Hasebe Haruka's question was about as blunt as a question could get.
She was asking Shikime Natsu outright, cards face up on the table: which girls in this school could become his girlfriend?
Horikita Suzune, sitting off to one side, found herself listening in earnest to something that direct.
Her gaze still rested on the world outside the window, and she drank her iced americano at the same unhurried pace...
But her ears had gone up like a cat's.
Which girls... could become Shikime Natsu's girlfriend?
That question... honestly, Horikita Suzune was a little curious too.
Only a little, of course.
It had nothing to do with her, after all. She was just... curious. Nothing more.
Sakura Airi sat at Shikime Natsu's side, beaming as she watched the whole exchange unfold.
Both hands cradled her strawberry milkshake, and she took a sip every so often, wearing the smile of someone who had everything going exactly to plan.
Shikime Natsu caught those little glances of hers.
Those deep blue eyes carried a trace of anticipation, a trace of mischief, and a trace of... fishing for praise?
Clearly, Hasebe Haruka asking that question had Sakura Airi's fingerprints all over it.
This girl... had been scheming behind his back again.
That was the thought that crossed Shikime Natsu's mind, and it made him smile.
He looked at Hasebe Haruka and said, "Haruka, asking a thing like that... it's very easy to be misunderstood, you know."
But at those words, Hasebe Haruka's eyes flicked sideways, and a sly look settled over her face.
She looked back at him and said with a smile, "If Natsu wants to misunderstand..."
"...then I don't mind at all."
Shikime Natsu blinked, caught off guard for a moment, then a faint smile touched his lips.
"Since Haruka asked so plainly, then I'll answer plainly too."
Hearing him string it out like that left Horikita Suzune faintly irritated.
If he was going to say it... then he should just say it.
No need to keep people hanging.
This habit of stopping halfway through a sentence on purpose was genuinely obnoxious.
That was what Horikita Suzune thought, and she let out a small sigh.
Shikime Natsu lifted his latte, took a sip, set the cup down, and looked at Hasebe Haruka.
"It's a little strange to say this with the person in question sitting right here, but — Haruka is one of the girls I have my sights on."
Hasebe Haruka's eyebrows rose a fraction.
There was real surprise in the slight lift at the corners of her eyes. He hadn't dressed the answer up at all, not even a little. Still, that was fine by her. Evasions and hedging only made things tiresome.
The faint smile stayed on her face. Not a flicker of distaste.
However blunt his words were, she had no objection to them.
"Is that so..."
Hasebe Haruka said it softly. Then she smiled and looked at him.
"Then... I'm really quite honored. To have made it into Natsu's field of vision..."
"Looks like I've got a bit of charm after all."
Beside them, Horikita Suzune was running down a very different train of thought.
Shikime Natsu had named exactly one person. Hasebe Haruka.
He hadn't mentioned anyone else.
But... here at this table, Sakura Airi and Sakayanagi Arisu were essentially his girlfriends already.
Only she herself... and Hasebe Haruka hadn't reached that point.
And now, with that declaration, he had all but pulled Hasebe Haruka into his camp as well.
Judging by Hasebe Haruka's expression, she showed no sign whatsoever of refusing him.
So... were the two of them simply going to drift into being a couple, just like that?
The thought left Horikita Suzune feeling... complicated.
She couldn't make sense of any of it.
Why... could two people end up together so effortlessly?
Was there some romantic confession involved? No. Any dates? None of those either. So how had a single sentence turned the air this ambiguous?
Granted, Hasebe Haruka met with Shikime Natsu often enough, much like Sakura Airi did. But could feelings really develop that fast?
Wasn't this all just far too... casual?
Horikita Suzune thought so, and picked up her iced americano for another sip.
Why did today's coffee taste so unusually bitter?
Especially now, with a nameless prickle of irritation spreading through her chest.
She couldn't say where the feeling had come from.
She couldn't say why she felt it either.
But... it simply annoyed her.
It simply... made it impossible to sit still.
