Aochi
I said my second farewell to Kinako, the hamster who had been my comfort for two years, and we lined up once more to walk forward.
Even with my fear of the dark, touching Oomi gave me an unfounded sense that I’d be all right. Feeling Oze behind me gave me reassurance.
“From here on, it’s stone again,” Oomi said from the front. Soon my own feet registered the flat, hard, cool surface.
“More like concrete than stone. Feels paved. Maybe we’ve reached the center of the Perching Stone?”
The Harvester had told us, “If we don’t catch up soon, wait at the Central Square.”
“It’s true. Feels artificial. Hey, there’s a handrail. On the right—try touching it.”
That was Oze’s voice from right behind me. And yes, there was a handrail. I grabbed it with relief. I’ve always had the bad habit of clinging to anything close at hand, letting my guard down.
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“Aochi-san!”
The next thing I knew, I was on the floor, right side down against the hard surface.
The handrail had vanished. Oomi, who trusted his own senses and walked forward without relying on it, was fine, and so were Oze and the others behind me.
“It’s fine. I leaned too much on the handrail, and when it suddenly ended, I lost my balance. Just fell, not hurt.”
I took Oze’s outstretched hand and stood.
For the first time, I was glad this place was pitch dark.
“Here, sit down—wait. This is…a chair, isn’t it? Could it be that…”
Oze cut himself off.
“It seems we’ve boarded a train without realizing it,” Oomi said calmly. A train? Urged by Oze, I checked the seat I had sat on. Its surface had a velvet-like touch, with a smooth, hard armrest beside it. My hands remembered something similar from trains I’d once ridden.
“Looks like a four-person seat,” Oomi said, sitting down next to me. I leaned forward and stretched out my hand—sure enough, another seat was right there.
Sliding my hand sideways, I brushed against someone’s leg.
“Hey, don’t paw at my thigh. Creepy.”
“Ah—sorry.”
At least it wasn’t Silent-chan.
“This side’s a four-person seat too,” a voice came from the other side. It seemed Silent-chan and Uruu had settled opposite us. And Mamoru-kun—
“He’s been sitting across from Aochi-san this whole time,” someone said.
Wait—so I’d been groping him just now? Great.
“Feels like Night on the Galactic Railroad. We just kind of sat down naturally, but…is this all right? Is this train even moving? Where’s it headed?”
Oze’s muttered soliloquy was answered by another voice.
“Stay aboard. This one’s bound for Just Before the Central Square.”