Chapter 41

Mako Someya clearly saw through Kageyama Sora's wandering thoughts. With a cunning smile, she changed the subject: "By the way, where is Saki Miyanaga?"

Nodoka Haramura said softly: "She was still asleep when I just woke up. Please wake her up before my match starts..."

Hearing Nodoka say this, Kageyama Sora immediately pulled himself out of his distracted state and suggested earnestly: "If it's Saki Miyanaga, she might really want to watch your match."

Nodoka smiled at Kageyama Sora beside her: "Although I really want her to watch my match... it's more important that she gets enough rest..."

Kageyama Sora ruffled the top of Nodoka's head: "Nodoka, don't always be so well-behaved. You should be a little willful sometimes..."

As he spoke, Kageyama Sora happened to notice the stitching on Nodoka's penguin: "Huh? What happened to... this penguin!?"

Chapter 91: Could Sora Have Another Girlfriend?

The midday sun spilled into the lounge like honey, dyeing the entire space a warm gold. The large floor-to-ceiling windows embraced the sunlight without reservation, and the bright light pierced through the glass, illuminating every corner.

Several potted plants on the windowsill stretched their leaves, swaying gently in the breeze, with light spots dancing upon them.

The natural wood coffee table was spotless, neatly arranged with mineral water and exquisitely packaged energy bars. A faint scent of lemon aromatherapy drifted through the air, creating a comfortable and cozy atmosphere.

Mako Someya lounged lazily in the beige sofa, her fluffy green curls gilded with a soft halo by the sunlight, like tender vines brushed by a spring breeze, blooming in playful arcs atop her head.

The gold-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose shimmered with tiny glints in the bright light, and her amber eyes behind the lenses were fixed intently on the live broadcast on the television.

Yuki Kataoka sat on the armrest of the sofa, full of energy. Her orange twin-tails bounced happily with her movements, just like two flickering flames, showcasing her liveliness to the fullest.

Her round, apricot-shaped eyes were wide open, the corners slightly upturned, sparkling with a spirited light in the sun, revealing a childlike innocence and curiosity.

At this moment, she was cupping her round cheeks, pressing shallow dimples into her skin, and the white-dyed tips of her hair were particularly dazzling in the sunlight: "My feelings are a bit complicated. Those two guys who stole the penguin actually came back to apologize... they aren't completely bad people after all." Her voice was crisp, filled with deep reflection.

Kageyama Sora leaned against the windowsill, his posture as straight as a pine.

His pitch-black short hair was outlined by the sunlight, and his sharp, well-defined jawline appeared even more three-dimensional in the bright light, like a meticulously carved work of art.

Hearing Yuki Kataoka's words, he shook his head slightly, the collar of his shirt rising and falling with the movement: "They still caused trouble, though. If it weren't for that girl with the golden hair, it would have been truly ruined."

The sunlight slanted across him, draping his profile in a hazy golden veil.

Kageyama Sora scanned the people in the lounge, and a ripple couldn't help but stir in his heart.

He had realized that every one of these girls was kind-hearted and liked to think the best of people.

Although they were all students and there was nothing wrong with being simple-minded at this time, Kageyama Sora always worried about whether they would suffer in the future.

However... recalling Nodoka's description of the person who found the penguin: "Why do I get the feeling that the person who picked up your penguin was Amae Koromo?"

"Amae Koromo? That Great Demon King Amae Koromo!?" Yuki Kataoka and Mako Someya exclaimed almost simultaneously.

Yuki Kataoka jumped off the sofa armrest, her orange twin-tails shaking violently, her hair tracing brilliant arcs in the air; Mako Someya looked up quickly, her glasses nearly sliding off, her green curls trembling, her amber pupils filled with shock.

"Mm... she had that kind of outfit, and her height matches too." Kageyama Sora raised a hand to push back the bangs on his forehead, his thick eyelashes casting long, fan-shaped shadows beneath his eyes. His high-bridged nose and well-defined thin lips gave him an innate air of nobility, yet he was bathed in a gentle filter by the sunlight.

Nodoka tilted her head, lost in memory, her pink hair glowing with a soft luster in the sun as it fell over her shoulders.

Her deep blue eyes rippled with tenderness, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, and the corners of her mouth curled into a sweet arc involuntarily: "That... is really cute... but I forgot to ask her name... next time we meet, I must... ask her."

