Adachi to Shimamura - Volume 1 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 High School Girl Holiday

"Karaoke, eating out, or the river. Which one would you prefer?" 
The first time Shimamura had ever called me, and she'd started the call with a question. I'd come home from school, finished work, and just as I'd rolled into bed, my phone had rung. I'd picked it up and who'd been calling me but Shimamura. 
And it wasn't just any call; she had asked me where I'd like to go. 
Could it be, she was inviting me on a date? No, probably not. 
"What are those options?" 
"Karaoke is what I chose. Eating out, that was Nagafuji. As for the river, Hino suggested that one." 
A proposal to go out. Not that far off, I suppose. 
There were names other than Shimamura's mixed in, however. All names I knew. 
"Hino asked if I was free next Sunday, and I thought I'd ask you too." 
"Oh, yeah, right... I don't know, I might ruin the atmosphere if I come." 
"Huh? Really? You care about that sort of stuff?" 
Shimamura pretended to be shocked. I laughed lightly, cursing her in my mind. 
"Just what kind of a person do you see me as?" 
"Inse—... As someone who doesn't value harmony?" 
Had she just been about to call me "insensitive"? Seemed like a pretty insensitive thing to do, to call someone else insensitive. 
"Well, you'd be wrong. I care surprisingly much about those around me." 
Especially about you lately, I wanted to continue, but couldn't. 
"I see", Shimamura replied, sounding hesitant to agree. "Anyway, you're coming with us." 
Apparently asking for my opinion wasn't necessary for her. I thought about saying no for a moment, but decided against it. 
"Sure, whatever." 
After all, this was going to result in an opportunity to meet Shimamura during the weekend. 
If I were to decline her, she'd go have fun with two other people, all while I sat alone in my room. 
"So, where do you wanna go? Feel free to suggest a place if you want." 
"If I say a place, that's gonna be where we go, isn't it?" 
"Yeah, probably." 
"Is that really okay? I wasn't the one who was asked first, you know?" 
"Well, that's because Hino doesn't have your number. If she did, I think she would've asked you." 
"Really now?" 
Though Shimamura likely didn't think much of what she'd just said, for me, it was enough to make me smile. 
Only she knew my number. 
What did those feelings really mean? I had no idea. 
"The third option, river. What'd we do if we went there?" 
"Fish, probably. That's Hino's hobby." 
"Fishing, huh?" 
It didn't quite click with me. Four people standing by the river, their lines cast. Sun scorching their backs on a cold November day, their ankles exposed to the cool river water. Having never visited a zoo with my family, I was haunted by a prejudice that coming into contact with nature was bothersome, or perhaps "difficult" was a better word. 
As for eating out, that likely entailed going to a family restaurant or McDonald's and suffering through endless chitchat while eating whatever. The question was, would that really be any place for me? I couldn't really imagine there being any room for me to participate when it came to discussing hobbies or school problems. Sitting there bored, not saying a word, now that was something that I could imagine very easily. Talking with three people was simply not something I was used to, even if one of them happened to be Shimamura. 
"Well, let's go with karaoke then." 
That felt like the safest choice out of the three. Songs offered a great many things to talk about, meaning that finding ways to kill time wouldn't be an issue. Of course, the main reason I'd approved of it was because it had been Shimamura's suggestion. 
Not that I had any reason to believe that Shimamura particularly cared for songs. Most likely, she'd suggested karaoke because it had been the first thing that came to mind when she'd been asked. 
"Okay, got it. I'll tell Hino and Nagafuji." 
I could hear her breathing grow distant as she said that. 
It felt like she might end the call any second now. Not wanting that to happen, I spoke hastily. 
"Umm, Shimamura." 
"Yeah?" 
Her voice sounded a little distant. Just as I expected, it seemed like she'd already taken the phone off her ear. 
If I were to hesitate now, she'd really end the call. That's how I felt. I gave my chest a tap as encouragement, and then spoke. 
"Why don't we sing something together?" 
"Sure, fine with me. Sing what though? You're not really into that sort of stuff, as far as I know." 
Whereas I'd been mighty nervous, Shimamura's reply was completely calm. 
Wait, when had we talked about that? Had we? I tried looking back. 
...I think we had. Although, I doubt that Shimamura remembered. 
"Just something normal." 
"What's a 'normal song'?" 
"Umm... Something that you like." 
As I couldn't come up with a specific song, I decided to leave all the decision-making to her. Deep inside me, I felt like this was all I ever did. 
"No, you don't want that. Trust me. It's gonna be some super old song." 
"How old are we talking here? Before we were born?" 
"Yep. Like, Robinson by Spitz or something?" 
"Oh, in that case, I could probably sing it." 
Was that really that old of a song? It did play on the radio from time to time, but as it didn't sound old, I had never noticed. Regardless, I didn't know the lyrics, meaning that I'd need to look them up and study. 
"I'll call you back once Hino decides when we're meeting." 
"Okay." 
If I gave Hino my phone number, Shimamura wouldn't call me. 
As such, her not knowing it seemed like a good situation to be in. For me, at least. 
"Well then, see you on Sunday." 
"Huh? No, we have school tomorrow." 
"Oh, right. Well, see you tomorrow." 
