"Tomori, did I do something to upset you? If so, I apologize. Please don't ignore me, okay?"
Kazama Haru began to realize that Takamatsu Tomori seemed to be sulking. Although he couldn't figure out the reason, to avoid affecting the band's future activities, he had no choice but to soften his tone and coax her gently.
Listening to his gentle and patient questioning, Takamatsu Tomori's averted face quickly flushed with an undeniable blush, her body trembling slightly, showing signs of almost "surrendering."
However, just as she finally turned her head, managed to look up at Kazama Haru, and was about to say something with a wronged expression—
The class bell rang at an extremely inopportune moment.
Matsuzaka-sensei, who was in charge of this Japanese Literature class, was an exceptionally punctual person, stepping into the classroom almost as soon as the bell rang.
Kazama Haru sighed, suppressing the doubts and anxiety in his heart, and reluctantly returned to his seat to prepare for class.
The class ended quickly.
To Kazama Haru's surprise, as soon as Matsuzaka-sensei left the classroom, Takamatsu Tomori, who had completely ignored him an hour ago, turned to him proactively.
Her eyes blinked, as if she had something to say but didn't know how to start.
"Tomori," Kazama Haru called her name, guiding her with the softest voice possible: "Is something on your mind? If you're willing, would you like to tell me?"
"Mm..." Takamatsu Tomori's cheeks were beet red, as if she was undergoing a difficult psychological struggle. After a long while, she stammered:
"Haru-kun... when did you and Amaori-san become so close?"
"Ah, you mean Renako..." Kazama Haru didn't understand why she suddenly brought up Amaori Renako.
Thinking there was no need to hide anything from Tomori, and after briefly considering his words, he began to explain: "One day after school, I happened to run into her when she wasn't feeling well, so I lent a hand."
"During our subsequent chats, we unexpectedly discovered that we had the same hobbies, so I went to her house to play video games for a while at her invitation."
"Little by little, our relationship became what it is now."
"Video games..." Tomori's expression was slightly dazed: "Was it played in Amaori-san's room?"
Kazama Haru scratched his head a bit awkwardly, looking at Tomori's slightly widened pink eyes, and proactively added: "Yes, that's right. But we really just played games for a while. Speaking of which, Renako's room is quite tidy, and the scent is also..."
Hearing him describe the details of Renako's room like that, Tomori's eyes widened even further. A feeling she had never experienced before suddenly appeared in her heart, making her feel sour and uncomfortable.
The incomprehensible sourness made her no longer want to hear Kazama Haru speak. With another almost inaudible "hmph," she completely turned away, refusing to talk to Kazama Haru anymore.
"..."
Kazama Haru was completely bewildered by her sudden change of mood.
Afterward, he spent several more breaks coaxing her, exerting a great deal of effort, to calm Tomorin's jealousy, which even she herself hadn't noticed…
…
11:45—accompanied by the noticeably rising temperature in the classroom and the pleasant sound of the dismissal bell, Kazama Haru finally finished his morning classes.
Unlike the "bento faction" who carried steaming insulated lunchboxes, he had been forced to get used to eating lunch in the school cafeteria or konbini since he was a child.
*Konbini=convenience store
Although he had eaten bentos handmade by Sena Ajisai more than once, such as omurice with hearts drawn in ketchup, and tuna salad bentos that were nutritionally balanced and filling.
The taste was delicious, and every bite exuded deep affection.
But Kazama Haru was always someone who disliked troubling others, and he didn't want to add extra work for Ajisai, who already had to take care of her younger brothers.
However, when he earnestly told Ajisai that she didn't need to keep making him bentos, the kind angel still didn't give up easily.
She would either secretly make it and slip it into his bag when he wasn't looking, or forcefully hand it to him with the excuse that "there's too much food, too troublesome to throw it away"...
It wasn't until Kazama Haru had a flash of inspiration and changed his approach, hardening his heart to feign anger and utter words like "your charity hurts my pride as a man," that Ajisai, full of guilt, stopped her selfless act of kindness.
