Chapter 543

"Here."

Matsuda handed her a cold drink he had just pulled from the vending machine.

Miyuki, who had been sitting on the subway station bench heaving sigh after sigh, took it and offered a weak smile.

"Thanks..."

Completely drained of energy, she struggled just to open the can.

While she was groaning and wrestling with the tab, Matsuda silently took the drink back and popped it open for her.

"Drink."

"...Thanks. How much was it?"

"A hundred yen."

"Hold on... I'll pay you back..."

"Forget it."

Matsuda shrugged and sat down next to her. He scratched the back of his head, then spoke up again.

"Was that you who called me this morning?"

"Huh...? Oh, right."

"How did you even get my number?"

"I'm the class president... I need to know my classmates' numbers."

"And why'd you call?"

"Ah, that was a mistake... I was trying to call someone else..."

"Didn't sound like it."

"It was, actually..."

"True. Why would you ever call me anyway?"

Around this time, she had absolutely loathed Matsuda.

Matsuda knew that perfectly well, which was why he said it.

'This is driving me crazy...'

She was going to lose her mind. She had made all these plans, only to keep doing stupid things.

But on the other hand, it was a relief. At least Matsuda hadn't been disciplined.

Wait, was that actually a good thing?

She had wanted to tease him while he cleaned the bathrooms... What a shame.

"If you're going to drink it, hurry up. We're going to be late."

Her perspective on the Matsuda of this era was heavily biased.

Because of that, the appropriate response here would be to ask if Matsuda-kun actually cared about being late...

But considering she had just asked him for help, speaking to him like that felt incredibly rude.

Sure, other people had been the ones to actually assist, but still.

Besides, even if she had been prejudiced back then, didn't the current her know Matsuda's good side?

So she decided against acting like that.

But if she just gave some bland, colorless reply, he would think she was a boring person...

This was hard. Too hard. Seriously hard.

Also, the way Matsuda treated her like a stranger was, well... deeply upsetting.

It wasn't his fault, but it left a cold, empty ache in her side.

She just wanted to complain about it.

Come to think of it, starting today, she couldn't sleep in Matsuda's arms.

Was that all? She also couldn't secretly have her way with his mouth anymore.

Thinking about it made it feel like winter in the middle of summer.

It seemed tonight was going to be bitterly cold.

"I'm heading off. See you."

While she was lost in thought, Matsuda had already walked quite a distance away and was waving at her.

Startled, Miyuki jolted up from the bench.

"L-let's go together...!"

"Go together? With me?"

Seeing the utter disbelief in his eyes, he must have been pretty shocked.

She hadn't received direct help from him, but she had specifically asked him for it... Wasn't that enough to at least suggest walking together?

Grumbling at him in her mind, Miyuki purposely put on an awkward expression.

"Well... why not... you helped me..."

"Helped you? I didn't do anything."

'Ugh, why is he nitpicking everything? He should just say okay.'

Complaining internally once more, Miyuki spoke.

"A-anyway, let's go. We'll be late, just like Matsuda-kun said."

"Whatever... suit yourself."

With a look of total incomprehension, Matsuda shrugged and took the lead.

For a brief moment, she thought she saw a flicker of regret in him, but was it just her imagination?

'What was that...?'

Squinting at his broad back, Miyuki eventually shook her head and matched his pace.

Upon arriving at the Academy, Miyuki was about to head up to the second-year hallway when—

"Where are you going?"

Hearing Matsuda's voice, she realized she had traveled back a year in time, and quickly hurried back down the stairs.

"I forgot which classroom."

"You did?"

"Well, um... I'm just out of it..."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

Accepting her excuse, Matsuda walked into the classroom without even opening his hallway locker.

The thought of teaching him the basics from scratch—since he hadn't studied at all—didn't bore her; in fact, it made her heart flutter.

Grabbing her textbooks, she stepped into Class 1-A and saw Masako and Honoka beaming brightly at her.

They were exactly the same a year ago. She had thought seeing them every day made her numb to their changes, but they truly hadn't changed a bit.

"Miyuki! The teacher said to come to the Faculty Office."

That was Honoka's greeting as Miyuki found her old seat and sat down.

Before getting off the train, she had given the police her school information; it seemed they had contacted the Academy for a detailed statement.

Since she had slipped away earlier by claiming she was going to be late for school, Miyuki had expected this. She replied that she understood, then poked Matsuda in the back just as he was burying his face in his desk to sleep.

When he lifted his head with a deep scowl, she pointed shamelessly toward the classroom door.

"Let's go to the Faculty Office together."

"Me? Why?"

"I think they called me to ask about the incident on the train."

"They only called you."

"You still have to come. Matsuda-kun, you were there too."

"True, but... they didn't call me, so shouldn't I just stay quiet? You can do all the explaining anyway... Never mind. Let's go."