Shimamura hastily ended the call. Personally, I was pretty bad at judging when to end a call, making awkward silences between me and the person I was talking to quite common. Shimamura had no such problem. She simply pushed the button and was done with it. 
Was that just her personality? 
I put the phone down, after which I sat back down on my bed and looked at the calendar pinned to the wall. 
First week of November, Wednesday. There were still plenty of days left till Sunday. I had begun attending class daily, and around once every three days, I ate lunch with Shimamura. As for the rest, not even worth mentioning. 
At work, it'd become an increasingly frequent occurrence for me to turn my eyes towards the parking lot, wondering what I'd do if Shimamura's family came to visit again. They never had since their first visit. Shimamura would probably dislike it, too; her mother had attempted to ask all sorts of questions, after all. Such feelings came to all adolescents, I'm sure, and yet, as time passed, you simply forgot about it all. Perhaps that was the essence of growing up. 
"Sigh..." 
I felt like I'd been sighing more than before lately. A small improvement over those days when I was bored all the time, I suppose. 
I was definitely glad that she'd invited me, no doubt about that. It was the presence of other people that made me sigh. A part of me accepted it, though there was also another part, smaller, that found it annoying. It had likely been Hino who'd told Shimamura to invite me. If not for that, she would have never called me. That's what I thought. 
Of course, she hadn't done so to be mean or anything. It was simply Shimamura's way of being considerate, for which I was very grateful. 
When someone is keeping their distance, fussing about it will only make things more complicated. 
That night, I lay on my bed, thinking back to how I first met Shimamura. 

The first one of us on the second floor of the gym had been Shimamura. She'd sat there grasping her knees, if I remember right. 
We were still wearing summer clothes back then, and the sun had made our arms faintly brown. 
Having noticed me, the girl turned her face towards me, and our eyes met. The aura surrounding her was that of a middle school girl, allowing me to guess that, like me, she too was a first-year student. I didn't know her name, yet she tilted her head as if she knew mine before opening her mouth. 
"You're... Adachi, right?" 
"Yeah, and?" 
"I'm in your class." 
After saying this, the girl waved at me. Though I tried, I just couldn't remember having ever seen her. Well, made sense, I suppose. 
The second semester had only begun that day, and as such, it'd been far more sultry than in October. The warmth there differed from that of the scorching sun outside. It wrapped around you, suffocating you. By no means was this the good place I'd been looking for. Furthermore, there was already someone there, and a part of me wanted to step back and leave. 
Yet, the girl had stated my name and said that I was her classmate. It was quite difficult to simply say goodbye and walk away in that situation. Us being here when we were meant to be in class, that was something we shared. A seed of interest had also begun to slowly plant its roots into me: why had she decided to skip class? 
Since there were no other places I could escape to, I chose to stay, and sat down on the edge of a ping-pong table. As I did, Shimamura—sitting on a seat formed by the green net—stated her name. 
"Like the store", she added jokingly. It was due to this joke that her first name left no impression in my mind. Rather, the store and the person became intertwined in my mind, and soon enough, the only way for me to remember the exact spelling of her name was to think of the store first. 
"You come here regularly?" 
"Nope, just happened to today." 
I'd been on my way to my usual spot when I'd almost run into a teacher, after which I'd sneaked my way here. Thankfully, no lesson had been taking place in the court below. 
"And you?" 
"Same." 
Though I hadn't known it back then, that had actually been the first day that Shimamura had ever skipped class. She'd explained that she'd gotten too used to the summer break, though I didn't know if that was what she really felt. There might have been a larger dissatisfaction behind it all. Perhaps something had happened during summer. Nevertheless, as I hadn't been all that interested in Shimamura back then, I'd simply brushed it off. 
I sat quite a distance away from her, our conversation came to a stop. In that silence, the only thing that rose was sweat. Shimamura pulled out a hand towel and wiped her forehead. I did the same with my own, wiping away both sweat and what makeup had come off. 
Feeling a little bored, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the menus, with no particular goal. I checked the clock and was instantly disappointed when I saw how much time was still left until lunch. I also gave Shimamura a glance. She stared out of the window, looking completely dazed. It was impossible to even begin to guess what she was thinking about. I later learned that she hadn't been thinking about anything. 
Being alone was boring, and being with others meant having to constantly think about their feelings. For a moment, I considered pretending like I had business elsewhere and leaving, but before I could turn those thoughts into action, I heard a noise. I panicked and looked up, only to see the silhouette of a cicada outside of the window. 
Shortly after, it made the noise again. 
The sound the insect made was full of vigour despite August already being over, so loud that it sounded like there were at least five bugs singing in harmony. Unconsciously, I exchanged looks with Shimamura. Her face turned into a troubled smile. 
"Pretty loud." 
"Sure is." 
Shimamura pushed herself up from the floor, after which she walked over to the window with the cicada and lightly tapped the glass under it. The cicada fell. Though I did see it flap its tiny wings, considering the speed at which it fell, I would've been extremely surprised if it didn't hit the ground. Shimamura seemed to share my feelings. She pulled away her finger and gave me a distressed look, the kind you'd make after doing something bad. To think there'd been a time when I wished she wouldn't look at me. 
