Volume 11 Chapter 1 (2/2)
”I'll leave yours here”
Sei-sairl with the brown umbrella atop the low table, then sat beside Yumi
The rain was still co down But it was so quiet that Yumi couldn't pick out the sound of the rain Perhaps her ears had simply become accustomed to it
”This is so relaxing”
Sei-sa to herself, as she slowly sipped the contents of her teacup and looked up at the ceiling
”… Yeah”
Yuree' would indeed be theterm
Taking another look around, it was an odd residence
It was separate fro, they weren't even connected by a covered ay,said that, it wasn't simplistic, like a pre-fabricated children's study area From the outside, the tiles on the roof made it look like a normal, albeit small, house
Froave the impression of a studio apartleooden, then it would be a typical western-style studio apartment, but this room was six tatami mats of pure japanese style
Even so, it didn't feel like a modern reproduction of a traditional japanese house either It looked like it had been built in the 1950s or 60s, and maintained as-is since then Yumi had seen a photo collection composed entirely of houses like this on her father's bookshelf
”Oh right, Sei-sama”
Yued on the shi+rt sleeve beside her and whispered
”Mm?”
”Umm, my earlier - ”
”Earlier? Ah, right”
As she said this, Sei-sa Yumi's school uniform
”Say, Yumi-chan asked me, ”What's your name?””
Sei-sa? Couldn't you have just answered quietly? If Yuirl herself, she would have done it more tactfully
”Ah”
The girl switched off the hair-dryer and bowed
”Sorry, I haven't introduced myself I'm Katou Katou Kei”
”… Katou, Kei”
Oooh It was practically the sa this, before she could say anything:
”Ah!”
That certain someone called out
”So, you're Katou Kei, huh … !”
”Yeah”
Not understanding, Yu to Satou Sei-san and Katou-Kei-san, obviously
While Sei-sama's face showed an undercurrent of profound surprise, Katou Kei-san's face had hardly changed, her s traces of amazement and exasperation
”Satou-san Did you, perhaps, coh you didn't knoho I was?”
”Ooooh … !”
Without thinking, Yumi cried out
That was it
The one called Satou Sei-sama was indeed that kind of person
She thought, ”What's with that?”
Yes, she was her senior, so her out But setting all that aside, Yumi wanted to say, ”You really are weird, aren't you?” to the person right beside her
Yumi had accepted the invitation into this house because she'd been told that it ca her drenched junior to the house of someone whose name she didn't even know? Surely there are limits to impudence - Indeed, Yuer
”I'd seen your face around, and you called me Satou-san Besides”
Sei-saar-free cocoa
”Drying off Yumi-chan was my number one priority”
Hearing that was tough The main culprit was herself But even if it ith the benefit of hindsight, perhaps she should have been suspicious of their friendshi+p when she'd seen Sei-sa in the kitchen
”So, then, Katou-san - ”
Why had she called out to Sei-sama, who she wasn't particularly close to, and been so acco of her junior? Until now, Yumi had been under the impression that Katou-san ell acquainted with Sei-sa for Sei-sama
”It's not like I wouldn't have called out if it was just Satou-san by herself Or an unknown high-schooler for that matter”
It wasn't quite a soothing tone, but Katou-san spun her words in a slow and detachedthe airflow at the skirt pleats
”And although I didn't know the details, I felt I had to lend a hand”
”So wise”
Like so mochi cakes, Satou-san entered the conversation with exquisite ti
”It looked like the girl crying in the rain relied on you It changed my opinion of you, Satou-san You're not just so around”
Messing around
That phrase perfectly described Sei-sama's surface appearance
”Thanks for saying so But what about you? This is a lot of effort you've gone to, especially for soh to leave an impression like mine”
”University's a place to go for learning There's no need for socializing”
”Ah, it's colared at me the first time we met”
”It wasn't a glare It was just a surprised look You've got a persecution complex”
”A persecution complex?”
Listening to the
They were probably in all the same classes at university, so it was only natural that they'd recognize each other, but this was apparently confir
”After the university entrance cereathered into separate classes, they took attendance When a certain name was called out, two people responded”
”And Satou Sei-san was in the wrong, answering, ”Here,” when Katou Kei-san's naht?”
