"You mind if I come with you for a bit?" Keika asked me.
For a second we both looked at each other and then proceeded to look at Maya. She sighed.
"Be back quickly."
Keika ran up to me and we started walking, leaving Maya the only one in her house. She probably didn't like being indoors because I saw her heading towards the roof.
Although she was here, she wasn't speaking. A few hours had passed since school had ended today. And even though we were taking the same path as before, it was a perceivable drop in the temperature.
Another minute passed before she finally opened her mouth to speak her mind.
"That was quite something, you know."
"I am sorry."
"No, no. You don't need to be. It's just that... I didn't know you were going through so much." Her tone was apologizing for her ignorance.
"That...well, I am. Although everyone has something they miss."
The crunching of leaves intensified for a moment as she dashed in front of me.
"Anything else you'd like to share with me?" She had turned exuberant in a moment to try and lift up the mood. If that is the case, I should respond in kind.
"No, but I do have a few questions," I chose to play ball.
"Shoot." She said in high spirits.
"Why didn't you tell your sister about me?"
And in a moment I had extinguished her flare.
"Well..." My question sent her all over the place and she struggled to form proper words, "Yeah. So remember the time you told me not to tell anyone about what happened." She put forth a lame excuse.
"But that was just for the time when we encountered a demon. I didn't tell you to say I don't exist, you know." I could see her getting visibly frustrated.
In the short time that I have spent at her house, I have been able to catch that her older sister is a bit protective of her.
I heard a little something rustling behind her back.
When I looked to see what it was she turned to hide it.
"What's that?" I gave her a way out of this predicament by changing the topic.
"Well... It's---Ah! Dang, it!"
That startled me a bit...but it seems she was not directing her words at me.
"It's a gift I prepared for you," Keika said.
"For me?"
"Yeah. You see...I never got to say thanks to you for saving me and today was also the first time you came to our house, so it felt okay to give that."
I took the jute bag she held in front of me.
"Thanks." The bag had no labeling on it. Inside it was a scarf, a mix of yellow and brown fabric, which too had no tag on it. As I brought it out, in the corner I could see my name sewed using a red thread.
"Thank you for saving me that day. Here, I'll help you out," she said and took a step closer to me.
"This was made at home?"
"Yep, I made it myself."
"Of course you did, it's not like your sister knew my name," I teased her again.
"Shut it!" And she didn't like it one bit. I couldn't help but let out a giggle.
I looked up at the autumn sky and realized it was getting late. I should send her back.
There was no curfew today, but even then I could see no one around us.
When I looked down, I couldn't see her in front of me, and all I saw was her arms slowly moving around me to make a warm embrace.
"Winter is here, huh?" She asked.
"Yes."
A minute ago, I had her cornered. But she had flipped the situation on me as I was the clueless one here.
I could feel the scarf's fabric on my neck getting warm from her breath.
A train passed beside us on the tracks, but it did nothing to the two of us. She chose to not move and I was constrained to her.
"Wh-what was that for?" I asked her as she released me from a hug.
"Back when you were talking to my sister, you sounded cold. You said some words that I felt were unlike you."
I had said those things in an attempt to sway Maya's opinion and make the best of this opportunity, I did not have time to care what she felt as a result of it.
"How's that related to this?" I asked, realizing she still hadn't moved away from me. The gap in our faces was no more than a few inches.
"You were slipping into a cold place, far from me," she didn't look into my eyes and kept fixing my scarf, "so I hugged you, warmed you up, and brought you back." Keika finally after all this, looked at me again.
And in her eyes, I could see something I hadn't expected in the slightest.
"And I'll do it as many times as it is necessary," time slowed as she raised on her toes to meet my lips.
She might have sensed surprise from me, but what she failed to see was this dreadful thought. This was a situation I had hoped would never happen.
"I'm sorry, I-I cannot."
I looked to the side, down on the snow withdrawing just before I could feel her lips. It was so close that our cheeks grazed against each other.
"Wha-?" She was taken aback for a second before I responded.
"I have to go."
I said before I turned around to leave in a bit of a hurry.
"Hey, wait!"
I couldn't turn around to look at her. That was extremely rude of me after all that she had said to me.
But there is something I cannot afford. I cannot fall in love. Love is a burden, a responsibility I am not strong enough to handle.
I know I've hurt her. I know there are a lot of questions in her mind that I cannot answer for her own sake. I'm an idiot for doing such a thing to her and I hope she hates me for this.
But there's no choice, and being close to me puts her at risk. I don't want an innocent bystander to be a part of this nasty scheme that has been set by the instructor.
If you take a responsibility whose weight you're not sure you can carry, it won't end well for you. Trust me, I speak from experience.