One afternoon, as the band filtered out of the studio at the close of an early practice session, Raana took Tomori’s hand and led her, surreptitiously, away from the group.

“Something I wanna show you,” she told her.

Tomori didn’t even think to resist. Raana had shown her so many lovely things already, after all.

Raana led her through the bustling surroundings of Ikebukuro station, dodging past herds of balding salarymen and throngs of absent-minded shoppers, and finally cutting through an avenue into the quieter, older commercial-residential area of the first chōme.

There, only a scant few people ambled the sidewalks. Tomori breathed a sigh of relief.

She followed gingerly behind as Raana paced along the side streets and alleyways. She held a pensive look on her face, and had a finger placed thoughtfully to her chin. Her eyes were dutifully scanning the tops of the buildings, looking for something. Whatever that was, she was being extremely discerning.

Tomori even started to feel a little… curious.

“Here,” Raana said, turning around and pointing to the worn-down back of a tall apartment building.

“Let’s go up.”

“U-up…?”

Raana answered by wordlessly ducking into the alley beside the building, finding the maintenance access door, and deftly disarming its lock with a hairpin.

Tomori’s heartbeat quickened. Cold, burning sweat formed on the palms of her hands.

“C’mon. Make sure no one sees you,” Raana whispered, impishly.

Tomori hesitated—the throes of anxiety dug deep into her back, pulling her away.

But soon they gave way to a far stronger push.

It was that feeling again. Curiosity.

Just what would Raana show her this time?

And wasn’t she so lucky to be here, now, of all places and times? To be alive and present for this fleeting, hidden moment?

Suddenly, going along seemed like the only reasonable option.

Up on the rooftop, the wind howled. Antennas and vents creaked against the concrete. The sun above was muted by a layer of clouds, leaving no shadows on the ground.

Raana walked up to the edge of the building. A meter or two across from her was another apartment complex, standing just a little lower than this one.

She shot a look back at Tomori, which practically had “check this out” written on it.

Then she took a running start, leapt, and soared through the air, effortlessly clearing the gap between the buildings. She landed with an adroit forwards roll, breaking her fall.

It was beautiful. Tomori couldn’t look away.

After dusting herself off, Raana stood up and gave Tomori a toothy, ear-to-ear grin. “Cool, right?,” she shouted.

The best Tomori could manage was one slow nod.

“Now you do it,” Raana added, with a beckoning motion.

Tomori braced for fear to come clawing at her again.

She was certain that her whole body would seize up, and that she would blurt out something silly like “I don’t know, t-that’s scary,” and slowly back away.

But that moment never came. Instead, her legs began to move on their own.

Before she knew it, she was flying.

It was incredible. The weightlessness of it, the wind at her back. Knowing there was no ground below to catch her. It was, in its own, strange way, comforting. She caught herself wishing she could feel like this all the time.

And then she crashed into the rooftop below without a shred of grace or dignity.

She tumbled over herself three times, slamming her shoulders and sides before sliding hard on the ground for another few feet. The granite scraped and bruised her knee and peeled back the skin on her palms until it was raw and bleeding in spots.

It would have burned, if she’d been thinking clearly enough to feel it.

“You okay?,” said Raana, standing over her. She offered a hand.

Tomori took it—and pulled Raana down to the floor with her, grabbed her hair, and kissed her on the lips.

In the quagmire of shock and adrenaline, it seemed like the only reasonable option.