As they exited the utility room, the warm sunlight shone down.
Mafuyu felt a touch of warmth on her body and whispered, "Haruto-kun, is there something in there?"
Haruto lightly coughed. "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"
"Stop talking."
Mafuyu's body trembled slightly. She crossed her arms and looked straight ahead, saying, "You go back first. I need to go to the principal's office."
After saying that, she glanced nervously back at the utility room and quickly left.
Even though Haruto hadn't said it outright, Mafuyu already knew the answer.
She should never come here alone again.
She couldn't help but slow down, turning to look at Haruto once more, and unconsciously bit her lip gently.
Ghosts and the like were terrifying.
She could only bother him more in the future, but that was it.
Mafuyu took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and hurried away.
Haruto bought a bottle of drink and entered the classroom, where Itsuki was probably still on her way.
The morning passed quickly.
❀❀❀
Lunch Break.
After lunch, Haruto headed toward the rooftop.
Opening the door and looking around, the sky was blue, and the cracks of darkness were startling. However, ignoring the cracks, the sky was still beautiful.
Haruto shifted his gaze and took out his phone.
The reason he came to the rooftop wasn't that he had nothing to do, but because Itsuki had asked him to flick her forehead?
It was to apply a buff.
As mentioned earlier, Haruto didn't have the ability to give someone a permanent buff or some kind of superpower.
There was a specific setting that required contact before the buff or ability could be granted.
Haruto didn't even know what his ability was. Overall, the limit for giving buffs through regular contact was currently 24 hours—just one day.
As for the rest, it was better not to mention it.
After a while, Itsuki hurried over.
"Huff..."
Itsuki patted her chest, sighed, and looked up with sparkling eyes.
"Kuromori-kun, sorry for the trouble..."
Even though she felt embarrassed the first time her forehead was flicked and a bit ashamed the second time, now she only felt slightly shy.
More importantly, she was nervous about being seen!
Haruto put down his phone, stepped forward, lifted the girl's bangs, and then his eyes met Itsuki's face.
Their eyes met.
Itsuki suddenly looked away, her face flushing red.
Haruto thought for a moment and said, "I think you're too slow, so I'll help you."
Itsuki whispered, "Stop talking, Kuromori-kun, hurry up. Otherwise, we'll be late going back and easily spotted."
*CLACK*
Haruto snapped his fingers. "Done."
"Hmm~"
Itsuki held her forehead, her eyes shining as if there were two stars inside.
"Thank you, Kuromori-kun."
Even though this wasn't the first time, it always felt nice.
The ahoge on top of Itsuki's head quivered slightly, and she cheerfully said, "As a reward, I'll treat you to a drink later, Kuromori-kun. By the way, if you're hungry, I have plenty of snacks."
Although the two were already quite familiar with each other and even considered friends, they still maintained a tutor-student relationship. One favor was still one favor, and debts had to be repaid.
No matter how many times, it was the same.
Basking in the warm sunlight, Itsuki lay down and gazed with her bright eyes. "Kuromori-kun, I'm heading down now."
"Wait."
"Eh?"
Itsuki's ahoge swayed slightly, and she looked at him in surprise. There was a nervous expression on her face, and she unconsciously stepped back two paces.
"Is there something else?"
Though unsure of what Itsuki was wary of, Haruto felt offended.
He raised his eyes and said, "Wait a moment before going down, as someone is coming."
Itsuki sighed in relief. "Is that all? I thought..."
At that point, her voice trailed off, and she turned sideways, pretending to be calm as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
Yet, her cheeks suddenly turned red!
Haruto raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why?"
"Hmm~"
Itsuki hesitated and mumbled, "It's nothing. Anyway, let's hide first!"
Seeing that he wanted to ask more, Itsuki bit her lip and glared at him with embarrassment and frustration, her eyes sharp.
It was clear she was furious!
Haruto swallowed his words.
He always felt that if he pressed further, he might face Itsuki's wrath.
Better drop it.
An angry Itsuki wasn't to be provoked.
Seeing him stop talking, Itsuki sighed in relief and whispered, "Let's go over there."
The misunderstanding confession or something...
How could she say that? It was so embarrassing.
Moreover, Itsuki didn't even understand what she would do if the other party actually confessed.
Reject him?
Accept it?
Itsuki was genuinely confused.
She knew well that she didn't dislike Haruto, in fact, she was very grateful to him. Haruto was not only willing to help her with lessons, but he also agreed to tutor the quintuplets.
And he wasn't doing it half-heartedly; he was seriously committed.
This was evident from the notes he provided and the test papers he created.
During the first tutoring session, Itsuki was quite angry at the lack of cooperation from Nino and the others. If Haruto hadn't seemed unbothered, Itsuki felt like she might have exploded... Even so, she didn't want to make things difficult for Haruto and suppressed her anger.
Besides, spending time with him made Itsuki feel at ease.
Before, she was always unsure about the future.
Even though she worked hard and was serious, she knew she wasn't a fast learner.
Although she wouldn't give up, the feeling of not getting the rewards she deserved despite her efforts was truly disheartening.
Therefore, after learning that Haruto was academically excellent, despite knowing his reputation wasn't great, she gathered her courage.
Itsuki felt it might have been the best decision she'd ever made.
Through their interactions, Itsuki realized that Haruto wasn't as unapproachable as rumors had suggested. Although he sometimes teased her, he was actually a kind person.
But now, as long as Haruto was by her side, Itsuki no longer felt lost, and her dreams for the future no longer seemed out of reach.
Haruto had helped her a lot.
Isn't it said that there's no way to repay such great kindness? Itsuki could only offer herself in return.