Kazunari’s Natural Enemy.

“Good work, everyone.”

“Good work!”

“That was quite the commotion. Did something happen?”

As we ducked through the exit and stepped outside, Nishikawa-san and the others were waiting right there, immediately striking up a conversation. With all that ruckus echoing down the hallway, it was only natural they’d be curious.

“Nah… just a little thing.”

“Same as always.”

“Same as always?”

“Kazunari and his wife went and did it again.”

“Ahh…”

At Hanako-san’s explanation, Hayato and Toudou wore looks of understanding… though honestly, that reaction felt a bit off… while Nishikawa-san’s eyes started to cloud over with a gloomy shadow.

Sure, we were fully aware we’d messed up, but did she really have to look at us like that…?

“Still, it was seriously loud. The customers waiting in line at the entrance got scared.”

“I only heard male voices, so I thought it was weird… but now it makes sense.”

Of course it was all guys—ghosts included—so that was only to be expected. If there’d been any female ghosts in the mix… well, they probably would’ve screamed for entirely different reasons.

Experience had taught us that much.

“Anyway, the haunted house side went off without a hitch. This side, though… same old, huh…”

No need to check; a crowd of guys had gathered around, clearly here to gawk… yeah, this side was the same as ever.

“Kazunari-san, shall we head to the next one?”

“Right… uh, next is…”

“If we’re going by order, it’s our classroom. Nothing interesting about it, so let’s just wrap it up quick and move on.”

Even though it was their own class exhibit, Yuzuki-senpai still delivered the blunt roast straight to the face.

That said… when you thought about it, how many people would really get excited over a collection of historical materials on the town’s past…?

At least for me… yeah, not really.

***

“Nishikawa-san, what’s the other school like over there?”

“I wanna know too! The building’s still pretty new, right!?”

“But why’d you suddenly have to transfer?”

“Uh, umm, sorry—one at a time, please…”

The moment we stepped into Sara-san’s classroom, Nishikawa-san was instantly surrounded by the girls. I’d heard her former classmates were here, so this group was probably them.

By the way, Sara-san and Yuzuki-senpai weren’t around right now. They’d been called away by some classmates and dragged off somewhere.

“…Whoa, Nishikawa-san, you’ve gotten way more mature-looking!”

“…Hey, isn’t she on par with Satsukawa-san?”

“…H-Hey… you know how you used to feel about Nishikawa-san…?”

“…Yeah. I thought I’d never see her again, so I gave up, but…”

“Heyyy… Takanashi-kun! Looks like you’ve been pretty active lately, huh!?”

Since this was technically work, I was checking out the room—including the historical displays—when someone suddenly called out to me… but I could hear the voice without seeing the speaker.

I knew exactly who it was, so I opted for a full ignore.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me!!”

From behind one of the exhibits popped out a suspicious figure… er, person. Uninvited and unannounced, it was none other than Yuuri-senpai.

She hadn’t been visible when we entered the room, so I’d assumed she was out… What a shame… truly a shame.

“…What’s with that disgusted face? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“Ahh, yeahhh, maybe a little happy, sureee.”

Considering Yuuri-senpai’s personality, dealing with her seriously was just a waste of time. She’d turn everything upside down anyway, so brushing her off lightly was about right… or so I decided.

And right now, with Sara-san and Yuzuki-senpai gone, it was even more—

Huh?

Come to think of it… wasn’t the timing a little too perfect?

“Now then, school festival terrorist Takanashi-kun.”

“…What is that supposed to mean?”

“Fufufu, don’t underestimate my information network. Your group’s activities have been perfectly relayed to me via RAIN since this morning. Consider everything exposed.”

Yuuri-senpai flashed an infuriatingly smug—almost lewd—look of triumph and waved the smartphone in her right hand.

The urge to smack it out of her hand right then and there… let’s keep that our little secret.

“Hey, Yuuri… Are you really gonna do this?”

“Last time, she made you sit in seiza right in the middle of the classroom…”

“Don’t remind me of thaaaaat!!”

At the words from the two standing behind her, Yuuri-senpai suddenly started trembling.

This always-cheerful person… shaking in fear like this… Just how traumatic had that experience been?

“Takanashi-kun is seriously dangerous.”

