Chapter 60 - /.

It was the day after I'd been rolling around at home and come to accept things, in my own way. 

I woke up at the same time as usual, ate breakfast, and rode my bicycle to school. 

Or so was my intention, but as I approached the school, my pedaling kept slowing down, and in the end, I wound up sliding into the classroom barely on time. 

…Nah, there's no way after all. If I could wipe it all away in a day or two, I wouldn't have ended up with this personality in the first place. 

Without making excuses to anyone as I grumbled away in my head, I kept my head facedown on my desk. I was just so, so embarrassed. I was being extremely careful not to approach Yuigahama. 

But still, she must have been a little concerned about me, as our eyes met at chance moments before morning homeroom and then during class. 

Every time, I immediately jerked my eyes away and pretended I was napping. 

What the hell is this, what the hell is this…? I kept thinking with a fervor, sticking my open notebook to my face, like when you chant the name of the Buddha in sleep paralysis. During breaks, I aimlessly wandered out to the bathroom and the vending machine, and for lunch, I ate my meal in my usual place, muttering to myself the whole time, "It's cold, so cold." 

But the clock was startlingly fast that day. 

Before I knew it, classes were over. 

Finally, this time had come. 

But while I was dawdling away here, Yuigahama might finish chatting with Miura and Ebina and then come over to invite me to go with her. I'd rather she not. It'd be a little embarrassing. 

Maybe Yuigahama had picked up on that, or she had her own reservations; she hadn't approached me during the day. But now that school was done, it would be a different matter. 

I'd leave the classroom before that happened. 

I ambled down the hallway from the school building to the specialuse building. 

Frankly, my legs were far heavier now than the day back in middle school when my feelings for my crush had been rejected. Thinking back on it, I'd had an idea of how she would react, so that would have made me less anxious. Either people would have a good laugh at my expense, or she'd try to act cheerful and normal with me in an attempt to make it look like she wasn't bothered by it, but her smiles would be very strained, and she'd utterly fail in the attempt. I got the feeling it was uncommon to be completely ignored. 

That sort of preestablished fake harmony would have been easier. 

But I couldn't predict how Yukinoshita or Yuigahama would react. 

Preoccupied with my self-reflection, I reached the clubroom before I knew it. I'd tried to walk fairly slowly. Had it always been so close? Normally, I would take at least one glance out the window, but my attention wasn't on other matters today. 

Standing in front of the clubroom, I sighed. 

…I wanna go home, I thought. But I was the one who'd requested their help. Turning back now was not an option. 

Steeling myself, I pulled open the clubroom door. 

The door wasn't locked, and the sun was still high, so daylight filled the clubroom. The curtains were opened. The unused desks and chairs were in stacks, but our three chairs and the desk were still there, unchanged. And Yukinoshita sat there, in one of the chairs. 

She looked up from the book she'd been reading. With the same composed look as always, she said, "Hello." 

"Uh—uh-huh." 

Her reaction was more normal than I'd expected. A bit anticlimactic, really. I guess sometimes something will worry you, while everyone 

else thinks nothing of it. That's archetypal excessive selfconsciousness. 

A little relieved, I sat down in the chair diagonal from her and pulled a paperback out of my bag. I opened it up to my bookmarked page, but I couldn't remember at all what I'd been reading. Going back over the page, finally, I found a familiar line. 

It seemed it'd be the first substantial reading time in a while. 

Yukinoshita and I passed a quiet, wordless time. Occasionally, I heard the sound of turning pages or a throat clearing. But when the throat clearing happened several times in a row, of course that caught my attention. I looked over to see Yukinoshita clearing her throat one more time before opening her mouth. "Um." 

Perhaps trying to hide the slight crack in her voice, she cleared her throat again. Then she gave me an examining look, and when our eyes met, she jerked her gaze away. "…Um, about today. Could you tell me the time and place?" 

Oh yeah. I'd missed my moment to speak when I came in, but I'd requested the Service Club help with the Christmas event. So I needed to fill them in. But we were still missing one person. It would be wrong to start without her. "Oh yeah… Can we do that once Yuigahama's here?" 

"…Of course. You'd have to explain twice, wouldn't you?" Yukinoshita said quietly, dropping her gaze to her book. After that, she fell silent, and I didn't particularly say anything, either. It seemed silence would fall for a little while more. 

But that silence shattered with the sound of the door being slapped open. 

"Yahallo!" Yuigahama exclaimed, full of energy as she came in. 

"…Hey." 

"Hello." 

When we both responded to her greeting, Yuigahama smiled in satisfaction and headed for her usual seat. When she got there, she considered a bit, then dragged her chair over to Yukinoshita. It seemed those chairs were actually far lighter than I had thought. 

Once she'd adjusted her chair's position, she chuckled and sat down. 

"…You're very close," Yukinoshita muttered uncomfortably, and then she shifted her chair away slightly. But Yuigahama just chased her, moving her chair that much closer. 

"…Um, Yuigahama… Could you move away?" Yukinoshita asked hesitantly, and Yuigahama's expression clouded. She inched her chair away again, then laid her hands on her lap, head drooping. 

"Oh…yeah, of course…" 

"Um, that's not really what I…" Yukinoshita started to say something when she saw Yuigahama's reaction, but then she fell silent. 

There was some clear lingering tension in their exchange. It was emotionally exhausting to witness. 

Well, those superficial interactions had gone on for some time, and they had argued the day before. Maybe it'd be difficult to be friends again like before right away. I'm talking about it like it's not my business here, but I didn't know the right way to deal with them, either. 

Now, I had no clue what was right, but nevertheless, I wanted to believe this was a little more alive than that cold time had been. For now, I had to do what I had to do. 

Searching for the right moment to address them, I cleared my throat a few times, too. 

After I gave the girls a rough summary of the joint Christmas event and our present situation, we headed for the community center on schedule. 

Within the clubroom and on the way to the meeting, we only had businesslike conversations. In terms of the word count, I bet it was higher back when we were having those superficial conversations. 

I pushed my bicycle while the two walked along behind me. After a while, we saw Isshiki at the community center entrance. It seemed she was waiting for me today. 

I left my bike in the bicycle parking and walked over to Isshiki. When she noticed us, she looked surprised, and her eyes went back and forth between the three of us. "Yui and Yukinoshita…? Wh-what's going on?" 

"Oh. I asked them to help," I stated very briefly, then went inside the community center. Isshiki nodded, following me inside, while Yukinoshita and Yuigahama took up the rear. 

"Oh, I see… Oh, um, that's a real big help!" Isshiki smiled brightly at the other two girls. 

Yuigahama replied with a "Yahallo!" and a smile. "I'm glad to be doing this with you, Iroha-chan," she said. 

Yukinoshita, beside her, agreed with a nod. "I hear things aren't going well." 

"Yeahhh, they aren't," Isshiki said as she handed me a convenience store bag. 

She gets used to things fast, but I just accepted the rapid change. 

Yuigahama's and Yukinoshita's feet stopped right there. 

"…" 

"…" 

Because they had stopped so suddenly, I turned around and saw the two of them staring at that convenience store bag. Yuigahama was gaping at it in astonishment, while Yukinoshita's gaze on it was icy. 

"What…?" I asked. Yukinoshita looked away, while Yuigahama gave me a laugh with a small wave in front of her chest. 

"Oh, nothing." 

"Oh, uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, nothing." 

Feeling those uncomfortable gazes on me, I ascended the stairs. Yuigahama was taking it all in with curious "Ohhh"s, while Yukinoshita walked with calm disinterest. 

Then we arrived in the lecture room where the meeting would be held. 

"Hiii, everyone!" With a casual greeting to the people there, Isshiki went in, and we followed after her. Attention gathered on Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. 

Isshiki scooted over to Tamanawa to discuss something. She was probably telling him that a couple more people had come to help, or something like that. Tamanawa responded with an easygoing nod. 

In the meantime, I thumped down the convenience store bag on an empty seat and briskly opened it up. Seeing this, Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, and the student council came to help me out. 

Then, when Yuigahama was pouring the drinks, she gave a quiet "Ah." When I followed her gaze, I found Orimoto. She stared back at us, eyes widening. 

Oh yeah, I completely forgot Orimoto was here… Wondering how she would react to seeing me again, I got a little worried. 

But she didn't come over, just offered a casual bow. Yuigahama hurriedly bobbed her head back while Yukinoshita stared at her. 

Well, not one of them has a good impression of the others… They didn't even know where their own relationship stood, so there was no way they could consider Orimoto, too. Frankly speaking, they already had their hands full. 

"I guess we should sit…," Yuigahama said to us. 

"Oh yeah." 

"Of course." 

Yukinoshita and I nodded, and when I sat down in my usual spot, Yuigahama took a seat beside me, while Yukinoshita sat where Isshiki had always been sitting. Of course Miss Yukinoshita would naturally take a seat at the head of the table. 

But when Isshiki came back, she was confused. "H-huh? My seat…," she murmured, hovering around Yukinoshita. 

Noticing her, Yukinoshita started to get up. "Oh, I'm sorry. You all have designated seats, don't you?" 

