"Th-that..."
Anon curled up in Asakura's arms. After the initial blush faded, embarrassment once again overtook her reason.
She gently recoiled a little, her fingers unconsciously tugging at his clothes, and softly asked:
"…How much longer are we going to stay in this position?"
When she said this, her voice was soft, clearly carrying a hint of shyness.
After all, their distance was now so close they were practically pressed together.
Shoulders touching, hair intertwined, it was literally 'ears rubbing temples'.
They could even hear each other's breathing clearly.
Feeling the other's presence at such a close distance made Anon feel a bit light-headed and dizzy.
"Of course, the longer, the better."
Asakura answered without hesitation: "I can do this all day!"
"That's way too long! Are you Captain America?!"
Anon immediately retorted, baring her cute little canines and glaring up at him.
However, because her cheeks were still flushed, she had no deterrent power, which instead made Asakura inexplicably think of apples.
"Anon smells nice."
Asakura casually said, looking down.
His tone was so natural it didn't sound like teasing, but rather a simple observation.
"Don't sniff me!"
Anon nervously recoiled a little.
Unfortunately, the space for her to escape was too small, making her movements look more like she was snuggling in Asakura's arms.
"And it feels like you're changing the subject," she mumbled.
She mumbled.
"Are you wearing any perfume?"
Asakura asked seriously.
"How could I be!"
She immediately shook her head in denial: "Sobu High School is quite strict about cosmetics, and I don't plan to use anything like that even during summer vacation."
After saying this, she paused, then added:
"It's just the scent of shampoo and conditioner or something like that."
"Peach, apple, strawberry..."
Asakura gently sniffed—this action made the girl squirm restlessly in his arms again—and counted them off with a straight face.
"No, no, no, a normal person wouldn't have so many scents!"
Anon couldn't help but retort.
"It must be marinated in fragrance!"
"Wash and cut into pieces, pour in yogurt and mix well..."
Asakura smoothly continued.
"...You're just making a fruit salad, hey!"
Anon immediately patted his arm, her tone helpless.
"…"
Asakura suddenly paused, a thoughtful expression on his face, "(Drooling)"
"Why are you even craving it now!"
Anon was utterly speechless, glaring at him with a mix of annoyance and amusement.
"Ta-da~ Anon Salad~"
Asakura suddenly said in a tone as if he had just walked off the set of a certain blue robotic cat show, his voice deliberately drawn out and playfully exaggerated.
The next second, a small plate of fruit salad appeared in his hand.
The plate was neatly arranged with sliced apples, peaches, and strawberries, vibrant in color.
White yogurt evenly coated the fruit surfaces, gleaming softly under the light, looking refreshing and tempting.
It was clearly freshly made.
"…Don't say it like you're going to eat me."
Having already gotten used to Asakura's supernatural ability to 'conjure snacks at will' in the club room, the pink-haired girl merely mumbled softly.
She stared at the plate for a few seconds, then sighed again: "This trick would be better for fooling Yanami-senpai."
"Anon, don't you want to eat?"
Asakura looked down at her, his tone teasing.
"…"
Anon was silent for a second.
Her gaze drifted back and forth between the fruit and Asakura's face.
"...I want to eat."
"I like honest children."
Asakura showed a 'deeply gratified' expression and nodded slightly.
"…"
Anon's lips moved, as if she wanted to retort, but in the end, she swallowed her words, merely turning her face away and softly humming.
"Here, ah~"
Asakura picked up a piece of apple with a toothpick and offered it to her.
His tone was so natural, as if he had done it countless times.
"As expected, this part is happening..."
Anon showed a 'I knew it' deadpan expression, hesitated for a moment, and finally, with a 'resigned' or 'what the heck' attitude, opened her mouth.
"Munch... (chew chew)"
The crisp sound of the apple echoed in her mouth, followed by a rush of sweetness and a hint of sourness, completely different from apples on the market. If she had to describe it, it was probably 'very fruity'.
"...Damn it."
She chewed, complaining softly and unwillingly: "Why is it so delicious? Now I can't even make a witty remark..."
