Final Chapter

The clear September sky beamed down sunlight, and as I walked, the lingering summer heat made my back sweat, prompting me to fan the hem of my shirt with my hand.

The sensation of the soil under my sneakers felt slightly damp, and the surrounding grass and trees were dripping with water droplets.

“Hey, group leader, is this the right way?”

It was the second day of the school trip, and right now, in the early afternoon, we were on free time.

Tsuse, from the same group walking ahead, stopped and turned back, calling out the question from a bit of a distance.

“It’s over the hill, Tsuse-kun. I think the path is maintained, but watch your footing.”

Kiritsuki, the group leader walking beside me, said something teacher-like while glancing down at the pamphlet.

Without thinking, I ran my fingers through her hair, which had been cut evenly at shoulder length and was now much shorter.

“Mm, something wrong?”

She narrowed her eyes as if it tickled, but still rubbed her cheek against my hand.

“Nah. I was just thinking it feels a bit of a shame that you cut your hair.”

“You prefer it long, after all.”

“For looking at, yeah.”

I’d probably get used to the short hair and think it looks good too. I shifted my gaze back toward the hill where the other group members had disappeared.

“Come to think of it, the rain stopped.”

“Yeah. This mountain path would’ve been slippery, so it’s good it let up.”

“Right, that last part was more of a mountain trail than I expected. Jeez, who was it that said they wanted to see the limestone cave?”

“Sandra, I think.”

When we finally reached the entrance of the limestone cave a bit late, the other group members who had been ahead were already out of sight.

“We can’t get separated, so maybe we should hurry a little.”

“Hm? It’s fine, let’s take our time, just the two of us.”

Smiling as she said that, she hesitated a moment before placing her hand on the wet railing, then looked around.

We walked while gazing around the inside of the limestone cave, which was brighter than I’d imagined.

“This is pretty amazing. I get why it’d get someone excited.”

As she murmured that, I noticed her shoulders shivering slightly, so I pulled a light hoodie from the bag on my back and draped it over Kiritsuki.

“Eh? Oh, thanks…”

“It’s hot outside, so it probably feels even colder in here.”

“I left my jacket back at the inn.”

It was a school trip, but we were in uniforms today too.

It was still September, not yet time to switch to winter uniforms, and with the lingering heat likely to drag on, it was understandable to forget a jacket.

Kiritsuki brought the cuff of the sleeve she’d slipped her arm through close to her nose.

“This is the one you wore yesterday, right?”

“Yeah, but… wait, does it smell?”

“Not at all. The scent’s faint, which is a little disappointing.”

“…You’re kind of a scent fetishist, huh…”

“It’s probably your fault I ended up like this. I started sniffing things right away whenever something happens after I met you.”

Come to think of it, Kaori seemed to do the same, sniffing things whenever she came over to my place. Maybe girls in general are just sensitive to smells, not necessarily a fetish.

“Your scent makes me feel at ease… Oh, then tell me what body soap and shampoo you use next time. I’ll switch to the same ones.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘then’… It’s fine, I guess.”

The footing grew darker, and voices and footsteps echoed more prominently.

Right beside the limestone cave lit up colorfully with LEDs, I spotted our group members taking photos.

“Oh, we caught up. I wanted to stay just the two of us a bit longer.”

“Don’t say that, Kiritsuki-san. Let’s take one all together.”

Kiritsuki didn’t even try to hide the lovey-dovey vibe, and Tomiya gave a wry smile in response.

Tsuse was setting up a tripod for his smartphone on the opposite side, so I headed over to him.

“That’s right, Kaname-san. We’re taking a bunch of photos that’d make Kaori-san jealous.”

“Miyajima-san’s idea sounds like straight-up harassment, though…?”

Knowing Kaori, she’d quickly make friends and end up enjoying the school trip in her new class anyway, so it might not feel like harassment to that extent.

With the smartphone camera setup done, I stood over by the lit-up area.

“Hurry up and line up, will ya? I’m already feeling out of place here as it is.”

“I don’t think that’s the case, you’re no different from me.”

“Says the guy who got confessed to by Kiritsuki-san.”

At the mention of her name, Kiritsuki casually pressed her shoulder right up against mine.

“That doesn’t matter, does it…?”

I get that Kiritsuki, Tomo, and Tomiya look all sparkly together, but including me in that mix feels a bit off, to say the least.

“Tomiya, could you crouch a little more?”

“I’m already crouching…?”

Why are we even taking it like a group photo anyway?

I mean, the location makes a selfie stick hard to use, I get that.

“Alright, taking it now.”

As Tsuse said that, suddenly, the sound of flapping wings and a high-pitched screech reached us.

“Kyaa!?”

“Eek…”

Something flew around, casually bumping into the tripod before flying off.

“Whoa!? My phone!?”

The smartphone and tripod fell screen-first, and as Tsuse ran over with a pained cry, I found myself on my butt, hugged from both sides by Kiritsuki and Tomo.

The floor was a bit wet and cold.

Tsuse seemed unlucky; he was staring blankly at the cracked phone screen.

“This isn’t just the protective glass… Oh, the LCD’s cracked too.”

“It was a bat, huh.”

Tomiya, the only one analyzing calmly, watched the departing bat with apparent amusement.

“Um, could you two let go so I can stand up?”

“S-Sorry. I didn’t expect it to come right at my neck…”

“S-Sorry… My legs gave out.”

It was sudden, so getting startled is understandable, but that much? They should take a page from Tomiya, who came out unscathed.

Why did both of them come toward me, anyway?

Tomo had no choice since I was next to her, but Kiritsuki could’ve jumped toward Tomiya instead—he’s more reliable. So this must be the boyfriend boost.

“Oh, the tripod’s broken too.”

“…It’s fine, that was a cheap one.”

“Got it. What about the photo?”

“Tomiya, there’s a selfie stick in my bag over there, let’s use that.”

“Why does Himura carry around such girly items…?”

The photo we took like that showed Tomiya looking as cheerful as ever, Tsuse completely deflated, Tomo still scared of the bat, me lifting Kiritsuki in a princess carry, and Kiritsuki absolutely delighted by it.

On the bus ride back, the reply from Kaori to the photo was, “What seriously happened here?”—a single line oozing confusion that couldn’t be hidden even in text.

☆Afterword──────────────────

Thank you for reading this far. With this, “Takarabu” comes to a close.

I planned for it to end around forty episodes, but I have no idea why it dragged on this long.

From here on, it’s just chit-chat.

This story’s initial concept was actually “depicting a typical harem rom-com from the heroine’s perspective.” In the end, the main story became from Aoi-kun’s viewpoint, though.

But as a remnant of that, the original protagonist Kiritsuki-san ended up with “parents and siblings only hinted at,” “consistently supporting Aoi-kun (the heroine),” “summer festival from Kiritsuki-san’s perspective,” and “ultimately supported by the heroine.” So the main heroine is actually Aoi-kun, for real (lol).

Things happened, and I ended up writing it normally from Aoi-kun’s perspective, but if I get the chance, I’d like to write a rom-com from a girl’s viewpoint next time…

Well, next I’m planning to post an isekai fantasy. It should go up soon, so if you follow the author “Amaya Ikura,” you’ll get notifications for new works. Follow the author, okay?

If you enjoyed this story, please give it a star rating or review.

Until we meet again in another work—looking forward to that day.