iii.

The day Himura-senpai threads her arm through the bend of Shuusei's elbow, jealousy burns white-hot in the pit of Hotsuma's stomach. He clenches a fist and watches the way her body melds into Shuusei's, easy and familiar, and realizes for the first time that his place at Shuusei's side is no longer certain. There have always been girls flitting about his partner, but Himura is the first to pose a threat - her bright smiles and easy laughs suddenly standing out from the rest.

Hotsuma watches the pair from his vantage point on the first years' floor, and tells himself that he doesn't care. Shuusei is seventeen and popular; if he wants to date, nobody is going to stop him. Takashiro thinks normalcy is good for them but to Hotsuma, dating seems irresponsible - a misstep in priorities. Besides which, Himura doesn't even match Shuusei. She's too talkative and not the steady, quiet type Hotsuma expected his friend to favour.

"Hotsuma?"

Tsukumo breaks Hotsuma free of his thoughts, stepping into place beside him and glancing out the window. The way Tsukumo's eyes soften in understanding makes Hotsuma bristle, jealousy forgotten as anger rises.

"As if he has time to date," Hotsuma mutters, turning away from the scene and storming down the hallway. "It's better not to get involved if he's just going to break her heart later."

"Maybe it's not serious?" Tsukumo muses as they walk, head tilted in thought. "Or maybe she reminds him of someone?"

"Well, he doesn't have to date her," replies Hotsuma with a frown, trying to think if Himura resembles someone from their past. "Whatever," Hotsuma grumbles when his mind draws a blank, "making her cry'll be Shuusei's problem."

They walk in silence to the school gates, but Hotsuma can sense the way Tsukumo keeps glancing at him, as if the other Zweilt has more to say. "What?" He finally snaps, and Tsukumo smiles far too brightly at Hotsuma's prickly tone, reaching out to touch his arm.

"Let's go this way. There's a good ice cream shop a couple blocks away."

Hotsuma blinks, anger evaporating as quickly as it appeared. "Ice cream?" he repeats, caught by the sudden change in topic.

Tsukumo nods eagerly, hands already steering Hotsuma in the right direction. "Tooko-chan says ice cream is the best remedy for a broken heart."

It takes half a block for Tsukumo's words to sink in, but when they do, Hotsuma's pace grinds to a halt, mouth stumbling over his words.

"Who the hell is heartbroken?"