"Oh. No, no, no, it's fine, it's fine! I'll be comfortable over there," Isshiki said, stopping Yukinoshita as she took the open seat beside the vice president. 

When Tamanawa saw that everyone was seated, he came over to his usual post as the would-be moderator and opened his MacBook Air, taking note of the faces present. "Is everyone here? Then let's begin." He greeted everyone with a "Thank you for coming" and a bow, and the meeting commenced. 

That day for sure we'd decide what we would do for the Christmas event…or that was the plan. I'd emphasized this to Tamanawa beforehand, and we'd also had a day's break in between. If we didn't decide now, this really would be out of hand. 

The one to get things started was, of course, our aspiring chairman Tamanawa. He addressed the Kaihin student council and distributed printouts. "After our brainstorming the other day, I considered things a bit on my own and made an outline. Please look it over." 

It seemed he'd canceled the meeting the day before in order to make this. The outline was titled Christmas Concert Event in a cheery font. Below, the content of the plan was listed. I think this was more like a proposal than an outline, but I decided not to nitpick and quietly read along instead. 

It was a concert event with the concept "music connecting us now," encompassing wide-ranging genres of music. It featured a five-part composition of concerts for classical, rock, jazz, hymns, and gospel music, and between each concert would be a Christmas-themed play, including a musical using the usual holiday songs. It was an allgenre Christmas event to exhibit the synergy of music and theater to the fullest. 

…I did a general skim of it, then read it once more in depth. But what was written there didn't change. 

Come on, this is beyond a compromise plan—it's a chimera. All it does is incorporate every idea that came up. 

I figured what was described as an orchestra for the classical music on the meeting records was an issue of scale. I didn't really understand the difference between hymns and gospel, but he'd deliberately written them separately, so I assumed they were different… The rest of the ideas had basically been thrown in there as suggested, and at a glance, it did look like an actual proposal. 

But the result of incorporating all those opinions was that this plan was massive. Although I couldn't say this could never work, it didn't seem realistic. 

"What do you think?" Tamanawa asked no one in particular, and everyone's reactions were things like "Hmm, I think it'll be good," or "This looks like fun," or "This'll be exciting." They spoke positively, but not at all expressing complete agreement. 

Were they only offering half-hearted, vague agreement because we weren't allowed to reject ideas during all the brainstorming? Or because nobody had been examining this seriously? 

But at this rate, nothing would get decided. We had to be realistic, point out elements that were impossible to realize, and get ready to cut something. 

"This is too big," I said. "And is there anyone here who can play music?" 

"Yeah, we'll consider outsourcing, too." Tamanawa had anticipated that question and had his answer ready. "For classical and jazz, there are services you can hire for private concerts, and for the band, we have people at our school who can provide their talents. As for the plays and musical, if we request the cooperation of the theater club, I think it'll work out somehow. For the gospel…a church, I guess?" 

His reply was a prime example of his tendency to leave problems to other people. Can we even call it our event anymore…? 

I don't think asking someone else to handle things is bad. It's often better to leave it to the people with actual skills rather than making a poor attempt at things that aren't your specialty. If we could leave it to someone else and have it work out, I really didn't mind. 

The other question was just how realistic this plan was. Thinking back on the date on the calendar, I asked, "So do you have the schedule of those services for hire?" I didn't think they'd simply come right over if we went to them the day before. I mean, those sorts of businesses are busy around the Christmas season, I'm sure. 

"We can start checking over that now." 

Uh, you should have already checked that first… Clearly, this was far more useless than a picture of a mochi. This was as useless as an illustration of a moe character who's the anthropomorphization of mochi named "Mochimi-chan" (with huge boobs). 

Tamanawa must have seen the look on my face. "First, I would seek a consensus from everyone. I share the grand design, and then we can circle back to deep dive on where to trim the fat." 

"Trim…the fat?" Yuigahama tilted her head. Well, we could explain that terminology to her later. For now, the important thing was to do something about the meeting. 

This time, I'd attack from a different angle. 

"But, like, is this youth-minded? I feel like this is different from the intent of our original plan." 

"That's why the theme includes now. I think we should show them high school kids now, presenting an out-of-the-box paradigm shift in the stereotypical conception of high schoolers." 

"Out of…? Para…? Conception?" Yuigahama tilted her head yet again. 

Well, we could explain the terminology to her later… Wait, you know conception. 

Anyway, assuming we'd explain to Yuigahama to later, the problem was Tamanawa. Frankly, I felt like Look at reality was enough of a counterargument, but telling that to someone who refuses to face actual facts wouldn't amount to anything. 

About all we could do was gently attempt to push him toward surrender by presenting realistic walls and hurdles that were out of our control. 

I had my cards ready. 

I pulled out the tentative budget I'd put together the other day and had already given Tamanawa. All the hiring expenses for the concert were compiled there. While carefully confirming those figures in detail, I asked Tamanawa, "If we're hiring an outside party, then what about the budget?" 

I recalled from the tentative budget I'd handed in earlier that the typical market rate for one performer was about thirty or forty thousand yen per hour. And if you needed one each for classical and jazz, that would be double the fee. And then if you were to increase the number of performers further, there would be a corresponding increase in expense. And then the gospel would be another fee on top of that, and it would certainly cost quite a bit. Our current budget would obviously not be enough to accommodate everything on this proposal. 

But Tamanawa's answer didn't change from before. "The point of this meeting is to consider solutions to these problems." 

If he was going to be like that, then there was nothing more I could say. 

It wasn't as if the plan Tamanawa had put forth was bad. If we'd had enough time, manpower, and funds, then it would have worked. This plan wasn't a total impossibility. 

But given the current situation, we were lacking in all three of those resources. 

When I fell silent, no one else made any counterarguments, either, and the meeting moved on to a discussion of how to realize this plan and how to procure the funds. 

After firming up the matter of the funds, they'd probably settle on how to shave down the content. But I think most likely, by the time they came to that decision, there'd be no more time, and they'd have to reduce the content even more. 

I could imagine this future so easily. I breathed a little sigh. 

Once we got through the meeting, I was exhausted. 

In the end, we still hadn't even decided what exactly we were going to do for the event, and the meeting had turned into a deliberation on carrying things forward. Not only was it less than a week until Christmas, the following day was Saturday. At this point in the game, the weekend was a pretty painful loss of time. 

Beside me, Yukinoshita was disheartened, too. She gently brought her hand to her temple as if she had a headache and breathed a sigh. "This is worse than I imagined… It's been like this the whole time?" 

"…Yeah." Well, it had actually been a little worse than this. The appearance of concrete nouns meant that considerable progress had been made. I chuckled a little spitefully, thinking about it. 

"You couldn't even engage in a proper discussion. Just watching was irritating…," Yukinoshita said, aggravated. 

Yuigahama responded with a tired nod. "Yeah… It feels like they won't listen at all." 

But Tamanawa wasn't that kind of guy. Having dealt with him all this time, I knew that well. "I wish it was just that… He half listens and then just adds stuff, and that steers everything further off course." "Ahhh, yeah. He does do that…," Isshiki agreed with a sigh. 

In an attempt to break the heavy atmosphere, Yuigahama turned back to me with a renewed burst of enthusiasm. "So then what should we do?" 

"…No idea," I answered honestly. Frankly, part of me had been thinking that with luck, if we could decide everything in the meeting that day with a burst of effort, it'd work out. Even if we couldn't resolve everything, there'd still be a little bit of progress. But pop off the cap, and you got this. 

When I was considering what to do, Yukinoshita gave me a close look and muttered, "…So you don't know everything." 

"What? Are you being sarcastic? Of course there's lots of things I don't know," I retorted automatically, like the last time, and Yukinoshita was struck silent. 

"That's not what I meant, um…" She turned away from me as she gently bit her lip. She dropped her gaze. Before, this exchange would have been nothing, but now it was awkward. I couldn't get a good grasp on where we stood with each other. 

It was too uncomfortable, and I scratched hard at my head. "…No, sorry. I want to do something, but I really don't know." 

"…I'm not trying to blame you," she replied quietly, head still drooping. 

Watching us, Yuigahama timidly cut in. "A-anyway, for now, let's start by thinking about what we can do. Right?" 

Yukinoshita lifted her head. "You're right." Then she lightly folded her arms and touched her hand to her chin. That pose must have helped her gather her thoughts, as she slowly began to talk it through. "I think the first thing to consider is narrowing this event down to something feasible, but…" 

"Yeah…but still, with things as they are…," Isshiki said, remembering the earlier meeting. Reducing the scale of the event was not an option with this crew. 

Yukinoshita must have thought the same after witnessing the process herself. She nodded back at Isshiki. "Well, then we must think about additional funds. If we're going to hire someone to perform for us, then securing those funds is imperative, and if we're going to have a student band, then securing a place and practice time is urgent. The music room can be used for practice, but if it's not available, then we'll have to borrow a studio, and that will incur more fees." 

Now that she said it, I realized—oh, it wasn't just the expenses on the day of. We also had to take initial costs into calculation… "That raises the budget even higher…," I muttered. 

And we still hadn't decided what we were going to do, either, so we couldn't even make the calculations. We were completely stuck. 

