Spring.
When seeing the blooming of the Sakura Trees, peoples heads also get dyed with the color of pink.
"I, I...Since before, about Kyou Senpai..."
Her eyes were clouded.
Her cheeks were dyed scarlet.
Both hands were clasped at her breast.
Her lips were trembling from tension.
"A, always, I've always liked you! Please go out with me!"
The place was the roof of the school.
The blue sky was looking down.
All the way down to the refreshing confession.
After a small interval, a reply was given.
"I like Tsukasa as well but, going out might be difficult."
"Wh, why's that?"
"Even if you ask me why..."
"Is it because I'm younger? Is it because I toss and turn when I sleep? Is it because I drank Kyou Senpai's strawberry milk without permission? I'll fix everything bad about me. That's why, that's why..."
As she was sputtering words, tears came pouring out in large drops.
"That's not it.....wait, you were the one who drank my strawberry milk!"
"I, I'm sorry."
"Na, it's not really that."
"Please tell me the reason! If not, I'll never give up!"
Her eyes complained too.
Unable to see a way out, Kyou let out a great breath.
It seemed similar to a sigh, if even only a little.
The two took a moment to prepare themselves for what would come next, as it would be the final factor.
"We are both females."
Beneath the bright spring sky, a dry wind blew.
It was a wind that seemed to say everything would get better.
"That's fine! For me, as long as Kyou Senpai is there, it doesn't matter how severe a road awaits."
"I'm sorry...that I don't have that willpower."
"N, n...Kyou Senpai's...Kyou Senpai's..."
Large tears were dropping down to soak the roof.
"Baka~~!"
Saying that, the young girl in love dashed away with great energy.
"But I like you! I REALLY like you!"
While crashing into the wall of feelings.
With a "bang!" a large sound came, and the opened door to the roof was shut.
With that, the curtain fell on the abrupt confession drama.
"Ah~, so stressful..."
The voice had come from the other side of the water storage tank.
As she approached the one male student, all her energy drained away.
His name was Sanada Souta.
He was also a student at Tsukinomiya Hight School, and from this spring it would be his second year.
Having finally decided to take an afternoon nap on the roof, he had witnessed the confession in all of its entirety.
"Erm, geez, if you're gonna confess, I wish you would have checked to make sure nobody was around."
Again having all her power leave her, looked at him lying there, using the tank as a resting place.
With the blowing wind moderate and refreshing, it was the best day for an afternoon nap.
"Today as well all is peaceful in the world."
He spoke peacefully of peace.
In other words, it could also be said he was bored.
"Wonder what I'm doing..."
Since he had come to Tsukinomiya High School, a year had already flown by.
Was there something about him that had changed since last year?
He moved up a year in school.
He grew taller and is in pretty good health.
Maybe he had gotten closer to being an adult.
Yet, he still comes to school, takes classes, talks about stupid things with friends, goes home, and when the next day comes, does it all over again.
In regards to those things, nothing has changed.
"Really, what am I doing..."
But it wasn't really like he was bored to death day after day.
It's just, when he heard someone ask if he felt satisfied, he didn't think he did at all.
Inside Souta, these thoughts about passing life day after day persisted.
Every once in a while, he would have these feelings.
When one starts to think these things, he becomes someone else.
And so once again, he felt an abundance of uneasiness.
To shake off the feelings of haziness inside his heart, Souta first shook his head left and right.
Trying to think about something else, the confession drama from earlier floated into his mind.
"Yet if I had a girlfriend, it might be different."
Souta twitched his nose in laughter at his own words.
"Laughing alone, talking alone, Souta-kun, you have some wierd hobbies."
Suddenly hearing a voice, Souta had a huge reaction.
Raising his face, he saw that the one standing beside him was the girl who had been confessed too.
Her roguish eyes were looking at Souta strangely.
Looking back at her stature, he understood after noticing the style of her uniform.
The buttocks that would fly out from the high-waist skirt, until today just how many male students had been hurt because of that.
Because of the way Souta was sitting it was possible for him to see as well, but he turned his gaze away just in time.
"It's a rule that I not have cheap underwear. So if you want to see, bring one-million love."
"What's that, that unit."
"To satisfy me, you need one-million pieces from the "currency of love," and then I'll go out with you."
"So that's how it is."
Not really needing to know, Souta was suited with that response.
Gritting her teeth in dissatisfaction, Katagiri Miyako (Kyou Senpai), threw her legs out and sat down the same way Souta was.
Her real name was "Miyako," yet everyone in school called her Kyou Senpai. Also Tsukinomiya High School's Student Treasurer, she was really popular.
After Miyako had sat down directly next to him, Souta was able to see the features of her beautifully arranged face, which made her look as though she was a pedigree, bred for beauty. Despite all that Miyako had a moody personality.
