Volume 2 - CH 6

Chapter 6 - Travel Preparation

I received a "Like!" from Shinohara notification in return came a few hours after the phone call ended.

I finally got out of bed and went shopping at a convenience store on campus.

I look at the fryer menu near the cash register, biting back a sigh of relief.

The convenience store on the university campus is characterized by the fact that most of its customers are university students and professors.

Most of these college students also belong to the same university as themselves, so there is a slight, invisible camaraderie that exists even between strangers.

Even if you have never seen these faces before, they are probably colleagues from the same university.

No doubt that speculation has somewhat magnified the students' spirits.

"Oh, go ahead - I'll wait for my friend."

A girl I didn't know gave me the line to the cashier.

If this were outside, I would be polite and grateful, but this is on campus.

I thank him shortly, "Oh, thank you".

The girls returned to their groups without any particular reaction to the thanks.

Groups of girls are cackling in the space where the snacks are displayed, but I don't mind because it is always noisy in the convenience store, which is mostly occupied by students.

I ordered two tiki tikis from the waitress and moved to the end of the line so as not to disturb the back row.

Looking around again, I saw many people even though it was spring break period.

It may be that it is lunchtime and people tend to congregate.

From such a dense crowd of students, I spotted a figure gliding toward me.

It's Ayaka, wearing a familiar gray coat.

I said, "Hey, how'd you find this place? How did you find this place?"

If they said, "The second floor of Building No. 5," I thought, "Well, I guess this is it. You should be more precise about where you are, you're being too rough. There are too many people.

"You could have waited outside, I didn't say we were meeting at a convenience store."

"What's that? I came all this way for you."

Ayaka looks a little disapproving.

I ignored it and accepted two tiki-tiki from the waitress and handed one to Ayaka.

"Wow, I see what you mean. Thanks."

Ayaka's face instantly puts her in a good mood as she accepts a tiki tiki from the fryer menu, which is only available for a limited time.

As you walk out of the convenience store, you are greeted by the second floor lobby.

The second floor lobby of Building No. 5, with its numerous soft chairs and fashionable benches, was the place to be, but I stepped in without stopping by.

"Let's go."

"Well, let's take our time and eat this first, okay?"

"You can do that while you're walking, there's not many people in the hallway, so you won't bump into them."

"Oh no, I'm sitting down."

Ayaka moves away from me to a space with two chairs across the table.

I had no choice but to follow her, and Ayaka sipped her tiki-tiki with satisfaction.

"It's delicious. Bad food for the body tastes so good~"

"I agree with you on that, ....... You didn't forget your plans for the day, did you?"

Visiting college during spring break is not something I do very often. I don't have anything special to do on days when I don't have circle activities.

Nevertheless, the reason I visited the university today is because I had received this message from Ayaka yesterday.

"Wanna go on a trip? If you go through the university co-op, you can get a discount, so let's go to the co-op together!"

Co-op in this context stands for University Co-op.

In short, it is a thankful organization that does something to enhance the lives of students.

Of course, you have to be a member of the union to enjoy its benefits, but most students join when they enroll.

Today we are planning to reduce the cost of our trip at the Co-op counter in the University building.

I know," he said. I'm sure there are tours and such, and I'd like to take my time choosing one."

"You're going on a trip, but it's just for one night. Why do you have to pack your schedule like that?"

If it is an overnight trip to a hot spring, one would honestly prefer to stay at a hot spring inn to relax.

We do not want to arrive at the ryokan exhausted and fall asleep without having had a chance to enjoy a good ryokan.

"I'd be happy just to wander around the hot spring resort. Still, wouldn't it be wonderful if I could find a tour that I would prioritize over the hot spring resort?"

"Well, if only there were a tour more appealing than Hot Springs City."

"I know. So let's just take a look."

Ayaka crumpled the paper that contained the tiki tiki and stood up.

I also take a bite of my leftover tiki tiki, and follow Ayaka as she heads for the stairs.

Ayaka passed by the elevator and began to climb the stairs.

The Co-op counter is on the fifth floor, and I would normally prefer to use the elevator. I dared to take the stairs, perhaps out of a woman's desire to consume as many calories as possible in the Chiki Chiki.

I won't say it out loud because I'm afraid I'll get punched.

"I've never been on a trip with you before. I've never been on a trip with you before, and I want it to be a fun trip."

Ayaka calls out to me from the top of the stairs.

I've never been to a restaurant before," he said. It's not every day that two people get a chance to go out together."

