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A day before Obon, in a dojo tucked away in a corner of the city…

“…Phew, there, all done!!” The cute voice of a girl echoed from the closed dojo out into the calm neighborhood.

“Mhm, mhm, it’s all squeaky clean now… Mmmhh… ahhh…”

Inside, a white-haired girl nodded to herself, satisfied with the work she had done that morning. She was Kou.

Her final task had been to clean and polish the dojo’s floor, which she’d been working on since noon and had just finished. Now, released from her duties, she stretched to loosen her joints while letting out a concerning whimper.

She wasn’t wearing anything glamorous—just a pair of tracksuit pants and a t-shirt, which had become wrinkled and upturned from all the movement, exposing her narrow hips and nicely shaped navel. Sadly, there was no one else in the room to see that.

The doors were wide open to let out the dust, which also allowed a fresh breeze to flow in, passing underneath her damp shirt and letting her enjoy the sensation of sweat drying. At the same time, she looked over her work and nodded, pleased with herself.

Then again, the dojo wasn’t very large—only big enough to fit a handful of pupils—and it wasn’t even in use anymore. There were no glue stains to scrub, and the place was ventilated often, so no mold had grown. All Kou had to do was wipe the floor with a wet cloth to finish the job.

On the other hand…

“It’s so damn hot…”
“Ah, Subaru, are you done too?”

Just as Kou was starting to hold the edges of her shirt to let even more wind in, Subaru entered the room, his voice a ghastly groan.

He had taken on the more strenuous jobs—cutting weeds, trimming the lawn, and fixing roof shingles. He quickly pulled off his sweat-drenched shirt and walked over to a nearby tap to let cool water run over his head.

One might think it crude to act like that around a girl, but there was no one else around to call him out—and he’d known Kou for as long as he could remember, so she wasn’t bothered at all. But there was a bigger issue…

“Kou… should you really be doing that now that you’re a girl?”
“And what do you want me to do? I’ve got way more clothes soaking up sweat than a simple shirt like you.”

Subaru was looking at Kou, who had sat down near the entrance and shoved her hands into her shirt, adjusting something inside to expose more of her skin to the breeze. He didn’t know whether to be baffled or shocked that she was doing that so casually, and looked away awkwardly.

It was hard to tell whether the redness on his face was from the heat… or something else. There were times when Subaru found it hard to remain indifferent toward Kou, but that was something she still hadn’t realized.

“Kou, Subaru, thank you again for everything. I’ve left some barley tea and watermelon for you on the veranda—go help yourselves.”
“Ah, thank you!”
“Really appreciate it. We’ll be there in a bit.”

The dojo master’s daughter, a woman already somewhat advanced in age, called out to them from a distance, and the two replied.

“I’m still a bit shocked… I didn’t think the master’s family would adapt to the news so easily.”
“…Auntie Amari did say it was okay to tell them, and somehow they didn’t even bat an eye seeing how you changed.”

Before leaving, Amari had told them, “I’ve spoken with them already, so just go and introduce yourself as Kou.” And when they got there and Kou did just that, the master’s daughter simply said, “Aww, you’ve become really cute,” in an oddly delighted voice.

Her husband had just watched from a distance with a quiet, resigned look.

It was almost as if that old couple were already used to seeing boys turned into girls—something that left both Kou and Subaru quietly baffled.

◇◇◇

With most of the work done, the two headed to the shade of the main residence, to the veranda the master’s daughter had mentioned. The old couple was there too, taking a smoke break (colloquially known as snack time in a certain region of Tohoku).

“Kou, can I ask something?”
“Mmgh? Whashizzit?”
“You know, tomorrow’s ohakamairi, so that means you’ll be going on a date with my sister the day after tomorrow, right?”
“…GRBGH?!”

Kou’s small mouth had been battling a large cut of bright red watermelon, and when Subaru asked that, she choked and spat everything out, coughing violently.

“How… wha… why…”
“You’re wondering how I know that? I mean, I saw Hijiri rummaging through her clothes while happily humming, ‘I’ll go on a date with Kou~ I’ll go on a date with Kou~'”
“Ahh… urghhh…”
“And I mean, your mind’s been wandering since the night of the fireworks, and you keep making dumb mistakes in DUO. At first, I thought you were just exhausted from the event, but by now I can tell there’s something more.”
“I. Am. Really. Sorry…”

As Subaru explained, Kou’s face rapidly cycled from bright red to pale, then red again… and so on. Eventually, she dropped to her knees and gave a stiff apology, before pleading: “Umm… Subaru… could you… could you help me pick what clothes to wear that day?”

“Sure thing. I already figured that’s what was bothering you.”

Kou was going on a date with Hijiri—just the two of them. She had never done anything like that before, and her mind had been tormenting her over what to wear. It had even gotten to the point of affecting her performance in DUO.

Subaru had read her like a book. Knowing his childhood friend was utterly helpless in this situation, he felt he had no choice but to step in and help her figure out the right outfit.

Hearing his response, Kou felt genuinely grateful from the bottom of her heart for having such a dependable childhood friend.

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