Oregairu Vol 12, Chap 6

Oregairu V12 Chapter 6: Suddenly, Yuigahama Yui Thinks Deeply about the Future.

Credit to hikikomorei for giving a draft translation of this chapter.

===BEGIN PART 1===

After the day of the movie shooting, Yuigahama and I were once again called to the Student Council Office.

Isshiki, who sat across the table from us, arranged a bundle of papers and quietly passed them to Yuigahama.

"I've printed out all the photos that can be used for the official site in thumbnails, so if any photos are deemed unacceptable, please cross them out. So, I'll be leaving the checking to you."

"Yes~ Uhm, want to look together, Hikki?"

Yuigahama asked as she spread the papers like a fan. I shook my head in response.

"No, it's fine. If you want me to look anyway, I’m inclined to cross out all of them… I'll leave it to you."

"I see… Got it! I'll look into them then."

Yuigahama laughed bitterly and respected my decision. She took out a pen and started to inspect every one of the photos. As she looked at them, shrieks such as, "kyaaa" or "waaah" could be heard from her. Girls really do care a lot about their photos, huh…

Now that she was looking at the photos, my hands became idle. I rested my chin on my hand, and peeked at the photo thumbnails in Yuigahama’s hands. As I was doing that, Yukinoshita called me from behind her computer.

"How is it? It doesn’t appear as strange as you expected, right?"

"Yeah, after actually carrying it out, it doesn’t feel that way as much. I can now sort of understand what you meant by ‘creating the answer’."

I remembered the expression that Yukinoshita used at that time. I continued speaking.

"Since foreign dramas were the only material that I can refer to, I still can’t really imagine what a prom is like. Well, thanks to the movie shooting experience, I can somewhat understand it better now. The way I'm going to say this may sound bad, but I don’t consider holding a prom as much of an obstacle as I thought before. Don't you think the people who've watched the introduction video would think the same way?"

"Is that it? If that is the case, then our decision to shoot a video was meaningful enough. If it’s just introducing what a prom is, we could have just pulled images from online and then uploaded them to our website directly. However, using a video that we shot ourselves indeed makes it easier for people to understand and imagine what a prom is like, since there are people that you are familiar with in it."

Yukinoshita said that slightly triumphantly and stuck out her chest. Her reaction somewhat looked so amusing to me that I ended up laughing.

In fact, I believe the shift of my opinion indeed proved how useful the movie was, despite that initially, I was holding a negative sentiment against the prom. It would be even more true for those who actually wanted to participate in the prom.

I’m afraid Yukinoshita wanted to create a video in order to carry out some kind of localization, in a way. The information we have regarding videos and photos of the prom mostly come from foreign sources, so differences of culture and race create obstacles for us to understand and imagine what a prom is. Even if we tried to replicate that with our own people, the differences in appearance, sense of fashion, and scale would be glaringly obvious. As a result, if we hold a prom like that, it will only make people feel “the prom looks lame”, “this is different from what I expected”, etc. That is why, we should set up the case that a Japanese-style, no, a Sobu-style prom is also an epitome of proms, and then we need to force this impression that ‘this is what a typical prom looks like’ on people.

"Not only you, Senpai, but the students who came to the photo shoot also had quite a good impression of the prom. The LINE feed is pretty much exploding, too. Look." (TL: LINE feed is an instagram-like timeline feature on LINE.)

The smartphone Isshiki showed us was displaying the posts from the photo shoot. It seems that the people who participated in the photo shoot had uploaded their photos on SNS’s, with comments like, "it was a lot of fun~" under the photos of girls in their lavish hairstyles and dresses. But still, aren’t you hiding your faces too much with those cat ears and beards…? The eyes are big and intensely black too, along with the whitening effect, to the point that I have no idea what your faces originally looked like at all.

"Ahhh, I saw those too. There are people that upload a lot."

Yuigahama commented while raising her head from the sheets of paper. Isshiki agreed to Yuigahama’s words and nodded her head. She then continued to flip her phone screen around to show us more photos uploaded by various accounts. Most of the photos were edited and corrected with apps like SNOW and Beauty Plus, thus leaving me have no idea who they are in these photos at all. Nevertheless, everyone looked gorgeous in the photos and they seemed to all enjoy themselves during the event.

However, there were a few with boys and girls promiscuously leaning their shoulders against each other, and some other ones where they were boldly putting their faces near to each other. Especially, some rather sexually suggestive photos were mixed in - the dress was widely open in front of the chest. If someone saw that they might squint their eyes at it. In fact, I am super squinting my eyes right now. I just want to say "Huh? Who the hell are you flirting with in a photo shoot?" and stuff. Well, I’m not really in a position to condemn the others! Errrr, just remembering what happened then somehow makes me feel embarrassed! I wanna die! And for that reason, I won’t say a word or ask a thing about it…

In any case, every post generally received positive comments with good intentions. The timeline was mostly overflowing with reactions like "nice!" or "I want to do that too", or similar. Of course, there were negative replies as well, but only a few, so it is something that can be easily ignored.

"If we consider these reactions as secondary promotions, then all the costs that we have put in so far can be justified."

Yukinoshita closed her eyes, nodding in agreement to what she said. She then went back to her work, typing away on her laptop.

While Yukinoshita was at it, Yuigahama seemed to have just finished with choosing the photos. She quickly marked the thumbnails that she chose with her pen, and then returned all the bundle of papers back to Isshiki.

"Hmmm, so something like this?"

"Thank you very much. I'll make the special page for it on the website right away, okay?"

While saying this, Isshiki carefully checked the markings on the sheets of papers that Yuigahama handed over. Then, she pulled over the laptop and began to operate the trackball. (TL: What’s a trackball mouse? https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07DC88C26/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_63SNCb42DEY51 )

"Thanks. Sorry for making you all come here to help me out. It's all good now."

Yukinoshita paused her task for a moment, and slightly bowed her head to express her gratitude to us. Seeing that, I blinked my eyes a couple times. It took me a while for me to understand what she implied by saying that.

"…Eh, is that everything?"

When I asked, Yukinoshita looked blank for a moment, then brought her hand to her chin and began thinking.

"Yes, I think so… The Student Council is working on producing the needed items. I don’t believe we need any help from the others at the moment, right?"

"Eh? ...eh, ah, h-haa…. If Yukino-senpai thinks so, well then, yes."

Asked for confirmation by Yukinoshita, Isshiki began performing calculations of the future work to be done. She answered in broken words while looking in different directions and kept pondering. Despite that, Yukinoshita seemed to be quite positive on her calculation of the overall progress, nodding her head in agreement.

"If we are short of people and reach the end of our rope, we may ask you two for help again. I'll call you two out then."

Seeing that wide smile on her face, all we could do is to say ‘I see’ and silently accept it. Knowing that there were no more jobs to do and that we could then go home early, I should be happy about this, but I just didn’t feel relieved from the fact that we were dismissed that easily. While I was feeling bewildered, Yuigahama, who sat next to me, quickly stood up.

"Sure, I see. Thanks for all your hard work, too! Do your best, okay? If there's anything we can do to help, just call us out."

She hurriedly gathered her stuff, and tapped my shoulders with her elbow.

"Come on, Hikki, let's go."

"Oh, okay..."

Being urged on, I finally stood up.

"Then, see you."

"Yes, thanks for your work."

"Thanks for coming~!"

When I said goodbye to them, Yukinoshita and Isshiki both brought their faces up from over their laptops. Yet soon, they went back to work. Since bothering them would be troublesome, Yuigahama and I promptly left the Student Council room.

After that, we walked in the hallway at a steady pace towards the staircase. The light coming through the window was shining brightly - much more than it usually was after school. Only then did I notice that the sun's position was still towering high.

"It seems that we have become free now."

Yuigahama murmured as she walked by my side.

"…Well, I'm always free, though. You don’t want to hang out with Miura and the others?"

"I told them that I will be helping out today. Besides, Miura and Ebina seemed to have plans already."

"Hmmm…"

She said with a nervous and troubled laugh, to which I answered in a careless voice.

Our conversation ceased with just that, with only the sound of our footsteps echoing in the hallway. This reminded me of the same kind of bizarre silence that I experienced before. It was the day when I stopped going to the club room, I think? While I was reminiscing about it, I glanced at Yuigahama next to me, and then our eyes happened to directly meet. It would have been quite awkward had I turned my eyes away from her at that moment, so I chose to open my mouth instead.

"…Wanna go somewhere?"

"Eh?"

Rather than saying her reaction was ‘surprised’, I would say she wore a ‘bewildered’ expression and lost her words. Rather than a reaction that showed "unexpectedness", it was a reaction of "I don’t get why". Bah~, did I make a blunder again? (TL: In Tobe’s tone.) Embarrassed and ashamed of my words, I began to feel that my face had grown warmer. In order to hide that, I pulled up my muffler.

"Ah, you know… I was thinking that I should prepare something to celebrate Komachi's passing the entrance exam, along with her birthday... "

I mumbled into my muffler as my brain worked hard at full speed to make up a plausible reason.Thereupon, Yuigahama seemed to understand me and went along with it. She clapped her hands, leaned forward and tapped my shoulder.

"That sounds great! I'll go, I'll go! I'll buy something, too~ Hmm, so where are we going, where are we going?"

I was grateful that you were in such high spirits and excited about this, but please give me some time to think…

"Eh, uh, I dunno… Ah! I remember that we've wanted to go to Lalaport."

By that heavenly revelation that swooped down, I instinctively gripped my fist. Exactly, I seriously had always wanted to go there. While I was getting excited myself, Yuigahama let out a strange "huh?", then pondered.

"Lalapo? I'm fine with it that but why there?"

"Apparently, I heard that there's this vending machine that only sells MAX COFFEE cans. I want to buy a MAX COFFEE there!"

