My and Karasuma’s time to hang out at the Student Council with Akiya-senpai and Higashiguchi-senpai had come to an end before we could realize it.

After Akiya-senpai left the Council’s room, Higashiguchi-senpai and I followed suit and walked up the stairs to sit on a small bench on the landing. That way, we wouldn’t disturb Karasuma’s nap with our talking.

Unexpectedly enough, no one was to be seen in the hallway other than me and him, and it was silent in its entirety the whole time (Reminder that all the classrooms in Sakudai are soundproof). No trace of Akiya-senpai either.

Anyways, while it was still lunch break, we discussed my overall impressions on the school so far with Higashiguchi-senpai, and he also gave me some really important advice on how the teachers here do their job, which was surprisingly a pretty detailed and enlightening analysis I never could have seen coming.

When I say ‘detailed’, I don’t mean that he talked just about the way they teach; he also happens to know a lot of things about their lives. Not anything extremely personal or anything, just what you’d hear from gossips among the teachers.

BUT LET’S NOT FORGET HE’S ACTUALLY A STUDENT!

Needless to say that I have forgotten everything he said but one thing: That Nashimoto-sensei, my homeroom teacher, is on the edge of giving up on finding the ‘woman of his dreams’, as Higashiguchi-senpai described it.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that lunch break was almost over by the time he was done speaking about AAAAAAAALL those gossips. You could hear our conversation from beginning to end and easily understand that it was almost completely one-sided in Higashiguchi-senpai’s favor the entire time.

This info was split almost evenly into his thoughts and his talking, with the former making me want to say out loud, 'Good Lord, I must never become like that.'

But no, that’s not when everything came to an end; in this school, someone just has to appear to put the icing on the cake.

Shortly after the bell to indicate the end of lunch break rang, we both climbed down the stairs, when Akiya-senpai suddenly appeared in front of us out of nowhere. Whilst taking deep breaths, Higashiguchi-senpai and I were left wondering where she even came from, because neither of us saw her approaching.

After a dozen seconds of catching her breath, Akiya-senpai told us that she was at the rooftop ever since she left the Council room.

‘So what was she doing at the rooftop?’, you might be asking yourselves, and the answer is simple: Talking on the phone with Eru-senpai.

For some reason, she didn’t hear the bell because she was too focused on the call, aand Eru-senpai —who probably heard it over the phone— had to remind her of it.

I’ll quote Higashiguchi-senpai on this: ‘IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?!’

At first, it seemed completely pointless to me to even go to the rooftop just for a phone call. I mean, she could have just talked in the hallway or even the stairs like we did; no one was there anyway, so she would be the only one hearing herself.

Akiya-senpai went as far as to explain to me what her thinking was: ‘Since the weather is relatively cold today, a sane person wouldn’t go to the rooftop to eat or hang out with their bunch.'

Yet she herself went all the way up there…

'Think about it: A whole rooftop just for one person. And I didn’t even mention the scenery from such a high place yet, did I! It would be the perfect chance to talk to someone, even over the phone. Sounds absolutely wonderful, doesn’t it, Yanagisawa-kun?’

The scenery from the rooftop must be amazing indeed. It’s the 4th floor to a school that has a panoramic view of almost all of Shimoda, from the entire city to the hills and forests around the school to the vast blue ocean surrounding Shimoda, expanding as far as the eye can see; who would want to miss a view like that?

Oh, it seems I haven’t mentioned a thing about Shimoda yet, have I?

Shimoda is a small city south of Kawazu, and where Sakudai is located. The school is not really in the city, but it’s not far from it either. By bus, it should take about 15 minutes to get to Shimoda’s center.

To not get into too much detail, I’ll explain as simply as possible: Kawazu is a great place to find some peace of mind since you’ll be surrounded by natural attractions no matter where you look, but if you want to hang out with someone to check out a ton of places and have some fun and grab a good bite while you’re at it, then Shimoda is the better place for these. That doesn’t go to say that Kawazu has nothing that Shimoda does (like cafés or fancy restaurants, for instance), but Shimoda offers a wider variety of these than Kawazu.

