Nanatsuoi Akane stood there stunned for a moment, then finally snapped back, her expression changing as she hurried to deny it.
"No! I've never gone out with any other guy from the start! Katase-kun, what are you even talking about?!"
Seeing the way her face shifted, Katase Shoya's suspicion only deepened. His tone turned icy.
"Just now during the break, five, six minutes ago, I saw you walking back toward the classrooms with some guy. Are you saying I imagined that?"
At those words, Nanatsuoi Akane's expression changed again, but this time she finally understood where his misunderstanding came from and let out a small breath of relief.
She patiently explained, "The reason I was walking with Rai-kun was because something happened. There was an important reason for it. There's nothing special between us."
Hearing that, anger flared across Katase Shoya's face, and he questioned her in a harsh voice.
"'Because something happened'? And what exactly is that reason that lets you two walk together? Nanatsuoi Akane, you'd better explain it clearly."
Listening to him hammer at her with one question after another, Nanatsuoi Akane felt irritation rising in her chest.
They were not even officially dating yet, and yet Katase Shoya was interrogating her with that attitude. It was infuriating.
Her tone went cold.
"Katase Shoya, we're not officially together."
"And you're the one who insisted that, for the sake of your dream, I had to hide our relationship and never show even the slightest hint of it."
"You're the one who said we couldn't even call each other by our given names. So even if I really was with Rai-kun, what exactly would be wrong with that?"
"Besides, there really isn't anything special between Rai-kun and me. We just happened to be walking together. What right do you have to question me like this?"
The fact that she dared talk back even after being "caught" only enraged Katase Shoya further. His fingers clenched tighter around the baseball bat in his hand, and he almost lost control.
But when his eyes fell on Nanatsuoi Akane's stunning face and voluptuous figure, he panicked at the thought that she might really get angry and cut things off with him.
Finding a girlfriend this beautiful would not be easy a second time.
Katase Shoya swallowed his anger and forced his tone soft, pretending to apologize.
"Sorry. That was my fault. Nanatsuoi, I'll believe this was just a misunderstanding."
"It's just… in my mind, Nanatsuoi would never get close to other guys."
"We promised that one day we'd be together, didn't we?"
"I swear, Nanatsuoi, once I win a big award in the baseball tournament, I'll officially announce our relationship. I'll make you the envy of every girl out there, the center of everyone's attention!"
"I just need you to put up with a little hardship for the sake of my dream. I promise, I'll make you the happiest girlfriend in the world. So please, forgive me just this once, okay?"
"And… what was the reason you were walking with that guy, Rai Hikaru?"
Nanatsuoi Akane's mood eased a little at his words, but her face still twisted in discomfort.
"Th-That… I can't tell you the exact reason. But I can promise you this: I haven't been seeing any other guy at all."
She hesitated for a long moment but still could not bring herself to tell him about Coach Higashi's threats.
She knew Katase Shoya's personality too well. If she told him, things would only get worse, and nothing good would come of it.
Katase Shoya watched the struggle on her face. He wanted to press her further, but the fear of truly angering his goddess-tier "quasi-girlfriend" and having her cut him off held him back.
After all, they were not officially together yet.
So he could only let out a weary sigh.
"Fine. I won't push it. I believe you. Go back to class."
Hearing that, Nanatsuoi Akane finally showed a small smile.
"As long as you believe me, Katase-kun. I really haven't gone behind your back with anyone."
With that, anxious about being late, she turned and headed back toward the classroom.
She genuinely believed that Katase Shoya had accepted her explanation.
Katase Shoya, however, stared at her retreating back, his fists tightening as he sank into thought.
The memory of Rai Hikaru's face—much more handsome than his own—sent a wave of unease crashing through him.
On the surface he had said he believed Nanatsuoi Akane, but that was only because he was afraid of making his beautiful "girlfriend" mad and having her really break things off.
In his heart, he was still full of suspicion about her and Rai Hikaru.
Even though, due to the baseball club's rules, he had been the one to propose that their relationship must never be made public and had never dared to talk about officially dating…
He still wanted to hold her to the strict standards of a real girlfriend.
