The weekend finally arrived.
The weather was pleasant, and the streets of Tokyo were unusually calm.
Ryu stood outside Hina’s house with his hands in his pockets.
The five of them had planned a group study session at a restaurant nearby.
A private room had already been reserved, and everyone had agreed to meet there.
Since Hina wasn’t familiar with the area yet, Ryu had decided to pick her up.
He glanced at the time.
“She’s probably almost ready…”
Just then—
VROOOOM!
The sound of a motorcycle echoed down the street.
Ryu immediately turned around.
A familiar motorcycle stopped right in front of Hina’s house.
The rider removed his helmet.
White hair.
Blue eyes.
A smug grin.
Haku.
Ryu immediately frowned.
“What are you doing here?”
Haku looked offended.
“What do you mean what am I doing here?”
“Do I look like I came here to dance in front of Hina’s house?”
Ryu sighed.
“No.”
“Then use your brain, Senpai.”
Haku pointed at the house.
“I came to pick up Hina.”
Then he crossed his arms.
“What about you?”
Ryu looked at him.
“What do you think?”
“I came for the same reason.”
Haku clicked his tongue dramatically.
“What terrible luck.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Before either of them could continue arguing—
Two familiar figures appeared from the opposite side of the street.
Yui and Itsuki.
Yui waved excitedly.
“Good morning, guys!”
Itsuki raised a hand.
“Morning.”
He pointed at Haku and Ryu.
“Did Hina invite you too?”
“No.”
Haku shook her head.
“I came by myself.”
“Me too.”
Ryu added immediately.
At that moment—
The front door opened.
Hina stepped outside.
The moment she saw the four of them gathered together, she froze.
“…You all came?”
“Of course.”
Ryu answered.
“I came to pick you up.”
“So did I.”
Haku added immediately.
Yui raised her hand.
“We also came.”
Hina stared at them for several seconds.
Then laughed softly.
“I’m sorry…”
“I actually planned to go with Yui and Itsuki.”
The expressions on Haku and Ryu’s faces instantly collapsed.
“Then why are we here?”
Haku asked dramatically.
“Yeah.”
Ryu nodded.
“What was the point?”
Hina suddenly smiled.
A mischievous smile.
The kind she rarely showed.
And somehow—
Everyone immediately became nervous.
“Oh no.”
Itsuki muttered.
“That smile means trouble.”
A few minutes later—
Haku was driving his motorcycle.
And sitting directly behind him—
Was Ryu.
Neither of them looked happy.
Not even a little.
“Whose idea was this?”
Ryu asked.
“Hina’s.”
Haku answered.
“I knew it.”
Haku sighed dramatically.
“Senpai.”
“What?”
“Please hold on properly.”
“I am.”
“No.”
“You look unstable.”
Ryu grabbed Haku’s jacket.
“Like this?”
“Not that hard.”
“You just told me to hold on.”
“Not cling to me.”
Ryu looked genuinely offended.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“If you keep talking, I’m throwing you off the bike.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
“You sound like a criminal.”
“And you sound annoying.”
The argument continued the entire way.
Meanwhile, Yui, Itsuki, and Hina walked together while laughing.
Soon, everyone arrived at the restaurant.
After settling into their private room, they quickly discovered the seating arrangement.
Haku sat beside Hina.
Directly across from them sat Ryu.
Itsuki sat beside Ryu.
And Yui sat beside Itsuki.
The moment everyone sat down—
Haku pointed accusingly at Hina.
“You did this on purpose.”
Hina blinked innocently.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Liar.”
Ryu immediately nodded.
“She absolutely did.”
Haku pointed toward Ryu.
“Please never make me sit near this guy again.”
Ryu immediately pointed back.
“I was about to say the same thing.”
“Wow.”
Yui laughed.
“You two really act like an old married couple.”
Both boys immediately turned toward her.
“NO.”
The response came simultaneously.
Everyone except them burst out laughing.
Even Hina couldn’t stop herself.
The two boys stared at each other.
Then looked away.
Clearly annoyed.
Which only made everyone laugh harder.
Eventually, the study session began.
At least—
It was supposed to.
