Chapter 16 - 3

Chapter 16: Chapter 3

18th of July (Saturday)

Feeling a faint pain in the deeper part of my eyes, I blinked in confusion. It seems that I forgot to close the curtains last night, and the summer sun was shining through the opening right into my face. Luckily, thanks to the A/C, it wasn't too hot. It was just... bright.

When I turned my gaze towards the clock next to my pillow, the last digit just changed, showing that the time had just turned to 8:30 in the morning. I wonder why the time on digital clocks always seem to round up conveniently right when you wake up... Hm? 8:30am? That's a time I'd consider late. Although there was no school today, I guess I overslept a bit.

Maybe everyone already finished their breakfast? My thoughts got that far before I noticed my usage of the word 'everyone'. This meant that I, absolutely naturally and automatically, had included my step-mother Akiko-san and step-sister Ayase-san in this term. This conclusion left me slightly baffled. Even though we've only been living together for about a month, I mentally already found this normal.

I finished changing, snuck into the bathroom to wash my face and fix my appearance, and then opened the door to the living room. I found my old man and Akiko-san sitting across the table, drinking some coffee. When my old man turned around, he made a bit of a perplexed face.

"Morning... Or rather, you're pretty late, Yuuta."

"I overslept, yeah. Ah, don't mind me."

The latter half of my sentence was directed at Akiko-san, who had already put down her cup and was about to stand up. However, before my words could reach her, she had already put the ham-wrapped eggs on a plate and in the microwave.

"There's no need to hold back, Yuuta-kun."

"No, um... Thank you." I sat down at the table with the warmed ham and eggs in front of me.

There was already toast on my plate, with butter and jam next to it.

"Huh?" I realized that there was another empty plate on the table in front of mine.

I also couldn't see my step-sister anywhere. Does this mean that she hasn't eaten breakfast yet?

"Saki is still asleep."

"Ah, is that so...? How rare."

"Well, she's a bit of a sleepyhead today, it seems."

Judging from Akiko-san's reaction, I could tell that Ayase-san oversleeping was a rare circumstance. And I had to agree with that, as I had never seen Ayase-san getting up later than me, at least not in recent memory. According to Akiko-san, who had checked in on her bedroom just earlier, she was still sound asleep.

"She's got the A/C on, but she's sleeping with her belly out in the open. I'm worried she might catch a cold like that." Akiko-san said with a sigh. "How troublesome."

I was troubled as to how I should respond to that. If she was just a classmate of mine, maybe I could fantasize for a bit about her current appearance? I couldn't exactly ignore that thought if it were about the top beauty of the school year. However, having that same thought about my actual step-sister would only alarm Akiko-san, so I can't do that.

"It seems like summer this year is going to be a hot one, doesn't it?" After thinking and hesitating for a bit, I chose a safe and inoffensive response.

"You be careful too, Yuuta-kun. It'd be troublesome if you ended up getting too cold, but the heat can be scary as well. Make sure to set your A/C properly, okay? There have been cases of people getting heat stroke in their rooms at home, after all."

"Okay," I nodded and started eating my breakfast.

It's been a while since I had Akiko-san's breakfast. The fried eggs had a small bottle of soy sauce next to them, showing just a small hint of Akiko-san's consideration. Just like Ayase-san, she doesn't forget other people's tastes after hearing about them even just once, so it must run in the family. Right when I was wondering if eggs and ham were all there was for breakfast, while I was still eating with my chopsticks, a cup appeared in front of me.

"Here, let me know if you want more."

"Thank you very much... Is that potage?" I could see some small ingredients swimming in the white soup.

"It's clam chowder. If it doesn't suit your tastes, you don't have to eat it."

"No, it's fine."

Clam chowder. Is that what I think it is? Milk stew with manila clams, right? I've heard of it before. I've even had it before in some cup soup, I think.

"It's Akiko-san's homemade version, you see." Dad said.

"It's not that big of a deal. Not to mention that it's pretty simple to make."

There's one thing I've realized over this past month. Whenever Ayase-san or Akiko-san say 'It's simple to cook,' my old man and I can't comprehend it at all, since neither of us have any skill when it comes to cooking. Figuring out the taste, preparing for the cooking... Ayase-san has taught me about it at times, so I've been learning as I go along. There's no drawback to learning more, after all.

When I took a peek inside the cup, I saw something red, something white, and even some transparent ingredients inside, all of which would probably be hard to eat with chopsticks. Using the tips of my chopsticks, I gently stirred up the contents of the cup, tilted it, and carefully let a bit of it pour into my mouth.

