Michiru Matsushima listlessly nudged the orange in front of her, watching it roll from one end of the table to the other before poking it back with her finger. The poor orange was toyed with mercilessly.
"Michi, could you please stop torturing that orange? If you're going to eat it, just peel it and eat it already." Even Suou Amane couldn't bear to watch anymore. The poor orange had rolled back and forth across the table countless times, the moisture on its rough peel like silent tears of humiliation.
"Because... I'm so bored!" Michiru Matsushima pressed down on the rolling orange, her cheeks puffing up like a pufferfish. She propped the orange in her palm and waved it angrily in the air a few times. "I don't know where NyanMelu ran off to, Jhin got dragged away by Makina, and there's absolutely nothing to do."
"If you're talking about NyanMelu, I think she went out to play after breakfast. But the school is so big, she should be safe, right?"
"NyanMelu is very smart. I barely had to teach her, and she already knows how to use the litter box on her own." Michiru Matsushima raised her nose, looking as proud as a mother showing off her outstanding daughter.
Sakaki Yumiko, flipping through the mystery novel in her hands, asked nonchalantly, "It doesn't really have much to do with you, does it? Why the proud tone?"
"I bought the litter box, at least!"
"It's a rare weekend, and we're just going to sit here in the dorm hall chatting?" Suou Amane couldn't understand why their group had all gathered together like this.
It started with her accompanying Jhin and Irisu Makina to watch Makina's favorite children's anime, "Maguro Superman." Then, because NyanMelu had gone out to play alone, a bored Michiru Matsushima joined in. After that, Sakaki Yumiko and Kazami Kazuki, who were in their bedrooms, also came out to participate.
"Who's to blame but Makina for dragging my little brother away?" Kazami Kazuki started to feel drowsy after watching the anime on TV for a while. If Jhin, her optimal pillow, hadn't left, she could have slept until dusk.
"Speaking of which, it seems none of you have given Jhin a return gift yet, right? Sachi has been pondering this for the past few days."
Kazami Kazuki yawned, her eyes lazily glancing at Suou Amane. "Didn't I say so the other day? I only know how to make instant noodles, and he's already had them a long time ago."
"Eh? I thought you were just joking, Kazuki." The half-peeled orange in Suou Amane's hand fell onto the table. "Why be so casual about it?"
"Does the bond between my brother and me need to be strengthened in such a way? If it were Kombu-zake, it might have some effect, but unfortunately, I don't have the ingredients. As for you all, you should try harder."
"K-Kombu-zake!?" Sakaki Yumiko's hand, which was turning a page, trembled slightly. She looked at Kazami Kazuki with a flushed face. "Isn't... isn't that a bit too aggressive?"
"This is considered aggressive?" Kazami Kazuki shot a surprised glance at Sakaki Yumiko. She knew just how explosive the other girl's daily browsing history was. If this was considered aggressive, then it was nothing compared to Amane and Makina's cream party in the kitchen.
That one glance was enough to make the ice queen's aura around Sakaki Yumiko weaken instantly. "I suppose... it is..."
"Hey, hey, Amane, what kind of sake is Kombu-zake?"
"Ahaha," Suou Amane's mouth twitched. She turned her gaze to Kazami Kazuki. "Well, how should I put it... It's better if Kazuki explains."
"I think it's better for Michiru to research this kind of knowledge herself. A dumber child needs to learn to seek answers on their own."
"What was that..." Michiru Matsushima crossed her arms, puffed up her cheeks, and looked very unconvinced. "How am I dumb?"
"Half of your subjects are below passing. If that's not a blockhead, what is?"
"Nngh..." Michiru Matsushima couldn't refute this fact and could only sulk by herself.
[See? I told you to study harder usually. Now you can only admit it when someone calls you a blockhead.]
[That's because Kazuki is Jhin's sister, so I'm not going to argue with her.]
[What if Yumiko said it?]
[I would definitely talk back!]
[Get real. If Yumiko just showed her craft knife, you probably wouldn't dare let out a peep.]
[Then why don't you come out and help me with the test questions!]
[No way. Tests are exhausting, and Jhin would easily find out. You don't want to leave him with the impression that you cheat on exams, do you?]
[That's true...]
"So, the only ones who haven't given Jhin a return gift are Sachi, Michiru, Yumiko, Kasumigaoka-san, and Kato-san?"
"Eh? Has Sawamura-san already given hers?"
"Michiru..." Suou Amane pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "You don't really think the pizza Mrs. Sawamura came over to eat that day wasn't the return gift for Jhin, do you?"
"Oh, so that's what it was."
[Looks like besides the upcoming placement test, we need to hurry up and decide on our return gifts.]
[Yeah.]
"Speaking of which, Jhin has been paying a lot of attention to Kato-san lately." Sakaki Yumiko remembered often hearing Jhin mention Kato Megumi from time to time.
