Because they had spent so much ti fooling around and chatting in the unused classroom, by the ti Harutaki stepped out of the school building, the campus was already nearly empty.
Nogami had pulled Chouko, Sae, and Minako along with her, declaring that “the rest of the ti belongs to girls,” and used that as an excuse to send him ho alone. Even so, despite how deserted it looked around him, he didn’t feel lonely in the slightest.
From the club building in the distance ca the long, llow notes of a violin, the music club mbers hard at practice. Even farther away, on the athletic field, the soccer team shouted loudly, their voices occasionally mingling with the crisp crack of bats from the baseball club.
Squeak.
Thud.
Swish.
The basketball court, which also doubled as an auditorium and gymnasium, had its iron doors wide open. Sneakers scraped endlessly against the polished wooden floor, producing a slightly grating sound, like a teacher pressing too hard with chalk during class. Yet the steady rhythm of dribbling, the clean swish of a shot passing through the hoop and snapping the net—
When all these sounds were woven together like asures in a score, divided into phrases with each successful basket as a rest, Harutaki felt it ford an incredibly pleasant concerto. It always reminded him of those middle school weekends and holidays, when he and his classmates or friends would sweat it out together on the court…
Click.
He twisted open the bottle of Suntory Iyemon Tokucha he’d bought from a vending machine. With the pop of the cap, that “music” lingering in his ears seed to fade away, like the aftertaste of spring slipping into the distance.
Though it was only mid-May, the early sumr air not yet particularly hot, a sip of the tea still spread across his tongue like a sudden flood, cool and refreshing as it washed over the plains of his taste buds.
A hint of bitterness rose instantly to his mind, clearing away so of his lingering fatigue.
Chouko was a smart girl. She probably wouldn’t reveal anything between the two of them to Nogami. And besides… he thought, compared to him, Harutaki, Chouko was the one who least wanted to disrupt their current life and relationships.
At that thought, he let out a quiet, self-mocking chuckle. Maybe it was the tea he had just drunk, but he felt a faint bitterness not only in his mouth, but in his heart as well.
In the end, people really do beco what they hate.
He had once treated the label “scumbag” as nothing more than a joke, even a kind of praise. But now, he was undeniably doing things that fit the title all too well.
It had only been about a month and a half, yet it felt as though a year or more had passed. Even his way of thinking had changed so drastically it was hard to believe.
“Pfft…”
After mulling it over for a mont, Harutaki couldn’t help but laugh out loud this ti.
When people have nothing to do, they really do start overthinking everything.
He took another gulp of the tea and, as usual, headed toward the quiet riverside route on his way ho.
…
The early sumr sky, nearing twilight, glowed richly, like milk poured over with honey, a pale white shimring within the golden dusk.
The cherry blossom trees along the river had long since shed their soft pink petals, now sprouting fresh green leaves that transford the once gentle, understated street into sothing lush and vibrant with a completely different kind of energy.
Harutaki couldn’t say he liked that change very much.
The reason he had been willing to take this slight detour to walk this route to and from school was because of the beautiful, refreshing view of cherry blossoms in full bloom by the riverside—
Though before long, even that original reason had been replaced.
Clatter, clatter.
As he turned the corner and stepped onto the cherry blossom path by the river, it felt as though the faint sound of a candy tin being shaken echoed in his mind.
What flavor would the next candy be?
With that thought, a hint of anticipation rose in him as he looked toward that familiar spot—and imdiately, a cool, elegant figure like a white heron ca into view.
Nice! It’s Miyabi-senpai!
Harutaki felt a surge of excitent at first, but quickly cald himself, then grew embarrassed by his own reaction just a second later.
He thought to himself that he was practically like a child standing at the entrance of an old residential courtyard, gazing toward the station, waiting for his mother to co ho from work.
What exactly he used to feel when he saw his mother back then, he could no longer rember clearly. But he guessed it was probably not much different from the joy of spotting Miyabi-senpai sitting by the river after school.
Clink.
A round piece of candy rolled out of the tal tin—tart yet sweet, a tender green. His favorite flavor: green apple.
If it had been soone else, like Nogami or Chouko, he might have been tempted to play a little prank. But the girl sitting there was Miyabi-senpai…
At this mont, all that remained in his heart was the longing and admiration of gazing up at the moon.