No longer could the cicada's song be heard. For a moment, Shimamura stared at the window, motionless. 
Then, at last, she pointed her index finger towards the stairs. 
"Wanna go see?" 
She likely wanted to see if the cicada had died because of her. Seeing as I had nothing better to do, I accepted her invitation. Nothing wrong with using this as an opportunity to leave this place, I thought. 
We stepped down the stairs and quickly circled behind the gym, making sure to avoid the eyes of the boys walking lazily around the sports ground. A single massive tree stood in the shade between the gym and the dojo used for club activities, as if forgotten there. It was visible from the window on the second floor, and at its root, lay something resembling a cicada. 
The cicada lay face up on the ground. It appeared to have grown quite weak, and no matter how much it moved its wings, it couldn't get up. The other cicadas I heard singing above my head didn't seem too interested in their companion on the ground either. Being currently in the process of skipping class, I could feel a certain affinity towards it. 
Shimamura crouched next to the cicada and reached towards it. 
"You don't mind touching it?" 
"I think I can manage with a cicada. If it was an earthworm or a woodlouse, then no way." 
I couldn't comprehend how exactly she decided which insects she could touch and which she could not. Shimamura pinched the cicada. It struggled between her fingers, causing her to jump a little. It looked like she wanted to keep her distance, but as she was holding the bug, that wasn't really possible. The two—Shimamura and the cicada—eventually settled down, after which she stood up, shook her head slightly confused, and then approached the tree trunk. 
"Will it fall again, I wonder." 
Shimamura clearly had her doubts, yet still placed the cicada against the tree. Its tiny little legs moved frantically. As it turned out, the insect did stay in place as she pulled her hand away. It once again began singing, allowing us to return to the gym satisfied. At some point, I'd forgotten all about my plans to slip away, although I suppose I had nothing against the way things had ended up turning out. 
As we walked up the stairs, Shimamura asked me: 
"That cicada, how many more days do you think it'll live?" 
"Dunno", I answered her. I really didn't know. 
"I see", she nodded. 
After we'd climbed the stairs, I asked her in turn: 
"How many days would you want it to live?" 
She thought for a while, and then spoke: 
"Fifteen days, maybe." 
Fifteen days after that, Shimamura came to the second floor with her hands covered in dirt. 
I bet she had made a grave for the cicada. 
And that's how I met Shimamura. 
A story from a time when I'd not yet begun thinking of her as a friend. 

All the reasons in the world didn't change the fact that I was nervous. That's just the way Shimamura affected me. 
I passed through a shopping district with no meaningful establishments besides a sweets store and a bike repair shop, crossed an abandoned railway, and after a left turn, caught a glimpse of the post office that served as our meeting place. Shimamura was waiting in front of it, leaning against its sign, and as I passed by the bank and bus stop on my left, she waved at me. 
She was strangely diligent in a lot of ways; I'd noticed that whenever we decided to meet, it was quite frequent for her to be the first to arrive. Waving back, I parked my bike in front of her. 
"You always come late to class, but when it's to have fun, you're right on time." 
"Please, have mercy, Ms Shimamura." 
I quickly checked either side of Shimamura as we talked, and as soon as I did, a sigh of relief left my mouth; that tiny, glittering thing from the other day was nowhere to be seen. I'd been waiting anxiously for Shimamura to say how she met her along the way and that she'd be joining us, but fortunately, no such thing ended up happening. What had that thing even been? Shimamura was very open-hearted (in a good way) and seemed to have more or less accepted her, though at the same time, the colour of her eyes and hair was a step too far for me. There was such a thing as being too unique. Not in a million years could I think of that shine as something that belonged to a living creature. 
"Did you buy those clothes at Shimamura? They look really good on you." 
"Why does everyone have to make that joke?" 
Gripping the tips of her white, knitted sweater, she frowned. By "everyone", she likely meant that Hino and Nagafuji had said something similar as well. Really shouldn't have said that, I thought; that just wasn't the kind of friend I wanted to be to her. 
"If we're making jokes about each other's clothes now, I still think it was pretty funny when you wore that China dress." 
"Sorry." 
There was no bike next to Shimamura. It seemed that—much like when she came to school—she had walked here. Looking bored, she circled the post office's parking lot. I followed her with my eyes, and though I did think that it might be better to talk about something, no suitable topic came to mind. It was pretty weird to think that I'd been completely indifferent to Shimamura when we first met considering that at some point, even her faintest movements had begun standing out to me. 
Recently, I'd also become increasingly aware of her appearance. She was... cute. 
"H-Hey." 
"Yeah?" 
Walking in a figure of eight, Shimamura turned to face me. 
"Don't worry, I memorized the lyrics." 
"Lyrics for what...? Oh, right, the song we're singing together." 
It took a moment for Shimamura to get what I was talking about. Regardless, she continued, and the words she spoke next reassured me. 
"If you have any other songs you think you can sing, let's sing those ones too." 
"Sure." 
The other two weren't here yet. 
A thought crossed my mind: couldn't Shimamura and I just leave and go somewhere else together? 
