The afternoon dismissal bell came and went in the blink of an eye.
Shikime Natsu tidied up his things with his usual ease. As always, he never bothered with a school bag — he simply left everything tucked inside the desk drawer and walked out light.
When Kamuro Masumi, seated beside him, saw him rise from his chair, she stood as well. Then, quietly, she reached out and tugged at his sleeve.
They hadn't been dating long — not even a full week yet — but Shikime Natsu had already learned to read her silent signals. He finished putting away his things, settled back into his chair, and let his gaze drift casually around the room.
Until, at last... the two of them were the only ones left.
Only after confirming there was no one else around did Kamuro Masumi step to his side. Looking down at him where he sat, a faint blush spread across her face, and her eyes held just a trace of reluctance.
"Natsu..."
"Mm." Shikime Natsu answered softly, then reached up and ran his fingers through her sleek, smooth hair.
"Are you heading back?"
"Mm..." Kamuro Masumi gave a small nod, her voice soft and yielding.
"I... still want to spend a little more time with you."
"But... the rest of your time from here, I'll leave it all to you, Natsu. I can't keep monopolizing you forever. Though... before we say goodbye, I want..."
She paused.
"...a farewell kiss with you."
For her, simply having been able to spend this much time with Shikime Natsu was more than enough.
She wasn't the kind of girl who could never be satisfied. The happiness she felt right now was already filling her to the brim.
Looking at her — sensible and adorable all at once — Shikime Natsu smiled. He leaned forward slightly, closing the distance of his own accord, and kissed her.
Kissing a cute girl — no matter how many times it happened, it never got old.
When their lips parted, Kamuro Masumi finally straightened up, though her expression made it clear she didn't want to leave. She said her goodbye, and went.
Shikime Natsu watched the girl's retreating figure, a quiet smile lingering on his face.
Now that Kamuro Masumi had headed back to the dorm, the rest of his afternoon was entirely his own.
He had no intention of going straight back either.
It was still early — well before dinner — and most students would already be making their way to Keyaki Mall to kill some time. He figured he'd do the same, just wander around with no particular goal in mind.
And while he was at it...
Maybe he'd happen to run into a pretty girl or two along the way.
— Keyaki Mall.
As the liveliest spot in the entire school's commercial district, the place was always buzzing after classes let out. Coffee shops, clothing stores, karaoke bars — everywhere you looked, students in uniform were milling about.
A light, easy atmosphere hung in the air.
Shikime Natsu strolled down the wide corridor with both hands tucked in his pockets, no destination in mind.
And then — from somewhere behind him — a voice rang out, bright with surprise.
"Natsu...?"
That way of addressing him...
In this entire school, there was only one person who called him that.
He didn't even need to turn around. Just from that one distinctive form of address — and that instantly recognizable voice — Shikime Natsu had already placed the speaker.
Sakura Airi.
He stopped walking and turned around.
Sure enough.
There she was — the girl with the long pink hair. Sakura Airi stood a short distance away, those beautiful eyes of hers glittering with undisguised delight as they found him.
And standing beside her was someone else.
Another girl.
This one had striking long blue hair that immediately drew the eye. Her features were finely sculpted, the outer corners of her eyes tilted slightly upward in a way that gave her a naturally languid, cool beauty.
But what was truly impossible to overlook was her figure — one that yielded to no one. Even beneath the loose drape of her school uniform, there was no hiding the frankly extraordinary development of her chest. It was the kind of endowment that would make most girls quietly despair.
Hasebe Haruka.
The name surfaced in Shikime Natsu's mind at once. The two of them hadn't spoken much, but during the exchange program week in Class D, she had caught his attention. She spent most of her time there moving solo.
Though...
She had also shown up during the tutoring sessions he'd run for the girls in Class D. That much he remembered. But it had stayed at that — attendance only. No real conversation between them had ever developed.
"Airi."
Shikime Natsu looked at Sakura Airi and smiled warmly, calling her name as naturally as breathing.
