Chapter 108: Zero

The next day, Ike-Tora Station.

Today it was Ishikawa Hayato and the others' turn to wait.

When he and Hitori had dates, Hitori had always been the one to wait for him. 

He usually arrived a few minutes early, and he never asked how long Hitori waited.

It was a question that could easily cause her heartache.

He leaned against a pillar on the platform, hands in his pockets, gazing at the blue-and-white sky.

This kind of scenery was caused by high water vapor content. When the temperature gets higher, the sky would turn blue again.

"It's going to rain soon, isn't it?" Ishikawa Hayato murmured.

He waited, looking at the sky for more than ten minutes.

Another train entered the station, and only then did he see Ry get off the train, yawning.

Ryo was wearing a dark blue, patterned, three-quarter sleeve shirt and black trousers, with headphones on her head.

Her attire suggested she was going to a concert or enjoying her alone time, rather than a date.

As Ryo's feet touched the platform, she looked around and simultaneously reached into her trouser pocket for her phone.

But upon seeing Ishikawa Hayato, she put her phone back.

It seemed she had been ready to call him directly if she hadn't seen him at first glance.

Ishikawa Hayato walked up to her and calmly said, "You're late."

Ryo didn't follow his topic, nor did she utter a line like 'This is the choice of fate.' She took off her headphones and handed them to Ishikawa Hayato.

"The headphones I promised last time."

Seeing her appear as if she had only just thought of a way to repay him, Ishikawa Hayato didn't press her further and accepted the headphones.

He was touching the headphones, about to say something strange, when Ryo stepped forward, an expression on her face that indicated she didn't want to hear it.

Ishikawa Hayato had no choice but to shut up and follow.

...

The two walked out of Ike-Tora Station.

Ryo took out her phone to check the route.

Ishikawa Hayato glanced at her slender fingers, then looked down at the trousers she was wearing, his face full of regret.

"Ryo, where are we going today?"

After confirming the route, Ryo put her phone back in her pocket, turned to him, and said, "Hotel."

Her gaze lingered on Ishikawa Hayato's momentarily stunned but quickly composed serious expression, and she continued, "...ruins."

"Ryo, please don't pause like that, okay?" Ishikawa Hayato, realizing he had been teased, said with feigned displeasure.

Ryo immediately changed the subject again as she began walking, and said, "Didn't you say you were going to help out today?"

Ishikawa Hayato matched her pace, his face fawning, "I already made plans with Ryo, how could I give up over such a small matter?”

Ryo walked leisurely down the street, unhurriedly, and glanced at him with a hint of disdain.

"You just want to look at my legs, don't you?"

Ishikawa Hayato answered firmly without thinking, "Yes, that's right!"

After leaving the station, they walked a section of the road he had walked with Hitori, then Ryo took a different path at a fork.

She walked on the inner side of the road, browsing the shops nearby, but Ishikawa Hayato could tell her attention was on their conversation.

However, this time she hesitated for a long time before saying, "A small matter, you truly are cruel."

Ishikawa Hayato felt that she still carried some guilt and conflicting feelings.

Beneath her sometimes humorous, sometimes cold exterior was such a delicate heart.

But Ishikawa Hayato didn't comfort her.

What she needed was not meaningless words, but an answer.

"There's nothing to be done. Being fixated on the shell, on merely hoping things continue as they are, truly is just a small matter."

Ryo stopped at a bus stop.

She turned, her golden eyes looking directly at Ishikawa Hayato, as if to put pressure on him.

"Then what's this new method you're talking about?"

Ishikawa Hayato, as she expected, refused to answer.

"It's a secret from Ryo."

He smiled lightly.

"Speaking of which, Hongo Amane is also very cute, why didn't you make a move on her back then?"

"This topic..."

"Can't I talk about it?"

"No, I knew her in middle school. No matter what, middle schoolers are a no-go, right? After blocking her out for so long, I don't feel anything anymore, and she's a workaholic type."

"A middle school workaholic."

Ryo didn't know how to respond.

The date with Ryo ended in the afternoon. They took the train together to Shimokitazawa to part ways. Ryo told him she was going to browse vintage clothing stores and CD shops, then left.

Ishikawa Hayato watched her, feeling she was hinting that he could accompany her to these places next time.

Or perhaps she didn't want him to leave and not return.

At that moment, Ishikawa Hayato seriously stated, "Very well, I will treat these places as Ryo's usual hangouts. In my free time, I will secretly go look for Ryo, and once I find her, I'll pretend it's a chance encounter, thus begin a romantic afternoon together, ending with a hug."

"A pervert?"

"Being a pervert is part of my business."

Ryo chuckled lightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Her gaze lingered on Ishikawa Hayato's eyes for a moment, then she silently turned and left.

Leaving Ishikawa Hayato alone at the station.

Watching her back, Ishikawa Hayato had to admit that interacting with someone of a similar type felt like they were two magnets that once touched, couldn't help but want to get closer and closer.

