But he seemed to be in another dimension.
The short-haired girl and her friend were still admiring the little white fox.
The boy in the baseball cap suddenly spoke.
He...
Was just confused.
Just as he had been back then.
He didn't understand why he had been treated that way.
Now, he didn't understand why the little fox on the boy's shoulder was being ignored, either.
Ignored by the children.
Ignored by the girls.
Even though it was such a beautiful, adorable, special fox.
Compared to the boy back then—
Uh.
Compared to him now, too.
It was far more eye-catching.
Such an eye-catching little fox...
Why?
The boy in the baseball cap couldn't understand.
Memories of that time stirred in his heart.
Back then, he hadn't had the courage to seek an answer.
Today, he wanted to get an answer for the little fox on the boy's shoulder.
Huh?
The smiles on the two girls' faces faltered.
They instinctively looked toward the voice.
Confusion showed on their faces.
Had the boy in the baseball cap just...
Been talking to them?
The girl with bangs felt strangely moved.
Did people these days just talk to strangers like that?
How did they do it?
If she were alone, she couldn't do it at all.
"Were you just talking to us?"
The short-haired girl asked.
"Yeah."
The boy in the baseball cap nodded.
The two girls looked surprised.
He really had been talking to them.
But...
Why?
"We don't know you."
The short-haired girl said bluntly.
"Is there something you need?"
"What did you just say?"
The short-haired girl turned to the girl with bangs.
The girl with bangs shook her head.
She hadn't heard what the boy in the baseball cap had