“Looks like you’ve mostly recovered.”

“More or less.”

Whatever dark mood had clung to her since this morning had vanished without a trace. Usotsuki-chan was back to staring at me with that usual challenging look of hers. Depending on how you saw it, it was either confident or just slightly teasing, like she was quietly laughing at everyone around her.

It was already evening by the time school ended. At Usotsuki-chan’s invitation, Yuu, Nijouin, and I had come over to her house.

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, she tilted her head up toward me. Her sharp eyes narrowed playfully, but for a brief moment, her expression softened into something unexpectedly gentle.

“Could it be... this time too... you went around doing all sorts of things for my sake?”

“No.”

The way she phrased it was vague as usual, but I understood what she meant immediately. There was no real point hiding it anymore. She already knew how everything ended and had probably figured out most of what happened anyway. Still, I denied it out of habit.

“I got caught up in the whole thing too. I just handled what was in front of me.”

“That’s your version of ‘handling it’? Hehe. You really are kind.”

“Not really.”

“Right, right. You’re always so cold toward me.”

“.........”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

The second her eyes met mine, Usotsuki-chan suddenly started fussing with the hem of her skirt like she’d only just remembered what she was wearing. She tugged it down until it covered her legs almost to her knees.

It was painfully obvious.

The problem was, my eyes hadn’t even been there in the first place.

I really wished she’d stop reacting like that.

“Your girlfriend’s gonna get upset, you know?”

“About what?”

Between the way she was acting and the things she kept saying, she was obviously trying to twist this into something weird.

And naturally, Yuu—who was busy in the kitchen only a short distance away—was definitely listening.

“You shouldn’t stare at another girl’s body that hard when she’s not even your girlfriend.”

“I wasn’t staring.”

“You totally were.”

“I really wasn’t.”

“Yes, you were, and—”

“I said I wasn’t—whoa.”

Right in the middle of the argument, Usotsuki-chan suddenly grabbed one of the sofa cushions with one hand and shoved it into my thigh with a soft thump.

“Then why weren’t you looking?”

“What happened to your emotional stability?”

Did she actually want me to look?

More importantly, she wasn’t wearing that usual teasing grin of hers right now.

When a girl said something like that with a completely serious face, I honestly had no idea how I was supposed to respond.

“All three of you, come sit down already! They’re done!”

Like she was deliberately interrupting the awkward mood, Yuu walked into the living room and placed a large plate of freshly baked cookies onto the table.

Chocolate cookies, butter cookies, all kinds of different shapes and colors were piled together on top of baking paper in uneven layers.

The whole thing looked like a hidden stash of treasure tucked deep inside a cave.

“Waaah, they look amazing☆”

“They truly do.”

Before I knew it, Nijouin had already returned from checking out Usotsuki-chan’s room and quietly taken a seat with the rest of us.

The four of us gathered around the table, staring at the sweets Yuu had made.

“You can seriously make something like this at home...? They’re practically at the same level as our chef’s desserts.”

“Having a private chef is already ridiculous, but yeah. Yuu’s cooking is honestly incredible. I can personally guarantee it.”

“Ren-kun backing her up somehow makes her sound less trustworthy, so maybe don’t~?”

“That’s honestly rude.”

“You’re all making way too much fuss over plain cookies. If you’re going to praise them that much, at least eat them while they’re still warm. They smell the best right out of the oven. Here, Ren-chan. Your tea.”

“Thanks.”

A teacup was set in front of me. Steam carrying the fragrant scent of rooibos tea curled up from it.

I took a sip right away, and the hot liquid danced across my tongue along with that rich, clean aroma.

And for some reason, the moment I did, Usotsuki-chan, who had been watching me the whole time, flashed a sly grin.

"Huhhh? What about mine~?"

"Pour your own."

"I’m thirsty~ Ren-kun, lemme have one sip."

"Hey, that’s the tea I already drank fr—"

"Fine! I’ll pour you some right now, so wait!"

"Nihihi☆"

Yuu snatched my tea back out of Usotsuki-chan’s hands and immediately headed back into the kitchen.

Watching that, Nijouin let out a small sigh.

"Are they always like this?"

"Yeah. They’re always like this."

At my answer, Nijouin gave a casual little hum like she didn’t particularly care, then crunched away at a cookie.

"Are you from a well-off family, Nijouin?"

"Why would you try to make the person herself say something like that?"

Fair point. If she answered modestly, it would sound fake. If she honestly admitted it, there was a good chance it would come off as arrogant. People asked these kinds of questions all the time, but when you thought about it, even if the person asking meant nothing by it, the one answering ended up carrying all the risk. I’d better watch that next time.

"It’s just... the way you eat, the way you carry yourself. You’ve got that elegant vibe. So I kind of figured."

The more I talked to her, the more I started thinking there might actually be a reason behind her stubborn, full-on rich-girl persona.

"I know you mean it as a compliment, but it kind of feels like you’re hitting on me, and I don’t like that."

"My bad. I seriously didn’t mean it like that at all."

"That phrasing isn’t exactly great either."

