Vol 2 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter 1 - She Loves Vanilla Ice Cream

Arghh…

Again I stoppedout a yawn near the end of the fourth lesson

Today’s weather was oddly good Looking through the s to the court, I could see the snow piled up yesterday night reflecting the white afternoon sunlight

The court, in the s, hite and plain, covered with snow, no one to be seen there

But there were clearly a pair of footprints on the plain snow ground

These footprints lead to a girl asn’t wearing a uniform

Uh?

“Hey”

Kitagawa, sitting behind me, poked my back with a mechanical pencil

“Aizawa, you’ve noticed that person there as well?”

“Yeah”

“That girl has been standing there for a while She just stood there as still as a doll”

“Is she asleep?”

Kitagawa’s head drooped

“Hey, do you really think that someone would sleep with that posture?”

“Perhaps this person would”

I pointed to my cousin Nayuki beside me as in deep sleep

“…Maybe you’re right”

Kitagwa agreed, kind of speechless I should have known, after living for several days with my cousin, that she always fell asleep, the parade of her alar proved to be of no avail; and when she was sleepy, she would close her eyes with a “ku” sound, even while she was eating or talking

“There aren’t so irl’s weird on a different level”

“Say, it’s cold even when the sun’s up She’d be gone soon”

“Hm, perhaps”

Noticing our conversation, the teacher eyed at us, and we thus stopped talking Still, I often looked out through the , restless and worried

The girl still stood there, waiting

Her apparent sth hair, and a warm cape on her shoulders that embraced this body

I probably knoho this girl was

The bell for the end of the fourth lesson rang

The girl at the court could have heard it too, as she see

I was right

I had seen this girl

She was the girl I met with Ayu yesterday e lost our way

To head out to the court, I must open the heavy door at the end of the corridor

The door wasn’t locked, but in this cold weather, even freaks wouldn’t want to head out

That being said, though, I rejected Nayuki’s and Kitagawa’s offer to eat at the cafeteria and opened that frozen steel door

Immediately the cold air outside assaulted me Gahh, cold I rubbed my hands for warmth and looked around

I got her

Alone airl blended in as her skin was as white as snow

It was only a coincidence that I hadattached to the girl

I was still worried of her fear and loss then when the stuff in her bag fell out and was picked up by someone else

But I didn’t kno to strike a conversation with her, so I just raised my hand

“Hey”

“…eh”

The girl turned around to face hts up her small face From the colour of her skin and her iris I could tell she didn’t dye theertips that held her cape hite and s off a dreamy aura

I stood in front of her silently, struck by the i, she would hence vanish

Shortly after, the girl smiled

“What are you doing here?”

“What I a…”

Seeing her smile and talk, I followed the topic she started

“I saw someone suspicious in the court, so I came here to check”

“Really? Thanks”

The girl gave a polite and formal bow

“I didn’t see anyone of that sort”

“That person’s right here”

I pointed to that girl

“Me?”

She placed her fingers on her lips and titled her head

“Why? I’m a student here”

Of course she had told me she was a student yesterday

“Then why are you standing here in your casual clothes?”

“Because I’m absent today”

“That’s just skipping school”

“This isn’t”

The girl sain

“I have been on leave for so worse lately”

“I see”

Her condition irl evoked, so I just nodded

“But I got out of bed today to meet someone”

“Is this person in this school?”

The girl sh

“May I knohat sickness that is?”

“Okay”

The girl lowered her head I pondered whether I should have asked, but the girl quickly stated her ansith a smile

“It’s a cold”

“…”

“What? Why do you look so drained all of a sudden?”

“Nothing”

I just thought it would have been so more serious

“Would it sound better if I contract so more serious?”

“Oh, of course not”

Her correct guess of what I thought threw me into a little panic

“Well, it can be said as an influenza”

“You don’t have to refer to with a harder term”

Drained, in some other level, I wanted to sit down, but not in the snow Glancing around, I found a bench used for fencing the flowers I shoved away the snow on top of it and invited the girl to sit with me

“Speaking of which, we haven’t yet introduced ourselves”

“Right I’m Aizawa”

“Yuichi-kun, right?”

“How did you know my name?”

“Because that’s how that girl called you yesterday”

“You have such a good memory”

The girl’s face became red

“As you say, I actually have a good memory”

“It’s enviable”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and…”

I’m Misaka shi+ori”

“Misaka?”

I had heard of this surnaly inapt ability of res I couldn’t tell where I had heard of it

“Is it some weird surname?”

shi+ori looked at my face with unease

“Of course not”

“Have I made Yuichi-senpai tired or dissatisfied?”

“It’s nothing at all”

She presented herself different froued to talk with her

“So, um…”

“Please call me shi+ori”

“Yes, shi+ori Aren’t you hungry?”

“Shall we have lunch together?” invited I

After severalin confusion

I opened the heavy door again to the court Having gone indoors, I had to get used to the cold outside once again, feeling as cold as the first ti

shi+ori aiting for me at the same place

She accepted my lunch invitation, but…

“It’s cold here Why don’t we get inside? If you’re worried soht see you not in your unifor”

shi+ori shook her head to estion

“I like this place”

“You like this place? Don’t you have a cold? It’ll become more serious if you stick around here Besides, you’ve been here even before the lunch break”

“Yuichi-senpai, have you been looking at me all the time?”

“This doesn’t matter!”

Probably to excuse my embarrassment, I asked shi+ori what she wanted to eat so I could buy and take them here

A while later, I did get what she wanted

“Have you bought it?”

shi+ori greeted me happily

“Yes But are you really fine with only this?”

I handed it to her, re my doubt

“Thanks”

shi+ori took it with her slender hands

“It’s really the vanilla one Wonderful!”

“…”

“Yuichi-senpai, you’re upset again Do you want to eat ice cream too?”

“No”

I just couldn’t figure the mindset of someone ould want to eat ice cream as lunch outdoors in this cold season

“I’?”

shi+ori said with a singing tone, opened the cover to the vanilla, scraped a spoon of sold white ice cream, and stuffed it into her mouth

“Yummy”

The spoon still in her mouth, she squinted in joy

Sitting beside her, I re a bite of my tuna sandwich

“My body feels cold just fro at it”

“Really?”

shi+ori attacked her ice crea it in her mouth The white ice cream damped her soft, open lips

“Yuichi-senpai, do you hate ice cream?”

“I don’t hate it, but it depends on the weather”

“Ice cream is my favourite I can eat it all day”

“Well, I think it won’t be nasty”

I wouldn’t take responsible, though, if her cold worsened

“So, take a bite”

Without hesitation, shi+ori scooped a spoon of ice cream with the spoon she used and handed it over

If I ate this, I would be having an indirect kiss despite knowing her for only a while Still, the white stuff in front of me puffed white smoke

“To be honest, my doctor told me to stay away from ice cream”

I rejected her indirect kissing offer, a bit regretfully…No, I rejected her ice cream

“I see”

shi+ori nodded intently and stuffed the ice cream into her mouth

“shi+ori, don’t you feel bad fro cold stuff here?”

“My doctor didn’t tell me to stay away from ice cream”

Sure, normal doctors wouldn’t expect their patients to eat ice cream outdoors in the winter

I stole a glance at her

“Yuichi-senpai, your doctor wouldn’t blame you for one small bite”

shi+ori insisted that I wanted to eat ice cream

I wanted to heed to her lengthy explanation and try a bite, but the sole thought of the icy cold seeping into my teeth deterred me

“I decide to listen to my doctor”

“Yuichi-senpai, you got my appreciation”

shi+ori spoke as if touched, and sent another spoon of ice cream into her mouth

“It’s very good”