[8.1]
Career Trouble
Ever since Korosensei had left to the faculty lounge for their career consultation, Hayami has been staring at her career goals form, which was yet to be filled up. Although it had been invading her mind for the past month, she was still having trouble figuring out what she wanted to do in the future.
Amidst the sea of dreams and career paths that her classmates have been spouting, a familiar figure loomed over her beside her seat.
"What did you write?"
Upon hearing Chiba's question, her hand unconsciously shielded her career goals form before looking up at him. "Still nothing," she replied followed by a sigh as her gaze reverted to her form.
"Korosensei can help with that," he said confidently although he felt useless himself. Even if he was itching to, he didn't know how he could help her. He was not like their octopus teacher or some of their classmates who always knew the right words to say.
With her hands coiling into fists across the paper, she said, "I don't even have a clue on what I want."
"You don't have to rush," he said before raising his head towards their blue-haired classmate, who was brooding over his form. "Even Nagisa hasn't found out his career goal yet."
When Okajima had come back in the room from his career consultation, Isogai stood up and turned around to face the whole class. "Okajima is already done. Who wants to go next?" he proclaimed.
Hayami rose on her feet as she raised her hand. "I'll go," she uttered.
Then she glanced at Chiba and began to tell him, "Although I may not know yet the career path that I am going to take –" she took out her pistol with a determined expression "– I will grab this chance to hit our target."
Seeing her new resolve brought his mind to ease. With this, he nodded in reply.
…
"I see. So you are planning to go to a public high school near your house," Korosensei said after reading her career goals form. "This school provides high-quality education, particularly on international studies. Good choice, Hayami-san. Under Irina-sensei's English classes, you'll have no problem getting here."
When he had placed her form on the desk, he rested his tentacle arms on his lap. "I understand that you have not decided on your goal yet, but let me assure you that with your top-grade execution and skills, any job will truly be suitable for you," he said just as Hayami engaged into a surprise sniping attack to which he dodged in ease.
"It is indeed practical to aim for good grades and a good school for now, so that when you finally reach the moment when you find what you want, it will be a breeze for you to furnish your blade for that career," he added.
Hayami shifted to her second attempt by wielding two guns. "You said that anything will be fine for me. That's why I think I should focus on killing you for now, while of course polishing my second blade," she said.
The yellow octopus let out his brazen chortle, the record book on his one tentacle deflecting the incoming pellets while using his superhuman reflexes to evade the second gun's attacks. "Well said, Hayami-san. If you want, we can discuss your options later after class for you to have an idea in the future."
"Sure, Korosensei," she replied with a nod.
How lucky she was to have a teacher like him. It was a shame though that she could not make the kill today.
…
"Thank you for waiting."
After stepping out of the building, she found Chiba alone outside, leaning on the wall, with shades of orange coating his figure.
While Hayami had been having her career discussion with Korosensei, he used the time to practice shooting on his own. He admitted that it felt lonely to not have anyone to compete with or to have anyone to praise you for your direct hits.
When she had begun walking beside him, he asked her, "How was it?"
"As expected, there is a lot to choose from but I'm considering Business Administration. It has a high demand and I think it is something that I can imagine myself doing."
"That's a good choice."
She wheeled her head towards him. "You're aiming for Tokyo Tech, right? That's a high hurdle to cross." Then she added confidently, "Well if it's you, I'm sure that you can do it."
He smiled. "Thanks. Since this school is affiliated with Tokyo Institute, it will be easier for me to get into that university, which is well-known for the Architecture course."
"Impressive. You have thought about your future that much."
Scratching his cheek, he said sheepishly, "I got some help from my father in deciding on a school."
They continued to walk under the trees, their surroundings getting darker as the sun set down when she became glum with her eyes downcast on the ground. "As Korosensei has said, we will be leading on our separate paths after we graduate," she stated.
His jaw tightened. Although the time they had spent together was precious and fun, they would have to face the fact that good things come to an end – even their tranquil walks in the mountain.
Especially the assassination.
Hayami has just parted with Chiba at the school's main gate when she stopped short. Right before her was Fujiwara leaning on the wall as if waiting for someone. He met her gaze with an unreadable expression and, then, his feet started to move towards her.
"Hayami, can we talk?"
