Delivery Boy and Masked Girl - A delivery boy discovers the secret of a beautiful gal at his delivery destination.

"Hello Everyone! Please support me by donating on ko-fi! "

Dark Streets And Determination.

“Uwaa!! As expected, it’s all dark.”

“It’s a bit later than I thought it would be…”

Haruomi, Minai, and Shizuki walked through the front door and I saw the three of them off.

However, they had talked after dinner, and as Minai had said, it was quite dark around the house.

“Yuuga, I’ll take Minai-chan home, can you take care of Shizuki-san?”

“….That’s true. Okay.”

Me and Haruomi nodded to each other and split into two.

Minai and Haruomi’s houses are in the same direction, but Shizuki’s location is a little off.

If I were to send her off, I should probably go with her rather than Haruomi.

“You don’t have to… It’s okay…. Don’t bother yourself.”

“Don’t be afraid to ask for a walk home, Shizuki.”

“Yep, You might get lost again.”

“M-Mou~ Senba-kun!”

That’s what I meant.
Well, that’s not the only reason.

“See you later, you two! See you tomorrow!”

“Yeah! Take care, Minai-san!”

“All good! No worries! I can beat Senba-kun even if he attacks me.”

“No, I should watch out for you.”

Haruomi and Nanai seemed completely at ease and walked away laughing together.

I knew it was obvious, but I knew those two were good together, in more ways than one.

“….Then, Hasumi-kun. Let’s go?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”
After answering that, we started walking side by side.

Shizuki, who was wearing a little light clothing for a winter night, was hugging her shoulder, looking cold.

“Here, put this on.”
I said, taking off my own jacket and offering it to Shizuki.
I had put on an extra layer of clothing for such a situation.

“Thanks…”

“It’s okay. If you catch another cold, it will be a terrible thing.”

“…I guess so.”

Shizuki was then silent for a bit.
As it was, she put her hand on his chest, exhaled a slow white breath, and turned to me.

“It was… tiring.”

“I suppose….”

I noticed that Shizuki’s mood had changed.
This is the quiet Shizuki I usually see when I make deliveries.

“How do I put it…. that was awkward, after all?”

I was going to ask her that, but I was at a loss for words.
I was struck by an indescribable sense of embarrassment.
I was so embarrassed. I’m an idiot.

“? No, it was not awkward at all. Senba and Minai are both very nice people.”

“Really? But you looked a little tormented back then ….didn’t you?”

“….Ahhh…. Eh…. Ehehehe~… Yes. Just a little.”

“…I see.”

Even as she said it, Shizuki looked unexpectedly refreshed.

It was kind of anticlimactic, or rather, I felt as if I had been shrugged off.

“But it was really just a little bit. When she asked me about my lover and told me I was an earnest person, I got in trouble.”
Shizuki was giggling despite her words.

“Were you alright with the situation, Hasumi-kun?”

“…what?”

“Mouu~~ Hasumi-kun was acting strange too. I noticed it too, you know.”

“…It was nothing.”

It was a lie.
But I had no idea she had seen through it.
I thought Shizuki didn’t even have that kind of perception…

“….I know. Hasumi-kun, you think it was your fault, don’t you?”

“….”

“I know you think that the reason I had a hard time is because you invited me to the study group. I wondered why you looked so gloomy, but after that you just said, okay.”

“…That’s…”

I was so beaten that there was not a single point of denial.

Perhaps I had been so worried about Shizuki that I hadn’t given much thought to how she felt about me.

“I’m glad you feel that way, but I was the one who said I would join, so don’t worry about that. …and besides, I’m used to acting.”

“….”

Shizuki’s dry laugh made the cold night air shiver.
I couldn’t answer anything, so I just looked forward.

“…Hasumi-kun.”

“….”

“….I guess I worried you, Hasumi-kun.”

“…..”

“I actually really enjoyed myself today. I never thought I would enjoy this much.”

“….Yeah.”

“Fufu. It may be the first time I had so much fun. Both Senba-kun and Minami-san are interesting and good people.”

Shizuki looked somewhat strange as she said this.

She was neither smiling nor sad, but bore an expression I had never seen before.

“Also… Senba-kun is amazing.”

“Haruomi? Why?”

“He was always so open, no matter what people around him thought of him. He didn’t seem to mind at all when he heard bad rumours about himself.”

“…I see.”

“Minami-san, too, seems very relaxed and …acts honestly with herself. …And so do you, Hasumi-kun. Even if you are seen reading shoujo manga in class, even if you have no friends and are alone all the time, you don’t care what people think of him and act ….like yourself. Compared to that… I am…”

“……”

Shizuki put her fist on her chest as if she had made up her mind to do something.
Though, I already knew what she was going to say.

“…Hasumi-kun, I need to talk to you about something….!”
Shizuki stopped.

She turned around and looked at me, determined and then a little fear on her face.