Though the sky had been clear all afternoon, it started raining again before Hayato and the others could even change after practice. Fortunately, they had all brought umbrellas to school that morning. After saying goodbye, everyone opened their umbrellas and stepped into the rain.
After seeing Hitoka home, Hayato walked beside Kiyoko, lost in thought. He had been wondering since that morning whether, given their height difference, sharing one umbrella would turn into one of those scenes from Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun. Sometimes being too tall was inconvenient—but it would be interesting, too.
"What are you smiling about?"
"I just thought of something funny."
Hayato told her about his absurd thought of what might happen if the two of them shared an umbrella, and Kiyoko laughed.
"Our height difference isn't as big as you make it sound. Rainwater pouring straight onto my head? I can't believe you even came up with that."
"Wouldn't it?"
"Of course not. Want to try it?"
Without waiting for Hayato's answer, Kiyoko folded up her umbrella with its wave pattern and squeezed beneath Hayato's black umbrella.
"See? Nothing like what you described happened."
Because of his build, Hayato used one of those large umbrellas. Even with another person beneath it, it did not feel crowded, though the two of them were still pressed closely together.
Kiyoko's slender shoulder rested right against Hayato's arm. Since they were in their summer uniforms, there was only a thin white shirt between them. Kiyoko did have on a sleeveless sweater, but it had no sleeves. The rain had also made the temperature drop considerably.
Even through that layer of clothing, they could feel each other's body heat.
"Kiyoko-senpai, your arm feels a little cold. Are you cold?"
Through her shirt, Hayato could feel that Kiyoko's body temperature was somewhat low, probably because of the rain. For Kiyoko, though, it was the complete opposite. Boys naturally ran warmer, and Hayato had just exercised. To her, the heat coming from his arm almost felt scorching.
"Girls tend to get cold easily. And with the rain, it's normal."
Her voice sounded a little unnatural. Kiyoko did her best to speak calmly to Hayato while ignoring the warmth radiating from him.
"Then let's have sukiyaki for dinner tonight. We can buy some ingredients first. Oh, Kiyoko-senpai, it's okay if you eat with me tonight, right?"
The arm Hayato used to hold the umbrella was the one pressed against Kiyoko. Reaching over to put an arm around her was not exactly realistic, and Kiyoko probably would not agree to something that forward anyway. So, he brought up something warm to change the subject.
Sure enough, the moment she heard they were having sukiyaki, Kiyoko forgot how close they were and nodded in agreement.
"Sukiyaki? Of course. Eating with you is fine, Hayato. My parents are out attending a relative's wedding today, and they won't be back until tomorrow."
"Then it's settled! Come on, let's head for the shopping street~"
Urging Kiyoko to hurry, Hayato took her to the shopping street to buy a pile of ingredients. Carrying their bags, the two returned to Hayato's house. Once inside the entryway, Kiyoko did not take off her shoes and instead handed all the bags to Hayato.
"I'll go home and take a hot bath first. You should take one too."
Noticing that Hayato's other shoulder was already wet, Kiyoko made the suggestion.
"Sure. A hot bath sounds good. This rain really is cold today."
It had not bothered him until she said it, but now Hayato began to shiver a little. After Kiyoko left again, he put all the ingredients in the kitchen, went to the bathroom to turn on the water heater, then took off his damp white shirt and dried his shoulder with a towel.
Then the doorbell suddenly rang. Hayato found it strange. Kiyoko-senpai should have gone home to bathe, so how could she be back so quickly? Who could it be?
He casually draped the towel around his neck, walked to the entryway bare-chested, and opened the door.
"Who is it... huh, Kiyoko-senpai? Didn't you go home?"
The familiar face left Hayato puzzled. Then he saw Kiyoko awkwardly twisting her hands together.
"I forgot my keys at school."
"...Pfft. Pfft, hahaha! Sorry, I'm really sorry. It's just that seeing you suddenly be this careless is so unlike you, Kiyoko-senpai."
Already knowing how embarrassing this was, Kiyoko was too mortified to lift her head after hearing Hayato laugh. Then she heard him shift his steps.
