"……"
"Eh—"
Natsukawa sat down to my left, leaving a small gap between us. A bento box wrapped in a cute cloth rested on her lap. In response, the laptop balanced on my knees drifted into sleep mode, as if sensing the mood. Wait. Don't go. Wake back up.
She felt bad about making me work alone; I got that. So she tried to contribute in her own way—a true Goddess. The classroom wasn't open, so she searched the area for a bit—wait, what? She found me and decided to sit right here—but why?
"Uh, Natsukawa...? You don't have to stay here, you know? Even if I called it work, it’s just something I’m doing by myself."
"Eh......"
"No, well... I'm going to be tied up with this. I won't be able to talk much... and, well, I’d feel bad making you wait."
My goal was to finish this during the lunch break. I figured it would be a breeze if I focused on it alone, but trying to work while someone was sitting right there was a different story. I appreciated the consideration, but the guilt was real.
"......I-It's fine..."
"Oh, okay..."
...Wait, what did "it's fine" mean? What was the nuance there?
Did she mean she was planning to go back even if I didn't say anything? Or that she was okay with the silence? Was she telling me not to worry about her? If she meant "I’ll endure it!" then I was moved to the point that my tears would make the mouse cursor start doing shadow clones.
Unable to hide my agitation, I unlocked the laptop. Despite the lack of focus, I tried to keep the task at hand in mind and moved my fingers. Let's see, I didn't click anything weird while I was panicking, right...? Just to be safe, I opened the "Verified" folder again and—
"............So this is the kind of thing you're doing."
"O-Oh, yeah..."
Natsukawa peered at the screen from the side. Her hair draped down, brushing against my shoulder, and a faint, sweet scent wafted toward me. This was surely the end of my life.
"............!"
Next to me, Natsukawa pulled the knot on her bento wrap. Wait, hold on. I didn't think the issue was whether she was okay with not talking. Just having Natsukawa next to me made it impossible to concentrate. Thinking about it rationally, what kind of guy could focus on a screen while alone with such a cute girl—the person he loved, no less? Was I supposed to be an ascetic monk?
This was it. The moment. Now was the time to use what I had learned before Summer Vacation at that dojo-like place at Shinomiya-senpai's house. He was a stubborn old man, but what he said sounded legitimate. This was the moment to empty my mind—Haaaaaaa...!
───────────────────────────
"Wataru, say aaan..."
"Aaan..."
───────────────────────────
Hey, swap places with me, other me.
You bastard, why were you getting fed a rolled omelet "aaan" style by Natsukawa? Did you think that was allowed while leaving the real me behind? Just because you were my inner self didn't mean there weren't lines you shouldn't cross. Why were you opening your mouth so enthusiastically? It was gross. Go to the dentist and use some mouthwash before you even think about coming back.
"Wa-Wataru..."
"Yeah, what—eh?"
As I moved my hands while swelling with resentment, Natsukawa suddenly called my name. I turned to the left without thinking, only to find her holding something out in front of me with her chopsticks, using her other hand as a tray underneath.
"Eh, wait, what?"
"Y-You don't have to stop working. J-Just open your mouth."
"Eh!? What!? What is this!?"
"J-Just do it."
It was too close for me to tell what she was offering. I could see it was something greenish. I didn't want it if it was something I hated, so I asked in a panic, but Natsukawa didn't answer. Instead, she moved the tips of the chopsticks closer, as if to rush me.
"Geez, hurry up..."
"A-Ah, mgh!"
Since she sounded a bit annoyed, I hurriedly took it into my mouth. Something entered. Perhaps because I was so flustered, I couldn't really tell what it was even as it rolled over my tongue. I could tell it was something slightly firm. It was only when I bit down with my back teeth that I finally realized its identity.
"..................Is this... bitter melon?"
".........How is it?"
"Ugh............ It's bitter, but maybe not............"
"It's not bitter."
".........It's definitely a bit—"
"It's not bitter."
"Ngh..."
