Asuka Youyou had barely been sitting in her seat for two minutes when Renji Yanagi arrived.
Renji Yanagi was met with a full-on collision from the pampered little sunflower he adored.
The girl wrapped her arms around the boy's waist, looked up at him, and said with a hint of spoiled affection:
"Brother Renji, what took you so long? I'm practically starving to death."
"Sorry, the teacher kept us late."
Renji Yanagi looked down at the girl, his gaze gentle.
"Fine, then let's hurry and eat. My stomach is already crying out for food!"
Releasing her grip on the boy, she rubbed her flat stomach with exaggerated motions, wearing a mischievous expression.
"I'll take you to get something to eat."
Carrying the tote bag holding both of their bags in one hand, Renji Yanagi took the girl's hand with the other, intending to go eat beneath the cherry blossom trees.
The cherry blossoms on campus were in full bloom. From a distance, those pale pink petals looked like brilliant clouds on the horizon, softly blanketing the entire campus and creating a dreamy, ethereal atmosphere.
A gentle breeze swept past, and the petals drifted down like snow, dancing gracefully in the air to form an absolutely stunning shower of blossoms.
Seeing the beautiful cherry blossoms, he figured the girl would surely love them.
Sure enough, the girl's deep pink eyes reflected the cherry blossoms, making her look like a lovely piece of pink crystal filled with wonder at the scenery.
Asuka Youyou couldn't help clicking her tongue. Japan truly lived up to its reputation as the cherry blossom country—there were flowers everywhere. She wondered if they'd taste any good made into flower pastries.
"Asuka-san!"
Just as Asuka Youyou's mind was full of cherry blossom pastries, a startling shout exploded beside her ear.
Akaya Kirihara was heading to lunch with the various seniors of the Tennis Club as usual, but for some reason, the rooftop they usually frequented was locked. So they had no choice but to eat somewhere else.
Remembering that the cherry blossoms were in bloom, he had decided to come eat under the trees.
Then, from far away, Akaya Kirihara spotted a distinctive splash of color, and his brain instantly registered that it was his new seatmate.
His mouth shouted the girl's name a step ahead of his brain.
As the group drew closer, he realized that the person holding hands with his seatmate was none other than his Tennis Club senior—Renji Yanagi.
"So when you said you were having lunch with your brother, you meant Senior Yanagi! No wonder Senior Yanagi didn't eat with us today!"
Everyone formed a circle under the cherry blossom tree. Asuka Youyou was sandwiched between Renji Yanagi and Akaya Kirihara, with the silver-haired fox Masaharu Niou sitting opposite her.
Next to Renji Yanagi was Bunta Marui, followed by Jackal Kuwahara. Then came Hiroshi Yagyuu, Masaharu Niou, and Genichiro Sanada.
"Yeah, didn't I tell you?"
Asuka Youyou licked the sauce from the corner of her mouth and quickly snatched a piece of shrimp tempura from Akaya Kirihara's bento box with lightning speed.
Kirihara was right; his bento really was delicious.
"When did you ever tell me?!"
The seaweed-headed boy looked at her with an accusation on his face, though upon reflection, she hadn't actually told him.
Was she going to admit she forgot, though?
"I told you in my heart!"
"You—!"
"Bleh!"
The sounds came from Akaya Kirihara, Asuka Youyou, and Masaharu Niou, who ended up spitting water all over Hiroshi Yagyuu's face.
Everyone turned to look at the person coughing nonstop after choking on water.
"Masaharu Niou!"
"My bad, partner! Puri!"
Hiroshi Yagyuu didn't speak, choosing instead to reach into his pocket for a handkerchief. But after rummaging around for a while, he couldn't find one.
He suddenly remembered he had used his handkerchief to prop up a wobbly table leg.
Looking somewhat embarrassed, he realized he had no way to wipe his face.
Just as he was wondering if he would have to resort to the ungentlemanly act of wiping with his sleeve, a tender yellow handkerchief appeared before his eyes.
The handkerchief was embroidered with a fully bloomed, vibrant sunflower and trimmed with soft lace. At that moment, it was folded neatly in a small hand as white as milk, with pink fingertips that looked like delicate peach blossoms blooming in the third month of spring.
