Although Sena Ajisai's gaze appeared wonderfully kind, Kazama Haru inexplicably felt a sudden chill race down his spine.
His instincts screamed that if he didn't explain the origin of the pink hair on his clothes clearly, he might face an extremely tragic outcome.
"Uh... that... it should be that kind of situation..."
Kazama Haru's mind worked overtime: "You see, don't I take the train several stops every day? So, the train gets so crowded—it's totally normal for a few strands of hair to fall onto me when a girl accidentally bumps against me, right?"
As he spoke, his fingers, accompanying his hasty explanation, trembled ever so slightly.
His confidence was clearly lacking.
"Oh~" Ajisai deliberately drew out her syllable: "Sou desu ka. I thought perhaps Haru-chan accidentally got it on him while happily going on a date with some pink-haired girl after school."
*I see/Is that so?
"For example, when playing video games side-by-side, due to excessive movement, they accidentally leaned on each other's shoulders or something..."
Kazama Haru's smile froze on his face.
If Sena Ajisai couldn't find employment after graduation, he would definitely recommend her to become a detective.
"Ahaha, just kidding~ Haru-chan, why do you look so flustered?"
Seemingly amused by Kazama Haru's frantic and flustered expression, Ajisai could no longer maintain her serious demeanor, covering her mouth with a soft giggle, laughing so hard her body swayed, and her full chest also bounced vigorously with each breath.
"Phew." Kazama Haru was also infected by her pleasant laughter and released a sigh of relief.
The two walked to the sofa and sat down side-by-side. The TV was playing a funny variety show that Sena Ajisai had been watching while waiting for Kazama Haru to return home.
On the screen, the popular comedian Wakaba, who was beloved by young women everywhere, was performing with tremendous effort. Both the live studio audience and Kazama Haru and Ajisai outside the screen were laughing heartily at his humorous performance.
Amidst their unrestrained laughter, their shoulders unconsciously drew closer and closer, almost touching.
Their hearts, too, aligned to the same frequency after such a long time apart.
By the time the show reached its end, the night outside had deepened into darkness.
In Kazama Haru's ears, the incessant chirping of cicadas became increasingly grating, as if reminding them that the time for their brief separation had arrived.
"Ah, mou~ it's been so long since I've laughed this happily." Sena Ajisai reluctantly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
If they were purely tears of joy, they seemed somewhat excessive.
Kazama Haru's tone also carried a happy reminiscence: "Aa, truly, I feel like I completely forgot all my worries in that short time just now."
Immediately after, he sighed with a touch of melancholy: "Speaking of which, I can't remember how long ago it was since I last watched a show happily with Ajisai like this. It's really... nostalgic."
Listening to Kazama Haru say such words himself, Sena Ajisai's body imperceptibly paused for a moment.
A sourness, like biting into an unripe green apple, pierced through her without warning, and her eyes quietly became stained with a tender reddish hue.
If she hadn't been afraid of affecting Kazama Haru's hard-won relaxed mood, she might really have been unable to stop herself from bursting into tears.
Taking a deep breath to suppress her soaring heart rate, and then secretly pinching her palm to tame her constantly trembling limbs, Ajisai finally managed to suppress the urge to cry.
However, her actions, which she believed were secret, did not escape Kazama Haru's eyes.
Due to the existence of [Shooting Game (LV3)], both his dynamic vision and his observation of subtle details had far exceeded the level of ordinary people by an unknown magnitude.
With this ability, he could clearly discern, through detailed observation, what fragile emotions the seemingly strong and gentle girl before him was hiding.
Kazama Haru couldn't ignore this.
So, with almost no hesitation, he stared intently into Ajisai's beautiful brown eyes and softly asked:
"Ajisai, do you... have something on your mind?"
"Something on my mind..." Sena Ajisai was startled by his question, and soon that heartbreaking smile reappeared on her face: "I'm already very content to have spent such a joyful time with Haru-chan."
"That's not an answer." Kazama Haru stared unblinkingly into her eyes. If it were merely emotion stemming from nostalgia, the redness around her eyes shouldn't be so widespread.
She must be suppressing other negative emotions internally, which is why she felt a hint of sadness even in such a happy setting.
To compel her to tell the truth, Kazama Haru leaned closer, staring directly into Ajisai's eyes from a nearer distance.
According to psychology techniques from books, such close eye contact makes the person being stared at feel tremendous pressure, making them more likely to confess the truth.
Sure enough—now Ajisai's face was not only getting redder, but even her breathing became noticeably rapid, and she even started emitting intermittent, unconscious hums.
She looked like she was about to succumb to the pressure and confess everything.
During this time, various conjectures also flashed through Kazama Haru's mind.
Could it be that she encountered bullying at school?
No, not to mention that no one would dislike Ajisai's angelic and easygoing personality—even if some thoughtless brute dared to cause her trouble, the surrounding classmates would never allow it.
Then what else could it be? Not enough pocket money? If that were the case, he could—
"Ha-Haru-chan, too close!"
Ajisai finally couldn't bear such a "high-pressure" atmosphere. After a cute whimper like a wounded small animal, she gently placed her soft palm on Kazama Haru's chest, pushing him back slightly.
No longer requiring his wild guesses, Ajisai stammered and spoke up:
"A-Actually, just as Haru-chan said, recently, my mood has indeed... not been very good."
"Mainly, my younger brothers are too noisy. Haru-chan, you know my family's situation. Because it's a dual-income household, I have to help Okaa-san take care of them."
Although she had been hesitant about whether to continue speaking, seeing Kazama Haru's encouraging gaze, Ajisai's desire to express herself quietly strengthened a bit:
"This way, I... I can't go out and have fun... or go out and earn pocket money like Haru-chan."
What she kept hidden in her heart and didn't say was that when she spoke of going out to have fun or working, most of it pointed to doing so with Kazama Haru.
Yes, Sena Ajisai had always wanted to accompany Kazama Haru at work, wanting to wipe his sweat and support him the very moment he felt tired.
She also wanted to gain free time to embark on a grand adventure with this childhood friend, with whom she had grown up but never truly explored alongside, and create countless happy memories together.
Kazama Haru fell silent. He was all too familiar with Sena's family situation and had no right to interfere.
At the same time, he didn't want to offer useless platitudes like, "Oh, that's tough, Ajisai, ganbatte."
*Cheer up/ do your best.
Just as he was struggling with what to do, Ajisai stood up, ending the stifling atmosphere.
"Ah, I accidentally said something strange. Well, it's getting late, so I'll head back now."
Kazama Haru nodded and stood up, still courteously seeing her to the genkan before slowly returning inside.
…
Lying in bed, Ajisai's melancholic expression lingered in his mind, refusing to fade.
"Family, huh..." Kazama Haru gave a bitter smile.
Although Ajisai had for the first time clearly expressed a substantial wish in front of him, the family factors involved were not something he, an outsider, could easily interfere with.
After all, everyone cannot choose their own family, and in the end, people can only live in the environment they were born into...
So, Kazama Haru decided to think about the problem from its essence.
Ajisai's wish was actually to gain the freedom to control her time, to go out and have fun, and to do all the things she loved.
So, could he transcend the mental limitation of " family " to fulfill her wish?
Kazama Haru silently noted this idea, deciding to start from this point to help the kind-hearted angel...