Volume 1 - CH 4.4

It was Sunday, a few days after my brother's visit to our house.

I was going home alone after club activities from 1pm to 4pm. Yuriko, who usually comes home with me, was absent from club activities today due to family business.

At this time of the year when the days are long, the sky was still bright after 4pm, and the sharp hot sunlight was shining down on the city.

As I left the school, running along the national highway and approaching a park at the edge of a residential area, a girl with her hair in a single ponytail came running in front of me. She was wearing pink running clothes and black shorts.

When I thought she looked familiar, I realized it was Izumi. I didn't recognize her at first glance because she had her hair tied up in a high ponytail, which was different from her usual style.

"Kenichi-kun."

Perhaps Izumi noticed me, too, and stopped there and called out to me. I grabbed the brake of my bicycle and stopped near Izumi.

"Are you just getting home? Thank you for your hard work."

She asked me with a small gasp. I nodded and got off the bicycle.

Looking closer, the pink training shirt Izumi was wearing was a rather slim compression type, clearly emphasizing the lines of her surprisingly well-defined body. " Were you working out, Izumi?" I asked,

"Yeah. I just had some free time, so I decided to go for a walk. I thought I'd take a walk around this area."

Izumi replied as she pulled a handkerchief towel from her pocket and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Is that so?" as I replied, Izumi looked behind me and opened her mouth, "Ah."

"It's Aiko-chan."

As I looked back, I saw a girl I had seen the other day, Hoshino-san, walking down the concrete sidewalk with a brown dog. It was a small dog with short legs that walked in quick little steps.

Izumi waved her hand and called for Hoshino-san. She was wearing a miniskirt of jeans fabric, a white T-shirt, and a knapsack of cloth fabric on her back. 

Hoshino-san, who was walking in a daze, looked up and, perhaps noticing Izumi, her expression brightened, and soon after, her eyes met mine, who was standing next to Izumi, and she fidgeted.

She looked up at me as she approached us and said, "Um, we met the other day, didn't we? Um......"

It seemed she had forgotten my name, so I said, "I'm Sakamoto," and I introduced myself again.

"I-I-I'm sorry."

With such a brief greeting, it would have been more difficult to remember my name, but Hoshino-san bowed her head in panic.

"No, no, it's all right."

I felt like I had somehow troubled her, so I put my hand on the back of my head. I've often been told that I'm unsociable in the way I speak and look, so I tried to soften my tone as much as possible, thinking I might be scaring her.

Watching this with a wry smile, Izumi folded her knees and squatted down beside the dog, which was sitting quietly at his feet.

The dog looked at Izumi with a "Who is this?" look, but did not seem to be barking or acting out of control. The dog seemed to be well trained and smart.

"Is it okay if I touch him?"

When Izumi asked, yes, Hoshino-san nodded her head.

She slowly reached out her hand and patted the dog's head. The dog seemed to be friendly and was very accustomed to being petted.

"What's his name?

Izumi asked while patting the dog.

"Stella. He is a male dog, three years old."

"Stella-kun. That's kind of a stylish name, isn't it?"

Stella's eyes gradually began to narrow, as if he was comfortable being patted by Izumi.

"Why Stella?"

I could only think of a minicar with the same name, so I asked her.

"Um, it means 'star' in Italian, my family name is Hoshino."

T/N : 星/Hoshi means star

"Oh, I see."

When I responded, "Were you just out for a walk?" Izumi asked, patting Stella's head as she squatted down.

"Yes. He likes this park."

Hoshino-san said, looking toward the park. The park is quite large and well maintained, and many people use it for running and walking.

"Hey, can I come with you for a walk? I've never been in this park."

Izumi stood up and said so. As if attracted by her movement, Stella turned his long and narrow nose upward.

"Ah, yeah. It's okay," Hoshino-san nodded.

I had never seen how Izumi behaved when she was with her friends. So I was a little curious to see how they would talk to each other.

"Um, can I come with you too?"

Hoshino-san nodded her head, though she remained still and looked a bit puzzled.