While Tomita Haruka was away, Kuroha Akira handed the cat treats in his hand to the class president, who wanted to try feeding the cat herself. Kuroo, surprisingly, accepted the treats from Asato Hitomi's hand without complaint, as if recognizing her as worthy of such an honor.
While feeding the cat and waiting for Tomita Haruka to return, the two continued to chat about their previous topic.
"So, Class President, you and Tomita-san are also childhood friends."
"Yes, our family has always only come to this shrine for New Year's Day worship. Uncle Hoken just said that he and my father are close friends, like brothers, so there was even a betrothal agreement between our families. It was only because Haruka-chan and I are both girls that the agreement was canceled."
They even had a betrothal agreement, so the two families' relationship was truly deep. Kuroha Akira thought, genuinely impressed.
But the class president certainly had many childhood friends… She'd been popular since she was little. If the class president were a boy, he would have Takanashi Mirai at school, Saionji Mako outside of school, and then Tomita Haruka, to whom he was betrothed—three different childhood friends offering three different routes to conquer. This would definitely be the protagonist template in other novels.
"I see… By the way, Uncle Hoken said that he and your father grew up together and were watched over by my landlord Granny Kobayashi. Does that mean your family used to live in that area too, Class President?"
Asato Hitomi said without changing her expression, her voice perfectly neutral.
"Before my father got married, he did live in your area, Akira-kun."
This statement was very ambiguous—'your area' could be understood as living in that vicinity, or it could be understood as living at the Kobayashi family residence itself. Kuroha Akira subconsciously understood it as the former.
This was mainly because, before Mr. Kobayashi passed away, it had always been Granny Kobayashi and Mr. Kobayashi, two elderly people, living together. And before Kuroha Akira and these transmigrators moved in, the Kobayashi family had not had any other tenants for a long time. This was also confirmed by Granny Kobayashi herself.
However, Kuroha Akira forgot that Asato Hitomi's father getting married was more than fifteen years ago—after all, the class president was his age. So Kuroha Akira tried to recall, but it seemed there were no neighbors named Asato-san in the vicinity. Perhaps they moved away later?
"It's also because my father moved out after he got married that although Haruka and I knew each other from a very young age, we rarely met, and only kept in touch via phone."
"Oh, I see. No wonder Tomita-san didn't join your childhood playmate group, Class President."
Moreover, her mother also didn't order the class president to stay away from the Tomita family, which indicated that the Tomita family was genuinely 'their own people,' standing on the Asato family's side.
"Originally, we had agreed to attend the same high school together, but as I just said, Uncle Hoken disagreed."
"But he suddenly agreed just now… Why?"
"Yes, why?"
Asato Hitomi also expressed her curiosity, but she actually knew the reason for Tomita Hoken's sudden change of heart. However, she didn't want to say it, nor did she want to tell Kuroha Akira.
Because the reason is you, Akira-kun…
That actually contained an implicit meaning of 'ingratiation,' but it was so subtle that neither Kuroha Akira nor Tomita Haruka noticed.
In reality, Tomita Hoken's core demand hadn't changed—he still didn't want his daughter to lose her virginity before marriage. However, if the object wasn't some unknown wild boy, but someone he approved of, then it was fine.
If Asato Hitomi were a boy, Tomita Hoken would definitely agree to his daughter attending the same school as Asato Hitomi, because Asato Hitomi was someone he approved of.
The same logic applied now. Because Kuroha Akira was at this high school, and Tomita Hoken could tell at a glance that his daughter had a crush on this kid, which was why he asked her if she wanted to transfer. If Asato Hitomi hadn't been there, Tomita Hoken might have already grabbed Kuroha Akira's hand and said, 'Do you want to marry my daughter?'
But Asato Hitomi was, after all, his good brother's daughter, so he couldn't 'openly steal people.' Moreover, he probably just said it casually, not to the extent of it being absolutely necessary.
His earlier questions about the ages and genders of the other residents were also for this reason, just like 'Do you have any unmarried older or younger sisters?'
A tenant who happened to be his daughter's age, he naturally had to try to win them over. If it worked out, that would be great; if not, it didn't matter—it would still be good to make their acquaintance.
