We reached the platform still in each other's hands. It was certainly the coldest day of the year so far. My scarf was barely keeping me warm, and thanks to Hana-chan, my fingers weren’t frozen. Silently, I scorned my inability to get my gloves and put them on. But as tight as Hana-chan was holding my fingers right now, it felt wrong if I just ruined the moment by adding a layer of cotton between us.

“There it is!”

Hana-chan pointed out. She was in such a high-spirited mood today that I don’t think she realized how much she was acting like an elementary schooler right now…and that was super adorable. I really had the cutest little sister.

“I don’t think Sophia-san explained the situation to Yuko-chan yet, Hana-chan.”

“Is that right?”

"Yeah. We're all going to be on the same page later today anyway. It's not like we intentionally kept it from her though. We just haven't had the chance to tell her that is all."

She nodded as the doors opened. The air from the doors helped push Hana-chan’s long hair back. I don’t think I mentioned it much but I admired how she could maintain her long hair like this. Her hair flowed so elegantly and it added to her radiance.

As we stepped on, the white-haired specter spotted us from the other side of the train car. She rushed over, holding her head down to not catch the eyes of the other patrons. It seemed she was waiting at the wrong door. I always found it charming that she’d do this once we first get on.

“Morning, Mihara-san!”

“Ah…morning Koda-san. Hi, Madoka-chan.”

Our eyes met, and it warmed my chest. Since I had that chat with Takade-san, I've started noticing some more things when it came to Yuko-chan.

 

Like how her eyelashes were slightly longer than most. As I searched her more, she had the cutest nose. The way she matured from her middle school self was there, but little sparks of that cute self would perk out. Her cheeks always had a slight red tint to them that made her all the more innocent looking. Takade-san sure did a number on me, and it caused me to sigh out of sheer embarrassment.

“Is everything alright, Madoka-chan?”

“…You’re just…”

I stopped myself before I said something that would embarrass the heck out of me. Instead, I changed the subject.

“Hey, Yuko-chan, are you free this afternoon, right after school?”

“Oh…ah…Saya-san wanted us for clubs again, but I can cancel.”

“Would that be okay? I…would be pulling both you and Mae-chan away from your clubs.”

She started giggling.

“I think it’s…fine. You see…ah…What Saya-san wants from us isn't… too important, Madoka-chan."

"Last I heard she was making something for the New Year?"

The ghost nodded timidly.

"That's right, so I don't think she'd mind if Watanabe-san and I took off for…a day."

Hana-chan nodded enthusiastically.

"Good! We get to hang out again then, Mihara-san!”

Yuko-chan pushed her chin in her scarf again like she was hiding from the spotlight known as Hana-chan.

“That’s good. I’m glad…I get to hang out with you, Koda-san.”

She sounded so genuine that it made me that much happier. Now with Yuko-chan on board, that would leave Mae-chan and Sophia-san. Hana-chan already mentioned that she’d drag Sora-san with us.

“What are we doing, Madoka-chan?”

Curiously, she adjusted her scarf as she looked at me innocently. I could see a sparkle in her eyes.

"I have some things to discuss the concert this upcoming weekend…and I need your help with something very important, Yuko-chan."

That’s when her body started to jitter instantly. I had to move back as it felt as though she’d explode suddenly.

“A-Are you okay, Yuko-chan?!”

“Y-You need my help, Madoka-senpai?!”

She cried out in a voice comparable to a mouse’s squeak. I could see the expression on Hana-chan’s face turn into a keen look mirroring a predator-catching wind of its prey. It reminded me of a look Mari-san would give me.

“Oh, aren’t you happy that your beloved senpai needs your help?”

“Stop it, Hana-chan!”

I bonked her on the head, but she bonked me back. This girl was something else.

“I-I’m just happy.”

The warmth of her words drew me in closer as I explained.

“There’s a lot I want to explain to you, Yuko-chan. So, I’m going to do just that after school.”

I tilted my head to get a better view of the blush plastered on her cute face. That small nose of hers was as bright as a sun-dried tomato as I approached.

“I’ll need your help! Thank you so much, Yuko-chan!”

I could see her fingers twitch when suddenly, she held me in her arms.

 

 

Her body being taller than mine, I instantly felt like there was a shield around me, one that nobody could breakthrough. Her warm body engulfed me with something I could only compare to… compassion.

The thoughts of Takade-san came back to me. How long had Yuko-chan might have wanted to hold me like this? The thought itself caused me to feel as though I was being lifted off the ground, to ascend into another plane of existence.

“I’m so happy.”

She said meekly. So, I embraced her back. It might have been a little strange for the people on the train to see this sudden open display of emotion, but that’s what made it all the sweeter. Yuko-chan had no obligation to do this but her own feelings.

“Me too.”

