"Thank you for the food," the three of them said in unison once their bentos were on the table.
I don't know how much it's worth emphasizing, but whenever I sat with them, Hina would sit to my left, with Otsuki in front, and Tsukiyomi the furthest away from me. They sat in this order until I arrived.
"Thank you for the food…" I joined them a little late. None of them criticized me.
We all ate without saying much more. Every now and then small talk would come up, but nothing more than mundane things. I'm pretty sure they're not of interest to me.
"Yes… I haven't gone out alone yet, b-but you were right."
"My fashion style is incomparable."
"Incomparably exaggerated."
Otsuki snorted twice, first out of pride and then out of annoyance.
They were talking about the clothes Tsukiyomi bought last Saturday. To say she bought them is a bit of a stretch, but similar sacrifices have to be made.
"You should have asked Scrooge McDuck here to pay for her."
"The lazy person envies the wealth of the one who works."
"Is there even such a saying?" I interjected in the middle of their argument.
"From now on," Hina excused herself, covering her mouth.
The name Otsuki came up with for Hina amused me, though I tried not to laugh. I don't want a demon like the one sitting next to me to get angry with me instead of Otsuki.
I didn't know why he would say that, although I can imagine. Even so, Otsuki explained it to me.
"Hina makes things up because she always puts herself on a pedestal. Because her family is rich."
"That's not it either. You'll give them the wrong idea."
They were both very sure of what they were saying. It was their duty to find out who was right.
"Natsuki ~ " "Natsukiiii, isn't that right?"
The pressure began to crush Tsukiyomi.
"Ah, uh, well…"
"Yesss?" her friends said at the same time.
"I-I think Hina is right, s-she's not that rich."
"If she's not that rich, then she's kind of rich! I win!"
Admit defeat already…
Hina doesn't appear to be above average in terms of wealth. My only point of reference was what she bought on Saturday, which was several items of clothing.
With all the work she already does, I wouldn't be surprised if she had a part-time job. Although, at fifteen years old, that would be too soon. Maybe that's how she makes her money.
Today curiosity got the better of me.
"If you have any money, where do you get it from?"
"Almost always from my parents."
"What if not?"
"From my grandparents."
Come on, your self-owned money doesn't even make a yen.
The family's hard work works wonders.
He'll have to get down to their level someday.
"She asks her parents for money so often that she could be called a beggar."
"But that's because I do a lot of housework. Don't let Atsssumi fool you."
"I am not a snake!"
Besides everything she already does, does she have to help at home? Every time she says something, she humiliates me more and more…
"I don't know how you can do so much then."
"Ah, um, maybe I've gone a little overboard with the housework. I do the basics."
"Well, then I can buy it. Sort of."
"He's a demon, after all."
"I'm nothing like that," Hina said, giving Otsuki a murderous, devilish glare. She hugged Tsukiyomi, whose face instantly turned red, and exclaimed,
"They're going to kill us!"
"T-t-that's only for y-you!"
She managed to push Otsuki away enough to make him stop hugging her. I watched the whole interaction from beginning to end, and the last thing I saw before I quickly looked away was Tsukiyomi's eyes meeting mine for a split second.
"…"
I felt like I shouldn't have looked.
"So what are you going to do for the cultural festival then?"
Otsuki kept his gaze on Hina, to whom he addressed the conversation.
"As to?"
"Whether you're coming with us or not, you owe us an answer from last Wednesday."
"Ah, that."
Otsuki's sensible question was one I hadn't considered until she asked it. There are always some unfortunate souls at cultural festivals who have to stay behind in the classrooms making everything run smoothly, or at least supervising the students. All this while the teachers were supervising and even helping with the activities. We're not in high school yet.
No one sitting here should feel betrayed if Hina decides to help her club during the festival.
"This year I can spend the whole day with you, the president will be staying with someone else."
"Finally, you're dedicating some time to us."
"What a tragedy"
"Are we really that bad friends?"
