Chapter 10

“K-Kido-kun…”

The distance where our breaths touched.

Even though it was the heat of June, the bodies touching each other held a fever that made us forget it all.

I was holding petite Yuzu senpai from behind, pressing close against her.

Reflected in the large, round, languidly moistened eyes hidden behind her rimless glasses was my figure.

And I, too, could only see Yuzu senpai.

“Ah, u…”

Having grown slightly calmer, Yuzu senpai’s gaze began darting back and forth.

Yet, Yuzu senpai showed no signs of moving away.

The tiny hands that were gripping mine from above, and the situation where she was sitting on my lap—both remained just as they were.

As if under some kind of spell, I couldn’t tear my gaze away.

“…Mn.”

Then, Yuzu senpai closed her eyes tightly.

Whether to escape my gaze or for some other reason, she stayed motionless with her eyelids shut.

The spell broke, and what next entered my field of vision was Yuzu senpai’s lips.

Pink lips that looked especially vibrant even on her flushed face.

Like a face waiting for a kiss… cliché thoughts like that began sounding alarm bells in my incapable-of-calm brain.

“S-Sen… pai…”

My throat was terribly parched, and that dryness spread to my lips. Right in front of me were juicy lips that reminded me of an oasis in a desert.

Our relationship was nothing more than senpai and kouhai.

But I like Yuzu senpai.

The person I love is in my arms, with her eyes closed, waiting—or so it looked.

The moment I recognized that, my body moved on its own.

“S-Senpai… I—”

Just as I tried to continue those words.

Ding-dong, dang-dong!

Ding-dong, dang-dong!

Ding-dong, dang-dong!

Ding-dong, dang-dong…

An inorganic, heartless, familiar school chime rang out.

That sound, which felt like an eternity… was more than enough to rob me of my fever and bring me back to my senses.

“….Ugh.”

Yuzu senpai was trembling.

Her tightly closed eyelids, those lips, and the hand gripping mine from above—that hand was shaking.

“…I’m sorry, senpai, for startling you.”

I immediately pulled away from Yuzu senpai.

Though since her hands were still holding mine, it was only my face and body that moved back.

“…Phew?”

Yuzu senpai opened her eyes right away.

Perhaps because she had shut them too tightly, she had a few stray tears welling up.

“…Uhyaaa!?”

Startled, Yuzu senpai stood up with a vigorous bound.

The hands that had been held the whole time were let go, and I felt the warmth retreating away.

“…S-Sorry, Kido-kun! B-B-B-Because I pulled you!”

“…N-No, no, you’ve got it wrong! It’s my fault for losing my balance!”

“N-No way, it’s because I gave a tug like this!”

“You’re wrong, it’s because I moved all of a sudden like this, I’m telling you!”

It was a circular argument, much like the one from before.

It was a scene reminiscent of when we were arguing over a single chair, each insisting the other was at fault.

To my scrambled heart, this familiar situation felt deeply comforting.

“A-All of a sudden…!”

“Eh, ah… S-So, not in that kind of way, I mean!”

However, Yuzu senpai didn’t seem to feel the same way.

She remembered the situation from just a moment ago, and her already red face turned even redder.

“U-Um… Ah! The-The chime rang, so… c-can we call it a day for today!?”

“Y-Yes! …I-I’ll stay behind until the baseball club returns the chair, so please head home first, senpai!!”

Awkward proposal, awkward reply.

“I-Is that so? Th-Then I guess I’ll take you up on that!”

“L-Leave it to me!”

I felt like I was going to lose my mind from embarrassment and awkwardness.

“S-Sorry! Well then, I’ll be heading home first!”

“Yes! G-Good work today! Take care on your way back!”

With her school bag slung over her shoulder, Yuzu senpai hurried toward the club room door.

I had the fleeting illusion that her small back was drifting further and further away.

With a rattle, the door slid open.

“…………”

Yuzu senpai took that step out into the hallway, and then…

“…K-Kido-kun!”

She turned back.

“I-It was a little startling just now, but, um, you know…!”

And then.

“I-It wasn’t that I hated it…!”

Clatter!!

Making a violent sound that completely contradicted her shrinking voice, the literature club door slammed shut, but with too much force, it bounced back open.

Footsteps hurrying away and fading out.

The half-open door.

Yuzu senpai’s figure was no longer there.