Kentaro's eyes brimmed with intrigue at Atsushi Hanasaki's words, as his gaze naturally shifted to his best friend after such a revelation. Noting Haruki's blatantly evasive demeanor, he couldn't help but ask, "You... write novels now?"

Why? Why did that have to come up?

Haruki barely had a moment to register surprise at Atsushi's sudden disclosure before Fumiye jumped in, eagerly agreeing with the statement.

"Oh yeah, I think I notice the name too when I caught him writing in that little book of his once," she remarked with a disapproving click of her tongue. "He won't even let us read it though."

"I've already told you guys it's not a novel," Haruki feigned calmness as he continued eating, though his mind was spinning. Couldn't everyone just drop it?!

Leaning on his hand, Ryomi raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Really? Then what is it? That little book you're always hiding from us."

Haruki desperately wanted to thrash a certain 'Atsushi' for bringing up the subject when he couldn't come up with an immediate excuse. Ginger's curious gaze fixed on him only made matters worse, so he simply cleared his throat and wisely chose to stop responding altogether.

Yeah, real slick, Fukuda.

"Could you be any more obvious?" Atsushi chuckled triumphantly, diverting his attention to the newest member of their group. "Your buddy here has been obsessed with writing in some little book all this time, and we suspect he's secretly penning naughty books—"

"WHAT THE HELL??" a bewildered Fukuda screeched in response, earning knowing looks from the mischievous trio. His focus swiftly returned to Kentaro, who now regarded him with a mix of shock and understanding. "It's not— That's not it at all, you know that!"

And he really did. But Kentaro also grasped that Haruki's friends were merely teasing him, so he wasn't about to spoil the fun. With a sympathetic gaze, he shook his head slowly. "It must have been tough. Concealing your true calling all this time..."

"Stop, don't encourage them!"

The exchange successfully elicited laughter from the other three, who immediately took a liking to the ginger-haired teen due to their shared enjoyment of sharing embarrassing stories about Haruki. The guy was just too easy to tease, and it was a pity that his best friend had only added fuel to the fire.

Still, Haruki felt it was nice finally having Kentaro around, like the old times. Ginger seemed much more at ease now, freed from the constant reminder that his life in Ichihara had been a façade, and his true reality was not as kind. There was a noticeable happiness radiating from him, and Haruki couldn't help but believe that he played a role in it.

...Because of their friendship, obviously. Yes, just their friendship!

By the time Haruki finished his internal monologue and redirected his attention to the rest of the group, the conversation had already shifted from teasing him to discussing their middle school experiences and thoughts on high school. Since Kentaro hadn't decided on a club yet, Fumiye and the others happily shared their opinions on the various clubs available at the school.

Haruki chimed in with occasional comments but refrained from suggesting anything to Ginger. Naturally, he hoped his best friend would join the same club as him, considering they were already robbed of the destiny of being in the same class.

Having achieved similar grades on their entrance exams, it had been a given that the two boys would be in the same class during their freshman year, and potentially throughout high school. Unfortunately, Ken's absence at the start of the term caused complications, resulting in someone else taking his place in Class 1-2 (thanks a lot, Chairman-fucking-Harada).

I don't even know if he likes basketball; Haruki thought, his frustration with Chairman Harada echoing in his mind. He glanced unconsciously at Ginger, who was currently listening to Ryomi's explanation of the activities in the Debate Club. Fumiye chimed in a few times since she was also a member. Haru lazily finished his juice, unable to hold back a snort when Atsushi interrupted just to boast about how cool the Basketball Club was, clearly trying to entice Ken to join.

This could work. As long as the recommendation doesn't come directly from me, it won't seem suspicious; Haruki pondered. Not that he was desperate or anything.

Besides, Kentaro practically followed him wherever he went, so obviously, this time wouldn't be any different—

"Actually, I already had another club in mind," Kentaro scratched his temple sheepishly, causing Haruki's movements to instinctively pause. The straw remained between his lips, but he wasn't drinking anymore, his gaze fixed blankly on his friend.

...Another club?

Unaware of Haruki's inner turmoil, the rest of the group continued to inquire curiously about Kentaro's decision. It was only as the ginger-haired teen revealed his plans that Haruki gradually understood.

Oh... That one.

Of course, Kentaro would finally want to join the Art Club and pursue his dreams now that nothing held him back. He had even mentioned once how he would have joined the club in middle school if it hadn't been for 'the person he liked'... or something.

Recalling that particular conversation, Haruki silently prayed that his face didn't look as warm as it felt. A-Actually, no, his face wasn't warm at all because he knew Ginger meant it in a purely platonic way.

It made even more sense now, considering Kentaro seemed to have no problem about joining a different club from Haruki this time around.

Right; Haruki mused to himself.

"That could be fun," Ryomi nodded in understanding at Kentaro's revelation. "Especially since the school organizes and funds trips for the club."

