Chapter 11 – How About Using First Names?

“Ah, welcome back, Kamiji-kun.”

“A-Are you okay? Did they have some weird misunderstanding about you?”

As he returned to the classroom, Ichizu and Miina immediately rushed over to greet him. Ichizu, in particular, was likely anxious about whether the Disciplinary Committee had gotten the wrong idea. Her visible distress was so obvious that it almost made him worry for her instead.

Regardless, to ease Ichizu’s anxiety, he first gave them a rough summary of his exchange in the Disciplinary Committee room.

However, he kept quiet about the fact that Kaoru had challenged him to a sparring match. It was nothing more than his intuition from years of being a delinquent, but she gave off a dangerous scent. He decided he didn’t want these two getting deeply involved while he was still at a stage where he couldn’t see through that woman’s true nature.

Incidentally, Shinta had accepted the sparring match. He was scheduled to show his face at her kendo club this Friday after school.

(I need to figure out that woman’s true nature during our spar on Friday. Until then, I don’t want to needlessly stoke their anxiety.)

Shinta pushed the Disciplinary Committee President to the corner of his mind. He tried to forget about her for now. Then, he cut off the conversation about the incident at a good stopping point.

“They basically just asked some harmless questions. It dragged on and I’m starving, but there weren’t any problems, so stop making such an anxious face.”

Saying that, he patted the head of the restless and fidgety Ichizu standing right in front of him.

“Uee!? K-Kamiji-kun, why are you rubbing my head…?”

(Kyaaaaaa!? Sh-Sh-Shinta-kun’s big, strong hand…♡!?)

“Ah, my bad. You kind of looked like a puppy, so I just did it without thinking.”

He couldn’t quite put it into words. He had ended up patting Ichizu’s head out of something akin to the protective urge one feels toward a small puppy. However, thinking about it rationally, from a high school girl’s perspective, it was probably pretty annoying. In fact, right now, she was blushing and bewildered out of the embarrassment of being treated like a child.

Thinking he had bothered her, he pulled his hand back. Here, Ichizu showed an unexpected reaction.

“Ah…”

(Eh, you’re stopping?)

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

When he stopped patting her head, for some reason, she made a face that looked like she was reluctant for it to end. While Shinta was confused and couldn’t understand the meaning behind her reaction, Miina interrupted the two of them.

“Man, you two sure are getting heated. Could it be you’re already in that kind of relationship?”

Miina smiled. Her eyes sparkled brightly with amusement.

At the phrase “that kind of relationship” she uttered, Shinta tilted his head in confusion. Ichizu frantically waved both her hands up and down with her eyes spinning.

“W-W-What are you saying, Chikai-san!?”

Ichizu was clearly flustered about something. Shinta, not understanding what it meant, demanded an answer.

“What are you panicking for, Arai? And Chikai, what do you mean by ‘that kind of relationship’?”

“Hmm, Kamiji-kun really is a dense one, huh. Arai-san is gonna have a hard time with this~”

“W-Wait, please, just be quiet for a second, Chikai-san!”

Saying that, Ichizu forcefully covered Miina’s mouth with her own hands to silence her. That action only made Shinta even more suspicious. Conversely, Miina directed a sympathetic gaze toward Ichizu.

(These two are fun to watch, but it gets kinda frustrating~. Kamiji-kun seems pretty dense, and Arai-san seems so timid… Alright, time for big sis to step up.)

It had been a while since she deepened her interactions with the two of them. Miina had naturally realized that Ichizu harbored feelings for Shinta that went beyond friendship. However, seeing the lack of progress between them was making her a bit impatient. She decided to give them a push in the back right here.

However, there was one thing she misread. That was the idea that Ichizu was “timid.” By the way, Ichizu’s current state of mind was like this.

(Uhehehehe, people around us think Shinta-kun and I are in that kind of relationship…♡ Maybe I should just take the plunge and come out with it right here!)

Completely oblivious to Ichizu’s true nature, who was harboring a dangerously excited state of mind internally, Miina made an even further proposal.

“Say, you guys have gotten pretty close, so instead of using last names, let’s start calling each other by our first names! Plus, Kamiji-kun, isn’t it confusing to say Arai and Chikai since they sound so similar?”

“Nah, I really don’t mind either… Ugh!?”

Poking the ribs of the dense Shinta who couldn’t read the room, Miina sought Ichizu’s agreement.

“Arai-san, you’ve been hanging out with Kamiji-kun since winter break, right? It’s not like you lose anything, so it’s fine to use first names, right? You guys are close enough that you even make him lunch.”

“T-That’s… yeah… if Kamiji-kun is okay with it, I’m totally fine with it… I’ve always wanted to call you by your first name anyway…”

(Yesssss, nice assist!!!)

“Then it’s decided. Nice to meet you again, Shinta, Ichizu. Come on, since we’re at it, Shinta, try calling Ichizu by her first name.”

Saying that, Miina casually followed up to help close the distance between them.

Well, Shinta didn’t have any particular attachment to how they addressed each other. He couldn’t catch the second half because her voice was so quiet. If Ichizu was okay with it, then it was fine.

For the time being, just as Miina told him to, Shinta called Ichizu by her first name for the first time.

“Well then, I’ll be calling you by your first name from now on, Ichizu.”

“Y-Y-Y-Yes, K-K-K-Kamiji-kun.”

(Say it more…♡)

(Looks like there’s still a long, rocky road ahead for these two. But man, I can feel the youth~)

Staring at Ichizu, who was completely stiff with tension despite her loud inner voice, Miina turned her face away and chuckled softly.

At this time, Miina vaguely assumed that the two of them would eventually date and reach the finish line. However, though this former delinquent boy was feared by many students, he was burdened with a destiny that made him incredibly well-liked by a specific, highly eccentric type of woman.

(I did it! Thanks to Miina-san, I was finally able to get him to call me by my first name! I-I’m so happy… I have to work even harder from here on out! And eventually, maybe he’ll call me Darling… Uhehehehehe…♡)

Rejoicing at finally being called by her first name, Ichizu didn’t know yet that in the near future, multiple rivals would be born.