The meeting place was somewhere Sota and Shii had never been before.
The reason the Sasaki siblings wouldn’t bother wandering around Tokyo was, in fact, that they didn’t have that much free time.
Money could be managed somehow, but during weekdays, there really wasn’t much time available.
Hanagawa High School required a fair bit of effort in studying to maintain grades, and Shii’s school was no different.
When part-time jobs piled up, the thought of going far on weekdays didn’t come up that often.
Fortunately, Sota and Shii lived right in the middle of Tokyo, and their school was also in the center, so meeting nearby after school wasn’t a big issue.
In that regard, taking a train in the opposite direction from school was rather a strange experience.
This was Nanami’s consideration.
Kurosawa lived in Saitama. If they called her all the way to Minato Ward, it would take her quite a long time.
Usually, they just chatted nearby after school, so it wasn’t a problem, but when setting a ‘meeting place,’ one should consider the other person.
“…….”
Thanks to that, Fukuda had to come from the furthest point.
In this already hot weather, moving far didn’t make him look particularly pleased, but Fukuda didn’t complain much anyway.
It seemed there was no significant doubt in considering Kurosawa.
However, that didn’t mean she was completely cut off from the outskirts of Tokyo. Nanami seemed a bit nervous about going to a place she wasn’t really familiar with, and for now, everyone gathered at what could be described as a bustling area.
Of course, there were fewer people than the usual places they frequented.
“Ah, Kurosawa!”
Nanami waved cheerfully while looking at the station.
From afar, amidst the gloomy atmosphere, Kurosawa stood out conspicuously as she approached.
“Ah.”
And upon realizing why Kurosawa looked so gloomy, Nanami seemed a little flustered.
Kurosawa was wearing her school uniform. Although it was a short-sleeve sailor uniform, the color was completely black, making it look quite hot.
No, more than that—she was not near school, and even if she were, wearing a uniform at all was a sign that Kurosawa didn’t pay much attention to her outfit.
Or perhaps there was simply a lack of clothing types she could wear.
“……”
Sota briefly noticed a glimmer of sympathy in Yuka’s eyes.
Kurosawa approached with quick steps, not waving her hand in greeting.
No matter who Kurosawa was, it was unreasonable not to sweat in this weather, and even with her blank expression, a few beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
“Le, let’s at least get somewhere nearby. It was really hot, right?”
Despite managing to set up a nearby meeting place, seeing Kurosawa sweating made Nanami flustered, prompting her to hurry her steps.
Since it was lunchtime, they ducked into a nearby fast-food joint to solve their hunger quickly.
As they entered the cool indoor air conditioning, all the kids let out long sighs of relief. Kurosawa didn’t show any sign of such a reaction despite sweating, but, well, considering she was sweating, she certainly wouldn’t dislike stepping into a cool place.
Although her expression didn’t change and she didn’t express much, it was clear that Kurosawa had likes and dislikes.
After each of them ordered hamburger sets and sat down, Nanami opened the discussion.
“First of all, I’ve decided on the place we’re going. It’s a beach near Tokyo. Although it’s near, it’ll still take about an hour by train… Kurosawa, is that okay?”
“……”
It seemed that for Kurosawa, living in Saitama, an hour there was something to consider extra.
But Kurosawa simply nodded.
As she stared intently at the hamburger in front of her, she lifted the patty. Then—
“Hey, Kurosawa. Can we swap?”
Seeing Kurosawa trying to pull veggies off the patty, Yuka quickly said so. Kurosawa looked up at Yuka.
Perhaps it was because Yuka had often shown distrust towards Kurosawa, she stared at Yuka for a while before putting the bread back on the burger and slightly pushing it towards Yuka.
The hamburger Yuka handed to Kurosawa didn’t have lettuce or tomatoes.
As Sota watched them awkwardly exchanging hamburgers, Nanami continued speaking.
“The date and day are set based on what you guys said. Everyone besides Sota and Shii is okay with it, right?”
At Nanami’s words, Sota and Shii nodded. The other kids also nodded, somewhat awkwardly.
