Yui stiffened. "A break? The morals of this school do not take breaks, Yuuki Rito! If I rest for one minute, someone will probably blow up the gymnasium!"
"Just for five minutes," Rito insisted.
He reached out, his hand hovering near her shoulder. "Come on. We have a staff area in the back. I'll get you some tea, it's on the house."
Yui looked at his hand, then at his earnest, concerned face. It didn't look like the "Wolf Butler" was mocking her, he was just worried about her. So, the tension in her shoulders bled away, leaving her suddenly lightheaded.
"I... I suppose a brief inspection of the staff area is okay." Yui muttered, lowering her clipboard.
"Great. Follow me."
Rito turned to lead her toward the back of the classroom, where a partition of fake ivy and cardboard trees separated the kitchen from the seating area.
Just as they reached the partition, disaster struck.
Lala, attempting to retrieve a balloon that had floated to the ceiling, activated her anti-gravity boots.
"Got it!" she cheered.
But her tail, whipping with excitement, snagged on the main support wire for the entire "Jungle Canopy" decoration.
SNAP.
The wire gave way. A massive, heavy cardboard tree, laden with plastic vines and fake coconuts, teetered ominously above them.
"Look out!" Rito shouted.
He grabbed Yui by the waist, tackling her sideways. They crashed through the flimsy partition wall, tumbling into the secluded, narrow space behind the decorations.
CRASH! BOOM!
The cardboard tree slammed into the floor exactly where Yui had been standing a second ago, burying the entrance to their little hideaway in a mountain of green paper and plastic fruit.
Dust billowed. Silence fell over the café, followed immediately by Saruyama screaming, "My bananas!"
In the small, enclosed space behind the fallen tree, Rito and Yui lay tangled together on the floor.
…
It was dark. The fallen decorations blocked out most of the classroom light, leaving them in a twilight gloom scented with dust and Haruna's coffee brewing nearby.
Rito groaned, pushing himself up on one elbow. "Kotegawa? Are you hurt?"
He was hovering over her. His legs straddled her hips; his hands planted on the floor on either side of her head. It was the classic, accidental kabedon, except on the floor.
Yui blinked, her eyes adjusting to the dimness. She looked up and saw that Rito was inches away. His wolf ears were crooked. His vest was open, and his face was flushed with exertion and concern.
"I... I'm fine," Yui whispered, her voice breathless. She realized her hands were clutching his shirt, holding onto him for dear life.
"Thank god," Rito exhaled, collapsing slightly so his weight rested more fully on his arms. "That was close."
He should have moved and gotten off her immediately but he didn't.
He looked at her. Her loose hair was fanning out around her face. And perched on top of her head, slightly crooked but undeniable, was a pair of white cat ears.
Rito blinked. "Kotegawa... you're wearing ears?"
Yui gasped, her hands flying to her head. "No! I mean... when I was coming in this room, Lala forced them on me! She said it was 'mandatory festival attire' for inspection! I forgot to take them off after suddenly the accident occurred!"
She tried to rip them off, but Rito caught her wrist.
"Wait," Rito said, his honest nature slipping out. "Don't take them off."
Yui froze. "W-Why?"
"Because," Rito murmured, a shy smile touching his lips. "You look... really cute as a cat."
Yui's brain stopped working. Her face turned a shade of red that was visible even in the dark.
"C-Cute?!" she squeaked. "Yuuki Rito! I am the Head of the Morals Committee! I am not... a cute cat!"
"You are," Rito insisted gently. He released her wrist and reached up. His fingers brushed the white fur of the fake ears, then trailed down to touch her real ear. "You're always working so hard and always yelling. But when you're like this... just Kotegawa Yui... you're really cute."
He stroked her hair, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. His touch was warm, calloused from drawing, and incredibly gentle.
Yui trembled. The anger she usually used as a shield evaporated. She looked at him, the Harem King, the Shameless Beast, and all she saw was a boy who had just saved her, who was holding her, who thought she was cute.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. She felt a strange, heavy heat pooling in her stomach.
"You..." Yui whispered, her eyes watering. "You're unfair. You break all the rules... make me angry all the time… and then you look at me like that."
"I'm sorry," Rito whispered back, leaning closer. "I can't help it."
The atmosphere shifted. The sounds of the café outside faded into background noise. There was only the heat between them, the scent of his sweat, and the undeniable pull of gravity.
Rito's gaze dropped to her lips. They were parted, trembling.
Yui saw him look. She didn't push him away, but rather closed her eyes, her chin lifted slightly.
'He's going to kiss me,' Yui thought, her mind spinning. 'Yuuki Rito is going to kiss me. And... maybe I want him to…?'
Rito leaned down. His breath ghosted over her mouth.
"Yui..."
The distance between them was less than an inch.
Rito could feel the erratic puff of Yui's breath against his lips, short, panicked, and smelling faintly of mint tea. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her long lashes trembling against her flushed cheeks. Her hands, which had been pushing against his chest, had curled into fists, clutching the fabric of his vest as if anchoring herself to him.
She wasn't pulling away, she was waiting.
Rito's heart thundered in his ears. His mind was screaming at him to close the gap, to taste her, to claim the lips of the girl who had spent so long chasing him with a rulebook. The scent of her, clean, sharp, but undeniably sweet under the stress, was intoxicating in the confined space.
He tilted his head.
"Rito-kun? Yui-chan?"
A soft, hesitant voice cut through the heavy atmosphere like a knife.
Rito froze. Yui's eyes snapped open, wide with horror.
Light flooded their hiding spot as a section of the fake ivy wall was pulled back.
Haruna stood there, holding a tray of clean glasses. She blinked, taking in the scene: Rito hovering over Yui on the floor, their faces dangerously close, Yui clutching his shirt, both of them flushed and breathless.
For a second, nobody moved.
Then, chaos erupted.
"AHHHHH!" Yui shrieked, scrambling backward like a crab, kicking Rito in the shin in her panic. "Sairenji-san! This isn't! I mean! He fell! It was gravity! Gravity is shameless!"
Rito fell back onto his butt, rubbing his shin. "Ow! Kotegawa!"
Haruna stared at them. A slow, knowing smile spread across her face. She didn't look jealous but rather... amused.
"It's okay, Yui-chan," Haruna said gently, offering a hand to help the Prefect up. "It's a busy festival, and… accidents happen."
Yui took the hand, pulling herself up. She dusted off her skirt aggressively, refusing to look at Rito. Her face was still burning, her cat ears askew.
"Y-Yes! Accidents! Purely accidental physics!" Yui stammered, adjusting her hair with a shaking hand. "I... I must return to patrol! There are... delinquents! Probably!"
She spun on her heel and bolted. She didn't march this time; she ran, nearly tripping over a cardboard monkey on her way out of the classroom.
Rito watched her go, his heart still racing. He touched his lips, feeling the ghost of her breath.
"That was close…" he muttered.
Haruna walked over to him. She knelt down, picking a leaf out of his hair.
"You really are dangerous, Rito-kun…" she whispered, her voice teasing.
Rito looked at her. "Haruna... I didn't mean to—"
"I know," she smiled, leaning in to press a quick, claiming kiss to his cheek. "But I saw her face. It didn't look like she was against it."
She stood up, offering him a hand.
"Come on, Wolf-san. We have customers waiting. And I think you owe me a date after the festival for almost kissing the Morals Committee Head."
Rito groaned, taking her hand. "I owe you everything, Haruna."
As they walked back into the noise of the festival, Rito couldn't help but glance at the door where Yui had fled.
The "Spoiler Route" was changing things faster than he expected. Even the Iron Prefect was cracking.
*****
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