The next day, Utaha, having returned from the graduation trip, asked Eriri to meet her on the school rooftop during lunch break.
Given the season, it was freezing outside and the sky was overcast—it was hard to think of a worse place for a conversation.
But aside from this spot, they didn't really have anywhere better to talk within the school.
The classrooms used by the clubs they were in were occupied by other students.
The cafeteria was far too noisy with people, and while the library was quiet, it wasn't exactly a place for speaking openly without bothering others.
When Eriri arrived at the meeting spot, she saw Utaha, who had arrived earlier and was standing near the rooftop fence, gazing blankly at the sky.
Utaha turned around upon hearing footsteps.
"You took way longer than I expected."
"Can't be helped. I got called to the staff office by a teacher about the new textbook layout."
Eriri shrugged helplessly.
"I see…"
Utaha nodded slightly and said no more. She took the lead and sat down on a bench off to the side.
Eriri followed and sat next to her.
However, unlike Utaha, who sat down without a hint of discomfort, Eriri instantly let out a sharp gasp—"Tss!"—and jumped up, holding her rear.
The bench on the rooftop was freezing cold. The instant she sat down, the icy chill penetrated the edge of her skirt and hit the skin of her thighs—it was anything but pleasant.
Utaha chuckled at the sight.
This blonde rich girl beside her, despite having improved significantly in both mindset and behavior over the course of their time together, still showed hints of her silly side in the smallest of things.
Eriri frowned at Utaha's laughter but just pursed her lips in response.
Unlike Utaha, who was wearing tights that fully covered her legs, Eriri was wearing knee-high socks with some of her thighs exposed.
No wonder Utaha could sit so calmly in this freezing cold.
Learning her lesson, Eriri sat down again—this time tugging her skirt down a bit more to shield herself from the cold.
"So? What did you call me out here for?"
Eriri hoped Utaha would get straight to the point. She was especially sensitive to the cold—the type who couldn't survive winter without central heating.
"What could it be? I was just wondering how things have been while I was away. Anything unexpected happen?"
Utaha leaned back, propping herself up with both hands and looking up at the sky.
"Nope."
Eriri gave that answer at first, but seeing Utaha glance her way, she corrected herself.
"At least from my perspective, nothing really happened."
"I see. Then… that girl with the same hair color as you—what was her name again? She didn't cause any trouble either?"
"Her name is Isshiki Iroha," Eriri snapped.
"You obviously didn't forget her name. And her hair's ash-blond. Mine's golden. Totally different, okay?"
"Details like that don't matter. Just answer the question."
"I already did. From what I can tell, Chisato doesn't have any special feelings for her."
"What about her feelings for Chisato?"
Utaha pressed further.
"On the surface, there doesn't seem to be anything off. But…"
Eriri paused in thought before continuing.
"My sixth sense as a girl tells me… that girl's not as weak and gentle as she appears. She won't give up so easily."
"..."
Hearing Eriri's words, Utaha let out a shallow sigh and wore a dissatisfied expression.
Eriri wasn't the same person as before—Utaha fully accepted and respected her now, and she didn't think what Eriri said was baseless.
Even if Eriri claimed it was just a gut feeling, Utaha trusted her intuition.
Still, it wasn't all bad news. At the very least, Eriri said she didn't sense any interest in Iroha from Chisato.
"Yesterday afternoon, after I got back, I went straight to Chisato's place. He didn't come home until nearly eight."
"Yeah, I know. You called me afterward."
Eriri's expression twisted in disgust, and her fair face flushed red.
"Next time, could you not call me to talk about work—like concept art progress or design suggestions—while you're clearly in the middle of that kind of situation?
You couldn't even hide your panting. Do you think I'm an idiot?"
Utaha didn't show the slightest embarrassment at being exposed for such shameless behavior. Instead, she proudly straightened her posture and replied,
"Isn't that what best friends are for? I just wanted to let you feel involved even when you couldn't be there."
"…Seriously, you're hopeless. A lost cause."
"Stop with the nonsense. You're interrupting my train of thought."
"Then get to the point. Unlike you, I don't have fat reserves to keep me warm."
Seeing Eriri rubbing her arms for warmth, Utaha smirked and sat up even straighter in disdain.
"It's about Chisato's neighbor. You remember, right?"
"If I remember right, her name is Yukinoshita… Yukino?"
Utaha nodded.
"That's the one. Yesterday, Chisato apparently went home with her. They stood by the door and talked for quite a while."
"Oh, that. I know about that. Their schools held a joint sports festival.
Chisato got dragged into the committee by his friend, and she just happened to be on it too.
Since they were going the same way, they walked back together. Chisato briefly mentioned it on the phone."
Eriri stopped rubbing her arms.
"What did they talk about?"
"Nothing particularly worth mentioning. Just like you said, it's about the joint-school activities. But that's not the point—the point is the way Yukinoshita looked at Chisato."
"Her look? What do you mean?"
"Do you remember a long time ago, when we went to the supermarket near the apartment with Chisato and happened to run into Yukinoshita?"
Following Utaha's words, Eriri began recalling the scene.
