On the way out of Class 2-F, they passed by the cultural festival committee just before heading down the stairs.
Since the curtains weren't drawn, they could see the scene of the meeting inside.
"That's Yukinon…"
After saying it unconsciously, Yuigahama sneaked a glance at Yuu.
Yuu also looked inside. More precisely, he saw the girl speaking expressionlessly, her gaze so commanding that everyone instinctively listened obediently.
The girl seemed to sense something. Her clear, crystal-blue eyes turned, and she froze for a moment upon seeing them outside the window.
With an almost imperceptible nod, she continued speaking to the other committee members, as if she hadn't seen anything.
Of course, her gaze never met the person beside Yuigahama.
"Let's go."
Yuu's expression didn't change. He turned and headed down the stairs.
Yuigahama followed, saying hesitantly, "Yuu-kun, are we just going to leave Yukinon like that?"
Yuu didn't look back: "It's fine to leave her be. After all, in her eyes, I'm a reckless guy, and now I'm just admitting it."
Yuigahama shook her head vigorously: "Yukinon clearly trusts you! Just like I do, trusting that you're not the type to be unfaithful with your feelings…"
If Yuu hadn't been in that quiz session where he nearly lost, even if he'd said he would cheat, Yuigahama's answer would've been the same as Yukino's.
She didn't know why, but it was just her trust in him. She wanted him to know she believed in him.
Though he was flirty with words, once Yuu liked someone, he'd be loyal and automatically keep his distance from other girls.
Even though she knew he'd never been in a relationship, Yuu had a personal charm that made people trust him like that.
"Yeah, betraying a friend's trust feels really uncomfortable."
Though Yuu said this, his tone was completely indifferent: "But sooner or later, she'll be disappointed. So it's better to vaccinate her now than let her think I'm a hypocrite."
Regardless of fidelity, Yuu didn't want to lie in front of her.
If she considered him a friend, the feeling of having his lies exposed would be worse than being seen as a jerk.
A friend full of lies or a friend who's a womanizer—which would Yukino hate more?
The first was a crisis of trust. The second was just emotional infidelity… So, naturally, Yuu chose the latter.
"Just because you don't want to lie to Yukinon…"
Yuigahama muttered. At the foot of the stairs, she asked Yuu the most important question:
"Then, as long as Yuu-kun doesn't cheat, there won't be any problems, right?"
She didn't understand why Yuu insisted he'd cheat in the future. She couldn't grasp what he was struggling with. Nor could she comprehend where the exhaustion and helplessness in his eyes came from when talking about feelings.
Though she'd been watching him for three years, Yuigahama suddenly realized Yuu was more distant than she'd imagined.
"You're right, I have two ways to stay a good, loyal guy."
Yuu stepped onto the first floor. Leaning against the stair railing, he smiled at her.
"First, date you without caring about anything and see how long I can hold out."
"Second, wait until all the problems are resolved before officially dating you… But that's clearly not a good idea for you, Yui."
"What do you mean…"
Yuigahama instinctively stopped walking. She looked into his eyes with confusion, her face full of bewilderment.
"Hold out? Is there some kind of curse that'll definitely make you cheat? And what problems need to be resolved? Do they have anything to do with me?"
"Please, if you don't explain, I won't understand…"
Yuu shrugged as expected. His expression remained relaxed: "Only I can understand. So, just relax."
He tucked his hands into his pockets and walked toward the shoe lockers.
"No matter what happens, I'll try to choose the option that hurts you the least."
Yuu didn't want to see that disappointed expression again, followed by her trying to act cheerful when he had a girlfriend.
On the stairs, Yuigahama stood silently for a moment before hurriedly catching up to his back.
Yuu suddenly spoke again: "Oh, yeah, Yui. There's one more thing I haven't told you."
Startled, Yuigahama shrank her shoulders nervously: "W-What? Is it about Yukinon…"
Yuu let out a heavy sigh.
"I was standing below earlier and saw your pink underwear."
"…?"
"Remember, don't shorten your skirt too much… Luckily, no one else was there. Otherwise, with my strong possessiveness, I'd have to go through the trouble of erasing their memories one by one."
What a hassle.
Yuu shook his head, ignoring Yuigahama's increasingly flushed face. He grabbed his sneakers from the shoe locker and changed into them.
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
"…No matter how many times, I have to say it."
With a flushed face, Yuigahama gritted her teeth. Covering her skirt, she glared at him with anger and embarrassment.
"Yuu-kun, you idiot! Your technique for changing the mood and deflecting the conversation is really lame—so lame!"
In the school courtyard after hours, the girl's complaints seemed to echo endlessly.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
(Your technique is really, really, really lame—)
While walking Yuigahama home, Yuu suddenly received a call from a friend he hadn't seen in a while.
"Hello, Yuu, how've you been lately?"
"Oh, it's Kou-nii. Long time no see. How's college life?"
"Pretty great. Next time, let's hang out. Nii-san will take you to have fun at places kids can't go. Hehe~" A sleazy laugh came from the other end of the phone.
Had this guy been out of touch for so long that he was this excited and couldn't hold back?
"Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass." Yuu said, rolling his eyes.
Though she couldn't hear clearly, Yuigahama beside him still furrowed her brow. She asked in a small voice, "Who's that?"
"My friend, a college otaku." Yuu said bluntly.
This also let Yuuki Kouichirou on the other end know someone was with him. He quickly cleared his throat twice and got serious.
"That introduction's too much, you know. I'm at least a riajuu. I go on blind dates all the time… Anyway, back to the point."
Kouichirou suddenly adopted a mysterious tone.
"You know what? I just heard some shocking news from my mom. It's about my little sister."
"Your sister?"
Yuuki Asuna?
Yuu raised an eyebrow.
Yuigahama also instinctively leaned closer to him.
As everyone knew, the thing Yuu cared about most usually involved the word "sister."
"Yeah. Last week, Asuna suddenly told my mom…"