The bell signaling the end of the period rang and the students eased and started making a racket.
"Wait for me here. I will finish my tour and come back as fast as possible."
Kaito said to the black-haired beauty who was seated beside him. Because of that injury, she couldn't walk by herself so he had decided to help her commute to and from school. Since he had this club visit, that meant she had to wait for him. If she said she had some work and wanted to go back home earlier, he was thinking of postponing his club visit for some other day.
[But wait, why did I tell her to wait for me? It's not like I was obliged to get her home safely. So, why did I say that? Aah!]
He internally screamed but he had already said that and he couldn't take it back.
"Thank you for saying that, but you don't need to worry. Kuroi-san and Yanagi-san will be helping me get home."
He was thankful that she had actually rejected his offer. He didn't know what would happen if he had to accompany her all the way back to the apartment again.
Just as she finished saying that, two girls approached her seat. Kaito recognized them immediately. Those two were the ones he had met in the morning. He was thankful to them since he didn't have to worry about her now. [But, damn, why was I even worrying about her in the first place?]
Annoyed a little bit with himself, he started packing his bag when he noticed a certain boy glaring.
He was not glaring at Kaito. He was glaring at the two girls talking with Ichinose.
That guy had feelings for Ichinose. He probably had wanted to help her reach home, but since those two girls beat him to the punch, he was frustrated that he missed this golden opportunity.
"Kobayashi-kun."
"Yes."
When Fujiki-sensei called him, he rose from his seat. Giving a short glance to Ichinose, he made his way towards Fujiki-sensei.
They went downstairs and exited the building. Although the director had said that the school was a bit big in comparison to his previous high school, Kaito found that the school was bigger than he had expected. The school boasted about four large buildings with a fairly big playground. One building was for the classrooms, which they had just exited. One was for the administrative activities including the Student Council. One was a gymnasium and the other was for club activities. A sort of passage connected the four buildings.
"Let's make this quick. I have some work to do after this as well. "
Kaito just nodded to the statement by Fujiki-sensei. He just wanted to check how the clubs here were. He had no plans on spending much time.
They entered the building which was made solely for club activities.
The interior design was the same as the building where their classes were. The only difference was that the rooms were big. Signboards were placed at the front of the door informing which club the room belonged to.
The first one they visited was the Science Club. Few students were inside, but he knew none of them. They were either from different classes or from different years.
Upon seeing them, a boy was about to make his way towards them. Seeing that, Fujiki-sensei spoke to stop him.
"We are here just to visit the clubs. It's nothing important. You can continue what you were doing."
The boy stopped and nodded and looked at Kaito.
"He's a transfer student, transferred just yesterday. He wanted to visit the clubs once, so I'm accompanying him."
"Oh. Okay. You can visit anytime you want."
With that bright statement, the boy resumed his activities.
They were trying to do something with the chemicals. After a while, Kaito decided to leave.
After that, they visited other clubs like Art Club, Mathematics Club, Calligraphy Club, etc.
They then headed towards the gymnasium where sports-related club activities were ongoing.
They continued to visit all the clubs while Fujiki-sensei kept briefing him about them.
There were clubs like judo, kendo, tennis, etc.
While visiting from club to club, they arrived in front of the Kyūdō Club.
When they arrived there, all the eyes were focused on a single person.
She was holding her bow with a magnificent stance. Her black hair was tied behind her head.
The arrow left her bow with an amazing speed and bullseye. She hit the dead center of the target.
The students who were watching started clapping and shouting in admiration.
She smiled at them in return. Kaito could also see some boys salivating at her mere sight. The girl shook her head and untied her long black hair which reached up to her hip.
"She is the President of the Kyūdō Club. She has won ma- "
"I think that's enough. I will return home now. You also said that you had some work after this. Thank you for showing me around."
When Fujiki-sensei started telling him about the girl in question, Kaito cut her short.
Although he hadn't intended, his voice was a bit loud and a bit commanding.
"What happened?"
Fujiki-sensei, sensing the change in his tone asked him, concern clear in her voice.
"It's nothing. My head suddenly started aching. So, I think I should head back home."
That was a lie. And there was no way she was convinced but she decided not to pursue it any further.
"Is that so? Then, it's fine."
Kaito left the building with quick steps.
While he was engrossed in his internal conflict, he hadn't noticed that it was raining outside.
He exited the school and made his way to his home. He had no umbrella and was soaking in the rain.
The reason he wanted to leave that place was because, that girl reminded him of her. It's not like he hated her. He loved her instead. Or rather, he used to love her. All until that incident happened. When Kaito watched that girl, it reminded him of her and he didn't want to remember about her or about what had happened back then. So, he decided to leave as quickly as possible.
The rain was getting heavier by the time.
"Did she reach home safely?"
That thought suddenly crossed his mind. [Why the hell that thought occur to me right now?] He was frustrated at himself that he was worried about her. He had resolved himself that he won't involve himself with other people. Before coming here, he had promised himself that he won't involve with people unnecessarily. Because of that incident at his previous school, he didn't want to make any friends. He just helped her because he didn't want to have any guilty feelings. That was the only reason. But now he was being concerned about her.
While having those thoughts he didn't realize that he was already approaching his apartment.
As usual, he didn't board the elevator and took the stairs instead. When he finally reached his floor, he spotted a familiar-looking girl.
She was in front of her door. Her breathing was ragged and she was having a hard time inserting the key into her door. Her face was a bit red as well and clearly, she was wet from head to toe.
While he approached her, she didn't even notice. She was almost about to fall when he firmly took hold of her arms and hauled her back upright.
She had a confused look in her eyes and was trying to make sense of the situation but soon gave up. Before she understood what had happened, Kaito propped up her limp body and opened the door to her apartment.
"There's no other way. I'm going to help you inside, so please forgive the intrusion."
Yes. There really was no other way. She had fallen unconscious before his very eyes and there was nobody else around. So, even though he didn't want, he had no choice but to do what the situation demanded.
Because he didn't want to feel guilty. But was that really the case? He began to question himself. But soon shook his head since there's no point in probing further.
What he had to do was get over this situation as fast as possible.
With that thought, he entered her room, reluctant as he was.