The Girl Decided Not to Resist

In other words, to be honest with him, is this really... the first time for him?

Although he said he didn't care, when Yuigahama Yui's gaze began to touch the boy's lips, his heart still throbbed a little.

If this is really... the first time for this bad guy, as long as I kiss him now, will I just...

No no no no no, no!

This way of sneaking away is too sorry for Yukino...

The girl who almost couldn't resist the temptation finally came to her senses when she thought of a certain snow-like girl.

She couldn't look at this guy's lips anymore...

"Woo..."

While hesitating, the girl with a blushing pretty face accidentally touched the boy's lips with her fingers.

"Yui...are you teasing me?"

Although Makoto Amano closed his eyes, he could still feel which part of the girl's body was touching his lips just now.

If she does it again, he will just open his mouth and bite it.

"No... I, I didn't do it on purpose!"

The girl withdrew her finger in panic, and then reached for Makoto's neck as originally planned.

"..."

It's a bit itchy, but also a bit strange...

He felt as if something cold and chilly was being brought to his neck from the soft little hand of the girl.

So, is the gift a necklace or is it a..?

"Okay, open your eyes now."

Yui had successfully put the gift she bought on Makoto Amano's neck.

"What is it?"

Even if he opens his eyes, he wouldn't be able to directly see what's on his neck.

So, he quickly reached out to touch it, and then...

"It's indeed a necklace... but..."

He held the pendant in the middle of the necklace in his hand.

"Why is it a puppy?"

The pendant was a very cute little puppy's head.

"I'm not Miss Yui's dog..."

He pretended to be a little angry.

"What's the big deal? It's cute, isn't it?"

Yui laughed lightly, covering her mouth for a while.

Makoto is such a playboy. It would be great if he could treat me wholeheartedly like a dog...

That was her little idea in buying this necklace.

"Or... do you hate the gift I gave you?"

"I don't hate it, but it's too childish. People will laugh at me if they see it..."

Shaking his head, he slowly took off the necklace from his own neck.

Then he quickly put the necklace around the neck of the girl~ Yuigahama Yui.

"To be honest, this necklace suits a girl better, especially... a girl like Yui!"

"Never!"

Yuigahama Yui smiled and dodged.

"I don't want to be Makoto's dog either..."

"Exactly, Yui gave me this necklace just to treat me as a dog. Hmph, how wicked! Don't run away, hurry up and put it on so I can see too!"

"No!"

The young boy and girl chased each other playfully in the shrine.

---

"Hey, Megumi, the Kagura dance is about to start. Aren't you coming with us?"

"No... I'm feeling a little unwell. I want to go home early."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..."

"Then be careful on the way. The sun will set soon, so it's best to be home before it gets dark."

"Okay, I will."

The girl no longer had the mood to watch the dance at the shrine.

Moreover, going to the place to see the Kagura dance... she would definitely run into Makoto Amano.

It's better to forget about it.

Let the coincidences end today.

She put the beret back on top of her head and waved to her parents who had been paying attention to her.

Then she turned around and walked away.

"Something seems off with Megumi today..."

The girl's father finally noticed that something was wrong with his daughter today.

And it seemed to have started when they arrived at the shrine...

"You just realized it? It's probably Megumi..."

The girl's mother had a pensive expression.

"What... what do you mean?"

"What else? Megumi said her classmate was also at the shrine, and she kept running around alone... Maybe now she pretends to be sick and goes home, but actually plans to go on a date with someone."

"Are you saying Megumi... has a boyfriend?"

"Wait right here, I need to go and check out this guy who's supposedly dating my daughter..."

The girl's father looked surprised and somewhat unhappy...

"Just leave it alone. Since Megumi intends to hide it from us, it's useless for us to meddle. Our daughter has grown up; she has her own judgment."

The girl's mother seemed to trust her daughter a lot.

"But..."

"Stop it. We can ask Megumi when she gets home later. For now, let's just enjoy the festival at the shrine."

"Alright."

The middle-aged man's position in the family remained as low as ever.

---

"Ah... so there's a pond in a place like this."

After walking for a while in the direction away from the shrine, Megumi Kato stopped on the wooden path above the pond.

"So many carp..."

The sunset wasn't as glaring anymore, and the girl noticed many red carp coming out to feed on the water's surface.

"Fish and water..."

Thinking of this, the girl took out the fortune she drew from her pocket.

"So the final line, 'the joy of fish and water,' refers to this..."

She folded a few blades of grass by the roadside, threw them into the pond, and indeed, many carp happily swam towards them.

That's good.

This way, she doesn't have to dwell on the explanation of "the joy of fishi and water."

There is no need to keep thinking about luck, fate, coincidence, or Amano-san...

That's fine.

Go home later, take a good shower, and forget everything about today.

That's it.

The girl continued to throw grass leaves towards the school of carp.

Her mood improved considerably when she saw the fish swimming freely in the pond.

"No, it won't be..."

"Wait..."

However, before the girl could enjoy watching the fish for long, she heard the playful voices of a boy and a girl, somewhat familiar, coming from not far away.

