Feeling the hand finally loosen, the girl hurriedly backed away and frantically wiped her eyes with her sleeves until even her eye sockets had turned bright red, until Ash, holding a handkerchief, could not help stepping toward her.
"You've cried your face all blotchy. Come on, Haruka, let me wipe it for you..."
Hey, the way you're backing away is psychologically hurtful, you know!
"No, Ash, I—" Taking a deep breath, Haruka forced a smile. "I'm... fine. Nothing's wrong."
Saya-classmate had the right to like anyone, and Ash had said he liked her too. If both of them felt that way, then I... how could I possibly stop their feelings for each other?
"Haruka."
Having no idea what the girl was agonizing over and unable to understand it, Ash frowned and shifted his gaze to Saya. The gentle smile she had worn while comforting Haruka earlier was still on her face.
Come to think of it, the way she hugged Haruka just now...
"You're not trying to cuckold me, are you?"
It couldn't be like that incident with Twilight before, could it? Pulling the same trick twice was a little too much!
"I'm sorry, but I don't know what Ash-sensei means?" Saya tilted her head innocently, her ponytail swaying adorably behind her.
I'm really sorry, but I have perfectly healthy preferences for men.
"Could it be that Ash wants to watch girls together? That really is a little concerning..."
"I have absolutely no fetish like that, so let's talk about this later." Raising a hand, Ash forcibly cut off the increasingly derailed topic. His eyes never left Saya, especially since Kirara's earlier words made him even less able to relax.
I have no proof at all, but I can't help feeling that you really did something.
"What exactly did you