---

---

"Back then, I saw during P.E. swim class… Kouta-kun, your legs, they have lots of injuries, right?"

Without turning around, Nagase-san keeps rummaging—both in the fridge and through me.
It felt like something was rustling around inside my body.
"I've wanted to ask you this for a while, but—"

A can of juice slips from Nagase-san's hand and hits the floor.
Nagase-san pulls herself out, and the cold air from the closed fridge loses its escape.
A gradual warmth seeped back into the room from outside.

"Kouta-kun, you're not exactly normal, are you?"

Then, she turned the gaze she'd let the refrigerator distract back towards me.
She finally seems to notice me, frozen stiff, especially around my cheeks, realizing she knows about the scars.
"Of course, that doesn't mean you're bad, Kouta-kun! Weird is awesome!"

Standing ramrod straight like lining up for P.E., she offered a rather clumsy follow-up. Then, still in that posture, she continued.
"And, you know, Atashi is weird too, right?"
"Well, yes..." It seemed like that was expected, so I nodded.
"'I don't like the dark, so I'm a scaredy-cat, I can't handle being alone, yep, *kyaa*, like a little girl... you know? So, it's not exactly like, 'We're both not-normal kids, so let's be best buds, Kouta-kun!' but…………" Uncharacteristically, Nagase-san averted her gaze mid-sentence.

*Ah… so that's it. It's because she thought I was weird.*
*I felt relieved. Being chosen for no clear reason… that would probably make me more anxious.*
"No, um, I get it... Probably."
"It's kinda problematic if you actually get it, huh..." Nagase-san muttered something, but for once, I didn't dwell on it.

"Um… so, basically, yeah," I paused. Repeating 'yeah' in my head.
"Your 'normal' friend is Tooru-san, but since you think you're not normal yourself, Nagase-san, you compromised and chose someone like me?"
Watching Nagase-san's expression, even though I was saying I understood, the end somehow turned into a question.
I felt Nagase-san staring back as if thinking, *Why is* that *name coming out of* his *mouth?*
"Eh, Tooru? Tooru is… eheheh, ahaha, heh, heh, ha."

Nagase-san's smile and laughter crumbled. *Jolt, jolt*—her joints seemed to lose their strength too.
Not just her right arm—her legs moved as if they'd snapped clean off with the momentum.
Yet, instead of staying still, she approached me.
And then Nagase-san seemed to melt and flow onto me. That's how easily she embraced me.
Inside my eyes, a few raindrops flickered—falling, flying, splashing.
I was sandwiched between the shelf behind me and Nagase-san.

The sensation of being hugged by a girl for the first time was… hard.
The cast on her right arm pressed hard into my chest, feeling like my insides were about to be crushed.
My stomach hurt, crackling like a sparkler held right against it.
"Tooru... she definitely realized. That's why... Atashi can't see her anymore."

"Eh?" Nagase-san's words weren't soft; they hit with a dull thud, like Dad's fist.

"She figured it out. Tooru must have been the one who found out. Because Tooru was fighting with that old man. Atashi doesn't know why the old man is like that, but Tooru asked me about it. She figured it out. She suspected me. She knew. That's why Atashi can't see her. Atashi… Atashi doesn't want to know that Tooru hates me!"

"...Eh?" A flood of words, completely incomprehensible.
*An old man? Found out?*
"Atashi, I... I... I... k-k-k-kill... kill... the stairs... it wasn't... on purpose... no, it was... that's why... bad... I'm bad... kuh... guuuuuuhhh!" A forceful, blood-raw groan.

Nagase-san bit down hard on her lower lip, splattering blood onto me. It didn't immediately drip down her chin, which showed just how much force was behind it.
*I even found myself wondering what Mom would say if I came home with blood on my clothes.*
"Atashi knows she's bad! I know, I know that much! But, I hate it! Atashi loves Dad, and Mom, too, and Nee-chan, and Teacher, everyone... I'm scared! I don't wanna be hated! I wanna stay together! Tooru isn't here, and Tooru should be here too, why, hey, whyyyy!"

