The campus was bathed in golden afternoon light as students streamed out of classrooms.
The air buzzed with youthful energy - boys roughhousing, girls whispering in small circles, laughter echoing through the corridors.
After-school plans generally fell into three categories:
First, heading to arcades or dessert cafes before going home.
Second, attending cram schools until 8 or 9 pm.
Third, participating in club activities to build their high school legacy, with potential awards for the dedicated.
Nanao Akane had originally belonged to the third group.
But since quitting the baseball team, she'd switched to the first.
Noticing her deskmate wasn't rushing to practice like last Monday, the girl behind Akane teased:
"Planning to take every Monday off now, Akane-chan?"
Packing her textbooks and slinging her bag over her shoulder to meet her boyfriend in the library, Akane turned with an amused smile. "Oh no, I've actually quit the baseball team."
Her friend wasn't particularly surprised.
After all, the grueling training regimen that even boys complained about would be too much for most girls.
The fact that Akane had lasted over a month was impressive enough.
Now that her reliable study partner was "unemployed," the girl teased while extending an invitation. "About time! I never understood why you joined baseball anyway... Thinking of joining another club? Want to hang with mine?"
If she hadn't started dating Sasaki, Akane might have considered it.
But now... freshly in love, she'd rather spend time with him.
Thinking of the sweetness of last night, a blush appeared on Akane's pretty face, which was dotted with the golden light from the window.
The smile at the corner of her mouth was like honey being stirred, so sweet that it was cloying.
Though she hadn't answered, her friend instantly decoded that expression.
Si, she leaned forward eagerly and asked with a knowing grin:
"So that's it! You quit because of a boyfriend, didn't you? Spill it, is he from our school? What class? Is he hot?"
Instead of answering immediately, Akane set her bag down and sat backward on her chair:. "How did you guess? I never mentioned anything..."
"You didn't have to. That smile said everything."
"I've never seen you look so blissful before. Has to be a boyfriend."
"And I bet you were just thinking about him, weren't you?"
Hearing her friend's words, Akane touched her cheek self-consciously, asking with shy delight:
"Was I... really that obvious?"
"Have I never smiled like this before?"
"Before?"
Her friend tilted her head and spoke.
"Wait, you've had other boyfriends before?"
Already knowing the answer, Akane shook her head with a laugh.
"No no, we just started dating yesterday."
"Ooooh, go on then!"
"Go on what?"
"Go on. Tell me about him! Anyone who could snag a beauty like you must be gorgeous!"
While looks weren't Akane's priority, now that her friend mentioned it, she did think Sasaki was incredibly handsome.
Nodding bashfully, she admitted:
"He is quite good-looking..."
"What class is he in? When can I meet him? I'm dying of curiosity here!"
Seeing her friend's excitement, Akane, who knew what kind of person her lover was, smiled and said, "Definitely next time."
After chatting with her friend for a while, she was about to say goodbye to her and spend time with her lover, when
her friend suddenly asked.
"Oh right, can the baseball team still compete without you?"
Akane blinked.
After all, she just a support manager.
Although quitting the club will have some impact on them, it will not be significant.
Suppressing a sigh at her friend's lack of baseball knowledge, she explained patiently.
"Why not? They have a great chance of winning the championship this year. I'm just a support person. My withdrawal from the club won't have much impact on them."
"Huh?"
Seeing that, Akane didn't understand why the topic suddenly shifted to her… the girl asked:
"You didn't know, Akane-chan? Something happened to Basketball coach Tougou, he's been hospitalized. Without their coach, can the team even still compete?"
Hospitalized?
Was it that serious?
Last night Sasaki had dealt with them so quickly that she didn't even notice the extent of their injuries.
She thought they were just knocked out… Turns out it was worse than that.
Lifting her head to glance out the window, Akane Nanao finally realized something: it was unusually quiet outside today.
Normally, around this time, you'd hear the baseball club members running laps and shouting slogans during their warmups.
Today's silence was clearly not normal.
But… none of that mattered to her anymore. She didn't need to care.
The only reason she'd joined the baseball club in the first place was because of Katase Shoya.
Now that he didn't care about her, and she had found someone she liked who also liked her, continuing to worry about the baseball club would only give Sasaki the wrong idea.
Well… knowing that guy, he probably wouldn't care even if he did find out.
But still, that wasn't a good enough reason to keep caring about the baseball club.
Too lazy to keep talking about it, Akane casually brushed off her friend and said:
"Shouldn't you be heading to your club now? You'll be late if you don't go."
Startled, the girl straightened up and hurriedly grabbed her bag from the desk.
"Oh—right! I totally forgot! Thanks for the reminder, Akane-chan. I'll head out—bye-bye~"
"Bye-bye."
Waving her off, Akane was just about to grab her own bag and stand when,
she found herself locking eyes with someone standing at the classroom door.
A girl with purple hair.
'It's her.'
Seeing that, Sasaki's official girlfriend had come to confront her, Akane's heart skipped a beat.
Before Akane could decide how to respond, the purple-haired girl had already stepped forward unhurriedly until she stood right in front of her.
"Nanao-san, right? Do you have a moment to talk?"
The golden sunlight streaming through the window cast a dazzling glow on her fair complexion, making her feel an immense pressure under her slightly condescending gaze.
However, not wanting to show weakness, Akane forced herself to appear composed as she nodded.
"Alright."
They walked out of the school building in complete silence, heading toward a shaded area near the sports field.
