……
Coming out of the iron gate, the evening wind of Sakuragicho wrapped around the girls’ bodies once more, blowing away much of the chill from the basement.
The sky outside was about to grow dark.
The streetlamps, already lit on both sides of the road, cast the girls’ shadows onto the ground.
The owner of the liveliest shadow now wore an apologetic look on her face.
“Sorry, Koharu. I wanted to show you something cool, but we ended up running into a fight and getting kicked out.”
Walking in front, Yui Hori scratched her head with a hint of guilt.
“It’s all right,” Koharu Miura replied. “But the argument… it was actually a bit scary. It felt like something went wrong between the members.”
“Right? It feels like that happens surprisingly often,” Yui Hori agreed.
“Even our project groups at school run into problems. It’s only natural for people who are always together to have conflicts.”
As she spoke, Yui became excited again. “But still, I guess different venues really are different. Even their arguments aren’t like the ones at school!”
“…You’re not going to say their arguing was mature, are you?” Mio Sato chimed in with a precise retort.
“I don’t think arguing makes them look mature, haha…”
“I can practice with you, Yui,” Yuzuki Yasuda added. “I’ll use those nasty words they were using. Best regards, drop dead! Yoroshiku!”
The girls’ banter always helped Koharu Miura relax from her tension. It seemed that being able to experience a sense of daily life through these interactions allowed her to let her guard down.
“Hey, hey, listen. Tomorrow is Saturday. Do you guys want to — “
“No, thank you. No matter where you’re going, I’m not going,” Mio Sato said, shaking her head. “I have things to do at home tomorrow — I really have family business. Oh, Koharu, I didn’t mean anything else by that.”
“Haha…” Koharu Miura laughed awkwardly.
“Same here. I can’t go with you — I have to go to prep school. Nooo!” Yuzuki Yasuda wailed.
“What! How can you be like that?” Seeing that neither of the two would pay her any mind, Yui Hori quickly turned her gaze toward Koharu Miura. “Koharu… waaaaah…”
Koharu Miura remained silent for one second before finally speaking up apologetically.
“I… probably won’t be going either.” Smiling apologetically, Koharu said softly, “I’m sorry, Yui.”
“Oooooh, sob, sob, sob.”
“What kind of crying is that?”
“Don’t act like a girl! It’s pathetic!” Yuzuki Yasuda slapped Yui Hori on the shoulder.
“But I am a girl!”
…
“Make sure to go straight home, Koharu. See you next week!”
“See you Monday.”
Once they reached the station, the group went their separate ways. As she watched Yui Hori, the last one remaining, board her train, Koharu Miura’s gentle expression turned somber.
“…It’s getting a bit late. What should I do?”
Koharu’s original plan had been to double back to the livehouse after parting with her friends.
Having been inside once, she felt that although the atmosphere wasn’t very lively, there weren’t any shady people around.
Besides, there was the security guard. She could probably stay a bit longer with the ticket she had in hand.
But in the end, Koharu Miura stopped.
‘I spent so much time with Yui and the others that it’s already dark.’
Koharu took her phone out of her bag. The screen lit up, showing that it was nearly dinner time.
‘Arisa Kiyono definitely isn’t near here anymore.’
After what happened, she wouldn’t go back to face the teammates she had just fought with.
Koharu hadn’t chased after her then, and too much time had passed since. It seemed she was once again in a position where she had no way to find Arisa Kiyono.
It looked like she wouldn’t even be able to explain herself in person today.
‘She must think I brought people to find her on purpose.’
Koharu Miura rubbed her brow in pain.
Based on her own life experience, she knew that some misunderstandings were impossible to clear up.
Especially when someone was in the position of a victim; even if others approached with sincere kindness, they would only be pushed away in that moment.
‘Tomorrow…?’
Koharu Miura clenched her fists and looked up at the blurred starlight in the night sky.
Tomorrow was Saturday, so she would have plenty of time.
…The problem now was that Arisa Kiyono likely wouldn’t come to the livehouse tomorrow.
But if she didn’t go to check, if she didn’t do something, the lingering misunderstanding would be taken as the truth.
‘If I can’t start with Arisa Kiyono herself, then maybe I should start with her teammates?’
While thinking, Koharu Miura stepped onto the train that had just entered the station.
…
It was already 7:30 PM when she arrived home.
Koharu Miura greeted her parents with her usual smile and returned to her bedroom after dinner.
Her parents asked a few brief questions about whether she had been out playing since she was home so late, but Koharu subconsciously didn’t tell them the truth.
“No, I wasn’t. I was studying at the library and lost track of time while looking up materials for my history class.”
Seeing her parents’ relieved expressions before she went upstairs, Koharu felt a slight pang of guilt in her heart.
…After locking herself in her bedroom, Koharu Miura took out the ticket she had kept in her bag.
One corner of the ticket was already slightly curled.
She wouldn’t run into Yui and the others tomorrow, so she would go to Sakuragicho alone.
It would be best if she could run into Arisa Kiyono, but if she couldn’t, she would try to get in touch with those teammates as a stranger.
Regardless, she had to take a step toward resolving this predicament.
…
It was Saturday morning.
Koharu Miura woke up very early.
Her parents were still resting, so Koharu carried her bag and crept out of the house quietly.
Before leaving, she made a point to take off her school uniform. Using the wardrobe mirror in her bedroom with its [Outfit Change] function, she put on a set of slightly more casual everyday clothes.
‘I’ve been a girl for so long now that I’m even starting to get used to coordinating outfits.’
Koharu Miura chuckled to herself inwardly.
…
Sakuragicho in the daytime looked quite different from how it appeared in the evening.
Even in 3-chome, where the foot traffic was thinner, it was still quite busy on a Saturday morning.
The strange-looking people she had seen on the roadside during her previous few visits were nowhere to be found.
This fact gave Koharu Miura a great deal of peace of mind.
Ultimately, she really was getting used to her identity as a girl.
‘It’s better not to interact with those kinds of people if I can help it.’
Though she suddenly realized midway there that the livehouse might not be open during the day — and felt frustrated that the thought had only just occurred to her — Koharu Miura soon let it go.
Since it was Saturday, everyone should have time.
There was no reason she could come here during the day while they couldn’t practice.
With the anniversary approaching, even if Arisa Kiyono wasn’t there, the others shouldn’t be slacking off if they wanted to train properly.
Arriving before the familiar gate, Koharu Miura stepped onto the path leading inside.