Before long, the train arrived at our destination. We hadn’t talked at all during the ten-minute ride, both because I didn’t know what I could talk about, and I was too afraid to do that considering other people in the wagon were pretty much silent. 

After I left the station with her following me without saying a word, I saw a view that I faintly recognized—it would be enough to go back to the station in case something happened, but I didn’t know where specific places were located, that included the place the concert would take place in. 

I slowed down just to look around—surprisingly, this place looked more suburban compared to my own neighborhood, even though it was technically located closer to the center of the city. I spotted a convenience store and a small park. There were some people walking around, but it was far from crowded. 

Suddenly, the girl who I almost forgot was tagging along with me because of her lack of presence, got ahead of me and made a gesture I couldn’t see entirely because of her concealing, black hoodie—she seemed to raise her right hand to her chest, and her left hand up to her face as she slightly lowered her head. 

“Kuku, so this will be our battlefield.” 

She stopped without turning around to me as she faked a laugh in her characteristic way and proceeded to say in a lofty voice. 

Actually, we had yet to reach the final destination, so what was before our eyes wasn’t the battlefield. 

“You sure are excited, huh?” I added, only because I wanted to say something and felt like it was my chance. 

“Today, you shall learn the true extent of my power, human”, unexpectedly for me, she responded as she turned slightly in my direction. I could catch a complete glimpse of her gesture—like I suspected, the weakly bent fingers of her left hand were lightly pressing the eyepatch on her left eye. 

I wonder what she meant by that. Was she going to take off the eyepatch or something? 

“Huh... I’m looking forward to it, I guess...” I said evidently lacking enthusiasm just to keep the conversation going, because I really didn’t know how I could properly respond to that. 

“Fufu, don’t mock me. You’re so obvious...” 

I was really struggling with responding to her delusional speech. I couldn’t do it right—when I said something, it always turned out awkward. Perhaps I should try acting like I really was her servant? That was sure to appear awkward to me, but maybe it would satisfy her. 

She said earlier, most likely in order to hide her real intentions, that it was a mission to infiltrate a gathering of normal people and investigate their behaviors. It quite didn’t make sense to me, and I think she had noticed it too, but I simply disregarded that. 

“I-is there something you want me to do?” 

With that, she turned completely to face me and put her hands down. 

“Don’t worry, you just have to act as naturally as you can.” 

I wonder, who was the more anxious one at the moment? I could hear some hesitation in her voice, but she was doing great job trying to hide it. 

She raised a hand to her face and used her index finger to point at, surprisingly, her right, unconcealed eye. 

“This eye can see way more than a human’s. I can use it to easily obtain all information I want.” 

“I see...” 

So, (she acted as if) her right eye also had some special powers? If she kept making all those abilities up, wouldn’t she end up overpowered? Or perhaps she meant it to be like that? Again, I didn’t really understand what was going on in her mind. 

“Then, should we move on?” I suggested since we stood in one place as we talked. We still had a lot of time left, so we didn’t have to hurry yet. 

In the meantime, another train arrived and quite a lot of people left the station. They were mostly young, although older than us and were often dressed in unusual ways—perhaps they were headed for the same concert as us? 

“But, just to ensure our safety... s-stay by my side at all times once we reach the site, human”, her voice grew way more insecure as she turned around and started walking away at a hurried pace once more. 

“O-okay, of course...” I promptly caught up to her. 

We were on our way to experience something that was hardly out of the ordinary for most people, but to us, it was something unachievable until now. We were still incessantly anxious about that, but together we were able to muster up our courage just barely enough. 

As I went out of my way to put up with her unusually fast pace, I thought I was glad that I met her. On that staircase, I hadn’t imagined that the road would take us where we were today—from an objective standpoint, I guess it wasn’t that much of an achievement, but the thought of going out somewhere with a girl had appeared as a mere delusion to me just a few months ago. Similarly, I found myself curious as to where the road would take us in the future, but most likely I was thinking too much of it—after all, it was nothing but a temporary friendship that would end once we graduated. Still, I was quite dense if it came to our current situation. 

Probably, I started understanding why some people thought that male-female friendships were not possible. 

