Although both were somewhat uncomfortable about not being able to have lunch with Hikari, the current atmosphere clearly couldn't continue.
The sisters needed to talk.
With some tacit understanding, the Sakuramiya sisters each picked up their own lunch boxes, apologized to Hikari, and walked out of the classroom together.
In the hallway, the sisters stood in silence, their bright eyes fixed on each other's familiar faces, seemingly understanding something.
Sakuramiya Saya couldn't hold back and spoke first, "Hinata, tell me honestly, do you... like Hikari-kun?"
Hearing Sakuramiya Saya's question, Sakuramiya Hinata became nervous, "Why... why do you say that?"
Sakuramiya Saya said, "Otherwise, why would you give Hikari-kun a lunch box? And your attitude towards him recently has been too good."
Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hinata looked nervous but didn't reply. Instead, she countered, "What about you, sister? You were also planning to give Hikari-kun a lunch box, and your attitude towards him is also quite ambiguous!"
"Think about it, yesterday at the archery club, wasn't it you who was alone with Hikari-kun in the lounge before I arrived? A man and a woman alone, you would never have done that before. Do you... also like Hikari-kun?"
The use of "also" by Sakuramiya Hinata was practically a confession.
But hearing Sakuramiya Hinata's casual remark, Sakuramiya Saya became very nervous.
After all, Sakuramiya Hinata just casually mentioned the incident in the lounge yesterday, not taking it seriously.
But Sakuramiya Saya knew that yesterday she had indeed genuinely kissed Hikari in the lounge.
They kissed for a while, making her feel ecstatic, and she even dreamed of further scenes in her sleep last night...
So, Sakuramiya Saya didn't notice the flaw in Sakuramiya Hinata's words, her own face turning red.
Sakuramiya Saya didn't deny Sakuramiya Hinata's words, tacitly admitting, and just said, "Let's not talk about Hikari-kun for now. Hinata, remember the promise we made to each other as sisters? We agreed to always be together, always be each other's angels, and never betray each other."
"But Hinata, you actually liked Hikari-kun earlier, right? Earlier than me. Hinata, you betrayed us first, didn't you!"
Hearing Sakuramiya Saya's accusation, Sakuramiya Hinata panicked. Accepting the label of being the first to betray would make her feel too guilty to face Sakuramiya Saya.
So she instinctively retorted, "Who... who said I betrayed first? My interactions with Hikari-kun... were all out of gratitude..."
"Sister, you just admitted you also like Hikari-kun, right?"
"You've been hiding it from me. Maybe, maybe you betrayed me first!"
Sakuramiya Saya: "I..."
Faced with Sakuramiya Hinata's counter-accusation, Sakuramiya Saya was speechless.
After all, they had both been hiding and covering for each other, not knowing when the other's feelings changed.
"Actually, I saw you giving Hikari-kun a lunch box and eating with him yesterday. You definitely betrayed us first!", Sakuramiya Saya said.
"I...", Sakuramiya Hinata forcefully rebutted a few more times.
The sisters argued for about seven or eight minutes over who betrayed first.
Finally, both sisters were exhausted.
Panting, Sakuramiya Hinata couldn't help but say, "Let's not argue about this. Whether it was me or you who betrayed first, we can't go back to the past."
Sakuramiya Saya agreed, "Yes, we can't go back to the past. The shape of our hearts is no longer the same as before."
Sakuramiya Hinata nodded, "Yes, sister, you understand. We can't have that kind of relationship beyond sisterhood anymore. Let's just be normal sisters from now on."
Sakuramiya Saya nodded, tacitly agreeing.
Then Sakuramiya Hinata thought for a while, seemingly making a decision, and suddenly said, "I admit, I liked Hikari-kun a long time ago. I was moved when he first saved me."
"And later interactions made me think highly of him. Discovering Hikari-kun's bit by bit excellence, I was completely attracted to him and fell in love with him."
"Saya-nee, I'm sorry."
"But since I liked Hikari-kun first, in this emotional matter, please, as the latecomer, step back."
Hearing Sakuramiya Hinata's admission, Sakuramiya Saya wasn't happy but anxious.
Because she had decided yesterday that she must be with Hikari, even with her sister's obstruction, so she couldn't accept Sakuramiya Hinata's request to step back.
Sakuramiya Saya quickly said, "Hinata, that's not reasonable."
"Yes, I admit Hikari-kun saved you first. But you might not be the first to like him."
"Think about it, liking and loving are different. At most, you had a little favorable impression back then. I, your sister, was the first to fall in love with Hikari-kun."
"You're still young and don't understand love. A man like Hikari-kun, you can't handle him, let your sister take care of it!"
Hearing such shameless words from Sakuramiya Saya, Sakuramiya Hinata couldn't believe widened her eyes, "Sister, how can you be so shameless? I fell in love with Hikari-kun first! You're stealing love!"
Sakuramiya Saya crossed her arms, righteously saying, "Do you have evidence? What proof do you have that you fell in love with Hikari-kun first? You don't, do you?"
"I... I... was the first to fall in love with Hikari-kun!"
"No, I was the first to fall in love with Hikari-kun."
"No! It was me! I came first! Clearly, I came first!"
"Kissing, hugging... falling in love with Hikari-kun, I came first!"
"No, you don't understand..."
"..."
Just now, the Sakuramiya sisters were arguing over who betrayed first, but now they were fighting over who fell in love with Hikari first.