The lumpy texture danced between my teeth. When the consommé-based milk-flavored soup touched my tongue, a fulfilling taste spread inside my mouth. A strong flavor resembling bacon and carrots, meat and vegetables, was mixed in there as well.

"It's delicious."

The seasoning isn't too powerful nor too lacking. In all honesty, it was delicious.

"I'm glad to hear that." Akiko-san said with a gentle smile.

My old man grinned at me like he was the one who had made the food. Why are you acting so arrogant? Are you indirectly bragging about your wife? I really don't like the idea of a 40-year old man watching me with a shit-eating grin on his face while I'm eating breakfast on a school-free morning, so I instead focused on my food. While I did so, my old man and Akiko-san started up another conversation. The topic of their discussion was Ayase-san's nightly activity.

"It seems like she was studying really late into the night."

Now how could she say that for sure despite only taking a peek inside Ayase-san's room this morning? That was because her notes were still open on the desk, her earbuds looking like they had fallen right out of her ears, completely neglected, laying on top of the notes themselves. Ayase-san disliked the idea of having someone else see her notes, and her personality didn't allow someone to hear the music coming from her earbuds either, so this was strange for her.

Akiko-san saw the notes and earbuds in that state and determined that she kept studying until the desire to sleep eventually won over her desire to study more. Once this desire to sleep got the better of her, she must have been unable to pursue anything but the easiest and fastest way to receive this slumber, which caused her to leave everything scattered on the desk and flop onto the bed.

This was detective Akiko-san's deductions, and if you asked me, I doubt there's much discrepancy from reality. She must have been really absorbed in her studies, huh? I just hope that the lofi hip hop helped in some way.

My old man suddenly piped up.

"Hey, Yuuta."

"Hm?" I directed my gaze towards him, still enjoying the dense taste of ham in my mouth.

It's bad manners to talk with food in your mouth, after all.

"It's been a month now. How do you feel? You're not inconvenienced in any way, are you?"

"Inconvenienced...? No, not really." I responded after swallowing.

"How are things going with Saki?" This time, Akiko-san was the one who spoke.

"Ehm..."

"Come on, Yuuta-kun, you and Taichi-san have been living together by yourselves up to this point, and we suddenly barged into your daily life, right? I'm sure it must be troublesome in a lot of ways."

Troublesome, huh? When she said that, I was reminded of that one night when I was cornered by Ayase-san wearing nothing but her underwear. That really was troublesome, I guess. I was lying on my bed, inside the dark room, when Ayase-san approached me, revealing her white skin only barely covered by her thin underwear. Her long, brightly-colored hair fell down from her shoulders, as if to cover her chest that was hidden behind a dark-colored bra. Her almost drenched eyes were looking down at me...

...As soon as I remember one part of it, it's like the entire lid opens up, and everything else comes rushing out as I am forced to remember that sight yet again.

"What's wrong, Yuuta?"

"A-Ah, yeah, everything's going okay, don't worry." I answered my old man. I gave Akiko-san a warm nod as well—feeling a bit guilty while I did so.

"I see. I'm glad to hear that." Akiko-san seemed like she wanted to say something, but didn't question me any further.

Instead, she asked me if I wanted some after-breakfast coffee. When I nodded, she pressed the switch on the coffee machine. They seemed to have put grounds in it for me already. The sweet scent of Hawaiian Kona coffee wafted across the dining table as the coffee was poured into the cup bit by bit. I spent this summer break morning in peace along with the scent of my coffee.

This Saturday, the Saturday right after the week where we receive our end-of-term exam results is quite possibly the beginning of the holidays that causes us high school students' hearts and minds to clear. I was different, however. I finished my homework in the morning, and by the time 11:30am rolled around, I started preparing for my part-time job. To me, holidays are days that allow me to work full-time.

After I finished getting ready, right before I left the apartment, I glanced over at the door to Ayase-san's room. It was almost noon, and yet she still hadn't gotten up. Since I didn't want to wake her, I quietly told my old man and Akiko-san that I'd be leaving and opened the door.

After I stepped out of the house, the strong sun rays immediately stabbed into my skin. It's hot. So hot that it legitimately hurts. For a second, I wondered if I had moved from Japan to the subtropics. I rode on my bicycle to Shibuya's train station. A comfortable breeze blew against me as I did so, but the instant I stopped, sweat started gushing out of every pore of my body again. When I looked at the temperature of a thermometer on the street, I could see that it was already over 30°C. I stormed inside the bookstore where I worked, like I was trying to run away from the heat.

