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“Is this really supposed to be a school for delinquents?” Himawari asks after they pass the fifth guy that’s wearing actual proper perfume. “They’re all so…good-looking and stylish. Where are all the pompadours and dudes that look like they’ve been held back for the past ten years?” She’s starting to feel under-dressed in her plain hoodie and washed out jeans. She hadn’t even bothered to style her long black hair, opting instead to smush it all underneath a baseball cap because she foolishly thought that a delinquent high school would be the last place she’d have to make a fashion statement in.
Nadeshiko, by comparison, actually looks decently dressed, wearing a new jean jacket over a simple white shirt and a stylish pair of pants. Her dark brown hair is styled in a prim bun, accentuated by star-shaped hair clips. “Himawari, this isn’t the 80s. Delinquents don’t look like that anymore,” she says as she starts walking ahead up the stairs. “Unless that’s what you’re into.”
“No, it’s not,” Himawari says with a huff as she takes in her surroundings. She had heard the rumors about the restructuring of Furin High, but it was still strange to see how much the school had changed in person. Even the graffiti looked aesthetically pleasing, blending in perfectly with the festive atmosphere.
“What class is your brother in, again?” Himawari asks as they turn a corner and start walking.
“Class 1-1,” Nadeshiko says. “We should be close. He said that all of the first year classrooms are on the third floor.”
They pause in front of the classroom with the biggest crowd. Nadeshiko looks up at the class sign. “Huh. Looks like this is it.”
“They’re supposed to be putting on a play, right? Why are there so many people?” Himawari asks as they squeeze their way inside to find seats.
“It’s probably because of the guy playing the lead. He’s really popular.”
Himawari raises a brow. “Really? Who’s playing the lead?”
“Haruka Sakura. He’s the class captain. Y'know, the outsider that just moved in a few months ago? Anyway, I’ve only seen pictures of him myself, but I can guarantee that he’s a certified cutie.”
“Is that the reason why he’s so popular?” Himawari asks as both girls take their seats. Her friend shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. “Well, that’s probably part of it. But he’s also really strong and he’s got, uh, what was the word Granny Sato used again? An ‘endearingly awkward personality’.”
Before Himawari can ask any more follow up questions, the lights dim and the curtains rise as the entire room quiets. A blond, freckled boy steps out with a microphone in hand.
“Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Little Red Sakura. He always wore a hood gifted to him by his beloved grandmother. The hood used to be white, but because Little Red Sakura had a penchant for getting into fights, it was stained red with the blood of his enemies over time.”
Huh. That was certainly an…interesting twist to the story. Although Himawari supposes she should have expected as much from an all-boys delinquent school.
The lights shift to the center, focusing on a boy with incredibly striking features. One half of his hair was black, the other white, parted perfectly in the middle. And wow, his eyes! One a dark grey, the other a bright gold. He’s dressed in the title character’s signature red cloak, tied together by a giant orange ribbon in the center. Underneath, he wears a white dress shirt, brown shorts, knee high socks, and a simple pair of red mary janes. He looks like a doll, Himawari finds herself thinking idly.
The room immediately explodes into applause once the light is focused on Sakura. He shrinks a bit at the attention, cheeks turning a bright pink as he clutches his basket a little tighter and stumbles through his lines.
“M-my name is L-Little Red Sakura,” he says, face turning an even brighter shade of pink with embarrassment. Oh no, he’s cute, Himawari thinks as she feels her heart clench the same way it does when she watches videos of otters holding hands. “I, um, I’m on my way to my Grandmother’s house to deliver a basket full of protein shakes.”
Huh? Protein shakes?
The spot light moves to focus on a muscular boy wearing a grey haired wig, fake glasses, and a pink night gown that has its sleeves inexplicably ripped off.
“I am Little Red Sakura’s Grandmother!” He exclaims while flexing his muscles. Wait, grandmother?! This is supposed to be the grandmother?! Why is Little Red’s grandmother so buff?! Who’s responsible for this play’s casting?! And then the guy just…keeps flexing for a good minute. Who allowed this?!
Eventually, the spotlight moves back to Sakura, which is followed by raucous applause. “U-um, well then. I’ll be on my way!”
