On Today's Agenda

After grabbing a stack of posters from the Student Building, Chihara and I began our walk around the campus.

"Where to first, where to first?" she mumbled.

"Haruto told us that anywhere works, but he preferred obvious places. First thing that comes to mind is—"

"The bulletin board at the central plaza!"

"Exactly. Let's go."

With that, we joined in the flow of the mundane college life. Other students passed us by. In pairs like us, or in full groups. Chatters faded behind us, only for those in front to fill in the gap.

"Today feels so peaceful," Chihara said, walking next to me. "Almost unusually so."

"Hah. I was thinking the same thing earlier today," I scoffed. "Or... Actually, the whole day. It almost feels like..."

I paused, not wanting to bring it up, but she did it anyway.

"Like what happened yesterday didn't actually happen?"

"...Yeah. Exactly that."

Chihara bumped into my arm, tilting forward to show me her smile.

"I'm okay, Kinoshita," she said.

"You say that... but are you really? Aren't you taking this a little too lightly? Shouldn't you be more... I don't know. More angry?"

"Mm... Anger isn't really my thing. I guess I'm just... sad. Kenji and I have been friends since our first year in high school. Five years of knowing him, and after all this time, I had no idea that... he was capable of what he did last night..."

Her expression fell, and I was left to watch it happen. I wish I could do more for her. I held off on speaking out because I wasn't sure if she wanted that.

Maybe I can call the police. Then again... I can't imagine the police will let me off the hook so easily after what I did to Jizou, even if it was self-defense.

"So what do you want to do now?" I asked.

"I'm... not sure. A part of me wants to tell everyone I know, just to put Kenji on the radar."

"That's definitely something that needs to be done. People ought to know what a disgusting person he is. You've already taken the first step by telling Kanon, didn't you?"

"Huh? O-oh! You mean Aizawa-Senpai? Yeah, I guess I just... really needed to tell at least someone."

"And that's fine. It's good that you have someone you can trust to talk about those kinds of stuff with. Makes it a little easier to handle."

"Yeah. Thanks for understanding, Kinoshita."

"That's not something you need to thank me for."

We stopped at a massive bulletin board at the campus's central plaza. Pinned to the board were a bunch of posters advertising different clubs. Swim team, volleyball, kendo, math, culture — it seemed like nothing was left out. Nothing except for...

"There we go!" Chihara exclaimed after pinning one of our posters on an empty spot. "Looks pretty good, right?"

"Hmm... The Fall Festival is a pretty big event, isn't it? So it should be somewhere more... obvious. What if we swap it out with that poster in the very center?"

"Huh?! But that's... That's unethical!"

"Haha, I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

Next up was a bulletin board inside the faculty buildings. Not just one. That would've been too easy, so Haruto tasked us with putting these up in almost every building across campus.

Chihara let out a "Phew..." after she pinned another poster.

"That makes three. We're down to... two left?"

"Just about. Honestly, this is kind of fun. I sometimes walk aimlessly around campus just to get my mind off of things, but having a goal makes it so much better."

"Doesn't it?"

"Yeah. And also..."

Suddenly, she darted forward, leaving me a bit confused. And just as I was about to speed up, she turned back around. Her expression was bright, her smile so effortlessly breathtaking that it almost knocked the air out of me.

"...I'm glad you're here, Kinoshita."

I couldn't reply.

She's at it again. Doing things, saying things that make me question... Does she know what she's doing to me? And if she does... Does that mean she feels the same way?

Once we were done filling up the bulletin boards in the last two buildings, we stopped to take a break at a bench next to a vending machine.

"Here you go," I said, handing her a water bottle.

"Thanks, Kinoshita."

She took the bottle, uncapped it, and drank almost a third.

"Sheesh. Were you that dehydrated?" I scoffed.

"Huh... Maybe I was. I didn't even realize I drank so much till now. Makes sense, though. That was probably the most physical activity I've gotten since I started college."

"As if that in and of itself isn't an issue."

I sat down next to her, and just as I was about to take a sip, I glanced down. Her phone was resting in the gap between us. It had a clear case, revealing everything in the back. A little trading card, a sticker, and... a single photo of us — one of the four-strip photos we took at the mall.

Chihara must've noticed me staring at it.

"Remember that day? It was so much fun. I wanted to keep it close to me, and that was when I came up with this. Couldn't fit the whole strip in the case, so I made a copy and cut out my favorite photo. Look,"—she leaned closer to me—"Isn't it so cute?"

"...Yeah."

"Oh. I gave you a copy, didn't I, Kinoshita? Where's yours?"

I was never one to believe in superstitions. I even poked fun at Chihara when she brought it up one time, but at this point, I'd sooner believe that fate had something to do with this than chalking it up to a coincidence.

Without replying, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. At first, I was gonna keep this to myself, but after seeing that photo strip in her phone case... Maybe it'll be fine.

The moment she saw my lock screen, her eyes widened.

"Is this... a collage?" she asked.

"Yeah. Remember all those times you dragged me into the photo booth? I was left with so many photo strips that I didn't know where to put them. Thought I'd give this a shot. I've never done anything like this before, so it turned out kind of ugly."

"What? No, not at all! It actually looks so nice! Even though it's messy... I can tell you put a lot of effort into this."

Her eyes sparkled when she noticed the photo at the center of the college — the very same photo she had in her phone case.

"That's..."

"And here I was wondering if you'd catch it," I chuckled. "That one happened to be my favorite, too, so I ended up doing what you did. I printed a copy, cut it out, and made it the centerpiece."

For a while, she stared at my phone screen, and I was left to wonder what she was thinking about.

"Kinoshita?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you send this photo to me?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course."

She handed my phone back to me, and I did just that. Then, she fiddled with her phone before showing me her lock screen.

And I... I didn't know what to say.

"There," she said with a grin. "Now we're matching, and I get to appreciate your work of art. Plus, I needed a new wallpaper, especially after— um... I'll leave that part out. Anyway, this is way cuter, so thanks."

I feel it again... The way my mind goes numb, how my body won't move even when I try, and this steady beat in my heart that won't stop when I'm looking at her. She might not be perfect, but that's okay. To me... None of that matters.

With a deep breath, I said, "Chihara."

She tilted her head, curious.

"Yes, Kinoshita?"

"I..."

Can I really say it? Should I? Isn't now too soon? It was only yesterday that she went through something traumatic. I don't want to take advantage of her when she might still be vulnerable, so instead...

"The festival is next week. I was wondering... If you'd like to go with me. There's something I wanna tell you."

She didn't answer immediately, but a part of me imagined she already knew what I wanted to tell her.

"...I'd love to, Kinoshita, but... I already told my friends I'd go with them. I'm sorry."

That one struck me a bit harder than I expected.

"No need to apologize," I said. "I figured you might've already planned to go with other people, but I thought I'd ask anyway."

Taking a deep breath, I stood.

"The sun's going down. Let's knock the rest of these out so we can—"

"Kinoshita."

I turned around to see Chihara standing up, her eyes mellow yet full of conviction.

"I didn't mean that I wouldn't go with you."

"...Huh? But aren't you going with your friends?"

"Yeah, I am... So, Kinoshita..."

She leaned in close, so close that I had to take a step back. Wrapping her hands around her back, she lifted her chin with a playful smile.

"On the night of the festival... Come find me. I'll go with you then."