"Use mine."Water droplets slid down the boy's purple hair, drop by drop, adding even more moisture to his already opaque glasses. Asuka Youyou looked with a trace of pity at the boy who had been victimized like this.
Then she looked at the culprit. Ah, she wondered if there had been any food scraps mixed in with the water when he sprayed it out.
Still, looking at the water, it seemed pretty clean—no weird particles, like grains of rice or anything.
"Little sis, what kind of expression is that? Puli~"
Noticing the girl's strange gaze, Masaharu Niou looked somewhat displeased. If he had spat out water, wasn't it entirely because of that remark she made?
The silver-haired boy had a spiky hairstyle, with his overly long hair tied back in a low, small braid.
He had a very handsome look, with deep features, ice-blue flecks shining in his pupils, a cynical smile curving the corners of his mouth, and a tiny black mole on his chin.
His tone of voice was brash and roguish, yet inexplicably gave off the impression that he was someone not to be messed with.
This was probably someone who was what he seemed on the outside—a rascal through and through, full of bad intentions. She boldly guessed.
And the reality turned out no different from her guess.
Hiroshi Yagyuu accepted the handkerchief after expressing his thanks; it still seemed to carry the faint, gentle fragrance of the young girl. He gently wiped away the water stains on his face.
After finishing, instead of returning it to the girl immediately, he said, "I'll give it back to you after I wash it."
"Oh, okay."
The tough girl nodded.
Seeing the girl ignoring him, Niou felt somewhat annoyed. He suddenly leaned in close to her and rudely reached out to pinch her chubby little cheek.
"Hmm? Ignoring me?"
Asuka Youyou almost failed to keep herself from sending him flying with a punch.
That was close—she almost reacted to him as if he were an enemy.
Yet he actually dared to pinch her face! Were they even that close?
She slapped his hand away and stuck her tongue out at him first. A flash of light crossed her eyes, and she smiled like a little fox that had successfully sneaked a snack.
Niou was very familiar with that smile, because he always smiled like that whenever he was up to no good. His fur stood on end, and he got goosebumps all over.
Oh no, this is bad, puli~
Sure enough, the girl who had just been smiling instantly changed her expression. Her pretty, deer-like eyes filled with a few teardrops, hazy and misty, making her look utterly pitiful.
She buried herself in Renji Yanagi's arms, whimpering and pretending to cry. Though fake, her tears flowed in a torrent, as if they were free.
"Brother Renji, he pinched my face so hard it hurts!"
A small hand pointed accusingly—who could it be if not Niou?
"I didn't even use any strength, puli~"
Yet who was going to care whether he used strength or not?
Nobody cared about a fox's life or death.
"Senior Niou, you've gone too far!"
This was his fellow deskmate, the seaweed head. He was truly innocent and couldn't see that Asuka Youyou was deliberately playing tricks on Niou, and was still feeling indignant on the girl's behalf.
"Yeah, how could you bully a cute girl?"
Bunta Marui, the red-haired little pig, looked down heavily on such bullying behavior—even though, as a teammate, he knew very well that Niou was incapable of doing such a thing.
But who told Niou to play that prank on him yesterday! Serves you right! You deserve this, you stinky fox!
"Niou, you need to apologize. How could you do something like that?"
This was the conscience of Rikkaidai, a dark-skinned, bald-headed egg.
"Niou, your evening training will be doubled, and you're penalized with ten extra laps of running."
Genichiro Sanada darkened his face, first giving Niou a solid couple of iron-fist blows before handing down the punishment directly.
"Niou's training schedule needs to be updated. Both his strength and speed need work; from now on, all his training will be doubled."
And as an older brother, Renji Yanagi took charge without hesitation, dropping the final verdict with a single word and uttering the exact sentence that broke Niou's psychological defense.
"No, I really didn't use any strength!"
Before his voice had even faded, he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and dragged away by Yagyuu.
Pushing his glasses up with a hand, Yagyuu's eyes flashed with a sharp, piercing glint behind the lenses.
Niou was in serious danger!