Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 11 - Chapter 1.3

3

After second period, Sakuta stopped by the ATM, then stepped into the cafeteria to find it absolutely packed with hungry students.

He did not see an empty seat anywhere.

Undiscouraged, he kept looking.

Then his eyes found a back he recognized. That half-up hair bun was definitely Miori Mitou, a relatively new acquaintance.

She was alone at a table for four. He approached and asked, “Mind if I join you?”

Miori looked up, udon hanging from her lips. She slurped up the noodles, then chewed. Only when she swallowed did she make a show of annoyance and say, “I’d rather you didn’t.”

The gleam in her eyes made it clear this was payback for their first conversation.

“I shall anyway,” he said, his tone as contrived as hers. He sat down across the table from her.

“You alone today, Azusagawa?”

“Look again. I’m with you.”

“Oh, you are obnoxious.”

He opened up his bento box and started eating. He’d only bothered bringing it to the lunchroom because they had hot tea for free. And if there was someone to eat with, all the better.

“You alone today, Mitou?”

Usually when he saw her here, she was with other girls from her major.

“Look again,” she said. “I’m with you.”

“Oh, you are obnoxious.”

It seemed polite to respond in kind.

“Mai’s working?”

“Today, yesterday, and the day before.”

Yet she was still earning enough credits. Mad respect.

“Aww. Fine, take Mai’s, too.”

Miori dramatically produced two large jars out of her bag. They were both about the right size to carry one-handed. One was labeled STRAWBERRY JAM, and the other BLUEBERRY.

Why the jam surprise?

“Is it Jam Day?”

Maybe there was some sort of jam gift custom, like how people handed out chocolate on Valentine’s.

“Jam Day is April twentieth, I think.”

“It exists?!”

He would have to look up how that happened. If he remembered to.

“I brought these back for you. Manami got her license, and to celebrate, we all went on a drive.”

“This the girl who didn’t invite you to the beach?”

“Okay, that’s extra obnoxious.”

She pointed her chopsticks at him sternly.

“Bad manners,” he said.

“Where do you think we went?” she asked, putting her chopsticks down.

“Good question,” he said while reaching for the jars. The answer was written right there on the back, next to the nutritional label. “Nagano?”

The manufacturer was based out of Karuizawa.

“More specifically, the Azusagawa Rest Area.”

She fixed him with an extremely broad grin.

“Not that funny,” he said, putting the jam down.

Certainly not a joke worth being smug about.

“I’ll be taking this back.” Miori snatched the blueberry jam away.

He didn’t want her confiscating the strawberry, too, so he put it away in his rucksack. It was highly probable he’d put his foot in his mouth again.

“Thanks for the jam. Your friend—Miyuki, was it?”

“Manami.”

“You’ve patched things over with her?”

When he’d first met Miori, she’d been in a bind—the guy Manami was after had been far more interested in her. Or more accurately, Sakuta had thrown that idea out there, and Miori had more or less admitted it.

“We’re all in college now. That much, we can manage. No one benefits from a long-running beef.”

Miori rolled her eyes and then noisily slurped up the last of her udon.

“She invited me to a mixer today. Hot guys from a top city school are gonna be there, apparently.”

Chewing her udon, she managed an awkward smile.

“I may have mentioned it? She promised to set up a mixer to make up for the beach incident.”

“I vaguely remember.”

“I assumed it was an empty promise.” Miori winced. “And since it’s for me, I can’t bow out,” she muttered, looking like a kid who’d been served food they hate. She didn’t want to eat it but knew her parents wouldn’t let her leave the table until she did. No escape!

“Well, you’re in college now. You’ll have to manage. No one benefits from a long-running beef.”

“Oh, you are annoying.”

After her words were turned against her, Miori leaned back in her chair, disgruntled. She pursed her lips and glared up at him through her lashes.

When he just kept on eating, she grumbled “Annoying” again.

This was weirdly charming, and he couldn’t help but approve. She wasn’t trying to be cute, but that’s just how her every gesture and mannerism came off.

The way she followed the latest makeup trends and dressed nice but not flashy—he was pretty sure Miori did that all for herself. Because she liked it. She wanted to. That’s why it didn’t feel phony. And the men around her were drawn to that—which was why they kept glancing her way.

Since he’d first met her, she’d acted the same way with everyone—while other girls were more initially guarded. And men misread that more often than not, assuming they had a shot with her.

And once they started nursing that faint hope, they stopped paying attention to any other signals. So many never realized that they’d never grown any closer than they’d started out.

