~ The support for this fanfiction has declined over time. Its progress depends on your daily support, and I hope that support remains steady.
--------------------------------------------------
'Seriously? Do you really think I, Hayato Hayama, have fallen so low that I need to covet your girlfriend?'
'And let's be real,' Hayama thought, 'she's not even really your girlfriend yet! You've never even met her face-to-face! What kind of relationship is that??'
"Anyway, just stay out of my business."
Maybe realizing he'd gone too far, Tobe brushed it off with a weak excuse.
However, he clearly didn't care too much. After throwing out that final, stubborn sentence, he turned entirely back to his phone, aggressively typing away and ignoring Hayama.
"..."
Faced with this level of delusion, Hayama couldn't think of any immediate solution to break through to him.
He could only sigh helplessly. He would have to wait for another opportunity to try to talk sense into him later.
——————————
"Um..."
Back on Yumiko's side.
She had just been about to lean back in and whisper something else to Kai.
Suddenly, Hina Ebina appeared quietly next to them.
"I just saw Yui walking into the school building," Hina murmured.
After a moment's thought, Hina had decided it was best to give them a heads-up. Otherwise, if Yui walked in and saw Kai and Yumiko sitting this close together, she would definitely overthink things.
"Ah! Oh!"
"Thanks for the warning!"
Yumiko jumped at the interruption, blinked, then quickly nodded and scooted away from Kai.
But then!
"Wait..."
Once she sat back down, Yumiko suddenly realized what was going on. She turned and stared at Hina, eyes wide with shock.
'Hold on. What was that warning supposed to mean? Do you know?'
Although Yumiko didn't say a word, Hina could feel the burning intensity of her gaze. Hina remained silent, lowering her head and pretending she didn't notice a thing.
"..."
If Yumiko still didn't realize what had just happened, she'd have to be a complete idiot.
After staring at Hina for a long moment, she shot Kai a deeply resentful glare.
'Seriously? You actually thought you were hiding it?'
In response to her glaring, Kai merely offered a casual shrug. He had known about Hina's awareness for a while now, so he wasn't panicked in the slightest.
At most, he was pleasantly surprised that Hina had actually decided to help cover for them.
"YAHALLO!"
"Kai-kun! Yumiko! Hina!"
Just then, Yui Yuigahama came into the classroom, smiling brightly as usual and waving excitedly at the three of them.
"Y-Yui!"
Yumiko was still shaken by the fact that Hina knew their secret, and she felt both guilty and flustered.
Kai, on the other hand, stayed calm and answered Yui without missing a beat.
"Yui, what took you so long today?"
Normally, Yui was one of the first people to arrive at school.
"It was Sablé's fault!"
Yui sat down next to Kai and started pouting right away. Sablé was her miniature dachshund.
"I don't know what got into him today. When I was walking him, he just kept running around everywhere! He made me waste so much time!"
Thinking about it made her feel a bit frustrated. Normally, Sablé was such a good, obedient boy, but today he had acted like a maniac.
"Dogs are like that. They have their moments of high energy."
Kai didn't think much of it. The most likely explanation was that a Cursed Spirit had been nearby. An animal's instinctual ability to sense danger often far surpasses that of humans. Sablé might have sensed the danger and abruptly changed direction to avoid it.
If that was the case, then ignorance truly was bliss. Yui probably had no idea just how close to danger she had been.
Still, it was a bit odd. Walking her dog before school was just one of Yui's personal quirks.
"I guess so!"
As usual, Yui believed Kai's explanation without question.
"I suppose I'll just have to take Sablé on longer walks from now on!"
If he was just bursting with energy, walking him more would definitely fix the problem, right?
Seeing how adorably earnest she was, Kai couldn't help but chuckle.
——————————
The school day passed by in a flash.
The only thing that truly disappointed Kai was that Marin Kitagawa and Megumi Kato had called in sick again.
He had called to check on them. While they were mostly recovered, they both admitted that walking still felt quite... uncomfortable. So, they decided to just take the whole day off and promised to come to school tomorrow.
After school, Kai hung around the Service Club for a little while before heading home.
That evening.
It had been quite a while since Shizuka Hiratsuka had visited an izakaya.
