In any case, today was the start of a new trimester.
It made me sigh with relief.
At heart, it felt like I was being saved.
The new trimester had always been my lifesaver.
Days off were strolling days for me -- although I referred to it that way, I could only wander about for so long. I might as well be a juvenile delinquent. I had worked as a home tutor for Araragi-kun since summer break, as he prepared for university entrance exams, and while it was for the sake of raising his academic capabilities, but seen from another angle, it might just be an excuse not to go back to that house.
And that was why -- school made me sigh with relief.
It made me feel at ease.
Well, whether it's strolling, or being a home tutor,
or going to school,
the fact was that, in the end, I would have to go back to that house, so it wasn't really something to be melancholic about -- that's right.
To me, it is nothing more than "going back", never "going home".
At the end, Tyltyl and Mytyl realised that the bluebird of happiness was in their own home, but where should the bluebird be sought for those without a home?
Or should we seek for something else?
Perhaps what we should seek for is not a bluebird,
but -- a white cat.
Besides, negatively speaking, even if a bluebird were to be found in one's own home, that does not mean that a beast of misfortune did not lurk there in a similar manner.
I thought these things as I walked on, and my goodness, was that a twin-tailed girl who appeared in my way?
"Oh my, Hanekawa-san?"
With that, the girl -- Hachikuji Mayoi turned around and clattered over to me, sweetly. Everything she did was just too adorable. How conscious was she of the fact that it was this loveliness of hers that would drive Araragi-kun crazy?
"So you're going back to school starting today, Hanekawa-san."
"Yep, that's right."
"Devoting oneself to one's studies is quite an extraordinary endeavour, isn't it? Indeed, even I, as a primary-schooler, remember the days when I surpassed many trials and tribulations. The crushing amount of homework I had during summer break might well be called the records of my war."
"Huh..."
Whenever she spoke with someone other than Araragi-kun, it felt like the things she said just did not fit the conversation -- as I thought this, I responded.
"What are you doing here, Mayoi-chan?"
"I'm looking for Araragi-san."
She said.
Oh, my.
I should be the one saying "oh my".
I would understand it if it was Araragi-kun loitering around and looking for Mayoi-chan, but it was really unusual for Mayoi-chan to be looking for Araragi-kun instead.
Actually, speaking of which, didn't something like this happen before? At that time, it had been because Shinobu-chan was missing -- could it be that something like that had happened again?
As though perceiving from my expression my needless fears at once, Mayoi-chan said, "Oh, it's not like that."
"It's not like something big happened. I just forgot something at Araragi-san's home and I want to get it back."
"Forgot something?"
"Here."
Mayoi-chan showed me her back.
At first I had thought that it was just a lovely back shot with nothing to it, but when I thought about it, it was strange for nothing to be on it in the first place. One of Mayoi-chan's charm points laid in how she always wore a backpack, anytime and anywhere.
Said backpack was gone.
What happened?
"Wait, what? What did you just say, Mayoi-chan? You forgot something at Araragi-kun's home?"
"Yes, I was taken away by him yesterday."
Mayoi-chan said, sounding troubled, with her back still facing me.
"That was when I carelessly forgot my backpack."
"Taken away...?"
"I was dragged away by him."
"...Um, that sounds even more criminal."
Asking again might escalate the 'kidnapping' into 'assault', so I didn't dare to press the matter. At any rate, Mayoi-chan had left her backpack at Araragi-kun's home.
That was quite something to leave behind.
"But, in that case, couldn't you just go to Araragi-kun's home?"
Her coordinates were completely wrong.
Why was she even here?
"I went to his house first, of course. But his bike wasn't there, so it seemed he had already left."
"Huh...? Would Araragi-kun leave for school that early...?"
I didn't like spending even one extra second in that house so I leave for school as quickly as possible, but in Araragi-kun's case, even if he did want to do that, since his sisters would refuse to let him out to the point where it could be called a sort of lenient house arrest, it would have to had been quite an important reason for him to leave his house that early in the morning --
"Or, it could be because he hadn't come back yet from last night because he had to settle whatever his important reason was."
So he didn't leave early.
He just didn't come back yet.
"Oh, I didn't think of that. That's just like you, Hanekawa-san. You're like a detective. That's certainly possible. There might have been some dire situation after I somehow managed to escape Araragi-san's home."
Let us ignore the disturbing part about how she "somehow managed to escape" Araragi-kun's house, which seemed pretty dire a situation itself. I got the feeling that if I pressed the matter, various regrettable facts would surface.
"Well, in any case, seeing as he probably wouldn't head straight to school right now, I'd been industriously searching for Araragi-san in an arbitrary way."
"You're not that good at looking for people, are you, Mayoi-chan?"
She was being too random.
How did she plan on finding Araragi-kun by searching like that? She wasn't just feeling her way by a rope. She didn't even have a rope to follow.
"Oh, no. I've managed to meet Hanekawa-san, so my investigative abilities are not without worth."
"You're very positive..."
"Well, not that I know whether meeting me is a stroke of luck for you, Hanekawa-san."
"Hm? Why not? You're a lucky charm in this neighbourhood, Mayoi-chan. They say that something good will definitely happen that day for anyone who sees you."
"Please don't make up any weird legends like that..."
The source was of course Araragi-kun.
He was unrivaled when it came to spreading these sorts of false rumors.
He really did have the makings of a teller of ghost stories.
"I'll tell him you're looking for him, then, if I see him at school."
"Thank you very much."
Politely bowing her head as she said this, Mayoi-chan clattered back in the direction she was walking, sweetly.
Of course, she would not have a long talk with me like she could with Araragi-kun. I felt envious of how Araragi-kun could talk and see eye-to-eye with such a cute girl, just as I was envious of how Mayoi-chan could talk endlessly with Araragi-kun.
To Araragi-kun, it might be something which comes to mind as natural.
But to me, that was far more of a miracle.
I was jealous.
"Now then! Let's meet again sometime soon, Hanekawa-san!"
Turning back once more after taking some distance, Mayoi-chan waved her hand.
I waved back at her.
"Yeah! See you later!"
"The episode between Araragi-san and I will be in the next novel!"
"It's not foreshadowing if you spell it out."
It's not even foreshadowing anymore. It's a promotion.
At the last, like how Araragi-kun would, I made a quip at Mayoi-chan.
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