While I was in my own head, Yukinoshita continued. "I suppose what comes next will be a discussion of how to secure the funds. Either we have the school pay, or we split the bill among ourselves. There's also the option of searching for another sponsor somewhere, but that seems unlikely, time-wise." 

"Yeah, since we have less than a week left." This deadline would be harsher than I'd thought. With this schedule, it didn't seem we could work something out, even if we had decided on a plan. 

"Realistically speaking, this should come from student council funds, but I doubt we'll be able to secure that, with this proposal and plan…" Yukinoshita looked at the outline Tamanawa had just handed out, scratching in things and drawing lines on it with a red pen. In the blink of an eye, the outline was red all over with corrections and notes. 

Yuigahama let out a "Whoa" with a look of respect as she watched Yukinoshita at work, while Isshiki flinched away, watching her with fear and awe in her eyes. 

Well, I could get that. In no time at all, Yukinoshita had organized the issue and was proposing a concrete plan. Amazing, as always. I doubted there was anyone else there who could surpass Yukinoshita when it came to seeing through business like this. 

But it seemed that even she couldn't come up with a solution that easily, as she drew a big X over a note she'd written and breathed a shallow sigh. "But I don't think that's the issue. There's something more fundamental…" 

It seemed she wasn't convinced herself, but from where I stood, that was enough progress. At the very least, we had something to focus on now. 

"For now, let's just handle the task they've handed us. First, we talk to the school about money and check whether they can add some extra funds," I said and stood. 

Yukinoshita looked up at me with slight unease. It was unusual to see her looking unsure, and it confused me a little. "Wh-what is it?" I asked. 

She jerked her head away. "Oh, no… If this is all, I thought you would have come up with it, too." 

"No, I hadn't formed a concrete plan." 

"I see… All right, then," she said and stood. 

Anyway, first thing is pestering 'em for cash… Money's the first thing we have to decide, huh? Even though it's Christmas. So much for seasonal spirit… 

We left the supervision of the elementary school kids and the updating of the meeting records to the student council, while our 

Service Club trio plus Isshiki returned to the school. We had to talk to Miss Hiratsuka about everything, since she was the one who was supervising this joint event. 

Entering the staff room, I headed for Miss Hiratsuka's spot, where she was doing some kind of paperwork at her desk. 

…This is unusual. When I go to her, she's always eating food or watching anime. 

"Miss Hiratsuka," I addressed her, and she looked up. 

Then she turned to me, as well as Yukinoshita and Yuigahama behind me, and smiled broadly. "Hikigaya. Looks like you've done your homework." 

That remark seemed to stun Yuigahama, and she blinked. "Homework?" 

"We haven't gotten any homework for Japanese class," I told her. Please stop inviting misunderstandings. 

Yuigahama sighed in relief. "Of course, phew! You startled me, there!" 

Miss Hiratsuka smiled pleasantly and spun her chair around to face us. "Anyway…did you need something?" 

"Yes… Isshiki, explain for her," said Yukinoshita. 

"Huh?! Me?!" Isshiki had not been paying attention at all until her name was introduced. She gaped in dramatic shock. 

"This is your responsibility, isn't it?" Yukinoshita flicked a rather sharp glance at her. 

"Urk…," Isshiki moaned. 

I—I wonder if she'll be okay. It's a little late for this, but I'm worried about their relationship. Maybe I should help her out…, I was thinking when Isshiki took a step forward. 

"Ummm. Miss Hiratsuka, we need to ask you something…" 

"Hmm, let's hear it." 

So Isshiki summarized events, the proposal that had been made, and the pending issue of money. Yukinoshita filled in where necessary, where information was missing or unclear. 

Once we'd finished catching up Miss Hiratsuka, she leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. "So first, the budget, eh…?" "Yeah," I replied. 

"Hmm." Miss Hiratsuka nodded and said, "It seems you kids don't understand what Christmas is all about." 

"Huh?" When I tilted my head in a silent question, the teacher clapped her hands as if she'd come up with something. 

"Then I'll show you," she said, and she grabbed the bag sitting on the side of her desk and rummaged around inside it. Then she pulled something out. "This!" She waved some weird pieces of paper. "Tadaa!" 

The corners were folded and twisted, but looking closely, they seemed to be some kind of tickets. 

"Those are tickets for Destiny Land, aren't they…?" Yukinoshita knew them at a glance. 

Now that she mentioned it, looking closely, I saw they were decorated with little illustrations of Ginnie the Grue. 

Huh, oh yeah, they did look like that. By the way, the tickets you use for entrance aren't called tickets. Destiny Land calls itself the "land of dreams," so the ticket needed for entrance is called a passport. They're really detail-oriented like that. 

Yuigahama looked up at the tickets. "Ohhh. Why do you have these? And there's four…" 

In response, Miss Hiratsuka set the tickets down and chuckled with an unpleasant smile. "Yeah, I won them at a wedding afterparty…and twice… 'You can go alone twice!' they told me. Twice…" Hearing that, my eyes just about overflowed with tears. 

Hey! How could they say such a thing! Of course Miss Hiratsuka would go four times and then, after she had way more fun than she expected, would pay herself to go a fifth time—obviously! Worst case, on her sixth time, I'd even go with her. Seriously, there's gonna be all sorts of problems if someone doesn't marry her soon. 

As I gazed at Miss Hiratsuka with teary eyes, she stuck a cigarette in her mouth and chewed at the filter. "I'll give you these, so go study up on the place a little. Christmas is great at Destiny Land, so it should be a useful reference. Besides…it'll be a good break for you." She cracked a smile at us. 

Well, it was true that there was nothing we could do now. If we used this for both data collecting and as a break, it wouldn't be completely useless. 

But wouldn't it be a more effective use of these tickets to just convert them into money…? I wondered, but beside me, Isshiki and 

Yuigahama were excitedly exclaiming "Oooh!" so I couldn't say it out loud. 

"Can we really? Thank you so much!" Isshiki was gleeful. 

But I really wasn't. And the reason for that popped out of my mouth. "Why at a time when it's so damn crowded…?" 

"Yes, I would rather not…" Yukinoshita nodded in agreement. Well, she doesn't seem the type to enjoy loud places and crowds. 

But some people liked the feeling of a festival; Yuigahama looked put out by our remarks. "Whaaat? Why not? Let's go!" 

"You underestimate Destiny Land in winter," I said. "The winds are cold and bitter. It's right by the ocean, you know." 

Yukinoshita added, "And it's also crowded and filled with long lines." 

But Yuigahama didn't back down. "Huh…? Ah! But, but…Grue-bear! There's Grue's Bamboo Hunt! You know, before when we watched that DVD, you said you'd like to go!" 

Yukinoshita reacted with a twitch to the word Grue-bear. Her head turned jerkily to the side, as if her neck were a rusty joint. "…Why go to the trouble of picking a crowded season when I can go any time?" 

Seeing her discomfort, Yuigahama seized the chance to press further. 

"Come on, come on! Since it's Christmas, won't it be made all 

Christmassy? Like they do for the Spooky Manor and stuff." 

"No, this year, the Bamboo Hunt is as usual. And it's never been done in Christmas style before—since in the first place, the attraction emphasizes world aesthetic," Yukinoshita replied flatly, eyes sparkling and flashing in response to Yuigahama's offensive. Her tone of voice was more intense than usual. If you're gonna talk Grue-bear with Yukinoshita, you gotta get it right, I guess… 

Yukinoshita's forceful reply kept Yuigahama from any reply other than "Urk." Beside her, Isshiki was weirded out, while Miss Hiratsuka watched with deep interest. Though I was already aware of 

Yukinoshita's love for Ginnie the Grue, I was a little weirded out, too, and I couldn't help but comment. "You know a lot about this…" 

"It's common knowledge," Yukinoshita said, jerking her head away. Her pink cheeks indicated she was embarrassed about her impassioned speech. 

And hey, in what land is that common knowledge? The land of dreams? 

Even after being completely argued down, Yuigahama still didn't give up, tug-tugging at Yukinoshita's sleeve. "Let's go!" 

"Absolutely not." The matter of Grue-bear must have had the opposite effect, and Yukinoshita was adamant. 

Gradually, Yuigahama's voice weakened, too, but her hand holding 

Yukinoshita's sleeve squeezed harder. "…I want to go with you, Yukinon. I mean, because of all that stuff lately. And we have this chance…" 

Yukinoshita's head suddenly dropped. 

Before, Yukinoshita would have instantly capitulated to this sort of request, but now she was struggling. She didn't know how to deal with it. 

…So it won't go that easy after all. 

I was reminded that what was lost will not come back. 

Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, and I couldn't figure out how close to be with one another. 

Maaan, these people are such a pain in the butt! Especially me! 

I was the one who'd caused this mess in the first place, so I'd take responsibility for that at least. 

I scratched roughly at my head and mobilized all my knowledge of Destiny Land. 

You can't underestimate my Chiba data. Having a particularly keen mind for all things Chiba is what I'm all about. And Tokyo Destiny Land is included in that. When you get to be a Chibanese of my level, you can answer the question "Is Destiny Land in Tokyo? Or Chiba?" in falsetto: "It's the land of dreams! Ha-ha! " By the way, the correct answer to that trivia question is Chiba. 

