"Whoosh! Here comes the airplane!"
"Kyahahaha!"
I held Mio-chan horizontally in my arms, tilting her left and right as I flew her through the air.
After playing like that for a while, I gave her a shoulder ride and took a short stroll around the grounds. That said, it was only a small shrine, so the walk was over in no time.
Todo-san had been acting wary of me at first, but she had joined in halfway through. I wondered if I’d managed to earn a little bit of her trust.
"My, my. I thought I heard Mio-chan, but I didn't expect to see you here as well, Takanashi-san. It’s been a while."
Yukie-san had apparently walked up while I was distracted; I only noticed her when she called out to me.
"Yukie-san, sorry for the long absence."
"It’s quite alright. Sara-chan has told me plenty. Thank you for getting along so well with her."
It seemed Sara-senpai had talked about me to her grandmother to some extent. More surprising, though, was that Yukie-san already knew Mio-chan.
Speaking of whom, Mio-chan had managed to fall fast asleep while I was holding her.
"You’ve started helping Sara-chan with the Student Council, haven't you? She was so happy when she told me about it."
I see. If it made her that happy, then stepping up to help was well worth it.
"I see Marina-chan is here with you as well. Oh, come to think of it, Takanashi-san and Marina-chan are both first-years, aren't you? Are you two friends at school?"
"Eh?"
We were the same age? Wait, did we go to the same school?
"If you're in the Student Council with Satsukawa-senpai, does that mean you’re at my school?" Marina asked.
"It looks that way. Since we’re in different classes, it’s only natural we wouldn't recognize each other if we haven't crossed paths."
In my case, since I didn't exactly lead a school life where I socialized much, it was even less surprising that I didn't know her.
"I suppose you're right... Oh, I just realized the time! We have to get home soon or Kazumi-san will worry. Takanashi-kun, could you hand Mio-chan over?"
Todo-san spoke up as if suddenly remembering her responsibilities. Indeed, it was getting a bit late to have a child like Mio-chan out playing. I carefully transferred the girl to her, making sure not to wake her up.
"Goodness. Mio-chan is out cold, so I’ll have to carry her the whole way."
"I’m used to it, so I’ll be fine. Well, we’ll be taking our leave now. Takanashi-kun, I’ll see you at school if the chance arises."
With that, she hurried off toward home.
If we ran into each other at school, I figured it would be fine to strike up a conversation. Since she was Mio-chan's cousin, there was a good chance we'd meet again outside of school as well.
"Takanashi-san, how has Sara-chan been lately? It seems to me she’s grown a bit brighter, like she’s actually enjoying school now."
After the girls left, I sat down to share some tea with Yukie-san while we talked about Sara-senpai.
Kazunari Takanashi.
When I first met Takanashi-kun today, I suspected he might be the same "Kazunari Takanashi" I'd heard about, but I’ve decided he must be a different person after all.
I moved to this town specifically to take the entrance exam for my current school, so I wasn't originally a local. In the middle school I attended in my previous town, the name "Kazunari Takanashi" was famous.
However, we were in different classes and I never actually met him, so I didn't know what he looked like. I suppose I could just check my graduation yearbook... but Yuzuha Sasagawa was in that class, along with another boy whose name I don’t even want to recall.
Basically, there are too many people in that class I never want to see again, which means I have no desire to look at those pages. I still haven't opened it to this day.
Nothing happened to me personally, but when I think about what happened to my friend, I still can’t forgive him.
From what I heard, Kazunari Takanashi was Yuzuha Sasagawa’s childhood friend—a weirdo who had been obsessed with her and followed her around for years. That was the "nice" version of the rumors, anyway.
I looked down at Mio-chan, who was sleeping in my arms with an adorable expression. I remembered the way he had played with her at the shrine.
At first, I had been startled, and since he was a boy, I had immediately put up my guard. Once I heard his name, I found it even harder to relax. If he was the person I was thinking of, he was undoubtedly a dangerous individual.
But as I watched him play with Mio-chan, I started to think I was wrong. The two of them were having so much fun that I began to feel like an idiot for standing there all stiff and suspicious. I ended up joining them in the end, and even after interacting with him, he just didn't seem like that person.
Besides, I’d heard the unbelievable news that he was close with the famous Satsukawa-senpai. There was no way a dangerous person could be on good terms with someone like her. Not to mention, he was even a member of the Student Council.
Come to think of it, I had heard a rumor about a boy who was close to Satsukawa-senpai; that must have been him.
At any rate, it seemed certain that he was a different person. If that was the case, I should probably apologize for my behavior the next time we meet. Even I have to admit that I was blatantly cold to him.
Ah, I forgot to ask which class he’s in...
Well, I’m sure I’ll run into him eventually.