"So much happened yesterday! Aina, how are you feeling now?"
The next day, on the sofa reserved for the ladies of Grand Blue.
Kotegawa Chisa never imagined that while she was out running errands with her older sister, Aina was actually experiencing a race against death.
Even in an industrialized society, a severe cold is actually very dangerous; if left untreated, the damage to the brain and body, even if recovered, is absolutely irreversible!
She nervously held Aina's small face, looking from left to right, the concern in her eyes overflowing.
"Does your head still feel heavy? Do you want to go back and rest for another two days?"
"Hahaha, it's okay~ Kouhei and Yuu stayed with me until the fever broke, and now I'm completely healthy!"
Not accustomed to physical contact with others, Yoshiwara Aina involuntarily burst into laughter when Chisa's little hand touched the soft flesh on her neck.
Seeing that both her physical and mental state had returned to full capacity, Kotegawa Chisa finally sighed in relief: "That's good. The next time something like this happens, you absolutely must tell me directly! Don't worry about bothering me!"
"Mhm, Arigato, Chisa! Hehe~"
She was right; she was worried about bothering others yesterday. Yoshiwara Aina felt warm inside watching Chisa's distressed expression, but amidst her apology, she also felt a little delighted.
After all, if she had told Chisa in advance, Yuu and Kouhei probably wouldn't have rushed over so eagerly, and it would have been difficult for her to discover how much everyone actually cared for her!
Besides that…
"Damn it, drink! Why aren't you drinking!"
"You beast, Iori! Don't think I didn't see you adding wasabi to the oolong tea!"
"What the heck! I knew that vodka tasted that spicy! Prepare to die, Iori!"
The spicy taste in his mouth hadn't dissipated, Miyazawa Yuu was wondering why his alcohol tolerance had regressed so badly, only to realize that the beast Iori was poisoning him using the excuse of adding another spicy flavor!
No way! If Iori dared to add wasabi today, he couldn't even imagine what he would dare to put in his drink tomorrow!
Pushing Kouhei aside, Miyazawa Yuu launched a Leo Flying Kick, initiating a fair, one-sided beatdown on Iori using his normal physique!
"…"
Normally, Yoshiwara Aina would have already stepped in as a mediator, demonstrating her absolutely irreplaceable position in the Pab Club for breaking up fights.
However, unfortunately, just as Iori looked at Aina, hoping she would quickly save him from his misery, he realized that her attention was completely elsewhere!
While being airborne and taking insane damage from a combo attack, he used his higher vantage point to follow her line of sight, finding that it landed on... Kouhei?
What she heard yesterday, it couldn't have been a hallucination from her daze, could it?
The thought kept swirling in his mind. Yoshiwara Aina stared at Kouhei's back—the one who was pouring out the doctored alcohol and ignoring Iori's life-and-death struggle to drink with the seniors happily—and fell into a dilemma.
Putting aside whether it was auditory hallucination, if Kouhei really said those words yesterday, what did he mean?
Was it purely an expression of approval and concern for a Pab Club companion, or...
"Uwaaah! I'm so conflicted!"
"What's wrong, Aina, does your head still hurt?"
"Chisa…"
With her face resting on the table, Yoshiwara Aina's voice was a little muffled, but the shyness and confusion contained within were still audible: "I mean, do you have any thoughts about getting a boyfriend?"
"Huh?"
The expression on her face instantly turned to disgust. Of course, Kotegawa Chisa wasn't biased against all men, but the scum of the same age around her made it truly difficult for her to entertain the idea of romance.
As the saying goes, proximity to vermilion makes one red, and proximity to pitch makes one black!
Staying with abstract scumbags every day, it was already a miracle that she hadn't been corrupted; hoping for her to develop special feelings for men was too much to ask!
"Absolutely! Not! Otherwise, I wouldn't have to use Iori as a shield! And why are you asking, Aina?"
"I see, since Chisa and Iori only have a fake romantic relationship, I was just a little curious…"
Looking at the "X" made by Chisa's hands in front of her chest, and her small head shaking so vigorously it was almost a blur, Yoshiwara Aina smiled awkwardly, trying to explain her motive.
"In that case, does Aina want a boyfriend?"
"Eek!"
Startled into shrinking pupils by the unexpected counter-question, she looked at Iori, then at Kouhei, and her head instantly began to ache!
"I don't know... but we're university students, right!"
Sure enough! Only she would constantly worry about this kind of thing in the Pab Club!
Hiss... wait a minute!