"Then come in quickly. I just heated some water, so Kiyoko-senpai, you can bathe first."
When she looked up, she saw Hayato stepping aside with his upper body exposed, inviting her inside. His jet-black short hair was slightly damp from the rain, a white towel hung around his neck, and a gentle smile rested on his handsome face. Combined with his eye-catching physique, it was quite a sight.
Kiyoko froze where she stood. She had to admit, this image of a dog-like boyfriend fresh from the bath had truly stunned her.
"Kiyoko-senpai?"
Seeing that Kiyoko had not moved, Hayato looked at her curiously. His innocent puppy-like gaze and tilted head only made him cuter.
"It's nothing. Get inside already. You're still bare-chested—aren't you cold? Be careful not to catch a cold."
Coming back to her senses, Kiyoko hurried inside while reminding Hayato to be careful not to get sick.
Only after Kiyoko entered did Hayato realize he had answered the door for her bare-chested. Still, it should not have been a big deal, right? The Volleyball Club members often took their shirts off too, especially Ryu. After landing a good spike, he would often rip off his shirt and wave it around in his hand.
Kiyoko should have built up quite a tolerance for men's upper bodies by now.
Then Hayato suddenly realized what that meant. Did that mean Kiyoko-senpai felt that way about him? But that could not be right. At most, they were childhood friends, and they had only just reunited. Yeah... it definitely could not be that kind of feeling.
Still, she probably did like him to some degree. After all, Kiyoko had only ever smiled at him before.
While Hayato reasoned it out like a detective, Kiyoko had already reached the bathroom and was holding her flushed cheeks in both hands.
"What is going on? Why am I so embarrassed after seeing Hayato's upper body? I shouldn't be. Hayato is my little brother. Right, my little brother."
Kiyoko quickly composed herself as she muttered to the mirror, and the flush faded from her face. Then Hayato's voice came from outside the door.
"Kiyoko-senpai, there aren't any women's clothes at home, so I set out some of mine for you. Is that okay?"
"N-No problem!"
Startled by Hayato's voice, Kiyoko answered in a slightly off-key tone. Embarrassed and annoyed, she pinched her own cheek. What was wrong with her? Ever since meeting Hayato again, he had constantly been leading her around by the nose.
"Then I'll go start dinner. Call me when you're done."
Before Kiyoko could answer, she heard his footsteps growing farther away.
Kiyoko patted her cheeks to encourage herself. Once she had recovered, she opened the bathroom door and brought in the clothes placed on the rack outside. She changed out of her cold clothes, tossed them into the washing machine, entered the bathroom, and slid shut the glass door. Seeing that the water heater had heated the water, she turned on the bathtub faucet, then sat beneath the showerhead and began washing herself in front of the mirror.
Bathing here was rather troublesome. You had to wash yourself clean in the shower first, then soak in the tub afterward. Hayato still had not gotten used to that routine. The past few times, he had simply showered and left.
After washing herself clean, Kiyoko sat in the bathtub and submerged her shoulders. The warm, comfortable sensation made her let out a soft sigh.
"Ah, I'm finally warm."
After soaking for a full twenty minutes, Kiyoko came out feeling refreshed. Fresh bath towels and hand towels had been placed together with the clean clothes. Hayato was quite thoughtful. Looking at the things he had prepared for her, Kiyoko nodded in satisfaction.
She then dried herself with a bath towel, carefully dried her soaking-wet hair with a hand towel, and finally used the hair dryer hanging on the wall to dry it about eighty percent. The washing machine also chimed to signal it had finished, but unfortunately, Hayato's washing machine did not have a drying function.
After putting on the clothes he had prepared, Kiyoko tied up her hair and wrapped it in a towel. Looking at herself in the mirror, dressed in Hayato's oversized pure-white T-shirt and black shorts, she could not help feeling troubled.
All of the clothes were too large for her. The T-shirt alone reached nearly to her thighs, while the shorts were not quite as exaggerated but still came down close to her knees.
Since she was already wearing them, Kiyoko decided not to dwell on it. She opened the bathroom door and walked out.
Before you continue