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“It’s falling short.”

As soon as I arrived at the meeting point at 10 on Saturday, as promised, Chise hit me with those words.

“What does?”
“Your face. Compared to those clothes.”

That was a pretty harsh thing to say.

Sure, Misora had carefully picked out today’s outfit, but was I really “falling short” that badly?

I knew I wasn’t exceptionally better-looking than anyone else. I touched my face a few times. It felt the same as always—just me, with no makeup on. Inazuki had suggested I try it a few times, but I’d never really felt like it, so here I was.

I suppose I’ll have to do it someday.

But would that day ever come? If high school life lasted forever, I’d stay just as I was, never wearing makeup.

“Well, I figured as much. Alright, let’s head to the lounge. There shouldn’t be anyone there at this hour, and I’ll teach you how to put on makeup.”
“Boo…”
“You’ve got good features, so it’d be a waste not to use them. You look way too much like a high schooler with that bare face. Right, Inazuki-san?”

Inazuki smiled, her face as usual lightly made up.

Maybe it’s the word “makeup” that’s the problem in the first place.

Is “natural makeup” what I should be saying instead?

I don’t know.

“Yeah, I think Iroha could stand to look a little more polished.”
“Even you, Inazuki? …Ugh.”

Resigned, I let Chise pull me over to a chair in the lounge.

She took out a small pouch filled with various cosmetics from her bag and placed them on the table in front of me.

She started talking about base makeup, which foundation is best, and other stuff like that.

The names of cosmetics were now closer to an alien language, and I had no idea what she was talking about. I could still understand shampoo and hair oil, but when it came to makeup, I was completely lost.

In the end, just like during the New Year, I ended up getting my makeup done by Chise.

I had become so accustomed to her touching my face that I could easily relax and let her take over. She touched my face, applying creams and powders. It felt like she was seasoning and coating me, as if I were about to be fried.

The base and seasoning might be similar.

Cooking and makeup might be somewhat alike, right? …Not really, I guess.

If I said that, Chise would probably get mad at me.

“Alright, it’s done!”

It seemed like she had finished while I was lost in thought, and she gave my shoulder a light pat. When I looked in the hand mirror, I saw a version of myself that looked a little more polished than usual.

A different me.

Could this be what becomes the new normal in the future?

I wondered what kind of face I would have as a high school senior. Since I couldn’t see my own face in my memories, I was a bit curious.

“Now you look a bit like a university student. Not that I’d know.”
“Even though you did it, you say you don’t know…”
“Let’s not get into the details. Classes are starting soon, so let’s hurry to the classroom.”
“What class are we attending?”
“Economics. It seems like the professor is pretty laid-back, so they don’t take attendance or call on students. Look.”

Chise showed me her smartphone screen, which displayed a site with reviews about the class.

“…That’s convenient.”
“Right? If you check this out, you can find classes that you might be able to sneak into.”

Saying that, Chise spun her smartphone around.

She then started walking towards the classroom, and I hurriedly tried to follow her.

At that moment, I felt a strong tug from behind. When I looked back, Inazuki was holding my hand. As I tilted my head in confusion, she pulled my hand more, causing my body to lean toward her.

“Iroha. That looks good on you. …I think it’s cute.”
“Are you talking about the makeup? If you say that, Chise will be happy.”
“I want you to be happy.”
“Well, it’s Chise who has good makeup skills. But, yeah, thank you.”

The conversation paused.

I tried to start walking, but Inazuki wasn’t moving, so I couldn’t either. She was acting like a child throwing a tantrum in the candy aisle. I noticed and relaxed my legs.

I wondered what was wrong. Had she suddenly decided she didn’t want to go?

“Did something happen?”

Inazuki asked, looking worried.

If I were to say something happened, it did; but if I said nothing happened, that would be true as well.

I had merely dreamed of something that seemed to belong to a previous timeline. Normally, dreams are something you forget as soon as you wake up, but that dream left a strong emotion in my heart, making it impossible for me to dismiss it as trivial.

Since that day, I have been dominated by deep sadness and restlessness.

I felt the urge to do something, anything, and it was becoming hard to sit still.

Yet, I couldn’t think of anything specific I could do, and even though I moved my feet, I had no destination.

Still, my legs seemed to want to move forward, and I felt like I was about to spin in circles.

“You’ve been acting differently lately. If you have worries, I want you to talk to me.”

I had various questions I wanted to ask, but I felt like if I did, Inazuki would disappear. Even though I thought I needed to know everything, I had a sense that trying to know it all would cause everything to collapse.

