Makoto glanced sideways at Utaha: Kasumigaoka's hatching another plan, isn't she?
Utaha looked calm on the outside.
But in her heart: Just as I thought, Sawamura-san gives off total airhead vibes. She barely knows Fushimi, while Ichika has four sisters helping her—I need dependable allies too.
With the looks and figures of the Nakano sisters, Utaha had long understood: solo play wasn't going to cut it in this game.
As for whether Eriri might be a burden?
Utaha had full confidence in herself.
She would handle the offense. All she needed was for Eriri to stand firmly on her side when it came time to face off against the Nakano sisters.
By the time they reached Makoto's place and took off their shoes, Eriri politely said, "Excuse me for intruding."
The two girls walked into the living room while Makoto went to get the first aid kit—his house had all the necessary supplies.
"You can check your injury now," Utaha said casually as she sat down.
"Okay."
Eriri was much more reserved. She sat formally across from Utaha, pulled up her pant leg, and revealed her pale, delicate ankle.
She removed her white sock and looked at her reddened toe with relief. "Looks like it's nothing serious."
Utaha glanced over as well. "You got lucky. Most people in your situation would have cracks in their toenails—or worse, bleeding."
"Don't say stuff like that, it's terrifying!" Eriri turned pale.
As a pretty girl, she couldn't even imagine her toenail getting ruined.
Makoto returned with the first aid kit. "So? How bad is it?"
"It's fine. Just a little red." Eriri shrank her foot back shyly.
Maybe it was a girlish sense of modesty—she was too embarrassed to stick her foot out for him to check.
"Looks like you're lucky, Sawamura-san," Makoto said.
Eriri blinked, a doubtful look in her eyes. "That line sounds familiar… Did you two rehearse this?"
Makoto frowned. "Rehearse what?"
Utaha smiled gracefully. "We came home together. If we had planned our lines ahead of time, don't you think you would've noticed?"
Eriri blushed and didn't respond.
Makoto added, "We really didn't plan anything. It's just a coincidence."
Utaha gave a small "mm" of agreement. "Exactly."
"Oh." Eriri didn't want to keep talking about it.
Utaha noticed everything and smiled subtly.
Looks like I was completely right. Sawamura-san really does have that adorable airheaded vibe.
Even better—if I befriend her, she won't backstab me.
She sneakily glanced at Eriri's chest, then let her gaze trail downward.
Her confidence grew.
Eriri wasn't exactly flat-chested, but she was only slightly above that line.
Sure, her face was cute—but when it came to body comparison, Utaha felt she had the clear upper hand.
In her mind, it was only natural that Makoto would be drawn to Ichika and herself.
After all, for a high school girl to have such a mature, voluptuous figure—be it chest, waist-to-hip ratio, or legs—it was undeniably attractive to boys.
Both she and the Nakano sisters were top-tier in that category.
Which meant, compared to the relatively "plain" Eriri, Utaha saw her as a safe ally.
Eriri quietly put her socks back on and was subtly glancing around when she suddenly heard Makoto ask,
"By the way, I heard from someone that you were asking around about me at school?"
"Huh?"
Eriri froze, then quickly waved her hands.
"No, that's a misunderstanding… Uh, I guess not exactly. I was a little curious about the short film you made.
But that's just because my mom kept bringing it up. Personally, I'm not interested in filming or anything."
She rambled on in a hurry, clearly just trying to deny that she'd been secretly asking about a boy.
Makoto tried hard not to laugh but managed to hold it in.
"I see. I just thought, since you seemed interested in filming, maybe we could satisfy your curiosity if everyone had time."
Crap!
She'd denied it too firmly just now!
Eriri awkwardly averted her gaze, nervously fiddling with her hands, a faint blush blooming on her cheeks. "Well… if you're really up for it, I wouldn't mind listening."
Makoto pretended not to notice her embarrassment. "You're probably not curious about the filming process, but more about the short film's content, right?"
"How did you know that?"
"Because you said you weren't interested in filming. And since everyone at school's been talking about the short film lately, it's only natural you'd get curious."
"Yeah, that's it exactly," Eriri nodded quickly, relieved she managed to cover it up.
Then she tilted her flushed face up, her eyes sparkling, practically broadcasting "Tell me everything!"
Makoto put the first aid kit away, poured tea for both girls, and finally sat down.
"There's not much to the short film's plot. If I just told you now, it'd feel like I'm spoiling it.
But I can definitely tell you about the funny stuff that happened during filming and how we got everything done."
