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Leaving Inazuki’s neighborhood and venturing a bit farther away might have been the right decision. When we went to places she knew well, Inazuki sometimes wore a lonely expression or gave me a strange look, as if she was looking at me but not seeing me.

But today, that didn’t happen.

“Wow, it’s so dreamy.”

She murmured this as she watched the numerous goldfish swimming in the giant tank.

“I like noisy places too, but this isn’t bad either. It’s quiet and beautiful.”
“Yeah. I prefer places like this.”

Listening to the sound of the water felt calming, and combined with the warmth coming from Inazuki’s hand, it felt as if I was returning to before I was born.

If I could stay like this forever without thinking about anything, I might be truly happy.

Everywhere we walked in the aquarium, there were fantastical tanks on display, making us feel like we had stepped into another world.

After making a few rounds inside, we stopped by the gift shop.

They sold all sorts of cute things like cups and stuffed animals, but we had already made enough memories today. I didn’t feel the need to take anything tangible with me.

Physical things eventually break or get thrown away.

When something tied to a memory disappears, it leaves a deep scar in your heart.

Like when I saw the letters I had sent to my parents thrown away during a major cleanup.

“How about we buy this?”

Inazuki held up a glass decorated with goldfish. For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

“If you really want it, let’s buy it.”
“Yeah, I want it. I really do. It’s so cute.”

She looked at the glass lovingly.

If this glass became tied to today’s memories, it would carve another indelible scar into my heart.

But it’s okay.

I no longer cared about the scars on my heart. I was used to them, and if it made Inazuki happy, that was enough.

I smiled.

“Then, I’ll buy it for you.”
“No, it’s fine. Let me buy it.”

Without giving me a chance to argue, Inazuki headed to the checkout.

It made me realize that I couldn’t give anything to Inazuki.

If I ever recalled memories from my previous timeline, would I be able to give her something then?

But remembering something that didn’t exist was impossible.

If we were playing make-believe, I wish Inazuki would have come up with a better scenario. If it were a setting I could play more convincingly, then…

Then what, I wonder.

“I bought it. What do you want to do? Do you want to look around a bit more?”

Inazuki said, holding a bag. I shook my head.

“No, let’s go. We’ve seen enough.”
“Got it. Shall we go get something to eat then?”
“Yeah. I didn’t have much for breakfast.”
“You know, it’s bad for you not to eat a proper breakfast,” Inazuki said with a grin. I let out a small sigh.

“…Inazuki.”
“Sorry, sorry. Let’s go eat whatever you like for lunch.”

Whatever I like, huh?

When I thought about it, nothing came to mind. But it would be strange to say that in this situation. If I tried to go along with Inazuki’s preferences, she’d probably notice and get mad. What should I do?

“Okay, sushi then.”
“Sushi in a place like this… You’re quite something, Iroha.”

Maybe answering randomly was a mistake. I gave a vague smile.

“I don’t eat out much.”
“Got it, got it. Then let me teach you the secrets of eating out.”

She said so and took my hand.

Looking back, maybe using the money they left me with a note saying, “Buy and eat whatever you like” on ingredients instead and cooking myself was a bit of a rebellion on my part.

Eating alone at the table was lonely, but I knew that eating out would make me feel even lonelier.

I also didn’t like buying prepared food from the supermarket.

Eating food made by someone I’d never seen in my own home felt like it would turn an already unfamiliar space into truly someone else’s home, and I couldn’t stand that.

“The secrets?”
“Indeed,” she said, nodding with a proud look.

Ordinary people naturally eat out, right?

Inazuki seemed close to her family and sometimes told me about her parents. I could only respond to her stories with forced smiles and half-hearted nods, and I felt a bit bad about that.

I liked Inazuki’s smile. I liked it, but listening to her talk about her family always made me uncomfortable.

I knew it was narrow-minded of me.

“So, let’s go. They say time is of the essence.”

I wondered how many times I had seen her back as she walked ahead, holding my hand.

Sometimes she walked ahead, sometimes she naturally walked beside me. She was always there, either beside me or in front of me. I had felt her warmth and seen her smile countless times.

Every time, I thought to myself how lively Inazuki was today too, or what a good person she was.

Bright, pushy, and eccentric. Inazuki was a strange person, unlike anyone I had ever met.

If she wouldn’t accept my money, I at least wanted to do something for her in return.

But since I didn’t know what exactly that would be, I couldn’t do anything.

It was frustrating.

