Horikita's dorm room.
Horikita, wearing an apron, was preparing dinner for the two of them.
Originally, she had planned to just grab a quick meal at the cafeteria or buy some bread to tide her over.
But Amane insisted on clinging to her, wanting Horikita to cook something delicious for her.
Having no choice, Horikita could only bring Amane home.
After all, she had caused such an unpleasant incident today.
Consider it compensation for her.
Sigh.
It seemed that ever since she met Amane,
her life had completely changed.
She looked at Amane, who was sprawled on her bed.
Her small fingers rapidly pressing buttons, a smile on her face as she seemed to be chatting with someone.
Horikita felt a bit helpless.
"Dinner's ready, remember to wash your hands."
"Already? I'm going now."
Amane jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom to wash her hands.
Horikita, meanwhile, brought out the elaborate meal she had prepared.
Amane washed her hands and sat down opposite Horikita.
She stared at the food on the table, lost in thought.
"I'm going to eat."
Horikita said, picking up her spoon, and was about to start eating.
But she saw Amane with a stomachache expression.
"Why aren't you eating?"
"Suzune, is this the feast you mentioned?"
"It's quite a feast for me," Horikita said against her will.
Now, Horikita could lie without batting an eyelid, saying things so outrageous even ghosts would bow to them.
"I don't care!!! You lied! You lied!!! You said it was a feast, so why is it vegetarian curry rice?!"
Amane rolled around on the floor, trying to protest Horikita's dinner.
Amane had originally thought Horikita was finally going to show off her cooking skills.
She didn't expect Horikita to just heat up two portions of vegetarian curry rice.
No wonder it was so fast.
You didn't misread.
It was vegetarian curry rice.
Not instant curry rice!
This made Amane throw a tantrum out of sheer frustration.
Horikita knew she was in the wrong.
However, she wasn't in the mood to cook today.
She couldn't satisfy Amane's request.
But she also knew that if she didn't find some substitute, this girl would probably keep rolling around in her house until she went to sleep.
What an annoying girl.
Wait.
Sleep?
"I was originally thinking of eating quickly so we could go to bed early together, but since Amane-san isn't satisfied, you'll just have to go back and prepare some food for yourself."
After saying that, Horikita stood up and picked up Amane's jacket.
She looked like she was about to kick Amane out.
But when she turned around, Amane was sitting there properly.
"Suzune, what are you doing? Come and eat, the curry rice tastes pretty good too."
Horikita's mouth twitched slightly.
Amane's change of expression was too quick, wasn't it?
Anyone who didn't know wouldn't be able to reconcile the image of the girl throwing a tantrum just now with the image of Amane, the good girl, in front of them.
As soon as Amane finished eating, she darted into the covers.
Then she extended a small hand and patted the space next to her.
Signaling Horikita to get in.
Why did it feel like Amane was treating this place like her own home?
No, this girl was definitely treating her place like her own home.
After changing into her pajamas, Horikita finally slipped into bed.
Amane immediately snuggled up like a koala.
"I still want to read. If you want to play on your phone, just keep the volume down and don't disturb me."
Horikita wasn't interested in games.
But she didn't object to others playing them.
However, if it disturbed her reading, she would punish them.
"Can I take a picture of you, Suzune?" Amane asked, holding up her phone with a slight blush, looking timidly at Horikita.
She even blinked her cute big eyes.
In that instant, Horikita felt a flutter in her heart.
"Of course you can."
"Yay!"
Amane immediately pressed her face against Horikita's face.
Then she made a peace sign.
Click.
As the camera shutter clicked, Horikita's body immediately tensed up.
This was… her first time taking a photo with a friend, it seemed.
Friend?… "Suzune, your expression is too stiff, but Suzune is beautiful, so an ice beauty also has a lot of charm. Come, take a look."
Amane held up her phone as if presenting a treasure.
Horikita took the phone and glanced at it.
A photo of an expressionless Horikita and a brightly smiling girl.
It felt a little out of place.
Suddenly, she seemed to realize something.
Was Amane trying to make her feel a happy atmosphere and change?
If that was the case, perhaps it could explain why Amane often did some incomprehensible things.
Is Amane-san so concerned about me?
Horikita felt a warmth in her heart.
This was the first time a friend had been so concerned about her.
Horikita's eyes were a little moist.
Her finger accidentally slid.
The photo immediately changed to the previous one.
It was a photo of her changing into her pajamas.
Further back, there was a photo of her changing her underwear.
Even further back was a photo of her changing her school uniform.
And even further back was a photo of her changing into a miniskirt.
And the angles were so tricky… Horikita almost thought she had taken them from inside her skirt.
Friend?
Relationship?
Give me back my feelings of gratitude!!!
"Amane-san, when did you take this photo?" Horikita asked, holding up her phone for Amane to see.
Amane thought for a moment.
"It was when you were changing. You just set the phone camera to delayed shooting, then timed it right to slide from the floor to where Suzune was. It snapped the picture in an instant as I passed by. Hehe, aren't I clever?"
Amane even puffed out her chest, bumping Horikita.
"You're very clever, Amane-san."
"Eh… Su-Suzune, wh-what are you doing? Wait! Stop it! No! No!!! I'm a girl! No!!!"
After an unknown amount of time, Amane lay on the bed, drenched in sweat.
Her eyes were dull and lifeless.
A sickly smile lingered on her face.
Occasionally, she let out a few mournful laughs.
"I'm defiled."
"What strange things are you saying? I was just tickling you. Don't make such strange noises and exclamations."
Horikita sat beside Amane and pinched her cheek.
Unfortunately, the latter was laughing so hard she was completely limp.
She was completely sprawled out there.
She probably wouldn't even be able to resist if someone did something bad to her, right?
However, Horikita considered herself a proper person.
So she wouldn't take advantage of her now.
Opening Amane's phone album, they had only known each other for two days.
Amane had already taken over three hundred photos of her.
Some of the photos had such bizarre angles that Horikita couldn't help but shiver.
This girl isn't a pervert, is she?
She looked at Amane, who was still giggling foolishly from time to time.
Hmm, she must have been overthinking it.
Horikita started deleting photos.
If such embarrassing photos were discovered by others, Horikita's reputation would be ruined.
What annoyed her most was that there were even photos of other girls mixed in.
And they were taken so cutely!!!
Horikita tapped to select a photo.
She hesitated for a moment but still let go of her hand.
After all, it had little to do with her, and this was Amane's privacy.
Horikita pinched Amane's face again, and only then did her mood calm down.
When she deleted her last photo,
which was the one of the two of them together just now,
she hesitated.
She first selected the photo,
but she was reluctant to press the delete button.
If she didn't leave any trace in her phone,
she might one day forget that she had a friend named Horikita Suzune.
So, it was better to leave it for her.
Horikita made up a clumsy excuse to convince herself.
And the real reason was…
she smiled very cutely.