"Phew... So cool and refreshing..." I took a towel out of my sports bag, wiping the sweat off my face.

I headed to the store's back room, changed into my uniform, and put on my name tag. I exchanged a few words with the other part-time jobbers that had just got in as well and stepped out onto the floor.

"Ah, Asamura-kun. Could you start by putting all the new releases onto the shelves?"

"Yes, sir."

The store manager gave me an order while pointing at the trolley. Normally there aren't any new book arrivals on Saturdays. However, since the bookstore where I work is on the larger side, putting all the books onto the shelves and on display was pretty much impossible. I walked towards the trolley and peeked inside the cardboard box on top of it.

"Paperback books, huh?" I confirmed the labels on them and pushed the trolley towards the forest of shelves.

The paperback book aisle was a bit further back from the magazines and oneshot releases, near the comics section. Since this is noon on a weekend, most of the customers entering this building are looking for food or drinks. We're using the gap in customers to fill the bookshelves. Of course, we always do this before the store opens as well, so this is the second time today.

"Ah, you're starting for the day now too, Junior-kun?"

A woman who was currently busy arranging a bookshelf turned towards me. Her long and silky hair brushed against both sides of her face as she did.

"Yes, starting now."

"Then we're in the same shift." Yomiuri Shiori-senpai said.

As always, her graceful appearance looked impressive enough to be painted on a canvas, and I couldn't help but think that Japanese clothing would look much better on her than this store's uniform.

"Are you arranging the shelves right now, Senpai?"

"Yup, that's right. Are these the new releases? Do you have the book there?"

"What book exactly?"

"From this publisher here." She pointed at the shelf in front of her. "It's called 'Azure Night's Interval', see."

I peeked into the cardboard box.

"Is this it?"

"Ah, yeah, that."

It's from a genre called 'light literature.' The cover of said paperback book is drawn by a popular illustrator, depicting what looked like a highschool boy and a girl. It was much more detailed than in a manga drawing. They stood back to back, the moonlit night sky behind them. They were facing the reader, holding hands like they were lovers. This must be some kind of romance novel, huh?

"How many do you have?" She asked.

"Um... two copies."

"Only two? I was thinking we'd need something like twelve."

"That... has to be an exaggeration."

"I figured they'd send the majority back anyway."

"Makes sense."

"But now I can't stack them flat and face up..."

Stacking them 'flat and face up' means to stack them in front of the bookshelf on a small platform that reaches up to your knees, with the covers facing upwards. The other way to display them is to put the book in the bookshelf with its spine facing outwards.

"That one came out a month ago, right? Not to mention that it's turned paperback. Are they still selling this?"

'Turning paperback' means that a novel which had previously been sold as a full hardcover volume was now being resold as a paperback book. In other words, it's a cheaper edition. Since most people had already bought the former version, it's pretty rare to still see it on sale a month later. Now that I think about it, I think I remember hearing of this title before.

"Is it that good?"

"Probably. The biggest reason is probably because it got adapted into a movie."

"Ahh... I remember now." I had been wondering why the title sounded familiar.

I think I saw in the news that this movie was airing. When I took a closer look at the cover, I could see pictures and characters from the movie on the paper wrapper. I actually planned to give this a shot, but thanks to Ayase-san's arrival and end-of-term exams, I didn't have much time to check it out.

"They're still selling it, yeah. But I only have one here on the shelf already."

"Only three total, huh... Yeah, you really can't stack them."

Since you need to keep at least one volume in the bookshelf aside from the author-specific volumes, we'd only be able to stack two in front of the shelf. That's the bare minimum, and once one of them is bought, it's not even a stack anymore. There will be too much of a difference compared to the other books next to it. At times like these, it's much more rational to put them all on the shelf.

"I don't really want to do that."

Since Yomiuri-senpai is being that adamant about it, it must be a title she's a big fan of. The important part of this job is noticing what books sell best, and putting them in locations where they're more noticable. Even people who don't read books very often buy these kinds of publications, so if you put them in a more conspicuous location, it'll look more friendly, and they won't be found otherwise. People new to this media form won't walk deep into the store to look around. On the other hand, faithful readers of a certain series will search through places that are more concealed to find what they want.

"That's just like you."

"It's not that this kind of book is the only one I read..."

It's just that the more books I read, the more of this genre I happen to come across. She's not thinking I'm into weird things, is she?

