Chapter 9: After School

In no time, after school had arrived.

「Let's go! Gikei-chan!」

Runa clings to my right arm.

Since elementary school, she had always liked my right arm for some reason.

But unlike back then, I was clearly confronted with the fact that Runa was no longer a child.

Large, soft, warm, and strangely mature.

Ahh, Runa is a girl too. I found myself oddly conscious of that.

Yui was watching us with what seemed like dissatisfaction.

She never looked at us like that back then, completely ignored us, so what's gotten into her?

Just as I was thinking that, shocking words came from her mouth.

「Hey, Rei. Runa-chan took the right side, so... can I have the leftover left arm?」

Looking up at me from below, Yui stared at me.

This is the first time for something like this, and my heart is thrown into chaos.

I was at a loss for words.

Suddenly my left arm was enveloped in warm sensation.

「Silence means consent.」

Like an angel, Yui floats a smile.

It contained so many reasons why I had liked her.

How many times had I been saved by this smile?

「But you two, we can't walk like this.」

I smile honestly. Because we can't go anywhere like this.

Reluctantly, the two separated from my arms. Though they were glaring the whole time.

「Well, what should we do anyway?」

Come to think of it, we had only said we'd hang out, but hadn't decided specifically what to do yet.

「Let's play hide-and-seek!」

Runa suddenly said that.

Her eyes light up and she looks strangely proud.

Why hide-and-seek here? My head was swirling with confusion.

「Runa-chan, that's a great idea!」

For some reason, Yui, who seemed like she couldn't wait, also added fuel to the whirlwind of confusion.

──You two are high schoolers now... hide-and-seek, don't you think anything about that? And why are you both so enthusiastic about it?

I lightly retort in my head.

Thanks to that, it felt like calmness returned to my mind.

「Then let's play hide-and-seek.」

I stated calmly.