After a moment, seeing Mitsuha still deep in thought with a frown, Sakura chuckled and asked,
"Haha, can you think of any other reason why Kyousuke would do all that?"
It felt amazing, finally being able to talk about something that had been bottled up inside for so long.
And even better, she was telling it to someone who had Kyousuke's face but wasn't actually Kyousuke. He would never find out!
"Well… if we assume your theory about the pancreatic disease is correct, then everything does make sense. But still, that's just too…" Mitsuha hesitated.
"Hahaha, right? It took me years to piece this together!"
That was the truth.
If Sakura weren't someone naturally curious and full of wild ideas, no one would have come up with such an outrageous conclusion.
"Come on, we've already seen things like a Dullahan and this whole body-swapping situation between you and Kyousuke. Compared to that, predicting my death doesn't seem all that crazy, does it?"
There were still so many details Sakura hadn't mentioned—the way Kyousuke looked out for her, the subtle signs of his worry.
Oh, right. And that Dullahan.
Mitsuha suddenly remembered seeing the name "Celty" on Kyousuke's phone.
That woman had a figure so stunning that even as a fellow girl, Mitsuha couldn't help but feel a little envious.
Could Kyousuke have some strange ability that attracts supernatural phenomena? As a shrine maiden, Mitsuha had read about such things in Teshigawara's bizarre magazines.
"Even so, it's still too unbelievable," she muttered, shaking her head.
Even though part of her wanted to believe, and despite her own mother seeming to have a knack for predicting the future, Mitsuha chose to trust science.
"…If— and I'm just saying if— this really is true, then why, Sakura, are you…?"
She trailed off, watching Sakura happily munching on her food.
"Hahaha, what? Do you expect me to spend every day crying and start writing my own autobiography? Something like The Short Life of Yamauchi Sakura?"
Mitsuha couldn't help but laugh at that before quickly suppressing it.
"Come on, don't overthink it. For all we know, I might live until I'm ninety-nine! Sure, missing out on a full hundred years would be a bit frustrating, but I'd still take it."
"If that were the case, then Kyousuke wouldn't have gone through all that trouble."
Despite voicing her doubts, Mitsuha felt her tense heart relax just a little.
"Anyway, you have to keep this a secret, okay? You can't tell Shouko and the others—especially not Kyousuke!"
With that, Sakura turned to Mitsuha and suddenly popped a potato chip into her mouth.
"Sakura, you really are something else."
"What do you mean by that?"
A voice came from behind them—Ueno Naoka.
"Mitsuha was just telling me about life in Itomori," Sakura answered casually.
Out of Shouko and Naoka's line of sight, she pressed a slender finger to her lips, signaling Mitsuha to keep quiet.
"Yeah, I was just saying how it's pretty amazing to have come all the way from Itomori to Tokyo," Mitsuha followed along.
"Itomori?" Shouko asked, confused.
"Yeah, it's my hometown. Well, maybe not hometown, since that makes it sound like I've been away for ages. But yeah, it's my home—Itomori, in Hida."
"Oh, finally! Are you about to tell us the story about you and Kyousuke? I've been waiting forever!"
Sakura excitedly scooped a bowl of fruit salad from her thermos.
"Kind of like you, this has been something I've been keeping to myself for a long time," Mitsuha admitted. "It's such a bizarre experience, but I haven't been able to share it with anyone."
Like Sakura? Did Sakura ever have something she kept bottled up?
Naoka frowned slightly at the thought.
Meanwhile, Shouko was distracted by something else.
"Ah, Sakura, your hair is dipping into your bowl."
Sakura turned her head and, sure enough, her hair had fallen into the fruit salad. As she moved, a few drops of juice splattered around.
"Ugh. Shouko, Naoka, do either of you have a hair tie?" she asked, clearly annoyed.
"Probably not," they both said after checking their bags. Even though they were girls, today, both of them had left their hair down.
No hair tie, huh? Sakura looked down at her hair, trying to figure out a way to tame it.
Now that she thought about it, didn't Kyousuke always wear some kind of knotted string on his wrist? Not that she planned to use it as a hair tie—it just randomly popped into her mind.
She glanced at Mitsuha's hands but didn't see the familiar orange cord.
Maybe Mitsuha didn't know about Kyousuke's little habits? Sakura figured and decided to tie a ponytail without a hair tie instead.
