Ch.373IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (70)

The last year of elementary school passed strangely quickly.

I didn’t talk much with Souta at school, and with Shii, our interaction was limited to greeting each other in passing. It wasn’t that I was deliberately trying to hide anything; it’s just that I mainly hung out with girls at school.

Souta and Shii were a bit uncomfortable with the chattering groups of girls. I understood why.

Still, Souta played soccer enthusiastically with the boys, and Shii made friends of her own. Occasionally, I’d run into kids from Shii’s grade in the hallway, and seeing several children gathered around Shii put my mind somewhat at ease.

We had another sports day, and once again, I took on the role of cheerleader. By now, I was completely accustomed to my body’s movements, and I think I managed to cheer naturally in my own way.

Well, I don’t plan to make it my profession, but learning to dance might come in handy someday.

Maybe I’ll try You○ube later. Half of that was just daydreaming, but half was serious.

They say some people are incredibly cute as elementary schoolers but develop an ambiguous aura as adults, but at the very least, I—having inherited Kagami’s blood very strongly in my face—was growing up to be a beautiful girl.

Since I hadn’t attended the same school from beginning to end, no one had confessed to me. Well, even if someone did confess, I couldn’t accept for various reasons, so it was fortunate for me.

I decided on a middle school.

There was a middle school not too far from my elementary school. It was co-ed, in an ordinary building about 10 years old, where students wore plain shirts and jackets as uniforms.

I couldn’t immediately recall the school name from Tokyo Slayers, only remembering it after looking it up again, but I definitely remembered wearing a black sailor uniform.

And Shii had worn a white sailor uniform.

“So you’re aiming for Hanakawa High School?” Shii asked with a serious expression.

By now, we were both completely used to formal speech. Especially Shii’s formal speech wasn’t just casual; somehow, thinking of her as “Shii” made it feel natural to accept.

The original content was now hazy, and I honestly couldn’t remember the names of some characters, but I still remembered the impression each character made. Shii had a particularly distinctive personality among them.

But using polite speech didn’t make her tone heavy. Though Shii used formal language, I could clearly feel that she was comfortable around me.

…Perhaps, regardless of the original work, that’s why I could accept Shii more easily.

“…Then I should go to Hanakawa Middle School,” Shii replied.

“You know about Hanakawa High School?”

“It’s such a famous high school.”

Is it that well-known? Well, I think there was definitely mention of it being extremely famous. It’s located in an expensive area of Tokyo.

I think the setting described it as having a very deep history too.

“If I want to keep calling you senpai longer, I should go to a middle school in the same foundation…”

“…Couldn’t you just call me senpai anyway, even if you go somewhere else?”

I already knew Shii would go to Hanakawa Middle School, but I said that anyway.

It’s quite common for university seniors and juniors to continue using those terms even after graduation. Of course, such titles tend to drop away when people become really close, but somehow Shii seemed to want to call me senpai.

“That wouldn’t work,” Shii said decisively.

“It’s not just about the feeling; I really want to have a senpai.”

I laughed at her words, but Shii maintained her serious expression.

Fortunately, she wasn’t the type to impose based on her feelings. She was saying she would follow me, not telling me where to go.

“…It might even be an opportunity.”

“An opportunity?”

“If I go to a completely different middle school, I can only call you senpai for one year, but if we go to connected schools, I can call you senpai throughout middle school!”

Huh.

I was impressed by that logic.

It’s childlike, if anything.

Well, children can sometimes be less flexible. With limited knowledge, they don’t fully understand how people build relationships and get to know each other. The diversity of such terms gradually increases over time.

“…If you don’t like it, I won’t insist on following you.”

When I said nothing and just listened with a smile, Shii spoke cautiously, as if feeling a bit intimidated.

“I’m fine with it. Having a proper junior isn’t bad.”

It does feel a bit awkward using terms like senpai and kouhai when we’re still in elementary school. Maybe Shii’s insistence on following me is because she wants to use the term “senpai” more legitimately.

…Is she concerned about relationships?

Because she lost so much when she was young.

Shii beamed at me after hearing my answer.

Come to think of it, Souta once told me something:

“I think Shii wants you to be that reliable senpai for her.”

That’s what Souta said after deliberating for a long time whether he should tell me.

I was the one who brought Shii to our house when she ran away. After all, she was the child who tripped over the stone I had put away.

What if Shii hadn’t fallen? Would I have known that such a child was walking behind me?

It’s not that I ignored her; I might genuinely have passed by without noticing her, even though she was right nearby.

If that had happened, I probably still wouldn’t know that Souta was the protagonist of a novel. So, Shii was also a child I was grateful for.

If that’s what Shii wants—well, it’s not hard to give. Actually, I feel a bit proud that she thinks of me that way.

“…Want to go out for something to eat?”

“Oh, shall we?”

Feeling inexplicably happy, I stood up saying that, and Shii followed suit.

By now, almost no trace of her appearance when I first met her remained.

That, at least, I thought was fortunate.

*

We went on an outing together when the autumn leaves were turning.

Not too far, just to a nearby park of decent size.

When I was young, I never really thought about how beautiful cherry blossoms or autumn leaves were. Back then, I preferred staying home watching TV. In fact, I think I cared more about scenes from manga or movies than the scenery I saw myself.

As I got older and became an adult, I learned how wonderful it is to climb high places and look at the scenery. Not that I stopped reading manga and such.

Fortunately, neither Shii nor Souta seem to like manga to that extent. Well, it wouldn’t matter if they did, but at least they happily gazed at the reddened trees much more than I did at their age.

The three of us each picked up a maple leaf.

And tucked them into our books.

Come to think of it, even though I didn’t particularly enjoy sightseeing, I had collected maple leaves like this before. Perhaps among the belongings I received after my family passed away in my previous life, there might have been something similar. A dried-up maple leaf tucked between the pages of a faded book.

“Kotone!”

Seeing Souta waving at me from a distance, I honestly find it a bit difficult to say we’re not family anymore.

We still haven’t quite developed the impression of being siblings.

Rather than feeling a wall between us, we’ve blended so naturally that there hasn’t even been time to be conscious of it.

Well, it probably doesn’t matter. Whether Souta continues to call me just Kotone, or Shii keeps calling me senpai. I’ve learned several times in my life that relationships aren’t defined simply by what we call each other.

Looking up at Kagami, I saw her smiling down at me.

After sharing her worries with me last time, Kagami returned to being the old Kagami. The Kagami who only looks at me.

Whether she’s still hiding her concerns, or has decided to accept things in her own way.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Yes, I’ll stay behind.”

I let go of Kagami’s hand.

Feeling the faint warmth left in my hand, I approached Souta and Shii.

“Look at this.”

Souta pointed at Shii.

Shii was holding a red maple leaf in her hand.

Not too large, exactly the kind of leaf that comes to mind when you think “maple leaf.”

“It’s pretty.”

I smiled at the leaf Shii was showing me.

“I’ll give it to you, senpai.”

“Thanks.”

I accepted the maple leaf Shii handed me.

In truth, if you looked around, you could find many leaves like this.

But this leaf that Shii found and gave to me is this one.

From the moment I received it, it became something unique in the world. Like all objects in the world.

Like all relationships between people.

The wind blew.

A somewhat chilly wind, as if announcing the approaching winter.

The leaf in my hand didn’t fly away.