Breach of trust

Unaware of what had transpired in the library, Tsukimi Chifuyu was diligently tutoring her boyfriend in the study room.

"Substitute this here..."

For her, her boyfriend's grades were crucial to their future together.

Takagi Kenta, being her first love, naturally made her want to stay with him forever.

And today, although Takagi was still somewhat distracted, he was much better compared to last time.

At least he wasn't completely clueless.

This made the girl feel that all her efforts were worthwhile.

She also believed that Fuyumi's advice was indeed effective.

Thinking this, Tsukimi Chifuyu happily checked the problems Takagi had completed and handed the paper back to him:

"Takagi-kun, make sure to finish the remaining half-page at home~ I'll check it!"

"Huh?"

Having just endured the torturing tutoring session and eager to join his clubmates for extra practice, Takagi Kenta looked dejectedly at Tsukimi Chifuyu:

"Do I really have to? I've been trying really hard today. Can't we skip the homework?"

Earlier in the day, Tsukimi Chifuyu might have softened and reconsidered her decision upon seeing his pleading look, potentially forgoing the extra homework.

After all, what if he had something important at home?

And, with her inherently soft nature, she found it hard to force others to do things.

However, recalling how he had tried to sneak away earlier, she felt a mix of frustration and anger.

Tsukimi Chifuyu disliked tardiness.

She preferred to wait for someone rather than make them wait for her.

Especially when it involved her boyfriend.

So, after parting ways with Sasaki in the classroom, she didn't head straight to the study room.

Nor did she go to the third floor of the teaching building to find Takagi.

Instead, she waited for him at the first-floor entrance, where the paths diverged to the library.

As her boyfriend and considering they only spent a limited time together, it would be false to say that she didn't want to see him earlier and build their relationship.

But in order to appear that she was not pushing Takagi-san too much, Chifuyu Tsukimi did not go to the third floor to look for him even though she really wanted to see him.

Of course, there were also some other reasons why she didn't want to climb up and down the stairs unnecessarily.

After all, her size didn't support such activity well.

Considering these factors, after packing her books, Tsukimi Chifuyu waited for him at a discreet spot near the stairwell.

Since Takagi-san was attending class on the third floor, he didn't take much longer to come down than she did.

Within a short time, she easily spotted him in the crowd.

But instead of heading towards the library where she was eagerly waiting, instead, he followed his classmates and, after changing his shoes, walked straight towards their club.

Now, Chifuyu Tsukimi couldn't just stand by and watch.

She initially thought he was just chatting and saying goodbye to his friends, but it turned out that he had no intention of attending the tutoring session.

Feeling both angry and upset, she called him.

Takagi's excuse at that moment was, "I have something to do today, so I can't make it to tutoring."

But before he could finish his sentence, his sharp-eyed companion nudged his shoulder and pointed behind him.

Seeing his girlfriend hang up the phone angrily and walk away without a word, Takagi Kenta quickly chased after her, continuously apologizing.

This led to the scene Sasaki witnessed in the library.

Reflecting on her boyfriend's recent breach of trust, Tsukimi Chifuyu puffed up her cheeks like a squirrel with a mouth full of nuts, staring silently at Takagi Kenta.

She knew she wasn't good with words and had a soft heart, and saying too much might lead her to compromise with him.

But the tutoring sessions were incredibly important.

They were crucial to the survival of their relationship.

She could understand Takagi-san's tendency to be playful, being a boy.

She didn't mind him being inattentive during tutoring or wanting to leave early, or skip sessions altogether.

After all, she also felt some responsibility for not keeping a closer eye on him.

However, she couldn't continuously compromise without limits. If she did, his behavior would only worsen, rendering this whole tutoring pointless.

Moreover, it was Fuyumi who personally insisted that she make sure Takagi-san completed his homework.

No matter what, Tsukimi Chifuyu couldn't back down on this.

She knew she appeared a bit dull compared to Fuyumi, so she didn't want to foolishly excuse herself or Takagi-san by saying it was okay for him to skip homework once.

She didn't expect to be able to help Fuyumi with her thoughts, but at least she didn't want to hold him back.

After all, Fuyumi owed her nothing and had already made her feel touched and happy by offering thoughtful advice.

Therefore, Tsukimi Chifuyu was determined not to relent on the homework issue.