She seemed to be questioning something behind me, something she was seeing. Interrogating it.
I felt like my head was getting stuffed with bits of lint.
My heart was pressed by Nagase-san's right arm, making me slightly concerned if it could even beat properly.
But, my mind felt sharper than usual. Like blood was being forced higher and higher into my head.
*If she's this clearly frightened, regretful, and trembling, then I don't need to doubt anything.*
*Nagase-san did something bad. And now, she regrets it terribly.*
*But she doesn't want anyone to know. And yet, the 'Tooru' Nagase-san likes knows.*
*Everything must be all tangled up inside her heart, surely.*

*………But it’s okay, Nagase-san.*
*My dad and mom are probably doing bad things too.*
*But they’re still alive and kicking.*

"I… I… shi… I… die… tai… n," *(She's trying to say 'shinitai' - I want to die)*
I covered Nagase-san's mouth with my hand.
Nagase-san's shoulders jolted.
Her eyes darted around so frantically, I instinctively wanted to hide.
But what moved within me wasn't my feet, but my mouth.
"I-It's okay. Right?"
I slowly removed the hand covering her mouth.
"You don't have to force yourself, okay? If it's too hard to talk about, Nagase-san, you don't have to say anything. And if you hate being silent, then you can just talk."
They were just pretty words, so each time I spoke them, my eyes darted away.
Nagase-san's mouth opened. I could see her neat teeth.
I braced myself, wondering if she was going to bite my neck or something.
"No... misunderstandings, okay?" Nagase-san began to tremble finely.
"Okay……?"
"It's not... because Tooru isn't here... It's because it's *you*, Kouta-kun... okay?"
"...Yeah."
I was shaken along with her.
"'That's why it isn't Kouta-kun... That's why it isn't Kouta-kun... That's why it isn't Kouta-kun...'" *(Ambiguous: Possibly denying he's a mere substitute, or denying the reason relates *only* to him, or simply panicked repetition. The previous line suggests the opposite.)*

*She'd told me so many lies, but I didn't really mind.*
*I found myself wondering if Nagase-san would just start crying.*

But she didn't cry, just stayed like that. Eyes closed, like a backward-facing prayer.
*I realized then that Nagase-san was far from being just a normal girl.*
*And so, I could accept being a substitute for 'Tooru'-san again.*
*Besides, Onii-san had suggested I do just that.*
*That maybe, since we were kindred spirits, we could become good friends.*

It turned into a long search for juice, lasting over five minutes.

By the time we returned to the living room, Nagase-san had reverted to her usual self, all bright smiles again.
It was a little baffling where she managed to dig up such laughter.
"Here you go~"
Anzu, prone to looking down, still avoided Nagase-san's eyes.
But when she took the juice, she gave a small nod.
*Maybe that's enough for now.*
*Even if it's awkward, there's no way they could become friends at some forced, unnatural pace.*
"Here, Kouta-kun's share."
"Thanks." *Nod.* I lowered my head.
"I warmed it up nice and slow with my bosom and the rainy season humidity~!"
"...Thanks."
*Ahem.* She puffed out her chest proudly. Just as she'd said, it felt slightly lukewarm in my palm.
"Oooh? Didn't expect to be thanked~"
Nagase-san seemed surprised in a bored sort of way that I wasn't bothered. She picked up the TV remote and started flipping through the channels one after another.
Anzu, sipping her juice can, sat quietly with Nagase-san positioned between us. She didn't try to circle around to come over to my side.
*Maybe because Nagase-san had shown her 'weird' side when we first came in, Anzu felt a slight sense of affinity.*
*Anzu probably finds 'normal' kids, like Nagase-san had been acting before, harder to approach. Though really, that shouldn't be the case, right?*

"Oh my~?"
"Eh?" came her goofy voice.
Nagase-san stopped fiddling with the remote, her eyes going wide instead.
Glued to the TV screen, she leaned forward.
"Huh? Hey—that's Nee-chan's school!"

---

**[PART 2 START - Narrator: Mii-kun]**

**『 Me + Malice + Bento = 』**
And so it begins, so it begins.

June 2nd. The day I came to hate curry.
For the time being, my sense of sight remains unviolated, but my senses of smell, touch, and taste have begun staging rejection responses. If only curry emitted a Mandrake-level shriek every time it was chewed, my hearing would also be shot, and I would have gloriously conquered four sensory titles, putting me one step away from the five-sense crown. Alas, such a wish cannot be granted.
It just goes to show that no matter how smoothly things might proceed in this world, one can never attain 'Perfection.'
That's a lie, though.

