After breakfast, Hayashi Maki naturally headed to Hakuo Academy with Mahiru and the others.
Along the way, messages from Ako Tamaki kept popping up—mostly affectionate check-ins, each one calling him "husband." He had to admit, it felt pretty good to read.
He still wondered what "surprise" she'd promised, though. Since Ako, Kyoh Goshoin, and Akane Segawa all attended Zenkyo High, there was no way they'd show up here, so he didn't think much of it.
At the campus gate, he happened to run into Shiina Minatsu wearing a disciplinary committee armband. Hayashi Maki offered a friendly greeting. She glared at him fiercely and chose to ignore him.
She absolutely didn't want to be scooped into his arms and kissed again—too mortifying. She still had her dignity as vice president of the student council, didn't she?
Where Minatsu was, her sister Shiina Mafuyu couldn't be far. The moment Mafuyu spotted him, she turned on her heel and ran—only to step on something and stumble forward.
"Ah!"
Instinctively, she squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for a face-first fall. But the expected pain never came. Instead, there was a warm, familiar pressure around her waist.
Mafuyu opened her eyes slowly and found Hayashi Maki's concerned gaze on her.
"Mafuyu-chan, are you okay?"
"Eeek! It's you—I… I'm fine."
Face flushing, she quickly straightened up and gave him a little push.
"Let go first."
Hayashi Maki did, then reached up to lightly tap the bow in her hair.
"Be more careful next time. If you got hurt, I'd feel bad too."
With that, he turned to go. Sometimes you couldn't chase a girl too hard; a little "play hard to get" worked better.
Watching his retreating back, Mafuyu bit her lip and gathered her courage to call out, "Thank you!"
Yes, she'd almost fallen because she was trying to avoid him—but he had saved her. Much as she still resented this bully, being met with that worried look left her strangely warm inside.
Hayashi Maki lifted a hand in an easy wave and disappeared from view.
"He's… not that bad, I guess," Mafuyu mumbled, cheeks red.
…
In the classroom, Hayashi Maki greeted the usual faces.
"Morning, Yumiko."
"Mm, morning."
"Yo—morning, Hayama."
"Morning, Hayashi Maki," Hayama answered with his usual dazzling smile—though Hayashi Maki sensed a hint of bitterness in it. No wonder: Yumiko's sweetness toward Hayashi Maki had become pretty obvious, and Hayama's situation looked a bit tragic.
Tobe Kakeru was already whispering whether Hayashi Maki had "stolen" Hayama's girl. But Hayama and Yumiko were only friends, not officially dating—so it hardly counted as stealing.
Tobe was just sympathizing with his buddy, and only dared whisper it; in front of Hayashi Maki, he didn't have half a word in him. Without Hayama, Tobe was as timid as they came.
Hayashi Maki ignored the sideshow, took his seat, and poked Megumi Katō's slender waist to chat. As a time-management "master," he felt his schedule wasn't keeping up—more girls, less time, the feeling of being spread thin. But you still had to nurture the bonds right in front of you. With Katō right ahead of him, he wasn't about to neglect her.
Seeing Hayashi Maki chatting with Katō, Yumiko's lips pouted ever so slightly. She'd always known he was a flirt—but watching him be close with other girls still made her jealous. She immediately sent him a text.
Yumiko: "Perverted scumbag!"
The buzz made Hayashi Maki check his phone; he raised a brow and replied:
Hayashi Maki: "Be good. I'll take you out later—this scumbag's gotta 'scum' his Yumiko!"
Yumiko: "Is that a date invitation?"
Hayashi Maki: "Yes. Where do you want to go?"
Yumiko: "I heard the roller coaster's really popular lately. How about we ride it this weekend?"
Hayashi Maki: "Sounds good. Let's do it."
Yumiko finally smiled, already looking forward to the weekend.
With that settled, the bell rang and in walked Mafuyu Kirisu in her businesslike attire.
"Ahem, class—today we have a new student." She beckoned to the door. "Come in, Tamaki-san."
A beautiful girl with black hair, blue eyes, a generous figure, and a school uniform stepped in.
Hayashi Maki's eyes widened.
No way—Ako Tamaki?
She'd actually transferred? So fast… was that the surprise she meant?
Ako walked in and scanned the room. Spotting Hayashi Maki by the window in the back row, her blue eyes sparkled. She darted straight over, grabbed his arm, and held on tight—completely ignoring the heartbroken shock on the boys' faces.
"Innocent Hubby, Ako came to find you! Heehee, I transferred—surprised?"
"Uuu, being in the same class as Hubby is the best! Ako's so happy!"
"Aw, come on!" Tobe Kakeru howled. Several other boys looked just as crushed. They'd thought the class had gained another top-tier beauty—maybe a fateful encounter—but she'd run straight to Hayashi Maki, wrapped around his arm, and called him "husband."
Yumiko and Shinka both leveled dangerous looks at Hayashi Maki and muttered in unison, "Scumbag!"
Yet another girlfriend—and she'd chased him all the way to school with a transfer!
And bold to boot—calling him "husband" out loud?
Mahiru was a bit startled, then quickly recognized Ako—the girl with the reality–net confusion Hayashi Maki had mentioned. It really was serious, then. She didn't feel jealous; she started thinking instead about how to help Ako overcome it.
Katō watched Ako cling to Hayashi Maki's arm and coo, her expression calm—but with a flicker of quiet hurt. Why did it feel like more and more girls were gathering around him? A sharp sense of crisis pricked her chest.
I was first, she thought. We've been front-and-back-row deskmates since grade school—the childhood friend with the deepest ties.
~~~
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