Chapter 512: Directions-Challenged

Chapter 512: Directions-Challenged

Yukinoshita walked ahead first. After taking a few steps, she didn’t hear any footsteps following her, so she turned around. She saw Himekoji still standing dumbfounded in the same spot. It was pretty amusing, and she felt a sneaky little sense of satisfaction at this, though none of these feelings showed on her face.

“Let’s go.”

She called out softly to Himekoji. On the noisy street, Himekoji automatically filtered out other sounds. He matched the shape of the girl’s mouth to understand the words. Only after confirming it was correct did he snap back to reality. His eyes brightened, a smile spread across his face, and he stepped forward quickly to catch up.

At some point, walking side by side had become a natural thing. They never deliberately moved closer, nor did they deliberately keep their distance.

They happened to encounter roadwork on the street. Safety barriers blocked one side, making it crowded. The bustling crowd jostled. Occasionally, groups of classmates walking home after school chattered and laughed noisily as they pushed past the two. To avoid them, they ended up moving closer to each other.

The tips of their fingers or backs of their hands brushed occasionally, and both immediately pulled away as if electrocuted. On the surface, though, they both remained expressionless.

When they reached a wider section of the road, they forgot to separate again.

Neither spoke. This quietness didn’t feel oppressive; instead, it felt strangely pleasant and enjoyable.

If possible, Himekoji wouldn’t mind walking like this forever.

Sadly, they couldn’t. And the reason they couldn’t left Himekoji not sure whether to laugh or cry–

There was no road ahead.

The two of them had walked into a dead-end alley.

At that moment, Himekoji finally remembered his companion’s deeply hidden, directions-challenged attribute.

“You…”

He started to speak first, but she beat him to it.

“As I thought… I shouldn’t have let you walk me home.”

Yukinoshita turned her slightly flushed cheek away, hiding it from Himekoji. She was quite sensitive, and it seemed she planned to blame getting lost on Himekoji.

This wasn’t usually like her; she was famously fair and clear about right and wrong. But in front of Himekoji, in that particular atmosphere, her competitive spirit made it hard to back down.

No, maybe it wasn’t just competitive spirit. That feeling was more private, more subtle, more ambiguous, more complicated… and more feminine.

Maybe just a few words could describe it. Or maybe a thousand words wouldn’t be enough.

When she spoke, she actually felt a bit guilty and uneasy. Very few things made Yukinoshita feel like that. Luckily, Himekoji was basically in the same state.

Blamed unfairly by Yukinoshita first, Himekoji was all set to take the blame willingly. He didn’t immediately argue back verbally, but he couldn’t help starting to wonder–

Who had actually been leading the way when they walked side by side?

Thinking it over, Himekoji understood: it couldn’t possibly have been him.

He knew the roads around the school fairly well. Mashiro had gotten lost many times. Every time he went to find that idiot, he got more familiar with the routes. He wouldn’t claim he could walk them with his eyes closed, but with his eyes open, he certainly wouldn’t walk into a dead end.

Also, he was walking Yukinoshita home. He didn’t know the way to her house, so guiding them wasn’t up to him.

The only thing he hadn’t expected was that even Yukinoshita herself could get confused on the way to her own home. It didn’t match her usually meticulous and clever image. But this occasional forgetfulness could be considered cute, maybe an adorable contrast, or just plain dorky?

Anyway, since Yukinoshita was pretty, it was forgivable no matter how many times she got lost. Himekoji willingly took the blame.

Of course, thinking about it later, he felt a bit regretful. If he had insisted on exposing Yukinoshita, labeling her directions-challenged, he might have seen her embarrassed and flustered. He imagined it would have been really cute.

But he was a father now, and facing the mother of his child, Himekoji resisted this particular mischievous urge.

…

After that, Yukinoshita kept calling Himekoji the main culprit responsible for them getting lost. Then, pretending to be perfectly calm, she walked ahead authoritatively. Taking away Himekoji’s right to choose any path, she led him around in a dictator’s fashion, only to walk from one dead-end alley into another dead-end alley…

Yukinoshita wasn’t one to accept losses easily. But the current situation was pretty awkward for her. She found it hard to keep her composure, and her steps got faster and faster.

Himekoji found it quite amusing watching her from behind, but he didn’t say anything. He let her be. He didn’t feel bored at all as they circled around the alleys. He secretly watched the girl’s well-proportioned, graceful figure and back. In his mind, he was figuring out how and when to bring up the subject of their child.

Anyway, now was definitely not the time.

The atmosphere between them was subtly harmonious, a perfect feeling. Himekoji couldn’t bear to break it.

Maybe Yukinoshita held some affection for him too?

He wouldn’t have dared think that way before, but now he had to. He thought about it – a bit narcissistically, but also lacking some confidence.

…

Without noticing, the sky darkened. The alley was old, with no streetlights installed. Probably never in the city’s plans; perhaps the alley would be abandoned and demolished soon.

In the dimness, the path became harder to walk. There were a few potholes scattered around. Yukinoshita was rushing to find the way out and didn’t look down to notice. But Himekoji was being careful.

After all, she was also pregnant. To Himekoji, Yukinoshita was invaluable at this moment. He could no longer let the girl flounder blindly on these little paths. He stepped forward and took her hand.

“This way.”

The correct path was exactly opposite to the direction Yukinoshita had chosen.

“Since I was the one who got us in here by taking the wrong way,” Himekoji said calmly, coming to her rescue, “then… umm… how we got back out… well, probably only the main culprit here has any idea about the way back.”

Himekoji acted completely natural. Yukinoshita’s expression, however, seemed to shift strangely for a moment. She blinked, her slim lips pressing tight.

Letting Himekoji lead her this way and that gave her a dazed feeling.

Maybe it was because she was directions-challenged?

Born without a sense of direction, so she got confused, so she felt uneasy, so she felt awkward.

The hand Himekoji wasn’t holding, she hid behind her back. It clenched, released, clenched, and released.

The hand being held felt like it wasn’t hers anymore, losing strength, becoming soft, wrapped in Himekoji’s warm palm.

Would it be better to snatch it back quickly?

That Himekoji pervert was definitely taking advantage of her, right? Absolutely!

These thoughts flashed through her mind, and then she wanted to act on them. She tried to exert strength, but the hand wouldn’t obey her.

“Le-let go…”

In the end, she had to speak up, both ashamed and annoyed.

But when her voice came out, she startled herself. Its tone was strangely delicate, nothing like her usual self.

“I can walk myself!”

So, she hastily added, finally managing to summon her usual cool and calm demeanor in the urgency. She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yeah.”

Himekoji didn’t overthink it and nodded in agreement.

He had taken Yukinoshita’s hand earlier because the road was bumpy, and he was afraid she might twist her ankle. Now, the path was flat again, so that concern was no longer needed.

Himekoji released her hand promptly. Yukinoshita, however, froze for a moment.

Suddenly, she wondered if she had said too much.

She shouldn’t have said that.

…

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