Chapter 408: Chika Has Made Up Her Mind
After lunch, after resting for a bit.
Sakurai Saki and Miku were preparing to visit the place they had gone to six years ago.
Truthfully, Sakurai Saki still remembered the memory clearly—mainly because for him, it had only been about half a year.
Since it was the weekend, when they arrived at the nearby small park, there were quite a few children playing.
A little boy, wanting to get a girl's attention, tugged on her hair.
Sakurai Saki commented: "Kids."
"Saki-kun was also childish, you know? I know it well—back then, to get Chika-chan's attention, you always teased her and treated her like a toy." Miku gave an example.
Teasing like that was something only elementary or middle school boys did to girls.
For someone like a high school boy to act that way… it was hard to say he wasn't childish.
"You knew?"
"Of course…" Miku watched the two little ones chasing each other in front of them, and with a nostalgic tone she said: "Because I always watched you."
"…That's a heavy feeling."
"Do you know how happy you looked back then? And then you treated me so coldly, so I was sad for a long time." Today Miku talked a lot—unlike usual. Or rather, she had changed a lot; she was no longer afraid of communicating.
The quiet Miku of the past was now behind her—only now did Sakurai Saki realize it.
Miku continued reminiscing: "When you were a first-year, you even became friends with Hayasaka-san. At first I was the only one who could talk to you, but afterward more and more people appeared, the number of people who got along with you increased, and without even noticing, you became everyone's Sakurai, the most popular boy in Shuchiin."
"And then you became our tutor."
"Umu."
"At first, when I accepted Nakano-san's request, aside from Shirogane asking for help, the real reason was actually you." Back then, among the five sisters, Sakurai Saki only knew Miku. If not for that connection, even if Shirogane Miyuki pushed the request onto him, he wouldn't have agreed so decisively.
Because he understood Miku, he assumed the Nakano quintuplets would all be easy to talk to.
In the end, Nino gave him a direct faceslap.
"I ranked below President Shirogane?" What Miku focused on was this point.
So at that time she wasn't even equal to some random boy?
No way, right?
"Do you want the truth? Or the pleasant version?"
"The truth."
"If Shirogane were in trouble, I would definitely do everything I could to help. But if it were you, Miku, I would just stand on the side and watch. Of course—when I was still a first-year."
Back then, Sakurai Saki extremely disliked women. To him, they were troublesome, hard to understand, and liked to cause trouble unreasonably.
Even now, he still thought women were troublesome.
"If I'd known, I would've chosen the pleasant version." Miku puffed her small cheeks; anyone with eyes could see she was upset.
Sakurai Saki didn't want to continue this topic.
"The vending machine over there still hasn't been removed."
"Maybe because the sales are decent?" Miku guessed.
This was a park regularly visited by nearby residents; with such a high foot traffic area, it would be stranger if the vending machine were removed.
The two walked over to the vending machine.
Sakurai Saki bought two cans of matcha soda.
"So the reason you like drinking matcha is because of me."
"Umu, fate is quite mysterious, isn't it?" Miku took the can he handed her.
Sakurai Saki nodded.
'So did Miku like matcha soda because I bought it for her back then? Or did she already like matcha soda, which is why she likes it now?'
He suddenly wondered.
Because Miku liked matcha, when he traveled back six years, he offered her matcha soda.
So… if he hadn't bought her matcha soda back then, how would she have come to like it?
'Is time actually a straight line? Was time travel inevitable?'
Or perhaps his ability at that time wasn't strong enough to alter reality?
Sakurai Saki furrowed his brow.
This… probably didn't need too much thinking.
He didn't fully understand his own ability, which was why these contradictions appeared. With an ability that could only activate randomly once, he couldn't grasp its full essence.
"What's wrong?" Miku noticed he was distracted, so she asked with concern.
"Nothing, I was thinking—if I hadn't bought you matcha soda back then, would you have ended up liking it?"
