Volume 1, Chapter 16: Ambiguous
On the fourth day after the Mother Hive incident, the city had finally started growing back into its old shape.
Strictly speaking, Shuichi and the others hadn't gotten much rest out of it.
On the day of the disaster, the supermarket had shut down outright after the emergency evacuation.
The next day, the district ran road inspections and cleared away disaster debris, so the store took the day off too. Yusei had gone to the hospital, and Asakawa Mio hadn't shown up either, using a dressing change and some errands as her reason.
On the third day, the day of the staff dinner, the supermarket had already reopened.
Yesterday had happened to be his day off.
So when Shuichi put on that familiar employee uniform again this morning and stood by the fresh produce section staring blankly at a row of potatoes, it had really only been one day off since he'd last worked normally.
It was just that so much had happened lately.
So much that, looking at those yellow "Today's Special" tags, he actually had the illusion that he hadn't been here in a very long time.
"Shuichi."
Someone called him from the side.
He didn't move.
"Shuichi."
"Mm."
"You've been holding that potato for a full minute."
Shuichi looked down.
There really was a potato in his right hand.
"I'm inspecting it."
Yusei was standing behind him with a restocking cart.
"Inspecting what?"
"Whether there's anything wrong with it."
"Is there?"
"No."
"Then put it back."
Shuichi put the potato back.
And, while he was at it, took a bottle of mineral water off Yusei's cart that hadn't been shelved yet.
Yusei smacked the back of his hand.
"That's merchandise."
"I know."
"What are you drinking that for?"
"Thirsty."
"Your own water's in the staff break room."
"Far."
It was no more than thirty meters from here to the staff corridor.
Yusei stared at him.
Shuichi was already twisting off the cap.
"I'll pay."
"Scan it first."
"After work, all at once."
"That's what you said last time."
"And didn't I end up paying?"
"Because I paid for you."
Shuichi thought about it.
"Then same as today."
Yusei reached to snatch it.
Shuichi immediately hid the water behind his back.
One of them blocking the shelf, the other pushing a restocking cart, the two of them held a standoff beside the produce section for two seconds. In the end, Yusei couldn't be bothered to keep arguing; he simply reached around with one hand to grab Shuichi's wrist and stuck the other past Shuichi's waist to get the water.
The distance between them suddenly got very close.
Shuichi was half pinned between the shelf and Yusei's body, yet had no particular reaction, only pulling his hand farther back so the water wouldn't be taken.
"Childish."
"Let go first."
"Give me the water."
"No."
"I'm counting to three."
"Count."
Yusei actually started.
"One."
Shuichi didn't budge at all.
"Two."
Still didn't budge.
"Three."
Yusei went straight for prying his fingers open.
Shuichi simply leaned his whole body back, his shoulder pressing against Yusei's chest, using his weight to keep him from reaching.
Two grown men in their twenties, jammed up against a shelf over a bottle of store mineral water worth a hundred-something yen, and neither could win.
In the end, it was a voice from behind them that did it.
"...What are you two doing?"
They both stopped at the same time.
Asakawa Mio was standing two meters away.
She was in her supermarket uniform today too, her dark hair in a low ponytail, her employee badge hanging on her chest, a stack of freshly sorted price tags in her arms.
She looked at Yusei's arm wrapped around Shuichi's side.
Then at Shuichi, practically leaning back into his arms.
And finally at the bottle of water.
"A robbery?"
"Pretty much."
Shuichi said.
Yusei immediately looked down.
"You're the one robbing."
Mio was silent for a few seconds.
"The store has cameras."
"..."
The two of them finally separated.
Shuichi opened the water and took a sip.
Yusei's face went dark.
"You're actually drinking it?"
"Once it's opened, it can't be sold."
"You still have to scan it!"
Mio walked past them, the corners of her mouth clearly curving upward.
Shuichi saw.
"If you want to laugh, laugh."
"I'm not."
"You are."
Mio didn't answer.
But after two more steps, she finally couldn't hold it in and laughed quietly with her head down.
Hearing that only made Yusei more annoyed.
"Don't spoil him."
"I didn't do anything."
"You laugh every time you see him being lazy."
Mio thought about it.
"Because it's genuinely funny."
Shuichi drank his water.
He felt that assessment wasn't very respectful toward him.
But couldn't be bothered to argue.
***
The store was livelier than usual today.
Because of the Mother Hive incident, some employees at two nearby branches couldn't come in for the time being, so the regional manager had temporarily shuffled a few people around to help each other out.