"We didn't even talk to each other about going."

That's right.

High school was a given, and even after entering college, travel was never mentioned.

No matter how long you've known each other, no matter how densely you've spent time together.

The idea of going on a trip with Ayaka had never occurred to me.

And it was probably the same for Ayaka.

"If I hadn't gotten the discount coupon for the ryokan, I wouldn't have invited you this time. You should be thankful for the discount coupon."

"You're right,....... The inn is usually less than 50,000 per night. I'm thankful for that, because it's a price that a student can't afford."

I don't know how in the world he got the discount coupons, but at least they are not easy to get.

That is, unless you have the level of winning the jackpot in a major department store raffle.

If it is true that such a thing was given to me, I wonder what kind of person it came from.

If this were not Ayaka, I would be at the level of wondering if she is paying a man for his services.

"I'm really glad to see that you've expanded your circle of friends since you started college."

Ayaka had basically been the one with many friends since high school and was so well known that even other grades knew her name.

As the university has more students than high school, the number of digits of acquaintances may have increased as well.

What is the point of choosing me as your travel partner when you now have the ability to talk openly with anyone like that.

Is it really me?

"Did you just think of something boring?"

Ayaka stopped and looked down at us.

"...... Yeah, I had a really shitty idea."

I don't mind.

As a result, I have decided to travel with Ayaka.

I'm just a little confused because an option that didn't exist before suddenly came to the surface.

It is impossible to maintain a constant sense of distance in our relationships with others.

Relationships fluctuate daily, whether large or small, including the most minute ones.

The fact that its fluctuations are invisible makes it both fun and frightening.

One day, she suddenly breaks up with him after thinking she had loved him for a long time.

I asked him about it, and he told me that he had been out of love for several months now...

Relationships are watery, so much so that I have heard such experiences many times.

So, there is only so much action they can take.

And my relationship with Ayaka.

My course of action has always been the same since that day.

Believe and lean in. Just that.

"Hey, Ayaka."

"Hmm?"

That said, I had a thought.

I feel it again now.

"...... you're soooooo pretty from down under."

Ayaka was surprised at the rate at which her hand slipped from the handrail.

With that by my side, I pass Ayaka.

"Hey, wait!"

Running through to the fifth floor, I was indeed a little out of breath.

Ayaka is also breathing hard behind me.

"...... don't just run out of nowhere."

Ayaka said with flushed cheeks.

Ayaka, hands on her knees, looks up at me and smiles.

The reddish cheeks must be from running up the stairs.

◇◆

In the end, we settled on the idea of spending the day at our leisure, not taking any tours or other trips to the hot springs.

To begin with, the hot spring resort and the ryokan alone are enough to make the experience worth the change.

A person's capacity to act in a day is limited, and nothing more can be desired.

"If you're going to travel, don't you want to splurge?"

"It's a waste of time and energy to be so extravagant, and it's a waste of time and energy to be exhausted when you want to have the most fun."

"If it's between ...... boys, that's possible. They don't seem to know their limits."

Shinohara said after hearing my story.

The travel partners are referred to as several male friends from high school without mentioning that they are Ayaka.

When I first mentioned it, you looked at me with a slight tinge of pity, so I would like to defend myself in some way later.

"Leave me alone. What's more, why are you coming home today? You've finished your part-time job."

The call came in the morning and now it was night. I would have been on shift for at least eight hours, but for some reason Shinohara was home.

"I'm so surprised at you, senpai. Are you serious?"

"I'm not."

"Of course it's because I wanted to see my senpai, ......!"

"Oh, no."

"Clogged!"

Kicking off the teasing with a wink, I take a comic book from the bookshelf.

As I was about to open my favorite manga, Shinohara said, "Wait!" and stopped him.

"What?"

"Let's see. Once I started reading manga, my senpai didn't take me seriously at all. So I stopped for now."

"Okay."

I start to turn the pages without a care.

This manga will have a new issue next week. If you review the contents before that, you can enjoy the new issue twice as much.

The contents of this article are...

"..."

The look in my eyes hurts. I glanced at Shinohara, who was staring at me.

"...... okay, I get it. What's up with you today?"

I slammed the comic closed and asked.

If it's the usual Shinohara, when I start reading manga, he starts spending his time doing what he likes too.

Because they respected each other's alone time, they were stress-free when they attended the house.

However, I am in a position where I have to tolerate some things since I am asked to cook for them.

"What's going on at Byte?"

On the morning call it was business as usual.

