"Crowded as always, huh..."
Aoyama Academy's cafeteria food was actually pretty decent compared to other private schools. Its only downside was that you had to eat inside. Still, a huge chunk of the student body preferred the mobile food truck parked outside. It was convenient, fast, and cheap. Grab and go.
By the time Rio Futaba arrived after class, a massive swarm of students had already formed in front of the truck, jockeying for bread.
Her social anxiety kicked in immediately. The idea of grabbing a bun for lunch seemed impossible now. She was effectively deterred.
"Ugh..."
Because of that incident, Rio had stared at her phone until 4:00 AM last night, utterly unable to sleep. Making it to school on time was a miracle in itself; making her own bento was out of the question.
"Guess I'll go back and make some instant coffee."
With a soft sigh and an empty stomach, the girl turned to retreat to her science lab in defeat.
Hiss.
Suddenly, Rio felt a cold sensation against her cheek—a rare, refreshing chill in the summer heat. Even though it was fleeting, it startled her enough to make her jump back a few steps.
"Sorry, sorry, Rio."
He had only meant to tease her, but seeing Rio react like a frightened rabbit, Kenmei Isayama realized his timing was off. He quickly reached out and grabbed her shoulders to stop her from backing away any further.
"Kenmei?"
Rio's eyes widened as she realized the prankster was the "friend" she currently wasn't ready to face.
This was a second shock, far more terrifying than the cold drink.
Feeling his hands still on her shoulders, Rio felt her heart rate spike again.
Kenmei realized his actions were a bit forward. It felt like a scene where a boyfriend spots his girlfriend walking alone, pranks her, and then pulls her close before she can get mad.
He could already hear the whispers of students in the distance.
"So bold..."
"Right in front of the food truck?"
Giving Rio a moment to collect herself, Kenmei subtly released his grip, ending the embrace-like posture before the gossip got worse.
Rio bit her lip, staring at Kenmei who had suddenly appeared before her.
"Why are you here, Kenmei?"
Kenmei didn't answer directly. Instead, he smugly held up the bag in his other hand.
"Look. Your favorite chocolate cornet."
"I saw there was only one left, so I fought through the crowd and snagged it for you."
The cold sensation earlier had been the iced drink he bought.
"Let's eat lunch together."
"Chocolate cornet..." Rio murmured.
If she had the courage to fight the crowd, that bread would have been her choice, without a doubt.
Normally, she would have accepted happily. But given the current situation, things were different. She was just about to refuse.
Grrr...
Her starving body betrayed her instantly with a loud, protesting growl.
"..."
Rio's earlobes turned bright red beneath her long gray hair. Her golden eyes widened in mortification.
If I knew this would happen...
I should have eaten breakfast.
She hadn't eaten since the middle of the night yesterday. Faced with food, her body reacted naturally.
Right now, Rio's thoughts were simply:
This is the worst. I want to die.
Although she whispered it, Kenmei caught the faint, pitiful sound. He paused for a second—it was a gap moe moment. The usually serious Rio having a moment like this was... cute.
"I'll take that as a yes."
Seeing Rio staring at her feet, too embarrassed to look up, Kenmei chuckled and took her hand, leading her away from the crowd.
When he grabbed her hand, he felt her tremble, but she quickly settled down and obediently let him lead her.
Watching her eyelashes flutter with nervousness was a stark contrast to the cool, calm Rio he knew.
She's definitely cuter this way.
Kenmei glanced at her from the corner of his eye, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
---
They moved from the noisy courtyard to the science building, which was deserted during lunch break, and finally arrived at Rio's personal lab.
Rio, who had been meek and submissive just moments ago, suddenly regained her confidence now that she was on her home turf.
"Idiot, we're here."
She managed to compose herself—mostly. Her face was still flushed as she glared at Kenmei.
"How long are you planning to hold my hand?!"
But with her puffed-up cheeks, she looked more like an angry kitten than anything threatening. It was just adorable.
Kenmei felt a bit wrongfully accused. Controlling how long they held hands wasn't entirely up to him.
"What are you doing?"
"Rio, there's something I want to tell you."
As Kenmei leaned in, his face getting closer and closer, the "butterflies" in Rio's stomach started rioting again. She squeezed her eyes shut in panic, her voice trembling.
But contrary to her expectations, Kenmei just leaned to her ear and whispered like a devil on her shoulder:
"Actually, I let go of your hand when we walked into the building."
"Why don't you look down and see whose hand is refusing to let go?"
"Huh?"
Disbelieving, Rio followed Kenmei's gaze.
She saw a slender, pale hand—her hand—tightly gripping a larger, stronger hand.
It was clear as day. Since his hand was larger, she was only holding onto three of his fingers.
When did that happen?
Kenmei had held her hand initially so she wouldn't get lost or left behind. He had let go the moment they entered the lab.
To his surprise, less than a second after he let go, the soft hand he had been holding reached out and grabbed him back.
What was he supposed to do?
POOF.
Kenmei could practically see steam rising from Rio's head. Her CPU had overheated.
"Alright, alright. Eat up."
"I'll stop teasing you. If I fry your brain, I'll be a criminal in the scientific community."
Kenmei led Rio to her usual seat. He took the chocolate cornet and the drink from the bag, opened the wrapper, uncapped the bottle, and placed them in her hands.
He patted her head gently, like soothing a child.
"Rio, filling your stomach is the priority right now."
"I know..."
Hiding her face behind the chocolate cornet, Rio muttered softly.
"And don't... pat my head. You'll mess up my hair."
Seeing her start to eat obediently, Kenmei took out his own curry bread and dug in.
Rio stole a glance at Kenmei chewing on his bread, and a small smile touched her lips.
It's really just like the first time we met. You noticed I didn't get any bread, and without hesitation, you gave your last chocolate cornet to me—a complete stranger.
Maybe that's when I started liking the taste of chocolate cornets. Bittersweet.
"Rio..."
Half a loaf of bread later, Rio felt much better. Her panic had subsided.
"What is it?"
"Can you build a bomb?"
"B... Bomb? Cough... What?"
Rio's eyes went wide. She choked on her bread at Kenmei's sudden, insane question.
Kenmei looked at her with expectant eyes, even using hand gestures to demonstrate.
"You know, the kind you throw and it goes BOOM."
If I had that, I could blow those bastards to kingdom come!