Yukino had an idea after hearing Utaha's words earlier.
Unfortunately, when Megumi returned from the restroom, her subtle probing yielded nothing.
The brief attempt failed, and Yukino decided to abandon it.
It was awkward enough—besides, Utaha was pretending to scroll on her phone but was actually watching her every move.
Even with only Megumi present, Yukino could only try once or twice before deciding it wasn't worth it.
To avoid being questioned in return, Yukino set down the plump orange cat in her arms and walked toward the kitchen. She also had something to discuss with Haru anyway.
As she left, Utaha, ever observant, realized the test had failed. She pretended not to notice and quickly scooped up the cat.
The fat cat, who had only just jumped onto the sofa, now found itself carried along in a "relay of pets." Its wide eyes reflected confusion, as if to say, "Put me down—I want to sleep."
Meanwhile, Megumi quietly sat, playing with her phone. Her face was partly hidden by her hair, and the quick flickers in her eyes went completely unnoticed.
Has Utaha-senpai already noticed something? Or was my suspicion correct… did she and Yukino really…?
In her mind, inappropriate memories flashed: being held by Haru that night, his hands wandering, struggling to sleep afterward, even had to play with herself afterwards.
Her cheeks burned crimson, and she couldn't look up. Slowly, she turned so her back faced Utaha, absentmindedly staring at her phone in a desperate attempt to distract herself.
"Megumi."
A voice called from behind.
She didn't turn. "Yes?" she asked in her usual calm tone.
"Have you… watched any special movies recently?" Utaha asked, deciding to try again.
Yukino's half-hearted attempt earlier made her reluctant to give up.
"What do you mean by 'special movies'?" Megumi asked, genuinely puzzled.
She had no idea why Utaha was asking such a strange question.
"Literal meaning," Utaha replied, embarrassed to be more direct—these were not things to discuss openly.
"I really don't understand," Megumi muttered, distracted.
"Oh, never mind then," Utaha said quickly, ending the topic.
She frowned and scanned Megumi's back with sharp eyes, thinking: maybe I was wrong. Perhaps she really hasn't secretly watched those movies?
Megumi, meanwhile, was thinking: or maybe I misjudged… Utaha-senpai didn't actually do anything with Yukino. Otherwise, she would have taken this private moment to test me, not ask such a weird question about movies.
In this information-unequal exchange, the two girls had just completed a conversation that neither fully understood themselves.
In short: You probe your side, I observe mine.
_ _ _ _
Meanwhile, after preparing a nutritious dinner for the girls, Haru left the house.
He met up with Hayakawa and a few others outside a nearby bookstore. They grabbed a meal first and paid separately.
Even though they were close friends, everyone preferred splitting the bill fairly.
"Speaking of paying, I had a rough experience with this back in middle school," Hayakawa said, draping an arm around Haru's shoulder.
"Oh? Tell me."
Haru, sensing a story was about to unfold, encouraged him.
Hayakawa's expression grew serious. "It wasn't anything major, but I had a really good friend. I thought our friendship was strong, and I always liked taking care of friends, so whenever we went out, I'd pay for everything."
Haru immediately guessed the result. "And that made him assume it was natural for you to always pay?"
"How did you know?" Hayakawa was surprised.
"Just a guess. It's a common situation," Haru said with a smile.
He didn't need Hayakawa to continue; he already knew the likely outcome: being generous out of friendship, and then ending up in awkward disagreements over money.
The others looked at him strangely. "Haru, why do you seem like you have stories?"
Haru's smile didn't waver. "Isn't it better to have stories? If all I had were accidents, it would scare you, right?"
"Ha, that's true. Stories are better."
Afterwards, the group visited a store specializing in figures. Haru had no desire to buy, but tried a few capsule toy machines for fun.
As expected, the prizes were cheap trinkets.
"How much did you lose?" Hayakawa asked, shaking his head.
"About six thousand yen, I think," Haru calculated.
"That's a huge loss! These are basically blind boxes—useless junk."
"There's a Gundam in the next machine," Haru teased.
"You trust that will come out? You might as well believe I'm Kamen Rider," he added with a laugh.
The others looked puzzled. "What's so funny?"
Haru gave a single keyword: "Aya Hirano."
The others immediately burst out laughing. That divorce had been all over the news, and their work intersected with the anime and tokusatsu circles. Everyone loved to gossip.
After leaving the mall, they strolled through the streets, grabbing some snacks along the way.
Haru enjoyed this pure, simple friendship. They shared hobbies, could talk about anything, and didn't need to filter themselves.
Even if a group of guys might eventually end up arguing over driving or online politics…
"Haru, isn't that Hiratsuka-sensei over there? And that man with her… is he her boyfriend?"
Hayakawa excitedly pointed toward the ramen shop ahead.
Haru glanced over. Hiratsuka-sensei was indeed there with a man. But his keen eyesight caught subtle cues—her smile was forced, not genuine.
"I'll go take a look," Haru said to his friends.
Hayakawa hesitated. "Maybe don't. You might interrupt their… date."
Haru smiled. "I bet they're not on a date. Five hundred yen?"
"What? Only five hundred yen? You underestimate us? If any foreigner heard that, they'd think I couldn't even pay five hundred yen!"
They quickly tossed aside any hesitation, each putting out five hundred yen, eager to bet.
Haru had already expected this—men's joys are often simple.
A moment ago they were hesitant, now they were egging him on to go.
~~~~~~~~~~
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