“I’m turning off the lights.”

With a soft click, Yarai-san pulled the cord hanging from the ceiling, and the room went dark. So this kind of ceiling light really still existed…

Already tucked into my futon, I felt the mattress dip slightly as Yarai-san lay down beside me.

“Lying next to each other on futons like this—it feels like a school trip, doesn’t it?”
“Does it?”
“What do you mean, ‘does it’…? Oh, but wait—was Mari Girls’ school trip something fancy, like a hotel stay?”
“I didn’t go, so I wouldn’t know.”
“…Huh?”

She’d mentioned earlier that she’d quit Mari Girls’, but now it seemed she’d skipped the school trip too. Which meant the likely reason had to do with… well, people.

…Was she like this back in middle school, too? I mean, people don’t usually change that much.

“I caught a cold both times—elementary and middle school. Guess I’m the type who gets a fever when I get too excited.”
“…Yeah, that actually sounds like you.”

Still, I was relieved to hear it was something harmless like that. For a moment I’d worried I’d brought up a sore subject. Though, maybe it was still a sore one for her in its own way.

“Mari Girls has dorms, you know? Third-years have to share a room with second-years, but being pitied by your junior is kinda painful.”
“You were in the dorms? But Mari Girls’ isn’t that far from here—you could’ve just commuted.”
“I just wanted to try living in a dorm.”
“…That’s a ridiculously shallow reason.”

Then again, if it were me back in middle school, I might’ve thought the same thing—
something simple like it’d be fun to be around friends all the time.

“So where’s our school trip going again?”
“How do you not know that…? Taiwan. We’re going to Taiwan.”
“Wow, overseas?”
“Apparently the year above us went to Korea, so I guess that’s just how it is. I was surprised too when I first heard.”
“…I really wanna go on a school trip for once.”

Her voice trembled faintly as she said it, staring up at the ceiling.

Never having experienced what’s often called the biggest event of student life… yeah, that was kind of sad.

I didn’t know if she’d had friends back in middle school or not, but that wasn’t even the issue here—it was a different kind of loneliness.

“Then you’d better take care of your health this time. …Though, honestly, it’s hard to picture you ever getting sick.”

Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t remember her missing school once this year.
Then again, I hadn’t been paying that much attention to her until recently, so maybe I just didn’t notice.

…That sounded dangerously close to “I pay attention to you now.”

“You’re right! Besides, you’ll be there too, Kaidou-san.”
“I don’t really see what my presence has to do with it… And it’s not like we’re guaranteed to be in the same class next year.”
“…Just out of curiosity, Kaidou-san, are you planning to go with the liberal arts or the sciences track?”

At our school, we had to choose between the two in our third year. Most schools made you choose in your second year, but for some reason ours didn’t.

As for me, it went without saying—I’d be taking the liberal arts course.

“It’s a secret.”

I chose not to answer.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be in the same class as her or anything like that. It just didn’t feel right to tell her.

“You’re probably planning to match my choice, but you should think about your own future properly, Yarai-san.”

I didn’t want her making such an important decision for a fleeting reason like having a crush on me.

In the end, it was her life—her responsibility. And I didn’t have the courage to meddle in someone else’s future.

“But my grades are better than yours, you know? No matter which track I pick, I’ll still study.”
“Well, yeah, that’s true… but still, you should think about it more seriously.”

Normally, her words never carried much weight, but when it came to academics, she had a point. I’d just seen her report card earlier, after all.

“…Maybe once we’ve gotten a bit closer.”
“Yay!”

She lit up at my half-hearted answer.

Which meant, of course, that she was hoping for our relationship to deepen.

Not that I didn’t already know that. Even if she didn’t fully realize it herself, Yarai-san clearly liked me in a romantic way.

So really, the question now was what I wanted. Should I keep my distance? Move closer? Or just stay where we were now? Though, honestly, “staying as we are” seemed impossible—if I stood still, Yarai-san would just charge straight at me.

So it came down to two options: approach her, or step away.

But thinking about it wasn’t going to give me an answer. Human relationships don’t come with neat, labeled choices like that anyway.

“Sigh…”
“What’s wrong, Kaidou-san? Something bothering you?”
“Mostly you.”
“Stress is bad for your complexion, you know.”
“So that’s why you’re so beautiful—you must live a stress-free life.”
“Beautiful, huh? You really think so?”

That line made her sound like the Slit-Mouthed Woman.

“Your face, at least.”
“So my body’s ugly, then?”
“I never said that. Your body’s also—”

The words stopped halfway out of my mouth.

What came flashing back instead was the sight of Yarai-san’s bare skin in the bath.

That perfectly shaped body, so flawless it made you forget to notice things like firmness or sheen.

And I had touched it—no, run my hands over it.

The expression she’d made then resurfaced in my mind: flushed cheeks, glistening eyes, and a smile that was both sensual and innocent.

Just recalling it made my pulse quicken.

“My body’s what? If you stop there, that means it really was ugly, huh?”

She made an exaggerated sobbing gesture, pretending to cry.

Sure, I knew it was weird of me to trail off like that.

But saying what I was actually thinking felt… impossible.

Calling another girl sexy—what was I supposed to do with that?

And more than that, I didn’t want her to know that I might—just might—see her that way.

It wasn’t that I thought she’d use it against me or anything. Yarai-san wasn’t that kind of person.

It was just… my pride.

“…I’m going to sleep.”
“Aww! Let’s talk a little longer!”
“Sorry, I’m a health-conscious early sleeper.”
“Well, if you say so.”

She gave up surprisingly easily.

A few moments later, her quiet breathing reached my ears—she’d fallen asleep before me.

If she really liked me, I thought she might be too nervous to fall asleep right away.

Meanwhile, my head felt foggy, as if feverish. Not from drowsiness, though. I didn’t feel sleepy at all.

I told myself it was just because I was in an unfamiliar room, on an unfamiliar futon.

That had to be the reason. There was no point searching for another one.