Awkwardly Souta stared straight ahead.
"Uhm, Miyako Senpai?"
In school, the only one who called Miyako by her name rather than Kyou, was pretty much just Souta.
"Eh, what?"
Miyako was practically inhaling a small carton of sugary and sweet smelling strawberry milk. All five-hundred milliliters. According to Souta's classmate Isai Iwaku, Kyou Senpai's unbelievable figure was made due to her love of strawberry milk, or so it seemed.
"Ah, want some?"
As she asked Miyako offered the straw, though all Souta could do was stare at her cherry blossom colored lips. She was sharp and noticed, laughing complacently.
"Souta-kun's got a perverted face so, let's change the topic."
With that Miyako finished off the strawberry milk.
"Though it's all right. I've got something to drink anyway."
Undauntedly Souta withdrew a can of coffee from his pocket.
The label showed it was sugarless, black coffee. The logo was that of a middle-aged man holding a cigar. That was the basis for the whole can being colored black.
For adults, it was imagery which would linger.
"If it's not sweet, it's like a devil's drink, or else it's not a drink."
Saying nothing in reply, Souta pulled the tab and poured the contents into his mouth. In the next moment, he was pitiable.
Bitter. It was just plain bitter.
Miyako was rolling around in laughter.
"Hahaha, it's because there's no way you're an adult."
Pretending not to hear, Souta continued drinking.
Yep, it was bitter. And disgusting.
Twisting his face into a grimace, Souta finished the rest in one gulp. In his mouth, the worst taste was left behind. To try and forget it, he turned to talk with Miyako.
"Where did you hear it from? My monologue?"
"Something like from 'It's so stressful' to something like 'I'd like a girlfriend like Miyako Senpai,' stuff like that."
"Please don't make up stuff to add in."
Squinting at Miyako's indifferent appearance, Souta realized he had been found out since the beginning. So before he could be condemned, he cut to a different topic.
"Apart from that, Miyako Senapai, is it really alright for you to be up here?"
"Hm~is Souta trying to say I'm skipping something?"
"No, that girl from before, wasn't she part of the preparations for the entrance ceremony?"
"Are you saying I should run after her and apologize again? Souta-kun, you're cruel. Sorry to say but, what I can do right now, is to do nothing."
With a hint of regret on her face, Miyako laughed lightly.
Interrupting the conversation, Souta turned his gaze towards the sky.
The inside of his mouth still tasted bitter.
Because of his action, Miyako poked his forehead gently with a white finger.
"No frowning. Enjoy school life a little more. Or is it that it's because of the Student Council President I work for that it's no fun?"
"I won't say something scary like that. After all, it's not like I came to Tsukinomiya just to fool around."
"School's supposed to be moderate studying, and lots of fun."
He couldn't become someone who could follow their own words like Miyako. He could understand that after having lived sixteen years already.
Beside him Miyako let out a tired sigh.
"Isn't it about time Miyako Senpai got heading back to work on the preparations for the entrance ceremony?"
"It's just the commander who can give out directions, so don't act so haughty."
Miyako laughed jokingly.
“It's be bad if the commander wasn't at the scene right?”
“Aren't you the soldier who deserted under the heavy fire?”
With glinting eyes, Miyako turned towards Souta as though he were some kind of trophy obtained from a win. In his cowardice, he could only look away.
“Ah, you ran away.”
Deserting under enemy fire wasn't a phrase he knew. Originally, Souta would have become a member of the Student Council, but he was no longer a student brimming with that volunteer spirit. That someone like him would be in school over spring break, showed how Miyako had somehow made him come with the reason of being shorthanded.
Even though he had said he would help, after lining up a couple of small pipe chairs in the gym, he had snuck away by faking that he had to go to the restroom.
“Well, it looks like it's about time for me to go back and act like the Student Council President again.”
“Please do.”
“Souta-kun, you should cut it out and go back too. If people think you've been in the toilet this long, when the new school term starts you'll get nicknamed something like 'Toilet Lad' or something.”
“We're not elementary school kids anymore, so having a label like that won't stick.”
“I'll start a rumor about you. About going to the toilet.”
“Are you planning on saying something nice?”
Miyako stood up by herself, dusted of her skirt, and prepared to head back. Seeming to remember something, she turned back and stared straight at Souta.
“It seems to me, soon, something big is going to happen to Souta-kun.”
“What's that about, I don't get it.”
“You'd best not disregard a woman's intuition.”
Saying that Miyako showed a natural smile.
This smile is what all the male students that came to Tsukinomiya were longing to witness.
But, Souta was taking heed of Miyako's words, and reflecting on his good fortune, he missed her wave her hand and head back to her duties as the Student Council President.