While pulling out my knowledge of Chiba and Destiny Land, a light bulb turned on over my head. "Merch." "Huh?" Yukinoshita tilted her head. 

"Aren't they selling a Christmas version of Grue-bear? I'd like to pick out something like that for Komachi's Christmas present…" 

The promise of merch alone might not be enough; it was always possible Yukinoshita already had a complete set. Seasonal limited items and choosing a present should make the excuse work better. 

Yuigahama must have picked up on what I was going for, as her face shone. "Oh, that's a good idea! Let's all pick something out for her!" She grabbed Yukinoshita's hand in both of her own. 

Yukinoshita gave up resisting and went slack with a sigh. "…If that's the plan, then, well, I suppose I have no choice." 

"Yeah!" 

Yukinoshita looked upon Yuigahama's innocent glee with a smile, then suddenly turned to me. Looking a little serious, she asked, "Does Komachi like Ginnie the Grue?" 

"Huh? Uh, I guess…" 

"I see. I didn't know. Then that makes choosing a little difficult…," she said, looking somehow glad. Maybe she was thinking she'd made a Grue-bear friend. 

…Whoops. I'd just come up with a reason offhand, but maybe I should tell Komachi to study up on Grue-bear… W-well, Komachi can go along with her conversation somehow! I believe in her! I think if she screwed up some Grue-bear trivia, Yukinoshita would probably get really mad at her, but Komachi will be okay! Big Brother believes in you! 

As I was mentally apologizing to Komachi, I heard a low moan of muuurg. I looked over to see Isshiki making duck lips and eyeing us with lowered lids. 

"What's wrong?" I asked, but she turned her head away as if she wasn't interested. 

"Oh, nothiiing. I was just wondering if something was up." Then, as if a thought had struck her suddenly, she gasped, "Ah!" and turned back to us. "But, like, all four of us would go, right?" 

Now that she pointed it out, she was right. We had four tickets, so it'd be natural for all of us to go, but if you really thought about it, I would be in a pretty unfavorable position as the only guy… When I gave Miss Hiratsuka a look that said, Can't I avoid this? she smirked at me. 

"Well, this is for you to collect data, so that would be appropriate." 

"Well, but…" 

When I tried to argue back, Yukinoshita folded her arms and tilted her head. "I have an annual passport, so we won't need one of the tickets…" 

An annual passport? Just how serious are you about that place…? Maybe I shouldn't be surprised that someone with Yukinoshita's tendencies is so serious about chasing a mouse that she has a meownual pussport. Passport. 

Hearing Yukinoshita had an annual passport, Isshiki was suddenly energized. "Oh, then we should invite one more person. It'd be more balanced!" She beamed, and I got a bad feeling. 

"Who are you gonna call…?" 

"That's…a secret." Sticking up her index finger, Isshiki winked. With how annoying she was being, even if she wasn't going to answer the question, I got the feeling I knew who she wanted to invite. 

The following day, Saturday, I set out in the morning. 

It was for the purpose of the aforementioned data collection at Destiny Land. The train ride to Maihama Station, where we were meeting, was about twenty minutes long. This is the one time when people envy the Chibanese. People will enviously complain, So Chiba people often hold their coming-of-age ceremonies at Destiny Land, huh? but that's only in Urayasu city. That's got nothing to do with most Chibanese. 

With these thoughts in my head, I was letting the train carry me along when out the window, the sight of the Destiny Land Resort came into view. I gave a small sigh of appreciation in spite of myself. Even if you're not that interested in that stuff, when you see the white castle and that attraction with the active volcano that has smoke rising from it, you can't help getting excited. 

I arrived at my goal, Maihama Station, and got off the train in high spirits. There are even things in the station to get you excited: the incoming train jingle being a Destiny-related tune and a uniqueshaped clock and such. It's all a big show to let you know how much fun you're about to have at Destiny. 

As I cheerfully went through the gates, the spot where we'd be meeting was right before my eyes. I was glancing around wondering whether the others were there yet, when someone called out to me. 

"Hikki, yahallo!" 

Stop using that greeting when we're in public… I didn't have to check to know who it was. Looking over, I saw Yuigahama with a pom-pombedecked knit cap, waving her arm wide. 

She must have been pretty worked up for this, as she had her beige coat over her arm instead of wearing it. She was also wearing a long knit sweater, a longish scarf around her neck, and mittens on her hands. It seemed she'd come with proper protection against the chill. But even though she was wearing leggings, her miniskirt looked a little cold for the weather. She was also wearing fluffy-looking short boots, though, so maybe it balanced out. 

Yukinoshita, on the other hand, was standing beside her wearing her white coat properly, with the collar up. Her black gloves were furred, and her plaid scarf looked warm, too. Her pleated skirt was also a little on the short side, but she was also wearing black tights and tall boots, so you didn't get the impression she was cold. 

"Hey, you're early," I called out to them, going up to the information board where the two of them were standing. 

"Arriving five minutes early is a basic tenet of social etiquette," Yukinoshita said carelessly, and Yuigahama nodded a couple times. 

"That's right; Yukinon came early. I'd thought I'd come pretty early, too, but she was the very first." 

"…I didn't want to be on a crowded train," Yukinoshita said, jerking her head away. Her black hair shifted over her white coat, striking a nice contrast. 

She must have been really looking forward to coming to Destiny 

Land. She's so serious… 

Well anyway, now all three of us were there. "Guess we're just waiting for Isshiki, then," I said. 

"Oh, she's over there." 

I looked over to where Yuigahama pointed, and that was right when Isshiki came out of the station convenience store. There was someone coming out after her, too. It was Hayato Hayama. 

…Well, I'd expected that. This was Isshiki. She must have cried and begged and used everything at her disposal to get him to come. 

The five of us would probably spend the day going around together. 

Or so I thought, when Miura emerged from behind Hayama. And then behind her were even Tobe and Ebina. 

I rubbed my eyes, then checked again. 

Yuigahama and Yukinoshita I get it. 

Isshiki and Hayama I sorta get it. 

Miura, Tobe, and Ebina I have no idea. 

What's going on here…? 

"Hey, why are they here, too…?" I looked over at Yukinoshita and Yuigahama in search of an explanation. Yukinoshita's gaze slid over to Yuigahama, whose shoulders twitched. 

"U-um…" Avoiding eye contact with Yukinoshita, Yuigahama rubbed aggressively at the pom-pom on her knit cap. It looked like she was using it in place of her usual bun. "I—I mean, we were planning on hanging out in the first place… B-besides, I couldn't be the only one on Iroha-chan's side! I was stuck between a rock and a hard place!" She held her head in her hands. Yukinoshita breathed a short sigh. 

I wanted to sigh, too, but first, there was something I should say. I gave Yuigahama a sharp look. She was holding her head and moaning. "Don't bring them along without asking. Can you make sure they're taken care of?" 

"I—I can!" she said, jerking her head up. 

Then Yukinoshita opened her mouth. "So then I'm sure it's fine. I doubt we'll be all that involved with their clique, regardless." 

"Yukinon…" Yuigahama was looking at Yukinoshita with admiration, but, uh, that was just like a declaration that she was washing her hands of this… 

"Maybe you're right…," I said, but something else there was bothering me. I figured I should bring that up, too, just in case. "Yuigahama… Don't take on more than you have to, like helping Isshiki with her crush." 

"Oh yeah… Yeah, but…," she said, her expression darkening as she looked at the ground. 

We weren't yet at the point where we could be sticking our noses into other people's business like that. We'd only make all sorts of mistakes. This was the one thing I had to make sure to tell her. 

Yuigahama fiddled anxiously with her knit hat as if there was something on her mind. Her gaze was still lowered, but looking at her, I could tell she understood. 

"…Well, what's done is done, and they're here now. They'll be perfect for helping out with data collection and taking pictures," I said, though I actually wasn't counting on them for much. 

Yuigahama lifted her head. "Yeah…" She smiled, but it seemed a little forced. 

Yukinoshita combed her hand through her hair and offered Yuigahama a faint smile. "If we're going to be collecting data, then we should decide on a general course." 

Yuigahama broke into a sparkling grin. "Oh, right! So what do we ride first?" 

"Well, that, I guess…" I looked over at the train stopped at the Keiyo Line platform. 

"A train? You wanna go home already?!" 

As we were talking, Isshiki and the others came to join up with us. "Good morning!" 

"Uh-huh." I responded casually to her greeting. 

Beside her, Hayama smiled gently as he addressed me. "…'Sup." 

"Hey…" The words we exchanged were brief. But we made plenty of eye contact to make up the difference. I made an attempt to ascertain what lurked behind that smile of his. I got the feeling he was trying to see something inside me, too. 

As I was entertaining these thoughts, suddenly, I felt a shiver down my spine. 

Ah! Bloodlust! No—just lust?! Feeling a suspicious presence, I spun around to see Ebina giving a slasher smile. But when her eyes met mine, she smothered her fujoshi aura and waved her hand cheerfully. 

"Huh? Hikio's here?" Miura poked her head out from behind Ebina. 

Tobe, beside her, burst into loud laughter. "Ba-ha! Ah, man, Yumiko, Hikio? I'm dying. That's Hikitani." 

