After lunch, Hojou Kyousuke parted ways with Yukino for a bit—they had plans to meet up again after school to go tend the fields together.
Just like at Kyousuke's school, once the final exams were over, the semester's main responsibilities were basically done.
If they were in a big city like Tokyo, students would already be attending cram school around this time.
But Itomori wasn't exactly equipped for that.
If anyone wanted to go to cram school, they'd have to travel all the way to Gifu Prefecture or at least to Hida City.
Technically, Japanese schools do offer additional academic support, but usually only for those focused on university entrance.
They don't even call them "cram schools"—instead, it's stuff like "Summer Intensive Lectures" or "College Prep Courses."
But Kyousuke's high school, Higashi, was pretty straightforward—they just called it what it was: "Senior Year Cram Sessions."
After school, Kyousuke strolled toward Yukino Yukari's house with Sayaka and Teshigawara in tow.
Yukino had already gone home since she didn't have any more classes or duties for the day.
"Why do I have to go do farm work with you right after school?" Teshigawara grumbled, pushing along his oddly feminine-looking bicycle.
"Oh? Don't tell me you have club activities to attend?" Kyousuke chuckled.
"I wish," Teshigawara sighed, feeling the crushing weight of reality.
Whether it was the radio club or the paranormal research society, he would've happily spent all day in one of those.
Too bad their tiny school in Itomori didn't even have enough students to form a baseball team, let alone any niche clubs he liked.
"Hehe, I'm actually part of the Agriculture Club, y'know," Sayaka said proudly. She was the only one among them who had joined a club.
Teshigawara rolled his eyes.
That "club" was basically a mutual aid group—students just helped each other with farm work after school, which wasn't much different from what they were doing now anyway.
"Well, if we're gonna do fieldwork, can I at least go home and change first?" Teshigawara asked.
Ah—he had a point.
Kyousuke froze for a second.
Between the traumatic music exam earlier and the fun lunch with Yukino, he had completely forgotten: he was still wearing a skirt... and no safety shorts underneath.
No wonder walking had felt so weird.
"Right? I mean, I can't go pulling weeds in leather shoes," Sayaka said, glancing at her shiny, polished Mary Janes.
"Alright then, let's all meet up at Yukino's place later," Kyousuke decided by default majority vote.
He planned to change into his gym clothes before heading back out.
The thought of swinging a hoe around in a skirt made his scalp tingle.
Once home, Kyousuke first prepped dinner for his grandmother.
After that, he changed clothes and set out again, this time with Yotsuba tagging along—she insisted on helping Yukino too.
As they walked along the winding mountain road, staring up at the never-ending slope ahead, Kyousuke felt a deep appreciation for the limits of the human body.
If only they had a bike, he could have whisked Yotsuba up the hill, enjoying the mountain breeze instead of trudging along like this.
"But… what about when we have to go uphill later?" Yotsuba asked, noticing a flaw in the plan.
"Then I'll steer from the front, and you push from behind," Kyousuke teased.
"Sigh... I guess that's the only way," Yotsuba replied, shaking her head with a long-suffering sigh.
Another trial of life.
That was a favorite saying of one of the older teachers at her elementary school in Itomori.
His words were often hard to understand, but Yotsuba felt like she was finally grasping the true meaning behind them.
After all, he had once been the head priest of a temple in the neighboring village, while her family had run a shrine for generations—technically, that made her more impressive.
As she imagined riding down this long slope on a bike with her sister, the thrill of wind rushing past, she thought: this too must be one of life's trials.
After all, if the trip down is easy, coming back up has to be the hard part. There's no such thing as a journey that's all downhill, right?
She was still just a kid, not capable of deep philosophical thought, but she understood the idea well enough through experience.
Mimicking the teacher's tone, she sighed dramatically and said:
"Ahhh… this too is one of life's trials."
"Pfft—Yotsuba, where'd you even learn to talk like that?" Kyousuke laughed, charmed by her solemn little act.
"From one of the teachers at school, of course!" Yotsuba said, like it was obvious. But then a new thought occurred to her.
"Wait a sec... don't we not even have a bike at home?"
Kyousuke blinked. "Now that you mention it… do her really not have bicycles? That's wild."
Thinking back, he realized that Mitsuha's house truly didn't have one.
They'd switched bodies enough times by now that he was familiar with every nook and cranny of the place.
The narrow, two-lane asphalt road shimmered under the soft, golden light of the setting sun.
