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The warm breath from the coffee cooled rapidly the moment it was exhaled, turning white as it dissipated.

Two white breaths floated up briefly before vanishing.

“Did you take a picture of this?”

Inazuki asked as she pointed to the giant Christmas tree displayed at the campus entrance.

Our school, which was attached to the university, had its buildings within the university campus. So, the entrance was the same for both the high school and the university.

Because it was a Christian university, a Christmas tree was put up during the season, and the campus was dotted with chapels and other religious-looking buildings.

“Yeah… here.”

I showed her a picture I had taken just last week.

On the screen of my phone was a photo of me, my friend, and the tree.

“Is that Haneda?”

She was referring to a friend of mine.

“Yeah, Chise. I’m surprised you remembered her name.”
“Well, we’ve been classmates for like decades.”
“Were you two close?”
“Not really. Haneda and I are from different worlds.”
“Different worlds…”

To me, Inazuki and Chise seemed pretty similar, but in some ways, I could see the difference.

Chise and I would hold hands, but we wouldn’t embrace each other. Of course, we didn’t touch each other’s throats either, but we did go out together and have sleepovers.

But when I tried to place Chise where Inazuki was, it felt out of place.

What was the difference between the two? I always thought they were similar, but in the end, Inazuki was Inazuki. Holding hands with her made me feel at ease, and I found myself wanting to walk side by side with her.

“I feel like you and I are completely different too, though.”

“Well, maybe so.”

“It’s strange, isn’t it? If you hadn’t arrived early that morning, we probably wouldn’t be here together like this.”

I took a sip of my coffee.

Even though the coffee we bought together from the burger shop didn’t have a particularly special flavor, it somehow tasted delicious.

“I think so too. When I arrived early that morning and saw you there, I was really surprised.”
“Are you talking about the previous timeline?”

Inazuki looked up at the tree. I put my phone back in my bag and followed her gaze.

When Christmas came around, I heard that regular families put up trees at home. But since I’ve never had that experience, I couldn’t even imagine what one did with a tree at home.

Did they have meals around it, maybe?

That sounds like some sort of suspicious ritual. I wonder what it’s really like.

“Hmm… well, yeah. But still, my heart was racing this time too.”
“Huh…”
“I was worried, anxious… I was a little scared to go to the classroom early in the morning, wondering what would happen if you didn’t come early, Iroha.”

She looked at me, her face visible through the white breath between us.

When I couldn’t see her eyes, it was hard to tell if she was looking at me or not, and that made me a little uneasy.

“Would it be no good to just talk to me normally, even if it wasn’t early in the morning?”
“If I did that, I wouldn’t know if you had really opened up to me, Iroha.”

Was I like a stray dog or something?

…Maybe that wasn’t exactly wrong.

“But even now, it doesn’t really feel like you’ve opened up to me.”

Inazuki said as she shoved the bag from the burger shop into my hands.

While I was wondering what she was trying to do, she pulled out a selfie stick and her phone from her bag and wrapped her arm around my shoulder.

“Inazuki?”
“Take a picture with me too. If we get separated, you can look at it to cheer yourself up.”

Such a confident statement.

I don’t think a picture would cheer me up. It’d probably just make me feel lonelier and hurt even more.

Still, I felt like the act of taking a picture with Inazuki had some meaning, so I didn’t resist and leaned into her.

Even in the cold of December, her body was warm. Her temperature hadn’t changed at all since the first time we held hands in September, and that comforted me. But at the same time, there was a part of me that hoped something might change.

The shutter clicked, and her arm gently pulled away. Inazuki was smiling as she happily gazed at the picture.

Was she really enjoying this that much?

I hugged the still-warm bag to my chest.

Of course, it wasn’t as warm as Inazuki. How hungry was I for warmth? Even I found it a little ridiculous, but once you had experienced it, it was only natural to crave it more than you did before.

It wasn’t just any warmth that I wanted.

It was Inazuki’s warmth that I was longing for.

“Yeah, it came out cute. I’ll send it to you later, Iroha.”

I gave a small nod.

Then we headed to the classroom. On the way, the chapel caught my eye. At the university chapel, graduates could have their wedding ceremonies. I once came to campus on a whim on a Sunday and saw a wedding taking place.

Those two looked so happy back then.

It’s as if the wedding dress had the power to amplify emotions—the bride wore a blissful smile, almost as if she were in a state of intoxicated joy.

I could still vividly recall the groom smiling warmly as he embraced that happiness.

That moment wasn’t an end, but merely a beginning.

To have someone you love so much that you want to marry them… that must be true happiness.

I couldn’t picture myself standing there in a wedding dress, and that thought made me laugh a little.

Even though I was too weak to live alone, it was hard for me to love someone. That was just the kind of person I was.

What was I supposed to trust in someone to be able to love them? I didn’t know. …I didn’t, and yet…

“It’s especially cold today.”

Inazuki said, trembling as she walked a step ahead of me.

