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When Hanekawa had packed her things and gone out of the city it had been for a mission. To fulfil a duty. She was not travelling for pleasure, to do tourism, to grow up, to find herself. Or so she had told herself over and over again.
Sure, there had been good times. There had been the onsen, playing her guitar in the streets to earn some money for food and accommodation, there had been the monuments, the nights reflecting about herself, the moments in which she felt truly free.
But she had no time for that. She had no time for her.
“Hanekawa-san!” the girl called her attention as she packed her things.
She had banged at the door of the small but comfortable European apartment and Hanekawa had had to open it before she disturbed her neighbours. Even though she didn’t want to. Or so she had told herself over and over again.
She had met the younger girl while she wandered around the foreign city, about to get lost. She didn’t usually have to ask for help to find places to stay, but that city was big and crowded and Hanekawa was starting to get exhausted from wandering around. She usually preferred addressing people that looked younger than her, and girls to make sure she didn’t get into trouble, though she wasn’t usually wary of men in general, but it was safer and she had promised her friends she would be alright. She had smiled at the word ‘friend’ when she addressed the girl.
“Oh, I can take you to a cheap but clean and comfortable place,” the student had said to her as she ate some fish-shaped bread. “Do you play the guitar?”
She spoke a good English but had a strong accent, which contrasted with the softness of her pale skin, blue eyes, and delicate features.
“Yes,” Hanekawa had replied. “I play the guitar.”
“If I lead you to the hotel, you have to play for me. I can help you getting a discount and the best room, too, I know the people who work there. But you’ll have to play for me.”
Hanekawa had accepted with one of her polite smiles and the girl had turned around to lead the way, asking countless of questions about her in the way.
“Where are you from? Why are you here? Who are you looking for? Why? Where are your friends and family? Do you like fish-shaped bread?” when Hanekawa had replied affirmatively at the latter question, she had given her some.
The girl had continued going to visit her during the nights and had brought her some dinner. First, the girl, Anya, had just devoted on making questions to Hanekawa until her curiosity was partly satisfied. After that, she had opened herself to her, telling Hanekawa about her classes in high school, her parents, and friends.
Hanekawa had been amazed at her interest for her. She believed, no, she was sure that no one had ever shown such an interest for her, and when she had asked her the reason why she had replied:
“You are interesting! You’re travelling the world on your own with a guitar, that’s my definition for interesting person,” she had eaten some fish-shaped bread. “Besides, your hair looks cool. Is it natural?”
“Yes,” Hanekawa had replied between giggles. “It is natural.”
Then, she had felt envious about that girl. She was one year younger than her and had everything Hanekawa had always wanted. She had wanted to have family like hers, a lot of friends, to wander the streets of her city eating fish-shaped bread and talking to strangers and being natural. She had forgotten long ago how being natural felt like. She had been able to grasp a stronger sense of acting naturally with Araragi-kun and Senjougahara-san, and there, on her own, but the essence alone of that girl seemed to be being natural.
But she liked Anya. She couldn’t help but liking her despite her nosiness and her own jealousy, and soon enough she learnt to stop feeling envious.
Her stay in the city had started to lengthen due to the company of that girl of long blonde hair and blue eyes, but she couldn’t delay her departure anymore. She had a mission. A duty to fulfil. And so she had told her.
She hadn’t liked it. She had started complaining, asking her not to go, and she was doing just so at her bedroom at that very moment.
“Take me with you,” she insisted over and over again.
Hanekawa sighed.
“Anya, that is crazy. You cannot go with a person you don’t know at all to some random place, abandoning your school, family, friends and all your own obligations.”
“Why not? You’re not even a stranger. I know everything about you. You answered all my questions. You even told me about the cat and the tiger. I know you.”
That was true, she had told her about the Sawarineko and Kako, parts of her life, of herself, that she had thought she would never talk about to anyone other than those who found themselves involved in what had happened.
“But...”
“No buts. I said I’m going with you.”
Hanekawa closed her suitcase with a sigh and opted for going out of the room and simply ignoring Anya. It pained her to part from her that way, but she hated goodbyes anyway, and she knew she was going the right thing making Anya stay.
Anya followed her to the train station and took her wrist, making her turn, just as the train was arriving.
“What do you want?”
Hanekawa eyes widened in surprise.
“Wh...”
“What do you want?” Anya repeated, her eyes watery. “If you don’t want me to go with you, I’ll forget about you and what you told me and let you go. Right here and now.”
“I don’t want you to leave your...”
“Do you want me to go with you or not?!” she exclaimed just as the train stopped in front of them and the doors opened. “You’ve always done what was right, what you were supposed to do. What do you want to do?”
Hanekawa smiled, stepping into the train. She was wrong. Hanekawa had always been egoistic, doing what she wanted even though that could hurt other. She had wanted to be perfect, and she had. She had wanted to fall in love, and she had. It had only been more comfortable to do things right, to do what she was supposed to. Anya was so wrong. But...
Hanekawa whispered something just as the doors of the train started closing. Something that made Anya smile. Something that made her jump into the train before the doors closed completely.