Though it didn’t really answer my question, I didn’t let myself get thrown off. “Really?”
“Getting frustrated that I didn’t get the highest grade, going on a trip with school acquaintances, sharing ice cream—all of them were things that I thought I’d never experience.”
“Well, the trip was more thanks to President Kurenai,” I said, wryly smiling. “But I get you. I’ve had a lot of firsts since entering high school.”
Even excluding my ex becoming my stepbrother, I never expected that I’d join the student council. Also, all the things she experienced for the first time, I did as well. Asuhain-san scooped some of the water and looked down at the tiny hot springs she’d made in her hands.
“It’s not like I ever was interested in these kinds of things, but...they’re more fun than I expected. Learning that must be a good thing... That concludes my impressions.”
I wasn’t sure how to describe it—roundabout, logical? But she could’ve only said all of that after coming to terms with her feelings. This is on-brand for a straitlaced girl like her.
“Your name’s Asuhain-san? Nice to meet you,” Maki-san called out, judging that our conversation was over. “I’m Maki Sakamizu, and I was in the same class as Irido-san last year. I’ve only heard some stuff about you—pretty much rumors—but let’s be friends!”
Wow...she’s a true socialite. She really fits the bill as a basketball team member (my own bias). But she isn’t the kind of person that Asuhain-san does well with. She’ll probably give Maki-san the cold shoulder, so I should intervene here.
But just as I went to, Asuhain-san betrayed my expectations. “Thanks... Likewise.” Though it was stiff, she still gave a friendly response. And then, Asuhain-san followed up. “Um...what exactly have you heard about me?”
Whoa! She’s actually continuing the conversation on her own! As far as I knew, this might’ve been the first time Asuhain-san had tried to continue a conversation with someone she was meeting for the first time. She’s grown so much! This is something that neither Mizuto nor Higashira-san can do! Not that they’ve even tried.
An expression of joy filled Maki-san’s face and she began talking. Though they were talking about me, I couldn’t help but smile at Asuhain-san’s cute and valiant effort. After chatting for some time, she got worn-out, as expected. Her face had grown considerably red, so I proposed that we get out and wash our bodies.
“Want me to wash your back, Asuhain-san?”
As soon as I said this, Akatsuki-san began complaining. “Hey, that’s not fair!”
But my suggestion was a way to reward Asuhain-san for working so hard. Though she seemed a little lost as to how to respond, eventually, she did.
“Well...in that case, I’ll help you,” she said.
“Hm? With what?”
“Um...your hair. I’ve been thinking that it must be difficult to wash hair as long as yours.”
“Oh, you’ll help? Thanks! You’re right! It’s a pain!”
The two of us stood up and got out of the bath. As we did, I noticed a light red line across her outer right thigh from where the bush branch had cut her.
“Is your thigh okay now?” I asked.
“It’s mostly healed by now.”
“That’s good. I guess being in the ocean probably helped.”
I reached out and touched the scar, making Asuhain-san jump a little.
“Eek! Th-That tickles...”
“It’s that sensitive? Then how about this?!”
“Ah! W-Wait, it seriously tickles!”
Watching the two of us play as we left, the girls around us began whispering.
“Aren’t they a little too friendly?”
“Now that I think about it, Irido-san’s dating someone, right?”
“Yeah, the smartest person in the school... Wait!”
“Asuhain-san scored highest on the finals last year, right?”
Hm? I’m getting the feeling that a new misunderstanding is being formed, but...whatever for now!
“Night!”
“Good night!”
“Yep, night!” I said to Akatsuki-san and Higashira-san before turning off the light.
A faint light filtered through the curtains. I walked back to my bed, crawled under the sheets, and lay on my side. As I did, my eyes met with Asuhain-san, who’d done the same.
We stared at each other in silence before I broke out laughing. I didn’t feel sleepy at all yet, plus locking eyes with Asuhain-san as we both lay in bed was funny. That’s why I started talking to Asuhain-san in a low voice with my face half buried in a pillow.
“I guess the school trip’s gonna be over tomorrow, huh?”
“Yeah...” she replied in a low voice.
“Did you have fun?”
“Ultimately...”
“That’s good.”
What do people talk about at times like these? As soon as I thought about that, I realized that this was a cliché situation. School trip nights were meant for gossip!
“So...what happened with Mizuto?” I asked.
Asuhain-san didn’t really have anyone to gossip about besides him, so I brought up the guy that she unlikely had feelings for. My boyfriend.
At first, I thought this might’ve been a mistake, but she didn’t seem bothered at all. “I don’t think he’s a bad person. He gave me proper support.”
“O-Oh...”
It was better than getting hurt by tactless words, but I had complicated feelings, hearing how my boyfriend had been nice to another girl.
“But I don’t think I could ever date him.”
“Huh? R-Really?”
“Really. He’s intelligent, but he seems boorish. It’s like he can see through everything; it almost makes me uncomfortable. Thinking about how despite being so intelligent, he indulges in Higashira-san’s chest evokes a hard aversion on a biological level.”
Sh-She’s really pummeling him... But also, that last bit is just your own imagination.
“He doesn’t seem to be the type who’s driven by his sexual urges, but I think he’s the type to lead girls on and make them misunderstand his feelings towards them. You should be careful not to be fooled too, Irido-san.”
She’s very talkative today. Did he actually do something to her? He was strangely insistent that we don’t reveal our relationship to Asuhain-san.
After that, we started talking about everything that had happened today. In that time, I began noticing that the amount of words we spoke lessened, and our eyelids had gotten heavy.
It’d been a while since I’d felt a wave of sleep this comfortable. Now that I think about it, I was worried about a lot of things on the first and second days. The first day, there was the pool incident, and then the second day, I had Asuhain-san to worry about. That must be why I feel so fulfilled right now before sleeping. It’s been three days since I’ve been able to sleep without any worries.
Right as I was about to drift off to sleep, a certain thought passed through my head. Oh, now that I think about it, who was that person who saw us at the pool?