Shion watched Rie’s actions with surprise, almost convinced she had imagined it.
‘Did my senior just… kiss me?’
‘This is really something…’
Rie, her face flushed, turned her head away, pretending to admire the scenery outside the window.
‘Wait, we’re in a tunnel right now! What scenery could possibly be outside the window?’
“You’re quite the mischievous one, Senior. I just protected you, and now you’re trying to take advantage of me?” Shion playfully stuck out her tongue at Rie, feigning annoyance.
Rie, well aware that Shion was only pretending, felt a surge of happiness and continued the banter. “Oh dear, my apologies, Hoshimori junior. How about you take advantage of your senior in return?”
‘She’s supposed to be a senior, a refined young lady from an older year, yet her words now carry such a playful, almost impish charm!’
While Shion pondered a response, Rie’s arms, which had loosely encircled her, suddenly tightened, drawing Shion into a much closer embrace.
“Senior, what are you doing?! I can’t move!” Shion tried to struggle, but mindful of their location on the subway, she lowered her voice, casting a pitiful glance at Rie.
“I just realized, Shion-chan, you’re quite petite. I can hold you with just two hands, like a big, cuddly cat,” Rie whispered softly beside Shion, holding her close.
Shion pouted, glaring at Rie. “I’m just average height for a girl! It’s you, Senior, who’s eaten too well and grown too tall.”
Just as Rie was about to retort, the subway doors opened. The throng of passengers began to surge outwards, gently pushing the two girls along. “This is our stop, Shion-chan, let’s get off quickly!” Rie declared, taking Shion’s hand and stepping briskly from the train.
****
“This! Is! Shibuya!”
Standing beside what she had seen countless times on television—the ‘world’s busiest intersection’—Rie shouted, seemingly with all her might, towards the dazzling LED screens in the sky.
Though surrounded by a bustling crowd, no one found Rie’s outburst particularly strange; it merely drew a fleeting glance from a few passersby before they hurried on. After all, this very spot had attracted countless foreign tourists, domestic visitors, and internet celebrities, their astonished shouts and outlandish livestreams long since becoming an integral part of the local scenery.
The red light at the street corner began its countdown, then transitioned to a vibrant green, signaling safe passage for pedestrians.
With one hand holding Shion’s and the other clutching her phone, Rie enthusiastically began to film.
The moment the green light flashed, the crowd surged forward. Thousands of people, it seemed, began to move simultaneously, each heading towards their desired direction across the intersection, like pieces on a colossal sand table game.
As people from multiple directions converged, they moved shoulder to shoulder, the crowd transforming into a dense school of sardines. Individuals wove through the gaps between others, like two shuffled decks of cards passing through the narrow spaces between each card. Everything moved with perfect order, resembling a precisely calibrated machine.
Shion was somewhat dumbfounded. This was a sight utterly unlike anything seen in her small town, truly magnificent.
Yet, for some reason, if she were to imagine herself as a mere cog in this intricate machine, Shion couldn’t help but feel… a touch of fear.
Rie lowered her phone. “Hmm, it feels a bit…”
“Oppressive?” Shion quickly supplied.
“Yes, imagining myself as one of them, it certainly does,” Rie mused, glancing at the video she had just filmed. In truth, the spectacle of the crowd traversing the intersection truly conveyed its grandeur when captured from a high vantage point. Filming from a corner of the intersection, however, made it all too easy to envision oneself as part of that moving mass.
‘Perhaps Tokyo isn’t quite as wonderful as it seems, after all?’
****
“Speaking of which, Shion-chan,” Rie suddenly paused as they reached the entrance of a decidedly high-end clothing store, calling out to Shion.
Shion had actually noticed Rie’s gaze lingering on the shop for a while, but her instincts screamed that this was a place they absolutely should not enter!
‘Such beautiful clothes! But… but those price tags…’
Shion tried to feign deafness, hoping to pull Rie along, but her hand was firmly grasped by Rie.
“Senior… I can’t afford clothes that expensive…” Shion turned her head mechanically, her voice faint.
“Who said you had to buy them?” Rie tapped Shion lightly on the head. “I’ll buy them. Don’t worry, it’s all money I earned managing the hot spring inn!”
Without waiting for Shion to protest further, Rie pulled her directly into the exquisitely appointed clothing store.
The moment Rie stepped inside, two beautifully dressed sales assistants enthusiastically approached them. “Welcome, ladies, what kind of apparel are you looking for today?”
“I, I…” A myriad of excuses to escape flashed through Shion’s mind—they’d taken a wrong turn, she suddenly needed the restroom… But her brain felt as though it had short-circuited, and all that escaped her lips was an incoherent stammer.
“Please help this little cutie find some suitable clothes!” Rie declared, pulling Shion close beside her as she addressed the assistants. “We’re looking for dresses, cute ones—the cuter, the better!”
“Senior! You’re impossible!” Shion frantically tried to bolt for the door, but her short legs hadn’t taken more than a few steps before Rie reeled her back in.
“Right away!” The obliging assistant immediately began appraising Shion. “What a lovely young lady you are; you’d make an excellent model.”
“Indeed, I quite agree. Please find her a beautiful outfit,” Rie chimed in, showering Shion with praise.
Shion’s face was crimson with embarrassment, rendering her speechless.
“Then, young lady, let’s try on our new autumn collection.” With that, the assistant produced a pale lavender top and a midnight blue mini-skirt. A pearl necklace wove through the top’s shawl, transitioning from a delicate lavender gradient to a deep blue, adorned with shimmering silver accents, reminiscent of a beautiful starry night.
“It was designed by a Parisian master, with the starry sky as its theme—isn’t it magnificent?” The assistant held the clothing up against Shion.
Shion swallowed hard. She had to admit, the assistant possessed excellent taste; the outfit perfectly matched Shion’s aesthetic and was undeniably beautiful. The problem, however, was that Shion absolutely…
‘Couldn’t afford it!’
“Are you two sisters? I can see the elder sister dotes on her younger sibling, choosing our flagship piece right away,” the assistant complimented.
“No, no, we’re not sisters!” Shion quickly shook her head, denying it.
“Not sisters? Then could it be…?” The assistant covered her mouth in slight surprise.
“Not that either!” Shion continued to deny, her face flushing even deeper. She knew exactly what the assistant was implying.
“Oh, well, in this day and age, gender isn’t an issue at all!” The assistant waved a hand, chuckling.
Shion tugged at Rie’s sleeve. “Senior, explain yourself!”
“Eh? Explain what?” Rie feigned ignorance.
“Hey!”