Karuizawa Kei's Choice

Airi Sakura stepped into the classroom cautiously, and the moment she crossed the threshold, she keenly sensed that something in the air was off.

At this hour, the students of Class D, especially the boys, were usually rowdy; it was nothing like the silence that hung over the room now.

As her gaze swept toward the corner of the classroom, she caught Yamauchi Haruki and a few others hastily averting their eyes.

Like startled mice, the heads that had been huddled together in whispers scattered instantly, each boy burying his face in his desk as if she were some terrifying monster.

Usually, it was Airi Sakura who avoided their gazes.

In the past, whenever she entered the classroom, the eyes of those boys would always fixate on her, making her wish she could crawl into a hole and disappear.

Today was the first time since she had enrolled that she could walk through the classroom without needing to deliberately lower her head or quicken her pace.

This bizarre turn of events gave her a sense of surreal relief.

As long as she could remain invisible and avoid the attention of the boys in class, that was enough.

Seeing the classroom layout unchanged and the friendly demeanor of the other students, it was clear that Makoto Nishikado had kept his promise and hadn't started a fight with the students of Class D.

She just couldn't figure out what he had done to cause such a massive shift in everyone's behavior.

Airi Sakura pulled her phone from her bag, and the moment the screen lit up, the profile picture she had recently added to her LINE contacts caught her eye.

She agonized over it for a long time, still unsure of how to express her gratitude.

Just as she was lost in thought, a girl with a figure much like her own walked up to her side.

"You're Airi Sakura, right?"

Hasebe Haruka scrutinized Airi Sakura carefully, finding herself liking the girl more and more.

The child's style was a bit dowdy, especially those glasses, which had a passive effect of reducing her attractiveness by ten points.

But her foundation was excellent; with just a little bit of styling, she would be stunning.

As one of the beauties of Class D, Hasebe Haruka's figure and appearance were acknowledged by most.

If not for her cold personality and the way she ignored the boys, her popularity would be no less than that of Kushida Kikyo.

Seeing Airi Sakura now—who was just as striking, just as well-endowed, and burdened by similar anxieties—Hasebe felt she had found a kindred spirit.

"Y-yes, that's me. You're Hasebe, right?"

Airi Sakura also had a vague impression of Hasebe Haruka.

The girl usually acted quite cold, but she didn't seem like a bad person.

Moreover, because they were both rather shy and shared a similarly generous "endowment," Airi Sakura had paid a little extra attention to her.

That was why she remembered her name.

"Can I call you Airi from now on?"

Hasebe Haruka smiled happily.

Compared to her, Airi Sakura was clearly more timid; she seemed like the type who needed looking after.

Logically, taking care of someone was a hassle, but Hasebe Haruka found herself liking her even more for it.

"Eh?"

Airi Sakura was stunned.

If she remembered correctly, this was their first formal interaction.

For the other girl to address her by her first name right away—was that really appropriate?

"Yeah, I want to be friends with Airi. You can call me Haruka from now on, too."

Hasebe Haruka was incredibly enthusiastic, a complete departure from her usual cold demeanor.

"I... I have to call you by your first name too?"

Airi Sakura's mind was spinning.

She still hadn't grasped what exactly was happening.

"If Airi is too shy, you can call me Haru-chan for now."

Hasebe Haruka smiled and took a step back.

In Sakurajima, using a first name implied the closest of relationships, while nicknames were a slight step down.

Airi Sakura's mind went blank, and she could only shake her head subconsciously.

She couldn't handle a casual nickname either!

Not far away, Sato Maya noticed the situation and immediately began to grumble to her friends.

"Hasebe wasn't like this before. Even if she took a liking to that guy, did she have to be so aggressive? She never acted like this."

Their little clique of gyarus hadn't been without their attempts to invite Hasebe Haruka to join them.

But they had been rejected flatly and decisively.

Back then, Hasebe Haruka wouldn't even offer a friendly glance or a polite refusal.

Now that Hasebe Haruka had beaten her to the punch, how was she supposed to find the nerve to go talk to Airi Sakura?

She had wanted to ask that boy for his contact information, too.

Although Makoto Nishikado had barged into Class D today and insulted their classmate right to their faces.

For most of them, however, the prevailing sentiment was that it was deeply satisfying.

"A guy that handsome probably already has a girlfriend. Hasebe likely doesn't stand a chance either. Maybe he really was just looking to make friends, don't you think, Kei?"

Matsushita Chiaki smiled, trying to smooth things over.

She turned to look at Karuizawa Kei, only to find her resting her chin in her hand, staring blankly out the window.

Karuizawa Kei's attention wasn't on the conversation within their little group; in fact, it wasn't even in the classroom.

She was currently lost in thought.

What could she be thinking about so intently?

"Kei? Kei?"

Only after Matsushita Chiaki shook her shoulder did Karuizawa Kei snap back to reality.

"Huh? What happened? What were you guys talking about?"

Karuizawa Kei shook off her daze, reverting to her usual gal persona.

But by then, the girls around her had lost interest in continuing the previous topic.

"Kei, what were you thinking about just now? Why were you spacing out for so long?"

"Yeah, tell us too."

"You weren't comparing Hirata Yosuke to that guy from earlier to see who's more handsome, were you?"

The girls began to chatter away.

They knew that Karuizawa Kei intended to find a boyfriend during high school.

If nothing went wrong, her target had been Hirata Yosuke.

In a class as unreliable as Class D, Hirata Yosuke stood in a league of his own when it came to the overall qualities of a boyfriend.

Koenji Rokusuke was wealthy but far too arrogant, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was handsome but had too gloomy a personality, and the other boys were all just average.

As for Yamauchi Haruki and his crowd, the girls found them downright repulsive.

Hirata Yosuke was undoubtedly the highest-quality choice.

"...You guys are right, that is exactly what I was thinking about."

"Tell me, between Hirata Yosuke and that guy from earlier, who is more handsome? Who gives off more of a sense of security? Who is more suitable as a boyfriend?"

Discussing such topics in front of her friends actually made Karuizawa Kei a bit shy.

But at this point, she had no choice but to bite the bullet.

She was the leader of this gal group, and the one thing she could never do was back down.

"I feel like that guy from earlier was more impressive."

"True, he was more handsome and felt more secure, though he was a bit aggressive."

"Still, he seemed pretty familiar with Kushida Kikyo. Could they be dating?"

Hearing her friends' discussion, Karuizawa Kei felt a flutter of anxiety.

Kushida Kikyo's popularity in Class D was too high; she really didn't dare to provoke her.

Though she thought this to herself, Karuizawa Kei put on a nonchalant smile.

"Even if he is that girl Kushida's boyfriend, so what? I'll just steal him away!"

"If anything, having a girlfriend is better—it means I only have one rival."

Hearing this, the girls around her exchanged glances, followed by a round of applause, each harboring their own thoughts.

Shinohara Satsuki: Kei is truly bold, though it feels a bit strange.

Matsushita Chiaki: As expected of Kei, she easily does what we can't.

Sato Maya: So that's how it is—to be a gal, you have to steal someone's man! I've learned something new today.