The Beginning Of Summer Vacation

After an unnecessarily long end-of-school ceremony and the same old homeroom, summer vacation began. Minato knew it was wrong, but he really couldn't remember most of what was said.

Kazuma and the rest of his classmates were all smiling, probably from the sense of freedom. Minato was also looking forward to the summer vacation and was getting a little excited.

However, he was mostly happy that he didn't have to go to school in the mid-summer heat.

"Wah, finally, it's over. It's summer vacation!"

"It's nice to have a girlfriend."

"You're just like me, only when you're home alone."

"Ninomiya isn't my girlfriend or anything."

"Yes, yes. I know."

It was unlikely that he would go out with Airi. She wouldn't like that kind of relationship, and she had already said that she would never have a boyfriend.

So he denied Kazuma's words, but apparently he didn't listen to him properly and just brushed it off.

"So, Minato, make sure you keep your summer vacation plans open, okay?"

"I have a part-time job at times."

"Then tell me your work schedule."

"Why don't you go on a date with your girlfriend before you ask me about my schedule?"

"Oh, come on. Let's hang out, the three of us, no, four of us."

"Then why don't you just take Ninomiya with you?"

"If it was just Shiori and Ninomiya-san alone, do you think Ninomiya-san would hang out with us when I'm there and not Minato?"

"…I guess not."

"Right?"

He wanted Airi to have a lot of fun during her summer vacation. However, if it was just the two of them with Momose, it would be mentally difficult for her to mix with Kazuma and the other couple alone.

Actually, Airi would talk to Kazuma a little because he was Momose's boyfriend, but he didn't think she'd want to hang out in a situation where Minato wasn't there and Kazuma was.

If that's the case, it would be easier for Airi to go out if Minato went with her and the four of them played together.

"Can't be helped. I'll send you my schedule later."

"Thank you. Make sure you're available, okay?"

"Don't call me the same day or come to my house out of the blue, okay? Let me know in advance."

"I know."

He was curious about Kazuma's strange grin, but let it go since he was unlikely to answer any questions about the reason.

As he stepped out of the school building, the sound of cicadas echoed and the humid air enveloped Minato's body.

It's going to be a tough summer , he thought, but instead of sighing, he smiled for some reason.

He didn't have a part-time job today, so he went home quickly, but Airi seemed to be late.

This was unusual, but he had a pretty good idea of what to expect.

He thought that she must be very tired, and smiled at the fact that a beautiful girl had to work so hard, and also did housework for him.

After a while, the front door opened and he heard a clear, beautiful voice.

"Welcome back."

"I'm home."

"…It feels strange, doesn't it?"

"Well, it's the opposite of what we usually do."

It was funny that it was the complete opposite of their usual greeting, and they both laughed.

Usually, Airi was already at home when Minato came home, so it was quite unusual for him to greet her.

He knew it must have been hard for a girl to shop for two people in the mid-summer sunshine, even more so since he had recently been going shopping on behalf of Airi when he was off from his part-time job.

When he approached her to take Airi's bag, she backed away from him.

"Eh, what's wrong?"

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't get too close."

"…Sorry."

She seemed to be quite unhappy to be approached by Minato. To be honest, he was quite shocked.

Airi shook her head, as if it had come out on his face.

"No, I'm just sweating right now."

"Of course you are, coming back from outside in the middle of summer."

"That's why if you get too close now, you'll smell like sweat."

"But I don't care about that?"

"I'm the one who cares! …Because Minato-san seems to like my smell."

Minato liked Airi's smell, but it was hard for him to react when he was said to have a smell fetish.

In addition, she looked up at Minato with her cheeks slightly tinted.

It wasn't that Airi's words were wrong, but Minato didn't have the guts to say 'Yes.' here.

"…Sorry about that."

"No, Minato-san would be happier if I smelled good, wouldn't he?"

He was still having a hard time with Airi's teasing expression. It was always bad for his heart.

If he affirmed it, he would be praising Airi for smelling good, and if he denied it, he would be teasing her for thinking he was unique.

He stared at Airi with moist eyes.

"…This is the kind of question that I'm not supposed to respond to in any way, is it?"

" Oya , you caught me. Well, I'm going to take a shower."

"Yeah, go ahead and take your time."

She smiled at him as if she didn't feel bad at all, and he didn't feel like getting angry.

Although he had a curtain installed in the doorway so he didn't have to worry about her walking around the living room and seeing her change of clothes, he didn't feel like coming anywhere close, so he just remained quiet.

Suddenly, he had a question, so he asked Airi as she headed for the door.

"Hey, Airi. I haven't showered since I got back. Do I smell like sweat?"

"No. Minato-san smells great."

"…Isn't it unreasonable that I'm okay with sweating and Airi's not?"

"By any chance do you prefer me sweaty? I didn't think you had that particular hobby, pervert-san?" (* Hentai-san. )

"…Give me a break."

" Fufu , I'm sorry."

Lately, there had been so many times when she teased Minato with a mischievous look on her face.

At a loss, he scratched his head with his hand, and Airi laughed, looking really happy.

"I'm tired."

After finishing her shower, Airi was lying on her back on the folded futon, slumping over.

It was rare to see her so out of her element.