"Ugh, it's so muggy."
Mayu grabbed the collar of her gym uniform, flapping it back and forth. However, the gymnasium in June isn't the sort of fellow to promise comfort with such minor ventilation attempts.
"Heeey, Mii-kun, it's hoooot! And sticky!"
Wrapping her arms around my neck and nuzzling my cheek, Maa-chan submitted her formal complaint about the inappropriate temperature. Perhaps because there were no other students around us or on the stage, her attitude softened as she snuggled closer.

Now, the usual me would retort with at least one line treading that fine border between witty and insane, like, "Love was doing shuttle runs between our gazing eyes, Maa-chan, and worked up such a good sweat it pushed the humidity right up!" but right now, that was impossible.
Why? Because she was rubbing her cheek so forcefully against mine that I couldn't articulate properly either, reduced to making sounds like "honyo honyo," the core of my words completely muffled. Mayu's love, sandwiched between our cheeks, was low-key painful.
With a face that looked like the magic mirror might warn, "Your face is the second-most squashed thing I've seen today, right after someone who took a perfect fist to the temple," a subtle sleepiness also clung to me.

Early June, the season when the rainy front joins hands with the sky, diligently working to produce inclement weather.
Today, it seemed, was not one of those once-in-ten-days gems of fine weather; outside, rainwater poured down as usual.
That's a lie, though.

Which is why we were skipping the fourth-period P.E. class being held indoors.
We were lying down together on a giant mat located in the wings of the gymnasium stage.
Since it was joint P.E. for two classes, even with Mayu being in a different class, here we were, you see, engaged in vigorous mat exercises together.
That's a lie, though.

The meager apology for lighting on the ceiling had shamelessly abandoned its duties, and the space, screened off from the surroundings by blackout curtains, was muggy in a way that betrayed its cool color palette. A thermal sensation sticking closely to the June baseline.
However, today was an SF (Stoically Frivolous) and ST (Simply Terrific) kind of day. Which is why we couldn't possibly indulge in volleyball.
Today, Mayu had actually woken up early in the morning (when I emailed every single one of my acquaintances about this magnificent feat, I received precisely zero replies; that's a lie, though) and prepared a bento lunch for the two of us. We had already promised to eat it together during lunch break. Incidentally, the bento's menu is apparently a secret until the lid is opened.
Maa-chan, for whom waking up early is a challenge even if she goes to bed early, was sleepy, so naturally, she wasn't participating in P.E.
And so, I was in the situation of accompanying her, skipping the whole "Teacher, I don't feel well" report and just ditching class.

Still, a bento… that was something difficult to imagine coming from the usual Mayu, even for someone with an imagination as robust as mine. I wonder if being put in separate classes had affected Mayu's state of mind somehow?
......Right, what other useless thoughts had been strolling through my brain cells again?
Ah, right, the part about disliking yellow liquids. Not the kind that oozed out stickily along with gushing blood back when I slipped on the ice one winter and sent a chunk of my kneecap flesh flying into the air—no, I mean the edible kind of liquid.
As for why I came to hate curry, well, that was Mayu's fault.

Two weeks had passed since I'd left the hospital, the functional recovery of both my arms still ambiguous.
The only dish gracing the dining table in the nest shared by Mayu and me was curry rice.
As if declaring no middle reliever or closer necessary, the curry kept updating its consecutive appearance record day after day. What's more, its flavor was a pure fastball—a spiciness intense enough to numb my tongue in a single bite. I desperately wanted to just watch it go by for a called strike three, but after trying that once and scalding my throat, I learned it was wiser to actually swing at the pitch.
Incidentally, attempting an intentional walk (i.e., refusing to eat) results in Maa-chan, seated opposite, issuing you Life's Yellow Card. The card's effect involves the recipient jumping off something high, thereby processing it into a Red Card.

