Monday.
The morning sun was exceptionally bright.
Time had unknowingly arrived in mid-July. The continuous rainy season had finally passed, and the scorching sun, accompanied by endless cicada chirps, enveloped the entire land.
The hot summer had officially arrived.
Kitahara Makoto arrived at school under the sun and happened to meet Takamatsu Tomori at the school gate.
"Tomori-chan, good morning."
Kitahara Makoto greeted her.
"Makoto-kun, morning."
Takamatsu Tomori walked up to Kitahara Makoto, carrying her school bag with both hands.
"When you went back on Saturday, your aunt and uncle didn't suspect anything, did they?"
Kitahara Makoto asked softly.
"No," Takamatsu Tomori shook her head gently. "My parents just said that next time if I have something, I should send a message and not make them worry. Staying overnight at a friend's house is fine..."
Before she finished speaking, Takamatsu Tomori suddenly raised a hand to cover her mouth and yawned tiredly.
"You have dark circles under your eyes," Kitahara Makoto observed Tomori carefully and said softly, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
"I was busy reading last night and didn't go to bed until one o'clock," Takamatsu Tomori rubbed her eyes, her voice tired and weak. "I also had a lot of messy dreams last night, and I feel like I didn't really sleep at all."
Kitahara Makoto suddenly remembered that he had never asked about Takamatsu Tomori's grades:
"Tomori-chan, how were your test scores?"
Compared to Bocchi-chan, Tomori somehow made people feel at ease.
"..."
However, only silence answered Kitahara Makoto.
Takamatsu Tomori said nothing, guiltily turning her head to look elsewhere.
Hey, you should say something!
No wonder she studied so late; was it a last-minute cram before the exam?
"Did Tomori-chan fail any subjects?"
Kitahara Makoto couldn't help but ask.
Takamatsu Tomori felt even more guilty:
"In the last exam, I did fail a few subjects..."
Goodness, it's not just one subject, is it!
"Which subjects exactly?"
"Math..."
"And?"
"Chemistry..."
"Are there any other subjects?"
"English was also a few points short..."
Several important subjects all fell short, didn't they!
I thought you were a genius girl, but it turns out you're as much of an idiot as Bocchi-chan!
"I always thought Tomori had no problems with her studies... why didn't you tell me?"
Kitahara Makoto raised a hand to his forehead.
"I'm sorry..."
Takamatsu Tomori bit her lower lip lightly and apologized softly.
The field of gravity quietly expanded.
Tomori's personality was actually timid and insecure, and her thoughts were quite delicate and sensitive. After sensing Kitahara Makoto's speechlessness, her mood immediately plummeted.
Fortunately, Kitahara Makoto was no longer the same as before. Faced with Tomori's field of gravity, he had mastered several ways to break it.
For example...
"Lift your head."
Kitahara Makoto raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Hmm?"
Takamatsu Tomori looked up in confusion.
Kitahara Makoto whispered:
"I want to kiss Tomori-chan."
"..."
Takamatsu Tomori froze for two seconds, her face quickly flushing red, and her voice panicked:
"N-no... too many people..."
The two of them were still in the school courtyard at this moment, not in a private setting.
Kitahara Makoto said softly:
"Then let's go to the club room."
"..."
Takamatsu Tomori was silent for a few seconds, then turned with a flushed face and walked towards the comprehensive building.
This time, it was Kitahara Makoto's turn to be silent.
If I tell you to go, you go? Aren't you too obedient!
Kitahara Makoto had originally only wanted to break Tomori's field of gravity, and didn't really want to take advantage of her, but now that Takamatsu Tomori was walking towards the club room with a red face, it was hard to stop her.
Otherwise, given Tomori's sensitive nature, she might overthink things again...
A moment later.
Astronomical Club activity room.
Upon entering the room, Takamatsu Tomori sat down on a chair, nervously looking down at her toes, not daring to move.
At such a time, someone naturally needed to break the silence and advance the relationship, so Kitahara Makoto stepped forward without hesitation.
"Tomori-chan."
Kitahara Makoto took two steps forward, sat down in front of Takamatsu Tomori, and then unceremoniously took Tomori's right hand:
"Although I've kissed Tomori many times in the Otherworld, the circumstances were special then. Now I want to ask... do you like Makoto-kun?"
Takamatsu Tomori looked up, her expression a little confused:
"What kind of feeling is 'like,' exactly?"
Kitahara Makoto pondered:
"Everyone's feeling of 'like' is different. In my opinion, if you like someone, you'll be happy when you see them, you'll smile from the bottom of your heart, when you're together, you won't feel the passage of time at all, you'll want to share happy things, and you'll want to confide unhappy things... that's pretty much it."
"Is that so?"
Takamatsu Tomori placed her other hand on her chest, the confusion in her eyes quietly dissipating.
"So these emotions are 'liking'..."
For some time now, Takamatsu Tomori had been enveloped by similar complex emotions, but she had never encountered them before, so she subconsciously wanted to avoid them. Only today did she finally choose to face them directly.
"...I like Makoto-kun."
The shy yet firm voice of the girl echoed in the clubroom.
Listening to Tomori's soft confession, Kitahara Makoto couldn't help but raise his hand and gently pat Tomori's head, saying warmly:
"I like Tomori too."
Their eyes met.
The air in the clubroom quickly quieted down.
Kitahara Makoto slowly leaned in and kissed Tomori's rosy, moist cherry lips.
The last proper kiss was in the Otherworld, when he carried Tomori out of the sea. Overcome with emotion, he had just kissed her then.
This time, Takamatsu Tomori could have avoided it, but she didn't dodge. Her eyelashes merely trembled, and then she nervously closed her eyes.
A few minutes later.
Kitahara Makoto lifted his head, satisfied, and released Tomori:
"Tomori, come to my place tonight."
"Eh?"
Takamatsu Tomori was still panting, but upon hearing this, her soft body suddenly tensed, and she said shyly with her eyes:
"To-today isn't good…"
"Why?"
"I don't feel well… I can't do that kind of thing…"
Kitahara Makoto: "…"
I just wanted to call you over to study, you're thinking too much!
But… if you can't because you don't feel well, does that mean you can if you feel well?
Kitahara Makoto suppressed the flutter in his heart, coughed twice, and said:
"Don't worry, I won't do anything. I just want to call Tomori over to study together in the dream tonight… After all, the exams are starting soon. If you get good grades, your uncle and aunt will be happy too."
The final exams started on Wednesday and lasted until Friday.
On Saturday morning, they still had to come to school for a class meeting to announce the results and summarize the semester. Then, the summer vacation, most anticipated by all high school students, would officially begin.
Tomori had failed three subjects, and with only one day left until the exam, even eating a learning cookie wouldn't be enough. The only way was to study in the dream.
"The flow of time in the dream and reality is not the same," Kitahara Makoto said softly. "There's not enough time to study in reality, so we can only study in the dream. Tomori, go back to the classroom and think about it. If you're willing, just tell me."
"…"