"Sakura, let me do it for you. I'm really good at braiding hair," Mitsuha offered, shifting on the cushion to sit behind her.
"Hm?"
A bit surprised, Sakura still smiled and turned her back to Mitsuha.
Shouko and Naoka, curious, watched closely. They knew how to tie their hair without a hair tie, but they wondered what kind of braid Mitsuha, someone who claimed to be an expert, would come up with.
Under their watchful eyes, Mitsuha rolled up her sleeves, looking ready for serious work.
As she wove the strands together, she started recounting her first experience with body-swapping—specifically, the time she found herself in the middle of a delinquent gathering.
"I just yawned, closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I was surrounded by a bunch of guys in crazy outfits."
"Can you imagine? I was so terrified I couldn't even move. I just peeked at them through my fingers while they talked about going to fight another gang."
As she twisted a section of hair and looped it through, Mitsuha continued reminiscing about that chaotic moment.
Thinking back, now that she was used to Eikichi Onizuka and the others, the memory didn't seem as scary—just absurdly funny.
"You're amazing, Mitsuha! What did you do next?"
A first-year middle school girl suddenly appearing in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by rough-looking guys, Shouko, who had also been to those kinds of gatherings, couldn't even imagine how terrifying that must have been.
"I told them that fighting was bad… and somehow, they just agreed with me."
"You actually managed to stop a gang fight?!" Naoka exclaimed, her interest piqued.
"I was honestly too scared to do anything else. I got really lucky that it worked," Mitsuha admitted sheepishly.
"That's already super impressive! Honestly, only Sakura could've handled that situation. If it had been me, I'd have just run away," Shouko said.
"Hehe, really? I always thought I didn't handle it that well. I mean, Kyousuke nailed it perfectly on his first swap," Mitsuha said, a little embarrassed.
"No way! Even I wouldn't have done better than you," Sakura said, giving her a thumbs-up. Then, she smirked.
"So? While you were dealing with a gang, what was Kyousuke doing with your body?"
"Kyousuke is much better at it than me. Back then, I was braiding cords when he switched over, and neither my grandmother nor my little sister noticed anything unusual. Later, I asked my sister what happened that night, and she just said, 'Nothing at all.'"
"You have a little sister?" Shouko, who also had a younger sibling, immediately asked.
"Yeah, she's in elementary school. Her name is Miyamizu Yotsuba."
"Ah, I wish I had a little sister too. But all I have is a dumb older brother," Sakura grumbled.
"Mitsuha, Yotsuba... Then who are Futaba and Hitoha?" Though she remained still, her mouth never stopped moving.
"Futaba was my mother. She passed away. Hitoha is my grandmother."
"Oh… I'm sorry, Mitsuha," Sakura quickly apologized.
"It's okay. It's been a long time," Mitsuha said, shaking her head. "Besides, because of Kyousuke, the people in town now see me as my mother's continuation."
Shouko watched as Mitsuha, kneeling beside them, skillfully braided Sakura's hair. Despite being in the body of the strong and confident Kyousuke, her hands wove strands of hair together with a grace that was distinctly feminine.
"What do you mean by that?" Sakura eagerly moved on to the next story.
"Well, about Kyousuke..."
Mitsuha then recounted all the things Kyousuke had done while in her body—disciplining the fashion-obsessed trio at school, earning the admiration of teachers, and even helping townspeople with their troubles at the shrine.
"You wouldn't believe it. He didn't even know Aunt Tomoe's kid—the one who grows watermelons—but somehow, he instantly figured out what the kid was struggling with and gave him advice."
Thinking about how much effort it took her to answer the townspeople's questions, Mitsuha felt even more admiration for Kyousuke. Just as she was lost in thought, she suddenly noticed Sakura's shoulders trembling, barely holding back laughter.
"Sakura, what's so funny?" Mitsuha asked, confused. "Did I say something weird?"
"N-No, nothing at all! Keep going," Sakura said, trying to suppress her laughter.
"Even the teachers are impressed with Kyousuke. Especially Yukino-sensei—just a day before the body swap, she even invited me over to her house." Mitsuha paused for a moment, then smirked. "And my dad! Normally, whenever we meet, he can't resist lecturing me. But after whatever Kyousuke did, he's been avoiding me every time we see each other."
Every time Mitsuha recalled that scene, a strange sense of satisfaction filled her. The father who had abandoned her, Yotsuba, and their home… now looking flustered and trying to avoid her?