Kuroha Akira was completely unaware that he had become a hot commodity in the eyes of adults. The thought never even crossed his mind.
Actually, this was also the reason Asato Hitomi didn't want to tell Kuroha Akira about the hidden matters. She didn't want Kuroha Akira to feel that she had approached him with an obvious purpose from the beginning. Although she did contact Kuroha Akira under the pretext of saving the Literary Club, at least that was her own business. She didn't want adults to interfere with her friendships anymore.
Because if Tomita Hoken was like this, what if her mother found out… Although she would have to tell Kuroha Akira eventually, it wasn't now.
After Asato Hitomi finished feeding all the cat treats, Kuroo didn't ask for more food but started licking her fur nearby—a sign of contentment. She stood up and invited Kuroha Akira again,
"By the way, Akira-kun, I remember next year's Spring Festival should be at the end of January. Do you want to come for worship then?"
"Wait a minute, Spring Festival? Worship? Isn't it New Year's Day worship?"
"Although people do come for New Year's Day worship, it's usually New Spring worship, isn't it? Isn't that the meaning of the spring break?"
"…"
No, wait a minute! Kuroha Akira's brain momentarily short-circuited. Isn't spring break supposed to mean 'holiday in spring'? Did it become 'holiday for Spring Festival'?!
This was cultural influence… Indeed, other countries' national holidays had nothing to do with Japan, but the Spring Festival was a festival of the Sinosphere. It should be said that in the original world, Japan was very strange—being forcibly Westernized despite being in Asia, becoming like America… But here, the traditions had clearly diverged.
"How about it, Akira-kun? I'll bring my homemade New Year's dishes and soba noodles to eat together then?"
Hearing about delicious food, Kuroha Akira agreed without a second thought.
"Okay, let's go for worship together then."
Kuroha Akira still hadn't gotten the one-day usage right from their previous bet, but Asato Hitomi had already started making various reservations for Kuroha Akira's future schedule—locking him in like a premium booking.
At this moment, after pushing her father to the back of the shrine and venting her frustrations at him, Tomita Haruka returned, her face still flushed from the exertion and embarrassment. She bowed to the two and said,
"Ha… I'm sorry, you must be laughing at me…"
"Hehe, I actually think Uncle Hoken is a very interesting person." Kuroha Akira grinned.
Tomita Haruka looked up, her face still red, and somewhat shyly suggested to Kuroha Akira,
"Um, Kuroha-san, you're already calling my dad by his first name… How about you just call me by my first name too?"
Tomita Haruka wanted to take this opportunity to progress further in their terms of address—a small but significant step in her mind.
As mentioned before, this was no big deal for Kuroha Akira; he preferred to call people by their first names anyway. Names were just names to him.
"Sure, then I'll call you Haruka from now on. How about it?"
"Mhm! Then, then I can also call you… Aki…"
Before she could fully pronounce his name, Tomita Haruka felt an invisible pressure—coming from Asato Hitomi's smile. It wasn't a threatening smile, exactly. It was warm, pleasant, and utterly terrifying in its perfection.
Today's good best friend… feels a bit scary?
Moreover, she was already a bit too shy to call a male peer, especially one she liked, by his first name. So, under double pressure from inside and out, she still chose a less direct form of address.
"I, I'll just call you Kuroha-kun from now on."
"Okay. Speaking of which, Haruka, are you really not planning to transfer to our school?"
"Eh? Um…"
"If you come, you can join the Literary Club!" Kuroha Akira's eyes lit up with recruitment fervor. "The class president is now the head of the Literary Club, and the other members of the Literary Club are all girls. I think you'll make friends very quickly."
Kuroha Akira took the opportunity to persuade Tomita Haruka to transfer schools.
Currently, the Literary Club only had four people, and one spot was still undecided. If Tomita Haruka transferred over, the Literary Club would no longer be short on members—a perfect recruitment opportunity.
"Hmm, well…"
Tomita Haruka was still a bit hesitant; besides being reluctant to leave her current friends, another significant reason was precisely due to club activities. She had commitments that couldn't just be abandoned on a whim.
Asato Hitomi stepped forward to explain for the troubled Tomita Haruka.
