Can't I Come?

After finishing their meal, they continued to wander around the shopping center.

"Did you come up with anything, Mika?" Mana asked as she and Mika walked down the escalator side by side.

"No, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, we'll keep exploring."

They walked around a bit more and were nearing the end of the mall.

"There's really nothing here! Should we go outside and take a look?" Mana said. Then she noticed that Mika wasn't beside her anymore. She turned around. Mika was looking at the products displayed in a store window.

"Mika? Did you find something?"

"Mana, how about this bracelet?" Mika pointed at a silver bracelet on the display shelf, adorned with many small shimmering pieces. Mana looked at the bracelet in astonishment.

"Whoa, this is really beautiful."

"Isn't it?"

"How did you notice this among so many items?"

"I was just looking for something different."

"They sell additional attachments separately. Shall we go inside and take a look?" Mana said excitedly.

"Sure."

They entered the store together. Decided to buy the bracelet and also chose some small pieces with friendship themes and little children as attachments. After making the purchase, they left the store.

"Do you think Yuki will like this?"

"Of course, Mika! After all, you picked it out. It's also a very special gift."

"Well, if you say so..."

They started walking towards the exit of the mall. There was a large crowd of people gathered inside the mall near the exit.

"What's happening? Is there some important event going on?" Mana asked curiously.

"I don't know, but the crowd is definitely unusual."

As they got closer, they started bumping into people. At one point, they almost lost each other in the crowd.

"Mika?"

"Mana? Where are you?"

"Here."

"Okay, if we continue like this, we'll get separated. The crowd is too much."

"Yes, what should we do?"

"Let me think..." Mika said, then he bumped into a few more people as he pondered. The crowd was getting even more chaotic as people tried to navigate through the narrow corridor.

"Give me your hand," Mika said as an idea finally struck him.

"My hand?"

"Yes, if we hold hands, we won't get lost. Besides, we can't even tell which way the exit is."

Mana looked surprised at Mika, who had turned around and was extending his hand backward. Excitedly, she took his hand.

"O-okay."

They held hands and started walking. Mika, being in front, cleared the way for Mana.

They continued like this for a while. Both of them were holding each other tightly.

"I see the exit, Mana. Are you okay?"

"Y-yes..." Mana and Mika were apologizing to the people they bumped into and trying to move against the flow of the crowd.

When they were very close to the exit, their hands suddenly separated. Mika turned around, seemingly confused. Mana was gone.

"Mana?" Mika called out, but there was no response. She wasn't there.

"Where did you go?" Mika muttered, still receiving no reply. He was still holding his hand out, hoping that Mana might have just fallen behind. Then, someone grabbed Mika's hand.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Mika asked, but there wasn't even enough space to turn around. And no answer came.

Anyway, let's get outside and I will never come back,

The hand holding him was cold. 

Could it be that they got scared and their hands went cold?

Finally, reached the exit. They rushed outside.

Mika was breathing heavily, placing his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. As he turned around, he spoke:

"What happened inside? Why did you let go of my-" He turned around, expecting to see Mana behind him, but it was someone else.

"Saya?"

***

Mika looked at Saya with a puzzled expression.

"H-hi, Mika," Saya said, chuckling.

"What are you doing here?"

"W-well, I was hanging out with Rin and Eirin. I was getting ready to head home."

"I see. How did you end up holding my hand?"

"Um, I saw you at the exit and called out to you, but you didn't hear me. So, I approached you and saw your hand behind you, and I wanted to h-hold it." Saya was holding Mika's right hand close to her chest with her left hand.

"Okay, but I had already extended my hand for Mana. We got lost inside. Someone tried to pass by us while we were holding hands."

"I know... I mean, really? That's unfortunate. What are you going to do now?"

"I guess I'll wait for Mana first, then head home."

"I understand. In that case, why don't we—"

At that moment, Mana managed to make it outside. She was breathing heavily, catching her breath by the door.

"Mana!" Mika called out, waving his hand.

Mana saw Mika, waved back, and smiled, quickly making her way to where Mika and Saya were.

"Sorry, Mika."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just bumped into someone while passing by. I think someone squeezed through where our hands were."

"No problem, we made it out safe. That's what matters."

"Yeah." Mana then turned her head slightly and noticed Saya beside Mika. "And you... WAIT A SECOND, DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE PRESIDENT SAYA?" she exclaimed, surprised.

"Hello no need to use formalities, you can call me by my name."Saya greeted with understanding.

"Thank you. By the way, I'm Mana. Nice to meet you," Mana said excitedly.

"Likewise..." Saya replied with a hint of discomfort in her voice.

"Did you two already know each other?"

"Well, we know each other to some extent," Mika started explaining, but Saya cut him off.

"Yes, quite well, actually," Saya stated firmly.

There was a brief silence. Mika and Mana were looking at Saya, while she nonchalantly gazed at the ground. Mika attempted to break the silence:

"Anyway, Mana, which direction are you heading?"

"I'm going this way to catch the bus. I think we're on the wrong side," Mana said, gesturing with her hand.

"Right, I came here on my bicycle. Let's end today here then."

"O-okay, sounds fine. Saya, where are you going?"

"I'm going in the direction Mika is going. In fact, I'm heading to Mika's place first."

After an instant of silence, Mika asked, and Mana looked surprised:

"What?" Mika said, unsure if he heard correctly.

"What's wrong? Can't I come?" Saya asked with a daring tone.

"W-well, you can, but—"

Mana's eyes widened, and her voice trembled slightly. "U-uh, then I'll go... slowly."

"Alright, see you, Mana," Saya said with a forced smile, then turned back to Mika.

"Why do you want to come, anyway?" Mika asked.

"Why? Haven't you seen the state of your website?"

"What happened to it?"

"There are so many orders, and you should pay a little more attention to customer reviews. I've been looking at all of them for the past two days."

"Right, I completely forgot. But wait a second, how do you have the authority?"

"Hehehe, I did some things, just to be safe."

Mika fell silent. Although Saya taking such an initiative bothered him, it didn't seem like a big issue since she was looking at the site during a time he had forgotten about.

"U-uh, my bus is about to come. See you later, Mika," Mana said, still in shock and confusion. She had a forced smile on her face, but she was clearly taken aback by what she had heard.

"See you, Mana. Take care while you're leaving."

Mana looked at Mika, a slight smile forming on her face.

"Okay," she said, nodding.

"Hey, Mika, let's go," Saya said impatiently.

"Alright. We'll go by bike, is that okay?"

"Sure, I'm used to it by now."

"Okay then."

As they walked together towards where Mika had parked his bike, 

So many things have been happening lately...