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“Hey.”

I heard Inazuki’s voice. While flipping through the pages of my reference book, I glanced over at her. Inazuki was chilling there as if it was her own room. Well, it was her room originally, so it made sense, but having her sprawled on my bed was a bit distracting.

“Hey, are you listening?”

She was rolling around on the bed, clutching the comforter. The dust glinted in the room’s light, oddly dazzling to the eyes.

“Inazuki, as you can see, I’m studying.”
“I know. That’s why I’m bothering you.”

With midterm exams approaching, I have slightly increased my study time. I never skipped my review and preparation, so there was no need to frantically study, but it would be problematic if my grades dropped.

Since getting high scores had become the norm, I didn’t know what my parents would say if my grades fell. Though, it shouldn’t matter if they were disappointed or scolded me at this point.

Still, I kept studying, probably out of habit. There wasn’t much else to do anyway.

“You study all the time, right? You can stop now.”
“This is a different thing.”
“You’ll lose your mind. If you keep studying like this, you’ll stress out and go bald.”

Inazuki slowly got up and sat across from me. She took a candy from the canister on the table and offered it to me.

“Here, open wide.”
“Mmm…”

Sweet and slightly sour. The taste of strawberries spread in my mouth.

The canister was something sold at the furniture store. After some discussion, we decided to fill it with candies, and Inazuki had packed it to the brim with jewel-like sweets. The container was transparent, making the candies inside stand out. Inazuki had taken several pictures right after filling it.

It seemed too colorful for my room, but with the new furniture coming in, there would be even more colors, so I would have to get used to it.

“The candies are running out,” Inazuki said, poking the canister with her finger.

“That’s because you keep feeding them to me. …Though, I’m the one eating most of them. Is that okay?”
“That’s why I bought them. Partly to spruce up your room, but mostly because I like watching you eat.”

Lately, it has become a routine for Inazuki to feed me candy. She always comes to my room at night, either lounging around or giving me candy to eat. At first, it was confusing, but now I have gotten used to it.

Inazuki doing something out of the ordinary was nothing new.

“Is it fun?”
“Yeah, very.”

Inazuki popped a candy into her mouth but couldn’t seem to suck on it for long. She soon crunched down on it. I watched her as I rolled the shrinking candy around in my mouth.

Inazuki was impatient. She walked fast and always seemed busy. It showed in the way she ate candy, too. As we spent more time together, I learned more and more about her. My memories, once monochrome, were being colored by her presence. It was both a ticklish and delightful feeling.

Time spent with Inazuki was enjoyable, making me want to know more about her.

“I like watching you eat,” she said, gently touching my throat.

Her warm fingers tickled a little.

Normally, people don’t touch each other’s throats. But after hearing her strange comments so many times, my brain no longer found it odd.

“You have a beautiful throat. When it moves, it looks even prettier.”

It was the first time anyone had complimented my throat, so I didn’t know what to say.

In moments like this, Inazuki looked at me with an expression I had never seen before in my life. Squinting as if looking at something dazzling, slightly parting her lips, she gazed at me. What emotions were in that look?

I didn’t know.

But I didn’t dislike it. I wanted to see it more, that expression that no one else ever directed at me or made.

“That comment is a little creepy,” I said.

“Haha, but it’s the truth,” she replied.

Inazuki moved closer to me. Her silky hair brushed against my arm, tickling it. As she looked up at me, she gently stroked my throat.

I felt like a cat. Maybe I should say “meow.”

While I hesitated, she moved her hand from my throat to my chin, then softly touched my lips before returning to the canister. The finger that had touched my lips picked up an orange candy, which then touched her lips.

“Iroha, have you remembered anything from the previous timeline?”

This bizarre comment always came up when I least expected it. Because of it, I had grown desensitized to touches that would normally feel out of place.

But maybe, I just didn’t know that it was a trend among high school girls these days to touch each other’s chins and throats. No, I doubted that. At least, I was sure that even close friends didn’t do such things. Maybe I should try it next time.

…No, that wouldn’t work.

Unlike my relationship with Inazuki, my friendships weren’t tainted by these oddities. These kinds of touches seemed permissible only within the confines of the bizarre connection Inazuki and I shared. Still, it felt like we weren’t both touching each other that much.

“Not at all. What would you do if I did remember?” I asked as I gently touched her throat. Her body flinched slightly. From her throat, I felt the beat of her heart and her warmth.

Warm.

My fingertips weren’t enough, so I pressed my palm against her. This made it seem like I was strangling her.

The sensation of her fragile throat, like a delicate flower, spread through my hand. Yet, the words coming from that throat carried a strong power. Her throat was so delicate, yet her words were gentle, clear, and strong.

Inazuki was a mystery.

“Maybe I’d ask you to be my girlfriend,” she said in a voice that was somehow different, more even.

It didn’t seem like she was embarrassed, though.

I tilted my head.

“Your girlfriend, huh?”

I couldn’t imagine myself being in a relationship with anyone. Much less the idea of becoming Inazuki’s girlfriend—it felt like a day that would never come.

“I’ve been wondering, but in the previous timeline, which of us confessed first?”
“You did, Iroha. Then, I accepted, and we started dating.”
“…I did? What did I say?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I couldn’t imagine myself having feelings for someone. If there was someone who could genuinely understand my words, look me in the eyes, and express their feelings to me, I would want to be with that person.

“You told me you liked me.”
“Just that?”
“Just that. It’s very like you, Iroha.”

She spoke about this version of me I didn’t know, with a smile.

Watching her expression made me almost believe it really happened. A previous timeline seemed impossible, and even if it did exist, I had no way of knowing, so it was essentially the same as it not existing.

But if I did have someone I liked, I would probably just say “I like you.” Simpler words conveyed feelings more clearly without unnecessary embellishments. This was just my personal belief, and I didn’t know if it was true.

I’d never figured out how to convey my words accurately. The words I truly wanted to be understood were the ones that often failed to be received or understood. I’d resigned myself to that reality.

“Why did you like me?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure. If I had to say, it’s because you were just you, Iroha.”

It felt like her whimsical words were hiding Inazuki’s true self.

“I’d like to ask too, why did you like me, Iroha?”
“…I’ll tell you when I remember.”

Talking with her made reality feel less real.

Inazuki looked at me with a hint of sadness. It was as if she was seeing something else through me. Yet, her eyes definitely reflected me. Even so, I couldn’t feel reassured, and I found myself wanting to touch the depths of her gaze.

When I reached out both hands, our fingers intertwined. Her pale fingers gripped mine tightly, as if trying to hold onto every part of me.

“Iroha,” she called my name, her voice fragile.

I didn’t know how to interpret this voice that was different from usual. Confused, I squinted my eyes.

“Shall we go outside for a bit?” she asked, applying a slight pressure to our clasped hands.

“Sure, let’s go.”

The response came naturally. I had long since lost the motivation to study.

Even after I agreed, Inazuki didn’t move for a while. It was only after she spent about three minutes squeezing and releasing my hand that she finally started to move.

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