"What should I do about this?" She asked.

"Maybe we should display it face-out on the other shelf? It's not like it's a new release."

"Sounds good~"

Basically, we'd go to the shelves where you could find other works from the same author and create space there. There's enough space here for three books with their front cover facing outwards. Since the books could fall out when they're stacked like that, there's a notch underneath them to keep them in place. Since this book seems to actually be fairly popular, all three copies might be gone by the end of the day, but that's not our fault.

I set the paperback books on the shelves and on the small platform, and Yomiuri-senpai helped place the novels she liked on display.

"This should do it."

"Oh right. This movie's screening is going to end soon."

It'll be summer break starting next week, and the summer season movies will start screening. In other words, this weekend is the last chance you'd have to watch it. It's a shame, but I had already booked myself for a full-time shift today. Man, how careless of me. I really wanted to watch that one. I mentally grumbled about it as I returned with Yomiuri-senpai to the back room. Yomiuri-senpai must have caught on to my lingering regret. She spoke up.

"Hey, if you still haven't watched the movie, how about we go to the late-night showing today after work?"

"The late-night showing? I see."

I completely forgot about that option. Though starting it at 9pm would mean I'd be out until midnight.

"My shift ends at 9pm. Same for you, right?"

"Yep."

From the sounds of it, Yomiuri-senpai had practically the same shift as me, and because she had off tomorrow morning, she could tag along.

"Saturday's the perfect day to enjoy the nightlife!"

"Phrasing!"

"Aww, we're going to watch a movie, so who cares~?"

She really loves to make double entendres with everything she says. Not to mention that she gave off the feeling that there was some hidden meaning to what she said.

"We're just going to watch the movie, right?"

"Of course!" She smiled at me with a bright grin.

Am I just being teased again, I wonder? Then again, I'm interested in seeing the movie, myself.

"Okay. I wanted to watch that movie myself, so I'll contact my parents after my shift."

"Contacting your parents! What a wholesome high school student you are!"

"Weren't you still in high school not too long ago?"

"Now that I'm a university student, I'm an adult~"

"And not wholesome at all."

"Phrasing!" Yomiuri-senpai burst out laughing. "But Junior-kun."

"What?"

"If you're going to contact someone, isn't there someone more important than your parents?"

"Huh? ...Who?"

"Your little sister. She'd worry about you, right?"

"Worry about me? ...No, I doubt it." I really couldn't imagine Ayase-san being worried about me not coming home, so I gave an honest response.

"Huh, is that so?"

I feel like she's hinting at something with that suggestive tone, but it's not like worrying about it will do anything for me. Not to mention that if our positions were swapped, I think it'd be pretty rude to worry about every little thing Ayase-san is doing, so I'm sure she must feel the same way. I'm sure that Ayase-san wouldn't do anything to trouble Akiko-san.

...I was yet again reminded of that incident a month ago, but that was an exception, so I shook my head to clear it.

During my break, I contacted my old man, letting him know that I was going to be watching a movie with a Senpai from work.

'You're going on a date with a girl?!' I immediately heard that voice from the other end of the line.

"We're only watching a movie."

'I guess Yuuta's a young man at heart~'

Can you not focus on that one detail? Also, I've always been a young man.

'But you're still in high school, so don't go too far with your nighttime fun.'

"That's not gonna be a problem, okay?" I gave a brief response and ended the call.

My old man sounded like he was poking fun at me, with a very laissez-faire mentality, but that just shows how much he trusts me. I have no intentions of betraying that trust. I don't want people to have expectations of me, but this trust I have from the father who raised me is something I don't want to look down on.

After I hung up, I looked at my phone, considering for a second if I should send Ayase-san a message. Nah, I think that would just be meddling too much. Our parents should both still be at home, so telling only one person should be enough. I'm just going to watch a movie with a Senpai from work. There's no reason to make such a big deal out of it. Ayase-san is busy with her studies, so I might just interrupt her. That'd probably be even more bothersome than not telling her at all.

The end of the shift arrived, and I changed into my casual clothes. Without giving me much of a choice in the matter, Yomiuri-senpai dragged me away from the bookstore towards the movie theater.

The breeze was still fairly warm, causing me to start sweating again. It'll probably be a muggy night. The sky filtering through the gaps between Shibuya's buildings was turning black, and yet the lights inside the buildings didn't turn off. I guess you could call it the city that never sleeps. To an antisocial person such as myself, even the nighttime in this city is too bright for me. It made me almost feel uncomfortable.