Souta skillfully drained the last drop from his canned coffee. After that, he spent a few more moments soaking in the wind atop the school roof. Following which he headed back as well.
***
Just in case, he stopped by the toilet before showing his face in the gym.
The preparations for the entrance ceremony were already fully completed. There weren't even any students left, and this was probably also true when Miyako had made her appearance on the roof. After everything was completed, that's probably when she had decided to go to the roof.
Miyako had probably been thinking about going home when she had seen him. Most likely she had had the duties of the Student Council pushed on her.
Only after everything was finished would she be released. She'd probably been depressed all day. Souta continued walking along the road, surrounded by lit up Zelcova Trees.
Most likely Miyako had something else to do, so she would still be in school. They both took the same road to go back, so he waited hesitatingly, but after only a short wait, he decided to leave.
***
He was trudging along the road.
It was the nothing strange, same as always road.
Though, there was a a paper doll used to call out good weather on the street...
It was a little closer to the apartment complex.
There it was out in the middle of the road atop the hill.
At first he thought it was just a white lump.
In the next moment, he thought it was a gigantic paper doll.
For the moment, Souta pretended not to see it.
It might be some kind of optical illusion or something.
He was still young, so the fact his eyes were giving him trouble and getting hazy, which he'd been worried about since before, was just absurd.
Pulling himself together, Souta raised his face.
Too bad, but the paper-doll figure was still there.
Whether it was a hallucination or an illusion, what was certain was that he wasn't imagining it.
Looking closely, he realized it really wasn't a paper-doll.
It was a girl.
Lying spread out over the ground was her silver hair, the color of which seemed to be that of reflected moonlight. Her entire body was covered in one sheet.
At the hem of the sheet, two small feet could be seen peeking out. There were no shoes nor socks. She was barefoot.
Souta was uncertain about what to make of this strange appearance.
She was like a small paper girl. With silver hair. Like a foreigner. No matter how you thought about it it wasn't normal. Also, Souta was extremely bad at English. He couldn't even converse basically.
Souta confirmed her surroundings. It might have been the photo shoot for some drama, so he was looking for staff or something. There was no sign of anybody other than the paper girl and Saito. If that was the case, then this must be some kind of personal cosplay.
In this age, if you were to go to Akihabara, you'd see maids standing out all over the roads. With such a free age as this, it's not strange if somebody was doing some kind of paper girl cosplay. It wasn't strange but, this appearance was too much.
He recalled a horror movie he had seen before. Somebody had definitely been strangled to death by some similar long, silvery hair. Also if you looked into her eyes, you would be turned to stone.
With his imagination running wild, Souta's body began shaking. At that time, Souta unconsciously had one foot slip on the ground. The sound of scrapping against gravel resounded in his ears.
“Who...is it?”
It was a voice with traces of nervousness in it. Cold sweat began pouring down Souta's back.
“Ah, ah, I'm not anyone suspicious or anything.”
The more suspicious one was this girl.
“P, please don't come over here.”
Her hand was wandering around seeking support, as she stood up, unsteadily and uncertainly.
“If you get close to me, things will get very bad.”
Quite a strong rejection.
But somehow he couldn't just depend on the voice, as it seemed to lack power behind the words.
Tottering on her feet, it looked as though the girl was trying to run away as she walked off.
Her legs were covered by the sheets as she continued.
Thinking it was dangerous, he realized it too late.
“E, eh, ehhhh....kyaaa!”
Raising her stange voice, she crashed beautifully.
Suddenly she wasn't moving.
Something serious had happened on Yokoku Road.
However, she was more like...
Having taken things to be some kind of trap earlier, those feelings were now vanishing.
Slowly, timidly, Souta drew closer to the girl.
Even so she still wasn't moving.
“Did you die?”
“...I'm living. Doing my best too.”
After having hit her nose, her voice sounded tearful.
Her appearance showed she didn't have any other injuries.
Yet, she pulled herself up to her hands and knees, and as if she were searching for a dropped contact, was patting the ground.
At that moment, Souta recalled how from before, she seemed to conduct herself tentatively while moving.
“Hey, are you...”
He swallowed what he was about to ask about her being blind.
“Eh? About me......”
With a blank expression, she was lost in thought for a few seconds. After which, she stood up very slowly.
“That you don't know means...you're not someone trying to find me?”
She turned her back on Souta.
“Ah, I wasn't looking for you...I just happened to pass by. That and, I'm behind you.”
Receiving that point out, she turned herself around slowly.
“F, from the beginning, you knew you were behind me?” She asked with a shy face.
“Well, I didn't really say anything though.”
“If there's a proper indication, I can tell.”
“That's not really...”
“You understand right?”
It seemed she wanted him to agree no matter what.
“Yeah, I get it. I get the hint.”