Suou Amane felt the same way. "Indeed. I hear him call out 'Kato-san' three or four times almost every day. Kazuki, what do you think?"
"Perhaps it's related to her strange lack of presence. A lot of the time, if she doesn't speak up, you can't even tell she's right there beside you." Kazami Kazuki was very interested in this phenomenon, but unfortunately, she hadn't yet been able to convince the other girl to accompany her for various experiments.
Under the surveillance cameras, would her lack of presence still make people subconsciously ignore her?
Kazami Kazuki thought this was an excellent research topic. She would have to carefully observe Kato Megumi's performance on the surveillance footage later.
"That miraculous ability is certainly interesting. A few times she helped me get ingredients, and even though she was standing right next to me, I couldn't find the ingredients she was holding anywhere."
Miraculous as it was, that ability really does make people completely overlook your existence.
Kato Megumi sat on her chair with a blank expression, listening as the others began discussing topics related to her, yet no one noticed that the person in question was right there with them.
Kato Megumi was already used to this situation of being unconsciously treated like air by everyone. In fact, she had been watching TV with Jhin and the others from the beginning. It was Jhin who had actively greeted and invited her. But as soon as Jhin left, no one realized she was still sitting there.
Listening to everyone's conversation like this is also quite interesting.
Kato Megumi occasionally enjoyed this lack of presence. She could hear many interesting conversations and see many sights that were hard to see, like a small bird foraging on the lawn. She could approach it without restraint and take a close-up photo with her phone, where every single feather was crystal clear.
Of course, more often than not, it caused trouble for Kato Megumi. Back at her old school, she had to personally find the corresponding class representative to submit her homework every day. Even if she reminded them to remember to collect her homework the next day, it was completely useless because they would forget about it in a heartbeat and then continue to forget her existence the following day.
It seemed only Jhin-san could consciously notice her.
Kato Megumi had been called over by Jhin quite a lot recently, pulling her into casual chats. Even during normal conversations, if a topic could be related back to her, he would do his best to steer it in that direction, so the others wouldn't subconsciously ignore Kato Megumi.
Jhin-san is really considerate of me.
They were just classmates, yet Jhin was willing to do so much for Kato Megumi, which moved her greatly. A subtle curve appeared at the corners of Kato Megumi's mouth, her dark, beautiful eyes gained a bit more spirit, and a faint smile even appeared on her usually expressionless face.
"Why isn't Jhin back yet? What did Makina drag him off to do?"
"Makina said it's a training habit she developed during summer vacation. They should be near the garden now, right?"
"Why go to the garden for training?"
"I don't know. The location where they train isn't fixed anyway."
"I'll go check on Jhin-san, and ask him if he has time to eat the food I make later."
Ever since her presence became faint, Kato Megumi had been practicing her cooking skills to prepare for the day when even her family might overlook her existence and not cook her share of the meal.
She was somewhat confident in her cooking skills, though she couldn't compare to Jhin and Suou Amane.
Kato Megumi left the dorm hall with light steps. The others only felt an inexplicable breeze pass by. They found it a bit strange but didn't dwell on it and continued chatting.
The weather now was far from the heat of summer vacation. A cool, refreshing breeze lifted Kato Megumi's skirt, her fair thighs dazzling in the sunlight. The mischievous wind tried to make a companion of the spring scenery, but unfortunately, Kato Megumi held the hem of her skirt down firmly, giving it no chance.
"What a slightly annoying wind." Kato Megumi brushed away a strand of hair that had blown to the corner of her mouth. Seeing that the wind had stopped, she let go of her skirt. She had arrived near the garden but didn't see Jhin and Irisu Makina. "Strange, where did they go?"
A faint meow, which also sounded a bit like a human's imitation of a cat, drifted from a corner through the air and into Kato Megumi's ears.
"Is that the little black cat Miss Matsushima owns, 'NyanMelu,' playing over there?"
Kato Megumi walked towards the corner. Her gaze passed through the bushes by the roadside, and she saw two cats, one brown and one black, one male and one female, engaged in a fierce scuffle on the grass.
The brown female cat grunted and groaned as she pinned the black male cat beneath her, periodically using her pink tongue to both lick and bite the black cat, desperate to cover him from head to toe in her scent.
The black cat allowed the brown cat to mount him and perform this territory-marking behavior. Soon, the brown cat was panting with exhaustion. Only then did the black cat flip her over, pinning her underneath, pinning the brown cat's tender little paws and revealing a triumphant smile. This time, it was his turn to assert dominance.
Kato Megumi watched this intense 'cat flick' with a deadpan expression. She followed them back to the dorm after they finished their battle and, at some point after dinner, knocked on the door and entered Kazami Kazuki's bedroom.
___
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