At 3:30 in the afternoon, Yuqiu High School’s prime dismissal time.
Ayakoji Chiyoko wouldn’t head back home that early, even if she finished her work quickly, she still had to visit the Student Council after school.
Kiryu Hina took this opportunity to leave the school and took a train to Kagura Hikaru’s house.
Back in junior high, she had never visited the Kagura residence.
Mainly because she dared not meet his family, fearing she’d be teased. Even when Kagura Hikaru assured her that no one was home, she refused to go and preferred to meet outside.
But nonetheless, the address of the Kagura family was etched in Kiryu Hina’s memory, clear as day.
If it hadn’t been, she probably would have struggled to find the way when she went to see him while he was sick.
Before long, Kiryu Hina stood at the Kagura’s doorstep with a bag of fruit in her hand.
She felt somewhat nervous.
Her heart was beating faster than when the Student Council election results were announced.
Kiryu Hina patted her chest, took a few deep breaths, slapped her face lightly to maintain her usual expression, and then reached out to press the doorbell.
Ding-dong~
The moment she pressed it, she realized she hadn’t given any thought to how she should talk to Kagura Hikaru.
Would he be scared if she came across as too familiar, as if they were acquaintances?
But if she treated him like a normal classmate, that also seemed somewhat inappropriate...
While Kiryu Hina was caught in her dilemma, the front door had already opened.
The one who greeted her was not Kagura Hikaru... but his stepmother.
"Eh, I remember you are..."
"Hello, auntie. I am a classmate of Kagura Hikaru’s. I was under your care last time."
"Oh, I remember you." The stepmother recalled her as the girl who had stayed over last time, and a smile immediately bloomed, "Are you here to see Mister Hikaru?"
"Yes, that’s right. I brought some fruit." Kiryu Hina raised her hand to show her present.
"There’s no need to be so formal, please come in."
The stepmother welcomed her warmly, prepared slippers for Kiryu Hina, took the fruit she brought, and then said, "Mister Hikaru is upstairs, you can go up to see him."
"Okay, thank you, auntie."
Kiryu Hina changed shoes and walked upstairs.
On the stairs, she could hear the sounds of rapid gunfire and miscellaneous noises coming from a room on the second floor—it seemed to be coming from Kagura Hikaru’s room, apparently, he was playing video games.
Being sick had that one upside, being able to play games all day at home.
If it were the junior high Kagura Hikaru, he would probably be very happy about it.
Thinking this, Kiryu Hina ascended the stairs and knocked on the door.
"Who is it!" A voice came from inside.
"Hello, I’m here to visit you," said Kiryu Hina.
After waiting a bit, the door opened from the inside, revealing Kagura Hikaru in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
Upon seeing Kiryu Hina, he showed a faintly puzzled expression, opened his mouth, and awkwardly scratched his head.
"You are, uh, that..."
"Kiryu Hina."
"Right, Classmate Kiriyu... What brings you here?"
"Didn’t I say? I’m here to visit you," Kiryu Hina said with a smile.
The nervousness that had been so intense just moments before flew away upon seeing him.
The sight of Kagura Hikaru scratching his head in foolish confusion made Kiryu Hina look on with some nostalgia.
Many memories she thought she had forgotten came flooding back.
The first time they met on the way to junior high, before they even started dating, he wore that same expression, as if he wanted to chat but didn’t know what to say.
Back then, both Kagura Hikaru and herself were still quite naive.
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But now, if one were to consider psychological age, Kiryu Hina was about three years older than him and had matured more as well.
Huh, thinking about it that way, the one who should be nervous should be Kagura Hikaru; to a ’junior high school boy,’ she’s now a charming and appealing upperclasswoman!
Such a strange thought crossed her mind, and Kiryu Hina’s smile turned unconsciously seductive.
It seemed her smile truly had a lethal quality, as Kagura Hikaru’s face flushed slightly, and he scratched his head, eyes darting to the side, "Come in first."
"Okay."
Kagura Hikaru invited Kiryu Hina into the house, asked her to find a place to sit, then picked up the game controller again and, with an apologetic gesture towards the computer, said, "Sorry, Classmate Kiryu, my game isn’t over yet—could you wait for me to finish this round?"
"Sure, I’ll just sit here and watch."
"I’m sorry, I’ll finish as quickly as I can."
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"No rush."
"Don’t worry, I’m fast!"
As Kagura Hikaru spoke, he got back to playing, his character on the computer screen running across the map, occasionally pulling out a knife for a burst of speed.
Suddenly someone sprang out from around a corner, Kagura Hikaru’s character lifted an assault rifle, and with a controlled burst, shot in the head, taking down the opponent.
Such scenes continued to unfold; he seemed to always be able to guess where the enemy was, and his shooting was always a step faster than others, easily achieving the highest kill count and securing the final victory in the game.
"I won!" Kagura Hikaru turned to Kiryu Hina with a smile, unable to hide his pride.
"That’s amazing," Kiryu Hina said with a smile.
Kagura Hikaru admitted honestly, "A lot of my plays are based on muscle memory. I probably kept playing this game during the years I lost my memory. I wasn’t this strong before."
"I see."
"Ah... sorry, I forgot girls aren’t usually interested in games," Kagura Hikaru said somewhat sheepishly, scratching his head.
"I...."
Kiryu Hina was about to speak when suddenly there was a knock at the door.
Her heart hanging in her throat, she watched as Kagura Hikaru went to answer it.
Fortunately, it wasn’t Ayakoji Chiyoko at the door, but Kagura Hikaru’s stepmother, who had cut the fruit Kiryu Hina had brought into a fruit platter and brought it up.
After the stepmother left, Kagura Hikaru turned on the TV in the room and shared the fruit platter with Kiryu Hina, who was sitting at the low table.
What caught Kagura Hikaru’s attention was that she was sitting very close, close enough that he could smell the fragrance of her hair.
It was enough to shake his resolve.
The female classmate who visited today was intimidatingly beautiful, fair-skinned and lovely, with a figure just right. Among people Kagura Hikaru knew, only Chiyoko and Suse could compare to her.
And what made him more alert was her inexplicably adept manner... as if they had been close before.
Had he done something before losing his memory to betray Chiyoko?!
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The TV was broadcasting international news.
Somewhere in the Middle East was at war again, somewhere else was protesting—typical events.
The room fell into an awkward silence, with neither speaking.
As the host, Kagura Hikaru felt he shouldn’t let his guest feel uncomfortable. Just as he was about to make conversation with Kiryu Hina, he noticed she looked over as well, and she took the initiative to speak, "Classmate Kagura, no, it’s better to just call you Kagura, right? You don’t mind?"
"Uh, sure."
"Do you know what our relationship was before?"
"Huh?" Kagura Hikaru was a little startled by Kiryu Hina’s tone and said cautiously, "Friends?"
"More than that, guess again."
"...Members of the same club?"
"Nope."
"You might as well tell me straight."
"Ex-girlfriend," she said softly with a slight smile, meeting Kagura Hikaru’s astonished gaze as she leaned in and whispered, "And for you in junior high, I’m also your current girlfriend."
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