Love Letter

The two of them picked up their trays at the same time and headed for the return station.

The conversation was over. By mutual understanding, neither of them spoke again.

As they left the cafeteria together, a voice suddenly called from nearby, "Hoshino?"

Hoshino turned around and saw Sakura Airi standing some distance away, looking in their direction.

"Hello, Sakura. What a coincidence. Are you here to eat at the cafeteria?"

Sakura nodded timidly, her gaze drifting restlessly. Knowing full well how socially anxious she was, Hoshino took the initiative and said, "Sakura, this is Ayanokoji. We just finished eating at the cafeteria too."

Ayanokoji glanced at Sakura. Of course, he recognized this inconspicuous girl from their class and knew that Hoshino had been tutoring her.

Is she the person Hoshino chose? The thought flashed through Ayanokoji's mind, only to be quickly dismissed.

"Um, I have something to do later. See you."

After saying goodbye, Ayanokoji left.

Only after Ayanokoji had gone far enough for his figure to disappear did Sakura relax. She patted her chest and let out a breath. Noticing Hoshino's gaze, her little face reddened as she explained softly, "Ayanokoji hardly ever talks, and he feels so cold that he's a little scary."

"Cold, huh?" Hoshino smiled. "All right, don't overthink it. You two probably won't have much to do with each other in the future anyway."

Sakura glanced once more in the direction Ayanokoji had left.

"What is it, Sakura? Did you need something?"

"Mm... um..."

It was obvious from Sakura's hesitant manner that something was on her mind. After thinking for a moment, Hoshino took her hand.

"H-H-Hoshino!"

In just a few seconds, Sakura's face had turned bright red, as though steam might start pouring from her like a boiling kettle.

"Sakura, relax." Hoshino deliberately leaned close to her ear and whispered, "You came looking for me because you wanted to say something to me, right? If it's inconvenient here, shall we find somewhere quiet?"

Sakura's mind had already turned to mush, and she merely nodded on instinct.

With Hoshino leading the way, Sakura followed closely behind him. They did not speak again along the way and soon arrived at Hoshino's dorm room.

"Come in."

"Okay... Huh? This is... Hoshino's room?"

"That's right."

"Th-this..."

Sakura seemed to have been in a daze the whole time. She had only known to follow Hoshino and had not even noticed where they were going.

"Make yourself comfortable."

Hoshino gave her a simple greeting before stepping aside to pour some drinks. A moment later, he returned carrying two cups of coffee, only to find Sakura still standing there stiffly, looking uneasy.

"What's wrong? This isn't your first time here. Why are you being so formal?"

"Um..."

It really was not Sakura's first time here. She had come five or six times before under the pretense of study sessions.

But before, she had sometimes come with Hasebe, and sometimes with even more classmates. This was the first time she had come to Hoshino's room alone.

The thought made it impossible for Sakura to suppress the embarrassment in her heart.

Then she suddenly realized that, when she had walked here with Hoshino just now, they seemed to have still been holding hands...

There was no way no one had seen them walking from the cafeteria to the dormitory, right? Then wouldn't that mean—

Sakura's little head instantly became so hot it felt as if it were smoking.

Hoshino had not expected Sakura to have so many thoughts running through her mind. Seeing her still standing there in a daze, he reached out again, took her small hand, and pulled her somewhat forcefully to sit by the bed.

"All right, there's no one else here now. You can tell me what it is."

"Mm..." Sakura nodded, then took something from her schoolbag and handed it to Hoshino.

"What's this?" Hoshino frowned. It was a pink envelope sealed with a red heart-shaped sticker. There was no writing on it, but it was not hard to tell what kind of letter it was from its appearance.

"It was in my shoe locker this morning," Sakura said in a muffled voice.

Hoshino examined the envelope in his hand several times before asking, "Sakura, from the way you're talking, this doesn't seem to be an ordinary love letter?"

"Because... no one could possibly write a love letter to me..."

Hoshino laughed helplessly and reached out to pat Sakura's head. "That's not true. Sakura is cute, kind-hearted, and gentle with others. I think Sakura is very charming."

"...C-c-cute..." Sakura seemed to have been utterly defeated by Hoshino's very first sentence. Her face flushed as she murmured to herself.

Hoshino waited patiently for a while. Once Sakura had calmed down, he handed the love letter back to her. But Sakura did not take it.

"Could I ask Hoshino to read what's inside for me?"

"Huh?"

Reading someone else's letter, especially such a sensitive love letter, did not seem appropriate no matter how he thought about it.

"Please don't hesitate. This is my request."

Feeling the seriousness in Sakura's gaze, Hoshino nodded in understanding. Perhaps she had already vaguely guessed where this love letter had come from and instinctively recoiled from facing it.

Hoshino pinched the edge of the envelope and looked to Sakura again for confirmation. After receiving her affirmative reply, he tore it open with a rip and took out a sheet of light pink stationery.

"Then... I'm going to read it."

Hoshino said so, but the instant he clearly saw what was written on the paper, he immediately realized he should not have done that.

He made no sound, quickly scanning the letter from top to bottom before crumpling it into a ball.

Meeting Sakura's questioning gaze, Hoshino said calmly, "This isn't a love letter. It's just the boring delusion of some deranged person. It would be better if you didn't read it, Sakura."

Sakura nodded obediently. Although she had already expected as much, now that she had truly encountered something like this, a look of fear and unease still appeared on her delicate, pretty face.

"Sakura, do you trust me?"

"Huh? Of course I trust Hoshino."

Though she paused briefly in surprise, Sakura immediately gave him a definite answer.

"Good. Then leave this matter to me. I definitely won't let that pervert keep harassing you."

"Um..." Sakura said hesitantly, "What does Hoshino plan to do?"

"Do you want to know?" Hoshino smiled as he looked into her eyes. "Maybe it would be better if you didn't."

Sakura hesitated for a moment, but in the end she shook her head and said firmly, "I've thought it through. This is my problem, after all. I can't leave all of it to Hoshino."

"All right." Hoshino smiled. He saw her determination in the girl's eyes. "Since you say so, we'll do it together."

Now that Sakura was involved, some of the methods he had originally planned to use were no longer appropriate. In return, though, there were now some things Sakura could help with.

Hoshino leaned close to Sakura's ear and whispered his plan to her in detail. How could Sakura possibly endure such close contact? She could smell the boy's scent and feel his breath against her skin, and her sensitive earlobes instantly turned crimson.

Hoshino was doing it on purpose, of course. There were only the two of them in the room. What reason was there to whisper in her ear?

Teasing this incredibly shy Sakura a little was quite fun.

Judging by the way she looked, he had no idea whether she had actually heard a single word he said.