Speak of the devil, Hino and Nagafuji suddenly appeared, as if having read my thoughts. Riding on a single bike, they crossed the bridge to our right. Hino—the short one—was the one pedalling, with Nagafuji—as expressionless as always—standing behind her, her hands placed on her shoulders. I really felt like they should have been the other way around. It just seemed so unbalanced, the way they currently were. 
"Oh, they're here." 
Shimamura leaned forward over the road and waved. Hino and Nagafuji waved back with both hands and—wait, isn't that really dangerous? With not a single hand on the handlebars, the bike crossed the bridge and rode down the gentle slope in front of it, after which it pulled before us. As their hands were in the air, the two had to brake by pressing the bottoms of their shoes against the ground. What a strange lot. Hino's face twisted into a smile just as I thought that, as if she'd seen into my mind. 
"You still can't ride a bike?" Shimamura remarked to Nagafuji, who'd just jumped off. 
"Yeah, obviously", she replied nonchalantly. It was there that I noticed it: she wasn't wearing glasses today. That further emphasized how long and narrow her eyes were, giving off the impression of intelligence. It was quite rare for glasses to blur the features of your face. Soon enough, Nagafuji and Hino were standing next to me. 
"Yo, Adacchi", Hino called out to me casually. "Adacchi"? I was suddenly reminded of a nickname I had in elementary school. 
Wait, thinking about it now, what was the point of a nickname that was longer than your actual name? 
"Oh, if it isn't Adacchi", Nagafuji stated as if we were best buddies, going along with the joke. Even Shimamura found it amusing and threw a quick "Adacchi" at me, causing me to instinctively look away. It was difficult to resist the temptation of pulling down the hood of my cardigan and hiding my face. I didn't really mind the other two, but Shimamura calling me by a nickname while grinning, that was something I felt a certain bit of reluctance about. 
"Reluctance"? No, I think the problem was more how self-conscious it made me feel. In other words, I was embarrassed. 
I hopped on my bike to hide my shame. Just a gust of wind and my burning cheeks would cool down too. 
"So, which one is the karaoke place?" 
"That one over there", Hino stated, pointing at a building on the other side of the road I'd come down. 
"Something" Village, that's what was written by the entrance. Inside, the building housed not only a karaoke place, but a kindergarten, barbecue shop, and a restaurant as well. "Consistent" was definitely not the word I would've used to describe this combination, but even so, the parking lot was full of cars. 
Pretty close by. Walking there wouldn't even take ten seconds. I had to wonder, what had been the point of choosing the post office as our meeting spot? I decided to hop off my bike and walk it. Real uncool. 
"Still, I really didn't think she'd come." 
"Me neither", Shimamura stated, agreeing with Hino. The eyes of the two turned towards me. I could assume based on the flow of the conversation that they were talking about me, though how to answer their stares—seeking for a comment—I had no idea. 
In any case, it was clear that if I answered them honestly, they'd look at me weird, or perhaps be repulsed. 
"I got nothing else to do." 
I decided to play it safe and lie. The lie came out a little blunt, possibly giving off the impression that I was unfriendly and bad at socializing. Yes, I'd certainly started to realise just how difficult it was for me to blend into a group. 
Perhaps my lack of experience was the issue? If so, then this would be a good way to rack up some. 
"Oh, so you were bored, huh? A good motive for high school students and shinigamis alike." 
It didn't take long for Hino to grasp the situation. Where had that shinigami part come from? I didn't know. 
The interior of the karaoke place was decorated with pumpkins and mantles; orange pumpkins covered the dimly-lit walls, and dark mantles—coated in glitter—hung before the windows like curtains. It seemed like no one had bothered taking off the Halloween decorations. Two old men sat on the waiting sofa to our right, casually playing Othello. Wherever I looked, I could only see old people. The four of us definitely stood out. It wasn't like anyone was looking at us in a bad way—due to our age, perhaps—but regardless, having people stare at me didn't feel nice. 
The entry fee on weekends was 180 yen for 30 minutes. In other words, 360 yen for an hour. Way cheaper than the karaoke place in front of the station. They also offered 9-hour-long bargain courses, though all I had to say to that was "no thanks". 
If we spent the next nine hours singing, it'd be night when we were done. And that was bad because I had work tonight. 
"By the way, is everyone good with four hours?" Hino asked us over her shoulder. That still seemed pretty long to me, though Nagafuji answering that it worked for her forced me to reconsider. Shimamura didn't say anything, and simply stood there gripping the tips of her hair. Hino went ahead and booked us for four hours, and it was there that I noticed that the person behind the counter was also an old man. I'd heard that Hino had been the one to choose this place, and I had to wonder, just what had her criteria been? 
We passed deeper into the building through a hallway and—with Hino in the lead—entered our room. No one else probably thought this way, but for me, this moment was accompanied by tension. An important decision needed to be made soon: Where was I going to sit? 
The room was a bit cramped, and by its white walls stood two black sofas. Watching Shimamura head towards the right side, I followed suit. I tried acting all casual, but as my feet were pretty clumsy, that plan didn't really go anywhere. It kinda felt like I was moving in 90-degree turns. Regardless, I managed to sit down next to her. In turn, Hino and Nagafuji took the sofa opposite to us. Though there was a good chance that we would've ended up in a similar configuration even if I had let things resolve naturally, it really wasn't something I could afford to risk. 
