Without a hint of self-consciousness or concern for the three stunned spectators, Sara continued her conversation with Takanashi-kun as she always did.
"Kazunari-san, did you eat a proper dinner? Cup ramen is a no-no, okay?"
Thud, thud, thud!
The three girls who had been perched on the bed toppled over in perfect unison, crashing to the floor. It was the kind of exaggerated reaction you’d see from a comedy trio, and quite frankly, it was hilarious to watch.
"Wh-wh-wha..."
"She said 'no-no'... She actually said 'no-no,' didn't she? This has to be a dream... That’s Satsukawa-san we're talking about."
"H-hey, am I hallucinating?"
"Satsukawa-san is being so incredibly sweet... What am I even seeing...?"
They began whispering to each other with frantic intensity. Well, that was to be expected.
"That's good to hear. I'm sorry, but please bear with it for just one week. When I get back, I'll make plenty of all your favorite things, Kazunari-san."
Completely ignoring the rest of us, Sara continued to drop bombs without making the slightest effort to hide her true nature. It was the kind of impact that threatened to shatter the untouchable image she had cultivated until now into a million pieces.
"......Hey, did she just say something totally insane?"
"Yeah. Hey, Natsumi, did we mishear that? The way she said it makes it sound like Satsukawa-san is actually cooking meals for Takanashi-kun?"
"No comment."
"No way! Satsukawa-san cooking for a guy... if the other boys found out, they’d be doing a lot more than just crying!"
"I’m starting to think... this conversation is getting seriously dangerous."
"H-how many boys are going to fall into total despair if this gets out...?"
It seemed the reality of the situation had finally set in. The three of them resumed their frantic discussion, completely forgetting about the sweets they had been reaching for. And it looked like they had finally realized: the more they knew, the more hazardous this information became.
If word of this got out, "despair" wouldn't even cover it. The school would descend into total chaos.
I had intended to keep it a secret for as long as possible—at least until I heard a declaration of determination from Takanashi-kun himself to face every boy in school as his enemy. But honestly, seeing how the two of them didn't have the slightest intention of hiding it, I was starting to feel like a fool for worrying.
"It’s been a while since I last looked at amulets at a shrine, but they had so many cute ones that I impulsively wanted to buy all of them."
While the three girls panicked over the gravity of the situation and I looked on with a flat expression, the conversation on the phone shifted toward the shrine visit. They were talking about the amulets now.
For the record, the reason I had pushed that specific amulet on Sara was my way of thanking her for bringing up Tachibana-kun's name earlier. I couldn't wait to see how Takanashi-kun would react when he saw it.
"I-I understand. I'm very curious, but if you don't want to tell me, Sara-san, I won't ask."
"Don't want to tell you? Ah! Th-that's a misunderstanding! It's not that I don't want to! It's just that it feels a bit premature to talk about the future... but even so, the desire to eventually reach that point is... Hah!? O-oh, Kazunari-san, you're making me so embarrassed..."
Sara worked herself into a private panic, her face turning a deep shade of crimson as she hung her head.
"Heeeeeeee!"
Watching Sara’s display, Yuri suddenly let out a strangled shriek and collapsed, rolling around on the floor while clutching her face. What was wrong with this girl?
Looking closer, however, the other two were also blushing furiously, shaking their heads back and forth like children throwing a tantrum.
"L-listening to this is so embarrassiiiiiing!"
"Satsukawa-san turned into a moe character!?"
"I-it's too much! Sara-tan is so cuuuuute!!"
"Seriously, who is that!? That's not the Satsukawa-san we know!"
"The Satsukawa-san I know would never make a voice like that for a guy!"
"No, forget that, look at the amulet! She’s actually serious about that!?"
"Wait! We’re still high school students!"
Ah, they had finally hit their limit. The three of them were panicking for an entirely different reason now. They were making a massive scene, desperately pressing towels and pillows against their faces to muffle their screams while they thrashed about.
Honestly, listening to those two talk made me want to curl up and hide, too. Even though I’d built up a tolerance, being subjected to this every single time was exhausting. To think, I was actually happy for them when they first started dating...
"Me too. It's frustrating that I can't reach out and touch you... But when I get back, I'm going to give you so many hugs to make up for all the time we've been apart."
"Gah!?"
Just as Yuri looked like she had coughed up her very soul, she flopped back onto the floor and started convulsing. Well, I was glad to have company in my misery. At this point, I might as well just embrace the absurdity.
"Yu-Yuri!"
"Pull yourself together! Don't you dare escape this alone!"
"I can't take it anymore... What is this conversation? That's not the Satsukawa-san I know..."
"I'm looking forward to it too. Well then, Kazunari-san, good night... I love you... mwah..."