”Exactly”
Yumi could picture it But even with such an intense encounter, to forget that girl's face, as Sei-sama -
”At any rate, you can't know a person until you talk to theht, Satou-san?”
”So do you think you've gotten to know me?”
”A little bit At the very least, you're deeper than I initially thought”
There, it's done Katou Kei-san switched off the hair dryer and turned around
”Well then, next it's Yumi-chan's turn”
Even though Yumi could have done it herself, Kei-san dried her hair for her She ran her fingers froh to the root The war It felt really good and made Yumi drowsy
She dozed off for a while, and Sachiko-sama came to her in a dream
Sachiko-sa, hunched over, in the corner of a large room It was dimly lit Yu
It had been Sachiko-sama who had chosen Touko-chan over Yumi So then, why did she have to cry?
Ahh, right Because this was a dream
She wanted Sachiko-sa because she was lonely after their split-up That was probably Yumi's desire
”When you're done with that, I'll call her house”
Sei-saht Yumi back to reality
”Don't worry, I'll explain everything”
She shook off the illusion of Sachiko-sama, and her heart swayed like a lullaby
Neither Sei-sama nor Katou-san had asked for any sort of explanation
They'd siht They'd warmed her cold body, furnished her with dry clothes, and seen to it that she could get home to her family
But that alone was enough
It hat Yumi needed the most at that moment
She was coy atmosphere when she stepped outside
The rain had stopped unnoticed, and a burst of sunlight had caused the temperature to shoot up
The massive blanket of clouds that had shrouded the world in darkness had perhaps been blown somewhere else, as there was now only a thin lace curtain covering the sky
In the end, Sei-sama had switched to her well-practiced honors-student voice and called Yumi's house
All she said was that Yuot wet in a terrible shower and they'd stopped at a friend's house close to school to dry off She wasn't reading off lines she'd written down in a notebook, but she was able to make her explanation flow
It wasn't a lie, but she stretched the truth a bit to give a different impression From the way Sei-sama spoke, it sounded like there had been a sudden downpour of diagonally falling rain that caught them unawares, and that Sei-sama and Katou-san had both been soaked too
Naturally, Yumi's mother took those words at face value and politely thanked Sei-sama, then when the phone was passed to Yumi, instructed her to, ”Make sure you thank them before you coraduate of Lillian's and a fan of the forantea, Sei-sama
”It's like turning back time”
Sei-sama picked up the cloud ear ave it a shake to clear away the drops of water
Even though it was now actually dusk, it had been darker about two hours ago
Such strange weather
Yumi's sense of time was a bit off-kilter too, but not like Sei-sama's
It had been two hours since she'd been struck by rain, idly watching the road that the black car had driven down It felt like such a long time to have only been two hours, and such a short time to have already been two hours
Had that really happened? Perhaps ti backwards, and it was about to happen next The gap bethen she entered and exited the house was too big, and it felt like she was in some kind of a dream
But when she stepped outside, she realized so
Like the rain from above, her tears had completely dried up too
When she thought about Sachiko-sama it stillthoughts about wanting to disappear
”Thank-you for everything”
”My pleasure I'm happy that I could host such a cute visitor I'm an only child, so I wanted to see what it was like to fuss over a younger sister”
Katou-san held Yu umbrella out to her At some point she'd washed away the mud from the inside, and apparently dried it too The way she'd folded it properly indicated her meticulous nature
”If you'd like, please coain”
”You betcha”
Sei-sama responded first But this received a frosty reception from Katou-san
”That invitation wasn't for you, Satou-san I was talking to Yumi-chan”
”Okay”
Yuht twin bundles of hair bounced up and down
They turned down Katou-san's offer to walk theate Looking back at the jungle-like garden, it seeant than earlier, perhaps due to tihtness of the surrounds
She didn't knohether anyone was there or not, but Yumi turned towards thatand bowed The lace curtain seeination
”Yumi-chan Do you remember what I told you about Goronta?”