“I, if you understand me then it's fine.”
The paper-doll like girl was this stubborn with such a trivial point...
“Uhm...there's one think I'd like to hear thought.”
“Yes?”
Souta was already fine with it all, and was heading around to walk on towards his home, when he had been stopped by her calling out.
“I'd like you to tell me the way”
“Way?”
“Yes. From here, how should one go about getting to the Tsukinomiya School?”
“School is...eh!? Uhm...”
No matter how one looked, there was no way someone would make a connection to her being a high school student. Though it wouldn't be strange for someone to say she was in elementary school after seeing her. As Souta was troubled, the response came from her first.
“It doesn't matter which branch of the school. Even the Middle School will be fine.”
“Well, Tsukinomiya is affiliated with a University with the same name, so everything from kindergarten to college is on the same campus. “
“Ah, yes. I'd heard that already.”
“From here, it takes me around twenty minutes to reach.”
With his pace, no with her pace, it could take more than an hour to reach.
Even if you wanted to stop a taxi, on this road there were very few vehicles.
“Just to let you know but, since it's spring break right now, I don't think the school would even be open right now.”
“Is that...so...”
Not even hiding her disappointment, she dropped her shoulders dejectedly. It looked like some kind of aura of depression was coming from her. Looking at her, Souta felt he had said something wrong.
Slowly, step by step, the girl moved herself to a new location along the side of the road. Behind a telephone pole, she was hidden practically to the point of invisibility. Wondering what she was doing, Souta went over to see her sitting on the ground.
Her hands were clasped around her knees, as she shook her head back and forth.
She looked just like a cat that had been discarded in a cardboard box.
“What're you doing that for?”
“I shall wait here until tomorrow.”
“Ah, so that's how it is...”
“Yes, that's how it is.”
“.....Uhm, well then I guess I'm done.”
“Okay. Thank you so very much for showing such kindness.”
Finally released from the strange girl, Souta let out a sigh.
After around ten steps forward, he turned around.
The girl was still sitting in the same place. He had thought it might have been a joke, but she seriously looked like she was planning on passing the time from evening to morning just sitting there.
Her body shook slightly.
In this season, after the sun goes down it gets cold.
Souta had told himself again and again it had nothing to do with him.
He would pass on anything that would be troublesome.
Someone else would surely take care of her, so there was no need for Souta to do it.
That's why it was fine.
Although, recently there was a rise in the number of distressing things happening. There was even a murder. The criminal hadn't even been caught yet.
No, that and this were totally unrelated.
That's right it's unrelated....doesn't matter....might matter....probably does matter...
“Ahh! Dang it! You think I can just leave you be, you idiot!”
It would be really bad if he were to wake the next day, and there was some kind of accident involving her written in the morning newspaper.
Dashing, Souta returned to where she was.
“You know...”
Souta tried to cover his embarrassment by scratching his head.
“Yes? What is it?”
“If you're going to be waiting here, you want to wait at my place instead? It's really close to here.”
Wondering what he was saying himself, Souta was waging a war inside his head. As if she was interested, the girl lifted her face up a little.
“Is it warm there?”
“Should be more so than here. There's also a bath, and a bed.”
“Ah, but, I, that is, do you think it will be bothersome?”
At that moment her stomach let out a loud rumble.
“As for food...well, there's some of that as well.”
“Th, that just now wasn't my stomach you know right?”
Her stomach rumbled again.
“There's food as well.”
“Th, that wasn't what you think you know. Certainly my stomach is rather empty, but for it to make that kind of noise...”
Her stomach let out another rumble, this time piercingly loud.
Understanding a little bit, her face quickly shifted to bright red.
“Uhmm, there is food...”
“...I'll leave it to you.”
She stood up, and quickly lowered her head. The closer she got, the smaller she looked. Her face looked as childish as he'd first thought though. She looked about the right age to be a middle school student.
“Ah, before we go is it alright if I ask you something?”
“...Wh, what may that be?”
A little cautious, the girl withdrew her body a ways. In order to protect her small body, she had seemed to shrink even more. She seemed like she didn't want to hear what this question was.
“My name's Sanada Souta. A second year at Tsukinomiya High School. What's your name?”
No matter what the case, it would look really stupid for someone to go back to a house after this without knowing the other persons name. The girl stiffened up with a blank face.
The light from the moon reflected her face mysteriously. Her silver hair seemed to be shining just like the moon. In a small voice, the girl spoke to Souta who was mesmerized by her appearance.
“...I'm...Tachibana Hinata. Fourteen years old.”
After hearing that, Souta was relieved to know that she was actually Japanese. At the same time though he didn't really hear how old she said she was.
This was the encounter between Sanada Souta, and Tachibana Hinata.
