Junction. (12,000 words! Please continue reading!)

The boy’s steps grew heavy in that instant, as if shackles had been clamped around his ankles. The air entering his lungs turned thick and viscous, like a swamp tainted with gas, causing discomfort to seep through his entire body.

Tsukimiya Jinguuji was certain he hadn't misheard.

And Hoshinomori Hoshino was equally sure that the words she had just blurted out had reached the boy beside her.

So, on the dusk-lit streets of Meguro, the boy and girl stood side by side at the edge of the crosswalk. The light was green, and yet neither of them moved.

Passersby who walked past them simply assumed they were a quarrelling young couple.

When the distant signal light finally turned red again, Hoshinomori Hoshino slowly raised her head to look at Tsukimiya Jinguuji.

"Ah... sorry, I got distracted. I think the light was green just now."

"........."

It was obvious that Hoshinomori Hoshino was a girl given to little white lies, and she made no effort to hide it. She knew Tsukimiya Jinguuji had heard her, yet she pretended he hadn’t.

In short, they both knew everything, but acted as if they knew nothing.

It was as awkward as could be.

"Tsukimiya," Hoshinomori Hoshino spoke up suddenly.

"...Hm?"

"Was asking you to join the student council troubling for you?"

"Why bring that up now?"

"It's just that the thought occurred to me for the first time, just now. I hadn't considered it before."

"What thought?"

"If you join the student council, it would mean I’m taking away your free time after school, so you wouldn’t be able to go on dates with girls anymore."

"Well said, absolutely right." Tsukimiya Jinguuji gave her a thumbs up.

That being said, he no longer needed to concern himself with such things.

Hoshinomori Hoshino fell silent for a moment, and after a long pause, looked up at him seriously.

"Could it be I've actually done something bad to you?"

Tsukimiya Jinguuji was taken aback.

"If this ends up affecting your love life, or even causes you to break up with a girlfriend, I’d feel really sorry."

"Uh... I’m not seeing anyone," Tsukimiya Jinguuji explained.

Even he didn’t understand why he didn’t just play along—perhaps she would let him go, and he could finally enjoy being the first out of school for once.

In his heart, Tsukimiya Jinguuji’s answer was “I can’t be bothered.” That was the explanation that best fit his character, far more than some lofty notion of “seeing things through to the end.”

"Really?"

"It’s true."

Hoshinomori Hoshino was quiet for a while before she finally said, "That’s good, then."

When the next green light appeared, they finally moved forward.

"By the way, I’ve been asking around about you at school these past few days," she said.

"Go ahead and ask, it’s not like you’ll hear anything good. Saying it in front of me—what, do you want me to praise you?"

"Not at all. It’s just that the rumors are so bizarre, I can hardly connect the Tsukimiya Jinguuji in those stories to the one standing in front of me."

"I can imagine," he replied.

There was no avoiding the name of Aoyama, the teacher who had already been dismissed, the boy thought.

Tsukimiya Jinguuji had long ago decided to bury the truth about Aoyama deep within himself.

He might be condemned for it, but he believed what he’d done was right.

He only wondered how she was doing now, and hoped she was living the life she had wished for.

"Since you’re so clever, why don’t you guess how people reacted when I went around asking about you?" Hoshinomori Hoshino’s voice cut through his reverie, pulling him back to reality.

"That’s easy. They must have assumed you were dating me and digging into your ‘boyfriend’s’ past, then tried to convince you to stay away from a guy like me."

Hoshinomori Hoshino burst into laughter. "Exactly right."

Tsukimiya Jinguuji couldn’t understand what in that exchange could possibly make her so happy.

"Come on, then—guess how I answered them?"

"Uh..."

He truly had no clear idea about that.

Hoshinomori Hoshino had undoubtedly lost her memories.

But for an upperclassman, her attitude toward him was oddly familiar, almost too comfortable.

At the very least, Tsukimiya Jinguuji had never seen her treat any other boy this way—not even Yamada Kanade.

He figured that his own existence must be a source of both trouble and curiosity to Hoshinomori Hoshino.

"So, what did you say?" The boy’s curiosity was piqued.

Hoshinomori Hoshino smiled serenely and picked up her pace, moving ahead of him.

"Oh dear... should I tell you or not? Hahaha!"

And so, the girl flitted through the crowd like a butterfly, her steps light and carefree, while the boy instinctively followed after her.

Strange, he thought, considering that not so long ago, he’d wanted nothing to do with her.

...

...

In front of the station, a group of girls in matching school uniforms clustered together, chatting animatedly.

"Hey, let’s go to karaoke. I’m so bored."

"Again? How many times has it been this term?"

"Then let’s go to Emi’s place. Emi, is your brother home?"

"Huh? He’s at university. Why? Don’t tell me you like him—he never flushes after using the bathroom, you know. So gross."

"Ahahaha, that’s hilarious!"

"Hey, look, isn’t that the student council president? And Tsukimiya?" One of the girls pointed across the street, signaling to her friends.

"Oh, you’re right." The others chimed in, some even taking out their phones to snap pictures.

"What’s this, a date after school? They’re not shy, are they!"

"I knew it, they’ve been together all along."

Their chatter was a little annoying, so she quietly slipped away from their group.

Those around her kept talking about things she didn’t care about, and she couldn’t even be bothered to look in that direction.

"Welcome! What would you like?" A girl with a side ponytail leaned against the glass display case, her face bright with a smile as she pointed to the caramel nut rolls inside that looked almost too tempting to resist.

"Hello, I’ll take this one, please."

"And two of them," she said, flashing a peace sign.

Her friends came up behind her.

"Wow, Sakura, can you really eat all that?"

"I wanted to bring some home for someone else to try."

"Oho, is there something going on?"

"Come on, tell us! Who is it?"

"It’s not what you think—it’s just the kid next door."

With her friends teasing her, no one paid any more attention to what they had seen earlier. The girl smiled sheepishly, a little embarrassed.

Not once did she glance at the two people across the street.