The Fourth Period Is Modern Chinese (Continued)

There was no need to ask who she was imitating. Her expression and tone were perfect, as were her choice of words, the way she pressed for answers, and even the way she messed with my name.

"Because we've always been together."

Yuihama laughed and looked toward the distant horizon.

The two of us looked out at the sea together, and the sound of the incoming tide seemed to grow louder.

As I watched the shifting surface of the water, I could hear the endlessly rising and falling waves, as well as the pleasant sea breeze that kept blowing in. My eyes were filled with those sights, and for the first time in a while, I felt myself breathing again.

The stiffness I had felt earlier finally faded away.

Maybe it was this sense of distance, the place we were in, the nature of our relationship.

It felt like I could get used to it little by little. Or rather, perhaps I had already made her feel that I could.

The sun slowly sank. By the time I noticed again, half of it had already disappeared beneath the horizon.

The twilight in the sky began to fade. Once the afterglow vanished, the streetlights along the coast and the flames of the steelworks reaching toward the stars took its place in the sky.

"So, what do we do now?"

Yuihama said as she suddenly stood up.

"Go home, obviously."

I straightened up as well and answered in a slightly joking tone. Hearing that, Yuihama brushed the sand from her skirt, sighed speechlessly, then smiled.

"That's not what I meant."

Then she took a step forward and faced me directly.

"I mean Yukino's situation, and mine... ours."

Hearing words that felt like something I had heard before, my heart pounded violently.

I