Shouko and Naoka exchanged glances. They weren't sure what kind of conflict Mitsuha had with her father, but to them, it sounded like Kyousuke had actually made things worse. Yet Mitsuha seemed oddly pleased about it.
Meanwhile, Sakura's entire body was shaking now, clearly on the verge of bursting into laughter.
"Sakura! If you keep laughing, I'm not telling any more stories!" Mitsuha snapped.
"Yessir!" Sakura saluted playfully.
"…Anyway, that's about it."
After sharing a few more things she had heard from Teshigawara and Sayaka, Mitsuha let out a deep breath. Just like Yamauchi Sakura had said, talking about it really did feel liberating.
"Actually, Kyousuke-kun has helped me too," Shouko said after Mitsuha finished.
"Oh?"
Mitsuha, who was just finishing the last touches of Sakura's braid, turned to look at her. Shouko sat on a cushion, hands carefully holding a spinach and yam roll, a sweet smile on her lips. It was unclear if she was smiling because of the delicious food or because she was recalling her own memories of Kyousuke.
"He stood up for me, just like he did in Itomori," she said.
Placing her food gently on her lap, she continued, Mitsuha listening intently.
At the same time, Mitsuha secured the last strands of Sakura's hair.
"Wow… it's beautiful!"
Sakura had just taken out her phone to snap a picture, but before she could say anything, Shouko gasped in admiration.
Starting from the sides, the braid traced her scalp before meeting at the back of her head. It then crossed over with another braid extending from the forehead, coming together at the top in an elegant, intricate weave.
And all of this was done without a single hair tie or pin. Even without accessories, the style looked stunning.
"Ahh, this kind of hairstyle would go perfectly with a kimono," Sakura sighed, holding up the picture Shouko had taken for her.
The three girls on the tatami mat looked up at Yamauchi Sakura. Dressed in a simple white t-shirt, she blended seamlessly with the endless cherry blossoms behind her, as if she were part of the scenery itself.
Her fair skin seemed to glow with a soft pink hue, breathtakingly beautiful.
"It's fine! Next time, I'll braid your hair again, or you can come visit me in Itomori!" Mitsuha offered.
"Oh! That's a great idea! Let's all go visit Mitsuha sometime! And then she can come to Tokyo with us—imagine how surprised Kyousuke would be!" Sakura clapped her hands excitedly.
"That sounds like fun!" Naoka and Shouko agreed.
Surprise, huh?
Mitsuha smiled. She had once thought about visiting Tokyo to find Kyousuke. She wasn't sure why—whether to thank him or to scold him for pushing her into such a high position—but she had wanted to go.
Unfortunately, every time she returned to her body, all memories of Tokyo would fade away. Even if she tried sending messages to herself, they disappeared as if sent to another world.
And besides… the travel cost from Itomori to Tokyo was ridiculously expensive. It would take an entire year's worth of her allowance.
As for using Kyousuke's body and money to visit Itomori… Mitsuha wasn't sure if he'd agree to that.
But now, hearing Sakura's idea, a spark of excitement ignited in her heart.
"Shouko, do you want me to braid your hair too?"
Seeing how envious Shouko looked at Sakura's hairstyle, Mitsuha smiled.
"Really?! Can I?!" Shouko's face lit up. Even though she asked, she had already moved to kneel in front of Mitsuha without hesitation.
"Of course. And while I braid, tell me your story with Kyousuke."
Braiding the hair of someone as cute as Shouko—who wouldn't be envious of that?
"It all started when I transferred to Mizumon Elementary School…"
Shouko slowly began telling the story of how she first met Kyousuke, as well as some of the hardships she had faced in her previous school.
"Shouko..."
How awful.
As Mitsuha lifted Shouko's hair, she noticed the hearing aids in her ears. At first, she had been curious about them, but now she understood.
Forgetting her task, Mitsuha reached out and gently patted Shouko's head. She wanted to pull her into a hug, but then suddenly remembered—she wasn't in her own body right now.
"Hehe, it's okay, Mitsuha."
Shouko smiled, accepting the familiar touch. Even though the hands had changed, they still felt the same.
She had long since made peace with her past. Even if she spoke about it now, in front of others, it no longer hurt.
After all, it was behind her. If the current her could go back to those painful days… she knew she would handle things so much better.
"Hehe, no thanks. I'd rather run into Kyousuke-kun instead."