If anything happened, it would conceivably be between bites.

He said, "My senpai is amazing. Really great."

Shinohara crackled and clapped his hands.

By the looks of things, it's probably not a big deal, but it's not cool to drop a question once you've asked it.

When I silently prompted her to answer, Shinohara paused for a moment and then opened her mouth.

One of the guys I was friends with at my part-time job quit.

"I see. That's too bad."

"Yes. Well, that's all I needed to know."

Shinohara dived into the cushion as he said this.

"I don't know his contact information. I feel kind of lonely when I think I'll never see him again."

"What? We were close?"

"I'm always meeting people at my part-time job these days, so I don't have to worry about not having contact information. ...... is a good place to start. But it's still normal to at least exchange contact information..."

I wonder why I didn't replace it, I wonder why I didn't replace it, Shinohara jitters on the cushion.

Shinohara is something that would be exchanged as soon as you get to know each other.

In fact, I exchanged contact information with Shinohara on the first day I met him.

"I guess he must have liked her a lot."

I felt a little bewildered when I said it out loud.

No matter who Shinohara liked, I never would have felt this way before.

It is the downside of spending more and more time together.

It is good evidence that these emotional ups and downs occur even in mere daily conversation.

"I don't like to say that I like him, because it sounds like a big deal. I don't want to sound arrogant and say I like him, but he is not a man."

"Oh, you were talking about a woman?"

If you think back to ......, I never mentioned that the part-timer was a man.

You were prematurely wrong.

"...... Oh, I see."

Shinohara grins.

That was already the worst look I've seen in a while.

I was trying to hide the fact that I had made a premature decision, but it seems I was too late.

He said, "Moo, you're so cute, senpai. There's no way that's true!"

"I'm not like that. If you fail in love again, even my stock in the company will go down."

"Wow ...... what a way to get away with it ......"

I thought to myself as I said it. It is Ayaka who can say something similar to what I just said, but apparently these words have different potency depending on who they are uttered from.

As with any language, borrowed words are inevitably shallow.

"Give me something more, something like that, please! A good word to comfort me!"

"What do you want from me, ......?"

Shinohara pops the cushion up and catches it again.

"Is it a tranquilizer?"

"You're treating me like a drug."

"It's a matter of how you say it. If I say that I feel safe in a space with my seniors, doesn't that seem like a high point?"

"That's a negative thing to say to him, though."

Well, I certainly don't feel bad.

If I felt bad about it, I wouldn't have brought him home in the first place. I know that much myself.

"Ah."

When I followed Shinohara's gaze, the clock had already struck twenty-three.

Every time, this junior stays too late.

"I have an early job tomorrow, so I'm going home. Thank you very much."

"I'm sorry you had to work tomorrow too, tough guy. ...... Well, don't get too discouraged and keep up the good work."

Time passes differently when you don't have a kindred spirit in your part-timers.

In no small part, I knew how Shinohara felt.

"I can't imagine how inconvenient it must be to have no way to meet with someone with whom you couldn't exchange contact information."

"Well, in this day and age, you can connect with anyone."

We live in an age where people can exchange contact information even with people they have never met.

Perhaps it is one of the saddest feelings when a good friend who has spent the same amount of time at a part-time job becomes unable to even contact you.

"senior..."

"I'm not going away. Just go home."

"You are a ...... extraordinary senior who instantly senses what I want to say and what I want to be said and says it smoothly."

Shinohara expresses surprise in a deliberate tone of voice.

I can't see her expression, though, as she is bending down to put on her boots in front of the doorway.

Somehow, I can imagine the expression on Shinohara's face right now.

"Good luck with your part-time job tomorrow."

Pontoon your palm on Shinohara's head.

Shinohara looked up at me and replied with a different smile than usual.

"...... Yes!"

Maybe it's this smile that makes my day.

She never said it out loud, but that much was certain.

◇◆

A few days have passed since the hot spring trip with Ayaka was decided.

The schedule is just over a week away.

It is spring break, and in terms of time, it feels as if it is almost upon us.

Sitting on my bed, I repeatedly cross my legs with a pamphlet in my hand that claims to show all the attractions of the hot spring resort.

I am looking forward to it, but I am also somewhat fidgety.

And the reality is that I will have to go to the hot springs alone, which is the most important thing. The real highlight of the trip will be the sumptuous dinner we will have at the ryokan.

"hmm."

I feel a presence and remove my gaze from the pamphlet.

A moment later, a hair snatched the tip of my nose.

