Following her senses, Rita quickly found Shiina Mashiro.
Shiro was sitting quietly on the stone steps ahead, wearing Suimei Art's uniform. Her fine pale-yellow hair was like sands of time flowing past her hand, its elegant light gold as delicate as gauze draped from a castle in Europe.
She sat there motionless like a porcelain doll, doing nothing... There was no one around her either. She was alone... all by herself.
Looking at Shiina Mashiro's exquisite, beautiful face, Rita found her so adorable that she wanted to protect her...
As Rita approached, Shiro seemed to sense something and slowly raised her head. A breeze passed by, and though it was long past the season when cherry blossoms had fallen, Rita seemed to see them bloom again.
Shiro raised her head and quietly met Rita's gaze. Her utterly untainted eyes were calm and distant, making Rita inexplicably feel as though she had done something wrong.
"Sorry! Shiro... I kept you waiting!"
With a trace of apology, Rita really had arrived late. She had made her wait so long.
"Too slow..."
"Rita."
Shiina Mashiro's voice was calm, and her gaze was clear. She showed no anger or any other reaction, as though she were merely stating the truth.
"It was my fault! Something came up on the way and delayed me... All right, let's go home."
Rita held out her hand to Shiina Mashiro.
Seeing Rita's gesture, Shiina Mashiro looked at it for a few moments before placing her hand in Rita's.
"How was school?"
After taking Shiina Mashiro out through the school gates, Rita didn't take the train or walk this time. Instead, she hailed a taxi. In truth, the apartment Rita had bought wasn't far from the school, barely a kilometer away. It wouldn't have taken long to walk.