Lunch break.
A group of girls had gathered in one corner of the classroom, quietly discussing something.
"Hey, I wonder how big Kunimi's hands are."
"Ooh, now I'm curious! I mean, he's pretty tall, but he doesn't really have that big, bulky look."
"Huh... Then why don't you just compare hands with him?"
"...Let's do it. Right now."
The three girls approached their target's desk.
"Kunimi, give me your hand for a second."
"Huh? Why?"
"We wanna compare hands. ♡"
"Come on, just put yours on the desk."
"...Uh, sure."
Just as Takuma was about to place his hand on the desk—
Mikiko quickly put hers down beside his.
Urara lined hers up on the other side.
All three moved at the same time, their hands about to touch Takuma's— when, for some reason, he pulled back a step and placed his hand neatly in the empty space between them.
"...Okay. There."
"What?! Why did you dodge us?!"
"I dunno. I thought you guys might be surprised if I touched you."
"WE WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED!!"
"I-I mean, it'd actually be more... um... fun if we touched..."
"Really? Then should I put it back?"
"UGH! That's not the point!!"
In the end, the three girls gathered around Takuma's hand on the desk and turned the whole thing into an impromptu measuring session.
"...Your hand's smaller than I expected."
"You're right! Even though you do Taekwondo!"
"It's kinda cute, actually."
"Cute...? My hand?"
"...Huh. Well, it's never caused me any problems."
The three girls stared at him.
(...That's it? That's your reaction...?)
Meanwhile, two figures were peeking into the classroom from the hallway.
"...Looks like their hand-touching strategy failed."
"Yep. Kunimi-kun's obliviousness is basically a natural disaster at this point."
"I mean, being surrounded like that and still feeling absolutely nothing? That's almost a talent."
"Okay. Wanna join them next time?"
"...Yeah. For science."
The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break.
Takuma opened his notebook and wrote down a single line:
Hand size: Average.
—But the atmosphere around him was anything but.