Cultural education aside, I was talking about Akiya-senpai’s motive behind going to the rooftop for a mere phone call; honestly, she had considered so many factors to achieve the perfect situation for that, and she did actually achieve it. No ordinary person would have crafted such a detailed plan for a mere phone call.

‘It would make for a good setting for a confession to happen though,’ Akiya-senpai continued. ‘Imagine the girl, who just got confessed to, being exposed to this harsh, cold weather —and preferably after a cold breeze blows— seeking refuge for warmness in the courageous and embarrassed boy’s arms. "I-I have always loved you t-too, Unnecessarily Extended Romantic Interest-kun…" Wooooooooo, I’m getting shivers just thinking about something so romantic~~’ she fidgeted.

I said ‘ordinary person’, please keep this at the back of your head…

Regardless, it seems that Eru-senpai is feeling better, judging from what Karasuma and Akiya-senpai told me. This should signal her comeback tomorrow or the day after.

Following that, all 3 of us returned to the Council room for our own purposes; I returned to leave with Karasuma for class, Higashiguchi-senpai for the stuff he brought with him, and Akiya-senpai…well…she never told us, did she?

Wait a moment…

If Akiya-senpai was on duty today and she just left the room without giving a second thought, what would anyone think if they saw a girl sleeping in plain sight with no one else in the room?!

What’s even worse, I even kept Higashiguchi-senpai occupied when he could have covered up for her!

HOW WILL WE KNOW IF THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED?!

In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to ask them that… Neither of the two seemed panicked or anything, so it was something that they wouldn’t (and by extension, I probably shouldn’t either) be worried about, I guess?

Karasuma also had woken up around that time, probably because of the bell that had rung a couple minutes earlier.

As soon as we opened the door, we saw a half-asleep Karasuma squinting to read the card Akiya-senpai left for her. When she noticed us, she flashed a bright smile with all the strength she had as thanks for taking care of her while she was asleep (I didn’t even do anything at all though…)

However, the next part was really uncalled for.

The first thing that came to our attention when we looked at her was her fuzzy bedhair, which would have been ever fuzzier if she didn’t have it tied into a ponytail. None of us could really hold ourselves back with what we were seeing, leading to Karasuma pouting harder than ever before. ‘Geez, it’s not polite to laugh at a girl’s bedhair!’ she kept saying, but we could all barely control our laughter.

Of course, Akiya-senpai saw this as a chance to spoil her, so she started stroking Karasuma’s hair from the side while also straightening it, which looked like it had a ear-like flap on one side.

Karasuma’s frown was turned upside down in a matter of seconds, and her ahoge —which was fuzzy as well— suddenly stood up like an antenna in response to Akiya-senpai’s spoiling.

In all honesty, I never imagined someone would come up with such a handy way of straightening hair, but in this school, anything and everything must be possible…

Both of them decided to stay in the room a bit to fix Karasuma’s hair, so me and Higashiguchi-senpai left to head to our classes and prepare for the post-lunch break lessons.

Well, that was pretty much it. That was all that happened during lunch break. Everything else was rather normal compared to all the rather bizarre occurrences that happened today. If anything that became new to my routine ought to be pointed out, it’s that I hung out with the twins during the rest of the breaks, and Karasuma joined us in one of them as well.

And now for the epilogue; or rather, the punchline: I don’t even know what I should brace myself for for these next 3 years I’m going to be spending in this school, because something will always be there to catch me off-guard no matter what.

Time: 3:58 PM

Now, classes have ended, so me and Karasuma are on the bus that's taking us both home. She wanted to sit in the galley, and having no complaints whatsoever, I agreed with her idea.

So what are we doing? Well, since my mother texted me just now to head over to the store after school, I’m texting her back. Of course, it would have been rude of me to not ask Karasuma first if she would mind me spending a bit of time replying to her.

She, on the other hand…I suppose she’s just looking outside the bus’ window to kill some time.

Her expression is definitely not something you can call delighted, but it’s not sad either. You could call it more neutral than not, much like a poker face.

No, wait… Maybe she’s being a little…grumpy?

It might be my fault she’s like that right now, but there’s not much I can do about it when I’m busy, right? I mean, she would probably do the same thing if she were in my shoes.