"Oh, so your hometowns are both in Suimon City? I thought you were from Tokyo," Mitsuha remarked.
"Nope! Sakura's from Kyoto, and Kyousuke-kun's from Hokkaido," Shouko explained.
"Hokkaido, huh… I'd love to visit someday."
No wonder Sakura always sounds so convincing—she's from Kyoto, after all...
"Alright, Shouko, take a look. If you're not happy with it, I can adjust it for you."
After finishing Shouko's hairstyle, Mitsuha took Kyousuke's phone, snapped a picture, and handed it to her.
"It's so pretty! Mitsuha, you're amazing!" Shouko exclaimed, admiring the elegant hairstyle, different from Sakura's yet equally stunning.
"This is the only thing I'm really good at," Mitsuha said, embarrassed by the compliment.
"That's not true at all. Honestly, Mitsuha, your skills are good enough to be a professional hairstylist. I bet celebrities would pay big money to have you do their hair," Naoka suddenly chimed in.
Mitsuha glanced over. The black-haired girl with deep grape-colored eyes had been quietly sitting there, eating for most of the conversation.
Since Mitsuha started telling her and Kyousuke's story, and even when Shouko shared hers, Naoka had simply listened in silence, calmly nibbling on her food.
Well, mostly on Kyousuke's desserts—she had already devoured most of the fruit salad and steamed cake.
Hearing the sincerity in Naoka's words, Mitsuha suddenly sensed a sadness in her.
She could relate to it, the disappointment she felt seeing fashionable Tokyo girls this morning, the sense of defeat when realizing how much she had benefited from Kyousuke's presence in Itomori.
Ueno Naoka… She must have it rough too.
Just like Sakura had told her before—Sakura herself was the unbeatable childhood friend, and Shouko shared a deep bond with Kyousuke through their experiences.
Even Mitsuha, who met him last, had the extraordinary connection of swapping bodies with him.
But Ueno Naoka… she had nothing.
With that in mind, Mitsuha, the self-proclaimed emotional counselor, decided to take action.
"Naoka, how about I braid your hair too?" she asked with a smile.
"Huh? No need for that. I'm not a kid like Sakura, dropping my hair into my food," Naoka replied, surprised.
After all, unlike Sakura, she wasn't the type to quickly warm up to new people.
She also wasn't as effortlessly lovable as Shouko. She and Mitsuha had barely spoken since they met, so she never expected Mitsuha to offer something like that.
"Bleh~ Let's go, Shouko! I just saw someone in a mascot costume over there—it's super cute!"
Sakura stuck out her tongue playfully at Naoka, then pulled Shouko away.
As they left, Mitsuha couldn't shake the feeling that Sakura's parting smile carried a deeper meaning—like she had seen right through her intentions.
"Come on, Naoka," Mitsuha urged again.
"Do I really have to?" Naoka hesitated, looking flustered.
"Don't be shy."
If the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain. Without waiting for a response, Mitsuha climbed behind Naoka and got to work.
"Sorry… I don't really have any stories about Kyousuke to share with you," Naoka murmured.
Feeling Mitsuha's hands in her hair, a faint blush crept onto her face.
So these are Kyousuke's hands…? It's not really him, but being this close—it already makes me happy.
Since elementary school, Kyousuke had always ruffled Sakura and Shouko's hair like this.
Back then, Naoka would tilt her head up, pretending to be amused, teasing them for acting like puppies.
But deep down… she had always envied them.
What else could she do? Walk up to him and say, "Kyousuke, can you ruffle my hair too? It's got great texture."
No way.
Her violet-blue eyes slowly fluttered shut as she quietly enjoyed the sensation.
"Naoka," Mitsuha spoke softly.
"Hm?"
"Tell me about you and Shouko."
As an emotional counselor, Mitsuha knew better than to dive straight into a sensitive topic. If she pushed too hard, it would only make Naoka defensive.
Earlier, when Shouko had talked about learning to speak and practicing the song Monster's Ballad, Mitsuha noticed Naoka smiling, those were clearly happy memories for her. So this was the perfect starting point.
"Me and Shouko, huh?"
Naoka opened her eyes, and for a moment, the sunlight filtering through the cherry blossoms painted everything in a soft pink hue.
Her violet-blue irises gleamed even more brilliantly in the light.
After thinking for a moment, she began to speak.
