"No, he came on his own."
"Huh? Is that true?"
Unable to trust her friend, Hina turned her gaze towards me, wanting me to confirm whether Otsuki was lying or not.
"Yeah."
I didn't look her directly in the eyes when I answered. Even so, she believed me.
"I didn't think Otsuki was such a good person."
"Said the devil."
Hina's teasing of Otsuki is incredibly effective; the previous interrogation has been completely forgotten. She truly is my savior.
Tsukiyomi spoke in the middle of the duel between the arch-enemies.
"Hina, didn't you… have to leave?"
"Ara, it's true."
"Are you going to run away? What a coward."
"No, I have things to do in the greenhouse."
Her reminder abruptly ended the battle. Hina changed her composure, reverting to the image of a normal person with normal comments. Otsuki changed to a similar attitude in response.
"To prepare for the cultural festival? It seems too soon."
"Yes, but we also need to change the soil for some plants. I'll take care of that, and if I can help with the preparations later, even better."
"Have you finished with the ones from Ikōchi's class? One at a time is fine, but all at once can kill you."
"Yes, a while ago. And I think I could manage with everything at once, if I had to."
I thought Superwoman was a fictional character.
"When?"
"Yesterday."
"That's not 'a long time ago.'"
Hina kept showing more and more how much work she has to do besides what the school requires. In the future, I see her becoming a workaholic mother. Maybe for a different reason than my father.
Her reasons were more than enough to be absent. It's the first day I've decided to join them in class, and someone's already leaving. Now all that's left is for Tsukiyomi to say she's going to the library.
I couldn't help but stick my nose where perhaps I'm being called.
"Otsuki is right, you're doing a ton of things that everyone else could do. You don't have to carry it all."
"?" She looked surprised, returning to her normal expression as she remembered he was the new one in the group. "No, no. I only do part of the work. Just because it's more than the rest doesn't mean they don't do anything. I couldn't do it all by myself."
"And why not divide it equally?"
"I don't know if Atsumi has told you, but I love painting and everything related to gardening. I put extra effort into it because it's something I enjoy doing."
"But shouldn't everyone at the gardening club like that too?"
"I might like it more. But just because they like it less doesn't mean I'm better. Everyone is who they are. If I love doing something like this, of course I'm going to do it whenever I can."
I was about to ask more questions, but that would only delay things further, and I felt a little embarrassed asking so many questions about Hina in front of them; I looked like a little kid. She was aware of the time, too.
"You can ask me more questions on the way out, but now I really have to go."
"Aren't you going to eat?"
"Yes, but when I'm finished. I want to have lunch with the club, now that we have more time."
Being in a club is like having a second group of friends; or having a group of friends in general. It's a different life from the one you live outside the classroom, even if you later go out with those same members.
Another world. One that Otsuki and Tsukiyomi have no idea about.
It wasn't a new experience for me to have a friend who goes to a club.
Otsuki was the first to say goodbye.
"Then I'll see you at the exit."
"Yes. Good luck with her, Tsukiyomi, Riku."
"Y-yes…"
"…"
I was the one who remained silent, not Tsukiyomi.
Now there were only three of us left in the group. Fewer people should have been good for me, but I deduced the opposite effect.
Otsuki had no one left to mess with, Tsukiyomi seemed more reclusive than before, and I had little to contribute to the situation. Hina is undoubtedly the pillar of the group. They can coexist without her, but it's not the same.
At least that's what I thought.
"If we don't have to wait for Hina… could we eat?"
Tsukiyomi spoke first, embarrassed to have to ask something that put her in a bad position in her eyes.
"Sure. Where always?"
"Yeah."
It's impossible to imagine where they usually eat... I've forgotten half the things that are in the yard.
I assumed the place would be in the courtyard, since here inside the only place to eat apart from the classrooms is in the dining room, and it's not a very welcoming place, to say the least.
Having it in the courtyard, if that's what it was going to be, wasn't ideal. With all the people out there and the noise they make, I won't be able to eat in peace. Not to mention the potential onlookers. I'd much rather go to my usual spot.
None of them knew their location would be a problem for me. That's why they went without a second thought, and I had to follow them without question. I didn't want to.
I went out into the courtyard nervously, as if Tsukiyomi had completely changed her feelings towards me. Now she was the one who was calmer.
Past the football pitch near the gate to the courtyard, to the right of the gym/auditorium, there's a patch of land that resembles a picnic area, with the typical wooden tables and two long benches on either side. It was surrounded by trees, so it was shady.
This was a place where he rarely read, although he would sit next to a tree and away from the picnic tables.
We sat at a table away from the football pitch and the gym, in the shade of a tree. Now that it was October, it didn't really matter whether we sat in the shade or not; it might even be better to be in the sunlight.
They proceeded to take out their bentos, as did I. I almost forgot Otsuki's custom of saying thanks before eating, which Tsukiyomi apparently also follows. I did the same so as not to disrespect anyone.
Being in the courtyard reminded me that it's not such a strange habit, much less one I haven't seen before. I'd simply forgotten about it.