Now that I was actually interacting with her as a friend, I could see she was surprisingly easy to talk to. Her words had a ridiculously strong personality, sure, but her tone, her expressions, and the calm, almost still way she carried herself gave off a sense of firmness, or maybe just composure and steadiness.

"Wow, already making moves on the new girl."

"Hey."

"Oh my, so I was being hit on after all?"

"I wasn’t."

No matter how hard I denied it, the girls just kept piling on.

"...Ren-chan."

Because of that, Yuu, who had just sat down beside me, turned that smiling face toward me too.

"Yuu. I’m telling you, that’s not it. Absolutely not. It was just pure curiosity."

"That means you’re interested, right?"

"No... I’m just saying it’s definitely not the kind of feeling you’re making it sound like."

I was doing my best to clear up the misunderstanding, but Usotsuki-chan, grinning with that nasty little smirk of hers, leaned toward Nijouin and whispered something in her ear.

"Built up...? What do you mean?"

"Ah, uh... never mind~"

Apparently Nijouin wasn’t familiar with that kind of wording, because she just tilted her head.

Even Usotsuki-chan got thrown off by that and looked away awkwardly, then tried to whistle.

"Hyuu, fu, fss."

She couldn’t whistle at all.

We spent the rest of the time lazing around together, checking our phones and getting lost in random, pointless conversation, and before we knew it, it was getting pretty late.

"I should head home soon."

If I didn’t get back in time for dinner, my little sister would probably end up skipping dinner entirely and waking up to morning on an empty stomach.

"Me too."

"Then I suppose I shall as well."

Almost at the same time I stood up, Yuu and Nijouin got to their feet too.

"By the way, I’d like to call for my ride, but where should I have the car stop?"

"Huh? Just have it pull up somewhere in front of the apartment building."

"I suppose that would work."

There hadn’t been any sign of anyone picking her up at school today. Hell, we all walked here together.

So if she usually got driven around, then Nijouin really was good at reading the room, or maybe she was just easygoing like that. She’d matched herself to us.

If she ever sealed away that intense speaking style and that whole character act of hers, she’d probably become popular in no time—

No. Better not say it.

That kind of thing was personal. It’d be weird as hell to stick my nose into it when I wasn’t family.

"Ehhh? You’re leaving already?"

"Oh? Do you want us to stay a little longer?"

"........."

Usotsuki-chan probably hadn’t meant that as something to be taken seriously, but...

The one who answered her with that smug grin was Nijouin.

"Not really. Go home already."

"Good grief, you really aren’t honest with yourself♪"

Nijouin laughed cheerfully, and Usotsuki-chan turned away with a huff.

The way Nijouin laughed, the way she responded, felt strangely similar to Usotsuki-chan.

There was no malice in it.

That was probably why the two of them would make good friends.

The easy, natural way Yuu and Usotsuki-chan were with each other, and the easy, natural way Nijouin and Usotsuki-chan were with each other.

They seemed alike, but not alike. Different, but kind of the same.

Or maybe it wasn’t just those two. Maybe all three of them, including Yuu, shared something similar deep down.

"Well then, it truly is about time I leave before curfew."

With that, Nijouin headed for the hallway leading to the front door.

Then, right as she opened the living room door, she glanced back over her shoulder.

"I’m glad to see Yako-san seems to be feeling better."

"........."

Usotsuki-chan’s eyes widened at those words.

"Don’t say stuff like that..."

Her reply came out small, trailing off at the end. The last part was barely loud enough to catch.

"...Um."

Usotsuki-chan forced the next words out like she was reluctant to let the goodbye end just yet.

"Tha..."

"Hm?"

"Tha... thank..."

"!"

Realizing what Usotsuki-chan was trying to say, Nijouin lit up with the biggest smile she’d shown all day.

"Oh my, what’s this?♪ Is there something you’d like to say?♪"

"Ugh... I’m trying to..."

Sensing that Usotsuki-chan was actually struggling to say something, Nijouin stepped closer, clearly holding back a grin while watching her squirm.

"Thank... thank..."

"‘Thank’...?"

In this short time, not long since school had started—

And yet, even in that little stretch of time, the two of them must have connected somehow.

"...Thank you ten times!"

"My, there’s no need to thank me! That’s only natural between friends.♪"

"Ughhh........."

In the end, Usotsuki-chan had tried to escape the situation by blurting out something that sounded like a grade school kid’s nonsense, but that kind of joke didn’t work on Nijouin.

No, maybe it did work. She probably understood exactly what it meant, and that was why she deliberately chose not to respond to it.

Still acting like some kind of mental monster, Nijouin left first, humming happily to herself.

"Thanks for having us."

"Thanks for having usss~"

Chatting with Usotsuki-chan as she walked us all the way to the front entrance, Yuu and I pressed the elevator button.

"...Yuu-chan, thanks for today. For doing all this for me."

"Mm, not really. I did it for myself. I just hate the idea of filthy rumors going around about Ren-chan."

"I see..."

Yuu said it in a way that sounded downright manly. It was cool as hell.

"Ren-kun."