Heaving a sigh, she fixes her gaze on me now. "What time is it?"

"3:59."

"You’re kidding, right?" she gives me an emotionless look with her reply.

"See for yourself then."

I handed over my phone to her just so she would believe me.

Quietly looking at it, it’s not long before she realizes that I wasn’t lying before.

Her shocked expression is just priceless comedy gold. Her eyes are opened widely and then her mouth, stammering incomprehensible things.

To my surprise, she manages to contain her ‘shock’ after a few seconds and calmly gives me my phone back.

Although, now is the moment the true terror begins: With her eyes tightly closed, a huge, wry smile suddenly emerges on her face, and a sense of irrational fear manifests around her.

Seconds pass. No reaction to be given. Her expression remains still. The situation seems like it has frozen in time. I’m starting to lose the ground below my feet as the uneasiness of her expression penetrates my very soul. I can only feel my heart beating faster and faster, waiting for her reaction at the edge of my seat. Every inch of me is ready to be jumpscared.

Any.

Moment.

Now.

She finally snaps: "YOU WEREN’T KIDDING!"

"…OF COURSE I WASN’T!"

"IT’S OKAY TO LIE ONCE IN A WHILE, THOUGH!"

"W-Why would I even lie about time…?"

"You just don’t get it, do you, Taichi-san?"

I believe you should have already seen this coming, but her reaction to my reply was followed by a huge pout and an annoyed "Geez!" with a lot of Karasuma dressing, right before she returned to looking outside the window.

What has even happened to her? Could it be that when she’s bored, she loses her excitement really easily?

This is the case with Saki for the most part, so it wouldn’t hurt assuming it’s the same for her as well. Then again, Saki is just a child, which does explain her mood swings pretty rationally, but Karasuma, on the other han—

How does comparing an 11-year-old and a 16-year-old girl with the exact same personality even do this situation any justice?!

I just hope she’s not mad at me or something…

"K-Karasuma, purely hypothetically speaking, are you bored, by any chance?"

"Of course I am!" is her almost instantaneous reply.

SHE’S NOT EVEN DENYING IT!

"Having nothing to do is worse than—! Um…than… …What was I about to say…?"

I’m sure I’m not the right person to ask for that!

She is trying to get something across, but from the looks of it, she can’t find the right words to say it.

"Anyway, it’s bad for my well-being!"

"Yeah, I can get this much…"

Dealing with a person whose mood changes drastically depending on their interests is easier said than done. When you can’t really help them with finding that something they’re looking for, it’s not child’s play to distract them from their boredom completely, no?

Hold on a moment… If that’s the case, then all I have to do is bring up something that interests her, and she will instantly get passionate about it! That’s how things work, right?

RIGHT?!

"U-Um… There must be something that can cheer you up. Like...um… You will get to see your parents after an entire day, so there’s a chance to look on the bright side! Not to mention that your sister will be feeling right as rain as well!"

Gently putting her hand over the window, a look that blatantly spells out that she’s given up all hope is reflected on it. "Where’s the bright side if you aren’t able to do anything?"

"DON’T SET UP SUCH A COOL MOOD JUST TO SOUND DEPRESSED!"

So much for my genius plan…!

She is exactly like Saki in this respect as well. Once Saki’s boredom kicks in, there’s nothing that can be done about it unless you give her exactly what she wants.

I have tried everything, yet I have failed; this is the end of the line for my help. This situation is deemed hopeless by all means!

‘AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! My parents, of course!’ cries Karasuma in her thoughts, loudly like a little child while bumping her fist on her palm.

The combination of her shouting like that in her thoughts and her straight face is kind of tickling my funny bone. If I laugh though, she might start wondering what I found so hilarious that I couldn’t hold myself back, resulting in a heap of questions being headed towards me, and then Karasuma’s persistence will kick in and force me to answer, leading to me basically giving her hints about my ability…

I’m better off not laughing at all, aren't I!

While we’re at it, I should probably explain why I said ‘shouting’ instead of anything else: All the thoughts I hear aren’t transmitted in the same volume.

