Hakuta didn’t think much else during class, but Iruka did as she sat behind him. What she was like back there during lectures was a mystery to him. The truth of the matter was that it normally consisted of not much other than her struggling to stay awake to pay attention to what the teacher said, or actually just sleeping.

Today was very different from that. While it kept up the usual trend of not being able to listen to what the teacher said. This wasn’t due to being so bored that she was falling asleep. Instead she was much too focused on the person sitting in front of her instead.

Iruka knew what she said, and still fully intended in holding back because of Ninka. But this didn’t make her situation any easier, not after what she saw Hakuta do and especially since it was nearly impossible for her to just ignore the boy. He literally was always in sight of her and they spent a lot of time in class together.

Her mind was filled less with the mathematical equations on the board and more about being with the boy. Were the situation different, would he react differently to her? Would she be more willing to push the issue and her feelings, like how Ninka had been doing this entire time?

Either way, it was painful to have to sit behind him, all isolated from the world while dealing with her own persona feelings. It made this class period leading all the way to lunch time feel like an eternity for her.

“Oh, I nearly forgot.” That time did eventually arrive and Hakuta spoke up nearly immediately once they got some freedom. “We were supposed to eat lunch together.” The boy didn’t forget about the lost opportunity. While he no longer felt the same need as before in wanting to talk with her privately. He also didn’t want to make her feel bad after getting her hopes up yesterday only to abandon them later.

“You still want to do that?” Her heart rate jump up from hearing him say this. Iruka hadn’t considered the possibility at all, but maybe… No, she mentally shook the thought from her head. It would be too far to want to change her mind and properly confess to him.

There were too many things surrounding them for her to want to mess around with the order. She had Ninka, where they weren’t the most close since she was still new, but knew she couldn’t simply impede on another girl’s boy. But there was another whom she was more concerned with.

Ino.

A side of her couldn’t help but wonder, if Hakuta would be happier with a girl like her instead. She was not like the ones he normally hung out with, so there was that layer between being friendly that he break through for something much more romantic.

Plus, she couldn’t help but compare herself to the daughter of a politician. She was a much more properly lady compared to her. Smart, kind of cute, all the things that Iruka was envious of. Not to mention she reminded her of someone else, a someone else who would later become very close to her old friend, Masahito.

“Yeah.” He answered, pulling out his lunch. “We can go somewhere more private, if that’s what you’d like.”

“Oh, but I don’t have any lunch with me right now.” She had planned on picking up the special meat buns being sold in the cafeteria today. “I’ll go grab something to eat, you can just wait for me at that one tree, if you still remember it.”

“I’m surprised you’d want to go there.” He’d figure the bad memories there would keep her from wanting to eat lunch there of all places, but things did turn out better after that. “Sure, I’ll see you there.” Hakuta left ahead of her so he could secure the spot for them while she made her way to the cafeteria. But it wasn’t only her from their class doing the same.

“Just grabbing some lunch, huh?” Ninka followed her, but her going to get food there was only an act so she could talk to the girl. “Saw Hakuta leaving the class pretty quickly, you two planning something?”

“No, of course not!” Iruka replied in haste. She would hate to give a poor impression on her friend that she might be encroaching on her boy. Sure it wasn’t like those two were a couple, but she clearly hadn’t given up yet.

“Geez relax, I barely said anything.” She laughed. “Come on now it really sounds like you’re trying to hide something.”

“It’s nothing important.” She responded as they got into the line. “We’re just having some lunch together, nothing weird about that, right?” It did seem a little strange for the pair to be separate from the others. More so from his case, where he normally wasn’t so willing to do things such as that.

“Nothing wrong with that at all.” Ninka replied, then sighed. She knew why she had come here and it didn’t make it any less disappointing for her to have to realize the truth. “You like Hakuta, don’t you?”

“L-l-li… I mean.” She coughed, trying to keep her voice down as they talked surrounding by the lunch crowd. Everyone surrounding them were too focused on trying to grab some lunch that they didn’t care in the slighest about their conversation. “We’re just friends, that’s all.”

“I can tell you’re lying.” She didn’t let up on the accusation. “It’s pretty obvious you like him a lot.” Ninka spoke from experience in what she saw in this girl. She could also tell that Iruka struggled mightily internally because of those feelings. “You don’t need to hold back anymore, and you don’t need to worry about me either.”

“Ninka, what are you talking about?” Iruka said as they their food and paid for it. “You really like him a ton. Why are you just giving up?”

“I do like him, but…” She paused for a moment as they left the cafeteria. “I’m not an idiot either. It’s not just him pushing off.” Because to her, that clearly hadn’t deterred her yet. “It’s just pretty obvious that he’s into you.” Ninka stopped for a moment and leaned on a wall. To Iruka, it seemed she was trying to hold back tears. “So… I think it’s better you give it a shot.”

“Ninka, I’m so sorry.” Iruka was at a loss for words. Never in her life did she ever want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Especially for her own sake.

“Just tell him how you feel.” Ninka grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a strong suggestion. “Maybe I’m wrong, but you never know until you try. So just try to see if you’ll make him a real happy guy.”

“I…” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but it was an opportunity she couldn’t afford to waste. Not after what she had seen. “I will. Thank you.” With that, Iruka walked over to where she knew Hakuta would be waiting.

He sat alone under the tree where they once shared a lunch together. Though the circumstances were much different than the last time. One such change happened right away in a manner he didn’t expect.

“Hakuta.” Ino walked up to him, surprising the boy. He didn’t think she’d go out of her way just to ask for more help on moving some papers. “I need to talk to you before Iruka gets here.”

“Really?” He couldn’t understand why it couldn’t wait until some later time during class or even after school. “What’s so important?”

“You like Iruka, don’t you?”

“Geez, straight to the point!” He nearly spat out his drink when she made her statement loud and clear. “What are you talking about? We’re just friends.” He spoke in a panicked voice. What was up with everyone assuming his feelings? They all acted like they knew something he didn’t.

“I wish I was wrong.” She sighed, gently hanging her head down. “But there’s no reason to lie to ourselves. Even if you aren’t willing to see it, we all do.” When she said that, he had to wonder who it was she meant. If it was the rest of his friends, then he couldn’t believe they somehow picked up on it.

“Look, I think you’re all just overthinking things.” He continued to deny it. His response was ironic seeing as all he could do was overthink things with Iruka lately. “I just want to eat lunch with her. So if you could just give us some privacy, that would be nice.”

“If she confesses, what will you do?” She ignored his suggestion and came back with a question of her own. “Because I have a strong feeling she will.” Iruka thought she had been hiding well enough during the confrontation earlier, but that was wrong. There was someone who spotted her, and that someone was Ino. Even from that distance, she could tell what went on in that girl’s heart.

“Ah, Ino.” Their conversation had gone on long enough and the subject to their discussion had finally arrived. “I didn’t think you had any business with Hakuta… Right?”