Haruma-4
“I have free time after this.” She paused. “Haruma-san, have you time to spare?”
Chigusa asked me a very Chigusa-like question in a very un-Chigusa-like manner. But it was different from that day. Instead of holding onto a personal alarm, she was holding onto my sleeve.
It was the first time Chigusa Yuu had ever uttered a genuine desire of her own, a pure wish that resembled a prayer.
And so I answered with scummy words, but with a gentle voice that no scum would ever use.
“…Do I look like it?” I said.
Chigusa put a hand to her mouth and giggled, nodding as she did so.
With that brief conversation exchanged solely through smiles, we left the house together.
The red-lit moon peered down at us from behind the clouds. The hazy clouds shifted form as they drifted away towards the east. In the west, the evening glow was spreading inexorably, and it was hard to tell whether the sun was setting. Yet vermillion turned scarlet to crimson to pink. The various mix of hues and shades came off as hauntingly beautiful.
My eyes flitted to the girl walking next to me.
Her jet black hair sparkled through the light of the setting sun, and her white porcelain cheeks were dyed pink as if she had put on rouge.
As usual, Chigusa walked ahead at her own pace, not bothering to tell anyone where she was going. I called out to her from behind.
“So, uh, where are we going?”
“We’re going to talk to Kuriu-sensei, Haruma-san,” said Chigusa, turning as if she was performing a waltz, which caused the hem of her skirt to flutter lightly.
When finally we reached the nearest station, Chigusa headed straight for the ticket machine. So people still use those relics from an ancient past, huh…?
Chigusa seemed to have guessed what I was thinking from my expression, because she spoke up stiffly. “I cannot trust that IC card. I don’t know how much money it’s taking away from me.”
“Oh, okay… Well, I use a card, but…” I shoved my hand into my back pocket, only to realise that my wallet wasn’t there. “Oh.”
When I looked at Chigusa, she sighed in mild exasperation. Then her whole face lit up with a smile as she pulled out a long black wallet. “My goodness, Haruma-san, you’re so helpless. I’ll lend you one, all right?”
“You realise that is my wallet…”
This psycho loan shark bitch. I wondered if it would be okay if I beat the shit out of her right here and now.
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