"Rock, paper, scissors!"
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
The first round ended quickly. Kitagawa Ryo threw rock, and Ichinose Honami threw scissors.
"Just like when we were kids, Honami still likes to throw scissors in the first round."
Kitagawa Ryo wore a smug expression. It was only a simple game, but he looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Aren't you worried I might have changed my Rock Paper Scissors habits, Ryo?"
"I threw rock because I was determined to believe in you, Honami."
Kitagawa Ryo brought his right hand back behind him and smiled at Ichinose Honami.
"Next round, I'll throw scissors again."
Ichinose Honami looked at Kitagawa Ryo, who seemed raring to go, and made the announcement in a lighthearted tone.
"You just said you believed in me, didn't you?"
Rock Paper Scissors wasn't just a game of luck. There was room for strategy before anyone threw a hand. If someone announced what they would throw beforehand, the game turned into one of suspicion and denial.
But Ichinose Honami seemed not to have given the matter much thought at all. She simply said to Kitagawa Ryo:
"I don't mind where we go. You can decide, Ryo. Let's hurry up and finish."
After saying this, Ichinose Honami watched Kitagawa Ryo's face. He responded with his usual faint smile.
"Yeah, I understand."
What was he thinking?
Did he really believe what I'd said and plan to do as I asked?
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
"Rock, paper, scissors."
Kitagawa Ryo threw rock again without hesitation, but Ichinose Honami had thrown paper.
"Looks like Honami's learned how to lie."
Kitagawa Ryo didn't look surprised at all, nor did he seem angry.
Just as I thought, he knew I was lying, but he still did what I asked.
"'Believe me' is the kind of thing liars always say. If you hear those words, you should be suspicious first."
Ichinose Honami pretended not to care as she brought her hand behind her back again.
"From now on, watch out for liars who say things like 'believe me,' Ryo..."
"Are you an Actor, Honami?"
"What?"
"Because you acted really well just now. Your poker face was perfect, too. The only people who can lie without a second thought are liars and actors, right?"
Kitagawa Ryo gave Ichinose Honami a teasing wink.
"And the better an actor's performance, the more deeply they fool the audience—and the more praise they get."
Her heart gave a dull ache, and her throat felt a little dry.
"This is the last round."
Ichinose Honami cut Kitagawa Ryo off, as if deliberately avoiding the topic.
"But the audience won't be fooled twice by the same performance. I'm really good at seeing through lies."
Kitagawa Ryo made the confident declaration like victory was already within his grasp.
"You were just fooled..."
Ichinose Honami sighed and prepared for the third round.
Just before they were about to throw, Kitagawa Ryo suddenly spoke.
"Honami."
"Hmm?"
"This time, I'm still throwing rock."
There was no time to think. The next second, it was time to throw.
At the last moment, even Ichinose Honami couldn't grasp what had flashed through her mind.
"Honami won."
Before them were Ichinose Honami's paper and Kitagawa Ryo's rock.
"Why do you look so surprised? Looks like you really trust me, Honami."
"Honami's learned how to lie, but she's also so innocent that she's easy to fool."
Even though he'd lost the game, Kitagawa Ryo wasn't discouraged in the slightest. He stood up, brushed off his knees, and asked casually:
"Where to next?"
"Let's go to the temple."
Ichinose Honami only came back to herself when Kitagawa Ryo asked. Until then, she had simply been staring at her right hand, held open to show paper.
Everything was going according to plan, but she didn't feel the slightest bit of joy. Her heart was like an empty, silent abyss, where no emotion echoed.
"Are you interested in the temple too, Honami? I heard you can draw a fortune slip there, and they're supposed to be pretty accurate."
Biting her lip hard and struggling to hold back the nausea rising from her stomach, Ichinose Honami tried to answer calmly.
"It's fine. It's getting late, too. Maybe we can still make it in time for the temple's free vegetarian meal."
"Want to hold hands?"
Hearing Ichinose Honami's answer, Kitagawa Ryo smiled happily. He looked like a child who'd gotten a perfect score at school and was confidently holding out his hand for a treat from his parents when he got home.
"Of course."
Unlike when they'd held hands outside the park earlier, Kitagawa Ryo could feel that her hand had grown much colder.
"Your hand's a little cold, Honami."
"Probably because I was holding an ice cream earlier."
"I hope we can still go to the Fireworks Festival together this year, like we used to."
"Why bring that up all of a sudden?"
"Because it's coming up soon, and there are so many shops selling Yukata around here, aren't there?"
Kitagawa Ryo seemed to notice that her hand was trembling slightly with unease.
"I'll definitely be back from overseas before the Fireworks Festival starts next year."
"It might be a little difficult, but if I can, I'll try to get back even earlier, before your birthday, Honami. It's July twentieth, right? I've already got your present ready for this year."
Kitagawa Ryo rarely made promises, so this was one of the few times Ichinose Honami had seen him eagerly sketching out their future with such a hopeful expression.
