A gust of wind swept across the station platform as the train pulled in.
The girl sitting on the bench—a true Yamato Nadeshiko—had beautiful, delicate black hair that whipped about in the breeze. The pages of the paperback in her hands fluttered rapidly as the wind caught them.
She had been squinting down at her book, but she slowly raised her gaze until her eyes locked onto mine the moment I stepped through the train doors.
She wore her Track and Field Club jersey and shorts.
Her black hair, still slightly damp with sweat, was down and flowing free, unlike the ponytail she’d sported when we met earlier that morning.
It went without saying: the Yamato Nadeshiko sitting right there was Rui Kuroki.
"Oh... Hehe."
Fresh from practice, Kuroki was sitting on a bench directly in front of the car I had been riding.
Upon spotting me, she closed her book and rose slowly.
"What a coincidence, isn't it, Ryouta-kun?"
For the first time in my life, I felt a desperate urge to hand someone a dictionary and ask them to look up the definition of the word "coincidence."
The train doors hissed shut behind me.
I realized with a jolt that the scent of Yuria’s perfume might still be clinging to my clothes.
If anyone could sniff it out, it was Rui Kuroki. This was dangerous.
(Damn it. If I’d known she was here, I would’ve stayed on the train and ridden it to the end of the line...)
"I saw you in the third car from the front on your way out, so I figured you might be in the same spot on the way back... I’m so glad I was right. ♡"
See? Not a coincidence at all.
It was a move far too calculated for someone as logical as the "Perfect Superhuman," but for her, the game was over the moment I stepped into that third car.
(I didn’t even know I had a habit of riding in the third car, yet she’s got me figured out.)
"I—I don’t know how long you’ve been waiting, but what would you have done if I’d already gone home? Stayed here until morning?"
"I would have left after 5:00 PM... Or were you planning on staying out until morning with that certain someone you were with today?"
"Guh..."
Every one of her questions felt like a probe. I couldn't afford to let my guard down for a second.
I doubted she knew specifically that I’d been on a date with Yuria, but she’d clearly deduced I’d been with a girl.
(She probably caught a whiff of Yuria’s perfume and put two and two together.)
Fortunately, the wind on the platform was strong today; it seemed even Kuroki couldn't pinpoint exactly who the scent belonged to just yet.
"I wonder... did Ryouta-kun go on a date with Airi today?"
"...I—I wasn't on a date!"
"Really? You do have a bit of a feminine scent on you, though..."
"I—I was at a maid cafe!"
"A maid cafe?"
"O—Otaku go to maid cafes on Sundays! It's what we do! We're pathetic creatures who crave the attention of maids because real girls won't give us the time of day! Understand!?"
I leaned into self-deprecation, desperately hoping she’d lose interest if I acted pathetic enough.
(If I play up the "creepy otaku" angle, surely even Kuroki will be repulsed.)
"Oh my... Poor Ryouta-kun."
"R—Right? So if you feel that sorry for me, stop bothering a creep like—"
"Hehe. In that case... why don't you go on a date with me right now?"
Huh?????