Protect Our Ayano-chan

At this moment, Akimoto Yoichi and Suzuran Ayano had already arrived at the door of Class A's classroom.

The moment the six-foot-one Akimoto Yoichi appeared, he once again drew the attention of the rest of the class.

As soon as she entered the classroom, Suzuran Ayano spoke first.

"Hmm? Maya-chan? It really is Maya-chan! I saw your name on the class assignment list before! I didn't expect it to really be you!"

"Yeah, Ayano-chan! Come over here! I'm so happy! We get to be together again, Ayano-chan!"

"That's right. With Maya-chan here, we'll definitely have fun!"

Having found her middle school best friend, Suzuran Ayano naturally headed toward the seats over there.

Akimoto Yoichi also ducked his head beneath the doorway and entered the classroom.

The two walked in one after the other.

"Maya-chan! This is Akimoto Yoichi, a new friend I made. He's in Class A too."

After walking up to her best friend and taking her hand, Suzuran Ayano introduced Akimoto Yoichi.

"Hello, I'm Akimoto Yoichi. Nice to meet you," Akimoto Yoichi greeted her.

He did not see a character panel above the lively girl with twin tails and panda hair clips.

That meant she was a supporting female character, not a heroine.

Although she had no BUFFs for him to benefit from, as long as she was a normal person, Akimoto Yoichi would not be as resistant toward her as he was toward Nishida Yuki.

"H-hello, I'm Kuroo Maya. Nice to meet you." The twin-tailed girl was clearly a little afraid of Suzuran Ayano's new friend.

That made sense. If Akimoto Yoichi had not helped Suzuran Ayano—

He would not have had the chance to get along with Suzuran Ayano like this. Of course, Fukayama Midori's contrast had also played a part.

Especially considering how stark the contrast was between Akimoto Yoichi's appearance and his inner self.

"Mm, you two chat. I'll sit over there." Akimoto Yoichi glanced at the empty seats around them and chose one in the first row by the window.

Akimoto Yoichi had resolved to become a good student.

Naturally, the first row was the most convenient place for studying and listening to lessons.

Of course, Akimoto Yoichi's six-foot-one height could be troublesome, but sitting in the window-side seat at the edge would solve that. No one dared raise an objection, either.

Private Izuki Academy was relatively free-spirited and did not assign seats by student number like other high schools.

The freshmen were allowed to choose their own seats.

In fact, choosing seats could more or less determine one's future social circle.

Social butterflies and popular kids gathered together, while otaku only stayed with fellow anime fans.

In a game or anime series, these little groups would undoubtedly spark all kinds of conflicts. It was practically a traditional part of the setting.

But with Akimoto Yoichi here, the Blondie who had developed earlier than everyone else was the true center of trouble in Class A.

With his appearance, no one in Class A wanted to draw his attention. No one wanted to stir up trouble.

The students around him were all somewhat on edge. They did not even dare speak loudly, afraid Akimoto Yoichi would pick a fight with them.

"Ayano-chan, that Akimoto-kun hasn't threatened you, has he?" Kuroo Maya quietly tugged at Suzuran Ayano and asked.

Everyone had seen Suzuran Ayano together with Akimoto Yoichi just now.

The two of them looked very familiar with each other.

Others might misunderstand Suzuran Ayano, but Kuroo Maya knew very well that Suzuran Ayano was not the kind of person who would casually hang around with a Blondie.

Besides, Ayano already had a childhood friend.

"No, no, how could he? Akimoto-kun helped me escape from several high school students from another school who were trying to pick a fight. How could he threaten me?" Suzuran Ayano laughed at her best friend's concern.

But when Suzuran Ayano looked again at Akimoto Yoichi, who was earnestly memorizing English words from a little notebook, the corners of her lips could not help but curl upward.

Who would have thought that Akimoto Yoichi, who looked like that on the outside, was actually just a high school student who wanted to get into the best university?

"Akimoto-kun wants to get into Todai, so he's working desperately hard right now."

"Even though I've known Akimoto-kun for less than a day, I know that he's very gentle and dependable."

"Maya-chan, don't worry either. After some time, you'll understand Akimoto-kun too. Oh, as long as you don't disturb Akimoto-kun while he's studying, he won't lose his temper."

Watching her best friend speak so enthusiastically in front of her, going on about how good a Blondie was—

Kuroo Maya still found it hard to believe so easily.

As Suzuran Ayano's best friend, she had to support her properly. What if this Akimoto-kun was just pretending??

"Ayano-chan, is it really okay for you to be this excitedly talking about Akimoto-kun this and Akimoto-kun that?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean! Haven't you always liked your childhood friend, Fukayama Midori from the class next door in middle school?"

When Kuroo Maya mentioned Fukayama Midori's name, the excitement on Suzuran Ayano's face gradually faded.

"Hmph. I don't want to hear that guy's name for now."

Seeing Suzuran Ayano's reaction, Kuroo Maya immediately understood.

"Oh, did you two fight again?"

"I wouldn't get angry over that guy."

"I get it. So that's why you're praising Akimoto-kun so much. Are you cheating?"

"What do you mean, cheating!? I'm not!" Suzuran Ayano blushed as she started playfully scuffling with Kuroo Maya.

"I was never dating that Fukayama guy in the first place, so where would cheating even come from?"

"Right now, he's definitely staring at other girls again."

"To him, I'm just an annoying old lady. Maya-chan, you saw it too, right? At the entrance ceremony, I slapped him."

Kuroo Maya had certainly seen Suzuran Ayano slap Fukayama Midori.

She had not known what happened before, but now she understood.

Fukayama Midori had failed to notice Suzuran Ayano's feelings and had even looked at other girls right in front of her.

"You two... You used to fight all the time in middle school. Everyone said you were the perfect couple, but you're still like this in high school. You really haven't grown at all."

Kuroo Maya was helpless when it came to Suzuran Ayano's feelings never reaching Fukayama Midori.

That was simply Suzuran Ayano's personality. In front of Fukayama Midori, she always unconsciously became harsh and sharp-tongued, while Fukayama Midori remained completely oblivious to her feelings.

Though these two were childhood friends, they were more unfamiliar with each other than strangers.

"I've already decided that I'm not going to bother with that guy anymore!" Suzuran Ayano voiced a decision she had made long ago.

"Thinking about it carefully, it's not just that Fukayama got used to my taking care of him. I got used to taking care of him too."

"But after all these years, that guy is dense as a brick, and it's just too pathetic for me to keep revolving around him."

"So, I've decided to keep some distance from Fukayama!"

That was not surprising. Kuroo Maya instead felt that Suzuran Ayano had held on for far too long.

If it were her, and Fukayama Midori were that dense, she would have tried confessing.

If he rejected her, she would move on from those feelings without regret. If he accepted, then they could start dating naturally.

But Suzuran Ayano's personality left her without the courage to confess, while Fukayama Midori was so dense that the two of them were only wearing each other down.

Hmm? Could that be why—

Suzuran Ayano had let Akimoto Yoichi take advantage of the opening?

Thinking this, Kuroo Maya's heart tightened as she looked at Akimoto Yoichi's back.

No, she had to protect Suzuran Ayano properly!

The class bell rang.