As for Kushida Kikyo, Uesugi Hara wasn't too worried. With her popularity, she wouldn't be short of people looking after her.
She hadn't asked him to look after her, either. Besides, they both needed some time to cool off.
Afternoon, at the library.
A gentle breeze carried the distinctive ink scent of old books through the shelves.
Kamuro Masumi stared at the differential equation she had just solved in her notebook, her pen hovering above the page without touching it.
The past few days of hard work had been like a long migration. At last, she had transformed from a "freshwater fish" who dreaded formulas into a "saltwater fish" who could move with ease between theorems and corollaries. Even her fingertips seemed more confident as they traced the pages. (The ocean of knowledge)
"Uesugi," she suddenly turned, her gaze meeting the eyes of the boy beside her as he looked up. A trace of confusion lingered in her eyes, as if she had just pulled herself away from the formulas. "How does your brain even work?"
As soon as she said it, Morishita Ran leaned over from the seat diagonally across from them, her hair brushing the open notebook. "Right, Uesugi Hara! That approach to the transformation you mentioned offhand last time took the three of us ages to figure out!" Yamamura Miki nodded along.
Uesugi Hara twirled his pen and glanced over the neat derivation in Masumi's notebook. Then he suddenly smiled. "I'm probably just a tiny bit smarter than you."
"Yeah, right—" Kamuro Masumi drawled, but there was a smile in her voice. Morishita Ran tilted her head, her braid swaying gently with the movement as she genuinely furrowed her brow in thought. Yamamura Miki said nothing, only lowered her eyes and pressed her lips together. The amusement in her gaze was like a patch of light falling on a lake: it rippled gently before spreading across the open scratch paper, softening even the crooked formulas written there.
Today's review was nothing like the usual drudgery. Time slipped by unnoticed amid the scratch of pens across paper and the occasional quiet discussion.
Whenever Kamuro Masumi solved a tough problem, she would deliberately nudge Uesugi Hara's arm with her elbow. When Morishita Ran got stuck on a theorem and sighed with her chin in her hands, she could always make Yamamura Miki smile behind pressed lips. Uesugi Hara seemed absorbed in his book, but whenever one of them hit a snag, he always knew just what hint to offer.
The sunlight outside slowly changed its angle, shifting from the tops of the bookshelves onto the table and casting long, narrow patches of light across the open pages.
"Judging by how you're doing, you've probably covered most of the material." Uesugi Hara checked the time: 5:23. His gaze swept over the three open notebooks, and he lightly tapped the edge of the table with his fingertips. A hint of approval crept into his voice. "I think you should get decent scores on this midterm."
"Really?" Morishita Ran's voice held a faint note of excitement, her words rising like wind chimes stirred by a breeze.
Her pen clicked as she extended the nib, and she absentmindedly drew a circle on her scratch paper. "Then I should at least get partial credit for that electromagnetism problem I wrestled with yesterday, right?"
Yamamura Miki, sitting beside her, glanced up as well. Her fingers quietly tugged the formula guide closer, and a faint smile played on her lips.
Kamuro Masumi gave a dismissive "hmph" and slapped the workbook she had just finished onto the table. "Obviously. We're fully evolved saltwater fish, after all."
That was what she said, but the tips of her ears had quietly turned red. Getting approval from this nitpicking "senior saltwater fish" actually felt pretty nice.
Uesugi Hara looked at the unconcealed anticipation in their eyes. His expression barely changed, but his fingers slowed as he closed his book. His tone was as flat as if he were stating a fact. "Pack up. It's time to go. It's getting late."
He slung his backpack over his shoulder and glanced at the three of them. After a brief pause, he added, "Let's get something to eat. I'll pay at that cake shop we went to last time." He saw the excitement flicker in Morishita Ran's eyes and added, "As for anything else, if you all get decent scores this time, I can treat you again."
"Uesugi Hara!" Morishita Ran called out brightly, immediately giving him a sparkling thumbs-up. "I want to try the Black Forest cake this time! I've been craving it ever since I saw it on the menu last time!" As she spoke, she briskly stuffed her things into her backpack, the rustling papers accompanying her barely contained excitement.
Yamamura Miki nodded quietly beside her. Her fingers were already arranging her notebooks neatly by page number, and the careful way she smoothed their edges showed how seriously she took it. She clearly had no intention of refusing the offer.
Compared with the other two, Kamuro Masumi seemed flustered. She hurriedly shoved her pen into her pencil case and mumbled, "Got it," but her fingers slipped, and she dropped her eraser. The round little thing rolled right to Uesugi Hara's feet.
