Emerging from Shigure’s house, the sky was still bright. However, Shion had secretly yearned to slip away for some relaxation, and thus, she departed earlier than planned.
Shigure escorted Shion to the doorway, still gazing at her with lingering reluctance.
“Shion-chan, I’ll be taking food to my grandma soon… Otherwise, I would have truly loved to walk you back to the shrine.” A touch of sadness still clouded Shigure’s expression. This was no mere courtesy from her; she spoke from the heart.
“No need, I’ve already eaten quite a bit. I might not even be able to manage dinner if I go back now…” Shion said, rubbing her stomach. She had devoured several of the small cakes Shigure had made, finding them utterly delicious. However, to keep her weight in check and because she still needed to cook dinner for Ayane later, she had refrained from eating more.
‘Otherwise, she would surely have filled her stomach entirely with those little cakes!’
“Well then, see you tomorrow, Shion-chan. You’re definitely going to pass the exams, especially math!” Shigure forced a bright smile, waving goodbye to Shion.
“Yes, I’ll do my best. See you tomorrow, Iori-chan.” Shion, too, offered a slight bow to Shigure.
****
The day was nearing the end of summer. The afternoon sun had lost its scorching intensity. A breeze drifted in from the sea, carrying a salty tang. Yet it felt remarkably refreshing, momentarily dispelling the lingering summer heat for Shion.
‘Perhaps a stroll by the sea would be nice.’
As she walked along the rather narrow street, Shion stretched, extending her arms in a wide, languid yawn. Shigure’s clothes, which she was still wearing, felt a tad loose on her, allowing her to stretch to her heart’s content without any fear of exposing her midriff.
‘Ah, but then again, Shigure was indeed the “older” type compared to her. Among all her familiar friends, including her own sister, Shion herself was undeniably… the smallest.’
‘Now, she began to regret not having eaten just a bit more of those small cakes. Otherwise, she could have replenished her energy a little more.’
Shigure’s house was not far from the sea. Shion ambled along until she reached the coastline.
She didn’t want to return home so soon. Going back would mean cooking for her ravenously hungry, foolish sister. If she cooked too early, Ayane might get hungry again later in the evening. And after dinner, she would still have to endure Ayane’s tutoring.
‘Work-life balance! Studying absolutely required work-life balance!’ Shion felt as though she was about to vomit from all the studying. ‘But this knowledge, it just wouldn’t sink into her brain!’ Forget the English problem-solving techniques Rie had taught her yesterday; even the Japanese problem-solving techniques Sakuya had taught her this morning, Shion now felt as though her mind had been completely wiped clean.
‘Oh, what had Shigure been talking about just now, anyway…?’
She only remembered eating the small cakes. The cakes had been quite generous with cream, and no wonder, as Shigure even added sugar or honey to her water; she truly had a strong sweet tooth.
She walked step by step along the sandy shore. In her ears, the sound of waves washing over the sand and crashing against the rocks filled the air. Just as the foamy white waves seemed poised to touch Shion’s ankles, they were pulled back by gravity’s invisible hand. Shion wanted to stand even closer, eager to discover the ultimate reach of the waves against the shore.
“Shion-chan!” From a distance, a figure clad in blue suddenly called out to Shion.
“Huh?” ‘That voice sounded so familiar. Wasn’t that Nanami?’
Shion saw in the distance that she was perched on a large rock by the sea, apparently holding a handful of small stones and forcefully tossing them into the water, creating tiny splashes. Presently, Nanami was adorned in a white dress, its hem fluttering in the sea breeze.
‘Shion had never before seen Kazama Nanami look so “girly”.’
With a splash, Shion felt a sudden chill around her feet and instinctively leaped upwards. Unbeknownst to her, another wave had surged in with the rising tide. Had she not noticed in time, her shoes would likely have been soaked.
‘Walk by the sea often enough, and you’re bound to get your shoes wet. Wet shoes could be given to Shigure ().’
Shion took small, quick steps, jogging over to Nanami’s side. Nanami was seated on a rather large rock, her hands cradling a collection of smooth pebbles. She casually picked one up and flung it towards the sea. With a splash, the pebble vanished into the water without a trace.
“If the sea were calmer, I could skip a stone ten times. What a shame, the waves are really rough today.” Nanami extended her hand, a somewhat forced smile playing on her lips.
Shion reached out and grasped Nanami’s hand. With a slight pull, she too climbed onto the large rock.
Nanami, for her part, showed no reservation. She put an arm around Shion’s waist, pulling her closer. “If you sit too close to the edge, you might fall and hit your head, and that wouldn’t be good.”
“Well, make some room for me then.” Shion nudged closer to Nanami, and Nanami obligingly shifted.
“Shion-chan, aren’t you supposed to be studying today? Why are you wandering around the beach?” Nanami, while still tossing stones into the sea, extended her other hand to Shion. Her palm held a generous pile of stones, clearly inviting Shion to try her hand as well.
Shion casually took a stone and threw it into the sea. However, her strength didn’t match Nanami’s; even with all her might, she could only manage to throw it a rather short distance.
“Well, aren’t you supposed to be out on your family’s fishing boat? How do you have time to be here throwing stones?” Shion, instead of directly answering Nanami’s question, countered with one of her own.
Nanami shook her head. “You were the first and only customer. No matter how much I tried to attract people, I couldn’t get any other customers. So, I just kept going out to fish. If the townspeople wouldn’t eat them, I’d sell them elsewhere, but the travel costs were so high they didn’t even cover the expenses. Now, I don’t know what to do.”
As she spoke, Nanami stretched leisurely. “But don’t worry, Shion-chan. Food certainly isn’t an issue; my family has a few other small businesses. It’s just that right now, I’m incredibly bored.”
“So you’re not worried about… the academic achievement tests or anything?” Shion probed further.
Nanami shook her head. “I probably wouldn’t even have gone to high school; I would have just inherited the family fishing business. But now I’m in high school, the fish aren’t selling, and then there’s… Hanami’s situation. It’s something that has always… weighed heavily on my mind.”
At this, Nanami agilely leaped down from the rock, landing softly on the sand. Then, she patted her cheeks, forcing a smile as bright as summer sunshine.
“Forget all that! I don’t want to dwell on it. Since you’re already here at the beach, Shion-chan, how about you come for a walk with me? There are plenty of interesting things to see by the sea!”