About twenty minutes later, Haku was staring at a math problem like it had personally offended him.
“What is this?”
He pointed at the question.
“Why does this even exist?”
Hina leaned over.
“I haven’t learned that one yet.”
“I transferred in after this chapter.”
Haku groaned dramatically.
“Great.”
Then Hina smiled.
“Ask Ryu.”
Haku immediately looked horrified.
“No.”
Ryu folded his arms.
“Good.”
“Because I wasn’t planning to teach him anyway.”
Hina laughed.
“Both of you are impossible.”
She turned toward Ryu.
“Can you explain it to me instead?”
“Of course.”
Ryu answered.
Then he started explaining the solution.
Hina listened carefully.
Meanwhile—
Haku quietly watched them.
His expression didn’t change.
His usual grin remained.
But Hina’s eyes briefly glanced toward him.
Her special eyes activated instinctively.
The emotions she detected surprised her.
No anger.
No hostility.
Just a tiny bit of irritation.
And something that looked suspiciously like jealousy.
It vanished almost immediately.
Haku quickly returned to his normal self.
Before Hina could think about it further—
The food arrived.
Yui immediately slammed both hands onto the table.
“YES!”
Everyone jumped.
“Finally!”
She pointed dramatically at the books.
“My brain is finished.”
“No more studying.”
“Food time!”
Itsuki sighed.
“When were you even studying?”
Yui smacked his shoulder.
“Rude.”
“It’s true.”
“Rude and true.”
The rest of the table laughed.
Soon everyone began eating.
Yui practically looked like she had discovered heaven.
“This is amazing.”
She took another bite.
Then another.
Then another.
“Hina.”
She pointed at her food.
“Tell me this is delicious.”
“It is.”
Hina laughed.
“It’s really good.”
Itsuki looked at Yui’s plate.
Then at Yui.
Then back at the plate.
“You should slow down.”
Yui narrowed her eyes.
“Why?”
“Because you’ll become even rounder.”
The room went silent.
Yui slowly turned toward him.
“…What did you just say?”
Itsuki immediately realized his mistake.
Too late.
Yui grabbed his hair.
“I’m not round!”
“Ow!”
“Take it back!”
“I’m sorry!”
“Not good enough!”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Even Ryu chuckled.
And Haku nearly fell off his chair laughing.
Hina laughed without holding herself back.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Just happiness.
Eventually, lunch ended.
The group left the restaurant together.
The afternoon sun was beginning to set.
As they stood outside saying goodbye—
Hina smiled.
“I’ll go with Yui and Itsuki.”
Instantly—
Haku and Ryu reacted.
“Absolutely not.”
Again.
At the exact same time.
Hina laughed.
“See?”
“You really do get along.”
“We don’t.”
They answered together.
“You’re cute together.”
“No.”
“Please stop.”
“Never.”
Hina smiled mischievously.
“Please?”
The two boys froze.
Itsuki looked away.
Yui looked like she was about to explode from laughter.
Several moments later—
Both boys finally sighed.
Defeated.
A few minutes later, Haku reluctantly prepared his motorcycle.
Ryu approached.
Ready to sit down.
But the moment he was about to climb on—
VROOOOM!
The motorcycle suddenly shot forward.
Haku looked back and waved.
“Bye, Senpai!”
“See you later!”
Then he disappeared down the road.
Ryu stood there.
Frozen.
“…”
“…”
“…That idiot.”
Yui collapsed laughing.
Itsuki looked impressed.
“That was actually pretty good.”
Ryu sighed.
Then his expression softened.
As he watched everyone laughing together—
His gaze naturally landed on Hina.
She looked happy.
Genuinely happy.
The kind of happiness he hadn’t seen from her in years.
A small smile appeared on his face.
No matter how annoying Haku was…
No matter how chaotic their group had become…
He couldn’t deny one thing.
Hina was moving forward.
Making friends.
Learning to trust again.
And for some reason—
Seeing her smile like that made him happy too.
A different kind of happiness.
One he couldn’t quite explain.
As the evening breeze passed by, Ryu quietly smiled to himself.
And for the first time in years—
The future didn’t seem so far away.
End of Chapter 10.