Spring.
When seeing the blooming of the Sakura Trees, peoples heads also get dyed with the color of pink.
"I, I...Since before, about Kyou Senpai..."
Her eyes were clouded.
Her cheeks were dyed scarlet.
Both hands were clasped at her breast.
Her lips were trembling from tension.
"A, always, I've always liked you! Please go out with me!"
The place was the roof of the school.
The blue sky was looking down.
All the way down to the refreshing confession.
After a small interval, a reply was given.
"I like Tsukasa as well but, going out might be difficult."
"Wh, why's that?"
"Even if you ask me why..."
"Is it because I'm younger? Is it because I toss and turn when I sleep? Is it because I drank Kyou Senpai's strawberry milk without permission? I'll fix everything bad about me. That's why, that's why..."
As she was sputtering words, tears came pouring out in large drops.
"That's not it.....wait, you were the one who drank my strawberry milk!"
"I, I'm sorry."
"Na, it's not really that."
"Please tell me the reason! If not, I'll never give up!"
Her eyes complained too.
Unable to see a way out, Kyou let out a great breath.
It seemed similar to a sigh, if even only a little.
The two took a moment to prepare themselves for what would come next, as it would be the final factor.
"We are both females."
Beneath the bright spring sky, a dry wind blew.
It was a wind that seemed to say everything would get better.
"That's fine! For me, as long as Kyou Senpai is there, it doesn't matter how severe a road awaits."
"I'm sorry...that I don't have that willpower."
"N, n...Kyou Senpai's...Kyou Senpai's..."
Large tears were dropping down to soak the roof.
"Baka~~!"
Saying that, the young girl in love dashed away with great energy.
"But I like you! I REALLY like you!"
While crashing into the wall of feelings.
With a "bang!" a large sound came, and the opened door to the roof was shut.
With that, the curtain fell on the abrupt confession drama.
"Ah~, so stressful..."
The voice had come from the other side of the water storage tank.
As she approached the one male student, all her energy drained away.
His name was Sanada Souta.
He was also a student at Tsukinomiya Hight School, and from this spring it would be his second year.
Having finally decided to take an afternoon nap on the roof, he had witnessed the confession in all of its entirety.
"Erm, geez, if you're gonna confess, I wish you would have checked to make sure nobody was around."
Again having all her power leave her, looked at him lying there, using the tank as a resting place.
With the blowing wind moderate and refreshing, it was the best day for an afternoon nap.
"Today as well all is peaceful in the world."
He spoke peacefully of peace.
In other words, it could also be said he was bored.
"Wonder what I'm doing..."
Since he had come to Tsukinomiya High School, a year had already flown by.
Was there something about him that had changed since last year?
He moved up a year in school.
He grew taller and is in pretty good health.
Maybe he had gotten closer to being an adult.
Yet, he still comes to school, takes classes, talks about stupid things with friends, goes home, and when the next day comes, does it all over again.
In regards to those things, nothing has changed.
"Really, what am I doing..."
But it wasn't really like he was bored to death day after day.
It's just, when he heard someone ask if he felt satisfied, he didn't think he did at all.
Inside Souta, these thoughts about passing life day after day persisted.
Every once in a while, he would have these feelings.
When one starts to think these things, he becomes someone else.
And so once again, he felt an abundance of uneasiness.
To shake off the feelings of haziness inside his heart, Souta first shook his head left and right.
Trying to think about something else, the confession drama from earlier floated into his mind.
"Yet if I had a girlfriend, it might be different."
Souta twitched his nose in laughter at his own words.
"Laughing alone, talking alone, Souta-kun, you have some wierd hobbies."
Suddenly hearing a voice, Souta had a huge reaction.
Raising his face, he saw that the one standing beside him was the girl who had been confessed too.
Her roguish eyes were looking at Souta strangely.
Looking back at her stature, he understood after noticing the style of her uniform.
The buttocks that would fly out from the high-waist skirt, until today just how many male students had been hurt because of that.
Because of the way Souta was sitting it was possible for him to see as well, but he turned his gaze away just in time.
"It's a rule that I not have cheap underwear. So if you want to see, bring one-million love."
"What's that, that unit."
"To satisfy me, you need one-million pieces from the "currency of love," and then I'll go out with you."
"So that's how it is."
Not really needing to know, Souta was suited with that response.
Gritting her teeth in dissatisfaction, Katagiri Miyako (Kyou Senpai), threw her legs out and sat down the same way Souta was.
Her real name was "Miyako," yet everyone in school called her Kyou Senpai. Also Tsukinomiya High School's Student Treasurer, she was really popular.
After Miyako had sat down directly next to him, Souta was able to see the features of her beautifully arranged face, which made her look as though she was a pedigree, bred for beauty. Despite all that Miyako had a moody personality.