He starts to walk across the stage and — did that tree just move?! Oh, it’s a boy in a tree costume. Why is there a boy in a tree costume?! And why is he so tall?! He looks around, eyes groggy like he’d just woken up from a nap, before he shifts back in place and closes his eyes. Is he sleeping while standing?! That’s… actually very impressive.
The spotlight moves again to settle on a handsome boy wearing an eyepatch, a dapper suit, and a pair of wolf ears and tail. “My, my,” he says as his eyes meet Sakura’s, “and what have we here?”
Sakura glares at the other boy, placing an arm protectively over his basket. “These are for my grandmother. I’m not sharing.”
The wolf lets out a low chuckle. “Oh, I’m not interested in whatever’s in your basket. Or did no one ever teach you about a wolf’s diet?”
Sakura narrows his eyes, carefully placing his basket on the floor and getting into a fighting stance as the Wolf closes the distance between them. “Us wolves,” he begins, “well, we love eating lost little children.”
“I ain’t lost!” Sakura exclaims before launching the first attack.
The wolf shrugs his shoulders before deftly dodging Sakura’s fist. “Alright, then. I’ve been told not to play with my food, but I suppose I can make an exception to the rule just this once.”
“We’re not playing, we’re fighting! And quit changing up the lines!” Sakura exclaims before both boys launch into a truly impressive display of fight choreography and acrobatics. The kids at the front row jump to their feet in excitement, and Himawari suddenly feels like she’s in one of those tokusatsu shows her younger cousins used to force her to come watch. The excitement from the kids’ cheers is infectious as the rest of the crowd joins in and cheer Sakura on.
“Are these guys really just first years?” Himawari asks with undisguised awe. Seriously, how has Sakura not been scouted by the national gymnastics team yet?! He looks like he could do flips and splits for hours without losing any stamina. Sakura’s scene partner also portrays a certain grace to his movements that speaks of years’ worth of training and self-discipline. “Are all the boys in this school like that?”
Nadeshiko hums next to her. “I know most of the guys in this school are decent fighters, but I think those two are special cases.”
At this point, both boys are clearly playing along with the crowd, literally and figuratively bouncing off of each other with perfect timing. But there’s also an unspoken level of trust in their movements. Like they’ve been studying each other’s fighting styles for more than a year. Which shouldn’t be possible because hadn’t Sakura only just moved to this town a few months ago? How close were those two?!
“The guy playing the wolf is Sakura’s vice captain,” Nadeshiko explains, as if reading Himawari’s mind. “His name’s Suo. That blond kid with the freckles is the other vice-captain. Uhhhh,,,,I think his name was Nirei? Anyways, according to Kenta, those two have been attached to Sakura since day one.”
“Huh,” is all Himawari has to say as her eyes are once again drawn to the action on stage. Sakura finally gains the upper hand, lifting his leg up at an impressively high angle before slamming it down. Suo deftly catches it before he seems to belatedly remember that he’s actually supposed to lose here. He lets go of Sakura’s leg and dramatically falls to his knees, clutching his chest even though that is not where Sakura aimed his kick.
From the side of the stage, Himawari can see Nirei biting his notebook anxiously. Ah, looks like the play’s going off script again. She turns her attention back on stage and...Wait, if she looks closely, that eyepatched jerk is smirking! He’s doing this on purpose.
Thankfully, none of this seems to deter Sakura as he moves the story back on track amidst all of the cheers and applause from the audience (wow, Nadeshiko wasn’t kidding when she said he was popular).
“Man, you’re lame,” Sakura says as he picks his basket back up and starts walking ahead. “Maybe get a real job instead of bothering unsuspecting kids. Speaking of,” he turns to glare at the Wolf. “If I ever I hear about you trying to eat a kid again, I’ll come for you. So don’t even try it.”
“Aw, is that the only time I’ll ever get to see you again?” Suo asks with a pout. “And here I was hoping we could become friends.”
Sakura turns red, gripping his basket tighter. “Stop changing the lines you bas—“
“Sakura-san, there are children in the audience!” Nirei shrieks from the side, having to be physically held back by a pink haired boy and another guy with a shaved head. “And Suo-san, for the love of God, stop ad-libbing!”
“Right. Uh, sorry. I was gonna say jerk.”
“Sure you were.”