Both of those are wrong, though… 

"Well, it looks like everyone's here, so let's go." Isshiki spun around to look at everyone, and we all started walking. 

We lined up at the entrance, then converted our tickets to passes as we went in through the front gate. 

When we came out into a space that looked like a square, I couldn't help but make an impressed sound. 

From the gates, we could see a massive Christmas tree lit up ahead, while Western-style buildings lined the main street to the white castle in the background. It was just like in a movie. Right there was the kind of spectacle you'd see in a Christmas-themed movie. A number of movies rose in my mind, but for some reason, the one that hit me the strongest was Home Alone 2. That's so strange; I thought I'd seen a lot of others, too… 

Data collection was supposed to be a part of this, so I pulled my digital camera out of my jacket and snapped away at the shutter. 

Meanwhile, the girls were squeeing as they went to wait in the photo line in front of the tree. Yukinoshita was with them, too, looking a little bewildered next to Yuigahama. It seemed she wasn't used to that sort of environment. Of course, since the guys and Hayama were there, they were also forced to join the line. 

And even louder than the boisterous girls was Tobe. He lined up behind them, looked at the tree, and yelled, "Whoa! This tree's awesome! I'm gettin' excited now!" 

Hayama watched him with a wry smile. 

After some waiting, finally, it was our turn to take pictures. They didn't have to handle it themselves; the park staff would take photos for you. 

After they all took one photo together, they took more in various combinations, like just the girls; Hayama, Miura, and Isshiki together; and Yukinoshita and Yuigahama beside each other. Watching it reminded me of mathematical sets and sequences. 

Finally, they finished taking photos and I started walking off, thinking we could move along, when Yuigahama approached me with her phone in hand. "Sorry to make you wait, Hikki." 

Yukinoshita was sighing next to her, probably exhausted from the photo taking. Or did her soul get sucked out? 

Then Yuigahama tugged her along by the hand. She yanked my scarf, too, and the surprise attack made me stagger. Her face was close. Across from me, Yukinoshita looked surprised, too. 

I heard a shutter go off multiple times. One was from Yuigahama's phone, while another was from Ebina, standing off to the side. 

"I got it, Yui!" 

"Th-thanks!" Yuigahama took the camera from Ebina, then tapped away at the buttons to confirm the image. 

"…Yuigahama." 

"Don't do that without asking…," I said at the same time as Yukinoshita. Yukinoshita's eyebrows had twitched into a scowl, and she looked kind of mad. 

But Yuigahama acted like that was nothing. "But if I asked, you two wouldn't let me take one," she nonchalantly declared. 

"Nah, I would." In fact, I'd even prefer it if she'd told me. If I could've gotten emotionally ready, I'm sure I could have looked better in that shot. I felt like my face was red there, and it was really embarrassing. 

"…That's still no reason to take one without asking." Yukinoshita sighed. 

Yuigahama must have felt really bad about that, as she drooped. "Ssorry. I'll make sure to tell you next time." 

"…There won't be a next time." Though there was a smile on Yukinoshita's face, her voice was particularly cold. After that remark, she strode off ahead quickly. 

"I-I'm sorry, Yukinon! Yukinon, wait!" Yuigahama hurried after her. 

Yukinoshita's pace gradually slowed down, until eventually, they started walking side by side. 

I watched them from about two steps behind. 

They'd finally settled into a comfortable distance again, I think. 

Space Universe Mountain. It's like a mountain, but in space. 

We went to line up for one of the three big roller coasters, the mountain of space. 

When we came up in front of the dome on the Mountain, as they call it, Yukinoshita folded her arms and tilted her head. "This place doesn't feel much like Christmas, so I'm not sure it will be much of a reference…" 

As was typical for serious Yukinoshita, it seemed she was keeping in mind the reason we'd come that day, data collection for reference for the event. 

However, Yuigahama didn't seem to be thinking that deeply, and she pointed over beside the dome. "Oh, but look…there are wreaths and stuff decorating it over there… Let's get in line!" 

"You can see those anywhere…" 

It was true the Christmas wreaths Yuigahama was pointing at were common in Destiny Land. They were all over the place, in fact, and she was completely forcing this. She obviously just wanted to ride the Mountain. 

Oh well. Miss Hiratsuka did say this was also supposed to be a break, so it wouldn't be an awful idea… 

Yuigahama looked at Yukinoshita with puppy-dog eyes, and eventually, Yukinoshita gave in with a sigh. "…Agh, I'll go with you just once." 

Then Isshiki turned around from her spot in line ahead of us. "Well, but either way, I think we can only ride each thing once, so that should be fine, riiight?" 

"Oh really?" 

"Yeah, I figured it would basically be best to get a broad look at everything." 

Oh, is that what she was going for? Now I understood. Isshiki had been the one to come up with the course for the day. 

After taking photos, we got on the Buccaneers of the Carabiner, then followed the crowd flow straight to get the fast pass for Large Lightning Mountain, then we turned back around to come to the Futureplace zone. We'd probably wind up going to another zone, after this. 

We of Chiba will often get pointlessly fixated about our route for riding attractions at Destiny Land, and we'll come up with the most efficient way of doing it that's in line with our goals. Part of this is just about having the experience, and it may be a consideration unique to the Chibanese, with our geographic advantage. 

Yukinoshita had given in, so we joined the long line for the Mountain as well. 

Waiting in front was Hayama's crowd, while at the very back was 

Yukinoshita and Yuigahama together. Since the seats for the 

Mountain coaster were in twos, people were also naturally lining up in pairs. 

"Yukinon, let's ride together." 

"A-all right… Will this be useful data?" 

It seemed Yukinoshita and Yuigahama had already decided to ride together. 

Yeah, I can't say if things are completely the same as before or not, but it looks like their relationship has reached equilibrium, at least. 

Meanwhile, up front was a scene from hell. 

Most people were lining up in twos, but we had one clear trio. 

It was Hayama, with Miura and Isshiki on either side. The girls were both enthusiastically chatting with him, and with every remark, they'd each give the other brief, menacing glances. I was behind them, so I couldn't see Hayama's expression, but I suspected he was smiling uncomfortably. 

Perhaps there was a Destiny effect going on, as Miura and Hayama's relationship didn't seem awkward. 

And then there was one man behind them, moaning. 

"What do I do, what do I do?!" Tobe was muttering to himself. But he seemed to make up his mind eventually, raising his head in determination as he charged for Hayama. "Haaayatooo! Let's ride together!" He mustered the energy to cut in between the three of them, where Miura and Isshiki both gave him a sharp look. 

"Tobe, listen…" Miura scowled at him, while Isshiki smiled and delivered quite a blow. 

"Tobe, you're in the way. " 

Whoa, the temperature over there is dropping below zero… Gives me chills just watching… 

But this time, Tobe didn't flinch away. He smacked his hands together to beg the two of them. "Ah, man, I mean, I'm kinda, like, y'know? I'm freaked out about the Mountain, for real. So like, for real, like, please on this one!" 

""Huh?"" 

They were in such perfect unison that I wanted to tell them, Nice coupling. Unsurprisingly, Tobe yelped at that. 

But someone stepped in to help him out. "Sure, Tobe. Let's ride together." 

"Hayato…" Tobe clung to Hayama and kind of looked like he was about to pull a line like Oh, friend of my heart! while Miura was looking at them like, Hayato's so nice… 

If you just saw this, Hayama did indeed look like a good guy, but with a bird's-eye view of the whole scene, that was not in fact the case. Hayama was the one being saved, and in a way, Miura and Isshiki were, too. 

Tobe's a good guy… I think he's probably an even better guy in the movies, too. 

While I was watching with admiration, Tobe's move up front caused Ebina to slide back. Then she suddenly smiled. "Looks like Tobecchi's having a bad time." 

Though I wouldn't go so far as to say she was pretending to be an uninvolved bystander, it was clearly a statement made from a step away. Was she still the same as she had been during the school field trip? Did she still hold on to that feeling I know we shared then, for a moment? 

Wanting to know, I found myself asking, "Yeah… Why don't you help him out?" 

Ebina waffled a bit, then dropped her gaze to her feet. "Hmm…" But that was only for a moment, and when her face rose again, her glasses sparkled. "Eh-heh-heh, why don't you help him out instead, Hikitani, for some Tobe/Hachi? If I start now, I might be able to finish a flyer in time for Winter Comiket!" 

"Please don't…" 

"It's 'cause you say weird stuff, Hikitani," she replied coldly. Looking at her face, the glare on her lenses kept me from seeing the eyes behind them. "You have things you should be more concerned about than us, don't you?" 

"…" I didn't even have to ask what she meant. That was why I couldn't reply. 

Even though she understood, she still added a joke. "For example, like Hayato!" 

"No way. No," I denied instantly, and she laughed. 

Then her smile faded, and her voice lowered. "…Sorry about back then." 

"What?" I asked back, wondering what she was talking about all of a sudden. 

In the quietest whisper, so as not to let those behind us hear, she said, "Is that the reason things have been so awkward with you guys?" 