Around ten in the morning, Tanaka Makoto brought one of the new girls out onto the sales floor.
"Takahashi Misaki, from the Nanting branch. She'll be helping us out for a few days this week."
The girl looked about twenty-two, with medium-length brown hair in a high ponytail. She wasn't very tall, and her smile was very approachable, the kind of person you could tell at a glance would be easy to get along with.
She quickly bowed to everyone around.
"Sorry to trouble you all for the next few days."
"Don't worry about it."
Tanaka rolled up the schedule in his hand and pointed at Yusei first.
"If you don't know where heavy stock goes, ask him. He's been abnormally strong lately, but don't let him carry anything expensive."
Misaki laughed.
"What does that mean?"
Yusei stood to the side.
"The manager's been biased against me lately."
"Were you calling it bias when you crushed the stockroom door handle out of shape?"
"..."
Tanaka then pointed at Asakawa Mio.
"For workflow and shelf locations, ask Asakawa."
Mio nodded.
"If anything's unclear, you can come find me."
Finally it was Shuichi's turn.
Tanaka was silent for two seconds.
"Him..."
Shuichi looked up.
"What?"
"Don't learn from him."
Misaki burst out laughing.
Shuichi: "..."
And with that, Tanaka walked off.
Leaving Shuichi standing there, contemplating just how low his social standing in the store had sunk.
Misaki didn't actually treat him like a problem employee, though; instead she leaned in and asked quietly:
"Does the manager yell at you a lot?"
"Occasionally."
Yusei passed by.
"Every day."
Shuichi casually kicked him in the shin.
Yusei didn't dodge.
Instead, he stopped, turned back around, and grabbed Shuichi by the back of the neck.
"You're kicking me now?"
"I bumped you."
"How do you bump me from half a meter away?"
"Long legs."
Yusei tightened his grip a little and pulled him over toward himself.
Shuichi frowned at the squeeze.
"Let go."
"Apologize."
"No."
"Then I'm not letting go."
"Asakawa."
Shuichi turned his head.
Mio was nearby, checking a restocking list.
Hearing her name, she raised her eyes.
"What?"
"Help."
Mio looked at the two of them.
In particular, at Yusei's hand on the back of Shuichi's neck.
"Why should I get involved?"
"Mutual aid among co-workers."
Yusei laughed.
"Don't listen to him."
Shuichi called again.
"Asakawa."
In the end, Mio walked over anyway and lightly tapped Yusei's wrist.
"It's work hours."
Yusei let go.
"You're actually helping him?"
Mio was perfectly calm.
"Because he's annoying."
Shuichi straightened the collar that had gotten rumpled.
"Thanks."
Mio casually tucked back the tag that had flipped out.
"Your collar's a mess too."
Her fingers brushed past the edge of his collar.
The gesture didn't mean anything in particular.
But Misaki was standing right there.
She watched Asakawa Mio fix Shuichi's collar.
Then thought of how absurdly practiced Yusei had looked grabbing the back of Shuichi's neck a moment ago.
For a moment, she was a little confused.
Were the employees at this store...
All closer to each other than the ones at the Nanting branch?
***
Before noon, Misaki and Yusei were sent to the stockroom to haul a shipment of drinks.
Asakawa stayed on the sales floor.
Shuichi was in charge of restocking a few cases of sold-out items on the bottom shelves.
Halfway through the job, Mio climbed a short stepladder to get a box of spare price tags from the top shelf.
As Shuichi walked past behind her, he happened to see her go up on her toes.
"Can't reach?"
"Almost."
"Come down."
"In a second."
Mio stretched up again.
Shuichi stood below and watched for two seconds.
"Don't land on me if you fall."
"You could walk away."
"Too lazy to go around."
Mio ignored him.
The next second, the little ladder under her feet suddenly slid a bit to the side, because its wheels hadn't been fully locked.
It moved only a little.
For an ordinary person, it wouldn't even have been enough to fall.
But Shuichi's reaction was almost faster than thought.
He reached out and caught Mio by the waist.
His other hand steadied the ladder.
Mio's body swayed, then quickly found its balance again.
They both froze.
Shuichi's hand was still on her side.
Through the thin fabric of the uniform, its position was very clear.
Mio looked down.
Shuichi followed her gaze and glanced at it too.
Then said, very naturally:
"Steady?"
"...Mm."
"Then I'm letting go."
"Okay."
Shuichi pulled his hand back.
He didn't linger a second longer.
Mio came down from the ladder and stamped the wheel lock firmly back into place herself.