Eriri immediately sat up straight.
The excited little underdog was now paying full attention.
In truth, her interest in Makoto was intense—and it had nothing to do with her mother constantly mentioning him. She was simply intrigued on her own.
The fact that he had managed to shoot a full short film as a high schooler alone impressed her.
But what piqued her most was the things other students had said at school:
"I visited their set once, and whenever Makoto gave a motivational speech, it got me so fired up! It was insanely cool!"
After that, others echoed the same.
It was as if his speeches had some kind of magical power. Anyone who visited the set would end up coming back every day, just like clocking in to a job.
Eriri had considered sneaking over to watch too, but she worried—since she wasn't close to him—if someone saw her lurking around, it might completely ruin her reputation.
Now, the atmosphere in the living room has shifted.
At first, it was just Makoto talking, with Eriri pretending to listen casually.
But soon enough, she was fully engrossed, starting to ask questions—one after another, letting out all the curiosity she'd been bottling up.
Makoto answered each of them patiently.
Meanwhile, Utaha was listening half-heartedly.
She was replaying Eriri's reactions in her head.
If her intuition was correct, this Sawamura girl might have a bit of a tsundere streak.
And that… was a problem.
Tsunderes were unpredictable. They could mess things up at critical moments.
It was like having a ticking time bomb without knowing where the remote was or when it might go off.
Utaha rubbed her temples. She'd need to rethink things carefully. For now, she'd postpone asking Makoto for advice—there were more important matters.
A while later, both Makoto and Eriri had finished their tea, having talked until their throats were dry.
"Um, thank you for today, Fushimi-kun, and you too, Kasumigaoka-senpai," Eriri stood and politely thanked them.
Utaha understood the hint. "Heading back?"
"Yeah."
"Perfect, I'm heading out too. Let's go together."
Utaha stood up as well, cheerfully pulling out her phone. "Let's exchange contact info."
Eriri agreed without hesitation.
After they were done, Eriri sneaked a glance at Makoto, clearly wondering if she should ask to exchange LINE IDs with him too.
Utaha smoothly offered a fake assist: "Oh right, you two could exchange contact info too. You know each other now."
Eriri's heart lit up—senpai really was a good person!
She had no idea this was exactly the result Utaha had planned.
After saying goodbye to Makoto, the two girls walked downstairs. Utaha smiled. "Actually, I just thought of something I wanted to talk to you about. Are you in a hurry to go home?"
"Eh? Not really," Eriri replied.
"Then let's stop by the dessert café up ahead."
"Okay!"
Once the two girls had left, Makoto was about to start cleaning when Nino messaged him.
Nino: [Did Ichika contact you today?]
Makoto: [Yeah. Why? Do you need something from her?]
Nino: [Just curious.]
Just curious?
Makoto looked at his phone suspiciously. Was Nino in one of her moods again?
…
Meanwhile—
Ichika had just stepped out of a building, happily telling her manager that she'd landed a supporting role in a movie.
"That's great!" the manager beamed. "Even if it's not a huge part, it's still a big step forward for you."
"I think so too. Thanks for all your help lately."
"Don't mention it. Oh, maybe you can celebrate with your sisters. Like—huh? Isn't that one of your sisters?"
The manager paused mid-sentence, and Ichika turned to see Nino walking over with a bright smile, dressed up beautifully.
She even had makeup on?
Ichika instantly knew something was off.
The manager, wisely, didn't greet Nino and quietly excused herself.
Ichika watched as Nino approached. Just as she was about to say something, Nino smiled and said,
"I came to pick you up. Of course, if you want to go somewhere else, I can tag along too."
Ichika: "Who asked you?"
Nino: "Can't I ask myself and answer too?"
The air tensed for a second.
Ichika quickly regained her composure and smirked. "I'm happy you came to pick me up. But if you're not going to be honest with me, I'll be upset."
"Glad you brought up honesty," Nino's smile faded. "Why don't you explain why you never came home after sneaking out that night?"
"I did tell you. I ran into a problem with my acting and needed urgent help, so I went to get advice from Makoto."
"Just advice? Who gets advice that takes all night?"
"Because we're both very hardworking."
"…"
Nino was nearly speechless at her sister's shamelessness.
So the two of you were hardworking all night, huh?
But she didn't back down.
"I actually contacted Makoto just now," Nino said.
Ichika's guard went up, but she smiled. "So?"
"I'm planning to see him tonight."
She paused for dramatic effect. "I have something I need advice on too."
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