By the time she finished, a short silence fell between them.
Mitsuha could sense Naoka's hesitation, but she didn't say anything—she simply continued braiding.
"Naoka, your hair is really nice," she said.
"Haha, Kyousuke said the same thing. He told me, 'With hair like yours, you should be the main heroine.'"
Naoka chuckled at the memory.
"The main heroine?"
"Kyousuke's always spouting weird things. Sometimes he even uses Chinese proverbs. But unless Sakura or Shouko asks, he never explains—most of the time, he's just talking for the sake of talking."
She smiled as if recalling those happy moments.
"Maybe he thinks we're all just dumb kids. He's always been way more mature than the rest of us."
Even though I was the most popular girl in class, he never once looked my way.
"If it weren't for Shouko, he and I would probably still be nothing more than distant acquaintances," she admitted.
Naoka had always carried a sense of guilt toward Shouko. Back then, she had played a prank on her too, even if it had been stopped by Kyousuke before it got out of hand. Even though Shouko had already forgiven her…
Only Naoka knew the truth—her guilt wasn't just about that prank.
It was because she had used Shouko as an excuse to get close to Kyousuke.
Of course, over time, she had genuinely come to care for Shouko.
The girl's kindness and innocence were impossible to ignore. They became real friends, and during their time studying in Tokyo, Naoka had always looked after her.
But life isn't as simple as addition and subtraction.
"Why?" Mitsuha asked.
Naoka hesitated, feeling the gentle hands still working on her hair. After a moment, she whispered,
"It's a secret. You can't tell anyone."
———————————————————————
Mitsuha: Why does this sound so familiar? Is this Tokyo's latest trend or something?
"Don't worry! Everyone in Itomori knows I, Mitsuha, am the best at keeping secrets!"
"You're not allowed to write it down in a memo either!" Naoka added quickly. They had all seen the notes Mitsuha had been secretly taking on Kyousuke's phone—mostly detailed food reviews.
"That doesn't count! Food is different!" The shrine maiden's face turned red, and her hands slipped, causing Naoka to yelp in pain. Mitsuha quickly apologized.
"Kyousuke has always been different," Naoka continued after a moment. "Back in elementary school, boys and girls alike tried to talk to him, but his only real friend was Yamauchi Sakura."
"Childhood friends, huh… Must be nice."
So Sakura was right after all, Mitsuha thought.
"Actually, Kyousuke and I do have a story—it's just that, in that story, I was merely a bystander."
After a brief hesitation, Ueno Naoka decided to share the treasure she had long kept in her heart with Mitsuha.
"…That's how it was. I watched him punch himself in the face so hard he got a nosebleed, then smear the blood on himself. He walked into the police station wailing—louder than when he was being beaten up by three guys at once."
Recalling the scene, Ueno Naoka couldn't help but laugh. Even after all these years, the image of Kyousuke—resilient, clever, and strangely endearing—remained crystal clear in her mind.
She thought to herself: That small, determined figure… Even on my deathbed, I'll probably still savor the memory. Because that moment, that secret, belongs only to me.
"Someone like that… it's not surprising people are drawn to him, right?" Ueno Naoka asked.
"Yeah!"
So Kyousuke had been impressive even as a kid. Just this one conversation had multiplied Mitsuha's understanding of him.
"But like I said earlier, Kyousuke was never interested in anyone except Sakura. Even when he was bullied because of it, he never changed. Naturally, I couldn't get close to him either… until Shouko appeared.
Thinking back, it's kind of funny. When Kyousuke first started teaching Shouko to speak, I was actually jealous of her—jealous that she had taken Kyousuke away. But in reality, even without Shouko, Kyousuke was never mine to begin with.
Ironically, it was through helping Shouko learn to speak and sing that I finally got closer to him."
There, she had said it.
Ueno Naoka pressed a hand to her chest, feeling an odd sense of relief. She had finally voiced something she had kept inside for so long.
What was wrong with her? Why had she shared all this with Mitsuha?
The process of opening up had been strangely cathartic, but now that she had finished, she found it hard to believe she had actually said it all.
As the eldest daughter in a house full of younger brothers, she had always taught them to be strong.
She had lived by the same principle, gritting her teeth through every hardship, never confiding in anyone.
Even though she spent every day with Shouko, who seemed like the perfect person to vent to, she had never once complained about her part-time job's struggles or frustrations.
