The day before the school festival.
The classroom was buzzing with students rushing around, putting the finishing touches on the decorations.
Takuma Kunimi worked quietly among them.
Writing signs on poster paper, cutting out hanging decorations—he was surprisingly good with his hands.
"Hey, Takuma! Mind helping me cut this?"
The girl calling out to him from the desk beside his was fiddling with a gold ribbon.
—Shiori Nonomiya.
Light-colored hair, earrings, painted nails—she had a bit of a gyaru look to her.
But around the class, she was known as one of those girls who looked flashy but was actually really nice and always willing to help people out.
"You had the scissors over there, right?"
"Yeah. Here."
Takuma silently held them out to her.
For just a second, Shiori froze.
(...Seriously? Does this guy have absolutely no idea how close he gets to people...?)
"Thanks. You know, Kunimi, you're pretty good at this kind of stuff. Decorations, lettering... You're surprisingly handy."
"Am I?"
"Yeah. You're kinda low-key, but you get things done. Girls probably like that about you."
"...Me?"
"Yeah, you. I mean, personally, I kinda... like that sort of thing."
"Huh? Nonomiya, were you a girl?"
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU."
"No, I meant... because you're a gyaru."
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"
A vein popped on Shiori's forehead, but somehow, she was still smiling.
Looking at her, Takuma casually muttered—
"...That hair color looks good on you."
"...WHAAAAAT?!"
"I just think it suits you."
For a moment, Shiori's entire face turned bright red.
"B-But you're the guy who literally just asked if I was a girl!!"
"Oh, yeah. I did. Sorry."
"Damn it... Seriously, what kind of creature even are you...?"
And then—
"HEY!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!"
—Mikiko deployed.
The moment she saw how close Shiori and Takuma were standing, Mikiko's eyes went wide.
BAM!
She slammed both hands onto the desk.
"Nonomiya!! Why are you getting so close to him?!"
"Huh? He was just helping me out."
"What kind of relationship do you two have where he tells you things like, 'That looks good on you'?! What's with this whole atmosphere?!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! He just gave me a normal compliment!"
"THAT'S NOT NORMAL!! He almost never tells girls something 'looks good' on them! Right, Takuma?!"
"Huh? Really?"
"YOU DON'T EVEN REALIZE IT?!"
Sparks flew between Shiori and Mikiko.
Takuma, meanwhile, had already gone back to tying up the hanging decorations.
"...Do we have enough tape for this?"
"THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW!!!!"
After school—
Mikiko: Frustrated.
Shiori: Heart pounding.
Takuma: Casually went home.
Once again, Takuma Kunimi had trampled all over everyone's feelings without even realizing it.
The undefeated king of obliviousness.