I couldn't concentrate on my afternoon classes at all while harboring these uneasy feelings.
Usually, when you can't focus on a class, time feels like it's flowing slower than usual... but for some reason today, I felt like time passed by in an instant, faster than ever.
After school, the classroom was still noisy just after the short homeroom ended.
Many classmates were gathered around Kanade.
It was a scene that had become familiar just a few days after she transferred in.
"Kanade."
Until now, I hadn't thought even once about pushing through that crowd to call out to Kanade, but today was an exception.
"Let's go."
"...Mm."
After school today, I had made a promise to go out with Kanade.
Leaving our stunned classmates behind, we quickly left the school.
On the path to school, we slipped through several students and headed toward the station at a faster pace than usual.
"..."
During that time, there was no conversation between us.
Since reuniting with her, there hadn't been a single time we moved in silence either.
Today felt like a day of many first experiences.
"We made it in time."
I let out a sigh of relief as we jumped onto a train that arrived just as we passed through the ticket gate.
"Ak-kun... so, where are we going today?"
"...I'll explain once we get there."
Even inside the train, there was no conversation between us.
I killed time during the commute by listening to fragments of conversations from students and businessmen.
As the train decelerated, I suddenly stood up.
"We're transferring."
We switched to the subway, and for a while longer, we were swayed by the train.
Perhaps because we had been on the train for so long, Kanade had fallen asleep with her head resting on my shoulder.
...The demographics of the passengers had changed significantly from the train we boarded at the station nearest to the school.
The passengers at the school's station were mainly businessmen and students using the train for commuting, but...
Now, the train we were on had quite a lot of foreigners carrying suitcases.
"...Kanade, we're almost there."
"Nn."
I woke Kanade up, and we got off the train.
The station we got off at was... an underground station with a wide layout. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that while many passengers got off here, almost no passengers were boarding the train.
"This place is..."
"It's the airport station."
Where I brought Kanade today was an international airport within the city.
And this was also the place where I once saw off Kanade as she departed for overseas.
"...Let's head out through the gate."
I led Kanade and left the station.
Walking through the underground passage and taking the escalator, we headed toward the observation deck.
This was also the place where I once watched Kanade depart into the sky.
"...Do you want something to drink?"
"Yeah."
We went to a vending machine.
Then, I bought a cold tea for Kanade.
Since the outdoor observation deck was right next to the runway, you could see various airplanes, large and small.
"...Ak-kun. Do you come here often?"
Kanade asked me as we sat down on a bench.
"Why?"
"...Well, at the very least, it doesn't feel like you're here for the first time."
"...Ahaha. You saw right through me."
I laughed and continued.
"Yeah. I come here often."
...Normally, this place would be a painful location symbolizing my parting with Kanade.
But precisely because it was that kind of place, I started coming here all the time.
"...Because this is the place where I parted with you. My childhood heart thought that if I came here, maybe I could reunite with you by chance."
Fortunately, it's about an hour by train from my house to here.
If I bet my entire monthly allowance, I could come here five times a month.
So, despite being forbidden by my parents from going far away alone, I would steal away on weekends and holidays behind my parents' backs and come here on my own.
While coming here over and over again... before I knew it, I grew to like airplanes and started coming here as a hobby too.
"...Well, in the end, I wasn't able to reunite with you here, though."
I gave a bitter smile.
After all, the reason we could reunite was... all thanks to Kanade's hard work.
As expected, my efforts didn't help her at all... they just ended up being futile with few results.
"...Do you know why I brought you here?"
Kanade looked like she had no idea.
"...This place where I parted with you was originally a place of ill-fate that was hard to approach, but now it has become a place of rest for me."
An airplane that had entered the runway began to make a roaring sound.
"An airplane larger than myself carrying many people, flying into the sky. Where are the people on the plane going? What will they do? I grew to love thinking about those things."
The airplane making the roaring sound accelerated at once... and took off into the sky.
...Once, I thought of the airplanes departing into the sky as if they were one-way tickets to heaven.
But that was a mistake.
I realized that mistake because I frequented this place.
And it's thanks to the girl who is next to me right now.
"...It's out of the question that I'm suffering because of you."
I smiled.
"You gave me many things."
Kanade said nothing.
"Of course, there weren't only good things, but bad things too."
The next airplane moved along the runway.
"...But even the bad things you gave me eventually became the foundation that nurtured my rebellious spirit."
The airplane began to roar...
"...Then, Ak-kun."
"What?"
"Why do you... always look like you're suffering?"
"...That's a mistake to begin with."
"...Eh?"
"Life itself is mostly just painful things, isn't it?"
The airplane took off into the sky.
"Things don't go as planned, tragedies happen, and even if you suffer, most things aren't rewarded."
"..."
"I'm just fed up every day. Well, I try not to let it show on my face as much as possible... but it seems you saw right through me."
"...Yeah."
"...Truly, when you're living, only painful things happen. Sad things too."
"..."
"But, just as much as those, there are also happy things."
...An airplane landed on a runway a little further away.
"My happy thing was... none other than reuniting with you."
A roar echoed from the runway...
The other day, I went to Haneda Airport and watched several planes take off from the observation deck for a while.
The runway is near the sea, and since it was the middle of winter, it was incredibly cold, and unfortunately, the weather was cloudy.
While I was watching the planes disappear into the clouds, wondering why I went to Haneda on such a day even though I wasn't using a plane and was just looking at them from the observation deck, I thought to myself.
This could be used as a scene in a novel...!
Also, I thought it would be good for a date since the restaurants and souvenir shops are well-stocked.
But then I realized it has nothing to do with me because I don't have anyone to go on a date with.
Life is harsh...!