I guess it won't be long until we arrive.

Yeah. Saki and the others said that they're waiting for us at the terminal.

Oh, you're right. They sent a message.

Also, Tenma uses some really interesting stamps.

Oh, do you mean the sumo stamps?

Yes. Are these crying sumo stamps a series?

Apparently. She's really liking them lately, so she's been using them a lot.

But seeing them every day has made them grow on me, so I ended up buying them too.

Really? I didn't realize you have the same ones.

Hehe, you two really are close.

We're childhood friends and in the same band after all.

Right... I guess being in the same group would naturally bring you closer. And even more so if you're childhood friends too.

Definitely. But Saki and I weren't always together growing up.

Oh... That's right...

Tenma was away for a while due to illness, wasn't she?

Yes, she was staying at a faraway hospital until a little while ago.

So... There was a point when we were apart for a while.

I was a little anxious back then since we had always been together up until that point. But I believed that Saki would recover in no time and it'd all be fine.

Even though I held onto that belief, her recovery ended up taking longer than I thought.

I'm sure that must've been lonely...

Were you able to keep contact with her during that period?

I went to visit her and we sent messages to each other. However, the time we actually spent together in person was quite short.

There were even times when I felt Saki had become kind of distant.

When she got out of the hospital, I was really worried about what would happen if we couldn't talk the same way we used to...

Hoshino...

But after I got to see her again, all of those worries went away. Because in the end, it was like nothing had changed.

And that's how we've come to now.

Saki wanted all of us to stick together, and made that happen. Thanks to that, we were able to form a band together and are now closer than ever.

I see... I didn't realize all of that happened.

(Tenma and Hoshino are amazing... I can only imagine how much courage it would take to meet a friend you haven't seen in so long.)

(If things didn't work out, then that friendship would just end right there.)

(Would I be able to do that? I...)

Oh, Kiritani, look. I can see the terminal getting closer. I think we'll be arriving soon.

Huh? Oh, you're right.

I didn't even notice.

Me neither. I had so much fun talking with you that time just flew by.

I'm glad I got to learn more about you and your band members. Thank you for telling me.

Going above and beyond so that you can all be together again... Tenma sure is amazing. But that sounds a lot like her.

Yes. She really is a strong person. I know that she had it way harder than me, and yet she was just as cheerful as ever.

She still is now, and has lots of friends too.

Saki's always been really social. She even started calling you by your first name straight away, didn't she?

Hehe, now that you mention it, she did.

Heeeyyy!

Heeey! Ichi!

Oh, speak of the devil...

Hehe, she's waving. She sure is peppy.

Welcome back, you two!

We're back. Sorry for making you all worry.

Haha, we were a little surprised, but everything's okay!

I was thinking that was very much like you.

(It's not like we'll never see each other again, huh... That's true.)

(There's nothing wrong with just...)

(Being apart for a little while.)

I'm so glad that we were able to meet back up!

Was everything okay after that?

Yes, everything was fine.

No one called out to me or anything.

That's good to hear!

Everyone... I'm truly sorry for all of the trouble today.

Huh? Don't worry about it! If anything, it was pretty fun!

Yeah!

It was exciting and kind of like we were in a drama!

It so was! Really, it was no trouble at all!

Besides, while you two were sitting around on the water taxi, we ate some sweets, went shopping and had some fun♪

See, I told you. We had nothing to worry about.

I guess you're right.

What's this? You two are like super close now!

Hehe, not at all.

More importantly, look at the time!

We only have an hour left until we have to meet with the rest of the class in front of the station.

Huh?! You're right! I didn't realize so much time has passed!

There isn't really much we can do within an hour, is there?

Then why don't we just walk around here?

I mean look, the water is so pretty and quite a backdrop for us teenagers, no?

Oh, Saki...

But, that sounds good.

I agree. Since we're here, let's walk around until we have to go.