"Yeah, but you have to be hella talented for the Club President to accept you," Atsushi whined, seemingly recalling horrific memories. "Talentless folks like us could never, those guys are monsters. I had a friend who tried to join once, he was into graphic designing and stuff, but his art wasn't all that great since he was just starting out. You can imagine how traumatized he was when he saw what true talent looked like. Can you even handle a pencil, Nomura? I hope for your sake you can."

Fumiye nodded in agreement. "It's a fun club to join if you have the talent. Otherwise, you'd quit within days, especially if your art's crappy. Do you have any knowledge of digital illustration? I heard it's an essential requirement."

Hearing all this, Kentaro started to doubt his decision. Ryomi's words had intrigued him, but Atsushi and Fumiye managed to instill uncertainty. Particularly the mention of "digital knowledge."

He had tried it once as a kid but never quite grasped it quickly enough, leading him to abandon it altogether. Kentaro had always preferred the traditional approach, going wild with pencils and brushes. However, if digital expertise truly was essential to join the Art Club at this school, then he was already doomed.

"He'll be fine," Haruki, who had been mostly silent throughout the conversation, finally spoke just before Kentaro could respond. The redhead's eyes shifted to his friend as Haru continued, casually playing around with his now-empty juice box. "Ginger's incredibly talented in that field, so it would be a real shame on their part if they didn't accept him just because he's never drawn on a tablet before. He can always learn, and I bet he'd master it even better than them if he truly wanted to."

Haruki's demeanor was nonchalant, but his words carried firmness and meaning. Kentaro sometimes felt that his friend gave him too much credit, not that he was complaining. Ginger would never admit it out loud, but he loved it whenever Haruki buttered him up or showed him off to people, even if it was just to humor his friend. Afterwards, Haru would always throw Ken the most brazen expression he could muster, grinning as if he had done no wrong.

Kentaro had expected a similar reaction after Haruki had finished showering him with praise, but... that wasn't what happened.

Catching the redhead's gaze, Haruki offered a small smile before looking away again, his attention now drawn to the crumpled juice box in his hands. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't have thought much about his reaction.

But Ginger knew better. And right now, it was painfully clear that his best friend's smile wasn't as genuine as he pretended it to be.

"And now I'm curious," Fumiye remarked, bringing Kentaro back from his reverie and successfully diverting his eyes away from Fukuda. "I've only known Haruki for a month, and he doesn't dish out compliments easily like that. So it's either you're really talented or he's just being a good friend."

“Hey,” Haruki grumbled in mock offense. “You just haven’t seen his work, so zip it.”

"He's definitely just saying things," Kentaro chuckled, responding to the girl's earlier comment.

"Oh, really?" Haruki looked at Ginger this time, his lips stretched into a rather smug grin that made the redhead suddenly question his life choices. As relieved as he was that his friend had quickly returned to his usual self, Kentaro wasn't sure if that was cause for joy in this moment. The expression Haruki currently wore meant that he was plotting something.

"Hmm," Atsushi broke the deadlock between the two with a sigh before crossing his arms suspiciously. "I don't know whether I'm more curious about Nomura's talent or more intrigued by his lack of reaction to Fukuda's dreadful nickname."

Everyone: "........."

Count on Atsushi Hanasaki to suddenly bring up things he probably shouldn't have.

***

Kentaro's top priority after school was to visit his homeroom teacher's office.

Mr. Hagiwara didn't keep him for long, only inquiring about his first day and offering a few pointers regarding their study guide before sending the teenager on his way. O-soji had already begun, and Ken was relieved to find that there wasn't much work left to do upon his return, thanks to his considerate classmates. Don't get him wrong, he hadn't wanted to slack off or anything. He had actually tried to help with the cleaning before even visiting Mr. Hagiwara's office.

It's just that his classmates weren't particularly keen on him working due to his injury...

Nevertheless, he dutifully picked up a discarded broom upon his return to assist with the sweeping, ensuring that he didn't appear too useless.

"You could have just left, you know," Ayuka, who was also on sweeping duty, commented as soon as she was within Ginger's hearing range.

Kentaro chuckled at that remark but continued sweeping nonetheless. "Can't afford to slack off on my first day. That wouldn't create a good impression."

"No one's thinking that."

"How would you know?" Kentaro raised an eyebrow challengingly.

The girl sighed and was about to respond when another familiar voice chimed in, clearly having overheard part of their conversation.

"Oi, new guy, the heck are you doing, bro?" came Hayatou Fujioka's complaint.

Caught off guard, Kentaro flinched before casting a startled glance at the approaching teenager. "Cleaning, just like everyone else—"

"No," the other boy firmly snatched the broom right out of Kentaro's hands, rendering Ginger momentarily speechless. Rubbing the space between his brows with a free hand, Fujioka reminded him, "Look, you're injured, dude. You can't be carelessly straining your arm."

These people, seriously... As if to prove a point, Kentaro stretched out his plastered arm and waved it around, wiggling his fingers with unnecessary vigor. "It's already healed, see?"

