Chapter 4: Awareness?

Time flies—before I knew it, elementary school enrollment was just a month away.

Today, Yuuki and his family, along with me and mine, had come to the outlet mall to buy backpacks.

"Whoaa! This one's so cool!"

"Is it?"

"C'mon, Towa, don't you get it?! This is romance!"

"Hoh. Romance, you say?"

"Yeah! The romance in its looks, the romance in how you'd use it—it's just pure, unfiltered cool!"

"I think you just like saying 'romance.'"

(Well, I kinda get it. Back when I was a guy, I never got to pick my own backpack.)

"There's so many!"

"Sure is."

"Let's check those out!"

"Yeah."

The four adults watched with warm smiles as Yuuki dragged me off by the hand to browse.

"Those two really get along, don't they?"

"They really do~"

"Daaah!"

"Oh? Does Madoka-chan think so too~?"

The mothers chatted away, while the fathers lost themselves in hobby talk.

This peaceful scene? Undoubtedly, I was the one who made it possible.

Not that I'd ever admit it.

"Whoaa! Towa! Towa! This one's awesome too!"

"You said that five times already."

I played it cool, but inside, I was just as excited.

(Black, blue, pastel blue, green—even yellow?! They have this many colors now?!)

Edogawa Towa: secretly suffering from a minor generation gap.

"Hmm… I think I'll go with red!"

"Nuh-uh. Red's no good."

"Why not?"

"'Cause red's a girl's color."

"Says who?"

"……Good point."

A 23-year-old mind, schooled by a 5-year-old.

"Then I'll take blue!"

"Nice! Super cool!"

"Looks like they let you try them on over there!"

"Sweet! Let's go!"

Without thinking, our hands found each other again.

I noticed—but didn't let go.

(Just for now… I want to cherish this.)

Even if we drift apart someday, I want to stay Yuuki's best friend forever.

For a moment, I finally understood how my favorite heroine must have felt.

"Aah~ I'm beat~"

"Same. Oh, I've got my water bottle—want some?"

"Heh, thanks."

After finally picking out our backpacks, we plopped down on a shaded bench outside.

I rummaged through my shoulder bag, pulled out a collapsible cup, and handed it to Yuuki. He popped the lid off his bottle and poured barley tea into it.

"Here."

"'Preciate it."

I absentmindedly watched his throat move as he gulped—still too young for an Adam's apple.

"...What?"

Noticing my stare, he shot me a weirded-out look.

"...Nothin'. Anyway, pass the cup back when you're done."

"Oh, right, sorry."

Taking the offered cup, I set it on the bench and carefully tilted the bottle. At this age, I couldn't steady it one-handed without spilling everywhere.

As I wrestled with the clumsiness of a child's body, I screwed the cap back on and raised the cup to my lips—

—then froze.

(Wait. Isn't this basically... an indirect kiss?)

Four options flashed through my mind:

① "We're just kids, who cares?" and drink without hesitation.

② "No way I'm ignoring this!" and try recalling which side he drank from.

③ "This deserves acknowledgment," then ask, "Which side did you use?"

④ "Absolutely not," and wipe the rim with a pocket tissue.

① was the simplest, but... no. No deeper reason. Definitely not.

② was pointless—I hadn't paid attention. Why? Because I'd been staring at his throat! Rejected.

③ risked him misunderstanding—"Wait, are you overthinking this?!"—so, no.

④ would make things awkward. Hard pass.

Damn it. Every option sucked. But I had to choose.

②? ③? ④?

After agonizing, I arrived at my answer—

(Ugh, too much work.)

I snorted at my own wasted brainpower, half-lidded my eyes, and took a sip.

—As if fate was laughing at me, my lips landed exactly where Yuuki's had been.

Unbeknownst to either of us, the "indirect kiss event" had concluded.

In the end, Yuuki picked a red backpack, while I went with a blue-green one. Fitting, in a way.