Matsushita POV
"Hey, isn't that him?"
The question from Shinohara caused all our heads to turn towards the door without exeption. There, the figure of Ayanokouji became visible.
"A weird coincidence huh?"
"What do you think he's doing here?"
"..."
Despite the fact that both Shinohara and I were asking questions that should have started up a conversation, only silence followed.
Noticing a lack of a response from Karuizawa and Sato, I turned to look at them, thinking that there was a problem. What I saw however, were just two girls staring intently his figure.
*Pohee~
The Ayanokouji who just entered the café was currently wearing casual clothes that suited him quite nicely. A short sleeved shirt with a collar that complemented his mysteriously fit physic, along with jeans to finish off his look. The fact that Ayanokouji was someone who rivaled, or even surpassed Hirata in looks was made very clear at this moment. But the faces Karuizawa and Sato made while looking at him were still too much to be considered normal. I guess someone would look better if you liked them.
I cleared my throat to dispel the akward atmosphere.
"Hey guys, I think he looks nice too, but staring at him that much is creepy."
"Ah-!"
Harmoniously, the consciousness of the two maidens returned while flustered.
"Umu... sorry, you're right."
"Hey, Karuizawa-san, I get that Sato-sam hasn't seen him outside of his school uniform that often, but why did you have the same reaction?"
Shinohara, seemingly curious about the girlfriend's actions, questioned Karuizawa who still had a faint blush on her face.
"Uhh.. well you see, since we decided to keep our relationship a secret, we haven't had a lot of opportunities to go on dates. And even if we did, it would be in one of our rooms while we wore our uniforms so we could have an excuse if someone found us."
"Oh, I get it... sounds tough being in a secret relationship."
With the situation as it is now, I doubt I could pry anymore information from Karuizawa, so I decided to play along with their antics, waiting for the right moment.
"You think he just wanted to get some coffee?"
"I doubt it, he would have just made some if he did. He's not really the type to go out on his own that often without a reason."
"... Karuizawa-san, you sure know a lot about Ayanokouji-kun huh?"
The Karuizawa-san in question was puffing out her chest as if she was showing off. This made Sato who was sitting in front of her wear a bitter smile.
"You think he's here to meet someone then?"
"Maybe..."
We sat in silence, pretending to mind our own business while taking glances at the door. It seems he didn't notice our presence, or atleast pretended not to, as he sat down at a table relatively far from us however, he was still visible.
A few minutes later of observing every person who came in as potential 'meeting' candidates, a familiar, yet unexpected person walked through the doors.
It was one of the leaders of class D, and someone renowned for being the 'treasure of the class' by most of the girls. Hirata Yosuke.
From the way Hirata praised him, and the incident just before the 'Event Selection Exam', I had guessed that both Ayanokouji and Hirata were well acquainted with one another, but it was still quite a surprise for me. My guess had been more towards the Ayanokouji Group, or Horikita who seemed to know a bit of Ayanokouji's true abilities and was working with him.
"So it's Hirata-kun. Who would've thought huh?"
Hirata was also wearing casual clothes that complemented his looks quite well. Although in my opinion, Ayanokouji looked better, Hirata was definitely a close second. Both could be considered top tier in looks as even speculations about the two of them being the 'twin jewels' of class D spread among the girls at the beginning of our 1st year.
"You know, the more I look at them side-by-side like this, the more I wish Karuizawa-san would get her hair shaved off and go explode..."
"... I completely understand."
"!!??"
Comments full of envy that were oozing with danger were said with such nonchalance that Karuizawa shivered a bit before quickly turning with the alertness of a gazel being stalked by predators.
"H-huh? Why?!"
The statements came from non other than Sato and Shinohara who had eyes that didn't match their smiles. They were looking at Karuizawa with empty eyes that seemed to say,
'She deserves divine retribution... this unfairly lucky girl...'
'Yes, she needs to go burn..'
"Umm.. you guys are scaring me..."
"M-maybe we should just leave them alone for a bit?"
"But I feel like I'm in grave danger, you know?... what would happen if I leave myself open I wonder?"
Without noticing, Karuizawa, and even I began stuttering with fear while trying to come up with a solutions to bring back Sato and Shinohara to sanity. It felt like they could attack her at any moment.
"A-anyways why do you think they're meeting up? Maybe it has something to do with the class?"
"Yeah! What if it's something important once we get back from holidays?"
Trying to change the topic, Karuizawa brought up a question that should have returned them to normal, while I followed along. It seems it worked as they came back to their senses.
"Actually, now that I think about it, those two never really seemed especially close while in class."
"Oh, but there was that time where Hirata said something like 'I think the most reliable person in this class is Ayanokouji' right?"
As expected, praise that was conveyed strongly by Hirata of all people wouldn't go unnoticed, no matter how long ago it was.
"You know, I'd expect their relationship to be somewhat strained thanks to Karuizawa-san, but it doesn't seem that way at all."
"Taking a closer look at it, yeah you're right Matsushita-san..."
The scene before our eyes was that of Ayanokouji and Hirata conversing as if they were good friends, so it wasn't strange for the question to be asked. Normally, one would expect atleast some tension between the 'current boyfriend' and 'former boyfriend'. Just then it seems Hirata noticed our presence as he waved and pointed towards us like he wanted Ayanokouji to go with him.
