Standing beneath the cherry blossom tree, Miyahito looked around at the empty surroundings.
Looks like I really was overthinking it. Someone probably just glanced our way while passing by.
'No way it's that coincidental.' Remembering his own self-indulgent thought of 'Could it be Kasumigaoka?', he chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"Seriously, I'll see her again when school starts on Monday."
"It's only been a few hours, and I'm already acting like a stalker."
"Please, Aragaki Miyahito, keep your cool! One step at a time, slowly but surely."
Muttering to himself, he turned to head home.
However, the moment he turned, a shaded resting corridor nestled among the trees slowly came into view.
And there, Miyahito's gaze landed on a figure in a white gauze cardigan and light blue dress, sitting on a bench in the shaded corridor.
"Kasumigaoka-san... she really did come?"
Without hesitation, Miyahito walked straight toward Utaha, who was sitting quietly on the bench, reading a bunkobon.
Actually, at that moment, Miyahito didn't really know why he was walking over.
Maybe just to greet a friend he happened to run into?
Or maybe... he just wanted to be a little closer to that quiet, serene figure?
When the distance between them was so small it felt within reach, and with just one more step, Miyahito could have been right beside Utaha, he suddenly stopped, standing there with a slightly bewildered expression.
'What do I do? How should I start?'
His mind suddenly went blank, completely unsure of how to break the ice. He hesitated.
"Good afternoon, Kasumigaoka."
No, no. Too formal, and it sounds distant.
"You came here too, huh, Kasumigaoka."
Still no good. Sounds too casual and flighty.
"What a coincidence? Do you like the scenery here too?"
Ahh, completely terrible.
Turning it over and over in his head, unable to settle on a first sentence, Miyahito was so frustrated he almost wanted to crouch down and cover his head right then and there.
Normally, during lunch breaks, he never stressed over "how to start a conversation with Utaha."
A simple "You're here, Kasumigaoka," or "What's up? Did Tanaka-sensei keep your class late again?" was always enough.
But now, just because they weren't at school and he lost his "home court advantage," did his mouth suddenly become this clumsy?
"Haa..." Letting out a soft breath, Miyahito finally decided on his opening line.
However, just as he lifted his head, ready to speak the carefully thought-out words,
beneath that cascade of black hair, a pair of wine-red eyes, tinged with slight surprise, accidentally met his.
The next second, Utaha's voice rang in his ears.
"Aragaki-kun."
Seeing him suddenly appear behind her, Utaha's slightly quickened heartbeat carried a trace of joy she didn't even realize herself.
"What brings you over here?"
Hearing her question, Miyahito paused for a moment.
What brings me over?
Does Kasumigaoka know I was in the park earlier?
Along with that doubt, the very possibility he had just dismissed to himself resurfaced.
'Could it be that the gaze I felt earlier... really was Kasumigaoka's?'
"Ah, yeah." Suppressing the joy welling up inside him, Miyahito unconsciously took a half-step closer to her.
"I was having a picnic by the lake with some classmates. When we finished and I was about to leave, I happened to see you here."
Gradually, his expression and tone relaxed completely.
It was exactly the same as when they were alone together on the school rooftop.
"Yeah, I saw."
Her eyes curving into crescents, Utaha responded with a light smile.
Noticing the bags and backpack on him, she closed the bunkobon on her lap and scooted over slightly on the bench.
Gently patting the empty space beside her, she spoke softly to the still-standing Miyahito.
"Why are you still standing there? Come sit."
"Carrying all that stuff... aren't you tired?"
Hearing this, Miyahito instinctively wanted to bluntly reply, "Not really, it's not that heavy."
But the moment he opened his mouth, all that came out was a simple:
"Yeah."
"Mou, didn't you say you were all picnicking together?" Watching him sit down, Utaha unconsciously reached out with both hands. While softly complaining, she naturally helped him slip off his backpack.
"Why are you the only one who prepared so much? That's a bit much of them, don't you think?"
"Well... it's not really Tooru's fault." For some reason, a trace of guilt seeped into Miyahito's voice as he answered.
"I just figured since it was our first weekend outing together, I'd make something nice for everyone."
"But this is still excessive."
Hearing his slightly guilty reply, Utaha glanced helplessly at the corner of a massive bento box peeking out of the bag at her feet.
"Making this much food... weren't you tired?"
"Not at all." Sensing a hint of dissatisfaction in her tone, Miyahito shrank his neck slightly, obediently raised his right hand, and waved it like a beckoning cat while speaking softly. "I usually make snacks at home anyway. These were just leftovers from last night."
"It just took a while to pack them into the boxes."
Utaha paused.
Good lord. Even though she knew he liked making snacks at home (and she liked snacking in her free time too), this was the first time she'd heard of a guy... well, actually, even among girls, very few made their own homemade snacks.
"If you're already making them regularly..." Her lowered face unconsciously showed a hint of pouty dissatisfaction as she muttered quietly, "I've never gotten to try them during lunch breaks."
"Hmm? Kasumigaoka, what did you say?" Catching fragments like "regularly," "lunch break," and "never gotten to try," but unable to make out the full sentence, Miyahito asked.
"Nothing." Feeling increasingly sulky, Utaha turned her face away.
Seeing this, Miyahito froze for a second. Then, carefully leaning closer to her, he asked softly near her ear.
"Um... are you mad, Kasumigaoka?"
"Not at all."
...Yeah, she's definitely mad.
"I'm really not mad. I wouldn't get mad over something like this."
Alright, she's 100% mad.
Miyahito scratched his cheek, a troubled look on his face.
Why did she suddenly get upset? Did I do something wrong?
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