Then, I remembered how I was given an earful by Komachi at that time. I did it again, ugh... As I thought, Yuigahama immediately nodded in acceptance.

"Sure~ Lalapo, it is. By the way, you really do like MAX COFFEE a lot, though..."

She added in the end, with a slightly defeated smile on her face. I was so surprised that she immediately acknowledged what I said, that I ended up replying to her.

"Eh, are you really okay with that?"

"Huh? Should I not be?"

She gave me a dubious look, as if saying ‘What are you talking about, dude? You're the one who brought it up…" Her eyes were complaining straight at me. After properly acknowledging that gaze, I let out a sigh to calm myself down.

"Yes, I hope you are… Then, Lalapo it is. How about we head to the train station now?"

"Yeah! Let's go now."

She cheerfully answered with a bright smile. Her energetic footsteps echoed through the hallway, and she was already ahead of me a few steps away. To catch up with her, I hurried up too.

===BEGIN PART 2===

Lalaport Tokyo Bay wasn’t that far from our school.

It took four stations from the school's nearest station to get there, and took us 10 minutes or so to reach the destination station. Summing up the waiting and walking times, it took us less than 30 minutes in total to reach there.

Thanks to that, there wasn’t any real moment of silence between us on our way. Even though sometimes when there was a pause in our conversation, thanks to the passengers getting in or out of the train, and the scenery that jumped into our eyes, we always found ourselves being able to keep our conversation rolling with comments such as, "The car is pretty vacant, right." or "There was an event there the other day", or something that don’t really mean or matter much. Or should I say, thankfully, it was Yuigahama who tried to talk to me whenever there was a chance.

And because of that, after we reached our destination, our rambling conversation continued that way.

"By the way, Hikki, what are you planning to buy?"

"Actually I want to ask you that question. What do you think I should buy?"

"You're leaving it to me from the very beginning!?"

"Nah, listen, I literally have no idea which stores I should look for..."

Yuigahama stepped back a few steps in disappointment. I turned my head back to look in the direction where we had just come. This zone here consisted of a lot of fashion stores standing one next to another. And because of my ignorance in fashion, I could only blankly stare at them as we passed by.

Moreover, the first store that we saw once we entered the mall was Peach John, so my embarrassment and sense of shame rapidly increased, discouraging me quickly. I was then in something like a stalking situation as I just followed Yuigahama from behind.

Had it been me buying things for myself, I wouldn’t have had any troubles and would have bought the necessary stuff I needed straightaway. However, we were here to buy a present for Komachi. Despite of being my little sister, she was a girl in the first place. When it comes to giving a present to a girl, my senses and judgement would totally be too disastrously bad for it. It seemed that Yuigahama indeed understood my problem - she was walking energetically in front of me, leading the way and at the same time thinking about what to get.

"Uhm… Let me think... Since it's Komachi-chan, maybe a hairpin?"

"Ah, I see. But she makes her tastes pretty clear, so I feel like she may not be pleased if I give something that is not to her liking."

"Is that so…"

It appeared that Yuigahama wanted to say that she thought Komachi would be happy about it regardless. I continued anyway.

"Yeah, exactly. Maybe she'll say something like ‘Oooh! Onii-chan, thank you!! Komachi is very happy! blush, blush’, but I don’t think she will ever use it in her lifetime."

"What is that weird imitation that you just did… Well, I guess that's true. If I receive an odd present from my papa, I don't think I'll ever use it, either. I'm happier receiving money."

"That’s sad for him. I feel sorry for your father…"

While we were talking, we browsed for a bit in front of a different variety of stores and yet, we still couldn't find a thing that Komachi might like.

After walking around and making a circle of the entire the floor near the station, my legs started to get tired. As soon as I stopped walking to rest myself, I recognized a place that I had seen from a picture on the Internet.

"Ah, this is the place where that MAX COFFEE vending machine is. I'll go buy one."

"Really?"

"Yeah, there's no way I’m mistaking it. I've absolutely done research about it beforehand."

"You spent time properly researching just that!? You should have spent the time researching about the present!"

I ignored her absolutely correct statement, and smoothly avoided the crowd to find myself in front of the vending machine. There were a couple vending machines that lined up by one of the exits leading to the street. One of those vending machines was colored in yellow.

"O, oooh… so this is the vending machine with the special MAX COFFEE design… I heard that it’s only here for a limited time, so I thought it might be gone by now but…"

While I was deeply touched and trembled in emotion, I quickly took a number pictures of the vending machine. Yes, the feeling of this yellow color… cool!

"Ehhh, amazing! It's really the same color scheme and design as a MAX COFFEE can."

Yuigahama followed me from behind and remarked with absolutely no interest whatsoever. She showed neither any intention of taking a picture of it, nor any sign of uploading it on Instagram to get likes from others.

…I had no choice. Very well, I will briefly explain it to her.

"This is not just the matter of the similarities of the design. If you go behind it, you will even see the list of the ingredients printed there. It’s the elegantly detailed craftsmanship, right? I can definitely feel the love."

"Huuuh-.."

…I see that you are not interested after all!

Well, that’s expected. Normies wouldn't understand what I said about the vending machine with the specifications of MAX COFFEE cans. I'm happy, though. Anyway, after taking pictures of the vending machine, I went to the back of the vending machine, made a side☆victory-sign and yaaay♪ and took a selfie of myself. Seeing that, Yuigahama suddenly laughed out loud.

"…But, looking from this perspective, the design may be cute after all."

"Right!? The design has changed a few times, but this one is considered the best by popularity! It's outstandingly cute!"

"Is that your most exciting moment today!? And besides, I have no idea what the previous designs looked like…"

After hearing me unintentionally rant on the design, Yuigahama sighed in low spirits.

"Well, whatever. I'll take a picture as well then."

With that said, she brought out her smartphone, and took a step forward to stand next to me, who had just taken a bunch of selfies moments ago. Without any warning or giving any signals, she clicked the button and took a picture. Because she did all it all so smoothly, I never had the chance to give any objection. Thanks to that, I was probably making a stupid face. Although, even if she asked my permission in the first place, it wouldn’t have been different anyway. My face would've still turned into the color of a tomato in the end, with my eyes averted and my expression being stupid after all.

That was why, well, the picture that was taken just now should be slightly better.

"…Send that photo to me later."

"Sure."

Yuigahama answered in a calm manner, with her eyes staying focused on her smartphone screen.

And then, I saw her tapping rapidly on her smartphone and did something with it. Suddenly, I heard my smartphone vibrate. When I checked it, there was a message from Yuigahama.

The photo attached to it was brightly lit with shining stars scattered around, and in addition to that, our faces were decorated with dog ears, dog noses and dog whiskers. …Well, if it's edited that much, then the infringement of portrait rights or whatever won’t matter after all. I smiled bitterly and saved the photo with password protection.

"Alright. We've carried out our purpose here. Let's go home."

"We haven’t yet, and we're not going home…"

Just when I was about to head back home in satisfaction, Yuigahama grasped my sleeve trying to stop me and let out a sigh at the same time.

"Ah, then, how about we go take a look at the IKEA store over there? They have quite a few sundries there."

She pointed her index finger towards a different building. Originating from Sweden, IKEA is a world-wide general merchandising store that sells interior furniture. Its No.1 branch in Japan is located here in Funabashi, Chiba. Worthy of Chiba - it’s Japan's No. 1 Prefecture.

Well, it was indeed inefficient to aimlessly walk around in this huge Lalaport mall. So it might be better to try somewhere new. I nodded to Yuigahama's suggestion, and we promptly began heading towards IKEA.

This whole commercial area is located by the sea coast, and thus the sea breeze is still cold during this time. It was dreadful for us as we felt the sudden change of temperature when we walked out of the shopping mall. While Yuigahama and I let out low cries of "cold, cold, cold", we trotted across the pedestrian bridge.

Shortly after, when we entered the store, both of us let out a sigh of relief. Needless to say the warmth of the store made us feel cozy; looking at the sofas and rugs arranged by the entrance also made us feel warmer.

"How about we go look around for the time being?"

Yuigahama hopped on the escalator as if she was already used to everything here. We then arrived at a huge showroom area. There were all kinds of furniture, interiors and sundries that one could pick up and inspect. Inside were a few themed booths that displayed different selection and arrangements of furniture, with theme names like "Three Person Family Apartment@Kachidoki", "LDK That Boosts Your Intelligence" and etc. The whole set-up felt, more or less, like a theme park. (TL: Kachidoki is a station along Toei Oedo Line in Tokyo. LDK is an apartment which consists of living, dining and kitchen or in short, LDK.)

Huuuh, this is the first time I had been to a furniture shop, but the vibe is pretty interesting~ "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War" is interesting too, by the way~ While I embraced those simple thoughts and comments of “Ah I see, I see.” in my mind, we continued walking and looking around the store. (TL: Kaguya-sama is a animanga series by Akasaka Aka. Furniture store is ‘Kaguya-san’ in Japanese and it’s intended to be a pun....)

Just when we passed by a booth with a "Relaxedly Living Alone In Urayasu" sign on it, Yuigahama’s attention lingered on that. (TL: Urayasu is a small city that sits right between Chiba and Tokyo.)

What was it that took her interest, like there was an attractive item, perhaps? Maybe an armchair that can endure being sat on 6,300,000 times and wouldn’t break? …With my head filled with those thoughts, I followed her and stepped inside the booth as well.

The basic tone of the interior was white. The wardrobes and storage shelves looked clean and tidy. Despite of being a relatively small area, it gave us a feeling of vast ambiance. Throughout, the walls and the space above the shelves were adeptly utilized, with the small articles neatly placed and organized. If you looked to the rear, the booth continued further inside. Adjoining this was a small furnished kitchen and even had a big enough space for the washing machine to be placed there.