So what should I do?

Not knowing, I smiled as I usually did.

“I dreamed about kissing you.”
“Huh?”
“It was a deep kiss, like a couple would have. Maybe that was a memory from the previous timeline. It was amazing.”
“…I-I’ve never kissed like that!”

Inazuki shouted, and Chise turned around. She looked at us with a puzzled expression.

“What are you talking about in broad daylight?”
“It’s nothing you’re thinking, so don’t worry.”
“Looking at Inazuki-san, it doesn’t seem like nothing…”
“More importantly, let’s hurry. Class is about to start, right?”

I took Inazuki’s hand and started walking. This time, she moved along smoothly.

Her face was bright red. If we were a couple, it wouldn’t be strange to share a deep kiss. But the fact that she turned this red just from talking about it seemed to confirm that she had never experienced that kind of kiss.

If that’s the case, then maybe we really weren’t lovers after all.

Thinking back, while Inazuki was certainly close to me, it didn’t feel like the closeness one has with a romantic partner.

I don’t know much about the distance between lovers, but I can tell now. If she were my girlfriend, I think she would be more assertive and have a more joyful expression.

I still don’t understand why she would lie about being lovers, though.

We sat together in the back row of the large classroom, waiting for the professor to arrive.

Economics was said to be an easy course, and not many students were present. Even those who were there mostly sat in the back, fiddling with their smartphones or laptops.

That didn’t change even when the class began.

Thinking it was quite a frivolous conduct, I copied the professor’s lecture notes into my notebook.

I suddenly glanced at Inazuki’s profile. She had a pained expression, as if something hurt, while gazing around the room.

I wondered why she looked like that. I really didn’t understand.

I tore off a piece of my notebook and drew a picture of a rabbit.

“Cheer up!” I wrote in a speech bubble and held it out in front of Inazuki.

She smiled slightly at that.

Then she wrote “looks crap” under the deformed rabbit.

I felt a bit deflated. I thought it looked cute.

“Well, why don’t you try drawing something, Inazuki?”

When I handed her the paper, she began to draw quickly.

This felt somewhat refreshing. Our high school had a lot of serious students, so nobody passed notes during class. Inazuki and I sat far apart, so we didn’t even make eye contact, let alone pass notes.

Sitting next to her felt a little strange.

Inazuki was in a different position than usual, and even during class, we were passing notes.

I might be getting a little unserious myself, influenced by the air of the unserious students around me.

On the paper she’d placed on my notebook, instead of a rabbit, there was a monster that looked like a clump of fur drawn.

I nearly burst out laughing.

I hurriedly covered my mouth, but then Chise snatched the paper away.

“…What are you two doing?”

She said, sounding exasperated, and I managed a wry smile.

Maybe both Inazuki and I were being a bit silly. I folded the paper and tucked it into the front of my notebook.

Having experienced the rare moment of passing notes during class, I listened attentively to the lecture with a slight thrill in my heart.

University classes lasted for 100 minutes, making it difficult to maintain concentration, or so I’d heard.

Before I knew it, students around me were dozing off or bored, playing games. Though the classes were twice as long as those in high school, I had a knack for keeping my focus, so I continued to pay serious attention to the lecture.

Looking over, I noticed that Inazuki on my left and Chise on my right both had their eyes closed.

Inazuki, who had seemed rather disinterested, was one thing, but why was Chise, who had invited me, also asleep?

At this rate, it seemed she would turn into the type who barely listened during classes and only buckled down during exam periods.

Well, Chise was already like that.

Is that what being a university student is like?

As I thought about it, I felt a weight on my knee. Inazuki had used it as a pillow. Since we were in the back row, there was no worry about being seen, but I still wondered if it was really okay to be doing this in class.

I gently patted her head.

The feel of her hair flowing through my fingers was pleasant.

I wondered what kind of university student Inazuki would become. If I ended up attending the same university as her, would we still pass notes like this and have her use my lap as a pillow?

“Inazuki…”

Even when I whispered, there was no response.

She just wore a peaceful expression, mumbling quietly.

She was completely out like a log.

Caught between these two unserious people, I felt like my serious attitude was being flipped around like in a game of Othello.

I took a lock of her hair in my hand and tried kissing it.

The act of kissing seemed tied to that day, and just thinking about it made my chest tighten. If I kissed her lips, I felt like my heart would burst and disappear.

…Speaking of which.

Inazuki had once said she would kiss me if I asked.

Would she really do it?

As those questions floated in my mind, I gently stroked her hair.

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