21. The break time of the two

"Here you go, Fujita."

"Thank you..."

After showing an embarrassing side of me, Shibata and I sat on a park bench near the movie theater where we had just seen the movie.

Handing me a can, I felt its warmth contrasting the autumn breeze.

Sipping the contents, I realized rather belatedly what she had offered me.

"Milk coffee?"

Hearing my statement, Shibata's body seemed to stiffen.

"Don't you like it...?"

"No, not at all... But why this choice?"

Shibata lowered his gaze.

Her hands were together, moving her thumb and forefinger together as if she was trying to relieve the pressure of the question I had just asked her.

"I saw that you sometimes got it at the school's vending machine..."

"..."

Why do I always forget that she is a stalker...?

"... and you seemed particularly tired today."

"..."

... Why is this stalker so attentive?

Letting out a sigh, I admitted my condition.

"... Sorry, I didn't want to give you the impression that I was tired although you were excited about today."

"... Huh!? What gives you that impression!?"

... Damn.

It must be fatigue that's making me talk more than usual.

"You know, it's really cold today, isn't it?"

"..."

It hurts.

That inquisitive look you're giving me hurts, Shibata.

Even if I wanted to run away, your arm wrapping around mine wouldn't let me.

... Why do I feel like I'm letting something go that I shouldn't ...?

With no other alternative, I had to confess my observations.

"You put a different polish on your nails than usual, making them shinier. The makeup on your face is much more taken care of (to hide the dark circles under your eyes)..."

"Why do I feel like I heard a part you didn't say...?"

"It's your imagination."

Shibata is scary, she can read inside the parentheses!

"And finally..."

Giving a forced smile, I confronted her.

"Your choice of clothes is just copied from the latest issue of a fashion magazine, 'what to wear on a date' section "

As if I had guessed right, Shibata's face immediately turned red beet.

"I don't know what you're talking about...!"

Looking away, I could feel Shibata's body trembling.

It would have been easy to say that I was wrong since the variety of clothes out there is vast, but it just so happens that I "accidentally" flipped through a certain fashion magazine while I was at my job at the bookstore and saw the exact same items that Shibata is now wearing.

... And the fact that she still had the price tag on her coat (which I have already sneakely removed).

... I wonder how little confidence she has in her choice of clothing for relying on a fashion magazine, but thinking back, I had last seen her in an anime-style girl's T-shirt as she walked around her house.

If I had seen her like that for this morning....

"Ouch!"

I felt a pinch in my side.

"Why do I get the impression that you're having rude thoughts...?"

With her cheeks puffed out, Shibata was clearly angry with me, but the shade of embarrassment was still there.

"It's just your impression!"

In addition to a stalker, did she now become a telepath?

Thinking how I could dispell this heavy atmosphere, I felt my arm taken hostage by Shibata tighten as if to demand my attention.

"... Doesn't it suit me...?"

"... Huh?"

"... You haven't told me what you think of my outfit today..."

"...Ah"

It was at that moment that I realized that I had not yet expressed my opinion.

In fact, I knew full well that Shibata already had an idea of what I thought, but it was also true that I had not yet put it into words.

It was useless to say a long-winded compliment, nor would a simple praise be enough to excuse me.

"... It looks lovely on you."

"... Heheh. You look great too, Fujita."

With an unfair smile, Shibata was back to normal.

... Why is the normality me being teased of embarassment...?