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"Hojou, my cousin gave me a coupon for a two-person set meal at a family restaurant. Want to go after school and turn it into a study session?" — Megumi
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Almost instantly—barely a tenth of a second later another message followed.
She typed so quickly that it beat out Kyousuke's fleeting thought of refusing and instead inviting her over to his house.
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"I've already been treated by you twice, so I thought I should return the favor. It's just a free meal coupon, but the menu looks pretty generous."
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That one line made Kyousuke pull his finger back from the screen.
With things phrased that way, it would be rude to decline.
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"Alright. Then I'll wait for you at the Toyogasaki school gate after class?" he replied.
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"Having you come all the way to pick me up when I'm the one asking for tutoring feels impolite, don't you think?
Besides, the restaurant's right between our two schools. We should just meet there directly." — Megumi
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What a thoughtful girl, Kyousuke thought with a sigh.
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"Okay then, see you at the restaurant."
"Mm~~"
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Staring at the chat log, he couldn't help but marvel at how strange Megumi was.
Something that looked exactly like a date somehow felt like an everyday, casual thing when she said it.
Wait. Hold on.
'Didn't I promise to pick up Eriri from Toyogasaki after school?'
Earlier, he had worried about how to explain to Eriri and even Utaha-senpai—why he wasn't going home and was going out with Megumi instead.
But now… that headache seemed to have just vanished on its own.
As expected of Megumi. No matter how complicated something was, once she handled it, everything became simple.
Kyousuke glanced up at the podium.
Yukari was reciting poetry from the Manyoshu in her soft, willow-like voice.
Fighting back the waves of drowsiness threatening to pull him under, he narrowed his eyes and listened.
Today's classical literature lesson featured a poem by Princess Tajima:
"In the autumn fields the rice stalks sway,
I long to follow you in the wind.
I'll pay no heed to rumor's sting,
And send my love, unshaken, still."
Yukino Yukari's classes were always quiet—so quiet that the only sound was her voice.
Like the murmur of a brook when the snow first melts, or raindrops tapping lightly on leaves before slipping to the earth.
Poetry had to be read aloud in rhythm to let its hidden beauty seep out—the yearning of women for their beloveds, their stubbornness in love, their defiance of society.
Each word flowed with girlish feelings, blossoming between Yukari's lips.
No wonder her classes were the envy of the entire staffroom.
Hiratsuka-sensei was just as much a beauty, but her classes were always rowdy, sparking fiery debates every period.
Yukari-sensei's, on the other hand, were silent—but not from distraction.
Every student sat listening intently, eyes shining with the hunger for knowledge, drinking in her poems, her explanations of the poets' lives, and their stories of love.
It was the kind of class any teacher would dream of.
"Bullshit! Don't you guys know, that brat Hojou—" The outburst died halfway, leaving the complaint unsaid.
And so, Kyousuke's classical literature class with Yukari went on quietly, her voice reciting verse.
And in the moments her students weren't watching, her deep, secretive eyes would steal a glance at the boy by the window.
For this timid woman, that was the boldest confession she could make.
The bell rang.
Yukari gathered her teaching materials, stole one last look at the corner of the room, and when their eyes met, a soft smile bloomed on her lips.
Stretching lazily, Kyousuke gave Kisaki a few half-hearted instructions before sprawling on his desk.
Next was modern literature—Hiratsuka-sensei's class.
As someone who might one day have his name in textbooks, he felt entitled to nap proudly in her lessons.
If that dream didn't come true, it would be her fault for waking him up.
And as expected, Hiratsuka's "literature class" quickly devolved into another debate session.
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Lunch Break
Under Kyousuke's personal parasol, Yukinoshita Yukino finally experienced what it was like to eat lunch at school with friends.
Don't feel sad about the painful past hidden in that sentence—this moment was worth celebrating.
"Ah~~ open wide, Yukino-chan." Sakura beamed, holding out a piece of octopus sausage with her chopsticks.
"No. I refuse." Yukino's face was expressionless as she raised a hand between herself and the sausage.
"Eh? But didn't we agree to eat lunch together?" Sakura pouted.
"Yes, to eat together. Not to have you feed me." Yukino's tone was firm.
"But that's what eating together with friends is like!" Sakura argued, eyes wide and innocent. "It's just like when you visited the dorm and wanted to buy gifts—you don't have much experience with friends, so you don't know these things. Just trust me."
"I may not have friends, but my eyesight is perfectly fine." Yukino retorted. "I've observed plenty of classmates eating together, and they don't—"
"Ahhh…"
Sakura let out a tragic sigh, her big eyes suddenly brimming with sorrow, lips pressing tight.
"Yukino-chan… it must've been so hard for you."
"What are you even talking about? Hard in what way?"
"All those lonely days, eating lunch by yourself, secretly sneaking glances at others to see how they ate together.
Your heart filled with longing and envy… imagining what it'd be like to have someone feed you too…" Sakura's voice grew more dramatic by the second.
"Stop! Stop right there! I was not 'secretly sneaking glances'! I looked directly!" Yukino scowled.
How could she ever "sneak a glance"? People were the ones stealing looks at her.
And when she caught them, they were the ones to flinch and look away. That's sneaking.
"Wait—, why are you looking at me like that?"
She suddenly noticed Shouko, who had been quietly smiling, now watching her with sympathy.
