Chapter 6

[Naoko is nice.]

I like Naoko.

Naoko took this as a sign of surrender, but her attitude remained firm:

[What you need to do is apologize to Irie-senpai, not fawn over me.]

To avoid Amemiya-kun, she deliberately arrived at school twenty minutes early the next day. Irie-senpai didn't ask why, but gently accepted her suggestion.

"It's just right. I need more time to study, too." He handed her a bottle of warm strawberry milk with a straw, his affection hidden beneath a knowing smile.

Ever since he knew she loved this sweet drink, he'd always give it to her from time to time.

But halfway through, she received a frantic call from Amemiya, along with angry, threatening messages:

[Do you want to die, Naoko?]

[Are you getting up early just to avoid me?]

[Are you staying with that ugly guy?]

[Didn't I say this was my last chance?]

[Just wait, don't let me catch up with you.

She couldn't help but shudder, tilting her head to urge Irie: "Senior, let's go quickly... It seems like there's a dog chasing us."

"Huh?" Without waiting for him to

ask anything, she grabbed his hand and ran. When they stopped at the school gate, panting, she clasped her hands together and apologized repeatedly:

"Amemiya-kun seems angry, senior. It seems we can't travel together from now on. Amemiya-kun is always like this, very selfish... He doesn't consider other people's thoughts at all..."

As she spoke, her eyes became moist as she thought of the past.

A warm hand reached out and wiped her tears with a handkerchief: "It's okay, Kawase-chan, I'm always here if you need me. But Amemiya-kun has crossed the line with you."

... How could there be someone as gentle as a senior!

She was thinking about how to avoid Amemiya-kun's questions, and naturally didn't notice the dark light that flashed in Irie's eyes.

Naoko sat down nervously.

But then she thought, she had done nothing wrong, had she?

She should have been the one to be angry.

In reality, it had only been three or four minutes before Amemiya-kun walked in.

His breathing was a bit rapid, seemingly from his haste.

"Do you want to die, Naoko?"

Her newly erected back collapsed again at that.

She had indeed been wrong to abandon him.

"That's not true! I've already made it clear to Senior that I'll only be traveling with you, Amemiya-kun, from now on. Is that enough?"

"No, you stay away from him."

"Okay, okay. But you have to be polite to Senior, too." It was just a casual agreement. After all, she had already made an appointment with Irie-senpai to meet in the library after school.

"How polite I am depends entirely on your attitude, Naoko."

It was clearly a beautiful relationship, but because of that damned Amemiya-kun, it had become like a criminal encounter.

She didn't dare get too intimate with him, because Amemiya-kun's nose would definitely pick it up.

But when she saw her senior, she felt that no matter what she did, she could accept it, because being with her senior was just too happy.

Since Irie-senpai readily accepted all her unreasonable requests, he must also like her...her a little bit, right?

Thinking of this, Naoko felt that she was about to burst with happiness.

However, Amamiya-kun has been acting strangely recently.

Specifically, he would suddenly hug her for no apparent reason, and sometimes when they looked at each other, he would look away guiltily.

Although he didn't have any sense of keeping a distance before, holding hands in public like this was a bit too much!

She could imagine the inner thoughts of passers-by. They would probably think they were a couple and think that Amamiya-kun had poor taste.

Although Naoko didn't have an inferiority complex, a monster like Amamiya Tomie who destroyed the dimensional wall was indeed not very compatible with ordinary humans.

Her hand couldn't help but twitch. "Hey, Amamiya-kun, let go!"

"No, no." He reached out his other hand and placed it on the top of her head, which she pretended to bite. "Aren't you and that ugly... that guy holding hands too? Naoko can't be biased. I have to do what he can do. Besides, isn't this nice? I like the soft feel of your palm, Naoko."

As he spoke, he squeezed her hand.

"No. I told you it's different, and it's so hot! Let go of me now, and don't touch my head!"

She angrily slapped Amamiya's hand away, but he was still glaring at her from behind. She could almost feel his gaze scrutinizing the back of her head.

"Naoko is very discriminatory."

"Oh—" she trailed off, and he reached out and pinched her face.

He seemed puzzled. "Why aren't you blushing, Naoko?"

"Hey, it hurts!"

Amamiya-kun, unsure of what had suddenly gone mad, pinched and rubbed her face, rubbing and pinching, until her face became red and swollen, and then, satisfied, he let her go.

"It looks much better this way. Let's go, Naoko."

This was completely an unprovoked disaster.

She couldn't bear it any longer and pinched his waist hard, but it was obvious that this was not a successful revenge.

Because Amemiya grabbed her hand and held it firmly.

Damn it.

Was Amemiya-kun possessed by some evil spirit?

Naoko felt uneasy.

Kamikawa Academy had a very famous Chocolate Festival. Specifically, on this day, students could give chocolates to teachers or classmates to express their gratitude or longing.

Naoko started preparing for this since last week.

