"Here, this is for you."
Outside the tennis court, Hoshimi, having escaped the girls from his class, handed a freshly bought hot bottled drink from a vending machine to Yukinoshita, who was resting on a bench.
"..."
Yukinoshita looked up at Hoshimi, silently taking the still slightly hot drink.
She turned the drink, glancing at the packaging.
A cherry-flavored drink, one she had drunk before. If she remembered correctly, this drink was thick and sweet, something she didn't particularly like.
"Yukinoshita, do you know why you lost?" Hoshimi plopped down next to Yukinoshita, opening his cold drink to chat with her for a bit.
"..."
Yukinoshita didn't respond immediately. She first glanced at the drink in Hoshimi's hand.
Coconut water, mild in taste and low in sugar, was a type she was relatively satisfied with.
So, without any courtesy, she snatched the drink from Hoshimi's hand, which was almost to his mouth, and forcibly shoved the cherry-flavored hot drink into his hand.
"Huh?" Hoshimi tilted his head, looking at Yukinoshita in confusion.
"Where did I lose?" Yukinoshita didn't enlighten Hoshimi. After taking a small sip of the coconut water, she calmly returned to the topic Hoshimi initially raised.
"..."
Hoshimi didn't pursue the reason for Yukinoshita's action.
After all, it was nothing more than a few possibilities: either she disliked the drink being hot, found it too sweet, or simply wanted to disrupt his rhythm and make him uncomfortable.
Or she thought he had tampered with the drink.
Whatever the reason, it didn't matter to him.
He opened the hot drink, taking a light sip of the slightly hot cherry-flavored beverage.
So thick... so sweet... coupled with a slight sourness from the heat, this drink's taste was indeed unique.
Hoshimi licked his lips, placing the drink aside without showing any emotion.
Then, he glanced at Yukinoshita, who was lightly sipping the coconut water, with the corner of his eye.
"Yukinoshita, do you want to know? If you want to know, give me a kiss." Seeing Yukinoshita's lips stained with light white coconut water, Hoshimi smirked playfully.
"Hoshimi, are you dreaming?" Yukinoshita placed the coconut water on her lap, turning her head to stare expressionlessly at the frivolous Hoshimi.
"Everything has a price, Yukinoshita. You and I are currently in an adversarial state. Isn't it appropriate to charge a fee for information?" Hoshimi leaned back on the bench, first tilting his head back and then turning to meet Yukinoshita's gaze.
As his crimson eyes met Yukinoshita's icy blue ones, both saw their reflections in each other's pupils.
"..."
Yukinoshita's fingers tightened unconsciously around the bottle.
After three seconds of staring at Hoshimi, she turned her head away, silently sipping her drink, seemingly not planning to get any information from Hoshimi.
Hoshimi chuckled, relaxing his posture, lazily leaning on the bench and watching the clouds drift across the clear sky.
Where did Yukinoshita lose?
The question was simple: Yukinoshita confused the primary conflict with the secondary one.
In the eyes of high school girls, him losing 6-0 to Yukinoshita was far less interesting than the gossip between them.
Yukinoshita was always seen as cold and unapproachable in the class, combined with her status as a wealthy, flawless academic achiever, adding a layer of mystery in the girls' eyes.
Now, a new transfer student was unexpectedly linked with the aloof Yukinoshita, and even in a romantic relationship, which undoubtedly excited these young high school girls in their blossoming years.
So, whether it was for gossiping about their relationship or using him to glimpse the real Yukinoshita beneath her icy exterior, these girls were too preoccupied to notice anything else.
Additionally, he consciously used words and actions to guide these girls' attention.
With various factors at play, the primary conflict was magnified, while the secondary one was selectively ignored by these girls.
Yukinoshita was excellent in all aspects—academics, appearance, athletic abilities, and communication skills, with no apparent weaknesses.
But Yukinoshita didn't understand people's hearts, a fatal flaw that left her at a disadvantage against him.
"Hoshimi, what did you tell them?"
After a long silence, just before the end of the class, Yukinoshita asked expressionlessly.
"Nothing, just things they wanted to hear."
"..."
Listening to Hoshimi's light response, the coldness on Yukinoshita's face intensified.
She was certain it wasn't as simple as Hoshimi said. Since this scoundrel sat on the same bench as her, the girls in the class had been giving them ambiguous looks, often accompanied by obvious blessings.
"Ring~~~"
The bell rang, and the female gym teacher, who had been goofing off somewhere, suddenly appeared on the field and blew her whistle, signaling everyone to gather for roll call.
Yukinoshita glanced coldly at Hoshimi beside her, took her drink, and headed to the field first.
"Yukinoshita."
The lazy call from behind made Yukinoshita pause. She turned her head slightly, looking at Hoshimi, who had straightened up, with the corner of her eye.
"Just some little stories, like our kendo competition anecdotes, or the time you fell into a hidden pit during a mountain hike... things like that."
"Oh dear~ making up stories really tests one's memory. I wonder if I can remember them next time they bring it up."
"..."
Watching Hoshimi pretend to sigh while holding his forehead, Yukinoshita turned back and left without a word.
So that's it, using artistic elaboration of things that happened in dreams to deceive people?
Hoshimi Kiyokawa, not only a nasty scoundrel but also a smooth-talking liar.
But...
Why could she never win against a scoundrel, a liar?
No, rather than saying she couldn't win, it was more like she was always being played by Hoshimi.
For some reason, she sensed a similar aura from Hoshimi to her sister.
"..."
Yukinoshita furrowed her brows, walking thoughtfully towards the field.
It seemed it was time to sit down and deeply rethink her strategy.
"Ha~~"
Hoshimi stretched, yawned, then slowly stood up and strolled towards the gathering point.
Another day of classes ended. It was time to think about what game to play with Yukinoshita tonight.
Afraid of heights? Let's continue targeting that.
But be careful not to scare Yukinoshita into wetting herself again, or she might block his door...
"Swish--swish--"
A cool sea breeze brushed past, rustling the new green leaves.
On the bench where Hoshimi and Yukinoshita had sat, a bottle of cherry-flavored drink silently faced the empty tennis court.