Three days have passed after Suzu and I went to the water park. On the morning of the forth day, she arrived at the classroom with an unusual expression on her face.

   ‘Why do you look so gloomy, Suzu?’ I couldn’t help but ask.

   She looks at me and sighs before sitting down on the seat next to mine.

   ‘Morning Takkun.’ she greets. ‘As to why I’m depressed, it’s better if you don’t know.’

   She’s even talking normally. Something must be really wrong.

   ‘Do you have to go to the dentist? Did you accidentally deleted one of your save files? Were you forced to go on a diet by Serizawa-san?’ I try to guess.

   ‘No, no, and no.’

   Usually, I would leave her alone. However, she looks so sad I felt like I want to meddle.

   ‘I know I should mind my own business, but I’ll always be here for you if you want to talk about it.’ I offer.

   She raises her eyebrow.

   ‘You’re actually being considerate, Takkun? I worry for the weather later.’

   ‘Yes, yes. I know I’m being out of character right now.’

   ‘It’s no big deal, actually. I was asked to represent my father and attend a party.’ she eventually says to me.

   ‘Come to think of it, I never knew what your father does for a living.’

   ‘He’s the CEO of the Kite Security Corporation.’

   Now that surprised me.

   ‘You mean you father is in charge of the biggest security company that is based in America?’

   ‘Sure is.’

   ‘That explains why you’re so good at gathering information.’

   ‘Actually, my mother is the one is charge of all the head-aching stuff. My father’s main contribution is making the company grow.’ she explains.

   ‘Still, that’s pretty big deal. But back to the question at hand. Why do you have to represent your father to attend a party?’

   ‘Well, I’m sort of his senior executive.’

   I was loss for words for a few seconds since my brain took a while to process what she just said.

   ‘So, you’re already holding a position that some people takes decades to reach even though we’re the same age.’ I conclude.

   ‘Yup.’

   ‘That’s quite an achievement.’

   ‘Bah. It’s not like I need the money. Besides, the work is just getting in my way of playing video games.’

   ‘I’m sure it does.’ I say drily. ‘Speaking of which, I’m surprised that your father actually lets you to laze around.’

   ‘Trust me, he was pretty reluctant. But he needs my help, so he had to compromise.’

   ‘Still, he shouldn’t have pushed the job that should be done by an adult to his own daughter who’s not even one.’

   ‘Tell that to him…’

   I want to ask more about it, but more and more of our classmates arrive at the classroom, so I had to pause the conversation until we’re alone again.

   ‘We’ll continue this during lunch.’ I decide.

   ‘...Say Takkun. Why do you care this much?’

   That question got me tongue-tied. To be honest, I have no idea why I’m being this enthusiastic about listening to Suzu’s problem. Usually, I would only care if I’m consulted, but not this time.

   ‘Do you hate my meddling?’ I ask instead.

   She shakes her head.

   ‘Not at all. I’m rather grateful, actually.’

   She reaches over from her seat and pat my head.

   ‘So thank you, Takkun~.’

   And her fluffy way of talking is back. Yup. This is more like Suzu.

   ‘No need to thank-’

   ‘Morning, Bandou-kun and Yoshinaga-san!’

   ‘Good morning to the two of you.’

   Our conversation got interrupted by the student council duo, Takaki and Nitta.

   ‘Morning Takaki and Nitta.’ I greet them. ‘Nitta aside, I’m surprised that you’re on the verge of being late, Takaki.’

   ‘I had something to discuss with Chairwoman Seki before coming to class.’ the student council president explains.

   ‘I notice that it’s “I” instead of “we”.’

   Takaki sighs. ‘Yuki has forgotten that we were supposed to have the meeting before we head to class.’

   ‘Yup. Figures.’

   ‘Whatever do you mean by that, Bandou-kun?’ Nitta asks me sweetly while cracking her fists.

   I look at Takaki while pointing at Nitta.

   ‘Can I complain her for inciting violence?’ I ask her.