Sei-sa beside each other down a s towards the main road
”Goronta? Ah, yeah”
Goronta was the narade to refer to a stray cat that had its territory in the area surrounding Lillian's High School Yurade called it Merry-san
A long tio, when it was still a kitten, Sei-sama had taken care of it after it had been attacked by crows The blackish tabby cat had safely grown to adulthood, and was still occasionally seen in the courtyard and around the back of the school building
”Right now, you're like that injured kitten, Yumi-chan”
So, what happened? Sei-sa that conclusion
However, Yu She siuely understand what Sei-sa to say
When they reached the main road, they saw they were equidistant between two bus stops, so turned in the direction of traffic and kept walking
”But still With people, there's things you'll never know unless you talk to them Especially”
”Huh?”
For aabout Sachiko-sama, but she didn't
”Katou Kei”
”Ahh - ”
”Surprisingly, I think we could becoood friends”
”Is that so”
As she said this, Yumi smiled, just a little Sei-sama may not have noticed it herself, but it was possible that she had a soft spot for level-headed meddlers One of her closest friends, Sachiko-sama's onee-sama, Mizuno Youko-sa after a junior, Sei-sa one While there was always the possibility it was planned, it looked more like a latent tendency
”Oh”
Sei-sama turned around and called out The bus to M station was bearing down on them from behind
”Run, Yumi-chan”
Not waiting for clarification, Yuet away
Unlike trains, buses are affected by traffic conditions and other things If shewait for the next one
Barelyit to the bus stop ahead of the bus, they were breathing heavily as they climbed aboard
”You're looking healthy”
The bus driver, about the sae as her father, smiled as he welcomed them aboard
”Really?”
After showing her commuter pass, Yumi headed towards the back of the bus
Healthy
Ahh, right Looking from the outside, all anyone would probably see would be a healthy high-school girl
Her body still possessed the strength to run that far
”Healthy, hey”
Sei-saht beside her
The bus wasn't so eot a seat, but it wasn't overly crowded either
There were about a dozen girls in high-school uniform on the bus, probably on their way hoot on two stops from school, and bohen their eyes met Yumi bowed back at them
The high-school students probably had no idea that so had happened about two hours earlier, and shouldn't be able to guess anything based on her current appearance
After passing a number of bus stops, they turned a corner As the elbow of her arainst Yumi's, Sei-sama said:
”I won't escort you home”
”Okay”
She hadn't made a complete recovery just yet, but she was able to run to catch the bus She ell enough to ss with unfamiliar students
Therefore, she'd be fine She'd be able to get home by herself
Like usual, she changed buses at the train station, got off at the usual stop near her house and then all she had to do alk home
Left, right, left, right
If she continued walking like that, she'd soon be home
Left, right, left, right
In the same manner, tomorroould surely come too
It was just before 7 when she got home, and the preparations for dinner were already complete
”Go change, and rinse your mouth Dinner will be in five minutes”
Her mother didn't pry, probably thanks to Sei-sama's phone call There were only a couple of questions related to Katou-san, since they'd imposed on her Well, the fukuzawas placed complete faith in their children, so there was no reason she would be doubted
In the evening, as she was getting her books ready for tomorrow, Yumi was startled when she opened her school case The textbooks that she'd used that day were in an appalling condition
”Wah, ah”
For a moment, she couldn't understand what had taken place in there The top, looked like they'd been soaking up water
She'd coround along with her umbrella when she embraced Sei-sama It had probably landed in a puddle, and water seeped in through the opening
”… Ahhh”
Air had got between the pages of her rammar textbooks, and from above they looked just like a mille-feuille
Perhaps she could have done so to prevent it while they were still wet, but now that they were dry, the only way to get theinal condition would be to iron the them wet a second time floated into her mind, but she dismissed it because it seeer mess
The textbooks were used all through second-year, and Yumi was convinced that each time she saw those stains she'd be painfully re she could do about that
The stained textbooks could never be changed back to the way they were before
Yumi put the textbooks back into position within the bookends on her desk, and readied tomorrow's textbooks Then, just for a little bit, she couldn't hold back the tears and so they flowed, although there was no clear reason for them
At that moment, she couldn't hold on
She couldn't force herself to keep up a cheery facade Because right now, she was a wounded kitten She needed her wounds licked, to be protected, and for her exhausted body and soul to be tended to
She needed to rest, so that soth from this
Leave thinking about tomorrow until tomorrow
Yuhts, crawled into bed, and bid farewell to the many and varied events of that day