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     Tsubaki clutched Yumeko’s hand within her grasp as they made their way across the street. Yumeko was pulling her suitcase behind her while Tsubaki held firmly on to a box of sweets from the local bakery. They’d been running around Omoimusubi Station all afternoon, and Tsubaki was ready to bring the temperature down for the evening, although she wondered how plausible that would be with Yumeko as her roommate.

     “Which one is yours?” said Yumeko, eager to see where Tsubaki lived. Tsubaki pointed her finger out towards a barely visible muted grey colored home that sat right in front a small children’s park. “Acchi, right past that playground.” Yumeko burst out in excitement “Suuge! The park is so close; Can we go there too?”

     “S-slow down, let’s get home and enjoy one thing at a time.” Tsubaki replied with lisp of exhaustion.

     As they neared the home she noticed one of her neighbors, Kazoe Femto, waving out to her. The evening was a bit colder than usual and Tsubaki wanted to get Yumeko inside as soon as she could. Approaching the neighbor, she was met with a warm greeting. “Konbanwa,” he called mildly, “Konbanwa, Femto -san” Tsubaki kindly returned, feeling the sense that he had something on his mind.

“I think someone’s looking for you. She might be a friend of yours?”

     Not expecting anyone, Tsubaki returned a perturbed look, thinking to herself how unusual it was for Femto to go out of his way to tell her that directly.

“I’ve seen her stop by a couple of times so I figured it might be someone you knew. She was around your age, and you’re the only young person living in this neighborhood.”

     Femto turned his eyes upwards a bit as he tried to conjure up her appearance. “She was wearing a beige coat, and her hair was rather long… That’s as much as I could give you. I only saw her sitting in her vehicle as I stepped out of my apartment.”

     Tsubaki leaned backwards and peered down the road. As she had thought, a matte black car was parked in front of her home. “Yea, she’s a friend of mine,” Tsubaki responded to Femto.

     Caught in between his own thoughts, Femto shot back into focus at the sound of Tsubaki’s voice, then gave her a smile and a nod before stating, “I should get going. I’ve gotta run down to the store before getting ready for the late shift.” Tsubaki then kindly nodded her head as Femto made his way off into the distance.

     Heading in the opposite direction, Tsubaki and Yumeko walked their way over to her house, which sat furthest down the road at the end of a dead end. Finding none other than Akazawa waiting at her front door.

     Her appearance was always striking to Tsubaki. A slim build, angular facial features, and eyes that came to sharp edges at the corners. Her hair was long and dyed a deep maroon, which she often kept tied into a ponytail. Her preference for muted colors only helped to accentuate her figure. But as striking of an appearance Akazawa had, anyone who knew her, was well aware of her disdain for the public eye. Which oddly made her even more appealing.

     “Who’s that?” Yumeko questioned. “Tomodachi, a friend,” Tsubaki responded. “Go on, introduce yourself.” Yumeko approached Akazawa and gave her a formal greeting. Akazawa stood there with her hands pressed against her cheeks. “Kawaii!” She blurted out. Yumeko, overcome with shyness, simply twisted around and looked up towards Tsubaki.

     “I didn’t expect to see you today. Don’t you have work?” Tsubaki questioned. Adjusting her posture, Akazawa replied, “I took the rest of the day off,” while tapping at her head, drawing attention to her constant migraines.

     Tsubaki then redirected her focus to the door that they now all stood in front of. “We’re here,” she said. She then slipped her key into the lock and pushed the door open. The anticipation was evident as Yumeko could barely wait another second to see the inside of her big sister’s home. The door panned across her view bit by bit until the world hidden behind it was fully exposed. “Hai, douzo” Tsubaki said, welcoming her into her home. Yumeko responded cheerfully, “Ojamashimasu…” and with a slight break, continued, “It’s messy!”

     “Is this where you live?” Yumeko blatantly iterated to Tsubaki, whose expression sagged while Akazawa chuckled away in the background. Tsubaki placed her hand behind Yumeko and gave her a light push into the house. “Get inside already, I’m cold,” she retorted.

     Yumeko tumbled inside with Akazawa following behind. Stepping in last, Tsubaki tentatively glanced down the road, an odd feeling boiling within her stomach. She felt as though she was being shadowed; as though something had been following her.

     “Hurry up!” Yumeko called out from inside. Tsubaki quickly peered over at her and back out at the neighborhood. While Yumeko was in Megiri, Tsubaki decided to try and let her constant worry go for the time being.

     As she pulled the door shut, she felt as though she’d finally separated herself from her own troublesome thoughts.