He was insecure and prone to doubt. Otherwise, he would never have forced his girlfriend to keep their relationship hidden just to chase some so-called baseball dream.
"No. There's definitely something fishy going on between Nanatsuoi Akane and that Rai Hikaru. I have to get to the bottom of it."
"I can't handle this alone. Maybe… I should ask the most reliable adult on the team for advice—Coach Higashi."
"Coach Higashi is a dependable grown-up. I've heard he's really experienced in relationships too. He's bound to help me figure this out!"
Watching Nanatsuoi Akane walk away, Katase Shoya made up his mind.
...…
...…
The class bell rang and fell silent, again and again, and the school day finally came to an end.
After the final bell, Rai Hikaru was packing up his books, ready to head home.
While he was sorting his things into his bag, a tall, voluptuous silhouette was already waiting at the back door of the classroom.
Long purple hair, pale skin, a pretty, sharp-featured face, and a chest so magnificent the JK uniform could not hope to hide it, drawing the stares of any male student who passed.
The purple-haired, red-eyed beauty was none other than Shinonomiya Natsuka.
Ever since that time she had been harassed by Kashika Masaru and asked Rai Hikaru to go to and from school with her, she had completely gotten used to it.
Now, as soon as class ended, she would head straight to his classroom door to wait for him.
Especially today, after watching Rai Hikaru beat the crap out of Kashika Masaru, her feelings toward him had grown even warmer.
On top of that, she had somehow ended up giving him her first kiss today, leaving Shinonomiya Natsuka with all sorts of strange, unfamiliar emotions churning in her chest whenever she thought of Rai Hikaru.
For today's walk home together, she was more excited than she had ever been.
She was racking her brain over what topic she should bring up so they could chat more naturally on the way home, maybe heat things up between them a little, when—
Suddenly, she saw three flashy gyaru girls heading straight toward Rai Hikaru.
The sight of those three—gorgeous faces, curvy figures not much worse than her own—made Shinonomiya Natsuka's expression tighten.
A woman's intuition screamed danger.
Those three gyaru looked like they were here to invite Rai Hikaru to walk home with them too.
"Hallo, Rai-kun, school's out～"
The blonde among the three, Hamaki Reina of the Silver-Piercing Gyaru Trio, waved and called to him brightly.
"Yeah. It is."
Rai Hikaru continued packing his books as he offered a polite reply.
Just as Hamaki Reina was about to invite him to head home with them—and as Shinonomiya Natsuka agonized over whether she should rush in and cut them off—
Another beautiful girl suddenly hurried in through the back door of the classroom.
She bumped Shinonomiya Natsuka's shoulder as she slipped past, jolting her sideways. Before Natsuka could snap at her, she stared in surprise.
The newcomer was a short-haired redhead, shoulder-length hair, a figure no worse than her own, and a chest that could absolutely compete with hers.
And that girl strode right up to Rai Hikaru's desk.
Nanatsuoi Akane looked down at Rai Hikaru, who was still packing his books, and spoke.
"Um… Rai-kun, about what happened in the storage shed today… I'm really, really grateful. I was wondering if we could walk out of school together and I could treat you to milk tea to say thanks. Would that be okay?"
Watching this scene, Shinonomiya Natsuka's brain just about short-circuited.
What the hell was this?
So Rai-kun was that popular?
One beautiful girl after another hovering around him, all with killer bodies on top of it—was there even any room left for her to shoot a movie with him anymore?
No, no, no!
She and Rai-kun were just normal friends. She had a promise with Yuta. She could not be thinking about all this weird stuff.
Yuta was her childhood friend, even if his looks were way worse than Rai-kun's.
Yuta was her childhood friend, even if he was way weaker than Rai-kun.
Yuta was her childhood friend, even if she had already given her first kiss to Rai-kun.
…
Shit.
Why was it that no matter how hard she tried to think about Yuta, all she could see in her mind was Rai-kun's face?
No matter how she tried to justify it, the sight of so many beautiful girls gathered around Rai Hikaru left Shinonomiya Natsuka's heart aching with a faint, inexplicable sourness.