Chapter 550

“I’m home.”

Miyuki took off her shoes and called out. Midori, wearing an apron, came to welcome her.

“You’re back?”

“Yeah.”

Seeing her mother, father, and older sister looking so young felt like a novel experience every single day.

They had hardly changed at all, of course, but just thinking about how much younger they were put her in a good mood.

“Were you out tutoring your friend?”

“Yeah. A guy named Matsuda.”

“You mentioned him this morning... but who exactly is this Matsuda? If he were a close friend of yours, wouldn’t I know him?”

Hearing her treat Matsuda like a stranger felt a little disappointing, but when he eventually came over to introduce himself, her family would definitely like him.

Even back when he had given off a serious delinquent vibe, her parents and sister had liked him, so they probably would this time, too.

“We just got close recently. Really close.”

“But he’s a boy.”

“So what? Is that a problem?”

“That’s not what I mean. I’m asking if there’s anything romantic between you two.”

“Ah... it’s not quite like that.”

“It isn’t?”

Not yet.

No, actually, it was. She liked Matsuda a lot, after all.

She wasn’t sure how Matsuda felt about her, but she figured he liked her a fair bit.

After all, he had told her he had liked her for a long time.

“Just getting to know each other?”

“Then it sounds like a good relationship.”

“You think so?”

“Of course. Bring him over sometime.”

“Can I?”

“Is it too soon? I suppose people don’t normally move this fast, do they?”

Too soon? If anything, they were late.

It had only been a few days, but still.

“It’s just a friend coming over, like when Tetsuya comes by. It’s perfectly fine.”

“Really?”

Midori smiled meaningfully.

Feeling a sudden prick of guilt, Miyuki was about to head up to the second floor when Midori spoke again.

“Oh right, Tetsuya came by.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Didn’t he contact you?”

“No.”

“I guess you didn’t tell Tetsuya where you were going, huh?”

“I didn’t.”

“That’s unusual for you.”

“What do you mean, unusual? It’s not like I have to talk to him every single day.”

“True, but usually you two always know what the other is up to.”

“Dunno.”

“What’s with that tone?”

“Ah...”

She had absentmindedly copied the way Asahina spoke.

Dragging out the end of her words was surprisingly addictive.

It was the perfect way to brush off a conversation when she didn’t want to deal with it.

She wasn’t supposed to act like her. This was bad.

‘No, wait...’

If she acted more like Asahina, wouldn’t that keep Matsuda’s attention from wandering over to her?

Miyuki entertained the thought for a moment before shaking her head.

She would approach Matsuda as herself.

“Sorry. That was a bit obnoxious, wasn’t it?”

“Not really, but you don’t normally do that.”

“It wasn’t obnoxious?”

“Not at all. Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to force me to say it was?”

“Just your imagination. I’m going in, okay?”

“Have you eaten?”

“I ate.”

“Got it.”

Heading to the bathroom first, Miyuki finished her shower and went into her room in her underwear.

Perhaps because the summer air was so hot and humid, her skin still felt slightly damp.

She desperately wanted to go bask in the air conditioning at Matsuda’s house... She missed him so much every single day that she was on the verge of losing her mind.

Why did her desire to see him only grow stronger the more they met?

Love was truly incomprehensible.

[Matsuda-kun.]

Unable to hold back, Miyuki sent him a message. When time passed with no reply, she let out a sigh.

Was he meeting someone else?

She prided herself on knowing Matsuda well, but when it came to how he was now, she wasn’t so confident.

There were just too many people around him that she disliked, starting with that disgusting Samoyama whatever-his-name-was.

There were three messages from Tetsuya in her inbox.

Asking where she was, what she was doing, and if she wanted to get dinner tonight...

Miyuki stared at them, debating whether she should reply.

As she had concluded before, this Tetsuya hadn’t yet done any of the things he would do in the future.

Right now, he was very close to her, and so kind he was practically docile.

Even so, human feelings were fickle things. The negative things Tetsuya had done in the future still burned so strongly in her memory that interacting with him felt uncomfortable.

She knew that if she kept avoiding him, it wouldn’t be good for her, for Tetsuya, or for Matsuda.

She needed to resolve this clearly.

[What.]

Miyuki had been lost in thought, but the moment Matsuda’s reply arrived, she snapped out of her reverie with a smile.

[Are you working on the problems I left for you?]

[No.]

[Why?]

[How am I supposed to solve something I don't know?]

[You should be able to do at least two pages. I taught you all of that today.]

[I don't remember.]

[Are you serious?]

[I'm joking. Let's skip math tomorrow and do English or something easy. My head hurts.]

[English will be hard for you too, you know? At your current skill level, Matsuda-kun.]

[We won't know until we try, right?]

[Are you confident?]

[I wouldn't say I'm entirely lacking.]