Her expression didn't show much change either.
It was only after she'd gotten the price tag box that she said, a little while later:
"Thanks for just now."
"Mm."
"You react pretty fast."
Shuichi opened a cardboard box.
"Didn't want to get squashed."
Mio looked at him.
"You caught me, though."
"While I was at it."
"..."
Still the same guy.
For some reason she kind of wanted to kick him.
But that strange feeling didn't fade right away.
When his palm had caught her side through her uniform just now, she had actually been very aware of it.
It was just that Shuichi had acted so naturally.
So naturally that if she suddenly made a big deal of it now, she'd be the weird one.
So Mio decided not to think about it.
And kept working.
Before long, Misaki and Yusei came back pushing a whole cart of drinks.
"Coming through—"
Misaki walked in front.
Yusei controlled the heavy cart from behind by himself, yet looked ridiculously relaxed doing it.
As he passed Mio, he suddenly stopped.
"Your hair."
Mio blinked.
"What?"
Yusei reached out.
Mio instinctively didn't dodge.
His fingertips brushed past her ear and hooked a small strand of hair that had come loose from her hair tie at some point, pulling it out from under the lanyard of her employee badge.
"It was caught."
"..."
Mio glanced down.
That strand really had been trapped under the cord.
Yusei casually brushed it back over her shoulder.
"There."
"...Thanks."
"Mm."
Yusei kept pushing the cart.
The whole thing took only a few seconds.
Mio stood where she was.
Shuichi was unpacking boxes nearby.
But Misaki looked back for a second glance.
Then asked with a smile:
"Are you two dating?"
The cart's wheels let out a soft squeak.
Yusei stopped walking.
So did Mio.
Shuichi had just picked up a pack of tissues.
The three of them went quiet for half a second.
"No."
Mio answered first.
Very quickly.
Yusei said too:
"We're just friends."
Misaki blinked.
"Sorry, you two just seemed so natural a second ago, I thought..."
"It's fine."
Mio tucked that strand of hair behind her ear again.
"We're really not."
Shuichi put the tissues on the shelf beside them.
He didn't say a word.
But for some reason, Misaki's question struck him as a bit unnecessary.
Yusei and Asakawa weren't dating right now.
There was nothing to ask.
He kept stocking.
Misaki didn't take it to heart either, and followed Yusei toward the stockroom.
Only, she hadn't gone far when she looked back at Shuichi.
"Oh, right."
Shuichi looked up.
"Hm?"
"Are you free after work?"
Mio's hands, sorting price tags, paused almost imperceptibly.
Shuichi didn't notice.
"For what?"
"There's a new café nearby, and I'm new to this area, so I wanted someone to show me the way."
Misaki smiled very naturally. "Manager Tanaka doesn't look like the type to go, and Yusei seems like he has to haul stuff this afternoon too."
As she said that.
She leaned a little closer.
"So how about you?"
Shuichi looked at her.
His first reaction, surprisingly, wasn't "go or not."
It was:
Does the café have food?
"Is it far?"
"Not far."
"Desserts?"
"Probably."
Shuichi started considering it.
Beside them, Mio finally spoke up.
"He has something after work today."
Shuichi turned his head.
"I do?"
The instant the words were out.
Mio stopped short too.
Misaki looked at her as well.
"Does he?"
Mio was silent for less than a second.
"...Training."
Shuichi: "?"
"Yusei's training."
Mio added.
"He's coming too."
Shuichi was even more confused.
"When did I agree to—"
Mio looked at him.
Her gaze was very calm.
Shuichi shut his mouth.
For some reason.
He had the feeling that asking any more right now would be more trouble.
Misaki didn't mind.
"Next time, then."
She gave Shuichi a little wave of her phone with a smile.
"Want to exchange contacts?"
The paper of the price tags in Mio's hand made a faint crinkling fold.
Shuichi looked down.
"Sure."
Just co-worker contact info.
Nothing special.
The two of them exchanged accounts.
Misaki quickly followed Yusei off.
Shuichi put his phone away.
And went back to work.
After a while.
He noticed things had gone a little quiet beside him.
"Asakawa."
"Mm."
"Do I really have training tonight?"
"..."
Mio lowered her head and sorted price tags.
"Since you're coming anyway."
"I could not go."
"Didn't you say yesterday that you're in charge of watching when Yusei trains?"
"I just sit there."
"Then just sit there today too."
Shuichi looked at her.
"Why did you turn her down for me just now?"
Mio's hands paused.