True, I am the sort of loser-mentality boy who can't help but get swept up by the unique atmosphere of a situation, but still, why on earth did I say it—that I wanted to eat curry?
It's such a rare occurrence for me to specifically request a particular dish, so wasn't it blindingly obvious that the novelty-loving Maa-chan would react hypersensitively and bring about this exact result?
"Nuuueeeh, Mii-kuuun," Mayu whined, her sentence ending sounding damp, as if her vocal cords had absorbed the humidity too.
"Hm? Before that, your belly button's showing." I straightened Mayu's ridden-up shirt. Then, I waited for her to continue.
"You haven't been cheating on me, have you?" Considering the abruptness of the question, her smile was a bit too knowing... sorry, that's a lie, it was terrifying.
"What's this all of a sudden?"
"I am inquiring as to whether you have perhaps been cheating on me with someone in another class, simply because Maa-chan is not present," she stated.

Stabbing her index finger into my side, Mayu launched her fair and square investigation. Ever since moving up to third year and ending up in a different class from Mayu, I'd been subjected to this interrogation almost daily.
Still, even though we were distanced from our classmates enjoying volleyball, it was rare for Mayu's mental state to go into 'liquid mode' outside the apartment complex. Had it been this way since that day we played explorer in the hospital a few months back?
Perhaps this time it was due to the stark contrast between light and shadow. Because the gymnasium's standard-issue blackout curtain separated us—figures dwelling as if under dark clouds—from our classmates, who seemed illuminated by spotlights.
"No one but Maa-chan even enters my sight." In both senses of the phrase, you understand.
That's a lie for now, though.
If she ever learned the expression "so precious they wouldn't hurt even if you put them in your eye"... this girl might actually try testing it out on me. That's Misono Mayu-chan for you—overflowing with curiosity, unable to leave any question unanswered. Even the famed Mito Komon's *inrou* would be dumbfounded.
"Hmph," went the sensible Mayu, refusing to swallow the big liar's claims whole. Twitching her nose, she began checking my scent, apparently scanning for any lingering traces of other females.

During this time, the notion that I was imagining something like, *"If I enter Mii-kun's eye, we'll be one flesh! Eyeball Maa-chan… Pass! Right then, let's quickly make Mii-kun's little eyes nice and wide and clear and oozy, and Maa-chan will just slither-slurp-slurp right on in!"* was a minor false declaration. In reality, I had lightly pushed aside the blackout curtain with my hand and was peeking out, observing our classmates' volleyball game.
Leaning forward slightly allowed me to secure an isosceles triangle-like field of vision. I could see half of each of the two basketball courts, and I scanned the area, wondering if there were any familiar faces among them.
Ah, there's classmate Nagase-san. (Tried to sound enthusiastic there. That's a lie, though).
Nagase countered a ball flying in from the opposing court with a rainbow-colored receive. Unable to completely kill its momentum, the ball bounced straight behind her and crashed into the basketball hoop. *That's* the clumsiness of Nagase's arms for you, I mused, feeling privately satisfied by this display of her "Nagase-ness." Though she'd probably punch me if I said that to her face.

………… Hmm, maybe not. Would the current Nagase react so familiarly? No, but still... It's awkward, isn't it?
As expected, with these continued hospital stays, I had braced myself for having no choice but to give up on my studies. I felt bad for my aunt and uncle, but they'd just have to accept that they were unlucky and lacked foresight in taking me on.
Despite being in that state of mind, it was my second day attending incomprehensible classes in the third-year classroom.
My classmate (I'll dare to call her that, anyway) Nagase handed me copies of her notes for every subject.
Lips purplish-red, cheeks twitching, tapping her toes, her gaze fixed firmly on the blackboard—she tossed the rubber-banded stack of papers onto my desk and walked away from my seat.
Afterwards, even having returned to her own seat, Nagase kept glancing over at me every few minutes, looking quite busy running her hands through her hair or scratching her scalp.
Not quite grasping her intention, I still haven't penned a thank-you note.

