"...Can you just stay like that and listen to what I have to say?"
As I kept the Papico pressed against my closed eyelids, Azuma spoke up.
"Eh, what is it...?"
I was basically blindfolded, and it was honestly a little scary...
"No, you don't need to be so on guard. I'm not going to do anything. I'm just talking."
"Is that true...?"
Then she didn't need to use such a meaningful-sounding phrase...
As I remained skeptical, I heard the rustling of clothes from my right side.
I felt like when my eyes were closed, my other four senses became somewhat more sensitive...
"Hey, Konuma. Is school fun?"
She wasn't whispering in my ear or anything, but her voice felt somehow close.
"What's with the sudden question?"
"It's just small talk. I feel like I'm always talking about my own youth, so I wondered if you were experiencing it too. How about it? Is 'Daily Life is Good'?"
"How long are you going to tease me about that..."
I could imagine Azuma’s mischievous expression. 'Daily Life is Good' was the title of the lyrics I had written that she had torn to shreds that day.
"What do you mean 'how long'? It's only been four months."
"Eh, no way..."
Only four months since that day I found out Azuma was an amane believer...?
"Does it feel longer?"
"I guess so..."
While surprised, I reflected on it deeply.
I really couldn't believe it had only been four months.
Every single day had been so hectic...
Thinking about things I didn't need to think about, crossing hurdles I didn't need to cross, and shedding tears I didn't need to shed, like today.
"So? Is school fun?"
Thinking it over, I realized it was mostly troublesome and exhausting.
It wasn't like I was chasing after youth like Azuma was, and perhaps things would have been better if they were more peaceful.
But the answer to the question she asked once more was already decided.
"It's fun."
I never thought the day would come when I'd say such a thing.
I think I've become quite honest myself.
"Ahaha, I see. That's good."
"You say it's good... but are you not having fun, Azuma?"
"Well..."
I expected her to snap back with something like, 'Of course I am, are you stupid?' but Azuma responded with a suggestive tone.
"I always get depressed once a trip actually starts."
"Hah...? What's this about now? Are you saying you hate traveling?"
"No, not that. It's a metaphor."
Another metaphor. Between the point card thing and this, Azuma really loved her metaphors...
"It's actually the opposite of hating it; I look forward to trips so much I can't stand it. I get way too excited before I go."
"Hmm..." I let out a breath through my nose.
"...And then, the moment the trip begins, I feel like the 'countdown to the end' has started. I start thinking, 'From here on out, it's just going to keep ending.'"
"That's pretty negative..."
"I really don't want to hear about being negative from you, Konuma... Well, you're right though. It might be negative. And you see,"
She laughed gently, as if exasperated with herself, and then said,
"That's exactly how I feel right now."
"Right now?"
I felt a bit embarrassed for constantly asking questions, but I inquired about the meaning.
"Yeah. You know, I've wanted to be a high school student for the longest time. My dream was to have a high school life like the ones in manga. My dream for the future was basically just 'being a high schooler.' ...And now, I'm living the high school life I dreamed of. I'm living inside that dream with all my might."
"I see..."
The words of the Youth Club President-slash-poet were poetic as always...
"And, no matter how much I lose myself in it, it's obvious, but high school life is limited. Graduation day will come eventually. ...The day I wake up will surely arrive."
"Well, that's true."
"That's why I'm scared every day that the day is getting closer."
"I see..."
I understood what Azuma was trying to say and her metaphor, at least a little bit.
It was probably similar to the feeling of not wanting to turn the pages of an interesting manga or novel because you don't want it to end. ...Wait, what am I doing, breaking down a metaphor with another metaphor?
As I was critiquing myself, Azuma continued.
"I feel like no matter how much I treasure each day, it's not enough. I want to live the present to the fullest so that in the future, I don't think things like 'I want to go back' or 'I want to go to high school again.'"
"...Really?"
I tilted my head slightly.
"'Really'...?"
Azuma let out a silly, caught-off-guard sound, like "Hoe?"
"Well, I don't know much about it, but..."
I might be wrong, but I spoke my thoughts exactly as they came.
"If you can have a high school life so fun that you think 'I want to go back' or 'I want to go to high school again,' isn't that a huge success?"
When I said that, Azuma fell silent as if she had lost her voice.
"...Um, Azuma-san?"
Since there was no reaction, I was about to take off the Papico to look at her.
"Konuma, you say good things sometimes."
A small murmur came back.
"Eh, you think so...?"
Inside, I was happy, but I suppressed it so it wouldn't show on my face, acting like an unconscious cheater. Did I do something again?
"Yeah, really, though it's only 'sometimes.'"
"...Was that emphasis necessary?"
I mean, I guess it's true...
"Hey, Konuma?"
Azuma called out to me formally.
"What?"
"I think this will probably be the last time we walk home together until the next live show."
"Could be... What about it?"
Azuma was always so cryptic and hard to understand...
"Make sure you remember today properly, at least until the live."
"Why?"
"No reason. It might just be useful to you."
"I don't get it at all... Is this 'groundwork' too?"
I asked, remembering her words about the Papico earlier.
"Who knows..."
"Don't copy me..."
"Ahaha, that's hilarious."
Her voice rose happily.
"Hey, I think the swelling in your eyes has gone down by now, hasn't it?"
"I don't even know how swollen they were to begin with..."
I took off the Papico and opened my eyes. Azuma was staring intently at me.
"...Are you checking the swelling?"
"Y-Yes! ...It's not like I was looking at your profile or anything, so don't get the wrong idea, okay?"
I was momentarily caught off guard by her grin. ...I mean, she really pulled off the tsundere thing again.
"Alright, let's head home."
Azuma stood up with a spring in her step, still holding the empty Papico shell in her mouth.
"Yeah."
I stood up as well, opened the Papico that had melted quite a bit from my body heat, and sucked it down.
We reached Higashi-Koganei Station, passed through the ticket gates, and split off toward our respective platforms.
"See ya."
"Yeah."
I waved and took a few steps away.
"Konuma."
I was called back.
"Hmm?"
Looking back, Azuma was smiling like she was plotting something.
"What...?"
Then, she raised one hand and said each syllable carefully, as if it were some kind of key, in a meaningful way.
"Ma-ta-ne (See you later)."