When I came out of the subway station, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening, and the road was much more deserted.

“……”

Spit out a cloud of white mist, Naruse turned his head and waited for Naoko and the others who were left behind.

At around five o'clock in the afternoon, the first day of the exam in Takikawa was over.

After finding a place near the school to settle dinner, they took the subway and went to the Kawauchi campus of Tohoku University.

After getting a little familiar with the campus where I will live in the next two years, I saw that the Miyagi Museum of Art was next to it, and Takikawa Yue proposed to go in and have a look.

The candidates themselves were not nervous, and of course Naruse and the others would not refuse, so they lingered in the museum until now and did not come back.

As for today's exam, when they saw Takikawa Yue's confident and calm demeanor at noon, several people already understood.

"Which way?" After following up, Hikaru Takikawa asked.

Naruse raised his chin towards the intersection ahead, "Didn't you just come from that side before?" ”

"They all look alike."

She smiled, "With Chunhai here, I won't take the initiative to remember the way." ”

A few people walked slowly.

The streets are wide, and after leaving near the subway entrance, you don't see many people.

Morimi looked left and right, holding the souvenir he had just bought at the museum.

"At night, the economic center of the Northeast is not much different from the countryside."

"No, at least if you're hungry in the middle of the night, you can find a place to eat supper here." Naruse said.

"And it's not a lively place, it's at Sendai Station, and there are a lot of people at night. Want to go over there and get a feel for it? ”

Morimi said it didn't matter, "It's all right." ”

Today, only Takikawa Moon was bothering to take the exam, and they stayed in the hotel almost all day, with no amount of activity, and they didn't feel tired from shopping until now.

"I'm a little tired."

The exhaustion gradually revealed, Takikawa Yue was a little unable to resist, but she didn't want to spoil the fun, "Go ahead, I'll go back to the hotel to rest first." ”

Takikawa Hikaru naturally won't leave her sister behind, and she wants to go back with her, and the rest of the people have a casual attitude, so nothing has changed, and they continue to walk towards the hotel.

"Anyway, I'll have to check out tomorrow morning."

"Well, before ten."

"What should I do with my luggage, do I have it in my hand, I have to take the exam until the afternoon."

"It can be stored at the hotel."

"Can I leave it even after I leave the room?"

"I guess so. The hotel where Naoko and I went last time was free until 10 p.m. that day. ”

Back at the hotel, Naruse went to the front desk and asked to confirm that he could store his luggage, which dispelled Hikaru Takikawa's worries.

Back upstairs, he took out his room card, and when he turned around, several girls were waiting for him to open the door.

“…… Isn't Sister Yue going back to rest? ”

She smiled, "I can't sleep yet, I'll talk to you for a while and then go to rest." ”

Why is it to chat in his room by default?

Naruse had no choice but to open the door and let a few people in.

There was no place for him on the bed, so he walked to the window, shifted the couch in a different direction, and sat down facing the window.

"Sister Yue will finish the exam tomorrow, will we go back directly?"

"Does the starfish have any other plans?"

"Wander around the mall or something."

"Okay."

The girls discussed their plans for tomorrow, and postponed the time to go back from afternoon to evening, and postponed again and again.

"-When that time comes, there will be no Shinkansen going back." Naruse reminded coldly, "The latest train is only until more than 9:40, and it will be gone if it's too late." ”

"Isn't there another train that leaves at 10:20?" Hikaru Takikawa said.

"I've seen it, but the bus only goes to Morioka, and there won't be a bus back to Aomori until the next morning."

She laughed, "If you go to Morioka, you can stay at Grandma's house and go back the next day." ”

"The next day is Monday."

"Ahh

The group continued to discuss, and Naruse listened carefully at first, but the topic quickly drifted to a dessert shop that Starfish had seen when he left the station yesterday.

He lowered his head and continued to fiddle with his phone.

"In the entire Tohoku, only Sendai can see this kind of night view."

He glanced up, and Morimi's figure was reflected in the glass, but he couldn't see clearly with the lamp on his back.

"The night view from here is also included in the cost of the room."

"It's a free thing......

Morimi smiled silently, then sat down on another couch, facing the girls on the bed, and talked to him.

"Do you feel the 'atmosphere' of the entrance exam?" Naruse asked.

