Take a Break to Fall in Love

A new day.

Fukayama Midori opened his eyes to find it was already nine-thirty in the morning.

Usually, Fukayama Natsuki would have come to wake him up by now, but surprisingly, she hadn't appeared today.

That Natsuki, is she still angry because I ignored her yesterday? Now I'm running behind schedule.

After grumbling a few complaints, Fukayama Midori had to hurry.

Although he had decided to get some sleep early last night, he couldn't resist playing games for a while, burning through several magazines of ammo.

He didn't fall asleep until after two, though he had happily exchanged many messages with Nagase Kumari.

Normally, no one was around to chat with him at that hour; if he messaged Ayano out of boredom, he would only get scolded and lectured about staying up late and being lazy.

Nagase Kumari was different; they got along very well.

Looking at the long chat history from last night, a smile couldn't help but spread across Fukayama Midori's face, especially when he saw the "Good night (smile)" emoji Nagase Kumari had sent at the very end.

After quickly getting dressed and washing up, Fukayama Midori went downstairs.

"That Natsuki, did she not even make breakfast?"

"What a troublesome girl. I didn't even do anything yesterday, did I? Getting angry for no reason, just like that Suzuran. Whatever, I'll bring her some snacks on my way back."

"Let's see what I can have for breakfast. Forget it, I'll just eat some crackers."

After opening the fridge and finding nothing edible, he grabbed yesterday's crackers and ate a few bites with some juice before heading out.

The time he agreed upon with Nagase Kumari was ten o'clock, and he didn't want to be late.

Once outside, he rode his bicycle to the subway station and arrived in Shibuya after a ride of a few stops that took over ten minutes.

Stepping out of the station, Fukayama Midori glanced at the clock standing in the plaza.

Nine-fifty-eight.

Just in time. Fukayama Midori sat down by a flower bed, feeling a bit uneasy as he waited with his phone in hand.

Scanning the surrounding crowd, he saw people his own age everywhere, though they were all in groups.

Thinking that he would soon have a companion of his own, Fukayama Midori couldn't help but feel his heart racing with excitement.

Of course, he wasn't the only one feeling excited at that moment.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh!"

"That girl over there is so cute!"

"She really is. Should we go over and hit on her?"

"Why don't you go?"

"How about rock-paper-scissors?"

"Alright, it's settled!"

Not far away, a whisper among some boys caught Fukayama Midori's attention. He looked up and saw a face that seemed familiar.

It was a beautiful girl with the aura of an ice queen.

The spirited braid beneath her sun hat swayed with her steps, and her refined, delicate features were devoid of makeup yet still eye-catching.

A white short-sleeved shirt paired with a light-colored pleated skirt, matched with canvas shoes and a backpack featuring a cartoon character, gave her a fresh, natural style full of youthful energy.

She really did look like a model.

Fukayama Midori sighed in admiration, but looking at her face, he felt it was very familiar—was she also a student at Izuki Academy?

However, Fukayama Midori didn't have the courage to ask for her name. Instead, to avoid being seen, he shifted his position to the other side of the plaza's fountain.

The girl was clearly using the fountain as a meeting point as well, waiting for someone.

"Hey, who are you waiting for? Want to come hang out with us?"

"Yeah, we'll take you to get something to eat and have some fun."

"Little sister, you're so cute, you must be a model, right?"

The boys who had been playing rock-paper-scissors earlier were beaten to the punch by a group of loafers loitering on the street corner who had approached her first.

The original group of boys immediately lowered their heads and looked away; they didn't want any contact with these troublemakers.

Seeing this, Fukayama Midori's first reaction was also to avoid trouble.

However, since the meeting spot he agreed on with Nagase Kumari was right here, Fukayama Midori couldn't leave. He was also worried about what might happen if Nagase Kumari got pestered by these guys, so he could only sit on the side where he wouldn't be noticed.

"Please move along. I am waiting for someone and have no interest in wasting my time with you."

The braided beauty spoke, rejecting their advances without mercy.

She seemed very calm.

However, her voice sounded even more familiar to Fukayama Midori, though he still couldn't recall who she was.

"Oh? What's the harm? You're so cute, what's wrong with hanging out with us?"

"Exactly. We're just asking you politely, there's no need to be like that."

"Why don't we go over there and talk? It'll be quick. If you have any friends with you, feel free to bring them along too, hahahahaha."

The guys hitting on her didn't give up; instead, they became even more persistent.

Several men stepped forward, closing the distance to the beautiful girl with the braided hair.

Fukayama Midori stole a glance at the scene, and his inner conflict began to brew once again.

The girl seemed to be from the same academy as him; if he stepped in now and things went well, he might be able to scare off those three guys.

But if things didn't go well, there was a high probability he would get beaten up, and if that happened, his date with Nagase Kumari might be ruined. Playing the hero always came with a price.

"I advise you to leave immediately, otherwise you will pay the price for this."

The braided girl didn't panic, speaking with her usual calm and cold demeanor.

At this moment, her hand reached into her rather large bag.

However, the three guys had no intention of backing down, merely mocking the girl for thinking she could put up any sort of decent resistance.

Watching the braided girl fall into danger, Fukayama Midori clenched his fists and stood up anyway.

"Ah, isn't that Nagase? Sorry to keep you waiting, I'm late."

Saying this, Fukayama Midori walked over, not knowing what to do with his hands, and pretended to be an acquaintance as he greeted the girl.

"Huh? What kind of thing are you?"

"This kid has been there the whole time, right? I saw you a long time ago. What are you trying to pull now? Get lost! Get the hell out of here!"

"Do you need a beating? Huh? How could a loser like you be on a date with such a cute chick? Before we decide to lay a hand on you, you'd better... ah!"

Just as the men shifted their target to Fukayama Midori and prepared to attack him.

As Fukayama Midori regretted his meddling, a tall Blondie appeared in his field of vision, reaching out to grab the tops of two of the men's heads.

"Then take a look at me. Can I go on a date with this cute chick? Ah!"

The final "ah" was nothing short of a lion's roar.

Looking at this Blondie who was a head taller than them and so vicious, the men, having had a large chunk of their hair ripped out, scrambled away in a panic.

Fukayama Midori let out a long sigh of relief; at least he hadn't been beaten up.

The girl who had been rescued, however, sounded a bit annoyed.

"Akimoto-kun, why did you have to shout so loudly just now? Even if you hadn't stepped in, I could have handled those three."

Looking at the head of the disciplinary committee before him, who had her hand in her bag clutching a wooden sword, Akimoto Yoichi shrugged his shoulders.

"I was just worried you'd break these guys. If they ended up in the hospital, wouldn't our date today be ruined?"

Today was the day Akimoto Yoichi had asked Ise Yuri out.

The two had agreed to meet at this plaza in Shibuya, and Akimoto Yoichi was a little late.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. I didn't have much money in my pocket, so I ran here."

"No, I just got here too. Also, we are not on a date."

"Yeah, yeah, sure..."

Huh? Ise Yuri!? That head of the disciplinary committee?!

Fukayama Midori finally realized it in a flash of clarity. The beautiful girl with the braided hair before him, who looked like a model, overlapped with the image of the disciplinary committee head known as Onimen back at school.

But why would the head of the disciplinary committee be hanging out with a Blondie?