"You're still here?" Ryūta glanced at his watch, then looked up at the girl standing in front of them, clearly surprised.
"Mhm..." Sanae nodded, then continued a bit hesitantly. "Naonon had something urgent come up, so... I wasn't sure how to spend the afternoon..."
"So you waited here for us?" Shinji finished her thought, prompting the girl to gather her courage.
"Yes. Would it be okay if I tagged along with you?"
The two boys fell silent, unsure of what to say. Neither of them wanted to worry their classmate or drag her into trouble.
"You're heading to the teahouse, right?" Sanae asked again, but Ryūta and Shinji still didn't respond.
They knew they had to say something soon to avoid raising suspicion, but without a chance to coordinate, their answers ended up clashing.
"Yeah, we are. We'd be glad to have you join us. Right, Ryūta?" Shinji finally said, half-turning toward his friend, who froze on the spot.
"Thank you!" Sanae beamed with joy, so thrilled she didn't even notice the two boys whispering to each other.
"Shinji, what were you thinking?" Ryūta said under his breath. "The teahouse wasn't part of the plan, and neither was bringing anyone else, especially not her."
"What, would you rather tell her the truth? Besides, we don't even have a plan yet. And on an empty stomach, we're not likely to come up with one," Shinji argued. But before he could go on, Sanae suddenly popped up between them.
"By the way, why are you stumbling around like you've had a few drinks? And what happened to your chin?"
The boys jumped apart in surprise, blurting out different explanations at the same time.
"I fell!"
"He fell down!"
"I fell down! The stairs!" Ryūta corrected himself, laughing.
The girl stared at him for a moment, confused and suspicious. Then she smiled.
"So, it turns out you can be clumsy too!"
Relieved, the two boys continued walking a half-step behind her, now on an unplanned detour.
Although Ryūta wanted to figure out whether Nao had said anything to her friend about her "urgent matter," he didn't think he had much chance of finding out. In the end, he only asked one question.
"Why did you wait for us? Why didn't you just go home?"
The girl stayed quiet for a moment, then replied with her eyes downcast.
"Because I'm scared to be alone… ever since that night…"
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked…"
Ryūta apologized, but Sanae didn't respond. It was clear that whatever she was dealing with was more than she could handle on her own. That realization didn't make it any easier on Ryūta's conscience, especially since he couldn't help but feel responsible, even if he didn't do anything wrong.
"I wish there were something I could do for her. But right now, I need to focus on the president… Wait a second! Maybe I can do something!"
He suddenly stopped in his tracks, just outside a restaurant that specialized in soups.
"How about we eat something proper for a change? My treat," he offered, turning to the others.
Sanae perked up right away.
"Ramen? Sounds good!"
"Well, why not?" Shinji nodded in agreement, and with that, they headed inside.
"Even if I can't take her fear away, if I can help her enjoy herself, even just for an afternoon, then this detour was worth it."
Although it was around dinnertime, the restaurant wasn't particularly crowded. They quickly found an open table meant for four.
Ryūta and Shinji sat across from each other out of habit, which left Sanae to choose a seat beside one of them. She hesitated for a moment.
Ryūta noticed and decided to move over to sit next to his friend, but just as he started to stand, she suddenly slid into the seat beside him.
The two boys exchanged puzzled glances. Less than half a minute later, a waiter approached their table.
"Good evening! What can I get for you?" the waiter asked.
"Good evening! I'd like a miso ramen, please," Shinji said right away. Once the order was noted, the man turned to the other two.
Ryūta kept studying the menu for a while, unlike Sanae, who didn't even glance at it. She spent the entire time watching the boy, as if waiting for him to decide first.
"I'll have the chashu ramen," Ryūta finally said.
"In that case, I'll have the same!" Sanae chimed in.
"Just a moment, it'll be ready soon," the waiter replied, then returned to the counter.
For a while, the three of them sat in silence, until Sanae finally broke it.
"How about we pass the time while we wait? Maybe we could each share a little something about ourselves," she suggested.
"Great idea!" Shinji agreed.
"And since it was your idea, you can go first," Ryūta added with a smirk.
"What? That's not fair!" she protested, puffing out her cheeks.
"Alright, I'll start then," Shinji offered, taking pity on her. "I guess I don't need to say my name again. As you both know, I'm part of the student council, so like before, feel free to come to me if you ever need help. Lately, I've been spending my free time with Ryūta, and when I'm at home, I usually solve puzzles and other logic challenges. My favorite color is green, and I get seasick pretty easily. Hmm... So, next up is... Ryūta?"