Of course, Horikita Suzune was perfectly aware that the irritation had nothing to do with jealousy.
Jealousy?
What a joke.
How could she possibly be jealous over something like this?
Romance was the most tedious thing there was.
A waste of time, a waste of energy, and it turned people into someone other than themselves.
She, Horikita Suzune, would never fall into anything so pointless.
So... it was definitely not jealousy.
Then... what was it?
She turned it over and decided the cause was probably this: right now, she was the one who didn't fit in.
After all, of the people present, Sakura Airi was Shikime Natsu's girlfriend.
Hasebe Haruka had just been slotted into the category of "target," and by the look of things she'd be a girlfriend soon enough.
Sakayanagi Arisu, though seated some distance away, was also his girlfriend.
Only she herself... was nothing more than an ordinary friend to Shikime Natsu.
At most you could tack on the roles of "maid" and "person he'd helped out."
But that was the extent of it.
Which meant... in this circle, she was the only outsider.
And that sense of being shut out... didn't sit comfortably with her.
Not that Horikita Suzune understood why the words "fitting in" had wandered into her mind at all.
The girl she used to be had never given such things a moment's thought.
Fitting in, not fitting in — what did any of that have to do with her?
All she needed to do was handle her own affairs properly. Other people's business was other people's business.
But... things were different now.
Perhaps it was because she and Sakura Airi had become friends, and so... this sort of thought had simply followed on its own?
A wish to be part of a friend's circle?
A wish not to look so out of place whenever she was with friends?
A wish... to be one of them?
Horikita Suzune thought all this, and let out another quiet sigh.
The old Horikita Suzune could have sat through an awkward atmosphere like this with perfect composure.
After all... whatever happened out in the world had nothing to do with her.
Others were others. She was herself.
No reason to care, and nothing worth caring about.
But right now... Horikita Suzune's mood was thoroughly sour.
While her thoughts were wandering all over the place, Hasebe Haruka spoke up again.
She set down her caramel macchiato and looked at Shikime Natsu.
"Honestly, I never once imagined I'd end up dating anyone."
"After all... I've never had much interest in that sort of thing."
"But not being interested just means I hadn't met anyone who moved me yet. I understand that now. After getting to know you, Natsu, I realized — I like you."
"It's just... in my eyes you stand so tall, and standing in front of you makes me feel very small."
"You're so capable that everyone around you ends up feeling inadequate. And at the same time, they want to get closer to you."
"I keep thinking... you're too impressive. Impressive enough that people are a little afraid to approach you."
"And I happen to be one of those people. I think... at this point I've come to understand you fairly well. But I'd like you to understand me a little too — to know what kind of person I am. I wonder if you'd be willing?"
Horikita Suzune went very still.
How had this suddenly turned into a confession scene?
Was that really how the sequence of events was supposed to go? She had absolutely no experience with any of this, but as far as her understanding went, the setting for something like this was completely wrong, wasn't it?
Even if a cafe was an acceptable place to confess, you certainly wouldn't pick the moment when all four of you were gathered together.
At the very least... what about privacy?
Horikita Suzune couldn't follow this line of reasoning at all. What she could follow, very clearly, was that her own situation had just gotten worse. If Shikime Natsu accepted, the outsider at this table would be even more of an outsider.
As for him refusing — she doubted it. He had just declared, moments ago, that Hasebe Haruka fell within the range of his targets, which was precisely why Hasebe Haruka had gone ahead and confessed.
So her position was about to become distinctly worse. Those wine-red eyes drifted over to Sakura Airi, and she thought that perhaps she shouldn't have come here with her today.
There wasn't a flicker of surprise on Sakura Airi's face. Clearly this had all been arranged in advance, and she was the only one who'd been kept in the dark.
And then there was another possibility. Surely Sakura Airi wasn't planning to gift-wrap her and hand her over to Shikime Natsu too?
Wouldn't that make her exactly the same as Sakayanagi Arisu, that girl with the appalling personality?
Why were they all so fond of finding girlfriends for their own boyfriend?