With this set-up, there is no doubt that you can relax living alone~ "Hachiman, go live in this kind of room!" I shoo away the imaginary mom who whispered those words to me. Meanwhile, Yuigahama briskly walked around inside the booth with small steps.

For a while, she surveyed the furnished room but not long after, perhaps because she's tired, she sat at the bed that's along a wall. Then, she turned around at me, opened her mouth and began speaking casually.

"Hikki, once you enter college, you will live by yourself, won’t you?"

"It depends on which college and department I'll be entering. If I go to a college in Tama or Tokorozawa, then obviously I wouldn’t want to commute to school from home. Although, presently, the college that I plan to attend is within my commuting range."

While I was speaking, I grabbed the stylish empty bottle from the table, held it in hand and observed it. Yuigahama let out a voice with a mix of admiration and astonishment.

"So you've already made up your mind which schools you plan to apply to."

"There aren’t that many private schools that offer liberal arts programs and fit my transcript. I will just apply to several departments that offer the most interesting programs to me. That's why, well, instead of me making choices, it’s more like me doing the process of elimination."

When I placed the empty bottle back to its original location, although there wasn't anything inside of it, it made an awfully heavy sound. So, to make it not seem awkward, I added a few words.

"It's not like I have something that I want to do."

*That is why I am going to college - to find out what I want to do.* I was not able to continue what was I about to say.

I had already vaguely noticed, that even when I become a college student, things like an encounter by fate, or to chance upon a dream that determines your life will probably not happen to me anyway.

All of my life, I've never strongly devoted myself to anything . Therefore, I'm probably not fit to search for my own dream - it’s just not my nature. Tentatively, even if I ever end up finding an interest that I can embrace along the way somewhere, I would get discouraged, then I'd make myself quit, and spout to myself that in the first place, I never really liked it at all. See, I can basically guess more or less how things would end up.

I don’t think it’s by any means pessimistic, though. In my opinion, it generally applies to most people.

Yukinoshita Haruno told me before, that many things needed to be given up, in order for one to become an adult.

Nevertheless, there are people that don’t even give up, because they don’t have any goals or aspirations in the first place, such as me. If one can’t even give things up in the first place, I wonder what would happen to this person?

And thanks to those worthless, silly thoughts of mine, I noticed that our conversation had already died.

I quickly turned my eyes in Yuigahama's direction, and noticed that her eyes were fixated on the empty bottle by my hands.

"Yukinon has already settled on her post-graduation plan. She's quick about it…"

Yuigahama let out that murmur, that could be either described as a deep sigh, or a sorrowful exclamation. I had no idea how to reply to that; hence, I was at a loss for words.

She let out a small breath, as if telling me that she didn’t really expect a response or interruption from me, then faced me with a smile. As our eyes met, perhaps she noticed that I'd been standing all along, so she moved her hips and made a space for another person to sit on the bed.

I was slightly startled by the strange spring-bouncing noise that vividly sounded. Bothering to prepare a space for me is something I couldn’t adamantly refuse; it would be bad of me. By the way, if I do refuse, the fact that I seemed bothered by sitting next to her would certainly make me look even creepier! And thus, I slowly sat on the bed.

"What was Hikki's dream when you were a kid?"

It must have been because we were sitting on a bed that Yuigahama asked me as if she was begging for a pillow talk. I had no collections of dreams to properly answer her question off the top of my head, so I pondered for a few seconds, and then opened my mouth.

"It depends on the definition of a dream… If it's those random whims that count, then, I guess I’ve had lots of them. To be a company CEO or to become a rich person… Also, a professional baseball player, a hero, a manga artist, an idol, a police officer… And there’s more - a doctor, a lawyer, the Prime Minister of Japan, the President, and an oil magnate, too."

"It's all related to money, so they are all empty dreams…"

"Uhn, well, that’s also what I thought ‘what the heck was this little brat talking about…’”

In that case, I should feel slightly depressed and let down myself. I wasn't a cute kid back then, and of course not now either, huh… And, while I quietly began self-loathing, Yuigahama somewhat surmised this and then quickly followed up.

"Ah, but, but! I think that becoming an idol is a great and marvelous dream!"

"That does not make me feel better. I'll tell you this, I was a super cute kid back then. If only there was a good reason, I would've become an idol already. By the way… how about you?" (TL: ‘With a reason, become an idol!’, or ‘理由（わけ）あって！、アイドル！’ is a catchphrase from THE iDOLM@STER: SideM franchise. Supposedly, if Hachiman becomes an idol, he’d be like those SideM guys...)

When I asked, Yuigahama crossed her arms and pondered.

"I… hmm, I’ve had quite a few dream jobs, too. I wanted to be a flower shop owner, or a cake shop owner, or becoming an idol!"

"Hey, isn't that in the same vein as mine, right?"

Yuigahama had spoken cheerfully while looking back on her dreams like a child. I unintentionally made a bitter smile.

However, her innocent face only lasted a second and turned into a mature one.

Yuigahama broke a smile, then stood up from the bed. She stretched out her footsteps one after another, as if leaving all her childhood dreams behind.

"…Also, becoming a bride."

Yuigahama said it facing away from me, and then turned around.

She stood in front of the furnished kitchen at the back of the display booth. The floor and tiles were pure white, and the artificial light falling through the skylight glass resembled a veil.

The words that slipped out of Yuigahama's mouth were too realistic for it to be called a dream, that I couldn't emit a laugh nor force making a bitter smile.

Instead, I slowly walked towards the kitchen. While walking, I tried to come up with a random joke.

"Isn't that also about the same as mine? …Being a house husband is truly a good dream."

"It doesn’t sound like a dream at all with the way you say it…"

Yuigahama thus dropped her shoulders, and smiled in disappointment. I think she smiled for my sake.

Even with the artificial light shining brightly inside this room, I could say for sure, that I feel the gentleness and the kindness from her smile. Growing embarrassed, I quietly lowered my eyes and looked at the floor.

The kitchen in this booth of course wasn’t actually being used, but the cooking tools and tableware were adequately arranged. It all looked so real that you could almost begin living here right away. Granted, these products were for sale per se, and they are supposed to look authentic, but for some reason I could only see them as nothing but artificial things.

The furniture, tableware, kitchen and bed; all of them are real items from their appearances, yet they all look like forgeries. What makes it different from one and the other? With those thoughts in mind, I touched the cabinet unconsciously.

And then, she merrily clapped her hands.

"Isn't it better to just make something homemade?"

"Eh? Homemade furniture?"

"No, I meant the present. You know, a homemade cake."

I thought hard for a second about what she was trying to say. But when she mentioned the present, I suddenly remembered. Ah, I was here to buy a present for Komachi! I knew, I knew. Just because I couldn't remember doesn't mean that I forgot about it. While I was in a heated moment of making excuses for myself in the depths of my heart, Yuigahama kept coming up with whimsical ideas.

Next to her hands were plates, knives and forks. She arranged all of those together with a mug cup, and then let out an impassioned speech.

"So, when you bring the cake out, you also bring out a mug cup with beverage in it… and then the truth is, the mug cup is actually a present~! Amazing! I feel like I've said something hip!" (TL: Hip/おしゃれ - This is actually a slang in Japan. It is an ironic way to say ‘stylish’. I somehow couldn't find the English words to use for this one.)

Yuigahama said in high spirits, putting both her hands to her cheeks.

"…Really? Hip, huh?"

"I-it's fine! There's a bit of a surprise with it, so it's fine!"

When I calmly told her about it, all her confidence in having hip taste vanished. Yuigahama slightly blushed, and bashfully began to return the tableware to their previous positions.

"But, well… homemade stuff doesn’t sound that bad either, surprisingly."

Her pouting face looked somewhat funny and cute, so that I couldn’t hold myself and laughed. In addition, I let out *sweet* words from my mouth, I mean literally. (TL: sweet words, or 甘い言葉, could also mean words that kittenish girls would say when they are pouting or playing cute.)

"Then, let's now go eat some desserts and do some research about them. How about that?"

"Ah, that sounds super great! Let's go, let's go!"

The enthusiastic Yuigahama forcefully pushed me outside to leave the exhibition booth.

To be honest, the idea of a homemade present doesn't sound bad. You can appeal to the person who receives it by heart. Above all, the time and effort that you genuinely put into it will definitely move that person. All the more, if that person is someone of whom you think dearly.

It truly sways the heart of someone.

…That is why, well, I'll do my best and make a cake for Komachi! Doing this may perhaps be an unexpected way for me to find and awaken a new dream.

Right, a dream to become the Legendary Patisserie PreCure… (TL: Refers to Kirakira PreCure a la Mode. The heroine of the series, Usami Ichika, has the power of the Legendary Patisserie.)


===BEGIN PART 3===

“The country may fall, but its rivers and mountains shall remain”, Du Fu once composed in his poem. On the other hand, there’s someone who also writes, “One’s dreams may fall, but his parents' home shall remain”. Of course, that person is me.

My dreams had been torn apart. We did some research of delicious desserts by eating them, and I came to realize this obvious fact that it is impossible for me to create such a thing. Therefore I decided to give up the dream to become the Legendary Patisserie PreCure. Because of that, after I got home, I sulked on my bed.

However, the morning still dawned.

The day after Yuigahama and I hung out, my school life was peaceful and quiet, with nothing special in particular, and before long, it was already after school.

Just as we were told yesterday at the Student Council office, we were really no longer needed to help prepare for the prom. Perhaps because of that, neither Yukinoshita nor Isshiki called us. So I remained here with nothing to do.