"Want me to put your bag over here?" Shimamura asked me, sitting by the table. The fact that I'd sat down next to her filled me with immense satisfaction, to the point that I came real close to grinning. Trying my best to stop myself from doing so, I handed her my bag. It wasn't like anyone was going to call me, and I also didn't have anything I needed to keep at hand. The keys to my bike might have been one such item, but those were safe in my pocket. 
I reached for the menu sitting on the table, though I wasn't really in the mood to eat anything; no, I just felt like I had to do something. Yet, just I was about to grab it, Nagafuji, who was sitting across from me, did so first. She asked for my approval with her eyes as I pulled my body and hand away, and I nodded. 
Meanwhile, Hino lifted the mic she was holding in an exaggerated motion and flicked on its switch. 
"Alright, I'll go first. Toki no uzu~." 
"Stop that", Nagafuji said authoritatively before taking away her mic. It kinda felt like I shouldn't try either. 
Also, what was up with her starting to sing before she'd even set the song? 
"Hmh. Should I sing something else?" 
Hino gave up without further resistance. As she did, the mic was returned to her. She performed a quick mic check before picking up the remote and choosing a song. A nursery rhyme was what she ended up going with, for whatever reason. While Hino sang, I quickly glanced at the menu Nagafuji was holding open. Using my left hand, I pointed at a certain part of it. 
"If we're gonna order a pitcher of something, it should be green tea. It's better to drink green tea while singing than oolong tea, a certain great teacher once said." 
"And who might this 'great teacher' be?" 
"Ms S, known for her love for karaoke." 
"Giving us an initial doesn't make it any less suspicious." 
Shimamura looked pretty confused. Just so you know, I wasn't talking about our class teacher. It would've been Ms T in that case, if I remembered right. 
"Who's singing next?" Hino asked as she held up the mic, having finished her nursery rhyme. I glanced at Shimamura. She'd been looking at the leaflets that had been left on the table, but quickly lifted her head, as if having noticed my stare. Our eyes met. The expression on her face looked like she was asking me if I wanted to sing with her, but to that, I shook my head, as if to say "not yet". 
"Well, I'll go then", Nagafuji stated, taking up the offer. 
"Sure thing", Hino said back, her hands on her hips. "I just wonder, do you really have a song you know the lyrics to?" 
"Hm... Hmm..." 
Her vague reply—neither denying nor confirming the statement—didn't exactly scream self-confidence. And yet, the look on her face remained gallant. 
"I'll just have you sing the parts I don't know." 
"Two songs back to back, huh? This is quickly turning into a one man show." 
Hino's obvious sarcasm didn't seem to matter in the slightest to Nagafuji, as indicated by the complete lack of change in her expression. 
Nagafuji seemed to have trouble remembering things. Same went with my name too, now that I thought about it; she'd heard it plenty of times by now, yet it appeared that she still didn't remember it. Meanwhile, Nagafuji had begun looking for her song's number. Right, that's how it worked. It now made sense why Hino had sung a nursery rhyme; she'd just inputted a number at random without looking it up first. 
A little while later, the pitcher of green tea we had ordered arrived. The person who brought it was—naturally—an old man. I found myself wanting to calculate the average age here. We raised a toast of tea as if this was a formal occasion, after which Nagafuji entered the number of her chosen song. It was a slightly old one, from a singer named Owari Nijou. 
Though the song itself was pretty noisy and not my type, I did like the piano that went along with it, as well as the kimono-wearing pianist playing it. I remembered reading an interview with her in some magazine once, and it'd definitely left me with the impression that she was easygoing. All she and the singer had talked about for the whole interview was dogs. Even recently when she'd been asked about her songs, she'd gone off on some tangent about a family restaurant. 
"You know this one?" Shimamura asked me while sipping her tea. 
"Yep", I nodded back. "Not the lyrics though." 
"Oh, really? I don't", she stated, not sounding all that interested. She then placed the cup on her lips. 
She wasn't drinking because she was thirsty but rather because she was bored, which is why she gulped down the tea so fast. That was easy for anyone to tell. It seemed that even Shimamura was still in the process of getting used to this atmosphere, and I got the feeling that she might have been pushing herself a little. Thinking back to her idling away on the second floor of the gym, I couldn't help but wonder if that was more normal for her. The way she behaved didn't really support that theory, but regardless. 
While there was undoubtedly a difference in skill between me and her, perhaps our attitudes towards socializing weren't all that different. Could that similarity be the thing that attracted me to her? 
In any case, hanging around with the four of us had made me realise something: I much preferred being alone with Shimamura. 
Much like the first one, the majority of the second song ended up being sang by Hino as well. Smiling, she offered the mic to our direction. 
"Here, you go next." 
Our eyes instantly met. We were both trying to make the other person pick up the mic. 
"Going by the order, you'd be next." 
"...Hm, got it", Shimamura said before taking the mic. 
"Give me one more", she then asked Hino. "We're singing together." 
Next thing I knew, I'd been pulled on my feet. Huh, already? I panicked as Shimamura dragged me around the table with her. Well, I say that, but it wasn't like she was physically dragging me. It was more that her actions and behaviour had naturally pulled me along. 