He didn't know if Ryo felt the same way. However, he could feel that Ryo didn't resist his gradual approach at all.

It wasn't until the train that would take him home arrived that Ishikawa Hayato patted his cheeks, washing away the feeling of Ryo being by his side.

Time to get serious.

He perked up, and beneath his slightly longer bangs, his gaze gradually sharpened.

...

Returning to Kawaguchi City, Ishikawa Hayato didn't go home but walked in another direction.

Ishikawa Hayato's pace was slightly quick, lightly passing by girls strolling on the street and families of three with children.

Unintentionally, he vanished from their sight.

Kawaguchi City is separated from Tokyo by only the Arakawa River. Many people live in Kawaguchi but work and study in Tokyo.

As a city near Tokyo, its pace of life inevitably follows Tokyo's speed, but on weekends, Ishikawa Hayato seemed to be the only one in such a hurry.

After walking for a good while, he arrived near a high school.

Before he even got close, he heard the youthful rhythmic chants wrapped in sweat and dust from afar.

There were also sports slogans mixed in under the summer heat, accompanied by cheers and shouts that drowned out the piercing cicada chirps.

This school was renowned for its strong sports clubs.

Most of his former classmates and club friends had chosen this high school, and Hongo Amane was also here.

Perhaps they thought he might come here.

Ishikawa Hayato glanced at the school gate not far away. Outsiders like him were generally not allowed to enter this school.

Therefore, he didn't plan to use the main entrance.

Anyway, he could guarantee that he wouldn't be seen by anyone he didn't know, so he wouldn’t cause any trouble for the security guards.

He took a small jump on the spot, stepped onto the wall, and used a light push to leap directly into the school grounds.

Not a speck of dust was stirred.

A pervert's intrusion!

Ishikawa Hayato struck a pose, then ran like lightning to a corner, took out his phone, and dialed Hongo Amane's number.

It took a while until the call was answered.

"How may I help you?" Hongo Amane's polite, cold voice came from the other end of the line.

"I'll help you one last time, and also tell you my current plans."

“Sorry, I don’t need it.”

“Are you going to be a tsundere now?”

“...Where are you?”

“Which floor is the clubroom on? Are you at the club?”

“Third floor of the innermost building from the main entrance... You still completely disregard the rules.”

“Because I’m a pervert.”

Ishikawa Hayato hung up the phone and quickly moved in the direction Hongo Amane had indicated.

He kept an eye on his surroundings as he walked up the stairs.

On the third floor, Ishikawa Hayato sensed a group of people standing in the hallway.

He paused twice, realized they were just standing there without even talking, and roughly guessed who they were.

He walked out.

“Hayato-aniki!”

The uniform shouts made Ishikawa Hayato sigh.

He looked at his friends, standing in two neat rows, giving him an overly grand welcome as a prank.

He spoke to these long-unseen friends, annoyed.

“I told you not to call me that. You’re going to kill me. Also, I snuck in, so keep it down.”

As he finished speaking, someone with a lewd grin walked up, and as he got close, he suddenly pounced.

He hugged his leg, crying mournfully as if at a grave.

“Big Brother~~!”

Ishikawa Hayato punched him with an expressionless face, and he immediately quieted down. Then, he clenched his fist and looked threateningly at the others.

Instantly, everyone settled down.

But then someone suddenly burst out laughing.

They all started laughing, and Ishikawa Hayato also smiled.

“I’m going to talk to the President about something.”

He had handed over the President’s position to Hongo Amane earlier, so she was now the one in charge here.

Ishikawa Hayato only saw himself as a temporary returning helper.

Hearing Ishikawa Hayato’s words, a person who was uncharacteristically tall for a teenager walked over.

He opened the clubroom door and said to Ishikawa Hayato,

“The President is waiting inside, but Hayato-aniki, you went too far yesterday. Her eyes are still red.”

Ishikawa Hayato pointed inside dismissively.

“Yesterday, she said she was going to make me miserable, running to the shop where I work and causing trouble with my band.”

“Haha...”

The tall teenager had nothing to add and laughed awkwardly.

Inside the clubroom, Hongo Amane’s irritated voice came out.

“Are you done talking?!”

Ishikawa Hayato walked into the clubroom.

There were other people inside, and some new faces.

There were even a few girls who had joined.

He looked around, his gaze settling on Hongo Amane, who was sitting in the main seat.

She was clearly still angry and didn’t bother with pleasantries.

She pulled out a piece of paper and held it up to show him.

“Go ask about the situation for the people on this list. Why have they stopped communicating?”

She finished speaking and put it down, then picked up another piece of paper.

“These are some very troublesome individuals. Their schools and contact information are all listed here.”

After speaking, she put it down, motioning for Ishikawa Hayato to take it himself.

Ishikawa Hayato walked over, picked up the list, and looked at it.

“You prepared this so quickly? I feel like you’ve been scheming against me. For the places on the first list, will you come with me?”