Natsukawa tossed a folded note onto Ibuki Mio's desk.
Ibuki Mio had noticed that the teachers at this school were extremely lenient about how students behaved in class, so she picked up the note in puzzlement.
She unfolded it and found a line of small writing.
You're Ibuki Mio, right? Let's be friends. Here's my messaging app ID: dhjkc...
Ibuki Mio frowned and clicked her tongue in distaste, thinking:
Who would add this guy?
Ibuki Mio glanced back and found Natsukawa watching her with interest, a faint smile curling his lips, so she quickly turned back around.
Damn it! Has this guy been watching me the whole time?
Ibuki Mio, who disliked making friends to begin with, hadn't planned to get along with her classmates early in the school year, though she did have some admiration for those with "ability" in academics.
That was why, during the earlier desk-swapping incident, she had taken just a tiny bit of interest when Natsukawa, whom she thought was probably quite intelligent, spoke to her and told her to be careful.
Ibuki Mio would never concede defeat when it came to fighting. Perhaps it was fair to say that she admired intelligent people a little when it came to areas she wasn't good at.
In the original story, even after Ryuuen defeated Ibuki Mio in a fight, she refused to accept it, but she acknowledged his intelligence. Though his schemes were all underhanded, they could still lead Class C forward, so she served as his chief helper. Later, after Ayanokoji displayed his extraordinary intelligence, Ibuki also took a great deal of interest in him...
At the moment, Ibuki Mio was thinking hard.
Because of her personality, she had very few male friends, and even those she had treated her as one of their own, so she was deeply conflicted right now.
Still, having a boy suddenly want to be friends with me does make me a little curious.
It's normal for classmates at neighboring desks to exchange messaging IDs, right? It should be, right? It's not like I'm interested in him.
Before long, a friend request arrived on Natsukawa's phone.
There was also a message attached.
〔How pointless! Don't interrupt me in class.〕
Ding! Ibuki Mio's Affection Rating +10
Natsukawa smiled. Another one who says one thing and means another? And so, his friends list gained another person.
At around four, afternoon classes ended.
Everyone in Class C teamed up with classmates they had already made plans with and headed to the gym for the club information session.
As Ibuki Mio, whom no one had come to invite, was getting up, Natsukawa spoke to her.
"Ibuki, are you going alone too? Want to come with me?"
Ibuki was a little surprised, but she still asked calmly, puzzled:
"Aren't you friends with that Shiina girl? Why aren't you going with her?"
Natsukawa smiled and said:
"Hiyori does have a club she wants to join, so she's already arranged to check it out with some other classmates."
"I'm not interested in joining clubs myself, but the Student Council strongly insisted that all new students attend, so I was planning to go alone."
"I saw that you were all by yourself too, Ibuki, so I thought I'd try inviting you. We did just become friends, after all, didn't we?"
Ibuki Mio said coldly:
"Tch! Who said we're friends? I only added you so you'd stop bothering me in class. Don't get any ideas!"
Natsukawa stood up with a smile.
"Don't be so cold, Ibuki. We do sit next to each other, so there's nothing wrong with getting to know each other, is there?"
Ibuki Mio headed out through the classroom's back door. Seeing this, Natsukawa followed her, and she could only reply in distaste:
"Tch! Follow me if you want. What a nuisance!"
In truth, Ibuki was a little surprised that a boy wanted so much to be friends with her. More importantly, Natsukawa ranked fairly high on the list of handsome first-year boys being gossiped about in the girls' group chat.
Ding! Ibuki Mio's Affection Rating +20
As they walked, the two ended up side by side. Natsukawa chatted with her, and although Ibuki Mio wore an expressionless face almost every time, she would still offer a few words in reply.
"Ibuki, is there a club you want to join? Let me guess. Probably something like the taekwondo club or the judo club?"
Ibuki hadn't wanted to respond to Natsukawa, because she still wasn't used to talking so normally with a boy.
However, his presumptuous guessing was utterly obnoxious, so she could only retort:
"Natsukawa, was it? What's that supposed to mean? Do you think I'm just someone who loves fighting? Please don't make one-sided assumptions about me!"
Ibuki Mio thought that she wasn't good at studying or socializing, and she wasn't good-looking either (yes, that was her own opinion), so it wasn't wrong for someone to think she loved fighting.
I got used to people seeing me that way in middle school, but it still annoys me when this guy thinks that.
Natsukawa made an apologetic gesture and said with a smile:
"Haha, sorry. I shouldn't have assumed. But you looked so spirited when you got involved in that violence last time, Ibuki. It was hard not to take a little interest. So, Ibuki, can you tell me what club you want to join?"
Huh? Spirited? Is he complimenting me or making fun of me? But is he a little interested in me too? Is that why he wants to be friends with me?
I wasn't going to say much. Oh well, I might as well explain properly.
Ibuki replied:
"Natsukawa, I saw how you performed that day. My grades probably aren't as good as yours. Someone like you probably thinks it's fine not to join a club."
"I'm not interested in clubs or anything either, but I'll join one! In schools in Sakurajima, joining a club generally improves your scores, right? I'll probably choose something like the track and field club. And one more thing: I'm very confident in my fighting ability. I don't need to join those flashy clubs!"
Natsukawa replied:
"I see! You look very pretty when you're confident too, Ibuki!"
He actually dares to flirt with me to my face! What an awful guy!
Ibuki angrily grabbed Natsukawa by the collar and said:
"You jerk! Do you want a beating? Even if you're no good at fighting, I won't go easy on you! Don't you dare underestimate me!"
Ding! Ibuki Mio's Affection Rating +10
You say one thing and mean another. You've given yourself away, Ibuki. Bet you didn't expect me to have a system.
But is Ibuki's personality a reworked version of Horikita Suzune's? No wonder she kept going head-to-head with Suzune in the original story, trying to prove who was better...
Winning over target characters was like unlocking NPCs in a game: it required grinding affection every day, while Natsukawa only needed to keep interacting with them using the same routine and make a stronger impression.
Pretending to be frightened, Natsukawa hurriedly replied:
"No, no, no, have mercy. I don't want a beating."
When Natsukawa showed his fighting ability, she would surely take even more interest in him.
"Hmph. I'll let it slide this time."
Just after Ibuki let go, a voice came from the corner of the school building:
"Yo! If it isn't the ice-cold Ibuki. What is this, flirting with someone?"
The guy leaning against the corner with a smug smile was none other than Ryuen Kakeru.
It looked as though he was waiting for someone, because the area behind this corner of the school building was outside camera coverage.
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