Sentimental Signs

It took some time, but I finally pulled an outfit together. Sakuno had a white knitted turtleneck buried in the back of his closet, and when he told me to try it on, I figured why not? We're close in height and build, so it fit almost perfectly. I could've layered it with plenty of things, but I went with a navy-green jacket lined with soft fuzz. Definitely a solid choice for the cold morning wind.

After a short walk, I arrived at the central auditorium. In the distance, just beyond the path, the main gates were faintly visible.

I pulled out my phone and checked the time. '3:32 PM.' Great, I’m half an hour early. My life might just be the most uneventful one ever.

"Ah, you're here early."

I turned my head, ready to make some kind of stale joke. Perhaps it was simply because of the cold, but I immediately froze.

There stood Taiyori with a smile. Her naturally wavy hair was noticeably curlier than usual. It was different, yet it looked great nonetheless. That wasn't the only thing different, though. Her face... There was makeup on it, extremely unnoticeable but not enough to hide from my gaze. Along with a thin pair of jeans, she wore a cotton blue sweater underneath a white shawl.

"Hm? Do I look good or something?" she smirked. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Quit kidding yourself," I said as I turned away.

"Who's kidding? Definitely you if you actually don't think I look good. As much as I wanted all of this to be natural, it took me two whole hours to get it done. So, let me ask you again. Do you think I look good?"

She threw her arms behind her back and stood with her legs together. Since she's a good bit shorter than me, she had to look up, and on that face was a wide smile and eyes looking at me for validation.

"You... You look... great," I mumbled.

"Eh? What was that?" she whispered as she moved closer to me. "Couldn't hear you."

"...I said... You look great."

Her smile grew wider, and her eyes curled even more. "Hehe~ I'll take your word for it. I know I look good. You, on the other hand..."

"What...?"

"Hm... I'll add that to one of my little secrets."

"You said that last time, and I still think it isn't fair."

"Then just like last time, I'll tell you again. It's never fair, now come on."

We began walking down the path toward the main gate, and with every step, people stopped to stare at us. I don't blame them. Even for me, this is very strange.

"How was your day?" I asked.

"Eh... I'm not sure," she said. "Saki and I went out for lunch at a fancy sushi bar. Any idea how that went?"

"What do you mean? I'm sure you had fun."

"I would've, but... take a guess why I couldn't."

"Hm... A fancy sushi bar... The food shouldn't have been the issue. Perhaps the atmosphere? I'm assuming it's somewhere close by. This area is pretty populated. Not many students have classes on the weekend, so it's possible a lot of them went out. Ah... Were you being watched the whole time?"

She reached a hand up to let out a small giggle. "Oho~ Wow. That's exactly it. Just when I thought I had seen everything, you somehow showed me another side of you that I never would've guessed you had."

"You've no idea."

"Guess this only goes to show that I was right all along. You really are just full of surprises. That's fine, though. Makes it a bit more interesting. Give me time, and I'll have you fully figured out."

"Hah. Trust me. If you ever reach that point, you and I will never have a conversation like this again."

Suddenly, Taiyori grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and pulled me down. Had I not stiffened my upper body, our lips probably would've touched. She paid no mind to how close we were, instead keeping that alluring smile on her face.

"I'm the one who decides that," she whispered. "So stay right where you are. You hear me?"

"...S-sure..." I gulped.

Finally, we made it to the front gates, but it didn't get any better. More students were gathered there as well. Not only that, a small limousine with tinted windows was parked right in front of us. An elderly man dressed in a suit stepped up to open the passenger door.

"Your ride, my lady," he said, turning all eyes to us once more.

"Thank you," Taiyori smiled. "Come on, Tsuki."

"Yeah..." I mumbled.

The chauffeur opened the door for us, and Taiyori got in first. When I followed her, he shut the door and got into the driver's seat.

"What... in the hell..." I sighed.

Taiyori watched with great curiosity as I scanned the interior of the limousine. The floor was a dark red carpet while the roof was like a glittery night sky full of stars. Instead of separate seats like every other car, there were couches along the perimeter with a small table in between. Hanging from a rack on the wall was a collection of wine bottles.

"So?" Taiyori smirked. "Do you like it?"

