“See you later.” “Yes, see you next time! In fact, why don’t you come over to my place right now?” “Bye-bye.” “Boo, you're so cold.” It was getting close to curfew for Suzu, so I walked her part of the way home. Suzu bowed her head, then trotted off... ...only to stop midway, turn around, and wave at me with a smile. She ran again, then stopped, waved, and ran again... “There's no need to be so sad, we'll meet again soon, right?” I said. “I don’t want to be even a single second away from you, Naoto-san! Of course, I want us to be together at night, too! And all the way until morning!” “Don’t say things like that in a residential neighborhood.” I couldn’t help but look around to see if the police were nearby. “Let’s hang out again sometime, okay?♪” Suzu seemed a little reluctant to leave, but finally, she disappeared into the distance. From here, I could see her house. I didn’t think anything like what had happened before would happen again. “Well then, I should be getting home,” I said. “Oh my?” A familiar voice reached my ears. In fact, I had just heard it a moment ago. “Koyanagi-senpai?” What kind of coincidence was this? I had run into Kojyu-senpai again. She seemed to be on her way home from shopping, a supermarket bag in hand. “Yuki-kun? I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon. What a coincidence,” she said. “You’re right. Koyanagi-senpai, were you... out shopping?” “Yeah. I live on my own, so I have to.” Just like me. “Let me carry that for you,” I offered. “Huh? You don’t need to do that.” “It looks pretty heavy, so I can’t just leave you to it. If you don’t want me to, I won’t force you, but...” “No, that’s not what I meant... um, are you sure?” “Yes.” “Well then... if you insist, I’ll take you up on your offer. I’ve been struggling with this for a while now.” With a giggle, Koyanagi-senpai handed me the bag from the supermarket.

It was pretty heavy. But it wasn’t so heavy that I couldn’t carry it. “Where to?” I asked. “Oh, yeah. This way.” I followed Koyanagi-senpai as we walked through the darkening streets. “Woudn’t a bicycle be helpfull for this kind of stuff?” I wasn’t sure what else to say, so I brought up a random topic. “Ahaha... actually, I can’t ride a bicycle...” “What, really?” “Yeah. I’ve tried practicing a few times, but...” If she can’t ride a bicycle, does that mean her physical abilities are also on the level of an elementary schooler? Wait, no. These days, elementary school kids can ride bicycles just fine, so maybe she’s in kindergarten...? Koyanagi-senpai wearing a kindergarten uniform... It might actually suit her. “Hmph... Yuki-kun, are you thinking something rude?” “No, not at all. Not even a little. You must be imagining things.” “Are you sure?” “Yes, absolutely.” “Okay, if you say so.” I managed to get out of that one easily. I’m not one to talk, but I think Koyanagi-senpai would be better off learning to be more suspicious of people. She’s too gullible. “It must be a lot of work to buy this much stuff every time,” I said. “Today is a special case. I’ve been busy, and I haven’t been able to go shopping, so I’ve had a lot to restock.” “Oh, I see. That happens sometimes, doesn’t it? I’m living on my own, too, so I know what it’s like.” “You’re living on your own, too, Yuki-kun? Ehehe, we’re living alone buddies♪” Why was she so happy about that? She had such a bright smile, like the sun. A normal person would probably misunderstand and think that she had feelings for them. “I’m glad you’re here, Yuki-kun. Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” We chatted as we walked for about twenty minutes, then arrived at a beautiful apartment building. This is as far as I should go.

I’ll just hand over the groceries and... “Yuki-kun, this way.” “Huh? Oh, okay.” Koyanagi-senpai moved to the lobby and beckoned me over with a smile. It must be because it’s so heavy, she wants me to go all the way up to her apartment, huh? It’s not a problem for me, but.. Well, I guess she’s just not very cautious. I wonder if she’s really thought through the idea of inviting a guy into her apartment. If I’m not careful, I could get myself into a lot of trouble... “Koyanagi-senpai?” “What?” “Is it really okay for me to go all the way up to your apartment?” “Of course. I can’t just let you carry all this up here without so much as a thank-you, right?” So that’s what she meant. “Um... are you sure that's okay?” “Of course. Ah, Yuki-kun, do you have any plans after this?” “That's not what I meant... Wouldn’t you normally be more cautious? I’m a guy, you know?” “That's right.” She agreed without a second thought. So it's not that she's not cautious, then? “I don’t let just anyone into my apartment, you know. It’s because I trust you, Yuki-kun.” “Have I ever done anything to earn your trust?” “You’ve helped me twice already.” “...That’s it?” “It’s more than enough.” Koyanagi-senpai said this with a smile. “People who can help others are the kind of people who care about others and think about them. I don’t think it’s right to doubt or be suspicious of people like that.” “......” “What’s wrong?” “Oh, nothing...” I couldn’t believe that someone could say something like that so seriously and sincerely. Koyanagi-senpai seemed like a childish person, despite being older than me, but... ...I realized that she could also be very mature sometimes. “Okay, this is my apartment. Come on in.” “Um... thanks for letting me in.” At this point, it would’ve been rude to refuse. I decided to steel myself and entered Koyanagi-senpai’s apartment.