— — — — — —
The "couple" walked hand in hand for quite a while before finally stopping.
Then Oikawa Tōru looked at Kawasaki Saki.
And Kawasaki looked at Oikawa.
Almost at the same time, they burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Kawasaki, did you see that guy's face just now? I swear, I'm dying here!"
Oikawa was genuinely struggling to hold it together. "You know, while I was waiting for you earlier, that guy kept bragging about his girlfriend. Said she was pretty, cute, and got great grades. Like, seriously?"
The smile on Kawasaki's face froze. She looked at him coldly.
Oikawa immediately corrected himself. "I mean you… oh no, she is definitely pretty and cute. I'm just saying there's still some room for improvement academically."
"Hmph. At least you know what to say." Kawasaki snorted, though her expression softened a little.
The two continued down the quiet nighttime streets. Chiba at night felt peaceful, without any of the noise and chaos of a big city.
"So you came looking for me just because of that?" Oikawa asked. "I thought somebody was bullying you or something. Oh, right. I brought you hot milk."
He handed over the warm bottle he'd been carrying.
Kawasaki accepted it, warming her hands against it before taking a sip.
"He came by the restaurant once," she said. "After that, he kept bothering me. It was annoying."
"Oh? Sounds like you're pretty charming."
For some reason, Oikawa suddenly felt a little sour.
Not just emotionally sour.
The milk in his own hand was really sour.
Damn it. What kind of black-hearted shop sells expired milk?
Kawasaki smiled faintly, "No. His taste is just bad."
"Then does that mean my taste is bad too?" Oikawa asked with a teasing grin.
Her drinking motion paused. For a second, Kawasaki didn't know how to answer. Heat crept onto her face.
She quickly changed the subject. "Oikawa, have you figured out how the school sports festival is gonna work yet?"
"Still thinking about it." He sighed. "It's honestly hard. I originally wanted to include a basketball tournament, but now it looks like that probably won't happen."
He spotted a small stone near his feet and casually kicked it forward.
"Childish," Kawasaki muttered it quietly after seeing what he was doing.
But the smile on her lips only grew brighter, and her eyes unconsciously followed the little stone rolling along the road.
"Oh right," she said, "that cavalry battle thing Zaimokuza mentioned in the group chat actually sounds pretty interesting."
"From what he described, one person acts as the horse, another as the general, and teams fight each other. It sounded kinda fun."
She repeated the idea she'd seen in the chat group.
Oikawa didn't answer. He kept kicking the stone along the road.
Kawasaki didn't mind his silence and continued talking anyway. "Oikawa, did you mute the group chat or something? I've never seen you say anything in there."
"Yeah. Muted it a long time ago. Too noisy."
"Ah… what a waste." His final kick went crooked, and the pebble dropped straight into a drain.
Oikawa then asked, "Kawasaki, are you cold?"
"I'm not."
"I see. Here, take my jacket."
"I said I'm not cold. You should wear it yourself."
"I'm sure you're cold." Oikawa took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
Under the moonlight, their shadows tangled together. But in reality, there was still a small distance between them. They looked close, yet somehow still far apart.
The moment she put on his jacket, Kawasaki's face grew even redder.
It still carried Oikawa's warmth. And the faint scent of lavender.
Without thinking, she sniffed it lightly twice.
Then immediately cursed herself internally for acting like a complete pervert.
"Kawasaki," Oikawa suddenly asked beside her ear, "if someone gave you ten million yen, what would you do with it?"
"Ten million yen…"
She thought about it seriously before answering. "I'd probably buy new clothes for my younger brother and sister first. Then I'd get presents for my parents. After that, I'd treat you to a really expensive dinner. And I'd save whatever was left for buying a house someday."
"So I'm not the most important person in your heart after all. That kinda hurts." Oikawa sounded dramatically heartbroken. "You couldn't at least say you'd take me out for the expensive dinner first before everything else? Even if it was just to comfort me."
"I don't want to lie to you."
Kawasaki's expression was completely sincere.
Hearing that, Oikawa suddenly didn't know what to say. That kind of honesty was always impossible to defend against.
For some reason, he felt ashamed of himself.
"Then maybe we're not that compatible after all," he said with a crooked smile. "I love lying. Feels like I'm basically a scumbag."
"Mm."
"Mm?" Oikawa immediately pressed her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I know you like lying," Kawasaki said calmly. "And you're kind of a creep too. The way you look at my chest during class every day is completely shameless."
She only said half of what she truly meant.
The other half stayed buried in her heart.
'Even so… I still like you.'
For once, Oikawa genuinely didn't know how to respond.
Sincerity really was terrifying.
After walking together for a long while longer, Oikawa suddenly stopped.
A teasing look appeared in his eyes as he turned toward her. "What if someday, one of my lies seriously hurts you? Would you stop talking to me forever?"
"No," Kawasaki answered without hesitation.
She met his gaze directly and said, "But I would beat the hell out of you. The kind of beating that leaves you unable to even crawl away."
Oikawa laughed.
Kawasaki laughed too.
Under the glow of the streetlights, their shadows stayed clearly separate, but somehow, the distance between them felt much smaller instead.
Without realizing it, they eventually arrived back at the Y-shaped fork in the road.
Sweat had already formed on Oikawa's forehead. He sounded genuinely impressed. "Man… we walked four whole kilometers."
"Yeah," Kawasaki replied calmly. "Saved 950 yen too."
Oikawa's breathing was a little uneven. If he hadn't started exercising recently, those four kilometers probably would've flattened him completely.
As it was, he was only a little out of breath.
"Kawasaki, your stamina's insane."
He looked at her suspiciously. "Tell me honestly. Did you secretly train in martial arts since you were a kid or something?"
Kawasaki had just walked more than four kilometers without even panting. Aside from a faint flush on her cheeks, she looked perfectly fine.
"Your stamina's just terrible."
She rolled her eyes at him and took off the jacket draped over her shoulders. "Here. See you tomorrow."
"Kawasaki, I want tonkatsu tomorrow."
She nodded, "Do you still want tamagoyaki too?"
"Yes! Kawasaki, you are the best."
"Okay. I'll bring it for you tomorrow."
Oikawa finished the milk in his hand.
"Kawasaki!"
"What?" She stopped and turned around.
Oikawa jogged over, naturally taking the milk from her hand.
After taking a sip, he frowned. "Kawasaki, doesn't this milk taste kinda sour to you?"
The moment she saw what he'd done, Kawasaki completely froze.
A second... indirect kiss?
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Still dazed, Kawasaki stared blankly ahead while Oikawa continued. "Try it yourself. See if it actually tastes sour."
Oikawa stepped in front of her.
Then, in one smooth motion, he drank the rest of the milk in the cup.
And as he looked at her softly flushed lips, he leaned in.
Clink!
The milk cup fell to the ground, the sharp sound echoing through the quiet street.
Oikawa wrapped his arms around Kawasaki.
"Mmh…"
The sound that escaped her lips stretched long and breathless, her breathing suddenly growing hurried.
Yeah. Kawasaki's lips really were soft.
Her body was soft too.
And at that moment, Oikawa finally realized something.
Kawasaki's heart was pounding just as hard as his own.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
...And the night wind sweeping through Chiba suddenly seemed stronger somehow.
Oikawa felt certain of it.
The wind spirits were jealous of him. Incredibly jealous.
But no matter what, the night no longer felt cold.
.
.
.