A Story Without Her

I pat Shiho's head and whisper the words to her.

"I'm sorry I made you feel lonely, okay?"

Then she smiles with a small, beaming smile.

"Ehe... I was lonely, but since you patted me, I'll forgive you. I feel so happy. My heart is hot and my body is warm."

Although it was already the end of September, Shiho was still slightly sweating. The cheeks are bright red and her breath is somewhat hot.

"Hey, I'm going to open the window, okay? Otherwise, I'm going to melt away like this."

Saying this, she slightly shifted the curtains and opened the window.

A cool breeze comes into the room. However, Shiho's face remained red.

That's how excited she must be.

Will there ever be another girl in the future who will be so happy just to be touched by me?

No, I don't think so.

I can assure you of that. That's how much Shiho cares about me.

"But it pains me to think that's why you're leaving again today.... Hey, Kotaro-kun? Would you like to be my pet? It comes with three delicious meals. And I'll take good care of you and walk you every day."

"Well, that's a little ..."

You're kidding, right?

Well, let's just call it a joke. Shiho is a very affectionate person, so she might be thinking about such things.

"But yeah, I'm sad that I only get to see you until curfew every time. I want to talk with Shiho more, too."

"Really!? Then, then..., Kotaro-kun, will you buy a smart phone too? I've been looking forward to it for a long time, you know. I want to have a lot of communication with Kotaro-kun. I want to keep in touch with Kotaro-kun."

When I think back, Shiho seems to be enjoying herself in the "exchange diary" that is going on in class. I am sure she has many things she wants to convey via smartphone as well.

"But I ... see? It's a bit of a hassle, isn't it? So I couldn't say much about it because I thought that if Kotaro-kun bought a smartphone, I might constrain him."

Shiho certainly didn't say much about such things. She did say something along the lines of, 'Why don't you get a smartphone?' I didn't expect her to be so eager.

She seemed to be concerned about me in her own way.

"I understand that you may be busy at the moment, but will you buy ......  one after the festival is over? Will you call and text me a lot?"

"Yeah, right. I was thinking of buying one soon too. After the festival is over, we can go shopping together."

I nodded, and instantly Shiho stood up.

"Yay! Ufufu, thanks. Now I can finally get some attention from Kotaro-kun in the evening♪"

She jumped up and down as if excited, and now she jumped on me.

"Oops."

I hurried to catch her and fell straight onto the bed.

She clung to me tightly, rubbing her cheek against my chest.

Her face was still bright red.

She looked like a boiled octopus.

"" ………… ""

We embraced each other silently for a little while.

Shiho's body is small and looks like it will shatter as easily as glass, but ...... it's hot, soft, and smells good.

She buried her face in my chest and said in a muffled voice.

"I'm so nervous I think I'm going to get a nosebleed.... I don't know if I'll be able to sleep today."

"No, you're going to have to get some sleep, okay? If you are late or miss class any more, you might not be able to advance to the next grade with us."

"That's no good. I want to be in the same class as Kotaro-kun. ...... But it would be nice to be Kotaro-kun's junior. I think it would be great if I could call you Senpai ♪."

That would certainly be cute, but...

"But I'm going to miss our time together."

"That's true. Then I'll have to study hard. I'll call you at night and you can teach me a lot, okay?"

"As long as it's something I understand, I'm happy to help."

"Eh? I'll call you even if you don't understand. Let's talk a lot."

"That sounds like fun, too. Well, I don't think I can study."

"Ufufu, that's also a great way to learn, isn't it? That's what you call it."

"The best part, yeah."

--The conversation is very simple and soothing.

Shiho is fine, although she looks a little sad.

She is no longer having a hard time like she did during the overnight learning program.

Shiho is happy that she was able to break off her relationship with Ryuzaki without incident.

Really, I'm glad......Shiho is not in Ryuzaki's romantic comedy right now. She is outside the story, taking it easy.

I'm in the annoying position and involved in a lot of things, but I'm more than happy that ...... she's happy.

Well, the story without her tends to be all valleys or ...... heavier overall than I imagined.

But that's fine. That's good. Shiho's happiness is my only wish.