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She’d stood on this clover-covered hill before with the withering gaze of Eas, the empty eyes of the girl lost in-between, and now as the self she was comfortable in, Setsuna. The green was so much more vibrant to a heart that wanted to let it in. She wanted to commit it to memory as strongly as Yotsuba itself: the stillness of the clovers under the brilliantly blue sky, the view extending out over clusters of buildings people she knew called home, and the fresh air far from the bustle of Clover Town Street.
It was bittersweet. Setsuna was going to miss it, just like she was going to miss so much else.
This goodbye was intended to be a silent send-off to the town, alone and introspective. Finding a place she could start off alone wasn’t any use against being interrupted later. Recognizing the panting voice of a friend and the frantic rustle of footsteps, she turned her head from the view. Inori, their Buki, running full tilt and swinging her arms to carry her faster changed Setsuna’s surprise to relief.
Parting with the Momozonos was a lengthy, satisfying occasion. Without that much time to spare for Miki and Inori, her regret was still fresh. Setsuna was more than happy to be handed a second chance.
“You’re still here!” Inori cried, throwing her arms around Setsuna’s neck. Setsuna could only laugh and wrap her arms around her winded friend in return.
“I’m still here. Hehe, this is more affectionate than you’ve ever been with me.” It was nice, the soft body embracing her and thick ginger hair up pressed against her cheek. She never wanted to let go.
“I’m really sorry!” In a panic, Inori pulled back. “I was just so relieved I wasn’t too late…”
“It’s okay. Did you want to talk for a minute?”
“If you have the time,” Inori said bashfully. “I don’t want to inconvenience you all.”
Setsuna turned to face the crest of the hill where Westar and Soular — to onlookers, Hayato and Shun — waited for her. Stepping closer to them, she called out, “Can you wait a little longer?”
“Labyrinth isn’t going anywhere,” Soular answered. “We have time to spare.”
“As long as you come with us eventually!” chimed in Westar.
“I will! Thank you.” Setsuna gave them a grateful smile and they graciously stepped out of view. The considerate shift in their personalities was still difficult to believe, but she wouldn’t trade them back for the world.
Inori had stayed where she was, hands clasped together in front of her. Her eyes lit up upon seeing Setsuna nod on her way back. With a heavy exhale, she sank down to sit among the clovers.
Setsuna was soon to join her. “How long were you running? You look really tired.”
Inori flushed, tilting her face away. It was cute. “Um… a while. Is that embarrassing?”
“No, not at all.”
Inori’s shoulders lost some of their tension. “I wanted to ask you some things. Is that all right?”
“Yes. Ask whatever you’d like.”
“You’re going to miss us, right?” The vulnerable question slipped out as she stared hard at her simple brown shoes.
Setsuna replied without hesitation. “Mom and Dad and Love are my family, and you and Miki are my best friends. I’ll miss you more than you can imagine.”
“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that. I know it’s silly, but sometimes it’s hard to believe I mean that much to the people I care about. I’ll really miss you too.”
Setsuna shook her head. “I’ve gone back and forth so many times on if I should believe the same thing, so I guess that makes me just as silly.”
Breaking through her fatigued anxiety, Inori giggled into her hand. “I don’t know. I’ve always thought you were really cool.”
“Even when I walked out of dance practice and you had to come find me?”
“You started dancing with me even though you were self-conscious about it, didn’t you? I definitely admired that.”
Bashful herself over the praise, Setsuna closed her eyes. “I’ve always been happy that we’re so alike. Finding someone that understood me back then gave me a lot of courage, and even now we’re not ever really alone in what we feel. Pushing through the weaknesses we share makes you pretty cool to me too, you know.”
A meaningful silence took place, and then Inori brought it to an end. “Setsuna?”
Looking over at her, Setsuna nodded. “Yes?”
“I had something else I wanted to ask you. I decided I shouldn’t keep a secret anymore, because I’d regret it forever if I did and never saw you again.”
“What is it?”
