Inari sticks her tongue out while softly knocking on her head, trying to act all cute after being revealed as the childhood friend character of Satoshi's life.
"Based on your expressions I just saw now, you guys must be really shocked."
Satoshi states with a tired expression as he gets up from his chair and stands to the side of Inari, before rubbing her head softly.
"This little troublemaker is indeed my childhood friend, we met back in kindergarten and have attended the same schools ever since."
Inari giggles softly and her expression could somewhat resemble that of a cat being rubbed on the neck. But that expression shifts slightly as the rubbing of her head gets more aggressive.
"Although... she has had the habit of picking fights with people she deems 'suspicious' or 'scary' for some reason... and that included me as well when we first met."
"Mou~! Is it my fault really? You just looked like a pervert back then!"
"Oi, I'm the one rubbing your head right now, you know?"
Inari puffs up her cheeks and raises her chin as she cuts herself into the relentless info dump on her life. Her defense is cut short however as she feels a grip tighten on her head while Satoshi reacts coldly.
His three friends look on in astonishment and confusion at the interaction these two are sharing.
Unexpectedly though, Satoshi effortlessly carries Inari off the floor by the top of her head as she stays frozen in the same kneeling position she was in.
"On her behalf, I apologize for the mess she made and the drama she may have caused... even though she apologized earlier, I feel as if that wasn't enough for the trouble she caused you two."
Satoshi comments with an apologetic look on his face while bowing deeply, before then turning around to face the door and walking out while still carrying Inari by the head and their two leather briefcases hung on his shoulder.
He raises his free hand over to the side of his head while making a waving motion, before announcing, "I'll drop her off at her home. See you guys tomorrow."
And just like that, the rich and handsome boy and playful yet scary-in-the-proper-circumstances girl make their exit. Now leaving the three friends to their own devices.
In order to break the silence that was currently enveloping the three of them, Kane takes the reigns and stands up with a hand on his forehead.
Now, he announces with an awkward smile, "I-I guess we should be on our way then as well, right~?"
"O-oh~! Right, you aren't wrong, Kane-san! Haha~..." Kazuo, in a sad attempt of continuing the conversation, responded even more awkwardly compared to the already awkward expression plastered on Kane's face while grabbing his leather briefcase.
Erisa stands up and grabs her own leather briefcase in a modest attempt of looking friendly, she then looks to the side while scratching her chin with a half-smile. "Y-yeah, I suppose so~..."
Kane grabs his leather briefcase before walking out of the room with his companions, who are all spread apart in an uneven fashion, with Erisa being at the very front and Kazuo in the middle.
Now sliding his hand into his pocket while looking out the window. A train of thought passes through the station which was his brain, "I've never experienced life quite like this..."
Looking forward, his eyes first focuses on Kazuo, his blonde-haired friend who has been his friend ever since their first year in junior high school.
A faint smile forms on his face, "Hum~, even though you changed up your hairstyle, you'll always be the nerdy kid I met back then."
Kazuo, who had also begun to look out the window, unintentionally notices Kane staring at him with a smile. He reciprocates that smile, while saying in his usual calm voice, "It's a beautiful day today, isn't it?"
Kane nods silently in return, before looking back out the window, his gaze unmoving as he looks at the clouds in the distance and the golden rays of the sun as it slowly sets into the horizon.
Some time passes and the three of them reaches their lockers. As Kane opens his locker and reaches for his shoes, Kazuo calls out his name to get his attention.
"Kane-san."
Kane calmly looks over at Kazuo as he grabs his shoes. "Yes?"
"Have you considered joining a club yet? I've heard there are a ton of slots open."
Curiously, Kane raises his chin and looks up at the roof after hearing that question come from Kazuo, rummaging around in his head to try and recall if he did ever consider joining a club.
He looks down and shakes his head, seemingly unable to recall anything. "No, I don't think so, most of the clubs here don't catch my interest at all."
"Well, have you ever reconsidered joining the light music club? You were super active in it during junior high, why don't you give it a try again?"
Kane drops his shoes after hearing those words exit the mouth of Kazuo which lands on the wooden platform below him. Kazuo then points at the shoes he dropped while saying, "Woops, I think you dropped those."
Blankly staring at the shoes he had just dropped. His eyebrows furrow at the thought of joining the light music club again. It had seemed that he had indeed grown tired of music as a whole with that expression.
"Light music club, right? Heh, I'm not interested in music anymore... never again will I commit myself to such a time-consuming hobby."
He takes off his school shoes and slides into his leather shoes while replying to the question made by Kazuo earlier, but intentionally masking it as if it was about his shoes, "You don't have to point out the obvious when we both know the answer."
Kazuo laughs at his lame remark as he places his school shoes into the open locker infront of him before closing it slowly with a push. "Maybe you should stop being so clumsy, heh."
Erisa looks over her shoulder in worry after hearing his response. She had easily deduced that his remark was directed at Kazuo's statement about his decision in regards to the light music club.
Her eyes close as she sighs, before turning back to the open locker infront of her that had now contained her school shoes and closing it calmly.
"Really? That's a shame, Kane-kun. I was really looking forward to see how much you improved with your skills..."
Is what she wanted to say out loud, but since she couldn't bring herself to say it to Kane directly — she resorts to saying it in her mind — albeit disappointed in herself that she couldn't say it outright.
They walk in silence until they reach the gate. All three of them stop while looking at each other in an awkward silence. The blonde-haired boy looks to the side while pushing up his glasses.