“If Satsukawa-san snaps for real next time, don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

“Ughhh, shut up!! Even if it’s Satsukawa-san, no one can stop our… our overflowing pathos!! It’s fine—if we all cross together, there’s nothing to fear!!”

“「「…………」」”

This was bad… I’d known it would be, but this was really bad.

And that line sounded awfully familiar, so my gaze drifted over without thinking.

“~♪”

Whistling a tune that was slightly off-key, Tachikawa-san quickly averted her eyes.

Anyway, the issue at hand was Yuuri-senpai.

Honestly… I had no idea what this person even wanted. I couldn’t even guess what was going through her head.

Apparently she’d been properly scolded by Sara-san that day, yet here she was approaching me again. Why?

“Come on, Takanashi-kun. Please do tell us all about you and Satsukawa-san’s happy, embarrassing, lovey-dovey, bare-it-all daily life…”

“…Huh?”

“I mean, come on! Hearing about that prim-and-proper Satsukawa-san being all sweet and flirty with a guy is exactly the kind of thing a girl our age wants to hear!”

“…………”

No… what can I even say…

My mouth just hung open.

To think she’d cling this persistently… and the reason was pure curiosity…

“Oh, don’t get the wrong idea—this isn’t just me who wants to hear it, okay?”

!?

The moment she said that, an unpleasant premonition swelled up inside me fast. Guessing the source, I quickly scanned around…

At some point, a huge crowd of girls had gathered, eyes sparkling with excitement!?

Oh no!!

This was… a Kong Ming trap!?

No—wait—could it be that Sara-san and Yuzuki-senpai being called away was part of it too!?

“Hey hey, Takanashi-kun!! What do you usually do with Satsukawa-san!?”

“Tell us how you got together!!”

“How’d you even get close to that Satsukawa-san!?”

“Where do you go on dates!?”

“Did you confess first!? Or was it… Satsukawa-san!?”

“H-Hey, be honest—how far have you gone!?”

“Kyaaaa, that’s super interesting!!”

“Hey, it’s still daytime!!”

Seeing them like this… yeah, for girls our age, romance talk really was prime bait… prime material…

But this wasn’t the time to calmly analyze it!

The girls latched onto the topic, squealing as they surged forward like an avalanche. A machine-gun barrage of rapid-fire questions began, and what was I supposed to—

“If anyone gets any closer to Kazunari… I won’t hold back.”

!?

A small yet reassuringly dignified figure stepped between me and the girls.

The words were delivered calmly, quietly—and with such intensity that even I felt the pressure.

Hit head-on, the hyped-up senpais froze in place. The room fell deathly silent.

“W-Who is that girl…?”

“Pretty sure she’s from the student council…”

“N-No… more than that, that intensity… I’ve seen something like this before…”

“…K-Kinda like… Satsukawa-san…?”

“「「Hiiih!？」」”

The crowd that had formed a human wall around us began to back away, overwhelmed by Hanako-san’s aura. Every face wore the same strained, twitching smile of panic.

“U-Umm… T-Takanashi-kun, who’s that cute young lady…? Hiiiieh!?”

Even Yuuri-senpai, who still had a shred of composure, let out a shriek the instant she saw Hanako-san’s face.

From behind, I couldn’t fully see Hanako-san’s expression, but this pattern had happened a few times before.

What exactly was going on with Hanako-san?

“…Ahh, Hanako-san gets dead serious when it comes to Takanashi-kun.”

“…Is she gonna be okay? Should we call Satsukawa-senpai…?”

“…Let’s just watch for now.”

“…Yeah, if it’s Hanako-san, she’ll probably be fine… maybe.”

“Kuh… A-After finally getting this chance…”

“Little brother is protected by big sister.”

“L-Little brother? You mean Takanashi-kun?”

“Yes. Kazunari is my little brother.”

“Huh? B-But… your names are different, right? And he doesn’t look… Ah!!”

As if something suddenly clicked, Yuuri-senpai’s eyes widened. Then, grinning like she’d found fresh entertainment, she started comparing me and Hanako-san back and forth.

…What?

“Mufufu… Hey, Takanashi-kun… What exactly is your relationship with her~?”

“No…”

“I can smell it—this reeks of rom-com development. Right, everyone? This has got to be…”

“Got to be what?”

“Oh, you know exactly what I mean. Since Satsukawa-san and Natsumi won’t be back for a while, why don’t we take this chance to—”

“Take what chance with Kazunari-san?”

