Japanese fanfic. Translated by me.

Original author (Pixiv: 4435391): バームクーヘン

Original title (Pixiv: 7718078): 眠れる場所

Ninotsugi Kaori does not sleep in class.

For middle school students, sleeping in class is inevitable at some point. Reasons can vary from boring lessons to tiredness from club activities. There are even people who fall asleep for no reason.

Kaori doesn't do it, and not because she's a diligent student. She just disliked the idea of leaving a vulnerable time window, during which she can't protect herself. It's more comfortable to keep track of what is happening in class. Aside from pretending to sleep for a few minutes so that she could banter about it with other people, Kaori believed that leaving herself unprotected should be avoided.

Therefore, Kaori does not sleep in class. Sleeping in front of the others is absolutely a foolish act. Such an unusual middle schooler.

Unusual, but it didn't mean Kaori was the only one. There might be some diligent students who never dozed off in class, but this wasn't the time to talk about them.

Sakaki Tatsuko, the classmate who Kaori became friends with under Toko's direction, also does not fall asleep during classes.

Her reason was not the same as Kaori. If she fell asleep, the teacher would get angry and she would stand out. She didn't want to stand out, she never neglected observing her surroundings for that exact reason.

And so, just like Kaori, Tatsuko had never showed anyone her sleeping face.

Right then, Kaori realized a certain fact for the first time.

Ninotsugi Kaori had never seen the sleeping face of Sakaki Tatsuko.

"It's not like I want to see it or anything."

"Kaori-chan, did you just say something?"

When Kaori denied that she ever said anything, Tatsuko didn't inquire any further.

This is so silly. In the first place, isn't it more unusual to have seen the sleeping face of a friend? There's nothing good about it.

Kaori thought it is foolish to sleep in front of others.

Toko was around so Kaori didn't really think she could drop dead from an unexpected attack mid-sleep, but there's no doubt her reaction time would be delayed. And if the opponent was a magical girl, there's a possibility to get mortally wounded.

Tatsuko was neither an enemy nor a magical girl yet, but Kaori had no reason to open her heart to the girl. Kaori only befriended her to make her a scapegoat. A shield to protect her covert in times of emergency. Why would Kaori expose herself to such a girl?

Besides, Tatsuko herself never fell asleep in front of others, which meant she also didn't want to be defenseless around anyone including Kaori.

Yeah, there's no mistake. Kaori didn't know if they're friends or whatever, but letting your guard down around each other would be the embodiment of stupidity.

"Kaori-chan, over there..."

"Whoa..."

When they took a turn at the crossroad, Tatsuko pointed at the direction they're going. Up ahead, broken debris and timbers were scattered behind a traffic ban tape. Apparently, a truck had toppled, so nobody would be able to pass through here for a while.

If they couldn't get through here, they would have to make a detour. But that other road is a long, long uphill.

Even though Kaori always paid attention to her surroundings, she couldn't do anything about the unexpected. She sighed again at the worldly familiarity.

Climbing that uphill road took quite a bit of physical strength. Trying to take a break, Kaori bought drinks at a vending machine and handed one to Tatsuko, before sitting down next to her and looking up at the sky.

Kaori was tired and didn't want to talk much, but she also felt uneasy about the prolonged silence. Even when they only talked about stupid things, and even though Tatsuko wasn't the type who actively talks, the girl always responded to Kaori properly. So it's unusual for her to ignore Kaori this much.

"Tacchan?"

And for the first time, Kaori realized that Tatsuko was asleep.

Certainly, it's unavoidable to be exhausted after climbing that long slope. That was no thing to freak out about. But what amazed Kaori was that Tatsuko had leant against her, and the fact that it had surprised her enough to clench her fist tightly around the can in her hand.

There was nothing to be surprised about. Unlike a magical girl transformation, Tatsuko's face had not changed at all. It was still totally the same. But for some reason, Kaori could not keep her eyes off of what should be a familiar face.

"...Silly Tacchan."

Kaori muttered, closing her eyes.

Right now, Tatsuko was leaving her body defenseless in front of an assassin who was trying to use her. The pitiful girl didn't know.

Kaori didn't deserve that face.

That face should have been shown to a more trustworthy person. And yet she showed it to Kaori.

What a helpless girl.

That's what Kaori thought.

"...Nnn?"

"Kaori-chan, you woke up?"

Woke up?

Kaori felt Tatsuko's voice was right next to her, her body was drowsy as if she just woke up from a nap.

"What happened?"

"It looked like I fell asleep for a while. When I noticed it, Kaori-chan seemed to have fallen asleep too. I thought it would be bad if to wake you up."

"..."

Kaori could not believe it. When did she fall asleep?

No, why did she fall asleep in the first place? Moreover, judging from their current position, it seemed she had kept her body close to Tatsuko this whole time. Kaori was stunned at herself for doing the exact same stupid thing that Tatsuko did.

Was this reality or an enemy's hallucination? But no matter how much Kaori thought about it, it could only be reality. And that made Kaori confused even more.

Ninotsugi Kaori did not know. She did not know that she had let Tatsuko into her heart more than she thought.

She did not know, yet.