After concluding a certain unspeakable deal with Horikita Manabu, Amane finally remembered.
Where's Suzune?!
How could her dear Suzune just vanish like that?
But she hadn't seen Suzune pass by the dormitory building either.
Where could she be?
It's not like she got abducted by aliens, right?
Amane quickly dialed Suzune's number.
"You got out of the ropes already? I thought it'd take you at least an hour," Suzune's voice came through the phone.
"Ah, never mind that for now! Suzune, where are you? I was getting so worried since you weren't back. Where are you? I'll come find you!"
On the other end of the line, Horikita couldn't help but let a faint, pretty smile curl her lips upon hearing the urgency in Amane's voice.
"I'm at the convenience store."
"The convenience store is still open this late?"
Amane was surprised the convenience store stayed open so late.
"It closes at ten. I wanted to grab you something to eat before it shut. You don't need to come; I'll be back soon." Hearing this, Amane had no choice but to agree.
Once back in the dorm room, Amane's first order of business was to make tea. That way, Suzune could have a cup as soon as she returned.
It wasn't long before Horikita returned to the dorm, carrying fragrant food.
"Suzune!!!" Amane launched herself into Horikita's arms, nuzzling against her affectionately.
"You must be starving? I'm really sorry for tying you up for so long…" Horikita's gaze flicked to Amane's wrists.
Her pupils contracted almost imperceptibly for a split second.
Then they settled back to normal.
"It's fine! If Suzune still wants to tie me up, I'm totally okay with it~"
"I'm not some pervert. Here, eat before it gets cold." Horikita unpacked the food.
It was a pre-packaged bento and a heated chicken drumstick.
Amane was surprised the convenience store had ready-made bentos.
How neat.
"Hey, about tonight, can we…" The stray strand of hair on Amane's head swayed wildly as she dropped heavy hints.
"What?" Horikita paused her eating, picked up the teacup from the table, and took a sip.
The temperature was perfect.
Unlike most people who preferred their tea hot, Horikita liked her black tea slightly cool. But since people usually served tea hot, she rarely got to have it how she liked. Even when Amane was around, she only occasionally let her own tea cool down on purpose.
The temperature of the tea in the cup right now was just right.
This didn't seem like a coincidence.
"You know~ That thing, that thing we talked about!" Amane winked exaggeratedly.
Horikita, pretending not to know, mimicked Amane's earlier gesture and tilted her head slightly.
So cute!
Amane forcefully restrained herself from doing something unbecoming.
"Suzune, you're so mean! Did you forget? You promised we could take a bath together tonight!"
"I'm a bit tired today. How about tomorrow? It's the weekend tomorrow anyway, and I was planning to take you to see a movie."
Hearing the pie-in-the-sky promise—ahem, hearing Horikita say she'd take her to the movies, Amane immediately broke into a smile.
"Okay, okay! We can talk about it tomorrow then."
So easy to please.
Horikita patted Amane's head.
Watching Amane's silly, grinning face.
Well.
Even if Amane might not be as simple as she appeared, she still wanted to protect that smile of hers.
Horikita leaned forward slightly and gently pressed her lips against Amane's.
They were warm. From the recent sip of tea, they carried a faint scent of it. And soft.
Amane covered her own mouth.
"Suzune, you're so sneaky! No fair, I want one too! Mwah, mwah, mwah!"
Seeing Amane about to lean in, Horikita gave her a light flick on the forehead.
"Hurry up and eat, then go to sleep. I'm getting sleepy."
"Aye, aye, captain~" Amane gave a playful salute.
Then she began devouring her food like a wolf. What Amane didn't notice was that Horikita watched her the entire time with a soft smile.
The next day, Horikita kept her promise and took Amane to the movies.
The reason she had this idea was entirely because last time, Amane had ditched her to go see a movie with Kushida and the others.
She'd been left sitting alone in the back, feeling jealous…
Now, she could openly hold Amane's hand and bring her along.
After buying Amane an extra-large bucket of popcorn, Horikita led the happily munching Amane to their seats.
Just when she thought they were about to embark on a sweet, cozy movie date for two…
She discovered the person sitting next to her was none other than Kushida.
"My, if it isn't Horikita-san? What a coincidence," Kushida said with a gentle smile.
But Horikita wasn't buying it.
"It certainly is a coincidence."
It really was. With three separate screenings of this movie, it was nothing short of miraculous that Kushida had managed to get a ticket for the same showing and the seat right next to hers.
A truly unbelievable coincidence.
"Eh? Is that you, Kikyō-chan? You came too! Why didn't Meiyu and Ruri come with you?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Kushida leaned forward and peered over. Only then did she spot Amane, nearly buried in her popcorn.
"Amane, you're here too… Meiyu and Ruri went to attend the reading circle Hirata-kun organized. Speaking of which, Amane, can you really finish all that popcorn by yourself?"
Amane?
Hearing Kushida use such an overly familiar form of address, Horikita let out a soft, dismissive hum.
"Don't worry, Kushida-san. My Amane has quite the appetite," Horikita said, ruffling Amane's hair while casting a triumphant look at Kushida.
"Having a good appetite is fine, I just worry Amane might get a stomachache. Horikita-san, since you and Amane are so close, why don't you advise her against it?" Kushida's tone took on a slightly strange edge.
"It's not that I don't want to. Amane just insisted and pestered me until I bought it. You know how clingy she can be, Kushida-san," Horikita retorted without backing down.
Munch munch crunch.
Amane watched their back-and-forth while steadily shoveling popcorn into her mouth.
"Is that so," Kushida said.
Kushida and Horikita stared at each other with icy glares. Simultaneously, they both let out light, artificial laughs.
Kushida's eyes darted around as if she was about to say something more.
But just then, the cinema lights suddenly dimmed.
Kushida could only wait until the movie was over.
What she didn't expect was…
The particular brand of torment Amane had in store for her.
"Suzune~ I'm scared, boo hoo," Amane clung tightly to Horikita's arm.
"Waah, Suzune, that's so scary!"
"W-what is that? Suzune, I'm scared, waaah!"
"Suzune, if you give me a little kiss, I won't be scared anymore~"
Amane's voice was quiet. But there was no way Kushida, sitting right beside them, couldn't hear it.
Listening to Amane's endless stream of spoiled dialogue directed at Horikita, Kushida found the movie playing in front of her utterly flavorless.
Suddenly, she felt like every moment spent here was a year too long.
The moment the movie finally ended, Kushida rushed out of the cinema without even saying goodbye.
Horikita first shot a triumphant glance at Kushida's retreating figure, then turned and tapped Amane's head with a look of exasperation.
"What exactly were you afraid of in a romantic anime movie?" She brushed the popcorn crumbs off her chest.
Honestly.
Where did Amane learn all these tricks?
What happened to the limited edition, pure and simple Amane from the start of the school year?
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.