If I am talking casually with Karasuma, let's say, I wouldn't normally be very loud. Perhaps I'd be so loud as for Karasuma to hear what I was saying. That would mean that Satoru, who is a few meters away from us, wouldn't hear what I was saying perfectly fine, unlike Karasuma, who is much closer. Should my loudness increase though, Satoru would be able to hear me much clearer.

Following the same principle, my ability takes Satoru's place. When Karasuma thought that ‘AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA’, she was loud enough to make my head ache a little, much like having a muted speaker right next to you suddenly turned up at full volume.

Karasuma quickly turns to look at me in the eye. "I can’t wait to see what Mum and Dad got me from Tokyo, fufufu!" her expression becomes smug.

SO THAT’S ALL IT TOOK TO CHEER YOU UP?!

"They just went to Tokyo though, nothing more, nothing less…"

"My my, Taichi-san, how ignorant can you be? Not getting a girl delicacies when going to Tokyo is like saying that taking a bath without water is normal. It’s a souvenir. A SOU-VE-NIR!"

"IS FOOD ALL YOU HAVE IN MIND?!"

"Tehehe…"

Seeing her reply that way only makes me sigh deeply. "I bet you’d be fine with delicacies and SOU-VE-NIRS from anywhere..."

"Well…you won that bet."

"I’m not feeling the least proud of this achievement!"

"Tough luck, I guess," she shrugs her shoulders.

"R-Right…"

However, I can’t say that it didn’t make me beam a faint smile.

I’m kind of relieved actually. Seeing her grumpy really made me feel bad that I couldn’t cheer her up, but in the end, she solved her own problem by being herself; nothing out of the ordinary for her personality.

While on the topic of things being out of the ordinary, the following stroke me as odd just now: The graveyard-like emptiness of buses of this line is somehow no longer here.

I could swear that Karasuma and I were the only people on this bus up until now, but for some reason, there are at least 3 dozens of students from Sakudai for sure. Almost all of the seats on the bus —mostly in the front— are taken.

I have a clear memory of how many people were on this bus yesterday morning and today on our way here: Me and the driver, plus Karasuma yesterday.

How could this be even possible? Probably because I had other, more important things to deal with, namely Karasuma’s boredom? Might as well be thanks to that.

If that’s the reason, it could mean that I got too absorbed into it that I unconsciously ignored my surroundings. After all, I was with Karasuma from the moment school ended, so it is highly plausible that this theory perfectly explain why and how this happened in the first place.

But that still leaves one thing unanswered: Why are there so many Sakudai students right here, right now?

Karasuma doesn’t seem surprised about this. Does that mean that she knows what is going on here? Was she just not shocked because it’s something that actually happens in this route?

Either way, I can only resort to ask Karasuma for details. I just have to ask her properly and kindly, and she will answer accordingly.

"WE HAVEN’T GOTTEN ON THE WRONG BUS, HAVE WE?!"

THIS DEFINITELY ISN’T THE DEFINITION OF PROPERLY AND KINDLY!

How did it even come out that way?! Now she might think I’m panicked or something!

Wait, she’s…looking out the window…

How am I even supposed to interpret that?!

Noticing on the window’s reflection that I’m looking at her, she turns around.

"Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention, did you say something, Taichi-san?" she gives me a petite, innocent smile.

She was in her own little world, thank God…

Okay okay, take 2. I have to sound more curious than concerned about this.

"Was this line always full of students?"

Phew, I nailed it!

"Not for the last year or so."

WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?!

"Then what is this commotion?"

Her eyebrows are raised for a split second. So, to answer my question, she takes a quick look at the front. "Aah, this commotion! You took this bus to go home yesterday, right?"

"Yeah," I nod. "But I was asleep the whole time."

‘HE GOT HERE SLEEPWALKING?! I need to learn a lot from him!’ she nods to herself twice, muttering, "Note to self: Taichi-san is quite incredible at times!"

What do you mean ‘at times’?! And how did the sleepwalking thing even cross your mind?!

"Anyway, the route is the same, so it goes through Shimoda’s main road."

"But why take the bus instead of the train? The train station is just behind the school, and Shimoda’s station is in the center of the city, so isn’t it faster if they take the train?"

