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==============
"Senpai."
That morning began with a familiar voice.
"It's already ten o'clock."
"Mm... Ahh..."
My voice was hoarse as I replied. I slowly got up from the bed, raking my fingers through my hair as I remembered yesterday. Iroha sat on the edge of the bed, watching me.
"What time did you get home yesterday?"
"I think it was before midnight..."
Yesterday, I had a company drinking party and drank quite a bit just at the first round. The members of "SHACHIKU NO KIWAMI" work hard, so they drink hard too. Thanks to that, I feel like I've been quite "trained."
"Do you want breakfast?"
"No, I'm good... Not hungry..."
It wasn't quite a hangover, but my head and stomach felt heavy. I shook my head in response, and Iroha let out a short sigh.
"Okay, let me know when you're ready then."
"Huh...?"
"You said you'd come shopping with me this weekend, remember?"
"Ah..." I replied again, my voice still hoarse from the alcohol. Come to think of it, we had indeed made that promise. Yesterday, Saturday, it had been raining since morning, so we postponed it. I dragged my sluggish, just-woken-up body towards the changing room. When I finished getting ready and went to the living room, Iroha was waiting, perfectly dressed and made up.
"I'm ready to go now."
"Okay. Let's go then."
We stepped out of the genkan and locked the door. As soon as we started walking, we intertwined our hands without a word.
We took the train from the nearest station, transferred to the Yamanote Line, and the scenery outside became nothing but buildings. Though I've gotten used to it recently, the sheer number of people still sickens me.
Time flies, and it's already mid-July. Three weeks had passed since Nene-san's wedding and that scandal. Just thinking about how the high schoolers' summer vacation will begin soon, bringing even more crowds on weekdays, gives me chills.
"Is there anything specific you're looking for?"
"Summer clothes, for now, I guess."
We got off at our destination station, exchanging such words as we flowed with the crowd. Iroha led me by the hand into a shop, where women's clothes were displayed. I've become accustomed to shopping dates with Iroha; I no longer feel uncomfortable. For my old self, this feeling would have been unimaginable.
"How about this?"
Iroha held a mini-length dress against herself and tilted her head, asking. Cute. I gazed at her intently and nodded.
"Just try it on for now."
"Yeah."
When I suggested that, Iroha called out to a store clerk and went into the fitting room. After a few minutes of waiting, the fitting room door opened with a Jaa-n!, and Iroha appeared in a cream-yellow one-piece dress. Mmm... Iroha really looks good in anything. Her slightly university-girl choice is also disarmingly charming and addictive...
"Senpai, what do you think?"
As I hummed to myself and nodded, Iroha asked me. Her question made me remember a certain piece of advice...
"It's good. Super cute. But show me more, try on lots of different things."
When I said that, Iroha looked bewildered. Her reaction made me embarrassed.
"I-Is that so...?"
Iroha's cheeks faintly blushed, and she quietly closed the fitting room door. My words felt a bit cheesy, but this was due to advice from Kaori Orimoto, whom I had reunited with about a week ago. The key, it seems, is to praise them no matter what when they try something on, and then to say you want to see more. Doing so apparently eliminates the hesitation of making them wait for your convenience, conveys your deep affection, and creates a "lovey-dovey attack chance â." No, that's not Orimoto's character.
However, it wasn't as if my words weren't sincere. Iroha looks cute in anything she wears, and she'll try things on regardless of my attitude, so I'm prepared for that when I accompany her shopping. It's just difficult to hide my embarrassment when saying it; it's not that hard of a suggestion.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Oh."
Iroha came out of the fitting room, holding the clothes returned to their hangers. As we started walking side by side, this time I took her hand.
â------
After that, we went to several stores and tried on clothes many times. When we were tired of walking, we were lucky enough to find an empty table at a coffee shop.
"Senpai."
When I called him, his face, slightly drained of energy, looked at me. He was probably tired from the crowd, but he was trying to hide it, and it was showing through anyway.
"Are you tired?"
"Ah, no. I'm fine. My stomach feels a lot better now."
Senpai said that, letting out a sigh and rubbing his stomach. I had almost forgotten, but today I had dragged out Senpai, who was a little hungover. Before, he would have probably said something like, "I'm really tired."
Thinking about it, Senpai has been a little different lately. It's like he's trying to be more responsible than ever, or trying to be a good boyfriend. I don't think his efforts to be that way are a bad thing. Maybe my efforts paid off. It just feels a little... different.
"Senpai."
I called Senpai again. His eyes, desperately trying to hide his fatigue, met mine.
"Thank you for coming shopping with me. I love a Senpai who listens to my selfish requests."
"Ehh... The way you say that..."
Senpai looked exasperated, but I loved that expression too, so there was nothing I could do.
"Well, it's not like I mind, either."
He must have been able to say that with confidence, as a little bit of strength returned to his eyes. It felt like he was accepting me, and it made my heart flutter. Am I being too much of a maiden?
"Even putting that aside, I still love you, Senpai."
I couldn't hold back my feelings anymore and just spoke what was on my mind. Senpai narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled.
"Then I love you very much, Iroha."
Senpai said that, then took my hand on the table. At that moment, a waitress came over, saying, "Thank you for waiting," and his hand gently pulled away. I can't help but feel how much of a waste that was.
"I'm just going to the restroom."
"Your coffee will get cold, you know?"
"It's fine. I have a sensitive tongue."
Senpai said, embarrassed perhaps, and got up from his seat. He seemed to have overdone it a bit, doing things so uncharacteristically. As I looked at the cake set in front of me, wondering whether to eat it first or not, his phone on the table vibrated with a bururu. The name Kaori Orimoto flashed on Senpai's phone screen, which he had left behind, and then quickly disappeared.
Thump-thump, my heart suddenly pounded. It shouldn't be a big deal, really. I'm sure they just happened to reunite and started contacting each other... It's common to contact acquaintances of the opposite sex. I don't want to restrict Senpai that much.
But why?
"Oh, you didn't eat yet?"
"No..."
Why can't I look Senpai straight in the eye?
â-------
Approximately one week later, on a Saturday. I was waiting for some people at the rotary in Chiba Station.
It seemed like all the high school students and younger were already on summer vacation, making the crowd feel even larger than usual. Although, I haven't been back to Chiba since New Year's, so I don't really know what "usual" is anymore.
Even so, it was hot. I wondered why I had chosen a meeting place with no shade, but it was too late now.
"Hey! Don't run!"
Just as I heard that voice, a young brother and sister ran past me. A woman who seemed to be their mother, with a pout on her face but a smile on her lips, hurried after the siblings.
How nice, I honestly thought. It was a scene I wished I hadn't seen, it made me that envious.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
A voice, surprisingly cool for midsummer, came from behind me. I turned around, and there they were, just as I had expected.
"It's been a while, Iroha-chan."
Yui-senpai waved her hand as she walked towards me, and Yukino-senpai smiled beside her. Feeling a sense of nostalgia at the sight of the two of them, I gave a slight bow and greeted them.
===================
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