"Good morning, Yukinoshita."
Masao glanced at Yukinoshita's outfit. Then he glanced again. And again...
Watching his actions, Yukinoshita felt a wave of exasperation.
"Masao-kun, must you do that? You're acting like a peeping tom. People will get the wrong idea."
Masao scratched his cheek, embarrassed.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. So, how about this?"
Stare~~~
Since Yukinoshita told him not to look secretly, it surely meant that he, as her companion, was permitted to look openly. This was Masao's master-level interpretation.
Yukinoshita felt a prickle of discomfort under his intense gaze.
"Masao-kun, what are you doing?"
"Just looking at your outfit."
"Could you please not? It's making me a bit uncomfortable."
"But didn't you tell me to observe you?"
"I said no such thing."
"You said, 'Don't be a peeping tom.' Which means I should look openly, right?"
Yukinoshita: ...
"Sigh..." Yukinoshita sighed in resignation. "The fault was in my wording. Masao-kun, please stop looking at me."
"Fine."
With reluctance, Masao averted his gaze, making sure he couldn't see Yukinoshita at all.
But since they were walking side-by-side, him turning his head away like that looked incredibly strange.
After a few steps, and just before Masao could twist his own neck into a permanent knot, Yukinoshita spoke up.
"Masao-kun, face forward. You're making me look strange, too."
Hearing this, Masao grinned and dutifully turned his head back to its normal position.
Yukinoshita had the feeling that she'd been played, and felt a faint flicker of irritation.
The three of them bought their tickets and made their way to the platform.
Their timing was perfect; the train arrived just two minutes after they did.
Even though it was only 7 a.m., it was a weekend and this was a train bound for Tokyo, so it was fairly crowded.
It took some effort, but they managed to find three seats together.
Once seated, Masao let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew, good thing we got seats. Standing all the way to Tokyo would kill any desire to have fun."
"I agree."
Yukinoshita nodded, then turned to look at Jahy, who was sitting beside her, yawning incessantly.
"Didn't you get enough sleep, Jahy? Do you want to take a nap?"
She patted her lap by way of invitation.
Jahy took one look at Yukinoshita's lap, let out another yawn, and promptly lay down on it.
"Then I'll sleep for a bit. Wake me when we get there."
In no time at all, Jahy was fast asleep.
Ah, to be young and able to fall asleep instantly.
Witnessing this scene, Masao glanced at the still-available space on Yukinoshita's lap.
"Yaaawn... I didn't sleep well last night. I'm so tired."
He fake-yawned, sneaking a peek at Yukinoshita beside him. She showed no reaction.
'Did she not hear me?'
Thinking this, Masao increased his movements and volume just a tad.
"Aaaah~ I'm so sleepy. I'd really like to sleep for a while."
He glanced at Yukinoshita again.
'Huh? That's not right. Still no reaction? Is she giving me silent permission?'
Masao decided to try one more time.
"Ohhh, I'm so—"
"That's enough, Masao-kun. I heard you."
Yukinoshita knew exactly what Masao was angling for and had initially planned to ignore him. But his performance was getting progressively more dramatic, making it impossible to pretend he wasn't there, so she had no choice but to intervene with a weary tone.
Masao's face lit up with expectation.
"So, does that mean...?"
"What do you think?"
"Yeah, you're probably right."
Seeing Yukinoshita's perfectly placid expression, Masao knew he wouldn't be granted the privilege of using her lap as a pillow so easily.
'Sometimes I'm really jealous of that kid. Nope. I can't stand to see her so comfortable.'
—
An hour later.
Jahy slowly stirred from her sleep. Feeling the soft surface she was pillowed on, she instinctively nuzzled her face against it.
"So comfy..."
Just as she was in this drowsy state, a low voice sounded above her.
"Are you awake, Jahy? We're almost there."
Hearing the voice, Jahy opened her eyes—only to find a face with a sleazy grin looming right above her.
"Wah~!"
Jahy was instantly frightened out of her wits, springing upright.
"Why is it you, Masao?!"
She distinctly remembered falling asleep on Yukinoshita's sweet-smelling, soft lap. How had she woken up on Masao's?
While Masao's lap was more padded and, objectively, more comfortable to lie on, having that big face so close to hers was terrifying.
Masao put on his most earnest, sunny, and kind smile.
"Of course, it's because you were sleeping on Yukinoshita's lap for so long. It would have gotten uncomfortable for her, so I volunteered to let you use mine instead. It was for both of your sakes."
While his words sounded noble on the surface, what Masao was actually thinking was:
'If I can't have it, neither can you.'
Unaware of his true motives, Yukinoshita gave a nod of confirmation.
Having someone use your lap as a pillow for an extended period really does make your legs go numb and uncomfortable, which is why she had agreed to Masao's proposal to switch.
Jahy had a gut feeling that Masao wouldn't be so nice to her without an ulterior motive, but she couldn't quite figure it out right now.
"Whatever." She'd slept well, anyway, so she decided not to dwell on it. "Are we there yet?"
"The next stop is ours. Just a few more minutes."
The three stood up from their seats, preparing to disembark.
A fair number of people were getting off at this station. They stayed close together to avoid getting separated.
Following the crowd, they finally emerged from the train station.
Once they were outside in the open space, they all breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief.
Yukinoshita looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and instinctively turned her gaze toward Masao.
In strange and unknown places, people naturally seek a reliable anchor.
"Which way do we go now?"
While Masao had been to Tokyo a few times, he wasn't very familiar with the area either.
Pulling out his phone, he checked the map and pointed. "It's this way. Let's just take a taxi."
"Agreed."
Yukinoshita nodded. It would save time and be more convenient, sparing them the hassle of navigating and potentially getting lost.
Even though taxis in Japan were notoriously expensive, neither of them seemed particularly concerned about the cost.
Being at a train station, taxis were plentiful.
Masao took the front passenger seat, while Yukinoshita and Jahy sat in the back.
"Driver, to Ueno Zoo, please."
"You got it."
The driver was a man in his forties, the kind whose appearance instantly inspired a sense of safety. With one look at the trio, his years of experience allowed him to quickly assess their relationship.
A boy and a girl going to the zoo together on a weekend? Clearly a couple. If not officially, then they were practically there, just waiting for the confession to make it official.
But the two of them were out with a child—likely one of their little sisters.
That meant they were in that ambiguous "more-than-friends-but-not-quite-lovers" stage. Otherwise, why would they bring along a little third wheel to ruin their potential couple-time?
However...
The driver stole a glance at Yukinoshita through the rearview mirror.
'This girl is... unreasonably pretty.'
And the little one next to her was absurdly cute, too.
'Looks-wise, they must be sisters.'
Then he glanced at Masao, who was... a bit below average.
'This kid's got some luck. Does he have some incredible hidden talent that makes him popular with beauties? Nah... More likely than him being a lady-killer, he probably knows some deep, dark secret of hers.'
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