Chapter 92: Kiryuin Fuuka's First Date
Behind the flowerbed, the air seemed to solidify for an instant.
Sakura Airi sprang up like a startled small animal—but because she had been crouching for so long, her legs had long since gone numb. Halfway up, her center of gravity wavered, and she staggered, nearly toppling back into the bushes.
"K-K-K-Kei-chan?!"
Her voice was severely out of tune due to extreme shock. In a single second, her face turned from a burning red to a nearly transparent pale, before instantly flushing back to an even deeper crimson.
Karuizawa Kei wasn't faring much better.
She froze on the spot, her first thought being that she was doomed—she'd been caught stalking Katsuragi Keima. But very quickly, she processed the situation.
Why was Sakura Airi here too?
"A-Airi?!"
She forced a smile, but it was clearly stuck in "shock mode" and hadn't switched back to "social mode," making it look stiff and distorted.
The two of them stood there, separated by two or three meters, staring at each other. The wind blew, leaves rustled, and the flowerbed emitted a faint pitter-patter sound. No one spoke, but the air was thick with a subtle, indescribable awkwardness.
"..."
Sakura Airi was the first to speak, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz. She instinctively hid her hands behind her back like an elementary student caught doing something wrong, her eyes completely avoiding Kei as she stared at a small stone by her toes.
"Kei-chan... wh-why are you here...?"
As she asked this, her heart beat so fast it felt like it would leap out of her throat.
'What do I do? What do I do? I've been seen! Did Kei-chan hear what Keima-kun said?! Will she think I'm weird?! Will she guess I was stalking him?!'
Karuizawa Kei's mouth twitched.
"Me? Well..."
Her brain raced.
'Just passing by?' Too fake; no one "passes by" this specific spot.
'Getting some air?' Who gets air at 10:00 AM in the bushes?
'Taking a walk?' Walking alone to such a remote place and hiding behind a tree?
"I'm waiting for someone!" she blurted out in desperation.
Airi lifted her head slightly, her eyes filled with confusion. "W-waiting for someone?"
"Yeah, waiting for someone!" Kei nodded vigorously, trying to sound natural. "Waiting for... for a friend! We agreed to meet here!"
As she spoke, she prayed fervently: Please don't ask which friend! Please don't ask!
Airi blinked. "Th-then why was Kei-chan... hiding behind the tree just now...?"
"..."
Kei's smile froze.
'Damn it. How is this girl, who usually can't even string a sentence together, suddenly so sharp at a time like this?!'
"Because—because the sun was too bright!" She raised a hand to her forehead, miming a shield. "The shade over here is cooler! You know how it is, too much sun is bad for the skin!"
Airi looked up at the sky following her gesture. The morning sun filtered through the leaves, dappled and soft, feeling pleasantly warm with absolutely no sign of being "harsh."
"..."
She didn't expose the lie, merely nodding quietly before looking down again.
Karuizawa Kei breathed a secret sigh of relief and immediately launched a counter-attack: "Then what about you, Airi? Why are you here?"
Airi's body visibly stiffened. Her brain began to steam like a boiling kettle. A thousand excuses collided, shattered, and reorganized until—
"I'm taking pictures!" She suddenly looked up, her voice a few octaves higher than usual due to nerves.
"T-taking pictures?"
"Yes! Pictures!" Airi nodded hard. She happened to have her camera with her—the very one she had bought with Katsuragi Keima. "The... the flowers here are blooming so well! I-I wanted to capture them!"
She pointed toward the patch of flowers by her feet, which she had accidentally trampled into a disheveled mess. They were indeed pretty—small pink blossoms swaying in the wind—though they would have looked better if several hadn't been brushed off by her earlier.
Kei looked where she was pointing, then at the camera in her hands. The lens cap wasn't even off!
"...I see." Kei nodded, her tone subtle.
"Y-yeah!" Airi replied emphatically.
The two fell into silence once more. However, the same thought echoed in both of their minds:
'She definitely came here because of Keima-kun!'x2
The sun continued to shine, the flowers swayed, and a bird chirped overhead. But this silence wasn't "quiet." It was like a balloon stretching tighter with every passing second. Both knew the other was lying, and both knew the other knew they were lying, yet neither had the courage to pop it.
Finally, Karuizawa Kei spoke first.
"...The flowers here really are quite nice."
Her tone was forcedly casual, but her gaze didn't stay on the flowers; it drifted toward the small path leading to the Game Center. Airi caught the glance and immediately recoiled as if burned.
"Y-yes..." she whispered, her fingers twining together.
A few more seconds of silence.
"So... Kei-chan... has your friend... not arrived yet?" Airi gathered her courage to probe cautiously.
"Huh? Oh, yeah..." Kei nodded stiffly. "Maybe they got held up by something."
"I see..."
"What about you? Are you... done with the photos?"
"D-done..." Airi gripped the still-covered camera tightly.
"Going back then?"
"Uh..."
Neither of them moved. Airi didn't dare leave first because she was still thinking about that path to the Game Center. Kei stayed put for the exact same reason. They remained frozen in a state of awkward standoff.
"..."
Karuizawa Kei suddenly spoke, her voice lower than before, tinged with a complex, unnamable emotion. Airi looked up, nervous.
"Did you... hear something?"
Airi's face went scarlet again. She shook her head violently like a rattle. "N-no! I didn't hear anything!"