"This seems a bit over the top," I replied with uncertainty. "How much did this thing even cost?"

"I don't know. It was one of the cars in my father's garage, and I wanted to use it for today."

"Eh?"

"It's exactly what you think. He has no idea that this limo is out and about right now, so make sure not to put a scratch on it."

"...Understood."

Taiyori reached for one of the wine bottles. It seems like it has already been opened since a small part of the cork was outside of the bottle. Even then, she couldn't get it to budge no matter how hard she tried.

"Hey, Tsuki!" she shouted. "Why are you just sitting there and staring at me while I struggle? Help me out!"

"Aren't we going to a bubble tea shop?" I scoffed. "Why are you drinking wine?"

"I'm not! I'm just taking a picture for social media."

"I thought your father didn't know that his precious limo was missing. Wouldn't posting a photo here incriminate you?"

"I'll worry about that later. I can't miss this opportunity! Eugh~...!"

Again, she tried to pull it out but failed miserably.

"Haha, alright," I chuckled. "Hand it here."

She did just that, but not without shooting me a pout. The ledge looks too small to pull out the conventional way. I'm assuming there's a corkscrew somewhere around here, but I decided not to ask. One could say that because of Sakuno, I'm well-versed in the art of opening a wine bottle without a corkscrew.

I rested my empty hand on the table and rested the bottom of the bottle on it. After a deep breath, I lifted the bottle and slammed it down onto my hand.

"T-Tsuki!" Taiyori exclaimed.

"It's nothing," I said as I waved the pain away. "Look. The cork slid out a bit more."

Sure enough, the cork was exposed just enough to wrap my fingers around. With a twist and a tug, I pulled it out effortlessly.

"See?" I smiled.

Taiyori took the bottle and set it in a cup holder. Instead of immediately reaching for her phone like I thought she would, she glared at me with a frown.

"Don't do that again," she chided.

"It was nothing, so don't worry about it," I said. "I've done it many times in the past, so I know how to do it correctly."

"That's not the point! What if something went wrong and you hurt yourself? You still have that injury from the other day, so you can't risk losing your other hand."

I was caught off guard by that statement. That expression and her words... Is she... worried about me? It's just like when she dressed my wound.

"I'm... sorry," I gulped. "I won't do it again."

Taiyori then pushed her back against her seat with her arms crossed. "You'd better not. Otherwise, I'll break your other hand if you don't break it first."

"Hah, like you can."

"Oh, trust me, Tsuki. I may have broken a lot of hearts in the past, but I've also broken plenty of arms as well."

"And I'm supposed to believe that... Why?"

"Are you testing me right now?"

She reached for my arm, but I pulled it away before she could grab it. Her frown quickly morphed into a sinister smirk.

"Oh? What's wrong?" she asked. "I thought you didn't believe me."

"I don't, but I didn't say that you get to test it out on me," I scoffed.

Because of harsh training and countless missions, my reaction time is near flawless. When she tried to grab my arm again, I pulled it away once more. She then stood up and caught my wrist this time.

"Alright! Here we go!" she grinned.

"W-what the hell is wrong with you?!" I exclaimed.

"What do you think? You're the one who knocked on the den of a lion, so now you have to pay the price."

"A lion? More like a freaking sloth."

"What did you just call me?!"

She pulled my arm out and pushed my elbow with her other hand.

"Ack, ow! Taiyori!"

"Not so tough now, are you?!"

Suddenly, the limo came to a screeching halt, throwing both of us on the floor.

"We've arrived, my lady," the chauffeur said through a speaker.

However, neither of us moved an inch. Taiyori was lying face up while her arms were resting on the floor. It wouldn't have been that bad if I wasn't holding myself right above her. Her chest was rising with every breath she took. Even though the limo was dimly lit, I could clearly see the bright blush on her cheeks.

Taiyori gulped before crossing her brows. "If you're gonna do something, do it. I'll break your arm for real this time."

"Ah!" I yelped as I threw myself off of her. "S-sorry..."

She sat up and looked the other way, taking deep breaths every few seconds. Shit... Why did I take so long to move? I feel so bad.

"Taiyori...?" I said nervously. "I'm... really sorry."

Finally, she turned around to face me. "It's whatever. Let's just... go."

"...Yeah..."