So happy.
The word was like a tiny bomb wrapped in honey. It went off in Yamamura Miki's quiet heart, leaving her feeling light as a feather.
[ Ding! ]
[ Yamamura Miki's Affection Level +5. Current Affection Level: 45 (Friend) ]
Kitagawa Kai's smile widened, and he naturally made the next obvious request.
"Let's exchange contact information."
"O-okay."
Almost swept along by his directness, Yamamura Miki fumbled for her Terminal and added Kitagawa Kai as a friend.
"I-I'm pretty happy I got to see you again, too."
Kitagawa Kai watched her earnestly express herself despite her obvious shyness. The smile in his eyes seemed to settle as he replied,
"That's good. I said I'd get in touch once we started school. It's my fault."
"N-no, it's just that I... I didn't dare, either..." Yamamura Miki was used to being invisible. How could she find the courage to contact her friend from Class B?
"That's all in the past." Kitagawa Kai's voice cut in at just the right moment, interrupting her tangled explanation.
"We've added each other now, haven't we? From now on, if you feel like talking or want to go somewhere, you can contact me anytime."
"Mm..." Yamamura Miki nodded firmly.
"By the way, have you had lunch yet?"
Lunch?
Yamamura Miki froze for a moment, then instinctively shook her head. She'd been standing by the Vending Machine for so long that she really had forgotten to eat.
"How about we go get something to eat together?"
Walking together, choosing together, sitting at a table and sharing food-maybe they'd keep talking, too.
"O-okay." Yamamura Miki heard her own voice. It was steadier than she'd expected.
"I... I haven't had lunch yet. I'm a little hungry."
After saying it, she felt a bit embarrassed herself. She instinctively lowered her head, staring at the tips of her shoes pressed together. Her blue-gray hair fell forward, covering half of her flushed face.
During the brief moment the girl had her head lowered, Kitagawa Kai casually took out his Terminal, quickly typed a line, and hit send.
[ Suzune-chan, I'm going to buy the ingredients myself today. Just come straight to my dorm room in a bit. ]
The notification that the message had been sent gave his fingertip a slight buzz. He calmly slipped the Terminal back into his pocket.
When he was done, he turned slightly and gestured in the direction they should go. "Then let's get going."
Yamamura Miki hurried to catch up, walking just behind him at his side. She carefully kept a distance that was neither too far nor too close.
As they walked, she realized they were on the way to the convenience store. The familiar plants on either side of the path and the faint "ding-dong" of the store's automatic doors confirmed it.
They'd buy bentos at the convenience store, find a bench on campus, and eat together. That thought settled the jumble of Yamamura Miki's feelings a little.
She quietly drew in a breath, worked up a little courage, and turned her face toward him. "Kitagawa-kun, are we going to the convenience store... to get something to eat?"
"No."
"We're going to buy some ingredients at the convenience store," he paused, then added the second half of the sentence that left Yamamura Miki's mind blank: "Then we'll go back to the dorm and cook."
N-not bentos? Not eating out?
Buying ingredients?
Going to a boys' dorm and cooking together?
This was completely, utterly beyond the bounds of all her social experience.
Yamamura Miki stopped abruptly, her eyes wide and filled with pure surprise.
Her mouth hung open, but no sound came out. She could only stare blankly at Kitagawa Kai's still-calm face.
"Y-Yamamura?" Seeing her face go deathly pale and then quickly turn red, Kitagawa Kai furrowed his brow slightly. A trace of genuine confusion entered his voice. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
He was actually asking what was wrong?
Didn't he think this suggestion was... really, really inappropriate?!
Yamamura Miki felt as if her brain had been tangled into a mess. How could he say something like that in such an ordinary tone?
She pointed at herself, then at Kitagawa Kai. "The dorm...?"
Under her burning gaze, Kitagawa Kai clearly nodded.
"Mm, the dorm." He actually admitted it! His voice remained steady, even carrying the certainty of someone confirming a fact.
Yamamura Miki's heart suddenly panicked. Did other people really make friends like this? Wasn't this moving a little too fast?
"Yamamura, don't worry. Another girl will be joining us in a bit."
Not alone...
There'd be another girl...
That made her feel much more at ease.
At least it wasn't the worst-case scenario she'd imagined.
The heat in Yamamura Miki's cheeks didn't fade. Instead, her belated embarrassment made them burn even hotter, until her neck and ears were bright red, too.
"I-I'm sorry! I completely misunderstood! I thought..."
"It's okay." Kitagawa Kai quickly replied, his voice carrying a gentle note of understanding. "I should've explained beforehand. I made you worry."
"Is there anything you can't eat?"
"I'll eat anything. I don't have any dietary restrictions. Something simple is fine."
"Mm, good."
Walking into the convenience store, Yamamura Miki unlocked a shopping experience she'd never had outside of shopping with family.
It felt new and unfamiliar.
Walking side by side with a male friend between the shelves, choosing ingredients toward the shared goal of cooking together-this was absolutely a first in her life.
After picking out the ingredients, Kitagawa Kai brought Yamamura Miki to the third floor of the dorm.
Yamamura Miki's heartbeat instantly shot to its peak, almost leaping out of her throat. The air was filled with a scent unique to boys. She really was about to step into a boy's dorm room!
She tiptoed along behind Kitagawa Kai, her steps unsteady, like a puppet being pulled by invisible strings.
Kitagawa Kai, walking in front, stopped. Yamamura Miki stopped abruptly, too, nearly bumping into his back. Startled, she looked up.
308.
Horikita Suzune had arrived early, as usual, and was standing by the door.
She didn't seem to have just arrived. She'd already been there for a while, as if waiting-or lost in thought.
She stood slightly turned toward those approaching, giving off a cold air that kept others at a distance.
Horikita Suzune's amethyst eyes first settled on Kitagawa Kai, fixing on the convenience-store plastic bag in his hand. It was filled with various ingredients, and the amount he'd bought was clearly more than enough for lunch for two.
Then her gaze shifted to the girl behind Kitagawa Kai, and a strange expression appeared on her face.
Yamamura Miki felt as if she were about to suffocate.
Was this the other girl? She was so beautiful, but her gaze was so cold-and so intimidating. Even Yamamura Miki's courage to say hello instantly evaporated.
Kitagawa Kai seemed not to notice the stifling atmosphere or the questioning look in Horikita Suzune's eyes. He offered no explanation and smoothly took out his key.
Click.
The door opened.
"Come on in. Don't stand in the doorway." Kitagawa Kai pushed the door open and stepped inside first.
"This is Horikita Suzune from Class D, and this is Yamamura Miki from Class A."
"Hello, Horikita."
"Hello, Yamamura."
The two greeted each other in the peculiar atmosphere.
"Since Yamamura hasn't had lunch either, could you make enough for three, Suzune-chan?"
Suzune-chan?