She could almost picture his smug expression and hear his confident voice.

She felt the sudden urge to run right back over to his house.

“Haa...”

It was always like this. Every time they texted or met up, her urge to move in with him grew stronger and stronger.

If she suggested living together right now, would Matsuda think she was easy?

No, he would probably just freak out.

She needed to go to sleep.

Going to bed early was a habit she had picked up in the few days since returning to this time.

Because the sooner she slept, the sooner she could see Matsuda again.

Texting was fun, but seeing him in person was infinitely better.

But she wasn’t about to pass up a chance to get closer to him, either. Completely forgetting her plan to sleep early, Miyuki lay there absorbed in her conversation with Matsuda, tapping away on her Cell Phone late into the night.

Smack.

“Ah...!”

Something slammed into Miyuki’s face as she leisurely pedaled her bicycle.

It didn’t really hurt, but it felt blunt and unpleasant.

She stopped her bike and brushed a hand over her cheek, pulling away the crushed corpse of a flying insect slightly larger than a mayfly.

“Ugh...”

Of all places, it just had to hit her in the face...

She had left the house in such a good mood, only to run into this disgusting luck... A wave of irritation washed over her.

Normally she wouldn’t have cared about something this trivial. She was really starting to take after Matsuda.

Calming herself down, Miyuki started pedaling again, heading toward Matsuda’s house.

The headwind was already hot and muggy even though it was only morning, but knowing she was about to see Matsuda made the ride bearable.

Miyuki pedaled the rest of the way until she reached the Main Gate of Matsuda’s house. She grabbed her bag from the front basket and rang the doorbell.

A moment later, the gate swung open, and Matsuda stepped out, looking much more neatly dressed than he had the day before.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s with the bike?”

“I just rode it here.”

“Isn’t it far? From your house?”

“It’s far to walk, but surprisingly doable by bike. By the way, do you know where my house is?”

“No idea. Anyway, come on in. Just leave your bike in the Parking Lot.”

“Okay.”

“Actually, no. Give it here.”

Matsuda took the handlebars from her and lifted the bike up onto the engawa.

Miyuki glanced up at the long eaves overhanging the porch, her eyes going wide.

“Is that okay? The wheels must be dirty...”

“It doesn’t matter. They say it’s going to rain today anyway, so just leave it here. Hold on...”

Still looking unsatisfied, Matsuda furrowed his brow, walked over to an outdoor storage shed, and came back with a sheet of what looked like felt fabric.

Then he draped it over the bike.

“That sheet is clean. It won’t get your bike dirty.”

He deliberately added the explanation, clearly worried that Miyuki might think he was getting dust on her saddle.

It was a small gesture, but coming from the usually rough-and-tumble Matsuda, the thoughtfulness felt incredibly touching.

Smiling brightly, Miyuki said.

“I wasn’t worried about that. Thank you.”

“Yeah? Well... let’s head inside.”

Miyuki watched Matsuda awkwardly scratch the back of his head before turning to head inside. She followed him, feeling a sudden flush of heat run through her body.

They got straight to studying after that, but Matsuda was focusing so intensely that there wasn’t any room for idle chatter.

She wanted to talk to him, but she didn’t dare interrupt him now that he was entirely in the zone. So, feeling equal parts happy and disappointed, Miyuki simply focused on tutoring him.

“How do you pronounce this?”

“Curl your tongue back a bit. Like this...”

“Like this?”

“That’s too exaggerated. Lower it a bit.”

Staring at each other’s mouths like this felt strangely erotic, even though they were only studying.

She really had it bad for him.

Some time passed.

As Miyuki continued earnestly teaching Matsuda his English lessons, she sneaked a glance at the clock.

It was already 2 PM—the time that Samoyama guy had ordered him to be there—but Matsuda hadn’t even glanced at his Cell Phone.

“Should we take a ten-minute break?”

When she carefully suggested a break, Matsuda nodded, looking a little worn out from all the studying.

Matsuda went and fetched them some water. Taking the cup from him, Miyuki took a sip and decided to casually probe him, just like she had yesterday.

“By the way, Matsuda-kun, do you have any plans today?”

“What plans?”

“Just... anything in general.”

“Are you asking because you’re worried it’ll interrupt studying like yesterday?”

“Well... yeah.”

“I don’t. You were the one who said we’d be studying for a while.”

“Then are you going out in the evening?”

“No. Wait, are you planning to stay here studying until tonight?”

“No, I didn’t mean that.”

She really had no idea what Matsuda was thinking.

Was he really planning to handle things on a weekday, just like she had thought?

Whatever it was, for some reason it felt like something big would happen in the week starting tomorrow.

She would have to keep a close eye on him.

And she needed to join the Student Council as soon as possible.

There were just too many delinquents at the Academy. Her anxiety was growing out of control; she had to do something about it.