Morimi glanced at him, "Pretty much." ”

Naruse turned his head and looked at Takikawa Tsuki, who was describing to a few people about some kind of high-quality parfait ice cream he had eaten.

"Whether it's fruit or cream, it's a luxury of ingredients...... Sweet and sour, the taste is very rich...... Ah, it's going to drool just thinking about it! ”

He looked at Morimi again, "Is that so?" ”

“……”

She glared, "Can't you?" ”

Naruse raised an eyebrow and turned again.

“…… I know what you're trying to say. ”

Morimi's voice lowered, "You still don't think it's necessary. ”

Naruse was silent for a few seconds.

"That's not what I said...... At least in terms of the results, it was not bad, everyone had a good time. ”

Morimi looked at him again.

"Hmm...... At least it was a bit of fun. ”

Sitting and chatting, several people stayed in Naruse's room until about ten o'clock, Takikawa Moon couldn't hold it anymore, and was pulled back to sleep by his sister.

The remaining three didn't stay here for long, and went back to their rooms to rest.

Closing the door, Naruse crossed his hands on his hips, stood in front of the huge double bed and looked at it, deciding to sleep on the other half of the room tonight.

But before that, he had to take a bath.

"If only you could sit in the bathtub and see outside."

The bathroom is luxurious, and the wall next to the bathtub is entirely glass, except that the lower half is frosted, and you can't see anything when you look out.

INTERVIEWER On the other hand, there are no people bathing inside, so it is a natural design to protect the privacy of guests.

Whoop -

Naruse poured some water on the glass, and the frosted part became a little more transparent, but it had little effect, and he had to give up.

He closed his eyes and leaned back.

Whoop -

"No......"

"What are you doing?"

Morimi poked his head out of the sink and looked at the starfish splashing water on the glass in the bathtub.

She wiped her hand on the glass, and she was a little embarrassed, "I was thinking, if only I could see outside while taking a bath......"

"Then people from outside can see you."

“……”

The starfish was startled, then reacted again.

"This is the twenty-first floor, where is the person from outside?"

Morimi smiled, returned to the sink, and continued to apply skin care products in front of the mirror.

After a while, the voice of a starfish came from inside.

"Doesn't Kazuha like bathing?"

"Nope." "It's just that I prefer to take a bath in a different state...... And starfish are waiting, aren't they. ”

"I'm not in a hurry......"

Starfish sat in the bathtub, her hands gently plucking the water, and her body slowly leaned down.

"Starfish."

"Hmm."

"When Naruse was still living in your house before, did you take a bath together?"

“……”

Whoop -

The sound of water in the bathroom was intense.

Morimi looked at it again, and the starfish's hair was scattered, and it looked like it had fallen in the bathtub.

“…… When he came to my house, he wasn't a child anymore. ”

She tied her long hair back and wiped the water from her face again, "How can we take a shower together." ”

"At that time, you and he were only eight or nine years old."

"Eight or nine years old...... It's not a kid anymore. ”

Because it's not a child anymore, can you kiss?

Morimi smiled at her.

"Sorry for the strange question."

"It's okay......"

Starfish shook her head slowly, not saying anything more.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Morimi sighed silently.

What the hell are you talking about......

In the bathtub, looking at the blurred night scene outside the window, the starfish reached out again and pressed the palm of his hand.

Ice is cold, cooling restless distractions.

More than ten minutes later, she came out of the shower, only to see Morimi on the sofa curled up with his legs hugging his knees, looking at the night scene outside in a daze.

Wiping his hair, the starfish sat down as well.

"I'm tired." Morimi suddenly sighed.

"Eh......"

Starfish looked at her, "Then rest early, right?" ”

Morimi shook his head and smiled at her again.

"It's not physical tiredness...... It's mental. While I hope that I can relax as Sister Yue said, I also feel that this time I just came out to play, and I felt guilty that I was wasting time...... It's very tangled. ”

Starfish nodded subconsciously and immediately shook his head.

"It's alright......"

Morimi laughed and stopped talking, his chin resting on his knees, and he froze.

Starfish looked at her for a moment, then at the bright night scene outside the window.

"Or ...... Shall we go get something to eat? When you're full, you won't be able to think wildly. ”

(End of chapter)