“Lightweaver, Lightweaver! Urgent intel!” Night Sakura's tone was as exaggerated as ever, followed by a string of exclamation marks.
“We signed up for the gym stage this afternoon! Originally, we just wanted to apply for a stall, but the student council said there were still slots left for club performances and asked if we wanted to go on stage, so we agreed!”
The second message came after quite a long pause. “Kohinata said we should treat it as an after-action report and a promotional performance, and sing that theme song from last time. It happened so suddenly that we didn't have time to let you know beforehand. You won't be mad, right?”
“What about the Store Owner?” Qiluo pressed send. “We agreed to have her go on stage with the time capsule. Now that it's moved from the small plaza to the main gym stage, there'll be so many more people in the audience. Will she be too shy to go up?”
“The Store Owner is sitting in the audience. We're doing our final rehearsal backstage. If you're free, why don't you come over and take a look?”
Did Store Owner Tachibana actually agree to this?
“Wait for me a bit, I'll be right there.” She sent a brief reply, put her phone back in her pocket, and turned to Rei, who was still earnestly studying the program schedule beside her.
“Rei, I can't go watch the performances with you this afternoon. Something came up with my friends, and they need my help. I probably have to head to the gymnasium backstage.”
Rei was taken aback for a moment, blinking her eyes before showing a knowing smile: “Is it Kurokawa-san or Asana-san again? Or both? You've been getting called away by friends so often lately, Tian Gong-san, that I'm already used to it. But you should at least be free for the after-festival party and the bonfire tonight, right? No one's going to call you away tonight, right?”
“Tonight should be fine.” Qiluo thought she would invite Yuki and Kizuna along when the time came, and maybe even drag Shizuru over too. That way, Rei wouldn't focus entirely on her.
Qiluo walked a few steps toward the gymnasium, then turned back to add, “If you see any delicious food, grab a portion for me. I'll pay you back tonight.”
Rei gave her an OK gesture, then turned and ran off toward the clubrooms.
The iron-framed staircase not far from the gymnasium served as Qiluo Tian Gong's temporary takeoff point.
The familiar light of transformation flashed at her fingertips, and she leaped into midair. Using the low-altitude shadows of the buildings to glide quickly, she landed in the small woods on the side of the gymnasium.
Making a deliberate detour to the staff entrance, she pushed open the iron door covered in yellowed posters and walked up the concrete stairs.
Night Sakura was lying on the floor, using electrical tape to secure a loose audio cable to the ground, with a spare piece of tape clamped between her teeth.
Kohinata, wearing only one shoe, stood before the vanity mirror, repeatedly adjusting her mask while muttering to herself. Amamiya stood in the corner, already changed into her stage costume, her arms crossed and her eyes closed as she rested, looking as calm as ever.
Lightweaver leaned against the doorframe, reaching up to brush away a few glittering spots of light from the tips of her hair.
“Need some help?” she spoke up.
All three of them turned their heads at the same time.
In the next second, Kohinata lunged forward and hugged Lightweaver around the waist: “You're here—I knew you'd come! Night Sakura said you were busy, so I thought you'd just watch us from the audience—”
“Easy there, I just changed into these clothes.” Lightweaver pried Kohinata's arms off, pressed her back down in front of the vanity mirror, and picked up a comb from the table to gently tidy the stray hairs stuck to her sweaty face.
Night Sakura scrambled up from the floor and handed the remaining tape to Lightweaver. “Just in time. Hold down this section of the wire for me while I go adjust the soundboard. Also, the Store Owner has been looking for you. She said you didn't come to headquarters to pick up your cake yesterday, so she saved a box for you and put it in the breakroom fridge.”
“The cake can wait until after the performance.”
Lightweaver let out a soft sigh, squatted down next to Night Sakura, and pressed down on the loose wire. “Let's get this show sorted out first. Where's the Store Owner? Is she sitting in the audience?”
“Yeah, in the third row, right by the aisle.”
Amamiya opened her eyes and looked straight at Lightweaver. “Aren't you going on stage with us? Although your name isn't on the program, we can add a segment. Since it's already been submitted, it doesn't matter if we make a last-minute change to the schedule.”
“No,” Lightweaver replied flatly. She pressed down on the last piece of tape, stood up, and patted the dust off her knees. “Today is the school festival. I'm just an ordinary visitor.”
Kohinata muttered in front of the vanity mirror, “But it would look so much better if you came on stage,” only to get a gentle tap on the head from Night Sakura with the comb.
Lightweaver walked out of the backstage corridor, pulling the staff entrance iron door shut behind her.
The gymnasium's spectator stands were still empty, with only a few students setting up the stage background. A boy hanging a banner stood on a ladder, shouting down, “A bit more to the left!”
She skirted around the side to the third row of the spectator stands. Sure enough, she spotted Misa Tachibana's wheelchair parked right by the aisle.
“Store Owner,” Lightweaver said, sitting down in the empty seat next to Misa Tachibana. “I heard you saved some cake for me.”
Misa Tachibana was looking down at the stage schedule Night Sakura had sent to her phone. Hearing the voice, she finally looked up, the slight crease between her brows from her intense focus smoothing out upon seeing Lightweaver.
“You didn't come to headquarters yesterday. Night Sakura said you must have been having too much fun at the school festival. The cake is in the breakroom fridge; remember to take it when you leave.”
She looked at Lightweaver's profile, feeling that the Lightweaver of today was somewhat different from before.
“Give it to me,” Misa Tachibana said, reaching out her hand, palm up, with her fingers slightly spread.
Lightweaver tilted her head and looked at her, pretending to be puzzled. “Give you what?”
“The time capsule. You girls have been planning this in secret for so long; wasn't it to give it to me today?” Misa Tachibana stretched her hand out another half-inch. “Don't think I don't know. They've been lying to me for years, and not once have they succeeded. Every time they want to surprise me, they get so excited they can't sleep the night before, and the next morning they show up at headquarters with dark circles under their eyes, trying to pretend nothing's wrong.”
Sure enough, they were completely unable to hide anything from the Store Owner.
In the end, Lightweaver pulled out the rusted iron box enclosed in a cloth bag and placed it into Misa Tachibana's open palm.
“Night Sakura still thought she hid it so well.” She untied the drawstring of the cloth bag, revealing the layer of rust around the edges of the iron box that had been corroded by soil for many years. “When did you find out?”
“I knew on the very first day. The way the three of them looked so guilty in front of me made me realize something was off.”
Misa Tachibana looked down at the iron box in her palm, her fingers brushing over the star-shaped mark on the lid, which had long since become blurry.
“Then she secretly looked up the location of the ginkgo tree and asked if a wheelchair could roll over grass, and I understood everything.”
Misa Tachibana placed the iron box on her lap, tracing her fingers along the gap of the lid as if measuring the length of these past ten years.
“I originally wanted to tell you girls earlier so you wouldn't have to go to all this trouble—you could have just asked me directly. But seeing how seriously you were preparing, I felt it was better not to ruin the surprise.”
Rate on N.U.