Before, she only went to izakayas to deal with stress and the sadness from her failed romances. Alcohol helped her forget her frustration.
But things were entirely different now.
Thanks to Kai's kindness, all her old frustration and anger faded away. She even found herself humming cheerful tunes during the day. Lately, she'd been in a great mood.
"So, what do you want from me this late at night?" Shizuka asked bluntly the moment she sat down.
"That's so mean, Shizu! We're friends, aren't we? I invited you out so many times, and you finally agreed to come, only to give me this kind of attitude? Nope, my feelings are hurt. You have to drink with me to make up for it!"
"..."
Shizuka rolled her eyes at Haruno's dramatic act but still took the drink. She'd known Haruno's over-the-top personality for years.
Haruno rested her chin on her hand, watching with a wide, beaming smile as Shizuka downed the glass.
"It's your own fault for always inviting me out at the worst possible times!" Shizuka retorted.
Who could she blame but Haruno? Every single time Haruno had asked her out recently, Shizuka had been otherwise occupied. There was no way she could have shown up.
"You had things to do?"
Haruno looked at Shizuka with surprise.
Even though Shizuka was the heiress of the Hiratsuka-gumi, she never involved herself in yakuza affairs. She was content with just being a teacher. Combined with her tomboyish personality, she was exactly the kind of person Haruno valued most. That was precisely why Haruno considered Shizuka her best friend.
It was only in front of Shizuka that Haruno felt comfortable dropping her perfectly crafted, manipulative mask and speaking from the heart. She didn't have to engage in the exhausting, two-faced social dances she constantly performed with everyone else.
"...Don't tell me you went on another blind date? What happened? Did you get rejected again?"
"HARUNO!"
'Is my track record of failed blind dates really this universally known??' Granted, it wasn't like she had ever tried particularly hard to hide it.
But hearing Haruno use it to mock her still struck a nerve.
"Even coming from you, I'll still get angry if you say things like that!"
Saying that, Shizuka cracked her knuckles right in front of Haruno's face. The loud, sharp pop-pop-pop of joints echoed threateningly across the table.
"I apologize!"
Seeing Shizuka's threat, Haruno's teasing grin disappeared, and she gave in right away.
In the end, if someone threatened her, it was usually empty bravado. But Shizuka Hiratsuka? She would definitely fight back.
And in terms of combat prowess... Haruno could confidently say that in her entire life, she had never met anyone stronger than Shizuka. The woman's physical strength was so scary that it was almost unnatural.
"Hmph!" Shizuka scoffed and rolled her eyes, though she had never actually intended to hit her.
"But seriously!" Noticing Shizuka's calming down, Haruno spoke once more, this time studying her with a sharp, investigative look. "I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me at first, but... your skin looks significantly better than before."
Haruno knew exactly how old Shizuka was. Not only was she not showing any signs of aging, but she actually looked younger and more vibrant than she had in years.
In stark contrast, even though Haruno was younger, the crushing workload from the family company had recently taken a severe toll. Between the constant all-nighters and immense stress, Haruno could physically feel her skin deteriorating. If this kept up, she was going to end up looking older than Shizuka!
Evidently, even anime heroines were susceptible to appearance anxiety.
It was precisely because the company's affairs were so overwhelming and her stress levels were redlining that she had used this rare sliver of free time to invite Shizuka out for drinks, hoping to finally relax.
"I've heard that 'certain activities' can do wonders for regulating a woman's hormones and improving her complexion. Don't tell me... You actually managed to get a boyfriend?"
As she asked, Haruno wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Her eyes, however, burned with real curiosity. She desperately wanted to know if Shizuka had actually managed to land a man.
"Ahem! Cough!"
"No, I haven't! Stop making wild guesses!"
Shizuka cleared her throat, feeling awkward. She really was a terrible liar.
However, technically, it wasn't exactly a lie. Her relationship with Kai clearly couldn't be called a typical 'boyfriend-girlfriend' situation, could it?
'That relentless Playboy!' Thinking about him made Shizuka mentally curse him. However, she realized she truly couldn't handle him alone, which left her feeling deeply helpless and exasperated.
--------------------------------------------------
~ Every 200 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ 15 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)