“You little—“ Sakura’s about to turn around and presumably beat Suo’s head in with his basketful of protein shakes until —
“That’s it! It’s time to unleash the tree!” The pink haired boy yells. “Sugi-chan, it’s time!”
Himawari blinks. Did she just hear all of that right?
The absurdly tall guy playing the tree blearily blinks his eyes open before he takes in the scene before him. He gets up to his full height then, and wow, this guy is tall tall. He walks to the center of the stage, standing in between Sakura and Suo, who both gawk at him.
“TREE!” He yells at the top of his lungs, effectively silencing the entire room from the sheer absurdity of the entire situation before lumbering off backstage to presumably resume his nap.
But...whatever all of that was seems to do the trick as Sakura slowly lowers his basket and clears his throat. “Well, uh, I gotta go to my grandma’s.”
Suo nods, getting up from the floor and dusting his pants off. “Yes. And I should perhaps, ‘look for a job’, as you so eloquently put it.”
The curtains finally close to prepare the stage for the next scene. Well that was…something. Himawari strains her ears as she listens to the excited chatter that fills the room.
The kids in the front all eagerly chat about the fight scene.
“Sakura-kun was so cool, wasn’t he Natsuki-chan?” A little boy asks as he bounces on his seat.
“Yeah! I didn’t realize he was so flexible!” A starry-eyed little girl exclaims.
“Kotoha-neechan, do you think we could ask Sakura-kun to teach us some of his moves later?” Another girl asks, turning to the owner of Cafe Pothos.
“Hm. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask him when he’s free later.”
Huh, Himawari thinks, he’s a big hit with the kids. And most of them seem to know him personally. He doesn’t look like he’d be the type, but was he actually good with kids?
“Sakura-chan’s moving even faster than before!” A short boy seated a few rows in front of Himawari exclaims. “Kame-chan, you have to let me spar with him next time!”
“Why are you asking me for permission?” A much taller guy with an undercut asks.
“Because you always hog him whenever he comes over to spar.”
“I don’t always hog him!”
“Yes, you do,” A guy with sharp eyes and piercings on his lip says without looking up from his phone. “While we’re on the subject, I’d like to have a chance at sparring with the guy playing the wolf.”
“Oh, you mean Suo-chan? Yeah, he seems pretty strong! Did you know he did irreparable damage to Numa-chan’s psyche?”
“Did he now?”
Himawari raises a brow at that and turns to look at Nadeshiko questioningly. The other girl shakes her head before patting her shoulder. “Long story. I’ll give you the abridged version later.”
Somebody lets out a loud “tsk!” from behind, causing Himawari to jump a bit in her seat. From the corner of her eye, she sees a dark haired man dressed in a black turtleneck and a brand name blazer. He’s staring at his phone disapprovingly as he angrily swipes at something. “That stupid eyepatch brat. He got in the way of most of my shots! I can barely see Sakura in most of these!”
Ah. A deranged Sakura fan. Best not engage.
Eventually, the curtains rise again and the audience quiets down once more. The scene set on stage is now a bed room filled with dumb bells and training equipment. Little Red’s grandmother is on the floor doing push-ups while the wolf looks at him from the make-shift window with unmasked annoyance.
“Boy! I sure hope a dastardly wolf doesn’t try to attack me in my home!”
It is quiet for a full minute as the grandmother continues to do push-ups while the wolf watches him with clear disdain on his face.
“Suo-san! Line! Your line!” Nirei yells from the side. Himawari thinks she can see him pulling out tufts of his hair out in distress. Poor guy.
Suo frowns before letting out a defeated sigh. “Well, Little Red said not to eat any children. He didn’t say anything about eating any old women.” He moves to open the window and step inside.
“Aha!” The grandmother quickly stands up and moves to point dramatically at the Wolf. “At last, a worthy opponent! First thing’s first, tell me. What is your virtue?”
The wolf tilts his head to the side. “And if I said my virtue is eating humans, what would you say?”
“I would say that subsisting on human flesh does not make for a balanced diet!”
“I really don’t want to hear that from a guy that subsists on nothing but protein 24/7.”
“Not just protein! Bananas too! They’re a good source of potassium!”