"""Gah!?"""
Yuri, who had just managed to sit up, vomited invisible sugar again. Right on cue, the other two followed suit, gasping as if their hearts had stopped. They collapsed in a heap on the floor, twitching in silence... until eventually, they went still.
Was I watching a comedy routine?
"Sigh... I miss Kazunari-san already. Oh? Is something wrong, everyone?"
Returning from the sweet afterglow of the call, Sara noticed the devastation in the room and tilted her head in confusion.
"No, this is entirely your fault," I deadpanned.
"??"
Her lack of self-awareness was as formidable as ever. She simply blinked at me, clearly having no idea why I’d say such a thing. You really are on another level, Sara...
A short while later, the three girls managed to resurrect themselves. They stood up on shaky legs, leaning on each other for support as they shuffled back to their own rooms for a moment. Once they had successfully evaded the teacher's lights out patrol, they sneaked back in.
"I thought I was going to die from a sugar overdose..."
"What we saw earlier was just a hallucination, right? Tell me it was a hallucination."
"Satsukawa-san's personality changed way too much..."
"I don't quite understand the confusion. I was simply having a normal conversation with Kazunari-san."
For Sara, that was their standard interaction. She hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. That was why she looked so genuinely bewildered when they pointed out how she had been acting.
"......Wait, 'normal'? It's always like that?"
"Yes. I wasn't doing anything special."
"A-always... you say things like that?"
"Like 'no-no,' or 'let's have plenty of hugs'..."
"By 'hug,' do you mean a real hug?"
"Well, yes. It means I hold Kazunari-san tight, of course."
"B-by the way, what exactly does that feel like?"
For some reason, Yuri suddenly switched to overly polite formal speech as she dove headfirst into a topic the rest of us would have avoided. What a total daredevil.
"What it feels like? Well... I wrap my arms around him and squeeze... Fufu. I’ve heard that men have an interest in chests, and Kazunari-san always looks so happy when I do that for him. Though, he did get up to a bit of mischief the other day..."
Sara’s cheeks flushed a brilliant vermilion as she started to fidget bashfully.
"Mischief? ......As in, a prank!?"
"Eeeeee! Wait, Satsukawa-san, why are you blushing!? What did he do to your boobs!?"
"Noooooo! Our untouchable Satsukawa-san is crumbling because she's blushing about a boy touching her chest!?"
"W-wait a minute, Sara! I didn't hear anything about this!"
I couldn't help but jump in. That was too scandalous to ignore. T-Takanashi-kun actually played a prank on Sara’s chest!? Mischief... what exactly did he do!?
"No, it was just... Kazunari-san rubbed his face against my chest... and well, I was a bit embarrassed myself. That's why I had to tell him that being naughty was a no-no... But if Kazunari-san wants to do it, I want to let him. Besides, when I hug him, he snuggles into me and acts so spoiled, even if he looks a bit shy about it! It's so incredibly cute that I just end up stroking his head and saying 'there, there' while..."
"""Gah!?"""
The image of Sara talking so blissfully about her life with Takanashi-kun was the final straw. The three girls coughed up another invisible soul and collapsed once more. I really wondered what exactly it was they were spitting out.
Wait, that didn't matter right now!
T-this was bad. I was certain they were in a platonic relationship, but wasn't their physical contact escalating? Since Sara’s default setting was to allow him anything... I was going to have to have a serious talk with Takanashi-kun later!
"When I give Kazunari-san a lap pillow, he falls asleep almost instantly. His sleeping face is so innocent and precious that... well, I can't help but want to kiss him. Since we haven't had our first kiss yet, I just settle for his cheek... mwah."
Sara’s "I love Kazunari-san" monologue showed no signs of stopping. The three girls were already down, but Sara kept kicking them while they were paralyzed, occasionally making them twitch with her verbal attacks.
"P-please... have mercy..."
"T-Takanashi-kun is a very lucky man, isn't he...?"
"I understood perfectly just how much you adore him, Satsukawa-san..."
"Eh? Wh-well, when you put it like that, it's embarrassing for me too... But... I just love him so much ♥"
"""Kuboa!?"""
Spitting out something for a third time, the three of them went completely limp.
"D-don't ask her anything else..."
"I... I didn't even ask... she just started talking..."
"I-I never imagined Satsukawa-san could change this much."
"I refuse to believe it! This isn't the Satsukawa-san we know!"
They were groaning as they pinched their cheeks and rubbed their eyes, but unfortunately for them, this was neither a dream nor a hallucination. I understood their disbelief, but this was the real Sara.
"Pant... pant..."
"That was... so rough. I’ve never heard love talk that was so physically taxing..."
