"Will Little Chiose be home after school on Friday? She's probably already gone off to her part-time job."
Togawa Sakiko straightened her collar. She didn't quite know why she'd gone to the trouble of heading home, showering, and changing into a fresh set of clothes before coming to see Chiose.
It was a bit much, a bit too formal, but Sakiko simply wanted to do it this way.
As if only this way could she keep herself from looking too pitiful.
Chiose was now the closest of the precious few people Togawa Sakiko could still actually talk to...
They walked to school together, though after class the spot beside her was always snatched up by Takamatsu.
As for the others?
Soyo, no contact. Mutsumi, no contact. Uika, no contact.
Some instinct in Sakiko wanted to flee from all of them. She thought maybe her nerves really were strung a little too tight.
"Haah."
Today she'd come to share with Chiose the well-paying job she'd recently landed. A few days ago she'd abruptly passed the interview at a customer service company, becoming the glorious Customer Service Rep Sakiko.
Sharp, well-defined knuckles rapped rhythmically against the door panel. As she knocked, Sakiko arranged her words in her head.
She hoped Little Chiose would come work customer service with her, because the pay and benefits were generous—generous compared to all those other jobs, at least.
And having someone to work alongside would feel so much better, especially when that someone didn't know a thing about her past.
Out of nowhere, Sakiko thought of Takamatsu Tomori.
[Little Chiose knows Tomori—so is it possible Little Chiose already knows about my past?]
Togawa Sakiko did love letting her mind run wild at moments like this.
The next instant, a clutter of hurried footsteps inside the house cut through her thoughts.
"Chiose, I came today to—" Sakiko launched straight into it the moment the door opened, but the person she saw was not Noshiro Chiose.
Short gray hair drooped lazily. In the amber eyes before her, there wasn't a trace of extraneous emotion.
This was Takamatsu Tomori.
"Tomori? You—"
"Sakiko? Little Chiose's busy. Did you need something?"
Sakiko caught it—the voice hadn't changed, but Takamatsu Tomori's tone lacked the warmth of those old days.
Now she was only making polite small talk, exactly like Sakiko talking to a customer on the line during her customer service shifts.
"I—"
Was she really supposed to explain everything to Tomori now, of all times?
No way... She had to run. She couldn't let anyone find out she lived right next door... It was too humiliating.
"Just passing by. Bye."
Before she'd even finished, the urge to flee had already overtaken Sakiko.
That craving to escape everything, to cast it all aside, was surging. Before her and behind her were the lingering afterimages of Haruhi, and the steps she took trampled across vast pools of light and shadow that belonged to Haruhi alone.
Her pace was so fast it was like flying low to the ground, and in moments she'd vanished without a trace into the shadows at the corner.
Takamatsu Tomori had watched the whole thing, yet had no great reaction to it.
Finally she let out a sigh, ready to turn back into the room and pick up the band conversation with everyone.
Running into Soyo today had made her happy, but seeing the medical chart had not.
She was worried about Little Chiose's health, but that was Chiose's private business... she couldn't be the one to bring it up.
As for Togawa Sakiko? She didn't much care.
"Tomo-Tomo! Who's out there?"
"Ah..."
Tomori gazed off at Togawa Sakiko fleeing down below in the distance, then quietly drew her eyes back.
"Don't know her. Looked like a delivery driver who got the address wrong. Little Chiose didn't order takeout, did she? I don't want to get it wrong..."
"Nope! Little Tomo's amazing—hurry and shut the door."
"Okay."
A thud rang out—not very loud, but enough to shatter the quiet all around.
Yet before long the area around the Noshiro residence settled back into peace.
As if that exchange between old friends had never happened at all.
And that was that.
The four of them held plenty of little secrets among themselves.
In Noshiro Chiose's eyes, five golden rings burned on their own with an ever-blazing golden light.
The truth was, she'd sensed something off for a long while now.
Taki, so easy to talk to; Tomori, not so meek; Soyo, with her affection meter off the charts...
[Something's wrong.]
If one person's characterization didn't match history, that could be chalked up to coincidence.
But why were all of them so... normal? Chiose remembered this pack of idiots being, to varying degrees, the kind of problem children with a screw loose somewhere.
Using an excuse to slip away from everyone, Chiose stood alone outside the front door, looking out over the scenery.
It seemed the season of falling cherry blossoms had come round again. The ground was blanketed with petals, trodden step after step by passersby into a muddy smear.
"The System, I have something to ask you."
With no one else around, only now could Chiose relax and speak freely—inwardly—with this System of hers she could never let anyone see.
This wasn't only because Chiose was cautious; it was because she intended to keep The System's secret for the rest of her life.
The kind she'd carry into the grave even after death.
[What is it, my adorable little Chiose-Chiose?]
The voice was lazy and limp. Had this thing been asleep this whole time, only now jolted awake by her?
[System, I'll just ask you straight—do you think they know something?]
That was Noshiro Chiose's guess, though she figured the odds of it were not very high.
There had to be some other factor at play...
[They don't.]
Just as she thought?
Though The System was perfectly capable of lying, of course.
[Then tell me—why is everyone's affection toward me so excessively high? That's not right, is it?]
[Hahaha.]
The stiff mechanical tone was grating and discordant, truly hard on the ears, but Chiose had long grown used to the noise.
[Say something, my good little Systie—no playing dumb, now.]
[Do you want to know, Chiose?]
[Mm.]
[The answer's simple, really... it's because of your eyes!]
Huh?
My... eyes?
Chiose found the glass window of a fire escape and studied her ring-marked eyes closely.
"You're saying the strong affection they have for me is inseparable from my eyes?"
[Of course, my adorable host, my most beloved little Chiose-Chiose. The rings in your eyes are a sublimation of your very soul, which is why you feel warmer and more charming to everyone.]
"..."
So after all that fuss, this was the reason? Seriously, for real?
Truth be told, Chiose had noticed lately that her classmates looked at her strangely—several of the girls were practically drooling.
"I..."
Half-believing, half-doubting, Chiose had already made her way back to the room. She was at as much of a loss for words as Soyo had been the day she knelt on the floor begging her.
"Little Chiose? You okay? Soyo-chan fell asleep again—looks like she still hasn't rested enough," Takamatsu Tomori said, murmuring band gossip with Taki by the door.
"Ah... got it. I'll go cook something for you all—you have to try my handiwork today."
She felt guilty—to think she'd spent so long doubting them.
No—she was still very much doubting them...
But at least Chiose now had a reason to deceive herself.
As long as a person could deceive herself, she could live with a clear enough conscience.
Yet her conscience would still gnaw at her.
All the pressure with no outlet kept mounting, and thanks to The System's explanation, Chiose had even picked up a strange sense of guilt.
Little brainstorm:
Noshiro Chiose: Haha, Sakiko—so with them, this is the only way it ever plays out on your side, huh? On my side it's a whole different story. If you've got a strong stomach, go ahead and click the video below.
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