The wolf lets out a world weary sigh as he gets into a fighting stance. “Let’s just get this over with. I feel like I’m losing brain cells the longer we carry this conversation.”
The grandmother barks out a laugh as he also gets into a fighting stance. “Very well! Show me your virtue with your fists!”
It’s another impressive display of acrobatics and fight choreography, but Suo clearly isn’t as into it compared to the fight scene with Sakura. He looks like he’s just going through the motions and praying that he gets through this scene as quickly as possible.
But out of nowhere, the grandmother suddenly stops. “Oh no! My osteoporosis!” He exclaims as he dramatically flops to the ground face first.
The wolf looks at the other boy’s fallen body with his hands balled into fists at his side. “God has finally saw it fit to strike you down.”
At this point, Himawari genuinely can’t tell if that’s still a line from the play or Suo’s genuine thoughts.
The wolf walks towards the grandmother’s fallen form, hands clasped behind his back. “Well, I would have preferred Little Red Sakura, but I suppose you could make an adequate meal yourself.”
“Not so fast!” Sakura yells, kicking the door down with his leg and earning an excited applause from the audience. A brunet dressed in hunter’s garb with a fake rifle strapped to his back follows behind him.
“Step away from the feeble old woman!” The hunter yells as he aims his rifle at the wolf’s head.
The wolf frowns, but raises his arms up in surrender and takes a few steps back. “In what world would that thing constitute as feeble?”
Sakura rushes to his grandmother’s side and takes a protein shake out of his basket. “Here, grandmother. It’s your favorite drink.”
The grandmother weakly reaches his hand out, grabs the drink, and puts it to his lips. The effect is instantaneous. His eyes snap open and he quickly gets up off the ground. “Thank you, dear grandson! My osteoporosis has been cured!”
That’s not how osteoporosis works! …Is what Himawari wants to desperately yell out. But this is a play written and produced by high school boys, so she should be lenient. If anything, she should be impressed that they even know what osteoporosis is.
The grandmother moves to stand next to Sakura and the hunter and grins smugly. “It’s three against one now, wolf! So, what’ll it be?”
The wolf puts a finger to his lips and thinks. “Hmm…I suppose the best course of action here would be to give up.” He sharpens his single eye as he once again gets into a fighting stance. “But that wouldn’t be any fun now, would it?”
“Don’t say we didn’t warn you,” the hunter says as he aims his rifle and fires. A loud bang sound effect echoes around the room, causing everyone to freeze in place.
The wolf doesn’t collapse to the ground. Sakura does. He’d moved at some point and taken the bullet for him. The wolf quickly scrambles to pull the other boy up, carefully cradling his head in his arms.
“Little Red Sakura!” The grandmother and hunter both exclaim as they rush to Sakura’s side.
“You fool!” The wolf scolds as he clutches onto the other boy. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I know you’ve been lying,” Sakura replies, his voice soft and having lost all of its earlier bravado. Good grief, is Himawari suddenly getting sucked into this play? Is she actually getting invested in these fictional characters?!
“Lying? What are you talking about, dear grandson?” The grandmother asks as he moves to hold on to Sakura’s hand.
Sakura lets out a soft chuckle. “This guy’s never eaten anyone. He’s just lonely.” He turns to look at the Wolf and smiles. “I can tell ‘coz I know what that’s like. Up until I found my grandmother, I was also alone for a really long time.”
“But I just tried to eat your grandmother!”
Sakura scoffs. “As if. You stretched your fight out long enough for me to get here for a reason. Just admit you want to be friends already, idiot.”
The wolf lets out a shuddering breath before he nods his head. “Yes. I do.”
“Finally. You’re being honest,” he says as his free hand goes under his shirt and pulls out a bottle. It’s one of his grandmother’s protein shakes.
The Wolf’s eye widens. “Th-that’s—!”
Sakura chuckles. “This thing’s got really good packaging. Makes for a good makeshift bullet proof vest.”
The grandmother shoots up in excitement and starts flexing his muscles for some inexplicable reason. “As expected of protein shakes! Viva protein shakes!”
The hunter breathes out a sigh of relief as he helps the wolf pull Sakura up. “I’m just glad everyone’s okay.” He turns to look up at the wolf and smiles. “And if you’re alright with it, I’d like to become friends with you as well.”