Awkwardly Souta stared straight ahead.
"Uhm, Miyako Senpai?"
In school, the only one who called Miyako by her name rather than Kyou, was pretty much just Souta.
"Eh, what?"
Miyako was practically inhaling a small carton of sugary and sweet smelling strawberry milk. All five-hundred milliliters. According to Souta's classmate Isai Iwaku, Kyou Senpai's unbelievable figure was made due to her love of strawberry milk, or so it seemed.
"Ah, want some?"
As she asked Miyako offered the straw, though all Souta could do was stare at her cherry blossom colored lips. She was sharp and noticed, laughing complacently.
"Souta-kun's got a perverted face so, let's change the topic."
With that Miyako finished off the strawberry milk.
"Though it's all right. I've got something to drink anyway."
Undauntedly Souta withdrew a can of coffee from his pocket.
The label showed it was sugarless, black coffee. The logo was that of a middle-aged man holding a cigar. That was the basis for the whole can being colored black.
For adults, it was imagery which would linger.
"If it's not sweet, it's like a devil's drink, or else it's not a drink."
Saying nothing in reply, Souta pulled the tab and poured the contents into his mouth. In the next moment, he was pitiable.
Bitter. It was just plain bitter.
Miyako was rolling around in laughter.
"Hahaha, it's because there's no way you're an adult."
Pretending not to hear, Souta continued drinking.
Yep, it was bitter. And disgusting.
Twisting his face into a grimace, Souta finished the rest in one gulp. In his mouth, the worst taste was left behind. To try and forget it, he turned to talk with Miyako.
"Where did you hear it from? My monologue?"
"Something like from 'It's so stressful' to something like 'I'd like a girlfriend like Miyako Senpai,' stuff like that."
"Please don't make up stuff to add in."
Squinting at Miyako's indifferent appearance, Souta realized he had been found out since the beginning. So before he could be condemned, he cut to a different topic.
"Apart from that, Miyako Senapai, is it really alright for you to be up here?"
"Hm~is Souta trying to say I'm skipping something?"
"No, that girl from before, wasn't she part of the preparations for the entrance ceremony?"
"Are you saying I should run after her and apologize again? Souta-kun, you're cruel. Sorry to say but, what I can do right now, is to do nothing."
With a hint of regret on her face, Miyako laughed lightly.
Interrupting the conversation, Souta turned his gaze towards the sky.
The inside of his mouth still tasted bitter.
Because of his action, Miyako poked his forehead gently with a white finger.
"No frowning. Enjoy school life a little more. Or is it that it's because of the Student Council President I work for that it's no fun?"
"I won't say something scary like that. After all, it's not like I came to Tsukinomiya just to fool around."
"School's supposed to be moderate studying, and lots of fun."
He couldn't become someone who could follow their own words like Miyako. He could understand that after having lived sixteen years already.
Beside him Miyako let out a tired sigh.
"Isn't it about time Miyako Senpai got heading back to work on the preparations for the entrance ceremony?"
"It's just the commander who can give out directions, so don't act so haughty."
Miyako laughed jokingly.
“It's be bad if the commander wasn't at the scene right?”
“Aren't you the soldier who deserted under the heavy fire?”
With glinting eyes, Miyako turned towards Souta as though he were some kind of trophy obtained from a win. In his cowardice, he could only look away.
“Ah, you ran away.”
Deserting under enemy fire wasn't a phrase he knew. Originally, Souta would have become a member of the Student Council, but he was no longer a student brimming with that volunteer spirit. That someone like him would be in school over spring break, showed how Miyako had somehow made him come with the reason of being shorthanded.
Even though he had said he would help, after lining up a couple of small pipe chairs in the gym, he had snuck away by faking that he had to go to the restroom.
“Well, it looks like it's about time for me to go back and act like the Student Council President again.”
“Please do.”
“Souta-kun, you should cut it out and go back too. If people think you've been in the toilet this long, when the new school term starts you'll get nicknamed something like 'Toilet Lad' or something.”
“We're not elementary school kids anymore, so having a label like that won't stick.”
“I'll start a rumor about you. About going to the toilet.”
“Are you planning on saying something nice?”
Miyako stood up by herself, dusted of her skirt, and prepared to head back. Seeming to remember something, she turned back and stared straight at Souta.
“It seems to me, soon, something big is going to happen to Souta-kun.”
“What's that about, I don't get it.”
“You'd best not disregard a woman's intuition.”
Saying that Miyako showed a natural smile.
This smile is what all the male students that came to Tsukinomiya were longing to witness.
But, Souta was taking heed of Miyako's words, and reflecting on his good fortune, he missed her wave her hand and head back to her duties as the Student Council President.