There wasn't any particular contact from them until this time , so I wondered maybe I can go home now… Despite that, I still felt a little bit nervous and restless about it, and thus casually glanced at Yuigahama. Had there been any attempt to contact us, she would have been the person who receives the call, rather than me.

When Yuigahama noticed my gaze, she nodded back to me in return. And then she waited for the perfect timing to end her conversation with Miura and the others. After she managed to do it promptly, she walked straight at me.

"Hikki-, what are you going to do today?"

Yuigahama asked, tilting her head. Judging by the way she asked, I bet there was indeed no need to help with the prom preparations after all.

"If there's nothing to do, I'll go home."

"I see… I have nothing in particular either. I'll go home, too."

With that being said, Yuigahama hurriedly returned to her seat, then she waved her hands and bid Miura and the others her goodbye, and grabbed her belongings. She quickly put on her coat, shouldered her backpack and wrapped her muffler around her neck.

"Then, let's go home."

"Yeah…"

While bamboozled by this extremely natural flow of us going home together, our feet made their way towards the classroom's front door.

The door shook violently. Just when I noticed it, the door suddenly made an extremely loud noise and was slid open by force.

I was startled by the loud noise it made. And then I found that the person who appeared behind that door was Isshiki Iroha. It appears that she must have been hastily running all the way here, as she was panting very heavily.

"Thank goodness the both of you are still here…"

After seeing that both of us were still here, she turned flimsy and as if her strength had vanished away. She let out a long, heavy sigh.

"What's wrong?"

"…anyway, will you two please come with me?"

As soon as she finished her words, she quickly turned around.

Yuigahama and I both looked at each other, while wondering ‘what happened?’. But after seeing Isshiki’s serious expression, we had no choice but to follow her, despite having no idea what was going on.

Isshiki was in a great hurry as her feet were rushing through the hallway. In order to keep up with her, we sped up our pace as well. Reaching the staircase to descend, we were finally able to catch up with her, running side by side. I quickly glanced at her profile.

Although Isshiki noticed my gaze, she still seemed unwilling to explain things as if there was no time for doing it. Instead, she brought her gaze back to the front, with a firm look on her face, and once again hurried her steps even more.

"We are currently in a bad situation."

After slipping out only those words, she kept her mouth shut. A severe look surfaced on her face, hence I presumed that this was an unusually serious matter that cannot be dealt with lightly.

Before I asked for more details, we’d already arrived at the front of a room that seemed to be the place Isshiki intended to reach.

The room was located at the corner of an area where there were also the faculty room, the school office, the principal's office, and so on. Not even once had I entered this room in front of me, but the sign above the door said it's the Guest Room.

Isshiki knocked on the door. And then, without waiting for any response, she briskly opened the door, and walked straight into the room.

I hesitated for a moment, and wondered if I should follow her.

And when the door finally opened, I saw what’s inside.

I could see the backs of Hiratsuka-sensei and Yukinoshita, both of whom sat on the sofa near the entrance.

And then, the ones sitting on the kamiza, were the figures of Yukinoshita Haruno… and the mother of the Yukinoshita sisters. (TL: kamiza means *the top seat* - in most Japanese guest rooms, kamiza is the seat reserved for guests of honor, and is the most comfortable one. Kamiza is usually placed to be the farthest from the door.)

I wouldn’t just say I had ‘a premonition of bad signs’ after seeing their presence and their visit here. The word is not really accurate. Rather than calling it ‘a premonition of bad signs’, it's more ‘a conviction that bad things will happen’.

The Yukinoshita mother and sister stared calmly, or should I say detachedly, at Yukinoshita Yukino, who embraced the gaze heavily with her entire body. Maybe it was just my imagination, but she seemed to be bending her back a little bit.

Yukinoshita's mother turned her face to the opened door, and looked at us.

If you'll look at her closely, you will see her beautiful eyes emitting a deep yet soft gaze as if it’s going to draw you in, which adds to her gentle smile on her face. Even when she looked at Yukinoshita, I noticed that the temperature of her gaze hadn’t changed in the slightest. In reaction to that, I felt a chill that ran through my spine.

When Isshiki met that gaze, she immediately bowed.

"Sorry for keeping you all waiting here. We are the ones who have discussed and decided to hold the prom… Therefore, please let us all join the debate on the matter of the practicality of the event."

Isshiki sounded determined, or should I say, she said it as if she was barking. The loudness of her voice, the tone of her speech, and the gaze from her eyes, were all oozing out hostility. Without hiding her hostility, Isshiki threw a sharp gaze at Yukinoshita’s mother.

Then, Yukinoshita's mother let out a troubled laugh.

"Debate is such an overstatement and it’s not like that, dear. I came here just to share my suggestions and my views to everyone."

As if caressing a child, she said so with a leisurely, gentle voice. After that, she wore a smile and urged us to sit down. Hiratsuka-sensei also turned around to us, and gave us a nod, as much to say ‘just follow along’.

There were two black leather sofas there. The *bottom seat* that was in the shape of "L" was located across from the three-person *top seat* sofa that both Yukinoshita and Hiratsuka-sensei were sitting on, with two sofas separated by a coffee table in the middle. Obviously, the bottom seat one was where we would be sitting. And naturally, we'd be facing Yukinoshita's mother and Haruno-san.

"…Well then, let us hear your views once more."

Yukinoshita, who didn't even bother to look in our direction ever since we came, broached the subject with a firm tone of voice.

When Yukinoshita's mother heard that, a smile that kind of looked like a bitter one emerged on her face. On the other hand, Haruno-san looked disinterested about this, and just twirled the stir stick in her coffee.

Influenced by the frigid atmosphere radiating from the three people of the Yukinoshita family, the room went completely silent. Perhaps she might have also felt it, so Yukinoshita's mother intentionally put on a meek smile.

"Regarding the prom, there have been concerns that the event should be cancelled. Several parents came to me and had conversations with me after seeing the photos uploaded to the internet. They said the photos don’t appear to be quite wholesome… And yes, they seemed to be very worried that it doesn’t quite align with what high school students should be expected to do."

Yukinoshita's mother expressed her concerns, while choosing her words cautiously. She then turned her eyes to look at Haruno-san, who sat quietly next to her. Haruno-san sighed annoyingly.

"There are, well, both positive and negative opinions among the alumni."

I, therefore, was able to surmise the reason why Haruno-san came here, based on the words that she said to complement her mother's speech. Apparently, she was brought here as cover fire for Yukinoshita’s mother. However, the corner of Haruno-san's mouth was suddenly strained with a provocative smile, and she then added.

"…It's not like there were a lot of negative opinions, though."

"Just because the negative opinions were only by the minority doesn’t mean that we could just ignore them! If there are people who dislike it, then we should take some actions that takes it into consideration."

Yukinoshita's mother immediately retorted to Haruno-san. It by no means sounded like a light lecturing - it's better to call it a *castigation*. Her attitude had sternness and harshness to it. However, Haruno-san pretended that she didn't hear those words, closed her eyes, and once again brought her cup of coffee to her mouth.

Yukinoshita watched the exchange between the two with her cold eyes. And perhaps because of that, when she opened her mouth, I felt that her voice that spilled from her mouth had coldly echoed as well.

"…So, why are you the person that came, Mother?"

"Partly because I am a member of the PTA… Also, since your father's companion asked, I cannot treat it lightly… you do understand that, right?"

Her expression was beaming, the tone of her voice was warm, and the way she talked was gentle. She spoke as if she was persuading slowly and patiently. You can say that she acted like she was lecturing a kid, from the way she spoke - a clear contrast to her attitude towards Haruno-san just a while ago.

Yukinoshita cast her eyes down and strongly gripped the hem of her skirt. The mother continued to speak even more gently.

"Of course, I wouldn’t mind if you will carry out the event *with moderation and temperance*."

Her thoughtful smile, the way she leisurely spoke with benevolence and grace, and her words that seemed to concede one step back - although all of them are supposed to be extremely polite and thoroughly respectful, still beyond her plain speech, she was trying to make a totally opposite point. And that opposite point got revealed plainly with her words that followed.

"Nevertheless, we've done research regarding the prom, and found problems such as drinking alcohol and impropriety between the sexes. It’s a fact that these things do happen. There are a few people who also think that holding the event in its current state is inappropriate, especially given that the event is also meant to be a thank-you party for the teachers. And besides, if ever any problem occurs, I suppose you people would not be able to bear the responsibility, right?"

"That is why I was telling you! That such problems could be prevented if the PTA and the school cooperate with one another and take actions… Also regarding that, didn't we receive an informal consent from the school already…?"

Yukinoshita suddenly raised her voice for a moment. However, the tone of her voice gradually fell as she continued to speak, and in the end, her voice became sulking and weak. The last sentence that she added even sounded like a murmur. Yukinoshita's gaze fell onto the corner of the floor, and she ground her teeth.

Yukinoshita’s mother listened quietly, with her eyes squinted. She waited until Yukinoshita finished her words, and nodded in agreement.

"The PTA also believed that their action regarding that was quite careless. But, wasn’t that implicit consent made at the stage of only reading the draft documents that you prepared for them? We reserve the right to defer the definitive decision until we actually see the finalized plan …"

"That doesn’t make sense. We decided to ask for consent from the PTA in advance, because we wanted to make sure that the PTA doesn’t reverse its course later. I mean, isn't it the parents' job to discipline their children in order to prevent these problems from happening?"

Isshiki snapped with hostility at Yukinoshita's mother, whose sentence hadn’t even finished yet. Yuigahama widened her eyes after seeing Isshiki’s gutsy attitude.

"Isshiki!"

"…I'm sorry."

Isshiki also admitted that she had gone too far when Hiratsuka-sensei reproved her. She reluctantly apologized. However, she soon pouted her lips, as if showing that she was still unconvinced. When Haruno-san saw the series of exchanges between the two, she quickly diverted her face and tried to hold her laughter. Of course, the only person who would be laughing in this situation is Haruno-san.

