～夏草 summer grass～

The train came out of the long tunnel into the summer country. The earth lay bright underneath the deep blue sky. The train stopped by a small station.

The doors rumble open. Kyouko waits for all the other passengers to get out first. Some of them take another glance at her and Sayaka on their way out. Kyouko looks out of the window, watching their reflections pass by. The sun pours down on them all.

Just across the fields, the summer grass had all grown tall. She feels a warm tingle rush past her skin, watching the long stalks bend in the wind and shimmer wave after wave, like floating jewels, or maybe dewdrops.

Rubbing her eyes, Kyouko stands up, stretching her back a bit. She lets out a great big yawn.

"K', Sayaka. Wake up," she says. "We're here."

Kyouko moves to grab the handles of the wheelchair just opposite her, but not before tussling Sayaka's hair a bit. With the words, "And we're off!", the two make their way out the carriage.

The wind rushes past them, flinging her hair all over to the side. But the gust doesn't last too long, unfortunately.

One of the stationmasters waits just outside the train. Meeting eyes, she immediately walks towards them.

Sweat gathers along her forehead and drips down, her large hat slanting a mild shadow over her face, shielding her from the sun. It's that hot, huh, Kyouko muses. Seeing the stationmaster, for some reason, still decked out in long-sleeved suit and white gloves only made the heat feel all the more stifling.

"Humid as heck too, bloody hell. Should've come in winter."

In the distance, a series of low buildings stagger themselves along the valleys and hillslopes. They flicker like candles, reflecting sunlight. And far enough out, all their contours vanish into the light long before it can reach the eyes. Those spots where the clouds cover, the sun doesn't shine. Those places are a bit easier to see, but they at most come as nothing but vague watercolours. There is only light and shadow over there.

"Will you be alright on your own?" the stationmaster asks in a spritely voice. She sounded quite young, maybe in her twenties or so. "If there is anything we can do to assist, we'd be more than happy to help."
"Ah, nah ― I mean, no thank you. We're gonna be just fine, thanks."
"If you two ever need any help, please don't hesitate to look to us. Do remember to remain hydrated in this hot weather. We wish you a pleasant journey ahead!"
"Yeah, sure, thanks. Really appreciate it, really. You too actually. It's a hot day."
"Yes, it is."

Kyouko gave an obliging smile before makingher way from the platform into the station proper. She can't make Sayaka stay out too long in the sun after all.

Past the ticketing counter, there was an old retro-looking café, as if refurbished from a small cottage. There's not too many people.

Wheeling Sayaka to a table by the windows, Kyouko sat down opposite her and heaved a misty breath. For a while, she sat there unmoving, exhausted from the train ride.

She opened the window a tiny bit, just to feel the wind against her cheeks. Somewhere far away, she could hear the cuckoo crow. But a few seconds of hot air was all she could handle. She quickly shut the window again, grumbling.

Bothered by the heat, Kyouko couldn't quite feel the chill of the air-conditioning inside the café. Still, it must have been strong enough to keep what few customers there were comfortable, even in this hot weather.

This was her first taste of the summer country. Never having been this far from home before, she couldn't help but feel slightly small. She didn't know what to expect. She'd seen this area featured a couple times on the television, but always in wintertime, when everything was snugly covered in blankets of snow.

"Really, who was the genius who thought of going to the hot springs in summer. Right, it was you, wasn't it?"

Kyouko looks at Sayaka and lets out a wry smile. Sayaka looks excited. The sun makes her face look brighter than usual.

"You want anything? Ice cream? Coffee? Pudding? Alright, all three of it then."

Kyouko turns to look at the waitress, seated behind the counter. She was gazing blankly to the end of the bar table, at the small dinosaur wood sculpture. Her uniform looked far more forgiving than the stationmaster's. She wore a long brown apron over her white blouse, and her sleeves went up only to her elbows. But she still had to button her collar all the way to the top. Both looked too stuffy for Kyouko to handle either ways.

At last, Kyouko raised her hand up, letting out a tentative, "Ano… suman."