She input the number quickly, leading me to assume that she had looked it up beforehand. Did you really have to do it that fast? my restless heart complained. It felt like someone was pushing my back with their hand. 
Singing in front of people really wasn't for me. I'd always despised those singing tests they made you take in music class. However, today I was going to be doing it with Shimamura, giving me something far greater to be conscious about. 
There we stood, side by side. I felt tension in my stomach, similar to what I would've felt if the two of us were standing on a stage in school. The prelude to the song started playing, and as I listened to it in silence, my head began spinning. Was everything really okay with me? 
Just then, as if having noticed that I was uneasy, Shimamura spoke to me. 
"Honestly, you really saved me by agreeing to sing with me." 
"Huh?" 
Laughing, she flipped the switch of her mic. 
"Singing in front of people just isn't for me." 
"Don't say that before you sing! It ruins the mood!" Hino yelled at us, jokingly. As for Nagafuji, she had begun ordering something. I couldn't help but smile a little at Shimamura's sudden confession. 
You and me both, huh? I felt a step closer to her, and the resulting happiness caused my chest to throb. 
"I'm glad too, to do it with you, Shimamura", I replied, after which the prelude ended and the lyrics kicked in. 
My emotions now fully exposed, they poured into my singing. 

In the end, we took a small extension as our time ran out and ended up singing for five hours in total. I was made to sing by myself a few times too, and though there'd definitely been multiple occasions when I just wanted to bury my face, thanks to Shimamura praising me, I couldn't say that I had completely disliked it. 
I felt like my embarrassment had let Shimamura know exactly what I wanted from her. 
I checked the time as we exited the karaoke room and saw that it was past three. The sun still shone warmly, but compared to the last month, the temperature had clearly dropped. Winter would soon come, and so, another year would be over. Then again, I suppose that the whole concept of a year ending was just something we'd made up; be it this year or the next, the cold remained. 
"Did you have a good time, Adacchi?" Hino asked me. Did she really need to ask me separately? It felt like I was being handled with kid gloves. No, I didn't just feel that way; I totally was. "Adacchi" and all. 
"Yep, I did", I answered while glancing at Shimamura. She looked back at me and smiled, as if saying well, that's good. It was like she was pretending to be my guardian or something, and had it been someone else doing it, I likely would've said something back. Strangely enough I didn't, however, and in a way, almost admired her. 
"Glad to hear. Maybe we'll be invited again before long. Wink, wink, Shimamura." 
"Me? Well, I guess." 
For an instant, you could see it on her face that she was wondering why Hino couldn't just handle the inviting. That right there really was Shimamura in a nutshell. Got it, the look on Hino's face said as she tapped my shoulder instead of Shimamura's for some reason. ...What? 
"Well then, see you tomorrow", she waved at us from her bike. I waved back slightly, after which Nagafuji glanced at her. 
"You know the way to my house?" 
"Do you think I'm an idiot? I wonder, who was the person that I picked up in front of their house this morning?" 
I could still hear them arguing as they crossed over the bridge. Such a good relationship between those two. Although, perhaps that was what led them to acting so overly familiar with me. I'd been keeping my distance from them, yet at this point, they were already treating me like a friend, at least to a certain extent. 
Not that I disliked it. No, I just wasn't used to it as I'd never been friends with someone like that before. 
"Now then, I should head home too. Probably need to deal with my little sister next, hehe", Shimamura laughed jokingly, after which she began walking. That really was her style, just slipping out without a word. It also happened when we were talking on the phone; she was way too eager to end the call. My head was always full of all sorts of thoughts and I needed time to decide what to say, time that she wouldn't give me. 
"Want me to give you a ride?" 
Shimamura stopped in her tracks. My finger slipped off the brake, causing the bike to roll an inch forward. 
"You don't live far from here, after all. I just mean, walking alone is kinda... you know." 
Yes, I did realise the contradiction, that her living nearby meant that there was no need for me to give her a ride. Shimamura tilted her head, having perhaps also noticed that there was no connection between the former and latter halves of my statement. It really did feel like that was a natural part of me, being bad at making up reasons. 
Glancing over at the bridge where Hino and Nagafuji grew ever more distant, Shimamura laughed. 
"So, you'll give me a ride?" she asked, placing her bag in my bike's basket. I sighed in relief. Soon, her hands were on my shoulders. 
"Shall we get going, Adacchi?" 
"No, please, not you too. Just say it normally", I requested, my head turned around. Shimamura's eyes opened wide. 
"It's not really that different from your real name, though. Is it just that you don't like nicknames? Wait, now that I think about it, you didn't stop Hino from saying it. Why are you singling me out?" 
"No, you have it all wrong. I'm not singling you out or anything. Sorry if it came off like that." 
Rather, I wouldn't mind having a nickname at all if she was the only one using it. 
My reply left purposefully vague, I stepped on the pedal. It was slow at first, but once the pedals started turning, we began picking up speed. I could've gone even faster and it would've been easier on my feet, but knowing that this would result in us reaching Shimamura's house sooner, I instead chose to go a little slower than my top speed. 
