＜In front of the Kendo Dojo＞

"I'm sorry. I made you wait..."

"No, I wasn't waiting."

After changing clothes, I exchanged a few words with Jin, who was waiting outside the Kendo dojo, and we walked home together.

"You were practicing hard again today, weren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Speaking of which, the next one is the final competition. Well, I don't need to worry about you, Reina."

"......Yeah. I'm going to win the final competition for sure."

Everyone on the team is expecting a lot from me. I'll definitely end the season on a high note.

"It's important to work hard at club activities, but we're both third-year students. How were your university entrance exam predictions?"

"I got an A rating, thankfully."

"That's great. Me too. Let's keep up our grades and go to the same university."

"Okay. I'll study hard."

Jin and I are aiming for the same university, a very prestigious one, but at the current rate, our chances of getting in are high.

I need to keep up my studies, not just maintain them, to live up to the expectations of my parents, teachers, and Jin.

"…………"

"You seem less energetic than usual. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. ...I'm just a bit tired from practice."

"Is that so? ...Speaking of which, you've been wearing a handkerchief on your wrist lately. Is anything wrong?"

"Oh, this? This is..."

"To be honest, I don't think it looks good on you. You should take it off..."

"That's not allowed!"

I blocked Jin's hand as he reached out to touch the handkerchief.

"......Reina?"

".....I'm sorry. This is something important that I received from my family. I don't want to let go of it for a second..."

"I didn't know that. I'm sorry for being insensitive."

"No...I'm sorry for raising my voice."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. See you at school tomorrow."

Jin smiled and headed home.

"…………"

...Jin was just trying to touch the handkerchief. It's not a big deal, so why did I react that way?

'May this protect my senior.'

...I didn't want anyone else to touch my and Chihiro's charm. It felt like it would be tainted if someone touched it.

Even now, I feel a little irritated.

If Jin hadn't been waiting for me, I might have gone home with Chihiro. Right now, Chihiro is with Hime-chan. He came to see me work hard, but now he's with Hime-chan.

The more I think about it, the more muddled my emotions become.

...What's wrong with me?