The waitress perked up and, with quick gait, ambled towards them. In her hands, she held a pitcher of ice water and two glasses. Along the way, she seemed to stumble on her feet and almost fell over. Her fluffy yellow slippers looked as though they would slide off her feet any moment. Kyouko watched on in slight concern, slight amusement. Perhaps she's new to the job, she thought to herself, or perhaps she's just a little clumsy.

"Apologies for the wait; what will your orders be?"
"Ah yea, get me uh, I'd like to have the pana cotta, the mocha, and a milk monaka."
"A pana cotta, a mocha, and a milk monaka?"
"Yea."
"And you, miss?"

She turns her attention to Sayaka.

"Ah, it's okay. That's all from us."
"A-ah, okay, then this makes it one pana cotta, one mocha, one milk mama – one milk maka, manana, maka, kana, mama, ma – "
"Manaka?"
"Yes, one milk managa, mana – "
"Alright, it's alright. I get what you mean, no need to stress over it."

With a furious blush on her face, she bows and excuses herself with a thank you. She looked almost as if she was about to cry from embarrassment. Looking closely, even the knot of her brown apron was haphazardly tied. Kyouko couldn't help but smile at the sight. At least she looked happy to be here. Kyouko then wondered how old she was. She couldn't have been too much older than Kyouko herself.

Waiting for her order to arrive, she gulped down her glass of water. Then, she turned to Sayaka.

"Oi, Sayaka. If you don't drink anything, you're gonna get heatstroke, you know? In this weather…"

Kyouko shifts herself a little closer to Sayaka, stopping at the edge of her seat. Sayaka remains still on the wheelchair. Her blue eyes stare straight ahead, as though actually looking. It was the same as ever. Kyouko pushed the glass closer to Sayaka, before picking it up and nudging it onto her lips. Nothing happens.

"… oh well. What was I expecting…"

She moves her seat beside Sayaka.

"Hora, hora, don't make a mess this time."

Kyouko removes the straw and holds the glass in one hand. Her other hand goes towards Sayaka's jaw, gently massaging it to open her mouth.

"That's it, that's it. There we go."

A small crack forms between Sayaka's lips. With the rim of the cold glass pressed upon it, Kyouko gently tips the glass, making sure that water doesn't dribble out. She stops frequently to tip Sayaka's neck backwards slightly, using magic to make sure the water doesn't enter her windpipe.

"Yoshi… erai erai. One more time okay, Sayaka?"

Kyouko smiles to Sayaka. Sayaka never smiles back. But it's alright.

As she settles into the tedious routine once more, she remembered what Homura had advised her to do before they left on the trip.

She could have saved herself a lot of trouble by buying an IV drip to keep Sayaka hydrated. She was using more than enough magic to keep Sayaka's body fresh. "Since you're still clinging to the hope that she's not dead, you might as well be smart about your methods," Homura said. "And for everyone's good, please don't come back to Mitakihara if you find yourself about to turn into a witch."

Kyouko promised to do all that Homura advised after she returned from her trip. She didn't much of a choice over this matter anyways. Homura was the one who lent her the money she needed to go on this trip in the first place. Kyouko was obligated to follow Homura's instructions.

The day they left, Homura accompanied them all the way to the train platform. Most of their time was filled with practical discussion. Then, just before their train arrived, Kyouko asked,

"How d'you know I won't run off with the money?"
And Homura replied, "Will you run off with the money?"
"I mean, you should be more careful about who you trust, y'know."
"I don't need to trust you. I only need to believe you."
"Then, do you trust me?"
"I don't have to."
"That's not an answer."
"You weren't asking a question."
"I was."
"Not to me. But if you really want an answer, then all I can say is you've done nothing thus far to make me aware of my trust or distrust in you."
"Is that a good thing?"
"I don't know. Either way, I won't be around for long."

That conversation must have been no less than half a day ago. But strangely, the scene seemed so distant to Kyouko, as though she were looking at her memories through cold and foggy glass.

Staring out the window, Kyouko mulled over Homura's last few words.

"Ne, Sayaka. What do you think?"

But this time, Kyouko doesn't wait for a response. She continues feeding Sayaka until the glass is empty.