[8.2]
School Festival Apologies
Everyone, including Class 3-E, was once again bustling for the anticipated school festival, which meant another showdown between the top and the bottom class. Despite being at a disadvantage, Class 3-E knew what to do thanks to Korosensei's flexible thinking.
Normally, the laborious task of gathering ingredients and the tedious preparations for the menu, cooking, advertising, and customer service would drive the students to both physical and mental exhaustion. Still, doing all of those together with all their quirkiness and jokes made every single task enjoyable for them.
On the first day, twelve students that were divided into two groups were tasked to collect raw ingredients within the mountain. One of which was Hayami's group posted by the river to hunt fish and to gather herbs that could be found there.
"Hayami, I can see your underwear from here!" Okajima blurted excitedly as blood gushed out from his nose.
Kataoka hit him before riddling him with a lecture on how to respect a girl.
Brushing the semi-bald pervert off, Hayami aimed the crossbow at a swimming fish with one knee on a boulder. She released a long breath just as she pulled the trigger.
"Hit!" she exclaimed, prompting Okajima to jump in the running water.
He grabbed the kill and hoicked it up to examine it. "Wow! What a clean shot!"
While lowering her weapon, she said, "At that distance, that was nothing." Then she raised it again upon seeing another moving prey.
Itona Horibe and Taisei Yoshida had worked together in making the two crossbows. The other one was being used by Chiba, who was assigned with the group in charge of harvesting fruits and spices and hunting meat in the forest.
After Hayami's fourth kill, Okajima came in again to put the fish into the bucket when its tail started fluttering rapidly. Because of that, his grip loosened, which caused the fish to slip back into the water.
"The fish!" he yelled as he pushed his knees against the current. "Hey, come back here!"
It turned out Hayami had missed its vital spot considering she did the shot beyond her range. But that's not all. It was also due to the apology that Fujiwara has made two weeks ago, distracting her mind especially during times when she needed to focus such as this one.
Afterward, they went to the nearby park and found a bench. Hayami sat down at a distance from him. "What do you want to talk about?" she, then, asked coldly.
With eyes glued to the ground, he said, "I want to apologize to you. After seeing your class win battles against Class A when you're not supposed to, it made me realize my wrongdoings. I hurt you and even ruined our friendship. It's my fault why you failed back then." He gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists. "That's why I want to make amends." He glanced up at her and, then, continued, "Will you forgive me, Hayami?"
The troubled expression that crossed her face was one that she had worn when she received her failing grades. Seeing it was a slap on his face that after all this time he still liked her and even wanted to be with her again just like before.
But that was all pointless now. Amid the darkness, she was not alone in her class this time. She has found friends and teachers that she could trust and share her burden with.
To catch up with the fleeing fish, she hopped off the boulder when a branch scraped her lower arm. She winced just as her feet landed on a rock. Biting through the pain, she set her sights on her target before releasing the arrow.
"Will you forgive me, Hayami?"
She needed more time to think. Since this was sudden, her mind and emotions were in haywire. That's why, without looking at him, all she could do was stand up and utter "I need more time" before walking away.
Later before lunch, they were able to catch fifteen fishes and two baskets of herbs. With this, their group returned to the top and found that the other group was already there.
Hayami hid her right arm behind her back before making her way towards Chiba, who was stretching his shoulders from the tiring shooting.
"How did it go in your end?" she asked him.
"We gathered a lot. I think it's going to last us the whole day," he said. "How about you?"
"Same here. Korosensei was right. This mountain has a lot of resources that we can use," she replied while they were heading back inside the building.
"I was told that the people from the nursery came as well as the delinquents who kidnapped Kanzaki and Kayano on the school trip." Then his gaze drifted towards her back when he saw a blotch of red on her sleeve.
He swerved behind her to take a closer look. "You're hurt!" he exclaimed.
In turn, she faced him as her left hand gripped her wounded arm. To think that it would still bleed after having it wrapped with her handkerchief and covering it with her sleeves.
"It's just a scratch from a branch earlier. It's no big deal," she explained flatly.
"That's because you didn't wear your super gym clothes," he scolded, grabbing her left arm. "We should treat that first."
The super gym clothes that Karasuma had given to them as their reward could protect them from many types of injury including getting a small wound. But because her mind was preoccupied with Fujiwara, it had slipped her mind to change into them. She had only managed to put on her combat shoes right before going into the mountain.
