"Alan. You’re finally here."

Just then, Makoto noticed Nozomi Sakura standing behind Alan and paused mid-step.

"...Who’s this?"

Nozomi Sakura didn’t answer. Instead, she smiled politely and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, looped her arm through Alan’s.

Alan explained calmly,

"This is Nozomi Sakura. My girlfriend."

"...Huh? Girlfriend?"

Makoto’s expression froze in surprise. He opened his mouth instinctively.

"You finally—"

But the words died in his throat when his gaze landed on Nozomi Sakura.

At a previous club gathering, he had once tried to set Alan up on a date, only to be flatly rejected.

"Captain Makoto, I’m not interested in dating right now."

Now, looking at the girl beside him, Makoto finally understood.

It wasn’t that Alan wasn’t interested. He just hadn’t met the right person.

Makoto glanced at Nozomi Sakura again. Even without close inspection, it was obvious, she was a top-tier beauty, easily comparable to the terrifying "stat monster" from earlier.

As if remembering something important, Makoto hesitated briefly, then walked alongside Alan and said,

"Well, since there’s a match coming up, you should go change first."

Hearing this, Nozomi Sakura naturally let go of Alan’s arm. She tilted her head slightly and smiled at him, her voice gentle.

"Want me to help you change?"

Alan shot her a look, momentarily speechless at her shameless confidence. Still, he didn’t want to embarrass her in front of Makoto, so he replied with a helpless half-smile.

"There’ll be plenty of chances later."

With that, he ignored the girl who was now pretending to look shy and followed Makoto toward the changing room.

"What’s going on?"

While putting on his armor, Alan asked casually.

Makoto shrugged.

"No idea. Did you piss off someone you really shouldn’t have?"

"...Who would that be?"

"Someone from C School. A girl. She’s insisting on finding you."

"A girl?"

Now fully armored, Alan frowned, racking his memory for any female kendo practitioners he might have known in Tokyo.

Seeing his expression, Makoto couldn’t resist teasing him.

"How many women are you tangled up with that you can’t even remember?"

"...I’m not."

"Forget it. You’ll find out soon enough. She’s waiting for you in the dojo."

Alan thought for a moment, subconsciously rubbing his left arm through the armor. He picked up his familiar bamboo sword and helmet, then stepped outside.

But the moment he lifted the curtain—

A figure suddenly appeared in front of him, nearly crashing straight into his chest.

Alan instinctively frowned and stepped back.

Then he saw her face.

Delicate.

When their eyes met—those clear, almost ethreal eyes—Alan froze completely.

Memories surged up all at once, voices overlapping in his mind.

"Alan, I really did try my best."

"Nino’s not an idiot, okay?"

"I’m going to marry you!"

"You’re leaving? You’ll come back, right?"

Their gazes locked.

The once-blurry figure from his memories slowly became clear, her expression just as pure and luminous as it had always been.

Alan’s lips parted, and before he could stop himself, her name slipped out.

"...Nino, you—"

Drip.

Crystal-clear tears slid down the girl’s cheeks. She tilted her head slightly, then smiled—soft, foolish, and unbearably familiar.

"Nino’s back."

***

Why are you crying?

Nino doesn’t cry.

That morning, the classroom clock pointed to half past nine.

A girl in a sailor uniform, a red backpack slung over her shoulder, stood outside the door. Her hand, reddened from the cold, lifted hesitantly to knock.

The teacher’s lecture came to an abrupt stop.

A few seconds later, the door flew open with a loud bang.

"Nino Kitagawa! What excuse do you have for being late again today?"

"Nino’s—"

Her bike broke down...

Before she could finish, the teacher, already irritated by her blank expression, slapped a test paper onto her shoulder.

"Take your test paper and go write a reflection outside! Then come back!"

Bang!

The door slammed shut again, the rush of air stirring the strands of her long hair.

Nino blinked her clear eyes. She stood there for two seconds, then calmly walked to the windowsill.

Out of habit, she took out her paper and pen, placed the thirteen-point test paper underneath, and began writing.

What should she write?

Should she write about carrying her bike and running all the way here?

Nino Kitagawa didn’t understand.

But it seemed someone else did.

"Are you an idiot?"

Inside the bathroom, Nino tilted her head at the girls surrounding her. Her eyes were clear, filled with genuine confusion.

"Nino isn’t an idiot."

"You scored thirteen points. If that’s not an idiot, what is?"

"You’re the idiot."

The girl standing in the center pulled out her phone and started recording.

"Say it. Say you’re an idiot."

"Nino isn’t—"

"I told you to say it! Don’t you understand human language, stupid pig?!"

Her patience gone, the girl raised her hand to slap Nino’s face.

But before her palm could fall, a sharp pain shot through her back. She slammed into the wall uncontrollably.

Clutching her waist, she turned around, ready to curse—

Smack!

An egg burst against her face.

"Now you really look like an idiot."

Before anyone could react, Alan appeared. His expression was dark as he grabbed the hose, looped it over his waist, and twisted the tap.

"I’ll wash some sense into you."

Bang!

A thick stream of water blasted out, drenching the girls instantly.

The freezing water sobered them up at once. Screaming like startled chickens, they scattered out of the bathroom.

Creak.

Alan turned off the tap, tossed the hose aside, and stepped in front of Nino.

Seeing her face soaked as well, he pulled out a tissue and handed it to her.

"Wipe it off."

Nino looked up at him blankly.

Was she scared?

Alan frowned slightly. He wiped the water from her face himself, then took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. His voice softened.

"If you’re sad, it’s better to cry."

Nino glanced at the jacket, tilted her head, and asked seriously,

"Why... cry?"

Alan froze.

Their eyes met—hers clear, unclouded by pretense.

"Aren’t you sad?" he asked.

"Sad? What’s that?"

"Is Nino only normal if she cries?"

Alan studied her face carefully. She wasn’t joking. She wasn’t pretending.

He rubbed his brow and sighed, his expression complicated.

"...So you’re really just a fool."

"A fool? Nino isn’t a fool either."

Nino didn’t understand sadness, but she was very certain about the three things she loved most.

Eating. Sleeping. Kendo.

If she could eat the food Alan made, practice kendo with him, and someday marry him and stay together forever, nothing else mattered.

So she wouldn’t cry over anything else.

But Alan...

Just meeting him could make her cry.

"Nino’s back."