Hitori quickly nodded in response to Chisato's question.
But after nodding, she looked worried and hesitantly asked, "Is that okay?"
"There's nothing wrong with it."
Chisato's plan after school today was to find a suitable part-time job, which wouldn't conflict with spending some time with Hitori. The sooner he could resolve it, the better.
"Thank you!"
"So, what does Hitori-san plan to do next?"
"Huh? What do you mean by what to do?"
"There's still plenty of time before afternoon classes. What do you plan to do after lunch?"
"Oh, I see. I'll stay here until class starts."
"Stay here alone?"
"Yeah... I'm not used to staying in the classroom. This place feels more comforting, so I'll take a nap with my headphones after lunch."
"The floor is so hard. Can you really sleep here?"
"It's fine, I have this."
Hitori pulled out a rolled-up blanket from among the clutter.
Chisato was astonished.
Why would such a kindergarten nap tool appear in a high school?
Misinterpreting Chisato's shocked look as praise, Hitori shyly explained,
"I brought it from home. No one usually comes here, and it's warm in winter and cool in summer, so I often take naps here."
"…"
Chisato didn't know what to say. He took the blanket from Hitori's hands and felt its softness.
"Can I join you for a nap?"
"K-k-k!"
Hitori covered her mouth as she coughed repeatedly, filled with excitement and nervousness.
The idea of sharing a nap meant their bodies would be close together in this tiny space!
"Just kidding. Hitori-san, continue with your lunch. I won't bother you anymore."
Chisato placed the blanket aside and got up.
He still needed to buy lunch from the store; a few pieces of fried chicken wouldn't fill him up.
"Ah… okay…"
Hitori watched him leave, listening to his footsteps fade away. A sense of disappointment and loneliness spread within the small space.
'I could endure the darkness if I had never seen the light…'
"Oh right, we'll meet at the school gate after school. Contact me by phone if anything comes up. Bye."
Chisato, having returned to say this, left again.
Yes, they would see each other again after school. There were still less than five hours left.
"Hehe... Hehehe…"
Her disappointment turned into joy, and happy laughter came from the unnoticed corner of the stairwell.
A girl student, who happened to be going upstairs to collect and deliver homework, heard the eerie laughter and immediately thought of the school's ghost stories.
She became terrified, her previously calm pace turning frantic as she hurriedly left the area.
Meanwhile, in the school's club building, in the first music room.
Kazusa stopped their piano practice. She glanced at her phone and saw that lunch break had been over for almost half an hour.
She looked up at the half-open door again, but no one was coming through.
Notably, today's music room was a bit different from usual.
In addition to the piano, there was a small table awkwardly placed next to it.
It was brought from the pile of clutter outside, meant to hold the food she bought today.
Hot dogs, burgers, fried noodles, and various drinks and milk—since she didn't know what the guy liked, she bought a little of everything.
She remembered the cashier's astonished look when she paid, which still made her blush.
Buying so much food for a girl was indeed a bit excessive.
That idiot!
If he wasn't planning to come, he shouldn't have said things like "I'll come here to rest later" that could easily be misunderstood!
Kazusa clenched her teeth and pressed the piano keys heavily.
During this lunch break, the passionate piano music, filled with the performer's anger, echoed through every corner of the club building.
When Kazusa walked into the classroom just as the afternoon class bell rang, she ignored Chisato's greeting, dragging her chair noisily and slumping over the desk in silence.
Chisato was puzzled, trying to understand what had made her so upset.
The sky outside had turned from the morning's clear blue to a cloudy gray, indicating rain was likely coming soon.
As Chisato gazed out the window, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
He took it out to check and saw a message from Utaha with just two short words.
[Good morning.]
The message included a selfie.
Though her face wasn't visible, the focus was on the exposed, deep neckline of her disheveled nightgown.
Chisato silently replied with a "It's already afternoon" message, then put his phone back in his pocket and started paying attention to the class.
…
Utaha smiled as she read the reply.
She had planned to chat more, but realized it was now class time, so she decided to stop.
She didn't want to be a distraction while she was being lazy at home.
In the past, her single room had always made her feel secure.
Now, even though she still felt safe, she found it a bit unusual to instinctively reach out for someone beside her only to find nothing when she woke up.
However, since he's already brought the tools for the job, this situation probably won't last long.
Six months to a year is not an unbearable wait.
Given his behavior, it's not a problem to move the timeline up a bit.
After getting a good night's sleep, Utaha lazily stretched on her bed, then got up, washed up, and had a quick bite before sitting down at her desk to read.
Around 3 p.m., it started raining heavily outside.
She collected the clothes she had hung out to dry and, as she returned to her room, was about to ask Chisato if he had brought an umbrella.
But then she reconsidered, realizing her nagging concern might seem overly motherly, and decided against it.
It didn't really matter if a young guy like him got caught in the rain.
If his health was good, he could handle it.
Even if he caught a cold and got a fever, that would give her a chance to take care of him, which could be a great way to increase his affection for her.
By 4 p.m., the rain had gotten heavier, and the sky grew darker.
As Utaha went downstairs to make herself some coffee, the doorbell rang.
Who would come to visit in such heavy rain?
Curious, she went to the entrance and checked the electronic peephole.
The next moment, she slowly closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed heavily.
It was Eriri, looking as if she were a frustrated puppy about to pounce and bite something in anger.
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