In the after-school hours, Keyaki Mall welcomed its daily peak of foot traffic.
Students from every grade strolled about in twos and threes, some chatting idly in the cafés, others whiling away their free time after class in clothing stores and arcades.
Shikime Natsu walked alone along the mall's promenade.
He had no particular destination in mind. He'd just finished up Class A's class meeting, dealt with a few odds and ends concerning the sports festival, and had wandered over here on his way out to browse around aimlessly.
The clamor around him didn't disturb him in the slightest; his pale golden eyes swept idly over the shop windows on either side.
It was right at that moment.
Shikime Natsu suddenly felt a small, soft hand reach out soundlessly from behind him, then come to rest lightly upon his shoulder.
After settling onto his shoulder, that little hand didn't pull away at once. Instead, it pressed down with just a touch of force.
The hand's owner seemed to be trying to use his shoulder as a point of support to lean on, adding a little more weight to it.
Feeling that familiar touch and the faint trace of fragrance drifting over.
Shikime Natsu didn't even turn his head; the corners of his mouth had already curved naturally into a gentle smile.
"Asahina-senpai."
He stopped in his tracks and greeted her in a relaxed tone.
"What a coincidence. I didn't expect to run into you here."
Hearing this response from Shikime Natsu, the little hand resting on his shoulder swiftly withdrew.
Then, accompanied by a series of light, brisk footsteps, a gust of fragrant air swept around from his side.
Asahina Nazuna, with her nimble steps, came to a stop directly in front of Shikime Natsu.
Today, Asahina Nazuna still maintained that energetic, adorable style of dress of hers. Her beautiful orange-red long hair was draped casually over her shoulders, the strands glowing with a warm luster in the sunlight.
In her hair, she wore that cute sunflower hair ornament she loved best, adding a few touches of playfulness to her whole appearance.
Those bright purple eyes were brimming with a smile as they looked Shikime Natsu over from head to toe.
"Good afternoon, Shiki-kun."
Asahina Nazuna clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly, the smile on her face exceptionally radiant.
"It really is quite a coincidence. But Shiki-kun, you're as sharp as ever—you knew it was me without even turning your head."
Shikime Natsu looked at this lively second-year senpai before him, smiled, and didn't dwell too long on the subject.
Asahina Nazuna straightened up, those purple eyes glinting with a hint of admiration as she looked at Shikime Natsu, her tone carrying undisguised praise.
"Come to think of it, Shiki-kun."
"In that Deserted Island special exam over the summer break, you really put on quite a spectacular show, didn't you."
Asahina Nazuna leaned in a little closer and lowered her voice.
"You probably don't even realize it yourself, do you? Those glorious deeds of yours on the Deserted Island—they're not just being passed around among you first-years now. They've already spread completely through our second-year circles, and even among the third-years too."
"Everyone's saying that Class 1-A has produced an incredible monster of a new student."
Faced with Asahina Nazuna's unstinting praise, the expression on Shikime Natsu's face remained as unruffled as ever.
"Is that so?"
Shikime Natsu gave a faint smile.
She looked at Shikime Natsu's handsome, calm face, and a flicker of hesitation passed through her purple eyes.
Then, as if she'd worked up a certain kind of courage, Asahina Nazuna tilted her head slightly, looked at Shikime Natsu, and asked with a tentative smile.
"Um... Shiki-kun."
"Do you... still remember that promise we made before?"
When she asked this, Asahina Nazuna was actually rather uncertain in her heart—you could even say she was a little anxious.
After all, several months had already passed since the two of them had made that promise. Several months was a very, very long time.
She really couldn't be sure whether someone like Shikime Natsu—who had to handle so many class affairs every day, and who was surrounded by so many cute girls, a real mover and shaker—would still keep a tiny little promise he'd casually made to her, an upperclassman, tucked away in his heart.
Shikime Natsu let out a soft chuckle.
"Senpai, didn't I tell you?"
"My memory has always been pretty good. At the very least, when it comes to a promise between Asahina-senpai and me, I've got it memorized word for word."
Shikime Natsu looked at her, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening.
