"U-Um, excuse me..."
Yuigahama suddenly raised her hand, cutting into the cheerful chatter of the popular group.
"What's up, Yui?"
Yumiko blinked in surprise. Yui rarely spoke up like this, especially not so suddenly.
Hayato, Ebina, and the rest of the group turned their eyes to her, surprised by the unusual interruption.
With so many people staring at her, Yui started to feel a little flustered. A faint flush crept across her face.
She swallowed nervously and said in a small voice, "I mean... aside from the rumors about Kitakami-kun stealing Kasumigaoka-senpai's personal stuff, I don't think he's actually a bad guy."
It was hard for her to say.
One reason was that she really didn't think Yoru had done anything bad.
She was good at reading the room. And whenever Yoru looked at her, his gaze was neutral—nothing creepy, nothing suspicious.
He never acted weird. He just treated her normally.
The other reason was because she wanted to be more like Yukino.
Yui wanted to be brave enough to speak up for what she thought was right.
Also, after she went home yesterday, she'd found herself thinking about that name—Kitakami Yoru.
For some reason, it sounded familiar.
Then she remembered—he used to be a student at her neighboring middle school.
Back then, there had also been some rumors about him, but later they were proven false.
Yui had dealt with rumors herself, especially when she was younger.
When she first entered middle school, she got teased a lot because her chest was too big or her butt was too curvy. People had laughed at her, gossiped about her.
So she couldn't help but feel that maybe Yoru had just been misunderstood too.
"Yui, what are you even saying?"
Yumiko stared blankly for a second.
Then she suddenly stood up, visibly upset. Her gaze flicked over to Yoru's empty seat.
She'd had her suspicions already—there was something going on between Yui and that guy.
Now it felt like her fears were confirmed.
"That Kitakami guy is just a fat loser. His reputation is trash. Do you even hear what you're saying?"
Yumiko's voice was a bit too loud. A few students sitting nearby turned to look.
When they saw Yumiko's unhappy face, they quickly went quiet. Nobody wanted to get on her bad side.
Yumiko had a pretty commanding presence in class.
"Of course I know, Yumiko," Yui replied, lowering her head.
The rest of the popular group—including Hayato—watched in stunned silence. They had no idea how to jump into this conversation.
"What, did he brainwash you or something?"
Yumiko tapped her fingers lightly on the desk.
In her view—or rather, in nearly everyone's view—Kitakami Yoru was nothing more than a disgusting, gloomy, fat creep with enough nerve to steal Kasumigaoka Utaha's stockings and underwear.
And now, he was somehow charming Yuigahama?
Then again, it wasn't surprising. Who would bother paying attention to a disgusting fat otaku?
"It's… it's just that day, Kitakami-kun helped me out a little…" Yuigahama stammered, then nervously glanced up at Yumiko.
"Oh, so that's what happened…"
Hearing that, Yumiko's anger eased a bit.
So it was because Kitakami had helped her that she said something like that.
"Hehe, I'm fine, really."
Yuigahama forced a smile.
The others, upon hearing her explanation, weren't all that surprised anymore.
Yuigahama was always kind-hearted, after all.
"But it's best not to get too close to him. If I catch him bothering Yui again, I'll give him a warning."
Yumiko glanced sideways at Yoru's desk and muttered inwardly.
What she didn't know was that Yoru had become a request target of the Service Club.
As a member of the club, Yuigahama would inevitably come into contact with him.
Meanwhile—
In Class 2-A.
Nanami had just returned from the restroom and pulled out her lunch.
Yesterday, Yoru had kindly given her some cookies. She paired them with her own plain water.
She scrolled through her phone as she ate.
Her schedule was incredibly tight. She had to wake up early for her part-time job, and after school, she had another shift.
At night, she studied hard to keep her grades up so she could continue qualifying for tuition assistance.
On top of all that, she had to constantly practice her voice acting lessons.
Nanami lived frugally and was always exhausted. Her family neither understood nor supported her.
She had come all the way from Osaka to Tokyo alone to chase her dream, relying solely on herself. Luckily, she'd gotten into Shuchiin through a special admission program.
"Whew… the rent here is so expensive~"
She lightly nibbled on a cookie with her neat white teeth, glancing at a rental listing site while wrinkling her cute little nose.
She was planning to move. The apartment she lived in now had terrible soundproofing.
Recently, the neighbor had gotten a girlfriend, and the nightly noise was making it impossible to sleep.
But with her tight budget, she wanted a place closer to school to save commuting time.
"It's way too hard to find a place that meets all the requirements…" she mumbled while popping another cookie in her mouth.
It was really good—crisp and flavorful.
Sometimes, she couldn't even afford lunch.
"Aoyama-san?"
Suddenly, someone approached her desk.
"It's Kanda-kun. Oh right, I still owe you money."
Nanami looked up and remembered she hadn't yet paid him back.
She quickly reached into her pocket, pulled out a few coins, and placed them on the desk.
"Go ahead and count it," she said to Sorata.
"No… I told you, it's on me." Sorata smiled and shook his head. That wasn't why he was here.
Seeing Nanami together with Yoru earlier had left him feeling uneasy.
How could a girl like Nanami get involved with a fat otaku like that?
Now that he had a moment, he couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"I don't like owing people," Nanami said firmly.
"Well, okay… but actually, I wanted to ask…"
"I saw you talking to Kitakami the other day. Was something going on between you two?"
As he spoke, the girl chewing on a cookie visibly paused.
"Nothing. Why do you ask?" Nanami looked confused.
She had no idea that Sorata harbored a slight crush on her.
"Well… Kitakami's that infamous fat creep, right?"
"I just thought maybe something happened, and you…"
Sorata scratched his head.
"Oh no, nothing like that. Kitakami-kun's actually pretty nice," Nanami replied casually, waving her hand.
"Why do you think that?" Sorata pressed.
"Last week, while I was working part-time, I happened to deliver an order to him. It was raining, so I arrived late."
"But instead of giving me a bad rating, he kindly lent me a raincoat and towel."
"Oh, and these cookies—he gave them to me."
She raised the packet in her hand and explained simply.
Unsolicited kindness… must mean ulterior motives!
That was Sorata's first thought, and he felt a surge of jealousy.