This was turning into straight-up slapstick comedy.

Did Yuuri-senpai seriously not realize who she was talking to?

She didn’t have to throw herself this hard into chasing material.

“H-Hey, that way of calling him is bad. You’ll definitely get in trouble.”

“Oh? And who exactly would get mad?”

“Huh? Obviously Satsukawa-san… Wait… Obviously… Satsu…kawa…-san?”

Like she’d been hit with paralysis, Yuuri-senpai froze. Only her face twitched as her expression spasmed…

“Exactly. I will never forgive anyone who causes trouble for Kazunari-san. I believe the last incident taught you that lesson quite thoroughly?”

Creak… creak… Like a rusted robot forcing itself to move, Yuuri-senpai slowly turned around.

And of course, standing there was…

“S-S-Satsukawa-san, you’re back early…”

“Yes. Things seemed strange, so I questioned them. They confessed everything voluntarily. That Yuuri-san was too pushy and they couldn’t refuse…”

“W-Wait!? That’s not true!! This was everyone’s idea!! Right, everyone!? …Huh, everyone!?”

Yuuri-senpai frantically looked around for help, but naturally… not a single person remained.

They’d scattered like baby spiders the moment Sara-san returned… Now that I thought about it, they’d noticed her coming back.

In other words, Yuuri-senpai had been set up from the start as the sacrificial scapegoat…

“You’re the first person to deliberately repeat the same mistake after I warned you. And of all people, to target my most precious Kazunari-san… Quite the nerve, isn’t it?”

There was no visible anger on Sara-san’s face. No emotion at all, really.

Just those wide-open eyes staring straight ahead…

And that very lack of expression made the depth of her anger all the more terrifying.

What I’m trying to say is… she was scary…

“Doing anything to Kazunari right in front of me… Are you prepared for the consequences?”

Behind the flustered Yuuri-senpai, Hanako-san silently closed in.

Sara-san in front, Hanako-san behind.

Sandwiched between two people who showed zero mercy when it came to me… Yuuri-senpai had nowhere to run.

“W-Wait!! Please wait!! This was, um, everyone’s consensus… T-Takanashi-kun!?”

Desperation written all over her face, Yuuri-senpai turned to me for help… but unfortunately, I had zero reason to take pity on her.

If anything, she’d been nothing but trouble… So maybe it was time for a proper lesson.

Plus, in my field of vision, a third misfortune was clearly approaching Yuuri-senpai…

“Kuh… Fine, if that’s how it is!”

Finally her flight instinct kicked in; Yuuri-senpai bolted sideways with incredible speed.

She dashed to escape the scene—straight into the third misfortune waiting ahead!

A perfectly timed right hand thrust out, seeming to glow red (probably my imagination), clamping down on Yuuri-senpai’s face like an iron claw.

“Huh!?”

For a split second, unable to process what happened, Yuuri-senpai let out a dumbfounded sound. But at the same time, her whole body was shoved back forcefully, returning her to square one…

“Higyaaaaaaa!!”

“Yuuri… You’ve really gone all out with the tricks this time, haven’t you!?”

Yuuri-senpai desperately struggled to pry off the hand gripping her face. Sadly, it showed no sign of loosening.

And approaching her now was…

“Yuuri-san… I told you next time wouldn’t end with just a lecture, didn’t I?”

“I-It hurts, it hurts it huuurts!! N-No, this isn’t just me deciding—everyone, everyone—!”

“Yes, I’m aware. But that doesn’t change anything. You are the ringleader. Don’t worry—once we’re done with you, we’ll move on to everyone else involved. I’ve memorized every face.”

“「「Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!」」”

Screams erupted from every corner of the classroom. They’d thought they’d escaped… but there was no escaping Sara-san.

…Naive.

Also… she really memorized everyone’s faces…

“S-Satsukawa-san, listen, wanting to hear love stories is just a girl thing—hiii!?”

Sara-san’s gaze sharpened instantly, and Yuuri-senpai shut her mouth with a short yelp.

The overwhelming pressure left no room for argument—or even resistance. Not just Yuuri-senpai, but all the surrounding girls (the same ones who’d swarmed me earlier) trembled in fear.

And then Yuuri-senpai…

“Yuuri-san!! Sit properly right there!!!”

