"Floating" High School Girl Ibuki Shimizu, Taking Off. #01

Prologue: Government Announcement Document (Excerpt) / Published March 13, Reiwa 12, 17:00

Chapter 1 Free Floating Altitude: 0cm Floating Force: 0NF

The last day with my feet on the ground

Morning light shone through the gap in the curtains.
Ibuki stared at the air in the room, which was faintly hazy and white, with still-sleepy eyes.

"...Hmm."

The sound of the alarm clock had stopped long ago.
It took a little effort to get out of the futon because of the heavy running practice at club activities yesterday.
My calves were still throbbing.

In the kitchen, there was the smell of steaming miso soup.
Toast is nice, but I prefer this in the morning.
Ibuki sat at the dining table and put the salmon fillet her mother had made into her mouth.
A news program was playing on the TV.

However, no one in the family looked up.

While doing the dishes, my mother muttered, "It doesn't look like it will rain today," and I replied, "I have P.E., so that might be lucky."

No matter how abnormal "that" is, if it blends into daily life, no one pays attention to it.
Especially as long as you think it has nothing to do with you.

After finishing her meal, Ibuki went into the washroom and picked up a straight iron with practiced hands.
She intended to just lightly tidy up her bangs and side bangs.
...That was the plan.

"Oh, crap. It flipped."

It seems she applied heat at a strange angle, and her bangs flipped sideways.
In addition, her side bangs also looked puffy somewhere.
There was no time to redo it—
She looked in the mirror and let out a sigh.

"...Well, whatever."

She smoothed the pleats of her skirt with her fingers and put her bag on her shoulder.
The clock was already past 7:30.
While putting on her shoes, she called out to her mother.

"I'm off."
"Yes, take care. Oh, when you get back, please bring the package that arrived at the entrance into your room."
"Okay."

When I opened the front door, the outside air hit my cheeks with a chill.
In the high, clear sky, something black was faintly floating.
……Maybe it was just my imagination.

No one seemed to notice it.
Today, too, I will walk with my feet firmly on the ground.

It was supposed to be just like any other day.

"Alright, everyone take your seats. Homeroom is starting."

At the voice of the homeroom teacher who entered after opening the classroom door, the students scattered to their seats.
Ibuki Shimizu is in the second row by the window.
The sunny spot was a little too bright, so she covered her cheek with one hand.

"Did you hear about that floating thing yesterday?"
"Huh, again? Which school?"
"I think it was an affiliated school in the next city. They said someone flew off in the schoolyard."
"Seriously? That would be hilarious if it happened during PE."

The classroom was buzzing. No one was talking about it seriously.
"Floating" had become just another topic for variety shows before anyone knew it.

The homeroom teacher stood at the podium with some handouts and read them out in a businesslike manner.

"Alright, this is a warning regarding floating prevention. It says that if you feel a sense of floating, or if you see signs of it in those around you, please go to the infirmary immediately... Is there anyone here?"
"Yes! I feel like I'm about to float!"
"Don't say stupid things. Answer seriously."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm just joking."
"……Is there anyone else? ……Alright, then let's start the first period."

Ibuki looked at her own feet unconsciously.
They were firmly on the ground.

Why do I keep checking this?

Thinking that, she let out a sigh.

Lunch break.
Her best friend Kazusa, who had bought bread at the school store, placed a paper bag on the desk with a thud.

"Here, I got some for you too, Ibuki. Chocolate and egg salad sandwich. Which one do you want?"
"Either is fine. Thanks."
"Then I'll take the egg one."

As the two of them sat side by side eating their bread, they heard the girls at the opposite table talking.

"You know, the daughter of a neighbor of my mom's cousin apparently floated away."
"Wait, seriously?"
"They say bullying was the cause."
"I heard a story that someone flew off because of a broken heart. It was at another school, though."

Ibuki, who had been biting into her bread, opened her mouth slightly.

"……Everyone has so many worries, don't they."

At that moment, the gazes of the girls she had been talking to snapped toward Ibuki.

“W-what?”
“No, it’s just, we were saying that you’re the only one who wouldn’t float, Ibuki.”
“Yeah, you don’t seem like you have any worries.”
“That’s rude! I do! I really do!”

Ibuki protested, pointing at her puffed-out cheeks.

“For example, the classical literature quiz next week. And, well, things like Sawatari-senpai!”

“...Ah, Sawatari-senpai, huh.”
“Did you hear the rumor that a first-year girl confessed to him the other day?”
“Eh!? And... what happened?”

“Who knows? Why don’t you ask him yourself, Ibuki?”
“I-I could never... do something like that...”

Her voice faded away.
Deep in her chest, she felt a sensation of something floating up.
...Wait, was that just now a little dangerous?

(If I keep worrying about things like this, I’m really going to float away, me.)

She muttered it to herself in her heart, intending it as a joke.
But, feeling like there was a hint of reality mixed into that joke, Ibuki looked down at her feet once more.

They were firmly on the ground.

...It’s okay. There’s no way I could float.

After school, during club activities.
Standing at the edge of the track, Ibuki retied the laces of her running shoes.

The wind was strong today.
After running a few laps, while she was stretching, the club advisor spoke up.

“Shimizu, you’re moving lightly today.”
“Eh, really?”
“Yeah, your pitch is good. ...Though, your foot strike is shallow. Are you pushing yourself too hard?”

It wasn’t exactly pushing herself too hard.
But it was true that today, her feet were having a bit of trouble gripping the ground.

“Maybe the spikes on my shoes are worn down...”

Making that excuse, Ibuki gave a wry smile.

On her way home, the sky was beginning to dye a faint red.
By the side of a small river on her route home, Ibuki glanced at some elementary school students with backpacks playing by stacking stones.

Just then, a gust of wind blew, and the hem of her uniform skirt fluttered up.

“...Whoa!”

I hold it down in a panic.
Today's wind is so strong it feels like it might pull me all the way to the sky.
Just as I think that, I suddenly look down at my feet.

I felt like I had grown just a little bit taller.
Was it just my imagination that the ground felt further away than usual?

“...No, no, that's impossible.”

I shook my head and walked home with quick steps.

When I got home, my mother was preparing dinner.
The sound of the news was drifting vaguely from the television.

“I'm home.”
“Welcome back. Go ahead and take a bath first.”

An ordinary, typical night.
On the desk, the club tournament pamphlet featuring Sawatari-senpai was left open.
As she took off her uniform, Ibuki muttered as if talking to herself.

“...It's not like I don't have any worries, though.”

That voice just dropped into the corner of the room, reaching no one.

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