Souta skillfully drained the last drop from his canned coffee. After that, he spent a few more moments soaking in the wind atop the school roof. Following which he headed back as well.
***
Just in case, he stopped by the toilet before showing his face in the gym.
The preparations for the entrance ceremony were already fully completed. There weren't even any students left, and this was probably also true when Miyako had made her appearance on the roof. After everything was completed, that's probably when she had decided to go to the roof.
Miyako had probably been thinking about going home when she had seen him. Most likely she had had the duties of the Student Council pushed on her.
Only after everything was finished would she be released. She'd probably been depressed all day. Souta continued walking along the road, surrounded by lit up Zelcova Trees.
Most likely Miyako had something else to do, so she would still be in school. They both took the same road to go back, so he waited hesitatingly, but after only a short wait, he decided to leave.
***
He was trudging along the road.
It was the nothing strange, same as always road.
Though, there was a a paper doll used to call out good weather on the street...
It was a little closer to the apartment complex.
There it was out in the middle of the road atop the hill.
At first he thought it was just a white lump.
In the next moment, he thought it was a gigantic paper doll.
For the moment, Souta pretended not to see it.
It might be some kind of optical illusion or something.
He was still young, so the fact his eyes were giving him trouble and getting hazy, which he'd been worried about since before, was just absurd.
Pulling himself together, Souta raised his face.
Too bad, but the paper-doll figure was still there.
Whether it was a hallucination or an illusion, what was certain was that he wasn't imagining it.
Looking closely, he realized it really wasn't a paper-doll.
It was a girl.
Lying spread out over the ground was her silver hair, the color of which seemed to be that of reflected moonlight. Her entire body was covered in one sheet.
At the hem of the sheet, two small feet could be seen peeking out. There were no shoes nor socks. She was barefoot.
Souta was uncertain about what to make of this strange appearance.
She was like a small paper girl. With silver hair. Like a foreigner. No matter how you thought about it it wasn't normal. Also, Souta was extremely bad at English. He couldn't even converse basically.
Souta confirmed her surroundings. It might have been the photo shoot for some drama, so he was looking for staff or something. There was no sign of anybody other than the paper girl and Saito. If that was the case, then this must be some kind of personal cosplay.
In this age, if you were to go to Akihabara, you'd see maids standing out all over the roads. With such a free age as this, it's not strange if somebody was doing some kind of paper girl cosplay. It wasn't strange but, this appearance was too much.
He recalled a horror movie he had seen before. Somebody had definitely been strangled to death by some similar long, silvery hair. Also if you looked into her eyes, you would be turned to stone.
With his imagination running wild, Souta's body began shaking. At that time, Souta unconsciously had one foot slip on the ground. The sound of scrapping against gravel resounded in his ears.
“Who...is it?”
It was a voice with traces of nervousness in it. Cold sweat began pouring down Souta's back.
“Ah, ah, I'm not anyone suspicious or anything.”
The more suspicious one was this girl.
“P, please don't come over here.”
Her hand was wandering around seeking support, as she stood up, unsteadily and uncertainly.
“If you get close to me, things will get very bad.”
Quite a strong rejection.
But somehow he couldn't just depend on the voice, as it seemed to lack power behind the words.
Tottering on her feet, it looked as though the girl was trying to run away as she walked off.
Her legs were covered by the sheets as she continued.
Thinking it was dangerous, he realized it too late.
“E, eh, ehhhh....kyaaa!”
Raising her stange voice, she crashed beautifully.
Suddenly she wasn't moving.
Something serious had happened on Yokoku Road.
However, she was more like...
Having taken things to be some kind of trap earlier, those feelings were now vanishing.
Slowly, timidly, Souta drew closer to the girl.
Even so she still wasn't moving.
“Did you die?”
“...I'm living. Doing my best too.”
After having hit her nose, her voice sounded tearful.
Her appearance showed she didn't have any other injuries.
Yet, she pulled herself up to her hands and knees, and as if she were searching for a dropped contact, was patting the ground.
At that moment, Souta recalled how from before, she seemed to conduct herself tentatively while moving.
“Hey, are you...”
He swallowed what he was about to ask about her being blind.
“Eh? About me......”
With a blank expression, she was lost in thought for a few seconds. After which, she stood up very slowly.
“That you don't know means...you're not someone trying to find me?”
She turned her back on Souta.
“Ah, I wasn't looking for you...I just happened to pass by. That and, I'm behind you.”
Receiving that point out, she turned herself around slowly.
“F, from the beginning, you knew you were behind me?” She asked with a shy face.
“Well, I didn't really say anything though.”
“If there's a proper indication, I can tell.”
“That's not really...”
“You understand right?”
It seemed she wanted him to agree no matter what.
“Yeah, I get it. I get the hint.”