"Alright, Akira-kun, don't make things difficult for Haruka. She's the first-year ace of Shirayuri Academy's swimming club, and she took third place in the Tokyo metropolitan area at this year's August Comprehensive Sports Tournament, so she still needs to represent the school in competitions. She can't transfer now."
"Oh! She became a regular in her first year? That's impressive!" Kuroha Akira's eyes widened with genuine admiration.
No wonder her skin had a healthy tan—she was from the swimming club. Her morning runs must also be to train her lung capacity and build endurance. It all made sense now.
Speaking of swimming, one thought of sukumizu—the classic school swimsuit—which, along with buruma gym shorts and sailor uniforms, were considered the three pieces of alluring clothing for JK's in the old era.
However, for serious swimming, she would be wearing a racing swimsuit. High-cut racing swimsuits were also very alluring… and they went well with pantyhose. Though serious swimmers probably wouldn't wear swimsuits with stockings—that would be more of a cosplay thing.
"Hehe, it's alright… and it's a bit of a shame that I still couldn't break through to the nationals… So, well, Hitomi-chan is right, I want to continue participating in this year's and early next year's competitions…"
Kuroha Akira listened, then turned to ask the class representative.
"Class president, does our school have a swimming club?"
"Of course we do, but our results don't seem to be very good. The boys' team might be stronger, but the girls' team definitely can't compare to Shirayuri Academy. In various women's events, Shirayuri Academy is ranked nationally. For example, the Kendo Club that Saionji Mako is in has won the national championship for three consecutive years."
"That's amazing…" Kuroha Akira whistled. Saionji Mako, so she was also a kendo girl? Another layer to that mysterious character.
In short, if she wanted to seriously participate in club activities, achieve good rankings in national competitions, and get recommendations for sports departments at prestigious universities, then it was indeed better for her to stay at Shirayuri Academy.
But Kuroha Akira had already confirmed something important in his mind: Tomita Haruka had no talent related to swimming, nor any talent related to sports in general. Her progress speed was destined to be slower than that of geniuses.
Even if she became an ace through hard work now, in the future, with the rise of talented newcomers, watching herself be surpassed by one successor after another would surely lead to self-doubt, and she might even become disheartened.
But what right did he have to persuade her to give up?
Should one give up on what they love just because they cannot succeed? Should one choose to escape just because they will feel pain? No… that didn't make sense.
Kuroha Akira, who had originally intended to further persuade Tomita Haruka to transfer, suddenly decided not to say more at this moment. Sometimes silence was the better choice.
He just smiled and said,
"Alright then, I wish you good results."
But Kuroha Akira knew that feeling of being unable to catch up no matter what—looking up at an insurmountable wall. That feeling of despair. This made him unable to help but feel sympathy for Tomita Haruka, this 'fellow sufferer' and 'incapable person.'
So he spoke a bit more.
"But, if… I mean if, assuming your results aren't ideal, I hope you don't blame yourself excessively. Try to change your mood and environment… we, your friends, will help you."
"Mm, I know, thank you all."
Tomita Haruka gave a wry smile. She knew what Kuroha Akira meant; she just didn't want to let down her coach and seniors' expectations. The weight of their hopes pressed down on her shoulders like a heavy blanket.
"When is the next competition?"
"In November, there will be the prefectural tournament for the High School Inter-School Swimming Competition. If I can successfully break through, I can then participate in the subsequent National Competition, and then in February next year, there's the U18 individual competition organized by the Swimming Federation…"
"Okay, we'll go cheer for you then." And also get to see JK's in swimsuits, Kuroha Akira added mentally, though he kept that thought to himself.
"Eh? Uh, you don't have to go out of your way to cheer for me. If I disappoint you guys…"
Tomita Haruka was the type who, when friends came to cheer for her, felt more pressure than happiness. The thought of letting people down was almost worse than losing itself.
Kuroha Akira laughed.
"We won't be disappointed, because if you don't make it, it's good for us, isn't it? That way, you can transfer here."
Tomita Haruka listened and said blankly,
"Ah… I see… That's true…"
Although it sounded like a jinx wishing someone failure—the kind of thing that would normally be considered bad luck—this kind of statement actually reduced Tomita Haruka's pressure. Yes, it didn't matter if she failed, because they would still accept her. There was a safety net.
