Failing to make proper sense of what was in front of her, Orimura-sensei clutched her hair in agony as she took deep breaths to try to regulate her blood pressure. Perhaps if not for her great restraint, shed already pounced at me in rage for making her head ache.

In the end, to escape the reality presented to her, she ran out of the room, leaving the two of us alone.

Upon seeing that, Hanabi cutely stuck her tongue out before cautiously inquiring about what happened.

What do you think?

Instead of giving her a straight answer, I returned it in the form of that question. And that resulted in the girl pouting followed by puffing her cheeks to express her discontentment.

If I was a normal guy, I would easily succumb to that. I mean, shes charming and cute. If she used that as an advantage, she could be like Izumi having dogs at her beck and call. But with the girl being a lazy goofball, shes probably not that aware of how charming she is.

Ah... I couldnt say that for certainty though. This was only our second meeting.

If youre trying to sell your cuteness to me, bring your sister with you and I might consider. You, alone, arent enough, babe. I jokingly added before inching closer to her.

Reaching for her face and caressing it gently, Hanabi immediately shuddered as though she was doused in ice-cold water. She then reflexively pushed me away, attempting to flee from my touch.

Unfortunately for her, she didnt put enough strength to nudge me back.

I stared at her before bursting into laughter.

Alright. Thats enough joking. You wont be scared of me, right?

Not knowing how to react to that, Hanabi could only close her eyes and lower her head to hide her embarrassment. Following that, she started drumming my chesta futile attempt at getting back at me.

Stop being so much of a tease, Ruki... Its hard to figure out if youre serious or not.

Is that so? Should I make it easy for you? Grabbing her wrists, I pushed my face close to her, enough that our foreheads touched. Understanding the situation, Hanabi once again tried to pull her head away from me.

This time, I let her go and also allowed her to escape my grasp.

Watching her create a distance between us by putting her bag in the middle, I couldnt help but laugh inwardly.

But then again, she had her fun. It should be my turn, right?

Babe, arent you curious? I know youre only acting like you understand everything that happened. I wont mind telling you about it. However, it will definitely change your impression of me. I started.

I glanced at the door. Seeing it not properly closed when Orimura-sensei ran out, I stood up and moved there, letting Hanabi get some breathing space.

Furthermore, I peeked outside to check if there was someone around. It would be bad if they walked into us while having a sensitive conversation, right?

Sure, I dont think it will be bad to introduce her to Satsuki or the rest of the basketball club but before that happens, I have to make sure that were on the same page. To prevent a problematic situation where the seniors will wonder who this girl is to me. Only Satsuki, Eguchi-sensei, and Orimura-sensei need to know the whole picture.

After finding no one and surveying our surroundings, I closed the door and left it unlocked. Hanabi was already scared enough earlier, it would just bring about a bad effect if I pushed her to that state again.

And so, what I needed to do here is... to make her get used to me. Or to how I normally am around those I care about.

H-hey. Dont come near me again. Ill tell Matsuri! As though a rat cornered, the girl flinched as she saw me walking back to where she was.

Go ahead. I dont mind being scolded by her. I just wonder though. How will she react when she finds out that youre cutting classes? Wont she be disappointed? Cupping my chin and acting like I was imagining that scenario, I noticed Hanabi gulping down as she became flustered once again.

She loves her family and even though shes rebelling like this, its just a byproduct of her boredom. As a smartass who can catch up with her lessons fairly easily before any exam or quiz, shes just finding more meaningful experiences outside the classroom. And so, shes still afraid to disappoint them despite what she said before.

D-dont... tell her, please? With pleading eyes directed at me, Hanabi would probably grovel on the floor if I said no here. Really, shes making me want to tease her more.

Saying please isnt enough to show sincerity, you know? Come on. Wheres the sassy goofball thats acting like my girlfriend earlier? Let me get to know you more. I told you before. I also cared about you so... in place of Matsuri, shouldnt I educate you about something?

Eh? What do you mean? Wait... Ruki... Arent we just joking to throw that teacher off?

Youre smarter than that, babe. I shrugged, giving her no chance to see a glimmer of hope that everything we did was for her amusement.

At this point, I finally reached her. Picking up her bag that she was using as a boundary between us, I took its place and sat next to her again.

Although I got this strong temptation to put my hands on her, I resisted it by crossing my arms.

Upon seeing that, Hanabi noticeably sighed in relief. She might not be uncomfortable being close to me but if I suddenly touch her inappropriately, shed surely take it the wrong way.

... You mean, its all true. You already have a girlfriend and theres more to it than that. With a shaky voice, shes finally connecting the dots and filling up the holes in the story that I told her.

Yes... Im not an ordinary guy, Hanabi. Im sure if you ask Matsuri, shell also tell you the same thing. What happened between us could be said as regrettable on her part but for me, I was heartless enough to treat it as something negligible. I forgot about it and moved on with my life.

I didnt stop at that.

Little by little, I let the girl listen to my point of view of my situation. My desire and almost everything about me, I mentioned to her. Of course, I left out a lot of important points like how Akane helped me realize whats wrong with me as well as what happened after that.

At the very least, even without getting straight to the point, Im certain that Hanabi will be able to complete it in her head.

And so, a few minutes after I finished my story, the girl whose eyes became so bright it could blind someone tugged at my sleeve. Then with careful motions, she reached for my ear to whisper whatever she wanted to say.

... If youre serious about all this, can you let me confirm it with my eyes, Ruki? I want to witness what you built.

Are you sure? If I let you do that... youll have no choice but to become like a fly stuck in a spiderweb. You wont be able to get away from me.

Huh? How did it come to that?

Well, lets just say I grew fond of you, babe. I know youre someone free-spirited. You like your freedom the most. You never experienced romance nor you ever planned to. Unless not at this point. However, if you choose to get entangled with me. Even if I dont go after you right now, I believe my interest in you will grow enough to make me want to keep you by my side in the near future.

Thats not a confession but more like a warning to her. She can still step away from being involved with me but I know myself enough that if ever we got another encounter like this, my interest with her would pile up into a mountain. And soon, it will turn into an erupting volcano that will chase after her.

Thats why... Im already giving her a way out.

Another silence soon ensued with the girl plopping back to her seat. She grabbed her bag from me and hugged it tightly. She bit her lips and her eyes focused on my face.

Whatever was in her head, she was probably wondering if she liked me or not. Yep. She doesnt have an answer for that yet. In other words, that notion never occurred to her. She finds me amusing though and thats all in her head right now.

Minutes soon passed and before she could formulate an answer, the door to the waiting room opened again as Satsuki, Eguchi-sensei and the rest of the Basketball Club returned from their warm-up.