A Study Group Organized by Ichinose

The campus cafeteria.

Amikura Mako sat down across from Etsuka with her tray.

Horikita Etsuka glanced at her tray and asked in surprise, "Amikura, are you eating so little?"

"Hehe, not really." Amikura Mako rested her chin in her hands and explained, "This is enough for me. And unlike some people, I can't eat whatever I want without gaining weight, so I have to watch what I eat."

Etsuka looked at her tall figure and smiled. "You can let yourself indulge a little, Amikura. You're still a long way from getting fat."

Amikura's eyes curved into crescents. "Then I'll take that as a compliment, Horikita."

Horikita Etsuka continued eating, unmoved. "I'm just stating a fact."

Seeing Etsuka like that only made Amikura happier. Resting her chin on her hand, she quietly watched him eat. "Horikita, you really are different from everyone else."

"Different?" Horikita Etsuka stopped eating and looked up at her curiously. "How am I different?"

Amikura Mako seemed to ponder it. "I don't know. You just come across as very sincere and genuine when you talk."

"Is that so?" Horikita Etsuka smiled, then asked, "But what did you want to ask me about, Amikura? I'm really curious."

"It's nothing much. Ichinose asked me to invite you to join the study group. If anyone fails the next exam, they could be expelled, so Ichinose wants everyone to study harder. Since you're so good at studying, she thought she'd invite you."

"Invite me?" Horikita Etsuka looked curiously at the purple-haired girl sitting across from him. "Then why didn't Ichinose ask me herself? Why trouble you with it?"

"It's no trouble at all!" Amikura quickly waved her hands. Then, under the table, she fidgeted with them, her face turning slightly red.

"Actually, Ichinose has some things going on, so she asked me to do it."

Horikita Etsuka raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You're such a kind person, Amikura. It's wonderful having you in our class."

Amikura Mako lowered her head slightly. "I... I'm not that kind."

"Amikura."

"Hm? What is it?"

The next moment, Horikita Etsuka suddenly leaned closer. Amikura could even feel his breath against her.

Her heart raced, and her gaze wavered.

Horikita Etsuka spoke slowly:

"Why do I get the feeling... you're a little nervous?"

Amikura tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and turned her head slightly.

"I'm... not, am I? I don't feel nervous."

Horikita Etsuka smiled and sat back down. "I'm just teasing you, Amikura."

For some reason, Amikura finally let out a breath of relief. Then she put her hands on her hips and puffed up indignantly. "Whether you were joking or not, I wasn't nervous!"

"All right, all right. You weren't nervous." Horikita Etsuka smiled, but then spotted two familiar figures. "Oh? Aren't those Ichinose and Shiranami?"

Amikura Mako immediately followed Horikita Etsuka's gaze, looking rather tense.

Ichinose and Shiranami sat down with their arms linked. Shiranami even fed Ichinose a bite with her own spoon. They looked incredibly close.

When she saw that Ichinose and the others hadn't noticed her, Amikura finally relaxed.

But Horikita Etsuka asked curiously, "Do you girls share everything with each other? You two look very close."

"Huh? Of course not!" Amikura immediately shook her head. She didn't want Etsuka to get that impression of her.

"Well... Shiranami's just like that, and Ichinose is such a nice person that she can't bring herself to turn anyone down. That's why you're seeing what you're seeing."

"Ah, I see." Horikita Etsuka nodded in understanding, then leaned forward and whispered, "Shiranami... does she like girls?"

"Shh!" Amikura immediately made a silencing gesture. "Horikita, don't go saying things like that. It wouldn't be good for Shiranami if that got around the class, and besides, we can't be sure yet."

"Got it." Horikita Etsuka made an OK sign to show he understood.

After they finished eating, the two of them walked back toward the dorms. The sun was about to set, and the twilight made the campus feel even quieter.

Amikura Mako walked beside Horikita Etsuka with her hands behind her back, taking playful little steps.

Horikita Etsuka couldn't help but sigh.

So this is campus life. I'm grateful to my big sister again for putting me in Class D.

"Horikita, is there a girl you like?" Amikura suddenly asked out of the blue.

Horikita Etsuka turned to look at her. She kept walking as if she hadn't said anything.

He smiled and replied casually, "A girl I like? Not at the moment."

At his answer, Amikura's face visibly brightened. She asked again, "Then what kind of girl do you like, Horikita?"

"What kind of girl do I like? Let me think." Horikita Etsuka rubbed his chin as he considered it. "A girl who doesn't make a fuss over nothing."

"What else?" Amikura asked curiously.

"A girl who doesn't eat too much."

Amikura blinked. "Is that all?"

"A girl who isn't phony."

Etsuka's answers put Amikura in a better mood. She felt that she fit all those qualities perfectly!

Horikita Etsuka glanced at the cheerful Amikura, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from rising.

What he said was true, but if you thought about it carefully, didn't just about any normal girl fit those qualities?

Amikura was simply a lively, innocent girl who was easy to fool. If Ichinose or Suzune had heard that, they would have realized something was off in seconds.

"Horikita, are we friends?" Amikura asked.

Horikita Etsuka slowly shook his head. "We're not just friends. We're good friends. So, Amikura, can I call you Mako?"

Amikura lit up. Horikita Etsuka had said exactly what she had wanted to say. She nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, Etsuka!"

Then she brought a cup of lemonade from behind her back and held it out to Horikita Etsuka. "Here, Etsuka!"

Horikita Etsuka froze, then slowly took it with one hand. "Mako, when did you buy this?"

Amikura smiled and tapped her cheek with her index finger. "Hehe, while you were waiting for me to use the bathroom."

Horikita Etsuka looked at the lemonade in his hand and smiled. "You're really lucky, Amikura. You happened to buy my favorite drink."

"No!" Amikura shook her finger. "I noticed that you like it!"

"You noticed?"

"Yeah! I saw you go out of your way to buy it at the last get-together!"

Thump, thump...

Horikita Etsuka suddenly felt his heart racing.

The two of them chatted as they stepped into the elevator.

When they reached the fifth floor, Amikura waved goodbye and reminded him, "Etsuka, don't forget to come to the library for the study group tomorrow afternoon!"

"Don't worry, I won't forget," Horikita Etsuka replied.

He had just turned to head back to his room when he saw Suzune standing by the doorway, arms crossed.

The two of them silently stared at each other...