As she was being pulled back inside, she said, "I can treat it myself", since she knew that he has other things to do.
He clenched his jaw. "No."
She could give in to his persistence to quickly end their 'bicker', but there was something about him that has been bugging her.
Lately, she would catch him looking at her several times more than the normal and pursing his lips as if he wanted to say something. Not only that, he would try to help her even in the tiniest stuff like bringing ammo from the shed and submitting everyone's assignments to the faculty lounge.
Although, in the past, he never did those since he perfectly knew that she could handle them by herself.
There was also this one time when he had to plead to carry her school bag for her when they were going down to the school gate. When she had refused, he offered to walk her to the bus stop instead, which left her no choice but to accept his first appeal. It had ended up with Karma teasing them for being a 'sweet typical couple' when they were seen on the way.
"Why are you so worked up about this?" she asked calmly, the prickling pain on her left arm forgotten.
He halted on his tracks before spinning on his heel towards her. His hand, then, slammed on the wooden wall behind her, trapping her under his height. "It's because –" he began to say in a gravelly tone "– you are troubled about something. It makes me frustrated to do nothing but watch."
I understand though. I know that you're going through something that you think you should handle by yourself.
When he had tilted his head closer, she caught a glimpse of his anguished eyes, which made all of her attention fixate on them. His voice softened as he said, "That' why, just for this –" he glanced at her red-stained arm "– let me worry about it."
She was a fool. Of course, he would see through her struggles and become anxious. She would be too if it were him.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm okay now."
Because of you, I now know what to do.
With a contented nod, he released his hand from the wall, returning their distance. "I'll get the first aid kit."
She hummed in reply.
After turning his back on her, his face started to heat up as he strode his way inside. He thought, 'Crap. Why the hell did I do that?'
Meanwhile, a sigh escaped her lips right after he went inside. Touching her chest where her heart was pounding rapidly, she thought she was going to faint by then.
…
After finishing up for today's school festival, Hayami went straight to the main building. She remained invisible for the past hour as she stood by the entrance. Entering her field of vision a few minutes later was a spindly figure, with a mop of caramel hair, exiting the premises.
While chatting with his peers, Fujiwara stopped short upon seeing her walking in his direction. He told them to go ahead before meeting her in the middle.
"Hayami, why are you here?" he asked. Had she been waiting for him?
"I want to say thank you, Fujiwara, for your apology and everything else," she began as her mouth quirked up. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have met everyone in Class E. And, I wasn't able to thank you for your feelings for me at that time. I realized now that I had been somewhat cold to you. For that, I'm sorry."
His face softened as he smiled. "It's okay. I'm just happy that you're doing well now."
"No. This time, I want to do it right." Bowing her upper body slightly, she said, "Thank you, Fujiwara. I'm sorry I couldn't return your feelings."
Although it was monotonous, he could sense the sincerity beneath her words unlike before. He embarrassingly looked away as he put his hand on his hips with his other hand rubbing the back of his head. "Uhh… you didn't have to do that. That was already a while ago," he mumbled.
Then he shifted his head back to her as a beam flashed on his face. "Well, thank you for that!"
She managed a small smile. "It was indeed weird to say that after all this time but it still felt good," she said.
Placing both hands on his waist, he proclaimed, "You know, I am planning to join the Light Music Club in high school."
"That's nice. I wish you luck."
"Thanks. I'll be better than your bassist boyfriend."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "Bassist?"
"Remember when we watched the Light Music Club at the school festival in our first year? He was the bassist player in the band."
"So that was him." Her mind crawled back to that time when she saw him on the stage, his bangs up while playing the bass guitar. She thought that that person seemed cool although she could not see his face back then because of the colorful lights flashing everywhere and the swirling smoke blocking the band members' silhouettes.
Fujiwara cocked his one eyebrow bemusedly. "How come you didn't recognize that was your boyfriend?"
She crossed her arms across her chest and said, "He is not my boyfriend."
"Huh." A smirk coursed through his mouth. "But do you like him?" he asked in a teasing manner.
Her arms fell to her sides. Knowing what he had meant, firmly and coolly, she replied, "I do."
...
Since the Class 3-E's restaurant became jammed with customers on the second day, Chiba and Hayami were asked to help in serving the tables. Albeit not good at it, they were able to manage through Yada and Isogai's brief pointers.
