After the two of them left, the dining squad happily resumed their meal.
"That handkerchief is so cute!" Akaya Kirihara leaned over, his eyes sparkling. "It even has sunflowers on it!"
Asuka Youyou smiled rather shyly and explained, "It's because I really like sunflowers. They always face the sun, which feels so warm."
"So sunflowers are Asuka's favorite flower?" Akaya continued.
"Ah, no. My favorite flower is red roses. I'm wearing the sunflower dress today just because it was the plainest one in my wardrobe, and the handkerchief was picked to match."
"Though, I do like sunflowers a lot too!"
The *plainest* one?! My dear girl, do you have some kind of profound misunderstanding of the word "plain"?!
You're as eye-catching and flamboyant as a blazing little sunflower, and you're telling us this is the plainest thing in your wardrobe?
They were starting to lose all grasp of what the word "plain" even meant!
Everyone roared internally, save for Renji Yanagi, whose expression remained completely unchanged.
"Mhm, it certainly suits you," Renji Yanagi said gently, looking at Asuka Youyou. His gaze fell upon the sunflowers at the girl's waist, as if looking right through them to see her radiant smile.
So she likes red roses, huh?
Renji Yanagi fell into deep thought.
For a long time afterward, the vases in the Yanagi household were kept constantly filled with various breeds of red roses, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Yanagi completely intoxicated by the fragrance.
"Asuka is truly such a meticulous girl! The moment we ran into Akaya today, he was telling us all about how a very cute new student joined his class, sat right next to him, and even shared a little cake with him."
"Akaya really likes you, you know!" Bunta Marui said with a beaming smile, his words making the little seaweed's cheeks flush violently.
"Marui-senpai, what are you talking about!"
"Is it not true? Who was it that wouldn't stop chattering away the moment they met up with us? It certainly wasn't me."
Bunta Marui shrugged, his pale purple eyes shimmering with layers of amusement. With a cute, boyish appearance rarely seen among guys, he uttered words that drove the little seaweed to distraction.
What should he do?! He really wanted to shut Marui-senpai's mouth.
Akaya Kirihara lowered his head, blushing furiously and not daring to look at anyone.
"But Kirihara-classmate, I think you look very handsome, and I really like you! Do you really not like me?"
Asuka Youyou put on a very dejected look, lowering her eyelids while her gently fluttering eyelashes resembled butterflies about to take flight.
"Kirihara-classmate was the very first classmate I made..."
When had the little seaweed ever experienced such a sweet critical hit? He immediately started rambling incoherently, "I think Asuka is very pretty too..."
Closing his eyes, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "You're the cutest girl I've ever seen!"
"Oh?"
"Cough!"
"Hmm?"
"╰_╯"
You received Marui's exclamation, Sanada's shock, Kuwahara's confusion, and Renji's fury.
Ah, she'd teased the kid a bit too much.
However...
Asuka Youyou curved her eyes and smiled slightly, revealing two tiny, sharp, white little fangs that were endlessly adorable.
"Thank you, Kirihara-classmate! Let's be good friends!"
"Okay!"
Seeing that a teenage idol drama was about to unfold right here, Renji Yanagi hurriedly intervened.
"Hurry up and eat. Weren't you hungry?"
Renji Yanagi picked up a piece of sushi and fed it right into the girl's mouth.
The girl squinted in bliss, her cheeks puffing out into two little steamed-bun shapes.
The atmosphere suddenly quieted down.
After eating only a few bites, Asuka Youyou was full. With a piece of meat resting against her lips, she shook her head to signal that she couldn't eat any more.
So Renji Yanagi ate it himself without changing expression.
Sanada frowned slightly. Didn't Renji have a thing about cleanliness? And yet he just ate that right up. It seemed their relationship really was exceptionally good.
Feeling Sanada's gaze, Renji Yanagi opened his eyes and looked back, his gaze calm and without a single ripple.
"What is it, Sanada?"
