“Mika, are you listening?”
“Uh? Ah, yes. I’m listening, Haruna-chan.”
With a giggle, Haruna grabs my hands, intertwining our fingers. But why does it feel like she’s trying to prevent me from escaping this time?
It’s not like I’m ever going to run away from Haruna—
“How about trying a bit of this cheese cream ginger tart? It tastes amazing!”
“…Huh?”
“Come on, ahng~!”
Haruna presents a tart that looks somewhat bizarre.
…This is going to end badly if I eat it.
Instinctively, I jerked up, but despite my will, my mouth opened naturally.
The bizarre… no, horrifyingly grotesque tart slithers its way between my lips.
The moment the cheese cream whatever touches my tongue, it feels like I’ve been zapped with electricity…
“Mika…”
*
“Ugh, cough, cough!”
I startled awake. Thankfully, I couldn’t taste anything on the tip of my tongue.
Well, to be precise, I could taste something. Unfortunately, it was the taste of blood.
After the cough had subsided, I looked around.
This wasn’t the last place I remembered. Unlike my memories of getting stuffed beside a train after the fierce clash with Vina, this was definitely indoors.
What happened? Did Vina succeed in hunting? What about the destruction of the Oparats?
As those questions whirled in my head, I turned towards the warmth I felt in my hands, revealing Hina sitting beside me, tightly gripping my hands.
“…Mika, are you awake?”
“Hina-chan? Where am I…”
“This is the underground facility connected to the ruins entrance. It’s just a passage between the outside and the ruins.”
Looking around, just as Hina said, there was nothing particularly special about the place. I was lying on an improvised bed made from a flat, hard surface topped with a sleeping bag.
“What about Vina…”
“Shh. Mika, I’ll answer all your questions, but just stay quiet and rest for now. It won’t be long before you’ll want to move around anyway, so just chill until that time comes. Please, I’m asking you.”
Hina’s violet eyes looked at me with utmost sincerity. She must have worried about me more than anyone else did while I was out cold.
“First off, Vina succeeded in subjugating. As for the corpse… or should I say, the remains, we can’t handle that right now, so it’s been left alone, and there haven’t been any reinforcements sent from the Saint Nephthys side. We captured one of their commanding officers during the battle, and the teacher is currently interrogating him.”
After looking at her phone to check the time, Hina turned off the screen and held my hands tightly with both of hers.
“Mika, you’ve been out for just over four hours. Your condition at that time was much better than we thought, but…”
“But…?”
“You don’t listen even when I tell you not to… Overall, your body is in quite good shape. Nothing majorly wrong. Maybe it’s because you’re a fool, but luckily, you’re strong like a fool…”
“Hahaha…”
“Don’t laugh. It doesn’t mean there aren’t any injuries.”
Hina’s hand moved from mine and landed on my wings.
I glanced at that area and noticed bandages wrapped around it. Hina gently caressed my wings.
“Your feathers are all damaged. You won’t be able to see your pretty wings for a while.”
“…Huh?”
“Some feathers had melted decorations that hardened into place, so we had to pull some out.”
“Ugh, umm. It’s not as severe as I imagined, but it still hurts a bit…”
As those words slipped from my lips, Hina’s devil-like eyes glared at me menacingly. I instantly realized I had made a slip of the tongue.
“It hurts? While I had to see you get hurt, it tore my heart apart… So, Mika, the fact that you are hurt and sad about your lovely wings seems like such a bother.”
“Uh, uh, Hina-chan, that’s not…”
“Enough. No excuses; just… ugh. This is truly the worst.”
“…Me?”
“Ah, no. I can’t believe I would say something like that while you’re in this state… I just wanted to act spoiled, and it’s so embarrassing.”
Hina lowered her head. Seeing her ears flush red, I couldn’t help but pull her in for a hug.
“Ugh. You don’t have to be embarrassed; just act spoiled openly, Hina-chan. I like every part of you… especially the lovely Hina-chan who sometimes pops out like this!”
“Ugh, ugh!”
“Well, while I was sleeping, it kind of hurt to find out someone marked my lips without permission, but it’s okay.”
“…Hik?!”
