Today was the same as usual—Yukino didn't drive her own car, but instead went to college together with Utaha in Ichin's car.
After parking, Utaha said to Ichin as she got out, "Ichin, remember to come find us after class. You promised you'd keep us company in the library today. The exams are in just a couple of days."
It was the final semester of their third year. Starting Wednesday would be the final exams, and once those were over, it would be spring break.
When April came around, Ichin and Utaha would officially be fourth-year students.
Ichin smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten."
These past few days, he really had been a bit lax with his studies. This was a good chance to properly review in the library and prepare for the exams.
They each headed to their respective classrooms. When Ichin arrived at his, he noticed that the atmosphere in the class was different from usual.
Thinking about it, that made sense. These were the last exams of their third year—everyone was taking them seriously. It wouldn't be funny at all to mess up at a time like this.
Finding a seat toward the back, Ichin took out his textbook while chatting with a couple of classmates about the new Ultraman movie.
"You watched it too, Ichin?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I saw it yesterday with a bunch of people. Come to think of it, I even ran into a few fans of my company's games at the theater. That was pretty interesting."
"What about you guys? Did you see it too? Which theater did you go to? Maybe it was the same one."
"We went to Shinjuku."
"Ah, then it wasn't the same," Ichin said with a laugh. "We went to Shibuya."
"This movie was really good, though. It's just that two hours felt way too tight. If it had been half an hour longer, the overall experience would've been much better."
Ichin agreed with that assessment. "With several monsters appearing and multiple plotlines developing within just two hours, there really wasn't enough time. But that couldn't be helped. As it is, it's already pretty good. And judging by how it ended, if the box office does well, there should be a sequel."
Although there was also Anno's new Kamen Rider coming up, Ichin felt that, as a die-hard tokusatsu fan—and especially a hardcore Return of Ultraman fan—Anno probably wouldn't be satisfied with making just one film. He would definitely want to continue it.
If he could keep making them, that would naturally be the best outcome. Ichin was really looking forward to seeing how Anno would carry on the story after this ending.
Would the second movie really go straight into Return of Ultraman?
Thinking about it carefully, that actually seemed quite possible.
However, the class bell rang at that moment, leaving Ichin no room to keep thinking about such random things. He needed to focus on the lecture.
After the morning classes ended, Ichin met up with Utaha and Yukino and had lunch with them.
In the afternoon, he naturally didn't go to the company. Instead, he went with Utaha to accompany Yukino to one of her major courses.
Law courses really were complicated. Even though Ichin had a basic understanding and occasionally flipped through a few of Yukino's specialized books, listening to the lecture still made his head hurt.
Sigh… better to go back later and watch some anime instead. Those were more relaxing and suited him better.
After the class ended, the three of them headed to the library and began their self-study session for the day.
Finding an empty seat, Ichin took out his review books and said, "It's been a long time since I've been to the library. And after today, it's already break."
Utaha smiled. "Ichin, you won't mess up the finals, right?"
"Don't worry. There's no way I'll crash and burn," Ichin said calmly as he opened his book. "Even without reviewing, I could still pass. I just don't want my grades to look too ugly."
That was true. Even if he hadn't studied at all for the entire semester, Ichin was still confident he could score above the passing line.
But doing that would be a bit too much. He still cared about his grades, so he definitely needed to prepare properly.
Once they started reviewing, the three of them stopped chatting and immediately immersed themselves in their own work.
However, after about half an hour, Ichin heard Yukino to his left let out a soft yawn.
He turned his head and saw a hint of drowsiness on Yukino's face.
"Sleepy?"
Yukino shook her head. "No, I'm just a little tired. That's normal at this time."
It was already two thirty in the afternoon, and with the library's air-conditioning running, the warmth made it especially easy to feel sleepy.
Just glancing around, one could easily spot quite a few students sprawled over their desks, fast asleep.
There was nothing to be done—libraries were simply places that made people drowsy.
With a smile, Ichin gently ruffled Yukino's hair and said to her, "If you're sleepy, don't force yourself. Take a nap for a bit. Even just an hour—getting your energy back is more important."
At that moment, Utaha leaned over from the other side and looked at Yukino. "That's right. If you're tired, just sleep for a while. In the end, it's all Ichin's fault—he kept bothering you all night."
After shooting Utaha a glare, Ichin directly took the book in front of Yukino and closed it.
"Alright. Whether you can fall asleep or not, take a break first. I'll go out later to buy you some coffee. For now, just rest properly."
Though she didn't really want to, Yukino was indeed quite sleepy. She nodded, rubbed her eyes, and rested her head on the desk.
Within just a few minutes, her breathing became steady—it was obvious she was drifting off.
After taking a look, Ichin picked up the coat Yukino had taken off earlier and hung on the back of her chair, then gently draped it over her.
Even with the air-conditioning on, it was still easy to catch a chill after sleeping.
Turning to the right, Ichin asked softly, "Aren't you sleepy?"
"Not at all~~"
Utaha replied with a smile as she flipped through her book. "After all, there's one more person helping me share the load now. And Yukino is the type who likes to push herself. Didn't you notice I went to bed early last night?"
"…"
That actually did seem to be the case.
"Wait, don't tell me you even—because of that—"
"Hehe, not really. That was just an unexpected side effect." Utaha raised her finger and lightly poked Ichin's cheek, looking at him as she said, "Ichin, don't overthink things. Just focus on how to treat me and Yukino well."
Helplessly catching Utaha's finger, Ichin kissed her palm lightly and nodded.
"Alright, I'll listen to you."
After exchanging a few more whispered words, Ichin and Utaha returned to their books.
Another half an hour passed, and it was now three thirty. Feeling the timing was about right, Ichin said something to Utaha and got up to go out and buy some coffee.
Yukino, on the other hand, was quite disciplined. Just five or six minutes after Ichin left, she woke up.
She had said she'd sleep for an hour, and it really was just about that long.
Groggily sitting up, Yukino then noticed that there was an extra piece of clothing draped over her.
Turning her head, she found herself facing Utaha, who was holding her phone aimed straight at her.
Click.
The sound of the shutter echoed softly.
---
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