"After all, Asahina-senpai swore up and down at the time that she owed me a meal. How could I possibly forget such a wonderful thing—a chance to make senpai shell out some money?"
Hearing this reply from Shikime Natsu, laced with a touch of humorous teasing.
Asahina Nazuna was slightly taken aback.
Then she couldn't help bursting out with a "pfft" of laughter.
The mood that had been a little anxious instantly became bright and brilliant, as though the clouds had parted to reveal the sun.
It seemed Shikime Natsu had indeed taken his senpai's promise to heart. Of course, for Asahina Nazuna, the point she cared about wasn't the treat itself, but the fact that Shikime Natsu remembered the promise between them.
Being remembered by Shikime Natsu over a promise—and just a small promise at that—was something that made Asahina Nazuna very happy.
But this kind of secret little feeling in the girl's heart was naturally not something she could just lay out on the table and say openly—especially under the present circumstances.
Asahina Nazuna was well aware that the Shikime Natsu of now was no longer the underclassman who'd been all alone back when he first enrolled.
There were already, quite clearly, several legitimate girlfriends by his side.
So, for the Asahina Nazuna of now, being able to interact with Shikime Natsu like this in the capacity of an upperclassman—chatting naturally, even cracking the occasional joke—was in itself already quite an extraordinary thing, and something that left her feeling very content.
Putting away those tangled thoughts at the bottom of her heart.
Asahina Nazuna clasped her hands behind her back, leaned her body forward slightly, and those purple eyes surveyed Shikime Natsu's surroundings.
"So then, Shiki-kun."
She continued asking.
"Are you wandering around here all by yourself right now? Your... um, girlfriends, aren't they keeping you company?"
Faced with this somewhat probing question from Asahina Nazuna.
Shikime Natsu didn't show the slightest sign of awkwardness or guilt.
He met Asahina Nazuna's gaze openly, a smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Right now it really is just me alone."
Shikime Natsu looked at her, his voice gentle.
"If Asahina-senpai is planning to honor the promise and invite me now."
He paused.
"I'm free."
Hearing these words from Shikime Natsu, which could be called a straight pitch.
A flicker of astonishment couldn't help but pass through Asahina Nazuna's purple eyes; she looked at the youth before her with some surprise.
She realized that, without her quite knowing when—or rather, after he'd gotten girlfriends and been through a few things—
the Shiki-kun of now had really become unexpectedly bold.
The him of before had been composed too, but he'd still maintained a layer of underclassman politeness to some degree.
That feeling that came rushing at her made Asahina Nazuna's heart skip a beat in spite of herself.
Of course, surprised as she was, Asahina Nazuna didn't actually mind this somewhat forceful directness of his—you could even say it made her feel a bit more at ease, on the contrary.
"Sure."
Asahina Nazuna quickly came back to her senses and laughed heartily, the sunflower hair ornament swaying gently with her movement.
"Since you're free, then there's no time like the present. Right now, let your senpai here properly pay off the meal she owes you!"
Shikime Natsu nodded with a smile and, naturally enough, agreed as a matter of course.
"So then, where is senpai planning to take me to eat?"
Shikime Natsu asked.
Hearing this question.
Asahina Nazuna looked extremely magnanimous.
She stretched out a hand and patted the pocket of her uniform skirt.
"Anywhere you want to eat is fine! You can pick whatever you like."
Asahina Nazuna looked at Shikime Natsu, those purple eyes full of bravado, and began asking about his taste preferences.
"What kind of food does Shiki-kun usually like? Do you prefer grilled meat, or Western cuisine? As long as it's a restaurant here in Keyaki Mall, order whatever you want."
She even went so far as to add a line, trying to show off her financial clout as a second-year senpai.
"Your senpai has built up quite a few private points on her right now. More than enough to treat you to a big feast. So don't you dare stand on ceremony with me later, okay."
Looking at Asahina Nazuna's adorable, big-spender manner.
Shikime Natsu didn't immediately name a restaurant.
He lowered his head slightly, pretending to be deep in serious thought.
A few seconds passed.
Shikime Natsu lifted his head, those pale golden eyes looking at Asahina Nazuna, the corner of his mouth carrying an enigmatic almost-smile, and suddenly tossed out a question that completely broke from the script.
