Chapter 26: Chapter 26 - Kyoto School Trip

School trips could be hazardous.

Not due to sightseeing.

Not due to teachers.

But because Kuro Kurogane was stuck for three days with:His two very, very clingy stepsisters.Mina.Rika.

And the rest of his entire school misreading everything he had ever done.

All of this made it impossible for Kuro to resume his tranquil existence.

"Kuro-kun!"

Akari’s voice rang throughout the busy train station while she dramatically waved both hands and pulled along a giant (and hilariously oversized) suitcase.

Kuro simply stared blankly.

"...Why is your suitcase larger than you are?"

"Fashion is sacrifice."

"You are only here for 3 days."

"And I have to have outfit options."

Aoi was quietly standing next to Akari, carrying two additional bags as well.Well of course she was.

"...Akari has packed 17 different outfits."

"That’s not luggage, it’s a migration!"

Akari dramatically poked out her lip.

"Kyoto is romantic!"

"That sentence still doesn’t clarify anything."

Simultaneously, students around them were internally gossiping:

"Those twins are definitely like his wives..."

"They literally came as a set..."

"Weren’t they just recently brothers and sisters?!"

Kuro rubbed the center of his forehead.

Rumors are already becoming so twisted that they can’t be salvaged.

Things started to get complicated with everyone trying to get their own seats. First off, Akari grabbed Kuro’s arm as soon as she could.

"I’m sitting next to Kuro-kun."

Mina walked over and said, "That’s not fair. I called dibs yesterday!"

"You can’t make an advance reservation on another human being!" Akari protested.

"I could at least try!" Mina answered.

Meanwhile, Rika was exhausted before the trip had even started!

"The trip hasn’t even started yet..." she lamented.

Meanwhile, Aoi quietly stood beside Kuro and said, "I prefer a window seat." Kuro observed how each girl very naturally situated themselves around him. "This is nothing short of a trap."

This is how the final seating arrangement looked:

Akari next to Kuro .Aoi in the window seat .Mina on the other side of the aisle.

Rika sitting behind them .Kuro was staring out the window.

"I have just become the victim of psychological warfare."

Akari was already leaned up against him happily.

"No, this is family bonding time!"

"Most families don’t behave this way."

Aoi then handed Kuro a can of coffee.

"You look tired."

Kuro blinked a few times.

"Thanks."

They shared a small, normal moment, however, Mina instantly noticed how cute they looked together.

"You two really seem like a married couple," she remarked.Kuro almost choked!

"DON’T EVEN SAY THOSE KIND OF THINGS!"

"Clearly you both are a couple; you live together," Akari stated proudly.

"You’re making this worse by saying that," Rika added from behind the two.

An hour into the train journey, chaos had fully arrived.

Kuro lost his headphones to Mina. Akari got his snacks. Aoi quietly snagged Kuro’s drink.

Kuro had a very tired look on his face.

"I’m being robbed as a group."

"That’s right," Aoi said calmly.

Mina looked at Kuro and grinned.

"Kuro-kun, you are very popular now."

"I didn’t want to be popular," Kuro said in his head.

"You’re a liar," Akari said softly.

Kuro gave a little pause and looked out at the scenery passing by.

Because annoyingly she no longer was 100% wrong. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Finally, things settled down some and the group on the train became quieter as the long train ride continued going east under the cloudy summer sky.

Then naturally, disaster struck.

Akari was the first person to fall asleep.

Fully as she slid right on to Kuro’s shoulder.

She was nice and toasty warm and her hair brushed lightly against his neck.

Kuro made a quiet sign.

"Akari."

No answer.Asleep.

Meanwhile, Aoi looked down; it was that incredible moment at the end of one day and the beginning of the next.

Then finally, after a moment of pause she gently moved Akari so she would have a better sleeping position.

Such a simple act.

But one that was remarkably loving as well.

Kuro continued to stare in hard silence.

"You always care for her."

Aoi didn’t even glance at Kuro as she looked straight out the window.

"Somebody has to."

Then, after a moment of silence

"You always have."

Kuro felt a moment of freeze.Because Aoi said it so softly that it was almost as if she were reminiscing.

Another hour of quiet continued on the train.

Clouds of rain were slowly passing by the windows, making the atmosphere between them much calmer.

Warmer.And eventually Aoi was now asleep too.

She leaned her head gently against Kuro’s other shoulder.

Kuro was frozen.Akari is asleep on one side, Aoi is asleep on the other.

There were several boys who had the look of complete despair surrounding them.

"That guy’s school trip just ended on a very successful note..."

"He has two very beautiful girls asleep on him..."

"Kill Him."

Kuro completely understood how they felt, but he had a strange sense of calm and peace looking at the twins beside him, how they wholeheartedly trusted him and stayed close, and for some reason he was surprised to find warmth in his chest.

By the afternoon, Kyoto had finally shown up through the train window.

Historic roads. Building tops of Temples. The feeling of being excited in the summer was all around.

The moment students arrived (at the station) they immediately burst with energy.

Teachers yelled instructions desperately as everyone gathered their luggage at the exit of the station.

Akari was pulling on Kuro’s sleeve and screaming in excitement "Kuro-kun! Kyoto!"

"Yes, we have arrived geographically."

"Thanks for ruining that moment for me."

In the meantime, Aoi was standing next to Kuro quietly looking at the packed station.

"Too many people," she said.

"Yes", he replied.

Everyone was so packed together that it caused the station to become chaotic.

Then all of a sudden without thinking, Kuro reached out and touched Aoi’s wrist lightly.

He did it naturally, spontaneously.

He said under his breath "To keep us from getting separated". After he said that, both of them were silent.

Aoi was looking at Kuro after blinking at him once.

Aoi was then looking at the hand that was on her wrist.

Akari saw that happen and looked at him with wide eyes. Mina’s reaction was to stop for a second, and Rika’s reaction was that her eyes got bigger.

Then Kuro saw what had happened and quickly let go of Aoi’s wrist. "It was for safety due to all the people in the crowd".

"I know," Aoi said softly as if she was still trying to process what had just happened.

But Aoi’s voice was different this time.

Every step that Kuro took in the rest of Kyoto, he thought about how he had reached out for Aoi so naturally.