"Hitori, why are you following me?"
Kitahara stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the girl tailing behind him.
"N-No, I'm not following Kitahara-san..."
Hitori peeked up slightly, her peach-blossom eyes looking out through her bangs as she explained in a low voice:
"My house is only two blocks away from yours, Kitahara-san..."
"So we're going the same way." Kitahara realized, understanding why he had bumped into her at the train station this morning. "Sorry, I thought you had something to tell me."
"T-That..."
Hitori parted her lips, wanting to say a thousand things, but when the words reached her mouth, she ended up swallowing them silently.
This was already great.
When the apocalypse arrived, what she missed the most were those times riding a scooter to school with Kitahara. Although they couldn't ride a scooter now, being able to take the train home with him made her just as super happy.
"The train is almost here," Kitahara reminded her. "Shall we walk a bit faster?"
"Mm-hmm."
Hitori nodded hurriedly and walked with quick, small steps to Kitahara's side.
The two picking up their pace, they headed to the train station together.
Night had fallen deep.
Passengers on the train were sparse.
After boarding, Kitahara randomly found an empty seat to sit down, only to see Hitori sit right next to him.
Wait, with so many empty seats on the train, is there really a need to sit right beside me?
For someone with social anxiety, shouldn't you be keeping your distance from strangers!
The train wasn't a place for chatting, so Kitahara quickly withdrew his gaze, pulled out his phone, and passed the time.
"Phew..."
Hitori quietly breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes peeking through her bangs to steal a glance at Kitahara.
(I forgot that Kitahara-san and I aren't that familiar yet in this timeline, I should have sat further away...)
(But my head couldn't react in time at all, and I instinctively sat right next to him.)
(Come to think of it, back when we first met, Kitahara-san clearly used the identity of 'Guitarhero' to tease me, but now he's forgotten it completely... how disappointing...)
(I feel so at peace...)
(As expected, just quietly staying by Kitahara-san's side is enough...)
Simply sitting next to Kitahara made Hitori feel an exceptionally intense sense of security envelop her entire body, relaxing her immensely.
"Phew..."
Hitori raised her hand to cover her mouth and let out a yawn. Feeling a sudden surge of sleepiness, her little head nodded rhythmically before she quickly fell asleep.
Thump.
Kitahara only felt someone lightly bump against his arm. Surprised, he turned his head and saw that Hitori had fallen asleep in the blink of an eye, her head resting directly on his shoulder.
Looking at Hitori sleeping peacefully and soundly, Kitahara silently withdrew his gaze and continued playing on his phone.
Since she was already asleep, he couldn't just forcibly push her away.
However, the temperature on the train was a bit low. Feeling the chill, Hitori soon began wiggling and wriggling into his arms like a caterpillar.
Hey, hey, that's enough!
If you keep wriggling like this, I might end up earning the title of a train molester!
Kitahara put away his phone and was just about to shake Hitori awake when he suddenly heard her mumbling softly in her sleep:
"Kitahara-san... I like..."
"Ah, it's Kitahara-san's scent..."
"Ehehe... praise me more..."
"..."
The corner of Kitahara's mouth twitched slightly as he silently pulled back his right hand and went back to playing on his phone.
They rode in silence the whole way.
The train swayed gently until it reached the station.
"Hitori, time to wake up."
Kitahara gently nudged Hitori awake.
"Mm..."
Hitori opened her eyes drowsily, a trace of glistening drool still resting at the corner of her mouth, her eyes full of the misty haze of someone who had just woken up with ahoge sticking out.
"Ehehe, that felt so nice..."
Hitori let out a cat-like purr of comfort, rubbing her face back and forth against Kitahara's arm.
"Hitori, you're half-asleep." Kitahara coughed twice and reminded her in a low voice, "We're still on the train."
"Ah...?"
Hitori blinked, staring blankly around her. Only when she realized where she was did the sleepiness in her mind vanish instantly.
"I-I'm so sorry!"
Hitori's face flushed red at lightning speed as she hurriedly sat up straight:
"I-I-I-I fell asleep by accident!"
Kitahara softly reminded her: "Wipe your drool first."
"Ah!"
Hitori raised her hand to wipe the corner of her mouth and indeed found wet drool. Steam instantly blasted from the top of her head, and she was so embarrassed she wanted to jump off the train.
(Ahhh! So humiliating! Drooling in public and getting Kitahara-san's clothes wet... No way! Please roll back time quickly!)
"Let's go." Kitahara stood up and walked toward the exit. "Time to get off."
"Oh..."
Hitori kept her head down and followed closely behind him.
A chilly evening breeze blew over, carrying cold raindrops with it, instantly refreshing them.
"It's raining again."
