During lunch later on, Kiyotaka enjoyed a quiet lunch with Suzune while they talked about the test that Sae gave them earlier. Kikyo wasn't with them today, as she had chosen to sit with her other friends instead.
Suzune asked her seatmate if he had any difficulty in answering the test, to which Kiyotaka replied by saying he was confused in some parts but managed to pull through in the end. When the girl asked him why he slept after he was done, he only replied by saying he wanted to get some rest while he had the chance.
When he left to buy some bottled coffee from the vending machine, the young man then found himself being surrounded by Sudo, Ike, and Yamauchi. While Sudo didn't seem like he was going to say anything, the other two were sending him angry looks for some reason.
"Can I help you three with anything?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at them curiously.
Ike was the first to speak as he pointed towards Kiyotaka accusingly. "Alright, spill the beans, Ayanokouji! Tell us already!"
"Tell you what?"
"You're going out with Horikita, aren't you?" Ike asked angrily.
Of course, Kiyotaka's reaction was to shake his head. "No, I'm not. Where did you even get such a thing?"
Yamauchi was the next to speak, standing beside his friend with the same angry look on his face. "Don't lie! Even Sudo says that something's going on between the two of you! You were even having lunch with her earlier!"
So, they finally noticed that he was eating lunch with a girl all this time. Wow. It only took them about a whole month to figure it out.
It did beg the question of how they finally noticed him, though. The reason why he had been safe from everyone's eyes so far was that nobody paid attention to him but now, it seems like that's over... but again, how did they notice him?
Kiyotaka glanced at the red-haired teen, who was hiding a smile to himself while watching this unfold. It was very subtle, but Kiyotaka caught it just in time, and it was enough to tell him that Ken told them this on purpose.
"Sudo, I'm shocked. I tried to help you with Onodera, and this is how you repay me? You're going down," he thought to himself. fre(e)webnovel.com
Oh, he was going to make Sudo pay. But first, he needed to deal with these two idiots.
"I have nothing else to say to you other than what you're insinuating is only a product of your imagination. Nothing's going on between me and Horikita. We had lunch together because it's convenient to sit with people you know."
Yamauchi didn't look convinced. "Really? But you're with each other all the time! Don't think we weren't seeing you staring at each other like an old married couple! Urgh, I'm so jealous!"
"That's because we're seatmates. Do you expect me not to talk to her simply because she's a girl?" he retorted. "And look at Horikita. Do you think she's the dating type? Let's assume that I did ask her out on a date or something. I'm absolutely certain that she wouldn't even give me the time of day." fre ewebno vel.com
Well actually, if he did ask out Suzune for a date, the system would likely manipulate things to go his way. However, these three guys didn't know that.
Ike shrugged. "I don't know. We never really talk to her. If Kushida-chan hadn't brought it up while we were talking to her, we probably wouldn't even know her name."
"Yeah, she disappears into the background, like a shadow."
"Are they joking? They literally interrogated me all because Kushida said her name?" Kiyotaka deadpanned. "You don't even know her name prior to this? That's harsh."
"A-Anyway, if you're not involved with Horikita, then you must have something with Kushida! Admit it already!" Ike accused, now switching his focus from Suzune to Kikyo.
Kiyotaka wondered what Ike's problem was. First, it was Suzune. Now he was bringing up Kikyo. Kiyotaka wasn't really worried about being caught now that he knows it's only these two guys who are being loud about it. He thought of denying the claims like always, but he thought about something different this time.
"So what if I did? Why does it matter to you?"
Both Ike and Yamauchi gasped.
"You bastard! You already got Horikita's attention, now you're gonna take away Kushida-chan too?! You're just as bad as Hirata who's got a harem of beautiful girls!"
"Calm down, Ike. I never said Kushida and I were together. I was only being hypothetical," he said in an attempt to defuse the situation. Are these two really that desperate over girls that they'll get jealous of who gets attention from them?
"You should be! I like Kushida-chan, and I'm planning to ask her out when the time comes!
"Come on, Ike. Do you really think you're the fitting one for Kushida-chan? I mean, look at me. I'm the type of guy that Kushida-chan would be into," Yamauchi bragged, flexing his bicep before kissing it.
"You moron! Like hell you can date Kushida-chan with me around! She won't even bat an eye towards you because of those fantasies you have about her!"
"Oh, look who's talking! You fantasize about Kushida-chan too, Ike!"
Kiyotaka could only stare at them blankly. First, they were accusing him of being close to two girls and now they were butting heads over one of them.
Sudo let out a deep sigh at their behavior. "You two never learn, do you?"
Both perverts turned to him with angry looks.
"You're no better, Sudo!"
"Yeah, you're just bragging about what you have with Onodera at this point!"
"Again with this?" the red-haired teen groaned. He wasn't even angry, just tired at this point. It was likely that he was receiving these accusations on a regular basis. "I told you before, me and Onodera are just friends!"
Kiyotaka saw this as his chance for some sweet revenge, so he was quick to capitalize on it.
"Actually, Sudo... these two make a good point. You and Onodera have been getting closer and closer to each other. Are we seeing you developing a crush on her?" he asked innocently.
"You too, Ayanokouji?" he looked at his friend with a gobsmacked expression, feeling shocked that he would even think of such a thing. "Seriously, why does everyone keep saying that? Nothing's going on between us, I swear!"
