While passing the time on her phone, Yui suddenly felt a pair of eyes on her. Acting on instinct, she quickly looked up, her gaze locking onto a female student staring at her. The moment their eyes met, the other girl hurriedly turned away, but it wasn't long before she glanced back at Yui again.
"What's this? A shy schoolgirl?" Yui wondered to herself.
She didn't have to wait long before the girl approached her.
"H-hello… I'm Amane Haruka…"
"Uh… hi…"
Haruka was petite, and despite standing while Yui was seated, Yui still felt she was quite small—probably because Yui was taller than most girls her age.
An awkward silence settled between them until Haruka suddenly blurted out, "C-can I be your friend?" She extended her hand, her voice trembling but earnest.
Yui was taken aback by the direct approach but didn't feel right turning her down. "Sure… of course," She agreed, reaching out to shake Haruka's hand.
Haruka's eyes lit up with joy, while Yui couldn't quite grasp why she was reacting so strongly to something as simple as making a friend. She didn't know what else to say.
"Um… Katsuya-san, would you like to grab something to eat with me?" Haruka asked, her tone hopeful.
"Oh… sorry, I forgot my money," Yui replied.
"That's okay! I've got some," Haruka said quickly, pulling out her wallet.
"No, really, it's fine. I'm not that hungry," Yui insisted.
"But I want to celebrate us becoming friends, so let me treat you!" For some reason, Haruka seemed overly enthusiastic.
"Celebrate? What's there to celebrate?" Yui asked, puzzled.
"So… you don't want to go?" Haruka's voice softened, her expression resembling a pleading puppy.
"I…"
Yui was about to decline, but then she remembered the Captain's words from before: "Yui, you shouldn't always agree to everyone's requests—it'll exhaust you. But… if it's a request from a cute girl, go for it!"
Though Yui didn't fully understand why, following the Captain's advice had never steered her wrong, so she decided to agree.
"Alright, let's go."
"Great!" Haruka beamed.
The two quickly left the classroom, but as soon as they stepped out, Yui felt another pair of eyes on her. Instinctively, she turned toward the opposite direction, catching a glimpse of a figure hurriedly walking away.
"Is something wrong, Katsuya-san?" Haruka asked, noticing her pause.
"Oh… nothing. Let's go," Yui shook her head and hurried along.
On their way to the cafeteria, Haruka eagerly shared all sorts of information about the school and the surrounding area.
"Our school has a lot of clubs, especially sports-related ones. Every student has to join at least one club to earn credits, but you can join more if you want. Have you thought about which club you'd like to join, Katsuya-san?"
"Not yet. I'll look through the list before deciding," Yui replied.
"I can suggest a few good ones, but… what are your hobbies? When you introduced yourself, you said it depends on your mood, so I'm not sure what to recommend…"
"What about you, Amane-san? Which club are you in?" Yui asked, turning the question back to her.
"Oh, I'm in the History Club right now. We research and write essays about past wars and historical changes," Haruka said, her excitement bubbling over as she spoke.
"History, huh… I don't think that's for me," Yui said after a moment of thought, shaking her head.
"Huh? Why not?"
"I just… don't really like dwelling on the past. Sorry if that disappoints you, Amane-san."
"Oh, no worries! I wasn't trying to push you into joining or anything, so don't feel bad," Haruka reassured her with a smile.
Yui nodded, relieved.
"By the way, do you have any siblings, Katsuya-san?" Haruka suddenly shifted to a new topic.
"Hmm…" Yui thought for a moment before answering. "I have an older brother, but he's not here right now."
"I see. I have two younger siblings—they're still little and can be a handful sometimes, but to me, they're the most precious family I have…" Haruka trailed off, her voice warm with affection.
Yui fell silent for a moment. She hadn't expected the conversation to shift so quickly, but to keep the mood light, she responded, "I think I can understand that feeling."
"Hehe, looks like we have something in common!" Haruka smiled brightly.
The two continued chatting about various topics as they walked. As they passed the soccer field, a ball suddenly flew out from the field, heading straight toward them.
