Chapter 358: Running towards a distant place.
The first Saturday after returning from Hakone.
Toru Watanabe picked out a nice and comfortable piece of clothing. He originally wanted to have a more handsome hairstyle, but because he didn't have the habit of messing with his hair normally, the impromptu hairstyle ended up looking unpleasant no matter how he looked at it.
In the end it was the same as usual.
Walking out of Room 502 and turning into Room 501, the three teachers had just finished a school trip and were planning to spend this weekend lazily at home.
Seeing Toru Watanabe coming in, Asu Mai, who had become a regular customer, immediately looked over.
"Aren't you going out?" Koizumi Aona stood up from the sofa.
"Well, come and tell me." Toru Watanabe walked over and gently put his arms around her waist.
"What are you doing?" Koizumi Aona immediately became shy and spoke in a flustered tone.
She put her hands on Watanabe Toru's chest, not pushing him away, but just trying to keep their bodies from being too close.
"We're still here." Akiko looked away from the TV. "If you want to do something bad, can you go to the bedroom?"
Watanabe Toru looked past Koizumi Aona, glanced at Akiko, and then asked Koizumi Aona seriously, "Are you going?"
Koizumi Aona clenched her fist and punched Watanabe Toru on the shoulder.
Watanabe Toru let go of her with a smile, then looked at Asuka Mai.
"Hold me." Asu Mai opened her arms.
Watanabe Toru didn't hug her, but covered her pretty face with his hands, waited for her little mouth to pout a little, and then kissed her gently.
"Ah——" Akiko couldn't bear to watch and snuggled into Miyazaki Miyuki's arms.
Miyuki Miyazaki put her hands on her head and pushed her down on the sofa without mercy.
"Wow." Akiko reached out to Koizumi Aona, "Miyuki doesn't want me anymore, Aona, hug me."
Koizumi Aona's face was still red as she smiled and slapped her hand away.
"You only let Watanabe hug you, not me. I will remember you two and we will break up!"
Akiko was acting pitiful, and Watanabe Toru let go of Asu Mai and said to her, "Let's be happy together."
"Yeah!" Asu Mai responded happily.
"I'm leaving," he told the crowd.
"Be careful on the road." Koizumi Aona reminded.
"good."
With Kujo Miki, Asuka Mai, Koizumi Aona, and now Kiyono Rin, Watanabe Toru feels full of strength and happiness.
He could do anything for them and resist any temptation for them.
The sky was clear and the light inside the tram was bright. Watanabe Toru recalled the day when they returned to Iwate Prefecture, when the three of them rode on an old single-car tram together.
When we meet later, what should be the first thing I want to say?
Praising her clothes for being pretty? Her clothes couldn't possibly be bad.
Praising her hair? I can't imagine a time when Kiyono Rin's hair wasn't pretty.
All I can say is...
"Kiyono-san, I like you."
Her lead-like black hair swayed in the wind, and her clothes showed off her girlish elegance. Kiyono Rin, who was usually very beautiful, was even more beautiful today than before.
Such a Kiyono Rin looked at Watanabe Toru as if he were a fool.
She opened her lips slightly and was about to speak, but Toru Watanabe quickly raised his hand to interrupt her.
"Wait a minute!" he said. "On a first date, the opening line must be perfect. Let's do it again!"
Qingye Rin crossed her arms leisurely, waiting for him to think of the opening words for a date again.
"Have you thought it through?" she asked after a while with a slightly teasing and provocative smile.
"Well..." Watanabe Toru relaxed his brows, "We can only try."
Qingye Rin raised his chin slightly, meaning: "Go ahead."
Watanabe Toru looked into her clear and beautiful eyes and said, "I like you..."
"Isn't this the same as before?"
"……cold."
“…”
"I like you, Rin."
"……Um."
"Rin, I like you."
"Since you like to repeat yourself so much, I suggest you apply for the position of station announcer." Qingye Rin tucked her hair behind her ears and turned her face away, revealing her small, fair ears dyed red.