"She's new here."
"So?"
"You don't know her."
"Now I do."
"..."
Mio realized that if this logic kept going, it would not end well for her.
So she simply ended the conversation.
"Didn't you say you were sleepy?"
"Not sleepy now."
"Then keep restocking."
With that, she walked off with the price tags.
Shuichi watched her go.
Baffled.
***
Around three in the afternoon, Misaki gradually got familiar with the store's other young employees.
She was outgoing by nature, and before long she was already chatting with everyone.
During break time, several of them gathered in the staff break room.
Shuichi sat in the corner drinking coffee.
Asakawa Mio sat beside him, looking at her phone.
Yusei had just come back from the vending machine.
He was carrying three drinks.
A bottle of unsweetened tea he set in front of himself.
A bottle of coffee he handed to Shuichi.
The last one was a strawberry milk.
He set it down next to Mio.
Mio looked at it.
"Why this one?"
"Didn't you drink something sweet last time?"
"There are lots of kinds of sweet."
"Then you won't drink it?"
Mio reached out and took it.
"I'll drink it."
Yusei laughed.
Shuichi opened his coffee.
He noticed it was still the brand he usually bought.
"How come you didn't switch me to something sweet?"
"You drink this."
"Asakawa got strawberry milk."
"You want some too?"
Shuichi glanced over.
Mio had already stuck the straw in and taken a sip.
"Never mind."
Yusei pulled out the chair next to Shuichi and sat down.
"Why do you want to taste everything lately?"
"Don't know."
"Greedy."
"Maybe."
Yusei reached over and took the pack of cookies Shuichi had just opened.
Shuichi immediately pinned the wrapper down.
"Mine."
"You took my coffee."
"You gave it to me."
"Give me one cookie."
"No."
The two of them started fighting over it again.
Misaki sat across from them.
She watched for a while.
And finally couldn't help laughing.
"You two really get along."
Yusei was still gripping the cookie bag.
"It's all right."
Shuichi: "So-so."
"You were hugging just a while ago."
"Who was hugging?"
Yusei frowned.
"This morning."
Misaki gestured with her hands. "Over by the produce section, weren't you coming at him from behind—"
"That was fighting over water."
Shuichi explained.
"Oh."
Misaki nodded.
Then looked at Yusei's arm draped over the back of Shuichi's chair.
And at their knees, nearly touching from the cookie tug-of-war.
"And now?"
Shuichi looked down.
"Fighting over cookies."
"..."
Mio had the straw in her mouth.
Her eyes slowly curved into a smile.
Misaki finally asked the question she'd been wanting to ask since the morning.
"Have you two known each other for a long time?"
"A bit over half a year."
Yusei said.
"Neighbors."
Shuichi added.
"Just neighbors?"
Misaki's voice clearly held a hint of a laugh.
Yusei: "What else?"
Shuichi: "?"
Both of the people in question looked perfectly normal.
But Mio, off to the side, found it harder and harder not to laugh.
She suddenly realized that her earlier feeling of "aren't they a little too close" hadn't been her imagination.
It was just that these two had no awareness of it at all.
Or rather.
They had long been so used to it that they would never think anything of it.
Misaki looked at Shuichi.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
Shuichi's hand reaching for a cookie paused.
"No."
"A boyfriend?"
The whole break room went quiet for an instant.
Yusei nearly spat out his tea.
Shuichi turned his head.
"Why are you asking that?"
Misaki collapsed onto the table laughing.
"I'm just asking."
Shuichi thought about it.
"No, not that either."
"Oh—"
She drew out the word.
Yusei said irritably from beside him:
"Stop teasing him, he'll actually answer seriously."
"I noticed."
Once Misaki had finished laughing, she sat up a little and suddenly looked at Yusei.
"And you?"
Yusei: "Me?"
"Got a girlfriend?"
"No."
"A boyfriend?"
Yusei instinctively glanced at Shuichi.
Just a very brief glance.
Shuichi was eating cookies with his head down.
No reaction.
Yusei paused for half a second.
"Obviously not."
Misaki noticed.
So did Mio.
She had still been drinking her strawberry milk.
The straw suddenly stopped.
...Why did he look at Shuichi first?
That question popped into her head.
And right after, she felt like there was something wrong with her.
What did whether Yusei had a boyfriend have to do with Shuichi?
At most, it was because Misaki had joked about the two of them this morning.
Perfectly normal.
That had to be it.
Then Misaki said with a big smile:
"So you're both single."
"Yeah."