And yet, here she was, spilling her heart out to Mitsuha—someone she had only met today.
Recalling that Mitsuha had mentioned being a shrine maiden from an ancient temple, Ueno Naoka suddenly asked:
"Mitsuha, you wouldn't happen to have some kind of shrine maiden magic, would you?"
"Huh?"
Mitsuha had been carefully choosing her words, but hearing that question made her freeze.
"You know, like some sort of spell that makes people want to tell you all their secrets?"
"…Huh!?"
Mitsuha was about to deny it outright, but then she thought about today—about Sakura, about Naoka, about how the people of Itomori always came to her with their troubles. Her eyes widened.
Could this really be some mysterious ability passed down by the shrine maidens of Miyamizu Shrine? Her mother had been like this too. And now, it was happening to her.
The townspeople came to her without hesitation, pouring out their worries, seeking comfort.
Was this something that followed the soul?
Mitsuha looked down at her current body—the strong, masculine form of Kyousuke—and felt even more confused.
Good thing Kyousuke wasn't here. If he were, he'd probably joke about it being a confession booth.
Kyousuke had actually pondered this before—why did the people of Itomori so eagerly seek out Mitsuha for comfort?
It was because, in their eyes, she was more than just a person.
She was a vessel of the gods.
They could confide in her without fear—knowing she wouldn't spread their secrets, knowing their words wouldn't bring consequences.
And now, with Mitsuha's soul residing in Kyousuke's body, she seemed even more otherworldly.
Though Mitsuha hadn't realized it consciously, the people around her sensed it.
It wasn't just that she came from a distant place or that her arrival had been so bizarre.
It was also what Yamauchi Sakura had said—
She had Kyousuke's face, but the things she was told wouldn't reach his ears.
All the words that had been left unsaid—the things people had wanted to tell Kyousuke but never could—now had a chance to be spoken.
Mitsuha didn't know any of this. She thought about it for a while, but since she couldn't figure out if she truly had this ability or not, she decided to just let it go.
If she did, she did. If she didn't, she didn't.
"I'm not sure if I have any special power, but Naoka…"
"Hmm?"
"Every person's situation is unique. You envy the bond between Shouko and Kyousuke… but have you ever considered that maybe Shouko envies you too?"
That was Mitsuha's honest belief. Shouko was ridiculously adorable, but how had that sweetness come to be?
Mitsuha knew that was the real Shouko. But who could say if, in the beginning, that demeanor had been a defense mechanism—something to soften people's hostility and help her fit in?
"…"
Ueno Naoka fell silent.
She didn't even need to think about the things she had witnessed from living with Shouko.
Even just recalling Shouko's first day in their class, what she had endured, including from Naoka herself, was enough to give her an idea of the kind of world Shouko had lived in before.
And then there was the matter of her hearing impairment.
Naoka had once almost drowned before.
She remembered opening her eyes underwater, desperately crying out, but only managing to make garbled noises before water filled her mouth.
The shouts of the children by the pool had sounded distant and muffled—just faint echoes.
Suffocation, fear, helplessness…
Naoka realized that Shouko must have lived in that kind of world every single day.
At night, when Shouko took off her hearing aids, she became completely unaware of everything, whether someone was moving around, watching a video, or making noise.
That was terrifying.
"Back in Itomori, I was always under constant scrutiny. I hated it. But if you asked me to switch lives with Shouko, I don't think I'd be able to handle it." Mitsuha admitted.
"Yeah… If it were me, I probably wouldn't last long either," Ueno Naoka agreed.
"And as for Sakura…"
Mitsuha knew the truth. The reality behind that childhood friend was far from the idealized image Naoka had in her mind. But she couldn't say anything.
"Ugh… damn childhood friends," Naoka muttered.
Now that she thought about it, both Shouko and Sakura were like "childhood friend" characters in her life. And now, she had a literal one, Mitsuha, who had quite literally fallen into their lives from the sky.
"Anyway, Sakura carries burdens just like Shouko. Naoka, you may…"
Mitsuha trailed off.
She suddenly remembered something from Naoka's story.
The reason she had fallen for Kyousuke was that, to her, he had seemed like a hero, smarter, stronger, and, most importantly, someone who wouldn't simply disappear like her parents had.
Looking at it now… all three of Kyousuke's close friends had suffered in their own way.
"Sakura… is like Shouko?" Naoka found it hard to believe. In her mind, Sakura was always laughing without a care in the world.
