The last day of July. Six o'clock. The sun was already up.
Maybe it was because of the recent rain, but the air felt fresher than usual.
The sky was as blue as a swimming pool laced with copper sulfate.
The clouds looked like foamy suds from a body wash.
In a bedroom of a traditional Japanese villa in Chiyoda Ward, a figure suddenly sat up.
Kotonoha pushed herself up from bed and walked into her personal walk-in closet.
She let her pajama slip to the floor, revealing her long legs, and pulled out an outfit from the wardrobe.
The sound of fabric rustling filled the room.
She stood in front of the full-length mirror for a while, apparently dissatisfied with the outfit. She took it off, tossed it onto the bed, and picked another.
Then she changed again.
For the next hour, she repeated this cycle of choosing, trying on, and changing clothes.
She tried every outfit in her closet but still couldn't find one she was happy with.
"I've got nothing to wear."
Kotonoha regretted not going shopping with her mother when she was invited.
And now, on the day of her date, she had nothing to wear.
Today was her first date with Takashi.
Kotonoha wanted to dress beautifully when she saw him.
"Huff, huff, huff!"
Running through the quiet park, Takashi's steps were light as the wind, his whole body brimming with inexplicable excitement.
As for why he was so thrilled—
Of course, it was because he had overtaken Yotsuba.
After diligently training for the past two and a half months, Takashi had finally beaten Yotsuba in a run.
'Takashi, you're incredible. With this level of determination, there's nothing you can't do!'
I, Takashi, have reached this level entirely thanks to my exceptional talent and tireless effort!
Five minutes later, Takashi jogged back to his starting point.
At the pavilion, Ichika and Itsuki were already seated, waiting for him.
As for why Itsuki was here—
Ever since she discovered she could mooch breakfast here, she had become a regular in the morning run group.
Not only did she come to run, she also brought along various practice questions, all to ask Takashi for help.
"Thanks for your hard work, Kitahara-kun."
Ichika smiled and handed him a bottle of ramune soda.
Usually, Takashi didn't drink this kind of thing so early in the morning. But since he had just crushed Yotsuba, he was in a great mood.
Not caring whether it was healthy or not, he took the bottle and chugged it down with a loud glug glug glug!
In no time, the whole bottle was empty.
While he was drinking, Yotsuba ran back.
Itsuki handed her a dry towel.
Yotsuba thanked her, then took the towel and began wiping the sweat from her face, distracted by other thoughts.
Just yesterday, she ran into the boy from her childhood, Uesugi Fuutarou, in the school cafeteria.
Now, Uesugi Fuutarou no longer has his blond hair.
Not only was he an excellent student, he even studied hard during meals. He was completely different from how he used to be.
Yotsuba hadn't expected to see Uesugi Fuutarou again so soon.
No—ever since meeting Takashi, the number of times she thought of Uesugi Fuutarou had noticeably decreased.
So when she bumped into him yesterday in the school cafeteria, her first instinct had been to run.
Yes, she ran away.
Even though they had once promised to work hard together to become better versions of themselves.
Now, while Uesugi Fuutarou was earnestly chasing that childhood promise, she had started to forget it after meeting Takashi.
It was just like a long-distance relationship—boy and girl promise to be together when they grow up, only for the girl to fall for a boy from her own school while they're apart.
Although they had never actually agreed to be together, this still felt like a betrayal to her.
Yotsuba now felt too guilty to face Uesugi Fuutarou.
"Kitahara-kun, can you help me with this math problem?"
"Let me see. This one's easy—let's start by making an assumption…"
"..."
Yotsuba looked at Takashi explaining the problem to Itsuki, feeling conflicted and unsure of what to do.
"Yotsuba, what's wrong?"
Ichika noticed her distracted expression and asked with concern.
"You look troubled."
"Not at all~ Ichika, you must be seeing things. I was just thinking about how amazing Kitahara-kun is. He managed to beat me in such a short amount of time."
Yotsuba laughed awkwardly and tactically took a sip of water.
There was no way she'd tell Ichika about running into her childhood crush.
Because it was Ichika who had once pretended to be her and met with Uesugi Fuutarou back then.
That was also the day Yotsuba started wearing a ribbon on her head—to make herself stand out from her sisters so others wouldn't mistake her identity.
"Is that so?"
Ichika didn't press the matter and lowered her head to read the script in her hands again.
…
After finally settling on a somewhat satisfactory outfit, Kotonoha checked the time. It was already 9:30.
Her heart sank.
She had agreed to meet Takashi at Tokyo Tower at 10:00.
Only thirty minutes left.
Hurriedly straightening her clothes, she told her sister, "I'm heading out!" and prepared to hail a taxi.
The subway would definitely make her late.
Even with a taxi, she might not make it on time.
She was already going to be late—how long she would keep Takashi waiting was the only question.
As she opened the gate, she spotted Takashi.
The boy was leaning lazily against a motorcycle, wearing a black biker jacket with a lollipop in his mouth.
The black biker outfit made his tall frame look even more striking.
His long silver hair shimmered in the sunlight.
The black stud in his left ear looked like it could cut through light itself.
It was the first time Kotonoha had seen him dressed like this, and it felt like Cupid's arrow had pierced her heart—she was completely smitten.
He seemed to hear the gate open and looked up at her.
Today, she wore a sleeveless, high-collared ivory top and a plaid skirt. Her long legs were wrapped in immaculate black thigh-high socks, giving her a cute and fresh look.
Her hair was carefully styled, even her bangs were neat, and her lips glistened slightly from colorless balm, making them look soft and kissable.
Her long hair was tied into a ponytail that draped like a scarf over her chest.
Takashi looked her up and down and complimented, "You look beautiful today."
"Th-thank you."
Being acknowledged for her efforts made Kotonoha feel sweet as honey inside.
"Hop on."
Takashi tossed her a helmet.
Flustered, she caught it and hesitated. "We're riding this?"
Takashi countered, "Why else do you think I came here?"
She paused, then put on the helmet and smoothed her skirt as she got on.
"Where should I hold?"
It was her first time riding a motorcycle, and she didn't know where to put her hands.
"Hold me."
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