Interlude 2

When I finished gym class, changed back into my uniform, and returned to the classroom, Chitaira-san was already sitting at her desk. She had an intimidatingly thick book open—one she'd apparently borrowed straight from the library—and was staring intently down at its pages. She was always like this during gym. In the past, I wouldn't have paid it much mind, but since we were friends now, my curiosity was piqued.

Parting ways with the friends I had walked back with, I headed over to Chitaira-san's desk before prepping for our next class, while the classroom was still relatively empty. As I drew near, Chitaira-san immediately noticed and lifted her head.

Unlike me, Chitaira-san didn't have a single drop of sweat on her brow; it was smooth, pale, and paper-thin.

It was as if a patch of shadow in the corner of the room had taken human shape.

"Hey, hey, why do you always ditch gym? You are skipping, right?"

Wondering mid-sentence if there might be some unavoidable reason behind it, I leaned into the question. She had taken a couple days off school just last week, so maybe it was a health issue. Fearing I might offend her if that were the case, I made sure to check—only for Chitaira-san to close her book and let out a light laugh.

"Yep. I'm skipping."

She admitted it with absolute ease.

"And if you want to know why, it's because I don't like PE."

"Ah, well, that's certainly as straightforward as it gets."

It was a pretty shallow reason, but could you really just dodge class over that? I hate math! Smell ya later! wasn't exactly a prayer the universe was likely to answer. Dad aside, if Mom ever heard me say something like that, a righteous slap across the face was practically guaranteed. Though knowing her, she'd sit down and help me study right after.

"As you can see, I'm tiny. Even if I joined in, I don't feel like I could beat anyone anyway."

"Look at you, all competitive, Chitaira-san."

Having almost never brought any spirit of competition into gym class myself, I felt like a houseplant that simply went outside for some sunlight. But even if Chitaira-san bared her fangs, it seemed like it would take her quite a while to chew through a plant like me.

"So, high-aiming Chitaira-san, are you free after school? Got any club activities?"

Seizing the opportunity, I decided to ask about her plans for the afternoon.

"Clubs... Wait, what was it again?"

As if it had truly vanished beyond the horizon of her memory, Chitaira-san's face froze, eyes cast downward. Well, that reaction alone was answer enough to prove she had nothing to do with extracurriculars.

"Ah, right. The kendo club."

"Wait, a sports club?!"

"They told me I had to join something, so I just picked one. I've never actually gone, though."

"Huh..."

Is there any particular reason you picked kendo out of everything? I asked with my eyes.

"Because having 'sword' in the name sounded cool."

"...Really?"

Her expression remained an unbroken calm, making it hard to tell whether she was serious. But if it was true, she had a surprisingly relatable sense of humor. We'd chatted quite a bit during our study sessions at my house, and I was starting to think Chitaira-san was actually a pretty cool person. By the way, when it came to academics, she was clearly smarter than me.

Which meant the reason she stopped by my place probably had less to do with tutoring and more to do with not wanting to go straight home... At least, that was my theory. Factoring that in, I decided to invite her out for a little detour after school if she was free.

"If you want, after school, you could come hang out with us—"

"I'll pass. You might be fine with it, Amamiya-san, but the other girls wouldn't like it."

Well, she had a point. But given how flatly she shot me down, I decided to push a little further.

"Come on, think of it as a chance to bond with everyone!"

I felt like once people actually talked to her, they wouldn't care all that much about her family background. Would it really be so bad?

Chitaira-san slipped her library book into her school bag. "Thanks for inviting me, though," she said, shutting the clasp.

It was a thin, polite wall constructed out of a smile and courteous words. Very much like the aura she constantly wore.

"Besides, I have things to do after school."

"Like what?"

"Go home, study, and prepare for night."

"What are you, a model student?"

It was a textbook answer, except for that slightly suspicious caveat attached to the tail end.

"Wait, the night?"

Prepare for night had a distinctly shady ring to it, stirring up an uneasy feeling. Slap the word "night" onto almost anything, and it immediately sounded sketchy. Nighttime Chitaira-san: sounds dark. Nighttime me: sleepy. Nighttime dinner: delicious.

"When night falls, guess what?"

Chitaira-san drew out her words teasingly, leaving a meaningful pause. Guess what~? Drawn in by the suspense, I nearly leaned backward.

"What do you think comes next?"

Chitaira-san posed the question, definitely hinting at something.

What comes at night...? In our house, maybe Mom coming home from work...? Nah, definitely completely unrelated.

Since I had no clue what the answer to the riddle was, I simply decided to fill in the blank space on the test paper. During exams, my ironclad rule was never to leave a single question empty. Something might happen if you just guess was my guiding philosophy.

And so, I took a wild, desperate swing.

"S...Sleepiness?"

"Bingo!"

Chitaira-san flashed a grin so radiant it felt almost criminal.

ToC