She made a heart-shaped chocolate by herself, and planned to confess her love to Irie-senpai on this day.

Yes, confession.

In fact, she also had a vague premonition that Irie-senpai was probably waiting for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

On the day of the Chocolate Festival, just after lunch break, when she came back from the rooftop, she found a piece of white chocolate and a note on her desk.

This must be a gift from Irie-senpai.

Compared to the piles of love letters on Amamiya-kun's desk next to her, the difference was stark.

Amamiya Tomie didn't care about other people's thoughts; the only fate of these gifts was to be thrown in the trash.

But that wasn't her concern; she only cared about her senior.

She took two steps forward, but before she could touch the letter, a bony hand reached out and took the chocolate and the note away.

"Chocolate, how vulgar," Amamiya commented coldly, holding the gift that had originally belonged to her.

He sat on her desk, staring down at her and asked, "Naoko, do you like this kind of sweet and greasy thing?"

Afraid that Amemiya would suddenly have the urge to read the letter, she blushed and stood on tiptoe to snatch the letter from his hand.

"Hey, Amemiya-kun, give it back to me, it's mine. You obviously have so many, don't you?"

Amemiya gently raised his hand. Naoko stood on tiptoe to reach it several times, but she couldn't reach it no matter what. She had to settle for the next best thing and scratch his arm.

"Yours? Naoko's is mine, isn't it? What's the difference?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Amemiya-kun, give it back to me."

He sat back a little, and in Naoko's collapsed sight, he looked at the note and read aloud: "'Naoko-chan', calling you so intimately. Even I have never called you like that, Naoko."

"Give it back to me!" She was embarrassed and annoyed, and her face and eyes were half red.

Amemiya ignored her aggressive behavior and grabbed both of her wrists with one hand. "By the way, Naoko, when did I ever allow you to accept things from others?"

Naoko kicked him in anger, causing him to recoil. The chocolates, precariously piled on the desk behind him, tumbled to the ground with a ping-pong sound, a truly spectacular sight.

She lowered her voice, "I don't care if you allow me to, just give them back, you bastard!"

"Tsk," Amemiya scoffed from above. He used his free hand to wipe away the tears that had begun to flow from her face.

She then realized how close they were, her waist practically brushing against his thigh.

"You're not allowed to accept them."

"Why?!"

"Are you going through your teenage rebellion? Naoko, I've noticed you've been quite disobedient lately. It's Chocolate Day, right? Why are you giving chocolate to others and not me?"

Naoko, who had no friends before, had never considered the holiday and certainly wouldn't give him any chocolate.

In this way, it seems that she is not in the right.

But she is furious and will not give in no matter what, so she starts to bring up the past, the things that Amamiya has done to make her angry.

"Didn't you break up? It was you who ignored me last week, Amamiya-kun... You didn't go with me, refused to have lunch with me, and didn't drink the water I gave you, and so on."

"Breaking up? When did I say that?"

"Didn't you ignore me? I thought that meant breaking up. Besides, I haven't had time to pay attention to you recently." She wanted to stand on tiptoe to snatch the note back when he wasn't paying attention, but he dodged it lightly with his hand, like teasing a cat.

He raised his hand and put it down with ease, teasing her: "The word 'breaking up' can only be proposed by me, Naoko's words don't count. But, you don't have time for me, but you have time for that ugly guy?"

"I said he's not ugly! Senior Irie is the most gentle man in the world."

"If he sold you out, I would definitely applaud it. How can a guy with a pointed chin and monkey cheeks be a good person?"

Naoko quickly forgot about the chocolate and concentrated on arguing with him: "He doesn't have a pointed chin and monkey cheeks, okay? Senior has very white skin and sexy lips. People like you, Amamiya-kun, won't understand."

"Oh, is that so." He echoed calmly, but his hands forcefully tore up the poor note and threw it into the trash can along with the chocolate, "I've told you before, Naoko, right? Stay away from him."

"Amamiya-kun, are you crazy?"

Meeting her shocked and angry gaze, Amamiya-kun's lips curled into a wicked grin. "If you don't want me to do anything more extreme, Naoko, just be obedient."

He pinched the soft flesh on her cheek and swaggered off.

Amamiya-kun was always so meddlesome...

Naoko's emotions welled up, tears threatening to burst. Unable to suppress her affection for her senior, she slumped over to the trash can to retrieve the chocolate and the note.

Luckily, luckily, they weren't stained.

With a certain sense of relief, she carefully unfolded the note:

[Naoko-chan, please allow me to address you this way.

Today is a special day. After school, could you please come to the second cherry tree in the garden?

You don't have to come, but I'll always be waiting for you.

— Irie.]

The tenderness that overflowed between the lines, coupled with the resentment she'd felt since childhood at the hands of Amamiya-kun, made her nose sore.

Is Irie-senpai going to confess his feelings?

Probably, she has a feeling that they are in love.