"Aya…meko right?" he said, pointing at her with a drowsiness.
"Yes. That's my name dummy." Ayameko pouts a little.
"So…why are you up here again…? And what's with the umbrella?" Naoki questioned her.
"...do I really have to tell you something so simple…" she groans.
"Kind of…?" He yawned, "I just…never saw you really use that umbrella in public…"
"That's because my sunscreen is being shipped from the east…it's not getting here until Feburary…" Ayameko frowns a bit with annoyance.
"Oh…Is that so…Well Kimura told me that my cards aren't coming in until March…" Naoki replied.
As soon as Kimura's name was mentioned he sneezed as everyone else looked at him with slight caution. "What?" never seen someone fuckin' sneeze?" he raised an eyebrow to his onlookers. Back at the rooftop, Naoki just leaned on the wall as the cooling breeze was a good cooling feeling.
Naoki huffs a little letting out hot air, the cold breeze catching and forming around it momentarily before it dissipates. "September really is the fall season huh…" Naoki spoke, his words weren't broken up with mid yawns, but with serenity. Ayameko looked at him briefly as she kept her umbrella open.
She wouldn't keep it open for long however as clouds would briefly block out the sun. Ayameko lets out a sigh of relief as she closes her umbrella. "Thankfully clouds exist." she joked. Naoki chuckled lightly at her joke, although it was clear that she didn't think her joke was that funny.
"Does this mean we have to wear our winter uniforms?" Ayameko questioned.
"Huh…?" Naoki was uncharacteristically awake.
"I mean…" Ayameko stuttered in her speech for the first time, "…Like do we have to wear our winter uniforms now? It's the fall."
"Probably." Naoki spoke clearly, "Our generation is the first to have this kind of treatment from what I've heard. Winter uniforms…for a bunch of superpowered young adults…"
"Yeah." She chuckled, "kind of Ironic isn't it…" Ayameko's voice softened.
Ayameko walked up and stood beside Naoki, both looking up at slightly cloudy skies. Naoki didn't pay much attention to Ayameko before but something was different this time, he now got to see who she really is. The esper who gave Kimura a run for his money, the empress that enshrouds those in the dark, the esper the world left in its dark shadow.
But that Ayameko was briefly gone. A rare occurrence, she had a soft smile, indistinguishable from her usual stern frown but it was there. Her hair flowed elegantly with the wind as it was tied back into a ponytail. Naoki felt starstruck but he couldn't pinpoint why, was it because she was pretty? Was it because of who she was? Or was it because there was more to dig into this person, a gem hidden beneath all that tough exterior…
Something was screaming inside of him to take her hand, but his body refused to listen. Her indomitable presence made his body freeze with fear, yet his heart was warmed by this soft side of her. Everything clashed as they stood watching the clouds pass.
"Clouds are nice." Ayameko suddenly broke the silence.
"Huh…?" Naoki replied, caught off guard.
"Clouds…" Ayameko softly muttered, "…they don't have to worry about being in everyone's shadow…" she looked over at Naoki.
Naoki felt his face fluster up slightly as he got to see her eyes, they were slightly glowing and radiating with mana. It was nothing serious but felt more like a subconscious intimidation habit, she blinked afterwards as that feeling faded rather quickly.
Her golden eyes stopped glowing as she bit her lower lip out of frustration, turning away from Naoki. This was very uncharacteristic of the usual stoic and sarcastic Ayameko he's used to seeing on a daily basis.
He watches her recompose herself as she lets out a deep sigh and opens her umbrella. The sunlight seems through the cracks of the clouds as it parts ways. Naoki watches as her demeanor shifts from this soft and very vulnerable side to her tough exterior self.
"I'm heading back downstairs." she coldly said to Naoki without looking at him.
She makes her way to the door and heads back down into the gymnasium, Naoki was left there with more questions than answers. But one thing was clear, Ayameko had more depth to her and kept herself away from the world.
***
Kimura tries on his winter outfit in the changing room. The outfit was a slightly darker color than their regular summer outfit, it sported some baggy leggings as Kimura raised an eyebrow. What are they trying to get at? Do we look like we're from the north or something? He tried it on anyway since it was getting colder.
The jacket was more like a sweater than anything, however the fabric was thin on the outside and thick on the inside. But wearing a dress shirt underneath was making it slightly hotter than normal. Kimura takes off the sweater-like jacket and strips off the dress shirt. He tosses on a regular white shirt as he throws on the jacket.
"That's a little better. It's not as hot."
He looks at his outfit now, it looked more casual than winter wear but he didn't mind it. The leggings were unironically comfy for how it looks. The leggings were thermal regulated as cold air came through and heat exited out.
Kimura jumps a little to get a feeling for the leggings and the jacket as the jacket stays on. Now time for the real test. He heads out of the changing room and onto the rooftop of the dorms. Once he reached up there, Kimura started hopping as high as he could to test how well the leggings would do.
They didn't slide up which was a good thing but they didn't fall further either. Kimura then lands as he throws a couple of punches and combinations. The winter outfit kept up with his quick combinations and his kicks without much effort.