Rei's footsteps gradually faded, leaving only two people at the corner of the hallway.
Kizuna stood by the window, the sunlight filtering from behind her, dyeing her hair, which was scattered over her shoulders, a pinkish-gold.
She brought her hand out from behind her back, palm open, a brooch resting quietly in it.
“It fell on the floor during the photo shoot just now. A girl almost stepped on it.” She gently placed the brooch in Qiluo’s hand, her fingers not retracting immediately.
They lingered in Qiluo’s palm for a moment, then pulled back as if burned, hiding behind her back.
Qiluo took the brooch and flipped it over to look at the back.
There was no lingering magic, just an ordinary metal emblem.
She pinned the brooch back onto her collar and looked up to find Kizuna watching her, with a certain indescribable complex emotion in her eyes.
“Tian Gong-san, a lot of people are definitely going to ask to take photos with you today—I mean, you look so good in this outfit, and even more people will crowd around once the event officially starts. So I thought, while there are still few people…”
She took a deep breath and rushed out the last few words, “Could you take one with me first?”
“Why?” Qiluo tilted her head, genuinely puzzled. “Give me a reason, Kizuna-san. Convince me, and I’ll take one with you. If you can’t think of a reason, then forget it.”
The imposing aura Kizuna had shown earlier in the classroom, when she stood in front of Qiluo Tian Gong, had now vanished without a trace.
Her gaze drifted to the ginkgo tree outside the window, then back to Qiluo’s collar.
She just couldn't meet her eyes.
Qiluo, how can you ask me ‘why’?
There are too many reasons; which one should I say?
This feeling of wanting to get closer to her, of wanting to have her all to myself.
It's irritating to see her surrounded by others.
I haven’t even figured out what this feeling is…
“Because—” Kizuna clasped her hands behind her back, her fingers intertwining.
“Because I want to be the first…”
After she said that, her ears were completely red, and even her neck was tinged with a faint pink.
“That’s a good reason.” Qiluo stepped forward and leaned against the window beside her, taking out her phone from her pocket, setting it to selfie mode, and raising her arm.
The screen showed both their faces: one still shy, the other with a sly glint in her eyes.
“Stand still.” Qiluo held the phone higher, adjusting the angle so both of them were in the frame.
On the screen, Kizuna still had her hands clasped behind her back, her body leaning slightly towards Qiluo, but there was still a fist-sized gap between their shoulders.
Qiluo reached out, put an arm around Kizuna’s shoulders, and pulled her closer. The distance between them suddenly closed, and Kizuna’s shoulder gently bumped Qiluo’s collarbone.
“A little closer, or the camera won’t fit us both.”
With that pull, Kizuna was practically pressed against Qiluo’s side.
She could feel the warmth of Qiluo’s arm radiating through.
There was also a scent, the same one she had secretly leaned in to smell when Qiluo was asleep in the classroom last time.
She quietly rested her head on Qiluo’s shoulder, her hair brushing against Qiluo’s chin.
Click, and the moment was captured.
“…Not bad.” Qiluo put her phone away, about to release her arm from Kizuna’s shoulder.
Kizuna remained leaning on her shoulder, her hair brushing against the hollow of Qiluo’s neck.
“Tian Gong-san, actually, I—”
Kizuna stopped mid-sentence, turning her head to follow Qiluo’s gaze.
At the end of the hallway, Yuki stood holding a tray.
She was wearing a black and white maid uniform, with a delicate lace trim along the edge of her apron, the skirt falling just below her knees, and low-heeled black leather shoes on her feet.
The bow at her collar was neatly tied, and her long hair was loosely gathered at the back of her head with a white ribbon.
No one knew how long she had been standing there.
“Yuki…” Kizuna instinctively shifted half a step sideways, her shoulder leaving Qiluo’s neck.
She wanted to explain something, but in the end, she just intertwined her fingers.
Yuki walked over, her leather shoes making regular soft taps on the hallway floor. Her tray held several glasses of lemonade, ice cubes gently clinking within.
“The café isn’t officially open yet, but I wanted to bring some water over first.”
She stopped in front of the two, first looking at Qiluo.
From her crooked wig to her askew collar, not a single detail was missed.
After she had seemingly taken it all in, she turned to Kizuna, nodding slightly. “Asana-san, you look very fitting today. Meruru’s color scheme suits you well.”
“Th-thank you. Kurokawa-san’s maid uniform also looks great. I heard your class was doing a café, but I didn’t expect it to be so formal.”
Kizuna’s voice was a little higher than usual; she probably sensed the thin layer of tension in the air.
Yuki stepped forward, placed the tray on the windowsill, and then naturally reached out her free hands to Qiluo’s collar.
Yuki smoothed down the stray threads that were sticking up one by one.
Her movements were light, occasionally brushing against Qiluo’s collarbone, a cool sensation accompanying them.
She focused on the fabric in her hands, not looking into Qiluo’s eyes.
“Your clothes are crooked. It must have been from the crowding during the photos.” She straightened the collar, her fingertips gently gliding along its curve. “This outfit is indeed very elaborate. I suppose everyone in class surrounded you to take pictures when they saw you wearing this.”
“I took a few pictures,” Qiluo said, leaning against the windowsill, letting Yuki adjust her clothes.
Yuki continued, adjusting the angle of the brooch on Qiluo’s shoulder.
After she finished, she stepped back to examine her work for a moment, then nodded slightly.
“You look good in anything, and this outfit is no exception.”
She retracted her hands, then picked up a glass of lemonade from the tray and offered it to Qiluo. “Still, I think it’s a bit of a shame I couldn’t see you in our class’s maid uniform.”
Yuki said, turning to look at Kizuna beside her.
“Asana-san, Rei was looking for you at the dessert stall just now. She said there might be an issue with the whipped cream ratio.” She paused, then added, “It seems like the machine is malfunctioning a bit, and she can’t quite manage it alone.”
Kizuna was startled, then nodded hesitantly.
“Okay, I’ll go check.” She said, glancing at Qiluo again, then turned and walked away.
Only two people remained in the hallway.
Yuki Kurokawa reached out and gently plucked a silver-white strand of hair from Qiluo’s shoulder, returning it to its original place on the wig.
Then, her hand slid down, taking hold of Qiluo’s sleeve.
“…You promised before that you’d come to our class’s café, but I haven’t seen you yet.”
“Now I’m inviting you early—you’ll come after the opening, right?”
Qiluo looked down at her sleeve, which was being held.
She hadn’t panicked when surrounded by so many people taking photos in the classroom, but now, gently tugged by two fingers, her heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
“…I won’t forget what I promised you.”
She raised her other hand, gently covering the back of Yuki’s hand that held her sleeve, slowly prying her fingers open.
Then, she clasped Yuki’s hand in return, her fingers intertwining with Yuki’s, tightening her grip.
“Let’s go. While it hasn’t officially opened yet, let’s go see your café.”
Yuki was pulled forward two steps by Qiluo, looking down at their clasped hands, then up at Qiluo’s back.
Rate on N.U.