Normally I'd be riding my bicycle home, but somehow I ended up walking through these streets with an older beauty at my side. Now that I think about it, this might be the first time I've seen Yomiuri-senpai wearing casual clothes. She was wearing a lightly-colored, comfortable-looking top with a flared skirt and black tights underneath. Compared to all the outgoing characters here in Shibuya, she was more of a calm and collected person—A Yamato Nadeshiko—and yet her clothes stood out in their own way, with a stylish feeling completely different than the usual characters here. On top of that, from my point of view, she seems a lot like an adult, since she's a university student and all.

I was reminded of Ayase-san's own clothes she wore at home. Her blonde hair was flashy, of course, but when she wasn't at school, she didn't wear any accessories or ear piercings, let alone make-up. And yet, and she must be doing this on purpose, but even when it's just the two of us at home, she never wears any kind of casual jersey or anything at home. There's absolutely no openings or gaps that you would often see in manga or anime.

It's the same as ever. I guess the clothes I saw yesterday, the deep red one-piece with white collar and sleeves, is actually something she can wear outside as well. To her, clothes are like a weapon, so she probably wants to keep her attack and defense maximized at every moment in time. While I was thinking that, my Senpai walking ahead of me stopped suddenly and turned around.

"Hey, hey, when you're walking with a woman, you shouldn't be thinking about anything else."

"Ah, is that so?"

When I responded, I noticed that Senpai made a serious expression for a second, only to smirk again.

"I love that reaction~ Makes you look like a real highschool boy."

"I was fake before...?"

What exactly is supposed to be realistic about that? I don't get it.

"You're like a Prince, but you're not making the Princess happy at all. That's what I mean!"

"...Are you indirectly telling me to apologize?"

"Not really? Being calm and down to earth suits you best, after all. It makes it easier for me, too, since I don't have to act considerate all the time."

I didn't really know how to respond. It's true that I didn't particularly enjoy being considerate of others, nor did I care about being treated with consideration. However, nobody had ever really said it to my face like that... No, I guess Ayase-san has.

"Come on. We don't have much time. Let's go." Senpai started walking ahead again.

After walking through the crowd for a few minutes, we arrived at the movie theater.

"Junior-kun, I'll buy the tickets, so could you take care of the drinks?"

"Sure. We can split the bill later. What would you like?"

"A diet coke... What are you grinning for?"

"You're getting popcorn and diet coke at the movie theater?"

"You've gotta get the basics."

"Fine by me. What flavor popcorn?"

"Caramel!"

When I let out a faint snicker, Yomiuri-senpai pouted ever so slightly and turned to walk towards the ticket machine. I guess she has an unexpected sweet tooth? Or is she being influenced by something? After watching her walk off, I ordered the food and drinks. I was holding a small cardboard tray with popcorn and some drinks when Senpai walked towards me, waving.

"Theater 4."

"Okay."

"Should I help you carry something?"

"It's fine. Could you just take care of the tickets?"

"Okaaaay~"

We walked through the ticket gate and searched for signs for the 4th theater. When I looked at the people near us, I could see a lot of boy-and-girl couples. Senpai seemed to notice it, too.

"There's a lot of couples around, huh~?" she whispered to me.

"It is a romance movie after all."

We walked through a large door, entering a wide open space that made feel like we had just stepped outside, and my conversation with Senpai stopped abruptly for a second. It's odd, really. Maybe it's because we entered the theater. The volume of our conversation dropped drastically.

We worked to find our seats, which were located in the middle of the cinema. We took one step up the stairs from the front row, and entered the row behind that. Being mindful of the legs of the people who were already seated, we finally arrived at our seats.

"You can almost kick the seat in front of you, huh? I don't really like being considerate like that. Maybe this wasn't a good seat after all?" I said.

"No, it's fine."

"Glad to hear that." I answered. I put the drinks in the holders and handed Senpai the popcorn.

"Heh, heh. A full bucket, huh? You really know me well!"

"Is it too much?"

"You're going to eat some too, right, Junior-kun?"

"I'm fine not eating anything while watching a movie, so eat as much as you want. If anything's left, I can eat it later."

"Come on now, let's eat some together~" She said, tilting the bucket on her lap towards me.

As a result, past the popcorn, I happened to glance at Yomiuri-senpai's thighs below her skirt.

"Thanks for the food."

