hear Asahina’s voice.
“It’s me. Did anything happen? I hope not.”
“Um… no, nothing happened. Ah, I’ll be right down, so just wait there, please!”
I’d wanted to come up to Nagato’s room and relax for a bit, but Asahina cut off the intercom immediately.
I stood there idly for about five minutes, whereupon Asahina showed up in the foyer, still wearing her school uniform. She held school slippers in one hand.
She looked at me with an expression of relief, but then suddenly turned serious, shivering in the cold as she trotted over to me.
“I borrowed shoes from Nagato. Also, here’s the apartment key.”
Asahina held a small key in her hand.
“Could you return it to Nagato for me?”
Huh? What was going on? Since she was staying for a while, couldn’t she borrow both the shoes and the key?
“About that…” Asahina tucked her chin down, her eyes upturned and looking at me. “I don’t think I should stay at Nagato’s place.”
Why not? I asked.
“How should I put this…” The winter wind tried to disturb her chestnut brown hair; Asahina smoothed it down with her hand. “When I’m alone with Nagato, she just can’t calm down.”
I’d gotten the same line from Nagato. But no, forget that—I couldn’t imagine what Nagato would do that would indicate anxiousness to Asahina, I said.
“Um, well,” said Asahina, as though explaining something to a small child. “It’s just a feeling, really. When I’m sleeping at night… I mean, we’re in separate rooms, I’m sleeping in the spare room, but it’s like she’s standing right beside my bed, staring down at me…”
C’mon, she’s not like a ghost, I said.
“… It’s just a feeling, but it’s like she’s
conscious
of me.” Asahina exhaled whitely, staring at my chest. “I don’t feel it when we’re all in the clubroom, but it’s really strong when it’s just the two of us at her place. It happened last month too. When we returned from the past, I woke up and you were gone, and I just had the feeling that she’d been staring at me the whole time I was asleep.”
What was that supposed to imply? I couldn’t imagine Nagato ever doing anything to hurt Asahina, I said.
“I know. That’s not what she’s thinking. It’s just an impression I get… but I know. It’s like she’s hung up on me somehow.”
This was completely incoherent.
I
certainly didn’t understand it.
Asahina looked at me accusingly. With a lonely tone to her voice, she said, “It’s like… she wants to be like me.”
“…?” was my only reply.
“Like doing all kinds of crazy stuff with you, Kyon. I’m alwaysdoing stuff like that, right? But Nagato just watches. It was like that on Tanabata and during the endless summer too.”
The seal of the SOS Brigade was all over my memories of the previous year. One of them was that Nagato was always the hardest-working member.
“I wonder if that’s part of why she changed the past. She’s always watching over us, instead of always getting saved, like me.”
Asahina breathed into the palm of her hand, then nodded decisively.
“When I think about it like that, it makes sense. What I feel from Nagato, I mean. She might want to become like me, in a way…”
My mind went on a wild flight of fancy. I couldn’t help imagining going into the clubroom as usual and encountering a maid-outfit-wearing Nagato there, cheerfully serving me tea. She would smile as she poured out the hot water, then, holding the tray, ask me how it tasted…
If Nagato were to become like that, I couldn’t really complain. But what would happen to the Nagato who sat at the corner of the table, reading?
“I think Nagato knows this herself too. That’s why I don’t think I should be here. It just makes things difficult for her.”
Asahina’s eyes were serious. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be in Nagato’s home, it was that she was being considerate of Nagato. We already knew what could happen when too
“It’s me. Did anything happen? I hope not.”
“Um… no, nothing happened. Ah, I’ll be right down, so just wait there, please!”
I’d wanted to come up to Nagato’s room and relax for a bit, but Asahina cut off the intercom immediately.
I stood there idly for about five minutes, whereupon Asahina showed up in the foyer, still wearing her school uniform. She held school slippers in one hand.
She looked at me with an expression of relief, but then suddenly turned serious, shivering in the cold as she trotted over to me.
“I borrowed shoes from Nagato. Also, here’s the apartment key.”
Asahina held a small key in her hand.
“Could you return it to Nagato for me?”
Huh? What was going on? Since she was staying for a while, couldn’t she borrow both the shoes and the key?
“About that…” Asahina tucked her chin down, her eyes upturned and looking at me. “I don’t think I should stay at Nagato’s place.”
Why not? I asked.
“How should I put this…” The winter wind tried to disturb her chestnut brown hair; Asahina smoothed it down with her hand. “When I’m alone with Nagato, she just can’t calm down.”
I’d gotten the same line from Nagato. But no, forget that—I couldn’t imagine what Nagato would do that would indicate anxiousness to Asahina, I said.
“Um, well,” said Asahina, as though explaining something to a small child. “It’s just a feeling, really. When I’m sleeping at night… I mean, we’re in separate rooms, I’m sleeping in the spare room, but it’s like she’s standing right beside my bed, staring down at me…”
C’mon, she’s not like a ghost, I said.
“… It’s just a feeling, but it’s like she’s
conscious
of me.” Asahina exhaled whitely, staring at my chest. “I don’t feel it when we’re all in the clubroom, but it’s really strong when it’s just the two of us at her place. It happened last month too. When we returned from the past, I woke up and you were gone, and I just had the feeling that she’d been staring at me the whole time I was asleep.”
What was that supposed to imply? I couldn’t imagine Nagato ever doing anything to hurt Asahina, I said.
“I know. That’s not what she’s thinking. It’s just an impression I get… but I know. It’s like she’s hung up on me somehow.”
This was completely incoherent.
I
certainly didn’t understand it.
Asahina looked at me accusingly. With a lonely tone to her voice, she said, “It’s like… she wants to be like me.”
“…?” was my only reply.
“Like doing all kinds of crazy stuff with you, Kyon. I’m alwaysdoing stuff like that, right? But Nagato just watches. It was like that on Tanabata and during the endless summer too.”
The seal of the SOS Brigade was all over my memories of the previous year. One of them was that Nagato was always the hardest-working member.
“I wonder if that’s part of why she changed the past. She’s always watching over us, instead of always getting saved, like me.”
Asahina breathed into the palm of her hand, then nodded decisively.
“When I think about it like that, it makes sense. What I feel from Nagato, I mean. She might want to become like me, in a way…”
My mind went on a wild flight of fancy. I couldn’t help imagining going into the clubroom as usual and encountering a maid-outfit-wearing Nagato there, cheerfully serving me tea. She would smile as she poured out the hot water, then, holding the tray, ask me how it tasted…
If Nagato were to become like that, I couldn’t really complain. But what would happen to the Nagato who sat at the corner of the table, reading?
“I think Nagato knows this herself too. That’s why I don’t think I should be here. It just makes things difficult for her.”
Asahina’s eyes were serious. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be in Nagato’s home, it was that she was being considerate of Nagato. We already knew what could happen when too
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