"Anywhere to eat is fine, you said?"
He looked at her, his tone carrying a hint of curiosity and mischief.
"Come to think of it, I don't actually know—Asahina-senpai, do you... usually cook?"
Hearing Shikime Natsu suddenly ask a question that veered off the main thread of "picking a restaurant."
Asahina Nazuna visibly froze for a moment.
Her purple eyes blinked, and only after a brief short-circuit in her brain did she catch up to what he was asking.
"C-cook?"
Asahina Nazuna reflexively echoed back.
Then, out of feminine pride and the "reliable senpai" image she usually maintained in front of her underclassman.
Asahina Nazuna puffed out her chest and tilted her chin up slightly.
"But of course!"
She answered, trying to make her voice sound full of confidence.
"Making your own dishes is just the most basic life skill, isn't it? Of course I can cook."
However.
If you listened carefully, you'd notice that when Asahina Nazuna said this, although her tone sounded loud and clear, the tail end of her words wavered ever so slightly, beyond her control.
That manner of hers was just like someone who normally only knew how to boil instant noodles and fry eggs, yet was forcing herself to claim mastery of the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast.
She seemed just a touch short on conviction—who could say whether she was putting on a brave front for the sake of her pride.
Shikime Natsu naturally caught, in an instant, that flash of guilt and evasion in Asahina Nazuna's tone.
Still, he didn't expose her.
On the contrary, a glint of mischievous delight flickered in the depths of his eyes.
"So that's how it is."
Shikime Natsu nodded, wearing an expression of sudden realization mixed with a great deal of anticipation.
Then he looked at Asahina Nazuna and spoke up in a natural tone.
"Since senpai can cook."
"Then that meal you owe me—I'll leave it to senpai to make it with her own hands."
Shikime Natsu gave a slight smile.
"Compared to those cookie-cutter flavors at restaurants out there, I'm honestly more looking forward to getting a taste of a dish made by Asahina-senpai's own hands."
When Shikime Natsu made this request in that gentle tone of his.
Asahina Nazuna froze completely on the spot.
Her eyes slowly widened, and that face of hers, normally always brimming with vitality, was now filled with an expression of disbelief.
She stared blankly at Shikime Natsu, as though she'd heard something utterly fantastical.
"You... Shiki-kun, are you serious?"
Asahina Nazuna's voice had even started to stammer.
She could never have imagined that things would suddenly take a turn like this—
she'd merely been politely asking him which restaurant he wanted to go to, and he'd actually gone and climbed straight up the pole she'd offered, demanding to eat food she made with her own hands?!
In order to rescue this situation that was about to spiral out of control, Asahina Nazuna hurriedly began trying to divert his attention.
"Um... Shiki-kun."
Asahina Nazuna gave a couple of dry laughs and waved her hands in front of her.
"Actually, you know, here in this Keyaki Mall of our school, there really are a lot of restaurants with very good flavors!"
She reiterated her earlier promise once more, trying to use a money offensive to make him change his mind.
"You really don't have to worry about your senpai's private points. Senpai's points right now really are more than enough! Going to eat that kind of high-end cuisine is no problem at all!"
Watching Asahina Nazuna in her flustered state, struggling to drag the topic back on track.
Not only did Shikime Natsu not take the out she was offering, he instead took a small step forward, closing the distance between the two of them.
He lowered his head, those pale golden eyes looking straight into her evasive gaze.
"What's the matter?"
"Senpai's making so many excuses."
"Could it be..."
He deliberately drew out his tone.
"Everything senpai just said was actually a lie to fool me? Asahina-senpai, you wouldn't happen to... not be able to cook at all, would you?"
This was a provocation tactic.
Faced with Shikime Natsu's faintly doubtful gaze, and that soul-searching question of "don't tell me you can't,"
Asahina Nazuna's pride was instantly pricked.
Shikime Natsu had already pushed his words this far, and as a senpai, her pride made it absolutely impossible for Asahina Nazuna to bow her head right then and there and admit that she'd just been bragging—that she actually couldn't cook at all.
