Chapter
As I finished consuming my al, the sound of a door opening echoed throughout the room. It was likely just Kimura, so I simply picked up my plate and began to wash it.
"You're making your own food?" Kimura queried as he caught sight of scrubbing the dishes clean. "Mizuhara, can you make sothing too? I paid for the thing too."
"I don't mind, but we're out of ingredients."
"Argh, alright," Kimura grumbled in disappointnt.
With that, Kimura turned and walked away from , his steps indicating that he had sothing on his mind. As I finished washing the dishes, he opened the door once more, and before he could close it, I hastened my pace to catch up with him.
"Wait, I'm going out too."
"Oh, okay. Close the door."
He responded before striding out of the dormitory.
With a nod, I closed the door behind and began walking. As I strolled through the hall of the dormitory, mories of a few days prior ca flooding back to . I couldn't help but think about Kamimura, or rather, Matsuoka Rei. Though I hadn't seen her since it didn't seem to affect much.
Before I knew it, I had made my way out of the dormitory. The schoolyard was now bustling with activity as students milled about in their morning routines. The clock on the wall read 10 am, signalling the start of another day at the school.
As I strolled along the bustling schoolyard, I couldn't help but notice Kinoshita Chitose, who had co to a stop in her tracks. Curious, I paused to see what had caught her attention. Her head was hung low, her eyes fixed on the ground. After a mont, she lifted her gaze to et mine.
"A-Aya..." she stuttered," Mizuhara, would you like to accompany to the arcade?"
Without hesitation, I accepted her invitation. I had nothing else planned for the day, and the prospect of so leisurely entertainnt sounded appealing. Kinoshita, I knew, was not particularly fond of gas that relied on points or tokens, so I suspected she would stick to more traditional arcade activities.
As we walked side by side, Kinoshita turned to , "Mizuhara, have you been studying for the upcoming midterms?"
I couldn't help but lie again, as Fujiharu had asked the sa question just the other day. It seed to be the topic of conversation for most students lately.
"Yes, I have." I replied, "Though I don't spend all my ti in the library. Sotis I study in my room, and the exams are still so ways off, so there's no need to study every single day."
"I see." Kinoshita nodded, "Well, we've arrived."
As we entered the arcade, we were greeted by the familiar sounds and sights of students frantically playing gas, most of which relied on points or tokens. I couldn't help but shake my head, thinking to myself that it seed more like a casino than a school.
"What ga do you have in mind?"
I asked Kinoshita as we surveyed the rows of machines at the arcade. She seed uncertain at first, glancing around with a puzzled expression before her gaze settled on a zombie-thed shooting ga.
"This one?" I asked, nodding towards the machine.
"Y-Yes."
As I approached the machine and picked up the gun controller, I couldn't help but be impressed by the quality of the ga. The weight of the gun felt realistic in my hands, and the the, while common, was executed well. I grabbed the second gun controller and handed it to Kinoshita.
"Here, it's a little heavy,"
I watched her as she struggled to hold it steady.
"A-ah, thanks, Mizuhara."
Her arms were sagging under the weight of the gun.
"Well, we can play another ga if you'd like."
But she insisted on trying the shooting ga, so I helped her adjust her grip on the controller.
"You're sure you want to play this ga? It's pretty intense."
"Um, no...I just wanted to try it with you." Kinoshita said, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
I nodded and aid my gun at the screen, ready to take on the zombie.
As the day ca to a close, Kinoshita and I bid our farewells to one another. We had spent a leisurely afternoon at the arcade, trying our hand at various gas and enjoying each other's company.
"Thank you, Mizuhara, for spending ti with ."
"It was my pleasure." I replied, "I enjoyed it too."
"..really?" Kinoshita looked at sceptically; her brow furrowed in confusion.
I nodded, attempting to reassure her.
"Yes, really."
With that, Kinoshita bid goodbye and took off, leaving standing at the arcade's entrance. As I watched her go, I couldn't help but feel a sense of contentnt. This was what a normal student life felt like - spending ti with friends and enjoying oneself. And I was lucky to have experienced it.
I realized that the ingredients for my cooking were running low, so I made a decision to visit the local grocery store. Walking through the bustling comrcial area, I encountered a crowd of students and patiently waited in line before finally reaching the front and making my way inside the store.
Navigating the aisles, I carefully selected a variety of basic cooking ingredients, including eggs, milk, and various other necessities. I also picked up so chicken, bread, and cheese to make sandwiches and other als. The total cost of my purchases ca to around 6000 points, but I decided to put so items back in order to reduce the cost to around 4500 points.
As I approached the counter to pay, I felt a tap on my back. I turned to find Fujiharu standing behind , a curious expression on her face.
"That's quite a lot of things," she said.
"It's for stock. As I said to you many tis, I cook my own food," I replied.
"Oh, if only we lived in the sa room, I could have free food every day!"
"No, you wouldn't." I interjected her, "Kimura and I bought the ingredients together."
"—um, excuse , your bags."
The cashier interjected, indicating that my purchases were ready to be taken. As I turned to grab my bags,
"Wait, can I follow you around?"
Fujiharu asked if she could follow around. I didn't mind, but I was curious as to why she was in the grocery store in the first place.
"I'm fine, but I need to go to my dorm room to put this in the fridge," I said.
"Ah, that's fine. I can wait."
She replied with a smile.
With my bags in hand, we made our way out of the store and towards the dormitory.
"Ayato, I saw that you went to the arcade. If you wanted to play, you could have invited to join."
She spoke as we walked towards the dormitory. If she saw enter the arcade, then she must have seen Kinoshita too. Why didn't she ntion her?
"Sure, I'll invite you next ti."
"Okay. Did you go alone or with soone?"
"I went with soone."
"I see. I can only imagine who that soone is."
"It's not important, just Kinoshita."
"Of course, it's your business who you spend your ti with."
"Exactly. And right now, I'm spending my ti with you."
I replied, showing no further interest in the conversation. I don't know what she was trying to say.
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