Hatred?

"Honami, do you have some other feelings for me?" he suddenly asked.

"Huh? W-what other feelings?" Ichinose was taken aback by his completely out-of-the-blue question.

Kazehara Tetsu pointed at the heart-shaped latte art in her cup and said with a serious expression, "Look, you apologized, and then you went out of your way to bring me a coffee with a 'heart' on it. Come on, admit it. Ever since you bumped into me, you fell in love at first sight and have been looking for a chance to get close to me, haven't you?"

"Pfft... cough, cough!"

The sip of slushie Ichinose had just taken nearly came spraying out of her mouth.

She choked and coughed repeatedly, her fair cheeks instantly turning bright red. It was hard to tell if it was from choking or embarrassment.

She hurriedly grabbed a tissue and wiped her mouth. "Don't make things up! Th-this was the barista's doing. What does it have to do with me? Besides, who would fall in love at first sight with a flirt like you?"

"Oh? So the barista made it. What a shame."

Kazehara Tetsu sighed in mock disappointment, then took a leisurely sip of his coffee. "But you just called me a flirt?"

"Aren't you?"

Ichinose had finally caught her breath. Puffing out her cheeks, she quietly protested, "Who stares at a girl's... that kind of place the moment they meet, and then says all sorts of weird things?"

"Honami, I'm just stating an objective fact. You've got such impressive assets, but if you don't let other people admire and praise them, wouldn't that be a waste of resources?"

His argument was bold and completely nonsensical, dressing up lechery in such high-minded language.

Ichinose opened her mouth to argue, but couldn't find the right words to respond to that shameless logic.

"I'm not talking about that anymore! And you can't just call someone by their first name the moment you meet them..."

"Fine, Honami. Got it, Honami."

"..."

Ichinose Honami gave up on trying to argue with him about it. "Anyway, you've had your coffee, so we're even! Don't tease me about this anymore!"

"Hmm... fine, let's leave it at that for now..." Kazehara Tetsu seemed lost in thought.

For the rest of their time together, Kazehara Tetsu stopped teasing her and chatted about some light, everyday topics instead.

"By the way, Honami, you must be pretty popular in Class B, right? You've got such a nice personality." Kazehara Tetsu asked as if it were just idle curiosity.

"Huh? N-no, not really!"

Ichinose quickly waved her hands, looking a little embarrassed. "Everyone's just really nice. My classmates all want us to get along."

"Oh? Getting along..."

There was a hint of amusement in Kazehara Tetsu's voice. "What a lovely ideal. Class B is lucky to have someone like you."

The unexpected praise left Ichinose at a loss. She lowered her head and quietly said, "I'm not as great as you say... I just want to do my best to help everyone."

"Help..."

Kazehara Tetsu looked into Ichinose's clear eyes. A nearly childlike idealism shone in them. "Honami, you're like the sun. You always want to bring light and warmth to everyone around you. But the sun shines so brightly that sometimes it burns those who try to get close—and even... burns itself."

Ichinose froze.

She had never heard anyone describe her that way before.

All her life, she had heard people praise her kindness, cheerfulness, and leadership.

This was the first time anyone, like Kazehara Tetsu, had pointed out the "danger" that might lie behind her personality.

"I..." For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.

"Never mind. That was just me spouting nonsense."

Seeing her lost in thought, Kazehara Tetsu changed the subject. "Let's not talk about anything so heavy. Got any plans for the weekend? Anywhere you're going?"

"The weekend... I'll probably go study at the Library with a few friends from class. We might have our first Quiz at the end of the month, so we should start preparing early," Ichinose replied.

"Oh... a Quiz? Our homeroom teacher hasn't said anything about that." Kazehara Tetsu seemed to remember something.

"Really? My homeroom teacher told us ages ago. I thought every class knew..." Ichinose Honami was surprised that Kazehara Tetsu hadn't heard about it.

"Huh... It feels like your homeroom teacher only told your class so she could get one over on a certain colleague."

"Uh... what?"

Ichinose Honami looked confused by Kazehara Tetsu's cryptic remark.

"Nothing. Just pretend I'm talking nonsense."

Kazehara Tetsu didn't give her a chance to ask any more questions. He turned his gaze to the window. "It's getting late. The 'culprit' has paid her compensation, so this 'victim' should head back to the Dormitory, satisfied."

"Thanks for treating me today, Honami. Even though it was a few days late, this 'heartfelt compensation' tasted pretty good."

He called her by her first name again, deliberately emphasizing the word "heartfelt."

"I-I told you it wasn't heartfelt! You..."

Ichinose Honami hurried to her feet, as if determined not to let him win on sheer force of presence. "And don't call me Honami anymore!"

"Got it, Honami." Kazehara Tetsu waved and turned toward the café entrance, leaving without a moment's hesitation.

Ichinose Honami stood there, watching until he had disappeared outside. Only then did she sit back down.

She picked up her spoon and absentmindedly prodded the slushie, which had already started to melt, but her gaze remained fixed on the empty seat across from her.

"What a... weirdo," she muttered.

"And what did he mean by that just now? Does Class A really not know about the Quiz?"

Had he simply forgotten? Or did he have something else planned?

Or were things between the classes just different to begin with?

A few minutes passed. Still unable to figure it out, she finally gave up and left the café.

At one of the Shopping Mall's exits, Kazehara Tetsu leaned against the wall with one hand in his pocket, idly playing with his phone in the other.

He didn't head back to the Dormitory right away. Instead, he lingered there for a while.

He looked at the contact information for Ichinose Honami he'd just gotten through their casual conversation, but his mind was elsewhere.

"Looks like Hoshinomiya's hatred for Chabashira goes way beyond what I imagined... She even gave them advance notice about a pointless little Quiz?"

He knew the Quiz was only meant to check the students' basic Academic Ability. Expulsion for failing wouldn't come into play until the official exams—in other words, the midterms and Final Exam.

Kazehara Tetsu slipped his phone back into his pocket, straightened up, and stretched.

He set off, joining the crowd flowing through the night toward the Dormitory.