Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330658028208231/episodes/16817330658664657895
The sky was dim and a light rain was falling. I was waiting for Watanabe san in front of the ticket gate of the nearest station.
Wearing the clothes I had just bought yesterday, I had changed my outfit a little since I happened to run into the person I was supposed to go out with.
As for my hair, I wondered whether I should use wax or not, but I decided not to since I had been praised by Ishikawa san and Sawaguchi san the day before, and Watanabe san might think I was too enthusiastic if I put it on.
Fifteen minutes before the meeting time, I saw Watanabe san walking with an umbrella in the distance.
She was dressed fashionably today in a light blue blouse and white pouch, as I had expected
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Ah, no worries.”
When she arrives, she looks strange, looking down and with an unhappy expression on her face.
Is this perhaps a continuation from the other day?
I had cleared up the misunderstanding in front of everyone, but there is a possibility that she has taken it to heart.
If this is the case, it would mean that I was all hyped up for today, and I have made her feel uncomfortable.
At first glance, there is no such atmosphere. Is she not in the right frame of mind, or is she depressed?
“Erm, let’s just get on the train, shall we?”
I urge, and she shakes her head.
So far, Watanabe san had been leading the conversation, so it was difficult for me to connect with her if she did not open her mouth.
We went through the ticket gate and headed for the station where the aquarium was located.
When we boarded the train, I led Watanabe san to a space next to the boarding gate, and I stood in front of her.
It was raining today, and perhaps because it was a holiday morning, the train was quite crowded.
I had heard that some people had been touched by perverts on their way to school on the train, and with a pretty girl like Watanabe san, it was best to be on the lookout.
It takes a few minutes by train to get to the destination. If we had been chatting during the previous fishing trip, the time would have passed in a flash, but I felt the time passed more slowly because of the crowded train or because I refrained from talking with her.
Suddenly, she looked up and our eyes met. Come to think of it, I have yet to see her smile once today. Her pale lips are pursed and her amber eyes are shimmering as she looks up at me.
Her eyes seem to want to tell me something, but she never speaks, as if she is troubled.
We stop at a station and more people board the train. I resist the pressure to protect Watanabe san, but there are so many people boarding that I’m pushed aside.
“I’m sorry, are you okay?”
I apologized as soon as my body touched hers.
“I-it’s fine.”
Watanabe san looked away, brushed her hair with her left hand, and replied.
I saw her grip the strap of her bag tightly with her left hand, as if her body was tensing up.
As I approached her, I could smell a faintly good odor wafting from her. Was it perfume? The scent of flowers calmed my mind a little.
Despite the air conditioning, it is hot and humid. The humidity was caused by the rain and the passengers were all packed together. I looked at her and saw that her face was red.
“Sorry, I’ll try to stay away from you as much as possible.”
There is a possibility that she is not feeling well. I told her I didn’t want her to get any worse,
“No.”
She let out a single word and turned her head down, leaving her eyes on my chest.
“Well, we’re finally here.”
I took a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill my lungs as I was released from the hot and humid train.
I was very tired, as was my breathing, because I had to be careful not to touch Watanabe san.
Concerned about her physical condition, I looked at her and saw that she was putting her right hand on her chest and breathing in slowly. I knew that Watanabe san must have been suffocating on the train.
“Are you okay?”
“Hyaah !?”
I called out to her from behind, and she screamed in surprise.
“If you have motion sickness, why don’t you rest a bit and then we’ll go?”
I pointed to a bench nearby,
“No, I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”
She thanked me with a smile.
I was relieved to see her expression for the first time today.
“Aikawa kun, is something wrong?”
She tilted her head at my attitude.
“No, you were acting strange earlier, so I was wondering if you were worried about what happened the other day.”
I thought she was avoiding me because she felt awkward.
“No, it’s not that. Um……it’s, just before I was about to head out…..”
She put her hand over her mouth and stopped talking.
It is rare to see such an ambiguous attitude.
“Maybe you have a problem?”
I said this, and she turned to me with the same lost look in her eyes that she had shown me earlier.
“It’s not really a problem, but when I went out, my father scolded me…for today’s matter.”
“You mean about the aquarium today?”
“Yes, he said that I might be playing too much when I just started school.”
I see. I have heard rumors that Watanabe san’s parents are individuals who run several companies. They are also strict with their daughter, and it is said that soon after entering the school, they made a small complaint about their daughter because she was playing too much.
It is true that a student’s main job is to study. I myself was told that by my father, and if my grades failed, I would be banned from fishing.
“Since entering the school, I have been able to socialize with Riho san and Maho san, and even with Aikawa kun…….”
Stopping mid-sentence, she glanced at me.
“I was thinking about how I could convince my father in the future.”
She don’t want to tear up the friendship I’ve developed with her friend. She was thinking about what she could do to get her father’s approval, and that was the situation she just found herself in.
“Actually, I get a lot of complaints from my father, because I was fishing too much.”
“How do you solve the problem?”
Watanabe san looked serious and asked.
“I’ve declared that if my grades drop, I’m going to stop fishing. I guess the only way to keep doing what I love is to show certain results and win their trust, right?”
If Watanabe san’s father is going to complain about his daughter’s companionship, she should show him exactly what she has accomplished to shut him up.
“I-I see……. I’d like to talk to my father about it when I get home.
She smiled graciously as she said this.
“I’m glad you listened to me, Aikawa kun. Thank you.”
I didn’t really do anything that big.
I was just talking about a very common and ubiquitous example.
“By the way, if you’re feeling better, are you ready to go?”
We were totally late, so we had better head for the aquarium. I was thinking about that,
“C-come to think of it…..there was one more thing I wanted to ask you.”
“Don’t be afraid to ask. You can ask me anything.”
Perhaps because I was happy that Watanabe san confided her problems to me, I made a cheap offer.
“It was about yesterday…..”
“Hm?”
She blushed and looked me up and down.
“You bought those clothes yesterday, didn’t you?”
I felt my body temperature rising as I was exposed to such a gaze.
She seemed to be struggling with what to say next, moving her mouth and thinking without speaking.
Eventually, she came to the conclusion of what she needed to say,
“Is it true that you arranged the outfit for me?”
The question was more straightforward than I had expected.
Her amber eyes moistened and her brow furrowed. Watanabe san was waiting for my answer, her shapely lips tightly knit together.
I had told her that she could ask me anything, so I couldn’t lie to her, but it was hard to imagine the awkwardness that would arise if I completely affirmed her answer.
“W-well, not all of them, but just in case, I have to go out today……I guess.”
I wonder what I look like now, being forced to confess in front of a girl I’m hanging out with that I went to buy clothes to go out with her.
It must be one of the five most embarrassing experiences of my life.
“Fufufu, I see.”
Then Watanabe san covered her mouth with the fingers of her right hand and laughed softly.
“Then, it’s not too late, so let’s head for the aquarium.”
With that, she turned her body and started walking with both hands holding her bag behind her back, seemingly in a good mood.
I followed her in a bewildered manner,
“Oh yes, about what we discussed earlier, I forgot to mention one thing.”
She turns around and gives me a mischievous look that she has never shown me before.
“About what my father scolded me about earlier, it was because I went shopping for new clothes yesterday.”
I pondered for a moment, wondering what she meant by that.
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