"Three orders from Table 4 and five from Table 5," said Hayami as she handed the order slip to Yuzuki Fuwa.
Upon picking up a tray of dishes to be served, Chiba passed by her. They greeted each other with a subtle nod before focusing back on their work. Then her face lit up when her eyes had caught sight of Fujiwara, together with a group, ambling towards a recent vacant table.
"Hayami, can you go take their order?" Maehara asked, his thumb pointing at Fujiwara's table.
With a nod, she took out her notepad and made her way there when the caramel-haired boy became ecstatic at her arrival. "Can I have your orders?" she asked as her eyes roamed over his companions, who were looking at her with friendly gazes.
Lately, the perception of the students in the main building on Class 3-E has been changing gradually in a positive way.
After receiving their orders, Hayami wheeled back to the kitchen as Fujiwara's smile slipped. It was certainly nice to see her working hard as she usually did.
"Dude, she looks pretty."
He turned back towards his male companions who began speaking about Hayami.
"Yeah. Although she seemed so serious at first."
"Forget it. She already has someone," Fujiwara chimed in before looking over his shoulder to see the black-haired bassist approaching Hayami, who was carrying two trays for different tables. When her 'boyfriend' had offered to serve one of the trays for her, the corners of her mouth turned up as she enunciated her thanks.
'Huh. So she can smile like that,' Fujiwara thought.
From the sidelines, a certain blonde girl has been watching the caramel-haired guest gape with a yearning expression at the two snipers. When Hayami had gone to serve the orders of Fujiwara and his company, Nakamura grinned before scooting over towards Chiba.
"Shouldn't you be pulling her away from that guy right now?" she whispered, as both of them ogled at Hayami interacting with Hideo while serving the table.
Placing his hands on his hips, Chiba said, "Even so, I have no right to do that."
Nakamura's mouth fell open. Did he just impliedly admit that he is jealous? Before she could react further, Chiba was already on his way to the kitchen.
[8.3]
Cat Ears Punishment
The second-semester finals would be a week from now. In order to rebound from their midterms, Karma has initiated to conduct tutoring lessons to his fellow classmates on subjects that they were weak at – especially in Math.
Since he had been way ahead of everyone else during summer, he was able to come up second in their batch despite being prohibited to study before the midterm tests. This made him the perfect candidate to support the whole class in getting into the top 50.
Because of that, both Chiba and Hayami believed that seeking his help would be the right thing to do. Although Chiba was good in Math, he still wanted to learn from someone who had beaten Gakushuu Asano, the top student in school, in that field.
Standing by the blackboard was Karma with seven of his classmates – Nagisa, Kayano, Tomohito Sugino, Kanzaki, Okuda, Chiba, and Hayami –sitting on the front row. On one hand, Korosensei was having his cram-study sessions outside for the rest of the class.
"Now that I have taught you the concepts, I will give you fifteen problems to answer. You will be punished if you get at least five wrong," said Karma.
The red head's proclamation made Sugino uneasy. With this, he raised his hand. "Erm… what is the punishment?" he asked.
Karma broke into a sneer as he pulled out a headwear that has cat ears. "You will put this on for the rest of the day and whenever somebody calls you out, you have to respond with 'meow' with your hands like this." He lifted both fists to his chest – just like a cat.
Every single one of them felt like backing out now. But since they all badly wanted to make it to the top 50, they knew that they would have to endure the sadist's shenanigans.
Afterward, Karma checked their answers. Then he handed the cat ears to Nagisa, Sugino, and Hayami. Chiba got the highest score of 13 out of 15, while Sugino was the lowest with only five correct.
"Your problems are just too complicated," Sugino whined. "There is no way that we could get them all correct."
With a shrug, Karma retorted, "That was your fault. If you paid attention to me earlier, maybe you would have gotten a better score."
This silenced the baseball-lover. What the red head has said was true. While Karma was teaching them, Sugino was instead ogling at his seatmate, Kanzaki. He could not help it though. She just looked too beautiful listening as she took down notes.
"This is stupid," said Hayami before placing the cat ears on the desk. "I'm not going to wear this."
Karma's golden orbs narrowed. "If you won't, then, you will be on class duty for the whole week instead," he warned.
It was either the short-term humiliation or less time to study after school.
Heaving out a sigh, her hand reached for the accessory. Her brittle gaze remained on the leering red-head as she laid it atop her head.
