Chapter 18

When I was waiting for the train at the platform, suddenly there was something cool pressed against my neck, making me surprised. This was okay since I’m still young, but if she did it to someone with heart problems, she would be terrorizing people.

Of course, there was only one person who would do this kind of thing.

Turning back, there was Kouhai-chan who stood behind me with a bold smile, with a pink water bottle in her right hand.

「Good morning!」

「It makes me surprised, so please stop doing it, and morning.」

「It’s because senpai was having a dazed face. That’s why I want to try making a pass just a little bit.」

「That thought process of yours is truly a mystery.」

「Please explain it to me when you understand it one day.」

「Is that something you can say yourself?」

The train arrived, and the door opened with a ‘pushuu’ noise.

After we stood on our usual position, Kouhai-chan started to talk.

「Now then, senpai. I’m in a good mood today.」

「What is it, did something good happen? Do you have a boyfriend now?」

I felt that she kept messing around with me recently. Sometimes, I also wanted to try messing with her like this.

「I don’t know if having a boyfriend can be considered a『good thing』, but senpai is wrong.」

She evaded it smoothly.

Moreover, she did it like how I usually averted her traps.

「There’s some truth in your words.」

One could say that having a lover while we’re still students had a very low probability to end up staying as a couple until married, not to say remain married for life beyond that point. Well, at least maybe that’s how it usually is.

「Right~」

Kouhai-chan giggled.

「Then, what happened?」

「Actually, I was watching TV this morning.」

What is it?

「My horoscope is in the first rank today!」

「So it’s just fortune telling!」

「My lucky color seems to be dark-red. Look at this!」

She took out a dark-red? Orange? handkerchief from her bag, and showed it to me.

「I don’t really care about something like fortune-telling, though.」

「Well, you basically don’t have to believe in it, but it might be useful when you are facing trouble, you know?」

She tilted her head a little, and continued.

「Look, when I was troubled with which color to use, the fortune-telling ranking will tell me that ‘this color is lucky☆, and it kind of gave me a peace of mind as well.」

「Hooー」

「Are you impressed? You can even praise me, you know?」

「Yes, yes. Kouhai-chan is amazing, very amazing.」

I said so in a monotone intonation.

「Really, senpai is not honest at all.」

「I honestly praised you right.」

「That’s where you are not being honest at all, okay!」

＊　＊　＊

「Well then, this is my『today’s question』, senpai.」

I’m not going to ask anything extreme today.

I thought of asking something simple which I can ask with the flow, yet still important.

「Senpai, when is your birthday?」

「You want to know my birthday so you can see my constellation, eh.」

「Yes, that’s right.」

「It is on the 27th of this month.」

Hmm.

「Since it’s October, then Libra? Ah, but it is at the end of the month, so Scorpio?」

「It’s Scorpio.」

「What a perfect constellation for senpai! It looks like there is a single needle on its belly after all♪」

「You definitely think like that towards other constellations too, right!」

「No, no. I think it’s perfect. Very much so.」

「No way, it’s definitely different.」

「Anyway, senpai’s birthday is just around the corner, huh. Err, senpai will become 17 years old soon, right?」

I am 15 years old, so senpai should be 17 years old now.

「But I still can’t go to the elections yet.」

「That’s true. I’ll celebrate your birthday then, by giving you candies.」

「Not cake, but candy?」

「I’ll shower you with a storm of candies!」

When the talk was advancing appropriately, before I noticed it, I spilled those words out of my mouth.

I felt like I had been infected with senpai’s boring joke material now.

「It sounds painful. You can make do with sweets too, like arare on Girl’s Day.」1

「Then, I will give you that too. It will give you that too. With arare, it will be a real storm!」

「Somehow, I don’t understand what are we even talking about.」

「Me too. Anyway, I will celebrate it with senpai properly!」

「What’s with this feeling? Even though you are celebrating it for me, somehow I don’t want to appreciate it.」

「I will congratulate you with all of my heart!」

「I’ll wait for it without any expectations then.」

「Yes. Please don’t expect anything.」

「Is that something you can say yourself?」

Remind me, why did I ask for his constellation in the first place?

Ah, right. Err, Scorpio ranking today was… no way I could remember it, so I would just check it from the photo I took with my smartphone.

Hmm.

「Senpai, by the way, Scorpio is in the eighth rank today.」

It was a halfway ranking.

「It is too low to make me feel happy, and there is also a few other constellations below my rank to make me feel sad. How do you want me to react?」

「That reaction is already enough.」

In addition.

「If we took the difference from our ranking, we will get a lucky seven! That means, senpai’s relationship with me today is lucky, you know?」

「What a novel way to look at it. Just how lucky is a lucky relationship anyway?」

「I’m sure that there must be something good.」

「For example?」

「I can get candies even more easily than usual.」

「I don’t need it. It is unlucky for me then.」

「If it rains, I can take shelter in senpai’s umbrella.」

「You always bring a folding umbrella, don’t you?」

「I won’t tease you today.」

「You did it immediately the moment we met!」

「Maybe that’s all?」

「From your explanation, I fully understand that it doesn’t really change from the usual.」

That’s right. It was just as usual.