Hiratsuka-sensei quickly lowered her head to apologize on behalf of her student's impoliteness. Yukinoshita's mother shook her head slightly to show that she didn't mind.

"Of course, I believe all the parents have considered various measures to address the matter. It's not like the parents want to completely ban or restrict everything. It's just that we are worried for you, after all, especially about those internet witch hunts that can flare up on the SNS, with individuals being targeted and their reputations damaged… such matters and incidents can happen very easily, right? That is why, this kind of flashy event is more likely to appear as a sensitive topic and attract attention."

Yukinoshita's mother stared at Isshiki, as she spoke. Her eyes appeared to be looking at something so rare and unusual - they shone brightly, and more accurately speaking, they looked as if she was pleased.

"Isshiki-san.. Did I get your name right? As you said, I believe that both the parents and the school should teach the countermeasures against such situations and the proper way to use the internet. The school education is actually working on it. A lot of companies have also incorporated in-house training pertinent to these matters recently, as well.”

She spoke passionately, and the tone of her voice sounded like she was absolutely enjoying this. Whenever she explains or comments, she does it vividly in a manner, which is way too similar to her daughter Yukinoshita. I can even say that it was causing me to smile.

However, when her smile suddenly faded into darkness, that semblance immediately shattered.

"… Nevertheless, it's still hard to say it's enough. Even the adults, who are supposed to be equipped with the knowledge to make good judgements, are still bound to incentivize internet witch hunts sometimes, after all."

Therefore, as juniors, we are more prone to them; and therefore, the prom must not be held - she doesn't have to directly make these points, because the meaning had already reached us following her previous words.

As a matter of fact, the students who have joined the photo shoot did not intend to show any pretension at all - they were just being honest when they uploaded the photos throughout the SNS, not expecting it to cause anxieties among the parents. There are parents who are connected to their kids via LINE, so it is not weird to see that there are parents who would create Instagram accounts just to check on their children who started posting on this other SNS application. (TL: LINE also has this timeline feature that’s similar to Instagram and allows you to post and share photos and statuses to your friends.) However, it is true that we students weren’t consciously aware of these subtleties and being completely thoughtful. In this case, there is a chance that aggressive people, who would be triggered by what they see as unwholesome events, will find out and voice their concerns.

"… Talking about the possibility only brings us to nowhere."

Perhaps Yukinoshita was thinking about the same thing as I was. She spoke bitterly. Precisely right! Taking all bad things that can possibly happen into consideration, and based on those grounds, argue that there’s risk in the prom and thus it should be cancelled - this is indeed very idiotic. The reasoning that she used could alternatively be employed to say that "The catered food at the prom might cause food poisoning; because of that we should cancel the prom, too." No matter how much preventive measures we take, nobody could ever guarantee that everything is absolutely safe.

This is, of course, something that Yukinoshita's mother should also understand already.

"But there are negative suggestions, after all. So I believe that there is no need to force yourself to hold the prom. Otherwise, people will talk and point fingers at you behind your back, and ultimately spoil all your hard effort towards graduation and your life afterwards.”

So this time, she changed her method of persuasion, and began to appeal to emotions. She spoke while lowering the ends of her brows and showing a worrisome expression.

"Yes, the graduation party is not only for the sake of the alumni but, but also important for the parents, teachers, and even the local people alike… With regard to all of the past parties up until now, there wasn’t any particular dissatisfaction, right?"

Yukinoshita’s mother said, and then turned her face to Haruno-san, who was sitting beside her. She tilted her head, as if asking Haruno-san for agreement. Haruno-san, however, nodded once in a cold manner.

Yukinoshita’s words were stuck in her throat. A part of the mother’s words might have hit her critically, which caused my throat to hurt as well.

It may be easier for people to understand us, if we hold the prom *aiming at addressing dissatisfaction with the past graduation parties* from the very beginning. But given that we began preparing for the prom, aiming at *holding the prom for the sake of itself* from the beginning, it would have been incredibly hard for us now, to force ourselves to appeal to the aforementioned argument.

When I thought about that, Isshiki slowly leaned her body forward.

"Now that you have talked about the alumni, we are future alumni as well. We have every right to suggest anything with regard to the party."

I instinctively let out a sigh, when Isshiki slipped out her skillful sophistry. *Good job, capable Isshiki!* As I gazed intently at her with admiration, Isshiki also glanced in my direction, and let out a "fufu-n" laugh triumphantly. As if she just gained momentum from the situation, Isshiki continued her words.

"In fact, the prom is receiving positive responses from the current students. The views and opinions on the SNS are mostly positive…"

However, she wasn't able to complete her sentence in the end. When Isshiki took her chance to catch her breath, Yukinoshita's mother smiled brightly, and promptly cut in.

"That may be the case for the SNS. However, it is also important to listen to the suggestions that didn’t make their way to the surface. Leaders are the ones that are trusted by everyone, and therefore, undoubtedly should bear such responsibility on their shoulders. You two should all remember that by heart."

She said the last few words to her daughters. The tone and the pitch of her voice didn’t change throughout, yet only that aura of the last sentence was different. Haruno-san sneered with her nose, and disinterestedly sighed. Yukinoshita, on the other hand, had only been stiffening her body the whole time.

Now that that the situation had played out like this, I had to revise my perception of her. I remembered that Haruno-san once said ‘her mother is scarier than her’. I could feel her point concretely at this moment. This is terrible. We're not making progress at all, at this rate.

She is the type of person who *cannot* be fought with logic and reasoning.

At first glance, she seemed to be listening to our words, with her noddings and a meek smile on her face, making you think that she was paying attention to her opponents’ arguments and was down to having a debate with them.

However, if you think that’s the case, you are totally wrong. She would ward off your arguments with a smile, for the moment. Yet as soon as she finds out a chink in your armor, she would immediately counter-attack, slashing you with a sword - that’s her pattern. If her goal is to argue us down, and then force us to yield, then that actually doesn’t sound too bad. However, this person doesn't adhere to that, and instead, she lures us into her trap that she has set for this matter from the very beginning.

She makes no concession on the conclusion of her argument. To achieve that goal, she’d show a downcast expression on her face, and then begin to use her special form of logic that is further enhanced by mixing in emotional appeals.

Yukinoshita's mother had told us, in the beginning, that characterizing this meeting as a debate is an overstatement.

It is, indeed. Because originally, this person didn’t have any intention to debate with us. In the first place, she told us beforehand that she leaves no room for a debate.

Surely the points that she made were fraught with contradictions somewhere - there should be flaws in it, but they were perfectly hidden by her meek smile and the gentleness of her voice. Even if we found any flaws, the end result should still stay the same - she would first accept our words with a smile, and then this time, do another strike on us from a different perspective, eventually bringing up the very same conclusion.

If that is the case, then it would not be wise to speak too much here. After all, if she keeps on talking, our chance to win the argument would disappear.

Perhaps Isshiki might have felt the same impending doom as well. She glanced at me. I peeked sideways at her to acknowledge her gaze; there was nothing I could do at the moment other than giving a bitter smile. I know you are counting on me to do something, but I am really sorry. She's a tough enemy to deal with. If I have to tell you the only thing that I could do, it was to divert the blunt of her attack.

"But the school gave us the implicit consent, right? What was their intention then?"

After saying that, I, and then everyone as well, simultaneously looked at Hiratsuka-sensei. Yuigahama and Isshiki's expressions were hinting of faint expectations. Haruno-san thought that this could be interesting, as she seemed to enjoy watching the development of the situation as a bystander. Yukinoshita closed her eyes and waited for Hiratsuka-sensei’s response. On the other hand, Yukinoshita's mother's gaze had calmed down from the turbulence from a while ago, and turned into a mild and gentle one, and then she just fixed her eyes at Hiratsuka-sensei.

After she sensed the varied gazes on her, only the corner of Hiratsuka-sensei's lips made a smile, and then she opened her mouth.

"Personally, I don’t quite want to jump to the decision of an immediate cancellation of the event. The school also has this tradition of respecting our students' independence and emphasizing their self-regulation. In case the plan that students come up with is in lack of thorough considerations, we should aim at appropriately correcting it, which requires the discussion to keep going and cannot be done without the understanding and cooperation from parents like you. This will be my personal opinion."

A reliable adult as I expected. I’m really grateful to her for her help to end the phony discussion that we were having so far.

To her suggestion of a fresh start, Yukinoshita's mother didn't have any objections and gently nodded.

"I believe I have no doubts in your opinions, Sensei. Very well, I shall pay a visit again. Next time onward, can we discuss this matter with the school as well?"

"I will tell the superiors about it. I will confirm the schedule and let you know soon."

After their business-like exchange, Yukinoshita's mother bowed in courtesy.

"I am sorry for having to trouble you. I’ll leave it to you… Haruno, say your greetings to everyone and let’s leave."

"Ah, I'll leave after I finish this coffee."

Haruno-san pointed at the cup of her coffee, then absentmindedly smiled, and gently waved her hand, at which Yukinoshita's mother could only sigh unbelievably, as if to imply that she’s hopeless and it can’t be helped.

"I see. Well then, I'll return now."

After saying that, she quickly stood up. Even though she had sat there for a long time, her kimono didn't get disheveled and her standing pose still looked impressively dignified. With a voice that matched the impression of her appearance, she called her other daughter.

"Yukino."

After being called, Yukinoshita only moved her eyes to look back. Grasping that reaction, Yukinoshita's mother began to speak slowly and gently.

"I am aware that you are trying hard and doing your best. However, do come home a little sooner, alright? There is no need for you to force yourself too hard."

"…Yes, I understand."