While lamenting that she was completely out of sync with the free-spirited atmosphere of the Pab Club, Yoshiwara Aina suddenly spotted a blind spot—she wasn't the only one in the Pab Club pursuing romance!
"Yuu!"
"Ah? But Yuu already has Nanaka-nee and Azusa-senpai…"
"No! No!"
Seeing Chisa look at her with a strange expression, Yoshiwara Aina quickly waved her hands, signaling that she didn't mean it that way!
"I meant, Yuu gets along so well with Nanaka-nee and Azusa-senpai; wouldn't it be easier to ask him for advice if one wanted to date?"
"Yuu, huh?"
Propping her chin up and organizing her thoughts for half a minute, Kotegawa Chisa patted Aina's shoulder and advised: "That kind of scum is not someone we can learn from. It's better to figure out romance by yourself!"
"You're right…"
Hearing Chisa say that, the now calm Yoshiwara Aina sighed and agreed. After all, she couldn't pull off a two-person romance like that.
And compared to Yuu, discussing it with Kiyoko or Kanako might be more reliable.
As for the most urgent matter at hand, it was to resolve the biggest question in her heart—how did Kouhei really feel about her, and how should she feel about Kouhei…
"You two, how about we go wander around the elementary school?"
"Uwah!"
Scrambling and crawling from her spot into Chisa's arms, facts proved that Yoshiwara Aina overestimated her own courage.
For an introverted girl who couldn't even confess to the person she liked, asking someone if they had a crush on her was a hellish difficulty level.
Just the familiar voice coming from behind her was enough to make the courage she had just gathered instantly dissipate into heat, flushing her cheeks.
"Kou, Kouhei! When did you get here?!"
"Just now."
His clothes were intact. In fact, Imamura Kouhei had been there for a while, but he had considerately kept silent, watching Aina's conflicted expression.
"So, what have you two decided? Staying overnight at the elementary school?"
"Go to the elementary school?"
The fighting stopped. This time, Kouhei's raised voice reached Miyazawa Yuu's ears.
Releasing Iori, who had maxed out physical resistance and was still cursing after taking his combo, he was completely bewildered: "Kouhei, do you have a younger sibling in elementary school organizing a summer event?"
"No, it's just simply going into the elementary school and staying there!"
"I see, so that's it…"
Although her tone suggested sudden enlightenment, her eyes were vacant. Yoshiwara Aina smiled and pulled out her phone, dialing the number for the police station—such an act of mean premeditated crime required a major crimes unit to deal with severely!
There was no need to worry about the previous questions anymore; she had nothing to say to a criminal who would go to an elementary school to steal gym clothes and stay overnight to admire his criminal masterpiece!
"Wait! Hold on! Aina, you're calling the police, aren't you!"
His expression instantly darkened. Seeing Chisa, who was disdainfully protected by Yuu and Iori's layering arms, Imamura Kouhei shouted in horror: "Don't bother the police with something like this!"
"Oh? Does Kouhei prefer to have his friends handle it? Then I'll reluctantly escort you to the police station! You need to be properly reformed, got it~"
"I told you it's not a criminal case! What kind of person do you all think I am!"
Heartbreak sometimes comes after being misunderstood!
Seeing Miyazawa Yuu already rolling up his sleeves, ready to claim a Good Samaritan award, Imamura Kouhei had no choice but to reveal the secret, pulling out his phone and displaying a rental advertisement for the abandoned elementary school.
"It's an abandoned elementary school! And I'm not interested in elementary school students, alright!"
"Sigh... That's a scumbag thing to say. Just being able to find something like that proves a lot, doesn't it!"
"Well~ but Kouhei's interest is in 2D anyway, so it's normal for him not to be interested in 3D…"
Giving an objective evaluation based on past experience, Kotegawa Chisa apologized for her earlier suspicion and actively waved her hand to excuse Kouhei.
However, just as she was halfway through her sentence, Imamura Kouhei's firm voice cut off her explanation.
"No, actually, there are interesting people in 3D too, so my sexual interest isn't necessarily limited..."
"Eh?"
"Then it's decided! The seniors said they wanted to have a training camp, and submit a group photo of everyone wearing clothes to the Secretariat at the same time."
"…"
Staring blankly at the blond scumbag who waved his hand and walked towards the seniors, Kotegawa Chisa's expression was a mix of shock and wonder: "Did Kouhei really just say that?"
"Although it's hard to believe."
He felt like Kouhei had changed, but Kitahara Iori couldn't quite articulate what was wrong, so he could only reply hesitantly: "But it's probably true. That guy... is probably in love!"