"Confession? Amane, is someone confessing to you?"
Horikita emerged from the pitch-black corner.
Though she wore what she probably thought was a friendly expression.
Amane still felt a chill run down her spine.
"N-no, what confession? I don't know anything about that."
Amane turned around, all smiles, blocking Horikita's line of sight.
Her hands, hidden behind her back, rapidly gestured to Ichinose.
Although Ichinose didn't know who the other girl was, judging by Amane's expression, she seemed to be a classmate Amane was on good terms with.
The meaning of Amane's gesture was... did she want her to step forward and introduce herself?
"Hello, I'm Ichinose Honami from Class B, first year. It's nice to meet you."
Ichinose reached out her hand towards Horikita.
Horikita glanced sideways at Amane, whose smile was looking a bit strained.
"And you are…"
"Horikita Suzune, Class D, first year."
Horikita moved, effectively blocking Amane, and shook Ichinose's hand.
Also Class D?
So they were classmates and probably friends. Good, it seemed she hadn't misread the situation this time.
Ichinose patted her chest in relief.
Amane, however, looked utterly miserable.
Her gesture had meant 'get out of here, fast!' She never expected Ichinose to charge headfirst into the situation and even greet Suzune.
Their coordination wasn't completely nonexistent, but it was pretty close to zero.
Watching Ichinose pat her chest, Horikita's eyebrow twitched.
It seemed this other girl had come prepared. After a moment's consideration, Horikita settled on her next move.
"I hope I didn't interrupt your conversation just now?"
Horikita looked apologetic, as if sorry for appearing and cutting short Amane and Ichinose's talk.
In reality, she was planning to observe their reactions.
Amane immediately looked up at the sky.
This was her usual trick for dodging questions. Horikita couldn't be bothered with her for now. Ichinose, who had initially wanted to say 'it's fine,' found herself blushing slightly as she remembered how Amane had genuinely mistaken her intention for a confession.
If this got out, it could lead to negative rumors. The student council president, Horikita-san, already didn't seem particularly fond of her. He might use this as an excuse to remove her from the council.
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.
Ichinose, red-faced, hung her head in silence.
Horikita waited with a politely apologetic look for a response. Amane was busy studying the stars. Finally, sensing something was off and wanting to keep the conversation moving, Horikita turned her attention to Amane.
"Amane, I thought I heard you two talking about a confession just now. Care to fill me in?"
Faced with Horikita's 'kind' inquiry, Amane could no longer pretend she hadn't heard.
"Suzune, are you sure you…"
"I'm quite confident in my hearing."
...What to do now?
Amane glanced at Ichinose.
Ichinose seemed lost in thought, head bowed and silent.
Looks like I'm on my own. How about just saying it was a misunderstanding?
It was one, after all. If she just explained it clearly to Suzune, she probably wouldn't overthink it.
Trying to hide it any further would only make Suzune unnecessarily suspicious.
"Actually, it was all just a misunderstanding."
Amane spoke while carefully watching Horikita Suzune's expression.
Horikita simply crossed her arms and lifted her chin, signaling for Amane to continue.
"It was just a small mix-up. I mistook Ichinose-san wanting to apologize to me for her wanting to confess to me… which led to a bit of confusion…"
Amane finished, scratching her cheek somewhat sheepishly.
Why does it sound so fake, even to me?
But Horikita Suzune's face was unreadable.
Was she dissatisfied? Or had she accepted such an outrageous explanation?
Horikita Suzune was analyzing the credibility of Amane's story.
Logically, such a low-probability misunderstanding shouldn't just happen randomly.
But if the person involved was Amane, all bets were off. Through their time together, Horikita had long since discovered that Amane had inexplicable gaps in her common sense.
This led to Amane's train of thought being rather… jumpy. She often misinterpreted Horikita's meaning.
So, while Amane's explanation seemed utterly ridiculous, Horikita Suzune was inclined to believe her.
"If it was a misunderstanding, then it should be cleared up by now, right?"
"Mm-hmm, both Ichinose-san and I know it was a mistake now. Hehe."
Amane giggled and moved closer to Horikita, latching onto her arm.
"I'm feeling a bit cold. Should we head back now?"
Horikita looked at Amane's fawning expression and sighed inwardly.
This was so obviously a ploy to get her to leave. Yet, even though she saw right through Amane's little game, she always found herself wanting to indulge her.
"If you're cold, then let's go back. By the way, Ichinose-san, Amane mentioned that you wanted to apologize to her. What was that about?"
Horikita Suzune asked casually, mostly just to give Ichinose a topic to ease out of the conversation.
All Ichinose needed to do was say a few harmless words, and then everyone could happily return to the dorms.
But what Horikita and Amane never expected was for Ichinose to suddenly snap her head up and look straight at Amane.
"It's like this. During the meeting this afternoon, when Amane was about to clash with Committee Member Kiriyama, I instinctively tried to intervene, and… due to a personal… lapse… I couldn't resist and did something inappropriate to Amane's body. I came here tonight specifically to apologize for that action. I'm truly very sorry. I hope you can forgive me, Amane."
Ichinose, her face bright red, bowed her head, seeking Amane's forgiveness.
Amane was frozen solid on the spot.
"Did something inappropriate to Amane's body? Such as?"
Horikita Suzune mistakenly thought Ichinose had used violence against Amane.
Her tone unconsciously sharpened.
Why was Horikita suddenly angry when they were just getting along fine?
Ichinose looked strangely at Horikita Suzune, whose expression had turned unusually severe.
When her gaze fell on Amane again, it was as if she'd been jolted awake, and she began waving her hands frantically.
"It's not what you're thinking, Horikita-san! Amane and I are friends. I didn't use any violence against her!"
Hearing Ichinose's flustered explanation, Horikita Suzune studied her expression.
Despite her panic, Ichinose's gaze didn't waver. Combined with the lack of reaction from Amane, Horikita judged Ichinose's words to be credible.
"That's good then. To be honest, I wouldn't want Amane getting caught up in any violent conflicts. Getting hurt would make it even more pointless."
As she spoke, Horikita Suzune reached out and pinched Amane's cheek.
Ichinose's eyes widened.
Were Horikita and Amane that close?
"Hmph, if a real fight broke out, I could take on a whole class by myself," Amane declared proudly, puffing out her chest.
Both Horikita Suzune and Ichinose smiled.
"We know you're very capable."
Horikita didn't take Amane's words seriously. Even if Amane was strong, taking on a whole class was a bit too abstract.
"Really, Suzune, you always talk to me like I'm a child."
Amane tightened her grip on Horikita's arm.
Seeing that it was getting late, Horikita decided to wrap up the conversation, but there was still one thing she was curious about.
"If it wasn't violence, then why did you need to apologize to Amane, Ichinose-san?"
In Horikita's view, if it wasn't the serious issue of violence, it probably shouldn't warrant a special apology from Ichinose.
"Well… I couldn't resist… secretly touching Amane-san's abs."
"???"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 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.