As the only "friend" Amaori Renako could currently confide in, it seemed that whenever she encountered anything flustering or bewildering, her first instinct was to seek out Asakura Mio's opinion.
It was probably some kind of psychological attachment, like imprinting.
Having just timidly poked her head into the world of romance, like a little bird that had only just pecked its way out of the shell, she instinctively saw the first person she met—Asakura Mio—as someone she could rely on and follow.
At least, based on what Asakura Mio currently understood of Amaori Renako's personality, 'excessive dependence on others' wasn't one of her traits.
Precisely because of that, she felt that—whether Amaori Renako was willing or comfortable with it or not—this growing dependence should be broken from the very start.
Otherwise, she would only grow more and more accustomed to hiding behind her, gradually losing that originally hers, somewhat clumsy yet endearingly earnest charm.
After setting the rule with Amaori Renako that 'you can only initiate conversation with me up to three times a day,' Asakura Mio quite 'slyly' exercised one of those chances right then and there, effectively revoking Renako's opportunity to speak with her this time, almost forcibly sending Amaori Renako back into the fold of the "Quintet."
Though she clearly still seemed a bit out of her element, just as she herself had said earlier, she was earnestly trying to interact with everyone as 'ordinary friends'.
As for that subtly peculiar atmosphere lingering among several of them...
Asakura Mio wasn't sure if Amaori Renako had keenly noticed it, but at the very least, she could tell that aside from the two people directly involved, the other members seemed to have picked up on something unusual to varying degrees.
But—they probably wouldn't immediately jump to guessing something as dramatic as a 'confession', right?
And if someone actually did find out... well, then Amaori-san would just have to fend for herself.
--+--
Lunch break arrived soon enough.
Asakura Mio once again left the classroom alone, carrying her lunch box, and returned to that 'accident tree' from yesterday.
Though it was missing one branch, this spot remained one of the few places in the school Asakura Mio had found that was almost entirely untouched by others.
Probably because it was on the shaded side of the school building, where sunlight was always thoroughly blocked by the tall structure, making it damper and quieter than other places.
And precisely because of that, aside from Asakura Mio, it seemed no third person yet knew about the 'falling incident'.
It wasn't that she had a huge ego, but Asakura Mio had quietly marked this place in her mind as 'her own secret territory'.
Like a lioness inspecting her domain, she carefully scanned the area, confirming there were no signs of intrusion, before sitting down beside a relatively clean root and opening her lunch box.
Taking advantage of the solitude, she picked up a piece of tamagoyaki with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth, while carefully pulling out a notebook from inside her blazer.
On the cover, in neat, delicate handwriting, was the name [Asakura Mio].
"What was I thinking... bringing this to school..."
The contents inside could be counted as one of her black histories from middle school...
Probably every adolescent girl has had the daydream of 'being loved by the whole world', and Asakura Mio was no exception.
And as a seasoned yuri enthusiast, her fantasy was naturally a beautiful dream of being surrounded by all sorts of cute girls.
And then... she secretly wrote these bizarre fantasies down in a diary, in a style somewhat like a light novel.
Looking back on it now...
"Aaaaaah—so embarrassing!"
This notebook should have been permanently destroyed ages ago!
Better yet, everyone who might know about this black history of hers should be... should all be locked in a basement!
Otherwise, if it ever got out, she really wouldn't be able to show her face in this world!
But... the series of unexpected events these past couple of days had made her unable to resist picking up this unrealistic dream again.
That's just how people are, isn't it?
Even after repeatedly seeing the bleak gray of reality, they still futilely try to scribble over it with their favorite colors.
And the appearance of Amaori Renako was like a sudden splash of vivid cherry blossom color injected into that dull gray.
Whether she accepted it or rejected it, that idiot beauty had unreasonably, almost violently... fallen from the sky and barged into her world.
Thinking of that airheaded beauty, Asakura Mio let out a soft sigh, then flipped to the most recent page of the notebook.
The dried ink on it formed fresh handwriting:
"[Today, I became 'friends' with the girl who 'fell from the sky.']"
"[She picked out a pair of frames for me that I don't really like, but—changing up my style once in a while probably isn't so bad, right?]"
After those two sentences, there was a large blank space.
This was what she'd recorded on a brand new page after returning home yesterday. As for that hazy, ambiguous 'kiss'—Asakura Mio hadn't written it down.
After all, it was just an accident. Neither she nor Amaori Renako had thought any deeper about it, and since Renako hadn't shown any signs of dwelling on it today, specifically recording it would just make it seem like she was the only one reading into things.
Asakura Mio chewed on the end of her pen, thinking, then decided to solemnly add a new vow afterwards:
"[I will help her and Oozuka Mai become better friends—or, become lovers.]"
After writing that, Asakura Mio put down her pen, picked up the notebook to examine it carefully for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction.
With this, the diary had been upgraded to a short-term action plan.
As the president of the "Friends Support Group"—even if she'd appointed herself—she needed to record bits and pieces about Amaori Renako.
Who knows, it might play some unexpected key role in the future, right?
So, this notebook was hereby officially renamed from 'Chuunibyou Fantasy Diary' to 'Support Group Notes'!
She carefully placed the notebook beside her and contentedly continued eating her lunch.
Just then, the surrounding quiet was broken by the sound of approaching footsteps.
Asakura Mio curiously peered out—theoretically, no one else should be coming around here, right?
Had some other little creature strayed into her territory?
If it was the latter... she, the 'lioness', would probably have to slink away and cede her spot.
The footsteps drew closer, until the figure of the newcomer came fully into view.
Asakura Mio got a clear look at them—it really was someone like a little creature. If she had to describe them, she'd probably use 'an adorable little white rabbit'—
Sena Ajisai.
"Ah—Asakura-san? Do you eat your lunch here, Asakura-san? What a coincidence."
Don't lie!
I saw you around here not long ago; you clearly already knew I was here!
--+--