Of course, this is no big deal. I just have to focus on the popcorn. Reality is often condensed into what I want it to be. When I lifted the first piece of popcorn to my mouth, I tasted a burst of sweetness. But it wasn't so sweet that it made me want to stop eating. I generally don't eat anything while watching movies, but I made a mental note that the popcorn here wasn't half bad. Keeping a bucket of popcorn as a companion is definitely within the realm of possibility for my next movie visit.

The lights in the cinema suddenly dimmed, and I was taken by surprise, returning my gaze towards the screen. Senpai and I stopped talking, since we came here to watch a movie in the first place. Right after that, the advertisements started. First, they showed footage of a dubbed live-action movie depicting a robot and ninja fighting for some reason.

"Seems interesting..." I muttered in a quiet voice, and Senpai responded quietly as well.

"Yeah... It's the fourth part of a trilogy..."

"Fourth part... of a trilogy? Huh?"

"Don't question it. It's not worth it. Oh, the movie is starting." Senpai put her index finger on her lips.

We both grew silent, and the movie started. According to the posters I'd seen beforehand, this movie was supposed to be a tearjerker. The movie opened with a lot of laughter, though, which made me think that it was some sort of comedy. Around five minutes into the movie, though, the tone suddenly changed.

Whether I wanted to let it or not, my attention was swallowed by the movie. After making it through the first climax, a short breather followed in the form of a brief comedic section. I breathed a sigh of relief during that time and happened to glance over at Senpai.

Her eyes were glued to the screen, her face showing no change in expression whatsoever. Basked in the glow of the light coming from the screen, her face was devoid of any laughter, crying, or even fear. She was merely staring at the screen in front of her. It was a face I would have never expected to see her make, considering that her expressions usually changed drastically in a matter of seconds. I guess this is what she meant by 'simply watching a movie'. Even I must have disappeared from her mind, every fiber of her being observing the scene on the screen.

Must be nice, I thought to myself. And then I was reminded that I was watching a movie together with a beautiful Senpai. Isn't this something normally never happens to an antisocial person like me? Am I really sitting here? Everything suddenly felt surreal, and I turned towards the movie again. I've gotta watch it all the way through since we're already here.

There was a buzzing sound as light returned to the cinema. I blinked a few times, relaxed my tense body, and let out a sigh.

Yeah, the movie was great. The ending was totally unexpected and I even felt like crying for a second. Now I guess I'll have to buy the source material.

"I guess I'll skimp on food tomorrow."

"Huh?"

When I turned towards my side, Yomiuri-senpai showed me the popcorn bucket, which was completely empty. She ate all that on her own?

"Your hands just keep moving automatically when you're absorbed in something, don't they?"

"I kind of get it, but not really."

"I really wanted to give you some, Junior-kun."

"I wouldn't have been able to eat that much on my own. Ah, I'll take it."

Senpai was about to pick up her bag, so I put my sports bag over my shoulder and accepted the large container. You've gotta throw away your trash.

"Thanks."

"Hand me the cups as well."

I took the empty caps she handed me and threw it all away as we stepped out of the theater. Without taking much of a detour, we left the cinema. While on our way back to the train station, we exchanged our impressions of the movie. Of course, the streets were still crowded, which made me wonder if this city was ever going to sleep.

On the way, I picked my bicycle up from the parking lot where I had left it and escorted Senpai to the train station.

"Since it's already late, I'll be on my way now—" I tried to say goodbye for the day.

"Tag along with me for a bit longer." Senpai said.

Without waiting for my response, she just started walking. Naturally, I hesitated for a moment, but eventually followed after her, pushing my bicycle next to me. We walked around the train station, observing the giant object1 to our left as we slowly made our way away from there.

"Where are you taking me?"

"I parked my car over here."

"Ahh."

That reminds me, Yomiuri-senpai comes to work by car, doesn't she? I think you can get your license once you're 18 here. Since Senpai's in university already, it's not weird for her to have a license, and she's definitely above 18... though I don't know if she really counts as an adult. I see. Once my birthday rolls around next year, I'll be able to get a license myself. I'd never really thought about it.

"Are you going to get a license?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure."

"Youngsters today sure don't seem interested in cars, huh?"

"Youngsters? ...Senpai."

"But nowadays, only about one out of two men actually get a driver's license, you know? How do you feel about that?"

"If one out of two men have it, then you can just pay them to have you drive around."

Right after I said that, Senpai's mouth opened. She looked like a shocked manga character that had seen something out of this world.

"What a shocking Pandora's Box..."

Sometimes, Senpai says things that don't resemble anything a typical university student would say. Even someone like me who reads books all the time can't tell what she's talking about sometimes. Senpai, where did you hear that word?

