Kaito turned around.
It wasn't that he hadn't considered offering some comfort, like, ["Actually, I've always been extremely nearsighted. Can't tell people from animals beyond three meters."]
Or perhaps, ["Due to some indescribable mysterious power, the holy light just now blinded my eyes, so you don't need to worry about it."]
But such excuses were too clumsy, there really was no need to say them.
Yukino fell silent again, faint rustling sounds came from behind, probably from her getting dressed.
After a while, she softly said, "Kurumizaka-kun, sorry, can you let me be alone for a bit?"
Under the absolutely correct snow, she would never do something like taking her anger out on someone else.
She knew very well that this accident had nothing to do with Kurumizaka-kun, it was only her own carelessness.
But, though she could accept it rationally, emotionally, she still couldn't avoid the shame.
In this current awkward situation, the only thing Yukino could think of was to bury her head in the ground like an ostrich and temporarily escape from reality.
Kaito, of course, didn't refuse, leaving the space for her to be alone.
.
.
.
[Half an Hour Later]
The bathroom door was opened again. Having adjusted her mood, Yukino stepped out, the bathrobe tightly secured.
A faint blush still lingered on the girl's pretty face, and her sapphire-blue eyes were slightly evasive, never daring to meet the boy in front of her directly.
Seeing that Kaito didn't bring up the earlier accident again, Yukino obviously breathed a sigh of relief, and simply treated it as if nothing had happened.
As for the dirty clothes she had taken off earlier, they had already been tossed into the washing machine, and would probably take all night to dry, so she could only stay over for the night.
After chatting a bit in the living room and playing with Kirara for a while, Yukino quickly found an excuse to rest and returned to the guest room.
As for Kaito, he also didn't stay long and brought the cat back to his room to sleep.
———
[The Next Day, Wednesday]
It was the last day of exams.
As the pleasant sound of the dismissal bell rang out, the first test of the semester at Shuka Academy finally came to an end.
Handing in the test paper and neatly packing the scattered stationery on the desk, the blue-haired girl with shoulder-length twin ponytails let out a breath of relief.
'It is over.'
The questions weren't hard. Even though she had been busy with part-time jobs lately and had little time to review, Togawa Sakiko had a solid foundation.
During the exam, she rarely got stuck, and the questions were basically within her grasp.
If nothing unexpected happened, getting into the top three should be no problem.
Even just ranking third would yield a full 100,000 yen in prize money, which was undoubtedly a huge sum for someone like Togawa Sakiko.
With that money, she could quit handing out flyers and free up more time to look for band members.
She could buy a few cases of beer for that bastard old man and make him behave for a few more days.
She could finally go to the shop and have beef rice again, extra meat and extra egg.
Shuka's efficiency was fast.
The test ended on Wednesday, and by Thursday, the results were already out.
Standing in front of the bulletin board, Togawa Sakiko unsurprisingly found her name in the second position.
First place was a student named "Yukinoshita Yukino."
A bit of disappointment, she hadn't been able to get the biggest prize.
But since she'd been busy working and had little time to review, second place wasn't surprising.
Leaving the teachers' office, Togawa Sakiko had an envelope in her hand.
Inside was the prize money for this exam, a full 150,000 yen.
For a corporate drone, the happiest day of each month was payday.
Sakiko was no exception. A faint smile hung on her doll-like delicate face, causing passing students to look surprised.
Since the start of school, Togawa had always looked like someone who kept others at arm's length.
It was rare to see her so happy.
As school was nearing its end, a light drizzle suddenly began to fall from the sky.
Fortunately, the rain wasn't heavy, nothing a person couldn't handle without an umbrella.
Returning to her old, dilapidated apartment and opening the door, Sakiko suddenly frowned.
A strong smell of alcohol wafted from inside, faintly accompanied by the sound of cursing.
From the entryway to the living room, Sakiko's good mood vanished in an instant.
In front of her was a chaotic mess. The trash can had been kicked over, and leftover bento boxes were scattered across the floor.
A tall man was panting heavily, rummaging through her bedroom, cursing as he went.
"Where's the money? Why can't I find it anywhere?"
Seeing a diary nearby, he was about to flip through it when an angry shout suddenly rang out behind him.
"You bastard old man! What are you doing?"
"Oh, it's Sakiko?", Seeing his daughter, the man didn't feel embarrassed at all. Instead, he boldly stretched out his hand, "You got paid last month, right? Hurry up and give Dad 100,000 yen. Dad's got an emergency!"
"I don't have 100,000 yen to give you!"
Sakiko snatched the diary from the man she was supposed to call "Father," hugging it tightly to her chest.
The 50,000 yen Kurumizaka-kun had secretly put into her bag, she still hadn't been willing to spend a cent. She had tucked it between the pages of her diary, thankfully, it hadn't been stolen.
"You clearly have several part-time jobs, don't you?"
The middle-aged man laughed shamelessly, "Customer service, convenience store clerk, sometimes I hand out flyers. How could you not even have 100,000 yen? Sakiko, be good, Daddy has serious business to do."
"Your serious business is going out drinking and playing pachinko?"
Sakiko stared at him coldly, amber eyes filled with undisguised disappointment, "Dad... what will it take for you to pull yourself together?"
"Shut up!", The middle-aged man seemed stung by her gaze and flew into a rage, "Even your life was given by me, so what if I ask for some money?"
He stepped forward with big strides. His once-handsome features now twisted like a demon, "What's that in your hand? An envelope? Does it have money in it? Hand it over! Don't force me to use violence!"
"Don't even think—"
SLAP!
A loud slap.
The middle-aged man froze for a moment, staring at his hand in disbelief.
He looked up, his lips twitching, seemingly wanting to say something.
But his craving for money quickly overwhelmed the little guilt he felt. His gaze turned fierce again, he shoved his daughter to the ground, snatched the envelope from her hands, and eagerly tore it open.
Seeing the fifteen crisp bills inside, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Then, without even glancing at his devastated daughter, he strode out the front door, ignoring the increasingly urgent rain, disappearing into the night.
———
'It seems like the rain is getting heavier.'
Big raindrops pelted against the window with loud splashes, like a passionate symphony.
Kaito looked out at the curtain of rain. The neon lights continued to flicker in the downpour, the dark sky like a massive curtain, shrouding the whole world.
This kind of weather was perfect for sleeping.
Kaito had been planning to do just that. Stretching lazily, for once ready to sleep early, but then his gaze suddenly froze.
In the pitch-black rain curtain, a figure with long blue hair flickered faintly.
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