Shimamura's house. I could feel my mind blanking out just trying to think back to it. As you might have expected, I simply couldn't bring myself to step inside today. Hell no. Even after a month or two I might not be able to. That really had been my greatest blunder. 
"Take a right turn there, and then straight ahead." 
"Okay." 
Following Shimamura's directions, I turned right. We crossed the abandoned railway and passed through the shopping district. After that came a super narrow road, so narrow that even two bikes would've had trouble passing each other. As we were riding through it, Shimamura spoke to me. 
"Did you really have fun, Adachi?" 
"Could've been worse, I guess." 
Since Shimamura was the one asking this time, I decided to answer honestly. No, it hadn't been fun enough for me to stop worrying and start enjoying myself, not even close. If not for her being there, I would've made up some excuse and left early. 
This experience only reinforced what I'd known before; the way I felt towards Shimamura was different than other people, than Hino and Nagafuji. Not that I hated the idea of becoming friends with them or anything, but that was all there was to it, friends. 
Going out to have fun on a regular day off? Nothing weird about that. During Christmas? Definitely strange. 
That's what it felt like to me to be friends with someone. I did find myself wishing I could go out with Shimamura during Christmas, though. It didn't even have to be Christmas; New Year's or any other winter holiday would do just fine. 
I just wanted to close the distance between us. And once it was closed, what then? 
I felt like deep down, I already knew the answer. 
What I wanted from Shimamura was something sisterly, something motherly. That's what I thought. 
It was a little difficult to put in words, but I suppose you could say that I wanted Shimamura to look after me, to embrace me, to accept me. My relationship with my own family was quite lacking, and I yearned for something to fill that void, I felt. 
Of course, saying this out loud would show everyone just how immature I truly was. If that happened, I could no longer continue living. 
Please, become my big sister. No way could I ever say something like that to Shimamura. 
"Oh, never mind. Left from here", she suddenly stated, giving me new directions. I did wonder what was up with that, but turned regardless. As I did, a deserted orphanage appeared before us. The ground surrounding the building was covered in fine sand, with no children anywhere to be seen—not a single one. Even so, this had originally served as somewhere for children to play, a place that I too had visited frequently in my preschool days. 
More typically known as a public park. 
"Your home sure has good ventilation. So open." 
"The views are also excellent, hahaha. Come on, stop being silly. Get off." 
I stopped the bike in front of the playground equipment, and Shimamura hopped off. Kicking the sand, she walked over to the nearby vending machine. I hopped off too, and just as I locked the bike, I heard Shimamura calling to me from the vending machine in a slightly-raised voice. 
"I'm really thirsty, so I thought I'd drink some soda. You want anything, Adachi?" she asked me before adding: "I'll pay." 
This conversation brought me back to the lunch breaks we'd had while skipping class. 
"Do they have mineral water?" 
"Not canned. Is Pocari okay?" 
"Sure, that's fine." 
Shimamura returned holding two cans. For a while, we circled the nearby playground equipment before heading deeper in towards the swings. Though there were benches as well, for some reason, we both ended up sitting on the swings instead. 
Shimamura's swing was yellow, whereas mine was red. The paint was super old and felt like it was about to peel off, and as I touched the chains, rust peeked through. It got stuck on my fingers but quickly crumbled away and disappeared as I rubbed them together. Faded away, like memories. Nothing wrong with that. It was the persistent ones that refused to go away which were the troublesome ones. 
"Good job today." 
"Huh? I thought we were just having fun." 
"I just mean, this isn't really your thing, right?" 
"Hmm... I guess you could say that." 
"Oh, come on. I know you said you had fun to Hino, but if you don't want to, I won't invite you." 
It really felt like I was being treated like an elementary schooler. Regardless, I shook my head. 
If Shimamura was the one doing the inviting, then that meant that she'd be coming too. 
In that case... 
"I'm fine. It wasn't that bad. Please, do invite me again." 
"Oh?" Shimamura replied before placing the can of soda on her lips. She then began rocking the swing slightly, and soon enough, started moving back and forth. Something to help her stop feeling bored, I guess. 
As for me, I turned my eyes towards the ground and likewise took a sip of my Pocari. 
Being the weekend, there was no one else in this park. Just us two, Shimamura and I. Even so, I couldn't help but look around restlessly; I was confident that if I let myself get too relaxed, that tiny, glittering thing would jump out from nowhere. That thing was like a ghost, something that formed from sunlight and appeared when you least expected it to. That's what it looked like, at least. Anyway, I couldn't let my guard down. 
"...So?" Shimamura suddenly asked, examining my expression. Her swing squeaked as it moved. 
I tilted my head, not sure what she meant. 
"Umm... You were looking at me the whole time we sang karaoke. I was just thinking, did you have something that you wanted to say?" 
I came this close to springing up. 
She'd noticed. Sure, I had felt our eyes meeting on multiple occasions, but you're telling me that she'd seen me staring at her even when that didn't happen? My body shook, causing the swing and chains to do so too. 
I looked away from Shimamura. My head grew hot as I desperately searched for an answer. 
...Alright, first, let's just feign ignorance and see what happens. 
"Oh, was I really staring at you?" 