Hearing that, Sakura Airi's face immediately lit up.
"Hello, Hasebe-san."
His gaze shifted to Hasebe Haruka at her side.
At the sound of her name, a flicker of genuine surprise crossed Hasebe Haruka's eyes. She clearly hadn't expected Shikime Natsu to remember who she was — after all, they'd only been in the same room a handful of times.
"Hello, Shiki-san."
The surprise passed quickly. Hasebe Haruka noted the direction of his gaze. As someone who had been blessed — or perhaps burdened — with her looks and figure, she had always been acutely sensitive to the way men looked at her.
But Shikime Natsu's eyes held none of that unwelcome quality. His gaze didn't make her skin crawl. That alone was enough to put Hasebe Haruka marginally at ease.
"Natsu, Haruka and I are out shopping. What about you?" Sakura Airi asked brightly, eyes shining with a warmth that carried the faintest trace of hope.
"Nothing in particular." Shikime Natsu shrugged, relaxed.
"Classes just ended, it was still early, so I figured I'd come wander around for a bit."
Hearing that, Sakura Airi's eyes lit up instantly. She spun toward Hasebe Haruka, and the look on her face was the clearest signal in the world.
Please?
Receiving her best friend's wordless plea, Hasebe Haruka pressed two fingers to her temple with a look of mild exasperation.
She knew perfectly well what Sakura Airi was thinking.
She and Shikime Natsu weren't particularly close — but Sakura Airi was her friend, and turning down a friend's unspoken request was awkward. Besides, if Shikime Natsu's eyes had been the unpleasant kind, she would have refused flat-out no matter what. But they weren't. So...
She gave a small nod. Permission granted.
With her best friend's quiet endorsement secured, Sakura Airi turned back to Shikime Natsu, smiling.
"In that case — would you like to come with us, Natsu?"
"Of course." Shikime Natsu accepted without hesitation. "I was getting a little bored on my own anyway."
"So... where are you two headed?"
Sakura Airi's smile brightened a full watt at his answer.
"Karaoke!"
She said it with pure glee, then seemed to remember something and added:
"We actually invited Suzune too..."
"But unfortunately, she turned us down. Said she wanted to go back and study."
There was a slight note of disappointment in her voice as she said it.
For someone with Horikita Suzune's personality to decline a social outing like this — that was, to Shikime Natsu, the most unsurprising thing in the world.
Still, the way Sakura Airi had mentioned it carried a different layer of meaning to him. She hadn't forgotten the task he'd given her — becoming friends with Horikita Suzune. Suzune just happened to have said no this time. That was all.
Not that it bothered him. He already knew, from the time he'd entered Horikita Suzune's dream, that she had come to genuinely accept Sakura Airi as a friend.
"By the way — I heard your singing is wonderful, Natsu, so... you have to sing for us! I've been looking forward to a proper auditory feast for a long time now!"
Sakura Airi had been completely captivated by Shikime Natsu's voice for a while now, and she had never actually gotten to hear him sing. Now was finally the chance — and she intended to make the most of it.
Of course... if it were just the two of them alone, that would be even better.
"Airi, you're giving me way too much credit. I can only carry a tune a little." Shikime Natsu laughed it off lightly.
Every time he was around Sakura Airi, she inevitably transformed into the world's most enthusiastic hype person.
Hasebe Haruka, standing beside them, glanced between the two but said nothing.
The three of them headed together to the karaoke parlor inside Keyaki Mall and booked a private room.
The lighting inside was dim in that easy, atmospheric way — soft enough to melt the tension right out of your shoulders.
Song selection. Microphones in hand.
Sakura Airi went first. With Shikime Natsu right there in front of her, she was determined to make a good impression — the last thing she wanted was for him to go first and leave everything that followed feeling flat by comparison.
She had some confidence in her singing — a little, anyway. But compared to Shikime Natsu? She already knew she didn't stand a chance.
