"From the first ti I t him, I thought he was so weirdo out of touch with society. But the lawless recklessness mixed with that unnoticed tenderness… That's what made him so captivating."
As she spoke, she gently touched the heart-shaped balloon Rinji had given her. Her eyes grew a little dazed.
"And back then, that gentleness belonged to alone."
"Well, people change."
"That's what bothers most." Momo scratched her head in frustration. "When he transferred in last sester, I heard he confessed to so other girl four years ago. And over sumr break, he suddenly ended up with a girlfriend. Tch..."
What really irked her was that the night before Rinji left Tokyo, he almost confessed to her. By his own logic, if she had confessed first, maybe things wouldn't have turned out this way.
"Don't be so upset," Atenbo laughed. "I told you, you still have a chance."
"You did say that... but you also said it depends on tonight, right?"
"Yeah. That's what my reading suggests."
Then, the usually cheerful Atenbo turned serious.
"But there are still uncertainties. Fortune-telling, at its core, is about inference—from the past to predict the future. But Rinji-kun's future is hard to read. So I can only say 'there's a chance.'"
"Even you have uncertainty, with that 'I'm always in control' act?"
"Well, Rinji-kun is a special case." She smiled again. "Even if I can't see his future, I could see sothing in the girl who ca with him yesterday. So there's a high chance things could go well."
...
Outside the tent, Rinji waited for a bit before Momo finally ca out.
"What did she tell you?"
"Nothing major. Just said we'll probably have a good relationship in the future."
"That's not surprising." Rinji smiled. "I believe no matter what, our relationship will always be good, Momo-senpai."
"She didn't say it would stay the sa, you know."
"Huh?"
"Forget it. Talking to you too much is pointless."
She lightly punched him in the chest.
"Be sure to give it your all tonight."
"Huh? Uh… okay."
Though Rinji didn't know what she ant, he agreed anyway.
---
Rinji had barely a mont to rest the entire day.
After accompanying Momo to the Hoshin Festival all morning and having lunch together, she left, saying she needed to help out at her club's booth.
Rinji wasn't entirely convinced. He'd spent most of the festival so far with her and hadn't heard of any activities from the Astronomy Club. If there was anything, it was probably a mobile ga event.
After noon, Rinji waited by the school gate.
According to the plan, Kei should be arriving soon. He had promised to accompany her around the festival this afternoon.
Leaning against the wall near the gate, Rinji checked his phone.
The screen showed the weather forecast, which clearly stated: "Heavy rain expected in Tokyo today," affecting all areas except Setagaya and Suginami.
Logically, the Minato district in central Tokyo should be getting rain as well.
Rinji looked up. Clear skies. Not even a single cloud in sight.
"Seriously, weather forecasts are getting worse these days."
"Rinji-nii!"
A familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He stood upright and turned.
"You're here, Kei."
"Yeah."
"Hello~ Takamine-senpai, long ti no see!"
"…You too, Fujiwara."
Accompanying Kei was her younger sister, Fujiwara Moeha.
"Geez, senpai, both my sister and I are Fujiwaras. Just call Moeha," she said with a bright smile. "You've been pretty famous in middle school lately, Takamine-senpai."
"Huh?"
"Your duet with my sister from yesterday got uploaded to the school forum. A bunch of my classmates are asking for your contact info, trying to get to know you through her."
As she said this, Moeha sneaked a glance at Kei, mischief in her eyes.
"But I didn't tell them anything."
"Thanks for that. So, you ca to check out the high school festival too, Moeha?"
"Yeah, I heard there's going to be a bonfire party, so I ca to see."
"Oh, and Takamine-senpai, is my sister busy right now?"
"She's… facing off against the legendary phantom thief Arsène Lupin."
"…Huh?"
"Anyway, she's not busy. Want to take you to her?"
"No need~ Can you take to visit the student council office instead?" Moeha asked.
"The student council office? Sure, but why?"
Moeha blushed, pressing her hands to her cheeks. "Obviously… because there's soone I want to see."
"…??"
Rinji couldn't figure out what she was getting at, nor did he try too hard.
"Alright, but I promised Kei I'd be with her this afternoon. So Moeha, you—"
"Oh, no worries, Senpai, you can go on your date with Kei."
"Watch your words. If a guy and girl hanging out counts as a date, I've been cheating for months."
"Right, Senpai."
Kei suddenly seed to rember sothing.
"I actually invited soone else over too."
"Huh? Who?" Rinji asked. "A friend of yours?"
"Yeah. You've t her before—at that McDonald's in Harajuku."
"…That college girl nad Amano?"
"Yup."
"Is that so? Where is she?"
"She should be on campus already," Kei sighed. "I invited her to our middle school festival before, but she seed busy. Only today did she suddenly say she could co."
"Oh."
Rinji didn't give it much thought. He'd briefly wondered if she was related to Uncle Amano because of the surna, but upon learning she was in college, he figured they probably weren't related.
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