"Yep", she nodded. I could feel my shoulders grow narrow. Let's keep pretending. 
"Probably just your imagination, I think." 
"What about when our eyes met? That happened like a dozen times." 
She knows. I had always tried turning away and pretending like I hadn't been looking when that happened, but it didn't seem like it had worked. 
"Just like that", Shimamura said and pointed as I went to peek at her to see how she was reacting. Yep, definitely didn't work. 
Something that I wanted to ask Shimamura. Yes, I had loads of those kinds of things. And yet, I couldn't help but feel that if I were to ask her any of them, she'd either look at me weird or straight up run away, which made it so incredibly difficult to do so. I was stuck. Stagnating. 
There were so many different thoughts stuck in my head. It was like a fruit tree; the fruits grew more nutritious as they became ripe, but too ripe and they'd rot and splatter on the ground. That was my impression of it. Just then, one of those thoughts pushed out, like a fresh branch peeking from a tree trunk. I tried stopping it before it got to my mouth, but I didn't make it in time. 
Breathing hard like a dog, I asked Shimamura the following: 
"Could you pat my head?" 
I turned my cast-down head towards her as I said this. 
Oh no. That was all I could say to myself at this point. I'd known well what I'd been saying, yet it still managed to shock me. It scared me to just think about what sort of face Shimamura was making. Thanks to that, I was no longer capable of lifting my head, and I felt like if I let go of the chains I was gripping tight, my chin would hit the ground. 
"Hmph." 
Shimamura's reaction was quite short. It sounded like she was keeping her distance, observing me. At the same time, I could feel her gaze on my head. I began sweating and my throat trembled, wanting to scream something to the effect of "just forget that I said anything." That tremble soon reached my arms. I just wanted this to stop. 
Climbing over something that causes you to freeze up and feel regret might be a process filled with despair, but it also means that you're facing forward. 
Gently, like a feather fluttering down, Shimamura's fingers touched my head. 
A small gasp escaped my mouth. My heart throbbed, like a blooming flower. 
At first, her fingertips tapped against my head, confirming that it was there. After that, her tiny palm embraced me. She touched me slowly, and it was hard to tell which one was the one flowing smoothly, her hand or my hair. 
"You're such a baby, Adachi."  

I felt like this wasn't the first time she'd pointed that out. I'd also been looking away back then, and as such, had no idea what sort of expression had been on her face as she said it. Shocked, smiling, it was impossible to tell which from her voice alone. There was no wind, no one to interrupt us, as if time and the planet had stopped to observe us. 
My heart was no longer pounding fast. Quite the opposite; it had calmed down to the point where I felt like I was going to start shedding tears. 
I could feel that my heart was no longer in my chest. 
I bet it had travelled higher, to the top of my head, wanting to be closer to Shimamura's palm. 
"A bit longer?" she asked, her fingers stroking my bangs. I nodded silently, and her hand moved softly around my head. With each touch, each time her fingers combed my hair, I could feel the insides of my head growing clearer and clearer. If I had a tail, it'd probably have been wagging. What was wrong with me? Why did it make me so happy to have a girl from the same year as me pat my head? 
Stupid, or just weird? I had a feeling that it was a mixture of both, and all that was left to figure out were the percentages. 
"Is that enough?" 
"...Yeah." 
I wanted to say "more", but didn't. 
Shimamura pulled her hand away. It took a lot of courage for me to lift my head, but I managed to do it. 
Rubbing her fingers together, Shimamura smiled gently. 
"Don't call me 'big sis' in class, okay?" she warned me as a joke, before adding: "I mean it." 
Shimamura gulped down her soda, possibly a little embarrassed herself. 
Gripping the now-empty can tight, she extended her free hand towards me. 
"Your can. I'll go toss it away with mine." 
"Oh, this? I still have some left. I'll finish it once I get home." 
"I see", she said before setting out for the trash can. Watching her do so, I turned the can I was holding upside down. 
Not a single drop came out. It was empty. In other words, I'd been lying. 
What I was actually planning to do with it once I got home was to put it on a shelf. ...Was that gross? 
Well, whatever. It wasn't like Shimamura was ever going to come to my room. As long as it made me satisfied, there was nothing wrong with using it for such a purpose. What was and wasn't treasure was for the person themselves to decide. 
The top of my head still felt fluffy as I placed the can in my bike's basket. 
I got the bike ready as Shimamura returned. I took the lock off and hopped on the saddle, and she got on too. She then placed her hands on my shoulders, reminding me of that time when we had held hands. I could feel my cheeks growing hot, and with my head hung, I began pedalling. 
There was a reason why I didn't want her to see my face; my cheeks were bright red, and as the sun wouldn't set for a long time, I couldn't blame it on sunlight. 
The bike carried us away from the park. 
What this really meant was that I'd blown through our time alone. We could have easily spent an extra ten minutes there, though now that I thought about it, it was the fact that they didn't last long that gave treasures their charm. 
Dive in, swim around, come back to the surface to take a breath. Then, dive back in and search for it again. 
I wanted to be special to Shimamura. 
Not in a weird way, and I really meant that. Although, I wouldn't necessarily mind it being weird as long as it was special. 
Simply put... I might have been in love.