It's definitely not because the contents were like some ancient script and utterly indecipherable. That's a lie... or maybe not.
Incidentally, when I tried showing the Nagase notes to Fushimi, aka Yuzuyuzu, who had likewise been skipping since the first day of the term, she retorted, "Can't read this." Actually, she threw it back at me.
According to her, the "academically excellent" Fushimi-san declared that next time, she would tutor me herself so I wouldn't have to rely on notes like these. After that, she also proceeded to test whether the function in both my arms had properly recovered.
......Hmm, it seems the aforementioned Fushimi is not currently inhabiting the area within my searchable range.
Well, setting that aside.
*I guess as long as you're both alive, these connections never really end, do they?*
*With all the awkwardness, the lingering resentment, the regrets still latched on.*

I tried indulging in some pre-noon melancholy. And promptly got my face licked.
Mayu's tongue traced my cheek. It wasn't quite on the level of that time with the nurse, but I still braced myself, sending goosebumps out on high alert.
"Wh-What is it? I'm an honest fellow, you know."
"Nope, tasted like lies," and with that, Mayu switched from questioning to torture... well, not quite, but she did declare, "Hmmm, tastes suspicious... other than Mii-kun's skin!" and lightly squeezed my neck. …… No, wait, despite my initial denial, this *is* torture.
"...That's the taste of sweat." Or rather, am I being suspected not of infidelity, but of cannibalism?
"If you lick Maa-chan's own palm, it'll probably taste the same."
"Nya?" Mayu tilted her head, temporarily releasing the arm she'd had wrapped around my neck. Then, following the intel, she gave her own palm a light lick. Seeing the result, Mayu broke into a wide grin, her eyes narrowing at the same time.
"They're not the same at all!"
"Eh?"
"Mii-kun's sweat tastes way better!"
"...Is that so."
So, I was confronted with the new fact that perhaps the sweat of liars is sweet, allowing one to distinguish truth from falsehood.
That's a lie, though.

Being praised in such a weird way again, my reaction couldn't help but smolder awkwardly.
Mayu pinched my lower lip between her thumb and forefinger, looking triumphant.
"Your tongue is still naive~" *Though it ought to be spicy, considering I've been ingesting nothing but curry,* I thought.
"But even tastier than sweat is Mayu's bento! I want to eat it with Mii-kun soon~" Because this treat was waiting, Mayu's default mood for the day was high spirits.
"After this class period is over, okay?" Although the P.E. class had only just begun.
"Incidentally, about the bento... it's really supposed to be a secret, but maybe I'll just tell you now~. Today, it's packed full of the curry Mii-kun requested! There's curry tamagoyaki, curry rice, curry vegetables, plus a curry apple snack!"
"Guh-ruh o ruriraa..."
"Nya?" Since my reaction resembled that of some underwhelmed extraterrestrial lifeform, Mayu looked puzzled.
"Sorry, a prayer passed down through a single lineage just slipped out." *Please realize that 'requested' is merely shorthand for 'temporarily desired depending on time and place,' Maa-chan.*
That's a lie, though.
"O-bento~, o-bento~. …Muuuh, why can we only eat it *after* fourth period~? I've been waiting without even eating breakfast!" Mayu complained, channeling her discontent into her self-composed song.
"Hmm, I wonder why indeed?" What manner of sage could possibly provide a worthy answer to such a question?
"I'm already hungry and bored and my body feels all empty and rattly, Mayu feels like she's gonna die!"
Rolling over *thump, thump* (dragging me along with her), Mayu grumbled about the useless passage of time.
Since this wasn't some high-quality futon fabric but just a mat, my skin chafed and itched. Adding to that, it felt like something was clinging to my bare skin.
"Mayu's gonna die! Pinch! Mii-kun, help me!"
"Hmm, from where exactly should I begin the rescue attempt, I wonder?"
*Rescue her from what? Her grades? From the evil clutches of the teachers!?* I'm* the one who wants to commission that rescue!*
"Um, well, you see, right now Mayu is basically inside the wolf's tummy, which is way danger-russ! Delish-uss! More than the Three Little Pigs! This is no time for wrestling bears on mountains, Mii-kun! So, from the pond where you live, Gold Mii-kun and Silver Mii-kun commute to work to save Mayu. 'Why don't we just feed the wolf a poison apple!' Gold Mii-kun proudly suggests, but the turtle at his feet tells him 'Don't do it!', but he ignores it and does it anyway! But if he does that, Mayu will die too..."
Perhaps because her voice was so loud, it echoed clearly backstage. If anyone had been under the stage, they might have heard her, but Mayu's torrent of words showed no sign of slowing.
"The two Mii-kuns start fighting, trying to pass the buck! 'Stop trying to kill each other so easily just for me!! You're both my Mii-kuns!' That's how it went, but in the end, the cowardly, normal Mii-kun wins, see? And then he gets himself swallowed by the wolf too! And just when he's planning to go on a rampage inside the wolf's body, a kiss with Mayu—who was already long dead by then—makes the wolf's tummy go KABOOM! And the poison apple pops right out too! Love melts all things, you see! Which means, solving it with a kiss is A-OK. Now, kiss!"