"I've never been a broadcaster, but I did work as a train assistant for a day," said Toru Watanabe.
"You're lying again."
"Have you forgotten? 'Iwate Prefecture to Tokyo, 400 kilometers.'" Toru Watanabe pulled his bangs back and made a gesture of putting on a hat.
"Okay." Qing Ye Lin came back to her senses from her shyness, "Where's our first stop, Toru-san?"
"…What did you call me?"
Qing Ye Lin put her hand to her lips, not daring to look at Watanabe Toru, and said in a small voice that sounded like a sigh:
"……thorough."
"Say it again."
"……thorough."
"Say it again!"
Qingye Rin glared at Watanabe Toru sharply, her pretty fair face blushing.
That adorable look made Watanabe Toru's heart beat faster. If this was an empty Sengokuhara, he would definitely scream.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Why apologize?" Qingno Rin was a little surprised. This was not in line with Watanabe Toru's character.
"I'm not apologizing for what happened just now." Watanabe Toru scratched his forehead with his fingers, "I suddenly felt a little shy just now, and I couldn't think of what to say, so I apologized."
Qingye Rin was stunned for a moment, then looked at him with amusement.
"You already have three girlfriends. Are you still shy with me, the fourth one?"
"No, no, no, you are the first person I fell in love with."
"Pretty quick response." Qingye Rin nodded tentatively with satisfaction.
"Rather than a reaction, I think it's just something I've been thinking about, and it's become an instinct." Toru Watanabe is grateful to sister Miki who has been testing him with all kinds of language traps.
"Now, are you thanking Meiji in your heart?"
"…Let me explain why I'm shy."
Qing Ye Lin was amused and helpless: "Okay."
"Talk while walking." As soon as Watanabe Toru opened his mouth, the two realized that they had been standing at the gathering place and had not moved at all.
The so-called date, as long as it is just the two of them, even if they do nothing, just standing here and simply chatting, it is enough to be happy.
Toru Watanabe and Rin Kiyono realized this at the same time and fell into happiness together.
When they were about to leave the vicinity of Yotsuya Station, Toru Watanabe suddenly remembered something very important.
He glanced at Kiyono Rin, who was looking at him.
Their eyes met, quickly entangled, and then immediately separated.
"What's going on?! Why are I so embarrassed and excited? I've already hugged you!"
Watanabe Toru plucked up his courage and stretched out his slightly trembling right hand towards Kiyono Rin's fair left hand.
The moment their skin touched, Kiyono Rin's hand was suddenly taken away.
"Sorry, sorry!" Watanabe Toru said quickly, "I was too impatient!"
Many girls won’t hold hands on the first date.
Qingye Rin was so shy that her body was shaking, but when she saw how cautious he was, she immediately relaxed.
She lowered her hand from her bosom and returned it to its original position, using her actions to tell Watanabe Toru that they could hold hands.
But Watanabe Toru became a frightened bird and dared not take any action.
"Why are you so shy?" Qingye Rin was really curious this time.
"Shy? I didn't want to scare you, so I pretended to be a gentleman for the first time..." He reacted so quickly that he forgot that Kiyono Rin could see through his lies.
Or was it because you were too shy and so flustered that you spoke without thinking?
"Go ahead." Qingye Rin saw through everything.
"It's normal for me to be shy." Watanabe Toru gave up and stopped struggling. "Although I have three girlfriends, I have never had a normal relationship."
Rin Kiyono fell into deep thought, carefully recalling Toru Watanabe's interactions with Miki Kujo, Mai Asuka, and Aona Koizumi.
Before she could think clearly, Toru Watanabe suddenly held her hand.
“…”
The two looked at each other, saying nothing and not thinking about anything.
They just held hands and walked with their heads down until they reached Iidabashi.
"We two are really weird," said Toru Watanabe.
"It is indeed very strange."
"I'm not talking about character and ability, but your performance just now: not taking a step, standing there talking nonstop; walking all the time, but not saying a word - isn't that strange?"
"I've never been in a relationship, so I don't know what normal couples are like... I don't hate this."
"……cold."