“Yes! I would also like to become friends!” The grandmother exclaims as he finally wraps up his muscle flexing.
The wolf lets out a breathless laugh and squeezes Sakura’s hand. “Very well. Then I shall take you all up on your offers.”
Nirei comes back out with a mic in hand, hair still messy but looking much less frazzled compared to before. “And so, the wolf became friends with Little Red Sakura, his grandmother, and the hunter. It’s said that from that day on, they would share many meals and laughs together. And they all lived happily ever after. The end.”
The room erupts into applause as the four main actors hold hands and take their bows. Unsurprisingly, Sakura gets the loudest applause, which causes him to blush from his head to his toes. Ugh. This guy really is too cute. It’s lethal.
As the lights finally turn back on, Sakura immediately gets swarmed by his adoring fans from the audience. Himawari turns to Nadeshiko as she moves to get up. “Do you want stick around and say hi to Kenta?”
Nadeshiko shakes her head. “Nah. He doesn’t know I’m here, so I want to jumpscare him when he least expects it before the day ends.”
“What? Why?”
“Evil older sibling instincts. You’re an only child. You wouldn’t understand.”
“…Right.”
They both move to leave, moving past the crowd and out the door when a series of shouts catches their attention.
“Umemiya, get back here!”
“But Hiragi! I’m going to miss Sakura’s show!”
Both girls share a look before they peer down the corridor. At the end of the hall is a young man dressed in a giant tomato costume being chased by a really stressed out looking guy with bleach blond hair.
“His class is putting on other showings! You can watch them later! Get back to your garden! That stupid lecture was your idea!” He yells as he finally catches up and yanks the guy by the collar before dragging him backwards.
“But—! But Sakura—!”
“He can wait! Lecture! Now!”
Nadeshiko squints her eyes at the scene. “Isn’t that…Umemiya-san and Hiragi-san?”
Himawari feels her eyes grow wide. “The leader of Bofurin and his second in command?! That’s them?!”
The other girl nods. “I’d heard that he was a little eccentric, but this is…Wow.”
They both turn their attention back to the odd pair as Hiragi drags a crying Umemiya towards the staircase in all his tomato costumed glory. “How is this school still functioning?” Himawari finds herself asking.
Haruka leans back against the chair with a sigh. “I’m soooo hungry. And tired. Are cultural festivals always like this?”
They’re seated at a table in class 1-3’s butler themed cafe, surrounded on all sides by teenage boys in snappy suits. If it weren’t for his wolf ears and tail, Suo would fit right in. The boy in question hums as he sets his tea down. “Typically, yes. They’re events that are primarily organized by the student body, after all.”
Haruka lets out another sigh. “Couldn’t we have at least changed out of our costumes before walking around the school?” From the moment he stepped out of the classroom, he kept getting hounded for photos from friends and strangers alike. It was exhausting and Haruka feels like his social battery is reaching its limit.
“I understand how you feel, Sakura-san,” Nirei begins, looking at him in sympathy, “but it would take too much time for you guys to change out of your costumes and then change back in between shows.”
“Plus, you and Suo-chan make for great walking advertisements!” Kiryu adds with a lazy hand wave. “We already got about a dozen people promising to see the play after seeing you guys in costume.”
“DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME! THE EPIC GRANDMOTHER!” Tsugeura exclaims as he starts flexing his muscles out of nowhere. Suo picks up a fork, but Haruka catches the other boy’s wrist before he can do anything illegal with it.
“Hey, do you mind keeping it down?” Momijikawa asks with a frown as he comes to their table with their orders. Just like the rest of his classmates, he’s dressed in a black and white suit. In addition to that, his hair is also slicked back, his hands are covered in white gloves, and a pair of fake glasses sits on the bridge of his nose.
Tsugeura immediately sits back down and shrinks under Momijikawa’s gaze. “Oops. Sorry about that. Got a little too excited.”
Momijikawa sighs and shakes his head. “It’s fine. Just. Indoor voices, please.” He sets the omurice down, and Haruka can already feel himself salivating at the smell.
“Uwah! The food looks great, Momi-chan!” Kiryu exclaims as he takes a photo of his sandwich with his phone.
