In Tokyo: They are heavily dependent on me

Chapter 91. Gaze

"A fireworks festival..."

"Speaking of which, it's about time."

After waking up, Kaoru was munching on a delicious and sweet bread when she got bored and started browsing her phone. She saw a discussion on the forum about the "Fireworks Festival".

The annual fireworks festival is very grand, with several locations in Tokyo where fireworks are set off.

The smell of gunpowder lingers in the air for a long time after fireworks explode in the sky.

Before the scent has even faded, the next round of fireworks will burst forth in mid-air.

The most suitable moment for confessing one's feelings, and the one that received the most votes in this topic, is "the moment when sparks fly and illuminate each other's cheeks."

Will the students from the water sports school participate in this year's fireworks festival?

Kaoru's mind conjured up the image of a young lady who always seemed to have important matters to attend to.

Unlike the other girls in the class, the young lady always gave him the impression of being busy all the time. Even on weekends, she rarely had any free time, which made him curious about... what her daily life was like.

With this thought in mind, Kaoru stuffed the bread into her mouth in the shortest amount of time.

After leaving the ramen shop, he rode his creaking bicycle to school.

As he passed a section of road with frequent traffic lights, he saw a figure walking on the inside of the road ahead. He hesitated about whether to take a longer route. The other person seemed to sense his presence and turned their face away.

Their eyes met.

"Hoshino... classmate?"

It was Xiaolin, whose hair hadn't been permed and whose face clearly showed signs of sleepiness.

Seemingly due to poor sleep last night, she yawned immediately after saying this, and a few tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

"Kobayashi-kun... What a coincidence."

"Are you going to school, Hoshino-kun?"

"Yes."

"Then, give me a ride, I really don't want to walk..."

Kobayashi skillfully sat down on the back of the bicycle.

I sat sideways on the stiff back seat, my cheek pressed against her back, and under the influence of the applied pressure, I could feel the warmth of her body.

Xun opened her mouth, as if she wanted to speak but didn't know what to say.

"All right."

He was pedaling the bicycle.

And so we drove smoothly toward the school.

"Hoshino-san, do you think I'm the kind of girl who's a bit slow-witted... or more perceptive?"

Kobayashi's voice came from behind me.

Unsure of her purpose in asking the question, Kaoru could only answer instinctively.

"I'm not very clear on this either. If I had to choose one... being a little slow to react might be better."

"Is that so...? I understand."

Kobayashi exclaimed in sudden realization.

The atmosphere between the two was somewhat strange, a change that Kaoru could clearly sense.

When did it start?

He began to recall when this strange change first appeared in Kobayashi.

It should be... after the last visit to her house?

Because of what happened, the two naturally communicated much less... If their communication frequency was 1 before, it became 0 after that incident.

"Is Hoshino deliberately avoiding me?"

Kobayashi spoke in a somewhat resentful and puzzled tone.

Xun didn't know how to respond, recalling that she seemed to have drunk a bit too much when she last visited her home.

If she forgets everything that happened after she got drunk... facing it shouldn't be too difficult for her.

"We had a fight last time... Do you remember, Kobayashi?"

Xun asked tentatively.

A brief silence fell behind me.

However, the silence was soon broken by the drawn-out sound.

"Eh—arguing? Me? I... I've ever argued with Hoshino-kun?"

"Yes, it even escalated to the point of physical violence... Doesn't Kobayashi remember?"

"Let's do it... Me and Hoshino-kun? You're kidding..."

"It's true...that's why I'm deliberately avoiding you. I'm worried that if I talk to you without permission, you'll hit me again, and that's what I'll do."

Even though it had been said before, Kobayashi reacted as if he were hearing it for the first time.

It seems she's the type of girl who forgets everything she's done when she's drunk.

If that's the case, Kaoru felt a little more at ease.

Well... since we've already forgotten that unpleasant thing, let's leave it at that and not think about it too much.

After all, back then, Kobayashi...

That face, filled with demanding and possessive desires, briefly appeared in my mind.

That's strange...

......

"I'm so sorry!"

"I invited Hoshino-kun to my house... but I messed everything up and even caused Hoshino-kun to misunderstand. Oh no... what should I do...?"

After parking his bicycle in the parking shed, Kobayashi suddenly bent over, his body appearing in sight at a 'ninety-degree right angle'.

To apologize but then ask the other person what to do... that's really enough.

Looking back, Kobayashi is indeed the kind of girl who would do something like that.

Xun scratched her itchy cheek.

"Never mind, I didn't really care about that kind of thing anyway, and the wound... I didn't feel any pain at all after applying ice."

Because she is a girl, the impact wasn't severe enough to require several days of recovery.

Kaoru's health had always been good, so she used the excuse of "accidentally falling down" to deceive Rin. After applying ice packs all night, she was fine the next day.

"A wound? Did I create a wound? What...what did I do...?"

What was done could not be overstated as an atrocity...

Kaoru recalled the kiss that had brought her an unpleasant sensation.

Even though the steps of kissing are the same—lips pressed together, greedily savoring each other's scent—it's just like that... Logically, the sensations should all be the same.

However, that kiss was different.

From that reckless kiss, he did indeed hear the sound of something completely collapsing.

That expression appeared on Kobayashi, whom he knew well... When his body sensed it, the almost terrifying physical sensation brought his thoughts to a brief standstill.

That feeling is terrifying.

It's like a strong premonition that arises before some serious consequences are about to occur.

"Never mind, I don't really care about this kind of thing. Let's go to class."

Kaoru tried to control her thoughts, gently patted Kobayashi's shoulder, and turned to walk towards the classroom.

His figure quickly blended into the crowd of unfamiliar faces.

......

It is for this reason.

He won't notice, and he can't possibly notice.

Chio Kobayashi after being touched...

What appeared in my eyes was that gaze that grew increasingly intense.