Chapter 5: A Trap, A Home-Cooked Meal, and A Favor

Later that day, a somewhat unusual incident took place.

It happened at the start of the lunch break, just as the Ayanokōji Group was making their way to the cafe to eat together.

"Hey Ichinose. We should go get back at 'em! Even the score!"

As we were walking, we heard a harsh voice from up ahead of us. This voice belonged to none other than Shibata, a first-year student in Class B. He was accompanied by two other students who were also from Class B, Ichinose and Kanzaki.

"It's like, totally unusual, right guys? For Shibata-kun to get angry like that?"

"It's certainly unexpected."

It was understandable why Haruka and Akito were surprised.

"You think so?"

Airi, on the other hand, didn't quite seem to understand, since she usually never involves herself with people from the other classes.

Shibata was a member of the soccer club just like Hirata. He was a bright, energetic, and popular person, although a bit different from how Hirata usually was.

As far as I knew, he wasn't the type of person to raise his voice like this.

"But couldn't it just be a coincidence?"

Ichinose used a persuasive tone to try and calm Shibata from his rage.

However, Shibata seemed to believe he had solid evidence and immediately refuted her.

"I don't think so. You do know it's the third time today, right? They're definitely trying to pick a fight."

Kanzaki noticed our presence and lightly motioned to Shibata. He looked at us with a somewhat embarrassed expression and calmed himself down, but it was already too late. An awkward silence filled the air.

"Heya, were you guys on your way to lunch?"

Just like that, Ichinose called out to us.

She wasn't asking just one of us, but rather addressing the group of us as a whole.

My friends hadn't interacted with Class B's leader very much, so they were at a loss as to how to respond.

Haruka nudged me in the side with her elbow, so I reluctantly decided to speak for the group.

"…Yeah. We're headed to the cafe. Did you need something?"

"Wow, what a coincidence. We were just headed there ourselves."

As she spoke, Ichinose happily clapped her hands. But then, I noticed something that seemed out of place. Normally, Ichinose would always make eye contact with the person she was talking to, but this time, she didn't meet my eyes at all.

"If you guys don't mind, would you like to join us for lunch?"

Taken aback at her unexpected invitation, we all exchanged confused glances with each other.

"Ichinose, what are you doing?"

Kanzaki hurriedly interjected, most likely because he wasn't expecting her to propose something like this.

"What am I doing…? We're not competing against Class C, so what's the problem?"

"That's true, it's just…"

Kanzaki didn't seem very open to the idea of all of us going together.

However, if Ichinose had already made up her mind about it, there was no way he could refuse.

We, on the other hand, were a bit stuck. Unsure of what we should do or how we should answer…

"Time is of the essence. Let's get going~!"

But with a smile like hers, none of us were able to refuse.