Where on earth did this brat learn shit like that?!
Sato looked at Nohara Shinnosuke standing by his leg, his face full of exasperation. Before he could say anything, the boy tugged at his pants again and pointed in a certain direction.
"She's coming."
Sato turned to look and saw Isshiki Iroha walking over, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Um..."
The girl looked a little embarrassed.
Sato glanced at her, then suddenly turned around, picked up two sheets of colored paper from the table, and handed one to her.
"I'm only going to teach you once."
"Huh?! How did you know?!"
Isshiki Iroha stared at him in shock.
Rolling his eyes, Sato teased,
"Because you're the good-for-nothing Isshiki Iroha."
"I'm gonna hit you!"
Flushed with embarrassment and anger, Isshiki Iroha raised her small, fair fist and glared at him through gritted teeth.
"Alright, just watch and learn."
Deciding it was best not to provoke her any further, Sato swiftly changed the subject and waved the colored paper in his hand.
...
Not far away.
Nishimiya Shouko withdrew her gaze from the distance and turned back to continue teaching the children in front of her. Even so, she seemed rather absent-minded.
A little girl rested her chin on the table, looking at Shouko with bright eyes curved into lovely crescents. She giggled.
"Big Sister, do you like that Big Brother?"
"Ah?!"
Shouko froze.
A faint blush spread across her face as she hurriedly waved her hands in panic.
She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.
Should she say she didn't?
She didn't want to tell that lie.
So she simply stood there with a bright red face, completely at a loss while facing a group of kindergarteners.
The little girl who had asked the question immediately brightened.
"I told you Big Sister likes that Big Brother!"
Several other little girls who had been sitting farther away excitedly squeezed over.
Originally, two little boys had been sitting in front of Shouko, but they were suddenly pushed to the outside by the girls.
The two of them stood there holding their unfinished origami, utterly bewildered.
"Then is Big Sister friends with Big Brother?"
"What kind of relationship do you have with him?"
"Does Big Brother like you?"
Gossip was part of every woman's nature. Age had nothing to do with it.
The little girls surrounded Shouko, chirping question after question.
Shouko was naturally shy. Being surrounded by so many little girls asking such things made her face feel like it was on fire.
For the first time, she felt completely overwhelmed.
"We're friends... just ordinary friends. As for whether he likes me... I don't know."
"Then Big Sister definitely likes Big Brother, right?"
One of the girls looked at her curiously.
A look of obvious surprise crossed Shouko's face.
In a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, she answered,
"I... probably do."
"I knew it!"
It was the same little girl who had asked her first.
She glanced at Isshiki Iroha, who was pestering Sato to teach her origami, then turned back to Shouko and said earnestly,
"Big Sister, you can't do that. If you like someone, you have to be more proactive!"
Perhaps the little girl's sudden display of confidence was too overwhelming, because Shouko instinctively asked,
"Then... what should I do?"
Only after the words left her mouth did she suddenly realize what she'd just asked. She stared at the little girl, lips trembling slightly.
"You should take the initiative!"
"That's right! If you don't, Big Brother will get stolen away by someone else!"
"Big Brother is so handsome. He must be really popular at school, right?"
The girls took turns offering advice before one of them looked at Shouko expectantly.
Shouko nodded almost without hesitation.
Seeing that, the little girl continued,
"Exactly! If you don't make a move first, Big Brother will probably get snatched away by someone else!"
"Yeah! I think that Big Sister definitely has designs on Big Brother."
One of the girls looked toward Isshiki Iroha beside Sato.
Shouko followed her gaze.
Watching Iroha laughing and chatting happily with Sato, she fell into a daze.
...Come to think of it, Isshiki-san had always been like this.
"Hmph. You can tell she's a little vixen just by looking at her!"
"Yeah! I think Big Sister is obviously much better!"
"..."
Hearing those comments, Shouko's face grew even hotter.
"Please don't say things like that..."
she hurriedly stopped them.
She felt dazed.
Are kindergarteners really this terrifying nowadays?
...
At the same time, Yuuki Asuna was going through much the same interrogation, except that she was surrounded mostly by little boys.
"Hmph!"
One little boy crossed his arms and snorted as he looked toward Sato.
"When I grow up, I'll definitely be more handsome than him!"
"Hahaha! Daisuke, stop bragging!"
"Yeah! Keep dreaming!"
The other children burst into laughter.
Daisuke's face turned bright red with embarrassment.
Stretching his neck stubbornly, he declared to his friends,
"I'll definitely be more handsome than him!"
Then he turned to Yuuki Asuna with hopeful eyes.
"When that happens, will you be my girlfriend, Big Sister?"
Asuna covered her mouth with a smile and blinked.
"But he's not just handsome. He's also really good at studying."
"How good?"
Daisuke asked unwillingly.
Asuna thought for a moment, recalling Sato's grades.
"I think he ranked in the top three nationwide on the last national mock final exam."
"Top three in the whole country?"
"Mm. Basically, if you gathered every student in Japan together, he'd be among the top three."
Daisuke's face immediately went pale.
He was clearly intimidated.
"That's amazing! Daisuke doesn't stand a chance!"
"He only knows how to brag!"
"That's incredible!"
The other children immediately started chattering again, leaving Daisuke standing there with a bright red face.
Seeing this, Asuna was about to say something when Daisuke suddenly shouted,
"I'll definitely be better than him!"
"Huh?!"
Before Asuna could react, Daisuke suddenly dashed toward Sato.
She froze.
This...
Sato noticed the little boy running toward him.
Before he could speak, Daisuke stopped in front of him, took a deep breath, pointed at him with eyes blazing like fire, and loudly declared,
"I challenge you!"
What?!
Sato: "???"