After confirming the relationship between Shin and Yukinoshita Yukino, Hiratsuka Shizuka let Shin go.
It didn't play out like in the original story, where Hiratsuka pressured Hikigaya Hachiman to join the Service Club. Since Shin didn't exhibit problematic behavior, he wasn't a "problem child" in need of reform through club activities, unlike Hikigaya.
However, Hiratsuka was a little curious to see if Yukinoshita's personality might change because of Shin.
...
Leaving the office, Shin returned to the classroom to grab his bag and head home to play video games.
The classroom was nearly empty. Even the class monitor had completed their duties and left while Shin was talking to Hiratsuka, which surprised him. It seemed like lately, the monitors had been slacking more, even leaving the blackboard partially cleaned, which explained their early departures.
But as he reached his desk, Shin realized he wasn't alone.
"Back already?"
Megumi Megumi sat quietly at her desk, smiling up at Shin as he entered.
To be honest, if not for the ordinary setting of the classroom, Shin might have felt like he was seeing a girlfriend waiting for her boyfriend to return.
Though he studied her expression, he couldn't quite figure out what she was thinking.
"Yeah, I just spoke with Ms. Hiratsuka for a bit… Why are you still here?"
Shin nodded, grabbing his bag and curiously glancing at Megumi. She didn't belong to any clubs and rarely socialized with other classmates, so she typically went home right after school.
Could she have been waiting for him?
"Didn't you notice, Shin-chan? It's raining outside," Megumi said, lifting her right hand slightly to show a folded umbrella she held.
"Did you bring an umbrella, Shin-chan?"
Shin blinked, looking out the window. Since his seat was by the window, he saw the light drizzle that had started.
Outside, some students with umbrellas walked toward the school gates, while those without umbrellas ran out with their bags over their heads.
Actually, even if he didn't have an umbrella, Shin could avoid getting wet by using his "Blackbird" aura to shield himself. Besides, he had an umbrella in his bag.
"…Looks like I forgot it."
Still, since Megumi had waited here just for him, he felt that admitting he had an umbrella would spoil the moment.
"Well, I guess there's no other choice then," Megumi said, smiling knowingly, as if she'd expected this answer.
"I brought an umbrella, so let's share it and head out together."
Even with his heightened sense of energy perception, Shin couldn't read her thoughts, as if everything was unfolding exactly as she'd planned.
However, based on techniques he knew from the Dragon Ball world, there were ways to read minds using "ki," a technique both Master Roshi and Son Goku had shown. But Shin didn't know any of these Turtle School techniques yet, nor did he think it was appropriate to use them on Megumi.
As they walked together to the school gate, Shin noticed something odd. Megumi's subtle presence seemed to make him blend into the background, so much so that no one greeted him on their way out. Usually, he would exchange a nod or hello with classmates, but today, a few he knew walked past him without a glance.
Shin didn't mind, though.
"Which way is your house, Shin-chan?"
At the gate, Megumi opened the umbrella—a bit small, but enough for the two of them to share.
In Japan, walking together under a shared umbrella is called an "ai-ai gasa," and it often implies a romantic bond. Occasionally, people draw "ai-ai gasa" on the blackboards, pairing friends' names under it as a joke.
"This way," Shin said, pointing to the left, glancing at Megumi, who should know what it meant to share an umbrella with a boy.
Megumi, however, looked unfazed, as if sharing an umbrella wasn't a big deal.
"Oh, that's unfortunate, my house is in the other direction," Megumi said, pointing right.
They looked at each other in silence, surprised their routes were opposite.
But after a moment's thought, Megumi suggested, with an uncharacteristic decisiveness for most girls, "Then I'll walk you home first, and I'll head back afterward."
"Huh? Isn't that a bit odd?" Shin hesitated. It was hardly traditional to have a girl walk him home. If anything, he should see her home and then return with her umbrella, bringing it back on Monday since tomorrow was Saturday.
"This is my umbrella, so let's go with my plan," Megumi said, meeting his eyes with a rare firmness that left Shin no room to argue.
What else could he do? Shin accepted her suggestion.
Fortunately, his apartment wasn't far from school, so they reached it in just over ten minutes, chatting along the way.
"This is where I live," Shin said, nodding toward the apartment building.
This was the first time he'd walked a classmate home, and Megumi was the first girl to learn where he lived.
Out of courtesy, he reflexively asked, "Would you like to come up?"
Though just a polite remark, Shin was surprised when Megumi, instead of turning him down, nodded earnestly.
"Then I'll take you up on your offer."
To be continued…
(T/N: Actually Megumi refers to Shin as A-Chuan(Qin Chuan). In China, people may add "Ā-" (阿) or "Xiǎo" (小) to a name to create a nickname or to show endearment:
Ā- More common in the south and abroad Xiǎo: Common throughout China
So, for the reader's convenience, I have changed it to Shin-chan)
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