Our steps didn’t match unless we were holding hands.

I took out Inazuki’s coffee from the bag and handed it to her.

“My hands are full, so I can’t lend you one, but at least I can do this.”
“Thanks. You’re so thoughtful.”
“I learned a lot from you, Inazuki.”
“Did you now? That’s good to hear.”

As I handed her the coffee, our fingers brushed against each other. Even that small touch made me happy, a sign of how much I craved her warmth.

Was it just warmth that I wanted?

Some part of me asked that question, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer.

As usual, I picked up the key from the staff room and entered the classroom. It was still early, so no one else was there yet. The third person would probably arrive in about thirty minutes.

Using a spacious classroom meant for dozens of students with just the two of us felt like an extravagant luxury.

When I sat down at my desk, Inazuki took the seat in front of me.

In the spring, we used to sit like this, making small talk about trivial things. It felt like that was a long time ago.

“Uh… the sausage and egg one is yours, right, Inazuki?”
“Yeah. And you’ve got the bacon and egg.”

I had been forced to choose the bacon and egg.

Not that I particularly liked it or anything.

Inazuki sometimes showed these strange preferences.

“Do you even eat hamburgers, Iroha?”
“Occasionally. This is the first time I’ve had one for breakfast, though.”

I took a bite out of the hamburger—or was it a muffin?—and chewed. It tasted just as I had expected. It was good, I thought.

“How is it?”
“It’s good, but… why did you make me choose this?”
“…You ate it before,” she murmured quietly as she took a bite of her own muffin.

The atmosphere seemed to shift slightly.

This was my first time having something like this for breakfast. At least, it was for me. But maybe it wasn’t for Inazuki.

Did the version of me that Inazuki knew regularly eat things like this in the morning? But they didn’t live together or anything…

What kind of change had taken place in Iroha’s mind? Had she shaken off her loneliness, or had something inside her broken to the point where she stopped caring about everything?

There was nothing wrong with eating whatever you want.

But still.

But the current me felt uneasy about eating something like this by myself.

“Does it remind you of anything?”

Inazuki asked in an odd voice.

It was as if she didn’t really want me to remember anything, but at the same time, there was a hint of expectation in her expression. It was like she was hoping I would recall something.

Which one was it?

I still couldn’t understand what Inazuki was looking for in moments like this. I couldn’t joke around or make light of it.

I found myself wishing that I could somehow tap into whatever strange wavelength she was on and see the landscape of the previous timeline.

“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“…I see.”

A silence fell between us. Inazuki’s profile looked lonely, as if she were gazing at something far away, somewhere that wasn’t here. I had seen that expression on her face many times before, and it made my chest feel uneasy.

“Ah.”

Inazuki let out a small sound.

When I looked, I saw that she had spilled some of her coffee on her hand.

“Are you okay? Did you burn yourself…?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. I’ll just go wash my hands.”

She placed her wrapped muffin and coffee on the desk and left the classroom, carefully closing the door behind her. I was left alone in the now enclosed space.

Before Inazuki started talking to me, I used to spend this time alone every day. I hated being at home, so I would come to school early, but even then, I was always by myself.

Still, wearing my uniform made me feel like I belonged somewhere, and that feeling lightened my heart a little.

But no matter where I belonged, the loneliness nesting in my heart never truly disappeared.

When I first met Inazuki during this time, I think I was probably happy. It felt like I was being saved, after spending so many long years alone in the classroom.

…Long years?

I found my own thoughts puzzling. I only started coming to the classroom early when I entered high school. I was still in my first year, so it’s not like I’ve been alone in the classroom for years.

As a faint pain began to throb in my head, the classroom door opened.

Inazuki’s face overlapped with something else in my vision.

A brighter shade of hair than the current Inazuki’s swayed, and I caught a glimpse of a hidden earring. The face that turned towards me looked a bit more mature than the Inazuki I knew, with dark eyes that seemed surprised to see me.

There was a scent of spring in the air.

A breeze from the season of late cherry blossoms blew through the door, stirring something deep within me. I was momentarily at a loss for words, blinking slowly.

“Inazuki, it’s you… right?”

My vision blurred slightly, and the Inazuki I knew came into focus. Her light brown hair framed her face, and there were no earrings in her ears.

“Yeah, it’s me… What’s up?”
“…Nothing. I just thought you looked beautiful today, too.”
“Don’t compliment me out of nowhere like that. You’re making me blush.”

Inazuki returned to her usual seat.

As the scent of her shampoo reached my nose, the phantom scent of spring faded away.

What was that just now?

Could it be that Inazuki’s strange wavelength had reached deep into my brain, making me see things? But then…

There was also a part of me that felt nostalgic for the Inazuki I had just seen.

It was impossible. A previous timeline? That’s ridiculous.

I told myself I was just getting flustered from being around Inazuki and drank my coffee.

The bitter taste felt like a warning of some kind.

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