Tsushima Kagami glanced at the time on his phone.
"It's about time we headed out."
Kosaka Akane, Machida Sonoko, and Sayuri all nodded.
After tidying up a bit, they finally left the Manga Research Club together with Tsushima Kagami.
The four of them had just come downstairs and walked out through the lobby of the classroom building when, out of the corner of their eyes, they caught sight of Shimizu Nayotake standing off to one side.
Tsushima Kagami and the others all came to a stop in unison.
"Nayotake?"
Shimizu Nayotake looked over toward them.
The group confirmed that it was indeed Shimizu Nayotake.
"Why are you standing out here?"
Tsushima Kagami and the others came down the steps from the lobby.
They walked over and stood beside Shimizu Nayotake.
"I... I was waiting for all of you."
Shimizu Nayotake said.
"Then why didn't you just come up to the Manga Research Club?"
Tsushima Kagami asked at this point.
"Yeah, it's so cold out here."
"Nayotake, what if you'd caught a chill standing out here like this?"
Sayuri, beside them, said as well.
"I... I was afraid I'd be interrupting your club activities."
"We don't really have any club activities going on right now."
"Nayotake, you can drop by and hang out anytime."
Kosaka Akane, standing to the side, said with a smile.
"If anything, tutoring Sayuri is pretty much our club activity these days."
Machida Sonoko cut in with a laugh as well.
"Hey, quit bringing up my tutoring all the time!"
Sayuri grumbled.
It was at this moment that everyone's eyes fell on the kraft paper envelope in Nayotake's hand.
On the edge of the envelope was stamped a round red seal.
Tsushima Kagami recognized that seal.
It was the official stamp of the [Future Support Association].
"Did you just go to the service point?"
Tsushima Kagami remembered how, at noon, he'd casually mentioned that she should go to the service point and check on the progress of her application.
Shimizu Nayotake's fingers suddenly clenched tight around the strap of her school bag.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end she just gave a small nod.
"Mm."
"It went through?"
"Mm."
Tsushima Kagami smiled.
"Isn't that wonderful, then? It's something to be happy about—so why are you crying?"
Tsushima Kagami pointed at the several not-yet-dry tear stains on the envelope in her hand.
Then he pointed at her slightly red and puffy eyes.
She froze for a moment, and reflexively raised a hand to touch her own face.
"I... I'm not crying..."
Tsushima Kagami could understand how she felt, so he didn't keep teasing Shimizu Nayotake.
In the end, he simply said with a smile.
"Congratulations, Nayotake."
"Congratulations, Nayotake!"
The other three, Sayuri and the rest, offered their congratulations as well.
"Thank you."
"Thank you, everyone."
"We didn't really do anything to help."
"If you want to thank someone, thank Kagami~"
Machida Sonoko said just then, looking at Tsushima Kagami with a knowing smile.
Shimizu Nayotake nodded too, and looked at Tsushima Kagami.
"Kagami, thank you."
"Thank you for bringing us that application form."
Tsushima Kagami waved a hand and said with a smile.
"It was no trouble at all—just something I did along the way."
"Thank you."
"You already said that."
"Then I'll say it once more."
Shimizu Nayotake suddenly said with a faint smile.
As if all those things she'd overheard earlier outside the Manga Research Club had never happened at all.
Tsushima Kagami checked the time, and had just been about to say goodbye to Shimizu Nayotake and leave.
When Kosaka Akane and the others pulled Tsushima Kagami aside and said,
"We'll head off first."
"You should take Nayotake to buy a few outfits."
Hearing this, Tsushima Kagami's eyes went wide.
"How am I supposed to take a girl to buy clothes?"
"Shouldn't you three be the ones to take her?"
"Can I be the one to head off first?"
After Tsushima Kagami finished, all four of them turned in unison to look at Shimizu Nayotake, who was tilting her head to one side, watching them in confusion, and grinned at her.
Then the four of them huddled together again.
"That girl's obviously closest to you and Shizuku, and no one else."
"If you don't take her, who will?"
"Exactly, exactly!"
Tsushima Kagami thought it over.
"Then I'll wait for Shizuku to come with me."
"Who knows whether Shizuku and the others already went on ahead."
"After all, we split up the tasks differently."
"But..."
Tsushima Kagami still wanted to say something.
Kosaka Akane spoke up again.
"Shizuku said it herself—you help her pick out clothes all the time anyway."
"I'm sure there won't be any problem."
"I know it's hard, but this is an order!"
"It's the club president's order!"
"Fine!"
Tsushima Kagami said through gritted teeth.
Once the four of them had finished discussing.
They came back over to Shimizu Nayotake's side.
And just as they were about to say something.
That was when Yukinoshita Shizuku and Ijichi Seika, along with the others, also came out of the classroom building.
"Kagami, why are you all still..."
Hiratsuka Shizuka spotted Tsushima Kagami and the others standing there.
Just as she was about to ask something, she saw Shimizu Nayotake standing off to the side too, and immediately clamped her mouth shut.