With only those words slipping out, Yukinoshita closed her eyes thereafter, to which Yukinoshita's mother made a troubled face. Nevertheless, she soon began walking as if she’d just made up her mind. She slightly bowed to bid her farewell to us, then Hiratsuka-sensei stood up. She probably wanted to see her out. Together they left the guest room.

When the guest room door closed, each of us let out a deep sigh.

Hiratsuka-sensei and Yukinoshita's mother's voices could still be heard through the door. It can be said that they were still telling their few farewells to one another. Being mindful of not letting the two on the other side of the door overhear, Haruno-san whispered in a low voice.

"Haaa, I'm tired. It's really a nuisance that I was told to come here to accompany her, too…"

After saying that, she drank her already-cold coffee with a dissatisfied look, and then made a bitter face. Even Yukinoshita, who was not drinking coffee at the moment, also pressed her lips together, with her throat trembled as if she just swallowed something. That expression made the two look very alike.

However, speaking of looking alike, their mother is indeed the person that they share the most similarities with.

I can feel the similarities between Yukinoshita and Haruno - the fact that they both stand out from the others and their twisted personalities, both of which, of course, came from their mother. That is why I found myself wanting to probe into it.

"Uhm… she mentioned that she's one of the PTA members; does that mean that she's a chairperson of some kind?"

"No, no. She holds an honorary post director or something that I don't get. The only thing she has is the title, and her work was just to write authorization papers, as far as I know. But not only because our father's work has strong connections in this area, but also because this is both of her daughters' high school, right? So she naturally became the one being asked to come here in person."

I see. So, it's a situation that only the influential people in the local area would run into. To give an example of someone close to me, it's like the director of my father at work, or something along those lines. If any trouble occurs and someone comes to report it to that director, he'll immediately say "I'll go talk to them", even if he wasn't asked to do it. And after that, he would cheerfully make his way to the source of the trouble. Actually, no. In Yukinoshita's mother's case, the reason she was here is that she was asked by the local people, so I guess the situation is a little bit different.

With those thoughts raining upon me, Haruno-san's voice abruptly shifted into a gloomy tone.

"…That's why, that person's intentions and opinions don't matter. Given that she was already asked to do so, she had no to choice but to come, and at least say something just out of formality, right?"

Haruno-san said boringly and scoffed with her nose.

However, I couldn't seem to laugh it off like her. That - that stance, somewhere, reminded me of a certain individual who also talks big. Just thinking about it made my chest become painful.

While I was sighing on that matter, the room's door opened. Hiratsuka-sensei returned.

"Oh, man."

With those opening words, Hiratsuka-sensei commented while bitterly laughing at the same time. She brought out the crystal glass ashtray from the cabinet at the corner of this room, stood beside the window and lit up a cigarette.

It appears although in this school smoking is prohibited in principle, this guest room seemed to remain beyond the rules and allow smoking. Well, only those who deserve VIP treatment can make their way to a room like this, and surely there must be regular smokers among those people. In that way, by showing that the room is special and not bound by the rules, the school is able to express its honesty and respect to the guests that way.

In other words, it can’t be anything else other than Yukinoshita's mother was being treated as an important guest. Just by looking from that angle, I feel I've clearly seen the stance of the school's side.

Perhaps Yukinoshita, who was present from the very beginning, had felt that the most from the conversation. Yukinoshita - who hadn’t changed her pose since a while ago and was still in the very same manner with her back straightened out - asked Hiratsuka-sensei in a somewhat dark and downcast voice.

"…How will the school deal with this?"

"I can’t say anything at this point. To be honest, with regard to the photos being uploaded throughout the SNS, I don’t ... well, my superiors probably won’t see them as problems that much."

After breathing in and puffing out her smoke, Hiratsuka-sensei said that to Yukinoshita with a beaming smile, as if trying to give her some reassurance. However, when she knocked the towering ashes off her cigarette with a huge sound, she continued her words, but this time, in a low voice.

"…it's just that, there are a lot of people reporting various things to us these days, *thankfully*. Sometimes we receive mail and calls such as, "The student's skirt was too short", "Students got wild on the roadside" or "They made fun of me". Each time, we'd answer them, "Thank you for your valuable feedback. We will make sure to bring it up to the Student Guidance so that they can put it on their agenda.", or the likes. If needed, we'd get the students and do some counseling to them, and then call it a day. However…"

She paused her words for a moment, and after puffing out smoke, Hiratsuka-sensei put on a sullen face.

"Given that the problem has gone this far, it’s then magnified and seen as a bigger deal… At this rate, the school has to deal with it by taking actions corresponding to the seriousness of the problem."

The few words she ambiguously mentioned was **taking actions corresponding to the seriousness of the problem**. However, to give those words a concrete meaning, it only leads to one thing, and that is **the cancellation of the prom**.

There are so many cases illustrating these kind of problems that I won’t be able to enumerate all of them. For example, a recruiting advertisement was posted at a certain train station by a certain company. It had a very impressive and impactful design, and took a distinctive approach different from those conventional ones, so it went viral on the SNS, receiving thousands of “thumb-ups” and “likes” and created ripple effect at the time. Most people positively reacted and praised for its unique and interesting design. However, only a few days after, the advertisement ended up being voluntarily taken down by that certain company that published it. The reason is that, complaints were filed via mail and phones calls to the company, who eventually had to take it down because it had turned into a liability and a problem inside the company.

Even if there are a lot of positive reactions, when there is a small crowd that criticizes, then proactive measures should be taken to address the issues raised by that crowd, or should I say, *must* be taken into consideration. I guess, this has somewhat become a social norm these days.

Sayings and concepts such as Compliance, Political Correctness and so forth are starting to enter into people’s vision. People are getting more aware of the idea that the society functions by people taking thoughtful consideration of each other. The fact itself, that this is taking place, is very pleasing. However, we are still yet in a transition period regarding the adoption of this change.

As a result, society excessively uses words such as ‘inappropriateness’, ‘imprudence’ and ‘unhealthiness’. Moreover, the general public seems to also react excessively as well.

In a way, it could be said that this prom faces a similar dilemma. After all the conversations we’ve had so far, it was sufficient for us to conceptually understand what was going on under the hood.

Now the real problem became, how can we take concrete actions next to combat the status quo.

"Can't the school plead to the parents?"

After giving an implicit consent, yet then the school reversed its course and brought us back to the beginning. The school certainly appeared terrible by taking these series of contradictory actions - I tried to leverage this point and thus brought up my suggestion in an attempt to seize the school’s support for the prom.

And then, Hiratsuka-sensei's gaze fell onto the cigarette she was holding, and then she took a moment to think.

"It's not like there aren’t any ways to do the thing that you suggested… if you guys are still planning to hold a prom next year, I think it's better for me *not* to interfere with it this time."

After she snuffed out her cigarette into the ashtray, the glow vanished. Hiratsuka-sensei turned around to look at us. When the smoke disappeared, its strong tar scent began to drift around in the air, stirring up my uneasiness.

I had absolutely no idea what she meant by saying that, so I unconsciously put on a dubious expression.

Soon, Haruno-san spoke in shock.

"…Shizuka-chan, you haven't told them yet??"

"It wasn't formally confirmed yet, so obviously I can't tell them."

"You just weren't able to tell them, right?"

"…Uuuh, well."

Although she was composed just a few minutes ago, right after Haruno-san smacked her with those words, Hiratsuka-sensei clumsily averted her eyes. As if trying to pursue it even further, Haruno-san let out a deep sigh and continued.

"Moreover, since this is a public school after all, just by looking at how long you’ve been working here, it shouldn’t be hard to tell. Last year was already tight for you to stay, so this year you are definitely going away, for sure." (TL: Teachers serving in the public schools in Japan typically rotate every 3-6 years by moving to another public school, depending on their own preferences and situations.)

I'm roughly seeing the circumstances, just from the scraps of the conversation. However, I wasn’t able to put it into words. The only feeling that I was able to put into understanding was "ah, is that so?" - a feeling that is so surreal and hard to believe.

However, Yuigahama properly put them into concrete words.

"Uhm, does that mean..."

"Well, that story is for later. Let's talk about it next time."

When Yuigahama opened her mouth in a fearful and nervous manner, Hiratsuka-sensei smiled and forcibly cut the conversation, then turned her face to both Yukinoshita and Isshiki.

"So… what are you two going to do?"

Being asked, the two quickly raised their heads. I, who had absentmindedly been thinking, scratched my head in order to force myself to switch my focus over to a new topic.

"What are we going to do, if you ask… we'll first correct the flaws in the plans, and then…"

While Yukinoshita was saying that, she shook her head shortly thereafter. Perhaps she might have realized as well that doing it would be meaningless or more so, impossible.

If we ever were to change the prom to drop features such as wearing dresses, dancing and holding a flashy party, then the event wouldn’t have been called a prom any more. Those who wished to participate in the prom definitely wouldn’t have accepted that kind of change, either. Still, if even particular parts were more or less corrected, given that we were already heavily criticized, they wouldn’t easily let us go. Fixing A would result in B being flawed, and vise versa. And in the end, we would reach the end of our rope.

"While the discussion continues, I'll think of a way to gain their understanding…"

Yukinoshita murmured those words. Thanks to her pale facial expression and tenuous voice, I was certain that she had mostly lost hope. However, given the current state of affairs, there aren't many more options, indeed. I nodded to that.

"Well, I guess you are right. For now, we should gather the materials needed to persuade them, and after that…"

My words stopped there. Yukinoshita, who was sitting next to me on the sofa, grasped my blazer's sleeve to stop me. The force that she applied to grasp it was pretty weak, but she gripped it so tightly that it formed wrinkles.

"Wait. That is our job… It is what I should do.”

“...now is not the right time to fuss over that, right?”