After all, she'd just patted her chest and sworn up and down that she could cook.
If she changed her tune now, wouldn't she be laughed to death by this underclassman?
But what Asahina Nazuna had completely failed to anticipate was that this fellow Shikime Natsu just had to refuse to play by the usual rules—he'd actually set his heart firmly on eating food she made!
Riding a tiger and unable to get off.
Those words perfectly captured Asahina Nazuna's predicament at this moment.
After a brief but intense inner struggle.
Asahina Nazuna gritted her teeth and, steeling herself, met Shikime Natsu's gaze head-on.
"Wh-who said I can't!"
Asahina Nazuna took a deep breath and, feigning composure, said to Shikime Natsu.
"Since Shiki-kun, you're so looking forward to it, since you want to eat my cooking this badly."
"Then today's meal—you'd better have a good taste of your senpai's culinary skills!"
Even as she said this, on the surface Asahina Nazuna still had to maintain her dignity as a senpai.
Since the words were already out, Asahina Nazuna could only resign herself to her fate.
She turned around and led the way toward the mall's exit.
"Then... let's go to my dorm."
Asahina Nazuna hesitated for a moment, then slowly spoke up again.
Along the stretch of road from Keyaki Mall to the second-year dormitory district.
Although the two of them kept their steps in sync, Asahina Nazuna's mood right now was utterly different from the lighthearted cheer of a moment ago.
Her inner state could be described as a complete scene of chaos—she was quite nervous and uneasy.
Although she'd talked tough in front of Shikime Natsu and claimed she could cook.
In reality, she herself knew best that her so-called "culinary skills" extended only as far as cooking for herself, and to a level where she could just barely stomach what she made.
That kind of cooking, which at most counted as a "survival skill"—could it really be set on a table and used to entertain a guest?
What's more.
She'd long since heard, from the other girls' gossip, that Shikime Natsu wasn't just top-tier in studies and athletics—even his cooking was at a master's level.
Rumor had it that the dishes he made were even more delicious than what the head chefs at high-end restaurants out there could produce.
The mere thought of having to show off her meager skills before a person of such superb culinary ability—
Asahina Nazuna's heart held not a shred of confidence. She'd even already started rehearsing in her mind the subtle expression Shikime Natsu would wear a little later, after tasting her disaster cooking.
"If worse comes to worst, once we get back I'll just make the simplest omurice. As long as I pile on the ketchup, the flavor shouldn't be too far off..."
Asahina Nazuna silently mulled over this last remedial measure in her heart.
And so, amid the girl's fretting and praying the whole way, the two of them soon arrived beneath the second-year girls' dormitory building, and took the elevator up to the floor where Asahina Nazuna's room was.
They came to a stop in front of a room's number plate.
Asahina Nazuna fished her student card out of her pocket and swiped it over the door lock.
With a soft "beep," the door lock was released.
"Pardon the intrusion."
Asahina Nazuna pushed open the door, changed into slippers at the entryway, then turned around and took a brand-new pair of slippers out of the shoe cabinet and set them on the floor.
"Shiki-kun, please come in."
Shikime Natsu gave his thanks, changed into the slippers, and stepped into this private domain belonging to his senpai.
The moment he set foot inside the room.
A strong visual impact, brimming with a girlish aura, came rushing at him head-on.
The way Asahina Nazuna's room was arranged was a perfect match for her own lively, adorable personality.
The whole room's main color scheme leaned toward warm shades of pink.
On that single bed lay a pink bedsheet printed with cute patterns, and the neatly folded quilt was a soft pink as well.
Although quite a few cute little trinkets and plush toys were on display, the room had been tidied up immaculately by its owner, without the slightest sense of clutter.
Apart from the visual impressions.
A faint, pleasant fragrance also lingered in the air.
Shikime Natsu's gaze swept casually around this room full of girlish charm.
Suddenly his line of sight paused.
In one of the most conspicuous spots in the room, Shikime Natsu spotted something very familiar.
It was a set of exquisitely crafted, perfectly packaged high-grade trading cards.
It was the very set that Shikime Natsu had personally given to Asahina Nazuna.
____
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