"Not everyone is in the mood to walk from the train station, Taichi-san. Shimoda isn’t that tiny a place. I already mentioned that it goes through the main road, but it stops at the most crowded places in the city before leaving it, so there are a lot of students who would naturally prefer it over the train, which has only a stop in the center. As for the rest of the students that don’t want to get off at Shimoda, they usually just take the train instead."

"I see, that makes a lot of sense."

In all honestly, I was way too dumb to not think of this earlier…

WHY DO I FEEL SO EMBARRASSED ABOUT MY IGNORANCE RIGHT NOW?!

"Speaking of which, it’s still 4, do you want to hang out for a bit here? You know, to see how it feels like, get to know each other better—"

"Sorry, I can’t."

"YOU SURE KNOW HOW TO RUIN THE MOOD!"

LOOK WHO’S TALKING!

She was the one who set up such a neat mood just to bring it down with some slapstick comedy trope that doesn’t really work in real life, wasn’t she?!

"My energy supplies are so low from my spring break schedule that I can barely manage to last the day…" I accidentally let out a yawn. "I’m not really the type that can adjust easily to changing a sleeping schedule. Waking up today at 6:50 compared to my usual 10 or 11 will be hell for some days now, maybe even weeks…"

I shouldn’t even mention that I was ready to fall asleep in class during the first 3 periods, should I…?

"What’s that supposed to mean?! What’s that schedule thing supposed to mean?! Why can’t you be energetic whenever you want?! You won’t die on me again, will you?!" Karasuma grabs me from the shoulders and shakes me.

"Haha… Hahaha…"

That’s the only way I could find to respond to her, because taking the time to answer every single question would only branch out a dozen more —which I would have to also answer.

It’s the same as before; if I don’t give her a straight answer, she won’t stop asking. There’s nothing serious to hide this time though, so again, I’m taking the easy way out of this endless question inducing hell.

"In any case, sorry for turning you down. I’ll make sure to make it up to you as soon as I can."

"No no, please don’t apologize for something like that! It’s my fault for not letting you know beforehand!"

"Then all you need to do is to just tell me whenever you feel like it."

"Mm-hm! I’ll take you up on that!" she nods cheerfully, an obvious and radiant smile being formed on her face.

Guess I have one more thing to not forget right now. Now then, there is one question I have to ask myself: When should I go out with Karas—

WAIT.

THIS WON’T BE A DATE, RIGHT?!

I’ve never gone out with a girl that’s not a relative, so why am I feeling so anxious?! We will be just going out to have fun! Just that!

CALM DOWN, TAICHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

‘Oh man, I really wish Taichi-san would be in my class… No matter what I say, he just goes along with it without complaining.’

It’s not just Karasuma; I’d be like that to anyone. It’s my style, my niche, call it whatever you want. I just enjoy talking about anything. Never once have I declined having a conversation with someone.

‘He would be a great way to kill time!’

AND NOW IS PROBABLY THE PERFECT TIME TO CHANGE MY IDEALS!

My ability just knows when the right moment to make me feel sorry about myself will come…!

This could make a good topic though. After all, we still don’t know anything about each other’s classes.

"By the way, Karasuma, did you end up with someone you know in class?"

"Just Fukuda-san. For better or worse, none of my classmates from junior high even applied to Sakudai…"

"T-That’s unfortunate…"

"It is unfortunate! Fukuda-san is sitting on the other side of the classroom! It’s hard to talk to her without getting noticed!"

I wasn’t even referring to that! Don’t twist my own words!

And if she’s that far away, how do you think she could even hear you if you aren’t loud?! It’s common sense!

"But you ended up in the same class as her, huh? Good for you.’

Is it actually good though?

Karasuma and Fukuda-san seem like a deadly duo on their own. One is a prankster and the other is a risk-taker… And we have the Irisu twins to rival them… Who will take out whom first?

"You won’t believe what she did yesterday though!" she slams down the seat.

"She did climb a tree and get down safe and sound without dropping a sweat, yes, I saw that first-handedly."

"I’m not talking about that!"

"She did more?!"

