“It was—how should I put it?” Rei tilted her head and thought for a moment. “It didn't feel like she was super experienced. It was more like she was being guided by Meruru. But that's exactly why it looked so good. Do you know what I mean?”
She stopped halfway through and turned to look at Shizuru. “What did you think, Kirishima-senpai?”
“...It was pretty good.” Shizuru snapped out of it. “Her sense of rhythm was great. Her movements were as smooth as when she reels in her threads during battle.”
“See, I told you!” Rei turned back, satisfied. She pulled another skewer of dango from the paper bag and handed it to Qiluo. “This is your favorite flavor; I bought an extra one just for you. You've been lying here all afternoon, so you must be starving, right? The gymnasium was so lively earlier. I really wish you could have come with us—”
“Dango.” Qiluo took the bamboo skewer and took a bite.
She really was a bit hungry. Chewing slowly with her cheeks puffed out, she listened to Rei continue.
“After Lightweaver went on stage today, I realized she's actually not as cold as I thought. Even though she still didn't smile, her expression was really soft when Meruru spun her around. Maybe she doesn't usually show up not because she wants to ignore everyone, but because she just doesn't know how to interact.”
As Rei spoke, she took another skewer of dango from the paper bag and handed it to Yuki, who took it with a soft thank you.
“And the way she looks at people is super gentle. It's like she doesn't know how to express herself, but she still wants to do her best to meet everyone's expectations.”
“...Is that so?” Qiluo placed the bamboo skewer on a tissue on the nightstand, her gaze shifting from Rei to Shizuru.
Shizuru was looking down, absentmindedly playing with the hair tie on her wrist, which she had twisted almost into a braid. She had worn it all the way from the gymnasium and hadn't taken it off; she probably hadn't even noticed it herself.
“Oh, right, right!” Rei suddenly remembered something. She pulled her phone from her pocket, unlocked it, opened her photo album, and turned the screen toward Qiluo. “I even recorded a video of Lightweaver dancing! Even though it was a bit far, you can still see it clearly.”
Rei tilted the phone toward Qiluo, which happened to block Shizuru's view.
Qiluo looked down at her own spinning figure on the screen. Before she could speak, Shizuru, who was standing beside her, made a move first.
Almost instinctively, she stood up, squeezed past Rei, and leaned in to peer at the tiny screen.
“Kirishima-senpai?” Rei looked up and blinked.
“...I want to watch too.” Shizuru's voice was a bit quieter than usual. Realizing she had overreacted, she quickly added, “I couldn't see clearly at the gymnasium earlier because it was too far.”
“Oh, okay! Stand a bit closer, then, let's watch together.” Rei shifted to the side to make room for her.
Shizuru bent down, bracing herself with one hand on the edge of the bed while her other hand tightly gripped the bedsheet.
On the screen, Lightweaver was being guided through her dance steps by Meruru, her movements still looking a bit awkward.
“When she's dancing, she seems a bit different from usual,” Shizuru murmured to herself.
“Right, right!” Rei immediately chimed in. “I told you she's actually really gentle! Look at how she didn't even know where to put her hands when Seina hugged her at the end. It's super cute—”
“Yano-san,” Yuki, who had been sitting quietly to the side, suddenly spoke up. “Didn't you say you still had to deliver some dango to the teacher? If you don't go now, they'll get cold.”
Rei glanced at the already cooling dango in her hand. With an “Oh, shoot!” she sprang up from the edge of the bed.
“I almost forgot! I'll go deliver these first and be right back. You guys keep chatting!”
She grabbed the unopened skewer of dango from the nightstand and swept out of the nurse's office like a gust of wind, the door clicking shut behind her.
Shizuru remained bent over, looking at the phone. Her finger hovered over the frame of Lightweaver being spun around by Meruru. She hadn't paused it, and the video automatically skipped to the next clip.
“Kirishima-senpai,” Yuki looked up at her. “Is there something you want to say?”
Shizuru raised her head to meet Yuki's gaze.
“...Nothing.” Shizuru straightened up, tucking her long hair behind her ear as it slipped over her shoulder. “I just thought today's performance was wonderful. I should head back now; it's about time for dinner.”
“Okay.” Yuki didn't try to keep her, only whispering, “Get home safe,” as she turned to leave.
Shizuru's footsteps in the hallway grew fainter with every step. Nuomi poked its head out from her shoulder, rubbing its ear against her cheek.
Yuki closed the door, leaned her back against it, and let out a long sigh.
Finally, it was quiet.
It wasn't that she disliked lively gatherings; she just looked forward to being alone.
Ever since she brought Qiluo to the nurse's office this morning, she had been waiting for this exact moment: waiting for everyone else to leave, waiting to have this little room bathed in the glow of the setting sun all to herself.
She sat back down on the folding chair by the bed and noticed a few faint creases along the edge of the bedsheet, left behind by Shizuru's grip earlier.
“You seemed to have a lot on your mind today.” Qiluo pulled the blanket up slightly, covering the corner of her mouth which was smudged with dango sauce.
“The performance was wonderful.” Yuki pulled her chair a bit closer. The sound of the chair legs scraping against the floor felt like her own heartbeat, which was currently being held in check.
“But with you not there, it felt like something was missing.”
“What was missing?”
Yuki Kurokawa shook her head. She reached out and gently placed her hand over Qiluo's hand, which rested outside the blanket.
Her hand was slightly cool, like the evening breeze that had just drifted in through the window.
“You. Every time I see something interesting, I wonder if you're watching too. When I saw Wings of Freedom chanting their slogans on stage, and when I saw Lightweaver being dragged up by Meruru, I was thinking... it would have been so nice if you were right there beside me.”
Yuki Kurokawa said so much in one breath that she only realized her hand was still resting on Qiluo's after she finished.
She wanted to pull it back, but Qiluo's fingers gently turned over and clasped her hand.
Why...
Why did Qiluo always do this at times like this? It wasn't the first time.
Every single time, she would take just one small step closer, and Qiluo would catch her, holding all those unspoken words in the palm of her hand as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
She couldn't help but wonder: was Qiluo like this with everyone else too?
She didn't want to know the answer. At least, not right now.
Even though they were just friends, she always wanted to stay by Qiluo's side just a little longer, wanting to be closer to her than anyone else.
She was terrified of this greed being discovered, yet equally terrified of it remaining forever unnoticed.
So!
“Actually, there's something I've been wanting to tell you all day.”
Yuki lowered her gaze, the shadow of her eyelashes falling across her flushed cheeks as her fingers unconsciously tightened around Qiluo's hand.
“I...”
Ring, ring—
The abrupt ringing shattered the quiet atmosphere of the nurse's office. The name lighting up on the screen was “Rin-nee.”
Yuki looked down at the caller ID, her brow furrowing slightly. “...Sis. Yeah, I'm still at school. Right now? Okay, I'll head out.”
Rate on N.U.
