Changes in Haruna.

Haruna can still hear her sister's words from this morning.

As the period was about to end and the lunch break was about to begin, Haruna's mind began to calm down considerably, and her thoughts began to line up properly within her jumbled, disorganized mind.

'I must not give up and be more courageous this time around.' Haruna turned to face her friend Momioka and walked toward her with a serious look in her eyes.

Despite her youth, a hint of maturity could be seen beginning to creep into her thoughts.

Ding! Dong! Long!

As the bell rang to signal the end of class, the sound of students getting up and moving toward the canteen could be heard throughout the classroom.

Rito noticed Haruna leaving with her friends and moved toward Saruyama to inquire whether he planned to visit the canteen to pick up a snack.

"No, I have something, so I'll pass Rito!"

As Saruyama shook his head after revealing an energy bar, Rito regarded his friend, wondering if he was actually considering eating nothing but that bar for lunch or something.

"Sure!" Rito laughed as he shook his head in response to Saruyama's explanation of how eating a bar for lunch can be considered cool in the eyes of teenagers.

This is not to say that it was necessarily a sporty guy or someone else who could have acted cool by eating a bar for lunch.

"It is really hot," Rito thought as he walked out of the building, sipping orange juice and grinning as he considered the two yakisoba pans he was holding.

'Today, the other two parts will be complete and I will send it to Ayame-san.' Rito had already planned to write more novels because he was able to make so much money from his job as a novelist and wanted to be able to take someone else to the beach or somewhere else for the summer.

Not to mention that having money in one's pocket can boost one's confidence in their ability to live a successful life and provide for those close to them.

"Rito Kun!" Suddenly the voice of Haruna came from the back, making Rito turn around to see Haruna walking toward him with a slight change in her appearance.

"Haruna..." Unconsciously swallowing his saliva, Rito tried to make sense of why Haruna was different from how he had previously appeared as he watched her approach him in a daze.

"Can we eat together?" While Rito, who was on Haruna's side, saw her attempting to hide her flushed face, he could not help but hum along with her.

It appeared as though she was being very open, but her red ear was giving her away.

'Bring it together, Haruna!' Momioka, who was hiding behind a tree on the side, could do nothing but watch her friend struggle and could only hope for the best for her.

'Who could have thought that our Haruna would come to ask us for something like that? But she is cute, and that Rito was someone who previously definitely had a crush on Haruna, for sure.'

Rito and Haruna were walking toward the rooftop to have lunch when Momioka had this thought. Mio, who was standing next to her, shared the same sentiment and was pursuing them.

"Ne! Risa, is that boy really having someone who has fallen for him?" Observing Rito's hairstyle and other details, as well as the fact that recently he appeared to have undergone some minor changes, Mio appeared a little dubious about that.

However, that was all there was to it.

Rito as he is really is not that impactful.

"Hmm, to me it is possible, given that no matter how we look at current Rito, he looked a little simple, but if he were to wear some good clothes, I am sure he can be a looker."

Rito's outward appearance had nothing to do with who he really was, according to Momioka, who had much better fashion and analytical sense than Mio.

Mio only nodded in response to Momioka's comments and then followed the two of them to the bench.

At that point, they appeared to have settled on a topic because they began to talk and occasionally smile.

<Haruna Pov>

"Hmm, my sister is really mature, but I really do not have that confident self and could only look up to her for all this time."

Rito could tell that Haruna was finally beginning to be open with him, which was happening much faster than it did in the actual anime and was also to Rito's benefit.

This sense seemed to come from Haruna's heart.

"In your case, at least, she is your big sister, but in my home, my little sister is much more mature than me, making me feel really helpless when she points out my clumsy action."

Haruna could not help but smile and laugh as she thought of Rito's embarrassed state.

Rito, on the other hand, found it difficult to look away due to Haruna's slight tilt of the collar bone and neckline that was being exposed from her dress-up.

Despite the fact that the clothing looked incredibly natural, Rito could not believe Haruna was capable of changing her attire in such a way.

"Rito-kun!" Rito was almost caught off guard, choked on his food, and coughed as they quickly finished their meal before leaving the rooftop. Haruna took a deep breath and called his name, as if sensing his gaze.

Momioka Risa and Mio Sawada were astounded because they believed that Haruna's actions right then were far too perfect.

They also believed that perhaps because of her resolve, she had been able to greatly control her expression.

They both thought Haruna might be the one with the most potential out of everyone.

Rito, who was walking next to Haruna, acknowledged that she had changed, but for some reason, he did not find the changes to be unfavorable; rather, he was only mildly pleased with them.