Adachi to Shimamura - Volume 5 - Chapter 2.2

Bonus chapter: "Yashiro: The Visitor - Part 8" 

"Ooh, Shou. Where might you be heading?" 
The first sound that reached my ears as I stepped outside was not the song of cicadas, but instead, the voice of Yachii. I quickly turned around. 
It was extremely hot outside, so hot it almost seemed like even the outlines of the buildings were being warped. In the middle of it all, Yachii alone radiated with cool, blue light. 
"Ah, Yachii." 
"Shou." 
Tap, tap, tap. We gave each other's arms a series of quick taps. That was something we did always, no matter how warm it was outside. 
Then, once that was done. 
"I'm going to the pool", I stated as a reply to her earlier question, all the while lifting the pool bag I was carrying high in the air. All this was met by Yachii simply tilting her head to the side. 
"What's a pool?" 
"Huh? You don't know? Well, umm... A pool is like, when you have a lot of water and..." 
It quickly dawned on me just how difficult of a concept this was to explain. Like, bathtubs were also filled with water, but those obviously were distinct from pools. 
By the way, while we're on the subject, Yachii absolutely hated bathing, and whenever I suggested we go in, she'd always run away, forcing me to spend the next few minutes chasing after her. 
I really liked washing her when we did eventually get in. It almost made me feel like I'd gained a little sister of my own. 
"Are pools fun?" 
"Hmm, yeah. They are. Fun." 
I went out of my way to emphasize the last "u" there. Doing so almost made it look like I was smiling, and as if imitating me, Yachii grinned too. 
Oh, I should mention, I was currently heading to my school. You see, they kept their pool open for the duration of summer. Well, I say that, but it was more like till mid-July—just before the start of the O-Bon Festival. 
I remembered Mom saying that days were quickly running out. 
"What about you, Yachii? Are you out? On a walk?" 
I could see that she was carrying a water bottle with her. As for her outfit, she was wearing the same tall and narrow hat she often did, the one that looked like it was woven from tree branches. 
Tiny leaves poked out through the gaps between them, overall giving the hat a pretty mysterious aura. I have to say, it went pretty well with her hair colour. 
"Hehehe. Nothing that trivial, I assure you." 
"Going on a walk is trivial?" 
"Compared to looking for my brethren, yes. That's what I'm planning to do now." 
I'd completely forgotten, she added. Why was it that she sounded almost proud of herself? 
"I should say, I'd originally planned to spend the next 300 years doing it, but since it's so hot outside, I decided to shorten that to only three days." 
"Oh, really?" 
The way she handled numbers really was all over the place. 
"Now then, let us meet again." 
Tap, tap, tap. That was the sound Yachii's feet made as she ran off into the distance. 
She'd said what she wanted to say, and then left. Just like usual. 
"Hmm..." 
Was she talking about like, a vacation? With her family? Must have been; I could hardly imagine her mom and dad being okay with her going somewhere for the duration of multiple days by herself. Not that I'd ever met her family or anything. I had never even gone over to her house to play. 
There were still so many things that I didn't know about her. That was what I found myself thinking about as I stared at the strand of blue hair tied around my finger. 
Often, I'd look at it when I was in bed at night. Seeing the faint light shining from it always made me forget about the flow of time. 
I would also forget to breathe and even to blink. And yet, I didn't mind. 
There was something about the slight twinkle which made it feel like I was being guided to stand before the aquarium. 
A late wave of hot air surrounded me. As if to brush it off, I began walking forward. 
"Three days, huh?" 
I'd gotten used to seeing her every single day, and so, it made me kinda sad to think that I wouldn't be able to do so for some time. 

Step, step, step. 
"Ohh, Shou. Going to the pool again?" 
Once again I ran into Yachii in front of our house. 
I wasn't sure why, but seeing her kinda made me feel relaxed. 
Tap, tap, tap. Yep, it was Yachii. 
Exactly three days had passed since I last saw her, and today, she was wearing a pyjama designed to resemble a lion. The hood was its head—albeit a bit spherical—and were you to pull it down, it'd look just like its fangs were being buried into your flesh. Wait, no; on a second thought, it was actually Yachii who appeared spherical. 
"Yachii, you..." 
You're being eaten alive. 
"Did you buy that?" 
"No, I received it." 
Growling softly, she lifted both of her arms in the air in an attempt to intimidate me. Hmm... While I was hardly a lion expert, I don't think this was quite what they sounded like. 
Regardless, it was quite adorable. 
"Although I wasn't able to find my brethren, I did come across a weird person who gave me this." 
"A weird person?" 
You must have been super weird for Yachii to call you that. 
"Their head was all fluffy. Yes, very weird." 
"Fluffy?" 
"Like this." 
Yachii went ahead and rotated her index finger in the air, as if expressing puffiness. 
An afro? 
"Hmm, hmm. A sheep person." 
I was a little scared, but also kinda wanted to meet this person now. I mean, they couldn't be a bad person if they acted kindly towards Yachii, right? 
Then again, like Yachii had said, they probably were weird. 
I couldn't imagine Sis being for it were I to say to her that I was going to go meet a weirdo. Yeah, I think I'd be better off not doing that. 
Even so, I had to wonder, what was up with a sheep person handing out a lion pyjama? 
"Those brethren or whatever, I'm sorry that you weren't able to find them." 
"Yes, it certainly is regrettable", Yachii nodded. "My brethren know very little about this world. I'm worried that they will be completely dried up by the time I find them." 
Again, you must have been super ignorant to have Yachii point that out. 
"At the same time, it's not all bad. Finding them does mean that I will have no choice but to return to space." 
"Hmm..." 
At first, I simply ignored her remark, let it flow in one ear and out the other. I did that often. However, a mere second later, the gravity of it hit me. I hastily turned around. 
"Huh? You... You have to go?" 
"Correct." 
I wasn't quite sure what she meant with going to space, but in any case, I got the feeling that Yachii would no longer be here. 
"Well, in that case..." 
It's good that you didn't find them. 
While that was how I felt in my heart, I obviously wasn't able to say it out loud. Instead, I was left simply to shake my arms. 
Yachii quickly did the same. Did she find it fun? 
Well, it wasn't fun. Not in the slightest. 
There, under the scorching sun, I waved my hands in the air, the pool bag I'd been carrying having fallen onto the ground. 
It took quite a while for the sweat to wash my mind clean.