It was the perfect time for a confession. The cherry blossoms were blooming, the weather was temperate, and the summer uniform looked super adorable! The skirt was bouncy and cute, and it showed off her legs nicely. That wasn't me; I don't wear the uniform skirt. Well, not usually. She had spent all of March working off her winter fat, fueled by the thoughts of her dear Kaidou-kun. Also, not me; I don't need exercise like a normal person, and even if then, I certainly wouldn't think of Kaidou while doing it.

Saiki looked down at his classmates from his classroom window, shadowed as they were by the blossoming trees. He wasn't interested in Yumehara's love life, but her long-awaited confession to Kaidou would end up affecting his life either way, so he'd rather know in advance and avoid any nasty surprises.

If Kaidou accepted her confession, they would go on dates and spend less time annoying him (good). However, seeing her close friend find romance could give Teruhashi the courage to confess to him (bad). If Kaidou rejected Yumehara, the girls would be upset with him, forcing Saiki to deal with the melodrama (bad). At the same time, it could finally frighten off Teruhashi (good).

He was debating the merits of each outcome when Yumehara finally spoke.

"Kaidou, you're probably wondering why I asked you to meet me here." Yumehara fidgeted with the pink envelope tucked behind her back. While she seemed only slightly nervous from an outsider's perspective, Saiki's telepathy easily picked up on the mental frenzy occurring in her head. She was spitting out thoughts and fantasies at such a rapid rate that even he couldn't keep up with them all.

"Oh?" Kaidou gave her a blank stare. "Didn't you say you needed help with your homework?"

Idiot. That was an obvious lie. Who brings you to a secondary location for homework help?

"U-Uh, yes!" Yumehara sputtered, a scarlet flush coloring her cheeks. "But! While I was waiting for you, I r-remembered something else I needed to ask you! Yes, that's it!"

"Oh, okay."

Who just replies 'oh'? A cute girl is obviously going to ask you out! For the first time, Saiki and Yumehara's thoughts were in perfect unison. Though, she was the only one who thought 'cute.'

"Here!" Yumehara abruptly thrust her arms towards Kaidou, the letter tightly grasped in her shaking hands. It looks like she's summoning him to war. "I wrote this for you!"

"Thank you." Kaidou accepted her letter with a warm, inviting smile. "But you could have just sent it to my mailbox."

He still doesn't know what's going on?! A deep dive into Kaidou's mind revealed that, yes, the man was just as stupid as he appeared on the surface.

"This isn't for the mailbox!" Yumehara blurted out. "It's a confession!"

Kaidou stared at her with wide-eyes, recognition setting onto his face. Finally.

"Yumehara-san." The letter fluttered to ground as Kaidou brought both his wrapped hands to clutch at Yumehara's shoulders. Saiki could practically see Yumehara's meltdown. Well, he actually could see it, but the 'practically' helped emphasize the figure of speech.

"Whatever trouble you're in, don't worry. Jet-Black Wings will protect you." Kaidou delivered the line with a remarkably straight-face, betraying no awareness of his ever-so fragile grasp on reality.

"Eh?!"

"Was it murder? Arson? Grand theft auto?" Kaidou visibly quivered with each gruesome option. "Wait! Don't say it out loud – Dark Reunion could be watching." You just said all of that aloud, idiot. "The Jet-Black Wings has connections in high places. I can get you a passport to Argentina in 5 days."

"N-No!" Yumehara spit out, fed up with the constant distractions. You might want to ask your potential boyfriend to take a CAT scan before you seal the deal, Yumehara-san.

"I like you, Kaidou-kun," she sighed.

"Like?"

"Yes."

"Like, like-like?"

"Yes."

"In a –" Kaidou twiddled nervously with the tips of his fingers. "- romantic way?"

"Yes," Yumehara looked up him with reverent eyes, as if he hadn't just responded with the eloquence of a 5 year-old. "Well? Do you like me back? Will you be my boyfriend? And take me to cute cat cafes? And pay for my sweets? And tell me I look good in a swimsuit?"

Subtle.

"I can't." Kaidou nervously scratched at the back of his head. "I'm already seeing someone."

Huh?

"What?" Yumehara froze mid-beach fantasy.

That has to be a lie to let her down gently, after all, how could Kaidou be dating someone without me knowing? I'm a telepath, right?

"I thought you knew," Kaidou nervously chuckled.

"I. Didn't," Yumehara said through gritted teeth. "Who. Is. She?

"Hah, I mean, who is she?" she repeated, adding a girlish lilt to her voice. Her face says casual, but her mind says unidentifiable body found in the Pacific.

"Aren."

"Huh? What does he have to do with this?" Yumehara spat out.

"We're dating."

Oh, he's dating Kuboyasu.

Wait.