This reaction was practically screaming "I heard everything."
Kei looked at her and felt a sudden urge to sigh. She didn't press further, but after a few seconds of silence, she shifted direction:
"Who do you think... that guy Katsuragi... who was he talking about?"
This was a pinpoint fastball that caught Airi completely off guard. Her eyes widened, her lips parted, but no sound came out.
"I-I don't know..." her voice was barely audible. "Maybe... maybe..." She couldn't finish. That name was too heavy—she didn't even have the courage to say it aloud.
Karuizawa Kei felt a mix of emotions. Who could the "special person" be that made someone like Katsuragi Keima feel that way? She was incredibly curious. But she also knew it definitely wasn't her.
'Could it be Sakura Airi standing right here?'
"Could it be Horikita or Kushida?"
"Huh?!" At those names, Airi looked up with a start. Realizing her slip, she quickly lowered her head again. "I—I don't know, but it's... possible."
"Could it be you, Airi?" Kei said intentionally.
"M-m-m-me?! No, no, no, no..." Airi's brain nearly fried at the suggestion, her language center failing again.
Looking at the girl in front of her, Karuizawa Kei felt a sudden pang of envy. Envy for someone who didn't need a facade, someone who could express their inner thoughts so transparently. A personality like Airi's would be an easy target for bullying.
Maybe she had experienced it before. But the current Sakura Airi was different from the start of school; she had become much more cheerful. Was it because of Katsuragi Keima?
Perhaps he really was special.
If it were me... Of course, she would never say that out loud.
"...Forget it, I'm joking." She waved her hand, turning away from Airi with forced nonchalance. "My friend probably isn't coming, I'm going back. You should go back too, don't stay out here in the wind."
"Right, I—I have things to do too, so I'll... I'll head out first..." Airi told her, and they both started walking.
Except... they both walked in the same direction. Toward the school's Game Center.
"..."
"Airi, are you headed to... the Game Center?"
"Um, that... I'm just... I was just going to go take a look, haha..." Airi let out an incredibly awkward laugh.
Kei pursed her lips, an idea forming.
"Why don't we... just go play for a bit together?"
"T-together?" Airi's mind raced.
'If we go together, we don't have to follow them secretly anymore! We can just pretend to bump into them! And I've never played games before... maybe I can use this to get closer to Keima-kun!'
At the thought, Airi giggled and even pumped her fist in a silent gesture of victory.
"Airi?"
"Ah, s-sorry!" Airi apologized quickly, realizing her lapse.
"So?"
"Yes, let's go!"
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The Game Center was tucked into a corner of the campus commercial district. At this hour, there weren't many customers. Pushing the door open, they were greeted by the characteristic atmosphere of an arcade—a blend of electronic sound effects and the rhythmic clacking of buttons. Neon lights glowed from every direction, casting shifting patterns on the polished floor.
In a normal school, such a place would be impossible. But this school was special.
Kiryuin Fuuka stood at the entrance, her red eyes slowly scanning this territory that was entirely foreign to her. Rows of arcade cabinets stood in neat lines, screens flashing with various visuals—racing, fighting, shooting, rhythm games. In every corner, people were focused on their controls, occasionally erupting in cheers or groans of frustration.
"First time here?" Keima asked without looking up, still playing his handheld.
"Is it that obvious?" Kiryuin raised an eyebrow.
"You didn't immediately look for a machine that interested you; you performed a panoramic scan first. That's typical information-gathering behavior when someone is unfamiliar with an environment."
"...You really are observant."
"Habit." Keima pushed up his newly changed glasses. "Games require predicting an opponent's moves; reality does too."
Kiryuin gave a light laugh but didn't argue. She had never been to a place like this before. She wasn't interested. But because of Katsuragi Keima, she was here for the first time.
"So, Katsuragi-kouhai." She turned, her red eyes looking particularly bright under the arcade lights. "As it's my 'first time,' do you have a recommendation?"
Keima didn't answer immediately. His gaze swept the arcade like a high-speed search engine. A few seconds later, he pointed toward a corner.
"Usually, people coming here for the first time play the basketball machine."
"Oh?"
Kiryuin's gaze landed on the basketball hoop. At the top of the screen was the all-time high score since the school's founding.
"Interesting." This immediately sparked her competitive spirit. "Fine, I'll give it a little try."
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Meanwhile, in the Student Council office.
Horikita Manabu wasn't there. As the Vice President, Nagumo Miyabi was browsing the school forums with interest. Suddenly, a figure rushed into the office.
"Why the rush?" Nagumo was slightly displeased by the interruption. His gaze landed on the newcomer. "Kiriyama."
Kiriyama Ikuto's face was still plastered with an expression of utter disbelief, and he was out of breath.
"What happened?"
"Kiryuin... it's Kiryuin..."
"Kiryuin? What is that girl up to now? Well, whatever she does is probably reasonable for her, given her style is completely different from everyone else's. She's self-centered to an appalling degree." Nagumo shook his head. "So why are you so excited? What's the big deal?"
"Kiryuin... is on a date with someone!!!"
"?"
Nagumo was silent for several seconds, seemingly verifying if he had heard the news correctly.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!!"
For the first time in his life, Nagumo Miyabi let out a shrill exclamation that even he couldn't believe he was capable of.
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