"Um?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to ask you to give it a try." After saying that, the overly cautious Watanabe Toru added, "Sorry."
Kiyono Rin suddenly let go of her hand, and Watanabe Toru was startled and began to reflect on what he had done wrong.
This time, he was the one who hadn't figured it out yet, and Qingye Rin directly hugged his arm.
The action is very intimate, completely different from the elegant "holding" between Kujo Miki.
"Che, you can call me as many times as you want." She smiled the brightest smile she had ever had.
"cold."
"Um."
"cold."
"Hmm~"
"cold."
"But not too much at a time."
"For the last time, Rin."
"Um."
Walking along the busy street, looking at the shop windows, they both felt very happy, as if they had firmly grasped something very ethereal and put it into their chests.
We went to the bookstore and bought shoes together, and the whole day passed.
Recalling that day, when I was walking through the park, I saw a child playing "Ponyo on the Cliff" on a recorder with a focused expression facing his mother who was sitting on a bench. The mother followed the beat and hummed, and the beech trees rustled and swayed in the wind.
After watching a movie in the evening, Toru Watanabe sent Rin Kiyono home.
The entrance to the luxury apartment is very bright, like a beacon in the night.
"Good night." Qingye Rin waved gently.
"Good night." Watanabe Toru couldn't help but wave.
The two of them just looked at each other.
"you……"
"you……"
"You speak first." I don't know if it can be considered a tacit understanding, but it was enough to make Toru Watanabe smile happily.
Qingye Rin originally wanted to say "You go first", but when she tucked her hair that was messed up by the night wind behind her ears, she had changed her mind.
"Do you... want to come up?" She said this almost tremblingly.
"..." Watanabe Toru's voice trembled even more than Kiyono Rin's, "Okay."
The two left the night and walked into the bright apartment. They said nothing, like strangers.
In the elevator, our eyes occasionally met, but then immediately separated like hot oil and cold water.
"Please sit down first, I'll pour you some tea." After entering the living room, Qingye Rin immediately found an excuse to leave.
"Okay." Toru Watanabe sat down on the sofa very properly, with the shopping bags neatly placed at his feet.
He suddenly thought of something and said loudly to Qingye Lin: "I don't want that Earl Grey tea, it doesn't taste good!"
"What did you say?" Qingye Rin really couldn't hear clearly because her heartbeat was too loud.
"...Nothing." Watanabe Toru thought she heard it clearly.
As expected, the tea I drank this time was still Earl Grey tea.
I didn't notice it during the day, but now Watanabe Toru suddenly discovered that Kiyono Rin's lips, touched by the teacup, were so soft.
"What's wrong? Why are you staring at me?" Qingye Rin asked in confusion.
"Nothing." Toru Watanabe pretended to drink tea.
“Hmm——” Qingye Rin put down the teacup and stretched.
The back twisted into a beautiful arc, and the slender wrists stretched toward the ceiling. And the chest that Watanabe Toru had never noticed before was not as flat as he had imagined.
"I'm so tired after walking all day. I really admire you... Where are you looking?"
"..." Watanabe Toru fell into deep thought, then put down the teacup and walked towards Kiyono Rin with the determination and momentum of going to his death.
Their hearts were beating wildly, as if someone was beating a drum in their chests, both of them at the same time.
"I'm going to change my clothes, wait for me." Qingye Rin stood up and walked towards the bedroom.
"Kiyono-san." Toru Watanabe grabbed her slender wrist, looked at her profile, and swallowed nervously.
“……” Qingye Rin didn’t say anything, nor did she struggle.
"Is it okay?" Watanabe Toru felt the heat rushing to his head and couldn't think of anything.
Qingye Rin remained silent.
Toru Watanabe gently pulled her into his arms, and they looked at each other, feeling each other's hot breath.
Qingye Rin slowly closed her eyes, and her soft cherry blossom-colored lips became more and more attractive.
The light fragrance and soft touch are like a pool of sweet spring water that you can never get enough of, bringing you a comfort you have never experienced before.
