"I've already signed you up for your motorcycle driver's license."
At the dining table, Daiki swallowed the food in his mouth.
"It's in Shibuya. I'll send you the location and contact person later. You can go directly there tomorrow afternoon.
If everything goes smoothly, you'll get your license in about two weeks."
"Mhm." Akira nodded while chewing.
Miyamura Shizuka quietly enjoyed her dinner on the side.
"As for the motorcycle, when the time comes—"
"When you get the license, just tell me what kind of motorcycle you want. I'll handle the rest," Miyamura Shizuka interrupted calmly.
Daiki nodded. That was basically what he meant anyway.
When it came to motorcycles, he really knew next to nothing. His knowledge could be summed up in two facts: they have two wheels and make a lot of noise.
"Then the money for the motorcycle—"
"You don't need to worry about that. Just keep saving what you earn."
"..." Akira always felt like his mom was subtly looking down on him.
If he were in a rebellious phase, maybe he'd try to prove himself. But he wasn't. For now, he'd rather just… lay flat.
After a few more minutes of small talk, Shizuka shifted the topic to Uzaki Tsuki, their new neighbor who had visited that afternoon.
Akira and Daiki listened quietly, occasionally replying with short comments.
Sometimes, Akira felt like his mom was turning into the neighborhood's intelligence chief… before long, she'd be on par with Grandma Yui.
—
By the time Shouko came over again, the sky was already pricked with faint starlight.
Akira told her about the license matter simply and clearly.
"Akira, I want to go with you tomorrow too."
"It'll be boring," Akira replied flatly from in front of his computer.
"It won't be boring with you. I'll be good and listen—I won't wander around!" Shouko raised four fingers and swore seriously.
"Didn't you agree to keep checking out club recruitment with Takagi and the others tomorrow?"
"Hmm…" She frowned, already trying to come up with an excuse to politely decline.
"Stop overthinking it. Recruitment lasts for seven days, and you're still hesitating about the Art Club anyway. It's the same if you come with me after it ends."
"But… if that's the case, we won't be able to walk home together after school for the next few days…"
Akira went speechless.
"How about this—if you agree to one condition, I'll agree," Shouko said, blinking innocently.
"Wh-What condition…?" He suddenly had a bad feeling.
"After you get your motorcycle license, only I can sit on the back seat!" she blurted without hesitation.
It was obvious she had been waiting for the right moment to say it.
"???"
When he didn't answer, Shouko quickly adjusted her words.
"Okay, then—only one girl can sit on the back of your motorcycle. Men don't matter."
"...That doesn't sound much different from the first condition."
"What if Mom wants to ride?"
"Auntie just bought a new car. She wouldn't care about your motorcycle."
"...What about Aunt Yaeko?"
"Didn't Mom buy her old car a couple of weeks ago?"
"...Right." He had almost forgotten.
"What about Yuzuru?"
"She has Hachiko. She doesn't need your motorcycle."
Hachiko: "…"
Nishimiya Yuzuru: "…"
Akira thought it over. In truth, no one else was likely to sit behind him anyway. He finally nodded.
—
With that settled, Shouko returned to her half-finished illustration, while Akira opened up a Q&A site to look at practice questions for the written test.
Failing the first part of the exam would be embarrassing. The odds were low, but not zero.
—
The next day.
Thump, thump, thump!
"Alright everyone, class dismissed. Be careful on your way home."
The Japanese language teacher closed her textbook, gave a polite bow, and left the classroom.
Akira waved goodbye to Shouko and the others, then slipped out the back door with his bag.
"Shouko, why isn't Miyamura going home with you today?!" Ayumi asked in surprise. She had only half-heard earlier and assumed he was heading to the restroom—until she saw the school bag on his shoulder.
Shouko explained simply. She hadn't mentioned it earlier since it wasn't that important.
Under Ayumi's surprised gaze, tinged with a little envy, Shouko pulled her along toward the club recruitment area.
The two girls quietly kept some distance from Takagi and Nishikata behind them, giving the pair a little private space.
"Then how will you get home later?" Ayumi asked curiously.
"I'll go by myself, of course. I'm not three years old. Do you think I'll be kidnapped by someone waving a lollipop?" Shouko teased.
"That's true." Ayumi laughed and didn't ask further.
The four of them split into two groups and browsed through the booths they hadn't visited yesterday.
"You two!"
A bamboo sword suddenly thrust out from the side, stopping barely five centimeters from Shouko and Ayumi's noses.
A girl with a high ponytail peeked out from behind the Kendo Club's sign, eyes smiling beneath her headband.
"Want to try splitting a cherry blossom in half? Our club has a national championship third-place winner as a coach."
Shouko quickly waved her hands and stepped back—but her lower back bumped into an easel.
Clatter! A palette tipped, splashing cobalt blue paint across her round-toed shoes.
"Oh my…" A senior in a beret raised her sketchbook, revealing a drawing of the two girls frozen mid-panic.
"This splash of panicked blue… a stroke of genius."
Ayumi hurriedly dug for wet wipes, but before she could hand one over, the Astronomy Club's folding tent suddenly expanded above their heads.
Artificial stars glittered across the dark blue canopy. A boy with round glasses pushed them up his nose, the lenses flashing.
"Students, did you know? The Cancerid meteor shower peaks next week. And from the telescope on our roof—"
He lowered his voice dramatically.
"—you can even spy on the koi fish the director is secretly raising on the terrace."
"...?" The two girls exchanged looks. They had expected a cosmic revelation, not… koi.
—
By twilight, Ayumi and Shouko were carrying chocolate cookies from the Cooking Club and cosmos seeds from the Gardening Club, their arms full of handouts and flyers.
The sound of guitar riffs from the Light Music Club blended with the bouncing basketballs of the Girls' Basketball Club.
Shouko looked down at the stack of five different colored application forms in her hand.
At that moment, she couldn't help but miss Akira a little…
-----------------
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