"Are... are you okay?" he asked tentatively.
"I'm fine."
The girl slowly turned her head. Her face was still pale, but her eyes held a complicated emotion Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't understand.
"I just thought it was that."
She paused, her gaze passing over Hachiman Hikigaya's shoulder.
"I didn't expect it not to be."
Hachiman Hikigaya instinctively turned around. There was still nothing there, but when he turned back, he found the girl looking at him with a strange expression.
"Did you deliberately follow me because you can see them too?"
Hachiman Hikigaya froze. He noticed the girl's eyes suddenly light up. He knew that light all too well—it was the hope of a lonely person finally finding a companion.
Her pupils dilated slightly, and her lips pressed together unconsciously, as though she were waiting for something.
Hachiman Hikigaya froze. He noticed the girl's eyes suddenly light up. He knew that light all too well—it was the hope of a lonely person finally finding a companion. Her pupils dilated slightly, and her lips pressed together unconsciously, as though she were waiting for something.
The afterglow of the setting sun streamed through the gaps above the alley, casting mottled shadows across the girl's face. Hachiman Hikigaya saw her fingers clutching tightly at her skirt, her knuckles white, her whole body taut with tension.
"I..."
Hachiman Hikigaya opened his mouth, but he didn't know how to answer. He could see the light in the girl's eyes slowly dimming, like a candle about to go out.
"I knew it."
The girl lowered her head, her voice carrying a trace of self-mockery.
"I was too naive."
The boy in front of her opened his mouth, but he didn't know how to answer. Miko could see the confusion in his eyes, and she could see her