At that moment, Shizune had her gaze somewhat lost, the darkness of the night fell on her body somewhat tired after the gym, but the cold did not reach her skin since she was inside the safety of Kurono's car the most as comfortably as possible.
She watched as the light from the streetlights passed through the window, and appreciated how all of this was combined with the night image of the city streets, which were no longer so unknown to her.
Both she and Kurono had finished with their respective exercise after Kazumi said goodbye to them, they went to the showers to clean up completely and relax their muscles, there was nothing strange or important to mention about it, and now, a characteristic silence was present between the two of them as they were busy with their own thoughts… Although an important aspect was also the fact that Kurono was quite focused on the way back.
Shizune hadn't shown the intention to speak directly either, so that situation was repeated all the way, but as if it were the bell that indicated the end of school, the sight of the apartment complex where Shizune lived appeared indicating that they had reached the end of the journey.
"So we arrived." Shizune's words seemed to be somewhat unnecessary since the car had stopped, but Kurono let out a kind of response to her words.
"Yeah, I didn't even feel the time pass." Kurono thought he could accompany that comment with some kind of joke to lighten the mood... But he didn't have enough energy for it, so instead, he gave as a starting point what it was inevitable that it would happen "Who do I want to fool? Forgive me, Shizune."
"Why do you apologize?" Shizune didn't have a confused expression on her face, actually she felt somewhat calmer since Kurono didn't continue to act as if nothing had happened.
"Obviously from the way I've been acting, I've only made you and Kazumi-nee worry." Kurono had once again adopted a complicated expression and lowered his head, but his gaze would turn to Shizune as quickly as he felt his hand being grabbed.
"Don't worry about it, and if we act like that it's because you're important to us, it's quite obvious that something is going on in your mind, but I still don't want to force you to say anything... And if what's happening to you is because of my fault, I…"
"Of course not!" Kurono had taken Shizune's hand even tighter at the same time that he flatly denied her words. He didn't want her to think that she was bothering him, so he wouldn't let those foolish thoughts come to Shizune's head. "You have nothing to do with it, it's just me tormenting myself with my ideas and memories, I don't want you to feel bad in any way… Maybe that's why I was trying to act as if nothing happened, but it seems that none of it worked out in the end."
Shizune noticed again that Kurono was diverting his gaze a bit, but without letting him escape, she raised her other hand to take Kurono's cheek and draw his gaze back to her, letting their eyes meet with the help of the little light that I was getting into the car thanks to the lamppost that was outside.
"Okay... And I'm also sorry for thinking about unnecessary things, but I felt I had to make sure." Shizune felt that now it was her turn to serve as Kurono's support, it was like the time he took the time to listen to her, so she needed to be as understanding as he could even though he didn't know what was really occupying Kurono's mind, but it wouldn't be long before she knew. "So, would you like to talk about it?"
Before speaking, Kurono had appreciated Shizune's figure at that precise moment, many memories were flooding his mind, mostly those that had happened with her, and seeing her like that, even though he didn't feel very good since he was worrying her, he was also experiencing a rather unique sensation and one that he was quick to express.
"You know, I feel like I'm the luckiest person in the world to have you by my side." And at that moment, Kurono showed a simple, but incredibly sincere smile that couldn't go unnoticed by Shizune.
"Hehe, believe me, you're not the only one who feels that way, there are so many things I want to thank you for too, but I guess there will be more moments where I can do that, and that is truly special." Shizune now felt a little calmer when seeing Kurono's attitude, that was what the situation needed to start, so once they both said what was on their minds, Kurono decided on what he wanted to express, although he did not let go of Shizune's hand despite everything.
"I guess I can't just put this aside, plus I feel like I've been hiding it long enough already." Kurono's gaze had lost its smile from before, but there was nothing strange about that since he was quite focused on how he should approach everything he wanted to say to Shizune, although his words made her feel somewhat restless. "But before that, I must tell you why I was acting strange today."
Shizune concentrated on listening to Kurono carefully, she didn't want to miss anything, but the question she heard next confused her a bit.
"Do you remember Yuki-san?"
"Yeah, did something happen to her?" Shizune was coming up with her ideas. Maybe Kurono's annoyance was due to some problem with work, and since he mentioned Yuki, it made a lot of sense, but what Shizune heard next made her eyes widen in surprise and she didn't know what to say.
"You see… Yuki-san… She told me that she is in love with me..."