It was still very early in the morning.
Tobiichi was slowly being approached by Jun. It was pretty clear that he hadn't given up on trying to get rid of the photo just yet.
Whatever the case, he wasn't getting it off Tobiichi.
"Tobiichi, it's against the rules to take a photo of someone without permission."
She smiled.
"Is that so? But again, what are you going to do about it?"
"They might revoke your position if I tell a teacher."
Tobiichi sighed.
"You clearly don't understand how this school operates~."
She crouched down, placing her hands on the ground.
Jun slowly approached her.
Scrunching her hands, Tobiichi grabbed a handful of soggy mud.
"What are y—"
Splash. A ball of mud crashed into Jun's face.
"What is wrong with you?! What the hell is this!"
He scrambled to wipe the brown smudge off of his body. Tobiichi-san laughed as she patted her hands, getting rid of some of the mud, although her hands were clearly stained with the tone of dirt.
…
"Aren't you a sore loser. Do you want to play another game?"
"Screw off with your stupid games!"
In a fit of anger, Jun lunged forward and grabbed Tobiichi by the neck. The motion caused him to fall to his knees, awkwardly holding onto Tobiichi. He scrambled on top of her, trying to grab the phone out of her hand.
Suddenly, he realised something.
Catching a glimpse of her phone, he realised that he had made a mistake.
"Fuck… are you recording?!"
Tobiichi began to laugh.
"Haa, what did you expect~. Now you've got no choice."
Jun leapt back in shock. He was frozen still, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Fujimiya was also standing close by, silently watching the whole thing. Both of them were completely stiff.
"You shouldn't have done that, Jun~. You could've just walked away, and all I would've had was the photo. Now you're in deep trouble."
Jun suddenly looked up at me.
I wasn't going to do anything.
In reality, the school wouldn't have cared much about the video either.
"F-fujimiya… what… what are we going to do…?"
"Leave me out of this…! I-I don't know…"
Tobiichi got up, swinging the phone in her hand. Some of the mud on her hand was getting onto the screen.
"Tobiichi… when were you like this? This isn't what you're like on television…!"
She laughed out loud.
"Aha, do you really need to be told that it's all fake? Fujimiya's just a fake as well, you know? I'm nothing like what I seem on television~."
Jun's eyes widened.
"So… what do you want from us…?"
Fujimiya began to walk forward.
"What's wrong with you… Tobiichi! I thought we were friends. Why are you doing this to me? What did I do to you?"
Tobiichi stepped back.
"Nothing really. Your little posse was just getting on my nerves."
"What has that got to do with you? They've never done anything to you! They all love me; it's natural for someone like me to have a group of boys following me."
"Is it natural, I wonder."
Fujimiya clenched her fists.
"You're pissing me off. You know you don't just get to mess with me like this, right? You're talented, Tobiichi, but your personality is terrible."
With that, she ran off back toward the dorms.
I guess it wasn't over still.
I made my way over to Tobiichi.
"You should wash your hands."
• ───────────────── •
It was lunch time.
Tobiichi-san had some responsibilities related to the school council, so she had been absent almost the entire day since the incident this morning.
…
As I made my way to my locker, I was called out to by Akechi.
"Kizutaka-senpai, I've been looking for you! Shimizu's been sick, so I've been lonely the entire day…"
"Don't you have other friends besides him?"
She looked down.
"Well… I'm not that close with anyone else, aside from you."
"Ah. Well, is there anything you want to do?"
She pointed to the convenience store that was just a few metres from the main classroom building. It was a small shop that most students went to instead of the main grocery store in the mall.
"I need to get a new toothbrush. I've been using this one that's falling apart! Like you know all the little bristles? They're splitting, and it doesn't feel very good."
"Alright, let's go then."
We made our way over. It was somewhat awkward since it was the first time I was hanging out with Akechi without Shimizu.
"Also, Kizutaka-senpai, I heard that you're in the student council. Good job! I didn't realise that you were that type of person."
"I kind of got dragged into it."
She giggled.
"That's funny. I would've never expected you to be interested in that type of stuff. Say, what do you usually do in your spare time? I've never really talked to you about this."
"Not much. I sometimes go to the library."
"Ooh? I hate going to the library. All the books are so boring. I much prefer sitting in my dorm watching movies~!"
To be honest, I also found books boring.
…
After a little while, we arrived at the convenience store. Greeted by a small sound effect after entering and walking through the entrance, Akechi quickly made her way to the cosmetics section.
"Hey, hey, Kizutaka-senpai, which toothbrush do you think suits me more~?"
She held two by her face.
"I'm not sure. I think the one on the right is better."
"Oh? You like the blue one? I guess it is pretty cute. I'll take it then."
Placing the other one back, it seemed that something else caught her eye. She looked up at me.
"Hehe, this conditioner is on sale. It's lemon flavour! What do you think, Kizutaka?"
She smiled as she pulled it off the shelf.
"It's pretty expensive still."
"Haa, I know, right? But it's finally on sale. Don't you think it's a good idea to get it now…? I've been wanting it for a while."
This was weirdly comforting.
It felt strangely like that time all those years ago.
Was it a coincidence?