The morning of the culture festival, the art room was wrapped in a special kind of atmosphere. The morning sun slanted into the still-empty corridor. From the art room, its window left slightly ajar, the faint scent of paint drifted out. When the clubroom door opened, a massive canvas—1.8 meters tall and 3.6 meters wide—dominated an entire wall. Under a cherry tree in full bloom, three girls were laughing. In the center, a girl seated in a wheelchair. Beside her, a long-haired girl laughing with an arm around her shoulder, and a smaller girl smiling a little shyly. It was the painting Sonoko-senpai had spent all of last night integrating. Yuuki's digital background and Silica's figure drawings breathed together naturally on a single canvas. "……Alright." Sonoko-senpai folded her arms in front of the canvas, her long, dull-purple hair swaying. Her sleepy, drooping eyes were, just for now, as sharp as a cat's. "All that's left are the fine highlights." *Rattle.* The door slid open, and Asuna burst in. "[excited]Sonoko-senpai, good morning! …Wait, you're already here?" Her honey-colored long hair swung with momentum. Her face looked a little more sleep-deprived than usual, but her eyes were shining bright. "[gentle]Good morning, Asuna-san. Where's Silica-san?" "[surprised]She was supposed to leave before me, but… ah." Asuna turned around. Beyond the still-open door, Silica stood frozen. Her waist-length black hair swayed faintly. Her large, almond-shaped eyes were riveted to the canvas. "[whispers]……This is…" Silica's voice was hoarse. The digital sketch Yuuki had sent, and the figure painting she herself had drawn—they were together naturally in a single picture. Sonoko-senpai's integrating brushwork was so smooth, it looked as if a single painter had created it from the start. "[serious]Three people, one painting. That's what I said, right?" Sonoko-senpai said it casually and stood before the easel. "Now, the last spurt. Both of you, pick up your brushes." Asuna and Silica exchanged glances. Then, side by side, they stood before the easel. With a fine brush, Silica added white highlights to the cherry blossom petals. One by one, carefully. Beside her, Asuna added reflections of light to the river's surface. "[laughing]Asuna-senpai, don't stop your brush there." "[embarrassed]Huh? Ah, sorry. Is this okay?" "[laughing]……That's right on top of the cherry tree trunk." Asuna's brush tip had carelessly plopped white paint onto the trunk of the cherry tree. "[scared]Aaaah! I'm so sorry!" "[surprised]Now the trunk's turning into a white birch." Silica burst out laughing. "[serious]A white birch isn't bad either." Sonoko-senpai said it with a completely straight face, so both Asuna and Silica finally laughed out loud. "[laughing]Sonoko-senpai, are you serious!?" "[gentle]I'm serious. But this time it's a cherry tree, so let's fix it." Sonoko-senpai took a brush and, in a few seconds, restored the white part to the trunk's color. The handiwork was so vivid that the two of them stared in amazement. "[surprised]……So fast." "[gentle]We don't have much time, after all. Delivery is at nine." The three of them applied the final touches, and at last set down their brushes. The cherry blossoms in the canvas bloomed proudly, as if they might scatter in the wind at any moment. "[whispers]……It really looks like a single painting." Silica murmured. The parts that were supposed to have been drawn separately held together properly as one piece. "[gentle]I integrated it with that intention from the start." Sonoko-senpai said that and smiled quietly. The art room was filled with gentle morning light. ********************** Just before noon, Silica stood alone in front of the school gate. The gloomy air that had hung over her until yesterday was nowhere to be found. But now, her chest was full of a different kind of nervousness. (*Yuuki-san is coming.*) Meeting her after so long. Would she be able to smile properly? What should she say? From the distance, she heard the sound of wheelchair wheels turning. "[excited]It smells like school——!!" A high-pitched voice echoed across the schoolyard. It was Yuuki. A chestnut-brown short bob that swayed softly at her shoulders. Her large, puppy-like brown eyes sparkled brightly. Flashy orange and yellow reflective tape was wrapped around the wheels of her wheelchair. And behind her, Asuna was chasing after her desperately. "[scared]Wait, Yuuki! You're too fast! Don't propel yourself without asking!" "[excited]But it's been so long! Asuna-chan, hurry, hurry!" "[crying]It's impossible! I can't catch up!" Yuuki vigorously turned the wheels of her wheelchair herself, picking up more and more speed. But after moving forward a little, her hands suddenly stopped. "[quiet]……Oh, I got a little tired." Yuuki's voice suddenly grew small. Asuna caught up from behind and quietly took hold of the wheelchair's handles again. "[gentle]……Let's go slowly." "[quiet]……Yeah." Yuuki nodded obediently. She didn't say "You worry too much!" like she used to. Asuna pushed the wheelchair and headed toward the school building where the exhibition room was. At the entrance of the exhibition room, she saw Silica standing there. Yuuki and Silica's eyes met. Silence. For an instant, both of them froze. Silica stood rooted, not knowing what to say. Yuuki, for her part, opened her large eyes even wider, and then— "[excited]Silica-chan! I saw the painting! It was amazing! Incredible, incredible, incredible!!