"Sorry, there was a traffic jam on the road, so I arrived a bit late."
Wearing a black leather jacket with a strong punk style, the tall (relatively) and dashing woman slightly lowered her head, and her straightforward voice carried a hint of coldness.
She handed a box of chocolate-flavored pudding drink with a panda design to the girl in front of her, and said seriously, "This is a gift of apology."
"…Do you think I'm a child?", Shiina Taki crossed her arms and couldn't help but roll her eyes at the scene.
"So, do you want it or not?"
"…I want it."
Although Umiri making her wait for half an hour was detestable, the drink was innocent.
As a passionate panda lover, Shiina Taki found it hard to reject anything with "panda" elements.
She sighed, casually accepted the drink, and then asked blandly, "So, what did you call me out for?"
It was a rare weekend, no school, and because of work shifts, she didn't have to go to her part-time job either.
With a rare bit of leisure time, Shiina Taki had been pondering whether to use this unusual day off to invite Tomori out for a coffee, and maybe deepen their relationship a little… But before she could act, she received a call from someone else.
Yahata Umiri, female, a first-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls' Private Academy, and also Shiina Taki's classmate, as well as one of her few friends.
Though they were friends, neither of them had particularly outgoing personalities, so their interaction style didn't seem close. The few exchanges they had were concise and efficient. Straight to the point, rarely wasting words, and this time was no exception.
"The support band captain gave me two aquarium tickets yesterday," Yhata Umiri was succinct, "I couldn't find anyone else to use them with, so I thought of you."
Although she said this kind of miserable-sounding line like "I don't have friends," her demeanor was especially calm, her tone so natural it was like asking "Have you eaten?", giving off a kind of transcendent "not delighted by external things, not saddened by oneself" aura.
Shiina Taki: "..."
Taki was choked by her bluntness and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
"…Forget it."
She couldn't help but facepalm. She was already here; it wasn't like she could turn around and go home, right?
Might as well use the time.
Besides…
If she remembered correctly, Tomori seemed to really like places like aquariums?
And today was Sunday… maybe there was a chance encounter in store?
Okay, the possibility of that was still too low after all.
Taki shook her head, dismissed her wild thoughts, and was about to walk toward the distant aquarium with Umiri when, at the moment she lifted her foot, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.
Signature short gray hair, paired with a long-sleeved sweatshirt, seen from afar, like a clumsy little penguin.
That was…
"Tomori?", Taki froze for a second.
To coincidentally run into a familiar friend in Tokyo, which covers 2,155 square kilometers and has a resident population of 37.5 million, especially without any prior appointment, that probability was practically worthy of a lottery win.
Taki should have felt happy about this unexpected reunion.
Yes, she should have.
But…
After clearly seeing the scene in the distance, she simply couldn't bring herself to smile.
Kaito.
That name which had once sent her thoughts into chaos, caused her sleepless nights, and eventually made her choose to avoid, now appeared before her eyes, together with Tomori.
Weekend, opposite genders around the same age, appearing at a place like an aquarium, known to be a legendary date location.
All these factors added together made it hard not to overthink.
'Are they… dating?'
This thought popped into her head, and Taki's gaze became somewhat complicated.
How could she describe her feelings?
If she had to say, it was… hollow.
All along, Tomori's position in her heart had been like that of a princess in a tower. Innocent and naive, beautiful and delicate, needing care and to be held in the palm of one's hand.
And in fact, Taki had done just that. She held great hostility toward anything or anyone that might harm Tomori, and could be called the most loyal and devoted knight of the princess.
But she was only a knight.
Just like in most fairy tales, the ending was always the princess living happily ever after with the prince.
Taki had long expected that day to come, but actually witnessing it in person. Her chest still felt tight, like an invisible hand had gripped it, making it hard to breathe.
Although she didn't harbor strange feelings for Tomori, her heart was overwhelmed by protective instincts. But still, it felt like a hard-working old farmer, watching the cabbage they had tended so carefully get taken by a pig from out of town, one would be heartbroken too.
Though… who was the cabbage and who was the pig? That was still up for debate.
The conflicted Shiina Taki didn't even notice Wakaba Komu and Metis, who were also present, her mind was filled with one sentence, 'I came first.'
"What's wrong?", Noticing she had suddenly stopped, Yahata Umiri looked puzzled.
This was the first time she had seen Taki look so out of it. Though the wording might not be polite, it really gave her a strange sense of deja vu, like seeing a stray dog that had been randomly kicked on the street and had its bone stolen.
Shiina Taki, unaware of her friend's thoughts, stayed silent for a while, then pretended to be calm and said, "It's nothing, just… saw a few friends. A little surprised."
'That's all?'
Umiri neither affirmed nor denied, only followed Taki's gaze.
Her eyes fell on those unfamiliar figures in the distance, and she showed a thoughtful expression.
'I see, a love triangle?'
But Yahata Umiri quickly dismissed the idea. She counted the number of people, then shook her head mentally.
It was more like a pentagon of love.
Surprised? Not really.
As a support musician for thirty bands, she had seen more than enough messy male-female, female-female, or male-male relationships, none of it shocked her anymore.
Yahata Umiri wasn't interested in such things. Ultimately, she was just a hired hand. Get paid, do the job, leave after the performance. She had no plans or time to get involved in other people's emotional entanglements.
But if one day, even her few friends got dragged into this kind of boring emotional whirlpool and ended up devastated and broken…
"Wanna follow them and take a look?", she suddenly asked.
"Huh?", Taki froze for a moment, and before she could shake her head to refuse, Umiri continued, "You look really bothered. If you can't let go, might as well see for yourself what's going on."
After a pause, she added, "I do have some confidence when it comes to tailing people, don't worry about being spotted."
'So… where exactly did you gain this tailing experience?', Taki was ready to retort but held back.
After a brief hesitation, her sour emotions won out, and she lightly nodded.
'I'm just worried about Tomori's safety.'
She silently repeated this sentence in her heart, as if reminding herself of a fact she must not forget.
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