I whispered. As I turned to the side I was met with Hana-chan’s tender gaze. Hard to believe only a month or so ago these two were literally at each other’s throats. They both made an effort to get along with each other, and it seemed to have paid off.

Eventually, she let go and pushed her lips under her scarf. After a bit of time, she looked away and her bright face lingered there. I hope…that my presence wasn't causing her too much discomfort. If what Takade-san mentioned was true…I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable by doing this.

The fact of the matter is…I still wasn’t ready to officially move on, was I? That was what Takade-san showed me as she picked apart my feelings for Mari-san. But certainly, I wasn’t going to give Yuko-chan too many hints that would lead to her getting hurt.

I do care for Yuko-chan…and I want her to know that. That’s why I’m not ready to ask her about her feelings or express mine right now. That goes with anyone like Saitou-san as an example. Because right now I had a bigger obstacle to face, and that was this battle with Sophia-san and Taylor-sensei. This has become my top priority.

“There’s our stop.”

Hana-chan announced like a training director. We stepped out and made our way through the crowd. Shoulder to shoulder, with me in the middle, we exited the train station and were caught instantly with the cold breeze of the day. We walked in silence until we got to the cut-off.

“See you guys this afternoon. Bye, Onee-chan!”

Hana-chan cried as she patted her bag. I hope Sora-chan is happy about getting her belongings back. It was charming on its own, watching Hana-chan literally skip her way to school out of sheer happiness. Knowing that others don’t get to take in this sight filled me with an appreciation for the family I love.

"Shall we go, Yuko-chan?"

She nodded and continued walking shoulder to shoulder with me. Well, she was taller so it’s not like we could be equal that way. As I saw my little sister leave, I imagined Okabe Nagumi-chan briefly in her place. My newfound appreciation is something I wanted to keep.

“This is becoming a thing, isn’t it?”

At the gates with her hands in her pockets, likely because of the cold, Sophia-san approached.

“Morning, C-Conway-san!”

She nearly shouted, causing me to back up slightly. It seemed Yuko-chan’s confidence was off the charts today. I found myself laughing, after trying to hold myself back. Sadly, I could see her cheeks flare up because of that.

“Good morning, Mihara-san. Madoka-san, how are you?”

The English woman cocked her head with an expression like "good grief" as she approached. This routine was nice as we met up like this.

“How’s your morning, Sophia-san?”

She shrugged.

“I told Eleanor about the STARS concert, and she agreed to take us to this. So, if you're all okay with it, she can be our chaperon through the entire event this weekend.”

“That’s good.”

I nodded, with appreciation. That’s just what we needed, for Simpson-san to be the person taking us to and from there.

“Sophia-san, do you mind hanging out with us after school? I'd like to discuss things with everyone.”

She crossed her arms and nodded.

“Ah, so today’s the day where we’re all going to know the full story?”

Yuko-chan tilted her head cutely as I gave her a nudge on her finger.

“We’ll explain everything later today, Yuko-chan.”

“Oh…yeah, okay.”

Timidly, she looked to the side with a slight smile.

“I’m all for it, Madoka-san. Does everyone else know?”

“So far everyone is coming. I just have to drag Mae-chan as soon as-"

My shoulder was struck as Mae-chan aggressively grabbed me from the side.

“Mado-chan!”

“Speak of the devil, and she appears.”

Sophia-san slumped as she helped Yuko-chan pull me from her.

“Mae-chan! Perfect timing?”

“Oh, what is it,  Mado-chan?”

“We’re all planning to have a chat after school today. You know, talk about the events surrounding the concert. Are you free today?”

 

 

"Of course! I can cancel my meet-up with clubs. I doubt Saitou-san would mind too much."

With her acceptance, the entire group was now on board. I didn’t know what Sora-san’s response was yet, but I wasn’t too worried about it either. Hana-chan had that covered.

“Okay, let’s meet up at the gates when school is over.”

“Where are we going, Mado-chan?”

"I was thinking the best place to meet up would be Bellows, the karaoke place we went to a few months ago, Mae-chan."

“Oh, so we can chill out and have a private chat! I’m all for it.”

Now she was beyond excited as she literally skipped around our group. I couldn’t contain her, nobody could. That was what I appreciated about Mae-chan all the more. How she could change the mood of any situation in an instant. So, I reached out, grabbed her, and pulled her closer to me.

"Thanks, Mae-chan!”

She was warm…Mae-chan was always warm. Today is going to be a big day, and I was feeling more confident as time was going forward. With all my friends gathering for the sake of helping one another. There wasn’t anything we couldn’t accomplish if we worked together, is there?

“Excuse me.”

Coldly, a harsh voice pressed through as she cut past our group. Okabe-san's ivy hair hit me as she went right for the school doors. Our shoulders met when she did this. It was brief, but I doubt it was by accident.

