Even so, Haruka quickly found a new topic.
Miki had no illusions about getting Haruka to shut up and quietly review their textbooks, so she resigned herself to letting her ramble on.
After nearly two hours at the café, today's Study Group meeting finally came to an end.
"Suddenly, it all feels a little unreal," Haruka said lazily, stretching before smiling at Miki and Airi.
"Before this, I was used to doing everything alone. Having friends who'll actually listen to me really does make things better."
Miki froze for a moment
The words struck a chord in her heart—had she really just made friends?
"B-but I thought Haruka-chan already had people to talk to in class?"
In Airi's eyes, Haruka couldn't possibly be considered an outcast like herself.
She was beautiful, showed no signs of being withdrawn, and got along well with those around her.
The current atmosphere in their group was largely shaped by Hasebe Haruka, while Kaoru remained more of an elusive, mysterious figure who appeared and disappeared unpredictably.
"Are you talking about Kikyo and her friends?"
Haruka thought seriously for a moment before earnestly telling Airi, "Some relationships are just superficial. I'm not part of their circle—to them, I'm just a passerby they can talk to at best."
"B-being able to talk to them… is actually really impressive…"
Airi murmured softly, "I feel like if you wanted to, Haru-chan, someone would definitely accept you into their group. I remember they invited you to their gatherings before."
In Class 1-D, Airi and Haruka were only separated by Sato Maya, so she had some recollection of Haruka's past interactions.
"I think so too. Why don't you hang out with them, Haru-chan?" Miki agreed with Airi's words but found it strange.
"Huh? Didn't I tell you guys before?" Haruka seemed surprised. "Dealing with strangers is a hassle, and having too many friends isn't necessarily a good thing. You have to work hard to maintain those relationships, and if you're not careful, it could turn into a full-blown war among girls."
"A war… among girls?" Miki was bewildered.
"For example, to complain about someone more conveniently, they'd create a group chat without her and all vent about her there. Or, out of jealousy over her abilities, they might deliberately spread rumors about her." Haruka spoke as if she had firsthand experience, her tone laced with resentment.
This kind of social warfare was far too advanced for Miki, whose phone only had a few contacts.
She had never even considered such things.
"Besides, not everyone is worth being friends with, right, Airi?"
Airi hadn't given it much thought before, but recalling recent events, she nodded subconsciously, her expression turning slightly uneasy.
"Like the boys in our class—they're all getting worse, except for a few like Hirata-kun. I can't even be bothered to deal with them."
Haruka was practically itching to rant, especially about certain idiots who spouted vulgar nonsense in front of girls.
"Airi, you'd better not engage with those kinds of people either."
"I-I definitely won't!" Airi's voice trembled with agitation.
Haruka gave her a strange look, causing Airi to shrink back immediately.
"Good. But it seems Kaoru was right—our group is like combining like terms. Similar people should stick together, and I feel comfortable with you guys."
Haruka didn't dwell on it. She simply thought this group was good—but also bad, because it had two problem children.
Fortunately, they were just highly guarded loners, not extreme social phobics who'd run at the sight of people.
Being with them, Haruka was satisfied—at least she wouldn't have to deal with the petty, hair-raising conflicts that erupted over trivial matters like in middle school.
Since Kaoru hadn't shown up today, the group naturally disbanded.
...
Airi walked back to the dorm with them.
Seeing her empty room, she quietly sighed in relief—but also felt a pang of loneliness.
Not only did Haruka feel comfortable, but Airi also found it quite pleasant.
The reason she had withdrawn into herself was due to various incidents she had experienced in the past, coupled with her inherently non-confrontational personality, which led her to retreat weakly into the shadows.
Now, Kaoru had pulled her out of those shadows and helped her make new friends.
Since she wasn't truly autistic in the clinical sense, she felt genuinely happy inside.
Having grown accustomed to darkness and endured bone-chilling cold, she naturally cherished the hard-won light.
However, there was one thing that weighed heavily on Airi Sakura's mind—so much so that it filled her with frustration.
He actually had a girlfriend!
Airi felt as if the sky had fallen.
Ever since she learned that the account harassing her was none other than Kaoru himself, she had mentally prepared herself to accept everything—even interpreting his past words to her as foreshadowing.
After all, his actions made him seem like an utterly obsessive, twisted fan—so much so that his affection for her had crossed into something perverse.
She had encountered deranged fans before, but the reason she had panicked when faced with the store clerk's harassment was because he was right in front of her, armed with her personal information, making the situation extremely dangerous.
Yet, that clerk had immediately been dealt with by an even more extreme fan.
At the time, Airi had thought she was going to die—only to discover that the person behind it was Kaoru.
Her emotions were complicated.
On one hand, she was terrified, unsure of what he might do to her.
On the other, she was happy—because it was him.
After an intense and conflicted internal struggle, Airi had resolved to accept Kaoru.
He had done so much for her—wasn't it only natural that she tolerate his strange fetishes in return?
But when she offered him her "gift," he refused to take it!
Airi couldn't sleep. Based on his past comments, shouldn't he like her? Why wouldn't he accept it?
Did she have to personally "help him out"?
Thinking about his alternate account made her face burn with embarrassment. She believed that, at this point, she understood Kaoru's hidden side better than anyone else.
And in truth, her intuition wasn't wrong—after all, Kaoru had sent all his desires directly to her for convenience.
Now, aside from Horikita, Airi was the one who knew Kaoru's other side best.
Too shy to bring it up herself, Airi had waited for Kaoru to make a move on her.
But then—he had a girlfriend!
Airi couldn't comprehend it.
Had she misread everything?
At this point, she couldn't just go up to Kaoru and demand an explanation. Left with no choice, she bottled up her feelings, remaining unhappy ever since.
Today, Haruka had nearly pried her thoughts out of her.
Thankfully, Miki had stepped in to help—though Airi could tell that she, too, harbored unusual feelings for Kaoru.
The only difference was that Miki didn't seem to realize it yet.
The more she dwelled on these thoughts, the worse her mood became. Suddenly, she slapped her cheeks lightly to snap herself out of it.
"Who cares about him? He's just a creep who harasses people from behind a screen."
Muttering to herself, Airi pulled out her textbooks and notes from her bag, then picked up the digital camera on her desk.
After staring at it for a moment, she tucked it away inside her bag.
When feeling unhappy, she would choose to take landscape photos to cheer herself up.
These days, she had already taken quite a few photos of the campus in winter and planned to take a few more sets.
If she could capture the melting lake surface during the thaw, it might turn out even more beautiful.
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