"Ahem, such a bad friend."
The fact that she mentioned 'this year' only emphasized that this girl is a little crazy. Either that, or she's social enough to take on such a role.
If she came saying she was also the class or club president, I'd believe her.
"It's like I haven't enjoyed the cultural festival beyond the greenhouse for two years. I'm looking forward to it."
"I hope you don't do the same to us when we go to high school."
"I'll go with you whenever I can. Sorry for being so— productive."
"That's a much worse insult than the ones before!"
"Did I say something strange?"
I was unable to discern whether Hina was playing dumb or if she didn't have bad intentions for once.
"I would also like you to spend more time with us…"
This was something only Hina and Otsuki heard, because the background noise drowned out her faint voice. I interpreted what she said based on their reactions.
"If Natsuki says so, then I'll have to do it."
"So what you said before was an insult after all," Otsuki retorted, pouting. Tsukiyomi found it amusing, trying to hide her laughter.
"You're not laughing at what he said, are you?"
This 'threatening tone' is similar to how you would talk to a child compared to the way you talk to Hina.
"N-no, it's just something I was thinking about."
"In what?"
"I don't want to say it…"
"I'm not going to do anything to you. I promise."
"It doesn't matter."
"Bummer."
Well, I was curious too…
Right after, Tsukiyomi finished eating, being the first to finish. I hadn't brought much food, considering it was a girl's bento box. Assumptions like that can get me into trouble.
"Since Atsumi brought it up, what do you plan to do, Riku?"
"F-for the cultural festival?"
"He says he doesn't really feel like it. If you didn't abandon us so often, you'd know."
"That's not what I meant, and don't answer for him, you sound like his mother."
"He's not lying either."
Hina's joke, one of many, caused Otsuki's expression to change to one that was, shall we say, quite out of place with the atmosphere they had established. She looked at me, and for a moment I looked back.
I didn't understand why, so I faced Hina again. Faced her, not looked her in the eye. As much as I don't want to be rude, I have my limits.
"You must have your reasons. What I wanted to know was whether you're coming with us or not."
"Why do you ask?"
'If I've already gone to the mall with you, I don't mind going to the festival too,' was another comment I decided to keep to myself.
"Because Riku has friends. At least that's what Atsumi told us. I hope you don't mind."
"H-how do you know?"
I put a hand to the back of my neck.
…No, it doesn't bother me. But whether it bothers me or not isn't what worries me. What do I do now? Think… think, Riku… If I tell them I don't want to go with them, they'll worry about me, just like if I tell them we're taking a break, that we haven't spoken in ages, or even that we had a fight. Almost all of those options are already out of the question. If I tell them they'll be busy, the moment they see them in the hallways, I'll be in trouble. If I tell them I'd rather be with them, they'll either keep worrying or think I'm desperate. Besides, who would rather be with someone they've known for weeks than someone they've known for years? Damn, I've been quiet for too long, I can't think about it too much either, or they'll think something's up…
It may have annoyed me a little in the end.
"I've already been with them a lot, it's fine if I spend a day with you, don't worry about that."
"Ah, okay. Then we'll wait for you on Friday."
Judging by her reaction, I must have said it too fast.
Never mind, it's not a bad result. Now I have to stop them from talking about it anymore.
However, I never got to test the brilliant topic he was about to discuss. Otsuki spoke first.
"Didn't I already tell you I was coming?"
"Not that I recall. Have you discussed that at any point?"
"…Not that I recall," I replied to Hina with her own phrase.
"Then Atsumi is delirious. We should take her to the doctor."
"Do whatever you want."
Is she angry because Tsukiyomi hasn't said anything to her?
I dismissed my reasoning as illogical because it was too childish to be true. He must be tired of being bullied.
Hina did everything she could to prevent Otsuki from having puffy cheeks for the rest of recess. By "everything she could," I mean she stopped bothering her, and that's all.
Surprisingly, it worked.