With the mountains on one side and a guardrail on the other, Kyousuke walked on the road-facing side while Yotsuba kept to the inside.
The two of them, chatting as they went, looked like a peaceful snapshot of rural life.
"We used to have one," Yotsuba said after thinking for a moment. "But Dad took it when he ran away from home. Don't you remember, sis?"
"You complained about it a lot when you were learning to ride."
'Ran away from home?'
Kyousuke froze.
So that's how Yotsuba saw it—her dad, who'd gone into politics, was just someone who ran away from home.
To her grandmother, the shrine priestess, Miyamizu Toshiki had been exiled from the family.
To Mitsuha, he was a cold, heartless man who abandoned them.
How strange. The same person, the same event, but within one family, there were three completely different perspectives.
Oddly enough, the one who'd probably felt the least of a father's love—little Yotsuba—seemed to have the gentlest view of him, even using the relatively harmless phrase "ran away from home."
"Next time you see that heartless father of mine, make sure you leave him speechless like you did today!"
That was from Mitsuha's notes after Kyousuke's second body swap, the day he bumped into Miyamizu Toshiki while he was giving a campaign speech.
That encounter had left a deep impression, and Kyousuke had since tried to learn more about the man.
Though Sayaka rarely mentioned him, maybe out of respect or awkwardness—Teshigawara had plenty to say, since his family's construction company actively supported Toshiki's campaign.
"Those guys come back to my house every time to get drunk and celebrate—faces red, yelling and shouting like idiots. It's so annoying," Teshigawara had grumbled.
Kyousuke wasn't sure whether his friend was genuinely annoyed by the noise or just sick of being the one stuck serving drinks and snacks.
Either way, Kyousuke's image of Miyamizu Toshiki was starting to take shape.
Miyamizu Mitsuha and Yotsuba's father hailed from a prestigious family in Nara.
A former honor student, an ex-folklorist, and one-time Shinto priest, he was now the progressive mayor of Itomori Town.
Focused on economic development and job creation, his campaign promises were all about revitalizing the local economy.
Although he felt pity for the mature and thoughtful Yotsuba, and was moved by Mitsuha's devotion after hearing about it from Yukino, he had no intention of getting involved in the Miyamizu family's affairs.
Especially since the last time he and Mitsuha met, she looked like she'd seen a ghost and ran off without a word.
She'd even mentioned that awkward encounter in her diary, and it made him feel guilty for a while.
"It's just a bike, not a big deal. I'll get one for you later," he said casually.
"Really!?"
Yotsuba's eyes lit up with excitement.
In a place like Itomori, where most people got around on foot, a kid having a bicycle was a huge deal.
It basically meant having a happy childhood. But Yotsuba, always so considerate, had never once asked for one.
She figured if she had time to ride a bike, she might as well help out at home instead.
Her grandma and sister worked hard running the large shrine, and since she wanted to become the shrine maiden one day.
She felt she needed to start putting in the effort early.
She'd marry a man who could take the Miyamizu name and inherit the shrine! As for her sister—didn't she want to go to Tokyo? Let her live more freely, then.
Yes, even as a first grader, Yotsuba had already set her sights on becoming the head priestess of the Miyamizu Shrine.
Since inheriting it seemed like such a burden for her sister, she would gladly take on the role.
That way, she could even launch her plan to sell kuchikamizake online and bring the shrine's glory back!
Still, if she could get a bicycle… what kid in second grade would say no to that?
"Come on, you think I'd lie to you?"
Hojou Kyousuke wasn't just making it up.
He remembered seeing a kid's bike dumped in a pile of junk in Teshigawara's backyard the last time he and Sayaka visited.
With a bit of repair, it could be good as new.
He'd thought about fixing it then but had forgotten until now.
'Stare.'
Yotsuba didn't reply.
She suddenly stopped walking, turned around, and looked up at her sister with deep suspicion in her eyes.
"…."
Kyousuke froze for a second before remembering—yeah, Mitsuha didn't exactly have the best track record when it came to promises around here.
Even her own little sister didn't fully trust her.
"Alright, how about we get it fixed today?" he offered, ruffling the little girl's hair.
He recalled the bike seat missing, brake lines snapped, lots of rust but with some tools, it could be fixed in an hour.
Plus, they could head to Yukino's for dinner right after.
"Yay!" Yotsuba jumped for joy, then immediately turned and started heading toward Teshigawara's house.
But after a few steps, she paused and looked back with a serious expression.
"Wait… weren't we going to help Yukino-sensei today?"