"Uh... okay," the boy said, taking over a bit hesitantly. "The truth is, there's not much interesting about me. I've been living alone in a small rented apartment since my fourteenth birthday. In my spare time, well, when I'm not with Shinji, I mostly study. Trying to catch up on stuff I've missed. As for hobbies... I wouldn't really call it a hobby, and I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty good at martial arts, especially swordsmanship. My favorite color is... probably brown. I think that's about it," he said, trailing off.
In truth, there was a lot more he could have shared, but he didn't want to bring down the mood.
"Looks like I'm the only one left to–" Sanae began, but just then, the waiter returned unexpectedly with their bowls of soup.
"Thank you for your patience! Enjoy your meal!" the man said cheerfully as he set the dishes down in front of them.
"Well, I guess I missed my chance!" Sanae tried again, but this time both boys jumped in to reassure her.
"Don't worry!" Shinji said first, and Ryūta picked up right after him.
"You're not getting out of it that easily!"
"Oh no..." Sanae murmured, brushing her cheek with a fingertip in embarrassment. The three of them snapped apart their chopsticks and dug in together.
"Let's eat!"
After Ryūta finished his ramen, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them again, he noticed Shinji staring at his once-empty bowl with a puzzled expression. Glancing down, Ryūta saw that his friend's attention had been drawn to a single slice of pork resting untouched at the rim of the intricately patterned porcelain bowl.
He didn't say anything. Instead, he followed his friend's gaze to the girl sitting next to him, who blushed and cast occasional, hesitant glances in his direction.
"You're giving that to me?" Ryūta asked. Sanae replied in a voice barely above a whisper.
"As a thank-you..."
"You don't have to do that. Go ahead and eat it," he said with a warm smile, gently placing the piece of meat back into her bowl.
"I'm on a diet!" she insisted, nudging it toward him again.
"The noodles have way more calories than that," he pointed out.
Back and forth they passed the slice, until finally, the girl admitted the real reason.
"I don't really like pork..."
"Then why did you order the chashu ramen?" the boy asked, puzzled, glancing at her. But Sanae was already blushing furiously.
"Because that's what you picked for yourself!"
"Okay, I give up," Ryūta sighed as he raised the bowl to his lips and devoured the last bite of her leftovers.
Once the three of them had finished eating, they paid the bill and stepped outside the restaurant. Stretching their stiff limbs in front of the building, they took a moment to recover.
"That hit the spot. It's been ages since I had ramen," Sanae said with a satisfied sigh.
But Ryūta didn't give her much time to rest.
"So, ready to keep going?"
"Where to?" she asked, surprised.
"The tea house. Dessert's still waiting," Shinji replied with a smile.
"Isn't that a bit much?"
"Don't worry, it's on me."
"That's not what I meant. Are you sure I'm not being a bother?" Sanae looked back and forth between the two boys uncertainly.
"Of course not. We've got time, and honestly, the more the merrier," Ryūta assured her, though he felt a twinge of doubt even as he said it.
"In that case, I'll take you up on the offer," she said, lighting up again, and less than ten minutes later, they arrived at their original unplanned stop.
Though it was completely dark outside, it wasn't late yet. And that night, the tea house was celebrating its anniversary, staying open later than usual and offering generous discounts to its guests. Consequently, long lines had formed at the counters, moving slowly as customers struggled to choose from the overwhelming selection.
The two boys had already decided what they wanted. After confirming that their picks were still available, they stepped aside without hesitation. Sanae, on the other hand, kept scanning the display case again and again, unable to make up her mind. Eventually, she found herself standing among the other undecided patrons.
Noticing the uncertainty on her face, Ryūta spoke up.
"If you can't decide, how about a slice of strawberry cheesecake? That's what we're getting."
"Yeah, I think that sounds good," the girl replied.
It took them about fifteen minutes to reach the counter and finally get their cheesecake, topped with strawberry sauce just like they'd asked. Without hesitation, they grabbed the nearest empty table and sat down. As soon as all three of them dipped their forks in and tasted the first bite, Sanae let out an enthusiastic cry.
"Wow, this is heavenly! Now I get why I see you two here every day!"
"You see us?" The boys exchanged surprised glances.
"Yeah. There's a bookstore next to this place. I stop by every day and hang out there for a while while I wait for Naonon. Speaking of which, do you mind if I pop over there again today for a bit?" she asked with her hands pressed together as if in prayer.
The boys, seizing the chance to tease her, pretended to consider her request seriously.
"Hmm… I don't know... What do you think?" Shinji interlaced his fingers and turned to his friend with a mock-thoughtful look.
