Adachi to Shimamura - Volume Anime Special - Chapter 5

Sun Halo

Little by little, as though running my fingers through the buildings, this strange town was transforming into a place I knew. More and more often did I catch myself staring at those desolate structures, smiling at the thought of the culture that had once bloomed here.

Standing there underneath the toffee sky, I took a deep breath, as though sucking in a cloud slightly burned.

The air was so clean, so desolate, and as it flowed through me, I could feel the tips of my fingers tingling.

Another day living here with her.

We'd chosen to split up in order to complete our individual tasks, which is why I was stricken with such anxiety when a shadow coming from one of the buildings in the town suddenly appeared in my field of vision. Listening carefully, I could hear the sound of a building collapsing in the distance. That was all. Nothing from her. Was she there after all? When was it that I'd began worrying about such things?

Where was this fear of being separated from her coming from?

I obviously knew already. I just couldn't put a name to it. While a new sensation, it was one that I was all too familiar with.

The bottom of the hole I'd chosen to investigate today was still quite a distance away. Living in a world with no civilization left, a surprisingly large portion of each day had to be dedicated to the simple act of staying alive. Unlike before, however, I now had her to split that time with, which meant that I no longer had to rush to get my tasks done as quickly as possible.

After all, I had no idea what I'd do with all of that remaining free time.

Although we had chosen the boring life of staying in one place, unexpected things still managed to happen to us from time to time.

Standing near the edge of a forest, today proved to be one of those days.

There was no wind, and yet, something was causing the trees to rustle. Slightly worried, I shifted my gaze upwards, only for a lump of grey feathers to fly out from among the leaves and branches, followed by another, and then another.

Soon, the entire flock was in the air, painting a beautiful arc.

"How unusual."

The days when I was able to lay my eyes on a living creature besides myself were few and far between. How long had it been that I'd last seen a whole flock of birds? I honestly couldn't remember. I spent the next few moments staring at the creatures until they disappeared from my sight completely. Should I have attempted to capture them? Chase after them to see where they were heading? Perhaps. But I didn't. I simply watched them fly away.

Soon enough, I was brought back to reality.

The sky began growing dark.

The familiar toffee colour quickly started fading away, being replaced by pure darkness. As beautiful as the resulting purplish red gradient was, this was no time to be enjoying it, I felt. I decided to turn around and hurry back to the town.

As I ran, I searched for the sound of a different pair of feet. Despite desperately needing air, I was hardly breathing, all to eliminate any sounds that might distract me in my task. I did stomp the ground as hard as I could with each step, however, hoping that perhaps this could let her hear me back.

The world around me growing dark, the tall buildings now mere shadows.

There, I saw her, running towards me.

As she drew by my side, almost ramming into me, I found myself unconsciously grabbing her arm. My left hand wrapped around her right. We spun around, as if dancing, before finally coming to a stop facing the sky.

Staring up, I could see the world above me being painted black.

Was this it? Was this the end for this planet? My empty hand formed a fist which I clenched tight.

The girl next to me, on the other hand, didn't seem all that worried.

"This is what they call a night."

"A night?"

I tilted my head to the side, unable to make sense of what she was saying.

"That's what the person who raised me said. Before a planet dies, there comes a period where there's no light."

Her explanation unlocked something in my mind.

"...I might have heard about that too once."

Whoever it was that had told me that, they most likely currently resided somewhere beyond this sky.

"It might not be as scary as it sounds, I feel."

"But what if this night never comes to an end? What will we do then?"

"What will we do indeed."

There was a certain calmness to her voice, as though it wasn't something she was all that worried about. I grasped her hand tighter, and as I did, I could feel my cheeks starting to grow warm.

My heart was still pounding, but at least she was here.

"...Yashiro."

I recalled the words that creature had spoken before we parted ways. Through us meeting, the world has grown slightly more round.

The promise remains, and it will once more bring us together.

The sky, the birds that had flown away. Perhaps those had been the world attempting to begin moving again.

Perhaps we were part of it too.

"If the light ever does come back..."

In the middle of the darkness too deep for me to see next to me, I dreamed of a brighter future.

"...then let's go out together, shall we?"

A silly thing to say, yes. And yet, it caused my heart to flutter.

My blood, frozen by the night, melted in an instant, flooding to every last corner of my body.

"We can fix up the bicycle and ride it together. We can even go somewhere farther away than usual to see what's out there, and still make it back here in time."

Here, the two of us.

The two of us.

She smiled, showing her teeth so white I could see them glowing in the darkness.

"Sure. Oh, but I'll be riding on the back, of course, so good luck."

Was she trying to imply I'd have trouble carrying her? I was about to say something to that effect, but by the time the words had reached my lips, all that came out was the following.

"Leave it to me."

Was it really me who had responded to her? If not me, then who?

Well, whatever. Who cared.

My chest was about to burst with joy.

I'd finally found happiness, so much happiness I didn't know what to do with it.

It was just like before, when that sparkly creature had descended upon me and I'd began my journey.

No matter the situation, my stories always seemed to get their start from the sky.

"Look."

Her finger was pointing at a large star shining beyond the black clouds.

A star which would go on to light our way in the night.

Guiding us forward through its brilliance.

"I've seen that thing floating across the sky before, but never has it appeared quite this bright."

"I think it has a name. What was it again...?"

Her eyes grew narrow, as if she was trying to put the pieces together in her mind. I too shifted my gaze towards the object, searching for the answer. Its pale light brushing my cheeks, I could almost feel my whole face growing warm.

Ah, that was it. Now I remember.

"It's called—"

I took another look at the star before answering.

I distinctively remembered Yashiro telling me this was her favourite.

"The moon."

Surrounded by a ring of light—a halo—the moon softly caressed us.