Inside the bathroom.
The girl's flawless body was soaking in the steaming bathtub. The billowing white steam rose, blurring her vision and pulling her thoughts back to two weeks ago.
It was a very ordinary morning. Kei Shirogane was walking to school as usual. But halfway there, she happened to spot a small dog looking around in the middle of the road, just as a black luxury sedan was speeding toward it.
There were a few other students passing by at the time, and perhaps some of them noticed the situation, but no one was willing to take such a risk for a small dog.
Kei Shirogane's rational mind also told her it was the wrong thing to do.
But she couldn't help it. The moment she saw it, her body moved on its own. It's worth noting that the instant she started moving, she thought she heard the sound of footsteps behind her suddenly grow much louder, as if someone had sprung into action right after she did.
But she had no time to worry about that then.
She rushed forward, scooped up the dog, and tried to get away before the car could hit them. But she had overestimated her own strength and agility, and underestimated the difficulty of picking up the dog and then accelerating again.
In short, the moment she picked up the dog and saw the car's headlights, she realized she wasn't going to make it.
But in that very instant...
The sound of the footsteps following close behind her suddenly became so clear. A somewhat tall figure rushed up right behind her.
In a princess carry, he swept her up, dog and all, and then lunged forward... narrowly avoiding the impact of the luxury car that was screeching its brakes but couldn't stop in time.
Kei Shirogane knew that this kind of 'hero saves the damsel' scene was a bit cliché. When she later told her best friend, Moeha, about it, she got teased a little.
But... she had to admit, when she came to her senses and found herself being held in the arms of a handsome boy who was gently setting her down and asking softly, "Are you okay?"... she truly felt herself fall into an emotion she had never experienced before.
Of course her heart was pounding.
After a near-death experience in a car accident, of course her heart would be pounding. But besides the lingering fear and shock, something else had clearly planted its seed in her heart... she just hadn't fully realized it at the time.
In short, the other person saved her. He asked her a few questions to make sure she was okay.
And then...
He turned and walked away.
That's right, he just walked away.
Kei Shirogane was, of course, still in a bit of a daze. In the moment she hesitated, his figure had already vanished into the crowd.
Afterward, whether it was the onlookers coming over to ask about the situation, the car's owner coming to apologize, or the dog's owner coming to express their gratitude... that figure never reappeared. It was as if he had never been there at all.
When it was all over and Kei Shirogane had calmed down... she finally realized that he had saved her life, yet she didn't even know his name, hadn't repaid him in any way, and hadn't even had a chance to say a proper thank you... Was that right???
That was obviously not right!
So she felt it was necessary to find her benefactor and thank him properly.
Fortunately, although she didn't know his identity, she had seen that he was wearing the uniform of Shuchiin Academy's high school division.
Lacking any other information, she resorted to the simplest and dumbest method—waiting at the gate.
That afternoon, she quickly finished her student council activities and then went to the high school gate to wait, watching every person who passed by.
But she waited until it was dark, until almost everyone was gone, and still didn't see him.
She was a little disappointed, but after thinking it over, she realized he probably didn't participate in any club activities and had left before she arrived.
So the next day, she took leave from the student council in advance and came to wait at the school gate.
This time, she didn't have to wait long before she saw him. Apparently, this kind person really didn't participate in club activities and was in a hurry to get home right after class.
Kei Shirogane stopped him and sincerely expressed her gratitude, also stating that she wanted to offer some form of reward.
But he just smiled and said, "It's a little hot today, how about you treat me to some ice cream?"
A single ice cream to repay him for saving her life? That was, of course, a bit absurd.
But he insisted.
Kei Shirogane had no choice but to treat it as an appetizer for her repayment, so she bought two ice creams, and they ate them together under the shade of a tree.
And it was there, under the shade of the tree, that the two chatted for a bit.
Kei Shirogane happened to mention that her family was looking for a new place to live, and he immediately said he had a house he was struggling to rent out. The two hit it off, and they soon became neighbors.
At the time, Kei Shirogane thought of it as a mutually beneficial arrangement.
But it wasn't until she and her father moved in that she discovered that although the house was old, it was fully furnished and had a great layout, and the rent Fumiya Jin was charging was very conservative. In the end, it seemed she owed him even more.
Having no other choice, she came up with another plan—which led to her regularly going over to Fumiya Jin's house to do chores.
This course of action was, of course, primarily to repay his kindness. That was true.
But Kei Shirogane also had to admit that she had a little ulterior motive in mind... for instance, it gave her more opportunities to see him and to learn more about what kind of person he was...
In fact, she did achieve that goal.
During the few times she came over to clean, Fumiya Jin would always ask her to stay for a chat and a cup of tea after she was done.
From this, she learned that Fumiya Jin was a refined and quiet person who liked to read and write stories in his spare time, and was also quite knowledgeable.
Moreover, his social circle was very narrow, and he was something of a homebody. He didn't join any clubs at school and didn't know many people. And of course... he didn't have a girlfriend, or even any close female friends.
This news made Kei-chan secretly happy for several days.
In her mind, there was no need to rush things. As long as she visited Fumiya-san often, chatted with him, and opened up to him, their relationship would gradually deepen, and perhaps things would develop into the outcome she desired. This approach also suited her usually reserved personality.
However...
This beautiful expectation was shattered a few days ago, when Fumiya Jin came over to borrow a pair of sweatpants.
On Sunday night, when Nijika was leaving, she happened to be coming back from grocery shopping, so she saw the blonde girl leaving Fumiya-san's house, humming a little tune.
Her mood soured instantly.
Then this morning, when she got to school, she heard that Fumiya Jin had become famous in the high school division, and the rumors of Yuki Suou confessing to him were spreading like wildfire.
As a result, she was downcast all day, unable to understand how the situation had suddenly turned out like this.
At the same time, it was precisely because of her low spirits that Moeha Fujiwara had specifically dragged her to see the band performance to cheer her up.
...
Her thoughts returned to the present.
Kei Shirogane stared at the white steam. Remembering what she had just said to Fumiya-san in the entryway...
Her cheeks, already flushed from the hot water, instantly turned so red it looked like they might start bleeding. She couldn't help but sink her head down, burying her cheeks, lips, and nose in the water, blowing bubbles with a gurgling sound.
After a good while, when she was almost out of air, she finally lifted her head again, gasping for breath...
...
"It's all that Moeha's fault... She was filling my head with all sorts of nonsense the entire way back..."
Moeha was incredibly bold. On the way back, she had been relentlessly egging her on, even saying outrageous things like, 'If you like him, just jump him!'
Although Kei Shirogane found it ridiculous, she had to admit that in that tense and uncomfortable situation just now, Moeha's words were the first thing that popped into her head. And so, she couldn't stop herself from saying them out loud...
"What am I going to do now... How am I supposed to face Fumiya-san later..."
Kei Shirogane's head ached.
But as her head throbbed, she also thought of that beautiful, expressionless girl with the blonde hair and orange eyes...
That girl was clearly not the same person as the first blonde girl, today's band members, or the famous Miss Suou of the high school division.
Does that mean that in just a few short days, so many unusually close and beautiful girls have really appeared around Fumiya-san?
Why?!
He's such a kind and gentle person who doesn't even like to socialize that much. How could he suddenly get involved with so many girls?
This isn't right, is it?
What on earth happened to make things turn out this way?
What... is it...
"Ugh—"
Kei Shirogane suddenly felt her head spin.
"What's happening... Is it... because I've been soaking for too long?"
______
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