•

From that moment, I felt as if I wasn’t in full control of my body anymore. The scenery around me was not only unfamiliar, but also hostile. I would have run away if it wasn’t for the sole familiar figure standing next to me that I found myself keeping as close to as possible. 

In comparison, she looked like she was really having fun. She had taken off the black hoodie and revealed her light, blue t-shirt with that idol unit’s name written in huge, white letters. As far as I could tell in that densely crowded, dim room, she wasn’t the only person with such t-shirt. 

Everyone’s eyes were directed at the stage, where the five idols were, to no surprise, singing and dancing. Performing such intensive moves while singing without the slightest discontinuity certainly was impressive, but it didn’t make me excited as other people seemed to be. 

Like almost everyone, Lumiya was swinging a glowing stick in her raised hand. I had been given one too, so even though I completely didn’t feel like it, I raised my hand as well and swung it about apathetically, probably just so I wouldn’t stand out... but everyone seemed to be immersed by the performance so I doubt anyone would notice it. 

I didn’t like that place. There were too many people and the music was too loud. I doubt that I would’ve enjoyed that even if my favorite band had been on the stage instead. That’s why I was surprised when I looked aside to look at the girl that was brimming with enthusiasm. 

She had never looked so cheerful before. It was just as if I was looking at a different person, but her distinctive blonde hair and eyepatch quickly made me realize that it was the same peculiar girl. Still, she didn’t go away from me—in fact, she stood so close that I sometimes felt her shoulder nudging mine. Usually, I would be embarrassed by that, but since we were surrounded by people from all sides, I thought that there was simply no helping it. 

While this situation was incredibly distressing, I felt some genuine joy and satisfaction inside as well. I could only guess what was its cause—maybe the fact that I was doing something else than idling at home, enjoying summer to its fullest with a friend by my side? 

Nevertheless, I was waiting until the concert would come to an end. I wanted to leave that place soon and take a rest from the loud music and people. It wasn’t that bad that I had to leave immediately—I felt like I wouldn’t have much trouble enduring it for an hour or so, and once I finally found myself in a quiet place, the anxiety would be gone, leaving only the satisfaction. 

Unfortunately, this experience didn’t erase my fear of attending events like that. If anything, I felt that it would be absolutely impossible for me to do something like that on my own. If that girl ended up loving it, I would most likely have more trouble with accepting it in case she asked me to accompany her for the second time. 

She did look happy, but I had yet to learn what she truly thought of that. My sight that I directed at the stage was obstructed by the crowd of people before me, but I could see some faint glimpses of what was happening there. I tried to forget the presence of other people and enjoy it more, but then, I felt awkward. 

Should I really be enjoying this kind of music? Then again, the audience was mostly male and in college age, which meant that I wasn’t mature enough for that... There was something wrong with that thinking. If anything, they were too mature for this thing. I didn’t really understand people. 

It was difficult, but I tried to look at the stage again and enjoy the performance as much as I could. 

•

Finally, it ended. I breathed in the chilly air and let it out with a sigh of relief. I was finally freed of the endless pounding of music and the shouts coming from the overly excited audience. 

I stood under a tree that cast a shadow on the ground, but it had almost no effect since the sky was already orange. I didn’t head towards the station, because everyone else had gone there—I chose to wait for the storm to pass. 

A figure that had already put the black hoodie back on stood next to me. It belonged to the girl that was the cause of all of it happening. The expression she displayed on her face didn’t tell much about how she was feeling at the moment. 

She was both the person who threw me into that hell and my only life vest. 

“How did you like it?” 

“It was terrifying. Humans are scary”, she said as she displayed a calm expression. I quite couldn’t believe her words because of that. 

Her supposed reason for taking me with her to that concert—she wanted to investigate human behaviors or something in such situations. Why would she even do that? Even if it was real, surely there were better ways to do that. 

Her real reason, or at least what I thought—she was more or less a fan of this idol group, so she wanted to go to their concert. She was too afraid to do it alone, so she decided to take me along with her so she would be more confident. 

Apparently, it worked for her. It didn’t work for me, though. I had a hard time deciding which one of us was more cowardly. When I first met her, she could barely let out a word and her sentences didn’t make sense, but now, I think it was me who talked less. 

“But my disguise was perfect, wasn’t it?” 

