"Ha~ ha~ ha"
Akihisa, who had stopped running, was still panting heavily.
"Akihisa-kun?"
Once he caught his breath, Yoshii Akihisa asked: "Um… this lunch box, were you about to throw it away?"
Shimada Minami paused for a moment: "What's it to you?"
"What do you mean, what's it to me… it's just…"
Yoshii Akihisa didn't know how to respond for a second, then finally put his hands on his hips and said,
"Wasting resources like that isn't good…"
(Seriously, even you're pulling the tsundere act now?)
"Huh?"
Shimada Minami seemed not to understand what he meant.
Yoshii Akihisa kept rambling on: "And if we think about the Earth, this little bit of food absolutely can't be wasted. If you waste food, ghosts will come out."
(Ghosts won't come out.)
"And for the sake of the environment and recycling and all that, I think we have to make efficient use of resources…"
"Growl growl~"
The sound from Yoshii Akihisa's stomach interrupted his nonstop chattering.
Even Akihisa couldn't help but blush.
"Heh."
Shimada Minami understood, laughed twice, and then handed the lunch box to Yoshii Akihisa.
"Here."
Looking at Yoshii Akihisa, who was still frozen in place.
"Aren't you going to eat it?"
Yoshii Akihisa answered in a slightly tsundere tone: "Then I'll accept it. We have to cherish resources…"
With that, Yoshii Akihisa sat down on the bench and started devouring the food in big mouthfuls.
"Idiot, eat slower. You'll choke."
Shimada Minami also sat down beside him and asked: "But Akihisa-kun, it's so late already. Why are you still at school?"
Yoshii Akihisa answered while scarfing down food: "It's all because of that Iron Man. He dragged me off for training until so late. After that, Saiki told me to come meet him here."
Shimada Minami: "Saiki-kun is still around?"
"Saiki… cough cough"
Because he ate too fast while talking, Yoshii Akihisa choked. His face turned red and puffed up as he patted his chest.
Shimada Minami: "Hey, Akihisa-kun, are you okay? Eat slower!"
"Water… water…"
[Yare yare, are you a starving ghost reincarnated or what?]
Saiki suddenly appeared behind Yoshii Akihisa, took the water bottle in his hand, opened it, and passed it over.
Yoshii Akihisa took it and gulped it down.
"Ha~"
"Thanks, Saiki."
[No problem.]
Shimada Minami: "Saiki-kun, how did you suddenly appear here?"
Yoshii Akihisa continued shoveling food and asked: "By the way, Saiki, why did you call me here?"
[Nothing much. I saw you barely ate anything today and thought I'd buy you a cup of instant noodles. But seeing how happily you're eating that lunch box now, I guess you don't need it. I'll head out first.]
Yoshii Akihisa: "I see. Thanks anyway."
Saiki glanced at the two of them, then turned to leave.
Shimada Minami said: "Thank you, Saiki-kun."
Saiki didn't turn back, just waved his hand as he walked away.
[I didn't do anything.]
(Since I already spent so long secretly watching other people, helping out a little is only fair, right?)
...
Shiina Mahiru: "Here, please enjoy. You went to school even on your day off. You must be tired."
"Ah~ mm."
At home, Saiki was enjoying his post-meal coffee jelly. His whole body felt numb and soft, and a happy, content smile spread across his face.
[Yeah, some things did happen at school today. Overall, though, it wasn't bad.]
Shiina Mahiru rested her cheek on one hand and watched him: "That's nice…"
[Was it really okay to go to school on a holiday?]
"Ah~ mm."
Saiki took another bite.
"It's just that I hadn't gone to school in so long. It's weird, though. It's only been a few days, but it feels like half a month has passed."
Saiki answered without thinking,
[Who knows? Maybe because staying home was boring. But your body has recovered. You can go back next week.]
"Mm mm, maybe."
...
Sunday…
Saiki looked at the guy with his arm around his shoulder, then at the familiar place, and said helplessly,
[So you really have nowhere else to go? Trees…]
Akazawa Itsuki grinned mischievously: "Not exactly. This place is just really fun. We just happened to pass by, so I figured why not drop in and play a bit! Right, Chi?"
Beside him, Shirakawa Chitose looked at the game center in front of them.
"It's okay. Honestly, I'm fine with anything. Compared to this, I'd actually rather go check out Saiki-kun's house."
"I want to too, but Saiki said he wanted to go out and play. He said it's not convenient at his place."
Akazawa Itsuki looked at Saiki, patted his shoulder, and asked: "So when are you finally gonna invite me over to hang out at your place, huh?"
[Why are you so obsessed with my house?]
Shirakawa Chitose saw how much Saiki was resisting and showed a teasing, mischievous expression: "Don't tell me our Saiki-kun is hiding a secret girlfriend at home…"
[Seriously, how could that be possible?]
Akazawa Itsuki patted Shirakawa Chitose on the head: "Chi, how could that be? Saiki-kun already has Kubo-kun."
[Hey, don't just say stuff like that.]
Akazawa Itsuki looked puzzled: "Wait, you two aren't dating?"
Saiki rolled his eyes.
[Why would you even think we're dating?]
"Ah, sorry. It's just that you two seem pretty close, and Kubo-san at school… aside from you, she doesn't really interact with any other guys. She gives off that hard-to-approach vibe."
[No interaction? What about Shiraishi?]
"Ah, right right right. Yeah, and Shiraishi. I forgot about him."
Akazawa Itsuki scratched his head: "I completely forgot there's even a guy named Shiraishi in our class."
[Don't just forget about Shiraishi like that! If he hears that, he'll be hurt.]
Shiraishi: It's fine, Saiki. I'm used to it.
Shirakawa Chitose suddenly added: "Really? Actually, compared to that, I feel like that Shikimori-san in your class seems even closer to Saiki-kun, no?"
Akazawa Itsuki nodded: "Yeah, seems like it."
Akazawa Itsuki and Shirakawa Chitose nodded at each other, then looked at Saiki. The two leaned in close, whispering conspiratorially with their arms around each other.
[We're just classmates.]
Akazawa Itsuki: "Hahaha, it's fine, just kidding. So with two major beauties like Kubo-san and Shikimori-san around you at school, your standards must be pretty high by now. No way you'd be hiding anyone at home."
Shirakawa Chitose nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. Even if you were hiding someone, she'd have to be a beauty, right? Someone like Shiina-san, for example."
Akazawa Itsuki: "Hey hey, Chi, Shiina-san is super popular. She's literally the class angel."
Saiki ignored them and walked straight into the game center.
As soon as he stepped inside, Saiki saw a completely different scene. The game center looked brand new, with lots of new attractions added.
[Wow, I didn't expect this. It's only been a little over a month since I last came, and they already renovated the whole place?]
Akazawa Itsuki followed him in: "Hey, Saiki! Didn't you know? This game center is super lively. They basically renovate or add something new almost every month. When it's really busy, they even bring in extra stuff."
[Ah, I didn't know about that. I didn't realize this place was so popular.]
Shirakawa Chitose placed a finger against her lips: "That's right. On this street, students from tons of schools come here all the time. From age 6 and up, to 60 and below—lots of people."
[That already doesn't sound like it's just students anymore.]
Akazawa Itsuki grabbed Saiki and started walking, completely forgetting about his own girlfriend: "Alright alright, enough chit-chat. Let's compete!"
Dragged along by Akazawa Itsuki, Saiki made a face full of disgust.
[Of course it's another showdown.]
Shirakawa Chitose, abandoned by her boyfriend, stood stunned for two seconds before hurrying after them.
"Hey! Wait for me too!"