I’m sure that the lucky thing is how our usual relationship could still continue just like this.

＃　＃　＃

「Then, what is Kouhai-chan’s constellation? I didn’t manage to ask you until the end. This is my『today’s question』.」

「I’m a Sagittarius. I was born in December 12th.」

「What a pretty lineup.」

There’s no way this kind of black-bellied kid was born at such pretty lineup date. 2

「My birthday is next door with senpai’s♪」

「Eh, is that so?」

Late October and early December.

From our constellation, it seemed like we are neighbours.

I didn’t know if they were close or far away, so it might be a perfect way to describe our current relationship.

「But of all things, it is Sagittarius and Scorpio, eh…」

「What is it?」

「Nothing.」

It would at least become better if our constellation was reversed.

But then, Kouhai-chan is Sagittarius, and I am Scorpio.

It might not be because fate was being mischievous, but the coincidences in this world sometimes just perfectly well done.

「Ehhh, I’m curious.」

「That’s why I said it’s nothing.」

Even when I averted my gaze, Kouhai-chan moved into my line of sight, making no leeway.

「Please tell me.」

「No way. If you really want me to tell you, just use your『today’s question』.」

「I already used mine today.」

「Then it’s a NO. You can just ask it tomorrow.」

「I’m sure that senpai will make up something lame when I ask tomorrow.」

That’s certainly the case.

「Please tell me. If senpai won’t, I will tickle your back again, you know?」

Ehhh. Wha?

「You’re not being fair.」

「I need to do this to make senpai obedient, okay? Really.」

Kouhai-chan grabbed my shoulders, and she tried to rotate my body 180 degrees.

Since we were on the train, she didn’t use a lot of strength, but from our pose, it looked like she did.

「Come on, senpai? Please give up already.」

If we did more than this, we would definitely cause trouble for our surroundings.

The reason why I didn’t say it was because I felt a little embarrassed, so let’s just yield to her.

「Yes, yes. I will talk now, so let me go.」

She let go of her hands.

「Are you familiar with the constellations?」

「Somewhat.」

「What is Scorpio’s brightest star?」

「If I’m not wrong, it’s Antares.」

「Wait, aren’t you knowledgeable in it!」

We learnt it at elementary school after all. After learning Altair, Deneb, and Vega, we would memorize the brightest stars in the constellations. 3

In summer, it would be easy to observe the stars, so it was the perfect time to freely research on them.

「Then, what is Sagittarius constellation’s brightest star?」

「There’s none of them.」

Its brightest star was not even a second-class star.

「Is that so. It is frustrating that I lost to senpai on this one, but it can’t be helped. So, what about Antares?」

「You don’t have to focus about it.」

Yup. Even though it’s the main point. I only said it on my heart, of course.

「We just said that Sagittarius and Scorpio are neighbours, yeah?」

「Yes.」

「Do you know what kind of pose does Sagittarius do?」

「Err, look, it’s like『Hurts…!』pose?」

She put her hands on her forehead, and made a pose as if she hit something.

「No way.」

「As I thought, it’s wrong, eh.」

「That’s wrong. It’s a shooter with a bow, and he is making a ‘setting up his bow’ pose.」

Strictly speaking, it was a centaur, but that was not the main subject.

「Yes.」

「The important part is where the bow aims at,」

「Is it Scorpio?」

As expected from Kouhai-chan, she understood immediately.

But with this, maybe I could manipulate where this was going?

「Yeah. It’s like the shooter has the right to slaughter the scorpio. Doesn’t it sound like our relationship?」

「I don’t think that I’m that dominating, though.」

「You even forced me to speak just now, isn’t it enough…」

「So that’s all senpai wants to say, eh. As I thought, I’m glad that I didn’t use my『question』.」

「Right?」

I was also glad that she didn’t use her『question』for this.

There was a continuation of this story.

The aim of the shooter’s bow was to shine in the summer night sky making it bright red, and shoot perfectly through Scorpio’s heart.

Like how our relationship was, Kouhai-chan was making my heart her own, and I was really glad I didn’t have to end up saying it.

The rule of the『question』is to answer honestly without hiding anything, so since she didn’t use it, I could stop saying the truth halfway.

When I remembered about it at home, I was too embarrassed that I managed to think of such things, and I flapped in agony on my bed.

Yup. I’m glad.

Truly a happily ever after.

＃　＃　＃

When I took out my pencil case and textbook from my bag in my bedroom, I suddenly remembered.

Yesterday Kouhai-chan did so many things, but she didn’t say「Trick or Treat」today. What a disappointment.

Even though I already prepared the sweets in my bag…

Oh well, October had just begun anyway. When I forgot about it, she would definitely would trap me again.

Until then, let’s just keep it in my bag.