HA! I managed to finish it before the deadline!
...
It's a bit shorter than last chapter, but here's Chapter 10.
A quick note:
I'm sure you know what "dayone" means (da-yo-ne, not day1). As for seiza... it's a kind of formal way of sitting.
[~ Iroha POV ~]
"Isshiki-san! Please go out with me!"
"I'm sorry."
During the lunch break on Monday, three days after I had cooked Doria for Senpai, I was confessed to by a male classmate.
Though, for the whole of last week, there had been no such thing.
"Reason… please tell me the reason! If there's something wrong with me then please let me know and I'll try my best to…!"
"No, no, in the first place, I don't even really know you that well. Furthermore, I currently don't have any intention of going out with anyone, since I'm busy preparing for exams."
The boy cringed at my tone of voice that was even more detached than usual.
Usually, I'd have properly rejected him with just a simple "I'm sorry, I'm busy with exams, so I do not wish to go out with anyone at this point in time".
I'd inadvertently used such a crude rejection this time around.
With a "Then, I'll be leaving", I promptly bowed and left before he could get any more words in.
"Haa…"
While letting out a deep sigh, I moved towards the area that I'd lately started favouring for eating lunch at.
Recently, the classroom had become a source of constant annoyance.
When I arrived, I found Ayane and Haruka waiting for me.
"Iroha, you look really tired today. Are you sure you're doing fine by yourself?"
"That's so true, Iroha! Did something weird happen again?"
During the period I had been receiving multiple confessions, I had enlisted their services in helping keep would-be confessors away.
It doesn't get any easier, rejecting someone. I probably got a bit more depressed every time I had to do it.
I laughed internally.
Come to think of it, I wonder just how many times I've 'rejected' Senpai? Though, they weren't really serious rejections, and I don't think he ever took them seriously anyway.
"The opponent was just one person this time, so it's nothing much to worry about, Haruka."
I'm not too sure why, but Haruka appeared to have this burning sense of justice to protect me from unwanted attention.
"Well, if nothing happened then I suppose it's okay… anyway, since Iroha is here, isn't time for our usual ceremony?"
Ayane and Haruka made eye contact, and then said in unison,
" "It's fun time again!" "
As always, they're enjoying themselves, huh.
By 'fun time, these two obviously meant that it was once again time to hear about what happened during my most recent tuition session.
Every lunch break following a tuition session, these two would jump at the opportunity to hear the most recent developments from me.
Although I had initially resisted, I had been soon forced to give in, since it was these two after all.
As I've said before… if it was anyone else, there's no way I'd have been this open about it.
" "Then! What happened on Friday?!" "
The Haruka who was so devoted to protecting me a short while ago, what happened to her?
"Well… I… made dinner."
…
Their eyes started shining already.
…
"And… Senpai… ate it."
" "Ohh!" "
"Taking steps to capture the stomach first, as expected of Iroha!"
"Then! Senpai's response? What was his response?!"
Haruka was starting to lean forwards in excitement.
"Wai- Haruka, you're getting too close! Senpai's response was… well, un. I guess… he praised my cooking and called it delicious? … Ehehe."
Recalling his words even now still caused me to loosen my cheeks happily.
"…Neeh. Haruka-san?"
"…What is it, Ayane-san?"
Eh, is something wrong?
The two people were now trembling with their heads facing downwards.
I'm somewhat terrified.
"Hey, isn't this girl a little too cute!?"
"Dayo ne! It's too bad for Hikigaya-senpai, but I kind of want to take her for myself!"
"Ehh? What are you two- wait! Haruka! Don't jump on me!"
~A few minutes later~
" "We're very sorry for our actions." "
The two of them were now apologetically sitting in front of me in the seiza position.
"Honestly… I expected as much from Ayane, but just now, weren't you using the confusion just now to try touch me someplace strange, Haruka?"
"No, that is… I was just trying to commemorate my dear friend taking her first steps onto the stairway to adulthood."
"Iroha-san, this person hasn't fully repented. Please continue her punishment."
"Ayane!?"
Before I knew it, Ayane had gotten up and was now standing next to me, looking down at Haruka while shaking her head.
"Ha… well, that's enough. Just be more careful from now on, okay?"
" "Hai~" "
Ayane usually sports a calm demeanour, but when we're playing around, she kind of feels like a daughter when she lets her true emotions come to the surface.
The unexpected change in attitudes would, if known publicly, almost certainly affect her popularity with the males, for better or for worse.
Haruka, on the other hand… well, she's always like this.
My mind is always at peace when I'm with these two.
Even though I had put up an angry front earlier, I wasn't really angry at all.
Those two had played along, knowing this.
Honestly, I truly do have good friends…
…
As lunch break was about to end, the two of us returned to the classroom.
Hmm… I seem to have forgotten something…
"Ah, actually, come to think of it, there was one more thing. Next time I'm supposed to go over to Senpai's place for the lesson."
" "Let's hear the story in detail." "
"…Class is about to start, we need to hurry up!"
"Ah, Iroha ran away again!"
"We'll definitely get the full story from you afterwards, okay?"
We ran back to the classroom in high spirits.
Silly exchanges like these between friends were really a lot of fun.
Now my primary source of motivation for studying was from Senpai, but before that, I had always been supported by these two.
More importantly, for not revealing my embarrassing secrets in public, I really thank the two of you!
"Hey! You, don't run in the hallway!"
"Ah, it's Hiratsuka-sensei!"
"If it's Hiratsuka-sensei, then if we just sacrifice Iroha I'm sure it'll be alright!"
…Huh?
"Noo~ I don't want to go to cram school! I want to hear the full story from Iroha!"
"Enough of that, hurry up and get going. You're going to be late you know?"
The station Haruka was going to was in the opposite direction of the school gate, but we were saying our farewells at the school gate anyway.
"Uu… Ayane, I'll have to leave the rest to you…"
"Just go already."
"You need to tell me the details by email, okay! Well then, bye bye!"
Saying that, Haruka rushed off to cram school.
If you were in that much of a hurry, you should have left faster…
"Well then. We should get going too. While I listen to Iroha's full story, of course."
"Of course it'd still happen, huh."
"Wasn't it obvious? Considering that my friend is slowly climbing the stairs to adulthood, and may even truly be an adult by the next time we meet."
"E-eh!? There's no way that'd be the case!"
"…I wasn't really referring to anything in particular, though? Just what did Iroha think I meant, hmm, I wonder~"
"Eh? Ah, no, that is… I mean, I wasn't…"
"Ahahaha, I'm sorry. Lately you've been acting so much like a lovestruck maiden that I just couldn't help but make that teasing remark."
"Mou…!"
Though she continued to tease me in this way, I told Ayane the complete story of how the arrangement to go to Senpai's house had come about.
"Woww. Good job getting that to happen, Iroha. Or, actually, how should I say, if you went that far, surely Hikigaya-senpai should have noticed something by now?"
"Well, about that… I don't know if my past interactions with him are partly to blame… but Senpai is still pretty insensitive to such things."
"If it's like that, then he really goes beyond simply amazement or admiration. If he wasn't the person that you loved so much, I'm sure that I would have stabbed him by now..."
A few minutes later, I separated from Ayane when we reached the station.
I smiled to myself throughout the entire train journey as I thought about the imminent visit…
Next chapter Soon (tm)
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How soon, you ask?
Even I don't know.