Kamio Tatsuya felt a pang of awkwardness, wondering if he was the reason Ichinose seemed a little off.
What is going on...
After finishing his student council work, Kamio Tatsuya took the opportunity to call Ichinose as he headed to the cafeteria.
He didn't wait long before the call was answered.
"Hello, Kamio-kun?"
"Yeah, it's me." Ichinose's voice on the other end sounded a bit strange. "Are you okay? I heard you haven't been to school the past couple of days."
"Sorry, I think I caught a cold."
After he finished speaking, he heard two coughs from the other end of the line. No wonder her voice was off; it must be because she's weak.
"I see. How are you feeling? Have you taken any medicine?"
"I already asked Hoshinomiya-sensei to take a look, and I'm taking medication," Ichinose's weak voice replied. "Thank you for your concern, Kamio-kun."
"You're welcome. We're friends, after all," Kamio Tatsuya chuckled. "By the way, during the item retrieval race at the sports festival the other day, what happened to you?"
"It, it's fine!"
You didn't look fine at all back then.
At that moment, Ichinose burst into tears the moment she saw Kamuro's hair clip, as if she had suffered a huge blow.
"Ichinose!"
Kamio Tatsuya's tone suddenly became serious.
"Huh? W, what is it?"
"We're friends, aren't we? At least, I think we are."
"Yes, Kamio-kun is definitely my friend."
Ichinose's voice also became a little flustered.
"If we're friends, then why did you lie to me?"
"Huh?"
"You didn't seem fine at all back then, and you didn't participate in the rest of the sports festival. So something must have happened, right?"
"I, I'm sorry."
Kamio Tatsuya's logical and well-reasoned words made Ichinose falter a bit.
"Was it because of that hair clip?"
After much thought, Kamio Tatsuya finally pinpointed the key clue. She had been fine when she first participated in the item retrieval race.
But the moment she drew that slip of paper, especially when she saw Kamuro's hair clip, her demeanor changed instantly.
So it was hard not to link it to that hair clip.
At that moment, upon hearing Kamio Tatsuya's words, Ichinose's breathing became rapid. Her fingers were almost touching the phone screen, wanting to hang up.
But wouldn't that be an admission of guilt?
After hesitating for a long time, Ichinose reluctantly moved her finger away from the screen.
"Kamio-kun, would you be willing to listen to a story?"
A story?
Kamio Tatsuya raised an eyebrow and then hummed in agreement. As expected, this was probably something related to Ichinose herself.
"However, I think holding the phone is too tiring. I'll come and visit you later."
"Huh? Wait..."
"It's settled then!" Kamio Tatsuya immediately cut Ichinose off. "Oh, right. Do you need me to bring you dinner? I'm just arriving at the cafeteria now."
Ichinose, who was already feeling a bit foggy-headed due to her cold, became even more bewildered. What was going on?
"Then, please bring me an egg sandwich. I don't really have much of an appetite."
"Egg sandwich, got it. I'll be there in half an hour. That's all."
Kamio Tatsuya, who had planned to have a proper meal at the cafeteria, opted for a more convenient dinner instead.
Half an hour later, Kamio Tatsuya knocked on Ichinose's door.
Before long, Ichinose's voice came from inside.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Kamio Tatsuya. I'm here to bring you food and to hear your story." Kamio Tatsuya tried to lighten Ichinose's mood with what he thought was a humorous approach.
"I'm sorry, but I have a cold, and I might infect you."
"It's fine. Rather than catching a cold, I'd rather not have anyone know I came to see you. If Masumi found out, she might kill me. So, can you open the door and let me in now?"
Then, Ichinose's voice came from inside the room.
"Okay, I understand."
Afterward, Ichinose's door opened, and Kamio Tatsuya quickly slipped inside before closing it.
"That was close... the elevator door almost opened."
Kamio Tatsuya feigned a sigh of relief before looking at Ichinose.
Ichinose was wearing a light-colored pajama set and had a mask on her face. It seemed her condition was indeed not good.
"Peek-a-boo, Kamio-kun. You're quite the mischievous one."
"You're blaming me unfairly. I brought you dinner, you know."
As he spoke, Kamio Tatsuya held up the bag containing the sandwich for Ichinose to see.
"Thank you, then."
Ichinose took the bag from Kamio Tatsuya and then offered him a mask.
"Kamio-kun, you should put on a mask. Otherwise, you might catch my cold."
Kamio Tatsuya didn't refuse. If he got sick later, Ichinose would surely feel guilty.
This was different from those guys in his past life. There was this jerk who deliberately came to see him when he was sick, and ended up infecting him too.
Damn it, thinking about it made him so angry!
So he got revenge in the same way later!
"How is your body feeling?"
"I'm much better. I just feel a bit sleepy after taking the medicine," Ichinose quickly explained. "Also, I am indeed a bit hungry. Thank you for bringing me dinner."
Entering the bedroom, Kamio Tatsuya saw a humidifier in operation.
Hmm, increasing the humidity in the air would make viruses fall to the ground more easily instead of floating in the air. She was definitely taking steps to recover.
"Do you want to eat first?"
"Can I?"
"You're hungry anyway, right? And you'll need energy to tell your story after you eat."
"Thank you."
Ichinose nodded shyly and then took out her dinner from the bag Kamio Tatsuya had just handed her – an egg sandwich.
Meanwhile, Kamio Tatsuya took out his phone and browsed the school forum, occasionally replying to a few messages, mainly from Kamuro and Shiina.
For others or group chats, Kamio Tatsuya mostly just looked for entertainment and avoided replying if he could.
After a while, Ichinose put down the sandwich.
Kamio Tatsuya glanced at it; she had eaten about half of it.
"What's wrong? Is it not to your taste?"
"No, it's delicious. It's just that I don't have much of an appetite." Ichinose quickly waved her hands. "So please don't mind it."
Since she said so herself, what else could Kamio Tatsuya say?
Then, Kamio Tatsuya turned off his phone screen and looked at Ichinose.
"Now, can you tell me your story? The story about the hair clip."
When Kamio Tatsuya mentioned the hair clip, Ichinose's expression became a little dazed, and she nodded.
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