"The Kendo Club's selection competition? Are you really planning to participate in the National Kendo Tournament?"
Utaha looked at Yusei with suspicion, wondering if he was overestimating himself.
She recalled the scene at the school gate where Yusei was looking at the Kendo Tournament's poster, but back then, she had thought he was just joking.
Although recent rumors said Yusei had beaten up Taiji on the very day he joined the Kendo Club-
But that was just undisciplined fighting. Utaha didn't think someone good at fighting would necessarily be good at Kendo.
Moreover, wasn't Yusei not even that great at fighting?
Yusei had indeed changed a lot recently, in many aspects, like sports, social interactions, personality, all developing in a positive direction.
But Utaha was currently the person closest to Yusei at school, and she had never heard of him learning Kendo before.
After all, if he had learned Kendo, he wouldn't have been bullied so badly before.
"Whether it's true or not, why not come and see for yourself? How about I treat you to coffee after school, Utaha-chan?"
"Fine. I hope you don't lose too badly in front of a beauty. It wouldn't be good if you ended up with a bruised and swollen face," Utaha said mercilessly.
With that, she entered her classroom first, ignoring Yusei.
Yusei watched her back, feeling a slight warmth in his heart.
'Was the sharp-tongued Senpai starting to care about me?'
Just now, Utaha seemed to be mocking him, but the underlying meaning was actually: 'Don't let pride lead to unnecessary suffering. You don't have to put on a brave front in front of me. If you can't win, just surrender. Don't be so concerned with honor that you end up bruised and injured.'
They hadn't known each other for very long, but Yusei was very pleased with this level of progress in their relationship.
'Was the seemingly icy, frigid Senpai finally being moved?'
But that concern hidden beneath the sharp tongue just now...
Yusei couldn't help but chuckle softly.
'This way of showing concern was very unique and also... cute.'
…
The morning classes passed with Yusei in a daze, half-asleep, until the bell for the end of the morning lessons rang.
Yusei slowly stood up and stretched, instinctively looking towards his deskmate's seat. It was empty, with opened books and notes on the desk.
'Went out for lunch? Come to think of it, I didn't really notice Megumi-chan all morning.'
Yusei knew this was Megumi's passive trait, so he didn't pay it much mind.
Arriving at the entrance of Class A, Yusei looked inside the classroom. Among the mostly empty seats and the few occupied by students eating lunch, a head of long black hair lying on the desk in the corner was particularly noticeable.
Yusei couldn't help but laugh, 'This... truly showed we had a connection, right? Even sleeping through the morning together.'
Fortunately, there was someone between them with an internal alarm clock, so at least they wouldn't miss important things.
Under the surprised and suggestive gazes of the remaining students in Class A, Yusei entered the classroom and walked up to Utaha's desk.
"Utaha-chan, time to wake up."
Yusei sat in the seat in front of Utaha and looked at the sleeping Utaha, gently shaking her arm.
"Mmm..." Groggily, Utaha slowly opened her eyes. In her still unclear mind, Yusei's face came into focus.
"Kazami-kun, is it already noon?"
"Of course, but it seems Utaha-chan isn't hungry."
Utaha covered her mouth with her small hand, letting out a slight yawn, but then her hand froze.
She slowly brought her hand in front of her face and saw a bit of transparent drool on her fingertip.
Opposite her, Yusei was stifling a laugh, his playful gaze fixed on the corner of her mouth.
"Looks like Utaha-chan ate quite a bit in her dream. Perfect, we don't need to have lunch at noon."
Hearing this teasing remark, Utaha's face instantly flushed red. She lowered her head with a speed that even the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu's Shinsoku couldn't match.
When she looked up again, the glistening spot at the corner of her mouth was gone.
"Uh... That was fast?" Yusei's mouth twitched, marveling at how quickly girls could tidy themselves up.
"Let's... let's go, Peeping-kun!"
Utaha, her expression normal, took the lead leaving her seat and heading outside, leaving a confused Yusei behind.
'Another name change? What the heck is 'Peeping-kun'?'
Utaha walked ahead, her face calm, but if you looked closely, you'd notice her cheeks were tinged with a deeper blush than usual.
This was shyness… the unique shyness of a girl showing an ungraceful side in front of someone she had feelings for.