Yusei answered offhandedly.
"Then do I have plenty of chances?"
She had only meant it as a joke.
After saying it, she even deliberately let her gaze travel back and forth between the two of them.
But Mio's hand holding the strawberry milk slowly, for some reason, tightened a little.
The edge of the carton caved in slightly.
Shuichi saw.
"Why are you squeezing it?"
Mio immediately loosened her grip.
"Didn't notice."
Shuichi looked at the dented carton.
"Since when is your grip this strong?"
"Within the normal range."
Yusei looked over too.
"It didn't spill, did it?"
"No."
As he said it, he had already reached out and pushed the tissue box in front of Mio.
"Don't pop it."
Mio looked at the tissue box.
Then at Misaki across from her, laughing happily.
And suddenly felt that today's strawberry milk was a little too sweet.
***
After work.
Misaki waved to everyone at the door.
"See you tomorrow."
She wasn't headed the same way as them today, and quickly walked off toward the station on the other side.
Shuichi was just about to go home.
Mio called him from behind.
"Training."
Shuichi looked back.
"You actually remembered?"
"When have I ever not kept my word?"
"Lots of times."
"Like when?"
Shuichi thought for a while.
"Can't think of any right now."
"Then let's go."
Yusei laughed beside them.
"Why are you suddenly so eager?"
Mio's steps paused briefly.
"I took a day off yesterday."
"Isn't your injury still not completely—"
Yusei stopped halfway.
He didn't finish with "you should rest."
Mio looked at him.
Yusei only said:
"Then go easy today."
"Mm."
Mio's answer was just as natural.
Shuichi watched the two of them from the side.
He suddenly felt very much like a third wheel.
"Then I'm going home."
Two hands, one on each side, grabbed him at the same time.
On the left, Yusei had his wrist.
On the right, Mio had his sleeve.
Shuichi stopped.
Looked down.
Then up.
"What?"
Yusei:
"You agreed to come."
Mio:
"You didn't object just now."
"That's not agreeing."
Yusei was already pulling him along.
"Same thing."
Mio let go of his sleeve.
But gave his back a push as she did.
"Come on."
Shuichi was sandwiched between the two of them.
Deeply unwilling.
But he didn't really try to break free either.
Two more co-workers happened to be coming out behind them.
One of them, a young female employee, watched the three of them walk away.
Yusei still hadn't let go of Shuichi's wrist.
Asakawa Mio walked on the other side.
Now and then she laughed at something one of the two said.
She couldn't help asking the co-worker beside her:
"Have those three been getting closer and closer lately?"
The co-worker watched for a while.
"Yeah."
"But isn't there something kind of weird about it?"
"Weird how?"
"I can't put my finger on it."
The two of them watched a while longer.
In the end, neither reached a conclusion.
They just felt—
That no matter which two of the three you drew a line between, there was something there.
***
The training ground was the same vacant lot near the abandoned river embankment as before.
The sky wasn't fully dark yet.
The setting sun hung very low.
Mio had Yusei run two sets first.
His strength had been getting steadier and steadier these past few days; at least he no longer stomped a crater into the ground mid-run.
Shuichi sat on the guardrail.
Holding a popsicle he'd just bought at the convenience store.
"Slower."
Mio called.
Yusei slowed down.
"Like this?"
"Slower."
"I'm already going really slow."
"Your sense of 'slow' is off right now."
Yusei stopped.
"Then you set the pace."
Mio thought about it.
And nodded.
The two of them set off side by side.
The first lap was fairly normal.
By the second, Yusei had gradually adapted to her speed.
As they took a curve, Mio stepped on a piece of gravel and her body only tilted slightly, but Yusei almost immediately reached out and steadied the small of her back.
It was quick.
And very steady.
Mio didn't even stop.
She just kept running once he'd straightened her out.
Yusei's hand let go quickly too.
"Watch your step."
"I know."
Shuichi sat in the distance.
He bit into his popsicle.
No particular reaction.
When the two of them ran back, there was a little sweat on Mio's forehead.
She raised a hand to wipe it.
But Shuichi suddenly reached out.
Before Mio could react.
The pad of his finger had already brushed across her cheek.
Very lightly.
"Here."
Shuichi said.
Mio stood still.
"What?"
Shuichi showed her his finger.
A little smudge of black grime that had gotten on her at some point.
Probably rubbed on when she passed the guardrail earlier.
"Dirty."
"..."
Mio looked at his hand.
Then raised her own and touched the side of her face.
"Oh."
"It's clean now."