Next up was Hasebe Haruka. She turned out to be far less reserved than her usual cool exterior suggested. When it was her turn, she took the microphone entirely naturally, and her voice was genuinely lovely.
Shikime Natsu applauded both of them and offered his honest praise — they were both excellent.
Soon enough, it was his turn. Sakura Airi passed him the microphone.
"Natsu — you're up."
Shikime Natsu took it and began to sing.
The final note faded.
The private room fell into a brief, complete silence.
Then —
Clap. Clap. Clap...
Sakura Airi erupted into applause, eyes practically sparkling with stars.
"That was incredible...!"
"A true auditory feast, Natsu — I knew it!"
She heaped on the praise without the slightest restraint, her entire expression saturated with bliss.
Then she turned to Hasebe Haruka beside her, showing off her prized discovery.
"Right, Haruka? Isn't it just amazing?"
Hasebe Haruka set down her drink and gave a nod.
She hadn't wanted to look too worked up about it — but the surprise in her eyes was impossible to conceal.
"...Yeah. It really is."
She looked at Shikime Natsu, her admiration entirely genuine.
"Shiki-san's voice is truly beautiful."
And the technique was exceptional too — no, more than that. It was thoroughly professional.
"Compared to the pop artists I normally listen to... honestly, this is on another level entirely."
"Shiki-san could go pro right now."
She wasn't flattering him. She meant every word. The effortless control in his delivery, the quality of his voice — all of it was simply, undeniably compelling.
"You're too kind." Shikime Natsu set down the microphone and smiled.
"Airi and Hasebe-san were both wonderful too."
At the compliment, Hasebe Haruka turned her head away, a hint of self-consciousness in the gesture, her fingers lightly curling around a strand of her blue hair.
"I was just... singing for fun."
The words said one thing. The barely-there smile tugging at the corner of her mouth said another.
...
After several more rounds, everyone had worn themselves pleasantly out.
The room time still hadn't run out, though.
So the three of them sprawled out on the sofa, drinks in hand, and fell into easy conversation.
Perhaps it was the shared experience of singing together — whatever stiffness had lingered in the air earlier had dissolved completely. Even Hasebe Haruka seemed far more relaxed than before.
In fact, if anything, it was the opposite now.
With just the three of them here — no classmates to keep an eye on, no classroom dynamics to navigate — she didn't carry that guarded, unapproachable air she usually wore in class. In its place, a far more easygoing, talkative side of her came through.
"Hey..."
Hasebe Haruka cradled her cup and looked at the two sitting across from her, curiosity evident.
"I've actually been wondering for a while."
"When did you two — Airi and Shiki-san — first meet?"
"You two seem... really close."
She had noticed it back during the Class D exchange week. At first, in that opening week, she'd taken Sakura Airi to be a fairly timid, introverted girl. But the moment Shikime Natsu had arrived in Class D, Sakura Airi seemed to transform — becoming noticeably brighter and more self-assured.
There was clearly a story between them. Hasebe Haruka was exactly the kind of girl who found herself curious about these things.
At the question, Sakura Airi answered openly and without hesitation.
"Natsu and I met back in middle school."
She glanced over at Shikime Natsu, a warm smile on her face.
"Although... back then, we were online friends. We chatted a lot. Natsu gave me so much encouragement and helped me through so many things..."
"Coming to this school was kind of like our first real-life meeting."
"...?"
Hasebe Haruka blinked, genuinely taken aback.
"Online friends?"
"So... the exchange week was actually the first time you met in person?"
She shook her head slowly, a touch of wonder in her voice.
"You two are seriously... destined for each other, aren't you."
After all — out of the vast sea of people in the world, two online friends had ended up enrolled in the same high school. And not just any school, but this one — a closed, highly particular institution.
The odds were almost laughably small.
Hearing the word destined, Sakura Airi seemed to come alive even more.
She leaned forward slightly, eyes bright, voice animated.
"And it gets even more unbelievable!"
"I had never told Natsu I was planning to come to this school."
"And I had no idea that Natsu would be coming here either."
