The morning sun seeped through the gap in the curtains, casting a sliver of light on the bedroom floor. A short and hurried alarm rang from the bedside.
A fair little hand emerged from the thin quilt and silenced the noisy alarm. The room fell quiet again.
Five minutes later, the phone by the pillow began to vibrate.
Only then did the room's owner open her eyes. Yawning, she turned off the phone and sat up in bed. The thin quilt, obeying Newton's First Law, slid down, exposing the girl's graceful curves to the air. It was a pity no one was there to see.
Getting out of bed, stretching, dressing, washing up, and finally, walking to the refrigerator. She took out some ingredients while putting a carton of milk into the microwave to heat on the lowest setting. By the time it was done, breakfast was also ready.
After gratefully eating all the food, she grabbed her backpack and left for school.
And that was Sakurajima Mai's morning.
The train she took to school every day arrived at the station at roughly the same time. By the time she got there, she wouldn't have to wait long before hearing the platform announcement for the train's arrival.
She got on the train. Amidst a sea of surprised expressions of 'is that Sakurajima Mai,' the girl boarded with a calm expression. Being discovered, being noticed, being watched, and even being secretly photographed were all just a part of her daily life.
And this attention continued until she arrived at school, not stopping for a moment. Perhaps because it was a school, or perhaps because the status of a big star felt too distant, although the people in her class would occasionally cast glances at her, no one ever dared to go up and talk to her.
Just like that, she sat alone in the last row of the second column by the window, so out of place with the laughter around her, as if she were cut off from the world.
Yes, as a former national-level star in Japan, her popularity in class was not good. Or should one say, it was extremely bad?
In short, she had no friends she could talk to in class, and no one ever approached her. Even the teachers would deliberately avoid calling on her.
Like she was 'air.'
She didn't seem to mind this result. In fact, she even seemed to be... enjoying it?
"Isn't this fine too?"
At least, that's how she convinced herself.
Then, she inevitably thought of the boy she had met in front of the bakery yesterday, and their final conversation, which was by no means pleasant.
She seemed to have said some very harsh things then. He was clearly trying to help her, and he had already apologized... no, he didn't even need to apologize. She understood the principle of 'ignorance is no excuse for a crime'.
Thinking of this, she grew a little agitated. She looked out the window. The blue sky had been occupied by a thick layer of clouds at some point. The sky was gray and gloomy, looking as if it was about to rain.
Good thing I brought an umbrella, she thought.
She had noticed the weather forecast on her phone during breakfast and had put her umbrella and keys together in advance—
...
Sakurajima Mai's expression darkened. She opened her backpack. Inside, there was neither an umbrella nor a key.
Clearly, although she had put them together, hoping that the importance of the key would remind her to bring the umbrella, it seemed the key was not as important as she had thought.
"This is troublesome..." She began to pray that the rain would hold off until she got home.
Heaven seemed to have heard her prayer. Until school let out, although the sky was terrifyingly gloomy, not a single drop of rain had fallen.
She quickly walked through the crowd, reached the platform, got on the train, and got off. She didn't even have time to buy the cream bun she usually remembered to get. Finally, she arrived downstairs at her apartment building just before the rain started to fall.
"Hah... hah..." The girl panted, her cheeks a little flushed.
After calming her breathing a bit, she went to the building's management staff.
"Um, excuse me. I'm a resident here, but I forgot my key at home. I need you to issue a proof of residence so I can call a locksmith," she said very politely, explaining her current predicament.
However, the staff member seemed oblivious, busy with her own work.
At this moment, Sakurajima Mai's heart sank to the bottom.
Outside the apartment, a drop of rain hit the ground, then two, three... More and more raindrops were pulled by gravity, soon turning into a downpour.
...
Mori Shinra walked out of the elevator, his pant legs still damp.
Because the rain was so heavy, even with an umbrella, he couldn't escape the fate of getting his pant legs and shoes wet.
But even so, he was in much better shape than her.
Wearing her Minegahara High school uniform, she was leaning against the wall, sitting on the ground with her knees and thighs pressed tightly together and her calves spread apart. This posture was generally called the 'gymnastics sit,' a sitting position that girls usually only adopted when resting during P.E. class.
However, girls usually wore track pants during P.E. class. But now, she was wearing a short-skirted school uniform, which was also soaked by the rain and clinging tightly to her body.
The result of this was that her pure white panties were completely exposed through her wet, black pantyhose, right in his line of sight.
"You're finally back."
"Club activities just ended."
"I can't believe you actually go to a club..."
"Sakurajima-senpai."
"What is it?"
Mori Shinra, who had already activated his Photographic Memory, pointed to her lower body and reminded her, "Your underwear is completely visible."
It dawned on her. She then looked down to confirm.
"I-it's nothing to be seen by a boy younger than me."
Although she said this, her actions were to clamp her arms between her thighs while pulling down the fabric in the middle of her skirt.
For some reason, this attempt to hide the scenery under her skirt was far more titillating than when it had been wide open before.
"Your face is very red."
"Th-that's because I'm excited!"
"Pervert."
"Wh-who's a pervert!"
She couldn't help but glare at him, but because her cheeks were flushed, it had no deterrent effect at all and looked more like flirting.
"Anyway, stand up first," he said, holding out his hand.
Her blocking the doorway was making it completely impossible for him to open his door.
"Did you bring your key?"
She subconsciously reached for his hand, then suddenly remembered what she had said yesterday and pulled her hand back, choosing to stand up on her own.
Seeing this, he didn't mind. He inserted the key into the lock. "Only an idiot would forget their key when leaving the house, right?"
"Who are you calling an idiot?"