Toyogasaki Academy, Class 3C.
"Hmm~~~"
Kasumigaoka lazily stretched as she slowly woke up, letting out a soft, alluring sigh.
It had been a long time since she had slept so comfortably, and she felt refreshed upon waking up.
Not only that, but the dopamine-induced pleasure made her feel like she was melting away.
"Ha~~"
Yawning, Kasumigaoka propped her chin on her hand, gazing out the window with eyes as clear as autumn water.
In May, during the late spring season, the scene outside the window was already full of life.
All she could see was a vast expanse of greenery.
"Ha~~"
Kasumigaoka yawned again, unable to stop herself.
Like a lazy cat, she half-closed her eyes, and her thoughts drifted away.
Although Hoshimi had given her a promise, she still felt uneasy.
Who knows if Hoshimi might suddenly "disappear without a word" like he did half a year ago?
No matter the situation, she needed to find a way to grasp Hoshimi's real-life connections, like where he went to school and where he lived.
Once she had that information, if Hoshimi ever "disappeared without a word" again, she would have a place to look for him.
But from Hoshimi's attitude, it was clear he didn't want to reveal his real-life connections, which meant she needed to cleverly extract this information from someone as socially adept as Hoshimi.
This was going to be quite a challenge...
She would need to come up with a flawless strategy to get the information...
How should she go about it?
Kasumigaoka pondered...
...
Sobu High, Class 2J.
Hoshimi woke up and sat dazedly at his desk, staring at the board filled with notes.
"Ring ring~~~ Ring ring~~~"
Before long, the bell signaling the end of class rang. The teacher left promptly with their teaching materials, and the classroom quickly became lively with students chatting, heading out, or playfully roughhousing.
There were a few active girls in Class J who would fool around after class.
Watching the scene of these pretty girls with their skirts fluttering was quite pleasing to the eye.
"Hoshimi?"
"Hm?"
Hoshimi turned to look at the expressionless Yukino.
"Do you find it nice to look at?" Yukino slightly raised her delicate neck, her icy blue eyes filled with a frosty chill.
Hoshimi's eyes shifted as he responded honestly, "Objectively speaking, it's indeed nice to look at."
"Is that so? Then, keep looking." Yukino's gaze grew colder as she turned back to organizing the books on her desk without any change in expression.
Hoshimi grinned, dragging his chair over to sit beside Yukino. He wrapped his left arm around her waist and held her hand with his right, blowing warm air into her ear as he whispered, "No matter how nice they look, they can't compare to my Yukino."
"..." Yukino, whose ears tingled, suppressed the embarrassment welling up inside and tried to remain calm as she nudged Hoshimi's side with her elbow. "Don't get so close in class; it's inappropriate."
Hoshimi blinked and continued to blow warm air into Yukino's ear. "Hmm? I don't recall Sobu High having any rules against student relationships."
"That's not the issue. Hoshimi, can you pay attention to the others' stares?" Yukino, who usually didn't care about others' opinions, felt unusually uncomfortable today.
She didn't even need to look up to feel the tangible, envious gazes of the girls in the class.
"Others' stares?" Hoshimi's lips curled up as he deliberately bit Yukino's earlobe.
"Mm~" Yukino's body trembled, and her fair face immediately turned a delicate shade of red.
"Hoshimi!" she scolded, pushing his face away with her hand.
"Haha~" Hoshimi chuckled as he withdrew his left hand and grasped the hand Yukino was using to push him away.
He leaned closer to Yukino, smiling, "Yukino, weren't you always the type who didn't care about others' opinions? You wouldn't even bother explaining trivial things. What's different today?"
Hoshimi's grin deepened as he licked his lips teasingly, "Could it be that my Yukino-chan is feeling shy?"
"Hoshimi! I'm not!" Yukino's face reddened further, the blush even spreading down her fair neck.
"If you're not shy, then…" Hoshimi blinked, slowly leaning in towards Yukino's face.
The distance between them shrank, leaving less than a hand's breadth.
The girls who had been quietly observing the scene fell silent, their eyes widening in mixed emotions as they eagerly awaited what would happen next.
They were excited, looking forward to finally witnessing a real-life couple being affectionate—especially one involving the famous Yukinoshita Yukino.
At the same time, they felt conflicted. Seriously, could they stop showing off their relationship? It's making lunch less appetizing!
As the distance continued to close, until only a finger's width remained, Yukino, with a face flushed red, suddenly burst into action. She broke free and pushed Hoshimi, sending him—and his chair—toppling to the floor.
"Whoa—"
"Bang!"
"Ouch~ Damn it!"
Hoshimi, caught off guard, had no time to react and ended up sprawled on the floor.
"Uh..." Yukino was momentarily stunned before she snorted coldly, "Serves you right!"
Then, she quickly stood up and extended a hand to help Hoshimi.
Hoshimi took her hand and stood up, grimacing. "Yukino, you're so rough~"
"Hmph!" Yukino snorted, sitting back in her seat. She pulled out her lunchbox from the drawer and said, "Stop wasting time. Let's eat lunch."
"Ok~ Got it~" Hoshimi dusted off his clothes, righted his chair, then pulled their desks together to have lunch with Yukino.
The surrounding girls, seeing that there would be no kiss, left disappointed.
There wasn't much left to see with Hoshimi and Yukino having lunch together. They were already used to being fed this kind of dog food, so it didn't even taste like anything anymore.
During lunch, Hoshimi behaved himself, only occasionally sneaking a bite of Yukino's lunch. Otherwise, he didn't make any major moves.
However, Yukino noticed that Hoshimi kept glancing at the front and back doors of the classroom as if he was expecting someone to arrive.
"Hoshimi, what are you looking at?"
As Hoshimi glanced at the back door again, Yukino furrowed her brows and asked.
Hoshimi swallowed his mouthful of rice and asked in return, "Yukino, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"
"What do you think, Hoshimi? Do you think I want to hear the truth or a lie?"
"Probably the truth?"
"Since you know, then hurry up and say it."
"Don't rush." Hoshimi took out a thermos, pouring some miso soup into the lid and handing it to Yukino.
Then, he asked, "Yukino, don't you think it's strange? Why hasn't Kotoko shown up?"
"..." Yukino sipped the miso soup, too lazy to respond to Hoshimi.
How would she know why Iwanaga Kotoko hadn't come? Her absence was a good thing, less trouble to deal with.
"Strange, isn't it? Given Kotoko's personality, how could she not come? Could she be caught up in something?" Hoshimi tapped his fingers on the desk.
"Do you really want her to come?" Yukino asked, narrowing her eyes as she held the lid in her hands.
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