The afternoon classes finally ended uneventfully.
The school bell rang, and Kitano, while packing his bag, planned his evening schedule in his mind.
“Should I eat the leftover curry from yesterday for dinner, or just make some simple noodles?
I haven’t listened to that new record I bought carefully yet, maybe I’ll try it tonight?
Oh, right, it seems like a new guide for that game is out, I should go check it out…”
His mind was filled with these daily and trivial thoughts, and he felt that this was how life should be.
He habitually chose a relatively quiet corridor that required a slight detour, preparing to leave through the side door.
After all, Hikari High School had a close relationship with Tracen Academy, and taking the main road would easily lead to encountering Uma Musume who had finished their cultural classes or were using the school facilities.
This was based on his experience, you see.
He would never actively seek out trouble that could be avoided.
“Sigh, it was really a misstep back then…” He couldn’t help but recall this regrettable matter.
“If I had known, I should have just slacked off and gone to a local high school like Oguri Cap.
Why did I get so hot-headed at the time…”
He even remembered casually mentioning this idea to Oguri Cap and her mother, only to be met with unprecedented strong opposition from both mother and daughter.
Oguri Cap’s mother even looked at him with a complex gaze, as if saying, “Aren’t we family?” which made him swallow all his subsequent words.
“The more I think about it, the more painful it gets.”
As he was lost in thought, he turned a corner and unexpectedly saw a familiar yet somewhat surprising figure.
It was a petite and cute girl in a Tracen uniform, with long brown hair and matching horse ears.
She was standing by the corridor window, looking a bit uneasy, as if waiting for something.
Her hands were nervously clasped in front of her, and her eyes were cast down, as if she was afraid of attracting attention—it was Rice Shower.
“Rice Shower?” Kitano exclaimed in surprise.
“Ah!” Rice Shower trembled slightly like a startled small animal, then suddenly looked up.
Seeing it was Kitano-kun, her fair cheeks instantly flushed a light red.
“Kitano-kun!
I’m so sorry!
Did I disturb you?”
She bowed in a fluster, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.
Rice Shower’s inner thoughts: Ugh, as expected…
I still disturbed him…
Kitano-kun must think it’s troublesome…
“It’s nothing, nothing,” Kitano waved his hand and walked over.
“Why are you here?
Looking for me?”
He remembered mentioning his usual route after school to Rice Shower, but he didn’t expect her to actually come looking for him.
“Yes, yes…” Rice Shower’s voice was still very soft, and her fingers nervously intertwined.
“Before…
thank you very much for the music box…
Rice Shower really liked it…
so, I wanted to thank you in person…”
The more she spoke, the softer her voice became, and her head was buried even lower.
Kitano looked at her, so nervous she was almost shrinking, and couldn’t help but find it a little amusing and a little helpless.
He remembered when Oguri Cap came to his house before, he had half-jokingly asked Rice Shower, “Do you want to come play too?”
At the time, it was purely a casual remark, and he knew that given Rice Shower’s personality, inviting her to a stranger’s, relatively speaking, house would be too difficult.
It seemed he was right.
“No need to be so polite, it’s good that you liked it.” Kitano tried to keep his tone as gentle as possible.
“You must be very busy with training recently, right?
How do you have time to come today?”
“To-today’s training…
finished earlier…” Rice Shower explained softly, secretly glancing at Kitano, then quickly looking down again.
“Rice Shower…
also wanted…
it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Kitano-kun…
so…”
Her words were intermittent, but the sincerity of her courageously coming to meet him was very clear.
Kitano looked at her, trying so hard to overcome her shyness, and the slight impatience he felt from being disturbed dissipated.
He understood how much courage it took for Rice Shower to proactively come looking for him.
“Sigh, really…
she’s so timid, Rice Shower’s shy personality hasn’t changed much.”
“I see,” he smiled, and said in a relaxed tone, “That’s perfect, I’m also done with school.
It’s on the way anyway.”
He didn’t suggest going somewhere to sit, as that would only make Rice Shower more nervous.
Just walking together for a bit, this level of request expressed goodwill without putting too much pressure on her.
As expected, when Rice Shower heard this suggestion, although her face was still flushed, she visibly relaxed and nodded gently.
“O-okay…
sorry for the trouble.”
Thus, the two walked side by side on the gradually thinning campus path after school.
The setting sun stretched their shadows, and Kitano deliberately slowed his pace to match Rice Shower’s rhythm.
He didn’t actively bring up many topics, only occasionally commenting on the weather or asking if her training was hard.
Rice Shower also gradually relaxed a little.
Although her answers were still brief, she was at least no longer as nervous.
Perhaps the music box gift had opened up conversation, or perhaps it was the faint joy of reuniting after a long time, Rice Shower was much more relaxed than usual.
Rice Shower’s inner thoughts: Kitano-kun…
is really gentle, isn’t he?
“Kitano-kun…
are you doing well…
recently?” She softly initiated the conversation.
“Hmm?
Same as usual, classes, eating, listening to music.”
Kitano answered casually, turning his head to glance at her.
“How about you?
You haven’t been injured during training, have you?”
“No, no…” Rice Shower quickly shook her head, paused, and then softly said, “It’s just…
sometimes, I remember when I first met Kitano-kun…”
This sentence was like a key, opening the floodgates of memory.
Upon hearing this, Kitano’s face also showed a mix of helplessness and amusement.
“Ah…
you mean the day of enrollment.”
It really helps the fic grow!