   ‘You shouldn’t do that, Yuki.’

   ‘Well he started it!’

   While all this is going on, Suzu is lying down on her table for the umpteenth time. Takaki, Nitta and I look at each other.

   ‘So, who’s going to do it this time?’ I ask them.

   ‘Don’t look at me. I did it yesterday.’ Nitta says.

   ‘And I’ve done it the day before that.’ Takaki reminds us.

   The two of them look at me. I let out a sigh.

   ‘...Fine, I’ll do it.’ I grumble.

   I put my hand on Suzu’s shoulders and shakes her lightly.

   ‘Come on Suzu, wake up.’ I tell her.

   ‘If I wake up, will you buy me something to eat later?’ she asks me without moving her face.

   ‘Sure, if that’s what you want.’

   ‘Can I have some ice cream then?’

   ‘I don’t mind, but you’ll have to wait until school’s over.’

   And then, as if it’s a miracle, Suzu got up for real.

   ‘I’m wide awake now~!’ she says excitedly.

   ‘You really love your ice cream, don’t you?’

   ‘Sure do! Particularly those that I don’t have to pay~!’

   ‘...Just make sure that your motivation doesn’t go down until the final bell rings.’

   ‘Okay~!’

   Unfortunately for her, the class right before lunch is PE. The thing about our PE teacher is that he loves to make us run a few rounds around the field before deciding the activity of the day. Naturally, Suzu couldn’t survive a single time since her stamina is really low. In fact, she couldn’t even last a single lap today, as opposed to the usual one and a half.

   ‘Sensei, Yoshinaga-san is on the verge of collapsing!’ Takaki calls out to the teacher.

   ‘Again? You okay there, Yoshinaga?’

   She’s so worn out that she couldn’t even speak. Right now, she’s kneeling on the ground while trembling and shaking her head.

   ‘Well, I guess someone has to bring her to the infirmary…’ the teacher mumbles.

   I raise up my hand.

   ‘I’ll do it, sensei.’ I volunteer.

   ‘You will, Bandou? Good to hear.’

   I walk over to Suzu.

   ‘Can you get up, Suzu?’ I ask her.

   She shakes her head again. I go in front of her and get down on my knees.

   ‘Come on, I’ll carry you on my back.’ I offer.

   Slowly, and with a little bit of help from Takaki, Suzu manages to climb on to my back. Once she’s secured, I head off to the infirmary.

   ‘Do you still feel like dying?’ I ask her as we’re heading there.

   ‘...I’m a bit better now.’ she says slowly.

   ‘Do you want to stop by at the water cooler to drink some water?’

   ‘No, I want to lie down first.’

   For some reason, the infirmary of our school never has a nurse stationed to it. After we got in, I put Suzu down gently on one of the beds.

   ‘I’m going to get you something to drink, so wait here.’ I tell her.

   As I was about to leave, she grabs my hand without warning.

   ‘Are you going to leave me?’ she says to me.

   The lonely expression she’s making made my heart skip a beat.

   ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a jiffy.’ I assure her.

   That finally made her let go of my hand.

   ‘Okay, I’ll be waiting…’

   I pat her head. ‘That’s a good girl.’

   Before I left the infirmary, I made sure to walk in normal speed. After making sure that I’m at some distance away from it, I sprinted. I don’t know why, but something about Suzu made me want to return to her as soon as possible. I got a sports drink at the nearest vending machine and dashed back.

   When I got back, Suzu is lying down quietly on the bed. The blanket is lying down on the floor like it’s the most annoying thing to her. I guess she doesn’t want to wrap herself in it since it’s too hot in here.

   ‘Here’s your drink…’ I wheeze as I pass her the bottle of sports drink that I bought.

   She slowly gets up and takes the bottle.

   ‘...Did you ran just to get this for me?’ she asks.

   ‘Yes, I did.’ I confess. ‘Now drink up.’

