Chapter 2 - Together in the Infirmary (1/8)

The mood on the way to school the following day could not have been worse.

Ange did not actually neglect her bodyguard duties, but she refused to walk alongside him like normal and she kept a distance of five meters at all times. And she always stayed behind him.

"…"

"…"

Naturally, they did not speak at all.

She had been thoroughly irritated lately and things had often been awkward, but this was the worst day that month.

She had apparently suspected Mutsuki and Micha were in that sort of relationship, but actually seeing it – and while he was attacking her partner's secondary hole – seemed to have been quite a shock.

Not only would she not approach him, but when he had happened to circle behind her while they put their shoes on in the entranceway that morning…

"Don't get behind meeeeee!"

She had shouted in intense anger.

She had darted away and covered her butt with both hands with her back to the wall.

"…Um."

"Shut up, shut up! Face forward! Don't stand behind me, you pervert! You butt devil!"

That summed up how she had been acting.

Even if it was his own fault, being called a "butt devil" was so blunt it made him want to cry.

He did not want her shouting that in front of others, so he maintained the five meter distance on their way to school.

That awful situation continued all the way to the classroom. Ange moved to her desk in the very back and Mutsuki to his diagonally in front of hers.

Normally, Ange would stare out the window until morning homeroom began, but…

"~~~"

"Ugh."

Today, he felt a gaze so sharp it was physically painful and it lasted the entire time.

His saving goddess appeared with only a few minutes until the chime rang.

"Morning, Fujita-kun, Ange-chan. …Something wrong?"

"Good morning, Kurikara-san. Everything's fine."

"…Good morning."

Their classmate ran over with a smile as bright as the midday sun.

The girl with plump feminine lines on her cheeks and upper arms and adorable round eyes like a dog's or cat's was Kurikara Saya.

She liked to talk, she was cheerful, and she was something like the leader of the class's girls. Ange preferred being unsociable, but this girl would still speak with her and they had started speaking quite a bit recently.

She seemed to have noticed the dangerous atmosphere surrounding the two, so she blew it away with the smile of an eternal optimist and slapped them on the back. She seemed to be in an even better mood than usual.

"Hey, hey. Did you bring yours today?"

"Our what?"

"Oh, c'moooon! You know!"

"Eh!?"

She suddenly lifted her own skirt.

Mutsuki and Ange were sitting down, so they were in the perfect position to see her healthy thighs. The two of them were speechless and they could even see the black material covering her crotch.

"Wait! K-Kurikara-san! What are you-…ohh."

Mutsuki briefly panicked, but he soon caught on.

"Heh heh heh~ I can't wait until swimming class during third period~ The pool is finally opening~"

The black material was her swimsuit, not her panties. Their classmate spun around in a little dance with her skirt still lifted and the nearby boys stared, but Mutsuki looked to the side.

"So did you bring yours? Your. Swim. Suits♪"

This was the source of her good mood. Even at her age, Saya was so excited she had worn her swimsuit below her clothes and she smiled.

"Mutsuki nodded and patted the bag he had brought with him.

"So what about you, Ange-chan?"

"I…don't have one of those."

Mutsuki realized Ange was acting weird.

Her irritated expression had stiffened and she looked out the window as if to avoid the issue.

"Oh, did you forget yours?"

Their eternal optimist classmate immediately latched onto the reason for this change.

"Noooot to worry! Leave it all to Kurikara Saya, lead helper for Class 2-A!"

"Huh? …Fwah!"

"We just have to borrow one from another class♪"

She grabbed Ange's hand.

"Kagura-chan in Class C is on the swim team, so she'll have a few school swimsuits here. One of them should fit you, so let's borrow one."

"Wait, you don't have to do that! I'm fine sitting out!"

"We can't have that! Not swimming when the pool's first opened is blasphemy against summer! So let's go! Adolescence isn't going to wait around. Our summer has only just begun!!"

"I said noooooo!"

Ange was reluctantly forced from the classroom by Saya's energy and Mutsuki was left all alone.

He checked the time and found it was past 8:30, when the school's gate was closed, and homeroom would begin in five minutes.

"…"

"…Oh, Ibekusa-san."

Machina arrived at the usual time and entered the classroom with a puzzled look toward the two classmates running out.

"Good morning."

"…Good morning."

Exchanging a greeting had almost become a daily ritual. She sat in the second window-side seat from the back, which put her right next to Mutsuki.

Even without Ange, his bodyguard, she showed no sign of laying a hand on him and the Serpent's Eye.

What he had discussed with Micha the night before seemed accurate.

She was not an enemy.

"…"

He must have stared at her too much because she suddenly turned his way. She looked him in the eye with her usual half-lidded gaze.

His heart skipped a beat at the eye contact. Those eyes were more intellectual than any scholar's yet as transparent as an infant's. Mutsuki felt his cheeks growing warm.

For the past ten days, he had worked to restrain his feelings because she was part of an enemy organization.

But he had spent the sweet time of a lover with her ten days before and he had been interested in her ever since spring.

He did not know how to feel and he wished he could at least hide the pounding of his heart.

"…Fujita-kun."

She called his name with a voice so thin it seemed about to vanish yet that carried like the ringing of a small bell.

He doubted his ears. They regularly greeted each other now, but this was the first time the generally silent girl had called his name in the classroom.

"I have something to discuss with you. In private, if possible."

That was all she said before returning to her normal self and staring out the window with her mouth closed.

That was when their homeroom teacher arrived and morning homeroom began.

"Ibekusa Machina, Class 2-A Girl, Student #2. Personality: silent. Special trait: expressionless."

"Right."

"Number of friends: 0. Likes and dislikes: unknown. Favorite food: probably apples."

"Right."

"Starting today, she's my #1."

Sakae was visibly delighted.