The moment the lunch bell rang, Yuki, who was about to call her friends over for bento, saw Miyahito whoosh out of the classroom with his lunch before she could even speak.
Slightly stunned, Yuki turned to Tooru, who was just taking out his bento.
"Hey, Tooru."
"Hmm?"
"Miyahito ran off again."
"Ah."
Hearing this, Tooru's expression also froze. After a few seconds, he clicked his tongue dramatically.
"He's running off again? How many times is this now?"
"What's going on with him?"
Kyoko, sitting next to Yuki, placed her bento on the desk, turned around, and asked Tooru in the back row.
"I heard his movements have been super weird lately. Except during breaks, nobody can find him."
"Yeah."
Tooru sighed helplessly.
"And after school, he just vanishes without a trace. Just like you, Kyoko."
Why am I being dragged into this?
Kyoko shot him an annoyed look.
Yuki, who had dragged her chair over, leaned in mysteriously.
"Do you think Miyahito is secretly meeting up with a girl behind our backs?"
"No way," Tooru immediately shot it down.
"If that were true, half the first-year girls would be rioting."
"Yeah. Except for you, Kyoko, and the girls in our class."
The two girls paused. Then Yuki said thoughtfully,
"You have a point. I really haven't seen him getting close to any particular girl."
"See? Think about it. He usually hangs out with us, or plays sports with guys from other classes."
"Tooru, do you think it could be someone from another school?"
"Even less likely. Why would an outsider specifically hide from us?"
"...."
Listening to them seriously analyze and try to deduce the "suspected girlfriend's identity," Kyoko flicked each of them on the forehead.
Watching them clutch their foreheads in pain, she struck a boss-like pose and tapped her bento box.
"Are we eating lunch or not?"
"Kyoko!" Yuki pouted, protesting.
"Hmm?"
"E-eat, I'm eating, okay?"
...
Meanwhile, on the school rooftop.
"Good afternoon, Kasumigaoka-san."
"Mhm, good afternoon, Aragaki-kun."
After exchanging greetings, Miyahito habitually sat on the far left end of Bench 1.
Then, after stealthily glancing at Utaha, who was sitting on the far right end of Bench 2, he withdrew his gaze and sighed inwardly.
Sigh...
It had been three days already.
For three whole days, aside from "Good afternoon" and "I'm heading back to class now," Miyahito and Utaha had maintained a state of complete radio silence.
This was absurd.
It didn't make sense. They were practically coordinating perfectly, showing up on the rooftop at almost the exact same time every day, with only a minute or two difference.
With this much synergy, they still hadn't exchanged a single real word beyond greetings.
Realizing this couldn't go on, Miyahito stopped unwrapping his pastry bread, looked up, and glanced at Utaha, who was also head-down, nibbling on the exact same bread.
"..."
Still... can't get the words out.
Closing his mouth helplessly, looking a bit dejected, he silently tore open the bread wrapper and began eating it bite by bite.
But come to think of it, it made sense. He couldn't just bluntly ask her, "How's your relationship with that guy? Are you in love with him?" right to her face.
Even when you have the advantage completely in your favor, you still need to pick your tactical moment...
At the very least, he should chat about other topics first, ease into it, and then steer the conversation there.
Speaking of which.
Hmm... actually, after eating this for three days straight, he wasn't getting tired of it.
Looks like there's a reason Utaha likes it so much.
Just as Miyahito was quietly eating his lunch,
Utaha, who had been keeping her head down and nibbling, secretly turned her gaze toward him when he wasn't looking.
Sigh, still couldn't get a single word out.
Try harder! Kasumigaoka Utaha!
Frowning in frustration at her own cowardice, Utaha still couldn't bring herself to start a conversation with him.
If only everything were as easy as Machida Sonoko made it sound. That woman wouldn't have been single for so long, would she?
"Sigh..." Letting out another quiet sigh, Utaha grimaced and shoved the rest of her bread into her mouth in one go.
However, distracted as she was, she failed to consider the trouble of swallowing such a large, dry bite. After barely chewing a few times, she tried to gulp it down.
And... unsurprisingly, she choked.
"Ugh... ugh..."
"Kasumigaoka-san!"
Noticing her distress instantly, Miyahito dropped his bread and rushed to her side. Ignoring proper personal boundaries in his panic, he reached out and held her, his posture almost like an embrace, supporting her flushed face.
"Are you okay?" he asked repeatedly, his voice laced with urgency.
With a lump of bread stuck halfway down her throat, Utaha obviously couldn't form a coherent sentence.
"Mmph... mmm..."
"I-I'll get you some water right away!"
Forcing down his own panic, Miyahito looked around frantically. Right there, on the bench he'd just been sitting on, a sports drink caught his eye.
"Found it! Just hold on a little longer, Kasumigaoka."
Seeing the drink, a wave of relief washed over him. He quickly dashed over, grabbed it, and hurried back.
Back at her side, Miyahito carefully helped her sit up, guiding her to lean sideways against his chest. Pretending to be calm, he unscrewed the cap and gently brought the bottle to her lips, feeding her small, careful sips.
As the slightly sweet and salty liquid trickled down her throat, Utaha finally managed to swallow the stubborn piece of bread. Seeing her pained expression gradually ease, the heavy weight in Miyahito's chest finally lifted.
That scared the life out of me...
Seriously, how does someone choke on bread like this?
Once his heart settled, he couldn't help but think with a mix of amusement and exasperation.
Honestly, it was his first time seeing someone almost choke to death on a piece of bread. If it were a little kid, it might be understandable—kids don't always know to eat slowly and chew thoroughly. But a high schooler? Miyahito had never seen that before. Even when Ayase was little and he watched her eat, she never once choked.
Just as he was mentally complaining, his gaze caught something.
Why was Kasumigaoka's face still so red? Was she still feeling unwell?
Before he could ask, Utaha, keeping her head down, spoke in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
"Um... I'm okay now."
"C-could you... let go of me first....."
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