Chapter 68

From then on, Yui was restless all the time. She seemed very concerned about when the ticket would be used, and occasionally she would glance over from the side.

When I glanced back at her, Yui quickly turned her head away and pretended not to notice.

We did this a few times during class and even during break time. Eventually, Yui, no longer satisfied with just glancing, started tapping her fingers nervously on the desk.

It was as if she was experiencing some kind of severe withdrawal symptoms.

When Yuki took the ticket out of his pocket and stared at it, then put it back, repeating this several times,

"Hey,"

"Yes?"

"Stop playing around."

He was scolded. It seemed as if he was being told, "If you're going to use it, just do it quickly," but Yuki had no intention of doing so.

At lunchtime, Yuki, who had already contacted Rin through his phone, decided to meet up with Rin at the usual spot for lunch. He slipped the ticket into his pocket and walked to the secluded back of the school building, where Rin was waiting, tense and silent.

"Here, this is Yui's ticket..."

When Yuki handed over the ticket, Rin stared intently at the crudely written "obeisance" on it. Her hand was slightly trembling. It looked like just a piece of paper with scribbles, but she held it as if it were a winning lottery ticket.

"Wasn't the plan to tear it up in front of Yui?"

"But... thinking about it, it's a shame to do that to something Yui made..."

"It took her about five seconds to make it."

There was no sense of effort in the making of it. Despite finally getting the ticket, Rin's face was far from happy.

"Is something wrong?"

"I might have made Yui dislike me..."

"Why?"

"The other day, Yui's reply to my LINE message..."

Rin paused for a moment.

Perhaps their relationship had deteriorated more than Yuki thought, and there was no reply.

"...It was about ten minutes later than usual. Normally, she replies immediately after the message is read, but there was an unusual delay..."

"Just wait a little longer."

It seemed like mere paranoia. Waiting and counting the seconds until the message was read already seemed a bit odd, but this person seemed to respond immediately like a machine, which was scary.

"By the way, what did you send?"

"Just, 'How was the test?'... She replied, 'It was easy... I guess,' so I sent back, 'It was easy, wasn't it?'"

"Oh, that's not good."

"But... I thought it sounded very natural... It ended up feeling a bit strange, and it became awkward to face her... But if I use this..."

Rin stared intently at the ticket and swallowed hard. She seemed to be thinking about something for a while, then suddenly extended her arm and thrust the ticket in front of Yuki's nose.

"...No, I'll return this to Nari-kun. Using this to become friends is not the right way."

"But, wasn't the plan to tear it up in front of her?"

It seemed like her true feelings had slipped out. She might have realized that it would be quicker to just tear it up in front of her rather than go through all the trouble.

"But... I thought about it... If Yui was just playing a game to become friends with me, and once it's over, she won't even acknowledge me... If that happens, I'd rather things stay as they are..."

Yuki thought, for a moment, that Yui wasn't really paying much attention to her anyway, but he didn't say it out loud.

"Anyway, I'm returning this!"

With that, Rin forcefully pushed the ticket into Yuki's hand. The enthusiasm she had when she was determined to help Yui had completely disappeared. She had become timid at the last moment, and this was not going to work. Yuki, holding the ticket, asked,

"Then what are you going to do with it?"

"W-What do you mean... what am I going to do with it?"

The question was returned with another question, and they both ended up in a mysterious stand-off.

The lunch break ended almost simultaneously with the bell, and Yuki returned to his seat in the classroom. Yui, who had been out at some other seat, also returned and sat down next to him, so Yuki immediately spoke up.

"I have something to talk about after school today."

He said this softly, and Yui turned her head with a wary look.

"...W-What?"

"I'm going to use the ticket."

Yui's body stiffened slightly at the word "ticket." She seemed to be very sensitive to it.

"Can you come to the back courtyard after school?"

"U-Back courtyard? W-Why...?"

"I thought it would be better... in a place where there aren't many people."

"H-Huh...? You're making it sound so dramatic."

Yui, who seemed calm on the surface, was acting strangely. She took out her lunch box and put it away again, for no apparent reason. Yuki didn't know what she was imagining, but he didn't really care where they went as long as it was a quiet place.

After school, Yuki told Yui, "I'll go ahead," and left the classroom alone. On his way to the back courtyard, he took out his phone to check with Rin, and just then, a message from Rin came in.

"I'm feeling sick, so I'm going home."

(He's running away...)

A surprisingly elementary school-level excuse. Yuki couldn't really blame him, as it seemed like he was genuinely feeling sick. Yuki had planned to talk to Yui and Rin together in the back courtyard, but now his plans were completely thrown off.

He turned a different corner from the usual entrance and walked around the school building. Passing through the teachers' parking lot, he reached the back courtyard, where flower beds and slender trees lined the area.

The back courtyard spread out along the shape of the building, with a lawn and a long stretch of open space. There were only a few students visible in the distance, and no one was around.

Yuki leaned against the school building and waited, staring at the flowers in the flower bed. Yui was surprisingly late. Just as Yuki was starting to wonder what he was doing there, he heard footsteps and a shadow fell nearby.

"O-Oh, hey..."

Yui raised a small hand and said something to Yuki, who turned to face her. She seemed a bit off, with a stiff expression and a muffled voice.

"You're late."

"S-So, what...?"

Yui was already prompting him to get on with it. She fidgeted with her fingers, which were clasped in front of her, and looked up at Yuki with a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

Yuki searched his pocket, took out the ticket, and held it out to Yui, saying, "Here's the ticket." The "ticket" button is below.