Among them, the one with the most awkward expression was Fukuda.
“But I’m going too, right?”
Fukuda asked with a somewhat awkward yet serious expression.
“Of course.”
Nanami nodded.
“What are you planning to do over summer vacation? Any plans to hang out with friends?”
At those words, Fukuda’s expression turned a bit mysterious.
“Well… I don’t have plans to hang out really, but I do think of meeting friends.”
Well, even Fukuda must have friends in class. Although Fukuda had an aloof personality in many ways, it seemed like she showed up at school regularly. It was just that sometimes, she’d leave without notice.
“Well, if I’m going, that’s one thing,” Fukuda said, narrowing her eyes at Sota.
“What about him?”
“Um….”
At Fukuda’s words, Sota slightly opened his mouth.
“Of course Sota is going. This is our group, after all.”
“Our group, what about the rooms? You’re not thinking of booking just one, are you?”
Fukuda spoke while looking at Nanami.
“Of course not!”
Nanami was flustered.
“Even with a separated room for boys and girls, right?”
Only then did Fukuda’s intent become clear.
Sota also recalled the issue late.
Having mingled so naturally among the girls, he had unconsciously overlooked the fact that he was of a different gender from them.
No, it’s not that Sota forgot his gender, but with so many girls among the friends he usually played with, it was easy to forget such things when moving around so seamlessly.
But no matter how natural it was, sharing a room while staying overnight wasn’t exactly comfortable.
It would be hard in many ways—changing clothes, showering, and stuff like that.
“Is there even a single room for me? Or are you thinking of squeezing in with other boys?”
“I’m not thinking of squeezing in with another boy, and while there’s no single room, there is a double room. Sota can go wash up in a different room by himself, so that’s possible.”
Watching how Nanami articulated each point surprisingly precisely, she muttered,
“……guess it’s really not okay… to pretend it’s the same room…”
“Nanami, sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
When Sota said that, Nanami raised her head.
Her face was a little red.
“Um, no, no, it’s fine. I obviously thought about that! What do you think I am?”
Actually, he wasn’t thinking anything odd.
While having that thought, he turned to the side and noticed Shii looking at Nanami with narrowed eyes.
Yuka was looking at Nanami with an almost identical expression, while Fukuda had a slightly flabbergasted look.
By the way, it seemed Kurosawa was neither paying attention nor not, as she was sipping on a vanilla shake halfway through her hamburger. It looked like she preferred the sweet shake over the hamburger.
“Ah, and.”
Nanami handed a plan over to Sota and said,
“There are other times during the vacation, right? Even if it’s not an overnight trip, we could at least meet for a day.”
“Sure, that’s okay. Anyway, my part-time job is mostly in the evenings. Even on my working days, I’ll still have time in the morning.”
As Sota replied like that, he casually glanced over the plan. Just as Nanami said, there were two rooms. While he felt a bit sorry for occupying a double room solo, it seemed there weren’t any single rooms available.
As expected of Nanami, the plan was carefully detailed, even specifying where and what to eat that day.
No one else seemed to be arranging separate plans. Sota felt a bit guilty towards Nanami.
“Then how about we all go to a festival? We can buy street food and watch fireworks. Kurosawa, what do you think?”
“…….”
Kurosawa, who had been leisurely sipping her drink, raised her eyes to look at Nanami.
Although she still looked expressionless, Sota thought her emotions were oddly perceptible when it came to eating.
It seemed the others thought the same way, as the atmosphere around Kurosawa had loosened a lot compared to the first time they saw her in her uniform.
“That sounds good.”
“Thank goodness.”
Nanami smiled at Kurosawa as she said that.
“Ah, and.”
As soon as Nanami finished her sentence, Yuka chimed in.
“Let’s go shopping today. I need to get some summer clothes. I think buying a few would be good.”
While Yuka said that, she was looking at Kurosawa, making Sota immediately understand what Yuka was thinking.
… Yep, she may look tough on the outside, but she’s actually a kind girl inside.
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