After a while, no sound came from the bamboo forest. Tanaka looked at her behavior, puzzled.
After waiting for a while, Tanaka's patience was about to run out. Just as he was about to ask again, Rinko cut him off first:
"If there's nothing else, I'll leave first. The answer... I've already told you."
With that, Rinko smiled politely at him, turned, and walked towards the exit.
"You all keep chatting. It's so late, I'll walk Ajitani-chan back and be right back!
It's not safe for her to walk alone; I'm afraid something might happen."
Ajitani didn't have time to ponder the meaning of Rinko's last words. Seeing her turn to leave, she quickly chased after her.
Tsuna and his companions exchanged glances and immediately followed without a word.
Ultimately, rather than worrying about Rinko, they were more concerned about Ajitani returning alone after walking someone back.
As they passed Tanaka, comfort and teasing were inevitable.
"Don't be discouraged; the next one will be better."
"I never thought Rinko would like Girl."
"You can do it!"
"Mm!"
The last two comforting remarks came from Shouko and Takagi-san. Tanaka didn't know if they had any comforting effect; he was just bewildered.
It wasn't time yet, so the sad emotions hadn't set in.
Watching Tsuna and the others gradually walk away, Kitano finally emerged from his hiding place, sighed softly, and raised a hand to pat Tanaka's shoulder.
Whether it was comfort or understanding, all the words he wanted to say were in that pat.
Another silently emo companion was added to the night.
...
"Rinko-chan, wait for me!"
"I knew you guys were secretly hiding in the dark."
Rinko stopped, turned to look at the approaching group, the smile on her face never fading since she turned around.
"What are you talking about, Rinko-chan? I don't understand?" Ajitani tilted her head.
Seeing her act so well, Rinko couldn't help but laugh. She smiled with curved eyes, shook her head, and decisively dropped the topic.
Tsuna and the others saw Rinko back to her dorm and settled her in, then returned to the courtyard of the hot spring inn's backyard.
The group sat in a row along the wooden veranda, quietly gazing at the scene in the courtyard outside.
The evening breeze swept by, and only the crisp rustling of branches and leaves colliding deep within the bamboo forest could be heard.
"I can't believe it, absolutely can't believe it, Rinko-chan actually likes Girl."
As she said this, Ajitani cautiously looked around, and only when she found no one did she relax:
"It's just a bit of a shame that I didn't hear who the Girl Rinko-chan likes is."
"She did, Rinko did say it, didn't she?" Takagi-san, beside her, smiled.
"Did she?" Ajitani was puzzled.
"Did she?" Nishikata, sitting on the far left, leaned forward, staring suspiciously at the smiling girl beside him: "Rinko just now... really said that? Why do I have no recollection at all?"
Before Takagi-san could explain, Tsuna, on the far right, spoke first:
"Didn't Rinko say a name at the time? And she's the only one in our class with that name."
He looked down at Shouko, who was leaning against him. Seeing that she was still tilting her head, her eyes full of confusion, he couldn't help but gently poke her tightly furrowed brow.
Shouko lightly swatted away his mischievous hand. Seeing that he wouldn't give up, she opened her mouth and unhesitatingly bit him, but he dodged it with quick reflexes.
"Ah!?"
Ajitani's startled cry interrupted their playful actions and Nishikata's wild thoughts.
"Hiss... Class Monitor, did you guess?" Tsuna bared his teeth, gasping in cold air.
Shouko was still gripping his palm and biting it, but her gaze was directed at the incredulous Ajitani.
"What?"
Nishikata, who couldn't keep up, was still bewildered. He was still wondering whether he should go comfort the two secretly emo people tonight.
"How is that possible! This... this is absolutely impossible!" Ajitani seemed completely lost in her own thoughts, muttering continuously.
The remaining few said nothing, only quietly gazing at the night scene in the courtyard, illuminated by the flickering firelight.
The faint light flickered on their faces, and the atmosphere became heavy, yet it carried an indescribable feeling.
"Ajitani-chan, calm down, okay? What if Rinko was just teasing you?" Takagi-san, unable to watch any longer, spoke up to soothe her:
"Think about it, how many boyfriends has Rinko had? How could she suddenly like Girl?"
With that, seeing her still shaking her head hard, looking foolishly disbelieving, Takagi-san was a little exasperated. She reached out and lightly tapped her forehead:
"Only a silly person like you would believe Miyamura's nonsense! Rinko must have already noticed us hiding in the dark!"
"What?" Nishikata, finally connecting, looked at the two with shock: "Ta... Takagi-san, are you saying Rinko likes the Class Monitor!?!"
"Let me sort this out..."
Nishikata didn't notice Ajitani's changing expression. He pressed his thumb against his temple, pondering for a long time, and finally slowly squeezed out:
"Kitano and Rinko have been childhood sweethearts since they were toddlers!
But what happened? Kitano put his life on the line with a heartfelt confession... *snap*! Rinko cruelly rejected him on the spot!
What's even more incredible is that this guy then turned around and became a divine wingman for his best friend to pursue his beloved childhood sweetheart!
Alas, the flowers were willing, but the water was not; Rinko waved her hand, and this unlucky fellow's young heart shattered into pieces..."
Nishikata's voice was full of dramatic inflections, almost like narrating a melodramatic TV show:
"Who would have thought! The shocking twist is that you, Class Monitor, are also deeply involved in this century-long tormented love!
Tsk tsk tsk... This intricate love polygon, if this had happened earlier, we could have asked Master Miyamura to adapt it into a script for our School Festival performance!
It would definitely be a hit...—"
"Thump...!"
Takagi-san couldn't listen anymore. She raised her hand and flicked Nishikata's forehead with a crisp thud:
"What kind of crazy things are you always thinking about with that little brain of yours!? Is this matter as complicated as you make it sound?"
Right after she flicked him, she herself felt a little bad. Her fingertip unconsciously rubbed Nishikata's forehead twice.
Only after doing it did she realize the action was too intimate. Taking advantage of no one noticing, she quietly pulled her hand back, acting as if nothing had happened.
Nishikata opened his mouth, the words he wanted to argue with all caught in his throat, not a single syllable came out.
Under the dim light, the faint blush that quietly spread across his earlobe couldn't be hidden, burning more and more noticeably.
Shouko was clearly hearing about this for the first time, her eyes wide with surprise.
She was about to turn and ask Tsuna if she had missed out on a big piece of gossip, but before she could open her mouth, Tsuna smiled, seeing through her little thought.
"Just a little bit of melodramatic stuff."
"What's so melodramatic about it?"
Ajitani pouted, directly pulling Shouko , who was leaning on Tsuna's shoulder, to her side and embracing her. Then, she began to earnestly fill her in on the 'exciting plot' she had missed:
"You didn't hear clearly in the bamboo forest. I was there, I'll tell you, it'll definitely be better than Miyamura's version..."