"Yeah. She hides it well, but she struggles too," Mitsuha said, her voice growing softer.
Sakura had always looked so carefree.
"Alright, your hair is done. By the way, did you modify both Shouko's clothes and your own?"
"Yep! Mitsuha, you noticed?" Naoka grinned, completely distracted now.
"It was obvious at a glance! Even though I don't know much about Tokyo's fashion scene, I could tell right away that Shouko's dress had been altered by hand>
"The neckline, sleeves, and waist were all adjusted. And Naoka, your overalls too! They don't have that usual baggy look at all. Instead, they make your legs look super long!"
"Hehe, Mitsuha, you really have a good eye!"
"I can only do some basic sewing. I can recognize good tailoring, but actually making adjustments like that? No way," Mitsuha admitted.
"Actually… my dream is to become a fashion designer."
Maybe it was because she was already on a roll, or maybe she had just given up on keeping secrets at this point, but Ueno Naoka continued to open up to Mitsuha without hesitation.
"That's amazing! I don't really have a dream like that," Mitsuha said, watching the way Naoka's violet-blue eyes lit up as she talked. She couldn't help but feel a bit envious.
"How can you say that? You're a shrine maiden, aren't you? At our school, so many people would love to have a part-time job at a shrine, but they can't even get the chance!"
"That's just a run-down little shrine in the countryside. Nothing special. But enough about me—go on!"
"Well… Lately, I've been thinking about something new. You know the manga Kyousuke has been working on?"
"A manga?"
Kyousuke draws manga? He's that talented? Mitsuha was stunned. She had assumed his drawings were just rough sketches, but he actually showed them to people?
"You didn't know?"
Naoka pulled out her phone and scrolled to the manga Kyousuke had shared with them yesterday.
"This… This is Kyousuke's work?!"
Just a quick glance at the stunningly detailed artwork was enough to leave Mitsuha in shock.
"Kyousuke said he's working on it with someone else," Naoka explained.
"Oh, that makes more sense."
Mitsuha let out a relieved sigh. If Kyousuke had drawn this all by himself, he might as well be a god.
"I was thinking I could contribute in some way—maybe help design the characters' outfits."
"That's a great idea! Look at you, slowly building more and more connections with Kyousuke!" Mitsuha teased.
"Hehe, I think so too," Naoka admitted, feeling a mix of pride and shyness.
"You two done chatting yet? We should probably start heading to Meguro," Sakura's voice called out from a short distance away.
Hearing her speak, Mitsuha felt her suspicions solidify—Sakura had been hoping she'd have this conversation with Naoka.
But what about the secret Sakura had shared earlier? Had that, too, been a setup to lead into this?
Yamauchi Sakura, Ueno Naoka, Nishimiya Shouko…
In just half a day, Mitsuha had been hit with a whirlwind of emotions.
She wasn't sure if it was the breathtaking scenery of Chidori-ga-fuchi or the intricate web of relationships between these three girls.
Suddenly, the simple life back in Itomori seemed much more appealing. Sayaka might not be as cute as Shouko, but at least she wasn't so complicated!
"Alright, let's start packing up," Mitsuha said, responding to Sakura before turning to Naoka.
"Got it."
The two shared a smile.
As she folded up the picnic mat, Mitsuha felt a pang of doubt.
Had anything she said to Naoka actually helped? She had just blurted out whatever came to mind, but had it really made a difference?
Naoka, watching Mitsuha carefully fold the mat in front of her, broke into a bright, Sakura-like smile.
Of course, she had noticed. This sensitive little shrine maiden had been trying to comfort her.
In the end, she still didn't know what kind of hardships Sakura had gone through, ones that could be compared to Shouko's, but… that didn't really matter anymore.
Because of one simple thought:
Her story with Kyousuke was only just beginning.
Life was long, she hadn't even lived through a sixth of it yet. As long as she and Kyousuke stayed in each other's lives, their bond would keep growing.
And when the time came, she was going to brag about it to Sakura.
Once they finished packing, Mitsuha pulled out her phone to call Eikichi Onizuka.
They had made plans earlier, Onizuka and his best friend were heading to Meguro River that evening too.
Apparently, they were excited because there were "more pretty girls at night."
Picturing the cherry blossom-lined river, Mitsuha couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement.
She had no idea what awaited her in Meguro, but she was eager to find out.