I shouldn’t get my hopes up on Fukuda-san not doing something absurd, should I? Recalling what she’s done so far, there was the kitten incident I just mentioned yesterday, and today she was running like tomorrow wouldn’t come during breaks…

"It’s story time, Taichi-san!"

The serious look on her face makes this all the more amusing. I’m genuinely more interested in how overexaggerated her storytelling will be than the actual story itself.

"I’m all ears," I reply with a confident smile.

"You see, something starting meowing and purring in class yesterday, right when our homeroom teacher came in."

"Is that all?"

"And then her shirt suddenly unbuttoned itself and a kitty popped out of her breasts."

"HOW DOES THIS EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE?!"

"I don’t know either, but what I’m telling you is what happened, word for word!"

Something does seem awfully off here…

When I asked Fukuda-san where she would be keeping that kitten, did she really shove it in her breasts?!

THAT WAS HER GRAND IDEA YESTERDAY?!

Come to think of it though, even if I don’t want to admit it, Fukuda-san’s well-endowed to keep the kitten in there, so it wasn’t really that bad a choice.

UNLESS SHE WANTED TO ASPHYXIATE IT UNDER HER UNIFORM OR SOMETHING, OF COURSE.

It’s a miracle it came out of there alive, let alone how it didn’t meow during the entrance ceremony or even before homeroom started…

"Thankfully for Fukuda-san, our homeroom teacher was lenient enough to let her off just this time as long as she took care of it."

"So what, did she keep it during class or something?"

"Of course not! Not that I can blame you for thinking that, but that’s the least reasonable solution in this case! She just asked Fukuda-san to take it somewhere, but no one knows where the teacher told her to go.''

"Lucky you… From what I could get, yours is really kind, tolerant and understanding, but ours is a depressed one in his 30s whose luck with women is inexistent… His girlfriend even broke up with him over the phone during class yesterday."

"Sounds like you’ll be having it rough this year, hehehe…"

Tell me about it! Even the mood changes and becomes depressing when he enters the class, and all that goes away for some reason when he leaves!

‘There’s no hope left for me either, is there…?’ she thinks in a despondent voice of reason.

What does she have on her mind now, thinking like that...?

She can’t mean that, can she…?

Instinctually, my eyes fall on her moderate chest, and a sudden flash of Fukuda-san’s chest crosses my mind.

Karasuma is lacking a bit on that compared to Fukuda-san, and the difference is blatantly obvious. No offense to either, of course, but both nature and Karasuma herself admit it…

But hang in there, Karasuma, the future has you covered! Probably!

"What about you, Taichi-san? Did you meet anyone you knew?"

"I knew Satoru from middle school, but he’s basically the only one."

"So you got to know the Irisu twins because they’re also in your class?"

"That’s right. There’s this one girl though you know that you haven’t met in person."

"NOW I’M CURIOUS!"

After taking a deep breath, I mutter the name of that remaining student; the very same person that stole the spotlight in the ceremony, the one she knows, yet she doesn’t:

"Ichijou Maria."

For the rest of the route, Karasuma couldn’t stop bombarding me with questions about my class, which probably stemmed from her unexpected enthusiasm from learning that Ichijou-san is in the same class as me.

Of course, she kept cornering me on answering questions I didn’t know the answer to at all.

Observation #8: When curiosity falls upon Karasuma, it gets the best of her. The only way to cure it is to simply fulfill it.

Kawazu starts becoming visible in the distance from the scenery clearing up because of all the trees hiding it along the way, I get up from my seat to ready myself to get off.

This view, the coastline of Kawazu and the numerous mountains behind it, is similar to none. I’ve crossed this road and seen the same view a million times, but it never gets old or boring to look at; instead, it is a calming sight I can’t get enough of.

"Taichi-san, you’re getting off at the next stop?"

"Yeah. I have to run an errand before going home. Just for today though. On a normal day, I get off outside my house."

From the 2 stops I take in Kawazu, the one at the train station is my morning one, while the one outside my house is the after-school one.

"But…T-Taichi-san…" she looks at me with puppy eyes, having already taken a fitting, kind of squatting position, much like the one you would see a dog take when it asks for something, only more modest. "Are you…abandoning me…?"