"…That's got nothing to do with it." The incident during the field trip was one trigger of many, and I figured something like this would have happened eventually. That wasn't Ebina's responsibility—it had ultimately been my own choice. 

"All right, then." 

"Are things not awkward with you?" 

"…Nope, thanks to you." Ebina slid a finger up to adjust the position of her glasses. They hadn't been crooked, but still, she must have done something. 

Ebina and I didn't really talk after that, standing in line quietly. 

She had not necessarily spoken the truth. 

That's something I learned through her request. 

Now I knew that there are things you'll overlook, even when you think you know. 

I'm sure Ebina had told yet another small lie. 

When we got off the Mountain, I was wobbling. I hadn't felt it when I was whirling around the track at high speed, but now it was like gravity was returning all at once. So this is the Reconguista in G… 

Of course, I was not the only one experiencing this sensation, although the others had it at different levels. Isshiki in particular was making a pathetic "Wahhh" noise as she staggered around. 

As she did, someone firmly grabbed her hand. 

"Th-thank you…" When Isshiki expressed her gratitude with a gentle smile, the one who'd taken her hand breathed an irritated sigh. 

"So, like, are you okay?" 

"Oh, it was Miura…" Suddenly, Isshiki's smile evaporated. 

Miura hastily shoved a plastic bottle at her. "Hey, you look real pale, okay? Need some water?" 

"I'm fine, but… Thank you…," Isshiki said hesitantly, taken aback, and accepted the bottle from Miura. 

…Miura's a good person. 

Isshiki had probably been gunning for Hayama to be the one to baby her, but I guess that doesn't work when you've got Miura's momfriend tendencies… 

With Miura taking care of the staggering Isshiki, we got moving. 

There were a lot of popular attractions in the Mountain area, which may have been why it was so exceptionally crowded. And there was one other person in the crowd who was staggering. Unable to overlook it, Yuigahama asked her, "Yukinon, are you okay?" 

"I'm all right… I'm just a little overwhelmed by the crowds…" 

Can you call that all right…? Well, I could understand the feeling. I was pretty sick of the crowds, too. 

I was worried if she was okay, but by the time Yukinoshita arrived at our next goal point, she'd completely recovered. 

Yes, I'm sure I don't need to tell you! The next attraction was Grue's Bamboo Hunt! 

Just as Yukinoshita's prior information had told us, despite Destiny Land being at the height of Christmas spirit, there was nothing like that at the Bamboo Hunt, as if they were saying, I don't care about that sort of thing! I care more about the Lunar New Year! So it seemed there was absolutely nothing here that would be of reference for the event, but this time, Yukinoshita was lining up without a single complaint. Okay, fine… 

The line was long, but when I used my special skill of zoning out hard, I wasn't that bothered by the wait time. 

When we eventually got indoors, the heat made me sigh in relief. 

"So who's going when?" Yuigahama asked, and Isshiki and Miura prepared for battle. Though Isshiki was indebted to her for her earlier care, it seemed she did not intend to surrender. Yet again, Tobe suddenly tensed. 

But Tobe's concerns were needless. Looking at the gourd-shaped carts moving up ahead, it seemed this ride took groups of three or four. 

So it was settled that Hayama, Isshiki, and Miura would be a group. While I was wondering how the remaining combos would work out, our turn was coming up. 

Yukinoshita addressed Yuigahama. "Let's go." 

"Yeah," Yuigahama replied, lining up beside her. 

Well, of course. Yukinoshita had been doing everything with Yuigahama that day. So it was natural for the two of them to ride together for the Bamboo Hunt. 

Then should I ride with Ebina and Tobe…? Aw man, naw, that'd be superawkward. Even if it had been a lie, they were basically the girl I'd confessed to and my rival in love. I wonder if I'm allowed to ride this one alone. Tell me, Yukipedia! 

Yukinoshita briskly slipped into the ride. Yuigahama was about to get in next, but she spun around to face me, pattered up to me, and grabbed my sleeve. Still looking at the ground, she dragged me by the sleeve into the ride. "H-Hikki, hurry up." 

"Huh? Hold on, I'm going with Tobe…" I had absolutely no intention of riding with him, but that just fell out of my mouth. 

"Come on, people are waiting behind us." 

If she was gonna be like that, I had no choice but to get in. Then the door of the cart was closed, and the staff lady waved us off as she said, "Have a nice trip in the world of the Bamboo Hunt!" 

The trolley moved through the darkness, until suddenly, red and orange lights burst ahead. Yuigahama's downward-facing profile appeared red—maybe from those very lights. She glanced over at me. It made me a little embarrassed. 

Yukinoshita sat on one end with Yuigahama in the middle, and then there was me, as close to the edge as possible. Yuigahama opened up a little bit of space between us, shrinking the gap between herself and Yukinoshita. 

"…You're squashing me," Yukinoshita muttered to herself. 

"Oh, sorry." Yuigahama inched over toward me. So I did my best to lean that much farther to the outside. The distance between us didn't change much, in the end. 

The trolley continued on, and we came out in front of a big screen. 

Ginnie the Grue was running about all over the place on-screen, and the ride was also packed with stuffed Grue-bears jumping around. Responding to the Grue-bears' movements, our cart moved around the ride. 

"Whoa, this is amazing…" My honest impression slipped out. 

Yukinoshita snapped back at me, "Quiet." 

She's actually keeping us from talking… She's real focused on this, huh…? 

But when I stopped talking, I was uncomfortably focused on how the jolting movements of the cart would occasionally make an elbow hit an elbow, or an arm touch an arm. It really was bad for my heart. 

Halfway through, I stopped paying attention to what was happening in the ride and just tried to keep myself free from obstructive thoughts. 

Right after leaving Grue's Bamboo Hunt, there was a Grue-bear gift shop. 

Hayama's group had gotten out first, so they were waiting by the entrance, and Ebina and Tobe came up behind us. 

"Man, Grue-bear is the best!" Getting to ride with Ebina must have been fun for Tobe, as he was wearing a smile of supreme bliss—and there was one other person with a bright look on her face, too. 

It was Yukinoshita. She was sighing deep in satisfaction. 

So she really enjoyed herself, huh…? 

"Hey, Hikki. That's the Grue-bear shop. So are you gonna get something?" Yuigahama asked, coming up from a half-step behind to poke my back. 

I didn't turn back, looking straight at the Ginnie the Grue shop. "Yeah…" 

Well, after what I'd said to Yukinoshita, I had to look for a present for Komachi here. 

"Sorry, I'm gonna go do a bit of shopping here," I told Hayama's group, and Isshiki snickered at me. 

"Huh? You're going to buy something here?" 

"…A present for my little sister." Why're you looking so gleeful, Irohasu…? I already know Grue-bear merch doesn't suit me, okay? I don't need you to point it out. 

"All right, so then what should we do?" Hayama asked the others. 

Miura looked away from the Ginnie the Grue gift shop and toward the exit instead. "I'll pass." 

Ebina questioned her curiously. "You don't want to, Yumiko?" 

"I mean, his eyes are so not cute. I'd rather go see Marie the Sassy Cat or something." 

Marie the Sassy Cat is another Destiny character that's popular with girls—she's some kind of pink cat. 

Miss Queen here is actually pretty cunning for choosing a more girly character instead of being interested in Ginnie the Grue. She really does like pink, huh? I like pink quite a lot, too. 

I was impressed, but someone else was emitting an incredible chill. It goes without saying that it was Yukinoshita giving Miura that icy glare. This is no good; Yukinoshita is super-mad. At this rate, I can only imagine one future: Yukinoshita spends the next thirty minutes arguing Miss Queen into the ground and making her cry. 

While I was thinking, This is looking bad…, Isshiki took a step into the Grue-bear shop and picked up a nearby stuffed animal. "Oh, you think so? Isn't this one supercute, though? Right, Hayama?" Isshiki was asking Hayama, but for some reason, Yukinoshita was nodding with closed eyes. Of course, Isshiki's comment wasn't about Gruebear being cute but rather saying the word to emphasize her own cuteness. 

But it seemed that satisfied Yukinoshita. The cold air receded. 

"Anyway, so yeah, we're not gonna buy anything, so we're gonna go line up for lunch. It looked supercrowded," Tobe said with a snap of his fingers. It was an annoying gesture, but it was a wonderful suggestion. He's a good guy. Even if he is annoying. 

But still, I felt a little awkward about having them line up for us while we were shopping, so making sure it was okay, I asked, "…You don't mind?" 

"Aw, it's fine. You got that thing, right, Hikitani? You're picking a present for your sister? So you can take your time with that." "Sorry." I gave him a nod of a bow, and Tobe waved his hands as if to say, Don't worry about it. 

"It's fine, it's fine. Hayatooo, let's go!" 

"Yeah," Hayama replied, and he and Tobe left the gift shop together. 

If Hayama was going, then Miura and Isshiki would follow. It didn't seem Ebina was much interested in Grue-bear, either, as she called over her shoulder, "See you, then," and followed after the others. 

The only ones left in the gift shop were me, Yukinoshita, and Yuigahama. 

Yukinoshita removed her scarf, carefully folding it as she turned her eyes to Yuigahama and me. "Well then, let's find a present for Komachi-chan." 