"Is it that weird? I'm pretty sure my thought process is fairly rational."

"I mean, it is almost too rational."

"Is that so? Well, you don't want to come across as shameless, so it's important to compensate the driver and be considerate of them."

"Compensate them? No, that's not the problem. Think about it. A car's really convenient for bringing your girlfriend home."

That idea had never even occurred to me.

"For that to make sense, I would first need a girlfriend. That's already asking too much from an antisocial background character like me."

"If you had a car, they might approach you instead?"

"I don't think I would be too happy if women approached me just because of that."

"Aha, ahahahaha. That's true! I'd have to agree on that!" Yomiuri-senpai burst out laughing.

As the two of us continued our conversation, I could see a small forest in front of us—Or rather, a public park.

"There's a parking lot next to the park. I parked my car there."

"It's pretty far from the store, huh?"

"There's no convenient places to park in Shibuya, see. Sheesh, the sun has already set, but it's still so hot." Senpai fanned herself with her small hand to cool herself off.

The trees growing in the public park were filled with abundant-growing leaves. However, in this darkness of the night, the green leaves weren't as black thanks to the lights of the city behind us, only creating a slight dimness lurking overhead. As we got closer to the parking lot, the lights started to grow more sparse, less and less people were around us, and I finally felt like Senpai was taking me somewhere. Promptly, Yomiuri-senpai slipped past the parking lot's entrance and entered inside.

Street lamps dotted the paved path here and there. These cones of light stretched out in front of us, illuminating the path beneath our feet. The breeze passing us by caused the leaves on the trees to shake, making the heat that had baked us ever since the afternoon a bit more bearable. The two of us walked through the empty parking lot, and Senpai suddenly stopped.

"Wait a moment."

"Ah, yes." I stopped as I was told.

"I still need to thank you for sending me off."

"Eh, you don't need to."

"Now, no holding back." Yomiuri-senpai said, approaching a vending machine that stood at the side of the path.

The vending machine's vertical screen suddenly lit up, and a mechanical voice spoke. "Welcome!"

Senpai took her smartphone out from the bag hanging down from her left shoulder. She pressed a button for a drink and held the smartphone against it, which resulted in a dull sound as the can of juice fell down. She repeated that once again, and came back with two aluminum cans in her hands, offering me one.

"Here."

"I'm sorry. Thank you very much."

I supported my bike with my left hand and accepted the can with my right. The can was cold despite the vending machine standing in the sun all day long.

"I guess both of your hands are full. Should I hold it until you kick out the kickstand?"

"It's fine. This is no problem." I skillfully opened the can's pull tab with one hand.

After that, I turned it halfway so the opening faced me and took a sip. I felt the cold liquid and foam washing down my throat, right into my stomach, which caused me to let out a sigh after everything was washed down. It was delicious, indeed.

"Ohh, how skillful."

"I'm used to it."

Putting down the kickstand every time I buy something to drink from the vending machine is too much trouble, so I often buy it on the fly and drink it with one hand.

"Ah, I forgot to take a picture."

"What were you planning on doing with said picture, Senpai?"

"I want to take a video as well, and upload it."

"Would you mind respecting my privacy? Also, it's not that big of a deal. Really."

"Really? I feel like it'd get a lot of views." Senpai smiled, only to grow silent for a moment. "You're really fun and kind, after all."

"Where did that come from?"

"Well..." She spoke with a hesitant tone, so I waited.

The light from the vending machine created a shadow on Senpai's face. As we both stayed quiet, silence filled this public park, since this was the middle of the night. Behind the standing Senpai were towering buildings that looked like black gravestones.

"Hey, Junior-kun, there's something I need to tell you..."

"...Something you need to tell me?"

"Yep. Something I want to tell you."

In the end, I could only wait for her to speak. But because her light and cheerful tone was gone, it made the atmosphere feel heavy, making it harder for me to breathe.

"The thing is... I only have half a year more to live..."

For a second, I was unsure what to say, so I froze in place. My mind, however, simulated every possible outcome depending on what answer I would give. That's a lie, right? Why? What happened? My thoughts were so busy trying to figure out the meaning behind what she had said that I couldn't process her actual words. At a loss for words, I merely stood still, staring at Senpai's face.

She gave me a glance like she was testing me, but after two or three seconds passed, a bit of an uncomfortable expression started to form on her face.

"...Sorry, that was a lie. I was only joking. You don't need to look so depressed."