Kitahara helplessly pulled out his umbrella and then looked at Hitori beside him:
"Hitori, where's your umbrella?"
"I..."
Hitori opened her lips, intending to answer that her umbrella was in her schoolbag, but she suddenly remembered the scene from this afternoon after school when Kita secretly hid her umbrella. Feeling guilty, she lowered her head and stammered in a quiet voice:
"I-I left it at the shop..."
In the past, Hitori couldn't lie, but after spending so much time with her trashy Ryo, she had now successfully mastered the basic skill of lying.
Kitahara opened his umbrella and offered softly:
"Want to walk back together?"
The area around the train station was very open, with nowhere to buy an umbrella, and he couldn't just leave Hitori behind by herself.
"Mm-hmm!"
Hitori's eyes sparkled bright, and she happily stepped under the umbrella.
"...Let's go."
Kitahara started walking outward.
Unlike Anon, who loved to chatter constantly, Hitori was super quiet and well-behaved, following closely by Kitahara's side step by step, as if just being able to share an umbrella was enough.
"Hitori-chan, where is your house located?" Kitahara asked softly, "It's getting late now, I'll walk you back first."
"It's just a short distance ahead." Hitori naturally wouldn't refuse, "Sorry to trouble you, Kitahara-san."
"It's just a few steps."
"..."
The two walked side by side under the umbrella, making the chilly rainy night feel a bit less desolate.
Hitori suddenly wanted to pray to the gods, hoping that the road home would never reach its end.
Unfortunately, the road was only so long, and eventually, they arrived at her doorstep.
"I'm home..."
Hitori looked up and expressed her thanks softly:
"Thank you, Kitahara-san."
"Think nothing of it." Kitahara nodded gently, "I'm heading back."
Watching the figure of Kitahara turning to leave, Hitori plucked up her courage and called out softly:
"Kitahara-san...!"
"Hmm?"
"Um... see you tomorrow..."
"See you tomorrow."
"..."
Nothing more was said that night.
The next day.
When Kitahara arrived at the train station as usual, he saw Hitori with an ahoge standing in the corner.
Seeing him walk over, Hitori's eyes lit up. Taking small, quick steps forward, she presented a carton of juice with both hands:
"This is a thank-you gift for last night, please accept it, Kitahara-san."
Kitahara tactfully declined: "It was on the way, there's no need for a thank-you gift."
"No way," Hitori insisted. "If Kitahara-san hadn't walked me home, who knows if I might have run into an urban legend wearing a trench coat on the road.
Question marks popped up over Kitahara's head: "What kind of thing is that?"
"Anyway, it's a super scary guy!"
"..."
After arriving at school, Hitori rapidly lowered her presence, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
"Good morning, Makoto-kun."
Just as he arrived in the classroom, Mutsumi took the initiative to greet Kitahara, completely unbothered by other people's gazes.
"...Morning."
Kitahara responded helplessly.
If given a choice, he really didn't want to become the target of class gossip.
"Makoto-kun, do you want to eat some bread?"
Mutsumi pulled out a bag of Baumkuchen.
"Thanks," Kitahara thanked her politely, "I've already had breakfast."
"Would you like something to drink?"
"I'm not thirsty."
"Tell me whenever you want a drink."
"..."
Kitahara helplessly covered his forehead.
Sure enough.
All kinds of excited gossip voices surged into his ears.
"Ahhh! To be actively pursued by such a cute girl, Kitahara truly deserves to die a thousand deaths!"
"Execution by fire! He must be burned at the stake!"
"Kitahara's attitude is actually so cold, he doesn't know how blessed he is!"
"Explode! Normies should hurry up and explode!"
"..."
Listening to the surrounding gossip, Kitahara's heart remained as still as water.
Mutsumi came from a prominent family background, both her parents were celebrity artists, her appearance was top-tier, and she had zero prior connection with him.
For a girl like this to actively pursue him, she definitely had an ulterior motive.
Therefore, Kitahara's way of dealing with it was very simple: no matter what Mutsumi did, he just needed to know his place and keep his distance.
"As expected, Mutsumi still doesn't understand the human heart..."
Taking in all of Kitahara's reactions, Sakiko lightly pursed her lips, her eyes cast down.
To be honest, when Mutsumi suddenly transferred over yesterday and launched a direct offensive, Sakiko was originally a bit worried that Kitahara would be quickly won over. But looking at it now, Mutsumi's romance plan clearly produced the exact opposite effect...
Great.
Next, it's her turn again!
In the blink of an eye, it was time for class.
The bell rang.
Yesterday's Japanese literature teacher walked into the classroom with swift vigor, pushing up the glasses on the bridge of her nose:
"Before class starts, let's introduce a transfer student. Everyone, please welcome..."
