Third period break.
"Seriously, is he really this depressed?" Standing by Kyoko's desk, arms crossed, Tooru frowned at Miyahito, who was face-down on his desk, completely motionless. "Doesn't he usually love basketball?"
"Fufufu~~" Beside him, Yuki, now in her summer short-sleeve sailor uniform, covered her mouth with her hand, looking at Miyahito with deep meaning. "Looks like our Prince Miyahito has a little secret."
"Huh? What do you know, Yuki?" Tooru's eyes instantly lit up with gossip. "Spill it!"
"Now, now, patience~" Wearing a look that screamed 'I've cracked the case,' Yuki glanced at Miyahito, then leaned into Tooru's ear, lowering her voice. "Miyahito definitely has weekend plans with someone!"
"That's it?" Kyoko, pretending to preview English but actually eavesdropping, scoffed. "I thought you'd say something big. Isn't that obvious?"
Tooru nodded in agreement.
"You two are thinking too simply." Yuki wagged her index finger. "Listen to my analysis. First, you agree Miyahito has weekend plans, right?"
They nodded.
"Second, remember how lately he disappears during lunch every day? And last week, he didn't bring a bento at all, just bought melon pan and strawberry milk from the shop, right, Tooru?"
"Right." Tooru's expression turned thoughtful. "I actually asked him why he stopped bringing bento. Also, he always buys two portions."
"So, conclusion: Last week, Miyahito was secretly having lunch with someone... probably someone who likes melon pan and strawberry milk."
"What does that have to do with now?" Kyoko laughed, still confused. "Besides, given Miyahito's popularity, having other friends is normal."
"No! No! No! Kyoko, you're being too naive." Yuki shook her head, then put on a serious, mysterious face. "Think about it. The school's melon pan and strawberry milk are basically girl favorites, right?"
Tooru and Kyoko exchanged a look. Tooru nodded. "Yeah."
"In other words, we can assume the person who likes them is a girl."
"Mhm."
"So~~" Yuki deliberately dragged out the word, a proud glint in her eyes.
Guided by her logic, Tooru and Kyoko followed the trail.
The next second, they spoke in unison:
"Last week, during lunch, Miyahito was hanging out with a girl!"
"Exactly!" Yuki slapped her palm. "And that explains why he's so depressed about the weekend tournament. His date got cancelled!"
"Yeah, Yuki's right." Tooru's eyes widened in realization. "Now it makes sense. I was wondering why, after our picnic last Saturday, he suddenly wasn't inviting us out again this weekend. Turns out he already locked in a target!"
Just then, Yuki lightly nudged Tooru's ribs and whispered, "Hey, should we follow him during lunch? Given the portion he brought, he's definitely meeting that girl today."
"Ooh~ I like it!" Tooru and Yuki instantly formed a pact, sharing conspiratorial grins. Then, remembering Kyoko was there, they both turned to look at her innocently blinking face.
After a three-way stare-down...
"Sigh. Fine, fine. I'll come too." Kyoko sighed helplessly, but her expression instantly shifted to match their mischievous grins. "Alright! Let's uncover the truth (and find Miyahito's girl)!"
"OH——!"
Hearing the commotion, Miyahito lifted his head, his eyes dull and defeated, and looked at his excited friends.
After a moment...
Without a word, he face-planted back onto his desk.
I'm tired. Whatever.
Let the world burn.
...
Ding-dong——!
"Class dismissed."
"Thank you, sensei——!"
The moment Tachibana-sensei, their homeroom and English teacher, disappeared out the door,
Tooru, Yuki, and Kyoko, who had already plotted their operation, instantly stood up and turned toward Miyahito's seat in perfect sync.
"Quick! Let's follow Miyahito!" they said in unison.
But before they could finish, they stared at Miyahito's completely empty seat.
The air froze.
Is this guy part rabbit or what? How did he move that fast?
This was utterly beyond ridiculous.
"Sigh...."
Hearing Yuki's sigh, Tooru, looking far from ready to give up, turned to the two girls behind him.
"Let's go! I refuse to believe we can't find that guy if we search the whole school."
The two girls exchanged a silent glance.
Then, with determined expressions, they nodded at Tooru.
Ridiculous. With three out of the four members of Class B's core group, there's no way we can't track down a guy slipperier than a loach!
....
While Yuki, Tooru, and the rarely-gossipy Kyoko embarked on their school-wide search for Miyahito, on the stairs leading to the rooftop, Utaha climbed slowly, her eyes fixed on her LINE chat with him.
[Aragaki: There's a surprise on the rooftop, Kasumigaoka.]
She'd received it this morning right before leaving for school.
Watching the message, the corners of her wine-red eyes curved into a smile.
"What kind of surprise could it be?" she murmured softly, a playful, almost coquettish tone in her voice.
"Hehe, could it be that Aragaki-kun is going to confess to me?"
"I'll have to think hard about how to turn him down then~ Mou, what a troubling 'surprise,' Aragaki-kun."
Despite her words of rejection, her steps seemed noticeably lighter than a second ago.
Surprise.
Yabai... this is getting too exciting.
What am I going to do?
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