Nogami was “my willful girlfriend.”
Chouko was his innocent, lively, slightly childish first love.
And as for Miyabi-senpai… she was the moon, high above everything else—
It wasn’t that Harutaki thought she was arrogant or cold. Rather, it was the detached, otherworldly aura surrounding her that made him, still bound to the dust of the earth, unable to help but admire her.
Maybe—just maybe—
Miyabi-senpai, who illuminated his path and eased his confusion and uncertainty, resembled his mother, who had once almost determined the course of his life… just a little.
“Hey~”
Harutaki didn’t bother to soften his footsteps.
The hard soles of his shoes striking the stone path drew Miyabi’s attention. She raised a hand to brush aside her long side bangs and tilted her head slightly, casting a gaze at him devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
“Hey.”
Just like his greeting from last ti, Miyabi responded in exactly the sa way.
He took off his bag, far lighter than what he used to carry in high school, placed it at his feet, and sat down beside her.
“I’m back from Kyoto. Aren’t you even a little happy to see , Senpai?”
He spoke jokingly, while glancing out of the corner of his eye at the book open on her lap.
It looked sowhat familiar, but without seeing the title, he couldn’t quite place it. So he shifted his gaze, letting it rest on her eyes—calm as an undisturbed ancient well.
They were sowhat similar to his, though lighter in color—
If anything, compared to Ayaka, Chiaki, and Fuyuno, Miyabi felt more like family to him.
He even noticed that her hair wasn’t the sa pitch-black as Chouko’s, but rather a deeper, more mysterious shade of dark violet.
Most of the ti, the difference was hard to tell, but when viewed against the light, a faint purplish sheen would reveal itself.
“Since you say that, Hoshikawa-kun must be returning in triumph… in that case, of course I’m happy.”
It didn’t look like it at all.
He couldn’t help teasing her.
“Could you show it a bit more vividly?”
“Like suddenly discovering that your pet dog has finally learned how to shake hands.”
…Did he really look that much like a dog?
Not just Nogami—even Miyabi-senpai too…
“I’m more of a cat person. I prefer cats. Could you switch it to a cat?”
“Like suddenly discovering that your pet cat has finally learned how to shake hands.”
Miyabi nodded lightly and repeated her line, as if she were a student in a language class rereading a passage after making a mistake.
“Putting aside how oddly specific that comparison is…”
“I am happy.”
Not convincing at all!
“I can clearly feel your happiness, Senpai. Thank you.”
Harutaki replied with mock seriousness, but after eting her violet eyes for a mont, he couldn’t hold it in and broke down laughing.
He felt that even if he wore a mask, his thoughts and expressions would be completely transparent in Miyabi’s eyes. And yet, he himself couldn’t touch her inner world at all—
Like reaching up from the murky ground toward the bright moon hanging high in the sky. It seed close, yet was infinitely far away.
“By the way… have you been waiting for here these past few days? If I made you wait four days for nothing, that would be—”
“No.”
“Huh?”
Perhaps thinking he hadn’t heard clearly, Miyabi parted her small, pale lips again.
“These past four days, I went straight ho after school. I wasn’t waiting for you.”
Harutaki tugged at the corner of his mouth. That wasn’t exactly what he ant.
Of course he understood what her “no” ant.
But from another perspective…
“So today, you ca here specifically to wait for . I’m sorry for keeping you waiting—I got held up.”
He apologized sincerely, while at the sa ti wondering if he could use this opportunity to add her on LINE, get her phone number, maybe even her email.
“Mmm… reading at ho and reading here aren’t that different, so it wasn’t much of a wait.”
“If you said you’d been eagerly waiting for the whole ti, I’d be really happy… By the way, how did you know I’d be back today? Don’t tell you actually have so kind of superpower?”
“You should know the answer yourself, Hoshikawa-kun…”
Miyabi took out her phone from her bag. Unlike Nogami’s or Chouko’s, her case was a simple silicone design, its pale blue tone giving off a subtle sense of femininity that matched her aura. She unlocked it with her fingerprint, opened her browser, and showed him a page she hadn’t closed.
“…You’re quite the celebrity at Hibiya High right now.”
[The scumbag has returned. Please take care to protect the girls you care about!]
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