"What are you looking for?"
Maaya, who saw Tobe in front of her, quickly dashed and slapped him on the back, greeting him, but unexpectedly, instead of looking at her helplessly and greeting her in return, he looked around with confusion.
Tobe answered while acting like he was looking for someone. "I heard her voice, but I didn't see her anywhere."
Maaya was speechless, then she got angry. "I am here! I am here!"
Watching his bad acting, who was surprised as he had found her, Maaya was even more speechless.
"...have someone told you that your acting is pretty bad?"
"Really?" Tobe felt that his acting was pretty good since he could make Maaya believe that his acting was pretty bad.
"It is!" Maaya pouted, which made Tobe smile and greet her in return, "Good morning, Narasaka-san."
Maaya hated herself, who felt that she could forgive him easily just by seeing this smile.
Dammit, if he wasn't so handsome!
"Hmph! I won't forgive you so easily after teasing me like that!"
Yes, her body might be petite, but teasing her by acting like he couldn't see her when she greeted him was too much!
"Then, how will you forgive me?"
"Well, if you give me some of your lunches, then I might forgive you..."
As she said so, she couldn't help but glance in the direction of his bag, where he kept his bento. This morning, the two continued their chats, and she knew that he made his own bento, which also made her curious.
Were two of his parents like her?
Somehow, Maaya felt closer to him since her two parents, her father and mother, were working, so at home, mostly, she took care of her family, especially her little brothers. She might appear careless and overly enthusiastic, but she was good at caring for people, yet even so, it was unexpected that a delinquent like him would take care of his home.
It was kind of cute, though~!
"Did you think something rude about me?"
"No~!" Maaya stuck out her small, pink tongue, showing a cute expression, which made Tobe silent for a moment, staring at her small, pink lips that appeared strangely delicious.
It was only a moment, but she felt that Tobe was staring at her lips too, which made her face reddened.
"Are you okay? Your face is red."
Maaya screamed inside her head as she saw him showing concern, wondering whether this was an act.
If so, then his act was so good!
"By the way, can I have your lunch later?"
Or rather, she wanted to try his cooking!
"I have promised a friend to meet later, so I can't spend my break time with you."
"Eh...?" Maaya pouted and complained. "Isn't it better to spend your time with a cute girl like me than your friend?"
Tobe looked at Maaya, wondering who was cuter, Maaya or Yukinoshita, but he knew that such a comparison was impossible since the two were different.
While they were all on the small side (chest), Maaya's height was relatively petite, which made her appear like a small animal; on the other hand, despite being on the small side in that part, Yukinoshita's height was relatively tall among females and instead of cute, the words graceful and beautiful suited her better.
They had their own charms, but it was impossible for him to say those words.
"...is there someone who calls themselves a cute girl on their own?"
"Here! In front of you!"
Shameless, Tobe thought, yet he also couldn't deny that Maaya was cute.
Still, watching him, who stared at her straightly, made her face a little hot, then—
"That's true. You are cute, Narasaka-san."
Maaya wasn't sure what kind of face she showed at this moment, but she was sure that her face was as red as a boiled crab!
It was because she just remembered her trip to Hokkaido in the past, and somehow, it made her feel like it would be fun to spend her holiday with this guy, who could say those shameless words so easily!
This guy must be experienced!
A virgin like her would definitely be eaten clean, she thought.
At this moment, she was like that young calf, who moved closer and sniffed at the fierce lion, yet despite this, she didn't show fear and even asked, "By the way, Tobe-kun, do you like crabs?"
"...I do like a crab. Do you want to treat me?"
"No, it's too expensive for a high school student like me."
"...then, why did you ask?"
"I just want you to treat me when you buy one later."
"By the way, I forgot to ask, but what did your father say last night?"
They had talked so much, but Maaya forgot to ask this question.
"Oh, he thought of you as my girlfriend."
"Are you embarrassed?"
While Maaya didn't say anything, she slapped his back so many times with her small palm.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! It hurts, Narasaka-san!"
It didn't hurt, but Tobe decided to act that way so she would stop.
"What did you say when your father asked you that?"
Tobe looked at Maaya, who was blushing as she had a strange smile on her face. Somehow, he knew that if he said the truth that she was his friend, instead of more, this fluffy atmosphere would be destroyed, so he said, "It's a secret~!"
"What's wrong? Let's go."
Watching Maaya, who rooted for her place, Tobe reminded her, which made her speechless, then asked, "You are not saying something weird about me, right?"
"I might be, I might not."
She urged him that the two were simply inseparable along the way, and even when Tobe got his shoes on in the locker room, Maaya would quickly come to him as soon as possible after she changed her shoes into indoor slippers at the school (uwabaki).
'This girl was so sticky.'
Then again, it felt good to be by her side, and her scent was nice, so part of him wanted to hug her.
"You really don't have time to go to lunch with me?"
"Sorry, I have made a promise. Let's do it tomorrow."
"Tomorrow, right? Don't break the promise! Also, I want to taste some of your bento!"
"That's not fair, right? I want to try yours, too."
"O-Okay, you can taste mine tomorrow, too."
"It's a promise, then."
This calm face that was mixed with a gentle smile, while Maaya had a hard time controlling herself, he was so calm that it made her annoyed!
Dammit, she would make him blush tomorrow!
While Maaya might not have said it, Tobe could feel that she seemed to avoid mentioning Saki Ayase, her friend, which made him wonder whether it was done deliberately or just a coincidence.
Still, while Maaya was about to leave, she stopped and asked, "You are not going to send me to my class?"
Watching him waving his hand as if trying to shoo her away, Maaya stuck out her tongue and then stomped her small feet annoyedly, thinking that this guy didn't realize how lucky he was for having a cute girl like her to stay by his side.
Then again, tomorrow, she looked forward to making him in awe by cooking him something delicious!
"Don't forget tomorrow!"
"Go home and sleep. You might be able to dream of eating a crab in your dream."
Regardless, after many talks between the two, Maaya then reluctantly left him, glancing at his class for a while, then looked at him for the last time before she left, since she was afraid that she wouldn't go to her class if this continued.
Still, while Maaya returned to her class, Tobe, who was about to enter his class, was startled when, behind him, Yumiko was there, staring at him in silence.
This girl... was she trying to scare him to death?