It was Sunday evening.
Hikari lay on her bed.
Still wearing the oversized t-shirt she’d changed into after taking a shower.
A basketball slowly spun on one finger before falling onto the blanket beside her.
The room was unusually quiet.
Normally, she didn’t mind it being quiet.
Tonight, though, it just gave her too much time to think.
And with each passing second, her thoughts conspired more and more against her.
Last week had been… weird.
To say the least.
She and Kaito had still seen each other every day.
Same classroom.
Same jokes.
Same idiot.
On the surface, it seemed nothing had changed.
Except… everything had.
Before school.
Lunch.
After practice.
Walking home.
Every chance she’d had to actually spend time with him had somehow disappeared.
Not that she wanted to spend time with him because she liked him or anything.
She’s just comfortable with the idiot.
Yes, that’s it.
She buried her face in her pillow.
“Stupid idiot.”
It wasn’t his fault.
She knew that.
Actually, scratch that.
It was obviously his fault.
I mean, it couldn’t possibly be her fault, right?
It was just… frustrating.
“I’m probably imagining it.”
She sighed.
“But if I’m not…”
She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.
“…Then I’m done waiting.”
She rolled onto her side.
Then onto her back.
Then onto her side again.
Tossing and turning in every direction.
Sleep wasn’t happening.
“…Tch.”
What was wrong with me?
She thought as she stared at her ceiling fan.
The ceiling fan, as always, offered no answers.
She closed her eyes.
Then immediately saw the Student Council President smiling.
Again.
And again.
And again.
No matter what she tried, Hikari couldn’t get that girl’s smile out of her head.
Or the more cryptic smile she remembered.
Everything kept flashing through her head at breakneck speed.
“She’s weird.”
No.
That wasn’t right.
Everybody thought she was perfect.
Teachers loved her.
Students respected her.
Even Akane thought she was nice.
Granted, Akane also thought she was scary just like Hikari did.
Just in different ways.
Kaito.
He seemed to think she was nice too.
Hikari frowned.
“Of course he does.”
That idiot would think a tiger was harmless if it smiled politely enough.
She chuckled a bit at that though.
She pulled the blanket over her face.
“Ugh.. idiot.”
The word wasn’t directed at Kaito anymore.
It was directed at herself.
On second thought, no, it was directed towards that idiot.
She replayed the week in her head once more.
“Every time…”
Every single interruption.
Every schedule change.
Every “coincidence.” It was always… her.
“No.”
She shook her head profusely as though she were trying to literally shake these thoughts out of her head.
“I’m imagining things…”
People didn’t plan encounters like that.
Nobody had that kind of time.
She would have to be psychotic for that to be the case.
“Right?”
She buried her face in her pillow once more.
“What if she likes him?”
The room fell silent.
“Wait…”
Hikari slowly lifted her head.
“…Likes him?”
Her face immediately turned bright red.
“W-What am I saying?!”
She grabbed another pillow.
Buried her face in it too.
At this point she was basically building a pillow fort over her head.
“I don’t care if someone likes that idiot! Or who that idiot likes!”
She let out a groan of frustration that could be heard out in space.
“I just…”
She squeezed the pillow tighter.
“…don’t trust her.”
That was it.
Obviously.
It had nothing to do with Kaito.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing at all.
“Right?”
She looked around her room.
No answer came.
Only silence.
Her mind wandered back to her earlier question.
“What if she likes him?”
“He’s my idiot!”
Hikari immediately freezes.
Her face blushed red.
“I… I mean…”
She shook her head as though trying to deny reality itself.
“…he’s my childhood friend. Who happens to be an idiot…”
She buries her face back into the pillow.
“…That’s different.”
It was Monday morning once more.
The weekend had flown by.
Why does that always happen?
Our time having fun always seems to vanish in the blink of an eye.
As I walked to school, I turned the corner toward our usual meeting spot.
Right on cue I heard a familiar voice…
“There you are, Kaito.”
Hikari was already waiting.
Arms crossed.
Looking in the opposite direction.
“Morning, Hikari.”
“Took you long enough.”
“I got here early.”
“So?”
