Early morning. The sky had only just begun to lighten. Curled up in her blankets, Utaha sat up groggily, mumbling "Gotta get up..." before her eyes were even open.
Still looking thoroughly sleepy, her hair a messy bird's nest, she reluctantly pulled her long legs out of the warm futon. Reaching for the hairband on her nightstand, she casually plopped it onto her disheveled hair.
Grabbing her fully charged phone from beside her pillow, she shuffled into her slippers and padded sleepily into the bathroom.
Casually tossing her phone onto the sink counter, she was about to pick up her toothbrush when she glanced in the mirror. The next second, the first thing she saw was her own reflection... specifically, her "giant panda-style" dark circles.
"Oh no!" Instantly wide awake, she frantically rummaged through her pile of cosmetics for concealer.
Today was her first day walking to school with Miyahito.
No matter what, she absolutely could not let him see her looking this terrible.
Mou! If only I'd gone to bed earlier last night! Desperately dabbing concealer onto her frighteningly dark circles, Utaha mentally cursed herself for not sleeping sooner.
Then again.
In reality, she'd gotten into bed right after drying her hair, before ten PM.
However, "preparing to sleep" was one thing.
She had severely underestimated how anxious and excited the promise of "walking to school together" would make her.
It was just like an elementary schooler who found out about a field trip the next day.
Throughout the entire night, Utaha hadn't slept for a single second. She tossed and turned, restless.
Complaining the AC wasn't cool enough, she'd get up to lower the temperature, then wrestle with her velvet blanket.
Finding the pillow uncomfortable, she'd toss it aside, only to complain the mattress was too hard, and sheepishly fish the pillow back up.
Back and forth, from past ten PM until just now, she hadn't gotten a single moment of proper rest.
Which directly resulted in dark circles so heavy... she actually had to break out the concealer she rarely, almost never used.
"Crap!"
Just as she finished applying the concealer to cover her puffy eye bags, Utaha suddenly remembered.
She hadn't... washed her face yet.
Wait, she hadn't even brushed her teeth before putting concealer on her face.
Looking like she wanted to cry but couldn't, Utaha turned her miserable face toward the phone on the counter.
`5:43`
Hmm. If I hurry, I can still make it!
....
Downstairs at the apartment.
`6:00`
Wearing his summer short-sleeve uniform and carrying his backpack, Miyahito checked his phone time and silently slipped it back into his pocket.
I came too early....
Looking around the quiet street, he shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.
He wasn't a kid anymore.
Yet here he was, a high schooler, doing something as silly as "agreeing to walk to school with a classmate, then running to her building before dawn to wait like an idiot."
"Seriously, am I some elementary schooler going on a field trip tomorrow?" Muttering at his own foolishness, he took a small step back.
Leaning his back against the roadside railing, he pulled out his phone and logged into his "Miyani" Twitter account for the first time in a while.
Quietly scrolling through Twitter while waiting to see if Utaha was awake yet.
Just then.
A post from the highly popular doujin circle "rouge en rouge," run by Akane, instantly caught his eye.
[Directed by Kosaka Akane, Music by Miyani. The "Mechanical Crown" anime will premiere on July 11th. Stay tuned.]
[Image]
The photo showed him and Akane shaking hands, though neither of their faces were visible.
But that wasn't the focus of the photo.
It was the book in the photo: a cover featuring a girl in a sailor uniform smiling under a sunset, with the title Love's Metronome Vol. 3, by Kasumi Utako.
Swiping down to the comments section, Miyahito read through the replies.
[Why this novel again? How many times has it appeared in photos related to Miyani-sensei?]
[Does anyone know what novel is in the photo?!]
[Do you think Miyani got paid by Shinobu Publishing? Why is he recommending this book every day? Is it really that good?]
[OP! I suggest you buy a copy and read it. Kasumi Utako-sensei's work is seriously good! Highly recommend!]
[Looks like Miyani-sensei really likes Kasumi Utako's works.]
[Hehe, I heard Kasumi Utako is a beautiful girl. Could Miyani-sensei be pursuing her?]
[Impossible! Miyani belongs to all of us! Shinobu must be threatening him! Let's all boycott Shinobu! Boycott Love's Metronome!]
[This person's a hater! Don't listen to her! Miyani hates this kind of behavior the most! Where's the account manager? Delete this comment ASAP.]
Seeing this, Miyahito silently liked the comment calling out the hate and asking the admin to delete it.
This instantly hyped up the fans who noticed Miyani's like.
The comment section instantly grew even more lively.
Seeing this, helplessly, Miyahito decided to post a comment as Miyani.
[Miyani: HIGHLY! RECOMMEND! Everyone to read Love's Metronome! After reading it, you might just think, "Why not go fall in love?" So, what are you waiting for! Minasan!]
After posting, Miyahito immediately closed Twitter.
Of course, before closing Twitter, he didn't forget to disable his account's direct message function. After all, Miyahito had absolutely no intention of reliving the inbox explosion that followed his "I still prefer the long-haired you" post.
"In that case, Shinobu Publishing," Miyahito murmured softly, turning to lean against the roadside railing as he watched the sparse pedestrians on the opposite side of the street. "Utaha's career should run smoothly from here on out, right?"
Just then.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miyahito-kun."
Hearing the gentle voice beside him, Miyahito turned around.
That single glance felt like crossing countless dimensions.
His dark eyes reflected the figure outside the apartment gates: hair cascading like a waterfall over a pure white hairband, and a delicate face wearing a radiant, blooming smile.
"Good morning."
Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled, greeting Aragaki Miyahito.
Unconsciously, a curve of pure happiness graced his lips. He smiled back.
"Good morning."
"Utaha."
The girl I love.
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