"You mean the time when Yukinoshita, Isshiki, and that other friend were together?"
"Yeah."
Utaha nodded.
"Do you still remember the moment Isshiki suddenly threw herself at Chisato? Aside from surprise, did you notice any other emotion in Yukinoshita's eyes?"
"…"
Eriri frowned and thought hard for a long while.
Seeing her stay silent, Utaha offered the answer herself.
"It was disgust. A kind of disgust mixed with contempt and disdain, like she wanted nothing to do with him."
Recalling her words and matching them with the mental image she finally pulled up, Eriri realized it did indeed match.
"It's been months since then, and yet you remember it that clearly?"
"It's kind of a natural habit. Writing novels often requires me to depict people's expressions and moods, so I subconsciously pay attention to that in daily life.
Unlike you—drawing those extreme climatic faces—you just rely on imagination."
"…You could've just made your point. Did you have to insult me in the process?"
"Sorry, it's a habit."
Utaha's apology held no sincerity, and Eriri didn't bother to argue.
Still, since Utaha had gone out of her way to talk to her and said all this, Eriri basically understood what she meant.
"You're worried something's going on between Chisato and Yukinoshita?"
"It's not just a worry. I genuinely feel like something already happened between them.
Otherwise, I can't explain why our neighbor's attitude toward Chisato changed so drastically."
Utaha sighed again and said,
"Looking back, what I regret most is choosing that apartment location for Chisato."
Indeed, if she had selected a different apartment location through the real estate agency back then, Chisato might never have crossed paths with Yukino.
And naturally, Iroha wouldn't have met him either.
"The second regret is that I probably shouldn't have gone on this graduation trip at all.
Sure, it's a once-in-a-lifetime event, but looking back, it wasn't nearly as meaningful as I thought.
Most of the time, I was just hanging out with my friends, same as always, just farther from home. It's something I could've easily done later.
If I had stayed instead of going on that trip last week, maybe things would be a lot better now. Nothing's happened yet, but I just have a really bad feeling."
It was clear Utaha was blaming herself, like someone reflecting on a mistake.
Eriri blinked at her, then smiled lightly, rubbed her palms together for warmth after breathing into them, and said,
"If you put it like that, then I should be reflecting too—since I can't always stay by Chisato's side either.
But let's not dwell on what's already passed. Some things can't be avoided, no matter how much you try. What we can do is just focus on what we can control.
The rest, we leave to fate."
"Leave it to fate…"
Utaha murmured, and Eriri slowly nodded.
"Yeah, leave it to fate. It might sound naïve, but I still want to trust Chisato. After all, he made that promise to me."
"You're so enviable. Being an optimist sure is nice."
"You're just way too gloomy…"
Though their worries weren't exactly resolved, thanks to Eriri, Utaha did feel a little more at ease.
Thinking it over, no matter how bad things got, she still had that dumb blonde idiot on her side to back her up. Maybe there really was no need to be so anxious.
Even though she didn't express thanks out loud, as a gesture of appreciation, Utaha pulled a disposable heat pack from the pocket of her skirt and handed it over.
"Seriously, you had this the whole time and only give it now?"
Eriri took it without hesitation.
"Chisato just messaged. Apparently there's some kind of celebration at school tonight, so he'll be home late. What do you think?"
"What else can I say? Stick to the plan. I already told my mom I'd be staying over at your place tonight. If she calls later, don't screw it up."
"This is such a pain. How long are we going to keep doing this…?"
The two continued chatting casually as they left the rooftop side by side.
…
School let out at a bit past 4 p.m., while the celebration party was scheduled for 7.
Originally, the event organizers wanted to start as soon as classes ended, but most attendees had club activities, so the time was pushed back a few hours.
Fukube Satoshi tried to persuade Chisato to spend time at the student council room, but he declined.
Chisato didn't see any fun in watching student council members handle school affairs.
So during the wait, he chose to go with Hitori to their company office to visit the members of Kesshoku Band.
On the way there, Chisato got a general understanding of how, over the past few days, Seika had loosened her strict control a bit, giving them some breathing room.
He stayed at the company for a short while, ordered coffee and cake for everyone, and sat down with Seika to watch a rehearsal of Kesshoku Band's new song.
By 6:30, he set out for his appointment.
In truth, as Yukino had previously guessed, he hadn't wanted to attend the party at all.
But after listening to what Yukino said, he changed his mind.
The shift in his feelings was hard to describe, but maybe it was safe to say that her words got to him.
After a series of train rides and walking, Chisato finally arrived at the designated restaurant on a street full of delicious smells and smoke.
The neon lights on the storefront spelled out the name in flashy patterns, and the moment he walked in, the scent of grilled meat hit him.
The tables in the dining hall were packed, mostly with office workers who had taken off their suits, drinking and laughing. Business seemed pretty good.
After telling the approaching server about the school party reservation, he was led to the door of a private room.
The server bowed and left after pointing out the spot.
Even through the sliding door, Chisato could hear cheerful voices from inside. Seems like quite a few people were already here—maybe it had already started.
Chisato didn't think too much about it and knocked on the door.
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