How Complicated
With the appearance of Sumire, things took a turn to an awkward path. Well, not really that awkward, the prospect of hearing Hana’s response went down or would be delayed until later.
Besides, forgetting that she was afraid of Chii, the newcomer quickly passed through the other passengers, arriving in front of us. And with a rather mischievous expression on her face, she leered at the downcast girl next to me, her round eyes overflowing with interest.
Without withdrawing her gaze from Hana, Sumire shrewdly raised a question to me, "Senpai, is it just me or this girl is too close to you?"
The respectful tone she had for me was nonexistent when she addressed Hana simply as ‘this girl’. But I couldn’t fault her for that. She’s a stranger to her, after all. And as a clever girl who could pick up the subtle hint presented in front of her, she would always take the side of her feared yet respected senior, Chii.