Once she was done, she moved her seat back to its original position. She heaved a sigh.

It was a slow day. Half of this was because of the weather. It was too hot for Kyouko to want to do anything. The other half, she didn't know. But it wasn't too bad. Since happiness was asking for too much, peace was more than enough for her.

Sitting underneath the sun, by the windowsill, Kyouko felt as though she was about to become a ripe persimmon.

Worrying that Sayaka might be lonely, she started to entertain Sayaka with all sorts of small talk. Sayaka looked excited. And as always, afraid of running out of conversation topics, Kyouko began to act as a live commentator for all the goings-on going on around them.

Looking out the window, she first sees a few lines of koinobori still waving about, hung between various streetlamps by the road. She wondered why they hadn't been taken down. Perhaps all the townsfolk forgot that Children's Day was over, or perhaps they wanted it to never end. Most likely they only forgot.

Next, Kyouko catches sight of an old lady. Sitting alone on a white stone bench beneath a small shelter, it looked like she was waiting for someone. Then, out from a door close by, comes the stationmaster who went up to Kyouko. She took her place beside the old lady and took off her cap, placing it onto her lap. They began to talk.

Kyouko opened the windows once again and tried to eavesdrop on them. They were too far away for her to hear anything specific, but it was enough to gather the gist of it all. She was waiting for a taxi, it seemed.

At any rates, it was clear that the old lady wasn't being treated as a customer of the railway. And this time, the stationmaster wasn't acting as a stationmaster. Now she was just a regular person, relaxing in her downtime, watching the sparrows and the yellow rose petals, whirling in the sun.

Somehow, this made the stationmaster feel more endearing to Kyouko than before. Kyouko usually found it difficult to deal with people in their business modes. She found it hard to tell what their true feelings were, what intentions they really held. She didn't like that kind of dishonesty.

It was convenient, of course, and people always said that you had to hide your true face if you want to go about surviving in the world. You can't just go about being a Botchan. That's just how it goes. She knew this well, but that didn't make no good excuse for, well, being a liar. It is what it is. And she knew that when she grew up, she didn't want to become like one of those kinds of people, bending to every kind of power and pressure just because it's the right thing to do.

But lately, she's become more tolerant of this sort of thing, even accepting. It wasn't that her values had changed or anything, only her views. It's one thing to be honest, but it's a totally different thing to expect others to be honest. Makeshift kindness is still kindness in the end after all. It's disrespectful and unkind to go out of your way to doubt other people's goodwill, all the more so if this goodwill is just an act. People want to have their acts respected as real and their lies to become truth; nothing wrong with that on its own. That's just how it goes. Kyouko knew that she was in no position to think otherwise after all.

"What do you think, Sayaka? You're an ally of justice, aren't you?"

She starts to wonder if Sayaka's really there.

Just then, a pair of butterflies passes before her eyes, dancing.

Kyouko takes her eyes off the two figures to watch the butterflies weave through the flowers. Soon, they fly apart and go their separate ways.

Kyouko turns back towards the small stone bench. The stationmaster is already gone. The old lady looks out at the hills and continues to wait for her taxi.

Her taxi probably isn't coming anytime soon. She should probably get on the bus or something. Maybe she ought to just get on the train and come back next winter. Sayaka really liked to drag other people down with her like that, didn't she?

Tired of chatting to herself, Kyouko hums a colourful morning tune. The scent of ground coffee beans from the counter wafts into her nose. She looks into Sayaka's eyes. Inside them, there was a reflection of her satisfied smile. It made her happy to know that from now on, she would always get to see this sight every time she woke up.

It was a clear and sunny day.

Kyouko looks out. The koinobori are still swimming in the sky. The wind was high.

Then suddenly, something snaps.

Kyouko gazes up, and her eyes light up in wonder.

"Oi, Sayaka! Outside!" she says excitedly.

The lines of koinobori collapse one by one.

And in an instant, all the fish start soaring like dragons across the landscape, swimming freely in the great blue sky, floating higher and higher amongst the clouds, carrying the dreams and wishes of all children up, up, and away.