"I'd say 'go ahead,' but you haven't told us anything about yourself yet," Ryūta replied with the same mock seriousness, his gaze fixed on Sanae, who eventually gave in.
"Alright, fine! But I'm not good at talking about myself, so you ask the questions!"
The two boys nodded, accepting her terms.
"Okay, let's start with something easy. What's your favorite food?" Shinji posed the first question.
"Strawberry cheesecake," the girl answered without hesitation. Despite the sparkle in her eyes, her classmates couldn't quite take her seriously.
"What do you like to do?" Ryūta followed up.
"Eat strawberry cheesecake…" Sanae shot back quickly, then seemed to realize she'd need to try a bit harder and added, "And read."
"What kind of books do you like? Any favorite genres, topics, or authors?" asked Shinji again, his voice tinged with curiosity.
"Not really. I read whatever catches my interest. The other day, for instance, I came across this colorful cookbook. I might check it again next time, maybe it even has the cheeseca–"
"Yes, yes, moving on!" the boy interrupted with a friendly grin.
"Do you like sports?"
"I like running. It's the only thing I'm actually good at."
They continued taking turns with the questions, and the girl answered most of them without a second thought, until one seemingly simple question, asked by the boy with glasses, held much deeper meaning.
"And what's your favorite color?"
Sanae didn't respond right away. She glanced around the room, searching both near and far, unable to settle on an answer. Her eyes finally landed on her dessert.
"I like white and red."
Though both boys had a feeling the answer would somehow tie back to the cheesecake, they were still caught off guard. Especially Ryūta, when a moment later the girl looked him in the eye for a long time and added with a smile:
"But I think blue might be my favorite after all."
After the unexpected confession, Shinji was left with his mouth hanging open, while Sanae suddenly covered her own, blushing more and more with each passing second. She quickly popped the last bite of cake into her mouth, chewed and swallowed with some difficulty, then jumped to her feet.
"Alright, if you don't mind, I'm going to pop out for a bit! Don't leave without me!" she said, and with that, she slipped out of the teahouse.
"What was that?" Ryūta finally managed, still stunned. His friend burst out laughing.
"Now it all makes sense! Why didn't you tell me this is what's going on between you two?"
"What?" Ryūta stared at him, completely lost.
"Wait… is it not mutual?" the boy with glasses asked, suddenly uncertain.
"What are you talking about?"
"Hold on…! Don't tell me you haven't even noticed!"
"Noticed what?"
"You're unbelievably slow sometimes, you know that?" Shinji remarked, clearly in shock, though it didn't help much.
"What are you talking about?"
"Sanae is head over heels for you!"
Ryūta tried to keep a straight face, but the way his eyes wandered betrayed him. He had clearly entertained the thought, and eventually, a proud yet humble laugh escaped him.
"Come on, that's impossible."
"Fine, maybe I misread something..." his friend replied, dropping the subject. "But at least now you can finally breathe easy."
"What do you mean?" Ryūta asked, growing serious again.
"Sanae hadn't been following us. She had just come here for the bookstore."
"I'm still not entirely convinced."
"You're still questioning her motives?" Shinji sighed.
"Not exactly. But she knew where I lived, and I can't believe that was just a coincidence. That's a slum. There's no reason for her to be there."
"So either she really was following you, or Nao told her where you live."
"Yeah. But didn't you say that would be abuse, and that she'd never do something like that?"
"If she's actually connected to the people who attacked you, that might be the least of her crimes."
As the minutes passed, the atmosphere between them grew heavier. Neither of them even glanced at their pastries anymore. Eventually, Ryūta broke the silence.
"Shinji, what if I went alone after all?" he asked.
"I thought we already settled that," the boy with glasses began, but Ryūta cut him off before he could finish.
"Yeah, but if this really is a trap, there's no sense in both of us walking into it. I've already been attacked once, so it's better if I go alone. You don't need to get involved."
"You're asking me to just sit back and do nothing?" Shinji clenched his fists, but his friend's voice remained calm.
"No. I'm asking you to send help if I don't check in on time. And in the meantime, gather as much information as you can. You're way better at that than I am."
The boy hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.
"Alright... just be really careful, okay?"
That made the other smile.
"I'm always careful," he said, but his friend nudged him in the shin with his foot as a reminder. He flinched.
"Ow..."
"Yeah, that's exactly why you ended up like this," Shinji said with a wry expression, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "By the way, we haven't exchanged numbers yet, have we? I think it's about time."
"Good idea. It'll make communication a lot easier," Ryūta agreed. But before he could take out his own phone, a metallic sound rang out nearby, stopping him cold. A strange feeling crept over him.