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. Silica's tension crumbled away with that single sentence. "[crying]……You haven't seen it yet, the real thing…" "[surprised]Huh!? Why haven't you seen it!? Asuna-chan, Silica-chan says she hasn't seen it yet!" "[laughing]That's why the three of us are going to see it together now, right?" "[excited]That's right! Hurry, hurry!" Yuuki tried to start propelling the wheelchair again, but Asuna promptly grabbed the handles. "[serious]I'm pushing." "[embarrassed]……Okaaay." Watching the exchange between the two of them, Silica naturally broke into a smile. ********************** Inside the exhibition room, it was hushed and silent. The three of them stood side by side in front of the massive canvas hung on the wall. Beside Yuuki's wheelchair, Silica. Behind her, Asuna. Under the cherry tree in full bloom in the painting, three girls were laughing. The girl in the wheelchair in the center looked just like Yuuki. The long-haired girl beside her with an arm around her shoulder was Asuna. The smaller girl smiling a little shyly was Silica. Yuuki couldn't move for a while. She was staring intently at her own face. "[whispers]……That's me." Her voice was so small it seemed about to fade away. "[whispers]I'm really here." The next moment, Silica moved. She grasped Yuuki's hand tightly in both of hers. "[crying]……I was jealous. I'm sorry." Silica's voice trembled. "[crying]For so long, I liked Kirito-san. Every time you said Kirito-san's name, my heart ached. I hated myself the most for feeling that way about you when you were sick." Tears fell, one by one, onto their hands. "[crying]But I'm really glad we could paint together. I wasn't alone. I could paint because you were there." Tears endlessly overflowed from Silica's large eyes. Yuuki squeezed back. Her own hands were trembling too. "[crying]Me too…!" Large teardrops traced down Yuuki's pale cheeks. "[crying]I wanted to paint together too! Next year, I want to paint together again! I'll definitely come back! I'm going to attend this school!" Yuuki's cry resounded through the quiet exhibition room. Other visitors turned around in surprise. But Yuuki didn't care. Silica hung her head, her shoulders shaking as she cried. At that moment, Asuna gently wrapped her arms around Yuuki's shoulders from behind. "[crying]……Honestly, you two." Asuna's voice was trembling too, and though she tried to hide her tears, she failed completely. A sob escaped. "[laughing]……Asuna-senpai, you're crying the most." Silica said that, her face still a mess from tears. "[embarrassed]I-I'm not crying…!" "[laughing]You are crying! Asuna-chan, your nose is running!" "[scared]Eh!? No way!?" Asuna frantically pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. Silica and Yuuki looked at each other, and then began to giggle. Tears and laughter spilled out at the same time. The sight of the three of them crying and laughing together was exactly like the three in the painting. Before they knew it, the other visitors in the exhibition room were quietly watching the scene. ********************** Afternoon came. It was past two o'clock when Kirito appeared in the exhibition room. Black hair, and sharp eyes with a shadow somewhere in them. Behind him were Klein, Lisbeth, and the other comrades who had returned from SAO. "[surprised]Kirito-san…" Silica let out a small voice. Kirito slowly stood before the painting. With both hands still in his pockets, he gazed intently at the canvas. Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. Thirty seconds. "……Amazing." That was all he said. "[angry]That's it!?" Klein couldn't help but retort. "[excited]You've got more thoughts than that, right!? The three of them painted it, you know!?" "[sarcastic]No, I mean… there's no other way to say it but amazing." Kirito scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. Then he looked toward Yuuki. "We meet again, Zekken." "[excited]Kirito-san! I'm coming here again next year! Remember that, okay!" Yuuki declared in a loud voice. Kirito's expression turned serious for just a moment. It was precisely because he had fought risking his life in SAO that he understood. The weight of the words "next year." "……Yeah, I'll be waiting." It was a short reply, but it carried a definite resolve. Silica watched that exchange from a little distance away. She looked at Kirito's profile. Deep in her chest, it still hurt a little. This unrequited love would surely never disappear. But—that alone wasn't who she was. Asuna-senpai was there, Yuuki-san was there, Sonoko-senpai was there. They painted together, cried together, laughed together. All of that shaped who she was now. On his way out, as Kirito was about to pass by Silica, he suddenly stopped. "[gentle]……I was watching properly. You did great." Those words settled gently into Silica's heart. The person she had wanted to acknowledge her had acknowledged her. "[whispers]……Thank you, very much." Silica gave a small bow. When she raised her head, Kirito had already turned his back and was walking away. Inside her chest, pain and warmth existed at the same time. It was a new emotion, for moving forward. ********************** Before evening, the time limit for her outing permit was approaching. Sonoko-senpai appeared in the exhibition room and stood before Yuuki. "[gentle]Next year, shall we paint again?" "[excited]Yes! Definitely!" It was an immediate answer. Sonoko-senpai smiled gently, then turned on her heel. "Then I'll reserve a spot for you." As Yuuki gazed at her back, she remembered the day she first went to the art room. That moment when Sonoko-senpai had held out a pure white canvas and said, "Want to try using this?" (*Next time, I'll be the one to go and fill that spot.*) In front of the school gate, Asuna said as she pushed the wheelchair. "[gentle]It's almost time, Yuuki." Yuuki looked back at the school building. "[quiet]Hey, Asuna-chan. I'll definitely come again next year." Asuna caught her breath for a moment, then nodded quietly. "[gentle]……Yeah." Just a single word. But that "yeah" was a word spoken with conviction by Asuna, who worried more than anyone whether there would be a next year. ********************** Nishinagawa Rehabilitation Hospital, Room 305. Outside the window, the row of cherry trees along the Nishinagawa R