Three's Company, Part Two

Ichinose smiled, the warmth of the afternoon sunlight making her expression especially gentle. "If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask Kitagawa-kun—he's really good at explaining things."

Kitagawa Kai looked up at Shiranami Chihiro and gave a small nod. "Sure."

"Mm! Then I'll trouble Kitagawa-kun later." Shiranami agreed verbally, but her gaze couldn't help drifting to the overly close distance between the two of them.

Kitagawa-kun, you're fine, but I can't let you get any closer to my Honami-chan.

Sorry.

The battle for love has always been like this.

"Kitagawa-kun, could I ask you something?"

Shiranami's voice was a little louder than usual, standing out sharply in the quiet library.

"Of course." Kitagawa Kai spoke first, his eyes knowing, as if he had already seen through something.

Ichinose also nodded gently. "Chihiro-chan, what problem are you stuck on?"

Shiranami Chihiro pushed her notebook forward, her finger pointing at a math problem. "It's about this Lagrange interpolation..."

She had chosen this question carefully—a difficult type that would take enough time to solve.

Five minutes. No, ten. At least, that's what Shiranami thought.

Kitagawa Kai took the notebook.

One look, and he solved it instantly.

Kitagawa Kai picked up a pen directly, ready to start explaining to the girl. "Shiranami-san, you can think of it like this..."

The moment he spoke, Shiranami Chihiro's gaze unconsciously fell on his face. His straight nose bridge, his tender eyes, the unique focus of a man—it gave him a certain charm.

His explanation was clear and concise, every step cutting straight to the core. But half of the girl's attention wasn't on the content—it was on the speaker himself.

This guy's not bad-looking, huh.

Wait, what am I looking at?

The thought suddenly popped into Shiranami Chihiro's mind, startling her.

Why was she noticing that? Wasn't she supposed to be fully focused on how to stop him from getting close to Ichinose?

Kitagawa Kai finished explaining the core concept, put down his pen, and looked up at Shiranami. "Got it?"

"G-got it!" Shiranami Chihiro quickly nodded, her cheeks starting to heat up uncontrollably.

Ichinose smiled warmly from the side. "Kitagawa-kun explains things very clearly. Chihiro-chan, if there's anything else you don't understand, feel free to ask."

Shiranami Chihiro didn't understand why Kitagawa Kai solved problems so fast and explained them so clearly.

It wasn't scientific.

"Th-then what about this one?" Shiranami flipped to another page in her notebook, her finger tapping a little hastily on another problem. "About the convergence of Fourier series..."

This time, she picked a truly tricky question.

One look, and he solved it instantly.

"Chihiro-chan..." Ichinose's voice carried a gentle concern. "Are you okay? Your face looks a little..."

"I-I'm fine!" Shiranami Chihiro quickly shook her head, but her voice trembled slightly.

She looked down at the few words on the scratch paper, feeling her throat go dry and her heartbeat racing abnormally.

The sunlight outside the window shifted a little more. Shiranami Chihiro's planned "time battle" had failed before it even truly began.

Six in the evening.

Ichinose Honami said goodbye to the last few classmates, watching them walk out of the library doors before letting out a soft sigh and turning back toward the long table by the window.

Kitagawa Kai was still sitting there, packing his bag.

"You really helped a lot today, Kitagawa-kun. I didn't expect you to be so amazing."

"You could have finished it yourself too—it just would have been more tiring."

Kitagawa Kai stood up and naturally looked toward Shiranami. "Shiranami-san, want to go to the cafeteria together for dinner?"

"Eh?"

She paused for a moment, then nodded. "S-sure!"

As they walked out of the library, the evening breeze carried a chill, along with the faint scent of cherry blossoms from the campus.

Shiranami Chihiro instinctively reached out and wrapped both arms around Ichinose's right arm.

"It's a bit chilly in the evening..." Shiranami explained quietly, but her fingers unconsciously tightened a little. "Honami-chan, aren't you cold?"

Ichinose blinked, then showed a gentle smile. "A little, yeah. Thanks, Chihiro-chan."

"Speaking of which, I heard the cafeteria has a special curry pork cutlet rice tonight. Chihiro-chan loves that, right?"

Shiranami nodded vigorously, gently swinging the arm holding Ichinose's. "Mm! The special curry pork cutlet rice is the best! Honami-chan remembers so well!"

"Because last time Chihiro-chan ate it, your eyes squinted with happiness."

Shiranami's face flushed even redder this time—from the happiness of having her preferences remembered.

Being able to gaze at Ichinose this close, to catch the faint, clean scent of her, all of it filled her with a contented calm.

Kitagawa Kai walked on the right, quietly listening to their conversation.

"Kitagawa-kun, what dish do you like at the cafeteria?" Ichinose suddenly turned her head to ask him.

"I'm not usually picky, but the fried shrimp there is my favorite."

"Ah, that really is good!" Shiranami lifted her face from Ichinose's shoulder, eyes bright. "The sauce is especially well-seasoned."

Kitagawa Kai gave a slight nod. "True. The sauce has just the right balance of sweet and sour."

"And the batter isn't greasy at all," Shiranami added. "I've tried fried shrimp at other places, but none of them compare to the cafeteria's."

Ichinose smiled warmly. "Hearing you two talk about it, I think I want to try it next time."

As the three of them spoke, they reached a corner where several cherry blossom trees were blooming especially thickly.

Shiranami stole a sidelong glance at Kitagawa Kai on her right.

This guy... he really is good-looking.

The thought popped up uncontrollably again. Shiranami quickly shook her head, trying to shake it off.

Just then, Kitagawa Kai suddenly turned his head, his gaze meeting hers directly.

Shiranami startled, hurriedly looking away.

Oh no, oh no, he caught me. Would he think she was weird? Would he think she...

In the twilight, she saw Kitagawa Kai reach out, his movement light and natural, approaching the top of her head.

"There's a cherry blossom petal in your hair."

Kitagawa Kai's fingers brushed gently through her hair, the touch so soft it was almost imperceptible.

He opened his palm, revealing a pale pink cherry blossom petal.

"Th-thank you..."

"You're welcome."

"Chihiro-chan has a petal in her hair too. It seems the cherry blossoms really like Chihiro-chan."

Ichinose Honami said this as she also reached up and plucked a petal from the other side of Shiranami Chihiro's hair.

"Let's go," Ichinose said, linking her arm with Shiranami's, her voice gentle. "If we don't get to the cafeteria soon, the curry pork cutlet rice really will sell out."

"Mm..." Shiranami Chihiro nodded, hugging Ichinose's arm again. But this time, her mind was completely off the meal.

That petal... why did he have to take it off for her?

If it were Ichinose, she would have found it natural.

But Kitagawa Kai, who was always so lazy—he actually noticed her, and even reached out to help her remove it?

That didn't add up.

Unless...

Shiranami quickly shook her head, tossing that dangerous thought away.