Startled, Hina broke free from my grasp, her face as red as a tomato, her wide eyes searching for words as she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly.
“Why are you so surprised? Did you really think I wouldn’t find out? Well, now you can boldly ask for what you want, so isn’t that a good thing?”
“…Mika, thank you for everything. I’m sorry. And… I love you.”
“Hahaha, oh our Hina-chan! Why do you sound like you’re leaving us? Just stop that and give me what I asked for. If you do that, I’ll pretend to forget about what happened today forever.”
“What? Wait. You’re the one getting scolded, so why…?”
“Hurry and do it, or I might just kiss the floor here! Your wings are probably still aching after all.”
It was supposed to be Hina being furious first, yet here I was, baffling the situation as I turned it into a threat about my own injuries. Hina finally sighed deeply.
I knew that regardless of my objections, she was going to spill everything to Nagisa anyway, so I might as well grab a bit of happiness for myself. Otherwise, I’d just end up getting smacked by the roll cake.
“Are you waiting, Hina-chan? You know fools never give up once they set their sights on something!”
“…”
With a defeated look, Hina brushed her face with her hands and slowly spoke. Her still blushing face radiated undeniable cuteness.
“Um… So, Mika… can you… chu…?”
Gulp…
Misono Mika, age 17+n, succumbed to Hina’s cuteness.
And then,
“Cough cough…”
Moments later, other students showed up, both of us mortified.
*
After being overwhelmed by her embarrassment, Hina left the room to take a breather, although it didn’t help in hiding her glowing red face. She couldn’t escape Hoshino’s remarks about how today’s young people seem to have no regard for time or place, which made my face feel a bit hot too.
Perhaps Hina respected Hoshino quite a bit, so the impact hit harder.
“Wow… Hina-chan said that?”
“Right? Even while being so mad, she still managed to sternly prioritize defeating Vina! I wouldn’t have believed it! The others freaked out about Mika-chan’s condition more than anything.”
“Heh, that’s interesting.”
“Wow… how can anyone feel okay and talk about having fun while being so injured? Incredible.”
“Just to let you know, Serika-chan was also really worried about your condition; she was pacing back and forth. Sorry our daughter isn’t honest.”
“W-what are you saying? Leader?!”
“Hahaha, but really. It’s funny that Hina-chan doesn’t know me at all. If it were me, whether it was Vina or anyone else, I’d definitely take care of myself first. Sorry for the slip-up.”
“Yeah, that’s a lie.”
…But with Shiroko outright denying me, I became a bit speechless. I gestured for Shiroko to come over, and she approached me silently, her wide eyes fixated on me.
Hmm… Why did I call for Shiroko? Well, I just felt like ruffling her hair after seeing her all droopy. Our sand puppy didn’t seem to mind either, and isn’t it natural to want to pat kids with animal ears on their heads? There’s a reason why Seiya is my favorite plush toy.
Then there was that time Nonomi playfully ruffled my hair, and upon Hina’s return, she cast a chilly glare at me as I was surrounded by the Strategy Committee kids.
After a spell of silence fell upon the Strategy Committee, it wasn’t too long before the RABBIT Squad appeared, seeming to be on guard.
“Hehehe… that last explosion was just divine~ it almost sent me off my rocker!”
Moe’s comment, whether serious or joking, took me aback. After all, our Hanako appears to be a proper lady in front of me—who would’ve expected to hear something like that from her?
Having been chased off for inadvertently bringing up that explosion, I didn’t mind because they’d probably view me as a finely crafted glass that could break at any moment. This was way more comfortable.
Once we finished listening to Miyako’s seniors’ song, the final teacher entered the room and nodded upon confirming I was all right.
“Mika, you need to stop doing reckless things like earlier. If you want to see me submerged in tears, I wouldn’t stop you.”
“Wait, did everyone really cry?”
“Nope, no one cried, senior.”
“Since the eyes were a bit teary, I guess it’s similar. But Mika, I need you to focus because I’m about to discuss something important.”
As the teacher explained, I felt blocked in my throat.
…So, my meeting request was rejected simply because Saint Nephthys had an intense aversion to outsiders?
This can’t be true…
