Saturday.
Haru had plans to et Yukino and the others in the afternoon, but he headed to school right after lunch.
Since it was the weekend, the school was noticeably quieter, with fewer students around. As he greeted familiar faces on his way, he mulled over the upcoming sparring session.
He had visited the karate club two days prior. The club president, a third-year student, turned out to be quite approachable.
After so digging, Haru learned that the president had once reached the top 32 in a karate competition held in Osaka—an impressive feat. Haru praised the senior for his achievents and expressed a keen interest in karate, requesting a lesson. The senior readily agreed.
"I haven't sparred with Senior Oyama yet, but based on my current [Fitness Level 7], I should be able to hold my own in a fair match."
Haru trained daily, testing his limits whenever his skills leveled up. No one understood his physical abilities better than he did.
Whether it was agility or strength, his stats far exceeded the average person. Coupled with his previous combat training, achieving a balanced match seed entirely feasible.
As Haru stood by the baseball field, casually watching the team practice to kill ti, a voice called out from behind him.
"Amamiya-kun, why are you here alone?"
The voice was soft and feminine, accompanied by a faint, pleasant fragrance. It was a mix of a girl's natural scent blended with traces of body wash and shampoo.
What surprised Haru, however, was that despite his heightened senses, he only noticed the scent and presence the mont she spoke.
He turned around swiftly—and froze.
gumi Kato.
Her na popped into his mind imdiately.
No wonder I didn't notice anything earlier.
Haru thought to himself. With her almost supernatural ability to fade into the background, she could easily be a top-tier assassin in a ninja ani.
"My club has so business to take care of, so I ca early. May I ask who you are?"
Although Haru knew her na, they had never interacted before. He feigned curiosity.
"I'm gumi Kato from Class E. I left sothing at school and ca back to get it. When I saw you standing here alone, I thought I'd co say hi."
Her voice was calm and asured but pleasing to the ear.
"Nice to et you, Kato-san."
Haru nodded as if just realizing who she was, though he was secretly curious about why she approached him.
"You're wondering why I'm talking to you, aren't you?" gumi asked, seemingly reading his mind.
"Yes," Haru replied bluntly.
gumi didn't answer right away. Her clear eyes studied his face, as if trying to make sense of sothing.
"Is there sothing on my face?" Haru asked.
She shook her head. "I'm just surprised."
"Surprised about what?"
"That you don't seem to rember ."
"?"
Haru imdiately thought back to his encounters with Eriri and Utaha.
How many 2D heroines have been watching since childhood?
Was my high jump performance really that incredible?
"Have we t before?"
He tried hard to recall but couldn't place her anywhere in his mories.
gumi's gaze remained steady. "You were probably focused on the competition that day, so you didn't notice ."
Another case like Eriri and Utaha, huh?
Haru decided to probe further. "Did we go to the sa elentary school?"
"No, but I saw you that day. I was standing right behind you."
"I see. My apologies. I must've been too engrossed in the event to notice my surroundings."
"Amamiya-kun, that's a lie~"
gumi's calm eyes seed to flicker with emotion as she said this lightly. "I rember a very pretty lady talking to you that day. Afterward, you spent ti with an adorable girl."
"Well, technically not a lie. I didn't know that lady, and the girl you ntioned was a classmate."
Haru was genuinely surprised. Unlike Eriri and Utaha, gumi hadn't just seen him—she had been observing him.
Standing beside him now, gumi glanced at the energetic baseball players. "That cute girl was Yukinoshita-san, wasn't she?"
"Yeah," Haru replied.
He clearly rembered that day when Yukino handed him a handkerchief. He had joked with her out of habit, making her blush in embarrassnt.
gumi didn't continue the topic imdiately.
After watching the baseball practice a little longer, she turned to Haru and asked, "Is it true that you had a conflict with a senior?"
"Yes, but it's all resolved now."
She let out a soft "Oh," adding, "Senior Takano has been acting very differently these days. He doesn't even raise his voice at classmates anymore."
