That day passed peacefully. The next day came.
Tuesday. Still a weekday.
The weather was nice—18°C. By noon, the autumn breeze made the temperature just right.
It felt comfortable.
Maybe it was the weather, but Aoki was in a particularly good mood.
During lunch break, as he walked through the school corridor, he could hear classmates whispering about him, mixed with the soft sound of wind brushing past the windows.
He went down the stairs and stepped out of the school building.
At the vending machine by the entrance, he bought a bottle of strawberry milk and downed it in one go.
It was too sweet—even someone with a sweet tooth like Aoki found it hard to swallow.
It was 11:10 a.m., and he hadn't eaten lunch yet.
He didn't think twice about drinking on an empty stomach.
After finishing the milk, Aoki began thinking about heading back to eat.
Hikigaya was probably still waiting for him at their desks.
They could head to the cafeteria together.
Thinking about the cafeteria reminded him of the soy sauce udon there—which tasted terrible.
It had been a huge letdown, especially for the price.
Aoki had been thoroughly burned the first time he tried it.
Well, the issue was more the price than the taste—actually, most of the food in the school cafeteria was pretty bad.
The udon was far from the only offender.
There were things like fish rice with an overwhelming fishy smell, and tempura that probably hadn't even been fried all the way through...
Lately, he'd started learning how to cook for himself.
Maybe next time he could try bringing a homemade bento to school.
That had to be better than cafeteria food or yakisoba bread for lunch.
Thinking about his own cooking skills, Aoki tossed the empty milk bottle into the trash and started heading back to class.
As he went upstairs, he could still hear people talking about him.
He'd gotten used to it and no longer cared. Or at least, that's what he told himself.
He walked to the classroom door, trying to ignore the chatter.
Sliding the door open, he stepped inside and glanced toward Hikigaya's seat, about to say something—only to freeze with the words stuck in his throat.
Hikigaya wasn't there.
And sitting at his desk was...
...a red-haired girl, surrounded by several classmates eagerly asking her questions.
Ah... Kita Ikuyo.
He stood there, momentarily stunned, before snapping back to reality.
A hint of confusion rose in his chest.
Noticing his return, a few classmates around her politely stepped aside.
Aoki walked forward past the crowd.
"Kita? What are you doing here?"
The girl, who had just been answering questions, turned her head as soon as she heard his voice.
"Ah—Kei-senpai!" she called out softly, blinking up at him.
Then she paused for a moment.
Instead of replying right away, she pulled a neatly wrapped lunchbox about the size of two hands from her bag.
"I came to bring you lunch, senpai. But when I didn't see you, I asked the senior who sits in front of you—Hikigaya-senpai, right?
He said you'd be back soon... and told me to pass along that he 'went ahead to eat yakisoba bread,'" she explained, placing the lunchbox on his desk.
Immediately, the surrounding classmates erupted with "Ooh!" and teasing voices.
Aoki stood silent for a moment.
Leaving aside the classmates who were now making a scene, just Hikigaya alone—how many times had that guy ditched him and run off on his own?
He grumbled internally.
He also noticed the way his classmates were now looking at him and Kita.
As for that whole "You'll get used to it and stop caring what others think" idea... yeah, that had been a little too optimistic.
Right now, Aoki definitely couldn't pretend he didn't care.
Letting out a quiet breath, he turned to Kita and said,
"Ah... thanks for the lunch. Anyway, uh—let's go somewhere else to talk."
Strictly speaking, aside from the classroom and cafeteria, there weren't many suitable places on campus to eat lunch.
In the end, they went up to the school rooftop.
Aoki had asked Hiratsuka-sensei for the rooftop key a while back.
Originally, he thought they could use the space to practice guitar during lunch breaks—it'd be quiet and private enough not to bother anyone.
But for various reasons—like the lack of an outlet and the wind being too loud to hear the guitar properly—that idea had been scrapped.
When he tried to return the key, Hiratsuka-sensei had waved him off with: "Just keep it. I'll ask you if I need it. Less hassle that way."
Technically, students weren't supposed to have rooftop access, but... Hiratsuka-sensei was a special case, and Aoki wasn't exactly a normal student either.
So, the school turned a blind eye.
Let's set the context aside for now.
In short, under Aoki's lead, the two of them ended up going to the rooftop of the school building.
Settling down on the rooftop benches, a gentle breeze passed through the otherwise empty rooftop.
"Kei-senpai, Kei-senpai, I've been practicing cooking a lot lately—been learning from my mom for quite a while now!"
As soon as they sat down, Kita couldn't wait to pull out two lunchboxes from her small bag.
She opened the top one and, while speaking, picked up a golden-brown fried shrimp with her chopsticks.
"This shrimp is one of my mom's signature recipes! You've gotta try it, senpai—"
She held the shrimp out in front of Aoki's mouth with her chopsticks, her face full of anticipation.
"...?"
Staring at the shrimp in front of him—and Kita's hand, close enough to see the fine texture of her skin—Aoki froze slightly.
What... what is this situation?
How did this go from a single sentence to a sudden feeding scene?
Should he eat it? Would that be weird?
Given their current relationship, is this kind of thing even normal? Don't male and female friends not do this?
S-So—
After a brief hesitation, he opened his mouth and accepted the shrimp.
A little salty—probably too much salt.
But still delicious.
At the very least, way better than anything from the school cafeteria. And with the added bonus of being hand-fed by a cute girl...
"So? How is it, Kei-senpai?"
Kita's voice cut through Aoki's spiraling thoughts.
She looked at him with wide, expectant eyes.
Just having someone make food for him was already a luxury—Aoki had always felt that way.
So he nodded and answered sincerely, "Ah... it's really good. Just having someone make lunch for me feels like a blessing. Thanks, Kita."
"No problem at all! Hehe..."
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "As long as you like it, that's what matters. Here—"
She handed over the bento box that had been resting on her knees.
Aoki immediately noticed that beside the lunchbox was a brand new, unused pair of chopsticks, which she handed him together with the box.
Kita, seemingly unaware of the subtle implications, opened her own lunchbox and, using the same chopsticks she'd used to feed him, cheerfully said,
"Well then, senpai, since it suits your taste, from now on I'll make your lunch every day, okay?"
Aoki glanced at the chopsticks in her hand, hesitating for a moment on how to politely bring it up.
But before he could speak, Kita continued, so he instinctively tried to decline.
"No, really, once is more than enough. It'd be too much to trouble you every—"
But Kita quickly cut him off, "It's no trouble at all! I've started making lunch for myself anyway. I'll just make a little extra, that's all. Don't worry about it! Settled then, Kei-senpai."
She left no room for argument—completely steamrolling over his objection.
Left with his words caught in his throat, Aoki could only nod in resignation.
And then—before he could get another word in Kita smiled in satisfaction, opened her own lunchbox, and without hesitation, picked up a tiny octopus-shaped sausage with her chopsticks and popped it into her mouth.
But in the next moment, whether it was the lingering flavor of the fried shrimp or some other inexplicable reason, her expression suddenly shifted.
Her feet, which had been swinging ever so slightly in a carefree rhythm, suddenly stopped.
She froze.
And her cheeks flushed a bright, unmistakable red.
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