Uesugi Hara bent down to pick it up and tossed it back into her arms. His casual reminder carried a hint of admonishment. "You're so careless. Make a mistake like that during the exam and you'll be in trouble."
Masumi paused as she caught the eraser. Her cheeks warmed slightly, but she stiffened her neck and retorted, "Mind your own business." Still, her hands moved more carefully after that.
When the four of them walked out of the library with their backpacks, the setting sun spilled across the path, stretching their shadows long behind them like a crooked string of ellipses.
Uesugi Hara walked at the front, with Kamuro Masumi beside him. They traded barbs back and forth, each trying to get the better of the other. Morishita Ran chimed in now and then, always managing to steer the conversation toward cake flavors. Yamamura Miki followed quietly half a step behind. Her lowered eyelids hid most of her expression, and only when something amused her did she lift a hand to cover her mouth, a faint smile appearing at the corners of her eyes.
The evening breeze swept past, ruffling their clothes and gathering their scattered conversation into a soft blur that drifted leisurely into the distance.
When they reached the cake shop, warm yellow light spilled over the glass display case, making all the desserts gleam as if they were soaked in honey.
Morishita Ran nearly rushed to the counter, her eyes lighting up as she pointed at the Black Forest cake in the window. "That one! I want that one!" Kamuro Masumi didn't hesitate, either. She pointed at the caramel pudding sign, her tone carefully nonchalant. "I thought this one looked pretty good when I saw the menu last time."
When it was Yamamura Miki's turn, she didn't clutch the hem of her clothes and hesitate for ages like she had the last time. She simply glanced over the display case, her eyes resting on the matcha and red bean roll for two seconds before she softly told the clerk, "I'll have one of these, and a cup of genmaicha, please." Her voice was quiet but clear.
Uesugi Hara stood nearby, watching as his fingers unconsciously rubbed his Terminal. Their time together had been like water simmering gently, slowly melting away the awkwardness of their first meetings. She no longer needed repeated encouragement before she dared to speak. When the clerk asked if she wanted ice, she even gently shook her head. "Room temperature is fine, thank you."
Morishita Ran had already taken her cake to a seat. When she saw Yamamura Miki coming over, she immediately waved her over. "Miki, hurry over! This cherry is so sweet!" Yamamura Miki smiled and sat down, then nudged the genmaicha toward the middle of the table, just within Kamuro Masumi's reach. Masumi had said last time that black tea was too astringent. Perhaps she preferred the gentler taste of rice tea.
Kamuro Masumi glanced at the cup without saying anything. But when she picked up her spoon, she first poured half a spoonful of the caramel sauce from the side over her pudding. That was what Uesugi Hara had casually suggested earlier: "It tastes better this way."
Uesugi Hara was carrying his coffee over when he happened upon the scene.
He said nothing, simply setting his cup on the table. Its base made a soft sound as it touched the surface, like a beat marking their unspoken understanding.
Their friendship was like a stream quietly flowing over stone steps in spring. It had no dramatic rises or falls, yet day by day, it soaked into something warm and gentle.
Kamuro Masumi's prickliness gradually eased. Beneath her stubborn words lay her concern for her friends, and even her bickering had grown less sharp. Morishita Ran's buoyant enthusiasm was like a little pebble, easily sending ripples of happiness across still waters, and she was quietly learning to look after others, too. Yamamura Miki's silence was no longer timidity; it had become careful attentiveness. She remembered who disliked iced drinks and who was interested in what, quietly building bridges of understanding in her own way.
Their friendship needed no deliberate effort to maintain. Like the breeze in the library, which always swept through the bookshelves at the same time, it came naturally. Before they knew it, it had become the gentlest support they had for one another.
Uesugi Hara lifted his coffee and took a small sip. As the bitter liquid slid down his throat, he lowered his eyes to the ripples spreading across the bottom of the cup. The corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly, and a silent thought crossed his mind: This is rather interesting.
Dusk seeped into the shop from outside, falling across Morishita Ran's hand as she raised her fork, the gentle curve of Yamamura Miki's eyes, and the sugar jar Kamuro Masumi had quietly pushed over while pretending to be annoyed.
These small, warm moments had nothing in common with the "returns" and "efficiency" he so often calculated. They were like a lump of undissolved sugar at the bottom of a cup, slowly spreading a feeling through his heart that he couldn't quite put into words.