"What sort of question is that? Look at me!"

She pushed out her chest and arched her back, showing off her physique. Her blonde hair draped down her cheeks and sat flush with her face. Asahi choked a little.

"Y-You didn't need to demonstrate!"

"Ehehe, yeah, I know. But how come you're asking if I've been in one?"

He formed an arbitrary excuse.

"I, er, needed some advice…"

"Oo, what for? Are things not going well with Evelyn?"

"I guess so. I just haven't spoken to her in a while. I miss her. A lot."

"Oh, I didn't know you were the romantic type. What a strange nerd!"

"Hey, come on, don't tease me. What should I do?"

"Well, have you tried getting her a gift?"

"No, but I think she would realize that I was only getting it to get her attention. Doesn’t that seem quite fake?"

"What? How is that fake? It shows you care about her, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so…"

Asahi realized he was getting nowhere.

"What about… you know… adult stuff,"

"Oh… er… I'm not exactly an expert on that…"

Her face became deep red.

That's a bit strange… I swear Leigh said she got around a lot…

"A-Alright, I'll change the discussion,"

He decided to hold off on his initial plan for a later date.

"How long have you and Leigh known each other?"

"I think it's been like seven or so years.. so yeah, quite a while."

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

In other words, their bond wasn't exactly formed from matching personalities.

"I don't think I've had a friend for that long a period of time, that's quite impressive."

"It's worse having a sibling, though. My brother's such a pest."

"Yeah, I get you. My sister does nothing but play music, and it's completely getting on my nerves."

"It feels so strange watching them grow up. I remember when I was a little girl, and Adrian was just born ~ he was so cute!"

"Haha, yeah, my sister was kind of like a puppy when she grew up. I miss everything being so carefree,"

"Yeah. And it's even worse because seeing them grow up makes me remember how close I am to being an adult. It's kind of scary, isn't it?"

The passage of time is not something that I have truly grasped. Life can appear to be such a long time, yet, in the magnanimous scale of the universe, we are but a fraction of a second. Time doesn’t wait for anyone. The rich or the poor. The young nor the old. The talented nor the plain. Everyone is equal under the domain of time and death. It seems this prospect slowly dawns on people as they begin to near the end of a significant part of their lives. And oh, what a terrible time to realize. The large influx of pain and regret slowly surfaces, and they look back at the past with melancholic eyes. They yearn to go back, not recognizing that back then, they wish they were further ahead. Humans can never be happy. Not under the recognition that both ideologically and physically, everything that has happened has happened, and everything that is to happen will happen. Whether you choose to force an action or try to prevent one, the fact is that everything has been decided. Time is a cruel mistress, is she not?

Isn’t it stupid how we all seem to regret our pasts? I mean, we have the power to do whatever we want. I could kick a wall, scream at the top of my lungs, or thrust a pen into my thigh. If I can do such a variety of things, then why do I long to have the chance to change things again? Is it inherent indecisiveness? A yearning for a better decision? No. That's not it. It's because I'm selfish. I won't be happy with what I have. No, I must have something to covet. The source of my depression towards the past is not the past, the present, or the future. It is the idea that I could have had something better. I am not, nor will I ever be, satisfied. The fact that I understand the illogicality of my processes and don't do anything about it shows the profoundness of our emotional, arrogant turmoil. We believe we can do things. We believe we can say things. We believe we can change things. But time doesn't care. Time won't take pity on me, nor anyone else. She is justly cruel. She despairs when someone finds solace within her, and she rips it away. All good things must come to an end, and the finish line is set by none other than her. She's terrifying, and I feel like she's creeping up on me. If anyone hears me, please, don't leave me. I'm afraid of her. I don't know what she's up to, and I don’t know how she chooses her choices. It isn't fair for someone like me to be battling against someone like here. Please, don't leave me alone.

Asahi broke out of his philosophical trance and realized he was missing his opportunity. He wasn't here to be making further acquaintance with Nishita. No, he needed something from her.

"Hey, er, can I ask you another thing?"

He realized he might have come across as a little annoying asking so many questions, but he took his chance.

"My my, you're rather inquisitive today. Shoot, I don't mind."

It looks like his gamble paid off.

"What's the… worst thing that's ever happened to you. Like, a traumatic memory?"

He purposefully spoke in a neutral tone, in order to prevent the elucidation of deep wounds or accidentally implying something. Either way, he elicited a reaction. A strong one.

Nishita stopped relaxing on her chair. Her back became terse, jolting her head forward, and her finger's started shaking. She looked at Asahi with the most sorrowful look on her face that she had ever seen. They seemed to be crying. No. They seemed to be cursing.