My Cat Girl Neighbor Is Impossible to Understand

Chapter 4: Chapter 4 - Convenience Store Detour

The final bell rang throughout the grounds of Hoshizora High School, signifying the end of yet another day at school.

Students filed out of their respective classes with smiles of relief.

Some of them made a beeline for club activities.

Others formed little groups, and started talking about where they will have dinner or whether they will finish the homework they planned on doing.

Sui placed his notebook into his backpack and got to his feet.

As always, he left the classroom once it emptied out.

Hallways were quieter like this.

Once he arrived at the lockers where students kept their shoes, he slipped into his sneakers and went out of the building.

The sky had changed.

Dark clouds covered the afternoon sun.

"...It looks like it’s going to rain."

He didn’t bring an umbrella.

According to the weather report, it will remain sunny throughout the entire day.

Obviously, the sky thought otherwise.

Sui took no more than several steps through the gates when he heard footsteps coming from behind him.

Yuiko.

She approached calmly with her hands still holding the strap of her school bag.

Their eyes met.

"...Goodbye," she said politely.

"See you."

It looked like they will go their separate ways, but—

Rumble...

There was a rumble somewhere in the sky.

Both of them instinctively looked upwards.

Raindrop struck the shoulders of Sui.

Another one splashed on Yuiko’s sleeve.

In mere seconds...

It began to pour heavily.

There were screams coming from everywhere.

"My laundry!"

"I forgot my umbrella!"

"Run!"

People went in all directions.

Sui looked around.

"There."

On the other side of the road, there was a small convenience store under the green neon sign.

Without saying anything further, both of them headed towards it.

The automatic doors opened with a joyful chiming sound.

Warm air met them upon entering.

The store was quiet.

Music could be heard coming from the loudspeakers, while one of the employees calmly arranged some shelves in the drink section.

Sui brushed away several raindrops from his hair.

"That happened out of the blue."

Yuiko agreed.

"...It did."

She gently pinched the end of one of her sleeves.

Several drops of water fell to the floor.

The cashier noticed them.

"Feel free to wait here until it stops raining."

"Thank you."

Both of them proceeded inside.

Neither wanted to stand awkwardly right by the door.

The snacks aisle was in front of them.

Bags of chips filled one shelf, while chocolate bars took over another.

Rows upon rows of cookies, crackers, candies, and rice snacks went endlessly.

Yuiko’s steps became slower.

Her golden eyes calmly scanned one shelf after another.

Sui noticed.

"Do you like snacks?"

"...Maybe."

"That’s not a yes."

"...Maybe means yes."

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

"I’ll keep that in mind."

Yuiko understood immediately what she revealed.

"...Forget that I ever said that."

"I don’t think I can."

There was a quiet sigh escaping her.

"...That’s troublesome."

The corners of Sui’s mouth slightly lifted.

It was the longest talk they had so far.

Yuiko stopped in front of the shelf with a variety of cat-themed butter cookies.

She looked at them.

Then turned away.

Then turned back again.

She reached towards the box...

Paused...

And slowly withdrew her hand.

Sui tried to ignore it.

He moved to another shelf with bags of potato chips instead.

He heard gentle footsteps by his side.

Yuiko followed.

"...Which one do you usually buy?"

Sui scanned through the shelves.

"Salt."

"...Only salt?"

"It doesn’t fail me."

She raised her eyebrows.

"That’s... pretty boring answer."

He looked at her.

"You asked."

"...Yes, I know."

For the first time since their meeting...

There was a slight smile playing around Yuiko’s lips.

It stayed just for a brief moment.

But it appeared.

Raindrops continued tapping softly against the windows of the store.

Inside of the little convenience store, everything was surprisingly quiet.

Neither of them even realized that they stopped thinking about the rain.

Rain didn’t seem to show any signs of stopping.

Droplets pattered down, covering streets with sparkling puddles and turning them into mirrors of the sky above.

Inside, it was all quiet and cool.

Low hum of refrigerators merged with soft music, creating unusual comfort.

Sui was standing in front of the shelf with potato chips.

"So..."

He lifted a blue package he recognized well.

"Salt."

Yuiko looked at the package.

"...Is that your final decision?"

He turned to look at her.

"It has never disappointed me."

"It’s boring."

