Yoshiko was too quiet, even for someone at a library.

It's been a while since it became her after-school hangout spot. Hanamaru didn't mind the company; a pair of eyes following her up and down wasn't trouble. Of course, she only moved around that much during their busiest days — which isn't a lot in a school that's about to shut down. Sometimes Ruby joined them, but as the end of the school year approached, she just wanted to spend as much time as possible with her sister. Therefore, most days it was just Hanamaru and Yoshiko chatting about anything or nothing at all, away from the rest of the world in that little corner of the building.

But Yoshiko was too quiet on that day.

"Your lunch looked so good today." Hanamaru tried to chat her up. Maybe she was feeling out of it because she didn't eat enough throughout the day, or because she slept too little last night.

"Huh...?" Visibly distracted, she needed a couple of moments to understand the question. "Oh, all leftovers from yesterday. My mom packed it for both of us."

There was no grandeur in her words, no dramatic intonation, or outlandish gestures. Yoshiko was slumped over a table, face glued to wood. It was weird to see her like that; it didn't look like when she was tired from practice or a live show. Hanamaru could feel the worry welling up inside her chest.

It wasn't like her to butt in other people's issues, but one of her best friends wasn't a simple "other person", right...?

"Did anything happen, Yoshiko-chan?"

Finally she tore her eyes away from the horizon line, looking at Hanamaru in a way that made her think of a hurt little animal.

"Why would you think so, Zuramaru?" She laughed, but it felt almost practiced. "I'm the one who should ask you now if something happened."

"No, but..." She paused for a second, wondering how could she convey her intuition in the best way possible. "You're too quiet. Usually, you're a little more like... 'greetings, vulnerable mortals', or 'the power of the atmosphere around us is too dense, we should retreat', you know?"

Yoshiko let a slight smile come to her lips as she watched Hanamaru's impersonation, but it was momentary — she was back to her defeated expression in no time. "So that's the feeling you get from me?"

"Well, that's what you say and do all day long." She frowned, without being able to understand why did she make it sound like a bad thing. Getting out from behind the entrance desk, she moved over to Yoshiko's desk, sitting by her side. "What happened? Did you spend all of your spiritual energy on a summoning last night?"

This time, Hanamaru didn't get an answer. Yoshiko moved her head to the side, the tip of her nose scrunched against the table, arms crossed in a barrier around her.

"Yoshiko-chan." She tried again. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"I know." The words were muffled, garbled, almost as if Yoshiko was choking. Her voice startled Hanamaru, eyebrows raising high. She opened her mouth without even knowing what to say, but was interrupted before reaching a conclusion. "Be honest, Zuramaru. I'm too weird, ain't I?"

Silence followed.

How could she answer such a question?

Yes, Yoshiko— Yohane had her own issues. She always painted her words in the fanciest way possible, making her vocabulary a bit incomprehensible to most people. She wore a cape with pride, eyes sparkling whenever someone's attention was drawn to it. She live-streamed and had a lot of books on occultism and paranormal stuff, but, at the end of the day... she was a good girl — a good friend, a good partner, and someone who Hanamaru loved very dearly.

"What makes you think like that?"

Although reductant, asking back could help her understand why did she come up with this all of a sudden, why was she feeling so down.

"Oh, you know." She sniffled. "I talk weird, I act weird, I walk weird, I like weird stuff, I'm weird as a whole. It becomes pretty obvious when people look funny at me or talk to me like... like you talk to a child." Yoshiko breathed in, making a distorted noise due to the proximity of a surface. "Even outside of school. People treat me like this online, too, when they comment on my pictures or videos. They're just a lot more sincere."

A relapse, Hanamaru concluded. Yoshiko had made a lot of progress in regards to her self-confidence, especially if compared to the early days, when she skipped school; but it was understandable that every now and then she ended up falling into old habits. Although they say you shouldn't mind other people's opinions, that you should focus on yourself... it's the kind of thing that's much easier said than done. Hanamaru was very familiar with the feelings Yoshiko was going through, and it wasn't easy at all, but in times like that, she always had someone by her side. Her grandma, who sat by her side on her bed, fragile fingers trying to wipe a child's tears away. Ruby, who glued herself to her, holding her hand so tightly, with all the strength she didn't have, and wouldn't let go of it until Hanamaru stopped crying. Yoshiko herself, who, without even being aware of it, made her smile for so many different reasons.

Now it was time to pay her back, even if it was in her own way.

"Well, if you think about it... Maybe I'm even weirder than you."

"Huh?!" She raised her head, eyes shooting towards Hanamaru.

"At least that's what people talk about me. That I have this weird tic, that I don't understand what people say at all, that I eat too much, that it's bizarre how I don't have a cellphone or don't know how to handle a computer, that I spend all of my time at the library..." At each comment she mentioned, Hanamaru would count on her fingers, in order to emphasize her point. "I'm as weird as you, maybe even more. But I still have people who value me as I am, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"And you still love me either way, right?"

Yoshiko's face lighted up, red spreading from her cheeks. "That's also true."

"In the end, isn't that what really matters, more than anything else?" Raising her right hand, she started to slowly stroke Yoshiko's hair. "I love you just the way you are, Yoshiko-chan. I find fantastic how dedicated you are to what you believe in, and how much fun you seem to be having when you're doing something you like. I really love seeing you like this, without pretending or hiding anything, and I'm sure I'm not alone in my opinion!"

"... Thanks, Zuramaru."

"And if you feel bad about it, just remember!" Lifting one finger in her free hand, she pointed to the floor. "The poor, poor souls who crossed your path and dared to try to put a curse on you will be anguishing in the ether when you meet them once more."

The sudden imitation made Yoshiko laugh — this time, a real, heartfelt laugh. Hanamaru smiled back, relief washing over her.

"Really, thank you." Her tears slowed down into droplets, falling down one at a time. She still didn't have enough strength to speak in her own words how much she loved Hanamaru, so she took a deep breath and tried to give herself some more time.

"Once you're done here, do you want to grab something together downtown?"