Chapter 6 – "What Do You Two Mean I Smell Like Girl?"
7:00 AM.
The classroom slowly began to fill.
Shoes clacking on tile. Bags hitting desks. Half-awake voices rising around the room. Another normal morning.
Kazumi, however, remained still at his desk.
Headphones on. Eyes locked on the screen. Fingers tapping buttons with quiet focus.
The noise around him meant nothing.
In just a few minutes, Minami and Hanami would show up. And when they did, there'd be no peace. So, he was trying to squeeze out as much quiet time as possible before the storm arrived.
But of course…
He never got to finish his round.
Flick.
One side of his headphones was suddenly lifted off.
Kazumi blinked, then turned his head slowly.
Minami stood behind him, holding the headphone in her hand with a look of exaggerated disappointment.
"What did I say about playing games at school?" she huffed.
"That it's the only thing that makes this place tolerable," Kazumi replied flatly.
Minami rolled her eyes. "I'm being serious."
Kazumi sighed and pulled the headphone jack from the console entirely, tossing it onto the desk. "Alright. It's out."
"…Do you even have any other hobbies?"
"No."
Minami leaned her elbow on his desk. "Come on. Nothing? Like sports? Reading? Singing in the shower?"
"No. No. And… definitely no."
"You're hopeless," she muttered.
Kazumi glanced up. "I do assignments."
Minami raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You asked what else I do. I finish the teacher's assignments."
"…That's not a hobby."
"It's productive."
"That's not the point."
While Minami was still trying to figure out how to argue with that logic, Hanami, who had been sitting nearby quietly until now, suddenly spoke.
"…Hey, Kazumi?"
"Hm?"
"Do you use perfume?"
Kazumi tilted his head slightly. "No. Why?"
Minami looked confused. "Huh? What kind of question is that?"
Hanami leaned in slightly. "He smells like he's wearing some kind of sweet perfume. Like a girl's."
Kazumi blinked.
Minami narrowed her eyes. "Wait, really?"
She leaned down and sniffed near his shoulder.
"…You're right. He does."
Kazumi leaned away. "Oi."
Hanami placed a hand under her chin. "That's definitely not laundry detergent."
Minami stared at him. "Kazumi… care to explain?"
"…You're both hallucinating."
Hanami didn't blink. "Humans can't hallucinate smells."
Kazumi slowly turned his head back to his screen.
"I bumped into a girl on the way here. Maybe she was wearing perfume."
Minami folded her arms. "What kind of bump makes the scent that strong?"
Hanami added with a smirk, "Unless she rubbed her entire body on you…"
Kazumi kept tapping buttons on his game but avoided eye contact.
The silence only made it worse.
"Alright, fine," he said eventually. "I walked with a girl this morning."
"Ahhh~" Hanami leaned closer with a teasing smile. "So you did spend the morning with someone~"
"She hugged my arm, that's all. Are you happy now?"
Minami squinted. "No. Who was it?"
"…Secret."
"Oh come on!" Hanami complained. "Why's everything always a secret with you?!"
Kazumi shrugged. "You'll find out eventually."
He turned his attention back to his game, trying to salvage the last few seconds of the level before class officially started.
Meanwhile, Minami and Hanami looked at each other.
Both leaned in closer and began whispering behind their hands.
"…What if she's a strong rival?" Minami muttered.
Hanami nodded. "Not impossible. He did say she hugged his arm."
Minami frowned. "We've gotta do something."
"Agreed."
Kazumi glanced up from his console. The two of them were obviously plotting something again.
He didn't want to know.
He really, really didn't want to know.
So he went back to playing his game.
Bad decision.
Thump.
Thump.
Warmth on both arms.
Kazumi froze.
He looked down.
Minami on the left.
Hanami on the right.
Both hugging his arms with the same stubborn grip Yuino had used earlier.
"…What are you two doing?"
Hanami smiled innocently. "Just planting our scent."
Minami grinned. "If he's gonna smell like a girl, it better be us."
Kazumi stared at his screen.
His character was dying.
His HP bar was flashing.
The "Game Over" screen appeared a moment later.
"…You two killed my party."
"We're helping," Minami said, completely unapologetic.
The classroom had fallen mostly quiet again.
A few students were starting to notice.
Some were whispering.
A few were definitely staring.
Kazumi could feel their eyes on him.
He glanced around nervously. "Can you not do this when everyone's looking?"
"Nope," Hanami said.
"Absolutely not," Minami added.
Kazumi sighed and leaned his head back against the chair.
"I swear… please don't let this become a rumor."
He closed his eyes.
But deep down, he already knew.
It definitely would.