At that day, I was really tired. It's dead at night, and I nearly missed the last train.

I never had such an exhausting day. The thought of my nice and warm bed at home was the only one keeping me going.

Alas, it didn't take long before I collapsed.

The moment I came to...I found myself in a strange park.

I never saw this park before. At a glance, it was cut off from the outside world.

The stars were so bright with colorful nebulas around. You couldn't see that in a big city.

The dark clouds and bright horizon hung beneath the celestial ocean.

Beneath was a swing. To the left, was a high school girl in a winter uniform. She had a blond twin-tail hair, wearing a pink cardigan and striped blue skirt. The girl rested her head on the chains, and the swing leaned a bit.

Several stars sprouted from her shadow, the verdant grasses painted a scene of melancholy.

To her right, was a girl around her age. She had short hair and wore a summer uniform, but no colors to her. She gazed at her left, the swing slowly moved, although no shadow was cast, right beneath.

I want to leave this place and go home. I was so tired.

Despite my will, I could not move.

Only staring at the same scenery.

As my consciousness blurred, I found myself becoming the twin-tail girl. The weightless sensation on my feet, and the slow, comfortable motion of the swing.

The fluttering of my hair and skirt, and different exhaustion of youth.

The stars seem a lot closer. If I reached a bit more, I might pluck one out, and have my wish granted.

At this moment, I lost touch of my time perception. It's like, the only thing in my mind, were the stars. I want to fly away and go on a journey.

I want to run away from all responsibility.

"Hey..."

At this point, I heard a shrill and muffled voice to my right.

I was probably tired of everything, I couldn't bother to care.

I still want to go home and sleep.

Placing my feet on the ground, I felt no sense of weight and balance. It's like I was floating, and if I will it, I could fly.

"Don't go. If you go away, I'll be lonely."

Long bangs covered the girls' face, I could not see her expression. Her lips were thin; her nose was small. Trail of tears came out, and beneath the illumination of stars, it transformed into a crystal, which seemed to harden, as it left her cheeks.

On the ground, her tears shattered into myriad colors. Emitting light akin to fireworks.

I covered my eyes, but the prismatic colors still went through. While it was annoying, I didn't hate it.

"It's okay to be alone."

There's a surge of sadness from my heart, but I repressed it since it wasn't something that could be helped.

"Why? It's too sad. Before you came here, I have no one to talk to. I couldn't leave this place."

"Why not?"

"The world outside is scary. I'm worried that I'll get lost, and never found my way back."

"Sigh..."

I sat back down, inhaling the fresh air. Her lips curved up and I felt warm inside.

Sometimes, I feel it was helpless. When someone talked to me and want to be friends, it's so easy to open up.

...but, how would I know, if they won't leave me, the moment they had used me?

Is true friendship, something impossible for me, after all?

"You see..."

"What?"

"It appears that both of us have died in loneliness, and unless we bond up, we can't leave."

"So?"

It didn't leave me with any special feeling.

Just something like it's over or so.

I sighed few times and stretched my four limbs.

"Do you want to be my friend?"

"It's not like I had any other choice."

I don't believe in friendship, only benefits. People don't care about you, they only care 'bout how to make use of you.

Things such as kinship, camaraderie, and true love are something fictional to me.

"Tell me something about you."

"Let's see..."

I don't have anyone I can call a friend.

I didn't really talk to anyone in real life, aside from work matters.

I use stories to escape from my lonesome reality.

"...and that's about it. My life is pretty boring and pointless. I have nothing to look forward to."

"That's the same with me."

I kind of expect that.

...but before I could gather my thoughts, she fired another.

"Do you have any dreams?"

It's indeed, not an easy question.

"Well...I think it'd be nice, if I could live however I want, without having to worry 'bout work."

"As for me, I want to be an idol."

"To that, I was wondering. If you're an idol, does it mean you have a free pass to yuri other girls?"

"I don't know...it's just something I had in mind, but contrary to mine, yours is quite realistic—like a senior citizen after retirement."

"Not sure if I can endure that long."

Thinking 'bout the number of years, I didn't even faze when I saw a shooting star.

I was a bit bothered, the entire time, I felt her gaze. Her bangs covered her eyes, both hands on her cheeks.

This time, I returned fire.

"To be honest, I don't understand why you are lonely. You seem like a good person to talk to."

"I can say the same for you."

"I don't think I am. You just don't know 'enough yet. I have a pretty unpleasant personality. Even if people got along with me at first, it won't be for long."

"See? This honesty is what makes me attracted to you."

"Dummy."

It was warm.

I didn't know talking with someone can be this pleasant.

...but, how long will this last?

Was this another one of these case, where she's just using me until she had enough?

"Do not worry!" she wrapped her pinky around mine, "If I can't be faithful to you, I will die. And when I haunt you, I'll give you so much love, that I'll come back to life again."

"It's not like we're married or in a relationship."

"To me, friendship is just worth that much! If not for you, I'm half a step before completely dying."