"I'll be heading this way now... take care you two."
Kazuo then begins to walk away into the distance, leaving both Erisa and Kane there standing by the gate, more awkward then before now that it was just them.
Kane turns to Erisa discreetly, and he notices her playing with the ends of her smooth yet silky, purple hair, with a shy expression on her face and a somewhat unnoticeable blush on her cheeks.
He looks forward after recognizing that cute expression on her face. A thought enters his mind, "...She looks cute..."
Shocked by his own thinking, he shakes his head and begins silently walking to his bike, which catches the attention of Erisa.
Curiously, Erisa tilts her head with an innocent look in her eyes, before asking in a soft tone, "Where are you going?"
As he unlatches his bike and begins to hold it by the handle, he turns over to her with a blank expression while responding in a confused way, "I was just going to get my bike, why do you ask?"
"..."
Kane raises an eyebrow to the sudden silence as he gets on his bike, he then realizes something as he looks at Erisa, who is holding onto her leather briefcase with both her hands, and he begins to wonder, "Ah right, I completely forgot..."
He looks at Erisa, paying close attention to her facial features and her body language. First, looking at her thumbs which were fiddling the handle of her leather briefcase. And secondly, her face — more specifically her eyes, which were darting from place to place.
It was clear to him that she was afraid of going home by herself, even though it was still the middle of the afternoon while the sun is still setting.
"Honestly... you always put up this front of maturity yet you still act like a child when it comes to the most trivial of tasks."
He sighs while looking forward, seemingly about to peddle away. Erisa watches him silently, possibly afraid that he might just leave her there — until Kane opens his mouth and says with a sideward gaze away from Erisa.
"Get on."
Erisa's eyes light up as soon as she hears those words, albeit the emotions she feels are a little bit mixed, both a hint of confusion and happiness are emanating from her as she asks, "W-what?"
"I said 'get on', jeez."
Erisa pouts, completely unexpecting of the way he would react to her query, which makes her feel a little disappointed. She then playfully remarks with a grin, "Mou~, could you at least act like a gentleman?"
Kane clicks his tongue, before turning over to her and gesturing to the back of his bike that had a metal platform used for storage, and talking in a sarcastic tone, "Dozo[1]~, I reserved this seat just for you, ohime-sama[2]~."
She sighs deeply out of second-hand embarrassment, before looking up and seeing his smile. She then goes with the flow as she raises her chin while giggling victoriously to herself, "Huhu~ thank you very much!"
She sits herself down while using her own leather briefcase as a makeshift seat. Soon after, Kane begins to peddle, albeit slowly in order for the ride to be as comfortable as possible for his passenger.
While peddling, Kane asks Erisa the question he has been meaning to ask for quite awhile now. It was the perfect opportunity to ask anyway now that it was just the two of them without anybody to interfere.
"So? Why did you disappear like that?"
"..."
"No answer, as I expected..."
He clears his throat and asks once more in an attempt to put this question he has been wanting to ask to rest, "You probably didn't hear me properly the first time. Let me ask again then... why did-"
"I heard you the first time, Kane-kun."
Erisa stares at the passing scenery with a solemn expression, the lines on her eyes becoming visible as she feels her heart grow heavy.
She lets out a tired chuckle, while recalling something he said earlier, and repeating it in a soft voice.
"...'You don't have to point out the obvious when we both know the answer', right?"
She looks down after speaking those words and stares at her hands which are still gripping tightly onto her briefcase, before continuing, "You know the answer already, you just have to look for it somewhere in your mind..."
She then places her hand on her chest as a blush forms on her cheeks, "...Or your heart."
A melancholic expression then takes over her face. Unexpectedly though, her eyes widen as she realizes the vibe she has brought, and she begins to laugh in an attempt to lift up their mood, "Or something like that! Haha~... ha~..."
Kane stares forward with a sad look in his eyes, he still could not accept the fact that she could do such a thing to him to bring this much turmoil into his life. But he also could not ignore what she said.
She was right in a sense, that he did hide it from himself due to the trauma that this moment caused for him was too much. But in digging it deep, he lost a few pieces of himself with it.
He sighs as he reaches a crossroad in his mind. He knew that she was still wrong for leaving him and his friends like that suddenly without a proper farewell.
Yet, the fact that he hid away the true reason on why she left caused him so much suffering, and it was all on him — or so he began to believe.
"...I understand Erisa-san, don't worry."
For the rest of the trip, they remain silent. Before long, they come to a crossroad wherein Erisa urges Kane to stop the bike.
As she gets off the bike and turns to him, she tells him with a soft tone in her voice, "Thank you for the ride, Kane-kun, I'll walk the rest of the way here, so don't worry..."
Her eyes then close halfway as she tilts her head innocently, before adding to her statement with a smile, "...Ah right, I almost forgot..."
"...Take care, okay?"
Kane warmly smiles at her as she begins to walk away. He looks up at the clouds quietly, seemingly at a lost for words for himself and at the casual manner she uttered those words.
It was as if they had not spent the last year and four months unaware of what was going on in their lives.
"'Take care', huh?"
[1] The word "Dozo" (どうぞ) is a versatile phrase primarily used to politely invite someone to do something or to offer something. It translates to "Go ahead," "Here you are," or "Please" depending on the context.
[2] The term "Ohime-sama" (お姫様) is a Japanese honorific used to address a princess or a woman born into a noble family. This word translates into "princess".