Part-2 Ch-11 Ep-05

Mari’s POV

On the night of the second day of the school trip, I sat at the desk in our hotel room, listening to the steady sound of the shower coming from the bathroom while scrolling through the photos we had taken that day.

On the screen were images of Todoroki-kun and Kagami-kun grimacing as they kneaded clay, and of Maki holding her finished shisa beside her face, striking a pose with a bright, cheerful smile.

Every photo captured a happy memory from the day, and as I looked at everyone’s smiling faces, I found myself smiling as well.

But amid all of that, one thing had begun to bother me.

Maki was not looking at her own phone.

No, it was not that she never touched it. She did sometimes. But she barely used it, and that felt unnatural. For example, during the waiting times between hands-on activities.

For example, when someone in the group went to the bathroom and the rest of us were standing around. For example, during the long bus rides, when we were seated for extended periods of time.

In all of those situations, I realized that I almost never saw Maki fiddling with her own phone.

Of course, she took it out to take photos, and I occasionally caught glimpses of her briefly checking the notification screen.

But once she was done, she immediately put it back into her bag. Normally, we often kill time together by opening some app, each of us holding our phones.

On this school trip, however, she had been leaning over to peek at the short videos or online news I was watching instead, laughing together with me more often.

That, in itself, was fun.

Still, questions like “Why aren’t you checking your own phone?” or “Is something bothering you?” kept bubbling up in my mind, making me feel unsettled.

Could it be that Godaiin-kun had been contacting her?

Did she feel like she had to reply?

Thoughts like that, completely unnecessary ones, kept creeping in.

I knew that, given her personality, Maki would never intentionally say or do something meant to make me anxious. She was not the type to seek attention through that kind of behavior.

Precisely because I knew that, her actions worried me even more. According to the game’s scenario, Godaiin-kun was supposed to make some kind of move during this school trip.

It was possible he had already done so.

Somewhere I did not know about, Maki and Godaiin-kun might have been alone together, and Maki might be trying to deal with everything on her own without telling me.

Then, without me knowing anything, she would probably come to me later and say something like, “You don’t have to worry about Godaiin-kun anymore. I’ve taken care of it.”

If that happened, I, who had so confidently declared before the trip that I would break the flag myself, would surely regret it deeply.

I did not want that.

When I turned slightly from the desk, I saw her phone lying carelessly tossed onto the bed.

It bothered me.

But I could not just look through it without permission. And even if I did, what would that accomplish? That doubt lingered as well.

I let out a quiet sigh, “Fuu,” and then a voice spoke right behind me.

“What’s wrong?”

I jumped.

“Hyaahhh!”

“I wasn’t trying to scare you or anything. Do you really have to react that much?”

Maki tilted her head, looking puzzled.

Her hair, fresh from the bath, was still damp and glistening softly.

“So, what’s up?”

She was wearing the hotel’s separate-type pajamas and sat down on the bed while rubbing her hair with a towel.

“It’s nothing,” I said.

“Hmm, okay then,” she replied, before holding the hair dryer out toward me. “Then do me a favor.”

I fell silent.

She was clearly asking me to dry her hair. After I had done it for her last night when she looked half-asleep, she seemed to have grown fond of it.

“No good?”

When she tilted her head and looked at me like that, it was so cute that I could not possibly refuse. Please stop doing that.

“Fine, fine. Come here then,” I said as I sat down at the desk.

But she puffed out her cheeks.

“No way. You come here, Mari.”

She had clearly entered princess mode. Also known as selfish mode.

“Haa…”

I let out a small sigh, climbed onto Maki’s bed, and plugged the hair dryer into the nearby outlet.

“What’s with that sigh? You sound dissatisfied.”

“Not really. Okay, face forward.”

“Muu.”

I exaggerated my sigh, but the truth was that Maki only acted this spoiled with me, and deep down that filled me with a quiet sense of superiority.

Honestly, I had no complaints at all.

Still, she really did have a childish, selfish side sometimes, so forgive me for wanting to tease her just a little.

I switched on the dryer and started with her bangs.

Reaching around from behind, I combed through her hair with my fingers, lightly scratching her scalp as I sent warm air through it.

Maki, meanwhile, deliberately tilted her head upward to try to catch my gaze or turned sideways just to mess with me.

“Hehehe.”

“Come on, stay still for a bit.”

When I scolded her like I would a small child, she replied in a drawn-out, childish voice.

“Okaaay.”

This was her true off-mode, something she rarely showed even at school.

“Tomorrow’s the aquarium, right?”

“I looove fish.”

The childish tone made it obvious she was smiling, even without seeing her face.

Her completely unguarded state made me grin without realizing it.

So adorable, I thought.

Not just Maki herself, but this time together, this entire shared space, everything felt so precious that my chest ached.

Her hair gradually grew smooth and silky, the strands sliding easily through my fingers.

Maki was already reaching her limit, slowly surrendering to whatever I did, her head beginning to sway gently.

Just like last night, in this state, we would probably both reach our limits. After drying her hair, we would fall asleep almost immediately.

It felt like today would end the same way.

Then, the phone lying on the bed lit up with a notification. I could not help glancing at the pop-up.

It was only a notification about a new SNS video update, and I felt relieved. Immediately after, I felt disgusted with myself for feeling relieved at all.

All I had to do was ask her. Just ask.

And yet I could not bring myself to do it, and that indecision tormented me.

I should trust Maki properly. But the game scenario lingering in my memory continued to stir my anxiety. That scenario really could have been a possible future.

And precisely because of that, if I did not actively eliminate that possibility now, it might still happen someday.

That thought sent a chill through me.

That was why I had to act.

Maki was already half-asleep, her eyes nearly closed, her head bobbing like someone rowing a boat. When I glanced away for a moment, the mirror in the room reflected the scene back at me.

Maki, drowsy, sitting on the bed.

Me, standing behind her, holding the hair dryer.

As I played with her hair, I gathered one strand between my fingers.

Making sure she would not notice with her eyes closed, I poured my feelings into the gesture and gently pressed a kiss to the lock of hair I had lifted.

Chapter 11: School Trip Arc, Part 1 End