“Yeah... Even too perfect.” 

She almost managed to deceive even me, supposing she meant her outfit and behavior back then. 

“That’s right. Everything went according to the plan. I gathered all data I needed... so, I’m thankful”, she paused before ending the last sentence and her voice became hesitant. “That’s why... human... thank you...” 

“Uh-huh...” I unwittingly rubbed my cheek with a finger since I didn’t know how to react to her unexpected words. 

“...” 

I heard her mumbling helplessly as she lowered her head and turned sideways. She raised one of her hands to her head, which was covered in a hood. 

“Hmm?” 

“The disguise has put a heavy strain on my body. I kept breathing extraordinarily contaminated air for over an hour, and I didn’t have any layer of protection on my body. I am sure to face the consequences of that soon”, she spoke as she stood with her side to me, her voice low as if she wasn’t saying that to me. I wonder, did those words have any meaning or was it a pure delusion? 

She had the eyepatch still on. She also had the hoodie with a pair of cat ears on top, but she took it off before she entered the hall. 

“So... is your body that weak?” 

She had a rather overpowered ability in her eye, yet her body was that weak to air exhaled by other people? I didn’t understand it, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be understood by anyone else than her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she contradicted her earlier statements at some point. 

In reaction to that, she didn’t respond immediately. She didn’t even turn around to me, but straightened her body, looked forward and started to slowly walk away. I didn’t understand what she was going to do, so I just followed her without getting ahead of her. 

“That’s right. This body itself is way weaker than an average human’s. You must have noticed that already. Fortunately, I have the means of supporting myself using external equipment... the eyepatch being one of them.” 

Her voice was silent and lacking enthusiasm as she usually had when describing her self-proclaimed abilities, as she technically was doing now. All I could see was the back of her figure clad in black, apparently leading me to the station at an unusually for her slow pace. 

“I wouldn’t be able to go far away from my base without it or some kind of replacement.” 

She told me once or twice that in that eye dwelt a tremendous power that could kill someone by eating their soul and leaving a bowl of rice, or something like that. It seemed that she couldn’t control it, so she used the eyepatch to keep it in check. That’s why her explanation seemed plausible, supposing that I believed in her power. 

Suddenly, she stopped and turned around to me. She raised a hand to cover the eyepatch on her slightly lowered head and said in her usual, condescending manner: 

“Kuku, I cannot possibly tell you anything more. Let’s get a move on, it seems that the crowd has dispersed.” 

“O-okay...” 

She turned her back to me and started walking forward, this time at her usual, hurried pace. For some reason, I didn’t even try to get ahead of her. I followed her without a word, switching my stare between the unknown streets we were walking through and her, the only familiar thing in sight. 

I couldn’t get a clue concerning her current mood. She looked like she had been having a lot of fun back when we were in the concert hall, but after we left, she became dejected. Usually, she was passionate when she explained me the concepts of her pretended identity, but today, it wasn’t the case. Then, she unexpectedly looked at me and her excitation returned. 

I couldn’t tell how she was feeling now, because all I could see was a black figure progressing forward. Her gait was quick, but it couldn’t be called happy. She had always walked like that, though, so I guess there was nothing wrong with it. 

That girl certainly was weird. It was obvious from the first time I looked at her, yet I still found myself surprised by some things about her. 

•

Before long, we reached the station. We repeated the process from last time and found ourselves on the platform. Since we had taken our time, other people that attended the same concert were long since gone, leaving only a few unrelated figures waiting for the train to arrive on either side. 

I had a feeling of déjà vu when I looked at her, standing in front of the track, absently staring at the buildings on the other side, unable to be read.  

She didn’t display the slightest intention to speak to me—in fact, she didn’t display the intention to do anything at all. 

I had known her for some time—it would be three months soon. It wasn’t much, but it was something. It was definitely more than required to talk on usual topics without any constraints... yet, I found myself incredibly stressed when we were next to each other, standing in awkward silence. 

Even though I wanted to talk to her, spend more time with her, get to know her better, I was always anxious and awkward, and in the end, managed to do less than 10% of what I had originally planned. 

It was just as if there was something inside my body, trying its best to prevent me from interacting with her, to make me sever ties with her. 

