Kazami Haru could feel it.
The atmosphere was off.
When he asked Mutsumi to come today, he really didn't have any ulterior motives. Partly, yes, he needed her to bring the amp. But he also wanted to help her make more friends, Ryo might be a bit of a menace, but as a friend, she wasn't bad.
Otherwise, Mutsumi would just keep orbiting Nagasaki Soyo all the time, getting shut down every time she tried to vent to Sakiko, only to come running back to him with teary little pearls in her eyes.
"..."
Haru glanced at the left, where Mutsumi seemingly frozen in place, had inched ever so slightly closer to him. On the right, Ryo was sliding over under the pretense of "chatting."
The space between them… had shrunk significantly since the beginning.
Yeah, ever since Mutsumi and Yamada Ryo met, something had shifted in the air.
Mutsumi, for her part, hadn't changed much. She was still her usual cute self, expressing her thoughts gently to Haru.
But Ryo... Ryo had definitely been paying close attention to Mutsumi, stealing glances at her every move.
It wasn't until the desserts arrived that things eased up a little. Mutsumi, who loved mango juice, didn't hold back this time. Cupping it in both hands and sipping quietly. Ryo, meanwhile, was shoveling caramel pudding into her mouth in huge bites.
"This weekend, Ryo and I are performing with our band, Kessoku Band. I saved you a ticket, Mutsumi." Haru said, pulling a fresh ticket from his pocket and handing it to her.
Honestly, he'd wanted to invite Sakiko, too… but gave up on that.
Because Sakiko really had no money.
Even if Haru tried to give her a ticket, with her stubborn personality she'd frown, look deadly serious, and insist on paying him back no matter what.
"…Thank you."
Mutsumi, of course, had none of those worries. If Haru gave her something, she would treasure it.
But now that she thought about it, Haru had been looking out for her all this time and aside from that cucumber keychain she'd given him before… she hadn't really done anything for him in return.
A hint of gloom passed over her face.
I want to repay Haru more…
But… she couldn't think of any way to do it.
Meanwhile, Ryo took a long sip of her coffee and casually eyed Mutsumi's uniform.
Tsukinomori Girls' Academy. A genuine, upper-class school. Only the rich or powerful could afford to send their daughters there.
Her own family had once considered sending her to Tsukinomori too, but she'd refused. She hated the rules and restrictions.
Now that she thought about it… "Wakaba", that surname rang a bell.
Their families probably ran in the same circles. Seeing Mutsumi now triggered some vague memories for Ryo.
"Wakaba. How did you and Haru meet?" Ryo suddenly asked.
The question caught Mutsumi off guard.
She glanced toward Haru, unsure how to answer, but when he nodded at her with a smile, Mutsumi's lips curled into a soft little smile of her own.
She spoke slowly, with a gentle curve to her voice:
"We first talked while sitting in the park."
"He asked me if I could lend him money to play pachinko."
"Pffft—!"
Ryo's blank expression cracked immediately.
She clutched her mouth as she burst out laughing, unapologetically mocking Haru. The deeper his scowl became, the more tears of laughter gathered in the corners of her eyes.
Grinning shamelessly, Ryo gave him a thumbs-up.
"As expected of the keyboardist in a rock band. I respect it."
"I don't want respect from a bassist."
Kazami Haru rolled his eyes as he watched the increasingly brazen Ryo Yamada mock him. He casually retorted, "That was just something I said to brush you off at the time. Don't take it seriously, Mutsumi."
Looking at the puzzled Mutsumi, who tilted her head slightly, Kazami Haru rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.
When it came to this matter, he honestly had no way to argue. When he first met Mutsumi, he had just wanted to brush her off with a few random words, trying to scare her away using his usual 'bad boy' persona.
Who would have thought that Mutsumi was so naïve?
She didn't even react, and ended up following him anyway.
Luckily, the only one asking about this was Ryo Yamada, who had a knack for being a bit of a gossip. If it were Sakiko Togawa asking Mutsumi how she met Kazami Haru, he didn't even dare to imagine how that would turn out.
"And then Haru took me to buy an electric keyboard and asked me to help him pick one out."
"He treated me to a crepe. It was really fun."
The little woodhead, Mutsumi, spoke her experience in the simplest of words.
From such brief words, Ryo Yamada didn't pick up much else, but after chatting a bit, she felt that the young lady from the Wakaba family wasn't so intimidating after all, just a bit clueless.
"How did you meet Haru, Yamada-senpai?" Mutsumi asked, her expression still unchanged.
Ryo Yamada, who had been smiling weakly, didn't expect Mutsumi to take the initiative and ask her this. Her light golden eyes glimmered with a bit of sharpness. After a brief thought, she softly spoke:
"The first time we met was at LoveHouse, and he fell for me at first sight."
Mutsumi: ?
"The first time we met was obviously at LiveHouse, wasn't it? And when did I ever fall for you at first sight?" Kazami Haru calmly rebutted.
To be honest, the first time he met Ryo Yamada was actually at a ramen shop. Back then, he might have genuinely been captivated by the cold, aloof, yet charismatic woman in front of him, but that was just in the simulation.
Mutsumi finally realized she had been tricked, her gaze fixed on Ryo Yamada.
Kazami Haru had originally thought that these two calm, ice-cold beauties would repel each other, but unexpectedly, their interaction seemed to be going quite smoothly.
Buzz...
"Huh?"
Kazami Haru suddenly noticed the vibrating sensation of his phone. Upon checking, he saw that it was a message from Bocchi. Bocchi, who rarely even spoke in their Line group, was messaging him privately. This was quite surprising.
"I'll go to the bathroom for a moment. You two can keep talking."
