"Oi, wake up." A stern yet calm voice stirs Echo Eclipse, who had managed to fall asleep lying down on the grass. She mumbled in her sleep while twirling around on the ground, and despite the stern tone of the voice, she felt a gentle caress around her bangs; the tip of her tail started swaying in comfort. She knows who it is before letting out a yawn and opening her eyes.
There she was, sitting beside Echo Eclipse while gently caressing Echo's bang.
Her eyes widened in excitement, and her tail started swaying before she stopped herself. She remembered that Symboli Rudolf was the one who made fun of her by doing her morning routine in her face! (Self-proclaimed.)
In her anger, her cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish, and she rolled on her side, facing away from Symboli Rudolf.
Seeing this adorable creature acting angsty, a small, subtle smile appeared on her expression before she stood up.
"What are you doing here?" Echo Eclipse spat back before beginning to roll around in the grass, seeing this. Symboli Rudolf lets out a wry smile.
'Looks like her withdrawal is hitting her hard. Can't believe that I'll have to thank M C.B. later.' Rudolf thought before letting out a deep exhalation, moving her hand into her pocket and pulling out two tickets. Seeing that Rudolf pulled something new out, Echo Eclipse stopped rolling around and sat up.
"What's that?" She asked curiously, already forgotten about her boredom and the temporary restriction on running.
"Discount tickets."
"Why?" Echo tilted her head, confused about why Rudolf had that. Of course, it should be stated that Echo Eclipse has no other hobby besides running; even outside of training, she would jog at a light speed that hardly tires her and explore the academy or the outside.
She could use the TV in the clubroom to ease her boredom, but that wouldn't help the itchiness in her legs that was constantly telling her to run.
"We haven't hung out together once, even after your wins and celebrations."
"I thought you would not have the time since your timetable is filled with training," Echo said worriedly, and Symboli Rudolf looked deep in thought for a moment before shaking her head.
"I'm completely free this afternoon."
"Really?"
"Affirmative." Rudolf lied with a straight face, staring back at Echo, and Echo brightened up. Jumping up from the ground, she started hopping around.
"Let's go!" She started tugging on Rudolf's arm before Rudolf stopped her. Echo Eclipse is still wearing her training uniform, and Symboli Rudolf is still wearing her student uniform.
"First, let's change; we will be going outside."
"Outside? I thought the discount tickets were for the cafeteria."
"Heh, definitely not. Meals are free in the cafeteria, so it doesn't make sense for them to give out a discounted deal for something free." Symboli Rudolf shook her head before going to the clubroom. Echo Eclipse tilted her head in confusion, wondering why Rudolf was going in that direction and not toward the dorm. She later gave up trying to find a reason before she decided to jog to the dorm sneakily.
"Hehe, no one will know." She giggled, not realising that Symboli Rudolf had already noticed that she was jogging away. She shook her head and decided to let her have this one.
5 minutes after Echo Eclipse entered her dorm, Symboli Rudolf returned from the clubroom, and Echo Eclipse had already changed. She just put on the clothes she has at the moment, not really thinking much of it, simply wearing a white t-shirt with black, flexible jeans for Umas.
Symboli Rudolf swiftly changed into a tailored white blouse, a blazer, and high-waisted trousers. It only took her 3 minutes to change. Stepping out of the bathroom, Rudolf's eyes glanced over their dorm room.
She spots the worn-read letters on Echo Eclipse's table, and she knows that Echo kept reading it when getting ready for bed before falling asleep. It was a letter of encouragement and love for that special girl.
"Maybe I should meet her parents once…" She murmured before stepping out of the dorm room and spotted Echo Eclipse chatting with other girls. Rudolf simply waved at Echo, and Echo smiled brightly at the sight of her before coming over.
"Let's go." She nudged her head in the direction of the exit, and Echo excitedly left the building.
"Where are we going?" "To Yakisoba place."
