The moment she spotted Aragaki Miyahito, Utaha instinctively took a step toward him.
But the next second, realizing something, she stopped.
'He's with his classmates... Better not interrupt them.'
"Alright! Let's go look around over there!"
A happy smile lighting up her face, Utaha quietly hummed a certain singer's Psychological Illusion, turned around, hands clasped behind her back, and walked away.
The very second her retreating figure disappeared around the corner, sitting cross-legged on the picnic mat and chatting with Tooru about recent entertainment gossip, Miyahito suddenly looked up, a strange sensation prickling his senses.
His gaze landed precisely on that cherry blossom tree.
"What's wrong? See something?" Tooru asked, holding a piece of rice cake, noticing his friend's sudden silence and blank stare.
"Nothing, probably just my imagination." Miyahito smiled and withdrew his gaze.
"Anyway, where were we?"
"Talking about Miyani," Iura chimed in, setting down his paper cup. "You guys hear? Miyani's apparently composing for an anime lately."
"I heard that too." Sakuraba Miyu, sipping her drink, lowered her cup slightly. "Online rumors say it's for an anime called Mechanical Crown."
"Mhm, I saw that post too. Wait, let me find it." Yoshikawa Yuki turned to her bag, pulled out her phone, and scrolled through her bookmarks.
"Look, this one."
"'TAKI'? Who's that, Yuki?" the short-haired girl asked, peeking at Yuki's screen.
"No clue," Yuki shrugged, pushing down the corners of her mouth in mock disappointment. "Miyu?"
"No idea either."
"Eh?" The short-haired girl looked surprised that none of the girls knew. She turned to the guys.
But Tooru and Iura were just as clueless. Both shrugged, shaking their heads.
"You guys don't know either? But he's got tons of followers, right?"
"Well, I know a little." Miyahito speared a piece of apple from Tooru's fruit box with a toothpick, popped it in his mouth, and continued talking. "That guy... is a 2D blogger... He shares stuff like..."
Feeling the bite was a bit too big, he paused, took a sip of his iced tea, swallowed, and continued.
"...new anime previews, light novel recommendations..."
"Oh, and game reviews too."
Catchin Tooru's curious look at the words "game reviews," Miyahito shot him a glance and added preemptively,
"Not the kind of game reviews you're thinking of, Tooru."
"His skill level tops out at story-heavy RPGs with zero mechanical demands. He can't handle anything even slightly difficult."
"At best, his updates are just Galgame recommendations."
Tooru, who was about to ask "What games does he review?", found his question cut off. Speechless, he sighed and shot back dryly,
"You know all this in such detail."
"Don't tell me our first-year prince is secretly a hardcore otaku?"
Instantly, everyone turned to stare at Miyahito with wide, incredulous eyes.
Meeting their bizarre stares, Miyahito calmly picked up another toothpick, speared a strawberry from Tooru's fruit box, and...
Calmly tossing it into his mouth, chewing, and swallowing, he finally spoke.
"Setting aside whether I'm an otaku or not, Tooru... even if I was, would you really distance yourself just because you ate a bunch of snacks and drank several cups of my iced tea?"
"...."
This calm, deadpan rhetorical question left Tooru completely speechless.
Seeing this, the others were also momentarily stunned.
"Alright, what's with you guys? Is it really worth making such a big deal out of?"
Miyahito swept a slightly exasperated gaze over the group as the atmosphere suddenly grew awkward.
"I just watch anime, that's why I follow this 'TAKI' guy. I have zero interest in figures or merch or any of that."
"At most, I'd just buy Gundam model kits."
Hearing this, Tooru instantly snapped back to attention and latched onto the topic.
"So, did you get the newly released MG '00Q' kit this year?"
"Obviously." Hearing the question, Miyahito's chin lifted slightly in pride, but then he remembered his newly bought kit had been confiscated by his sister. He lowered his head and sighed heavily in defeat.
"Sigh....."
"What? Did you mess up the build?"
"Not exactly. I just forgot to change the delivery address when it arrived." Looking up with an expression of utter despair, his eyes filled with regret, he continued.
"Right now, my 00Q is being held hostage by Ayase. She says she'll only return it after I graduate high school."
"Whoa, that's brutal."
Watching the guys excitedly chat about models, Yuki and the other girls exchanged glances. Yuki finally spoke with a helpless sigh.
"Boys will be boys."
"Hehe, Yuki sounds just like a mom right now." Sakuraba Miyu, amused by Yuki's expression, covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Totally."
"Hey now, Miyu, Rena."
...
Fun times always fly by. Before they knew it, it was already 4:30 PM.
"Miyahito, aren't you coming back with us?"
Shouldering his backpack and preparing to head home with the others, Tooru turned to look at Miyahito, who had already packed everything up.
"Yeah, you guys go ahead."
Zipping up his backpack and standing, Miyahito nodded.
"I remember you live in Ikebukuro, right? Carrying all that stuff by yourself, you sure you're okay?"
"It's fine, really."
Miyahito smiled, lifting the bags in his hands.
"I carried them all here by myself this morning anyway."
"Alright then."
Seeing his friend's firm attitude, Tooru didn't push it.
Yuki, standing nearby, patted Tooru on the back and turned to Miyahito.
"Then we'll head out first. Let us know on LINE when you get home safely."
"Yeah, you too."
Watching Tooru's group leave, Miyahito withdrew his gaze and turned around.
Just as he was about to leave the park, his eyes inadvertently drifted back to that cherry blossom tree.
Actually, Miyahito himself didn't know why he felt so drawn to it.
But earlier, it felt wrong to just walk away without checking.
Now that the others were gone and only he remained...
"Maybe I should take a look?"
As he spoke, Miyahito took a step toward the cherry blossom tree by the lake.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he couldn't shake the feeling that someone had been standing right there.
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