I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

"That's true."

Kaori nodded with a wry smile.

Ogasawara is right. No one is without fatigue during this period. Whether before the training camp or after arriving here for intensive training, the joy of the regional tournament's stage victory did not last long. Instead, it brought more pressure and an indescribable sense of responsibility. The gold medal in the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament was just the beginning, which is the conclusion that everyone agrees on.

"Can't you sleep well at night either?"

Kiyoshi's tone sounded rather urgent. Having often slept with Asuka since childhood, she knew that Asuka was a person with very good sleep quality.

"Hmm... I think I heard her talking in her sleep last night... she didn't seem to be sleeping very soundly."

"Why didn't I hear Asuka talking in her sleep?"

"Haruka, you're sleeping so soundly..."

“Is that so…” Kiyoyori frowned, his inner turmoil growing stronger. “I’d appreciate it if you two could take good care of Asuka these next few days.”

"It's alright," Kaori waved her hand awkwardly, looking away from Kiyori's sincere eyes. "Asuka has always been our friend."

With his mind in turmoil, Kiyoshi failed to notice Kaori's unease. After a hasty farewell, he took his small water cup and headed towards the water dispenser.

I'm sorry, Kiyoshi.

Kaori gazed at Kiyori's departing figure, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

It wasn't that she lied to Kiyoshi, but rather that she deliberately concealed some things related to Asuka. In fact, before training even started that morning, Kaori had approached Asuka out of concern to ask about these things, including the painful moans she had heard in her sleep the previous night. Although Asuka's answer was as nonchalant as ever, simply saying that she had a nightmare, Kaori understood that this meant the other woman didn't want to tell her. Subsequently, Asuka gave her a gag order, forbidding her from telling Kiyoshi about this, because she didn't want the other woman to worry about her.

As expected, in Asuka's heart, Tachibana Kiyoyori was a very special person.

............................................................

"Hey……"

Kiyoshi sighed heavily as he stood in front of the vending machine, his hands in his pockets, unconsciously fiddling with the small cup that was already full of warm water.

Distracted, he pulled out a few coins, slowly inserted them into the vending machine's coin slot, then found the button labeled "Cola" and pressed it hard.

Strawberry oden?

A voice suddenly appeared in Kiyoshi's ear, and warm breath brushed against her earlobe. Kiyoshi snapped back to reality, reflexively covered her ears and moved to the side. Then she heard the clear sound of the drink hitting the spout.

"What strawberry oden?"

Without turning around, Qinglai knew who was speaking in her ear. She tried to calm her wildly beating heart and make her voice sound steady and even.

"Huh? Didn't Kiyora just press the strawberry oden button?" Asuka stepped forward and took out a still-warm pink beverage can from the vending machine's exit. "There's actually a drink that looks like a culinary disaster. The company that developed this drink is a genius."

Kiyoshi looked at the strawberry can with an anthropomorphic face that was handed to him and suddenly felt that the smiling face was mocking him.

Suddenly, I felt a burning sensation on my face.

"I ordered the wrong thing."

Kiyotomi awkwardly took out a coin again. This time, under Asuka's watchful gaze, she accurately pressed the button labeled "Cola." Only when she held the cold aluminum can did she finally relax and let out a sigh of relief.

"Carbonated drinks?"

Asuka, with her left hand behind her back, looked at Kiyori suspiciously. "Didn't you say you were controlling your figure a while ago?"

“This isn’t for myself,” Kiyoyori said, shaking the Coke in his hand. “I accidentally startled Mizore-senpai just now, this is an apology to her.”

"Eh~" Asuka deliberately made a sad face, "Is it only Mizore who has it?"

"Then I'll give you the strawberry oden."

"Kiyoshi is really cold."

Asuka smiled and approached Kiyoyori step by step, while Kiyoyori, sensing something, retreated step by step until his back touched the vending machine.

"what……?"

"I'm not doing anything~" Asuka moved her left hand, which was behind her back, forward and, before Kiyori could even see what she was holding, she shoved it into Kiyori's mouth with lightning speed.

"Well!"

"Just adding a brick to Kiyora's journey of controlling his figure~"

P.S.: Strawberry oden is a must-have drink for early spring. I originally thought that liking strawberry oden was strange enough, but I never expected that there would be strawberry fried noodles. It's comparable to winter melon fried mooncake. I'm impressed.

I'm going to die without Super Railgun, and there's a report tomorrow. I have mixed feelings.

Chapter 31, Section 192: That Piece of Music

The first bite is soft and smooth, and the size is just right, enough to fit in Qinglai's mouth without choking. After chewing subconsciously, the taste buds receive the "cheese" signal. The saltiness of the cheese and the sweetness of the cake blend perfectly, a familiar taste.

It also tastes high in calories...

Kiyoshi chewed the small piece of cheesecake in her mouth with a complicated expression. She thought that it would be very unseemly to spit it out since it was already stuffed in her mouth, so she deceived herself and swallowed the whole piece of cheesecake. However, the cheesecake that she used to think was wonderful had lost its original deliciousness at this moment.

Just like an ordinary dessert.

"What's wrong? Doesn't it taste good?"

Asuka took out the small box of cheesecakes. Because it had just been taken out of the refrigerator, the transparent plastic box was still misty white.