She parted her bangs, giving me a resolute gaze. I admire, how her eyes never lost its colors.

"...but, is it okay? I don't think friendship is something you should force on."

"I'm doing this because I want to. If I can't get myself to do it to someone, they won't be my friend in the first place."

"What if I can't be a good friend that will ignore you from time to time? I'm not an especially caring person."

To think about it, I'm kinda selfish and I don't really care about others.

For someone like me to have friends is just...

"It's fine." she held both of my arms, "Other than me, you haven't made any friends, right?"

I wasn't sure if I should be sad with her retort.

"Are you okay with just me?"

"I don't know about the future." her face was solemn, "But I want to cherish the moment when we're together."

The way she said it, sound more like a marriage proposal.

"I don't see what can possibly go wrong with it."

I was already at rock bottom, the only way is to go up.

The moment we affirm our relationship, a stairway was formed. It led as high as the starry skies. At the end of its path, was a majestic double-door.

"We did it!"

The girl threw herself at me without restraint. Her cheeks rubbed against mine.

Her skin and hair were so soft. I could also feel the nice fabric of her uniform.

She had regained her colors; her bangs no longer obscured her eyes.

The short black hair and sailor uniform as lifelike as it could be.

"Let's go."

As she broke her embrace, she firmly held my hand.

I also notice the return, of my sense of weight, and perception of time.

The stairs had a lot of spirits. To the left and right, angels stood their guard. Men and women with an athletic build, exuding elegance and charm. Their shiny wings accompanied the merry sky.

At the bottom part, the spirits had agonized expressions and they're even more devoid of colors.

The further we went, they become corporeal, and their expressions were close to a Zen trance.

It's a long walk, but my feet were light. My friend's lively steps took my fatigue away.

A pair of angels, men and women stood to its side. With a solemn smile, they opened the door.

We stepped onto the light, at the same time.

Our hands held tight, as we swam against a viscous liquid

Everything was white, even if I closed my eyes.

An even stronger light came from our destination.

I was scared, so I held tighter.

"Aww..."

"S-sorry...are my hands too tight?"

"I'm happy. If you're not the one clutching my hands, I'd do the same."

The longer it went, the more I'd complain to her.

...but without her, it'd be an unbearable journey.

"We're almost there."

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know, but my feelings told me, we must arrive together."

I didn't know, how long we swam around.

We talked about so many things until we ran out of topics.

At a certain point, I was no longer sure, whether we'll arrive or not. I just kept swimming, while feeling her warmth.

More time passed.

The moment I lost a bit of her warmth, I began to panic.

"Hey."

"I'm here."

"When will we arrive?"

"Any moment."

"You've been saying the same thing for a long time."

"Did you had enough of me?"

I no longer felt my own body, or whether or not we held hands. Her warmth was the only thing I could sense.

"I just hate it, that I hadn't seen your face for so long. That it's just a white world, devoid of everything. I want to see you in different sceneries, doing many kinds of things. Being stuck like this forever, it's not what I want."

"I'm sorry. I had been like this for so long, I don't know it'd be this hard for others."

"Don't be. If you're really sorry, let's work together, to live in our new world. I don't want this to be a waiting game."

"You're right."

If there weren't any sceneries, we'll just imagine it.

The same with our body parts, as vivid it can be.

We're not sure how long time had passed. We had lived and experienced a lot of things in our imagination.

Resulting in a world, we create together.

Not following the hand of fate, instead, we create our own.

It didn't matter if the world was fake.

With enough conviction, everything will be real, in the end.

==

I found myself inside a white room and the sea of clouds around.

I slept on a king-sized bed, with her beside me.

She had several pair of wings on her back and a regal white dress. She exuded comfy holiness.

While mine was filled with darkness and lust. There were horns on my head, I also had a tail.

My outfit's kinda slutty.

"It's so cute."

"I became a demon, while you're a god?"

"Maybe God and the Devil are destined to be best friends, after all."

"I don't know if we're still friends. More like, lovers?"

"Oh!"

"W-what?" I covered my chest when her expression turned lecherous.

"...is love any different from friendship? What do you think love is?"

"Baby don't hurt me."

"Ey, you silly demon!"

We end up rolling 'round and tickling each other.

I wasn't sure 'bout our relationship anymore, but the angels and demons said we're like a married couple.

...but it's just a stranger's opinion.

The only one who can affirm our relationship is ourselves.

Do I love her?

All I know, it's because of her, I can come this far.

...and I just want to spend my time with her like this.

In such a sweet voice, and straight to my ear, she whispered:

"I love you."

"W-what?"

"Nothing."

Despite her nonchalance, her face was flushed red, and she tried her best to act natural.

I could feel her trying to avoid direct eye contact, as her cheeks got redder.

"Mou..."

I don't know why I felt so disappointed.

Well...

Maybe it's fine, to stay like this for a while longer.

When we finally open up to each other, maybe we can get married!