“So… I’m early.”
“You could’ve been earlier.”
“That’s impossible.”
“…Tch.”
She looked away.
“I expected more.”
“I didn’t realize punctuality was a competition.”
“Well, you lost.”
“I don’t think I did.”
“You did.”
“I literally arrived before the agreed upon time.”
“Barely.”
“You’re… making up rules.”
“I’m improving them.”
I sighed.
“It’s too early for this.”
“Then wake up sooner.”
Before I could respond…
“Good morning~!”
Akane hurried over, smiling as always.
“Sorry! Did I keep you waiting~?”
Hikari immediately pointed at me.
“He was late.”
“I wasn’t late!”
Akane blinked.
“Weren’t you two just arguing about that last week~?”
“Because he never learns!”
“I learned I shouldn’t listen to you,” I retorted.
“…Tch.”
Akane giggled.
“No.” We both said in unison.
Akane laughed.
“You even disagreed at the same time~”
“We did not,” I tried to say confidently, and failed spectacularly.
“We absolutely did not,” Hikari turned her head as she spoke.
Akane covered her mouth, trying not to laugh even harder.
“You two really are amazing~”
“What does that mean?” Hikari screeched.
“I don’t know…”
Akane smiled warmly.
“…But watching you two every morning is always fun~”
Hikari’s face turned slightly pink.
“D-Don’t lump me together with this idiot.” She pointed at me.
“Hey!” I resented that remark.
I have some of the best grades in our class.
I am many things, but an idiot I am not.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” Hikari crossed her arms.
“You literally just pointed at me when you said it.”
“You deserved it.”
“For what?”
“For existing.”
“That… feels a little harsh.”
“It wasn’t harsh enough.”
Akane laughed.
“Come on you two. We’re going to be late~”
“We’re fifteen minutes early,” I said in a matter of fact tone.
“I know~”
She smiled.
“But if I don’t say that, you two will argue all the way to school~”
Hikari looked away.
“…Tch. Whatever.”
I sighed.
“Fair.”
The three of us continued walking.
Just like always.
For the first time in over a week… everything felt strangely normal.
Akane smiled.
“I’m glad we’re all walking together again~”
“We literally walk together almost every morning,” I said.
“Mhm~”
Without warning, she wrapped both hands around my left arm.
“Akane?”
“What~?”
“You’re doing the thing again.”
“What thing~?”
“The arm thing.”
“This is a perfectly normal thing~”
It was not a perfectly normal thing.
It was, however, a very Akane thing.
Not that I minded too much.
I just didn’t want people thinking anything bad about Akane.
She was such a sweetheart and the last thing I would want for her is malicious rumors spreading.
Then again, she was pretty well liked by most people.
She was a cinnamon roll, after all.
One of the many things I liked about her.
Hikari stared at her.
Then at Akane’s hands.
Then at me.
Her eye twitched.
“…Tch.”
THWACK.
“OW!”
I grabbed my shin.
“Did you just kick me?!”
“You didn’t stop her.”
“How was I supposed to stop her?!”
“Figure it out! Idiot!”
Before I could argue, Hikari grabbed my other arm.
I didn’t really mind that either.
The swift kick to the shin on the other hand I could do without.
I was never really worried about Hikari’s reputation because she didn’t really care much about it herself.
Plus, with the way she could throw hands, I didn’t have too much to worry about.
She was a tough little cookie.
One of the many things I liked about her.
“There. That’s better,” Hikari said in an unusually soft tone.
“How is this better?” I asked with a puzzled expression.
“Now it’s balanced.”
“Balanced?”
“Don’t make me kick the other shin too.”
“That’s not an explanation.”
“I wasn’t giving one.”
Akane blinked.
Then smiled.
“Oh~” Akane’s eyes widened.
Hikari immediately looked away.
“D-Don’t get the wrong idea.”
“I didn’t say anything~”
“You were thinking it!”
“Maybe a little~”
Now I was trapped between them.
Again.
Now, things really were back to normal.
I didn’t care, I mean I did have a pretty girl on each arm.
But, I did have to keep up appearances.