I wanted to get rid of that thing. It affected all my opinions, so I didn’t know what was correct anymore. It suggested that I was already too close to her, but at the same moment, I felt like I had to get closer to her. 

I would have done that, but I didn’t know how close was alright. That thing told me that I was about to cross the barrier called couple, but at the same moment, I doubted that I had even crossed the barrier called friends. 

She wasn’t the source of my problem. The real source was no one else but me. I didn’t know what caused me to grow like that—a dense and cowardly failure of a man—but I didn’t know what I could do in order to change that. Should I ask someone for help? What if I told her about that? Perhaps it would change something? 

Blowing away my thoughts was the sound of a train approaching. Behind her, I could already see its lights drawing near. It was on the correct track—undoubtedly, it was the train we were going to board. 

“I’m sorry for causing you too much trouble. May this be the last time we meet.” 

Over the loud sound of the train arriving at the station, I just barely heard her dispassionate words. She spoke quietly, but the station was noisy—that pairing made me highly doubt whether I heard them properly, and the high response time caused by it was most likely why I avoided getting shocked by that. 

“What...?” I mumbled unwittingly. 

At that moment, she turned around to me, but it was only for a short moment. Pointing the cat ears on top of her hoodie directly at me, she bowed and promptly started running away behind me. 

I didn’t know if most people had a similar condition or it was only me, but when a very loud and intensive loud sound reached my ears, all my thoughts stopped. I couldn’t bring myself to move my body even slightly, nor could I process what was happening around me before I got used to the noise, which took a few seconds. 

That was why I barely reacted to her shocking words and her act of leaving—before the realization hit me, she wasn’t in sight anymore. 

I looked to the side, where the train stopped. The door was still open, but I couldn’t see her figure inside. Besides, I would have noticed her entering through the door that had been in my sight all this time even in that dumbfounded condition. 

“L-Lumiya...?” I said under my breath without a reason. 

Still confused, I turned around. In fact, I was performing all those moves involuntarily—I was still flabbergasted, which was magnified by her sudden disappearance. 

“...!” 

That was it—I noticed her in front of the next door. She was just about to set her foot inside the wagon. There was no time for thinking left—if I even thought about hesitating, I already lost. 

I quickly realized that she wasn’t intending to wait for me. For some reason, she wanted to leave me here and run away on her own. Her words just now, may this be the last time we meet, confirmed that. 

For a split second, my lack of self-confidence vanished. Before I knew it, I sprang out of the ground with my feet and ran to her. 

At that moment, there was nobody but me on the platform. Everyone had already entered the train, with her apparently being the very last one. 

She had yet to set her other foot inside when she came within my reach. Thinking about nothing—about how embarrassing it was, about how irresponsible it was, about how unreasonable it was—I grabbed her hand and lightly pulled it to me. 

Something flashed before my eyes—it wasn’t anything physical, but a mere memory. It was not long after we first met—I had found her on the school rooftop. Suddenly, it had started raining, so I had tried to convince her to go back inside, but to no avail. That was when I, just like now, had held out my hand to her. 

That made me realize that even though we knew each other for almost three months now, we hadn’t progressed much since that day. Was it a bad thing? We were only friends, so why and how would be progress? 

No... I guess that was wrong. I didn’t get the basic concept of a friend, but she certainly was something else. I wasn’t sure if it could be compared, because in some ways she was less than a friend, but in others, more than a friend. 

I grabbed her hand, covered in the sleeve of her black hoodie. That caused her to stop and quickly, uncontrollably back down onto the platform. I felt like she was about to fall down, but she seemed to have regained balance before I thought about supporting her in some way. 

She wasn’t in the train anymore. In fact, its doors had closed and it began to leave. She wanted to run away from me, but I managed to bring her back. 

“...!” 

When I realized that I was still holding her hand, I instantly let go of it and turned sideways as an act of embarrassment. She seemed to be deeply flabbergasted, and so was I. 

I couldn’t bring myself to look at her face now, so I stared mindlessly at the tiled surface of the platform. Apparently, there was nobody there other than us—it wouldn’t take long before it got populated again, and the next train would arrive in about twenty minutes due to the late hour. 

“No... It’s not like that...” I uttered helplessly, because the silence began to kill me. 

What... should I do now?