"Really?" Echo started drooling, "I want to eat Ota Yakisoba!" (Ota Yakisoba is delicious with their thick, chewy noodles and savoury sauce. Now I'm drooling after describing it, damn it.)
"Mh." Rudolf nodded as they left together.
Meanwhile…
Kazuo entered the clubroom, holding a clipboard of Symboli Rudolf improvements and notes. He stopped and looked around, realising that Symboli Rudolf isn't here.
'Weird, Luna doesn't have a habit of being late to her schedule by the timetable…' He thought before spotting a note on the table in front of the sofa.
"Did Rudolf write this?" he mumbled in surprise before walking over and picking it up, reading the text written on it.
"Something important came up, cancelling all training this afternoon and evening."
"..."
"Did something important happen? An event, maybe?" Kazuo said, trying to remember any important events or activities from this week, but nothing came to mind. Maybe the student president has important work and needs Rudolf's help-" He nodded at his words, thinking that it's the most plausible explanation for why Symboli Rudolf cancelled her training when her race is just a month and a half away.
He walked out of the clubroom and walked toward the student president's office. On his way, he overhears something from the students.
"Did you hear that Echo Eclipse and Symboli Rudolf left the school at the same time?
"What's a big deal about that?"
"They were both wearing casual clothes!
"Ehhh, really? That Echo Eclipse, the girl who kept running around in her free time?" It was widely known that Echo Eclipse usually wear her training uniform daily, only wearing the student uniform for the mandatory morning class. For her to wear casual clothing when she had no race on that day was a shock to all the students, especially her friends in the 1A class. And the fact that she wore them when leaving with Symboli Rudolf was bound to leave rumours.
Hearing this, Kazuo Fujisawa froze and stared in surprise.
"Luna is going on a date?" He was so shocked that he accidentally said Symboli Rudolf's childhood nickname aloud, then he started laughing and turned around. He is but an uncle; he doesn't need to meddle needlessly with Rudolf's life.
'I wonder who confessed to each other first.' He already has some misunderstanding of the situation.
…
..
.
"Nhm… Nom… Nom…" Echo Eclipse happily devours her meal while Symboli Rudolf cooks a different type of Yakisoba on a hot metal plate with a metal spatula.
Echo Eclipse has eaten about 3 plates' worth of Ota Yakisoba and is starting to feel full, and Rudolf noticed this. Symboli Rudolf stopped cooking and placed the cooked yakisobas on her plates. She finally began to eat. She has only taken a few bites of Yakisoba from her plate, and has only focused on cooking because Echo Eclipse's eating expression is actually very nice to watch for her.
"Nmh.. Nisn't nhe food vewy guud?" Echo says, chewing silently, her tail flicking in excitement. There was something about the flavour of Ota Yakisoba that hit the right spot in Echo's taste buds.
Symboli Rudolf silently nodded while eating her meal; her eating manner is very polished and excellent, and while Echo Eclipse isn't sloppy and a mess, Echo's manner of eating focused on enjoying herself rather than being aware of the attention on her, so she just dug in without any reserve.
"Eat slowly, Echo," Rudolf said with a soft tone before eating as well. Luckily, Echo Eclipse doesn't really need to eat that much; only 3 plates of Yakisoba are enough to satisfy her stomach, which isn't much for professional runners, who have to eat healthy, balanced meals every day for their training. Hence, the large portions are given out at the cafeteria.
Thanks to the simplicity of Echo's mind, she had already forgotten about the need to use her legs and run.
'Mhhh! Eating with friends tastes much better than eating alone!' Her ears twitched as she bopped her head left and right in delight, cupping her right cheek.
"Rudolf!"
"Yes?"
"Let's invite the others here too!"
"Mh"
Symboli Rudolf nodded calmly while dining; she didn't mind having more people eating with them. However, she felt a subtle tang in her heart which easily disappeared after a moment. She prefers eating with just Echo Eclipse.