“And it tastes great, too!” Tsugeura adds as he starts digging in to his curry. “Sakura-kun wasn’t exaggerating when he said you’d make a great chef!”
Momijikawa flushes a bit at the praise. “I-it’s just normal. I really didn’t do anything special…” He turns to look at Haruka expectantly.“Well?” He asks. “Aren’t you gonna eat?”
Haruka doesn’t have to be told twice. He grabs his spoon and takes his first bite and…”It’s good!” He exclaims excitedly. He’s not sure what kind of expression he’s making, but all of his friends are now making that annoying “we love watching you try new things like it’s a drug to us” expression, which causes Haruka to turn his head away in embarrassment.
Momijikawa huffs out an amused laugh. “That’s good to hear. And don’t worry about the bill. It’s on the house.”
“Really?!” Nirei asks excitedly, nearly dropping his sandwich in surprise. “That’s very kind of you, Momijikawa-san!”
“Ah, sorry. I should have been more specific. It’s on the house for Haruka. The rest of you still have to pay.”
“Eh?” Suo asks with an annoying lilt to his voice -- the kind he uses whenever he’s about to tease Haruka for his own amusement. “Such blatant favoritism.”
“Here, here!” Kiryu adds, pumping his fist in the air for emphasis.
Momijikawa crosses his arms and raises his brow challengingly. “Oh? Did the rest of you pursue me after my grandma’s funeral to help me overcome my pent-up feelings of grief and loss?”
It is quiet for a moment before Tusgeura finally breaks the silence. “Well. When he puts it that way, I suppose it is quite fair!” The rest of Haruka’s friends nod in solemn agreement, a rare moment where they all find themselves agreeing with something coming out of Tsugeura’s mouth.
Momijikawa snorts. “Of course it’s fair.” His gaze drifts back to Haruka, eyes softening the slightest bit. “Oh, and Haruka. Come by before school lets out. I’ll whip something up for you with whatever leftover ingredients I have left.”
“Really?!” Haruka would never say no to free food. Especially if Momijikawa was the one cooking. The taller boy chuckles in response. “Yes, really. Anyway, enjoy your food. And I’ll be looking forward to watching your play later.” He gives them all a quick wave before turning to leave.
“We should hurry up and finish eating so that we have enough time to go look around before the next showing!” Tsugeura says as he starts shoveling his curry down with much gusto.
“That’s right! Sakura-chan, is there anywhere in particular you want to go to?” Kiryu asks, taking a dainty bite out of his sandwich.
Nirei takes his notebook out and quickly starts flipping through its pages. “I heard that class 1-2 is doing a shooting gallery, class 1-4 is doing scavenger hunt, class 2-1 is doing a haunted house—“
“A h-h-haunted house?!” Tusgeura’s faces immediately pales.
“Oh, that’s why I saw Kaji dressed like a grim reaper earlier,” Haruka says.
“Well, Sakura-kun? Would you like to go and support our senpai?” Suo asks, expertly ignoring Tusgeura’s increasingly distressed expression.
Haruka looks at the muscled boy skeptically. “I mean, it can’t be that scary, right? It’s not like pros are the ones that put the room together.”
Tsugeura’s natural pallor starts to return upon hearing Haruka’s words of wisdom. “That’s right! Ha ha ha! It certainly can’t be that scary then!”
“Eh, I wouldn’t completely write them off yet,” Kiryu says as he starts to pull something up on his phone. He shows the rest of the table a photo of Kaji in frighteningly realistic makeup that makes him truly look like a creature of the night. Haruka instinctively reaches over and covers Tsuegura’s mouth with a napkin before the other boy can let out a predictably loud shout.
“Ah, that’s right,” Nirei says as he starts flipping through his notebook again, “I heard that Kusumi-san has a cousin that works as a professional makeup artist. Apparently she does a lot of work for horror films!”
“My! How interesting!” Suo adds with a mischievous smile. “Doesn’t that sound fun, Sakura-kun?”
“It sounds scary!” Tsugeura whisper yells (which just comes out sounding like someone talking at a slightly above average volume).
“You don’t have to come,” Suo replies easily.
Haruka sighs. “Suo, quit it. But…Kaji did say he’d come see our play later. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to at least give it a peek. If that’s okay with you, Tsugeura?”
