"Will you please keep this secret for me?" Young lowered her head. "I just don't want her to feel bad because of it. She has a strong future ahead of her… and I'll only become a burden."
She clenched her fists.
"So… please. Keep this from her."
Rush stood still. She hesitated. She didn't know what the right answer was.
"…Okay," she said at last. "I promise."
Young let out a small breath of relief, "Thank you... Sky..." A faint smile formed on her lips before she turned and walked toward the rooftop door, leaving Rush behind.
But just as Young reached the door—
"But… don't you think that's selfish?"
Young stopped.
Rush looked at her back.
"To leave her in the dark… not knowing what happened…" Rush continued. "Even if not today… Someday, you have to tell her."
Young didn't move.
"Otherwise," Rush added, "it will hurt just as much as you feared. She'll doubt herself. She'll wonder what she did wrong."
Rush lowered her head.
"Being left without knowing… when it's someone you treasure… is one of the worst feelings there is."
Young's fingers tightened on the door handle.
She hesitated.
No matter how painful it was... It might be true… but Young wasn't ready.
She clenched her jaw.
"I… I will think about it," she said at last.
Then she pushed the rooftop door open and left...
There, Rush remained standing there, staring at the closed door. Only to leave after gathering her thoughts from all those ponderous confessions. Disappearing down the stairs and back to where she waited Urara.
Meanwhile... downstairs, Lidden slowly rose from the floor too.
"I think… I've taken enough of your time, Urara," she said softly and bowed.
Urara blinked, tilting her head.
"But if what you said is right… Urara. Hopefully, we'll see each other again. And if not… I hope we can talk things out. Until then…" Lidden hesitated. "If you see Young… please let me know."
Urara instantly snapped into a salute.
"Yes, Madam!"
Her loud declaration immediately snatched their eyes to them. And Lidden panicked. "Ple– please, Urara! Don't do that! Everyone is looking…!"
After calming down from that, she bowed once more, "Thank you, Urara. Thank you for listening."
"It's no biggie!" Urara beamed, bouncing beside her.
Lidden gave one last small smile, "Thank you and see ya..." before turning and running off down the corridor again, still searching, still hoping to find Young before recess ended.
Meanwhile, Urara stayed and watched her fade into the distance.
Then, without another thought, she spun around and began bouncing back toward where she had left Rush.
Humming.
As if nothing heavy had just been shared...
After a few minutes of walking and humming, Urara finally returned to the corridor.
Rush was already there, waiting.
Upon realizing it, "Rush-chan! Sorry for the wait!" Urara beamed and hurried toward her.
"Oh! It's okay..." Rush replied.
"Then let's hurry back to our lunch!" Urara declared.
There they began walking back to their classroom for lunch, side by side.
Urara hummed as usual, carefree.
Rush, however, was silent.
Young's confession replayed in her mind. The illness. The dream that would be taken away. The fear of becoming a burden. And Lidden, still chasing after someone who was slowly stepping away for her sake.
And somehow… it reflected her own doubts. Wanting to be more. Fearing she wasn't enough. Wondering if she, too, was holding someone back.
Rush then glanced at Urara, who was still humming.
Still walking forward without hesitation.
There, quietly, she muttered, "Maybe… I do want to be inspired by you…"
"…Urara."
With that, the days passed as usual.
Lunches were shared. Urara failed simple questions with confidence. Mary's name still surfaced in conversations like a distant star.
And somewhere in the background, the space between Young and Lidden continued to grow.
And the rest of the day ended as it usually did...
***
***
***
Three weeks later…
Mary was still on the track.
After school, alone with her trainer once again.
She crossed the finish line and slowed to a halt, wiping the sweat from her chin as the sky dimmed above her. A plane roared overhead, blinking.
"This makes ten," her trainer muttered, glancing at the stopwatch. "You broke your record again!"
Mary said nothing.
Ten times. Ten times she broke her record...
Yet it was still not the world record.
She turned back toward the starting line.
"Again," she said, hurried back to her stance, preparing for another lap.
—
Meanwhile, at Urara's house—
"URARA! EAT YOUR PICKLE!"
"NOOOOO!"
Urara zigzagged across the living room as her mother chased after her with chopsticks in hand. For someone who lacked stamina on the track, she was remarkably fast when fleeing vegetables.
"URARA!!!!!!!" Her mother let out her final roar.
—
Then... at the neighborhood field, Rush perched on the grass, breathing calmly after her run, her training.
She then pulled out her phone. As she unlocked her screen, her gallery was opened, and on the screen was a photo from that day in town—her, Urara, and Lidden squeezed into the picture, smiling for the selfie. It was the day they hung out.
There she also recalled...
Lidden's fallout with Young, and how she had slowly become part of their small circle.
Rush's thumb lingered over Lidden's face in the picture.
And then—
More memory returned.
The same classroom.
After school.
"SCREW YOU, YOUNG!"
Lidden shouted.
"AND HERE I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND! YOU'RE SO CRUEL… I hate you… I HATE YOU!"
Tears streamed down her face as her fists trembled at her sides.
Meanwhile, Young stood still, her head lowered, not an inch moved.
Rush and Urara were, too, standing there, watching the drama unfold before them, speechless.
Suddenly—
Lidden grabbed Urara's wrist and stormed out, dragging the startled pink girl behind her. "Wait... Lin-chan!" Urara yelped as they slowly trailed off into the distance.
Meawhile... Young's composure finally broke once they left.
"It's painful, isn't it…? After all that..." she whispered, choking as she turned toward Rush. Tears rolled down her cheeks, though she still tried to keep her composure.
"And here I thought that everything was going to be okay... Yet... it wasn't... Not a slightest..."
"But... I guess at least it was worth it..." she added before she, too, walked away, wiping her tears.
There, Rush sighed.
Young hadn't told the truth.
She had lied.
A filthy, deliberate lie.
She had claimed she only befriended Lidden to test racing theories. That Lidden was merely a subject. That she was bored now, and so she severed their friendship. That she had no attachment.
Cruel words.
Designed to push Lidden away so she would leave on her own accord.
So she would hate her.
So she would not cling to someone who was fading.
One would forever resent the other.
And one would forever endure being resented by someone she truly loved.
It was painful to witness.
Then, Rush lifted her head and stared at the setting sky.
The wind brushed against her face. The field was quiet. Peaceful.
For a moment, everything felt quiet.
Then—
Rush's hand trembled as she pulled up her phone again and swiped, remembering the most important thing...
The schedule.
The upcoming match.
Her and Urara's names in the same bracket, a bracket for disqualification from the race.
Her grip tightened...
What will happen if they run together... if she beats her...
Does it mean she will be using her as a stepping stone again...?
Like she was supposed to during the relay...
How can someone as average as her deserve to beat Urara...
It should've been someone like Mary to do that deed... not her...
Maybe she... she should withdraw... from it...
Maybe Young was right... Someone as ordinary as her… someone like Young… wasn't meant to compete against someone with a future. Wasn't meant for the spotlight.
They should always remain on the sidelines...