“Is it okay if I like you?”
Setsuna blinked. “Eh?”
While Inori had spoken impulsively quickly a moment before, hesitation crept in now. Her hand quivered against the clovers between them. “I… like you. As more than a friend. I have for a while now, but I could never get the courage to tell you. There’s no one I’d rather support more.”
“Buki…” Setsuna’s heart and mind had already started to race. Inori liked her? Inori liked her?
“I know I’m just an average girl from Earth who lives in an average veterinary clinic. I’m not anywhere near as special as you are. So even if I don’t make you feel the same way, is it okay to admire you?”
Setsuna moved her hand to rest over Inori’s, bringing the trembling to a close. The cloud of an uncertain future hanging over her didn’t stand a chance against the light those words carried. Inori glanced down in surprise and then searched Setsuna’s face for an explanation, never pulling away.
“And I’m just an awkward girl from another world who’s still discovering who she is,” Setsuna said softly. “You’re perfect the way you are.”
“A-Ah.” Inori’s face, redder by the second, seemed to be only barely restraining a joy she worried was too early to express.
“I like you too. I didn’t always know what that feeling was, because Love and Daisuke made me think that liking someone meant wanting to fight with them…” she explained with a laugh. “But the more I thought about it just being the two of us, the more we confided in each other, and the more you smiled at me, I understood. Once I did, I was too concerned about what would happen in the future to burden you with it. I’m sorry for making you do this.”
Inori let the contentment wash over her, taking up the most normal breathing pattern she’d had the entire exchange. She shyly rearranged their hands to lace their fingers together among the clovers. “Please don’t apologize. Thank you for telling me now.”
They scooted closer together, sitting arm to arm. A few minutes passed while they talked about fond memories, and the comfort in their intertwined hands filled Setsuna’s heart to the brim with a new kind of happiness.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t bask in the feeling forever. “I shouldn’t make them wait for me much longer,” she said, and as she stood, she pulled Inori’s hand up with her. Letting go of that was what she least wanted to do, and from Inori’s move to take Setsuna’s other hand in hers, the feeling was mutual.
“Good luck. I have faith it will work out for you.” Inori smiled encouragingly, but her eyes glistened with the hint of tears. “Try to visit if you can and tell me all about it, okay? I’ll be waiting.”
Setsuna’s heart felt heavy. Could she? Yes. Should she? Not until they could get Labyrinth on track. She didn’t even want to think about how long it might take. Visiting this colorful, ever-accepting world would make it that much harder to return to her duty. Here she had the loving family she’d ached for since long before she even knew it, here she had friends, and here she had Inori.
“I’ll try. I’ll be waiting to see you too. Until then,” she added, stepping closer and leaving a delicate kiss on Inori’s cheek, “Goodbye.”
Too tempted by the closeness, Inori wrapped her arms around Setsuna one more time and rested her forehead on the other girl’s shoulder. “Goodbye.”
Setsuna gave in to the brief embrace, savoring the satisfying fluttering in her chest a little longer. When it ended, Inori left at a much more casual pace than the way she’d arrived. After following her with affectionate eyes, Setsuna set off to find the men waiting for her.
Soular and Westar were right over the hill, engaged in a conversation a lot less combative than they used to be. Even before Chiffon saved them, she’d noticed they’d gotten closer without her around. Now, she could even see a genuine smile on Soular’s face. Knowing she wasn’t the only one to have created positive relationships — something she had yet to fully mend with the two herself — gave her more confidence in their ability to turn Labyrinth around.
Soular was the first to notice her. “Were you able to say what you needed?”
“Yes. I’m ready to go,” she answered, starting to walk through the space between them.
“It’ll be fine.” Westar slapped her on the shoulder strongly enough to make her stumble a step, but she knew he meant well. “We’ll make everyone in Labyrinth just as happy as the people are here.”
“I know we will.” Part of her might have felt like crying, but Setsuna still smiled up at him with a confidence as warm as the sun.