“I, if you understand me then it's fine.”
The paper-doll like girl was this stubborn with such a trivial point...
“Uhm...there's one think I'd like to hear thought.”
“Yes?”
Souta was already fine with it all, and was heading around to walk on towards his home, when he had been stopped by her calling out.
“I'd like you to tell me the way”
“Way?”
“Yes. From here, how should one go about getting to the Tsukinomiya School?”
“School is...eh!? Uhm...”
No matter how one looked, there was no way someone would make a connection to her being a high school student. Though it wouldn't be strange for someone to say she was in elementary school after seeing her. As Souta was troubled, the response came from her first.
“It doesn't matter which branch of the school. Even the Middle School will be fine.”
“Well, Tsukinomiya is affiliated with a University with the same name, so everything from kindergarten to college is on the same campus. “
“Ah, yes. I'd heard that already.”
“From here, it takes me around twenty minutes to reach.”
With his pace, no with her pace, it could take more than an hour to reach.
Even if you wanted to stop a taxi, on this road there were very few vehicles.
“Just to let you know but, since it's spring break right now, I don't think the school would even be open right now.”
“Is that...so...”
Not even hiding her disappointment, she dropped her shoulders dejectedly. It looked like some kind of aura of depression was coming from her. Looking at her, Souta felt he had said something wrong.
Slowly, step by step, the girl moved herself to a new location along the side of the road. Behind a telephone pole, she was hidden practically to the point of invisibility. Wondering what she was doing, Souta went over to see her sitting on the ground.
Her hands were clasped around her knees, as she shook her head back and forth.
She looked just like a cat that had been discarded in a cardboard box.
“What're you doing that for?”
“I shall wait here until tomorrow.”
“Ah, so that's how it is...”
“Yes, that's how it is.”
“.....Uhm, well then I guess I'm done.”
“Okay. Thank you so very much for showing such kindness.”
Finally released from the strange girl, Souta let out a sigh.
After around ten steps forward, he turned around.
The girl was still sitting in the same place. He had thought it might have been a joke, but she seriously looked like she was planning on passing the time from evening to morning just sitting there.
Her body shook slightly.
In this season, after the sun goes down it gets cold.
Souta had told himself again and again it had nothing to do with him.
He would pass on anything that would be troublesome.
Someone else would surely take care of her, so there was no need for Souta to do it.
That's why it was fine.
Although, recently there was a rise in the number of distressing things happening. There was even a murder. The criminal hadn't even been caught yet.
No, that and this were totally unrelated.
That's right it's unrelated....doesn't matter....might matter....probably does matter...
“Ahh! Dang it! You think I can just leave you be, you idiot!”
It would be really bad if he were to wake the next day, and there was some kind of accident involving her written in the morning newspaper.
Dashing, Souta returned to where she was.
“You know...”
Souta tried to cover his embarrassment by scratching his head.
“Yes? What is it?”
“If you're going to be waiting here, you want to wait at my place instead? It's really close to here.”
Wondering what he was saying himself, Souta was waging a war inside his head. As if she was interested, the girl lifted her face up a little.
“Is it warm there?”
“Should be more so than here. There's also a bath, and a bed.”
“Ah, but, I, that is, do you think it will be bothersome?”
At that moment her stomach let out a loud rumble.
“As for food...well, there's some of that as well.”
“Th, that just now wasn't my stomach you know right?”
Her stomach rumbled again.
“There's food as well.”
“Th, that wasn't what you think you know. Certainly my stomach is rather empty, but for it to make that kind of noise...”
Her stomach let out another rumble, this time piercingly loud.
Understanding a little bit, her face quickly shifted to bright red.
“Uhmm, there is food...”
“...I'll leave it to you.”
She stood up, and quickly lowered her head. The closer she got, the smaller she looked. Her face looked as childish as he'd first thought though. She looked about the right age to be a middle school student.
“Ah, before we go is it alright if I ask you something?”
“...Wh, what may that be?”
A little cautious, the girl withdrew her body a ways. In order to protect her small body, she had seemed to shrink even more. She seemed like she didn't want to hear what this question was.
“My name's Sanada Souta. A second year at Tsukinomiya High School. What's your name?”
No matter what the case, it would look really stupid for someone to go back to a house after this without knowing the other persons name. The girl stiffened up with a blank face.
The light from the moon reflected her face mysteriously. Her silver hair seemed to be shining just like the moon. In a small voice, the girl spoke to Souta who was mesmerized by her appearance.
“...I'm...Tachibana Hinata. Fourteen years old.”
After hearing that, Souta was relieved to know that she was actually Japanese. At the same time though he didn't really hear how old she said she was.
This was the encounter between Sanada Souta, and Tachibana Hinata.