Both wanting to shift blame had turned into wanting the other to leave Hikari and not interfere in their own feelings.
The sisters' bickering.in the hallway was intense, arguing until they were red in the face, yet neither could convince the other.
The once inseparable lily-like sisters now looked at each other with a hint of resentment.
If not for their deep past feelings, they might have started pulling hair and scratching faces.
———
Meanwhile, Hikari, who had just had a full meal, was unaware of the sisters' intense dispute.
He only knew that today's luck was good; someone brought two meals.
This just matched his large appetite, and he ate very full today.
'Full, to aid digestion, it's time to exercise.'
Hikari wiped his mouth, smiling as he took out a red-glowing pure love origami crane.
After glancing out the window, he strode out of the classroom.
———
[Library]
The librarian girl Serizawa Yukiha, sitting at the front desk, was quietly lifting her delicate hand, slowly flipping through the book in front of her, seemingly immersed in reading.
Due to Serizawa Yukiha's pure and beautiful face, and her well-developed delicate.figure, especially the full chest that the JK uniform couldn't completely cover, she often attracted passersby's attention.
Serizawa Yukiha was very popular among students who frequently visited the library, not just because she was indeed pretty and cute, but also because of her enthusiasm and kindness in daily life.
But recently, Serizawa Yukiha had been very quiet, and her work no longer had the past enthusiasm, which made many people uncomfortable.
But since that wasn't her main job, she only needed to organize the books slightly, so no one had any complaints.
Seeing Serizawa Yukiha seemingly engrossed in reading, naturally, no one would be so tactless as to disturb her.
Only no one noticed that the book in front of Serizawa Yukiha was upside down.
On the surface, Serizawa Yukiha looked pure and calm, but her heart was actually in turmoil.
In the past, she could easily finish many books, but now she couldn't calm down to read even one.
'Sigh, forget it, I won't read anymore,' Serizawa Yukiha shook her head and put the book back on the shelf.
Originally, she liked reading, which was why she applied for the librarian position.
Reading requires a calm mind, but recently, she found it hard to calm down and enjoy reading itself.
After putting the book back, Serizawa Yukiha picked up her bag and prepared to return to her class.
Today, she felt uneasy, as if something was going to happen, her heart was unsettled.
Aida Yuki, who had been standing not far away by the bookshelf pretending to read but actually observing Serizawa Yukiha, noticed her movement.
Seeing Serizawa Yukiha seemingly about to leave the library, he hurriedly stuffed the book in his hand back onto the shelf and quickly followed.
"Serizawa-san, are you heading back to class?", Aida Yuki initiatively greeted her as he approached.
"Yeah," Serizawa Yukiha nodded expressionlessly, her tone flat, not even opening her mouth.
Seeing this, Aida Yuki felt very uncomfortable.
Because recently, Serizawa Yukiha, for some reason, had become very distant from him, unlike her previous fairly good attitude.
Even tasks like organizing the bookshelves were no longer delegated to him but done by herself.
It seemed like she was trying to distance herself from him.
Over the past few days, they hadn't even exchanged more than ten words, including meaningless greetings like "good morning."
Aida Yuki keenly noticed that Serizawa Yukiha's expression seemed off, so he mustered courage and initiatively suggested, "Serizawa-san, I'm also heading back to class. How about we go together?"
Hearing this, Serizawa Yukiha's face slightly changed, and she quickly waved her hand to refuse,"No need, I want to walk alone."
After a brief and quick refusal, Serizawa Yukiha directly turned and walked out of the library.
Once outside, Serizawa Yukiha sighed.
The reason she refused Aida Yuki's suggestion so quickly was that she currently disliked being around others, especially men.
Originally, Serizawa Yukiha was quite friendly towards others.
In the past, she would probably have agreed to a ordinary request like Aida Yuki's to walk back to class together.
But now, she found it hard to agree.
Because of the incident a few days ago, thinking about it still made her feel nauseous and disgusted.
She never expected that the handyman Kitou Masami, whom she had kindly helped, would repay her kindness by trying to lure her into the storage room, drug her, and then assault her.
This incident somewhat shattered Serizawa Yukiha's worldview.
She felt intense unease towards the world and the men around her.
Like post traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), she now harbored great caution towards everyone.
So even familiar faces like Aida Yuki, she didn't want to be near.
She preferred to be alone, except for... that man...
Serizawa Yukiha's mind suddenly floated the image of Hikari's handsome face.
Thinking of Hikari, Serizawa Yukiha felt her cold body slightly warm up, accompanied by her accelerated heartbeat, the warmth flowed from her limbs to her internal organs, gradually warming her entire body.
On the day her worldview was shattered by Kitou Masami, Hikari's appearance was truly a heaven-sent savior for Serizawa Yukiha.
She couldn't imagine what would have happened if Hikari hadn't noticed in time and saved her.
Drugged and unconscious in the storage room, what inhuman treatment she would have suffered.
'Probably, my life would have been ruined.'
'It was Hikari-kun... who saved me at my most critical moment...'
These past few days, Serizawa Yukiha's heart was constantly filled with gratitude towards Hikari, especially the more she recalled, the more she feared, and the more grateful she became towards Hikari.
Serizawa Yukiha felt that in this terrifying world, only by Hikari's side could she feel that indescribable warmth and sense of security.
So now, besides wanting Hikari by her side, she didn't want to be near any other man.
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