As she spoke, a faint blush bloomed on her face, as if she had already envisioned the wonderful scene of their next encounter.

For some reason, even though this was a perfectly normal occurrence.

It was a beautiful scene of friendly rivals meeting outside the match, but Kageyama Sora inexplicably developed the illusion that his backyard was about to catch fire.

At this moment, the passionate voice of the commentator came from the television, and Nodoka looked up at the big screen.

On the leaderboard, Kiyosumi High School was temporarily in the lead by a narrow margin, with Tsuruga Academy, Kazekoshi Girls' High School, and Ryumonbuchi High School following closely behind, the point gap being extremely small.

The sunlight shone through the window onto the screen, making the numbers seem to flicker with tension.

Nodoka was surprised and puzzled: "The scores of the four schools are so close..."

"It's all thanks to the captain!" Yuki Kataoka rushed to the screen excitedly, her orange twin-tails almost brushing the TV frame. Her eyes crinkled into crescents, revealing two cute fangs, her face beaming with a proud smile.

"Captain?" Having been asleep, Nodoka naturally didn't know what a thrilling situation had just occurred.

As the person involved, Mako Someya stepped forward to explain: "The points I lost due to my incompetence were all won back by the captain."

Nodoka looked moved: "As expected of the captain."

As the match progressed, Hisa Takei took first place in the Center Battle with an overwhelming advantage, followed by Kunihiro Hajime of Ryumonbuchi High School.

Tsuruga Academy ranked third, while Kazekoshi Girls' High School, which had been highly anticipated before the match, unexpectedly fell to fourth.

Kageyama Sora looked down at his phone, the names on the entry list making him frown slightly.

As for Kazekoshi Girls' High School, besides the captain Fukuji Mihoko and Ikeda Kana—who had threatened him in the warehouse earlier and been bullied back by him—there really didn't seem to be any standout players. And the person Ikeda Kana had to face was Saki Miyanaga and Amae Koromo.

No wonder the coach of Kazekoshi Girls' High School, Kubo Takako, was always so irritable...

It felt a bit like they were a lost cause.

But that wasn't quite right to say; perhaps they were fine when encountering ordinary people, but... this competition was full of monsters.

Seeing Kageyama Sora silent, Nodoka looked at him curiously: "What's wrong?"

Nodoka's voice was filled with concern, the sunlight gilding her tone with warmth.

"I was thinking about Kazekoshi Girls' High School..." Kageyama Sora answered instinctively, speaking his true thoughts.

"Kazekoshi Girls' High School?" Yuki Kataoka hopped over, her orange hair tips brushing Kageyama Sora's arm, her apricot eyes blinking: "Sora, don't tell me you have a girlfriend at Kazekoshi Girls' High School too..."

As a woman who had only recently become intimate with Kageyama Sora, it was reasonable for her to have such suspicions.

However, this wasn't an interrogation; rather, Yuki Kataoka said it with a hint of teasing.

She arched her eyebrows slyly, a mischievous smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth, while her twin tails swayed happily with her movements.

Yuki Kataoka was only joking, but Kageyama Sora felt a jolt of panic—it was as if he were thinking, I've been a master of time management for so long, am I about to get caught red-handed?

Chapter 92: Yuki Kataoka's Interrogation

"I was thinking about Kazekoshi Girls' High School."

"Kazekoshi Girls' High School?" Yuki Kataoka hopped over, her orange hair tips brushing against Kageyama Sora's arm, her almond eyes blinking: "Sora, you don't have a girlfriend at Kazekoshi, do you..."

While it wasn't exactly accurate to say he had a girlfriend, he did have an intimate relationship with Fukuji Mihoko...

However, since Fukuji Mihoko herself wished to keep the relationship hidden, it didn't really count as anything.

Still, that feeling of guilt he had experienced when Yuki Kataoka and Fukuji Mihoko were in the same mahjong group suddenly resurfaced for no reason.

And this time, it was keenly detected by Yuki Kataoka.

"Ah! Did I guess right?" Like a nimble little squirrel, Yuki Kataoka lunged close to Kageyama Sora, her warm breath gently brushing against his reddening earlobe.

