Holding hands.
A moment of hesitation.
Consent.
Buying popcorn and drinks.
Verifying the tickets.
Slipping into the pitch-black screening room together.
Sitting in adjacent seats.
And then, Otto was utterly dumbfounded.
To his right sat Mei.
But… why was there a ball of white fluff to his left?
Even though the screening room was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, Otto's eyes, adjusted to the faint light, recognized the figure sitting bolt upright beside him as Kiana.
To Kiana's left sat another girl. Otto couldn't make out her features, but he presumed it was that Asakura Miyuki. Her voice sounded quite delicate; she was likely another one of the young ladies from Senba Academy.
Kiana sat with her hands placed primly on her knees as Asakura Miyuki whispered to her. Kiana offered only sporadic, noncommittal replies.
She was clearly not yet accustomed to interacting with her "second friend."
This was the first time Kiana had ever been properly asked out by a so-called friend.
She was so tense she looked like she was serving a prison sentence.
Asakura, however, didn't seem to mind and remained incredibly enthusiastic. She had been touched when Kiana wiped her desk, to say nothing of the fact that Kiana had also saved her from falling rubble.
A fond, avuncular smile spread across Otto's face. Little Kiana, usually so loud and carefree, was now completely silent.
Still, this was a huge step forward for her, and Otto was quite satisfied. When they eventually got to Schicksal, he could even introduce her to a few more friends.
And yet... Otto couldn't shake the feeling that he had overlooked something important.
Ah, well. I'll deal with any problems when they arise.
Otto pulled Mei along, and they settled into their seats without a sound. The nervous Kiana was completely unaware that the master who fed her was now sitting to her right.
He kept his right hand entwined with Mei's. He was still rather surprised that she had agreed to let him hold her hand. It seemed she was making an effort of her own.
Her hand, however, was ice-cold.
Otto leaned back against his seat, silently holding Mei's hand. He couldn't speak. A single word and the Paramecium would immediately recognize him.
Still, holding Mei's hand right next to the Paramecium… it was strangely thrilling.
The thought made Otto give Mei's small hand a squeeze. He felt her body give a slight shiver, so he loosened his grip a little, changing the motion to a gentle caress across the back of her hand.
One couldn't apply pressure constantly. A master of the art knew the importance of tension and release.
Mei also remained silent, likely because she didn't know what to say.
Mei understood how to wear a mask of strength in front of others, but no one had ever taught her how to love another person.
She felt that, right now, she probably did not love Otto.
But unlike anyone else, Otto had planted the seedling of an emotion in her heart. It was tiny, still buried deep beneath the soil, but a day would surely come when it would break through the surface.
That was why she had agreed to his invitation to hold hands.
She looked at the screen as images began to flicker to life. The movie was starting.
The scattered murmurs in the theater faded away. Asakura Miyuki, who had been chatting with Kiana, also fell silent. A strange glow flickered in her dark eyes as she and Kiana watched the screen together.
The film was a popular romance of the moment. It told the story of a man held captive by a young girl with a psyche twisted by her upbringing. The man, a novelist, persevered by telling her stories every single day of his confinement. In the end, the girl's heart was moved, and the two were separated for many years. When they met again, the now-grown girl had become the man's new editor.
"I'm your biggest fan," she says in the final scene. "I've been listening to your novels since I was a child."
Otto had little interest in it. He turned his head to look at Mei and saw her watching the film with rapt attention.
He continued to stroke her hand, careful not to disturb her.
After all, her days of being able to live as an ordinary girl were numbered.
In contrast, a faint chewing sound persisted from his left; Kiana was steadily working her way through the popcorn.
While Asakura Miyuki and Mei were engrossed in the film, their respective companions' minds were elsewhere. Otto knew Kiana preferred bloody, violent action movies; she had no appreciation for this sort of gentle, artsy fare.
A mischievous smile crept onto his face.
This is what happens when one is well-fed and bored.
He surreptitiously pulled out his phone and sent a message to Kiana.
"Don't speak. Look to your right."
Otto's smile didn't falter. A moment after the message sent, Kiana's pert backside vibrated. Holding her popcorn bucket, she pulled out her phone, puzzled.
She saw the message was from that guy, Otto. She opened it, then turned her head, her brow furrowed in confusion.
Her azure eyes went wide. In the faint, flickering light, Kiana saw exactly who the man sitting next to her was.
Her mouth opened to shout, but a hand clamped over it just in time, muffling the sound.
Otto removed his hand, wiping Kiana's saliva and a few popcorn crumbs on her arm with a look of slight disgust. Kiana snapped her mouth shut and, in disbelief, grabbed her phone to text him.
"Are you stalking me!? (╯▔皿▔)╯"
"I have to make sure you're not making any bad friends. She seems like a nice girl, though. 😊"
"Hmph! Asakura is a good person! 😁"
"But you can't build a lasting friendship just by accepting favors, you know. This is your 'second' friend, after all."
"Ngh... （⊙ｏ⊙）"
"I won't disturb you two anymore. I'll leave after the movie. And you are not to stay out overnight, understand? 🔪🔪🔪"
"I know, I know, you old mother hen!"
Otto and Kiana put their phones away simultaneously. Kiana glanced at Asakura Miyuki, then offered her the popcorn bucket and whispered in her ear.
"Want some?"
Asakura Miyuki started at the sound of Kiana's voice, shocked that the girl she saw as so cool and aloof was actively speaking to her.
"Thank you."
Accepting the kind offer, Asakura took a few kernels. Having shared her delicious food with a friend, Kiana nodded in satisfaction.
Neither she nor Otto touched their phones again, and the two girls beside him were quiet.
Watching the scene unfold, Otto smiled.
A bold and rather immature idea suddenly sparked in his mind.
His right hand was holding Mei's.
His left hand... also began to rise.
He placed his left hand over Kiana's right.
Kiana didn't turn her head, nor did she pull her hand away. She simply stared at the movie screen as if completely captivated.
Only the slowing pace at which her left hand brought popcorn to her lips betrayed her inner turmoil.
Otto looked at neither Kiana nor Mei. Instead, he closed his eyes, feigning sleep.
And yet, his heart was hammering in his chest.
His brain was trembling; it was exhilarating beyond belief!
In the dim theater, he held Kiana with his left hand and Mei with his right.
It was as if... they were his wings.
A pair of wings that would never, ever get tangled.