[What is this look?! Are you giving up on your reputation?!]
Sitting on a cushion, Miyazawa Yu's expression was one of deep sorrow.
Honestly, facing five "Cakeys," he couldn't even tell which one was his friend. He could only blindly type with his fingers under the table, leaving a blur of a message on his phone.
"Hmm?"
Her phone buzzed, and Kaya Mizuki looked down, a mischievous smile spreading across her lips.
[Aww~ Is Yu going to expose me? How mean! Cutie~☆]
Pfft!
A mouthful of blood splattered on his chest. Miyazawa Yu glared at the seemingly nonchalant girl with the ponytail across from him, a murderous look in his eyes.
There was no doubt about it. This was his old friend, but her current appearance was a far cry from what he remembered.
And to have the nerve to act cute with that face—this was practically assault!
Whatever! Nobody here is interested in a "Cakey," anyway. Let's just finish the meal and leave...
"Hey there! It's so hot today—"
"I know, my makeup almost melted on the way here~"
"!!!"
Miyazawa Yu's jaw dropped in shock as he stared at Shinichiro Yamamoto.
Even when faced with this group of girls, was he still going to put up a brave front and go on the offensive?! Hajiyama, you are a true warrior!
"Well—since it's so hot, let's have a drink first!"
"Yeah~ What should we drink..."
Ignoring Miyazawa Yu's slight head shake, Shinichiro Yamamoto picked up his chopsticks and scanned the five "Cakeys" with his narrow eyes. He finally pointed his chopsticks at the girl with the side ponytail on the far right.
"Let's start with beer, haha~"
Yamamoto! You're an inspiration to all virgins!
Moved to tears, Miyazawa Yu retracted the irresponsible judgment he made before entering the store!
A man who wasn't picky about women was indeed a scumbag, but it was clear that Yamamoto was truly desperate. To face his fears and sit composed was a truly heroic act!
"Cheers—Ha~ Let's introduce ourselves!"
"Okay! I'll go first!"
After downing some cold beer, the atmosphere improved significantly thanks to Yamamoto. The girl with the side ponytail, sitting across from the boys, also raised her hand and smiled.
"Kanako Iida, first year at Oumi Women's Academy."
"Yes! And what are your hobbies?"
Besides Yamamoto, the applause was sparse, but he was so excited that he stood up, his right arm raised at a 45-degree angle. Anyone who didn't know him would think he was born in Germany in the 1940s.
"Hmm..."
Slightly turning her head, Kanako Iida looked at Aina, played with her ponytail for a bit, then smiled. "Horse racing and pachinko, I guess!"
"!!!"
What kind of old man's hobbies are those?! Even if she was making them up, it was too much!
In his mind, Miyazawa Yu was amazed that these girls had no shame. He turned to Yamamoto and frantically shook his head. This girl is a money pit! No college student can afford her!
"..."
Equally shocked, Shinichiro Yamamoto grabbed his chopsticks, which were trembling slightly. Then he pointed them at the second girl, the one with her hair in a bun.
He's not giving up?! Yamamoto, what is wrong with you?!
If the first girl is so weird, even a fool would know it's time to run!
Miyazawa Yu wanted to slap some sense into Yamamoto, but then he thought, Isn't this a kind of resolve?
Since Yamamoto had shown so much courage, how could he, as a friend, spoil the fun?!
With this thought, after everyone else had introduced themselves, Miyazawa Yu immediately gave Iori and the others a signal with his eyes from his left and right.
"Without further ado—I'd like to change seats!"
"Then I'll sit here!"
"This one's mine!"
With perfect coordination, Miyazawa Yu sat across from Kaya Mizuki and tilted his head slightly. Just as he expected, the only seat left for Yamamoto was across from the girl with the bun, Keiko Suzuki.
Take this, Yamamoto! This is what a brother does for you!
"...You guys! Mmph..."
Moved to tears, a tear squeezed out of Shinichiro Yamamoto's eye, but a confident, victorious smile spread across his lips—
My brothers have done so much for me! How can I afford to fail?!
"Whew... Next, Mizuki-san, do you have anything to explain?"
Seeing that Yamamoto and Keiko Suzuki were getting along pretty well, Miyazawa Yu let out a sigh of relief and turned to Kaya, who had no sense of her celebrity status.
As a famous voice actress, if someone were to take a picture of her at a mixer like this, it would blow up the news the next day!
"I couldn't help it. Kanako-chan said everyone had to wear this kind of makeup. What do you think? Does it look good?"