"You don’t need to thank me. I did it for my own—"

I tried to act cool the same way Yuu had, though she probably wasn’t trying to act cool at all. But what came out of Usotsuki-chan’s mouth next was serious enough to brush my joke aside completely.

"Do you remember what I said to Sorimachi-kun today?"

"Huh? Yeah."

Last week, Usotsuki-chan had simply turned down Sorimachi’s confession.

But today, she’d rejected him again and made it clear the reason was because she already liked someone else.

"That thing I said. About liking someone."

"Yeah, I remember."

But still, wasn’t that just an excuse she used to reject him?

I couldn’t imagine Usotsuki-chan being stupidly honest enough to actually say something like that for real—

"That was the truth."

"...Yeah."

Usotsuki-chan looked at me.

Looked straight into my eyes.

Just like that.

Without breaking.

"...Ren-chan, let’s go."

The elevator doors opened behind me.

Yuu pulled me by the arm from behind, and I ended up stepping into the elevator.

"Later, Usotsuki-chan."

"See you, Tsuki-chan."

".........Yeah. See you, both of you."

The moment the elevator doors closed, I could no longer see Usotsuki-chan’s face, and our bodies were carried down toward the first floor.

By then, it had gotten completely dark outside.

Yuu and I walked home together at an easy pace.

There were only a few salarymen around on their way back home, and something about that hour made the whole street feel weirdly comfortable. That feeling made me open my mouth.

"When you walk home around evening like this..."

"...Yeah."

"It really hits you that the day’s over, you know?"

".........Yeah."

For a while now, Yuu had been acting down.

All she did was nod.

"Yuu, what’s wrong? You’ve been off this whole time."

"—N-no, it’s nothing."

"I see."

Her long, glossy black hair was tied into a single braid that hung over her left shoulder. She kept running her fingers through it restlessly, and her eyes were fixed on empty space the whole time.

There was no way this was nothing.

That said, other than class hours, we’d spent almost the entire day together.

So if Yuu was troubled by something that had happened today...

Then it had to be about the Mizuno thing, or else—

"Are you bothered by what Usotsuki-chan said?"

"......................Yeah."

She admitted it, and then stopped walking.

"What do you think of Tsuki-chan... right now?"

"Think of her how? I think she’s a friend with a completely incomprehensible way of thinking."

Lately, Usotsuki-chan had gotten more normal—or maybe it was just that I’d started to understand her better. Either way, I’d gotten a little better at reading her actions and what was going on in her head.

She used to be even worse than this, but the details of that... maybe I’d look back on them someday, if the chance came up.

"A f-friend...?"

"Yeah."

"I mean right now."

"I am talking about right now."

Yuu looked at me like she was trying to search my face for something. Yeah, I got it. The way she was acting now was the look of someone worried about something.

What exactly she was afraid of, though, was probably hard to pin down right now.

Right now, I saw Usotsuki-chan as a friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

"It’s not like the way I deal with Usotsuki-chan is suddenly gonna change now."

"That might be true, but........."

Yuu’s expression stayed hesitant. Sad, maybe. Or anxious.

"I’m not gonna ask what exactly you’re worried about, but..."

Putting that aside, there was something important she was forgetting.

"You promised we’d hang out together tomorrow, remember?"

"...Y-yeah."

The sudden shift in topic seemed to throw Yuu off for a second.

"The forecast still says it should be sunny, so how about we go out?"

"Huh.............................."

Yuu’s eyes widened, and she stopped dead in the middle of the road.

She stayed frozen like that for a while.

"A d-date?!?"

"Why are you that shocked?"

"And it’s coming from you, Ren-chan...?!"

"Is that really so weird?"

It wasn’t like I’d never asked Yuu to hang out before.

"B-because right now, we’re... y-you know... not like before, and, um... s-so..."

"........."

A fake couple.

A fake boyfriend and girlfriend.

A fake relationship.

".........You don’t want to?"

"It’s not that!"

"Whoa."

The second I tried to confirm how she felt, the answer came flying out of her mouth before I could finish.

She looked up at me from close range, wearing that painfully earnest expression.

"There’s no way I wouldn’t want that........."

"Yuu........."

Her upper and lower lashes trembled with a blink, and behind them, those moist eyes looked straight at me.

Her shoulders moved ever so slightly with each breath.

A faint blush colored her cheeks, and through the slight part in her well-shaped lips, she let the words slip out like a breath.

"I want to stay with you from the morning on... all day tomorrow......... Is that okay?"

"Of course it is."

As we started walking again, we reached for each other without really thinking about it and linked our fingers together.

"Ren-chan’s hand... it’s warm........."

With the hand that wasn’t holding Yuu’s, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and lit up the screen.

At the bottom of the lock screen, today’s and tomorrow’s weather were displayed.

The forecast this morning had said tomorrow would be sunny, but now the chance of rain in the afternoon had gone up.

...Maybe this is one of those weird twists of fate too.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and started rethinking tomorrow’s plans.

Chapter 9: After Everything Settled Down, My Friend Started Acting Strange Somehow