"It’s ordinary."

"It’s reliable."

Yuiko folded her arms.

"...You’re boring."

Sui nodded without the least trace of offense.

"I’ve heard worse."

"..."

She blinked.

"You were supposed to defend yourself."

"I did."

"No."

"You described me as reliable."

Yuiko stared at him for a second and sighed.

"...That’s mean."

"Why?"

"I can’t argue with someone who is agreeing with me."

A short silence followed.

Then...

Sui noticed what Yuiko was holding in her hands.

Pink package with cartoonish shrimp.

"Shrimp crackers?"

"They are tasty."

"I have never tried them."

Her voice was genuinely surprised.

"...Really?"

"They seemed too...pink."

"...You’re judging snacks by colors?"

"A bit."

Yuiko shook her head emphatically.

"I changed my mind."

"About what?"

"You’re hopeless."

"I will recover."

"No."

She waved the snack in his direction.

"You need some education."

"In shrimp crackers?"

"In good taste."

Sui looked at the package and then back at Yuiko.

"...Sharp words from a person who almost bought cat cookies."

Yuiko froze.

"..."

"...You noticed?"

"Just happened to."

Her ears slowly started to turn pink.

"I wasn’t going to buy them."

"You grabbed them."

"I was just..."

She tried desperately to think of something.

"...Comparing prices."

"You looked at them for almost a minute."

"I carefully compare prices."

"You looked at only one package."

"..."

She puffed her cheeks.

"...You’re observant."

"So I have been told."

Without thinking...

Yuiko smiled.

Her true smile.

It was small and gentle.

Before either of them understood...

Cashier smiled quietly while arranging the drinks.

Young people were amusing.

Yuiko cleared her throat quickly.

"I still think shrimp crackers are better."

"I still choose salted chips."

"...There is only one way to solve this."

Sui raised his head.

"A debate?"

She shook her head.

"A trade."

In several moments...

They were standing at the cashier.

Sui paid for his snacks.

Yuiko paid for hers.

Both packages were put on the counter.

"Waiting out the rain?"

"Yes."

"Take your time."

"Thank you."

The automatic doors silently opened.

The rain had weakened into light drizzle.

They stood under the awning outside the shop, listening to the rhythmic sounds of water dripping from the roof.

Yuiko opened her package.

She hesitated.

Then she lifted it toward Sui.

"...Here."

He looked surprised.

"I thought these were your favorite."

"They are."

"So?"

"...You can’t judge them without tasting one."

Sui took a cracker.

"...Thank you."

He bit into it.

Crunch.

Light shrimp flavor appeared in his mouth.

He blinked.

"...This is actually tasty."

Yuiko folded her arms proudly.

"I know."

She looked oddly happy.

After a while...

Sui opened his own package.

"Your turn."

Yuiko took a potato chip.

She inspected it carefully as if it was an object of a scientific investigation.

"It’s just salt."

"Exactly."

She took a bite.

Crunch.

She chewed thoughtfully.

And another.

"..."

"..."

"...It’s good."

"I know."

She narrowed her eyes.

"...Don’t look so smug."

"I don’t."

"You are."

"I’m standing."

"...That’s not what I meant."

Sui couldn’t control himself anymore.

Quiet chuckle escaped him.

It wasn’t loud.

But it was loud enough for Yuiko to hear.

She stared at him.

"...You laugh?"

"Sometimes."

"I thought you nod."

"I do that too."

For a brief second...

Their eyes met.

And almost at the same time...

They both laughed.

Not because of a joke.

Not because of something extraordinary.

Because arguing over snacks unexpectedly turned out to be very entertaining.

The rain kept falling beyond the awning but neither of them minded waiting anymore.

When the last chip disappeared from the package, Yuiko wiped crumbs from her skirt quietly.

"...We probably should go."

"Yeah."

She looked at the empty snack packages.

"...Next time..."

Sui looked at her.

"...Let’s buy different ones."

He smiled slightly.

"So we are continuing our experiment?"

Yuiko nodded seriously.

"We cannot choose the best snack after only one comparison."

"I suppose it would be unfair."

"...Exactly."

While stepping back on the wet sidewalk, they didn’t notice the simplicity of the words.

Without thinking...

Without even saying anything...

They expected to have a next time.