He deserves to be the honer of his honor. It’s that natural. So… So how dare Takeru insult the dreams he has! This is… This is his high school life and he’s going to live it to his fullest! Even if he can’t, exactly, live too much in the world of romance and chances of that sort, given that, haha, Kalamari Gakuen is Boys Only Enrollment.
Why did he choose this school?!
D-Did he think he was going to stumble into a cafe and meet the love of his life in an instant? This isn’t a cafe AU, you fool!!
Of course, Yanagi is really cool, but Shiraishi’s weird, Okazaki’s invasive, and Takeru’s a real pain!
But, no matter how reality really is, he still has more time before class, so instead of engaging the seaweed, he decides just to retreat to the place where he is the coolest in town, his head. Not that he isn’t amazing in real life, it’s just, well…
“Ah, the fool chooses to daydream aloud, disturbing the peace.”
“Haa? The bitter opponent puts his foot forward, and dares challenge the Sleeping Dragon of this school!”
“Sleeping means no contest. Don’t waste the air, idiot.”
Takeru doesn’t miss a beat, and Mineo is ready to pounce into the speech he deserves to make, when the door classroom door opens, revealing a face he’s never seen before. Of course, it’s to be expected, considering the time and everything.
Quick murmurers will spread the world over, and though he tries not to fall victim to their hype, his curiosity on just what is the fuse causes him to stretch his neck, nearly falling over in the process, from both the distance and the shock.
For all things considered, no one’s called the man a subtle genius, but commotions will be commotions and the totally-possibly-his-type-cute-new-classmate who’s peering around the other new guy is sighing a bit. She’s likely overwhelmed by all the attention! Calm down, he hears the ever reliable Yanagi tell him, but he’s also chanting a calm down repetition. His self-introduction? An absolute failure, squished and sputtered after Okazaki’s, and cut off gracelessly by Takeru’s.
Time, please be my friend!!
There’s absolutely no way he’s not going to try to befriend her, even if his nerves are shot when she’s glances his way. Hoshino Ichika, an older sister, according to Saeki Yuzuru, who happens to be sibling of another himself. Hell yeah for sibling solidarity, a point of conversation he can totally use as a secret weapon but – hey! that’s not the point!
“Oi, Yuzuru,” Mineo calls, “What’s that you got there?”
Saeki laughs, waving at the red head.
“Though, I’m just returning what I borrowed from Hoshino. She really saved me~ Well, later!”
“Ah, I see! Hoshino’s real helpful! Well, that’s to be expected, considering she’s so… hard-working!” Mineo grins, “Truly the strength of an organized refreshing existence, we–”
Saeki is already gone by that point. And it only takes Mineo seconds to settle into the reason why.
It… is lunch after all. Hoshino’s bound to back soon. Ever cool and diligent, she was tasked with taking the papers to the faculty office. Satake-sensei might be talking her ear off… about stories of… him? That’s embarrassing! Stop, stop, stop!
Well… Satake-sensei would talk regardless…
He can imagine it, Satake’s ever casual voice, “Jou-chan, Enomoto’s–”
His imagination running just as fast as his clocked times in track, Mineo tries to shake it off, finding himself yelling, audible, just as… Hoshino walks into the classroom. “Ah…”
He says it, she says it, as he looks up, their eyes locking. This should be a shoujo manga moment, but there aren’t any sparkles, no random floral blooms. The heart beat is there however, for him. What is she thinking? What is she thinking? WHAT IS SHE THINKING?!
Enomoto, calm down, Yanagi would likely say, but Yanagi is not present, unfortunately, so the result is a really red young man, and a very curious young lady.
“A-Ah… Th-This is… Don’t worry about it, Hoshino!! I just!! Ahahahaaaa…” That’s right, laugh it off! Lighten the air! Wait, this... this is bad... Takeru’s in the room. Haaa, he just saw that too!! The seaweed doesn’t need anything more to hold over me -- what if he says something and for some reason she’s the type to like major bitter types like him? Maybe she’s an... m-m-m...
Mineo can’t even finish that thought, the line leading him quickly into despair (coupled with how embarrassing his audible yell just had been, this is a messy day for this master-turned-back-into-a-grasshopper). She’s right in front of him and he’s still, like this. How embarrassing! Of course, he doesn’t know her, nor does he know her intentions, but she’s... just too...
“Umm, if it’s alright, we can eat together?”
She realizes that he might not answer her immediately, so she decides to push her desk closes to him anyway.
“You haven’t eaten much yet... Are you alright?”
Ah, right, usually he eats way faster. Sometimes Yanagi purposely brings more food than he can eat so that Mineo can get a balanced meal and not just quickly buy from the school store. But he’s been so caught up in his fantasies that he didn’t... eat yet. Whoops.
But this is an opportunity, right? He’s got to bounce back up! They’re going to eat lunch together!!
“Y-Yeah! I’m fine! Absolutely fine! Never can anything cold and bitter and definitely not wrong can keep a future hero like me tied down!” He hears a mutter of ‘the idiots are too noisy’ from Takeru, but he pushes it aside, too tunneled in on Hoshino to care, “and I’m even better now!”
“I’m glad. You seemed really troubled...”
She’s cute and kind! Feisty too, considering... the other day... haha... but, wait, she was worried, about me?
Mineo wonders why. Does being down not suit him? Is there something special about his -- oh! She’s smiling now! She really is... an angel...
“Did you want this? I brought some... extra, and it’d be no good if it goes to waste...”
Why did she bring more than one bento? For Saeki Yuzuru? Are they sure they’re not..? Never mind, never mind! He doesn’t want to ruin his chances before he even has one!
“Really? Thanks a bunch, Hoshino!” Get it out fast, take it, raise his chopsticks, and eat! It’s really good too, she made it, right? It’s... amazing!!
Then, he realizes that this is almost like they might actually be dating, sharing food, eating together. She’d make a really cute wi--
Haaaa!!!!!!! Lucky me!!!!!!
Yes, there goes the ever moving painting of his ever expansive imagination.