The last thing I needed was unsavory rumors spreading about the three of us.
Then again, knowing how our school operates, there were probably already love ballads written about the three of us.
I just hoped they sounded good.
Everyone loves a good bop.
I let out a loud sigh.
“People are staring at us.”
“Ignore them,” Hikari muttered.
“They’re mostly staring at you~” Akane added.
“That doesn’t help,” I replied.
Then I heard an increasingly familiar voice…
“Good morning.”
The voice was calm.
Elegant.
Perfect.
The very definition of smoothness.
We turned.
Yurika Amakawa stood on the sidewalk.
Clipboard in hand.
She smiled warmly.
“What a pleasant surprise.”
“Morning, President,” I said.
“Good morning,” Akane said with a smile.
“Morning,” Hikari managed to mumble out just loud enough for average humans to hear.
Yurika’s eyes drifted toward us.
Toward Akane.
Toward Hikari.
Toward… their arms around mine.
For a single heartbeat, the world seemed to pause.
The clipboard creaked.
Not loudly.
But Hikari’s eyes fixated on the President’s fingers and her ears perked up.
I hadn’t noticed anything, but Hikari looked like a bloodhound at the moment.
Yurika’s fingers had tightened around the clipboard.
Her smile remained.
But something behind it flickered.
Something sharp.
Something possessive.
Then it vanished.
Perfect again.
“I apologize,” Yurika said smoothly.
“It seems I’ve interrupted something.”
“N-Not at all~” Akane replied.
“Just walking to school~” Akane then beamed a smile at her.
Hikari didn’t answer.
She was still staring.
Yurika continued as if nothing had happened.
She looked directly at me.
“I only wished to inform you that this afternoon’s festival committee meeting has been moved forward by twenty minutes.”
I nodded.
“Got it.”
“Excellent. I shall see you then.”
She gave a graceful bow.
“I look forward to seeing you later, Kaito.”
Then she walked away with a serene grace until she disappeared around the corner.
Only then did Hikari finally speak.
“I knew it…”
Akane looked over.
“Knew what~?”
Hikari’s grip tightened slightly around my arm.
For the first time all week, there was no embarrassment in her voice.
Only certainty.
“She’s targeting me.”
Both Akane and I burst out laughing.
I decided not to say anything and Akane held her tongue as well.
Neither of us were touching that nonsense with a thirty-nine and half foot pole.
Yurika rounded the corner of the next building.
Her smile disappeared.
The clipboard bent in her hands.
CRACK.
Rin, who had been waiting nearby, blinked slowly.
Yurika took a slow breath.
“Two arms…” Her eyes seemed wreathed in flame.
“Both of them…”
“Pardon?”
“They were both holding onto him.”
Rin looked down at her notes.
“I see….”
“…”
The clipboard creaked again.
Rin adjusted her glasses.
“Your pulse has increased significantly, Madam President.”
“I am aware of that, Rin.”
“And you have crushed a student government issued clipboard.”
Yurika stared at the cracked plastic in her hands.
Then, very calmly…
“Add that to the budget.”
Rin made a note.
“Under miscellaneous expenses?” Rin asked.
“Under unavoidable losses.”
Rin adjusted her glasses.
“Very well, Madam President.”
“And begin preparations for Ms. Fujihara as well.”
Rin nodded and jotted some things down in her notebook.
For the first time since the operation began… Yurika Amakawa looked genuinely rattled.
Rin quietly closed her notebook.
Operation Scarlet Ribbon had just become personal.
And a new operation was set to begin.
Lunch arrived quicker than I expected.
Most of my classes had actually been pretty interesting today, with the exception of math since we were doing some review work.
I was looking forward to my lunch since I had gotten up early to prepare it.
Wanted to start the week off right.
I had just started digging through my bag for my lunch when Hikari appeared beside me.
“Kaito.”
“Hm?”
“You’re… eating lunch with me.”
I blinked.
“Was that a question?” I asked.
“It wasn’t.”
“What if I already had plans?”
“You don’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m asking first!”
“I don’t think that’s how plans work.”
“It is now.”
“I haven’t even agreed yet.”
“You were going to.”