Isshiki also nodded and agreed with my words. Hiratsuka-sensei had been observing us for a while, with a pair of eyes that seem to be watching over us. Yuigahama, who was sitting beside me, didn't say anything favorable nor negative, and just kept silent the whole time. Yukinoshita firmly bit her lips and was at a loss for words. I waited for her reply. However, the voice that pitched in was from a different person.

"…Are you again going to play *the big brother* role here?"

Her merry voice, her teasing tone, and her words that came out with a smile - yet they all coldly and harshly echoed. Yukinoshita Haruno, who was comfortably sitting opposite to us, cast an almost seemingly pitiful gaze at me.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Without realizing it, the voice that I let out with was mixed with anger. Even I could tell that the tone of my voice was harsh. However, Haruno-san giggled, as if she found my reaction amusing to her.

"Yukino-chan is saying that she can do it herself, yet you are recklessly lending her a hand. That’s not okay. You're not Yukino-chan's big brother, or anything, after all."

I got drawn in by her seemingly joking words, with my voice smothered unexpectedly. I heard Isshiki from my back drawing a faint sigh, so I instinctively lowered my eyes.

"That is… not the case."

The voice may have been frail and shivering, but it was distinctly a denial to Haruno-san's words. Hearing that, I felt as if my back was caressed from behind. I reflexively raised my head, and saw Yuigahama glaring at Haruno-san.

"…Because she is such an important person to all of us. It goes without saying to help her out."

"If you think she's important to you, then I believe you should respect her own volition."

Haruno-san let out a sigh full of irritation.

"If the prom ends up becoming a reality, our mother's recognition of Yukino-chan may more or less be altered. Of course, that’s only if Yukino-chan did it with her very own efforts… if you decide to interfere with that, you do realize the consequences, right?"

There was evidently a grudge behind that voice. She scowled at Yuigahama, then at me, with her sharp gaze that looked like it was going to shoot someone dead, and her words stabbing and impaling us.

It was a heavily profound question. In other words, I realized that it's like we're being asked whether we could bear the responsibility of her future and life. Of course, we definitely could not answer that question recklessly and lightly. It's not like we're that young to act without thinking of the consequences. It's not like we are already very mature adults to hold accountable and responsible for everything, either.

That is why, the only thing Yuigahama, Isshiki and I could only do is to shut up.

In this room, the only person who could answer that question was probably Hiratsuka-sensei. But, she didn't say anything. She sent up a curl of her cigarette's smoke and just bitterly smiled and stared at Haruno-san. When Haruno-san noticed that gaze, she quickly loosened her previously tight and serious expression. With a complete reversal, she spoke to us with a tender, gentle voice.

"No matter how much you dearly think of her, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's right to always lend her a hand… That relationship you three have, do you know what it is?"

"Nee-san, stop… I understand."

Yukinoshita wasn’t aiming at interrupting her question, but merely answered in a tranquil, calm manner. Facing Yukinoshita’s smile that was transparent as crystal, Haruno-san didn't push any further.

Yukinoshita stared at her hands resting on her lap. Soon, with that same posture, she quietly formed her words.

"I want to prove that I can handle things on my own - with my own ability. So,… Hikigaya-kun, I won't be needing your help anymore. I know that this is a very selfish request and I'm sorry for it, but… please. Let me do it this time."

With that being said, she raised her head. The same as her calm and composed voice, her expression was pure and gentle.

But, when our eyes met, hers became wet. Up until now, she had been keeping that slight smile on her face. But now, her lips were quivering, and sorrowfulness was seeping out from her. She gulped slightly, and the voice that came out was trembling.

"Otherwise, I'll soon be ruined… I knew this all along, that I was depending on you. Not only on you, but on Yuigahama-san as well. Although I’ve always told myself not to rely on others, each time I’ve always ended up making myself do it."

She talked falteringly, and her voice kept its composure. Yukinoshita only let out those words with a gradually falling pitch.

Yuigahama lowered her eyes, and listened to her. Hiratsuka-sensei was silent with her eyes closed. Isshiki uncomfortably averted her gaze, and her body stiffened. Although Haruno-san faced her with a frigid expression at the beginning, soon she let out a hazy sigh, with a smile formed on her lips.

However, I just couldn't just keep my words shut in my mouth. Even if those empty words didn't mean anything, I just couldn't bring myself to not repudiate it.

"That's, that's wrong. It's absolutely wrong."

As if squeezing out my words, I managed to somehow get them out anyway. However, Yukinoshita slowly shook her head.

"No, it isn’t. Because the results have always been the same. Even though every time, I thought that I could do better, in the end, nothing has changed… So, please."

I looked at her damp eyes, heard her fleeting voice that recited those words, and was faced by her vague smile.

At this point, I couldn't bring myself to speak anything further. All I could do is to let out a sigh.

"Hikki-…"

Yuigahama pulled my sleeve. To respond to her, after letting out a long sigh to suppress my quivering, I was able to nod my head to her. My intention was to tell her "alright, sure", but I had no idea if my voice came out, or if it did, how much of it came out in the end. However, it appeared that it had indeed reached her.

A smile surfaced on Yukinoshita's face. She nodded to me in return, and immediately stood up.

"I'll return to the Student Council Office to review our next step strategy."

After bowing to Hiratsuka-sensei, she started walking her way out. The traces of her footsteps showed no hesitation nor confusion, and without looking back, she headed out of the guest room. Isshiki also stood up flusteredly, also bowed and quickly headed out of the room to catch up with Yukinoshita.

When the two left, Hiratsuka-sensei let out a sigh as if she was finally at ease, then lit up another cigarette.

"Hikigaya, let's talk about this again next time. For now, just go home. You too, Yuigahama and Haruno."

She puffed out the smoke of her cigarette. A faint exhaust was seeping out with her bitter smile when she said that.

"…I'll do that."

When I answered that, I feel like I also made the same face as hers - a really worn out, horrific and painful face.

I didn’t bother to put on my coat but just grabbed it, and picked up my bag. I bowed to Haruno-san and stood up from the sofa. If I don't force myself to move, then due to my fatigue and dreariness, I might end up never being able to leave here at all.

Yuigahama was beside me, preparing to go home as well. After turning to face her, I made sure I bid my farewell to her with a voice as gentle as possible - with the best smile I could put on.

"…Then, see you."

"Eh… ah, yep, see you…"

Yuigahama raised her head, and appeared to be surprised for a moment, but she must've quickly noticed my intention, so she swallowed her confusion and replied to me with a smile.

Taking her up on her kindness, I weakly nodded to her in return and left the guest room.

I had no confidence in properly talking to Yuigahama at this moment. It’d be fine if we don’t talk at all. But if we forced ourselves to talk and did a terrible job at it, then we might end up saying things that shouldn’t have been said or asking questions that shouldn’t have been asked, and then regretting later.

I left the school building. Feeling like I'm dragging my weighty legs, I headed towards the bicycle stands. I unlocked the bike with my key, pushed the beat-up bicycle and plodded to the side gate. It's not only that my legs were heavy, but also the bicycle, my body and my mood all felt heavy as well. In addition to that, my shoulders suddenly felt heavy too.

I sensed that someone had pulled me from behind. I looked back, and saw Yukinoshita Haruno, who apparently just ran here in a hurry. She rested her hand on my shoulder, and let out a relieved sigh.

"I managed to catch up with youuuu. See me off while on your way back home."

Haruno-san said that while pretending to wipe her sweat off her forehead. And then, she lined up beside me and started walking along. To be honest, I was completely burnt-out so I had no emotional leeway to resist her.

"Is it okay to part at the train station?"

"Sure… It’s such a rare opportunity so I was thinking that I could go home together with Gahama-chan. When I tried to invite her, she was cleverly able to run away. A quick-witted girl, really."

"Normally, people would run away from you in this circumstance, won’t they?"

"I won’t let most people run away from me, though."

Even though I dryly laughed while making my sarcastic remark, she returned it with a giggle.

As a matter of fact, a half-witted, airheaded guy would get captured like this. You could say that Yuigahama is quick-witted since she was able to perfectly avoid her before getting herself caught. Haruno-san, who appeared to be impressed, mumbled ‘hmmmm’ quietly.

"She really is a quick-witted girl, indeed. She knows everything, after all. From Yukino-chan's thoughts, to her real intention, eeeeeverything."

I've realized that I just heard something that I couldn't simply ignore. I unknowingly stopped in my tracks and turned my head to Haruno-san. Seeing my reaction, Haruno-san suddenly giggled.

"No, it's not only the ‘quick-witted’ part of her that’s good, but also her looks, personality and her body shape. They are all good too… She really is a **good girl**."

"I sensed a malicious undertone from your words."

There was a strange emphasis on the ending words in that sentence. On top of that, I thought I heard her smirking while saying it, which made me feel that the words from her had other intentions. However, even after I explicitly pointed that out, she showed no sign of shame or embarrassment. Instead, she hopped onto the curbstone, turned her head around, and looked at me.

"Really? Isn't that your ears' problem? You’ve interpreted it the wrong way."

"…You have a point."

No matter how much I thought about the words that Haruno-san had said a while ago, they still sounded like malice. But still, it is true that I have a pernicious habit of reading behind others' words. That’s why, I nodded to Haruno-san’s words. After that, as if standing on a balance beam, Haruno-san carefully stepped along the curbstone, and then pointed her finger straight at me.

"Right! Therefore, Hikigaya-kun is a bad boy! No, *you* believe that you're a bad boy… I guess. Because you always think you’ve made a mistake… like what happened just now."

She chuckled at herself and smiled. She then jumped off from the curbstone.

"And, as for Yukino-chan…"

Starting with those words, suddenly Haruno-san looked up at the glowing, red sky. Her eyes appeared to be burned by the dazzling light, so she gently squinted her eyes.