"Like hell it does! I can't believe Aina came up with such a scheme. How despicable!"
Slumping onto the table in frustration, Miyazawa Yu had planned to use this mixer to get some practice, but now, he would be lucky if they could get through it without a complete disaster.
That said, Aina probably had another trick up her sleeve to stop her friends from falling into the hands of perverts, right?
"Kaya, did Aina say anything to you before she came?"
"Hmm~ The little girl with the twin tails told us a lot of things!"
Smiling, Kaya Mizuki also leaned in and thought for a moment, then said, "For example, Iori already has a girlfriend, Kohei is a die-hard fan of mine so I should be careful, and you're a muscle demon so we absolutely can't touch you..."
"Ha! That girl!"
A murderous look instantly flashed in Miyazawa Yu's eyes. He could forgive Aina for badmouthing Iori and Kohei, but she even dared to expose the fact that he was a muscle head!
Unacceptable! I'll remember this grudge! Next time we drink, should I replace Aina's drink with ice-cold vodka or ice-cold oolong tea?
"Hey, hey~ What are you thinking, you bad boy? Don't you dare bully Aina, got it!"
Sensing the murderous aura he was giving off, Kaya Mizuki, in her role as his senior, rapped him on the head, then complained in an irritated tone.
"Honestly, you've been in Izu for so long, but you never came to see me. Then you just turn around and ask me to join a mixer. Is your face made of gold or something?!"
"I can't help it..."
Speaking of this, Miyazawa Yu felt deflated. After all, since he came to Izu, he had barely slept a few nights in his own room.
Whenever he woke up, he was either at school or squeezed between two otokos in Iori's quarantine room.
He had spent almost all his free time on club activities. Where would he find the time to go out and see his friends?!
"Is that so? Then you must have had it rough..."
After listening to his tearful and bloody account, Kaya Mizuki felt a little sorry for the poor guy.
Although Azusa Hamaoka had told her about the daily life of the Pab club, seeing was believing. Hearing the victim's firsthand account was a huge shock to her.
"Hey, Kitahara, what do you want to drink? And you, Yu?"
"Ah! Beer is fine..."
"I'll have oolong... sparkling sake."
A shiver went down his spine. Miyazawa Yu felt like he was being stared at by Medusa. He quickly turned his head and looked at Aina Yoshiwara with a wary expression—
Is she making her move now, trying to ruin the mood?
Too bad he absolutely wouldn't let her succeed. For Yamamoto, he had to liven up the atmosphere!
"Hey, your style has changed a lot since last time, Yoshiwara."
"Huh?"
With the same resolve, Iori Kitahara, who was sitting across from Aina Yoshiwara, took the initiative, trying to hold Aina back from causing trouble.
"Is that so? Has it changed a lot?"
She threw a wink across the table. Kaya Mizuki's heavy makeup made Miyazawa Yu cringe, but he still responded with a calm demeanor, "Yes, it's very different."
"Is that so? How is it different~"
"Like your clothes, your makeup, and so on... there's a huge difference..."
His brow furrowed. He hadn't expected Kaya to also go on the offensive. Miyazawa Yu didn't dare to directly expose her and could only mumble along, trying to go with the flow.
"That's... because it's a mixer today, so I spent a lot of time on my makeup and clothes! Ehehe~☆"
"Ehehe my ass!"
"I'll just pluck that mischievous thought right out of your head now!"
His sanity instantly blew up. Miyazawa Yu was disgusted by Aina's malicious act of sticking out her tongue and acting cute. With a twisted expression, he clutched his chest, ready to fight her.
"Oh my!! Your glasses are empty!!"
Before they could get any angrier, Hajime Nojima appeared in a flash, stuffing beer glasses into Yu and Iori's mouths. This made the two of them cool down a bit.
"You two! Our job is to help Yamamoto become a man! How can you yell at a girl?!"
"Sorry, I just got too angry."
"Yeah, sorry... I couldn't help myself for a moment."
Reluctantly pulling the glass from his stretched-out mouth, Miyazawa Yu's eyelid twitched as he asked, "So, how should we help?"
"How about we start by encouraging everyone to use first names to close the distance?"
Holding out one finger, Kohei Imamura had been staring at Kaya Mizuki in a daze and had thus avoided Aina's mental attack. He was especially clear-headed as he made the suggestion.
"Hmm... that makes sense. It'll also make it easier to get to know each other on a deeper level."
"Let's do it!"