"Yeah, thanks. Tell me if there's anything you recommend." 

"Yes, I'll try selecting a few," she said, and then she started scouring the gift shop like a pro. I could very much rely on her, but I also wondered if she wasn't a little too hyped up about this… Well, since I had asked her for help, I couldn't complain, though. 

But I feel uneasy about leaving it all to her, so I guess I'll search for something, too… For now, I reached out to a nearby shelf. 

While I was having a staring contest with a stuffed Grue-bear in a 

Santa suit, Yuigahama came up beside me. "I'll help you pick, too." 

"Thanks. Frankly, I have my doubts about choosing something without a second opinion." 

"I think that would be enough to make Komachi-chan happy, though." 

"Nah, she's actually pretty outspoken to family about her tastes." "Really? Then we've got to find something good." Yuigahama compared stuffed animals, blankets, puppets, key chains, and all sorts of things. 

Hey, I think this is a bit too much Grue-bear merch they're putting out… Looking at the stuffed animals alone, there was considerable volume and variety. 

"A present for Komachi-chan, huh…? You didn't ask her what she likes?" Yuigahama asked as she eyed a Grue-bear puppet with curiosity. 

"I did, but she just asked me for money to put toward magazines or a gift card or whatever…" 

"O-oh… Ah-ha-ha…" Yuigahama gave an awkward smile of dismay. If that was her reaction to gift card–type things, I really couldn't tell her the third choice was household appliances… 

Yuigahama must have liked the puppet she'd picked up, as she put it on her hand and waved it all around. With an "Aaay!" she grabbed my hand with the puppet to bother me. Aaay, that's annoying and 

cute and getting in the way and embarrassing. It's really embarrassing, actually, so please cut it out. 

When I smacked the puppet away this time, she shoved it at my face and wiggled it around. When my eyes squarely met those of the puppet, Yuigahama started talking in this weird, fake voice. "…And what do you want for Christmas, Hikkipher Robin?" 

Was she trying to imitate Grue-bear? It really sounded nothing like him. And what the heck is Hikkipher Robin? It was so funny, I was half laughing as I tried to reply. "No, I…" 

But when I started saying that, I suddenly remembered what had happened the day before and choked. 

Yuigahama must have been confused by my strange silence, as she tilted her head, looking up at me. When our eyes met, she made a little noise of realization. I could see her face turning red. 

She must have been remembering the same thing. What I'd said that time. 

I was so embarrassed, I covered the lower half of my face with my right hand and turned away. "I'm fine…" 

"O-okay…" Yuigahama yanked off the puppet and readily returned it to the shelf. 

We both looked at the merch for a while without saying anything. As we did, more people shuffled into the gift shop. It looked like they were coming in as a group. 

"It really is crowded, huh?" Yuigahama commented. 

"Well, it's that time of year. I'm surprised you wanted to come now. I'd rather not have, if possible…" Looking around the shop interior as it started to get crowded, a sigh slipped out of me. It had to be because of the Christmas season, after all—the whole park was crowded, and everywhere we went was packed with people. Even just walking around made me tired. 

"But…I'd…like to…come again," she said hesitantly, and when I turned toward her voice, she was petting a big stuffed animal. 

"You can come anytime. It's close, after all." 

"That's not…what I mean…" She gave me a probing look. 

That was a prickling stab in my heart as I remembered the thoughtless promise I'd made during the cultural festival. Between how busy we'd been during the athletic festival, then the field trip and the student council election one after another, it had been put off all this time. 

I'd thought I'd taken one step closer with her. Just how much had the distance between us changed? 

I reached out to the big Grue-bear plush that Yuigahama had been petting and looked at its face as I said, "Well, Land is kind of eh around this time of year, but what about the newer one next door?" "Huh?" Lifting her head, Yuigahama looked at me. 

"But if it's not crowded, even Land is fine." 

Though I knew there had to be a better way to put it, I couldn't find the right words. 

But Yuigahama still answered me softly. "…That one might be…pretty…quiet…" 

"…You think?" 

"Yeah…" Yuigahama looked down and nodded. 

Watching out of the corner of my eye, I patted the head of the stuffed animal, then walked over to a different shelf. "…Well, eventually." 

"Yeah, eventually." I could hear the cheer returning to her voice behind me. 

"Right, then. Guess I'll pick something," I said in an apathetic tone. Now the discussion was over, for the moment. The continuation would probably be when the promise was fulfilled. 

As if in response, Yuigahama called out to me brightly, "Hey, Hikki, what about this?" 

I turned around to see her wearing a hairband with dog ears on it. It seemed to be merch for the dog character that appeared in Ginnie the Grue, and it had one drooping ear. 

Despite having come to ask me, she didn't seem to actually care about my opinion. Instead, she went to admire herself in the mirror as she ooh'd excitedly. 

"Oh, I think this one would be perfect for her. Yukinooon!" she called out, and Yukinoshita came over with both her arms filled with Gruebear merch. 

"Which do you think Komachi-chan would like?" Yukinoshita glanced anxiously at the Grue-bear merchandise in her arms. 

U-um, you don't have to be so serious about this, okay? 

Holding the headband hidden behind her back, Yuigahama came up to her worried friend. "Hey, Yukinon." 

"What?" 

When Yukinoshita tilted her head, Yuigahama snatched that opportunity to smack the headband onto Yukinoshita's head with an "Aaay!" This one had to be another character that appeared in Ginnie the Grue. With the cat headband on, Yukinoshita stared at her in puzzlement. 

Then without missing a beat, Yuigahama lined up beside Yukinoshita. "Hikki! Take a photo, come on!" 

"Huh? Okay…" 

Is this okay, if we're not buying…? Well, I guess it's like a dressing room kinda thing, I thought as I raised my camera and snapped the shutter. 

8: And then Yukino Yukinoshita… 

Once night falls, a cold wind from the sea always begins to blow over Destiny Land. 

When the winds are too strong, the fireworks following the parade are canceled. But seeing as nothing had been announced yet, there would probably be fireworks as scheduled. 

After the Ginnie the Grue gift shop, we visited various attractions and took reference photos. I had severe doubts as to how useful these photos would be, but, well, at the end of the day, we had our hands tied for the whole weekend anyway. Thinking about it that way, even if these photos were just for reference, they probably wouldn't be completely useless. 

This constant walking and standing was obviously tiring. Though we'd sandwiched in breaks on the way, we couldn't really rest in the crowded park, and we were all getting worn out. 

We were still walking around now, right before the parade was to start, figuring we'd get one last ride in at the end, but everyone was walking slower than they had in the afternoon. 

As a sort of habit, whenever I'm traveling with a group, I'll naturally position myself diagonally and to the rear of everyone else. That meant I got an indirect view of all their tired faces and saw them talking less. 

So it jumped out at me in particular when Isshiki, walking diagonally ahead of me, expressly spoke to Tobe. "…Tobe, can I ask you something?" Her voice was quiet, taking care not to draw too much attention. 

But Tobe's response was loud. "Sure, whassup, Irohasu?" 

Isshiki yanked on his sleeve in rebuke and whispered something into his ear. 

"…Huh? Seriously?" Tobe said, less like he was surprised, and more like he just didn't really like what he was hearing. With a complicated expression, he glanced around warily and lowered his voice to reply. But since he was usually so loud, it was weird and unnatural for him to talk so secretively. 

It seemed the discussion was over with just those few remarks, as Isshiki gave Tobe a casual bow of her head, then hopped off to the front, where Hayama and Miura were. It seemed she'd made some request of him, something that made him uncomfortable. He was constantly tugging at the hair at the back of his head. 

Up at the front, Isshiki fell into step beside Hayama, and on his other side, there was Miura. It looked like they meant to continue ahead through the square. 

When Isshiki started to talk with him, Hayama responded in an easygoing manner, showing few signs of exhaustion, but Miura's steps were dragging. She was clearly tired. 

Yuigahama and Ebina, following after them, chattered away enthusiastically with each other, still full of energy. 

Walking in the back, I was kind of in tired mode. 

Yukinoshita, walking in a similar position, had also slowed down a bit. Endurance wasn't her forte to begin with, and on top of that, there were the crowds. She had to be the most tired. 

She continued to move her thin legs heavily. Suddenly, she breathed a deep sigh. 

"Are you okay?" I asked. 

But her reply was curt. "I'm fine." 

Was she not looking at me because she was tired or because things were still awkward between us? I couldn't quite decide. 

"Oh, whoops!" Hearing Yuigahama's voice from up front, I looked over. 

Right then, a rope was being strung up across the road to the square we were just about to cross, to secure a route for the parade. 

Yuigahama and Ebina dashed across, sliding in right before the rope was in place. Yukinoshita and I were walking a bit behind; we didn't stand a chance. 

When the path cut us off from the others, Yuigahama remembered us and turned around, waving her hand like, Heeey! 

I responded by casually raising my hand. "Go on! We'll catch up later." 

"Okay!" Yuigahama flailed her arm at us, then went ahead after Hayama and the others. 

I watched her go, then turned back to Yukinoshita. "…Then let's go." "All right." 