Cutting his own complaint short, Matsuda sat up.

Was he just trying to get it over with because he didn't want to argue?

No, his reaction felt different than that.

It was hard to explain, but it almost felt like he welcomed the situation...

Maybe it was just her imagination.

Whatever the reason, going together was a good thing.

Deciding not to overthink it, Miyuki walked out of the classroom alongside him.

"Aren't you going to look when your son is calling for his mom?"

On the way to the Faculty Office, Matsuda suddenly dropped that line.

"Mom?"

"Miura was calling for you so desperately."

Right, around this time, Matsuda used to compare Tetsuya and her to a son and a mother.

As a way to mock them.

She would have to fix that abrasive, confrontational tone of his as soon as possible.

Not because it upset her, but because it ruined his reputation with everyone else.

Matsuda was already in a precarious position at the Academy due to his involvement with a delinquent circle.

If things got any worse, he could face suspension, or worse, expulsion.

"I don't know. I didn't hear him."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

In truth, she had heard him.

But it was awkward to answer.

Because she knew what Tetsuya had done to Matsuda in the past... or should she say the future? Either way, she knew.

Of course, it hadn't actually happened yet in this timeline.

Unlike that criminal who had committed countless assaults before, Tetsuya hadn't done anything wrong yet.

If anything, he was a victim right now.

Still, after experiencing Tetsuya's pitch-black intentions firsthand and suffering a massive betrayal at his hands, treating him normally was difficult.

If she kept a close eye on him, there was a high chance he wouldn't commit those acts, but the human heart wasn't that simple.

She couldn't just act chummy with a guy who had repeatedly shown intentions of utterly destroying the person she loved.

'This is driving me crazy...'

Who knew coming back to the past would be this complicated?

She couldn't just be purely happy about it.

Just as she had thought earlier: it was hard. So hard.

"What have you been doing since earlier?"

Matsuda asked, staring at Miyuki as she scratched her head wildly like a madwoman.

Startled, she coughed awkwardly a few times and replied.

"Nothing... It's nothing."

The two of them arrived at the Faculty Office and explained the whole situation to a gentle-looking teacher in his sixties.

Well, Miyuki did all the explaining. Matsuda just looked around the office with a bored expression, barely half-listening.

"So that's what happened."

"Yes, sir."

"Understood. And Matsuda."

Surprised to hear his name suddenly called, Matsuda unclasped his hands from behind his back.

Spotting the subtle movement, Miyuki realized that even the Matsuda of this era possessed a sense of the Order Between Elders and Juniors.

Then again, if he hadn't, he would have acted rudely toward her parents.

"Sir?"

"You're going to clean the bathrooms for the next three days."

At the teacher's decree, Matsuda blinked a few times.

"...Why me? Like Hanazawa just said, on the train I..."

"Not because of that. It's because of what happened a while ago."

"What happened a while ago?"

"Haven't you been hanging around the second- and Third Year seniors, practically extorting the other students?"

"What did I do and how..."

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?"

"..."

Matsuda clamped his mouth shut, his gaze shifting toward Miyuki.

He looked as if he felt guilty, but since Miyuki was watching the teacher, she didn't catch his reaction.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"No... nothing to say... but isn't that a bit too arbitrary..."

"Consider yourself lucky we're ending it at this since there was no physical violence. And this is your last chance."

The Matsuda she remembered from this time had also cleaned the bathrooms...

Even if the first button had been fastened wrong, fate still seemed to follow its natural course.

It wasn't the original fifteen-day cleaning punishment, but she figured it would be fine.

Still, extortion... It was a fresh reminder of just how delinquent Matsuda had been.

But it was okay. Why? Because she was going to help him.

Matsuda had both the ability and the drive to reform; with just a little push, he would undoubtedly walk the right path.

"Do you understand?"

At the teacher's follow-up question, Matsuda slumped his shoulders slightly and nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Both of you can go."

Leaving the Faculty Office with Matsuda, Miyuki put on an innocent expression when he glanced down at her as he trudged along sluggishly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"What are you grinning so much for? You help me too."

"Why should I?"

"Because it's your fault I'm stuck cleaning the bathrooms."

"It's not my fault. The teacher was planning to make Matsuda-kun clean the bathrooms from the start..."

"Shut up. If I say help, help."

"Try asking me politely."

"Just don't help then."

Matsuda clicked his tongue and waved her off with one hand.

Seeing this, the corners of Miyuki's lips twitched upward.

Watching the old Matsuda was incredibly fun.

Just a little while ago, she had felt somewhat despairing, but now her feelings were starting to shift again.

"Work hard. You id..."

Miyuki had been about to affectionately call him an idiot, but hurriedly clamped her mouth shut.

She absolutely had to fix this habit.