"Watch out!" someone shouted from the field.
Haruka, caught up in their conversation, turned just in time to see the ball inches from her face. In that split second, she braced for impact, but a hand shot out in front of her, catching the ball cleanly.
"Katsuya-san…?" Haruka gasped, stunned to see Yui holding the ball.
"Are you okay?" Yui asked, her expression as neutral as ever.
"I-I'm fine. Thank you for saving me!" Haruka bowed quickly, her voice shaky with gratitude.
Yui nodded and handed the ball back to the player who came running over.
"Thanks a lot! That was a close one," the player said, then turned to Haruka with an apologetic bow. "I'm so sorry about that."
"I'm okay, but is your hand alright, Katsuya-san?" Haruka asked, her face full of concern.
"It's fine. I've trained my strength a bit, and the force of the ball was pretty light compared to what I'm used to," Yui said casually, not realizing that everyone around was now staring at them.
"That catch was amazing, though! Your reflexes are incredible—I couldn't even keep up. Most importantly, you stopped a full-force shot from our captain!" The player's excitement caught Yui off guard, and she finally noticed the crowd watching her.
"Oops, I let my guard down again," Yui thought, mentally kicking herself.
"Uh… I've just practiced a bit, that's all," she said, trying to brush it off.
The player looked like he wanted to say more, but his teammates called him back. "I'll head back now, but let's grab a meal together sometime to thank you!" He waved goodbye and ran off.
"Let's go, Amane-san," Yui said, turning to Haruka, only to find her staring at Yui with wide eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Oh… l-let's go!" Haruka smiled quickly and turned to walk away.
They left the field under the curious gazes of the onlookers and soon arrived at the cafeteria, where they ordered two meals and sat down at a table.
"I didn't expect you to be so strong, Katsuya-san. Not many people here can block a full-force shot from Fuji-senpai," Haruka said, still in awe.
"Who's that?" Yui asked, genuinely confused.
"He's the president of the soccer club—a third-year student. He's led the team to lots of victories, so he's really famous. People call his shot the 'supersonic kick' because it's nearly impossible to stop…" Haruka explained, her voice tinged with admiration.
"Impossible to stop? It felt pretty light to me, though. Is Amane-san exaggerating? Better not ask," Yui thought to herself.
"You really admire him, don't you, Amane-san?" she asked instead.
"Huh? Well, most girls do. He's handsome, kind, and even though he's quiet and always looks serious, he's really warm-hearted," Haruka said, her cheeks flushing slightly as she spoke.
"Is that so…" Yui replied absentmindedly, focusing on her food. She didn't really understand the admiration and wasn't particularly interested in digging deeper.
"But I think I might have someone new to admire now," Haruka said, glancing at Yui with a subtle, meaningful look. Yui didn't catch her words, though, as the noise around them was too loud.
"By the way, your hair is pretty short, Katsuya-san. I don't often see girls with shoulder-length hair," Haruka remarked.
In truth, Yui's hair was slightly longer than shoulder-length. Before coming here, the Captain had arranged for hair extensions because her hair used to be so short she could've been mistaken for a boy. Even with the extensions, she'd insisted on keeping it relatively short to avoid it getting in the way during missions or emergencies.
"Is this considered long? I was thinking of cutting it shorter, but the Cap—someone told me that girls should keep their hair a bit longer," Yui explained.
Short hair would've been more practical for missions, but she couldn't share that reason with anyone here.
"I think that person was right. You'd look… really beautiful with longer hair, Katsuya-san," Haruka said softly, her voice almost a whisper.
"Oh… thanks," Yui replied, taking it as a simple compliment. Meanwhile, Haruka's face started to turn red.
After lunch, the two headed back to class. On the way, Haruka asked for Yui's contact info, and as soon as they exchanged numbers, she sent a cute greeting sticker.
Yui responded with a completely mismatched sticker, which made Haruka burst into laughter, though Yui herself didn't understand what was so funny.