"Wa-Wait, Shishio-kun!" Ritsu was startled when she saw Shishio just walk and approach the two.
However, Haruno didn't say anything and looked at this scene with interest.
The two guys, who were in a state of anger, noticed Shishio, who wanted to stop them.
When one was angry, their judgment was clouded, and adrenaline rushed into their heads, which made them courageous and stupid. They wanted to scold Shishio, but before they could say something, one of them was slapped by Shishio.
*Bang!*
One of them fell on the ground weakly.
The other was stunned, but he was kicked before he could respond.
Shishio said nothing and pulled them to the corner since he needed to talk with them.
"...." Haruno and Ritsu.
Ritsu was stunned but quickly stood up, ready to help Shishio.
"Stay here. Leave everything to him."
"But..."
"You underestimate him." Haruno shook her head and tried to calm Ritsu down. However, she also knew that she needed to calm herself. Her emotions muddled her mind, and she thought she needed to avoid him now. Honestly, she didn't want to be like this since it forced her to do everything on impulse.
When something is done on an impulse, one might not be able to see the consequences of their action.
She thought it was better for her to stay away from him for a while since she needed time to think.
"Tell him that I am going back."
"Ah, um, eh?"
Ritsu couldn't even say anything in response since Haruno had already left. When Haruno left, Ritsu panicked, wondering what she should do since it was her first time to meet this kind of situation. While she was in deep thought, she saw Shishio walk out, which made her quickly approach him.
"Are you alright, Shishio-kun? You're not hurt, right?"
As for the two people who chased after her, she didn't care.
"I am okay, Senpai. How about you? Are you alright?"
"Ye-Yeah, I am okay..."
However, when she said those words, her legs felt weak, and she fell to the ground. She thought she was about to fall, but she felt a strong arm wrapped around her body. She blushed and felt embarra.s.sed. "So-Sorry... m-my legs feel weak..."
"It's okay."
Shishio looked at Ritsu's attire.
Even though she was a beautiful girl, she could be mistaken for a guy now, considering her dress and all.
Somehow, he didn't want Ebina Hina to see them at this moment since he was afraid Ebina might die from blood loss.
"Do you want to take a rest? Let's go to the usual spot."
"Ah, um..."
She nodded and let him help her to walk since, right now, his presence put her at ease.
---
"What kind of flavor do you want, Senpai?"
Their usual spot was on the bench under the stairs on the first floor of the special building of their school. It was also the building where the service club was, which is why many times, Shishio, Hikigaya, Yui, and Yukinos.h.i.ta stayed on this spot before they started the club.
"Er..."
She didn't know what to choose since she was in a mess now.
"Then, let's get this one. It's my treat."
"Th-Thanks..." She didn't know what kind of flavor of ice cream he had chosen for her, but she tried it anyway.
"......"
"Is it good?"
She was in a daze when she tasted the ice cream, stunned, before she looked at him, who was smiling at her, completely teasing her.
"...it's so bad."
Her nose wrinkled as she looked at him with a sigh.
"Really? Don't you like it? It's a mint chocolate flavor."
"...it's like toothpaste."
"Then, here. Eat this one."
"This one?" She hesitated since she was fooled by him once.
"It's vanilla."
"Oh."
At least it was several times better than the mint chocolate flavor, so she agreed. The sweet vanilla taste was so gentle on her tongue, which made her even more at ease. However, she was dumbfounded when she saw him eating the mint chocolate flavor she had just eaten.
"Shi-Shishio-kun, that's..."
"Oh, this? Isn't it wasteful to throw it away?" He didn't think too much and just ate the ice cream eaten by Ritsu. The price of ice cream might not be too much, but he didn't have a hobby of wasting his food, especially those which tasted good.
"........"
Ritsu wanted to say something, but she held it, lowering her head and blushing.
However, the two enjoyed their ice cream as they talked about the cultural festival.
Today, similar to him, she wasn't tasked to look after the literature club. Instead, she stayed in her cla.s.s that opened a maid and a butler cafe, which was the cliche of the most cliche exhibition during the cultural festival.
However, he was definitely going to visit her cla.s.s. He also wondered whether he could gain a reward when he visited her cla.s.s, considering he hadn't seen all the female students in her cla.s.s.