   She opens the cap and takes a sip from it. Then another. And another. After a few more sips, she stops to let out a burp. She then shows an expression of absolute bliss.

   ‘I feel much better now~.’ she exhales.

   ‘Good to hear it.’

   I went and fetch a chair before placing it in front of Suzu’s bed and sit on it.

   ‘Aren’t you going back to class?’ she asks me.

   ‘Nope.’

   She lets out a giggle.

   ‘Are you sure that you want to do that? Katsura-sensei is pretty strict, remember?’

   I shrug.

   ‘I’ll take whatever punishment he’s giving me if it means you’ll feel less lonely.’

   Once she’s done drinking the sports drink, she leans against her pillow to make herself more comfortable.

   ‘...I’m really sorry for always troubling you like this, Takkun.’ she says with a serious tone.

   ‘Don’t worry about it, okay?’

   ‘Say, Takkun. Can I tell you something about myself?’ she asks me all of a sudden.

   ‘What’s this all of a sudden?’

   ‘Remember the conversation we had just now? I just felt like continuing it.’

   ‘Sure, if it’ll make you feel better.’

   She takes a deep breath before starting her story.

   ‘This morning, I told you that my father is the CEO of the company, while my mother is in charge of the more head-aching stuff. To be more precise, she’s the head of the R&D Department. New softwares, new products. Nothing gets a green light unless she nods her head. And my mother just loves to overwork herself, despite the fact that she has a disease which takes away lots of her stamina.’

   ‘Wait a minute. You have lousy stamina too. Does that mean that she passed on the disease to you?’

   She shrugs.

   ‘Maybe.’

   I furrow my eyebrow.

   ‘What do you mean “maybe”? Didn’t you go see a doctor?’

   ‘I don’t like to visit one.’

   ‘And everyone was fine with it?’

   ‘Not really. Seri-seri would nag me every time I’m dying from lack of stamina.’

   ‘And your parents?’

   Her expression suddenly got very depressed.

   ‘I’m going to answer that in a roundabout way. It’s been almost a year since I got transferred out of Kiseki and enrolled into Yokosuka. Neither of them said anything about it, or asked me a single question.’

   ‘Wow, talk about sad.’

   She sighs.

   ‘To be fair, I can’t blame mother for it. She’s too busy receiving treatment. Father, on the other hand…’

   I remembered the time when we were consulting Aomine Shigeru about his complicated love triangle. Suzu got all serious without any warning when Aomine mentioned that he might have to end up taking care of his childhood friend who (supposedly) has amnesia.

   ‘What happened exactly?’ I ask.

   She shrugs.

   ‘Mother tend to overwork herself despite having the weird disease. One day, she pushed herself too far and have to be hospitalized permanently. My father blamed himself for her overwork and insisted on staying by her side.’

   ‘And leaving you here all by yourself?’

   ‘I’m not exactly alone, since Seri-seri and the other servants are here. But yeah, I’m separated from the rest of the family.’

   ‘Have you ever talked to him about it? Rather, did the two of you ever get to talk at all?’

   ‘Hardly. He rarely comes back, and every time he does, it’s to take care of something that’s not related to me. Having meetings with the local stakeholders, attending parties, those sort of things. I did try to take initiative, but he never gave me any attention. Eventually, I stopped caring.’

   She’s saying that she stopped caring, but her expression is definitely telling me otherwise. It’s so heartbreaking to see her like this-

   I stopped for a moment. Again, why do I care so much?

   ‘Are you okay, Takkun?’

   ‘Huh? Um, yeah. Why do you ask?’

   ‘You were spaced out for a bit there.’

   ‘Well, I’m totally fine. Back to you. I could be meddling too much, but I honestly think you should try and talk to your father.’

   She shakes her head.

   ‘It’s fine. Really. I have Seri-seri, Aiai, Kimikimi, you-’

   I put my hands on her shoulders and look her in the eyes.

   ‘Hey, stop lying to yourself. You’re not fine, and you know it.’

   She starts to sob.