The other boy gives a shaky thumbs up. “Th-that’s true. I-if i-i-it’s for the s-sake of supporting our senpai…”
“Ah, it’s Little Red!”
Haruka looks up to find an unfamiliar brunet pointing at him. A girl with black hair immediately shushes her and makes an apologetic gesture in Haruka’s direction. “Sorry for interrupting! Nadeshiko, c’mon!”
“Huh? Hold on, at least let me take a pic with him!”
“He isn’t some cosplayer at a convention! Besides, he’s eating! We’re just bothering him!”
“Oh! Are you Fujiwara-san’s sister, Nadeshiko Fujiwara?” Nirei asks, eyes brimming with curiosity. Nadeshiko stares back with narrowed eyes. “Yes. How do you know that, boy I’ve never met before?”
Nirei immediately starts to flounder. “O-oh! Um! Fujiwara-san, uh, mentioned you before. Ha ha ha…”
“Really? Kenta did?” Nadeshiko asks, eyes still narrowed in suspicion.
“Erm. Yes?”
“Hm. I don’t quite buy it, but I’m in a generous mood so I’ll let it pass for now. More importantly—“ She turns to look back at Haruka and smiles. “We saw your play! It was such a blast!”
“Thank you very much for the compliment,” Suo says as he easily switches to gentleman mode. “I’m glad to hear that you both enjoyed the show.”
“Yeah, it was a little rough around the edges, but it was fun,” the girl with the black hair says. “Honestly, it was exactly what I needed after all the studying I’ve been doing lately. I’m really looking forward to what you guys decide to do next year.”
“Next year?” Haruka finds himself asking, because he hadn’t really thought about it until now, but…There would be a next year, wouldn’t there? He’d still be here in Furin High, with the same classmates living in the same neighborhood. This wasn’t a one time thing. This was something he could do again.
“Yeah!” Nadeshiko exclaims. “I’m looking forward to it too! Oh, but before we go, can we please get a picture with you guys?”
All of Haruka’s friends agree easily before they turn their expectant gazes on Haruka. He heaves a defeated sigh before he sets his spoon down and begrudgingly nods. They all move closer together as Nadeshiko takes at least five selfies with them.
“Oh, these turned out great!” Nadeshiko says with a wide grin as she swipes through her phone. “Thanks again! And seriously, you guys were great! Especially you, Little Red! You’re seriously such a cutie!”
“HAH?!” Haruka can feel his face growing hot and he just knows he’s blushing up to the tips of his ears.
Nadeshiko’s friend starts nodding her head solemnly. “I get what you mean. When I was watching him on stage, I kept getting that warm fuzzy vibe I get whenever I watch cute cat videos.”
“WHUH? HUH?! I ain’t cute, what are you talking about?!”
“Sakura-san,” Nirei says, grabbing hold of Haruka’s hand and looking at him with a grave level of seriousness, “you are cute. Please just accept this as a natural fact of life.”
At this point, Haruka can do nothing else but hide his flushing face underneath his equally red hood, doing his best to ignore the ensuing awwws and cooing coming from his annoying friends’ mouths.
After the girls finally leave and Haruka is sure that his blush has gone away, he looks back up at all of his friends. “Hey,” he starts, “what are we doing for the cultural festival next year?”
They all stare at him wide eyed, causing Haruka to consciously sink further into his seat. “S-sorry, I guess it’s too early to ask.”
“No, no! It’s completely fine, Sakura-san! We can totally start brainstorming ideas for next year!” Nirei exclaims, getting a little too close to Haruka's personal bubble in his excitement.
Suo nods in agreement as he turns to give Haruka an encouraging smile. “It certainly wouldn’t hurt to prepare ahead of time.”
“Right! Just thinking about next years cultural festival is starting to pump me up!”
“Tsuge-chan, remember! Indoor voice!”
Haruka had never taken part in any of the cultural festivals in his previous schools. He didn’t think an outcast like him would ever be cut out for social activities like that. But here he is now. Playing the lead in a play, perusing the attractions put on by other classes, and hanging out with his friends. It’s tiring and it takes a lot of work, but it’s been fun. Really fun.
Haruka takes another bite of his omurice and smiles. He’s looking forward to next year’s cultural festival.