"Let the weeds live one more day. Consider it a shrine maiden's mercy," Kyousuke said with a straight face.
And so, the two turned and made their way toward Teshigawara's house, which was even farther out past Lake Itomori.
Even though Teshigawara and Sayaka had bikes, they were always slower to school than Mitsuha.
They hadn't walked far when the sounds of Teshigawara and Sayaka bickering echoed toward them.
"That bald monk's picking on Sayaka again!" Yotsuba fumed, clearly offended on her friend's behalf.
Her puffed-up cheeks made Kyousuke laugh. This little one really adored Sayaka.
"Mitsuha~! Yotsuba~!"
Sayaka spotted them and waved, immediately abandoning her verbal sparring with Teshigawara.
Ah yes… that nostalgic countryside vibe was kicking in full force now.
Kyousuke kept walking, and Teshigawara slowed down, stopping his bike in front of him.
"Hey there, Yotsuba," Sayaka called out as she jumped off the back of the bike and smiled warmly at the younger girl.
No wonder Yotsuba liked her so much—and why she couldn't stand Teshigawara.
"Hello, Sayaka," Yotsuba replied formally. Her eagerness to mimic adult behavior for that sense of satisfaction was both adorable and impressive.
"Mitsuha, isn't Yukino-sensei's place the other way?" Teshigawara asked.
"Oh, change of plans. I'm helping Yotsuba get a bike today," Kyousuke explained.
"Ohhh, that one from my backyard junk pile, right?"
"Excuse you—junk pile? That's a resource area!" Yotsuba huffed, hands on hips, her nose scrunching in disapproval.
Teshigawara rolled his eyes but didn't argue.
His family ran a construction business, and when homeowners wanted to get rid of old stuff, they often helped clean it out.
If something looked usable, they brought it home. That's country living for you, no need to worry about space.
"That bike's fixable, but is it really okay to give Yotsuba something like that?" he asked, frowning.
She never greeted him with a smile, but he still cared about his best friend's little sister.
Oh, right—Kyousuke paused.
His own TV and fridge were secondhand finds, so he didn't think much of it.
But Yotsuba was a little girl, and maybe she'd want something… nicer?
"Teshigawara, you talk like some rich kid," Yotsuba muttered, shooting him a sidelong glance.
Her tone didn't soften, but everyone understood what she meant.
Teshigawara slapped his forehead, turned around, and wheeled his own old girl's bike back toward his house.
Yeah… why was he getting picky all of a sudden?
Even his own bike was a hand-me-down from his mom. No reason to overthink it.
Kyousuke gently ruffled Yotsuba's hair again.
She was such a mature, thoughtful kid—it tugged at his heart a little.
He pulled out his phone and texted Yukino to let her know the plan had changed.
———————————————————————
"Got it 😊" — Yukino-sensei
———————————————————————
It wasn't a fancy emoji or anything—just the plain smiley that came pre-installed on most phones.
But Kyousuke could somehow feel her warmth in that simple symbol, like even the little cartoon's mouth softened just for him.
Soon they reached the back of Teshigawara's house. Calling it a backyard was generous, it was really just a big patch of open land behind the house.
There was even more junk now than Kyousuke remembered, and he was just about to wonder how they'd ever find the bike when Teshigawara wheeled it out of a nearby shed.
"I gave it a wash after you mentioned it last time, but I haven't started the repairs yet."
"Whoa, Teshigawara, didn't expect you to be so dependable!" Yotsuba exclaimed. Suddenly, her opinion of him shot up.
The abrupt change in her attitude made all of them laugh and with that, the bike repair project officially began.
Just like Hojou Kyousuke remembered, the bike was missing its seat and brake cable, and even the mudguard had vanished.
Thankfully, the Teshigawara family had no shortage of tools.
They carved a piece of wood into the shape of a seat, secured it to the frame with screws, and wrapped it with some old, unwanted clothes.
It ended up softer than the original seat.
As for the brake cable—no problem. Teshigawara had a whole stash of spare parts lying around.
If they'd had more time, Kyousuke was even planning to carve a set of wooden pedals for Yotsuba himself.
The last issue was the rusty frame, but with Yotsuba already bouncing with excitement to ride her new steed, Kyousuke opted for a quick fix.
He had Teshigawara wrap some colorful paper around the crossbar and other key areas. He figured they'd repaint it properly later when Yotsuba wasn't using it.
And just like that, a sparkling new bicycle was born.