Her almond eyes were wide, a cunning glint flickering in their depths, and her two orange twin tails were almost sweeping against Kageyama Sora's cheeks: "Confess! Have you been secretly dating a pretty girl at Kazekoshi? Especially that blonde captain, she's so gentle and beautiful, she's totally your type!"

Should one call this a beast's intuition!?

Yuki had actually guessed it right!

Just as Kageyama Sora was stunned and caught off guard, her fingers suddenly poked playfully at his waist.

Kageyama Sora shuddered, his body reflexively leaning backward until the back of his head hit the windowsill with a "thud."

"Ouch!" Sunlight shattered into gold foil on his eyelashes, his high-bridged nose wrinkled slightly, and his thin lips subconsciously pressed into a straight line, "Don't... don't talk nonsense! You bad girl!"

He reached out to grab Yuki Kataoka's mischievous hands, but she dodged them nimbly. In the ensuing struggle, their fingertips brushed against each other before quickly pulling away, as if a string of tiny electric currents had exploded in the air.

This left Yuki Kataoka, who had originally wanted to comfort Kageyama Sora, feeling too shy to even think about comforting him.

Seeing the commotion, Nodoka Haramura quickly rose from the sofa, her pink hair swaying gently with the movement, her deep blue eyes filled with worry.

She trotted over between the two, her chest inadvertently pressing against Kageyama Sora while her soft palms held down Yuki Kataoka's raised arms, her voice gentle yet tinged with helplessness: "Yuki, stop messing around, Sora doesn't look like the type of person who would do that."

Her voice was like melting snow in spring, carrying a reassuring strength.

And the soft, pillowy area pressing against him made Kageyama Sora feel slightly intoxicated.

Beyond that... Nodoka Haramura's words made Kageyama Sora feel even more guilty—sorry, he was exactly that kind of person.

Yuki Kataoka didn't actually think anything was wrong; she just found teasing Kageyama Sora amusing. She remained relentless, using the momentum of Nodoka Haramura trying to break them up to hang half-off her, one hand still pointing at Kageyama Sora, her round face wearing an expression that clearly said, "I'm not done questioning him yet": "Nodoka, you're too easy to fool! Look at his reaction just now, there's definitely something wrong! Let me interrogate him!"

She deliberately drew out her tone, her body inadvertently twisting in Nodoka Haramura's embrace. Nodoka Haramura had no choice but to let go, and Yuki Kataoka immediately hung back onto Kageyama Sora.

Nodoka Haramura could only pull Yuki Kataoka back again; it was a vicious cycle.

Mako Someya leaned lazily against the back of the sofa, her green curly hair scattered casually over her shoulders, her amber eyes watching the farce before her with interest, a playful curve at the corner of her mouth.

She took off her gold-rimmed glasses in a leisurely manner, wiped the lenses gently with a velvet cloth, and spoke unhurriedly: "I say, are you two trying to turn the lounge into an interrogation room? It's a real pity the captain isn't here; she loves watching this kind of melodramatic farce."

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly chuckled, perhaps because she herself thought that turning it into an interrogation room wouldn't be so bad, and that everyone was truly full of energy.

Kageyama Sora was helpless as he watched the chaos. His pride wouldn't allow him to participate in the horseplay, but the situation was such that he couldn't just use force to resolve it—after all, there were so many people here—so he could only let the blush on his earlobes spread down his neck to his collarbone.

He took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound steady: "I was just analyzing the match, the player configuration of Kazekoshi..."

Before he could finish, Yuki Kataoka suddenly broke free from Nodoka Haramura's grip and lunged at him again, this time poking both hands directly into his ribs.

"Ah!" Kageyama Sora was caught off guard, his body shrinking back, and his lower back hit a flowerpot on the windowsill hard.

The ceramic pot wobbled and made a crisp sound, and a few tender green leaves drifted down, landing just right on Yuki Kataoka's bouncing hair tips.

Watching Kageyama Sora's disheveled and flustered appearance, she couldn't help but double over with laughter, two deep dimples appearing on her round cheeks: "And you say it's not true! Would you blush like that just from analyzing a match?"

Nodoka Haramura hurriedly reached out to steady Kageyama Sora, who had almost fallen; her cool fingertips touched his scorching skin, and her own cheeks began to burn as well.

