— — — — — —
After serving the rice and watching her younger brother and sister eat with happy smiles, Kawasaki sat down at the table and scrolled through the chat history between Oikawa and Taishi.
(5:50 PM)—
『Oikawa』: Taishi, how's your sister? Has her fever gone down?
『Taishi』: She's still a bit hot… Oikawa-san, she'll be okay, right? I… I don't know what to do.
『Oikawa』: Taishi, don't panic. You're a man. Don't be afraid when something happens.
『Oikawa』: Listen carefully. See if you have any alcohol at home. Dampen a towel with a little and wipe her palms and the soles of her feet.
『Oikawa』: After that, use a warm towel to wipe her forehead, then leave the damp towel on it.
...
(6:39 PM)—
『Oikawa』: Is Kawasaki doing any better?
『Taishi』: Her head's not as hot as before, Oikawa-san.
『Oikawa』: Good. Stop using warm towels now. If you have cooling patches, put one on her.
『Oikawa』: Also, you and Keika must be hungry. Go eat something.
『Taishi』: I want to make my sister some soup… can you teach me?
At that point, Kawasaki let out a small laugh.
What followed was clearly a full-blown kitchen disaster. Judging by the "mystery" tofu soup on the table, Taishi hadn't been the only one responsible.
"Idiot," she muttered under her breath, though her tone was anything but harsh.
She kept reading.
At the side, Taishi noticed the smile on her face and felt a strange chill run down his spine. He leaned toward Keika and whispered, "Hey… don't you think Sis is kind of scary right now?"
Keika remembered what her mother had once said and rolled her eyes. "That's what women look like when they're in love. You'll get it someday, Taishi."
Taishi blinked. In love?
With who?
...
(10:34 PM)—
『Taishi』: Oikawa-san, my sister called your name just now.
『Oikawa』: What did she say?
『Taishi』: I'm not sure… I think… "You're a bad guy and a big liar."
Kawasaki shot Taishi a cold glance from across the table. He suddenly felt the temperature drop and shivered.
『Oikawa』: …Heh. I shouldn't have asked.
『Oikawa』: But does your sister always act like a kid when she's sick? She kind of reminds me of Keika-chan.
『Taishi』: Yeah… she's definitely cuter when she's sick.
『Taishi』: A few years ago, when she had a fever, she grabbed Dad's hand and insisted that he take her to an amusement park. It was the first time I'd ever seen her cry, haha!
"..."
Kawasaki's face burned with embarrassment and irritation.
『Oikawa』: That does sound kind of funny. Today, she was hilarious too. She clung to my arm and asked if we were in heaven, said I was taking her there. Hahaha!
Kawasaki froze.
Memories she had buried came rushing back like a flood, crashing through her mind.
『Oikawa』: Oh, and she's really scared of injections. First time I've ever seen her afraid of anything.
『Oikawa』: We ran into a snake during that camping trip and she didn't even flinch. Never thought she'd be scared of needles.
Fragments of the past flickered through her head like a broken film reel.
Don't leave me… I won't be mean to you anymore… please don't go…
Waaah… Oikawa, I don't want a shot… don't make me get one… I promise I won't be mean to you again…
Liar… you liar… it hurts… it really hurts…
For a moment, she just stood there, blank.
Then—
Kawasaki shot to her feet as if electrocuted, completely at a loss.
"AAAAAHHH!"
Under Taishi and Keika's confused stares, she screamed. Her face was even redder than when her fever had hit 39.2 earlier that day.
"Sis, what's wrong with you?" Taishi asked.
"You—you—you… why were you chatting with that bastard Oikawa?!"
Before Taishi could even explain, she grabbed him and dragged him into another room. What followed was a mix of scolding and what sounded suspiciously like crying.
And just like that, Taishi became the only casualty in the room.
...
..
After three days—
Oikawa had expected the typhoon to last at least two days so he could relax at home the whole time.
But in reality, Typhoon-san only lingered over Chiba for a single day.
It came quickly and left just as fast.
Luckily, Rain-kun and Storm-chan didn't leave, so it was still enjoyable—and much better without Typhoon-san.
After the storm, Chiba looked like something out of a painting. The sky was a clear, endless blue, not a cloud in sight. It had that glassy, jade-like clarity that lifted your mood just by looking at it.
Stretching lazily, Oikawa made his way to the nearby bus stop.
Unfortunately, even after boarding the bus, he didn't see the familiar figure he'd half expected.
Glancing at the "read" receipt in their chat, he muttered to himself, "She's better, isn't she? Then why no reply?"
It wasn't just Kawasaki.
Even Taishi had gone completely silent these past couple of days.
"…Whatever. If something really happened, they'd let me know."
He put his phone away, leaned against the window with his elbow, and rested his chin in his hand as he watched the scenery pass by.
For once, he let his mind drift, simply enjoying the moment.
Chiba moved at an unhurried pace. Elderly people strolled along the streets, and a few fishing enthusiasts were already geared up like they were heading into battle.
Life had a way of making you look forward to things.
A faint smile tugged at Oikawa's lips. There was a little over a week left until the school festival, and he'd heard they'd be assigning roles today.
Remembering that, his mood dipped instantly.
Watching a school festival as an outsider was fun.
Being part of it? Not so much.
Just coming up with a promotional slogan these past few days had already driven him up the wall.
Luckily, he'd more or less finalized it, and Shizuka-sensei had been very pleased, even telling him to do whatever he wanted—she would cover for him.
Oikawa wasn't so sure.
Once the second volume of Your Lie in April came out, would that woman still be so nice to him?
He could already imagine the look on her face.
But it didn't matter.
He'd already picked someone to take the blame.
Plus, she was the only one in Chiba who knew he was the author, so that would definitely prevent her from revealing his identity to anyone, especially since she was the homeroom teacher he always thanked.
"Um, excuse me… are you Oikawa-senpai from Class 2-F?"
Just as he was lost in thought, a girl in a Sōbu High first-year uniform suddenly sat down beside him.
"…You are?"
Oikawa blinked, a little surprised. Since when had he become this recognizable?
"Hello, senpai! I'm Iroha Isshiki from Class 1-C. It's really nice to meet you."
The girl spoke in a slightly cutesy tone. Oikawa, however, showed no sign of being flattered. He just looked at her calmly, as if to say, And?
"Senpai, I saw you the other day running through school carrying a girl on your back. You looked so cool!"
…Kawasaki?
"And I heard you used to be near the bottom of the class, but in just one semester you jumped to fourth place, with a perfect score in math. That's amazing!"
"Senpai, could you tell me how you did it?"
'Well… you'd probably need to get isekai'd first.'
Oikawa let out a dry laugh.
Yeah… that wasn't exactly something he could teach.
So how the hell was he supposed to answer that?
.
.
.