"You say nothing is going on between you two, but let's take a look at what happened these past few weeks," Kiyotaka started to explain. "During our first swimming class, Onodera asked if you could join her in the Swimming Club. A few days later, you told her that you signed up for it and got accepted. From there, you two always leave the classroom together when a school day ends. While I can understand you two are dorm neighbors, it's likely because you go to your club together, or she accompanies you to watch you play basketball. I think I've also seen you two racing each other at the swimming pool area while I was passing by that place, and you two were having fun. Oh, and do I have to mention that you look particularly happier when you're around her compared to your usual demeanor?"
Sudo looked like a deer in headlights after everything that Kiyotaka said, while the duo of perverts simply looked on with great surprise.
"If nothing else, then all that I just said is only proof that you treat Onodera differently compared to our other classmates. I'm not going to assume anything, but all the signs are pointing to you being happier when you're around Onodera. Now, I'm not an expert in this field, so you can deny my claim... but do you have a crush on Onodera, Sudo?"
The red-haired teen did his best to keep himself from blushing, but failed horribly. If anything, he felt like a criminal being caught in the act because it was all true. He couldn't deny it, because he was never good at being convincing.
Sudo gritted his teeth and looked away, too embarrassed to meet his classmates' gaze.
"Alright, alright! You bastards win..." he scoffed. "I guess I like her... maybe."
"Maybe?" Kiyotaka pressed on.
"Alright, a lot! I like her a lot. Happy now?" the red-haired teen growled.
Kiyotaka wanted to smirk to show his amusement but unfortunately, he couldn't. He still treated this as sweet revenge for him, though. If Ken was going to sell him out to the two perverts regarding Horikita or Kushida, then he'll pay him back tenfold.
"Why, yes. Yes, I am."
"If you like her that much, then shouldn't you tell her?" asked Ike, showing genuine concern for Sudo this time.
Sudo looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "Are you kidding me? There's no way I could tell her that!"
Ike shook his head. "That's not the right thing to do, man. If you like a girl, then you should confess to her! You won't end up together if you don't."
"You idiot, I'm already friends with her. Close friends, even. I don't want to ruin what we have by running my mouth," he then looked at Ike suspiciously. "And why are you suddenly being supportive? Shouldn't you be yelling at me for 'taking away' one of the girls in our class?"
"Hey dude, if you like her that much, then go for her. I might want a girlfriend, but I ain't gonna steal someone who's already taken. That's a violation of the bro code," Ike shrugged.
ραпdα n?νa| сom Both Ken and Kiyotaka were caught off guard. That was... surprisingly mature for Ike. Most of the time, he loved hanging out with Yamauchi as the perverted duo of the class. They never knew he could be like this.
Maybe there was hope for the guy, in spite of it all.
On the other hand, Yamauchi only grinned mischievously. "Well, if you won't confess to her, then I will. Onodera-chan's pretty cute too, you know?"
Sudo didn't hesitate to grab him by the collar before lifting him up slightly. "Touch her and you're a dead man," he threatened with a dangerous look in his eyes.
"O-Okay, man! I-I-It was just a joke..."
"I'm not going to tell you to do anything, but Onodera won't wait for you forever, Sudo. Since you're pretty close to each other already, I'm sure she would hear you out," Kiyotaka suggested.
Sudo let go of Yamauchi before turning back to his friend with a frustrated look. "But what if she doesn't like me that way? It would just make things awkward between us. Especially now that we're in the same club and we go there once every few days."
"With how close the two of you seem to be, I don't think Onodera would reject so easily. She'd give you a chance first. Who knows? Maybe Onodera actually likes you back," Kiyotaka added, facing the vending machine and ordering a bottle of iced coffee after paying the points needed.
There's no other reason why the system would make those two neighbors. It wouldn't have done it if they weren't going to be together, and Kiyotaka knew it from experience.
"Oh, can you get me some soda, Ayanokouji? I'm feeling thirsty," asked Yamauchi, recovering from Sudo's threat rather quickly.
"Buy it yourself, then."
Yamauchi laughed nervously. "Can't. I've already used up most of my points. I only have 2,000 points left... come on, I'll pay you back when we get our allowance next month."
"I'm not even going to question how he almost spent the entirety of 100,000 points in the span of three weeks," he said in his mind. "I don't care. There's some bottled water available, though. It's actually free."
Yamauchi rolled his eyes. "Fine, cheapskate. Give me the water. At least it's better than the vegetable set..."
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh, you didn't know? The cafeteria actually offers some free food on the menu. But it's full of vegetables and there's no way I'm ordering that."
Sudo blinked a few times, before he then remembered something important. "Now that you mention it, I've been seeing some upperclassmen having only vegetables as their lunch these past few weeks. I thought they were just vegans or something..."
"I don't think it's because they're like that. It's most likely because they can't order anything else," Kiyotaka concluded. If those upperclassmen simply had no points or they were trying to save some, then it's understandable why they would choose to order the free meal.
"What, so these students lost all of their points so they have to resort to the free cafeteria food? Ha! Sucks to be them!"
...and Ike was back to being Ike. Not surprising.
"You never know, it might happen to you too. With how you two keep on spending your points, you might just find yourselves ordering vegetables in the future."
"In your dreams, Sudo! I have about 7,000 points left, and it's almost the end of the month! We'll be getting our 100,000 point allowance soon."
"Yeah," Yamauchi agreed. "Why can't next month come any faster too? I still have so many things I want to buy!"
As the two talked about the many things that they thought of purchasing in the future, Kiyotaka left them and went back to his table quietly, while being in deep thought.
"So, the school gives out free food in the case that students don't have any more points to spend. I wonder if that's intentional because if it is, then there must be more things that the school gives for free."
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