"That wasn't love talk. That was just Satsukawa-san bragging about her boyfriend."
"That’s the point. Satsukawa-san bragging is a world-ending event..."
Ignoring the three girls who were already in a daze, Sara—having finished her gushing—was happily sipping on some Oolong tea. Just as the rest of us were starting to regain our composure and reach for the snacks again, Yuri stood up.
"Alright, let's pull ourselves together and get back to the love talk."
"Eeeeee, you still want more?"
"I’m full... I feel like my stomach is going to explode..."
"You idiots! Natsumi’s interrogation isn't over yet!"
Eeeeee!?
Sh-she hadn't forgotten? I thought for sure we’d be done after Sara’s performance... But even if they wanted to talk about me, I really didn't have anything that interesting to say.
"Oh yeah! We still have that!"
"Satsukawa-san’s shock was so big I almost forgot."
I decided to make a break for it while the three of them were getting worked up. I confirmed no one was looking and slowly started to slide off the bed... Wait, three people?
Grab.
Something firmly gripped my arm, halting my escape. I knew exactly who it was. The only person who could move that fast was Sara. Wh-when did she get so close!?
"Natsumi, it seems everyone wants to hear from you as well, you know? Besides, this is a good opportunity, so I’d like to hear it too. How exactly are things progressing with Tachibana-san?"
Stop being so direct with his name!
"Hey, hey, Satsukawa-san, who is this Tachibana-san?"
"He's Kazunari-san’s best friend. He’s a very loyal person who supported Kazunari-san back in their middle school days."
In that moment, I realized a terrifying truth. No matter how much I tried to run, as long as I didn't shut Sara’s mouth, she was going to expose everything in the worst way possible. I had no choice.
"Heh... so, what’s the deal with them?"
"That’s what I don't quite understand. They’re clearly very close, so I’m quite curious myself."
"Oho... Natsumi..."
"No, well..."
What was I supposed to do? Honestly, since Tachibana-kun goes to a different school, we mostly just talk on RAIN. We’ve only actually met in person a few times. But I had to admit, he was probably the boy I was closest to.
I panicked, unable to even think of a way to change the subject. I had just decided that a vague, harmless answer was my best bet... but Sara wasn't done.
"I don't really know either," I said.
"Is that so? But didn't you feed Tachibana-san 'ahn' the other day? I’ve never seen you act so intimately with a man before, Natsumi. Not to mention, you always seem to find time to talk to him alone."
My fears were confirmed. Sara’s accidental exposure had begun. Why did I do that...? And more importantly, she noticed the stuff that happened after that, too!?
"Th-that was just the heat of the moment! Besides, you were doing a lot more than just 'ahn', weren't you? You were literally wiping the food off his mouth!"
"I do that all the time. But Kazunari-san and I are lovers, you see?"
"You were doing it before you were lovers, too!"
"That was just me being unaware of my own feelings. I’ve adored Kazunari-san since the moment we met. Now that I think about it, you’ve been close with Tachibana-san since we went to the pool, haven't you? You two were running around holding hands and playing together."
"That was just because I was trying to leave you two alone, so I dragged Tachibana-kun away!"
"Was it? You were gripping his hand quite firmly, and you seemed so lively while you were teasing him."
"Urk..."
"You should just be honest about it if you like him, Natsumi. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a wonderful thing. You do like Tachibana-san, don't you?"
"I-I told you, I don't know! I mean, I’m definitely interested in him, and he’s the guy I’m closest to... Ah!?"
The sight of the three girls smirking at me brought my rational mind back into focus. I realized we had just been having an exposure battle. I’d been swept up in Sara’s pace and lost my cool, completely forgetting my plan to just brush them off.
"...Oho, Natsumi is enjoying the spring of her youth."
"...'Ahn,' she says. My, my, Natsumi-san went on a date in a swimsuit holding hands."
"...I can't believe even Natsumi has mastered the Lovey-dovey Wave."
Ugh... I ended up telling them everything.
Realizing I had suffered a total defeat at Sara’s hands, I desperately tried to think of a way to survive the embarrassment. But before I could, Yuri’s smartphone suddenly blared—the lights out patrol alarm. The teachers were coming, so the party had to end immediately.
Suddenly, it was just Sara and me in the room. A strange silence settled over us, as if the chaos from moments ago had never happened.
"Fufu... Natsumi, you've done so much for me regarding Kazunari-san, so please feel free to talk to me whenever you need advice, okay?"
Sara’s parting words before we went to bed were so embarrassing I didn't even know how to respond.
And so, having survived the climax of the very first night, I settled in to sleep... but not before sneaking a quick RAIN message to Tachibana-kun.
Good grief... I’m exhausted.