We knew where we were headed anyway. It was sort of a detour around the square, but it wasn't like it was impossible. But the blockade for the parade meant the population density of the other route had increased, too. 

Plus, now that it was night, lights were coming on bright on every attraction. A lot of people were stopping and raising their cameras to capture those images, so we couldn't move forward like we wanted. 

By the time we reached Splosh Mountain, the one we'd planned to ride next, quite a lot of time had passed. I looked over toward the entrance but couldn't find Yuigahama and the others. 

Yukinoshita was looking around, too, but once she figured they weren't around, she opened her mouth to say, "Shall we call them?" 

"Yeah…" Pulling out my phone, I dialed the number of the one in that group I knew best. After three rings, she finally picked up. 

"Hellooo." There was the hubbub of voices in the background. That was probably Hayama and their other friends. 

"Where are you? We're here." 

"Oh, sorry! We went in without you." 

"O-okay…" I thought they'd wait for us, but guess not… 

I was a little shocked, and Yuigahama must have picked that up in my voice, as she hurriedly added, "It's okay, it's okay! If you scoot through the fast pass line to meet up with us, it'll be quick. It's empty right now, so you can go right on through. That's why we figured it'd be okay for us to go ahead…" 

Still listening to her, I glanced over at the line. 

It was true that the line was far shorter than usual. The sign estimated the wait at this point to be about thirty minutes. And considering how fast the line was moving, it might actually be even shorter. Besides, just as Yuigahama said, if we cut through the fast pass lane, we should be able to meet up easily. Sometimes people who leave the line to go to the bathroom will use it to get back, so if we were doing it to meet up with friends, it should be no problem. 

"All right." 

"Yeah, then see you soon!" 

I hung up and looked at Yukinoshita. "She said we should meet up inside," I said. Yukinoshita nodded back at me, and we headed for the line. 

You can't use the fast pass line right from the start. It can only be used for a limited time, and they do actually check it. So we lined up in the regular line to wait. But even that was moving along quickly. The crowds were probably heading for the parade instead. 

"Let's go with this line for now, until it stops moving," I said. If we went as far as we could and then used the fast pass line like a passing lane, we'd be able to find Yuigahama and the others quickly. 

Meanwhile, the line took us pretty far at a decent clip. 

But then a little ahead, there was what looked like a group of high school kids in gakuran uniforms having a quarrel. The rides would empty out during the parade and the fireworks, so young people would see this as their opportunity to race around as fast as possible to a bunch of rides. It seemed they were doing just that and, in the process, had cut in front of someone ahead of them in line, or something. 

A staff member dashed over right away, and all of them were ejected from the premises. This rebuke cast a solemn pall over everyone waiting. 

Yukinoshita looked over the faces of the people before and after us in the line. "It doesn't feel as if we can slip out by saying our friends are a little ahead now…" 

"Yeah. Guess I'll call them again." I pulled out my phone and pressed redial. It rang several times, but there was no answer. "She's not answering…" Yuigahama's the only one whose number I know… I'd told Hayama my number before, but I still didn't know his. 

"Do you know anyone else's?" I tried asking Yukinoshita just in case, but she shook her head. Of course… 

With no other choice, we waited while I tried calling Yuigahama a few times. Meanwhile, the line moved along until the lower level came into view. Once we came down the curve, we'd be at the ride's boarding area already. 

"Now that we've come this far, it'd be faster to get on rather than go back," I said. "They might be waiting at the exit." 

"…T-true." Yukinoshita sounded somehow uneasy as she answered. Glancing over, I saw she'd turned away. 

"…What's wrong?" 

"…" She didn't reply to my question. 

…Wait. Hold on a second. Wait, wait, wait. I feel like I've seen this quite a few times before… Feeling a little uneasy, I cleared my throat. "Can I just ask something?" 

"What is it?" she asked back, expression stiff. 

Looking her straight in the eye and attentive to her reaction, I asked slowly, "Are you scared of these things?" 

We both stared at each other with blank faces for a while without saying a word. Then her eyes slid over to one side. "…I…wouldn't say 

I'm scared…" 

Oh, that expression looks familiar… It's just like when she said she's scared of dogs. 

Ahhh, so that's it; I knew it! I was familiar with this behavioral pattern from Yukinoshita. Indeed, thinking back now, she'd been wobbling a bit after riding the Mountain. So that hadn't been because she'd been affected by the crowds; it was because she didn't like roller coasters. 

"You should've just told me… Let's go back." 

"I'm fine." 

"Uh, but you don't really like it, right?" I said, and Yukinoshita scowled. 

And then, rather firmly, she said, "I'm saying I'll be fine." 

"Don't be dumb. You don't have to force yourself, and it's not worth being so stubborn about." My words came out harsher than usual, too. 

That made Yukinoshita's shoulders twitch, and she dropped her gaze. "…That's not it. I really am okay," she said, and her voice sounded younger than usual. No, that's not it. She just normally looked so mature, when actually, she was the same age as me. She continued, 

words halting. "I felt uneasy about it, but when I was with Yuigahama, I was all right… So I think…I'll be all right." 

She wasn't giving a clear and distinct reason; in fact, she was being rather vague, compared with her usual, logical way of speaking. But that's what makes me think it was close to what she really felt. So then I should respect that. 

"Well, if you say so…," I said, but she didn't raise her head yet. She's still scared of roller coasters, so she can't be fine with getting on when she's like this… Searching for the words to say to her, I scratched at my head. "And you know. You can just take it easy on the ride. You're not gonna die, after all." 

"O-of course," she said, head still sagging, and then she glanced at me with upturned eyes. "…We won't die, right?" Just how anxious about this is she…? 

"It'll be fine. I mean, I've never heard of it happening," I said, and as we made our way down the line, she trudged after me. After descending the final curve, we arrived at the boarding zone. 

Then it was our turn. 

I got on first. Fists clenched tight, Yukinoshita boarded, too. She grabbed for the bar as soon as she sat down. She was squeezing it so hard, her arms were trembling. 

Even once the log slowly started floating out, she didn't relax in her seat. 

Eventually, some fancy music started playing, and the story of Br'er Weasel and Br'er Ferret doing something or other began to play. Every time the robot weasel blinked, there was this clacking mechanical sound. But it seemed Yukinoshita was too wound up to notice even that, and her eyes were focused straight ahead. 

"Um…it's not gonna fall yet, so you don't have to cling to the bar." 

"Y-yes, o-of course…" She finally let go of the bar. Then she exhaled a tired sigh. 

"You really don't seem to like this…," I said. Even though I knew she wasn't a fan, I hadn't thought it'd be this bad. 

Yukinoshita smiled in self-deprecation. "Yes. Things happened with my sister, a long time ago…" 

"Hmm? Oh, your sister, huh?" 

Her again… 

Haruno Yukinoshita is her older sister and a perfect Demon 

Superhuman, surpassing even Yukinoshita. But actually, Miss Yukinoshita hasn't been perfect at all, has she…? Oh, she's by far superior to all the rest, though. 

But the one to surpass her was always Haruno Yukinoshita. 

It seemed talking calmed Yukinoshita down somewhat, as she was looking around the attraction. There were frogs dancing around the shores, and jets of water spraying in circles. 

Matching the gentle pace of the log, Yukinoshita spoke slowly. "It was when I was little. She always teased me when we came to places like this." 

"I can kind of imagine…" Haruno could always find time in her already busy schedule to mess with her sister. When they'd been younger, she would have teased Yukinoshita as mercilessly as any bully. 

Yukinoshita giggled. I think this was the first time she'd smiled since getting on the ride. "Yes, she would shake the Ferris wheel seats, peel my hands off the bar when we were on roller coasters, and, well, all sorts of things. Oh, and when I stopped the coffee cup, she would keep spinning it the whole time… She always seemed to be having so much fun then…" As she spoke, her expression gradually darkened. I felt exhausted just listening to her. Haruno is basically the cause of everything Yukinoshita is scared of, isn't she? "She's always like that…," Yukinoshita muttered. 

The log continued along a deep, dark course. A vulture robot said something ominous. When I looked up at the vulture, the ceiling opened wide, and the night sky peeked in. The log rattled as it ascended. We'd be at the top soon. Yukinoshita tensed up. 

The moment I thought we were going to dive straight down, the log rattled to a stop and sat there horizontally. 

There, we could see outside Destiny Land. The active volcano attraction of Destiny Sea emitted a bright-red light, and the cluster of hotels was lit with dazzling Christmas lights. In the distance, you could see the illuminated facade of the new city center. 

And spread out below us was the sight of Destiny Land at night, its many lights sparkling like stars. 

Seeing it, Yukinoshita breathed a short sigh. "Hey, Hikigaya." 

"Hmm?" I turned around, and the white castle illuminated by pale blue came into view. 

Wearing her starkly white coat, close to tears, Yukinoshita was smiling. 

Her noble, fragile figure stole my breath away. 

She let go of the bar and grasped my sleeve. When our skin touched, it felt like a clench around my heart. 

Eventually, I felt us drifting up, as if we were falling forever. 

"One day, help me." 

Her whisper disappeared into the air rushing by as we fell, and I couldn't reply. 

I think that was probably the first wish Yukino Yukinoshita had ever voiced