"Because these fruits are of good quality."
Asakura took the opportunity to explain: "If this fruit platter were in a supermarket, even without the yogurt, it would cost at least a thousand yen or more."
"Eh..."
Anon's eyes widened slightly, and she looked down to re-examine the fruit on the plate.
After a few seconds, as if she had made up her mind, she took the toothpick from Asakura's hand and carefully picked up a slice of peach.
Then she raised her hand and offered the peach to Asakura.
Because the two were already very close, this action felt particularly impactful, almost as if she was directly putting the peach to his mouth.
"N-now it's your turn to be embarrassed!"
She said, feigning composure.
That being said, because the distance between them at this moment was truly too close, this action instead felt more like she was playfully shoving the fruit into Asakura's mouth, which paradoxically made it less ambiguous.
"Come on, 'ah~' I say!"
Anon, completely unaware of this issue due to her posture, spoke with clear nervousness and a hint of anticipation.
"…"
Asakura looked at the peach offered before him and paused.
Then he leaned forward slightly.
"... (Lick)"
"Eek!"
Anon jerked her hand back, pulling herself away a little.
"No ants!"
Asakura muttered subconsciously.
"Don't say things like that after licking my hand!"
Her cheeks flushed red instantly, and she shouted in a mix of shyness and annoyance: "You're tasting the wrong thing!"
Her tone was full of protest.
"Because I felt like if I didn't do something, that piece of peach was going to be stuffed up my nostril. It seems Anon-san's aim is a bit off."
Asakura replied with a straight face, his tone as serious as if he were stating an objective fact: "Besides, Anon-san tastes pretty good too."
"Is it really that exaggerated?"
Anon froze for a moment, then subconsciously raised her hand in a slight movement to quietly sniff her sleeve—though because it was right under Asakura's nose, even this cute, girly little gesture was seen clearly by him—and she asked coquettishly: "By the way, what do I smell like?"
Asakura thought for a moment and analyzed seriously.
"If I had to say, it's the 'Anon' scent."
"What kind of weird scent is that..."
She furrowed her brows, looking completely bewildered.
"Fragrant and salty."
"That feels like you're describing spicy pig trotters or something—it's just because it's too hot and I'm sweating!"
Anon immediately bristled, protesting with slightly flushed cheeks.
"I told you, this position is really hot!"
She shifted her body, trying to put some distance between them, "By the way, can't you move your phone a bit? It's poking me."
"I'll adjust the position properly."
As Asakura said this, he actually shifted the position of his pocket, as if there really were a phone inside.
Then he asked casually: "Besides that, what has Anon been doing over summer vacation?"
"I have a feeling you're using a weird way to change the subject again..."
Anon complained quietly, but before she could finish—
Asakura had already speared another strawberry with a toothpick and held it out to her.
It was right in front of her.
He gave her absolutely no chance to refuse.
"...Mmph!"
She opened her mouth subconsciously and swallowed the strawberry in one bite.
"(Chew, chew)"
After swallowing, she continued inarticulately: "It, it's nothing much... just chilling at home."
Actually, there was more, like continuing to run around looking for a band that would accept her (and let her be the lead singer), playing with the Traffic Light Trio, and studying diligently to preview and review, hoping to get good grades after school starts and show off in front of the other students.
But that was about it.
"And you call yourself a witch with that attitude!"
Asakura suddenly raised his voice, sounding shocked.
"Sorry for still having the mindset of an ordinary person!"
Anon retorted snappily.
"If anything, spare me!"
As she spoke, she began counting on her fingers, "That previous Magic Realm with the Mirror, and the incident at Chiba Port Tower were already miserable enough."
She muttered: "I don't have real superpowers like Asakura-kun, and [Mirror] has been forbidden by you, too..."
"Anon..."
Asakura looked at her, thoughtful, "Your mindset is like an old lady's."
"Who are you calling old!"
Anon immediately bristled, looking up and glaring.
"At your age, wouldn't you normally yearn for an experience like Alice in Wonderland?"
