Part-1 Ch-04 Ep-02

By the way, I remembered that she had said, “I want to go to the aquarium just the two of us,” right as I was putting on my shoes at the entrance on my way to meet Maki.

I never really understood the reason she gave, “Dates are something you do as a couple, right?”, but since she has always been like this ever since we were little, I simply thought, “Well, okay then,” and agreed.

This means it is actually a good thing that Kagami-kun is not coming.

That was close.

When Maki gets into a bad mood, she remains thoroughly grumpy.

That said, Maki and I are always together anyway, so being “just the two of us” does not feel all that special anymore.

We have been together since we were children.

If anything, the only thing that has changed is how we spend our time together. From collecting pill bugs to going to karaoke or shopping, but the way we feel when we are together has not changed much at all.

Well, the person I am happiest to be with is still Maki. We are the closest, after all. Childhood friends. At the very least, the way I have treated her has hardly changed since long ago.

Maki has not changed either... probably.

Though I am honestly not completely confident about that.

Ever since starting high school, I have occasionally noticed expressions or moments in her that feel different from before.

Just as her height gradually increases with growth and her appearance becomes more mature, perhaps, little by little, in the midst of daily life, the inside of us is changing too.

Kagami-kun’s words, “Nagase, you should pay closer attention to Ichinose’s behavior,” flash through my mind. What is it that he can see but I cannot?

“Mari—! Sorry to keep you waiting—!”

Just seeing her running toward me with a bright smile makes all those thoughts seem trivial.

Today, Maki is wearing a white blouse with beige high-waisted pants and sneakers, an outfit that balances ease of movement with a touch of sweetness.

“Cute,” I tell her honestly, and she replies, “Ah, thanks... You’re really cute too, Mari.” I am glad I wore the new dress I just bought.

I have thought this for a while, but Maki definitely has a tsundere side.

Toward our classmates and the people around us, she is basically very kind and carries herself well. Thanks to that, she is trusted by both classmates and teachers. As expected of the heroine.

But toward me, Kagami-kun, and recently Todoroki-kun, the people who cross a certain “line,” she sometimes shows a mix of tsun* and dere*.

[T/N- Tsun = acting angry but not really like this emoji 😾 and "dere" is showering with affection.]

Those sides of her are unbearably adorable even just as a friend, and from a story perspective, they are delightful.

When I mentioned this to Kagami-kun once when we ran into each other at the convenience store, he looked genuinely puzzled and said, “I’ve never once seen Ichinose act dere toward us, though...?”

Maybe she still cannot properly show that dere side in front of them. This is a serious issue. I need to support her so she can improve.

For me, both tsun Maki and dere Maki are everyday occurrences.

“Hey, hey, Mari! Look—!”

When I turn toward her voice, she is already at the aquarium’s hands-on corner, enthusiastically touching sea creatures.

She must have really been looking forward to this, or maybe she is simply delighted that the first thing I said today was “cute.” Either way, she is in a very good mood and bursting with energy.

My princess has such a selfish personality.

“Ahahahahahahahahahaha!!”

But the way she is laughing loudly while grabbing sea cucumbers and starfish with both hands is making the people around us recoil a little. Hey, hey, that guy over there, do not take pictures without permission. I slide my body in between to block the camera before Maki notices.

The girl herself remains completely absorbed, hands deep in the tank.

“Pfft.”

See—at the end of the day, there are still parts of her that have not changed at all from when she used to collect pill bugs.

In the end, Maki is Maki, and I am me.

There are things that have not changed and things that have, but I figured it is fine to simply accept those changes together as they come.