"…she is an ordinary girl. She likes cute things, likes cats, hates ghosts and high places. She is very troubled about who she truly is. …An ordinary girl that you can see anywhere."

Haruno-san tilted her head, as if asking "Did you know that?". However, it's not like she put her question into words, so I answered back "I wonder?" by tilting my head similar as she did.

I'm not sure whether Yukinoshita Yukino can be called an ordinary girl. She has good looks, has accomplishments in both schoolwork and sports, among lots of other things. If we begin to discuss her merits that make her stand out from the others, then our conversation would never end. Only Yukinoshita Haruno, a superman-like-perfect-fiend, could describe Yukinoshita Yukino as ordinary. If seen from most people's perspective, her very exceptional existence should look extremely radiating.

At the very least, I personally have never thought of Yukinoshita Yukino as an ordinary girl.

It appears that the super-perfect-fiend wasn't satisfied with my unvoiced answer to her unvoiced question, so she put on a sullen face, then briskly walked towards me, and began to stare at me.

"Yukino-chan is an ordinary girl. …Well, Gahama-chan is the same, too."

Both Haruno-san and I were across the bicycle's handlebars, and our faces are turned towards each others. She might have forgotten, that I am also an ordinary boy, so being this close to a beautiful onee-san is, unsurprisingly, making me incredibly nervous. I felt that my cheeks were reddening, and couldn’t help but avert my face. In that moment, Haruno-san said in a murmur.

"…Yet, when the three of you are together, each of you will naturally end up playing each person’s corresponding role.”

Since my face wasn’t facing hers, I couldn't see her expression. Even so, I strongly felt that sympathy and contriteness were straining out from her voice. I was a little surprised by her sad yet gentle voice, so I quickly cast my gaze back onto her. But what I saw was the usual super-perfect-fiend, equipped with her enhanced powered exoskeleton. With a face that was fearfully beautiful, she wore  a extremely spiteful smile on her face.

"Alright, then here's my question. What do you call this relationship among you threeee?"

Haruno-san circled to the front of my bicycle, and then put her elbows on the handlebars and the front of the basket. Now both my paths forward and retreat backwards were blocked. It's like she was telling me that she wouldn’t let me go home until I answered her question. Her upturned eyes stared at me.

"…A good kid, a bad kid and an ordinary kid. The Imokin Trio?" (TL: a famous comic singing trio in Japan. The variety show on Fuji TV where the unit was featured is called ‘Kin-don! A Good Kid, A Bad Kid, and An Ordinary Kid’ - each of whom corresponds to a singer in the trio.)

"Buuu, wrong. I'm talking about the relationship among you three."

I had, at least, answered her question, even though it wasn’t correct. Yet Haruno-san didn't let me go, nor was she willing to teach me the correct answer… If I don't give the correct answer, I won't be able to go home, huh. Or should I say, I won't be able to be liberalized, if I don't give her the answer that she wishes to hear. Or, was she possibly repeating the same question from the guest room?

With the hint that the answer should sound like something that Haruno-san favors, then it shouldn’t be so difficult to give one.

The real problem is, that it would be tough to say it out loud. That is why, it took me a good amount of time until I finished preparing myself for it. Yet during that time, Haruno-san’s and my eyes had been meeting, making it even more formidable for me to speak. Thanks to that, when the time finally came for me to speak, I sneakingly averted my face and ended up raising my voice.

"…………L-love triangle, or something."

Afterwards, Haruno-san was stupefied. She slightly opened her mouth, ‘Huh?’ and appeared to be thinking hard. After finally assessing the situation, she abruptly gushed out a chuckle, and soon, she burst out laughing.

"Ahahaha! So that's what you are thinking! Puh, and isn't it hilarious that you're saying that yourself? Ahaha! Ah, damn, this is totally punching my stomach and making my sides convulse! Ow, ow, ow, ahah!"

"You're laughing way too much…"

Haruno-san let her hands go from the bicycle, and she was still bearing the ache of her stomach, and was still laughing. Both my self-esteem and self-consciousness were intensely blunted, so I thought I should just outright go home now. But before that, I must at least ask her.

"Uhm, so what is the correct answer?"

"Eh? Correct answer? Ah, the correct answer, right… The correct answer is…"

After wiping the tears surfacing from the corners of her eyes, Haruno-san waved her hand at me, beckoning me to come in her direction. She put her hand vertically against her mouth, as if telling me to come forward and give her my ear, I guess. Wondering that maybe it’s some secret that she had to hide under cover, I slowly brought my body forward. And then, Haruno-san's face came near as well. A sweet smell glided into my nostrils, just like the one from a flower’s nectar. Mixed with her smile, her tender breath caressed my cheeks.

It tickled me, so I instinctively turned my face away. However, her other hand had already touched my jaw, as if turning my gaze away would be unforgivable. Now, it's impossible for me to turn my face away, or to dash away from her. She then brought her seductive lips near my ears, and recited the words.

"It's called codependency."

She whispered those words that had echoed coldly. It felt more real than any kind of genuine things.

I already had a faint notion of what the word means. I've read about it in a book somewhere, that explains it as *a state in which one and another particular person both depend on his/her relationship with the other, and the addiction to the feeling of being imprisoned in such relationship*.

"I had specifically told you before, that it's not *trust*."

Haruno-san merrily giggled, with that smile impurely warped. She continued further.

"It feels good when that girl relies on you, right?"

Her charming voice entered my earlobes, causing my skull to go numb. Thanks to that, I was able to clearly remember - that the book's description of the word had a continuation. The reason why codependency happens is not only because of the person who depends on the other person, but also because of this other person who is depended upon. Accordingly, the other person was finding the meaning of his life and existence in being needed, and thereby obtaining a sense of satisfaction and assurance.

When the meaning of the words began to contextualize and connect to real-life experience, I sensed that my feet were about to quiver.

It was pointed out many times - that I had been spoiling others without noticing it, that I looked happy when being relied upon. Yet each time, I always pretended not to know it, and then made excuses like ‘it’s because I have an aura of being a big brother’, or ‘it’s my job to do it so it can’t be helped’.

With my sense of shame and self-hatred multiplying, I felt like vomiting on the spot. How ugly and shameless! While pretending to be distant and aloof, if I were asked, I wouldn’t refuse to help, and in addition, I even found great pleasure from it, treating it as an boost to the meaning of my existence, etc - how can you possibly be even more stupid and numb than that! Learning the pleasure gained from being relied upon, I then get thirsty and begin to desire it even more. Whenever I am not able to get what I desired, I would then fake my feeling with a slice of loneliness on my face. That filthy personality of mine, is indeed extremely hideous and disgusting.

Above all, that is just me criticizing myself. I felt deeply disgusted by the fact that I'm telling excuses to my own self. I sensed that the lower part of my ear was itching, and the inside of my mouth was overflowing with saliva. I was somehow able to send it down my throat, and violently let out a wild breath.

Yes, indeed the relationship between Yukinoshita and me is without a doubt codependency. Even setting aside whether or not Yukinoshita depends on me, when I reflected on my current behavior versus the one of my past self, the one right now definitely seemed very morbid. If I were to do a check-up of a list of codependency symptoms, I can guess a lot of items would have been marked as checked.

Haruno-san suddenly put on a mocking smile, then quickly went on ahead. With my heavy steps trying to catch up to her, we eventually reached the park side's trail located between the school and the train station. Looking up at the dreary street’s trees, whose buds, leaves and flowers weren't there yet, Haruno-san muttered.

"But that codependency is over. Yukino-chan will safely stand on her own feet, and slightly  move towards becoming an adult."

Her triumphantly pround way of speaking, the tone of her voice that was having fun, and then her melancholic profile when she spoke about her sister, all looked like a deja vu scene. She had said a similar thing on that night, which was slightly colder than now.

Just like now, she was also walking a few steps ahead of me then, she had surely said it at that time.

I clearly remembered the words that she had mentioned back then. When I accidentally remembered her words, I would overlook them and treated them as some kind of prank to me, as if I’m ignoring them for someone else’s good. But ultimately, I couldn't forget them.

The sun faded, and the city was enveloped with the evening scene. Before I realized it, the trail had already ended, and we were approaching the main street in front of the train station. In the twilight, the front of the station was filled with people hurrying home during the rush hour, so it was noisy and lively. (TL: Trivia - ‘In the twilight’, or 誰彼時(たそがれどき) as transliterated in the original text in Kanji, is however usually written as 黄昏時 in most literature, both having the same reading and meaning of referring to the twilight or dusk time. Notably, the former phrase is used in Your Name, when Yukichan-sensei/Yukino Yukari writes ‘the twilight time’ on the blackboard and explains its alternative formal and colloquial readings. As she points out in the movie, 誰彼時 literally means ‘the moment when you ask ‘who is that person there’, because you can’t see people’s face well at dusk. It’s unlikely but it’s possible that Watari Wataru uses the term intentionally.)

"I'm fine here. See ya'."

While saying that, Haruno-san lightly waved her hand, and gallantly walked away.

"Uhm…"

Only looking at her feet, I called and stopped Haruno-san with my husky voice.

Taking another step forward, Haruno-san turned her face back to me. Tilting her head with her bright smile, she asked for the continuation of my sentence without putting it into words.

Her eyes and expression were awfully gentle, rendering me breathless for a moment.

"That girl… what would she give up, in order for her to become an adult?"

That smile that looked exactly like hers, silently crooked into a melancholic one.

"…Just like me, many kinds of things."

Even though she didn't tell me anything specific, she answered it so clearly that there is no need for it to be said further. With only that answer, Yukinoshita Haruno disappeared into the crowd.

===END CHAPTER 6===