The First Dissonance of the New Year

JANUARY 3RD, a few days after New Year's Day.

After taking a two-day break, Keyaki Mall was ready to resume its New Year's operation.

Just a little past 10 in the morning, I was on my way to the supermarket alone.

During the New Year holiday, I spent a lot of time in my room with Kei, consuming more food and drinks than we had anticipated. Therefore, an urgent restock of the refrigerator was necessary.

As I entered the already-open mall and approached the supermarket, I bumped into a classmate who was heading in the same direction.

"Good morning, Ayanokōji-kun. Happy New Year."

Kushida, who always wore a smile like an angel, greeted me.

"Happy New Year. Are you also grocery shopping, Kushida?"

"Yes. You too Ayanokōji-kun? What a coincidence… Oh."

Kushida, who was looking a little off into the distance, let out a voice as if she noticed something.

I followed her gaze and spotted Horikita, who seemed to be headed toward the supermarket as well.

"Happy New Year."

As she said that, she intended to walk past us with just a light greeting.

"Happy New Year. Are you also shopping, Horikita-san?"

Even though she could have just ignored people she disliked, Kushida called out to her.

"And why would that matter?"

"It doesn't particularly matter, but I thought it might be fun to go shopping with two classmates who happened to be together."

Indeed, there was a possibility that shopping with someone could be fun.

However, the chances of having fun with both Horikita and Kushida combined seemed close to zero. Disregarding my concerns, Horikita stopped and considered her proposition when she could have simply refused.

"Well, that might be a good idea."

As a classmate, she didn't simply accept the invitation.

If I had to choose a fitting phrase for the situation, it was as if she 'took on the challenge.'

Carrying baskets, I entered the supermarket as a part of an unexpected group of three.

It was a rather surreal sight, but perhaps only classmates who knew the circumstances would feel so.

"You have quite the sarcastic personality, don't you, Horikita-san?"

"Doesn't that pertain more to you? You went out of your way to invite me."

"Is that so? I'm just curious to see a new side of the both of you."

"Being able to speak so nonchalantly about the truth is a talent."

"Thanks."

Even though it didn't sound like a lie, I knew it was.

When I interacted with Kushida recently, I had this strange experience that was a bit funny.

"By the way, do you cook, Kushida?"

"I can manage to some extent. We never know when our cooking skills might come in handy. Isn't it unquestionable that girls who can cook are more attractive in society?"

Even without applying modern thinking, having multiple competent skills was a positive thing.

As they idly chatted about various safe topics, each of them placed the ingredients and seasonings they needed or lacked into their baskets.

From the vegetable section to the meat, fish, and finally the processed food corner, it was around this time that their shopping was nearing its end.

A familiar female student stood at the ready-made food corner.

She was lazily staring at the shelves while scowling at the phone in her right hand.

"Is she looking up something?"

Kushida said, referring to the student who looked as if she was researching something. However, Horikita dismissed the question after a bit of thinking.

"She seems upset. Maybe she's checking her private point balance while shopping."

"Or perhaps she's comparing prices to see if it's cheaper to buy online?"

I brought up the online shopping site that I recently learned about.

Especially when buying large quantities of the same thing, I discovered that buying in bulk online was cheaper.

"She's not the type to bother with that. She knows she needs to save money, but she's not managing it properly."

"Wow, you know a lot. I don't think she told us anything like that."

"You would understand if you watched her."

As the three of us continued to watch, the female student began to move, preparing to leave.

And she noticed that we were watching her.

"So you're also at the supermarket, Ibuki-san. Happy New Year."

"Ugh…"

With a blatantly disgusted expression, Ibuki not only averted her gaze from us but also hid the contents of the basket she was holding behind her body.

As I approached, she retreated slightly but kept her protective stance over her basket.

"Can't you even say a New Year's greeting properly?"

"I don't know. Besides, it's not like I wanted to see you at New Year's anyway."

"That's not the issue, but oh well..."

She probably didn't care about a return greeting anyway.

More importantly, it seemed like something had caught Horikita's attention.

"Did you buy something you don't want to be seen?"

"No, it doesn't matter."

She tried to dodge the question, but while Ibuki was focused on Horikita, she overlooked another person.

Kushida had naturally circled behind Ibuki and peeked into her basket.

"Instant ramen, instant yakisoba, sweet bread, and processed foods. Lovely shopping you've done there."

"H-hey, stop peeking in there!"

Noticing Kushida, Ibuki swung her basket around forcefully.

Perhaps anticipating the retaliation, Kushida had already kept her distance. Ibuki's swing didn't hit its intended target.

"It's dangerous to swing your basket around inside the store, you know?"

"Well, stop snooping around, then."

At the start of the New Year, the three girls made for a lively group.

"I'm not surprised considering you're not one for cooking, but your diet is shockingly unhealthy to the point of concern."

"Huh? Don't nitpick at my diet. Everything is fine because I'm taking supplements."

"I think there is a problem though..."

In exasperation, Horikita approached Ibuki and forcefully peered into her shopping basket.

She firmly grabbed the rim of the basket so that it wouldn't be knocked around.

"Kuh! What are you doing!"

"Well... let's put this, and this, and this, and this, and this back."

Saying that, Horikita, who luckily was in the ready-made food corner, began to return the items that were in Ibuki's basket back to the shelves.

"Hey, what are you doing without my permission!"

"You've been living on a similar diet during this winter break, haven't you? If you continue like this, you won't grow anything, you know."

"Ah, I see. That's why Ibuki-san is—"

Kushida said, casting a glance at Ibuki's chest area and smiling.

"Don't just say whatever you want!"

Ibuki tried to lash out.

Her loud voice and violent behavior made it seem like she had forgotten she was in a supermarket.

Well, it wasn't hard to understand why she'd be upset about the ruthlessness of Horikita and Kushida's actions.

However, Horikita continued with a serious look on her face.

"I do want to settle things with you in a martial arts match someday. However, if you only take in imbalanced nutrition, you'll lose the muscles needed for sports. If you think you can beat me with that kind of thinking, you're naive."

"Uh..."

Apparently, those words hit a sore spot for Ibuki.

"But, it can't be helped. I don't cook. Do you mean I should buy a bento box then?"

"Supermarket bentos tend to have too many carbohydrates and fats. They wouldn't suit your body type."

"Then, what am I supposed to do?"

"You're free after this, right? Come to my room. I'll let you have lunch. I'll also teach you how to make some simple dishes."

"Who would go to your room! Besides, I don't feel like eating!"

"But it would save you money, right?"

"Eh…"

Ibuki, who was about to refuse, became rigid.

"If you want to save your private points, it's not a bad proposition, don't you think?"

"...I see."

Apparently, her budget was more strained than imagined.

"Then maybe I should have you make lunch for me too, Horikita-san."

"You're planning to come too?"

"Doesn't the combination of you and Ibuki-san sound interesting?"

"You have such twisted thinking. Well alright then, and how about you?"

"Eh, me? Aren't I unrelated here?"

"Well, yes. But it doesn't make much difference if I make food for three or four anyways."

I looked at the basket in my hand and thought.

If Horikita were to cook for me, it would certainly save me some on food expenses.

The ingredients I purchased could be used for future meals instead as well.

"I'll accept your proposal then."

Watching another person cooking up close wouldn't be bad either.

It could even be a good experience to improve my own cooking skills.

And so, the four of us decided to gather in Horikita's room that day.

Needless to say, it turned out to be an extremely difficult and tumultuous lunch party, filled with exhaustion.

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[There are a lot of character profile photos i will send them soon in this line comment]