The crunching texture resonated from my mouth to my ears. It seemed she had worked hard so that even Airi-chan could eat it, but it appeared that erasing the flavor of the ingredient itself wasn't that simple. The more I chewed, the more the unique bitterness of the goya spread faintly from the back of my throat. Natsukawa kept talking to me as if casting a spell of suggestion.
After several chews, I managed to swallow it. When I looked at Natsukawa with a face that was on the verge of tears, I saw her smiling with satisfaction.
"Hehe, see? You can eat it after all."
"Why did you do that...?"
"You won't get enough nutrients if you only eat bread, right?"
"It's bitter..."
"Honestly... you're hopeless like that."
"I guess it can't be helped," Natsukawa added with a small giggle. This was strange... my heart was throbbing. Shouldn't I have been getting mad because I was forced to eat something bitter that I hated? But she was just so incredibly cute. I felt like I wanted to trade places with Airi-chan. This was dangerous.
"Work. You're going to do it, right? Come on, why don't you get back to it?"
"W-Wait a second... Can you stop getting the next piece of goya ready? At least mix it with some of the egg that's in there—"
"Don't look over here. Look. At. Your. Com. Pu. Ter."
"U-Ugh..."
"Now, next."
I turned my eyes back to the screen. After moving my hands for a bit, I was urged to "open up" again. With faint hope, I took a bite, and as expected, the same bitterness as before spread through my mouth. I managed to chew and swallow, and then she held another piece out to me. I took it and chewed, and it was still bitter. I managed to swallow. It was so bitter... I wanted at least some egg. Even just the scrambled fragments mixed into the goya chanpuru would be enough. Just that would make my mouth happy—happy?
..................
Calm down. Calm down, me.
Wait? What was I doing right now? Or rather, what was Natsukawa doing? Wait, that just now was that thing, right? Did she not just perform the legendary feat of youth—the "aaan"? Eh? Why was I naturally taking bites like that?
"......"
"Hehe, it's all gone now."
Wait, Natsukawa-san? What was with that incredibly natural attitude? Was there no embarrassment or awkwardness in that series of actions? She was just... cute. Was it just me? Was I the only one so conscious of it and this flustered? Seriously? Was she really that unaware of me? To what extent did she not see me as a member of the opposite sex?
"Uugh..."
I was touched and my heart was racing, but it was bitter in two different ways. I took a small bottle of tea out of the plastic bag in my bag and washed it down. Tea after bitterness was the ultimate mismatch.
"I'm going to work..."
"Geez, my bad."
Well, I guess I should have been grateful that our relationship had recovered from being rejected and hated to this point. Even if she didn't see me as a guy, it was a luxury to be given a portion of Natsukawa's bento. I felt like I wouldn't be able to go on if I let myself get shocked by something like this... Let's pull myself together. Let's work.
"—Ah..."
"'Ah'? Did something happen, Natsukawa?"
"Heh...!? A-Uh, no! I-It's nothing!"
"Is that so?"
Thinking she might have dropped some of her food, I looked down while my hands kept moving on the laptop. It would have been stupid for me to be the only one acting suspicious. While trying not to look at Natsukawa's knees peeking out from her skirt, I checked the floor, but nothing had fallen.
............?
"Hmm," I wondered, trying not to look directly at Natsukawa. I felt like Natsukawa's hand hadn't moved while she was still holding her chopsticks. Was she planning on giving me all the goya and not eating anything herself? Ah, maybe she was being considerate of me?
Thinking that was likely the case, I looked over and saw Natsukawa staring intensely at a piece of tamagoyaki held in her chopsticks, frozen still.
"Um, Natsukawa? Please go ahead and eat. Don't worry about me."
"Eh!? A-Eh, um, that is!"
"Eh, what? What's wrong?"
"I-I'll eat the rest in the classroom!"
"Eh."
Natsukawa hurriedly packed up. In the blink of an eye, she rewrapped the bento box, hugged it tightly with both arms, and fled back toward the classroom. I was left dazed by the sudden turn of events. Given how flustered she was, maybe she had a promise that was more important than being here with me.
It was a bittersweet, dream-like time. After that, my work proceeded without a hitch, and I was able to finish it before the fifth period began.