“Was I?”
“You have enough survival instincts to know you shouldn’t say no.”
“That’s… oddly convincing.”
Before I could give an actual answer…
“Excuse me…” Said an increasingly familiar voice after she had cleared her throat.
The classroom quieted.
Yurika Amakawa stood in the doorway, carrying her usual folder.
Her smile was as flawless as ever.
“…Kaito.”
“President,” I responded with a courteous nod.
“I hope I’m not interrupting.”
Before I could open my mouth to answer…
“Yes, you are…” Hikari answered for me.
Yurika turned toward her.
“I see.”
“He’s eating lunch with me.”
“How wonderful.”
“What?”
“I said, ‘How wonderful.'”
“You’re not going to argue?”
“There doesn’t appear to be anything to argue about.”
Hikari narrowed her eyes.
“Then why are you here?”
Yurika smiled.
“I’ve come to borrow Mr. Sakamori for a few minutes.”
“No.” Hikari said this in the firmest tone I’ve ever heard in my 18 years of existence.
“…No?” Yurika responded with a slight hint of both shock and amusement.
“That’s right. No.”
Hikari folded her arms.
Then she stared daggers at Yurika.
“We’re eating.”
“I understand.”
“So he isn’t going.”
“Is that so?”
Yurika nodded politely.
“Then perhaps you would be willing to explain this to the faculty advisor? They have a deadline…”
“What?” Hikari’s glare intensified.
“The revisions for the basketball club’s practice schedule are due before fifth period.”
Yurika smiled.
It wasn’t her usual smile.
It felt… off.
Dangerous even.
It reminded me of a certain chaos gremlin who shall not be named.
“I was hoping you might have a creative solution if I’m not allowed to ask for Kaito’s assistance in this matter.”
Hikari opened her mouth to try to say something clever.
She immediately closed it.
“No. I don’t…”
“I see.”
Yurika’s smile never changed.
It was starting to scare me a bit.
“Then I shall borrow him briefly and return him before lunch concludes.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“Quite right.”
Yurika turned toward me.
“Kaito.”
“Yeah?”
“Would you be willing to assist me?”
“Sure.”
Hikari pointed dramatically at Yurika.
“You manipulated the question!”
“I asked him politely,” Yurika said with a confident smile.
“You cornered him!”
“I merely requested his assistance.”
“You knew he’d say yes!”
“I believed he might.”
“You planned this!”
“I prepared for the possibility.”
“You little…”
Akane walked over to Hikari’s desk.
“Hikari…” Akane gently tugged on Hikari’s sleeve.
“…She’s kind of right~”
Hikari looked betrayed.
“Akane!”
“I mean…” Akane smiled awkwardly.
“…She did ask nicely~”
“Whose side are you on?!”
“I don’t think there are sides…”
“There are most definitely sides!”
Yurika gave a small bow.
“I apologize if my request caused distress to you, Tachibana.”
“It did.”
“I regret that.”
“You’re… doing it again.”
“Pardon?”
“Being…”
Hikari searched for the words.
“…too perfect.”
“I appreciate the compliment.”
“I WASN’T COMPLIMENTING YOU!”
“My mistake.”
“It wasn’t a mistake!”
Yurika blinked.
“Then I apologize for misunderstanding.”
“…”
“…”
Hikari’s eye twitched.
I looked between them.
“Why does this feel so intense?” I stupidly decided to verbalize my thoughts.
Neither girl answered.
As I began to leave, Yurika paused beside Hikari.
Just for a moment.
Yurika then leaned into Hikari’s ear and whispered something that I couldn’t hear.
I could see a smile on Yurika’s face.
“Thank you for taking such good care of him.”
Hikari blinked.
“What?!”
“I know you’ve been his friend for a long time…”
“…”
“…He must treasure those memories.”
“…”
Yurika’s smile never changed.
“I look forward to making many memories of my own.”
Then Yurika walked away from her.
Hikari was in complete shock.
She looked like she was about to get up and start swinging at the President.
I hurried off since I didn’t want to be in the blast radius.
I thought of asking Yurika what was going on but decided it was probably best not to know.