Aoki was convinced of one thing—his fans were strange.
No question about it.
Whether it was those odd chance encounters before, or the fans online who liked to edit her videos…
One in particular stood out—a blogger who, if he remembered right, went by the nickname Amano Ryu.
Once upon a time, they had made perfectly fine music videos.
Then, at some point, for reasons unknown, they started editing clips of Kessoku Band's radio shows and live performances.
Bit by bit, they shifted from being an ordinary music creator to becoming a full-blown Kessoku Band superfan.
Liking music was one thing.
But liking the vocalist because of the music—that was something Aoki could never quite get used to.
In the end, he just laughed it off and saw off the peculiar fan.
Once the interruption was over, he and Ryo made their way toward the Uji River again.
This time, no one stopped them, and they walked all the way to the riverbank.
It was around ten in the morning.
The autumn sun was gentle, though half-covered by drifting clouds.
The sunlight that remained spilled across the water, reflecting off the ripples.
When the wind blew, the surface shimmered with shades of gold and red.
"Not bad," Aoki remarked, staring at the river.
"Mm," Ryo replied.
"But why'd it suddenly cloud over as soon as we got here? You think it's going to rain?"
The clouds overhead were thick enough to block half the sunlight.
Judging by experience, the chance of rain wasn't small.
The past few days had shown no sign of rain—yet the moment they came to Uji, the weather decided otherwise.
Wasn't that just a little too targeted?
Aoki's already wavering faith in the gods dropped another notch.
"Not necessarily," Ryo said, breaking into his thoughts. "It could just stay cloudy… and sometimes it clears up again afterward."
Aoki blinked, thinking about countering with something he'd once read about meteorology, but before he could speak, Ryo suddenly added—
"By the way, Suki-san—" The words that followed had nothing to do with the weather. "When that fan confessed to you just now, you didn't hesitate at all to reject her."
"…Hm?"
Aoki glanced at her with a puzzled look, paused for a moment, and then answered:
"What's there to hesitate about? I don't know her at all. If someone suddenly confessed like that, anyone would feel awkward and turn them down. You don't think I'm the type to choose a partner based on looks, do you?"
Ryo nodded like she understood, falling silent for a few seconds.
They strolled along slowly. Then Ryo looked back at him again.
Aoki's gaze was on the water, lost in thought.
His face was flawless—
Hair just long enough to partly cover his eyes, features like an anime protagonist, and though he wore the same autumn Shuchiin High uniform as everyone else, it somehow looked different on him.
The top button was undone, the collar slightly open, revealing just the faintest hint of collarbone…
Perhaps feeling mischievous after watching him in silence for a while, Ryo suddenly asked:
"So… not the type to choose by appearance. Then—if one day in the future I confessed to you, Suki-san… how would you react?"
"…Hah?"
Aoki froze mid-step.
He turned to look at Ryo, their eyes meeting for a brief moment.
The murmur of the Uji River was crystal clear in his ears.
He opened her mouth, then glanced away and started walking again.
"Pfft—how could anyone know something like that? Who knows, maybe a year from now I'll be head over heels for you, Ryo-san. So much that I can't eat or sleep. In that case, of course I couldn't say no."
"Mm… yeah. Hard to say about the future," Ryo said, nodding in agreement.
They kept walking.
The further they went, the fewer people there were.
The river was breathtaking at this hour—shimmering, pale blue mingling with gold, like something out of a Masaoka Shiki haiku: 'On a spring river, a single bucket of indigo flows.'
Without sparing much thought for the tourists who'd missed this sight, Ryo seemed to grow oddly persistent, changing the wording of her question:
"Then let's not talk about the future—Suki-san."
She blinked, her tone no different from usual.
"If I confessed to you right now… would you reject me?"
"…"
The words were so clear they might as well have been whispered right beside his ear.
Aoki took in a quiet breath and didn't answer right away.
A breeze swept along the Uji River, lifting the strands of hair that fell across his eyes.
Whether it was a joke, the truth, or the truth wrapped in a joke—Aoki had no idea how to give the perfect reply.
He didn't meet Ryo's eyes this time. He just walked a few more steps.
'I don't know,' he wanted to say that, but somehow the words wouldn't come out.
So he simply kept walking, lost in thought.
By the time the autumn wind had passed, it was exactly as he'd predicted—raindrops began to fall.
"See?" Aoki said. "Told you it would rain."
By sheer coincidence, one raindrop slid straight down Ryo's collar.
Shivering at the sudden chill, she pulled her hoodie tighter and slipped the hood over her head.
"Yeah… it's raining," she said in reply.
"Let's head back. It might get heavier later."
"…"
Ryo's eyes lingered on Aoki's face for a moment. Then she smiled faintly.
"Suki-san," she said—her voice cutting through the patter of rain, not quite as casual as before, but still short and cool—
"Suki-san, let's wait until winter."
Wait until winter—what was that supposed to mean? Aoki didn't know.
She figured the station wasn't too far.
They wouldn't get soaked.
…
On the way back, the rain never got heavier.
By the time the bus reached the stop, and they walked back to the hotel through the last faint drizzle, it had stopped entirely.
As the clouds cleared, the sun returned to the sky over the Uji River.
Back in the room, Aoki split the matcha nama chocolate into two portions.
One was the souvenir she'd bought herself.
The other… was the sweet Ryo had bought for her earlier, before they left Tsujirihei.