"Another transfer student?"
Kitahara's heart skipped a beat, receiving a danger warning in his mind.
As she spoke, a cute girl with waist-length hair and a gentle, ladylike Yamato Nadeshiko aura stepped into the classroom. Her pretty face wore a warm, gentle smile that made people feel like a spring breeze:
"Hello everyone, I am Soyo. Nice to meet you, please take good care of me..."
Kitahara: "..."
Is this the directionally challenged girl who blocked him at the school gate earlier to ask for directions?
Isn't this too much of a coincidence?
"Soyo came too."
The girl's low murmur reached his ears.
Kitahara turned his head to look at Mutsumi, who was speaking, and the bad omen in his heart grew even stronger.
Wait!
You guys actually know each other?
And what do you mean by 'came too'?
Could it be that she's coming for him as well?!
Fortunately, after the self-introduction, Soyo didn't deliberately sit next to him, but instead randomly found an empty seat to sit down, allowing Kitahara to secretly let out a sigh of relief.
The first period ended quickly.
The transfer student girl, Soyo, was quickly surrounded by gossiping classmates asking all sorts of personal details.
Soyo's voice was gentle as she politely responded to the classmates' gossip, having no intention at all of initiating a conversation with Kitahara, which allowed Kitahara to secretly ease his mind.
"Looks like I overthought it... It's impossible for every transfer student to want to pursue me, right?"
In the blink of an eye, lunch break arrived.
Seeing Kitahara stand up to head to the cafeteria, Mutsumi stood up:
"Soyo, why did you transfer here too?"
"It was really too lonely by myself," Soyo said gently. "Mutsumi transferred over secretly, and Sakiko is here too. I was the only one left at Tsukinomori Academy, it was just too lonely."
"After thinking it over, I really, super wanted to spend high school life together with Kitahara-kun and everyone else."
This was the truth.
After her parents divorced, Soyo lived with her mother, who was busy with work. Soyo was actually super afraid of loneliness and craved warmth and family affection deeply.
Sakiko, Mutsumi, Tomori, and Kitahara were all attending school here, so Soyo naturally wouldn't stay at Tsukinomori Academy alone. Transferring here was completely understandable.
"Now we're just missing Taki." Soyo twirled a strand of hair by her ear with her finger. "I wonder if Taki will transfer over too."
Sakiko shook her head lightly: "Given Taki's personality, she most likely won't transfer."
"Ah, what a pity." The corners of Soyo's lips pursed lightly into a pleasant arc. "Looks like Taki won't get a chance to make an appearance, then."
"Achoo—"
In another school, Taki suddenly sneezed twice.
"Two sneezes means someone's thinking of you," Uika supported her chin with her right hand. "Looks like someone is thinking about Taki. Could it be Makoto-kun?"
"Impossible," Taki rubbed her nose. "That guy has probably forgotten all about us long ago."
Uika lowered her voice:
"Speaking of which, Taki, do you want to transfer?"
"Huh?" Taki looked over in confusion. "Transfer for what?"
"To pursue Makoto-kun, of course." Uika raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, whispering into her ear, "Our school and the school Makoto-kun attends are very far apart, so there's no way to interact at all, let alone pursue Makoto-kun. Besides, Mutsumi has already transferred over, so we can't fall too far behind, right?"
Taki crossed her arms over her chest:
"Mutsumi is Mutsumi, and we are us. There's no need to force ourselves."
"It's not forcing at all," Uika shook her head lightly. "I super want to be by Makoto-kun's side, and Taki actually wants to as well, right?"
"I don't, I didn't!"
Taki spoke contrary to her feelings, turning her head away to deny it.
"Anyway, I've already decided to transfer. I'll go ask someone for help after school." Uika put her hands behind her back. "Taki wouldn't want to lose the chance to even make an appearance, right?"
Taki: "..."
The second period in the afternoon was P.E. class, and the topic was tennis.
Organized by the P.E. teacher, the boys in the class were split into two teams to play against each other.
After the life restart, the physical condition Kitahara gained through cultivation had been 'formatted'. After playing a few matches of tennis, he couldn't help but gasp slightly for breath.
"Kitahara-san~"
A girl's crisp call sounded out. A pink-haired girl from the neighboring class walked lightly to the front of Kitahara and handed over a drink:
"Hey hey, here's the drink we agreed on yesterday."
It was none other than Anon.
"Hmm?"
Mutsumi, who was sitting quietly nearby, suddenly stood up, holding a drink as she walked over to Kitahara and handed it out:
"Makoto-kun, drink water."
"Stare—"
In the huge gymnasium, the gossiping classmates cast excited glances one after another.
"It's here, it's here! The love drama is here!"