Did he actually have a good dream?
Miyahito didn't know the answer to that himself.
But the moment Utaha woke him up as promised...
Opening his eyes, the overwhelming, generous curves filling his vision completely short-circuited his brain.
Who am I? Where am I? What was I doing?
It wasn't just the visual that confused him.
The soft, slightly fleshy sensation faintly pressing against the back of his head completely halted his cognitive functions.
It took a good few seconds before realization dawned.
A lap pillow? A lap pillow!
This is the legendary senpai's lap pillow!!!
"Hmm?" Noticing the boy resting on her thighs had frozen, Utaha, wearing a playful smile, tilted her head down, leaning her upper body forward slightly.
Unintentionally allowing her graceful, well-proportioned figure to come clearly into his view, she asked softly, "Why so dazed? Sleep addled your brain?"
"N-nothing..."
Feeling a familiar, troublesome warmth in his nose, Miyahito quickly turned his head, his right hand instinctively covering it as he replied in a muffled voice.
"I-I'll get up right now."
Before finishing, he hastily tried to sit up.
But in his panic, he completely ignored the awkwardness of their positioning.
"Eh... Miyahito-kun, wait."
The warning came a second too late.
Feeling a soft impact against his forehead, Miyahito instantly froze, afraid to move a single muscle.
Utaha, whose chest had just been bumped, blushed as she raised both hands to slightly shield herself, leaning her upper body back.
Seeing that she had made room for him to sit up, Miyahito didn't delay. He quickly turned his face and lifted his head.
Once they were both properly seated, an unspoken silence fell over them.
After a short while.
"Um, I." Turning slightly toward Utaha, Miyahito slowly faced her, speaking carefully to the girl whose cheeks still held a faint blush. "It's almost time. Utaha, I need to head back to change and get ready."
"Mhm." Aside from the lingering blush, her expression had calmed. Utaha smiled gently. "Then hurry back, Miyahito-kun."
"Yeah."
Nodding, he grabbed the bag and stood to return to Class B.
But just as he lifted himself slightly, he suddenly turned back, looking at Utaha, who had tilted her head playfully. His expression and tone carried a hint of eager expectation. "For the match later, Utaha, are you..."
Mid-sentence, he choked up. Stammering, he couldn't force out the words after "you."
Guessing what he wanted to say, Utaha smiled, stood up, and faced the stammering boy.
Her fair hands slowly reached out, gently fixing his sleep-crumpled collar, her palms softly smoothing out the wrinkles on his uniform.
Throughout this, Miyahito just watched her fix his uniform, completely speechless.
"Good luck with the afternoon match, Miyahito."
Slowly lifting her gaze, a hint of pride in her eyes, Utaha looked straight at the young boy before her.
"I'll be there to cheer for you. You have to win, okay?"
Meeting those wine-red eyes that reflected his own face, the hesitation on Miyahito's face vanished instantly, replaced by a firm, unwavering reply.
"I'll definitely win, Utaha."
...
However, the moment the fiercely determined Aragaki Miyahito, vowing to claim victory for the day, stepped into the Class 1-B classroom...
Before his chuunibyou spirit could fully ignite and he could loudly declare his ambitions to his Class B comrades...
The next second.
"Look, let's talk this over calmly."
Cornered in the back of the classroom by Class B's boss, Hori Kyoko, who had grabbed him by the collar and brought Yoshikawa Yuki and Ishikawa Tooru along, Miyahito looked genuinely terrified as he addressed the one guy and two girls surrounding him.
"Can someone please tell me what's going on..."
"Saa, douzo. Will you speak up willingly?" A faint, dangerous smile on her face, Kyoko heavily slapped Miyahito's trembling shoulder, her voice dropping to a threatening register. "Or do you need a little... persuasion?"
"This isn't cool, Miyahito."
Arms crossed, Tooru looked at the confused "What did I do?" expression with disdain, adding his complaint. "We're supposed to be bros, and you hide something this huge from us? You're seriously not a good friend, Miyahito!"
"Exactly! You're a jerk, Miyahito!" Beside them, the 161cm Yuki angrily waved her arms at the nearly 180cm boy. "Hiding such big happy news from us until now? Hmph, I really misjudged you!"
Wait, what exactly am I hiding from you guys? Is it really worth cornering me and giving me the "confess and we'll go easy" treatment?
Am I some unforgivable suspect here?
"Sigh... you guys." Letting out a tired sigh, Miyahito said helplessly, "What exactly did I do? I have zero clue how I wronged you."
"Ho? Still playing dumb."
Kyoko said it flatly, then glanced at her "first underling" Tooru and "second underling" Yuki.
Receiving the order, Tooru spoke up.
"Spill it, Miyahito. What's your relationship with Kasumigaoka from Class C?"
Immediately, Yuki added, "Don't try to bluff us. We already have the evidence."
"Huh?" Miyahito blinked, then said with utter despair, "Didn't I tell you before? Utaha... I mean, Kasumigaoka and I aren't anything! Just classmates."
Still denying it!
Hearing him accidentally slip and say "Utaha," Kyoko, Tooru, and Yuki simultaneously exchanged doting, satisfied smiles.
It was the look of parents watching their clueless child finally grow up.
"Listen, Miyahito." Kyoko called out to his dazed face, her tone like a mother indulging a silly child. "I've never heard you call any girl by her first name."
"Exactly. Even Yuki and me, you only call by our surnames."
"Just give up, bro. It hurts my heart watching you lie to yourself."
I, Aragaki Miyahito... am completely backed into a corner?
"Seriously, just tell us." Placing his hands on the panicked boy's shoulders, Tooru smirked. "We already saw it. Tsk tsk, having such an intimate lunch with Kasumigaoka-san. No wonder we couldn't find you during lunch break."
"!"
Oh. They just saw us having lunch together.
That's... not a disaster at all!!!
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