Noticing that Gotoh Hitori seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, Kazami Haru decided to head toward the bathroom, leaving Ryo and Mutsumi sitting on either side, both watching his retreating figure.
Once his figure completely disappeared, a meaningful gleam appeared in Ryo Yamada's eyes.
Before she could say anything, Mutsumi suddenly spoke up first:
"Yamada-senpai, do you like Haru?"
Such a direct question made Ryo Yamada pause for a moment. She hadn't expected the seemingly clueless Mutsumi to ask such a straightforward question. However, since Mutsumi had already asked, it basically meant she was revealing her thoughts.
Yamada Ryo still had one hand lightly supporting her cheek as she casually spoke, "Yeah, I like him."
Wakaba Mutsumi calmly gazed at Yamada Ryo in front of her, her head slightly lowered as she fell silent for a moment.
Just as she had suspected, this senpai—Yamada—also liked Kazami Haru.
[If Haru gets taken by Yamada Ryo, Sakiko will be heartbroken.]
But that wasn't the only reason.
Wakaba Mutsumi herself also felt a tightness in her chest. She didn't like this feeling, it was as if she were back in that extravagant but empty house, surrounded on all sides by decorations and luxurious items.
Yet she felt like she was the only one left.
Other than Haru, who allowed her to speak out the real "self" inside her, there was no place for "Wakaba Mutsumi" to stay.
"…I won't give him up to you."
The once seemingly timid Wakaba Mutsumi now made that declaration with an expression utterly devoid of emotion.
Yamada Ryo, equally expressionless, stared back at Wakaba Mutsumi. The dull-looking girl in front of her was indeed a major threat, but she also held the potential to be a valuable ally. After all, handling too much trouble alone was difficult.
Her information was insufficient. She needed to "update" it.
"Wakaba, I have a proposal."
...
Inside the bathroom—
[Bocchi: Haru-san! This my lifelong request! ! ! ! !]
The moment Kazami Haru opened his phone, Bocchi's desperate message came rushing in.
A long string of text followed by many exclamation marks. Even without seeing Gotoh Hitori's physical condition on the other side of the screen, Kazami Haru could imagine her probably kneeling on the ground with the phone in her hands.
This was rare. Was there something so urgent that even socially anxious Bocchi had to reach out for help?
Kazami Haru chuckled in amusement and began typing on his phone.
[Want to be used as fertilizer: What's going on?]
[Bocchi: You're the only one I can ask, Haru-san! The first live show for the band is coming up this week, but there are also the end-of-term exams! My grades are terrible, and at this rate, I won't even pass…]
[Bocchi: If I fail, I'll have to take the makeup exam during the break!]
[Bocchi: If it's Haru-san, you must have a way to help me get stronger in a short amount of time, right?]
Kazami Haru stared at the text that was instantly read and responded to in a flash by Bocchi. He couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
She really expected to get stronger in such a short time? Did she think she was a Saiyan?
[Want to be used as fertilizer: I remember that if you fail the exams, you have to take a makeup exam during the summer break, right?]
[Bocchi: I just need to pass three subjects!]
The education at Haneoka High was relatively relaxed. Most students could fail two or three subjects without much issue.
But if too many subjects were failed, even the most lenient school would make you take a makeup exam.
Gotoh Hitori had probably been too absorbed in her guitar practice to care about studying.
If only the "Guitar Hero" would spend even one-tenth of the time spent cutting videos or practicing guitar for ten hours on her studies, she might not have ended up in this pitiful situation.
[Want to be used as fertilizer: May I ask, how much did you score on the last math exam, Bocchi?]
[Bocchi: 18 points.]
Now, that was a heavy one.
Kazami Haru suddenly understood why Bocchi was acting so out of it today, it was all because of the exams.
[Want to be used as fertilizer: Bocchi, just kill yourself [No mercy].]
After sending this message, Gotoh Hitori didn't reply. Kazami Haru could imagine her now, probably foaming at the mouth and convulsing on the floor. If he ignored her now, she would probably transform from a pink wild club snake into a cyber slug.
Though he said that, Kazami Haru would never really ignore her.
A week, huh?
Kazami Haru considered himself decent enough at his studies. While he couldn't rank at the top of the class like some overachievers, he certainly had ample experience in helping the academically challenged cram at the last minute.
[Want to be used as fertilizer: Starting tomorrow, special training. I'll help as much as I can, but in the end, whether you pass or not depends on you.]
[Bocchi: I can't thank you enough! Kneeling down in gratitude. JPG.]
Since he had decided to help Bocchi with the special training, he figured he should bring along the other girls, especially the seemingly easy-going ones, who actually had great academic performance.
It looked like the easiest to deal with, Bocchi, was the only one with the most worrying grades.
Kazami Haru chuckled and slowly put his phone away.
As he walked back, he saw Ryo Yamada and Mutsumi chatting, but the moment they saw him approach, they immediately stopped talking.
Kazami Haru raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling more confused.
What was going on?
"Mutsumi, I'll contact you on Line later." Ryo Yamada lightly shook her phone toward Mutsumi.
"Mm."
Mutsumi nodded obediently, looking quite familiar with Ryo Yamada now.
Kazami Haru: ?
He was a bit startled. They had just met, so how had they become so familiar so quickly? Had they even exchanged Line contacts already?
Ryo Yamada seemed to notice his confusion, but she said nothing. She simply waved and left with a meaningful look, leaving Mutsumi sitting there with no expression on her face.
"Haru."
The obedient little cucumber, Mutsumi, suddenly spoke.
"I want to go to the amusement park... with you, Haru."
Mutsumi, who had a calm gaze like still water, suddenly invited Kazami Haru on a date.
- - -
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