The painting I gave to Eriri yesterday wasn't really appropriate if you consider it as a gift between friends.
What kind of friends give each other such negative energy stuff?
But the painting I made today has a completely different mood from yesterday's one. It's much more positive and uplifting, perfect for giving to a girl like Kato Megumi.
"I wouldn't dare refuse, Kasuga no Takeru-kun," Kato Megumi happily accepted the painting, carefully putting it away.
"Are you going home?" Seeing the girl carrying a bunch of things, Kasuga no Takeru couldn't help but think, "If this beautiful girl were in my previous life, there would definitely be many guys vying for her attention."
"Yeah, I've finished shopping. I need to go home and prepare dinner, plus tomorrow's lunch. So much to do!" Kato Megumi sighed in slight distress.
Housework is like that; it sounds easy when you say it, but when you actually do it, the day just slips away before you know it.
"Let me walk you home." Seeing the things in Kato Megumi's hand, Kasuga no Takeru couldn't bring himself to let the girl go home alone.
"No need, it seems like a lot, but most of it is clothes, they're very light." To make her words more convincing, Kato Megumi tried to lift the bags with one hand.
She almost twisted her waist.
After all, she was just a frail 16-year-old girl, not some kind of superhuman. What Kasuga no Takeru felt was light might feel heavy as a thousand pounds in her hands.
Of course, this was only because she hadn't gotten angry yet. Otherwise, she could easily perform a hand-to-hand brain-crushing feat.
Embarrassed by her blunder, Kato Megumi silently blamed herself for buying so much stuff. She used the pretense of adjusting her hat to lower her head.
Even someone as composed as Kato-san is still shy.
"Pfft~~~" Kasuga no Takeru burst out laughing. Seeing Kato Megumi, who usually seemed to handle everything flawlessly, suddenly acting clumsy, made him lose it.
"Alright, just give it to me. I have nothing else to do anyway." Kasuga no Takeru put his own backpack on his back and took the things from the girl's hands.
Of course, the girl was still careful, only handing him the coats and ingredients.
A girl's personal underwear, naturally, she would only feel at ease holding them herself.
"Which way?"
"Um, this way."
…
Kasuga no Takeru was a contradictory person. Around strangers, he usually didn't talk much.
Words can bring trouble. A joke you think is funny might sound strange to a stranger.
"Who the hell are you? Are we that close? Is your joke funny? Do I look amused?"
But when he was with friends, he wasn't exactly quiet. Occasionally, he'd have moments of brilliant wit.
"Kasuga no Takeru-kun, are you not going out for spring break because you have a little sister at home who needs taking care of?" Kato Megumi walked beside the boy, her eyes fixed ahead, but her peripheral vision kept glancing at the person next to her.
"You could say that, but I also dislike crowded places. If it weren't for making money, I'd avoid those places like the plague."
"I see, but it's nice to go out and explore sometimes."
"I wish, but going out costs money. If I don't have money, it's better to stay home and watch TV." Kasuga no Takeru nonchalantly shrugged.
If he had money, who wouldn't want a leisurely, peaceful life? Having someone else take care of meals, staying in the best hotels when you go out, not having to worry about daily necessities.
But those were just wishful thinking.
For him, feeding himself and his sister was the most important thing.
Kato Megumi's heart sank, she blamed herself internally.
"What was I thinking? I know Kasuga no Takeru-kun's family situation, how could I say something like that?"
Kato-san is truly a kind girl.
Just as the atmosphere was about to become awkward, the originally gentle spring breeze suddenly turned strong. The beret on Kato Megumi's head became a dancing elf in the wind.
"Ah, my hat!" The girl tried to hold onto the hat, but she was holding things in her hands, and she was a step too slow. All she could do was watch helplessly as her hat flew away.
However, Kasuga no Takeru was quick. Before the hat flew too far, his right hand shot out, catching the beret that was about to lose control.
But because his left hand was holding things and his back was carrying a backpack, his sudden movement was too big. As he turned around, his backpack bumped into the girl, causing her to stumble.
"Damn..." Kasuga no Takeru was dumbfounded. In the idol dramas he watched in his previous life, in this kind of situation, all the male lead had to do was catch the hat, and everything would be romantic and beautiful.
Plus, falling flower petals, the female lead falling in love at first sight, that's the classic idol drama setup.
Even though he didn't have any interest in dating, why did he have to be played like this?
It was like he was the villain in a drama.
Seeing Kato Megumi lose her balance and about to fall, Kasuga no Takeru forgot about gender differences and quickly released the bags in his left hand, pulling the girl's hand.
Soft, smooth!
That was Kasuga no Takeru's only feeling.
"Sorry, Kato-san." There was no freeze-frame, no deliberate advantage-taking. As soon as he saw Kato Megumi regain her balance, Kasuga no Takeru released her hand.
To cover up his embarrassment, he quickly gathered the bags that he had dropped on the ground.
Because of the suddenness of the situation, and because some of the bags weren't zipped up, some things had spilled out.
"Tsk tsk." A nameless bespectacled boy rode past them on his bike.
He sighed about how modern young people were so wild, playing these exciting games in broad daylight, while thinking about the paper wife he had in his display case at home.
"2D is still the best!" The boy who was just a fleeting shadow had only this thought in his mind.
Kato Megumi and Kasuga no Takeru didn't notice the passing figure. They were both still in the depths of their awkwardness.
Kasuga no Takeru was the first to adjust. After tidying up, he handed the beret back to the girl: "Kato-san, it was an emergency, please don't mind it."
"No, I should be thanking Kasuga no Takeru-kun. If it weren't for you, my hat might have been lost, and I might have fallen too." Looking at the long slope behind them, Kato Megumi felt a wave of fear.
If she had fallen from there, she might have missed tomorrow's opening ceremony.