"Well, it's getting late. We should go, Haruka."
They had only come to pick up props, but unexpectedly, they had chatted for so long. Asato Hitomi glanced at the time; there wasn't enough time left to go anywhere else. Although it wasn't a date, she had originally wanted to take this opportunity to spend more time with Kuroha Akira, but unfortunately, it was already time to go home.
She bid farewell to Tomita Haruka, who nodded and waved goodbye to them. Dressed in a miko outfit, her impression was completely different from usual: her vitality was subdued, and she appeared very quiet and shy.
"Goodbye, Haruka."
"Mm, see you next time, Hitomi-chan, and see you tomorrow, Kuroha-kun."
"Oh, see you tomorrow."
Asato Hitomi noticed this detail in the farewell; for her, it was 'see you next time,' but for Kuroha Akira, it was 'see you tomorrow.' Because these two had a morning run together, they met every day, even on holidays.
Although the morning run wasn't long, Tomita Haruka, like Shinomiya Shion, was one of the people closest to Kuroha Akira. She probably, like herself, looked forward to meeting Kuroha Akira every day.
Asato Hitomi had noticed that Tomita Haruka had a crush on Kuroha Akira, and she wasn't surprised.
Because anyone who interacted with Kuroha Akira would develop a crush on him. For example, Sumitomo Ryota, who was initially hostile towards him, now treated him like a brother, which was enough to show that Kuroha Akira indeed possessed a unique personal charm.
Even though he always acted out of self-interest, he could still consider others' feelings, which gave people a sense of sincerity and made him very comfortable to be around. It was a paradoxical quality that drew people in.
However, when the girls who were close to him all wanted to develop a special relationship with him, Asato Hitomi found that she seemed to be the only one who felt a bit out of place.
Asato Hitomi's frustration stemmed from not being recognized by Kuroha Akira for her talent, which made her want to try to regain Kuroha Akira's attention and make him look at her. As for whether to seriously date Kuroha Akira, she actually felt that 'it's all fine,' which is why she told Kuroha Akira that if he found someone he liked, he could dump her, his 'fake girlfriend.' Because she only cared whether this feeling could last for a long time, not about any baseless titles.
Friend or lover… what's the difference?
Asato Hitomi was a bit confused. She knew that conceptually, the two were completely different, but because her definition of a friend was distorted to 'being able to do anything for the other person,' she couldn't find the 'necessity of becoming a lover.' Her agreement with Kuroha Akira about graduating from virginity was not just a joke; she truly felt that she could graduate from virginity with Kuroha Akira.
If it were Kuroha Akira, she wouldn't mind giving her virginity to him, and even in the future, to relieve human carnal desires, she would be willing to maintain a physical relationship with Kuroha Akira. Those benefits that seemed far beyond a friendship were also made possible by this mindset. She felt that it was okay if the object was Kuroha Akira; she wouldn't feel disgusted, and seeing him happy and enjoying it would also make her happy.
But there was something different.
She and the other girls had a decisive difference. They had something she didn't…
What exactly was it?
After returning home, Kuroha Akira 'played' with Shion for a while, extended the massage time, then took a comfortable shower, and finally fell asleep hugging the beauty.
However, because the ammunition wasn't completely cleared, his underwear was ruined when he woke up in the morning. In the past, Kuroha Akira would most likely have secretly slipped into the bathroom to destroy the evidence, but because his relationship with Shion had reached a point where there was no need to avoid gender distinctions, he simply changed his clothes as usual and went for a run.
Then Shion got Kuroha Akira's original boxer briefs for the first time, with the essence she had long been interested in still remaining on them… Just smelling it was no longer enough to satisfy the girl's increasingly strong desire, so she began to taste the amine compounds by licking them. And in just one try, she became completely obsessed with this heather smell that should have been particularly unpleasant.
Love extended to everything connected to the beloved; Shion was already half-infatuated, her senses completely captured.
The reason Shinomiya Shion could advance so rapidly on the path of love was because she possessed something Asato Hitomi lacked.
Possessiveness.
What she sought was 'unique,' 'the only one.' There could be many friends, perhaps many lovers, and many non-lover card partners, but… only one woman would eventually take the 'Kuroha' surname. That singular desire drove everything she did.