No matter how capable Shikime Natsu was, could he actually handle all of it?
His eyes met Hasebe Haruka's, and he smiled gently.
"Then I'll be counting on you from here on, Haruka."
A brilliant smile broke across Hasebe Haruka's face.
"Mm!"
"From now on... I'll be counting on you too, Natsu."
Wonderful. As of this moment, Shikime Natsu had one more girlfriend. Horikita Suzune's gaze moved from Sakura Airi to Hasebe Haruka. The pair of them really were terrifying.
Their capacity for getting things done was frankly monstrous.
And success on their part meant Horikita Suzune's own position had become that much less comfortable.
What she wanted now was for this little get-together to wrap up quickly. The lovey-dovey portion that came next was something she had no desire to witness.
Just then, Hasebe Haruka spoke again, unmistakable interest glinting in her eyes.
"So then... Natsu."
"Besides me... are there other candidates? You only named me just now, but... I doubt your sights are set on me alone, are they?"
The conversation wasn't over yet. And strangely, the irritation churning inside Horikita Suzune subsided the instant she heard that question, which she herself found rather incredible.
Not that Horikita Suzune noticed it happening, of course.
It was only that... if Shikime Natsu really did have other candidates in mind, then she wouldn't mind listening a while longer.
Her gaze drifted to him — and met his squarely. And in those wine-red eyes, something exceedingly rare flashed by: a flicker of panic.
Surely he wasn't about to say her name?
She had absolutely no intention of dating anyone.
Horikita Suzune had already begun working out how to turn him down when his voice cut across her thoughts.
Fine. She'd hear the answer first, then figure out how to refuse.
"As for that question..."
"I only answered because Haruka asked."
"And as for the rest..."
He smiled, a hint of mystery in those pale gold eyes.
"That stays a secret for now."
A secret?
Hasebe Haruka looked briefly puzzled. But the confusion cleared from her eyes almost at once, replaced by a smile.
"So that's how it is."
Hasebe Haruka said it with a laugh.
Horikita Suzune froze at that, entirely unable to work out what Hasebe Haruka had understood.
Naturally, she wasn't about to come out and ask. It was none of her business. She was the outsider here.
The irritation inside her only grew thicker. She'd been strung along the whole way, and then he'd handed over an answer of "secret."
Still, she quickly set about brainwashing herself, reasoning that there was no chance she was on that list. Just as she couldn't stand him, he surely couldn't stand her either.
Otherwise he'd never have pulled what he pulled back at the start of the term, humiliating her by making her serve as a maid.
Off to the side, Sakayanagi Arisu held her coffee cup, her attention fixed on their table the entire time. A gleam of interest passed through those violet eyes, and she picked up her phone and resumed typing.
A moment later Horikita Suzune's phone buzzed again. She hesitated, then took it out and glanced at the screen.
[Sakayanagi Arisu: And now Hasebe-san has been added as well. Horikita-san, don't you think... it's about time you gave this some consideration yourself?]
[Sakayanagi Arisu: Natsu said it himself just now — he answered because Hasebe-san asked. So tell me, if you were the one asking, do you suppose you'd get an answer too?]
Horikita Suzune stared at the message, the corner of her mouth twitching.
This girl really could worm her way into anything.
She drew a deep breath and rapidly tapped out a line.
[Horikita Suzune: I've told you already, there is no possibility between him and me. Please stop sending me these pointless messages.]
Then she slid the phone straight into her pocket, with no intention of taking it out again.
Sakayanagi Arisu's messages had left her resolve unsteady.
They had actually made her picture herself asking Shikime Natsu the question. Something like that could never, ever happen.
And then she remembered the way he had looked her in the eye right before he gave that answer. Could there really be something to what Sakayanagi Arisu was implying?
Was Shikime Natsu waiting for her to ask?
She threw the thought out of her head as fast as it had come. No matter what, she would never ask. And even if it were true, then let the whole matter sink to the bottom of the sea and stay there.
____
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