poor guy. unfortunately for shintaro, ayano’s terribly observant when it came to him. initially, she had been excited just to spend time with him again after years of being apart, but just one glance at him tells her that, yes, he was quite literally dying before her very eyes. kudos to him though! even despite being all disgusting and sweaty, he still earned ‘ayano appreciation points,’ just by humoring her and accompanying her on a walk.
her smile is sweet and full of concern once she glances over at him, laugh awkward yet still kind ( honestly, if there’s anything shintaro was lucky for, it was that ayano was ayano and she’d never call him gross like the rest of the dan would ).
❝ i’d love to go swing on them just to see how creaky they are but…~ ❞ she begins, scratching at her cheek. “you don’t look too good, shintaro. do you want to go to a café or something?” truly! an angel sent down from the heavens. lucky man, she’s always so accommodating to him. however, she pauses soon enough, head tilting. and here comes full on mom mode. “also, why are you wearing something so hot in the summer?”
as if she hadn’t worn a scarf throughout the seasons for as long as he could remember. tch. hypocrite.
oof. if shintaro could produce the minecraft hit damage sfx with his limited ( albeit creaky and underused ) vocal chords, then he absolutely would. ayano continued to catch onto more than he had tried to let on, and now? he's subjected to not only the glaring sun, but the luminance of her curious, hazel eyes. he’s practically a deer in headlights.
“ its almost as if we’ve changed places, ” he joked. in both uncomfortably warm outfit choices and affinity for oversaturated red, they have. with how hot it was, he’d ask himself the same thing . . . had shintaro not been such a sentimental sap. he briefly paused to try and recall if ayano ( this ayano ) was one of those who were able to get it across his previously thick skull.
「 — — — — it suits you. 」
“ . . . it’s kind of become an everyday outfit thing. besides, without it, i’d probably look like some rando across the street. ” ah yes, the conformity of looking like a generic anime protag; both a comfort and a one-way ticket to self-deprecation city, baby. “ it’s like . . . a part of me now. though, that kinda sounds stupid out loud, haha. ” why did he ever open his mouth again?
