By the time Shouko arrived at the Miyamura house, the sky was already filled with stars, and the streetlights were flickering on one after another.
"What a shame…"
"What's a shame, Auntie?"
As soon as Shouko stepped into the living room, she found Miyamura Shizuka sighing and muttering, which immediately piqued her curiosity.
Miyamura Shizuka patted the empty seat beside her, waiting for Shouko to sit down before explaining:
"Since your high school is a little far, I wanted you and Akira to ride bicycles to school together, but—"
Before she could finish, Shouko guessed what she meant.
"Akira can ride, and I can sit on the back."
"Oh, you…" Miyamura Shizuka lightly poked Shouko's forehead. "Carrying someone on a bicycle is illegal. If you're caught, you could be fined up to 50,000 yen."
(50,000 yen is about 2,500 RMB.)
"But with Akira watching me, it should be fine, right…?"
"No, that's still too dangerous."
Before Miyamura Shizuka could respond, Akira, who was sitting at the coffee table scrolling on his phone, quickly spoke up and rejected the idea.
"That's right," Miyamura Shizuka agreed. "It's better to wait two more years until Akira can get a driver's license."
"…It might be better to say that Shouko's hearing could improve in a year or two," Akira thought to himself.
"Why not just let Akira get a regular motorcycle license? That would solve the problem, wouldn't it?" At that moment, Miyamura Daiki entered the living room with a book tucked under his arm. "He's already sixteen, so he can take the test."
His eyes lit up, clearly thinking his father's suggestion was feasible.
The discussion ended with everyone agreeing to Daiki's idea.
Akira planned to go back to his room and look up more information, wondering if he could even get the license that weekend.
Upstairs, while Shouko continued sketching illustrations on her tablet, Akira searched the web for details about the motorcycle license.
The minimum age was sixteen. A regular two-wheeled license allowed riding motorcycles between 125cc and 400cc.
The cost ranged from 150,000 to 250,000 yen, including training and exam fees.
(200,000 yen is about 10,000 RMB.)
Akira felt it was ridiculously expensive. Getting a car license in his previous life hadn't cost nearly as much.
The test included balance riding (slow straight-line, slalom), cornering, uphill and obstacle avoidance, and emergency braking.
He also found out that while it was possible to take the test directly for 30,000–50,000 yen, the written exams and practical requirements made passing on the first try unlikely.
The website strongly recommended going through a driving school for systematic training, noting that it improved the pass rate and avoided wasting time and money on repeated failures. Most new drivers could get their license in 1–2 months this way.
So, it was impossible for him to get one by this weekend.
Considering both safety and his limited familiarity with Japanese traffic laws, Akira hesitated, then decided to go with the driving school option.
"Shouko, keep drawing. I'm going downstairs to ask Dad."
"Okay, okay," Shouko replied, waving without lifting her head.
He went downstairs, mentioned the matter briefly in his father's study, and was told it wasn't a big deal before being dismissed.
Returning upstairs, he reassured Shouko not to get her hopes up yet, then switched to reviewing some high school material.
Several hours passed quietly, and the first day of April ended with them saying goodnight to each other.
The pale, cherry-blossom-colored sky washed over utility poles, tinting the streets and alleys in a translucent pink-orange.
Groups of students in navy uniforms stepped across fallen petals, the metal buckles of their backpacks and lunch boxes clinking softly.
A morning breeze lifted the cherry blossom hair clip from a girl's hair, making the Miyamura behind her stand on tiptoe to reach for it, startling pigeons pecking crumbs on the roadside.
When the distant sound of a train bell rang, another Miyamura with round glasses nudged a swirl of petals with the toe of his shoe.
Akira and Shouko arrived at school on time. The moment they set down their bags, several girls gathered around to chat.
Some were curious why Shouko, who had a hearing impairment, could still speak so clearly. She explained it naturally, leaving many of them envious.
The only pity was that Shouko didn't introduce Akira, leaving them one excuse short to strike up a conversation with him.
A cool breeze rolled in, lifting the fringe from Shouko's face and Akira's forehead.
Formal high school life began in earnest.
Dong… dong… dong!
"Students, class is dismissed. Be careful on your way home, and don't miss today's club recruitment fair if you're interested in joining one."
As the dismissal bell rang, Ms. Nanase closed her textbook on the podium, waved goodbye, and stepped out of the classroom.
Several students quickly packed up and headed for the recruitment area.
Soon, Akira and his friends reached the first-floor corridor of the main teaching building.
The hallway was packed with club booths, turning it into a colorful canyon. The air smelled faintly of fresh ink from flyers.
Steam rose from a tea ceremony club's matcha bowl as a senior fed a freshman kneeling on a tatami mat a piece of warabi mochi wrapped in red bean paste.
In the biology club's transparent box next door, beetle shells clinked as they rubbed together, mingling with the rhythmic claps of the cheerleading squad.
From the sports clubs' area came the savory aroma of yakisoba bread. A student with a bandaged hand carefully pinned a club badge onto their uniform, the metal scraping softly against fabric.
The girls didn't know which booth to check first.
Akira, on the other hand, only glanced briefly before losing interest—it all looked about the same as junior high.
Until a certain booth tucked in the corner caught his eye.
It wasn't because it looked flashy. Rather, it struck him as odd.
The sign read: "Far East Magic Napping Society of Summer."
Akira guessed the simpler translation was just… the Napping Club.
What drew him in even more was that this was the exact club founded by the leads of Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions.
Just as he was wondering if he was mistaken, the crowd in front cleared.
There, he spotted a girl asleep on a pillow—and next to her, a slightly dark-skinned boy whose face Akira vaguely remembered from the day before.
The boy was staring intently at the sleeping girl.
Although Akira didn't know all the details, he was pretty sure this club wasn't supposed to exist at the beginning of the year.
And since Ms. Nanase had mentioned yesterday that they were upperclassmen, there was only one possibility…
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