Sakuta was a “potential friend,” and that suited him just fine. He enjoyed bumping into her on campus and chatting now and again. Having friends like that wasn’t bad at all.

But his chain of thought was interrupted by a friendly voice.

“Oh, there you are, Azusagawa!”

Takumi Fukuyama had appeared bearing the cafeteria’s signature rice bowl. He was in the same major as Sakuta, which was how they’d gotten to know each other.

“A-and Mitou?!” Takumi yelped. He’d only just gotten a clear view of her.

“Um…,” she said as he took a seat next to Sakuta.

“Takumi Fukuyama! First-year statistical science major, same as Azusagawa here.”

“Miori Mitou, first-year international management. But we’re in the same core classes, right? You were at that party.”

By this she meant the gathering at the start of the term—where she and Sakuta had met.

“That I was!” Takumi leaned forward, far too excited that she’d remembered him.

“I’ll leave you kids to get acquainted,” Sakuta said, packing up his empty lunch box and rising to leave. Miori was being cross with him, so a hasty retreat seemed in order.

But Takumi’s hand clamped down on his shoulder.

“Stay put, Azusagawa. I need a favor and was looking for you.”

“With a yokoichi-don?”

This was the school special, and he’d ordered one with extra rice.

“Can’t fight on an empty stomach.”

“Finding me isn’t war, so you could have managed.”

Sakuta had missed his chance to leave, so Miori stood up instead.

“I’ll leave you kids to get acquainted,” she said with a smirk, and she took her tray off to the dish return.

“You sure, Fukuyama?”

“About what?”

“Your shot at getting to know Mitou.”

“You think I’m ready for that?”

“You want a girlfriend so bad I figured you were always ready.”

“If I was ready, I’d have a girlfriend by now.”

“Fair.”

“You free today?”

“I got classes till fourth period.”

“I know. I mean after.”

“I’ll be busy washing my cat.”

“Then come to this mixer instead. We got a man out sick and gotta make up the numbers.”

“Did you not hear me?”

If Nasuno didn’t get that bath soon, she’d start to smell like a zoo.

“You remember Ryouhei Kodani? The international management dude a year above us, who showed up at the core curriculum class party even though he’s not in that class?”

“No memory of him whatsoever.”

Miori was the only new name he’d acquired in the bar near Yokohama Station. Arguably, he’d also picked up the name of Miori’s friend Manami. Then again, he’d been pretty sure her name was Miyuki until, like, a minute ago.

“Anyway, I’m in Chinese with Kodani. We were talking about mixers, and he went and set one up.”

“Sounds too good to be true. Watch yourself.”

“And all three girls are from the nursing school,” Takumi said, as if this was of grave import.

“Are they…?”

That did get his attention. Very good timing.

“We’re talking nurses, man, nurses! You should be way more excited.”

“About future nurses? They’re just college girls right now.”

They were no different from anyone else at this point in time.

“What, do nurses not do it for you?”

He looked at Sakuta as if it had never once occurred to him that this was even possible.

“If you’d said miniskirt Santas, I’d have been there in a flash.”

“That’d work, yep.”

Takumi nodded emphatically.

But it wasn’t like Sakuta had zero interest in nurses. Especially given his interest in a certain someone. Ikumi Akagi was in the nursing program here.

Odds that she would be at this mixer were slim at best, but people in the same major as her might know what she was up to. If he could get them talking, it might be worth it.

But since Sakuta was dating Mai, going to mixers at all was questionable. Whatever the motives, he did not belong there.

He weighed his options.

“You gotta come, Azusagawa!”

“Won’t bringing a taken man spoil things?”

The goal wasn’t exactly to make friends. Sometimes it might turn out that way, but mixers were primarily events for singles looking to hook up.

“The way I see it, that’s one less rival.”

“Meanwhile, I just sit there basting in the girls’ scorn? No thanks.”

From their perspective, it was the same as having one less guy. And he did not want to subject himself to that.

“You don’t care if I never get a nurse girlfriend?”

“Not really, no.”

“I’m begging you!”

Takumi slapped his palms together.

“Mai would never approve.”

“But what if she does?”

Takumi was not about to let this drop. Surely, there were other people he could ask. But arguing that wouldn’t get him anywhere.

“Fine, I’ll give her a call and see. If she says no, you’ll just have to deal.”

“Cool.”

Now he just had to ask Mai and get himself chewed out.

He assumed that would happen—but it didn’t.

Mai’s answer was nothing like what he’d assumed.