Summer and the Morning

With a single move, he checkmated her.

Yuki Gyakukai felt a little helpless. He'd been wondering whether he should go easy on her.

After all, when he'd said there were probably two moves left, he meant that if he played it safe, it would take him two more moves to checkmate her.

But since Sakayanagi Arisu had put it that way, there was no need to waste time.

"I have to say, Classmate Sakayanagi, you're impressive. You managed to keep pace with me for so long despite being in such a frail state. That's truly admirable."

Halfway through, Yuki seemed to remember something, and his expression shifted.

"Classmate Sakayanagi, something seems wrong with you. Should you go to the infirmary and get checked out?"

"No, I'll be fine after resting a little..." Sakayanagi Arisu continued to stare blankly at the checkmated position on the board.

It seemed her confidence had taken quite a hit.

After all, she'd been beaten with ease at the game she prided herself on most—Chess—by someone who only knew the rules and had played a few times.

However she looked at it, it made her feel that there was always someone better out there, along with a deep sense of frustration.

Yuki Gyakukai felt he couldn't stay in the library any longer. Somehow, everything that had happened today felt ominous.

So he quickly made an excuse, said goodbye to everyone, and hurried out of the library.

The summer sun was especially scorching, though unfortunately, it was already afternoon.

The sinking sun was partly obscured by wispy clouds, and shafts of light spilled through them in scattered patches.

From this angle, the western sun and the clouds drifting around it had taken on a rosy hue.

Yuki Gyakukai walked along the road as the sea breeze rustled the trees lining it.

Suddenly, his gaze drifted to a bench beside the road.

A blue-haired girl in a pure white pleated skirt was dozing on it, one hand resting against the tree beside her.

He slowed his pace, keeping his footsteps at a reasonable volume.

"It's almost evening. Why aren't you going to eat? What are you doing here?"

He gently patted the girl's cheek. No reaction?

Puzzled, Yuki crouched beside the bench and listened, hearing her steady breathing.

"Are you really asleep?"

"Mmm... I'm asleep."

He turned to study the blue-haired girl, who still had her eyes closed and was breathing steadily.

"She hasn't even opened her eyes. She really is asleep." Yuki put on an expression of mock concern. "What should I do? I've found a high school girl on a bench at school. Maybe I should..."

"Dame! Hentai!"

Unable to take it anymore, Ai Morishita opened her eyes and sprang up, wincing as she clutched her lower back.

"Why did you tickle me?"

"Why do you think? Come on. Weren't we supposed to meet tomorrow at eight in the morning? Why are you here so early?"

Still unable to make sense of the girl's peculiar train of thought, he turned to look at her.

The spacey Ai Morishita answered nonchalantly:

"I came to check out the place."

"You came to check it out, sure, but why were you sleeping on the bench?"

Ai Morishita stubbornly retorted:

"I wasn't asleep. Didn't you see my hand resting on the tree beside me? I was listening to nature."

"Is that so?"

Watching the spacey girl say something so nonsensical with a perfectly serious expression, Yuki couldn't help twitching his mouth.

"I really still don't understand what goes on in your head."

"Of course you don't, Yuki."

Ai Morishita picked up a stone from somewhere, set it down by her feet, and kicked it along one step at a time. As they chatted, it rolled farther and farther away.

"What a shame."

He reached over and patted Ai Morishita's head.

"What's a shame? It rolled away, so what? I'd rather hear what you just heard from nature."

The girl planted her hands on her hips and began spouting nonsense with a proud look:

"It said time is almost up, and the flowers will soon fade. It's looking forward to seeing us here again next year."

"Really? But are you sure that isn't just the changing seasons?"

Even in response to Yuki's question, the girl stuck to her view:

"Of course that's part of it. I'm not stupid.

"But I heard nature's voice, and that means I heard it. 'The spring breeze brings tidings, and flowers bloom in their season' is a perfectly normal thing to say, right?"

Yuki glanced back in surprise and grabbed the ends of her bouncing hair.

"Ow! Yuki, that hurts. What are you doing?"

"Hold still. I want to see what's inside your head. One minute you're acting weird, and the next you're so poetic."

On the way back to the dorm, Yuki could be seen holding Ai Morishita's head in both hands and turning it this way and that, occasionally clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Yuki, mean."

Ai Morishita felt like he was going to break her. Her usually spacey face now looked almost vacant, as if she were about to start drooling.

Of course, if she really did start drooling, she'd look just like an idiot.

"By the way, we agreed to talk tomorrow at eight in the morning. Was there really any need to come check out the place so late?

"If I hadn't run into you tonight, were you planning to spend the night there?"

Ai Morishita noticed what he was doing and eyed him warily, quickly taking two big steps forward.

"I told you, I'm not stupid. I know to go home when it gets dark."

When she got to the next topic, Ai Morishita's expression turned a little bashful. She twisted her cute little hands together.

"And besides—and I mean besides—what we're going to do tomorrow morning is still a little too embarrassing for me. I wanted to rehearse beforehand."

As if afraid Yuki might misunderstand, Ai Morishita turned around in a fluster.

"I mean, you said... Look, even talking about it makes me blush. So you'll definitely be embarrassed tomorrow morning too. I was afraid you wouldn't come, so I waited here for you."

"After all, I saw you heading down this road."

When she said that last part, Ai Morishita sounded downright triumphant. She stuck out her chest like a proud little rabbit.

"How could I not come? I promised you. And it won't hurt me either, though there is some risk."

Yuki answered with a perfectly serious expression.

By the time they reached the dorm together, they took the elevator upstairs.

The elevator reached the fifth floor, and the doors opened.

"Morishita, I'll head off here."

"Mm."

Ai Morishita watched Yuki walk away. Thinking about what would happen tomorrow morning at eight, now that they'd seen each other today, her usually spacey expression melted like snow.

Well... she was a little embarrassed, but also a little excited.

Yuki wouldn't decide not to come tomorrow, would he?

We've already seen each other today. Would it be bad if I didn't go tomorrow?

"Summer nights are always so dark. If we can't meet in the morning, then let's meet before nightfall..." I wonder if that line works here?

Mm. I'll have to try it sometime.