The smile on Karma's face widened, while everyone stared in astonishment. Chiba cleared his throat whilst turning away from the 'adorable sight'.
"Now, was that so hard?" Karma mocked.
Ever since then, Okajima would call Hayami's name endlessly to which she would answer with a 'meow' and a cat-pose. Upon seeing it the first time, blood spilled out from his nose as he exclaimed, "That's so cute!"
Nakamura, of course, seized this opportunity by taking pictures and a video of Hayami including Nagisa and Sugino, who were beet-red from embarrassment by now. Nagisa was even forced to wear Nakamura's skirt and other costumes that had been set aside for this sort of occasion, which resulted in another cross-dressing photoshoot.
Then, when Chiba had called out Hayami's name, several curious gazes in the room flickered in their direction. After facing him, Hayami performed the cat thing and became paralyzed upon seeing her sniping partner.
Much to everyone's disappointment, Chiba casually returned her notebook that he had borrowed before careening back to his seat. No ounce of emotion could be found on any part of his body although his mind has been screaming non-stop how 'cute' she looked in those cat ears.
…
Hayami was having enough of the unwanted attention, which was caused by the cat ears adorning her head. And so, she sneaked out of the classroom to the forest when lunch period had arrived.
She would rather eat alone in nature rather than spend another hour being harassed by a certain semi-bald pervert and attracting looks from everyone more so when they were less occupied on a break.
She began munching on her bento when she heard the crunching of leaves and twigs beneath heavy and careful footsteps. Her head whipped to the side where the noise was coming from. There stood an upstanding toned figure with a black fringe covering the upper half of his face.
"How did you find me here?" she asked him.
He lifted his phone that was showing a grid map of the mountain with a green blip pinpointing her location. It was an application that Ritsu has provided for the class.
As he hunched down beside her, she threw him another question. "Why did you come here?"
"To keep you company."
"I don't need one," she stated before resuming her lunch.
After opening his bento, he started eating as well, knowing too well she appreciated his coming here with her not telling him to leave. When he had finished, a thought popped into his mind.
"I never pegged you to be wearing cat ears," he said a bit teasingly.
"S-Shut up. I just don't want to miss my studying time," she stuttered as a hint of pink flushed her cheeks.
"I would've helped you in the class duty."
Her eyebrows scrunched further. "I won't let you do that. You also need to study," she rebuked.
This didn't make him falter. "We could have more study groups together," he responded firmly.
Her lips formed into a thin line as she packed up her bento. Then, standing on her feet, she said "Do what you want" before turning around, hiding the smile on her face.
...
Group Chat Name: The 'END' AssClass
Members:
Class 3-E students ONLY
Time: 6:34 pm
.
BLONDE SADIST [Nakamura]
*sends photos of Hayami, Sugino, and Nagisa wearing cat ears*
*sends videos of the three meowing with the cat pose*
BLONDE SADIST [Nakamura]
YOU'RE WELCOME :)
RED SADIST[Karma]
Nakamura, you forgot something.
*sends photos of Nagisa wearing costumes with cat ears*
Hentai Idiot[Okajima]
Hayami as a cat… Thank the heavens!
Gender [Nagisa]
Karma-kun, why did you send it?!
RED SADIST[Karma]
Why not~
Baseball4Life[Sugino]
Noooo! This is shameful…
Cassanova Jerk [Maehara]
Hayami looks cute 3
Tank Lord [Itona]
True. She's got the right specs. Definitely up to my standards.
Beetle Moe [Kurahash]
Haya-chan is so KAWAII! Nagisa-chan is also adorable teehee ^_^ V
Gender [Nagisa]
Kurahashi-san… -_-
Tank Lord [Itona]
He doesn't look bad either.
BLONDE SADIST [Nakamura]
It's not too late to change, Nagisa-chan ;)
Red Sadist[Karma]
We can still book a flight to Thailand this weekend. It's on sale right now. You can still make it before the test.
Gender [Nagisa]
Can you guys please stop it?
Tank Lord changed Pudding~'s nickname to Forever Flat.
Forever Flat [Kayano]
What the hell, Itona?!
Forever Flat changed Tank Lord's nickname to WallTerminator
Hentai Idiot [Okajima]
Can we just appreciate Hayami though? I'm so happy that I can save her picture to my collection!
