Just as they met up with the others in Chinatown together, they got separated.

After searching the area for a while, although they saw students from the same school, they couldn’t find the friends they were looking for.

“…They’re not answering the phone.”

Fuyuka took the phone away from her ear and muttered with a troubled face.

Her contact was Hinami, but there was no response.

Maybe she simply didn’t notice, or maybe her battery had run out of charge. Whatever the reason was since they were a group performing activity they had to meet up as soon as possible.

They could wait for Hinami to call them back, but they had no idea when that would be.

“I’ll call Chiaki for now.”

“Please do so.”

Looking for Chiaki’s account from the message app, Asahi pressed the call button. Immediately, the call started ringing, which soon switched to a rustling noise.

“Looks like it’s connected.”

After Asahi whispered, Fuyuka mutters in a similar manner, “I’m glad.”

“Hello?”

“This phone number is no longer in use.”

“…Ha?”

He heard a man’s voice, and then the call disconnected right after.

Fuyuka watched in wonder as Asahi stared at the unresponsive phone in dismay.

“What’s the matter?”

“‘This phone number is no longer in use.’ It said.”

“That’s really bad timing… When did Yoshikawa-san change his number?”

“No, I just phoned him yesterday, and if he changed it, he’d tell me.”

“Then why…?”

“That voice earlier was totally Chiaki.”

He changed his voice slightly, but it was far from the actual mechanical sound coming from the phone. And just before the call was cut off, Asahi heard Hinami’s distinctive laugh, so he was sure it was him.

He sighed softly, apparently having provoked the mischievous spirit of the couple. Then, as he and Fuyuka were talking about calling the other members of the group, Asahi’s cell phone rang, as if it had been timed just right.

“Who is it from?”

“Miyamoto.”

“Pout.”

When he answered honestly, Fuyuka’s eyes narrowed and her cheeks puffed out slightly.

She seemed to have something to say, but Fuyuka, perhaps looking at the situation they were in, only nodded once. Taking this as an invitation to pick up the phone, Asahi slid the call button and muttered a cliche, “Hello?”

“Oh, Kagamin? Where are you?”

“We’re back at the place where we met up with Chiaki and the others.”

“Roger that~!”

Asuka seemed to be able to properly communicate on the phone and talk unlike the other two.

However, just as they were about to discuss how to meet up, something went wrong with the wind.

“If you move, we might pass each other, and I’d like you to stay put and wait for me…Hmm? Can you hear me?”

“…Hm? Ah, yeah.”

The vague reply gave Asahi a bad feeling.

“Just tell me where you guys are.”

“…Wait, did you just say something?”

“I was saying where are you―”

“Hmm? This is so weird― Is the signal bad―? I can’t hear you at all―”

A blue streak began to appear on Asahi’s face hearing the obvious monotone voice.

“I can hear you just fine, though?”

“…Well.”

In the deliberate way she blurted it out, Asahi felt something similar to Hinami, who was trying to cover up a prank. In other words, an accomplice.

“Hey, Miyamo―”

“I’ll call you later, enjoy yourselves until then!”

Before Asahi could question her, Asuka spoke up quickly through a clear voice that didn’t seem to have a bad signal. The next time Asahi tried to open his mouth, the call was already disconnected, and he sighed again instead.

Just as the call was about to be cut off, he thought he heard Ryoma’s voice this time, but he couldn’t make out the content. Asahi put the phone back in his pocket, having gotten nothing out of it.

“I guess it didn’t work out from what it seems.”

“She said she’ll call me later, so it’s just the two of us until then.”

“I-I see…”

When he told her what Asuka said, Fuyuka’s expression brightened a little for some reason.

“What do we do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you still want to call the others, or do you want us to hang out for a while?”

Since they were in a group activity, they were allowed to act in multiple groups, but if they got separated and had to act in small groups, it would be a different story. If the teacher found them, they would be in trouble, and if the other students found them, it would be even more troublesome.

Fuyuka must have taken such a case into consideration. She put her right hand on her chin and pretended to be thinking, but eventually opened her mouth with a radiant face.

“Since we’re already here, why don’t we visit one of the stores?”

That invitation was something that Asahi could not have wished for more.

If they were inside a store, there wouldn’t be any teachers patrolling the area, and they were less likely to run into anyone they knew.

“Sounds nice, I was about to suggest it too.”

Whether by chance or due to the inevitability, Asahi had a feeling of wanting to spend a little more time with Fuyuka.

When Asahi replied, Fuyuka smiled softly and happily.

Then, after searching for a good-looking store on their phones, they opened the door that made a chime. Time seemed to have stopped for a moment as they saw familiar faces lined up ahead of them.

“…Fufu”

Fuyuka was the first to laugh.

Hinami and Asuka were next, followed by Chiaki.

Asahi also smiled in dismay, and Ryoma looked somewhat relieved.

“We managed to meet up.”

“I guess so.”

It would have been nice to have achieved his goal unintentionally, but Asahi was a little disappointed with the coincidence.

However, he had more than enough to be happy about today.

“Hinami, Chiaki, Miyamoto, I’ll be checking your phones later.”

The three nominees displayed some resistance to Asahi’s words, who had switched to his normal routine.

Before he knew it, everyone had a smile on their face.

Such a joyful and buoyant atmosphere continued all the way to the end of the extracurricular learning.