3 - Decay

“Heeey, you're Ruri-chan, riiight?”

After self-introductions were out of the way, everyone had moved on to chatting about their schedules and the like for the rest of first period. The classroom erupted when the teacher announced that the day would be over once committee assignments were decided. The cliques were already solidifying, and to sum it up, there was a sunny group and there was a gloomy group. I was somewhere in the middle when all was said and done, like the line dividing day and night on Earth.

Ruri-chan was in the sunny group, but she was the only one not glowing in its endless supply of sunshine.

I got up from my seat and went over to her in the time left before second period. She made a face like she'd seen a ghost when she looked up.

‘Oh, you know her?”

The girl sitting behind Ruri-chan was the first to say something. If I remembered right, her name was Amanekururu-chan. A-ma-ne-ku-ru-ru... I didn't know which syllables belonged in her family name or given name, but I did remember seeing the name list and thinking, “ah, so her name's Kururu.” Kururu-chan twisted the ends of her hair around her finger as she posed the question to Ruri-chan, who looked at me with frozen pupils. Her lips slowly peeled open as if sealed with glue.

“Oh, Tateha, is that really you? Wow, it's been a while! You've changed somehow. I didn't even recognize you!”

I made a new discovery: when you drag people back into a situation they hoped was behind them, they'll make the face she was making. Her pupils were wide with anxiety, but the smile remained on her lips. I wondered if it was an example of what they call normalcy bias.

“You didn't forget about meee!” I marched over the growing fissures with a smile. Smiling was my specialty.

Kururu-chan took turns looking at each of us, chin cradled in her hands.

“We went to the same elementary school,” I added. “Right?”

Ruri-chan's smile looked plastered on.

“Oooh! Ruri, that's so nice! Isn't this what they call a fated meeting?”

“I-I guess it really is, huh? Wow—what a surprise! I, um, didn't know if I'd ever see you again, is all.” She looked at my right eye again and her blanched lips started trembling, face scrunching like a baby about to cry. She bowed her head.

“You're so beautiful I almost didn't recognize you either, Ruri-chan! Ahh, but it's not like you weren’t already pretty back then, you knooow? Hey, let's swap contacts!”

“Ah. Umm, sorry. I forgot my smartphone today, silly me!” Beads of sweat were breaking out on her forehead, pasting down the bangs she'd probably spent a huge amount of time styling to curl inwards.

“Huh? What are you talking about, Ruri, you were just playing around with it!” Kururu-chan leaned forward and tapped her smartphone. They were so familiar with one another I got the impression that they were friends from middle school. “What's with the caginess? Couldn't you at least swap contacts with her since she took the trouble to come over and say hi? Ah... Asami-chan, right? I think Ruri’s clamming up in the new surroundings. How about you swap with me instead?”

“Wow, you already memorized my naaame?”

“During the introductions you said something like 'you might be inclined to remember my name as Tatehane, but it's Tateha, without the ne', and I remembered that.”

Kururu-chan seemed really laid-back, especially compared to other folks our age. Despite that, she was friendly, and you could trust the affectionate smile she flashed on occasion.

“Heh heh heh, now I can pry deep into Ruri-chan's past.”

Ruri-chan let out a tiny squeak that was lost in the racket of the classroom.

“You know, she never tells me about what she was like back then. Stuff like where she went to elementary school, what her classmates were like... I have no idea what she's so afraid of, do you?”

Kururu-chan sent a sticker almost the instant we tapped phones to share contacts.

“W-Wait! Ah, I-I'll swap! I-I did forget my phone yesterday, so I guess I still thought I didn't have it on me.” Ruri-chan anxiously pulled her smartphone out.

But we weren't at school yesterday… I thought, but I figured if I poked at her with that she'd pop like a balloon and be gone forever, so I just tapped smartphones with her, too.

Our fingertips brushed when we did. Her skin was soft. How many times had she beaten, stabbed, burned, and bound me with that softness for the sake of a tender embrace? My ears rang as deafening echoes of the sensations back then burst from my memories. The back of my tongue tingled and burned. I even forgot to breathe. Memories and sticky fluids vied to drip from an oozing, throbbing eyeball which wasn't supposed to be there.

“Thanks, Ruri-chan.”

It wasn't like I was trying to stay sane. That was just the only thing delaying the detonation of a growing emotional charge. I smiled, but Ruri-chan gave a vague response and turned to face the blackboard.

“Asami-chan, do you go to the salon? I'm jealous of how silky your hair is. Mine's so frizzy.”

“Yeah, I really have tooo. I've got a lot of hair, and it tends to get all poofy, so I've got a stylist who's good with haircuts. Your hair's cute, though, Kururuuu. It looks really easy to shape, so you can pull off a lot of different styles, right?”

“Well, that's the only good thing about it. Come to think of it, Ruri's got a place she likes. Where was it again?”

Ruri-chan flinched when Kururu-chan poked her shoulder.

“It's a place on Honmachi-dori called Wave,” she said, looking like she was faced with an all-or-nothing decision to cut the red wire or blue wire on a bomb.

“Oh really? I've been on that street before, but I never would have guessed there was a salon. Huuuh,” I replied.

Ruri-chan started to tell us all about the salon's main draws, looking obviously relieved at my show of not knowing about it.  Stylist-san was still a rookie, but they spoke Ruri-chan's language and listened to her worries. Everyone there was kind, and it was a welcoming place. A smile bloomed on her face like a flower in spring while she talked. It was adorable.

“Well, maybe I should try going there soooon.”

Scorching heat always brought an end to spring. Ruri-chan's smile gradually wilted as her face darkened.

“Oh yeah, for sure,” she managed to squeak.

A chime announced the start of second period, and I returned to my seat. I stared through the window and saw a cherry tree on the verge of blossoming, yearning to be enshrined in the sun's light. Anyone's eye would be taken; such is the so-called season of beauty. But where there are blossoms, petals are sure to be falling. A fledgling was dying underneath the cherry tree that would soon flower in full glory. Black crows gathered as if awaiting its demise.

Happiness takes many forms; its shape depends on the animal, depends on the person. Looking forward to decay shouldn't raise any objections. After all, every animal survives through the death of others. I patiently waited for the moment fledglings left the nest in search of new experiences, only to fall to earth.