Chapter 13: The Day After (2)

Class was dragging on, and I was struggling to pay attention. Seriously, I tried my best, but it's like my brain had decided to take a coffee break without telling me.

No worries though, I could always count on Tsubasa to catch me up on whatever was taught today. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any surprise quizzes or anything like that.

While I pretended to be interested in the complicated math problems the teacher was scribbling on the board, I absentmindedly twirled my pen in my hand. In the midst of my boredom, I noticed Tsubasa's head bobbing slightly as he fought off sleep. His eyelids were drooping, and it got me wondering – was he tired? What on earth could've worn him out? Maybe he was replaying yesterday's events over and over in his mind and couldn't get any rest. Knowing Tsubasa's tendency to overthink things, that's probably it. And then, I saw Natsumi's gaze drifting over to him as well. I bet she was having the same thoughts as me. But then, I realized someone else was also checking him out. Akane, his sister.

I didn't ponder it for too long, though. Maybe she was mentally scolding him for dozing off in class. Akane always struck me as a bit of a stickler, and she was one of those high-achieving students.

As the first period finally came to an end, I felt like my brain had been fried. I slumped in my chair and let out a heavy sigh.

"What's got you looking so down, Chi?" came a familiar voice, accompanied by a playful tone.

"Chika-chan," I replied, lifting my upper body slightly to look at her before flopping back onto the table. "Just feeling a bit tired, that's all."

"Is that right?" she responded, her voice dripping with mischief. Then, that mischievous expression of hers transformed into a sly grin. "Or is it because you and Kurogane got up to some naughty business last night?"

In an instant, the memories of what happened yesterday flooded my mind, and my face turned redder than a tomato. It was as if steam was about to start coming out of my ears.

"Oh? So something did happen?" she pressed on, her grin widening even further.

Machi Chika had been my friend since my first year. Back in middle school, I used to be quite timid, but when high school rolled around, I decided to reinvent myself. I guess you could call it my high school debut. I wasn't all that noticeable back then, but now I was considered one of the most beautiful girls in school. However, this appearance I was putting on wasn't really me. It was more of a facade I was using, an attempt to catch Tsubasa's attention. I didn't need it to boost my reputation or anything like that.

As I continued blushing, Chika-chan playfully tapped me on the shoulder and let out a laugh.

"So, did you? Have you finally reached that stage?"

"Shh, Chika-chan. Keep it down. And your thoughts are completely off. Nothing happened between me and Tsubasa."

Because of our unique relationship, we decided to keep it a secret. Many people might have suspected something was going on between us, but that idea was shot down because Natsumi was always with us. They just assumed we were all childhood friends and nothing more. And honestly, I was okay with that. Well, not really. I wanted to shout to the world that Tsubasa and I were in a loving relationship.

"Look at Kurogane! He looks tired too! Did you two go at it all night?" Chika teased.

"Y-You've got it all wrong! I told you, we didn't do anything!"

I quickly pushed myself up from my chair and blurted that out. In an instant, all eyes were on me. Flustered, I quickly sank back into my seat and hid my face behind my ponytail.

"Ugh, Chika-chan, you're such a troublemaker..." I muttered.

"Look at how red your face is, Chi. Ha ha ha." She chuckled. Chika-chan was definitely one of a kind.

Chika-chan was famous in our school, but not exactly for the right reasons. Rumors said she was involved in compensated dating. And some people believed it to be true. After all, she was often seen with different men.

I knew the rumor was false. I spent enough time with Chika-chan to know she wasn't engaged in any problematic behavior. If she had been, I wouldn't have associated with her. I wasn't the type to get close to someone like that. Fortunately, Chika-chan wasn't like the rumors painted her. Yes, her appearance might have given the wrong impression, but she was genuinely a good person. That's why I cherished our friendship.

"Anyway, how was it? Was Kurogane any good?"

Her voice had gotten so loud that our classmates were practically leaning in to catch every word.

"Seriously, Chika-chan, stop it. Y-You're just embarrassing me more."

"But I love seeing you flustered!" She grinned mischievously.

While we were having this conversation, I couldn't shake the feeling of a penetrating stare on my back. It was the kind of gaze that felt more like a glare than a mere look. I turned around quickly to catch whoever was staring, but no one seemed to be focused on me. Was it just my imagination playing tricks on me? It had to be.

The only person in that general direction was Akane, and she appeared to be gazing out the window. There was no way it was her. Akane had never shown any interest in me. Still, for some inexplicable reason, I felt a sense of unease. I couldn't put my finger on it, though.

×××

[Ichinose Minami's POV]

I stayed inside our classroom, deliberately avoiding leaving. If I stepped out, I knew he would follow me. Every time my phone made a sound, my body quivered with fear.

Despite the intriguing events unfolding around me, my fear was so overwhelming that I couldn't focus on anything else. I felt like a helpless prey being watched by a predator.

When the phone started ringing again, my body involuntarily shuddered. I was paralyzed with uncertainty. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to resort to the plan I had in mind just yet. I didn't want to risk ruining their relationship, assuming they had one.

I hoped to keep that as my last option.