Chest [Yada]
You're so disgusting.
TsunTsun [Hayami]
Rio, delete my photo and video this instant. Okajima, don't you dare save my photo.
.
WallTerminator changed Forever Flat's nickname to CupZero.
.
Hentai Idiot [Okajima]
Oops… the deed's done. Sorry, Hayami.
.
CupZero changed WallTerminator's nickname to SubtlyPervert.
.
BLONDE SADIST [Nakamura]
Sorry, Hayami. It's already online. I can't take it down. :P
.
SubtlyPervert changed CupZero's nickname to No Butt & Breasts.
.
Supermodel [Kataoka]
Itona and Kayano-san! Please stop changing your nicknames. It causes a nuisance to everyone from the nonstop notifications.
.
Supermodel changed No Butt & Breasts'snickname to Pudding~.
.
Supermodel changed SubtlyPervert's nickname to Wall Terminator.
.
Pudding~ [Kayano]
Sorry, Kataoka-san. Also, that's not Itona's original nickname.
Supermodel [Kataoka]
It isn't? Oh sorry. I'll change it back right away.
Wall Terminator [Itona]
No need. I'm okay with this.
Supermodel [Kataoka]
If you say so.
Supermodel [Kataoka]
Btw, Itona. You shouldn't make comments on a girl's body. It's rude and offensive.
Wall Terminator [Itona]
I can't help it. Somehow, Nagisa is more of a girl than Kayano.
Pudding~ [Kayano]
HEY
Supermodel [Kataoka]
Itona, what did I just say?
Ikemen [Isoga]
Now, we still have a mock test tomorrow. We should be studying right now.
Supermodel [Kataoka]
I'm sorry, Isogai-kun.
Pudding~ [Kayano]
Hai, class rep!
Wall Terminator [Itona]
Then off I go.
Ikemen [Isogai]
Don't sweat it, Kataoka. You've done nothing wrong
...
Group Chat Name: The 'END' AssClass
Members:
Class 3-E students ONLY
Time: 11:03 pm
.
Hentai Idiot [Okajima]
OH NO! HAYAMI'S PICTURE AND VIDEO DISAPPEARED FROM MY PHONE
I also can't find them here in the chatroom.
BLONDE SADIST [Nakamura]
You're right. I can't find them on my phone too, but Sugino and Nagisa's are still here.
Hentai Idiot [Okajima]
WHAT HAPPENED
Mushroom Director [Mimura]
Must be a hack.
BLONDE SADIST [Nakamura]
Ritsu, can you explain?
RITSU
Yes, I deleted the picture and videos of Hayami only.
Hentai Idiot [Okajima]
What the hell?!
BLONDE SADIST [Nakamura]
Uh, why?
RITSU
Because Chiba-kun asked me to.
Hentai Idiot [Okajima]
Chiba, whyyy. Let me have my fun TT_TT
BLONDE SADIST [Nakamura]
Ooh~ someone's getting protective :-)
Hentai Idiot [Okajima]
Just admit that you like Hayami, then, I'll stop bothering her. Maybe.
BLONDE SADIST [Nakamura]
(insert gif)
EmoBangsss [Chiba]
Go to sleep.
Hentai Idiot [Okajima]
Come on, dude. Just confess!
BLONDE SADIST [Nakamura]
(insert gif)
EmoBangsss [Chiba]
Bye.
…
The next morning, Hayami thanked Chiba for what he did. She did not bring up the last part of the chat much to his relief. What she did not know though was he had saved her photo with the cat ears on in his phone.
He pondered – Should I tell her?
.
.
.
.
.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I have come to like my OC, Hideo Fujiwara. It's not just because of his character development. Like Hayami and Chiba, he was straightforward except for the fact that whatever comes in his mind comes out of his mouth – to the point that he could be vulgar and rude.
If you noticed, he has a compatible personality with Hayami. They are both honest and direct to each other, and he could make Hayami talk without much effort. At the same time, he is an extrovert unlike her, which I think has made them more compatible.
Also, were you able to grasp both of their indirect confessions about their feelings towards the other?! Hayami's confession was more explicit though, she just didn't direct it to the person himself. Well, they are already more than halfway through the year, so might as well give development to their relationship.
Thank goodness for their height difference or else the kabedon scene wouldn't have worked. (It may be cliché but I've wanted to write one for a while)