When we first bumped into each other, the atmosphere turned tense for a while, but afterwards, things were proceeding as usual (at least on the surface).
"Alright, I need to go with my parents now. I'd love to go with you guys, but I don't want to disturb Maki-kun and Umi's date~"
"I know, right~? Well, it's about time for me to meet up with my sister. I'd rather leave her by herself, but it isn't like I can just do that."
"Okay, see you guys later then. Let's go, Maki."
"Ah, okay… See you, Amami-san, Nitta-san."
""See you~""
I thought the four of us would go around the place together for a while, but to my surprise, Amami-san and Nitta-san just left us as soon as they finished eating.
Amami-san said something about not wanting to disturb our date, but in truth it was probably because of the thing that happened between Nitta-san and herself.
Still, I never expected that Nitta-san, someone who usually acted as the balance keeper for our group, would get involved in something like this. Their relationship would probably grow a little awkward because of this, just like what happened back when Amami-san and Umi fought.
"Ah, that's a cute one~ Maki, what do you think about the hat? Isn't it cute? Do you think it'll suit me?"
"Huh? A-Ah, yeah, it's cute, yeah. It'll suit you… I think…"
"…Hmph."
"W-What's wrong?"
"That praise just now wasn't sincere. It lacks soul."
"Ugh…"
That was my honest opinion, but it was obvious to Umi that I was incredibly distracted by something else. Thanks to this, she didn't accept my praise and puffed her cheeks in displeasure.
Seriously, I was in the middle of a date. I really should focus on my girlfriend instead of thinking about something completely unrelated.
Still, it wasn't like I could just stop thinking about those two. I had a feeling that if I didn't do something about it, their problem would never get resolved.
"…Sorry, Umi. I just can't stop thinking about those two."
"I knew it. Well, me too, actually. Let's look for a place to sit, shall we?"
"Okay. Thank you, Umi."
"Don't mention it. I'm already used to this by now."
I thanked her again for always listening to my selfish demands. After that, we went to an empty sofa where they allowed us to sit and sat there.
Normally, this would be the time when I started to doze off on Umi's shoulders. I had been walking around for hours in this mall, so I had naturally grown tired at this point. But, for some reason, my eyes didn't feel heavy this time.
"By the way, have those two ever fought before?"
"No, this is the first time they do. Well, Yuu and I went to all-girls school, while Nina went to public school, so there are bound to be differences in their views about certain matters. They respect each other enough so that never became a problem though… Well, both Yuu and I only knew Nina for a year and a half, so we didn't really have many opportunities to get on each others' nerves to begin with. Compared to that, Yuu and I used to fight a lot when we were kids…"
"That's surprising. You two? Fought a lot?"
"Is it really that surprising? I mean, when you know each other for so long, things like this are bound to happen, no? …Well, it's probably because we are so close to each other that there are just some things that we can't just ignore…"
"…I see."
I got what she was trying to say. Like, you wouldn't go out of your way to help out an 'acquaintance' or a 'friend' if something were to happen to them. You might try to help them, but you wouldn't do more things than necessary. On the contrary, if it was your 'best friend,' 'lover,' or 'family member,' you'd definitely stick your nose in their problems. Sometimes, that would lead to a fight with them, similar to what happened with me and my parents a while ago.
With that taken into consideration, I guess it was a sign that those two had grown considerably close to each other. That meant, the current situation wasn't necessarily a bad thing… Well, as long as they could make up with each other afterwards.
"But, what happened to them? Why did they even fight in the first place?"
"…Well… You know…"
"You don't know why either, Umi?"
"I mean… I've been only paying attention to you these days, Maki, so, you know…"
"I see… "
"Well, they understand where I'm coming from at least. That's why they teased us instead of getting genuinely annoyed by us whenever we flirted in front of their faces."
Personally, I think she should spend more time with those two, but I had the feeling that if I were to say those words out loud, something horrible would happen to me, so I restrained myself.
In any case, I should respect her feelings and let her do what she wants to do.
"Phew… Before we start discussing this seriously, I want to go to the toilet. Can you wait here for a bit with our luggages, Maki? I'll buy a drink for you while I'm at it."
"Sure. Give me hot tea, please."
After that, Umi left me alone on the sofa. I rested my back on the soft surface of the sofa.
Amami-san and Nitta-san… Those two had never done this before. What happened to them?
"…There's also the matter of Nitta-san asking me out on a date…"
If you were to ask me about something strange that happened in the period of time between the sports and fireworks festival, that one event would be the first thing that came to my mind. But, even if Amami-san ended up knowing about that, I doubt she'd fret about it much since Nitta-san herself passed it up as a joke.
I assumed that they were probably in disagreements about something. Most likely, Amami-san was doing something that Nitta-san couldn't ignore.
"…Ah, jeez, I don't know anymore."
If I were to put more thoughts into this matter, I had a feeling that I'd go crazy. In the end I decided to forget about those two and think about something else.
Something like, tomorrow's date, I guess. Now that I think about it, we planned on a date tomorrow, but we haven't worked on the details yet. Like, I didn't even know where we would go.
Since we've done our shopping today… I guess we could go karaoke or to the arcade? If she didn't want us to spend too much money, we could also just go to the park or something.
As I started to think about my possible date with Umi, my previously spent energy gradually returned.
This was probably what I should've been doing. Just thinking about Umi. Indulging myself with her, chatting with her, having fun with her and… doing all sorts of things with her…
…Come to think of it, it has been a whole month since we last did 'it.' Now that the sports festival was over, it should probably be okay if I were to ask her for it, right?
"Why are you grinning to yourself like that, Rep? Gross."
"Huh? A-Ah, uh…"
Just when my imagination moved to a weird direction, a certain someone's voice dragged me back to reality. It was Nitta-san, looking at me with her arms folded while wearing a disappointed look.
"Nitta-san?"
"Heya, we met again~ Well, I tried to ignore you, you know? I really did. But you were acting so suspiciously, so I couldn't help myself. So, why are you here by yourself? You didn't get into a fight with your lovely girlfriend, did you?"
"Of course not, she's just going to the toilet… What about you? Why are you alone? You haven't found Yuna-san yet?"
She said that she was going to meet up with her sister, that was why she left the group quickly. But, she wasn't with anyone at the moment.
Well, if she couldn't find her sister, guess it wouldn't hurt if I were to help her.
After hearing my question, Nitta-san answered my question nonchalantly.
"My sister? Ah, that was a lie."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, it was a lie. I came here by myself."
"…What?"
I could feel my brain die the moment I heard those words come out of her mouth.