Under his gaze from below, the handso silver-haired boy narrows his eyes into crescent moons. Suddenly, he puffs out his chest, speaking with pride and joy:
"Thanks to playing tennis all sumr, I’ve gotten taller, you know!"
As if to add credibility, he stands on his tiptoes, asuring his height with a hand above his head. The gesture is strikingly similar to a child seeking adult approval.
"Look, about two to three centiters!"
After observing for a mont, Yuu bluntly says: "Sorry, I don’t see it at all."
"Ah..."
As if deeply struck, his expression dims, his excitent slowly replaced by a bitter, resigned smile. With brows finer than a girl’s drooping slightly, Totsuka sighs softly: "Was it just my imagination? After all, soone like —how could I grow taller just by playing tennis..."
"But you look more masculine than before. Maybe because your skin’s a bit tanner, you seem like a cheerful, gallant guy now."
"...Really? That’s great!"
At Yuu’s words, Totsuka perks up again. He clenches his fists excitedly, his whole face glowing: "Among everyone I know, only you would say sothing like this to . This must be a change only a true friend can see!"
"Yeah, if you want to think of it that way, go ahead."
Yuu smiles, shrugging, no longer dampening his cheerful expression.
Totsuka is like him, with few friends of the opposite sex—what can you do when he’s sweeter than most girls, with a soft, lodious voice and feminine mannerisms? Most guys instinctively keep their distance, wary of accidentally veering off course soday.
Yuu, on the other hand, treats n and won the sa, caring only about his hikikomori little sister. He’s unaffected by Totsuka’s delicate appearance or gentle behavior and doesn’t deliberately reject soone who shows him kindness.
So, during a first-year gym class, after a brief teamwork session, their relationship gradually improved. Totsuka even unilaterally declared Yuu his best friend, and they’ve remained close ever since.
It’s truly a pure friendship.
Yuu admires Totsuka’s outwardly gentle but inwardly strong personality and his hair, similar in color to his sister’s—but he’s never mistaken Totsuka for a girl.
Totsuka also dislikes being seen as a girl. He has a spirited, determined side in his heart. So, despite the fujoshi in class secretly shipping them, Yuu never doubts Totsuka’s gender and even proactively corrects his overly feminine habits.
For example, Totsuka’s bad habit of tugging at his clothes or sleeves when excited has been completely fixed—real n sling arms around shoulders, joke around, and play "you’re my dad, I’m your son." Who does cutesy stuff like that?
Taking advantage of the ti before the morning assembly, the two chat about daily life by Yuu’s desk.
When the topic shifts to the upcoming start-of-term exam, Totsuka suddenly recalls sothing and changes the subject:
"Yuu, do you know what’s going on in the International Education class?"
"Class J? No idea, what’s up?" Yuu frowns, puzzled.
The only thing he can think of related to Class J is Yukinoshita Haruno’s younger sister, Yukinoshita Yukino, who probably doesn’t know him yet.
"There’s a transfer student!"
Covering his mouth with his hand, striking a deliberate whispering pose, Totsuka says mysteriously: "She’s not just back from abroad, but a beautiful half-foreign girl with mixed blood. Her silver hair and blue eyes are super striking! Right now, tons of people are gathered near the office just to sneak a peek at her."
"It’s not that serious, is it?"
Yuu leans back, keeping distance so Totsuka’s breath doesn’t hit his nose, and says resignedly: "Also, Saika, you seem to be misunderstanding sothing."
"Talking about pretty girls doesn’t make you a ’real man.’"
"Eh? I-Is that so?"
Dropping his exaggerated gossip face, Totsuka scratches his slightly flushed cheek, smiling awkwardly: "Thanks for the reminder, I get it... But I’m not lying. There really are a lot of people gathered at the office waiting for the transfer student to co out."
Yuu frowns slightly: "Is she as pretty as Yukinoshita Yukino?"
By ordinary aesthetic standards, Yukino is already stunning—long flowing hair, exquisite features, an unmatched beauty blending elegance and charm. If she didn’t cause this much fuss, this half-foreign transfer student... is she a Mary Sue reincarnate?
"Yukinoshita Yukino?" Totsuka pauses, tilting his head cutely, his tone a bit hesitant. "I don’t know, I haven’t seen the transfer student myself... But she’s probably really pretty, right?"
"Oh, I see." As if suddenly losing interest, Yuu replies casually.
Blinking his large, clear, dewy eyes like a fawn, Totsuka wisely drops the topic, suppressing the doubts in his heart, and shifts to another subject.
Soon after, the prep bell rings.
After seeing Totsuka off, Yuu suddenly turns. Yuigahama, looking listless and unwell, enters the classroom just then.
Her ponytail is slightly loose, lacking its usual bounce and energy. As she sits, her friends crowd around, imdiately worrying about her. She forces a smile to respond, occasionally glancing at Yuu through the crowd, as if desperately wanting to talk to him.
Yuu initially plans to pretend he doesn’t see her.
But her gaze is like a drowning puppy whimpering at him from the shore. He, who understands both animals and human hearts, can’t bear it. With a deliberate motion, he pulls out his phone and sends a ssage.
Soon, after the teacher enters and the crowd disperses noisily, Yuigahama lowers her head like a thief, quietly takes out her phone, and opens his ssage.
"Hey, everyone, it’s been a while since sumr break. You all seem to have grown a lot."
"I won’t ask about your vacations—what matters is you bring your energy to class! Anyone who dares bring laziness from ho to school, hehe..."
The female teacher up front suddenly snaps her chalk, issuing a threat with a grim expression.
The pink-haired girl below, after reading the ssage, loses all traces of worry from her face, her expression fully regaining its spark.
Surprised and satisfied, Yuigahama clutches her phone to her chest. Her eyes shine like a sunrise breaking through a dark night, gazing at him from afar with vibrant emotion. As if the entire classroom holds only the two of them, as if the distance between them could instantly shrink—that’s the intensity of her attentive, passionate look.
Embarrassed, Yuu turns away, sending her another ssage.
With hope and excitent, Yuigahama eagerly looks down—
Yuu: [What are you staring at? Keep looking, and I’ll tell Hiratsuka-sensei you’re using your phone in class.]
"..."
Right, that’s exactly how he treated her in third-year middle school—no change at all.
Stashing her phone in the desk drawer, Yuigahama slumps listlessly, her heart wailing.
Ugh, youth is back, but there’s not a shred of joy...
Or maybe not entirely.
"Ehehe~"
Hiding her face behind her arms, Yuigahama giggles foolishly for so reason.
Her heart beats a bit fast, her cheeks and chest warm. As if the whole classroom falls silent, she can only hear her own heartbeat—
"..."
Hmm? Why is it actually silent?
As the thought crosses her mind, a cold, nacing voice slowly echoes in the quiet classroom.
"Yuigahama, you’ve got so guts, huh... I just finished talking, and you’re already dozing off?"
The female teacher in a white lab coat grins with a bloodthirsty smile. She clenches her right fist, smacking her left palm twice like a boxer ready to fight, and asks in a friendly tone:
"So, is this because you’re feeling unwell, or do you want to show your dear teacher so beautiful rebellion?"
"N-No, it’s not like that!"
Quickly wiping away her smile, Yuigahama stands with flushed cheeks, hurriedly explaining amid friendly laughter around her.
Beside her, like a jerk who flirts and then doesn’t commit, Yuu looks away nonchalantly, propping his head with one hand, staring at the unchanging corridor view.
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