"No way!"
The pink-haired girl immediately shook her head in denial, "That's way too childish, no matter how you look at it! Only kids who still watch children's anime like 'pretty cure' would believe that!"
"I watch it too."
Asakura said calmly.
"'Pretty cure'."
"There's a pretty popular villain character recently."
He said: "I elbowed several kids just to snag that kid's merchandise."
"Don't do things like that, hey!"
Anon retorted, looking completely shocked.
"Heh heh."
Asakura revealed a meaningful smile, "Seeing the kids finally manage to squeeze out of the crowd of adult fans—only to find that the merchandise had all been bought up by the adult fans using adult business tactics—that look of despair on their faces..."
"It was simply delicious."
Asakura said in a tone like Takehito Koyasu.
"Your soul is distorted to the limit, you know!"
Anon covered her forehead and shouted in despair: "If you went to the 'pretty cure' set in this state, you'd just become an evil enemy commander!"
"It wouldn't be so bad to become a villain."
Asakura leaned on the side of the lazy sofa and said casually, "I think there was a 'pretty cure' protagonist who married the villain boss, and they even had a kid."
"...Does 'pretty cure' play that hard these days?"
Anon couldn't help but retort.
"Being able to marry a magical girl feels pretty interesting."
Asakura explained with a straight face.
"..."
Anon paused slightly upon hearing this.
She slowly lowered her face, her gaze falling onto her knees. Her long eyelashes drooped, shielding her eyes and making it impossible for anyone to see her emotions at that moment.
"Does Asakura-kun think that matters of love... are measured by how 'interesting' they are?"
She asked softly.
Her tone was calm, but faintly carried an indescribable nuance.
"It's not that simple, though."
Asakura didn't seem to notice the change in atmosphere and continued counting on his fingers, one by one: "There are definitely other aspects."
"But look, generally in magical girl anime, especially the children's ones—aren't the main cast synonymous with truth, goodness, and beauty?"
He said this, his tone growing serious—or rather, fanatical: "In that case, their character and such would be a perfect score, a perfect score."
"And they usually have a family background setting. Even if they aren't filthy rich, they don't have any worries about daily life."
He got more excited as he spoke: "As long as I act a bit pitiful, maybe they'd even be willing to work to support me... It's just too great! Subarashi!"
His tone sounded subtly like Takehito Koyasu.
"..."
Anon's expression turned cold little by little.
She slowly raised her head and looked at Asakura.
"Aren't magical girls usually elementary school students?"
Her tone was flat.
"Eh... that's really impressive."
She narrowed her eyes slightly, "Getting an elementary school student to support you and all."
There was a distinct chill in her voice.
"That's right! (Anon: He actually admitted it shamelessly!) Also, although that's not really the point."
He seemed completely oblivious to the girl's attitude and just continued: "But the protagonist is usually pink-haired."
"Although I don't like pink hair that much, pink hair is still great after all—cute and pretty. The first impression is quite sweet, and there are many subsequent developments like 'pink-haired, yet dark' and 'pink-haired, yet pink.' The color scheme can directly transition to the more orthodox red or the more high-class white, which also matches quite well. If I had to choose a female protagonist, I'd definitely have to choose someone with pink hair."
After he finished speaking, he subconsciously nodded and specifically emphasized: "Of course, this has nothing to do with my fetishes. I'm not a pink-hair fan; I'm just discussing how great pink hair is."
"Realize quickly that the logic in what you're saying is already starting to shatter."
Anon couldn't help but retort.
She held her forehead with an expression of disdain, looking like she 'didn't know where to start correcting him.'
"I feel like your left and right brains are starting to attack each other."
However...
Pink hair, huh?
These two words echoed quietly in her mind.
Anon's movements slowed down unconsciously.
She gently raised her hand and stroked the hair hanging in front of her shoulders.
Soft pink strands of hair slipped through her fingers, shimmering faintly under the light.
She looked down at the hair in her palm, her expression becoming somewhat strange, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
...A female protagonist?