After parting ways with the fan, the two of them wandered around the mall for a while longer.
As it turned out, Kita Ikuyo and Aoki Kei had severely underestimated how recognizable they'd become—
Even though they stayed in the mall for less than an hour, they were approached several times by fans who recognized them.
With no other choice, Aoki ended up dragging Kita to a department store where they bought a pair of masks to wear.
Once the interruptions died down, around 11 a.m., they headed to a restaurant for lunch.
While eating, the topic of the bento came up again—something Kita had mentioned last time.
She wasn't all that confident in her cooking skills yet, so she was still preparing and practicing.
She asked if Kei-senpai could wait a little longer for her to get better.
Aoki still tried to gently talk her out of the idea of making lunch for him.
He really didn't want to trouble anyone—especially not with something that takes as much effort as packing a homemade lunch.
But Kita was determined. She gave him no room to refuse.
After they talked about the bento, the conversation shifted to school trips.
At Shuchiin Private High School, school trips begin in second year—unsurprising, given the tuition isn't exactly cheap.
For second-years, each class can vote on any destination within Japan.
Third-years, meanwhile, are allowed to choose from a list of countries or any domestic location, with some limitations.
Of course, the school doesn't cover all the expenses. Students are responsible for a portion of the costs, depending on where they go.
When talking about school trips, Kita mentioned that many Tokyo high schools hold their trips around this time of year.
Like Shuchiin Private, and also Shimokitazawa High, which Nijika had talked about before.
So if their class chose a popular destination—say, somewhere near Kyoto's Kiyomizu Temple— there's a decent chance they'd run into other schools doing the same thing.
But Aoki didn't really care either way.
For one, while Japan isn't huge, there are still plenty of places to choose from.
The odds of two school groups overlapping aren't that high.
And even if it did happen, it wouldn't really affect him.
As for the destination itself...
Aoki did have a vote, but his attitude was pretty much to just go with the flow.
He was fine with going anywhere.
Aside from rural Tottori, where there weren't even convenience stores, and Tokyo, which he knew well, he'd never actually been anywhere else in Japan.
. . .
After chatting for a while and finishing lunch, they left the mall.
Aoki had originally planned to bring up shopping for fall clothes, but Kita beat him to it—dragging him straight into a clothing store.
He ended up tagging along while she picked out a short floral skirt, a pale red varsity jacket, and a few blouses to go with the skirt.
She kept asking for his opinion while trying things on, but fashion wasn't exactly Aoki's strong suit.
All he could really say was "they all look pretty good" to avoid giving a useless answer.
Still, there were a few outfits that really suited Kita's style, and those he genuinely praised.
The blouses, skirts, and jackets that Aoki said looked good—she bought all of them.
Later, Aoki picked out two jackets for the fall season.
But his taste wasn't great, so halfway through, Kita overruled all his choices and picked out new ones for him herself.
By the time they stepped out of the clothing store, it was already around 3 p.m.
They didn't shop any further—just grabbed two bubble teas from a nearby shop before heading home separately.
He'd said he was there to help carry her things, but honestly, he hadn't done much.
It was more like… he just wanted to spend time walking around with her.
On the train ride back to his apartment, carrying the clothes Kita had picked out, Aoki stared out the window.
Suddenly, he remembered the moment she'd struck a peace sign pose while trying on clothes and asked, "Kei-senpai, how do I look? Cute?"
Then he recalled the serious expression she wore when picking out clothes for him.
"This one will totally make you look cool, Kei-senpai!"
He looked away from the window and pushed the thoughts out of his mind.
The train continued moving forward.