Perhaps suddenly realizing that the girl beside him hadn't responded, Kitagawa Ryo scratched his head awkwardly.
"Maybe I got a little carried away talking so far ahead."
As he said this, Kitagawa Ryo glanced cautiously at Ichinose Honami, who had her head bowed and seemed to be texting someone. Her long hair fell over her face, making her expression impossible to see.
"...It's okay. I'm looking forward to it, too."
"It's been ages since I got a birthday present from you."
Ichinose Honami put her phone away and swept her hair behind her ear. Then her usual bright smile returned.
"But I won't accept anything too expensive."
"I couldn't afford anything too expensive anyway."
Kitagawa Ryo remembered that he'd only ever given her practical gifts like umbrellas, alarm clocks, and cups. He ventured a tentative question:
"Would a little accessory, like a hair clip, count as expensive?"
"I'd get an earful from Mom. She's never wanted me to get anything from you that I could wear out and that would stand out."
Ichinose Honami let out a long sigh. Ahead of them, golden eaves were visible through gaps in the tree branches.
"The travel guide says the vegetarian meals are served from eleven thirty to one, and there are only a thousand servings. It's already twelve thirty. I wonder if we'll still make it."
Estimating how far they had left to go, Kitagawa Ryo spoke a little anxiously. They'd already planned to have lunch there, and if they missed out, they'd have to make do with the sandwiches they'd brought.
"We'll make it. Hurry."
Ichinose Honami gazed toward the distant temple. She could almost hear the tolling of a great bell.
Trying hard to suppress her emotions, Ichinose Honami met Kitagawa Ryo's puzzled gaze. She tidied her hair, which had been tousled by the wind, then stopped and turned to face him. Leaning forward slightly, she spoke one word at a time:
"Believe me."
"Wow, the promotional photos looked so fancy, but the food was so mediocre. It perfectly matched the price—free."
Just after leaving the somewhat crowded dining hall for visitors, Karuizawa Kei couldn't help complaining as she breathed in the fresh, leafy air.
"It really was too bland," Ichinose Maki casually agreed, looking around for the cat they'd left in the garden.
"Hotaru!"
Spotting a lazy white shape crouched on a tree, Ichinose Maki hurried over and called up to it.
At the call of her Pooper Scooper, the white cat quickly leaped down and soon nestled in Ichinose Maki's arms again.
"Not only is the name the same, but they look so alike, too."
A few days earlier, she'd already heard Kitagawa Ryo talk about the white cat named "Hotaru" that he and Ichinose Honami had once raised together. She also knew that the cat in Ichinose Maki's arms was a different one they'd bought later because it resembled Hotaru, but Karuizawa Kei still couldn't help making the comparison.
She reached out to pet the white cat's head. After receiving a somewhat disdainful look, she awkwardly lowered her hand.
"What time is it?"
"Almost one."
Hearing Ichinose Maki's question, Karuizawa Kei took out her phone and checked.
"Let's rest for a bit, then head to the summit. Otherwise, I don't think we'll make it back down in time."
"Yeah, let's sit here a little longer."
After settling on their plan, Ichinose Maki and Karuizawa Kei found a stone bench beneath a tree. They chatted idly while letting their lunch settle, but the conversation gradually drifted to Kitagawa Ryo.
"Did Kitagawa-senpai live across the street from your family when he was little?"
"Yeah. So when I later heard that my brother came from a pretty wealthy family, my sister and I were both surprised. When he was a kid, you'd never have guessed he came from a rich family. He was always running around in the woods and on sandy lots, and he only ever bought the cheapest popsicles."
"Ever since elementary school, my brother was always with my sister. It wasn't until they got to middle school that my brother started to seem different from the other boys. My sister's great, too, but somehow, she just can't hold her head as high around my brother."
Ichinose Maki counted off Kitagawa Ryo's qualities on her fingers.
"He was already a year older than my sister, so he started middle school before her and became Student Council president before her, too. He was handsome, and he was good at soccer. I heard that in his third year of middle school, he got more than a dozen love letters every morning."
"Kitagawa-senpai really is a wonderful person. He has a great personality, too, and he makes you feel safe."
Karuizawa Kei nodded in agreement. Though she and Kitagawa Ryo had only been pretending to date for a few days, it was enough for her to realize that having a boyfriend like him was something to be proud of. Even now, she often thought back to the moment Kitagawa Ryo had put his hands on her shoulders and accepted her confession in front of everyone.
"Great personality, huh..."
Ichinose Maki stroked the white cat in her arms and spoke hesitantly.
"I won't deny that, but my brother sometimes does things that don't match his appearance."
"And it's always because of my sister."
Ichinose Maki suddenly accused her sister indignantly.
"My sister's an idiot!"
"Huh?"
Startled by the little girl's sudden outburst, Karuizawa Kei let out a confused little cry.
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