The girl carefully smoothed down her skirt, then shot a wary glance back at Yuki.
Yuki shrugged helplessly, thinking to himself:
'There's really nothing worth seeing anyway, just some bear prints, why does she always jump to conclusions?!'
Once the girl finished adjusting her clothes, her expression relaxed somewhat. When she turned to face Yuki again, her lips were slightly pursed, and a faint blush still colored her cheeks.
"What... what do we do now…" she murmured under her breath, a note of urgency in her eyes.
She knew it was useless. Even smoothed down, as long as the skirt was torn, she couldn't possibly wear it out in public.
Yuki understood this too, so he offered to help.
"Ahem, don't worry," he cleared his throat, doing his best not to laugh. After all, the girl's current state was rather comical, all that fussing had left her looking quite flustered. "I can help you get a replacement skirt."
"You... you can find me a skirt I can wear?!" Hearing this, her face instantly lit up with hope, as if she'd just been thrown a lifeline. She looked at Yuki with eager anticipation.
Yuki gave a gentle nod.
"Of course I can."
"Wait here for a bit, and don't wander off," he instructed before turning to leave.
The girl nodded softly, muttering to herself, "I really have no choice but to hide here now!"
"Thank goodness this place is empty and there aren't any cameras around."
"Otherwise..."
Just imagining the possible consequences made her feel utterly mortified.
'How embarrassing… not only did I tear my skirt, but I also ended up showing my underwear in front of someone…
Wait, no!
I still lost out! That guy saw everything!!!'
At that moment, she suddenly realized how careless her earlier thought had been. At the very least, Yuki was here, and he had definitely seen… certain things.
Her face flushed bright red, her heart began to race, and she nervously clutched her skirt tighter.
Even though he had seen her like that, for some reason, she felt a strange flutter in her chest and found she didn't really blame him at all.
As her thoughts wandered, that flutter made her pause in alarm.
'No way… could it be that I…
Impossible!
Well… he really is handsome, but that doesn't mean I'd…
Then again… maybe he really didn't mean to! That must be why I'm not upset with him.'
The more she thought about it, the less certain she became, her earlier conviction wavering.
While the girl was lost in her tangled thoughts, Yuki hadn't gone far. He simply stepped to the side, waved his hand, and created an exact replica of the skirt she was wearing, completely new and intact. Then he walked back.
"Here," he said, offering it to her with a gentle smile. "Once you change into this, you won't have to worry anymore."
"Thank you…" The girl's face brightened with pure relief at the sight of the fresh, untorn skirt. Her problem was solved.
Overjoyed, she eagerly took the skirt from him, holding it tightly in her hands.
It completely slipped her mind to wonder where exactly Yuki had pulled the skirt from.
After all, they were still quite far from the school buildings, surrounded by nothing but plants and trees. Even if Yuki had gone to borrow it from someone, it would have taken some time—he couldn't possibly have returned this quickly.
"I, I'll go change over there," she stammered, her cheeks flushed as she stole a quick glance at Yuki. Then she hurried off into a nearby grove of trees.
A moment later, wearing the fresh new skirt, she walked back out.
"Thank you," she said, her voice full of genuine relief. "You really saved me."
All the earlier tension and unease had melted from her face, replaced by a calm, relieved smile.
"Don't mention it. It was my fault your skirt got torn in the first place," Yuki replied with a soft smile, shaking his head slightly.
"Um… 'tore it'…" she echoed, pausing as her expression shifted. A faint blush crept back onto her cheeks, and her eyes darted away. "Somehow hearing it put that way… feels a bit misleading."
Yuki didn't respond, but a subtle smile played at the corner of his mouth.
"We haven't properly introduced ourselves yet," he said after a moment, offering his hand. "I'm Yuki, from Class A, first year of high school. Nice to meet you."
"Yuki…" she repeated softly. "What a coincidence! I'm a first year too—just next door in Class B. My name is Tomoe Koga. Nice to meet you, Yuki-kun!"
She reached out and gave his hand a light, brief shake before letting go.
"I see, so it really is fate, Koga-san."
"Mhm! Actually, Yuki-kun, you can just call me Koga… or Tomoe," she suggested, a little shyly.
"Alright then, Tomoe," Yuki agreed with a nod.
He had actually recognized the girl the moment he saw her.
Tomoe Koga—the underclassman from Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai.
In the original story, her "Adolescence Syndrome" manifested as the ability to replay a period of time, which was essentially a simulation of the future—a power surprisingly similar to Laplace's Demon. Because of this, she was nicknamed the "Little Laplace."
Observing her now, Yuki noticed she wasn't entangled with that kind of rule-based power. It seemed she hadn't yet developed what they called Adolescence Syndrome.
"So… what were you doing out here anyway?" he asked. "And how did you end up stuck in the flower bed, with your… you know…"
He trailed off, but Tomoe, sharp as she was, knew exactly what he meant.
Her eyelashes fluttered lightly as a delicate blush spread rapidly across her cheeks. Her eyes, wide and skittish like a startled deer, quickly looked away.
"I—I was looking for my hairpin!" she explained, her voice tinged with embarrassment. "It got blown off by the wind earlier and landed right in the middle of the bushes."
"I see, so you climbed in after it and ended up snagged by all the overgrowth?" Yuki finished for her, nodding in understanding.
"Y-yes. I didn't even know what had caught me at first," Tomoe admitted with a sigh. "But seeing the tear in my skirt now… well, I guess the plants just hooked right into it."
"If you hadn't come along when you did, Yuki-kun, I probably could've forced my way out… but my skirt would've ended up just as torn anyway. And then…"
She didn't finish the thought, but she could easily picture it—sitting alone with a ruined skirt, too embarrassed to go out and seek help.
"Well, you could've called a friend for help with your phone," Yuki pointed out gently, almost amused by the mental image.
"Ah… bad luck there too. I didn't bring my phone with me," Tomoe confessed with an awkward laugh, her gaze drifting away again.
"Wow, that is rough," Yuki replied, giving her a look that was half pity, half amusement.
"Anyway, since everything's fine now, no need to dwell on it. Did you find your hairpin?" he asked, changing the subject.
"No," she shook her head. The hairpin she wore was quite small, and the flowerbed here was dense and sprawling, making it difficult for her to find it on her own.
"Then I'll help you look for it," he offered, and moved over to the spot where she'd been caught earlier, beginning to search for the missing hairpin.
With Yuki on the case, finding a little hairpin was no trouble at all. With just a quick scan, he spotted it—a small, T-shaped, pale yellow hairpin half-hidden under some soil.
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