   ‘But, I’m really scared of what he might say…’ she whimpers.

   ‘Rely on me then! If I’m not good enough, call Nagano, Takaki, anyone. You don’t have to do this alone.’

   She lets out a loud sniffle.

   ‘I don’t really want to bother Aiai and the others over this.’

   ‘So it’s fine to bother me?’

   ‘Isn’t it? I mean, you’re the one who wanted me to talk about this.’

   ‘...Yeah, I guess this is what happens when I meddle too much.’

   She inhales deeply.

   ‘I’m going to visit my parents in America once I’m done with the party.’ she announces.

   ‘That’s the spirit.’

   ‘You’ll go with me, right Takkun?’

   ‘I don’t know what help I’ll be, but sure. And I think there’s something much more urgent to take care of first.’

   She tilts her head.

   ‘What is it?’

   ‘You should go see a doctor. I don’t want to jinx it, but you might have the same disease as your mother does.’ I tell her.

   She turns back the angle of her neck and bites her lips.

   ‘...Okay. I’ll go. But only if you go with me.’ she eventually says.

   ‘Deal.’ I say without hesitating.

   She takes out her phone.

   ‘I’m calling my mother’s former doctor for an appointment. He used to care for her, so it’s easier to check if I have the same disease.’

   I wait patiently as she’s making the call. A few minutes later, she finally puts away her phone.

   ‘He says he can give me a check-up today. I booked a time right after school.’ she informs.

   ‘That’s rather surprising. Here I thought that you were going to delay it as long as possible.’

   She shakes her head.

   ‘I’m done running.’

   I reach out my hand to pat her head.

   ‘Good for you. It’s very brave of you.’ I tell her.

   ‘Well, it’s only because you promise that you’ll stay at my side Takkun.’

   ‘Hey, can you not phrase what I said in a way that might lead to misunderstandings?’

   She stares at me.

   ‘You mean, you weren’t trying to?’

   ‘Of course not.’

   ‘Aww, and here I thought I can get a free chef/butler/chariot who’s willing to take care of me for the rest of my life.’

   ‘Yeah, not happening.’

   She got serious all of a sudden.

   ‘What if I really have the same disease as my mother? What then?’ she asks me.

   Okay, now that’s not fair.

   ‘If that’s true, then I guess I’m more than happy to become your chef/butler/chariot.’

   I shake my head. I give up. It’s time to come clean with my feelings.

   ‘...No, even if you’re healthy, I still want to stay by your side.’

   She shows me a mischievous smile.

   ‘See? Was that so hard~?’ she asks.

   ‘It kind of is. I mean, you had to give me a push in the back.’ I grumble.

   She chuckles. ‘Don’t worry about it~. I was too much of a coward to confess first, so I manipulated you into doing it first~.’

   ‘Man, you sure are evil.’ I mumble.

   She bends down to pick up her blanket. She then covers her face with it.

   ‘I can’t help it. I’m a shy girl, you know?’

   ‘Uh-huh.’

   ‘And oh, this isn’t a plot to make you fall in love with me so that you’ll cancel your wish, just so you know.’ she assures me.

   ‘I know that much. I’m not confident enough to say that I know you well enough, but I can at least tell that you’re not this manipulative. Now, can you move that blanket away so that I can do this properly?’

   Suzu did as I asked. Her face is kind of red, and her expression is pretty flustered.

   ‘Yoshinaga Suzume, will you do the honor of becoming my girlfriend?’ I ask her.

   She nods bashfully.

   ‘I’m happy to.’ she replies.

   Two seconds later, she acts like she heard something from somewhere far away.

   ‘What’s wrong?’ I ask her.

   ‘A voice said that your wish has been canceled since you got yourself a girlfriend.’

   ‘So, are you still going to deny that supernatural things exist in this world?’

   ‘Sure am. But that’s not really important right now, is it?’

   ‘I guess not.’

   She opens up her arms to ask for a hug. I was more than happy to oblige.