"..."

  It was a little ued, but it made sense.

  If there wasn't a particur reason, Yukino wouldn't have e to him.

  "What do you need help with?"

  After all, this was the club's first official ission, so Yukino was taking it very seriously. She didn't want to fail at her first task.

  "Hiratsuka Sensei mentioned something about you," she began, "She said you're lonely and asked me to help you make some friends!"

  In Shizuka's opinion, it would be great if Ryuji could make more friends.

  "..."

  No matter what, this was Shizuka's way of showing for him. But, as Ryuji looked at the girl standing in front of him, his eyes turned suspicious.

  "What's with that look?"

  Yukino frowned as Ryuji's suspicious expression lingered. Was he looking down on her?

  "I was just curious," he said with a slight smirk, "Yoing to help me make friends, but do you have any friends yourself?"

  Good question this was like getting love advice from someone who'd never dated before.

  If he remembered correctly, Yukino didn't really have any friends during this time.

  "..."

  As expected, Ryuji's questio Yukino speechless. Her usual calm expression showed a hint of embarrassment and doubt.

  "Wait a minute," she protested, "Before we start talking about friends, we should first define what actually ts as a 'friend'!"

  Her answer was exactly like in the anime, and Ryuji almost burst out ughing.

  "The fact that you're saying that probably means you don't have any friends at all."

  "Well, do you have any friends?"

  Clearly annoyed, Yukino shot back, looking unhappily at Ryuji. Sure, maybe she didn't have any friends, but what about him?

  Just as Ryuji was about to respond

  "Ryuji-kun!"

  A voice suddenly called out, and wheurned, he saw Miko approag. The timing couldn't have beeer.

  Ryuji raised his hand and waved.

  As she quickly made her way over, Miko's face brightened with joy upon seeing him.

  "Ryuji-kun, I noticed you didn't bring lunch this m, so I made something for you!" she said, handing him a bento box with a big smile.

  "Thanks a lot!" Ryuji replied.

  "No problem!" Miko beamed. She was so happy to have made lunch for Ryuji that she didn't feel the least bit tired from the effort.

  "...What's going on?"

  Yukino, who had just been insisting that Ryuji had no friends, now looked thhly fused. Was she... wrong?

  "Who is she?"

  Miko had finally noticed Yukino standing beside them and curiously asked about her.

  "This is Yukino," Ryuji expined, "She was asked by Hiratsuka-seo help me make friends."

  "Oh, Hiratsuka-sensei is such a responsible teacher!" Miko couldn't help but ent. It wasn't often that you saw a teacher so dedicated to their students.

  After that, she smiled and introduced herself to Yukino. "Hi, I'm Yotsuya Miko!"

  "Hello… hello…" Yukino respohough she still seemed a bit dazed. She turned back to Ryuji.

  "Is she your friend?"

  No, the fact that she prepared lunch for him probably meant she was more than just a friend.

  "Well, you're almost there ," Ryuji said, pulling Miko closer to him, "Strictly speaking, Miko is my girlfriend now."

  "Ryuji-kun!" Miko blushed and lowered her head, clearly embarrassed. Even though they had already firmed their retionship, hearing it said so openly still made her flustered.

  "..."

  Yukino remained silent, but Ryuji grinned and addressed her with a smug look.

  "By the way, what were you asking me earlier?" he teased. "Something about me not having any friends? Feeling embarrassed now?"

  "..."

  Yukino didn't say anything, but it was clear she thought Ryuji was a troublesome person. What a waste of time! She g Miko with a look of pity, then turned and walked away.

  She seemed upset.

  "What just happened?" Miko asked, fused as she watched Yukinoshita leave.

  "Nothing much. She's just a bit odd," Ryuji said nontly. "It's a on trait among anime heroines something quirky to make them stand out. It's fun to wat shows, but in real life, they're more trouble than they're worth."

  He shrugged and smiled at Miko. "Let's find a pce to eat lunch."

  "Yeah!"

  ---

  After school iernoon.

  As soon as csses ended, Miko was called over to the club because she had missed several meetings in the past few days.

  Initially, she had sidered quitting the club entirely, but Ryuji persuaded her otherwise. There was o leave.

  He uood that Miko wanted more time to spend with him, but there would be plenty of time for that at night, after all. Besides, it was still a good idea for her to make more friends at school.

  In the end, Miko agreed and didn't push the issue.

  Meanwhile, sihere was no point in going home early, Ryuji wandered around the school. With so many people around, there was a higher ce of entering something strange. Maybe he could find one or two oddities to deal with and fill his stoma the process.

  But after wandering around for a while, he didn't enter anything unusual. Instead, he saw something ued.

  "Are you still here?" Ryuji asked, surprised as he saw Yukino again.

  He thought she had given up on her mission, but here she was.

  Yukino remained where she was, her eyes focused ily on Ryuji as he walked away. She had accepted Hiratsuka-sensei's request, and now her pride was on the lihere was n back. And even though Ryuji wasn't an easy person to deal with, she wasn't oo be easily deterred.

  "I won't fail," she muttered to herself.