As Naoya exited the turnstyles, he spotted Koyuki waiting for him. As usual, her good looks, harsh expression, and perfect posture drew many looks from the early crowd. Staff members and regulars at this station had long grown accustomed to the morning routine of the young couple flirting here; likewise, Naoya had long grown accustomed to being stared at.
She greeted him with a sharpness to her voice. “Oh, it’s just you. I thought I recognized someone else. Thank you for meeting me today, Naoya. Your dedication toward being a manservant never goes unappreciated.”
“And a good morning to you too, Koyuki,” he greeted her in a bright tone.
In an instant, Koyuki’s cool demeanor fell to pieces. She grasped her chest and recoiled like a scared cat.
Noaya patted her on the back and said, “You think maybe we should go back to last names for now? Every time I call you by your name, you act like you’re having a heart attack.”
“N-No, it’s fine. I’ll get used to it,” she stammered.
“Fine. I’ll make sure to say it a lot so I can help you adjust to it... Koyuki.”
As they took their usual route to school, Naoya noted that the sun’s golden rays were warmer and more radiant than ever before; the trees that lined the path looked to be incredibly verdant and lush. Summer was now in full effect—of this, he was certain.
“Oh, that reminds me,” he spoke up. “We’re gonna have to start wearing our summer uniforms soon, aren’t we?”
“Ugh, I hate summer. It’s way too humid, and the bugs are so annoying,” Koyuki complained.
“Whaaa? I’m really looking forward to it.”
“You have weird tastes. What? Do you wanna go to the pool, or something?”
“Not in particular. I’m just excited to see your summer clothes. Our school’s girl’s uniform is pretty cute, and—wait, why are you walking away?”
“It should be obvious,” she grumbled under her breath as she sped away from him. She continued to mutter complaints in a low voice, admonishing Naoya for being lewd.
Naoya felt happy and strangely relieved—Koyuki was now back to her usual self. He removed the handkerchief she had given him from his pocket and examined it. “And I might get to use this guy more in the summer, too.”
“You kept it with you?”
“Yeah. I even iron it and everything. Oh yeah—sorry about trashing your garden a little last night.”
After Koyuki had screamed, the watchmen had rushed in to the rescue. In the end, they’d ended up enjoying the sweets and juice together as a group. Although everyone had pitched in to clean up properly afterward, Naoya was sure the whole incident had still been a bother to her family.
Koyuki shook her head. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Mom and Dad were just pleased we had a good time. They actually asked when the next party was gonna be.”
“Ahaha. I’m looking forward to it, too,” Naoya replied.
“Y-Yeah...” Koyuki whispered. She fell silent for a while before she continued in a firm voice, “By the way, th-thank you for the plushie.”
“You got it. Look after it, okay?” he said cheerily.
“Of course I will. I even slept with it last night.”
“R-Really?”
“What’s with that face?” Koyuki asked with a confused expression. All Naoya could think about was how he was suddenly jealous of a plush cat. “Oh, yeah—I was also thinking that maybe I should get a friend for it, you know...”
Naoya understood what she was trying to get at, but he didn’t jump in to finish her thought for her; he waited patiently for her to continue.
“S-So do you maybe want to... go on a date?” she finally stammered.
“I’d love to,” he replied instantly.
Koyuki looked up at his smiling face and groaned. “You definitely knew what I was going to say, but you still made me say it! You bully!”
“But you wanted to ask, didn’t you? It’s just practice.”
“You enjoyed it too much for it to be practice!”
“Busted...”
“Ugh! You’re the worst!” Koyuki protested loudly, her face a deep crimson. She slapped Naoya hard on the shoulder, which only caused his smile to grow wider—she was just too cute.
After a short walk—and a good deal more flirting—they stumbled across Yui and Tatsumi.
“Oh look, it's Naoya and Koyuki. Morning!” Yui greeted the pair brightly.
“It’s still the crack of dawn, and you guys are already at it. You’re worse than me and Yui,” Tatsumi joked.
“Wh-What are you saying, Kouno?! We’re n-not doing anything l-like—” Koyuki protested.
“Yeah, stay jealous,” Naoya quickly jumped in, interrupting Koyuki. “And I know that if we were really going at it, you’d be even more jealous.”
“Naoya?!” Koyuki cried and slapped Naoya’s back. Unlike her earlier love tap, this one had hurt.
“This is your fault, guys. You did this to me,” Naoya accused his two friends with a point of his finger. Koyuki huffed off in front of the smiling trio, and Naoya quickly hurried after her to apologize. “I’m sorry, really. I was just messing around, and I went too far with it.”
“You did. We are not flirting or anything, got it?” Koyuki spat out, seething.
Unfortunately, Naoya was too busy thinking about how downright adorable she was when she was angry to pay any real attention to her protests. He was so absorbed by this, in fact, that he almost missed her whispering, “The real flirting starts after I convince you to make me your girlfriend, okay?”
Naoya stopped in his tracks, an unusual expression on his face. Koyuki paused upon noticing this and asked, “What? What’s up?”
“N-Nothing, it’s just...” Naoya stammered, mulling over the quiet words she’d just said to herself. In the face of that, there was only one thing he could say. “I was just thinking about how much I like you.”
“Y-You don’t have anything else to say?!” Koyuki cried. Her face was quickly engulfed in crimson, from the bottom of her chin to the very tips of her ears. She hastily turned away to hide her embarrassment.
Naoya had successfully confessed, but Koyuki’s response was still pending. They had managed to make some progress, no matter how minimal. They had finally begun to call each other by their first names, after all. But even if they weren’t “official” yet, Naoya was no longer worried—his intuition told him that this love story would have a happy end after all.