"Did I really have that kind of face?"

"You totally did. You almost made me worry that you had lost years off your lifespan because of me. I was trying to reenact a scene from the movie, but I guess I took it too far."

Only then did I realize it. That proclamation that Senpai had said just now was the exact same line I had heard not too long ago.

"Ah... from that scene..."

"Right. I thought that the scenery tonight was almost like an exact copy of that."

"I see... it was a park at night, yeah..." nOvE)lb-In

Why did I not realize it? It was right in front of my eyes.

"Well, I can't reenact the scene after all."

"I sadly don't have time travel powers."

Senpai laughed in response to my joke.

"I thought you were maybe expecting me to make a move like the heroine in the movie did, but judging from your reaction, that doesn't seem to be the case."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were constantly glancing at me during the movie, right?"

"Huh?"

"What part of me were you looking at? My face? My chest? Or was it even... Come on, be honest~"

"No, um..." I was at a loss for words.

It was true that I had been entranced by her for a moment during the movie.

"Ah, so you really were looking at me~"

"Wha!?"

She set me up?! Right, Senpai had never torn her eyes away from the screen during the entire duration of the movie.

"I don't know how to feel about you staring at a woman who's in the prime of youth like me~"

"Ugh... I mean... I'm sorry." I confessed my sins and lowered my head.

"Ahahaha, I'm only joking. You don't need to apologize."

"But..."

I felt like I had done something rude and needed to apologize, but Senpai just waved her hand at me and brushed it off. After that, she slowly offered me her other hand.

"Ah, thank you very much." I gave her the can I had just emptied.

"You did it for me at the movie theater, so this is me returning the favor." She said and put the empty cans into the dumpster next to the vending machine.

When she approached the machine again, the lights lit up and the robotic voice played again... yet this time it sounded much more idiotic than before. It was like it had swallowed up what Senpai wanted to tell me. That being said, I hesitated to bring it up again.

Senpai started walking again, and I hurriedly pushed my bike after her. Neither Senpai nor I said anything until we reached the space where she had parked her car. I had been searching for a topic of conversation, but I couldn't say anything until Senpai told me "Here is fine." The best I could do was give a vague goodbye.

"Ah, thank you for the music you told me about. Ayase-san was really happy about it."

"After thinking about what to say, that was what you came up with, huh~?" Senpai laughed.

"Huh?"

"Don't mind me. Give my regards to that little sister of yours."

With these words, she disappeared into the parking lot. I saw her off until she completely vanished, then hopped on my bicycle to ride home. I reminisced about the last exchange we had as I pedalled my bicycle. I still had no idea what would have been the right thing to say in that situation, though.

When I arrived back home, I saw that the light in the living room was still on. When I peeked in, I saw Ayase-san sleeping at the table. It looked like she had been studying right before falling asleep. She was deep asleep, with one cheek resting on her opened notes. I could hear her faint breathing, quieter than the rumble of the A/C unit. I wondered why she had studied here instead of her own room, but then I grew worried that she might catch a cold from the running A/C.

I thought of waking her up, but she might just be bothered if she knew that she fell asleep while studying. In the end, I just put a towel over her shoulders. Then I realized that one end of her earbuds had fallen out of her ears, still playing lofi hip hop music.

I see. So she's listening to that while studying. Though I don't know if it actually helped increase her academic efficiency. I don't want to force my own values or feelings onto other people, but I would be happy if she actually enjoyed the music I recommended to her. I think I might have just realized this now, but what I really wanted the most was to be of help to Ayase-san. Although I still haven't done nearly enough to really earn myself that delicious French Toast.

I turned the A/C a bit warmer, just to a level where she wouldn't get a heat stroke, and prepared for my own bedtime. I took a bath, brushed my teeth, drank some water, and headed to the toilet. Before going to bed for good, I peeked inside the living room again, but Ayase-san was still sound asleep. I thought of waking her up, thinking that the running A/C might make her throat dry over the course of the night, but I decided against it in the end. She probably won't sleep like this all the way until morning. It's already past midnight, after all.

As expected, right when I entered my own room, I heard the alarm of a smartphone. I heard a bit of rustling from the living room as I went to bed. I figured she wouldn't like the fact that I had seen her sleeping face. I had originally planned to only pretend that I was asleep, my long day at work and the late-night movie caught up to me and I fell asleep quicker than anticipated. In my dreams, music mixed with time-worn noise played in my ears.

───

1 Isn't specified, but quite possibly the Hachiko Statue.