Sanada felt the awkwardness of being caught red-handed while peeking.
Fortunately, he was someone who had been through plenty of big scenes; his brain operated at high speed, and in barely a second he came up with an excuse.
"Doesn't Youyou have an interest in kendo? I was wondering if you'd like to come take a look after school today—the kendo club is having club activities."
Renji Yanagi didn't speak, simply looking toward the girl to silently ask for her opinion.
Asuka Youyou tilted her head and stared right at Sanada, making his ears heat up as he wondered if he had some dirt smeared on his face.
He raised a hand to wipe his cheek, making sure there was nothing there.
"Is Brother Genemon really good at kendo?"
"Not bad."
Naturally, this was modesty on Sanada's part. His attainments in kendo were extremely profound, and his swordsmanship had already reached the national level.
He came from a family with a deep martial arts tradition. His grandfather, Genemon Sanada, was not only a police officer but also served as a kendo instructor, holding a prominent position in the field of kendo.
The Sanada family possessed a profound foundation and heritage in swordsmanship. Growing up nurtured by his family since childhood, Sanada had a deep understanding and love for kendo.
He insisted on practicing kendo at the club every single day after school, and this perseverance and rigorous training spirit had caused his swordsmanship skills to steadily improve day by day.
He had also won countless awards, both large and small.
"Then can we spar after school?"
Sanada had a very solidly built frame, and to be able to serve as the kendo club captain at Rikkaidai—where everyone was required to master at least one specialized skill—his strength definitely couldn't be bad.
"Are you sure?"
Regarding the girl's request, Sanada hesitated somewhat. It wasn't that he judged a book by its cover, but the girl's build was truly overly petite.
Coupled with such an intensely childish, sweet appearance, she looked entirely frail and harmless, like a little flower gently swaying in the breeze.
He was afraid that if he used even a tiny bit of force, he might snap her delicate wrist bones.
"Of course!"
It had been ages since she last sparred with anyone; her body was practically rusting away. If she didn't move around soon, she was going to go to waste.
Her gaze slid effortlessly across Sanada's well-toned physique, pausing briefly at his rolling Adam's apple before finally landing on his somewhat serious face.
He should be able to last a few more moves against her hands.
Hopefully, she wouldn't be disappointed, Brother Genemon.
"Alright then."
So be it. The worst that could happen was that he'd hold back a bit when the time came and soften his movements so as not to hurt her.
After all, she was Renji's younger sister, and she very much suited his aesthetic. He should put some effort into humoring her.
At this moment, Sanada had no idea that what he was about to face was a martial arts prodigy, possessed of supernatural strength and maxed-out attributes—a literal bug in the world's system. He was still agonizing over breaking his own principles and fretting over how to quietly hold back.
"Ah, Youyou, you're going to challenge the vice-president?! Just how out of your mind are you? You're going to get cleaved right down the middle by the vice-president's sword!"
After the two of them agreed to become friends, Akaya Kirihara had unilaterally changed his address for her to Youyou, while also having her call him Akaya.
Even though he thought his friend was great at everything, he still felt the girl was being wildly whimsical and overly ambitious to dare challenge the vice-president, that grim-faced god.
"You're definitely going to get hurt!"
Looking into the seaweed head's worried eyes, Asuka Youyou's heart softened.
"Don't worry! My kendo is really strong. If you don't believe me, ask Brother Renji!"
Renji Yanagi nodded.
"Perhaps the outcome will exceed your expectations."
Renji's words caused a flicker of doubt to surface in everyone's eyes.
Could the girl really be that strong?
Everyone became curious about the girl's strength, eagerly anticipating the post-school spar between the two of them.
"The wind is rising," the girl murmured.
At that moment, a gentle breeze swept by, and a sky full of cherry blossom petals fluttered down in a magnificent cascade. Asuka Youyou raised her head, gazing at the beautiful sight and becoming completely entranced. Meanwhile, the others silently savored this tranquility and beauty.