Then she laughed again.
"Ahaha."
"What's everyone doing standing around here?"
Tsushima Kagami saw that Shizuku hadn't left yet, and let out a sigh of relief.
Looking at the group who had come over, he said,
"Nayotake's medical aid grant came through."
"That's wonderful!"
Hiroi Kikuri immediately started clapping from the side.
Everyone else congratulated Shimizu Nayotake one after another.
After Shimizu Nayotake had expressed her thanks as well.
Tsushima Kagami finally spoke.
"To celebrate Nayotake getting the aid grant."
"I suddenly really feel like going shopping."
"Nayotake, you'll come along with me, won't you?"
Shimizu Nayotake thought it over, then nodded.
Tsushima Kagami then looked over at Yukinoshita Shizuku.
Yukinoshita Shizuku said as well,
"Then I'll come along with you."
At this point, after Ijichi Seika and the others had heard what Sayuri, standing nearby, had to say,
they all said they had other things to do and wouldn't be coming along.
In the end, Tsushima Kagami and Yukinoshita Shizuku pulled Shimizu Nayotake off to a nearby shopping mall.
Everyone else left the school first.
And so Shimizu Nayotake was dragged, stumbling along, by the two of them to the Isetan not far away.
Christmas was drawing nearer and nearer, and the Isetan had been utterly taken over by holiday decorations.
In the lobby of the ground-floor cosmetics section stood a Christmas tree nearly three meters tall.
Golden ornament balls and strings of white LED lights were wound around the emerald pine boughs.
At the top of the tree was a glittering star, which the mirrored ceiling's reflection turned into two.
The air was filled with the mingled scents of all kinds of perfumes.
And there was also the aroma of freshly baked sweets wafting up from the food hall on the basement level.
The background music was a rearranged Christmas carol, reworked with a jazz rhythm—lazy and warm.
The mall was packed with crowds, bustling and lively.
Yukinoshita pulled her straight toward the women's clothing section.
Tsushima Kagami followed along behind the two of them.
"How about this one?"
Yukinoshita Shizuku pulled a cream-white turtleneck sweater off the rack and held it up against her to compare.
"This place is too expensive..."
Shimizu Nayotake glanced at the price tag, and her voice immediately dropped low.
"Don't look at the price."
"But..."
"Didn't we already agree this was a celebratory gift?"
Shimizu Nayotake didn't know why.
It had clearly been Tsushima Kagami who said he wanted to go shopping.
Yet on the way here, it had somehow turned into a discussion of what kind of clothes to buy for her.
She'd instinctively wanted to refuse, but then she remembered the things she'd overheard Tsushima Kagami say outside the Manga Research Club.
She wondered—if she kept blindly refusing, would it cause more trouble for Kagami and Shizuku?
Would it be better to just accept?
Just as she was wavering, caught up in her inner struggle.
Yukinoshita Shizuku launched into another round of gentle coaxing and cajoling.
She even went so far as to say that if her school uniform kept getting worn like this, with no other clothes to change into and no chance to give it a rest.
It was going to wear out.
And that would be far too sad!
Shimizu Nayotake looked down at her own uniform. Even though she'd done her best to care for and clean it, and rarely put it through the wash.
It still couldn't hold up against being worn every single day—some parts had faded slightly from the washing, and other parts showed clear signs of wear and tear.
Nayotake was also worried that one day it might not make it to her graduation, and she'd have to buy a new one—which would be such a waste.
In the end, Shimizu Nayotake agreed to Yukinoshita Shizuku, but she could only buy one outfit.
At worst, once she earned money of her own later on, she'd give Shizuku some exquisite little gifts too.
Mm...
Because now even her mother's—and her own—surgery aid grant had come through.
Things were sure to get better from now on.
She'd be able to find a normal job, too.
And surely she'd have some extra wages to set aside.
By then she'd be able to give Shizuku some valuable gifts to show her gratitude.
That was what Shimizu Nayotake was thinking.
But she never imagined they'd drag her to somewhere this expensive!
"Then what about this one?"
Yukinoshita Shizuku suddenly spoke up, pulling a coat off the rack and holding it out in front of Shimizu Nayotake.
It was a short wool coat, oatmeal-colored, with a loose but not baggy cut.
The collar's design was clean and crisp, with no unnecessary embellishments.
The whole garment had a wonderful texture—soft and thick to the touch, as if a wisp of cloud had been molded into the shape of a coat.
"Go try it on."
Yukinoshita Shizuku said.
Shimizu Nayotake looked at that coat, her lips moving.
It was at this moment that Tsushima Kagami walked over.
"Nayotake!"
"Ah! Y-Yes!"
Shimizu Nayotake saw the rare, utterly serious expression on Tsushima Kagami's face.
And she didn't quite dare to look at his face any longer.
"I know it's hard, but this is an order!"
"Huh? Oh!"
In the end, Shimizu Nayotake still couldn't bring herself to say any words of refusal.
____
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