“Yuuri!! Sit!!!”

“Hurry up and seiza.”

“Fugyaaaaaaa!! I-I’m sorryyyyyyyyy!!!”

……Amen.

***

“No way, seriously…?”

“For real… Yuzuki-senpai and Satsukawa-senpai are here…”

“H-Hey, that guy’s not from this school, right?”

“Damn… those three stand out way too much…”

“Super hot… on par with Satsukawa-senpai…”

“Haa… Yuzuki-senpai is so cool…”

“Hayato-kun, pick my fortune-telling booth, please…”

“God, please let Hayato-kun come to mine!!”

“Wait, what even is this group!?”

“Such an insane lineup!”

After making our way through all the second-year classrooms, our next stop was the new wing with the first-year rooms.

Right now we were in Toudou-san’s class… the one doing fortune-telling.

Since we’d barged in without warning, things were… a bit chaotic. Or rather, total pandemonium… though honestly, that had been the pattern all day.

“Hey hey, Marina!!”

“What is this!? It’s not just the student council, right!?”

Naturally, once it reached this point, the classmates curious about the situation swarmed their own Marina…

“U-Umm, well, they’re from the student council, but we’re all friends, kinda…”

“Eh!? So that includes Satsukawa-senpai and Yuzuki-senpai too!?”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right.”

“Awesome!! Marina, introduce me!!”

“M-Me too—to Satsukawa-senpai!!”

“Hey, I was first!!”

“Marina, why didn’t you tell us sooner!!”

“Yeah, we could’ve hung out with the senpais too!”

“But it’s not too late now, right!”

I hated to admit it, but this flow wasn’t great… though it was pretty typical.

The classmates didn’t mean any harm… I think.

Still… even taking that into account, honestly…

Sara-san and Yuzuki-senpai seemed to feel the same; they were watching for a chance to cut into Toudou-san and the others’ conversation. Hanako-san, Tachikawa-san, Yuuji… and me too.

…Huh?

Speaking of—which, where was Hayato?

“Sorry, mind if I cut in for a sec?”

Before I knew it, Hayato had stepped into the crowd surrounding Toudou-san. He wedged himself in front of her almost forcefully, shielding her behind his back.

This level of assertiveness was rare for Hayato. Me and the others… Toudou-san too, and even the surrounding people… all stared wide-eyed in surprise.

But… go for it, Hayato!

“H-Hayato-kun!?”

“W-W-Wow, Hayato-kun is so close!!”

“Yokokawa, what’s with the sudden—?”

“Oh yeah, weren’t you rumored with Satsukawa-senpai!?”

“Y-Yokokawa-kun?”

“Toudou-san, sorry for barging in. But leave this to me.”

“Eh? U-Uh, okay.”

Toudou-san was clearly thrown by the sudden development, but she nodded obediently at Hayato’s words and slipped behind him, out of sight.

Now… how would this play out?

“Hayato-kun, umm!”

“Yokokawa, you too…?”

“Stop.”

“「「!？」」”

Hayato raised his voice a notch, seizing control of the conversation. In this messy mixed-gender chaos, that was probably the most effective opening move—I thought so too.

“First off, sorry for forcing my way in. Now, the main point: yeah, we’re close—including with the senpais. But we’re not doing any introductions or matchmaking or anything like that. Period.”

“…H-Hayato-kun?”

“…Uh…”

“…Yokokawa?”

“…What the hell…?”

“Exactly what I said. We hate that kind of thing. If anyone tries to approach me through Toudou-san’s introduction… I won’t speak to them ever again. Keep that in mind.”

“…Eh?”

“…W-Wait, that’s…”

“…No way…”

The words carried a clear, uncharacteristic rejection—harsh enough to feel it. His tone sounded normal, but the underlying edge was completely different.

No trace of his usual easygoing nature.

He didn’t seem angry… but this was really rare.

“Anyone who’d cause Toudou-san that kind of trouble isn’t a real friend. So there’s no reason for me to deal with them, right?”

“「「…………」」”

“Yokokawa-kun…”

Hayato spoke to the girls without getting emotional, but with just a hint of distaste… a slight sharpness. It was enough; everyone fell awkwardly silent.

From our perspective, yeah—it was annoying. But for average high school girls, this was probably just normal chatter. No malice intended. Our class had those kinds of talks all the time too.