Thanks to the combination of her side bangs that resemble a bloodhound or beagle’s ears, her downward ahoge and shimmering sapphire eyes, Karasuma was able to pull off a puppy look like it’s nothing. I don’t think any random person could do that, making this quite the commendable feat.

Clap clap.

Well…now that I look at her, I dare say that maybe, just maybe, she is kinda cu—

"Woof," goes Karasuma.

"NO WOOFS!"

My heart was ready to skip a beat there, thank God that she ruined the moment… It would probably have been too late for my feelings to go back if she hadn’t…

Is this the so-called 『Little Sister Moe Factor』!?

Nah, who am I kidding, this isn’t a light novel or an anime or anything. These things don’t exist in real life, do they?

BUT HOW DO I EXPLAIN WHAT I JUST SAW OTHERWISE?!

I suddenly feel something pulling my sleeve gently; it’s Karasuma’s hand.

"Taichi-san, don’t leave me. You know, I’m in my rebelling years—"

"You already used that same joke yesterday, it won’t work twice… It’s not even a good excuse to begin with…"

"Tch, party-killer,’ she clicks her tongue.

"I HEARD THAT!"

Amused by my clichéd response, she laughs heartedly: "And I was hoping for that!"

Even if I’ve known her for only a couple days, her replying this way doesn’t surprise me at all. If anything, it makes me feel at ease. I can’t pinpoint why, but it just does.

The bus is only a few meters away from my stop now, which is —conveniently enough— right outside my parents’ convenience store. This should explain why I can say approximately how far the bus is from it.

I press the ‘STOP’ button to let the driver know I’m getting off here.

"Taichi-san."

As Karasuma calls out to me, I turn around.

I’m a bit caught by surprise by her yet again: Her right hand is extended, holding up a fist. Despite this kind of macho gesture, a warm smile is carved on her face.

"A fist bump?" I wonder as I mutter that to myself.

"It’s become quite popular with the girls as well, you know. Now, bump it."

I’m a bit hesitant on this because I don’t know how much force I should put into my fist. If a guy fist bumps a guy, usually each side knows how much force to put, for one reason or another. But now that I have to fist bump Karasuma, a girl, should I hold back or not? Will a little force be sufficient or will she think I’m mocking her?

‘BUMP IT ALREADY! YOU’LL MISS YOUR STOP! DOESN'T TAKE A GENIUS TO THINK OF THAT!’

Okay okay, gimme a break…

"L-Like this?"

In the end, I used as little force as I possibly could…

"Why are you holding back, Taichi-san? I’m not made of salt, give it your all!" she pulls back her arm a few inches. "Like this!" she says passionately, and her fist bumps into mine with considerably more force than I did, which felt almost like a guy’s.

Our fists remain connected for 3-4 seconds or so, and neither of us is taking the initiative to break that connection.

The bus’ speed slowly decreases; that was the cue for us to say our goodbyes for today.

"Say hi to Saki-chan for me!"

"Sure thing."

"As if you could reply otherwise!"

"You just want to be salty, don’t you!"

Wait, did she mention salt before because she wanted to be called ‘salty’?! Talk about thinking ahead of things!

I hear the doors open. I have to get off now.

The one that breaks the connection ultimately is me.

Unlike what I expected of her, she’s retaining the same smile from before. I thought her expression would change a bit, become sadder and helpless; something along those lines.

But no, she’s perfectly happy from head to toe.

"See you tomorrow, Karasuma," I say as I get off the bus.

There’s no way someone like Karasuma would just look away from a person before she can’t spot them anymore.

And my hunch is right; she is lightly waving her hand at me, and I respond the same way. "See you tomorrow!" she says, but because the windows are closed, this comes from my mediocre lip-reading abilities. I’m sure it can’t be anything else given the context.

After a single minute, the bus had disappeared from my field of vision for good.

Because I was just standing at the stop though, I got a tad scolded by my mum —who was looking at me for that entire minute from the counter— for…well…just standing there…

All in all, it would be a lie to say that I don’t miss Karasuma a bit already.