"Of course there's a difference! Friends don't think about eating your pu—mmph…!"
The words had tumbled out too fast. By the time Asakura Mio realized what an awful word she'd nearly said, it was already too late.
A wave of intense shame and panic triggered her most instinctive reaction—she tried to clamp down on the final syllable with her teeth to cut it off, but instead, she bit down hard on the tip of her own tongue.
A sharp, stabbing pain instantly flared, transforming the rest of her sentence into a muffled cry of pain.
"Oww…!"
She doubled over immediately, her whole face scrunching up.
Her hands flew to cover her mouth, her slender shoulders trembling slightly from the sudden, intense hurt. The violent reaction successfully captured Amaori Renako's complete attention.
"Are you okay, Asakura-san? Let me see!"
Amaori Renako's voice was full of genuine worry and urgency.
She hurriedly crouched down, her warm palms gently covering Mio's hands, which were still clamped over her mouth. With an insistent yet tender touch, she carefully pried Mio's hands away.
Tears of pure physical pain welled in the corners of Mio's eyes.
Biting back the sting, she gave up and slightly opened her mouth, revealing a glimpse of her pink tongue—a thin, distinct trace of blood was indeed seeping from it.
"Ah—how could you be so careless?"
Luckily, the bite wasn't too deep. After about a minute, the sharp pain finally began to fade into a dull, throbbing ache that was just barely manageable.
Mio slowly inhaled, trying to let the cool air soothe the burning on her tongue.
"I-I'm fine now…"
"But what were you going to say about 'eating your'…?"
Once Mio seemed a little better, Renako clearly had no intention of dropping the subject. She tilted her head, her clear eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny as she cautiously brought it up again.
"Eating your lunch! Friends don't think about eating your lunch! After all, lovers are always thinking about each other, so of course they'd want to eat their lover's lunch, right? Then the original food wouldn't be enough!"
As she spoke, she unconsciously gestured into the air, trying to lend credibility to this hastily concocted, twisted logic.
Renako was utterly stunned, her mouth slightly agape.
She completely hadn't expected Asakura Mio to approach the problem from such a bizarre angle.
She blinked her large eyes several times, her gaze instinctively, and somewhat hesitantly, sweeping over Mio's well-proportioned, even slightly slender figure as if reassessing something.
Could it be… that beneath Asakura-san's calm exterior lies a hidden foodie with an intense obsession with eating? She couldn't help but wonder to herself.
"Uh… I suppose that's a possibility too… So maybe it's better to refuse after all…"
She agreed hesitantly, trying to follow the other's logic. But Mio suddenly lifted her head, her attitude doing a complete one-eighty.
Her tone was resolute, as if the person who'd just proposed the 'lunch theory' wasn't her at all.
"No! You should absolutely date her properly!"
"Huh?!"
Renako was thrown into complete confusion by this sudden turn, her brain short-circuiting. All she could manage was a single syllable of profound bewilderment.
"Th-That's just my personal opinion! But for you, Amaori-san, isn't that friend who confessed to you incredibly important?"
She leaned forward slightly, trying to give her words more weight.
"If you lose such an important friend because you rejected her, wouldn't you regret it every single day afterwards? So wouldn't it be better to just try dating for now!"
"Otherwise, if you end up regretting it later, you might even blame me for giving you bad advice…"
"I'd never think that! But… I've never even considered dating anyone… Suddenly being told I should accept a confession… it's such a hassle. I should've just tried to be friends with you from the start, Asakura-san, waaah…"
Renako frantically waved her hands in denial, a troubled and helpless look on her face. Her voice grew smaller and smaller, until it finally devolved into a disgruntled mumble.
"Why would you think that?" Mio found her logic unbelievable.
"Someone as cute and pretty as you, Amaori-san, should be spending time with girls who are equally cute, pretty, and sparkling. Being friends with someone like me… just doesn't fit at all."
As she spoke, Mio adjusted her new glasses somewhat awkwardly, trying to mask a flicker of discomfort.
"Actually…"
Renako lowered her head, her voice becoming soft and subdued, as if revealing a long-held secret.
"In middle school… I was a bit of a 'loner' too, with hardly any friends… Later, I worked really hard to become friends with Mai and the others, mostly so my family wouldn't worry… But honestly, I still have a hard time fitting into their conversations."
"It's always a struggle, and I feel like I'm constantly walking on eggshells… So really, I should be friends with someone like you, Asakura-san. That would be a more suitable, easier choice, right…?"
How annoying… to be so easily labeled a 'loner'. A faint sense of resistance stirred within Mio.
She had actively chosen to avoid deep interactions with most people simply because her hobbies were niche and she feared being misunderstood.
Summarizing her with a term like 'loner' felt way too simplistic and unfair.
But Renako's honest confession also helped Mio understand a little better why the other girl was so persistent about getting closer—it was a case of 'loners' gravitating towards each other, a sense of belonging she couldn't find within that glamorous circle of friends.
But if things really developed that way… the 'Quintet' would probably lose a layer of its unique brilliance and become incomplete.
And the classroom would likely just end up with one more pair of otaku girls huddled in the corner, with their… particular interests.
Just imagining herself and Amaori Renako excitedly discussing, or even 'fangirling' over, the other four beauties together… Mio shuddered violently.
No way! That's way too embarrassing!
Some things are just meant to be done alone, in the privacy of your own mind.
"Anyway—didn't you say you think lovers and friends aren't that different, Amaori-san? Since the friend's existence is more important, you should try your best and give it a shot."
"But…"
Mio cut her off, starting to arm Renako with her own 'theory'.
"No 'buts' about it! If you insist on just being friends, you're essentially trying to force the other person's 'lover' expectations back into the 'friend' mold you want. That process itself could be really tough!"
"Furthermore, if you can't manage it, you might even end up getting 'warped' by the other person's passion and persistence, finally molded into the shape she desires."
"But whichever result it ends up being, by that time, it will surely be the option your heart leans towards more, the one you're more willing to accept. And then, everything will naturally be settled."
Having finished, even she felt her reasoning was a bit convoluted, yet she found it strangely persuasive nonetheless.
--+--