Countless emotions swirled in my heart. Before Inazuki took me in and now, my feelings had probably changed so much that they seemed like two different worlds.

“…Yeah. Thanks, Inazuki.”

I started walking, letting her lead me by the hand.

Inazuki smiled again.

In the end, she took me to a sushi restaurant in the same facility as the aquarium.

“Iroha, do you prefer a rotating one or not?”

A rotating one?

Sushi going around in circles?

Do the plates spin or something? Nah, no way.¹

“You know, conveyor belt sushi. …Wait, you don’t know about it?”
“I don’t know. What is it like?”
“Well, it’s like… the sushi comes on a lane, you know?”
“…?”

I thought the sushi Inazuki treated me to was delicious.

There was a bit of guilt weighing on me due to the cost, but it was too late for that. I had already received too much from Inazuki.

I wondered if I was relying on her too much.

Hmm. I should think more about what I could do for her.

“Sometimes I wonder, what kind of life did you lead, Iroha?”
“What kind? Well… I studied, cooked, played a bit with friends, that sort of thing?”
“What kind of things did you do with your friends?”

I thought about my closest friend. When we hung out…

“We often went to each other’s houses.”
“Really?”

I nodded while sipping my tea.

“Really. My friend’s little sister likes me a lot, so we play games together.”
“Interesting.”
“Is that strange?”
“Not strange, but… it’s not common for high schoolers to visit each other’s houses that often.”

Inazuki deftly picked up some sushi and ate it.

As expected of someone with a refined upbringing, she seemed comfortable in such places. I, on the other hand, continued eating without fully understanding the proper manners.

It was delicious. Delicious, but it weighed on me.

I had hardly eaten sushi in my life. Even though I listed it as a favorite when asked, it felt like my taste buds were surprised by it since it had been so long.

Maybe I wasn’t fitting into society.

It felt like there was a world beyond a pane of glass, but I had friends and lived a decent life.

I thought so, but I couldn’t be sure. I couldn’t evaluate myself, and my parents never assessed my personality or way of living.

“Oh, then… Can I visit the Amakawa house sometime?”
“My house? Sure, but… there’s really nothing there.”
“That’s okay. I just want to see the place where you lived.”

It should have been “where I live,” not “where I lived.”

But I didn’t feel like correcting her.

“Alright.”
“Great! It’s decided then!”

Inazuki laughed happily.

So I tried to smile too.

After the slightly burdensome meal, we walked around the facility without any particular purpose. When our hands, which had separated during the meal, joined again, it felt normal, like our hands were meant to be connected.

The blend of warmth and time made it seem like we were becoming different versions of ourselves.

The way our steps naturally synchronized without a goal felt like proof of that.

“I’m looking forward to it. It’s my first time visiting the Amakawa house.”
“The old me never invited you, huh?”
“You never invited me to your house… Thinking about it, the current you and the previous you are quite similar yet quite different.”

She said this with a distant look in her eyes.

Watching her made me feel like I might start believing in the existence of a previous timeline.

“Well, I like both, but the current you is pure and cute.”
“Pure?”
“Yeah. You haven’t been corrupted, and your aura is different.”

Did Iroha Inazuki know that it was corrupted?

What exactly did being corrupted mean?

Going out every night or doodling on test papers, maybe.

If Inazuki hadn’t sheltered me, what would I be like now? It was hard to imagine.

The me holding hands with Inazuki now was no one else but the present me.

“I want to know more about the current Iroha.”

Inazuki said this while looking directly at me.

Today, she was really paying attention to me. I felt a slight unease in my heart.

“Yeah. It’d be nice if we could learn more about each other.”
“To do that, we need to spend more time together.”

Being together.

Maybe that was why she brought me here today. It would be strange to say I had to go home now with how the conversation was going.

Even though I knew that prolonging this would make it harder for me.

There was still a part of me that wanted to continue living with Inazuki.

I was truly weak.

“Once we’ve seen everything, let’s go home. To our home.”

To Inazuki, it seemed I was already a resident of that house.

My heart still couldn’t recognize Inazuki’s house as my home.

‘Still’ was the wrong word.

It couldn’t be allowed to become that way. Even tomorrow and the day after, Inazuki’s house would remain Inazuki’s house. It wouldn’t become mine.

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1. TN: Mawaru sushi is generally translated as conveyor belt sushi but the pun gets lost that way. Here Iroha couldn’t figure out what ‘mawaru (spin/rotate/revolve)’ was referring to. instead of the conveyor belt carrying the dishes around the table, she assumed the plates themselves were rotating.