2. That time of year when every afternoon looks like rain...
3. Long after we'd changed to summer uniforms.
4. This was around the end of spring.
5. "That's Mia!"
6. "How'd I forget my umbrella today~!"
8. I didn't want to pass her. What if she noticed me?
9. "Great, what now..."
Se încarcă…Se încarcă…
1. "Green! Better be quick!"
2. That light changes before you even cross if you're not ready.
3. All the kids who use this street have known it for years.
4. Un-less,
5. she hasn't been here for years.
Se încarcă…Se încarcă…
1. "Let's go, Mia!"
1. "We barely made it~"
2. "How..."
3. "Didn't tug your arm too hard, did I?"
4. "That light turns red fast and then you're stuck there..."
1. "How did you know my name?"
2. "Uh... Well..."
3. "Oh woops."
4. "I messed up."
5. "Do I say it?"
6. "...Say what?"
1. That I read her suggestion and singled her out?
2. That I've been hanging around her like a ghost for months?
3. That I keep sneaking letters into her desk?
4. "Must've heard it some-where..."
5. Maybe if I wanted to creep her out.
1. Coward.
2. You wanted to take her hand back there.
3. But there's no way I could.
4. I mean, if I did...
5. wouldn't that be like we were actually friends.
1. We went on,
2. dragging out our sluggish relay,
3. until we reached the end of the 1st semester.
1. "Look at miss popular."
2. "We can message anytime!"
3. "Mia! We're gonna miss you~!"
4. I didn't say a thing to her.
1. Mia-san. I know you'll be fine. I know wherever you go, you'll be happy there too.
2. And that was the last letter.
1. A blink of a meeting across a long lifetime.
2. If I ever remembered it, I'm sure I'd laugh at how childish it was.
3. A secret too vivid to have faded just yet.
4. With a tinge of wistfulness.
5. Of course that sentimentality was crushed a year later when I caught Mia on TV.
6. "Ee-eeh-hh-h!?"
1. "The heck, that's Mia!"
2. "Ehh...?"
3. "What about you, Mia-san?"
4. "Or... A look-alike...?"
5. "The heck, it's Mia!"
6. Why? How? Questions raced through my head...
7. but I knew one thing: I had to support her!
8. "Looked up everything she's appeared in."
9. "Followed all her socials."
10. I saw her current hand-writing.
11. "Those relaxed and confident strokes."
12. French toast in Shinjuku
13. She must have worked hard at it even after transfering.
14. I could see her efforts behind every letter.
1. "Pretty much."
2. "Why? Is that really your type?"
3. ""When Mia's on the cover..." So what, you're a fan of hers?"
4. "Here, look how she came out in this shot."
5. "Hmmm? Seems more prim and pretty to me."
6. "She's just way too cool to ignore."
7. "I did, but you know how those things go. They never pick just anybody."
8. "Yeah sure."
9. "And this meet-and-greet raffle, you sign up?"
10. "It says she's putting out a photo essay. You buying that too?"
1. A later day.
3. "Wait I won!?"
4. "I so get that. When there's a store raffle you always end up buying a little extra."
5. "But I'm a sucker for, "Might as well while I'm here.""
6. "Yeah, that's how they get you!"
8. "What would I even..."
9. "Eeh... Do I go~?"
1. "Lot of people here..."
2. "Should let my hair down at least..."
1. All the girls here are Mia's fans.
2. "Oh my gosh! Mia-chan actually talked to us!"
3. "She looked incredible!"
4. The awkward Mia I used to worry about is long gone.
5. It's not just her friends anymore; Mia's surrounded by all kinds of people.
6. She's doing fine now.
7. Yeah.
8. She doesn't need it anymore.
1. After three years, their reunion comes on a timer.
1. The Princess of Sylph (still ongoing, still translating, check links)
2. I See You, Aizawa-san!
3. noighd - noighd.wordpress.com - discord.gg/PVw7wpsQxQ
4. Japan loves their raffles. Shopping centers will have raffles where you draw more depending on how much you spent or how many stores you shopped at.
5. Seeing celebrities is often tied to raffles on merch too.
6. Gambling is fun for everyone.
7. "I so get that. When there's a store raffle you always end up buying a little extra."
8. "But I'm a sucker for, 'Might as well while I'm here.'"
9. "Yeah, that's how they get you!"
10. bit.ly/arisaku-raw
11. If you have the means, please consider supporting the author and purchasing the Japanese volumes.
12. Physical: bit.ly/arisaku-cd Digital: bit.ly/arisaku-kobo @nishi55.bsky.social