The two went to the bedroom and lay on the bed facing each other.
"What do you hate?" Qingye Rin asked softly.
"Sneakers that have soaked up water."
In order to get closer to Kiyono Rin, he no longer cared about the eyes of the world and ran in the heavy rain.
"What else?"
"A damn heavy hardback."
In order to have common topics with Kiyono Rin and acquire enough knowledge, he carries a book with him every day.
"other?"
"Two-fillet salmon from the supermarket."
While eating this, he was still living in a rental house where he could see Kiyono Rin.
I went out to the convenience store late at night, thinking that it would be great if I could meet her. The most popular item I bought at that time was salmon.
"About me!"
"I like everything about you."
Toru Watanabe's hand touched the bra button on Kiyono Rin's back.
Qingye Rin grabbed Watanabe Toru's collar, buried her head in his arms, and felt his increasingly hot body temperature.
Toru Watanabe grabbed the hem of her sweater and gently pulled it up, and Kiyono Rin obediently raised her arms.
Skin as white as snow, shoulders with graceful curves , and breasts full of youthful vitality.
Qingye Rin closed her eyes, as pure and holy as a sleeping princess.
It was like the delicate body of a goddess, like a white flower, or like water formed by the accumulated moonlight.
She just lay there, her black hair spread out on the snow-white pillow.
"…Rin, here I come." Watanabe Toru looked at her obsessively.
"Yeah." Qingye Rin said gently and gently stroked Watanabe Toru's hot cheek.
"I love you, Rin."
"I love you too, Tooru."
The moonlight had never been so beautiful, and the two of them lay on a fragrant and warm cloud.
The next morning, Toru Watanabe was woken up.
"What are you doing?" He looked under the bed, at the neatly dressed Kiyono Rin and the humming vacuum cleaner in her hand.
"The weekend is my cleaning day, you get up and help."
"I'm a guest. How can I ask a guest to clean the house?" Toru Watanabe was woken up after not having his morning run for a long time.
"You are a guest? How can a guest sleep in the host's bed? Get up and help!"
"It's not impossible." Watanabe Toru smiled on the bed, "Kiss me, kiss me and I will... stop, stop, stop, I get it, don't point the vacuum cleaner at me anymore! I'm not garbage!"
◇
The next day, a sunny Monday, in a corner by the window in Class 4, Grade 2.
"You look in good spirits." Miki Kujo said to Rin Kiyono with a smile.
"You look a little worse." Qingye Rin said with his arms crossed.
"Watanabe," Kujo Miki put her hand on Watanabe Toru's neck, "Did you hear me? I look bad."
"I mean for you to get some sleep." Qingye Rin glanced at her.
"How can I sleep well without Watanabe by my side? We sleep most comfortably together. We also plan to hug each other after death, right, Watanabe?"
"Watanabe-san?" Kiyono Rin also looked at Watanabe Toru.
"this……"
"Everyone, go back to your seats, the morning meeting has begun." Koizumi Aona walked in with a lesson plan.
Miki Kujo and Rin Kiyono looked at each other fiercely and ended their quarrel.
Toru Watanabe escaped a disaster, but it is certain that there will be more such disasters waiting for him in the future.
But there is no need to rush.
Because they have been together long enough.
As Koizumi Aona was talking about the arrangements for the workplace tour in the second year of high school, Toru Watanabe looked out the window.
He recalled an incident that happened a long time ago. He had also looked out the window like this and thought about the ending of the story.
That was the first event of the Human Observation Department, a submission to the Literature and Art Department.
So, how should this end?
It was noon at the end of April. Koizumi Aona told him that he must join a club. He saw a strange recruitment poster on the bulletin board of the club building. It was the Human Observation Club.
The director is Rin Kiyono, who is one month away from turning sixteen.
Next, he will go to Ochanomizu, pass by the afternoon overhead corridor, and turn into a cat.
◇
On the wire fence of the playground of Shenchuan High School, a crow blinked its black eyes, flapped its wings and flew into the distant blue sky.
It passed over Tokyo and flew away.
(End of the book)