Skipping right past any potential reaction from me, Mayu latched onto my right collarbone with a wet *smooch*. It tickled, sort of.
Each time her tongue passed over my epidermis, a shiver ran through me, giving me the strange illusion that all the hair on my head was suddenly molting.
*Or rather, what kind of 'crisis' was that exactly? I perceived it as the sort of problem one might hesitate to mention aloud.*
"Ah, right."
As if struck by a thought formed by some inexplicable connection between her neurons, Mayu asked casually.
Her expression wasn't just pure innocence; it contained an artlessness best suited to some onomatopoeia like *sniffle-snuffle*.
"Mii-kun, if I died, would you cry?"
"I'd cry enough to create a sea—a whole new local tourist attraction."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Somehow, you answered instantly, and your tone sounds kinda light~"
"I couldn't possibly do something as rude to Maa-chan as having to stop and think about it."

*Wow, hahaha... Not just lies, but now glib remarks are coming out too? This must be the terminal stage.*
*But then again, I don't exactly possess the kind of brain capable of seriously simulating such a scenario.*
*......Hmm, if Mayu died, huh?*
*I'd probably become even more of a Broken Person than I am now, dragging everyone around me into a state of Danger & Destruction (though I feel like that's the case normally, too).*
*After that... the death penalty, perhaps? Or maybe this time, my suicide attempt would actually succeed.*
*However, no matter how many possibilities I explore, the chances of me ending up as some pure, innocent, forward-looking fine young man are probably nil.*
*It's impossible to accumulate elements of happiness through the death of someone close to you, isn't it?*
*Even if it satisfied some desire for money or hatred, they wouldn't be 'someone close' anymore in that case.*
"Hmmm," I groaned seriously, pinching Mayu's upper arm between my fingers.
Even though Maa-chan is this soft, she's quite an important presence, huh? I see, I see. Feels nice to the touch. This skin texture, where the pads of my fingers slide so smoothly and lightly—
"I'M NOT FAT!!"

Mayu's knee, which had been pressed close, slammed into my gut. "I didn't mean it like—" The second blow landed. I bit my tongue as the third one hit. Hey, hey, my appetite's expiration date is fast approaching! And with the fourth hit, "*Thumpa-thump-thump~*" Miss Mayu seemed to start enjoying herself. It was just painful.
But even this kind of back-and-forth has its own particular flavor.
Violence that wasn't blood-raw was surprisingly welcome.

Ever since "Mii-kun" had restarted back in April, Mayu, too, had been broken in her own unapologetic way.
We existed there on the border between genuine boredom and false tranquility.
Well, leaving aside the minor complexities, I suppose peace really is best, after all.
Since I don't have to worry about all sorts of things, I can't really focus on my studies, you know? Or so goes my excuse.

"……Ooh?" There was an exceptionally loud *thump* of a ball bouncing.
Wondering if Nagase had perhaps managed to burst the ball with her bare hands, my interest was piqued, and I once again shifted the blackout curtain to peek out. I lamented that this held even less romance than peeking into the girls' bath on a school trip.
That's a lie, I tell you!

Apparently, someone, perhaps out of boredom, had slammed a volleyball hard onto the floor just for fun. A considerable number of students had turned their attention towards it.
The male student responsible, perhaps embarrassed at having unexpectedly become the center of attention for a few seconds, jogged towards the ball's predicted landing spot.