"…Mm, probably not? Nino likes black tea, and the others don't even like tea in general."
Receiving her answer, Sakurai Saki stopped thinking about it.
...
Carrying their drinks, the two headed toward the mushroom-shaped hut where they had once taken shelter from the rain.
The kids around them looked at the two approaching with curiosity.
Perhaps in the eyes of these children, an adult like Sakurai Saki had no business entering a kids' playground area.
The entrance they could easily crawl into years ago had become a bit tight.
Fortunately, both were slim enough not to get stuck.
"So cramped."
Sakurai Saki realized his legs couldn't fully stretch out.
Miku also felt cramped.
After all, she had grown a lot taller over the past years.
"It's hot too."
"Can't help it. Before, it wasn't hot because it was raining. Now it's clear outside and over thirty degrees."
Being in a confined space during summer truly was torture.
Today, Miku wore shorts with black pantyhose, topped with a light blue outer shirt and a breathable T-shirt underneath.
Why didn't she take off the pantyhose? Wearing those in summer was pure torture.
It looked beautiful, yes, but wasn't she hot?
"Just endure it with willpower." Miku noticed him looking at her tights.
"Girls really have it rough."
Sakurai Saki tugged at the collar of his short-sleeved white T-shirt.
Summer clothes for guys were simple—just wear whatever was cool. And especially for someone good-looking, anything looked good; no need to suffer.
Miku originally wanted to come here with Sakurai Saki to reminisce about their childhood, but she soon discovered that she absolutely couldn't endure this temperature.
She quickly surrendered and took off her coat, placing it to the side.
A few drops of sweat on her forehead slid down her smooth, fair face, then traced along the "snow valley" and disappeared without a trace.
Sakurai Saki quickly withdrew his gaze.
"Much cooler now."
Miku's body temperature was very low, so she wasn't actually that afraid of heat. Taking off one layer of clothing cooled her down immediately.
"Want to go outside?"
"…No."
A firm answer beyond expectations.
After Miku finished speaking, she looked toward him, and Sakurai Saki also lifted his gaze to her face.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds.
"Kiss me."
Sakurai Saki didn't waste words and slowly lowered his head.
The faint salty taste of sweat mixed with Miku's unique fragrance stimulated all his senses. In addition, the remaining matcha soda in her mouth also joined in the affectionate exchange of fluids between them.
Miku's chest rose and fell as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
...
On the other side, Tokyo.
Fujiwara Chika was walking around shopping together with Shinomiya Kaguya and Shirogane Kei.
At the moment, the three of them stepped into a second-hand store.
"Eh! Kaguya-san, look at this, it says it can detect nearby treasure, it looks so fun!"
"This is definitely a scam, isn't it?"
Before Kaguya even finished her sentence, Fujiwara Chika was already taking the treasure detector watch to the counter to pay.
"Kei-chan, do you want to buy swimsuits later?"
"Kaguya-nee, I bought mine last year."
"Really."
While the two were talking, Fujiwara Chika began using the detector to search for signs of treasure.
"How can this be, why isn't it working?"
"You should at least try it before buying."
"The stuff here can't be tested before buying. How am I supposed to know…" Fujiwara Chika hardened her resolve—she must find a place where she could use this detector.
The detector wasn't reacting because there was no treasure around, definitely not because it couldn't detect treasure!
It had to be that!
Having just wasted 10,000 yen on a piece of junk, Fujiwara Chika consoled herself.
"Don't run around waving that weird thing, you'll be taken for a strange woman," Shinomiya Kaguya reminded her.
"…No way, right?" Fujiwara Chika looked left and right, whistling while hastily explaining: "I totally wasn't thinking of using it when everyone goes hiking or to the beach."
"To be able to say something so simple out loud… Fujiwara-san, you really are amazing."
"Eh! Kaguya-san actually praised me, that's so rare."
Kaguya: "..."
For an idiot like you to have grown up safely until now, one really must thank the gods.
...