Haru caught the nuance in her words. "You've been observing him?"
"Not really. I just happened to notice when I saw him."
Haru doubted her casual tone.
Changing the subject, gumi suddenly said, "I should get going. See you around."
"Take care," Haru replied.
Yet she didn't leave.
Just as Haru was about to ask why, gumi seed to recall sothing. Tilting her head slightly, she t his gaze directly.
"Can we exchange contact information?"
The way she tilted her head, combined with her short, bobbed hair, was unexpectedly cute.
Haru couldn't think of a reason to refuse.
After all, she had brought up their childhood encounter and was friendly throughout their conversation. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that her decision to ask for his contact information only at the end wasn't entirely spontaneous.
As they exchanged numbers, Haru casually asked, "It's been over a month since school started. Why ntion our childhood encounter only now? Did you just rember it?"
gumi, busy editing his na in her contacts, answered in her usual calm tone, "I recognized you on the first day of school."
"Then why…"
"I hadn't decided on a reason to talk to you."
"And today you figured it out?"
"No. I heard about your good reputation, so I thought talking to you wouldn't need a reason. When I saw you today, I just went for it." Her answer was startlingly honest.
"…Fair enough."
This ti, gumi waved her hand lightly and walked away.
Her hair swayed gently with her steps, leaving behind a graceful, youthful image.
Haru watched her retreating figure. Their conversation had been so ordinary—so uneventful—that it felt like ripples barely ford.
Throughout the exchange, gumi maintained a calm and composed deanor, steering the flow of their talk effortlessly.
When Haru is facing Yukino or Utaha, he can control the rhythm of the conversation.
"She's my type as well" Haru concluded.
At 2:30 PM, Yukino and the others arrived.
Haru quickly noticed that Yui occasionally stole glances at him. When he caught her, she would blush and quickly look away.
He assud she was still thinking about last night's "docunt directory" and simply greeted everyone.
The group's arrival at the karate club caused quite a stir.
After all, Haru had brought along four girls, making them the center of attention.
The karate club currently only had one female mber.
"Amamiya-kun, will you co back to spar with again?"
During the warm-up, Club President Oyama Kento grabbed Haru's arm, his face full of hope.
"If you're hoping I'll introduce you to so girls, you're out of luck," Haru replied bluntly.
To his surprise, the senior waved it off. "That's not necessary. If you co around more often, girls will naturally show up to watch."
Then, as if embarrassed, he added, "By the way, I heard you're always eager to help others. Is that true?"
Haru gave him a suspicious look. "What do you need help with?"
"How can we make our club more appealing to girls?" The senior asked with utmost sincerity.
"Sorry, I can't teach that," Haru replied with a sigh.
"But you can!" The senior's eyes burned with determination, more fervent than any strear chasing views.
The sight of two people whispering to each other didn't go unnoticed by the onlookers.
Among them was Yukino, whose attention had been fixed on Haru since the mont they arrived.
"What are the two club presidents whispering about? It looks so secretive," a curious girl in their group asked.
Yukino shared her curiosity.
She had observed the karate club president's expression shift from eager anticipation at the start of the conversation to a mix of resignation and disappointnt by the end.
When Haru returned to their group, Yukino wasted no ti. "What were you two discussing? The senior's expression looked... odd."
Haru replied matter-of-factly, "Senior Oyama wanted to help him find a girlfriend."
As he spoke, Haru subtly glanced over at the three girls in his club.
Ever since the "gumi Kato incident," he couldn't help but view everyone with suspicion.
Yukino noticed his strange behavior and leaned closer to ask in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Haru lowered his voice to match hers. "Rember the coincidences with Sawamura-san and Kasumigaoka-senpai? I ran into sothing similar again today."
"What kind of coincidence..." Yukino trailed off mid-sentence, realization dawning on her face.
Her expression shifted, becoming serious. "Another one?"
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