"Whoa!"

He involuntarily bows his head. His foot rises with it, and his junior catches it.

"Aaah!"

As a result, Shinohara fell down on top of me.

From the side, it is a picture of me being pushed down by Shinohara. It's usually the other way around.

Something soft wraps around my face and I immediately try to get out.

As a healthy man, I naturally want to confirm the sweet feeling, but I cannot do such a thing when I think of the price I will pay later.

When I grabbed Shinohara by the side and tried to pull him away to escape, he made a strange noise.

"Wait, Senpai ......!"

Flustered by the tone of voice, which I don't usually hear, I think about the next action I should take.

Do you apologize honestly or do you reopen the door?

Would you rather be angry?

─ Attack is the best defense.

"What the hell are you falling over for?"

"What? Senior is mad at me?"

Shinohara rolled over in bed and looked up.

Now Shinohara is in his room clothes and his outgoing clothes are hanging on a hanger.

I couldn't help but pinch my cheeks, wondering if that's why it felt so raw.

"No, it was my fault for silently peeking at the brochure, so I'm not sure I'm wrong in my response. ......"

Saying this, Shinohara gently patted his own chest.

Perhaps that is where my face had been hit earlier.

Remembering the soft touch, he whispered, "No, well, I'm sorry too".

The foot was caught in nothing more than an accident, but Shinohara was not doing anything to be blamed either.

And since there was no sign that Shinohara was going to be angrier than I had expected, the action I had just taken turned out to be just a very unpopular one.

"Well, if we stay together, these accidents will happen from time to time. Maybe."

Shinohara laughs at that.

Seeing that he doesn't seem to care much about it, I think he should have apologized honestly from the beginning.

It could be said that since I suddenly found myself in that situation, it was inevitable that I could not make a calm decision.

"So, how did it go?"

"Yes?"

"No, it's my impression. How did you like it?"

I look at Shinohara's face seriously. To see if the junior who is lying down in front of him is sane or not.

Then Shinohara looked away as if upset for the first time there.

"...... don't stare so much."

"Is that the part where you get all shy?"

"I wasn't embarrassed. I just felt awkward."

"Unbelieve me."

"Unbelievable."

I'm not going to get anywhere, so I'm going to shut my mouth for once.

No doubt this junior is embarrassed now, but there is something wrong with being embarrassed.

I wonder if they have any sense of shame to ask me what I think of them.

"So what do you think?"

"There, there."

It would be crazy to answer such a question seriously.

I let it slide and sat down on the floor.

"Yeah, there you are. ...... I see."

"...... hey."

I bit my lip at Shinohara, who for some reason was shrugging.

If I said, "It was very good," I would inevitably be teased.

But still, even in light of the fact that it was an unforeseen accident. The impression that touched my chest "there" may be hurtful.

"Thank you very much for your time at ......."

I say in a theatrical tone of voice, resisting at the very least.

Shinohara's mouth turned up at the corner when she heard that. It was already a nice smile.

"Well done, Maurice, you're not being honest!"

"...... is that the way you want it!"

"I'm not so cheap that I'd allow it for free. It's not worth it unless we get at least a compliment."

"Oh, I see. ......"

Seeing me exhausted and fatigued, Shinohara tilted his head.

"Even with that in mind, I definitely think normal boys would be happy."

As ...... Shinohara said, there is no denying that there is some perkiness.

But we can't let that out of our mouths.

The trust that we do nothing is what keeps me and Shinohara's strange joint life together.

For what it's worth, they say I like this life.

"I'm getting hungry."

"So, shall we have hot bean curd today?"

Shinohara easily switched topics and got up.

If you get hungry, a lovely junior staff member will prepare a delicious meal for you. Immersed in such an environment, it would be a shame to give in to temporary impulses.

I think so again as I look at the back of Shinohara's apron around her waist.

"I'm not in control when I'm being watched, so please go read your comic books as usual."

"Always bad."

"I do what I do because I like it. Please thank me with a Vivienne ring."

"The context is wrong, isn't it? I can't afford something that expensive."

I just gave him an expensive wallet as a gift before, so I'll dismiss it for now.

Gratitude is not something that can be expressed with money.

I know that ...... such an idea is a beautiful thing, but please forgive me for considering the situation of student wallets living alone.

"It's a joke. I at least know what's going on in my senior's wallet."

Shinohara laughs mischievously and rolls up his arms.

Standing in the kitchen, Shinohara's apron was already familiar to the house.