 

“There goes walking garbage.”

Sophia-san muttered as she bit her teeth. Yesterday played into my mind. It was apparent that Sophia-san wouldn’t know of her circumstances. They’ve hated each other for far longer than I’ve known them.

“Okabe-san…”

“Please don’t tell me you’re still upset about making her cry the other day?”

Harshly, Sophia-san cut down my melancholic mood.

“No, it’s something more than that, Sophia-san.”

I was vague, and I needed to be. It wouldn’t be right for me to start telling everyone about her situation. However…I felt that I should try at least to ease her stress by keeping her and Sophia-san’s battles at bay.

“Well, we have to get to class.”

Sophia-san complained as she looked at Mae and Yuko-chan.

“I guess we’ll see each other at lunch. And if not then, at the end of the school day?”

“You know it, Sophia-san! Come on, Mihara-san. Let’s go, let’s go!”

She dragged her away, but before she did, Yuko-chan gave me a sorrowful wave. It was…beyond adorable, wasn’t it?

“She’s something else, isn’t she?”

“Mae-chan or Yuko-chan?”

With a shrug of her shoulders, she turned back to me.

“I guess both of them. Well, let’s make our way to class.”

With a nod, I followed behind her. Looking around the school, the students went about their days. Gossip about the Christmas holiday and who people are going with was filling through the air. That’s to be expected, us being in an all-girls-school. Well, I take it that would be the case for any high school.

“Have you chat with Onee-chan yet?”

Strangely, Sophia-san referred to her sister as “Onee-chan” and not by her first name.

“Ah…no, I was going to speak with her on the phone the other night, but that didn’t happen. I was thinking about trying to message her to meet up with her during lunch.”

I sighed.

“I have to be more cautious. I almost screwed things up last time.”

He held her back and looked up at me.

“Listen…I think it would be best to tell Linda that you’re planning to have me and her meet up on Christmas. That or Christmas Eve.

“That’s a good idea. I want her to feel as relaxed as possible when she meets up with me.”

Sophia-san nodded.

“Yeah, she won’t go out of her way to act suspicious if it wasn't about meeting with me. Make sure you push into her that it's just a meet-up. Don't let her catch on until…then."

Now the reason why she addressed her sister like that came to mind. It might have been me on assumption but perhaps Sophia-san was feeling a bit more sentimental towards her sister.

In other words…

Sophia-san was worried about her sister, wasn’t she?

“Hey…I promised you on the roof that day, during Cultural Day, that I’d be there for your sister, remember?”

A tad defensively she turned away.

“…Yeah, you also held me, and let me cry into your arms. So…I know it wasn’t a lie that you’d be able to calm her down.”

Her dirty blonde hair washed over her face as she met me with her tender crimson eyes.

“Linda has been through a lot, and I’ve experienced many hurtful times with her first hand. But this time, I won’t be able to heal her wounded heart.”

With her short, stubby finger she pushed my nose.

“So you’re going to be there in my place! And I swear…you better cuddle the hell out of her, Madoka-san!”

I chuckled before calming my nerves.

“I promise.”

“Yeah, I bet you do! Just don’t try anything fishy while you do it!”

“Who do you think I am?! Where did that come from?”

Now she was the one laughing as we made our way into the class. With a big grin on her face, she pushed me playfully and raced into her seat. As I approached, we gave each other one last glance as I made my way behind her.

“Morning, Okabe-san.”

I met eyes with Okabe-san. She looked worn out…like she always does. We were out later, and with her having to go to her sister's house first to drop her off and then make it back home…I’m sure her night was much longer than mine.

“Hey…”

That was the only thing I got from her as I sat down. Everything in me wanted to ask a few things, but I narrowed it down to one.

“Ah…I messaged you last night before bed. Did you get it?”

Her eyes perked up as she pulled out her phone.

“…You did?”

I thought that she might have been ignoring me, but it seemed that she was just as surprised as I was. After messing around on her phone a bit she looked at the message.

“Oh…I didn’t put your name on my phone yet. So…I ignored it."

That was a little silly, and it made me chuckle a bit. When she looked at me, I could see that drained face light up just a little after reading it. It wasn’t anything grand or fantastic…

 

 

“Good night?”

She read it aloud, making me a bit conscious as she did. The girls were making their way into the room and seats were being filled.

“Thanks, I guess?”

“Aren’t you going to reply?”

I teased. She pushed out hot air from her lips and began replying to my message.

“Whatever…”

Was her reply. But when I looked at her, she had a little bit of a smile on her face. It took me a while to realize, it's been a bit since I've seen that short, brief beam. But as brief as it was, it faded away when she spoke up.

"I'm…really tired right now, and I'm going to get some rest during the first period."

“You always sleep in class.”

Sophia-san popped in, biting at Okabe-san. Before she could click back I looked at the shark.

