Bento

Today was another bright, sunny day. Warm sunlight lay over the earth like a soft veil.

The great adventure from a few days ago didn't seem to have caused much of a stir. If anything, Kamuro didn't want it blown out of proportion.

After all, if the class found out, there was a 99 percent chance they'd start egging them on to get together.

Of course, Kamuro still didn't know that the whole thing had actually been a dare U Amakusa had to do after losing at Truth or Dare.

Naoki Shimizu thought U Amakusa had failed, so he hadn't brought it up again. Satoshi Satonaka and Sanada had just smiled without saying anything.

U Amakusa had no intention of telling Kamuro. What was the point of telling her he'd confessed because he lost a dare?

He hadn't lied, either. He'd just let Kamuro think of it as a real confession.

Maybe it would even have an unexpected effect.

"Kamuro, why don't you answer this question?"

Majima looked down at the textbook in his hands and calmly called on a student.

But that wasn't really the case. Majima hadn't called on her at random. He'd noticed long ago that Kamuro was a little distracted in class.

Although the month hadn't ended yet and the school didn't allow teachers to reveal anything to students, there was nothing wrong with a teacher calling on someone to answer a question.

After a long while, Kamuro sat motionless in her seat, as if she really hadn't heard him. She just stared blankly ahead.

Her mind was still full of U Amakusa's confession from a few days ago. She clearly didn't want to keep thinking about it, but her mind kept replaying the expression on his face as he confessed.

It was like an endless loop. No matter what she did, she couldn't focus.

She touched her cheek. It felt a little warm. Did she really have feelings for that pervert?

No, no, no! That was absolutely impossible!

Hm?

Feeling something brush against her arm, Kamuro instinctively looked over. An eraser had fallen to the floor.

And the eraser's owner... was U Amakusa, sitting beside her.

When U Amakusa saw that Kamuro wasn't reacting, he realized that if Majima called on her a second time, the whole class would look her way.

So he flicked the eraser toward her to get her attention.

Kamuro looked up at U Amakusa. She still didn't know what he was up to. Was he really going to cause trouble in the middle of class?

The thought made her tense up. Her face was still flushed, and deep down, she seemed to be looking forward to something?

Kamuro pretended to frown impatiently, as if to ask, What do you want?

But U Amakusa didn't do anything outrageous, as she'd expected. He simply turned his head toward the podium.

He was telling her to look that way.

Then U Amakusa held up a notebook, as if afraid Kamuro wouldn't understand what was going on.

It said, "Choose C."

Only then did Kamuro realize that Majima had called on her to answer a question. She quickly stood up and said,

"Um... the answer is C."

Majima let out a breath at the podium and set his textbook on the desk, recalling the school's assessment of Kamuro.

He understood.

"All right, Kamuro, you can sit down."

Kamuro sat down.

"Everyone, the answer to this question should be A."

What?!

When she heard Majima's explanation, Kamuro whipped around to look at U Amakusa. She could tell he'd done it on purpose.

Meanwhile, U Amakusa was admiring the view outside the window. If they hadn't been in class, he might even have been whistling.

Just moments ago, Kamuro had been thinking nonstop about his confession. Now she seemed to have forgotten all about it. All she knew was that U Amakusa was being a jerk again.

The window on your side looks out onto the corridor! What's so interesting about the corridor? You're just trying to make me look stupid!

U Amakusa's response was that she wouldn't have been able to solve it anyway. They should be honest with each other—if she couldn't figure it out, she shouldn't give a wrong answer.

And it was true. Given Kamuro's academic ability, she really couldn't have solved the question.

The school's assessment of Kamuro: Academic ability C, intelligence D+, judgment B-, physical ability B+, teamwork D.

You could say that, apart from her judgment and physical abilities, none of her scores looked like those of a Class A student.

Ring, ring—

Study time always seemed to pass so quickly.

Now that it was lunchtime, U Amakusa didn't forget his customary stretch. He'd almost fallen asleep.

"Hey! Come with me if you're not busy."

Kamuro looked down at U Amakusa as he stretched, her tone carrying a hint of command.

"Hm? No. I miss Orange, so I'm going to spend time with her. Unless..."

U Amakusa had been about to say, Unless you tell me you're Orange, but he stopped himself before the words left his mouth.

"It's not time to go home yet, is it?"

"There are a few hours for lunch. Can't I use the time to go home for a while?"

"..."

"Forget it. I'll just say it. There's something I want to ask you to do. It's for the club."

Kamuro pursed her lips and turned her head aside awkwardly, not daring to meet U Amakusa's eyes.

She was in the Art Club, and they needed a model in a couple of days. Everyone had to draw one.

They had to find their own models. Kamuro's first thought had been to ask U Amakusa. He was the first person who'd come to mind.

"I see." U Amakusa nodded.

"So what do I get out of it?"

"I could make you a bento..." Kamuro murmured, her voice as faint as a mosquito's.

At that moment, she looked just like a shy little girl.

Kamuro still remembered how U Amakusa had asked her to make him a bento before. She hadn't expected that one day she'd offer to do it herself.

"Mm, that sounds pretty good."

"Then it's settled."

"No, start in the middle of next month. I want you to make them for a whole month." U Amakusa took a bento box out of his desk and spoke slowly.

Kamuro objected, "No. That's too much trouble. I'll only do it once."

"Then I'm going home to spend time with Orange."

"..."

"All right, all right. A whole month, then." Kamuro agreed helplessly, though for some reason, she was also a little excited.

"But why start next month?"

"Because my bento schedule is full this month."

As he spoke, U Amakusa proudly opened the bento he'd just taken out. It was a feast for the eyes, the nose, and the palate.

He'd already been eating bentos like this for several days, and they were so delicious that he no longer wanted to eat cafeteria food for lunch.

"Whoa..." Kamuro stared at U Amakusa's bento and unconsciously swallowed.

"Did you make it yourself?"

"No. I can't cook."

I only knew how to cook rice and make the simplest tomato-and-egg stir-fry. I really didn't know how to make Japanese food.

Would curry stew count?

U Amakusa once again showed off his ability to do a little bit of everything.

Kamuro asked, puzzled, "Then who made this bento?"

"Shiina made it for me. Want to try some?"

As he spoke, U Amakusa picked up a meatball with his chopsticks.

"Hmph." Kamuro turned her head away with a snort. "I don't want any!"

For some reason, Kamuro felt inexplicably annoyed. She didn't want to stay there any longer, so she turned and walked off.

"What's with her?"

"If she doesn't want it, I'll take it."

Naoki Shimizu, who'd been watching for a while, saw his chance and opened his mouth. He popped the meatball right in.

"How could anyone turn down something this delicious?"

Having eaten Chinese food with U Amakusa so many times, Naoki Shimizu knew just how good his bentos were. He looked forward to this moment every day.

The other two, Satoshi Satonaka and Sanada, soon gathered around too. The four of them sat together and ate their bentos.

Of course, Satoshi Satonaka and Naoki Shimizu were eating bentos Sanada had made.

Satoshi Satonaka watched Naoki Shimizu wolfing down his food and couldn't help sighing.

"Ah, fools have all the luck."

Just look at U Amakusa. He already had two girls, while you haven't even managed to say more than a few words to Nishikawa.