"Thank you for your hard work. I've got a pretty good idea of what you were doing, so let me guess."

"I'm sure Minato-san will figure it out. What do you think it was?"

He said it jokingly to confirm whether it was okay for him to know her story, but Airi didn't seem to mind.

Until a while ago, she would have given him a cold look if he mentioned this topic. The fact that she could ask about it so lightly now was probably a sign of some trust.

"There were quite a few confessions, weren't there? A lot of people approached you because it was their last chance before summer vacation. Am I right?"

"…That's exactly it."

He mentioned the most probable possibility, and it seemed that he was right.

He looked at Airi to see if she was depressed, but she just smiled dismissively and didn't seem to care that she had rejected their confessions or what would happen afterwards.

"They were all the same. 'Let's make summer memories!' 'Let's have fun together!' That's what they said. What am I supposed to do to have fun with people I've never met before?"

"Everyone starts out as friends, right?"

"If that's the case, they should have asked me a long time ago, not at the last minute. It's not for me to say though, since I rejected them."

Airi was giggling and it seemed she simply wanted to complain.

Minato smiled a little, glad that she was letting it out like this instead of holding it in.

"It's obvious that they have ulterior motives, and that they're trying to take advantage of this opportunity to get closer to me. Who would fall for that?"

"You're being harsh today."

"Of course. Please put yourself in my shoes as I have to deal with many, many people behind the school building. It's hard work, even in the shade."

"That's… Well, that's tough."

"I'm really sick of it. That's why, Minato-san, I'm tired."

"I can tell when I look at you. You're totally different from normal. You look limp."

"I'm really tired."

"…What do you want?"

In such cases, Airi was often looking for something from Minato, and that something generally wouldn't turn out to be a good thing.

When Minato asked her with a twitchy smile, she returned a big one.

"Then, please pat me on the head."

"Hey, is that something I'm allowed to do?"

"Of course you can. Now, please go ahead."

"…Alright."

Airi gave him permission, so he sat back down beside her and patted her head. She seemed particularly tired today, so he convinced himself that it was a special occasion.

He felt like he'd just done it recently, but of course he would never get used to it.

He ran his fingers through the smooth silver hair, and they slipped out without a hitch. The fine, smooth silver color made it hard to believe that it was really hair, as it was not much like Minato's.

Airi seemed to like it and squinted her eyes as if she was feeling good.

She told me she trusts me, but this is too careless.

Airi was completely at ease with Minato's hand stroking her head, showing no sign of anxiety or danger.

Minato was also a man, so it was troubling to see her with such an expression. Perhaps he should be more careful.

"Airi, you're being too careless."

"It's all right, isn't it? This is fine."

"Don't you think I'll do something?"

"Minato-san would never do anything I wouldn't like."

She looked as if she absolutely trusted Minato, and it seemed silly to caution her.

No matter what he said, it didn't seem to do any good, so he continued to pet her, but whenever Airi approached him like this, his sense of distance was thrown off.

This time was special because it was to reward Airi for her hard work, but was it okay for Minato to touch Airi on a regular basis? And what would Airi think about it?

Minato was acting in order to take care of Airi. There was no lie in this feeling.

The conversation was cut short, and as he stroked her head and covered his own feelings, Airi opened her mouth, her blue eyes debauched.

"I never really wanted anything big or fun. I just wanted to have a normal, uneventful, and peaceful life."

It was probably what Airi wanted the most.

If she went outside, she would attract a lot of attention, and although he hadn't heard about it, she probably hadn't had a very good experience at her previous home.

"A warm house where I could stay, a place where I could be. That's all I needed."

The words that followed seemed to be the same as the ones he had heard at the gymnasium, but they were slightly different. For some reason, they were in the past tense.

He wondered why it had changed even though only about two months had passed since then, and a question came out of his mouth.

"Is it different now?"

"Yes, I've become selfish. It just wasn't enough anymore."

"Tell me what you want, and I'll do what I can to make it happen."

"See, that's what I'm talking about."

"…Eh, did I say something strange?"

Although she had been doing a lot of bad things to Minato's heart, she hadn't done anything he really didn't like.

So he thought it was okay for her to be more selfish, but Airi's eyes changed to stony ones.

"That's just really like you, Minato-san."

"Is that an insult?"

"Well, I wonder. Speaking of which, Shiori-san has invited me to various summer vacation activities."

"That's great. Have fun."

"What are you talking about? You're going too, Minato-san."

"…By the way, what did she invite you to?"

"It's a secret. But when Minato was at home, Shiori-san and I went shopping together."

"No wonder. I mean, you and Momose did promise to go shopping together."

He was glad to see that she was getting along well with Momose. He didn't expect the two of them to go shopping together, though.

"Yes. So I'm really looking forward to the summer vacation."

Her voice was very lively.

It had been only four months since they first met in April, but Airi had really brightened up.

He remembered Kazuma's words. Airi seemed happiest when she was with Minato. He told him that it was Minato who opened her heart and told him to have more confidence.

Maybe, more than just a roommate… , He shook his head to stop his thoughts from going in the wrong direction, thinking he shouldn't think this way as he put on a tight lid.

The sound of cicadas chirping could be heard even with the windows closed, and summer had just begun.