Recalling these interesting past events, Kazama Haru's lips involuntarily curved into a gentle smile. He stood up, preparing to walk to the cafeteria alone as usual.
However, several discordant female voices arguing inevitably pierced his ears, interrupting his plan.
"Hey, Renako-chan, come and eat with us~ Don't be shy, wasn't it like this the other day?"
Riko Nakamura had a chilling sneer on her face, spreading her arms to block Renako's path.
Throughout the nearly four hours of morning classes, Riko Nakamura's mind had been replaying Renako's "provocative" behavior from the morning, making her increasingly furious.
Seeing Renako still having the nerve to attend class seriously as if nothing had happened, she immediately decided to severely "deal with" her at lunchtime today.
As for Kazama Haru, her boyfriend Koji would personally "entertain" him.
With his intervention, at the very least, he would mercilessly use a knife to slash his handsome face into a bloody mess.
By then, this unfortunate couple would truly be a perfect match.
Looking at Riko Nakamura's displeased face, Renako's expression showed obvious panic and fear, her voice trembling and stammering noticeably:
"S-sorry, today I'm planning to eat alone, N-Nakamura-san, could you please make way... for a path?"
"Hmph, I refuse!"
Riko Nakamura reached out and forcefully pushed Renako's chest, making her stumble and almost fall, completely cutting off any lingering hope of an easy "escape":
"Heh heh, no wonder you could charm Kazama-chan like that. Those oppai really are big and soft."
The Gothic Lolita girl next to her rubbed her newly done nails, her voice affected: "Don't worry, Renako, Riko and I will definitely treat you to the best lunch. After all, we're ' best friends ,' aren't we?"
"Best friends..." Renako murmured, repeating the words. Such a beautiful term, coming from the mouths of the two in front of her, was so ironic.
After the comfort of Kazama Haru's message last night, she was no longer the confused girl who couldn't distinguish "friends from foes" and desperately sought out friends to become a normie.
"No, you two don't deserve such a beautiful term! My only best friend now is Haru-kun!"
Renako suddenly waved her hand, erupting with an unprecedented aura.
"Hmph, how dare you talk back! You're just a loser, let me teach you a lesson!"
Seeing her obedient "plaything" dare to loudly contradict her views, Riko Nakamura immediately flew into a rage, instantly losing her remaining sanity, raising her hand high, ready to slap Renako hard.
"Ah!" Renako was startled by her terrifying aura and involuntarily cried out.
Extreme fear instantly made her mind go blank, unable to think, and even less able to issue commands to run or fight back. She could only instinctively close her eyes.
However, a few seconds later, the expected stinging pain of a slap did not appear on her face.
Instead, it was Riko Nakamura who let out an incredulous scream.
"Eh..."
With surprise and unexpectedness at not being able to understand the situation, Renako's pair of bewildered purple eyes slowly widened.
The first thing that came into view was Kazama Haru's broad back.
Only then did Renako realize that, at some point, she had been firmly protected behind him in a very secure way.
"Kazama Haru, you, you beast, how dare you hit me?!"
Looking towards the source of the angry roar, the moment she understood the situation, Renako instinctively covered her mouth with her hand, preventing herself from screaming out of excessive surprise.
As if seeing a ghost in broad daylight, Riko Nakamura showed an expression of shock beyond comprehension.
Her hand, suspended in the air, was firmly gripped by Kazama Haru, and her cheek was marked with five fresh red fingerprints.
Perhaps because Kazama Haru's blow was too harsh, a few tears of fear even flowed from her eyes. She pressed her lips tightly together, her body trembling uncontrollably.
The fear that shot straight to her head even made her forget how to fight back.
It wasn't until Kazama Haru pulled Amaori Renako to the classroom door that Riko Nakamura threatened, putting on a brave front:
"I-I'll kill you! Kazama Haru, you'd better have one last farewell moment with this ugly hag during lunchtime, because when school's out, I'll definitely have Koji tear you to shreds—Just you wait!!"