"Didn't you always like the cheesecake here?" Asuka picked up a small piece and smiled as she fed it to Kiyora. "Ah~"

Kiyoshi glanced nervously behind Asuka, and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he hesitated before opening his mouth. After finishing the cake in his mouth, he mumbled, "It's pretty good, but it seems a little different from before."

"Could it be that Kiyoyori has tried some better cakes and has gotten tired of them?"

Asuka teased Kiyori by poking his stomach with her elbow.

Kiyoshi seemed to have thought of something, and a conflicted expression appeared on his face as he took the still-cool cake box. "It can't be that bad..."

"Also, you know I need to control my figure, so why did you still buy me cake to eat?"

While being fed is a pleasant experience, the resulting body image issues are a significant problem that cannot be ignored.

“Because,” Asuka sat on a bench, resting her chin on her hands, her playful expression fading, “Kiyori seems a little troubled, doesn’t he? Because of certain things.”

Kiyotomi was startled, and the plastic box in her hand deformed slightly. She slowly walked to the table and sat down opposite Asuka. "Why do you say that?"

Who was the person who seemed to want to say something but hesitated that night?

Asuka was referring to the night Kiyori made her fried noodles. Although wanting to eat fried noodles was just a whim, Kiyori's hesitant expression that night made Asuka vaguely guess something. In addition, she also knew that Kiyori had been called away by Nakagawa.

"So this is...?" Kiyoyori tapped the plastic box with his finger. "Trying to bribe me to tell you everything?"

Kiyoshi said half-jokingly. Perhaps she hoped Asuka would ask her, and then she could take the opportunity to bring up the question herself, so that she wouldn't feel conflicted.

but……

Asuka probably won't fall for that kind of trick.

"No, no," Asuka winked at Kiyori and waved her index finger from side to side, "I want Kiyori to bite and eat all these troublesome things like a cheesecake, so he won't be bothered anymore."

Without needing to be explicitly stated, Kiyoyori already knew Asuka's attitude.

"Isn't the usual advice to encourage people to talk about their feelings? What does 'biting it off and swallowing it' mean?"

"Is Kiyori willing to talk?" Asuka asked with a smile. "If Kiyori is willing to talk, I'm not unwilling to listen."

The ball rolled to Kiyoyori's feet again. Faced with an "enemy" who still had some room to maneuver, Kiyoyori had no choice but to retract his foot and let the ball stay obediently in place.

"I will think about it some more."

"Yeah, adjust your mindset, after all, we're in training camp."

Asuka stretched out her hand and affectionately pinched Kiyori's cheek with two fingers, then stood up and headed towards the practice room.

"Asuka," Kiyoshi suddenly called out to her, "You got up really early this morning."

A look of surprise flashed across Asuka's face. "Kiyori too."

"Just like Asuka said, I can't sleep because of those things," Kiyoyori shrugged, looking helpless yet relieved. "What about Asuka?"

"Hmm... I'm not used to sleeping in a different place."

Asuka turned her back, not exposing her face to Kiyori.

"Really? I thought this place was all tatami like Asuka's house, so you'd probably get used to it."

"After all, it's my first time living together in a dormitory, so there are bound to be some things I'm not used to."

Asuka shrugged nonchalantly, "Alright, training is about to start. Kiyoshi, hurry up and finish your meal so we can meet in the practice room."

"That piece," Kiyori's words made Asuka stop in her tracks once again, "I haven't heard you play it in a long time, has something happened?"

Kiyoshi's direct question, a departure from his previous vague response, left Asuka momentarily speechless.

“Just because Kiyora didn’t hear it doesn’t mean I haven’t been playing it. It’s just that I’ve been busy with competition pieces lately, so I haven’t had much time to practice this piece,” Asuka turned around, her light blue eyes hidden behind her glasses like a bottomless deep sea. “The weather is nice today, and the scenery here is beautiful, so it’s hard not to want to play this piece.”

Why has this melody, which was originally meant to empower others, become so sorrowful?

Kiyoyori opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed back the words he was about to say. "Is that so..."

"Kiyoshi also sang it~ I heard it very clearly," Asuka said, changing the dull atmosphere. "After all, it's our love song, Kiyoshi really remembers it very well."

"What song was that you used to seal your love?!"

Don't say things that are so easy to misunderstand!

Kiyoshi, clearly startled once again by Asuka's shocking words, covered his wildly beating heart with his hand.

"Have you forgotten all, Kiyori?!" Asuka clutched her chest, feigning heartache. "We were both so young then. It was when I was struggling to practice this piece alone that you appeared before me, Kiyori, and then we—"

"Alright, alright, you should go back to the practice room now."

Unable to bear it any longer, I waved my hand at the other person, whose voice was raised as if afraid that passersby wouldn't hear me.

I'm really scared of her...

Kiyoshi knew that Asuka was doing it on purpose, but he couldn't do anything about it, so he had to quickly end this troublesome topic.

Asuka put away her exaggerated expression and irreverent tone.

"Kiyoshi, thank you."

Qinglai lowered his head, stuffed a small cheesecake into his mouth, and said in a vague tone, pretending not to care, "Alright, alright, I'll let you go. It's nothing to thank me for."

Suppressing the bitterness welling up in his heart, Kiyoyori dared not look up, thus missing Asuka's slightly reddened eyes.