Thank you all for your beautiful support!
“I’m ignoring you!” Utaha Kasumigaoka declared, then turned and ran the rest of the way to her house.
They were just a block from her house.
Even after what she said, she still felt a warm, fluttery feeling in her chest.
It turned out her Kouhai really did like her.
Ren stood there and watched her go.
He didn’t follow her.
There was no reason to hurry.
He looked down at his hand and noticed the faint scent of her perfume.
He smiled to himself.
Not bad at all.
Only after confirming that Utaha had made it safely inside did he turn and leave.
Ren yawned as he got on the train.
Utaha’s house was far from his place, and since it was already dark, the train was the quickest way home.
He stepped into the train car and saw it was empty.
He was alone.
“Looks like I’ve got a private ride,” he joked to himself.
He sat down and pulled out his phone.
There were several unread notifications on LINE.
Yukino Yukinoshita: [I have arrived home.]
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: [Did you finish walking everyone back?
Not that I care!
I was just curious!
That’s all!]
Megumi Kato: [Did you make it home safely?]
Yukino and Megumi sounded normal, but Eriri was her usual tsundere self.
Ren quickly replied to all of them.
The latest message was from Utaha.
Utaha Kasumigaoka: [Are you heading back, Kouhai?]
Ren: [Yeah, I’m on the train.
Still savoring the feeling from earlier.
It was pretty great, Utaha-senpai.]
“…”
Utaha sat in her bedroom, staring at his reply.
Her face turned bright red.
“Pervert,” she muttered under her breath.
Are you planning on not washing your hands for a whole month?]
Ren: [I wouldn’t go that far.
Besides, it’s not like there won’t be other opportunities.]
Utaha realized she was losing this back-and-forth.
Who would have thought her Kouhai had such a mischievous side?
Still, when she remembered what happened on the street, her expression softened.
Utaha: [You can just call me Utaha from now on.]
In Japan, calling someone by their first name meant you were truly close.
Ren: [Then you can just call me Ren.]
Utaha: [But I think Kouhai sounds so much cuter!]
Ren read her reply on the train and laughed.
She was still the same teasing senior.
They hadn’t found any urban legends today, but it was still a good trip.
“Sigh…
I didn’t think it was this late.”
Standing on the station platform, Yumiko Miura checked the time on her phone and sighed.
Since it was the weekend, she had invited Yui Yuigahama and Hina Ebina to hang out.
They had so much fun they lost track of time.
Yui and Hina lived nearby and had already gone home, but Yumiko lived farther away and needed to catch the train.
Yui offered to walk her to the station, but Yumiko refused right away.
She was the Fire Queen of Sobu High, the leader of the popular crowd.
There was no way she would admit she needed someone to walk her home.
“It should be fine,” she told herself.
She felt confident turning Yui down, but the late-night trains were known for creeps.
As she looked around the empty platform, her worry quickly turned into annoyance.
“Creeps are so disgusting.”
Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long.
The train arrived a few minutes later, and Yumiko breathed a sigh of relief.
Once she got on, she’d be home soon.
The doors slid open, and Yumiko stepped inside.
The train car was empty except for one person.
When she saw who it was, she stopped in her tracks.
‘It’s him?’
Before the recent exams, she wouldn’t have known him at all.
But after he took first place in the whole grade, everyone heard about him.
Ren noticed her walk in.
He gave her a single passing glance, then turned his attention away.
‘Tch.’
His obvious indifference annoyed her.
Hayato really was the better guy.
It was frustrating that even after she made her feelings clear, Hayato kept avoiding the topic.
Maybe he didn’t like her.
If he didn’t, he should just say it.
She wasn’t the type to cling to someone who didn’t want her.
Trying to forget about it, Yumiko sat a few rows away from Ren.
They didn’t really know each other, so sitting too close would just be awkward.
The train car was completely quiet.
She took out her phone to pass the time, but kept glancing at him.
“He’s pretty handsome, though,” she mumbled to herself.
It was just a shame his personality was so awful…
With his heightened senses, Ren easily noticed her staring.
When he finally looked over, Yumiko quickly turned her head away.
Ren knew her nickname: the Fire Queen.
She was arrogant and blunt, but not a bad person.
As the queen bee of the popular crowd, she was definitely pretty.
But after spending so much time with girls like Utaha, Yukino, and Eriri—her looks didn’t stand out to him.
They just happened to be on the same train.
It didn’t mean anything, and Ren had no plans to go over and say hi.
Suddenly, the entire train car lurched violently.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The lights flickered and went out, leaving the car in complete darkness, like they had just entered a tunnel.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Surprised, Yumiko screamed in panic.
The darkness didn’t last long.
A few seconds later, the lights came back on.
Ren frowned and scanned his surroundings.
The Yin energy in the air had just spiked!!
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Thanks for reading.