The scene outside the window was a flurry of cherry blossom pink.
That's the sight I saw from the familiar hallway.
I walked a little faster, as if escaping the clamor that filled the campus.
Time flies, and this April marks my second year of university. It's my second spring as a college student.
So, this kind of scenery is something I'm used to seeing.
"So, we're heading to Harajuku now, wanna come along?"
As I rounded the corner of the hallway, I saw two flashy-looking guys talking to a girl who seemed to be a freshman. During the season of new encounters, I often come across scenes like this.
But it had absolutely nothing to do with me. I silently wished them good luck without much interest, and then I –
"No, I'm not going."
I was about to walk past, but a familiar voice made me stop.
What caught my eye was flaxen hair, a little longer than I remembered. A mid-length skirt and a spring-colored cardigan that gave off a somehow calm impression.
—It was indeed Iroha Isshiki, my junior from high school.
"Don't say that, just for a little while…"
In front of me, bewildered as to why she was here, the man was still pressing her.
It really made no sense. Isshiki's first-choice university wasn't supposed to be here.
"I said I'm not going. I have plans."
But was the girl in front of me really Iroha Isshiki?
Her eyes were sharp, glaring at the man, and her voice was as chilling as a winter hallway. The Isshiki I knew would have skillfully dodged him with something like, "Oh, that sounds fun~. But I have plans, so maybe next time~." Her current impression was so different, I wondered who it could be.
"…Ah."
But as if to confirm it wasn't a mistake, Isshiki made that sound when her eyes met mine.
"Honestly, Senpai, why are you here? Come on, let's go."
"Huh, wait…"
I was still trying to process the unexpected reunion, but Isshiki took my hand and pulled me along. Reluctantly, I followed her.
"Whoa, she's cute but has a strong personality."
"Being bossed around like that, I don't know…"
Hearing those voices behind me, I walked down the hallway even faster than before. Even after we left the school building and the men were out of sight, her hand didn't let go.
"Hey, it's fine now, right?"
"…Yeah."
Isshiki's hand suddenly let go, and a cool spring breeze brushed my wrist.
Without really thinking, we walked under the fully bloomed cherry trees. There were too many things I wanted to ask, and my mind couldn't keep up.
"Isshiki, was this university your first choice?"
"It was my second choice."
Isshiki answered in a calm voice, completely different from before, as if it were nothing.
All I knew about Isshiki's university entrance exam information was that she had passed her first-choice university. I had assumed she would go there.
"Then, why?"
"Don't you understand?"
My pure question was returned with a question.
Cherry blossom petals crossed my vision at regular intervals, as if counting down the answerable time.
"…I don't."
"Then I'll make you understand."
Saying that, Isshiki finally smiled.
But it wasn't the cutesy, devilish kind, but a kind I had never seen before.
"Well then, shall we go?"
"Huh…? Go where?"
Right now, I was just being used as an excuse to decline being picked up.
Even if she said that, I had nowhere to go.
"To Senpai's house, of course?"
My high school junior, who was now my university junior, said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
—---------------
After getting off the train at the nearest station to my apartment, we stopped by a supermarket on the way.
After Isshiki finished shopping, she walked home with heavy bags in both hands. Soon, a dilapidated apartment building, over thirty years old, came into view.
"So this is Senpai's house…"
As soon as she entered the room I rented, Isshiki said, "Excuse me," and looked around the whole place.
…There's nothing suspicious, right? I got a little worried, but adult content is mostly digital these days. By the way, if she checked my phone, I'd die.
Isshiki came out of the bathroom, a relieved smile on her face.
"Then, I'll borrow the kitchen."
"Ah, yes…"
Apparently, Isshiki was going to make dinner… but that act didn't seem to answer my question at all.
Soon, the sound of a spatula hitting the frying pan and the smell of ketchup heating up reached me. The six-mat room, which served as both bedroom and living room, was filled with a rhythm and smell of life that weren't mine.
"Thanks for waiting~"
With that voice, she brought over a fluffy, gooey omurice. This kind of choice made me think, "This is the Isshiki I know."
"Oh, thanks."
After seeing Isshiki sit to my left, I quietly said "Itadakimasu" and took a bite.
The egg of the freshly made, hot omurice was faintly sweet, and the ketchup rice had a pleasant tang. It was as delicious as it looked.
"Delicious…"
"Hehe."
I heard a somewhat childish, innocent giggle, and I instinctively looked at Isshiki.
What in the world was wrong with her? She was cold to the guys who tried to pick her up, but strangely devoted to me.
"Hey, what happened?"
I felt like I would miss my chance if I didn't ask now, so I asked her directly.
"You're acting a little, no, very strange. Just now, you could have easily dodged those kinds of guys, right?"
Isshiki looked down at her omurice and quietly put her spoon in. I didn't know how much of my words reached her.
"I thought, 'I can't go on like this.'"
After saying that, Isshiki took a mouthful of the golden-colored dish. After swallowing that bite, she continued.
"I wasn't planning on waiting, but it's hard to get noticed. And I wondered if my people-pleasing attitude was why you weren't getting closer."
"Huh…"
"So, I decided to focus on one target. A rabbit only chases one rabbit."
"Oh, really…"
…I see? I didn't understand at all.
It was abstract, or conceptual, like a riddle that didn't convey anything.
"So, here."
Saying that, Isshiki put her spoon into the omurice again. For some reason, it was my plate. And a spoonful of omurice was brought to my mouth.
"Should I say 'Ahn'?"
"No, I can… munch!"
She pushed the spoon in without question, and I instinctively took it into my mouth. This spoon, Isshiki-san used this…
"Do you understand why I've changed?"
"No, not at all…"
"Oh, I forgot to put ketchup on it."
Isshiki said that out of nowhere and started drizzling ketchup on my omurice.
The red, like paint, squeezed out. A vermillion heart shape was drawn on the vivid yellow—
"Still don't understand even with this?"
"Um, Isshiki-san…?"
Her smiling face was finally the familiar, devilish one.
And her voice was as sweet and light as an angel's.
At times like this, I thought, it was time to borrow that famous line.
"Just what in the world is going to happen to me now~?!"
================
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