"I want to visit your cla.s.s..."
She looked at him with a blush and glanced at him occasionally.
He glanced in her direction and thought that she had a fetish for student uniforms in the Taisho Era, which was kind of unique. "By the way, Senpai, what's wrong before? You were chased by few people before." While he knew what was happening after he asked two guys, he still wanted to know what was happening from Ritsu's mouth.
"Oh, right!" She almost forgot about this matter since she was just comfortable with him. "Ho-how about them?"
"It's okay. You don't need to worry about them anymore."
"Re-Really?"
"Yes, they apologized to you and told me that they wouldn't appear in front of you anymore," he said with a smile.
As for those two guys, there was no need to mention them anymore.
"Th-That's great..." She sighed in relief as she didn't want to meet those guys anymore.
"So, what's wrong? You haven't told me what is happening."
"It's like this..."
She told him what was happening from the beginning to the end. Her cla.s.smates told her to advertise the cafe of her cla.s.s, which was why she brought a board advertis.e.m.e.nt with her, but when she walked around, she was a female and was bullied by those two guys and subconsciously, while she was scared, she smashed the board to those two guys before she ran away. Naturally, those two guys chased after her, and fortunately, she met him.
"......"
He was speechless, but he had to say it was great to know she was such a kind person. He patted her head gently, which made her blush. "You have done a good job, Senpai."
"Shi-Shishio-kun...!" His gesture overwhelmed her, but his strict words silenced her. "But next time, don't do this. Luckily, you have met me, and if they catch you, what do you think will happen to you?"
Ritsu was a beautiful girl, and when two guys were angry, they might do something that would make them be thrown to Tokyo Bay.
"So-Sorry..." Her voice was weak, and she knew she had caused trouble, but she didn't regret her decision.
"So next time when you see this, you should record this with a video and also call me, the police, or the committee. By then, they can't escape and might even enter jail."
"......" Ritsu.
"But this might be a good lesson for you, Senpai, so you won't be so reckless next time."
He sighed helplessly since if Ritsu was a master martial artist, it would be okay, but she was a weak bookworm who got all tired after running for half a minute.
"...sorry."
"It's okay. You don't need to apologize. I am sure that girl is also thankful to you for what you have done."
After being reprimanded, she was praised, which made her heart flutter and happy.
However, it was normal since he was so good at using his stick and carrot.
"Should we go back now?"
He thought they had talked for so long, so it might be better for them to return. However, when he was about to stand up, his hand was grasped.
"L-let's stay here for a while."
She was so nervous when she said those words. Fortunately, he agreed with her.
"Okay."
The two sat side by side again, and he talked about many unique exhibitions at the cultural festival.
Unlike him, she wasn't so talkative, and she loved to hear more instead of talking, so this was what he did. His topic was also general, and it was something that she would understand since the topic she understood was quite limited, considering how addicted she was to books and spent most of her time reading.
However, what he didn't know, she was just happy at that moment.
Just staying by his side and talking with him made her heart flutter.
When he was around, he put her at ease.
It was like magic.
Maybe, she was already charmed by him?
Yet when she stared at him, and he also happened to look at her, her heart was beating so fast, and it was impossible to calm down.
"Senpai?"
The way his deep and husky voice called her name all the time, she just couldn't forget about it. Sometimes, it even appeared in her dream, making her blush every time and weak her legs.
Right now, she was clear with the name of the feeling she felt toward him.
However, she wondered whether it was okay to hold this feeling, and suddenly the memory of Usa confessing to her resurfaced. The thought of her refusing his confession and his expression was clearly shown in her mind, making her wonder whether she would feel the same way.
What did he feel toward her? She didn't know.
Something unknown had always been scary.
It was the same as the feeling of the person that you love.
She didn't know, yet she knew she couldn't control her emotions anymore. She lowered her head, trying to control her heart, yet the more she did, the more she lost control of her emotion.
However, he was confused since this girl seemed silent and looked down. He was about to ask her whether she was alright, yet who would expect she would confess to him?
"Shi-Shishio-kun, I li-lite you!"
"......"
Ritsu bit her tongue.