Looking at his girlfriend's unwavering eyes, Takagi Kenta, despite wanting to persuade her to let him off, knew she was considering their relationship's future.

Wanting to head to the club for extra practice, and planning to just complete a few problems to get by, he stuffed the test paper Tsukimi Chifuyu handed him into his bag.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it."

Unaware of Takagi's intentions, Tsukimi Chifuyu, seeing that he only grumbled a bit before taking the test paper, thought he was making an effort for their relationship as well and her bright, doe-like eyes, full of innocent charm, curved into gentle crescents:

"Good luck, Takagi-san."

"Alright, the library is about to close. Shall we go? Do you want me to walk you home?"

Takagi Kenta, feeling it was his duty as her boyfriend to ask, looked at Tsukimi, who was packing her books and asked.

However, his words made her hand pause as she quickly waved her hand to refuse:

"No, no need."

Feeling she had refused too abruptly, Tsukimi Chifuyu quickly added:

"Takagi-san must be tired from all the tutoring. It would be too much trouble, especially since you promised to do your homework."

"Okay then." Kenta Takagi, who was just being polite and wanted to go to the club for additional training, waved his hand to her: "Then I'll see you tomorrow. I'm leaving first, Tsukimi-san."

"Mm~"

Watching Takagi-san, leave the study room and disappear from view, Tsukimi Chifuyu sat down, pausing her packing, scratching her head as she thought about the strong sense of rejection she felt when he offered to walk her home.

She used to look forward to Takagi offering to walk her home.

If he had said that before, she would have gladly accepted without a second thought.

But hearing it now, she instinctively wanted to frown.

The reason was that it would prevent her from walking home with Fuyumi...

Was Fuyumi really that important to her? More important than...

"Ugh~~"

Frowning and feeling down, the girl laid her head on the desk, covering her face with her hands as she whimpered softly.

She felt it shouldn't be like this.

She was sure she really liked Takagi-san.

But why did she feel repelled by the thought of him walking her home?

Feeling that thinking any further might lead to bad realizations, Tsukimi Chifuyu quickly sat up, shook her head, and found an excuse for herself.

"It must be because I need to explain today's situation to Fuyumi, yes, that's it."

Murmuring to herself, she clenched her small fists, as if trying to convince herself.

"What are you mumbling about?"

Before Tsukimi Chifuyu could say anything more, a pair of familiar broad hands covered her eyes, and a voice she knew all too well came from behind.

Although everything felt familiar, the girl, who was mentally preparing herself, couldn't help but be startled and let out a scream.

"Eek~"

Almost jumping out of her chair in fright, Tsukimi Chifuyu was about to complain to Sasaki when the hands covering her eyes slid down, gently wrapping around her slender, fair neck.

Soft, warm breaths brushed against her slightly chubby cheeks, causing her heart to race.

"Did I scare you?"

"Mm~"

Responding softly, Tsukimi Chifuyu, wanting to know if he had heard her talking to herself, didn't mind his overly familiar touch.

She raised her small hand, placing it on his arm around her neck, and asked:

"Fuyumi, when did you get here?"

Picking up some of her test papers still on the desk, Sasaki rested his chin on her soft shoulder and replied, "Not long ago, just after Takagi left."

"I saw you lying on the desk with your face covered when I came in."

Listening to Fuyumi's tone and confirming that he had infact not heard anything, Tsukimi Chifuyu let out a barely audible sigh.

She wasn't sure if she was just thinking in her mind, or had spoken her thoughts out loud while talking to herself.

In fact even if she had been overheard, it wouldn't have been a big deal.

But she still felt a bit of embarrassment.

So it was good that he hadn't heard.

Sasaki, sensing Chifuyu's sigh and knowing she was about to come back to her senses, straightened up in advance to avoid any awkwardness once she realized what was going on.

Without giving her a chance to react, he pulled out a chair beside her and sat down.

Glancing at the table full of draft papers, knowing it was Takagi's work, the boy smiled and asked, "It looks like today's tutoring was very successful."

"Yes~ Takagi was very focused today." Looking at the draft papers placed in front of Sasaki, Tsukimi Chifuyu clasped her hands in front of her chest and smiled softly, "It's all thanks to Fuyumi."

"It's only right. I'm happy to help; we are friends after all." Smiling at her gratitude, the latter nodded and handed her the test papers, "Let's go, I'll walk you home. The library is about to close."

"Okay~"