Shuichi lowered his head and went back to his popsicle.
Yusei happened to be coming back from getting water.
He saw the whole thing.
His steps slowed a little.
"What are you two doing?"
Shuichi:
"Her face was dirty."
Mio:
"Nothing."
Yusei looked at Mio.
Then at Shuichi.
"Did you wash your hands?"
Shuichi: "..."
Mio: "..."
Shuichi thought about it seriously.
"This afternoon."
Yusei's expression changed completely.
"How much stuff have you touched since this afternoon?"
"A lot."
Mio finally caught on.
"Shuichi."
"Hm?"
"Which hand did you just use?"
"Right."
"..."
Mio turned around to look for wet wipes.
Shuichi sat on the guardrail and watched her back.
"That grossed out?"
Yusei came over.
He looked down at him.
"You don't know how dirty your own hands are?"
"They look pretty clean."
Yusei grabbed his right wrist.
And flipped it over.
The palm really didn't have any obvious dirt on it.
But the fingertips had a little sugar on them from the popsicle wrapper.
Yusei frowned.
"Sticky."
"Popsicle."
"And you touched someone's face with that?"
Shuichi tried to pull his hand back.
"It was just a wipe."
Yusei didn't let go.
He pulled a wet wipe out of his pocket.
And, holding Shuichi's hand, cleaned his fingers one by one.
Shuichi looked down at it.
"I'll do it myself."
"Where was that earlier?"
"Let go."
"No."
When Mio came back with another pack of wet wipes.
That was the scene she found.
Yusei standing in front of Shuichi.
One hand holding his wrist, the other very earnestly wiping his hand.
Shuichi sitting on the guardrail, a little lower than Yusei standing, face tilted up, looking not at all pleased about it, yet not really resisting either.
The setting sun shone from right behind the two of them.
Mio's steps stopped for two seconds.
Misaki's line from that morning suddenly flashed through her mind:
"Boyfriend?"
She fell silent.
Then forcibly threw the thought away.
Here it was again.
What on earth had she been thinking about lately?
"Asakawa."
Shuichi saw her first.
"Hm?"
"Give me the wet wipes."
Mio walked over.
She was just about to hand them over.
But Yusei had already let go of Shuichi's hand.
"All done."
Shuichi glanced at his perfectly clean hand.
"Such a hassle."
Yusei balled up the wet wipe.
"If you didn't touch people with dirty hands, it wouldn't be a hassle."
"Got it."
"You always 'got it.'"
The two of them started up again.
Mio stood beside them.
And suddenly felt she probably shouldn't keep thinking about that image just now.
So she very earnestly wiped her own face.
***
After training.
The three of them slowly walked back toward the apartment.
Where Mio was living today wasn't entirely on their way, so she'd have to split off at the intersection up ahead.
Just before they reached the intersection, her phone chimed.
A message from Misaki.
【Thanks for looking after me today!】
Followed by a smiley face.
Then another.
【Oh, by the way, are you really just friends with those two?】
Mio's steps stopped.
Ahead, Yusei and Shuichi were still talking.
To be precise.
Yusei was asking Shuichi what he wanted for dinner.
Shuichi said whatever.
Yusei said whatever was the most annoying answer.
Shuichi said curry, then.
Yusei said there were no potatoes at home.
Shuichi said the supermarket had them this afternoon.
Yusei said why didn't you buy some.
Shuichi said he forgot.
The two of them bickered the whole way.
Very ordinary.
And very natural.
Mio looked down at her phone.
Her fingers paused for a while.
Then replied:
【Yeah.】
Sent.
The reply came almost instantly.
【Then I can stop worrying (lol)】
Mio stared at that line.
For some reason.
She didn't relax at all just because the other girl had "stopped worrying."
Instead, it felt like something in her chest had very lightly clogged.
It didn't hurt.
It wasn't any strong emotion either.
It was just...
Not quite comfortable.
She looked up.
Yusei happened to look back.
"Asakawa?"
"What?"
"What are you standing there for?"
"Answering a message."
Shuichi turned around too.
"You coming or not?"
Mio looked at the two of them.
She was silent for a moment.
Then put her phone away.
"Coming."
She quickened her pace by two steps.
And caught up with them again.
The intersection was just ahead.
In a few more minutes they'd actually have to split up.
But today, she suddenly didn't much want to reach it that quickly.
As for why.
Mio hadn't figured it out yet.
And didn't plan to.
It was just that—
She'd gotten a bit used to being around those two lately.
Probably.