"Looks like they spotted us."
We waved back to confirm that we also saw him. It was at that time that they both made their way to our table with Hirata taking the lead. I was observing both Ayanokouji and Karuizawa's actions to look for anything suspicious, but there was barely anything there. All I noticed was that they made eye contact, to which Ayanokouji nodded his head, almost as if they were communicating through their eyes.
"Hey guys, it's quite the coincidence meeting you here."
"Yeah, we know right?"
They both took their seats with Hirata sitting on a seat near Sato and Ayanokouji next to a Karuizawa who suddenly became flustered.
"So what were you guys talking about? It's not that often that we see you two hanging out."
"Oh, I just wanted to ask Kiyotaka-kun for some advice, and he was kind enough to comply."
The simple answer given to us caused Shinohara's head to tilt. Just from being in our class, people would normally think that Hirata is the more reliable one with his great communication skills, but it seems the truth was different.
"Really? I would've thought it was the other way around. Also 'Kiyotaka-kun?' You guys seem to be close. If I remember correctly, Hirata-kun doesn't usually call many people by their first names."
"I told you guys before right? I think that the most reliable person in our class is Kiyotaka-kun. He's actually someone you can really depend on if you get to know him."
While saying that, I noticed Hirata was giving a gentle smiling towards Karuizawa, as if saying
'Like with her for example.'
"You're giving me too much credit, it's just that being a loner allows you to observe others better."
"Modest as always huh."
Ayanokouji's reply left Hirata with a conflicted expression that was filled with respect and exasperation. Seeing as Ayanokouji himself was here, I decided to take the opportunity to try and dig up some information.
Writing Style Change
Matsushita: "By the way Ayanokouji-kun, a lot of people have been talking about you lately, and how you're actually really smart. In fact we were just having a conversation about you."
Ayanokouji: "Really? Well, I suppose it would only be normal if a seemingly normal student who didn't particularly stand out in any way, suddenly got a perfect score on a test."
Shinohara: "... I know Horikita said that she wouldn't comment on this yet, but just how smart are you Ayanokouji-kun? According to the intelligent people in our class, that math test had some questions well beyond our level, yet you managed to solve every question."
We were all silent in anticipation for the explanation that was to come, but-
Ayanokouji: "I'm not really all that smart, I just happen to be good at math."
There was no doubt in my mind that this answer was a lie, but just as I was about to deny his claim, a voice interupted me.
Hirata: "I think Kiyotaka-kun will reveal it when he's comfortable, right?"
Hirata, put an end to that topic of conversation so as to keep the privacy of a classmate. This way of trying to get answers wasn't going to work.
Shinohara: "...Yeah, I guess you're right
That was when Sato suddenly spoke for the first time since the arrival of the boys.
Sato: "Hey Ayanokouji-kun, what do you like about Karuizawa-san?"
At first, I thought these words were jealous ones trying to find the difference between her and Karuizawa, but after looking at her eyes, I immediently felt ashamed for thinking of such horrible things.
These words were not asking,
'Why did you choose her over me?',
but rather, they had the implication of,
'Your feelings better be genuine towards my friend.'
I could see the eyes of Shinohara and Karuizawa widen a little before giving gentle expressions. Gazes that knew what she was implying. Hirata also looked to have a surprised face at the reveal of the couple, which then turned into one of relief and happiness.
After hearing that, Ayanokouji, who didn't seem fazed in the slightest took a glance at his lover, which began averting her gaze in embarrassment.
Ayanokouji: "Although I could name a lot of things I like about her, I don't think that you necessarily need a reason to fall in love with someone. It sort of just happens, like it did for me."
Writing Style Change
Unexpectedly sweet and romantic words came from the mouth of a guy with a complete poker face. Naturally, this caused us to be at a complete loss for words, especially due to our previous conversation we had where Karuizawa mentioned that 'He's clueless when it comes to love'.
Even Shinohara who liked Ike and Sato who was supposed to be a questioning his feelings, were blushing slightly at the unwavering proclamation of love.
"Nufuu~"
"?"
Suddenly, a strange noise leaked out of Karuizawa who was staring at her boyfriend with dream-like eyes.
"Are you alright Kei?"
The Boyfriend-kun in question took her gaze head on with a visible question mark floating above his head due to the strange noise(?).
"Ahhh mouu!!! How can you keep a straight face while saying these things?"
"Hehe, I see. Congrats both of you, I thought it would end up like this sooner or later, and it seems like my guess had hit the mark."
While Karuizawa was busy trying to hide her obvious smile, Hirata gave the couple his blessing. I glanced over at Sato to see her let out a satisfied smile as she lightly nodded her head, as if showing that she has decided to move on completely.
"Alright, why don't we go celebrate a bit by playing the whole day?"
"Sure! That sounds fun, are you guys in too?"
It seems Sato is back to her usual energetic, and upbeat self as she proposed that. Of course, Shinohara followed through in agreement. It was golden week, so there shouldn't have been anything major that would prevent any of us from tagging along. Hirata and Karuizawa took a glance asking for confirmation from Ayanokouji, who nodded in reply.
If our classmates saw us, they would definitely think of us as an odd group, but that wasn't really a major issue for me. Although trying to get more information about getting to class A is something I consider very important, I do consider my friends dear to me, and right now, that is much more important.
"All right! I'm in too, let's go!"