.」
「That’s because it’s cold out.」
「…」
The silence was painful.
In the past we spent more time together than apart, but now, we were barely able to hold a conversation about the most trivial of things. I thought I knew everything about her, but I didn’t understand how she was now. How much did she understand about me?
「Let me ask you one thing.」
Mizuki spoke while fidgeting with the can in her hands.
「Is Sorahashi-san someone… that you can rely on? Someone that can spoil you?」
My eyes widened at the unexpected question.
To rely on. To spoil.
Those were words that didn’t quite fit. Without a doubt, she was someone I could bare my entire self to, but it didn’t feel like I was being spoiled or anything of the sort. Nor did I really understand what it meant to rely on someone.
「Neither, I think.」
「I see. Then I…」
「Heeey, Kurumi! Mizuki-chan!」
At that moment, I heard Sorahashi-san’s voice from afar. She had a navy blue scarf wrapped around her neck. It was a color that didn’t suit her. That was a given, though, since that scarf had originally belonged to me. But looking at it from this perspective, it almost seemed like it had been hers from the beginning.
「I just couldn’t wait to see Mizuki-chan, so I came running over. It’s nice to see you.」
「Nice to see you too, Sorahashi-san. Sorry for the sudden intrusion.」
「No, no, not at all. I want to get to know you better! …Oh, Kurumi? Why is your hand so red?」
「Uh…」
She gently took the hand that Mizuki had struck. A warmth enveloped my hand, one different from the heat that accompanied the pain. Her touch was the same as always, but because it was so cold, it felt much warmer than it usually did.
I suddenly noticed that her scarf was loose. I touched it with my other hand.
「Sorahashi-san, your scarf is coming undone.」
「Ah, thank you.」
「Likewise.」
She seemed to have taken off the collar, as all I could see underneath the scarf was her pale neck. I re-wrapped the scarf so that the tag wasn’t visible.
I looked over at Mizuki to see her eyes wide open.
I then looked all around, wondering if something had happened, but I didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. I quizzically tilted my head.
「Then, shall we? Ah, Mizuki-chan, would you like to hold hands as well?」
「No, I…」
「Is that so?」
We began to walk side by side. Sorahashi-san and Mizuki — what a strange combination of people. I wouldn’t have known how to hold a conversation with someone three years older than me, but surprisingly, Mizuki was carrying one with her quite normally.
「Ooh. So you’ve got a blazer for your school uniform, Mizuki. I had a sailor uniform when I was in middle school.」
「I see. …What sort of clothes do you usually wear, Sorahashi-san? You seem quite fashionable.」
「I like to…」
I couldn’t join in on the conversation because I didn’t know much about fashion. Yume was more suited for that type of thing. Up until recently I’d always wear my uniform, even on days off, so I had no knowledge of ordinary clothing.
Mizuki seemed to be on more amicable terms with Sorahashi-san than she was with me.
Just thinking about that made my heart grow heavy. I didn’t want to spend too long seeing sides of Mizuki and Sorahashi-san that I didn’t know.
「That’s a cute scarf. Where’d you buy it?」
Mizuki smiled.
There seemed to be some sort of hidden meaning behind it.
「Oh, this? Hmm… Maybe Kurumi would know?」
「Why?」
「A secret, perhaps.」
「…Was it a present from Onee-chan?」
「Ahaha, maybe it is.」
I didn’t recall it being a present.
After some more walking and conversing, we arrived back at the house. Mizuki had a serious expression on her face, as if she was lost in thought.
「We’re here. Come on in. It’s warm inside.」
「Pardon the intrusion.」
「I’m h—… Thanks for having us.」
「…」
I could feel Mizuki staring at me. I lined up my shoes like I always did and set them by Sorahashi-san’s. Mizuki also quietly set her shoes by mine.
「Have a seat on the couch. I’ll bring some tea.」
「Thank you.」
Mizuki sat down on the couch and turned to me. As if urged on by her gaze, I moved to sit next to her. I would have went up right next to her without a second thought in the past, but now, there was a fist’s width of distance between us. It made me feel a little lonely.
Once again, we were alone — and once again, silence fell.
「…Does your hand hurt?」
Mizuki spoke up.
「It’s fine. …I’m really sorry.」
「…Don’t be. I was the one that hit you too hard.」
Mizuki had changed so much in the past year, to the point that I didn’t know how to interact with her. People kept changing in the blink of an eye, so I, who was unable to change, was getting left behind. That fist’s width of distance between us made her seem so far away.
「Apologies for the wait. Ah, Kurumi. I’d like to sit as well, so please move in closer.」
「Oh, okay.」
「A bit more… No, actually, why don’t you just let Mizuki sit on your lap? 」
「Huh?」
「Rather than that… Maybe it’d be better this way.」
Mizuki grabbed my arm with a jerk, and I ended up on her lap. It’s true that she was bigger than me, so maybe it was better for me to sit on top of her instead of the other way around.
I felt restless.
Between sitting on Mizuki’s lap and being princess carried by Sorahashi-san, there had been so many firsts for me today that I couldn’t stay calm.
「Kurumi. Don’t shift around so much. It tickles.」
「Even if you say so… Am I not heavy?」
「Ahaha, that’s the same thing you said earlier.」
Sorahashi-san giggled as she watched us from the couch.
I hunched my shoulders, curling up a little.
「Were you doing the same thing with her, Sorahashi-san?」
「No. It was something similar, but perhaps not exactly the same?」
Mizuki wrapped her arms around my stomach. My mind was suddenly brought to that time I taught her how to play cat’s cradle. Back then, when she was still just a small child, her hands had been so tiny. But the hands supporting my stomach right now were already bigger than mine, as if they belonged to an adult.
It was nothing like when she was still slowly crawling around in her crib.
Mizuki had really grown up. Now that there was some distance between us, I felt that all the more.
Ave Lilium Translations 