Still, of all of us, Hayato was probably the most fed up with “introduce me” and “I got introduced through” exchanges… so yeah, especially for him.

“Besides, Satsukawa-senpai is way stricter. If I ever introduced you guys, she’d cut me down along with you. And then my fun school life would be over.”

Hayato’s warning—bordering on a threat—drew the boys’ eyes our way… but they couldn’t withstand Sara-san’s freezing glare and immediately looked away.

“I’m not saying this to be mean. Just keep being normal friends with Toudou-san like before. Don’t think anything extra, and things can stay the way they are.”

He wrapped up with that, speaking slowly and deliberately to everyone.

To an outsider it might sound overblown, but the calm, patient way he said it carried weight.

Both the guys and girls seemed to sense something from the exchange… No pushback, no excuses—just quiet nods.

Looked like the matter was settled.

“Thanks. Sorry for being so harsh.”

“No, we’re the ones who should apologize. Sorry, Marina.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. But I can’t do introductions, so sorry from me too…”

“It’s okay. I don’t want to cause trouble for Marina, and getting hated by Yokokawa-kun would suck.”

“Sorry, Marina! I swear I won’t say weird stuff anymore!”

The girls bowed to each other in a flurry of apologies. Still, things had wrapped up peacefully—no problem.

“Sorry, Toudou-san.”

“Well, can’t be helped… But having Satsukawa-senpai as a friend? Yokokawa, you’re lucky.”

“Yeah, about that—no need to be jealous. At most, I can just talk to Satsukawa-senpai.”

“Really?”

“Hey Yokokawa, what’s Satsukawa-senpai actually like? People say completely different things—strict, harsh, kind…”

“That makes sense. People who don’t really know her just make assumptions and spread rumors.”

That one line summed Sara-san up perfectly. No need to correct everything now; the only thing that mattered to me was making sure everyone knew:

Sara-san already has me—so don’t even try.

“I see… So you actually know what she’s really like?”

“Yeah. But I’m not gonna tell you. Besides…”

Hayato shot me a meaningful glance—slightly smirking.

“Besides?”

“You’ll probably find out the answer to that sooner than you think.”

“Huh?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hey, Yokokawa?”

He didn’t answer any more questions. After confirming Toudou-san was safe with a look, Hayato came back over to us.

A faint, satisfied smile lingered on his face…

“Hey, Yokokawa-kun!”

Chasing after him, Toudou-san hurried back our way.

And… her cheeks looked a little flushed…?

Oh?

“Huh, Toudou-san, you’re done already?”

“Y-Yeah. More importantly, um…”

She fidgeted adorably, looking a bit hesitant to speak.

If this were anime or manga, I’d want to describe a beautiful girl pressing her index fingers together, blushing furiously.

“Yokokawa-kun… thank you. For helping me… I was really happy.”

“T-Toudou-san…”

Her embarrassed cuteness hit Hayato like a direct shot to the heart (yeah, that phrasing is old—whatever). He staggered just a little.

But… yeah, that level of cuteness should be illegal… definitely.

“I should be the one apologizing for butting in. I just… can’t stand people causing you trouble…”

“…Eh? Just now…”

“N-No!! A-Anyway, that’s our unspoken rule—we don’t tolerate that kind of thing. Gotta make it clear to everyone.”

“Y-Yeah… You’re right. From now on, if anything like that happens, I’ll turn them down properly. Because… I don’t want to cause you trouble either…”

“Y-You don’t have to think like that! When it comes to you, Toudou-san, nothing you do could ever bother me!”

“Eh!? U-Uh… yeah… Hearing you say that… makes me happy…”

“R-Really? Then… good.”

The two continued their shy, fidgety exchange—enough to make even listeners blush. And somewhere in Hayato’s lines… there was a strangely familiar phrase…

Glancing sideways at Sara-san, I saw her watching the pair with a gentle smile… Then suddenly, her hand squeezed mine tightly.

“Fufu…”

She looked up at me softly, overflowing with a tender smile.

I’d been feeling the same way… Moments like this, where our hearts connected without words, really made me happy.

“…H-Hey, look at that…”

“…Ha!?”

“…N-No way…!?”

“…Wait, seriously…?”

Anyway…

Hayato had sounded pessimistic earlier, but from an outside view…

I think there’s definitely a chance there.