“It was a busy day yesterday, Sophia-san.”

Cutting it there, I turned back to Okabe-san.

“Would you like me to take notes for you and send them to you later?”

Scratching the back of her ear…as if she didn’t know how to respond she just shrugged.

“I was just going to say don’t let her wake me.”

Like lightning sparking, these two were already battling it out. So, to ease the tension set I nodded.

“Get some rest, I’ll make sure Sophia-san only bothers me.”

“Eh? What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t bother you, if anything you are the one constantly poking me in the back asking questions about our English assignments!”

“Sophia-san! Do you have to bring that up?!”

“Well, it's the truth, Madoka-san!”

As we had this useless banter, Takanake-sensei walked in. Knowing how he is if we speak too loudly when he’s here, we toned our banter down. I gave Sophia-san a nudge, and she pushed me back with the pencil in her hand. It was reasonless, and that’s what made it all the more fun.

When the last bell rang, the class went quiet, and I could hear a faint sound…

It was Okabe-san’s small breathing. When I thought about it…while we’re at school, Nagumi-chan is at her school too. Meaning nothing could hurt her there, right? So, in a way, this time would be one of the few hours of the day that Okabe-san could sleep in peace…

And that made me a little angry at that.

The only place she could feel at ease enough to relax and sleep was the very place that was the most important to her at her age. Only because of the parents she has.  As everything began to add up slowly…my heart pounded with a new kind of determination. So, I made sure my notes were extra nice and detailed because I wasn’t just working for myself as I did this.

 

---

 

Over the break, I messaged Taylor-sensei to meet me outside. It was that same spot that I caught her attempting to kiss Sophia-san that day I ran late. Now that I thought about it, it was the first time that we had met too. So, I waited around and kicked a pebble about.

“Hmm…”

I knew what I was going to ask her for. So, there was nothing to worry about, but the idea of having one of my sensei’s phone numbers started to sink in. It was like we were meeting in some elusive part of the school in order to…have a private chat. I won't lie, this felt like a scene from a drama. The only thing I needed was to be in the relationship, cry my heart out to sensei, and tell her how much I love her. The wild thought made me giggle, clearing up the sudden tense mood that I’ve created.

“Nakagawa-san!”

The shapely foreigner raced towards me. With her arms sprawled out wild, she made such a grand gesture as we finally met.

“Sensei, you made it!”

"Yes! Sorry, it took so long, one of the students cut their leg on a tool in the gym shed. I've told the faculty to fix that place up, but they just won’t listen.”

She seemed determined as her cheeks bloated in frustration. This hardworking side to Taylor-sensei was a sight to behold.

“Sorry for taking so long to get back to you sensei, I had a few things come up."

“No, I figured as much. Well, what do you want to chat about?”

She followed me as we stood under a tree.

“Well, I wanted to discuss with you a way to get you and Sophia-san together…during Christmas.”

Like a Christmas tree, ironically, sensei lit up. She did a small dance before turning back to me. How she reminded me of a little girl when she did small things like this.

“Oh, that sounds wonderful! You know I already have a gift picked out for her?”

“That’s good. But for the time being, I just want to chat with you about it.”

“Right, right.”

She spun around once again before she stopped completely. It seemed as though she ran out of energy as she turned back to me endearingly.

“Where would you like to meet up?”

“Are you free this weekend? Sunday around five in the afternoon?”

She nodded harshly.

“That works for me. Where are we meeting up?”

“There’s a place in the shopping district called the Red Roses. It’s a small but homely restaurant that I work at occasionally. I think it’s a perfect place just for us to relax and chat.”

I emphasized the relax part. This isn't anything special for her right now. That's the mindset I need to put her in.

“Okay, I’ll be sure to meet you then. We can have dinner and just talk about things too.”

“Yeah, so remember, five in the afternoon.”

“Yes!”

“And stay casual. There’s no reason to bring anything unnecessary. I think you’ll enjoy my plan though.”

 

With an exaggerated nod of her head, she pushed forwards.

“Thank you so much, Madoka-san! I’m sure everything will work out. Just like your plan to get her to chat with me on the phone.”

Despite being so mature she had the eyes of a child who was shown a magic trick. As if I just opened the world to her and showed her things that aren’t true, she marveled at the idea of seeing Sophia-san.

That innocence to be with the person she loved was in a way admirable. I wanted to help her live her dreams of seeing Sophia-san once more. And it's going to happen not just with my help, but every one of my friends who want to see them happy…

 

“Alright, I’ll see you on Sunday, 5 PM.”

“Yes, Sunday 5 PM on the dot.”

With that brief chat over, we made our way back to our respective duties.

Taylor-sensei with her nursing, me with my studying. Nobody in the world knows of our deal right now.

Everything will work out when I tell the plan to my friends after school.