Setting aside what happened in the library, why was Kanade eating dinner at my house?
Such a natural question crossed my mind, but I didn't ask her again.
Come to think of it, when we were children, whenever one pair of parents was busy and away from home, the child would often eat at the other's house.
In other words, Kanade's parents must have been busy tonight.
"Is the food good?"
So, after turning it over in my head, the question I asked Kanade turned out to be quite simple.
"Yes!"
"Oh, that makes me so happy!"
Seeing Kanade nod energetically, my mother looked very pleased.
Watching the two of them look so happy made me feel a bit happy too.
"My, I was so surprised today. I thought I'd finally managed to get home early for once, and then suddenly the doorbell rang. When I went to answer it, there was Kanade-chan!"
My mother looked extremely delighted as she explained how Kanade ended up at our house.
"Apparently, she went out of her way to return something she borrowed from you."
"Huh...?"
What...? Did I lend something to Kanade? Was it something from when we were kids?
"Honestly. Being a gentleman to girls leaves a good impression. Especially when it's Kanade-chan, you should be even more so! But this is no good, Atsushi."
My mother was angry.
"Why didn't you tell me that Kanade-chan had returned to the country!"
...It was an entirely reasonable anger.
"Ahaha. Ma'am, there were various procedures that got delayed. I only reunited with Ak-kun yesterday."
"Oh?"
"So, please don't blame Ak-kun too much. ...Besides, since you took such good care of me in the past, I thought I should come and greet you directly rather than through Ak-kun."
"Atsushi, look! Kanade-chan has become a fine lady while we weren't looking! A lady!"
...You're far from being a lady yourself, Mother.
"But really, your cooking is delicious, Ma'am."
"Fufu, I'm glad to hear that."
"Ak-kun. So don't just focus on your studies, make sure you eat properly, okay?"
"...Eh?"
"You skipped dinner yesterday, didn't you?"
...Wait, did I tell Kanade that I didn't eat dinner yesterday? Well, I might have mentioned it casually when we were walking to school this morning... I think?
"Atsushi. Did you skip your meal again?"
"...Sorry."
Starting from a certain period, my mother became extremely concerned about her child's health. Because of that, if I skip a meal, she scolds me incessantly. Since my mother's lectures are long, it's better for my mental health to just apologize quickly.
However, just for this time, I glared at Kanade with the intent of telling her not to say unnecessary things.
"...D-Don't stare at me like that. It's embarrassing."
But Kanade seemed completely unfazed by my glare. After that, we sat around the dining table and talked in the living room for about an hour, mixing in some small talk.
"...Well, I'm going to go study now."
Thinking it was about time to get some work done, I stood up abruptly.
"Wait, Atsushi, Kanade-chan is still here. Put the studying off until later."
"It's okay, Ma'am. Please don't worry about it."
"But..."
"I'll be studying in Ak-kun's room too."
...Hmm?
"I'll be studying in Ak-kun's room too."
...Apparently, I didn't mishear her.
"Why?"
"Ak-kun, it seems that teaching someone else also helps with your own learning."
"I guess that's true then."
"So easy!"
My mother was being noisy.
"Well then, shall we go to the room?"
"Yeah."
We headed to my room.
"...By the way, were things okay with Kadokura-san?"
As soon as we entered the room, I suddenly remembered. Kanade was supposed to be hanging out with Kadokura-san after school today.
"What do you mean by 'okay'?"
"...No, well."
Feeling an awkward atmosphere, I scratched my cheek.
"...I said too much today."
"Because you said too much?"
"I was just hoping there wasn't a strained atmosphere between you two, since you were in the middle of it..."
"..."
Kanade went silent. After showing a blank expression for a while,
"...Fufu."
Kanade smiled.
"Ak-kun. That's the part where you should be worried about yourself, you know?"
"Worried about myself?"
"Like whether you'd be bullied for standing up to the strong-willed Kadokura-san."
"...Ah."
I understood.
"It's not rare for me to be isolated in class anyway."
To be honest, I didn't really care if I ended up back in that kind of position now.
"...You really are something too, aren't you?"
Kanade's murmur was so low that I couldn't tell what she said.
"Well, I'm sure things are fine with Kadokura-san."
"...I see."
It wasn't really my business what happened, but since she went out of her way to say that, it probably meant Kanade had put in some effort.
"Thanks, Kanade."
So, for the time being, I voiced my thanks.
"No. It's fine. It's for you, after all, Ak-kun."
"...I see."
"More importantly, Ak-kun."
...Was it my imagination? I felt like the tone of Kanade's voice dropped slightly.
"I still don't know much about our classmates, so I want you to tell me all sorts of things, okay?"
...If she wanted to know about the classmates, it seemed like it would be faster to ask someone other than me.
"Like what?"
Well, I'd answer as much as I knew.
"What kind of person is Takagaki Ayaka-san?"
...I couldn't respond to Kanade's question.
She knew I was in the library, and now she was suddenly asking about the person I was with there today...
...Am I overthinking it?
The study session with Kanade ended in about an hour. After seeing Kanade off to the station and returning home, for some reason, I couldn't fall asleep easily.
...I think I'm just being too sensitive, but I feel like I'm being watched.
"Good morning, Ak-kun."
The next morning, I ran into Kanade at the station.
"What a coincidence."
"It is, isn't it?"
We boarded the train and headed to school. After swaying in the train for several dozen minutes, we walked the school route and entered the classroom.
"...Ah!"
As soon as I opened the classroom door, I heard the sound of pitter-patter footsteps running toward us from inside.
"Kanade-chan! Good morning!"
The person who hugged Kanade, who was standing next to me, was...
"Ahaha. Good morning... Kadokura-san."
It was Kadokura-san, who had been on the verge of a confrontation with Kanade yesterday.
"...Ehehe, yesterday was fun, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. It was."
"...Will you play with me again?"
"Of course, Kadokura-san."
...Just how did Kanade manage to get this far in only a few hours after school?
"Kadokura-san, what about your greeting to Ak-kun?"
I felt a chill run down my spine.
"...G-Good morning, Hagiwara-kun."
Seeing Kadokura-san greet me bashfully, a complete 180 from yesterday, I took a step back.
"...Kadokura-san."
Kanade's voice was cold.
"Ak-kun is getting scared, isn't he?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Hagiwara-kun...!"
The sight of Kadokura-san desperately apologizing to me was already different from the girl she was until yesterday.
"...It's fine. I'm not scared. Don't worry about it."
"Really? Thank goodness..."
In contrast to the relieved Kadokura-san...
"...I'm really glad, Kadokura-san."
Kanade's faintly smiling face stuck in the back of my mind for a long while.