Ya Ya was clearly taken aback.
"You could fall?"
The sheer disbelief in her voice almost made the boy laugh.
Wait...
Was the idea of him falling really that surprising?
"I'm not you."
The boy looked at the gray-haired girl.
"I don't have the ability to swing that high..."
He gestured with his hand. "And still keep myself from falling off."
"I'm just an ordinary human."
Oh.
Ya Ya looked enlightened.
She'd forgotten.
The boy was human.
And humans... were very weak.
"I forgot."
Ya Ya candidly admitted her mistake.
Then she spoke earnestly.
"I won't let you fall."
The boy froze.
"...Th-thanks."
A broad smile spread across his face.
Though he wondered whether Ya Ya, so caught up in the fun of swinging, could really save him in time, he was happy just knowing she cared enough to try.
"Want to keep playing?"
Ya Ya rested her chin in her hand and tilted her head as she looked at him.
The boy hesitated.
After all, the memory of what had happened before was all too vivid.
Terrifyingly vivid.
He wasn't sure if he could—
No, if he could sit on the swing again so soon.
But...
The words of refusal caught in his throat. He couldn't bring himself to say them.
Ya Ya wanted him to swing, didn't she?
If he refused... would she be disappointed?
Even if she was only a little disappointed... he would feel uneasy.
He didn't want Ya Ya to feel even the slightest bit unhappy because of him.
"If you don't want to—"
"I do!"
The boy immediately cut her off.
Ya Ya blinked in surprise.
Seeing how determined he looked, she was a little puzzled, but didn't think much of it.
She nodded casually.
"Then sit tight."
"I'll be careful this time."
The