"Hold on! It was purely academic observation, nothing to do with envy or longing, and I've never fantasized about being fed lunch.
Nobody would even do that kind of thing at school anyway, not just school—even couples wouldn't pull that off in public, much less friends."
Her words tumbled out in a rush, cheeks flushing faintly—probably just the midday sun.
"Ehhh…" Sakura sighed again.
"Yukino-chan, I told you already—you don't understand these things. Trust me. Friends do feed each other. Look over there."
She pointed with her chin.
"If you compare me to those perverts, I'll be angry!" Yukino snapped, refusing to even look.
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On the wooden bench to the right—
"Ah open wide"
Kyousuke held up a tiny octopus sausage with his chopsticks.
Yukino Yukari tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear so it wouldn't get in the way while Hojou fed her.
"Ahh~~"
With her classic, pure features, the woman let out a sound more fitting for a kindergarten kid and obediently opened her mouth, swallowing the little sausage whole.
'Gulp.'
The sound of her throat working didn't just belong to Yukari—someone beside her swallowed as well, completely involuntarily.
"Ahem… here, have some broccoli next."
By now Kyousuke's feeding skills were well-honed.
He knew not to shove in the next bite the moment Yukari swallowed.
He waited, letting her tongue glide along her mouth as she savored the flavor, giving her time to prepare for the next taste.
"Ahh~~" The timid beauty opened her mouth once more.
This time even Yukinoshita Yukino was left with her jaw hanging.
Not from hunger—but shock.
She had always known Kyousuke was a pervert.
But why on earth would Yukari-sensei play along with such an embarrassing game? And right after she herself had said that…
Her thoughts cut off as something suddenly invaded her mouth.
"See? Yukino-chan is such a good girl~"
Sakura giggled, pulling back her chopsticks clean and dry.
Even being force-fed, Yukinoshita managed to do it gracefully, without a trace of mess.
"Mmff! You—mmph—what are you doing?!" Yukino's muffled protest was full of indignation.
After all her dodging, she had still ended up with an octopus sausage in her mouth.
Too stubborn to chew, she puffed out her cheeks and stuffed the sausage into one side, mumbling her complaints through bulging lips.
Shouko burst out laughing at the sight.
"Pfft—so cute, Yukino-chan."
"Right?! A perfect anime heroine 'puffing her cheeks'! I can't believe someone can pull it off in real life. As expected of the almighty Yukino!" Sakura clapped her hands together like a delighted seal.
'Cute… so cute…'
Naturally, the world's cutest girl couldn't keep up the expression under her friends' teasing.
Yukino hurriedly chewed a few times and swallowed the sausage.
"That was a sneak attack!" she protested.
"Nope, Yukino-chan. What you usually observe are just surface-level friendships. Real friends feed each other."
Sakura spoke with utmost seriousness, chopsticks raised for emphasis.
"If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you!"
She bent over Yukino's deluxe bento, scanning its contents before picking—unsurprisingly—another octopus sausage.
Unlike the plain ones, this one had bright round eyes and a smiling little mouth, radiating cuteness.
"As expected of you, Yukino-chan. Even your bento is perfect." Sakura sighed in genuine admiration.
"Of course. People's perception of food directly affects its taste, so I specifically chose the—"
Yukino froze mid-sentence.
Because at Sakura's sing-song "Ah open wide," Shouko—blushing bright red—obediently parted her lips.
Under Yukino's incredulous gaze, Shouko turned her face away shyly, embarrassed to be fed.
"See? That's it. That's what friendship is!" Sakura announced triumphantly.
Yukino snapped her mouth shut, determined to avoid another ambush.
"This doesn't prove anything. You're Hojou's childhood friend—doing perverted things with him isn't exactly shocking."
At last she calmed herself, the dizzying warmth of "eating lunch with friends" fading into clear thought.
Yes. Sitting next to her was Yamauchi Sakura.
A girl who, even at the end of her life, devoted herself wholeheartedly to helping the boy she loved build a harem.
Someone who could make even her feel like Kyousuke's harem had a sense of justice. Someone who…
'How foolish of me… to think I could just enjoy a normal lunch break with friends like an ordinary student.'
Memories of the shocks she'd endured around Sakura all came flooding back at once.
Her expression went blank as her lips parted, almost like Sakura's "Ah open wide" had been a hypnotic command.
And as she chewed on the broccoli she herself had prepared, Yukino realized—astonished—
'Why does it taste better than when I eat alone?'
Meanwhile, Yukino Yukari, hearing the other girls no longer talking about her and Kyousuke, finally relaxed.
Her crystalline ears still glowed red like ripe pomegranate, but that didn't stop her from focusing wholly on the boy's feeding.
"Ahh~~"
Her soft lips parted, long lashes trembling as her galaxy-like eyes peeked timidly up at her lover.
Being looked at that way—even a man as seasoned as Kyousuke couldn't keep steady.
His heart gave a violent tremor.
In his fluster, he forgot to pick up food and simply pushed the bare chopsticks toward Yukino's mouth.
When the white tips neared her rosy lips, Kyousuke realized his blunder and hurried to pull back—
But—
"Ahhmm~"
She leaned forward, biting down on the chopsticks.
Kyousuke could feel her small, pearly teeth clamping against the wood—and something else.
Something soft.
A strange sensation. Addictive. Impossible to forget.
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