The oppressive atmosphere made the girl tighten her grip on her shoulder bag strap.
'She's definitely not here for something good.'
But if this girl thought a little intimidation would make her back down, she was sorely mistaken.
Having just confirmed her relationship with Sasaki, and everything that came with it, Akane Nanao's feelings for him were at their peak.
No matter how timid she might usually be, she wasn't about to just hand her boyfriend over to someone else.
Sure, she might be the "later" one in this situation, but that didn't mean she'd step aside.
Steeling herself against the natural disadvantage of being the "other girl," her gaze only grew more resolute.
Although she was unaware of, well...and unable to guess the girl's fighting thoughts, but Natsuha did sense the fiery determination in her stare.
So, she stopped beside a bench under the tree shade and sat down.
"Take a seat. No need to look at me like that—I'm not here to convince you to break up with that guy."
...She's not?
Hearing this, Nanao exhaled quietly in relief and sat beside her as instructed.
Before she could speak, Shinomiya extended an olive branch first.
Holding out her hand with a faint smile, she introduced herself:
"You probably already know me, but I'm Shinomiya Natsuha, Class 2-B—same as him."
"And... thank you for saving me back then."
Taking the offered hand, Akane smiled back.
"I'm just glad you're okay. I'm Nanao Akane, Class 2-E."
Nodding, Shinomiya skipped further small talk and got straight to the point.
"Nanao-san... how long have you two been together?"
There was no point lying, so the latter answered honestly.
"We only officially got together yesterday."
Yesterday?!
That... wasn't what she'd expected at all.
After all, when she had gotten with him, didn't he already claimed Nanao was his girlfriend?
Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion.
Just as Shinomiya was about to press further, she suddenly remembered Tsukimi Chifuyu—the one he still hadn't successfully pursued yet.
'Ah... I see.'
This girl must've been in some ambiguous relationship with him before, one he'd twisted into calling her his "girlfriend" after getting what he wanted.
That greedy...!
Mentally cursing the scoundrel, Shinomiya became even more determined to carry out her plan.
'I'll turn him into a shriveled raisin if it's the last thing I do!'
Otherwise, who knew how much worse he'd get over time?
Unaware of the purple-haired girl's scheming, Nanao called out hesitantly at her shifting expressions.
"Shinomiya-san...?"
"Hm?"
Snapping out of her fantasy where he was left breathless and begging for mercy, Shinomiya Natsuha took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
Unconsciously pressing her thighs together, her cheeks flushed as she smiled.
"Just call me Natsuha. After all... we're the same."
The same?
Confused by her words, Nanao tilted her head, studying the other girl's reddened face—was it from the heat?
Shaking off her lingering thoughts, Natsuha steadied her breathing and explained:
"Even though we're both called his 'girlfriends,' neither of us is the first one. That's why I said we're the same."
"...Natsuha isn't either?"
Having only ever seen Sasaki with Natsuha before, Akane Nanao had assumed she was the "main" girlfriend. Turns out, she wasn't.
Realizing they stood on equal ground, she relaxed slightly and asked:
"So... why did Natsuha want to talk to me?"
However, instead of bluntly proposing that idea, Natshka first tested the waters:
"So... Akane... you know about the others, right?"
Sasaki had already confessed his womanizing tendencies early on, so the girl nodded.
"I know."
Just as he'd said, this guy was aware too. Natsuha continued carefully:
"Then... how do you feel about it?"
"How I... feel?"
Unclear on her exact meaning, Nanao clarified. "What part are you asking about, Natsuha?"
Shifting closer, the latter met her sky-blue eyes squarely.
"I mean... how do you view his womanizing? Don't you want to stop it?"
Stop it?
No one could truly accept their partner being unfaithful, and Akane Nanao was no exception.
Given the choice, she'd want Sasaki devoted to her alone.
But as the "later" one, acting too possessive would only isolate her from the others. So she'd kept those thoughts to herself.
Now, with Natsuha asking... was she suggesting they *team up* against the other girls?
Even ignoring whether they could win, how would Sasaki react?
Deeming this idea dangerous, she frowned in warning:
"Natsuha... wouldn't that just make him hate you?"
Hate her?
He'd seemed very entertained this afternoon when he had Momo ride her like a rocking horse, why would he hate this?
However, she quickly realized that Akane had misunderstood her words so, she quickly clarified:
"By 'stop,' I mean we drain his energy so he can't chase others—not fighting the girls."
Oh. Not infighting.
Relieved, the girl asked curiously:
"I don't mind teaming up... but how exactly would we 'drain his energy'?"
I hope you still feel that way in a minute.'
Biting her lip, Natsuha glanced around to ensure no one could overhear before leaning in to whisper.
"It's simple—we just... together—"
"Eh?!"
Hearing her words, Akane Nanao's face exploded into a shade of red rivaling boiled shrimp.
After a frantic look around, she scooted back, stammering.
"T-That kind of thing...?!"
Natsuha knew it was a bit shameless.
But what other method could curb Sasaki's womanizing without making him resent them?
Cutting off the girl's flustered protests, she pressed:
"Akane, do you know how long he's been at this school?"
Recalling his words, the latter answered after a pause:
"A little over a month...?"
"Right."
Natsuha nodded.
"I met him after he transferred. So did Momo. Including you, Serizawa Yukiha, and Tsukimi Chifuyu... that's five already. Who knows how many more he hasn't mentioned?"
"Akane... do you really want to let this continue?"