"If that were true, then it wouldn't still be in a cast, now would it?" Hayatou pointed out matter-of-factly, successfully winning the argument. Once a certain surnamed Nomura had nothing more to say, Hayatou's attention then shifted to Ayuka, who had also stopped sweeping due to his interference. Without saying a word, he reached out his other hand to collect the broom from her as well.

"I know where the janitor's closet is," Ayuka deadpanned simply.

Hayatou's lips curled into an incredulous smile. "I'm trying to help you out here."

Raising her chin defiantly, the girl said, "Thanks, but I won't get lost."

Kentaro suppressed the snicker that almost escaped his lips. He couldn't see the eyes hidden behind those tinted lenses, but the amusement in Ayuka's tone was evident.

"You really..." Hayatou dragged a hand down his face, attempting to reason. "Why do you always treat me like something you found stuck under your boot? I'm trying to be nice."

"Which is appreciated, although very much unneeded."

Kentaro observed their pointless back-and-forth until Ayuka finally relented and handed over the broom, though accompanied by some mumbled grievances. He also noted Hayatou's brief victorious smile, quickly hidden behind a serious façade as he turned to leave and finish the remaining cleaning, throwing the brooms towards those who'd really been slacking off.

"Is he the class rep?" Ginger had to ask.

"He wishes," Ayuka scoffed as they both turned to get their belongings ready, compulsory cleaning neared its end. "But no, he refused to become one because of the tiresome duties. He does help whenever he can, though."

Kentaro nodded in understanding, his mind partially occupied with Ayuka and Hayatou's recent conversation. He didn't know how else to broach the subject, so he decided to dive right into it before his confidence waned. "So, hey... have you always known Fujioka?"

Ayuka's movements paused, if only for a fleeting moment, before she responded with an indifferent shrug. "We attended the same middle school, but we weren't close enough to be considered friends. We only bumped into each other outside of class, mostly by chance. It made sense since he was one of the popular kids."

"Oh."

"I wasn't lying when I said it was only the second time we spoke earlier," Ayuka continued, still avoiding eye contact as she suddenly developed an interest in the straps of her bag resting on her desk. "My senior year in middle school wasn't a particularly... happy one, and I guess you could say Hayatou was there to see it. He wasn't directly involved in my problems, nor did he try to help, which is fine. He didn't need to; we weren't friends."

Recalling the moments when Hayatou's expression would playfully shift or subtly soften whenever he interacted with Ayuka or caught sight of her from afar, Kentaro had a thought that slipped out unintentionally. "Maybe he regrets that now and genuinely wants to befriend you this time around."

It was only after he felt Ayuka's gaze on him that he realized he had spoken aloud. He couldn't read her, and it didn't help that the girl knew how to maintain a stoic demeanor when she wanted to. Fortunately, Ayuka didn't seem displeased as she sighed and looked away once more, her eyes landing on a familiar noisy figure who was still pestering people to pack away their cleaning materials once they were done.

The ginger-haired teen wasn’t certain if any more of his comments would be welcome, thus he also quietly waited for the official dismissal from their homeroom teacher who’d gone to be collected.

"Well, he hasn't outed me yet, so I hope you're right," Ayuka's voice was so low that Ginger almost couldn't catch her words, especially since it had seemed like she had nothing more to say.

Although Ken didn't understand what she was referring to, he didn't get the chance to ask because Ayuka spoke again, this time loud enough for him to hear.

"Your neighbors in the front also went to the same school as me," she said, her lips curling into a bitter smirk. "We were actually best friends, the three of us. Until my life turned upside down, and they decided abandoning me was the better option. As you've probably noticed, they still hate me."

Kentaro was a little curious about what had happened to this seemingly cheerful girl that made her bitter about her junior high school experience. However, Ayuka's indirect way of explaining things made it clear that she didn't want him to know, so he refrained from asking. Whether or not she would decide to share the details with him in the future would be her choice.

Perhaps she'd even shared this much because they were still practically strangers to each other. Confiding in strangers seemed like an easier choice at times, since one would receive less judgement from a person who didn’t know enough about them or their background.

"I see," Ginger nodded, his gaze drifting to the empty spaces in front of him. He had already dismissed any possibility of befriending Bullies 1 and 2 the moment they started spouting nonsense about his desk mate that morning, so he didn't particularly care about them anyway.

"Enough of my depressing stories," Ayuka's expression turned kind again as she focused her attention back on him. "What about you and Fukuda? Have you been friends for a long time? He called you 'best friends,' so I assume you are."

"Basically since we started middle school," Kentaro grinned. Anything related to Haruki automatically brought him joy, and the heavy topic from before was quickly forgotten.

Ayuka seemed to notice this too, as she let out a small chuckle at his dopey expression. "You guys seem like the type who hit it off right away. Have you ever had a fight?"

"It wouldn't be true friendship if we hadn't. We were at each other's throats before we even exchanged names," Kentaro laughed, and now it was his turn to share some of his middle school experiences with Ayuka.

~~~~~~