---

"Stop chasing... I... huh... I can't run anymore..."

Compared to the stress-free demeanor of Amano Makoto, the girl running with her dumplings bouncing heavily doesn't appear as relaxed.

As she continued running for a while, she eventually decided to raise her hand and surrender.

"If I catch you, you will be punished. Also, the punishment for being late today will also be included..."

Makoto Amano, who won, began to put pressure on the girl with a dumpling head in front of him.

The girl's physical strength is even more useless than imagined, and this won't work.

"What... What punishment?"

It's Yumiko's fault for being late...

Yui complained silently in her heart.

Then, she stared at the boy in front of her with a worried face.

I don't know what punishment this bad guy will come up with to deal with me....

"Let me touch the dumpling, and then you can say 'woof' to listen."

Makoto Amano retied the necklace given to him by the girl around his neck.

After all, it was the first gift the girl had given him, so he decided to wear it for the day.

"I don't want to..."

Upon seeing Makoto Amano put the necklace back on, Yui's complexion immediately improved, but upon hearing his two requests, her expression fell again.

I don't want him to touch me there, and I don't want to learn dogs bark!

"Is it okay to cheat again? Are you planning to also cheat this time?"

Makoto Amano was already very close to the girl's body; this time, he wouldn't let her "escape."

"It's not cheating. I didn't promise you just now..."

Recalling what happened last time, Yui's voice became weaker.

"Last time, I didn't promise you; it was your own initiative... Woo..."

The girl continued to back away, but she couldn't avoid the boy's grasp.

Amano easily grabbed both of her wrists.

She couldn't escape...

"You can't run anymore, there is a pond behind..."

Makoto Amano noticed the reflection from the water behind Yui...

It's not that Yui is really afraid of Makoto Amano's "punishment," but that she's too shy...

Yui, who was grabbed by both hands, instinctively twisted her body backwards, trying to escape from someone's grasp.

But...

In the process of struggling, she felt as if she had bumped into another person, and...

"Ah…"

Even her screams sounded ordinary.

Thump…

I didn't expect to come here and meet Amano-san...

A girl in a dress with short hair, who had given up on treatment, just fell straight into the pond.

Gulu Gulu, bubbles unconsciously spewed out of her mouth.

The moment Kato Megumi saw Amano Makoto and Yuigahama Yui appearing in front of her together, her mood became extremely complicated.

So much so that she froze in place.

Then…

After being hit by the girl with dumpling head and losing her balance, she just maintained a dazed posture and sank into the water on her back.

'The sky is so blue...'

That was the only thought on her mind as she sank to the bottom.

———

The water was very clear, and the girl could see the blue sky clearly through the water in front of her eyes.

She could even see the red carps swimming up to her.

It seemed like they mistook the commotion of someone falling into the water as someone feeding them...

"Hey, are you okay!?"

"Ka-Kato-san?"

In a daze, she looked up from underwater and saw two worried faces.

Splash...

It was that boy. He jumped right in and, like pulling out a radish, lifted her out of the pool where the water barely reached an adult's knees.

"Kato-san?"

But Makoto Amano felt as if he had caught a fish in the water...

Hmm, she was completely wet, without any resistance or reaction, like a mermaid.

This girl must have been stunned by the collision just now.

She couldn't even climb out of such shallow water by herself... she almost drowned...

She still seemed dazed at the moment.

"Fish... water..."

After Makoto Amano pulled her out of the water, she didn't immediately stand up. Instead, she sat there in the water.

There were still several carp fish gathering around her, as if joining in the commotion.

"Fish and water?"

Makoto Amano now noticed the red carp fish in the pool.

Ah, so this is what the fortune mentioned, the joy of being together with fish and water?

It's quite fitting...

But what's going on with this Kato-san?

To be honest, he had never encountered such an enigmatic girl before.

She seemed so "ordinary"..

———

"I'm sorry... I zoned out just now..."

The girl who climbed out of the pool onto the shore finally regained a bit of her composure.

"No, no, it's all my fault, it's because of me that Kato-san... ended up like this... I'm truly sorry!"

Yuigahama was desperately apologizing.

It was her careless action just now that caused the girl in front of her to fall into the water, and her Western-style dress was also...

Soaked like this... it might not be wearable anymore, with water plants and mud stains.

"I'm also at fault for not noticing Kato-san standing there earlier..."

Makoto Amano took off his jacket and handed it to the drenched girl.

It was supposed to be a lovely date at the shrine, but it turned out like this in the end...

His feelings were also mixed.

"Thank you... and it's okay."

People couldn't resist the power of the gods.

Just now, when Kato Megumi saw Makoto Amano, she had already given up resisting this absurd twist of fate.

Whatever...

I don't care anymore...

Fortune in love, destiny, coincidences, and the joy of being together... anyway, there was no escaping from Makoto Amano's side.

"I..."

Ah-choo~

The drenched girl sneezed cutely.

Although she didn't want to care about anything anymore, still...

It was a bit embarrassing...

Wearing a boy's jacket, the girl's face turned slightly red.

———