Adachi to Shimamura - Volume 2 - Chapter 4.2

Bonus chapter: "Yashiro: The Visitor - Part 2" 

I'd go home, do my kanji exercises and practise the recorder, but what should I do after that? That was the question on my mind as I walked forward. Just then, I heard a noise. Grrr! I looked over my shoulder. Whoa! 
I turned around, and Yachii was there. This was the second time she'd shocked me by showing up without a warning. 
And so, I'd once again encountered Yachii on my way home from school. On one side of the road stood the community centre, and on the other, the school for the handicapped. Everywhere else, it was all pear farms. I always walked home through here, and so did many other kids. Yachii really stood out among them, however. I could feel everyone staring at her. It was a little embarrassing, if I'm being honest. 
She'd replaced her hat with a muffler, possibly due to it now being firmly winter. Compared to Yachii who felt like she was made of softness and light, the muffler almost seemed like the heavier of the two. 
She had a unique sense of floatiness to her. Her hairstyle followed this as well; it was tied behind her head with a butterfly knot, giving it a slightly strange quality. 
"Shimamura (the small one)." 
"Y-Yeah, that's me." 
Was it really necessary for her to vocalize the word "parentheses"? 
"I'm going to call you 'Shou'. I can't tell you apart otherwise." 
"What kind of a nickname is that? It doesn't have anything to do with my real name." 
Well, whatever. It felt fresh, if nothing else. 
In school, all anyone called me was "Shima". 
"Are you on your way back from school too, Yachii?" 
Mere seconds after that question left my mouth, I noticed that Yachii wasn't carrying anything. No croquettes, either. 
"I do not go to school. I already graduated years ago." 
"You don't have school? Must be nice." 
"Right?" she said proudly. Really? Why was she barely taller than me then? 
While I did know that not every adult was tall and some were quite small, still, it made me wonder. Something about her statement smelled fishy. 
I walked to the side of the road and leaned against the fence of the school for the handicapped. Yachii lined up next to me. I looked at the fence, then her hair. While both were blue in colour, there was a world of difference between them; whereas the paint on the fence had mostly faded away, Yachii's shine felt completely fresh. It was like comparing old vegetables to ones straight from the farm. 
Still, I had to wonder: When had we become friends? Just the other day, I'd been running away from her while she chased me. 
...Well, whatever. She had given me a croquette. 
"Hey." 
"What is it?" 
Yachii always spoke really politely. At the same time, I somehow got the feeling that she wasn't the most fluent speaker. 
"Is it really true that you're an alien?" 
"Naturally. I don't lie. Never have, never will", she said, wagging her finger from side to side. I felt a little annoyed by her statement; if she wasn't a liar, then that would make Sis one. 
"Well then, show me proof. Show me proof that you're an alien." 
I formed a bowl with my hands—almost like I was scooping up water or something—and stuck it out towards her. 
With a calm smile on her face, Yachii once again wagged her finger. 
"Showing you proof would be a violation of the agreement, which means that I cannot do it." 
"Huh?" 
"They are quite strict about these things in space." 
"Hmm... Well, if it's a rule or something, I guess I have to give up." 
It kinda felt like she'd come up with that on the spot to dodge my question. Was she lying after all? Still, her hair was blue. 
"Ohh? What is that?" Yachii asked as she grabbed the object sticking out of my backpack. She yanked it, causing the bag to shake and the straps to dig slightly into my shoulders. Yachii's hair shook too, and in the next instant, a wave of soft light surged upon me. 

I found myself a little shocked. 
"You've never seen a recorder?" 
"What's a recorder?" 
What Yachii had pulled out was my recorder bag. This proved it; if she had never seen a recorder, then her graduating from elementary school had to be a lie. Yachii took the recorder out of its bag and tapped it with her fingers. 
"It's a musical instrument. You hold it like this, and then blow in this hole", I explained to her proudly. Yachii nodded while listening carefully. 
Though I would normally have been against the idea of someone else playing my recorder, if that someone was Yachii, I didn't really mind. I always got this sense of translucency off her. Perhaps that was the reason why. We were well into winter and it was quite cold outside, but as I stood next to her, that coldness transformed into something more refreshing, like touching cool spring water. 
Yachii placed the recorder on her lips, and in the next instant, a horrible, screeching sound pierced my ears. It seemed that she had blown as hard as she possibly could. 
"Whoa, whoa..." 
Yachii's eyes were now spinning from blowing too much. I found myself laughing a little as I watched her. Though the aura surrounding her had given off the vibe that she could do anything, it turned out that in reality, she was kinda just average. I felt a step closer to her. 
"This is quite the extreme instrument." 
"No, that's just you." 
Anyway, it seemed that she hadn't been lying about not knowing what a recorder was. No way would that have been the blowing technique she would've chosen if she had. 
...I wonder, what sort of life did Yachii live? The list of things that stuck out to me was quite long. 
"Umm, try blowing into it a bit more gently." 
"Ah, that reminds me. The special sale is starting soon. I need to hurry or I'm going to miss it." 
With quick movements, Yachii pushed herself off the fence. A special sale? Where? At the supermarket? Or maybe at the meat shop? 
Feelings of disappointment filled me as she handed the recorder back to me. I'd really been excited about teaching her how to play. 
Also, how did she know what time it was? She hadn't looked at a clock or anything. 
Yachii looked over her shoulder, and with a bright smile on her face, waved at me. 
I felt compelled to say "goodbye", but just as I opened my mouth... 
"×????????" 
"Huh?" 
I was left staring at her, my eyes wide open, unable to move. 
That was how greatly I'd been shocked. 
Just what had that sound been? 
"Oh, sorry. Goodbye!" 
Waving her hand, Yachii ran off. 
"Hey, wait! Hmm..." 
I tried to make her stay for just a bit longer, but she was way too fast, and I was forced to give up. 
More importantly, what had that sound been? I was curious, extremely curious. 
It was a word I'd never heard before. No, it didn't even sound like a word. It didn't feel like it had come from her throat, but rather, like it had vibrated my ears directly. Was it English? French? Or perhaps... 
No way. 
"Some space language?" 
Was it, really? I scratched my head. As I did, particles of light that had stayed behind as Yachii ran off landed on my nose and eyes. I wiped them off with my finger and blew them away, and moments later, they vanished into the air. 
A thought crossed my mind as I stared up at them: Was Yachii made of these particles? 
Was she really an alien, or was she just pretending to be one? 
Truth, or a lie? Whatever it was, one thing remained certain: She really was mysterious.