"We both ended up here completely in the dark — neither of us knowing anything about the other's plans."
"And then... we just happened to find each other."
"Haruka — doesn't that feel like... fate?"
Watching her best friend's barely-contained excitement, Hasebe Haruka smiled and nodded along.
"Yeah... that's genuinely surprising."
"It's like something straight out of a manga."
At that moment, Sakura Airi suddenly turned toward Hasebe Haruka with a serious look.
"Hey... Haruka."
"Mm?"
"Natsu is... a really wonderful person."
Sakura Airi's eyes were full of sincerity — not a trace of exaggeration, nothing forced about it.
"If you don't mind..."
"Why not be friends with Natsu too?"
Hasebe Haruka blinked.
She looked at Sakura Airi's clear, guileless eyes — then turned and glanced over at Shikime Natsu, who was sitting beside her with his usual quiet, easy smile.
A moment passed.
She gave a small, unhurried nod. A relaxed smile settled onto her face.
"Sure."
"If Airi puts it like that..."
She looked toward Shikime Natsu, and the last hint of wariness in her gaze quietly fell away.
"Um... Natsu."
Just like that, she shifted how she addressed him entirely.
From the distant, formal "Shiki-san" — to the close, familiar "Natsu."
Noticing the faint flicker of surprise on Shikime Natsu's face, Hasebe Haruka explained herself with just a touch of embarrassment.
"Um... when I decide I want to be friends with someone..."
"I change how I address them first."
"It's just a habit of mine."
"Is that... too forward?"
She looked at him as she asked.
After all, for a lot of boys, being called by their given name out of the blue by a girl they'd only just gotten to know might feel a little presumptuous.
But Shikime Natsu simply smiled and shook his head, those pale gold eyes of his warm with acceptance.
"Not at all."
"I'm glad to count Hasebe-san as a friend."
He paused, then added naturally:
"In that case... since we're friends now."
"I'll call you... Haruka, if that's alright?"
She looked at the remarkably good-looking boy in front of her, and gave a small, easy nod.
"Of course... Natsu."
In that brief exchange, something between the three of them quietly shifted — like a door that had been slightly ajar swinging open at last.
Hasebe Haruka took a slow breath, then spoke again.
"Actually — I owe you another thank-you."
"During the exchange program week... thank you for the tutoring sessions."
"You were genuinely impressive."
"I found it really helpful — honestly much easier to follow than just reading on my own."
She meant it. Her grades weren't at the top of the class, and Shikime Natsu's way of breaking things down — making the complex feel intuitive — had made a real difference.
Shikime Natsu waved it off with a light smile.
"It was nothing, really."
"If you ever run into problems with your studies, or something you can't figure out..."
"Feel free to come find me anytime."
He met her eyes, his tone easy but genuine.
"I've always got time."
At that, Haruka blinked, visibly caught off guard.
Then, unable to stop herself, she let out a quiet laugh — a faint note of teasing in her voice.
"Didn't expect you to be so willing to help me, honestly."
"It's not like you don't know that Class A and Class D are rivals."
In this school, the competition between classes was brutal. Helping a student from another class improve their grades was, in a very real sense, sharpening a blade to be used against your own class later.
Shikime Natsu didn't seem bothered by that in the slightest.
He leaned back into the sofa, relaxed and easy.
"Classes might be rivals with each other."
"But..."
"That doesn't get in the way of me being friends with Airi and Haruka, does it?"
"As far as I'm concerned, friendship is worth a whole lot more than points and class rankings."
It was said without posturing, without performance. Just honest and effortless.
Hasebe Haruka found herself smiling at that.
"Obviously!"
Shikime Natsu's gaze moved between Sakura Airi and Hasebe Haruka, a flicker of genuine curiosity in his eyes.
"Speaking of which — how did you two meet? How did you become friends?"
Airi had never actually told him about her friendship with Hasebe Haruka. In all the updates she'd given him, it had always been about Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyou — those two, and nobody else.
____
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