She gave a light glare at Yuki Kataoka, who was still laughing, though her tone remained gentle: "Yuki, stop bullying Sora, let's just watch the match properly."

As she spoke, her gaze inadvertently swept over Kageyama Sora's collar, which had been messed up by Yuki Kataoka, and she quickly looked away.

Even though he was her boyfriend, it didn't seem appropriate to act like a lovesick girl in front of others.

And this little thought made Nodoka Haramura feel shy herself.

Seeing this, Mako Someya put her glasses back on, rested her chin on her hand, and teased with interest: "Nodoka is protecting Sora, as expected, once you have a boyfriend, you don't need your best friend anymore. Does it have to be so obvious?"

Her voice, filled with lazy teasing, echoed softly in the lounge.

Nodoka Haramura's ears turned bright red instantly, and she retreated onto the sofa like a startled little rabbit, her pink hair covering her burning cheeks.

Yuki Kataoka, however, refused to let it go. She stood on her tiptoes, leaned into Kageyama Sora's ear, and whispered like an orchid: "If you hide things from me again, you'll be sorry."

After saying this, she playfully pinched Kageyama Sora's waist, then hopped back to the sofa, picked up a bottle of mineral water, and drank it, the droplets sliding down the corner of her mouth and refracting crystal-clear light in the sun.

Kageyama Sora leaned against the windowsill, watching the group laughing and playing, his heart rate unable to calm down for a long time.

Just then, the broadcast announced that the match involving Nodoka Haramura was about to begin.

Nodoka Haramura stood up, clutching her penguin, and looked at the mahjong table on the television, her voice very soft: "Next, it's my turn to go to that place."

Kageyama Sora thought for a moment and followed along: "Let me walk you there..."

Haramura Nodoka was not the type of person who liked to trouble others, so she immediately said: "It's alright..."

"No..." At this moment, Kageyama Sora had already walked to her side: "Let me walk you, Nodoka... and then, when the time is right, we can go call Saki Miyanaga..."

Tohka's Sarcasm

The scorching summer sun baked the earth, and the sunlight flowed down the floor-to-ceiling windows of the lounge like melted beeswax.

The sound of cicadas, wrapped in heatwaves, crashed against the glass, only to be crushed into tiny particles by the cold mist emitted by the air conditioner.

The mint on the windowsill trembled gently in the draft, the water droplets rolling on its leaves refracting rainbows and rendering the entire lounge dreamlike.

At this moment, an announcement echoed through the empty corridor; the match belonging to Haramura Nodoka was about to begin.

The tiles gleamed with a cold, white light under the fluorescent lamps, and the fingers of Haramura Nodoka, clutching her Penguin Plushie, tightened slightly.

She looked at the mahjong table on the television screen, her eyelashes casting butterfly-wing shadows beneath her eyes as she whispered: "Next, it's my turn to go to that place."

Her voice was as light as a dandelion floating in the wind, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the fur of the Penguin Plushie.

Sunlight shone obliquely through the window at the end of the corridor, gilding her silhouette with a soft glow, the red ribbons decorating her twin tails flickering in the light and shadow.

Kageyama Sora walked over, his hands at his sides clenching into fists and then relaxing, his Adam's apple bobbing as he spoke in a hoarse voice, his gaze fixed on the red ribbons swaying atop her head: "Let me walk you..."

When Haramura Nodoka turned, the tips of her hair brushed against her flushed cheeks, and her light blue pleated skirt spun out a gentle arc.

She shook her head slightly, her voice soft: "It's okay, I can go by myself..."

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by Kageyama Sora's firm gaze.

"No." Kageyama Sora stepped forward, his warm breath brushing through her hair; his long fingers almost touched her falling locks before curling at the last moment, his eyes gentle yet persistent: "Let me walk you, Nodoka... and then, when the time is right, we can go call Saki Miyanaga..."

Haramura Nodoka bit her lip, ripples appearing in her azure eyes.

Looking down at the Penguin Plushie in her arms, her earlobes stained with a cherry-blossom pink, her eyelashes fluttered as she curled her lips into a gentle smile: "Although I really want Saki to see my match, but... she stayed up so late practicing yesterday, it's better if she sleeps a little longer."

"But..." Kageyama Sora stared at her flushed profile, his throat tightening, "if she doesn't see you shining on the stage, she might be sad."