And so began the plan for Kotori to be able to greet Toba by the day of the duty, all to complete the task successfully.
The idea was that if she could manage a greeting, she would also be able to handle the necessary, formulaic phrases for the day duty tasks.
The next morning, Takumi arrived at school earlier than usual.
Kotori hadn't arrived yet, so he sat at his desk and took out a paperback to read the book he had borrowed from the library.
It was a light novel about high school protagonists who solve small, underlying mysteries in their daily lives, with the characters gradually misinterpreting things and misunderstandings leading to complex interpersonal relationships. He was still in the middle of it, but the blurb on the cover—"Youth × Mystery, a second look is recommended after knowing everything"—was no lie.
The subtle miscommunications in the relationships were frustrating, but Takumi, who was constantly misunderstood by others as a bad person, found himself strangely empathizing with the characters, which resonated deeply with him. He couldn't stop reading.
He had only started reading to cultivate the image of a literary character, but he had become unexpectedly engrossed.
Since no one seemed to notice him anyway, Takumi immersed himself in the world of the book.
As he anxiously turned the page at a scene where the heroine, who had hinted at an interest in the protagonist, suddenly showed interest in a teacher from another school, he noticed a memo tucked between the pages.
He picked it up and scanned the lines—and Takumi's expression twisted into an increasingly vicious scowl.
"...Tch."
Takumi couldn't help but let out a massive click of his tongue.
The note said, "The letter the heroine takes to the teacher is to support someone else's love." There were also notes like, "The gyaru girl has been devoted to the protagonist all along," and "Paper airplanes are the source of the misunderstanding."
Having read this far, Takumi immediately knew they were all spoilers.
The notes were probably forgotten by the person who borrowed the book before him when they were rereading it.
Even though such accidents were inevitable with library books, he couldn't process the frustration internally, and it showed in his demeanor.
But everyone in the classroom was startled by Takumi's sudden foul mood, and the room fell silent.
A remarkably awkward atmosphere spread around him.
Noticing this, Takumi turned his embarrassed face away from everyone, looked out the window, and rested his chin in his hand.
Just as he unconsciously let out a sigh, a bright voice rang out as if to dispel the air.
"So, I dreamed that if you put milk in a teapot, it turns into ice cream. Then I was half-asleep during breakfast and poured milk into the teapot, and I made a mess that woke me right up."
Immediately, laughter erupted from the boys around him, accompanied by comments like, "What are you doing?" and "That's so Toba." When Toba replied, "It might've worked for hot milk," the girls also chimed in with, "There's that hojicha latte, right?" and "Wasn't there a tea you boil with milk?" and the conversation spread.
The frozen atmosphere from a moment ago was instantly gone.
Toba's action was likely a way to read the room. He was a genuinely considerate guy.
Takumi thought that even with Kotori's curt and lacking responses, Toba might stick with her and not give up on their day duty.
As Takumi squinted, the door slid open, and Kotori arrived.
"Hey Nabacchi! My bedhead was super bad today!"
"Oh, Tori-chan, did you do the math homework?"
"No, listen, the live stream I watched yesterday was like—"
Kotori was immediately surrounded by her usual group of "First Army Girls," who peppered her with disconnected chatter. She was flustered, replying only with "No" and "I see."
Up to this point, it was the usual sight.
But Kotori seemed intent on greeting Toba right away. She looked restless and distracted.
Eventually, Kotori spotted a break in the conversation and, with the momentum of setting down her bag, headed toward Toba.
Kotori, who usually only hung out with the "First Army Girls" and kept a cool distance from everyone else, never actively engaged with anyone.
Kotori's obvious move toward Toba surprised not only him but also everyone around them, silencing them.
In front of Toba, Kotori narrowed her sharp eyes and clenched her fists. Her expression was strained, and her cheeks were faintly flushed. It seemed that due to tension, the words wouldn't come out.
"Um, Nabata-san...?"
"!"
Toba, puzzled by the fact that she was just staring, spoke to her, but Kotori only flinched and barely trembled her shoulders. After a brief hesitation, she left without doing anything.
It seemed that greeting a boy she had never spoken to on her own was too high a hurdle. Takumi thought her back looked a little dejected.
But it seemed to the people around them that something else had happened.
"Wasn't Nabata-san a little angry!?"
"Toba-kun, what was that all about!?"
"What did you do!?"
"N-No, I have no idea..."
The students around Toba suddenly grew agitated and confused.
Kotori had only tried to greet him, but her usual curt demeanor and tense expression made it look like she was bottling up anger, and everyone else thought she was about to complain about something.
"Oh no," Takumi thought, putting a hand to his forehead.
Kotori, too, was being cornered by the "First Army Girls," who were pressing her with, "What's wrong!?" and "We're here to listen!" Since Kotori had never initiated any action toward a specific person before, they were all intently focused on her.
Takumi felt an unsettling development was beginning.
Kotori seemed to feel the same way, giving him a troubled look.
Afterward, Kotori tried to talk to Toba again, but at best, she could only sneak glances at him. However, Toba and her classmates, noticing Kotori's gaze, only deepened their misunderstanding.
He had to do something.
If Kotori could just talk brightly and manage even a simple greeting, the situation would probably be solved immediately, but if she could do that, she wouldn't be struggling in the first place.
Just before lunch break, when his impatience was mounting, a message arrived from Kotori.
"!"
It was the stretching cat stamp—a request for the routine.
He widened his eyes in disbelief and looked at Kotori, who nodded apologetically.
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