After School with Her～My Virtual Senpai is a Tsundere Girlfriend～ - Hellish Love Bento and an Inescapable Date Declaration

The heavy sound of the rooftop door closing still lingered deep in her ears. Higuchi Kaede leaned against the fence, unable to move. The plastic bottle in her hand had gone empty before she knew it. The last drop had only barely moistened her dry lips. (*She sees me as a romantic interest.*) Mito's voice replayed in her head over and over. That moment when those deep violet eyes had pierced straight through Kaede. The shiver that ran down her spine — it wasn't because of the evening breeze. "Why now... of all times, why'd you have to say it then..." The words she murmured quietly dissolved into the wind and vanished. For a whole year now, they'd done nothing but fight after every stream. Once the cameras were off, they'd trade barbs, and it wasn't just once or twice that she'd thought she didn't even want to see Mito's face. And yet. Mito had been looking at her like *that*. Unconsciously, Kaede touched her left earlobe. Where her fingertip made contact, it burned with heat. Surely right now, it wasn't just her ears — her whole face must be bright red. The only saving grace was that no one was around to see it. (*She said she'd give me the details tomorrow...*) Tomorrow. Just that word alone made her chest stir restlessly. When she saw Mito at school, what kind of face was she supposed to make? Should she pick a fight like always? Or— "No, no, no! Why am I seriously thinking about this?!" Kaede shook her head, forcibly cutting off her train of thought. She pushed herself away from the fence. She brushed the dust off her uniform skirt with a few careless swipes of her hand. The sky had already sunk almost entirely into deep indigo. Along the cherry tree-lined Miori River, lights flickered on one by one, and the figures walking along the promenade appeared as silhouettes. *If only tomorrow wouldn't come.* But there's no tomorrow that doesn't arrive. Tuesday. The morning at Serenade Academy was as noisy as ever. Passing through the main gate, the laughter of students changing their shoes at the entrance hall echoed all around. Lured by the spring weather, everyone seemed a little buoyant. Kaede walked through it all at a much faster pace than usual. She rounded the corridor and ran up the stairs. She gave only half-hearted replies to the greetings of students she passed. (*I need to prepare myself mentally before I see Mito.*) Even she didn't know why she was in such a rush. She just couldn't settle the vague unease deep in her chest, and she wanted to get to the classroom as quickly as possible. When she burst into the Class 2-B classroom, less than half the seats were filled yet. She dropped her bag at her desk by the window in the back and let out a breath. That's when it happened. "Good morning, Kaede." A voice came from the seat next to hers. Her heart leaped. When she turned, Mito was sitting there modestly as always. Back straight, textbooks neatly arranged on her desk. Her braided pigtails bobbed gently on her shoulders. But on her desk, there was more than just textbooks. Wrapped in a blue *furoshiki* cloth, what was unmistakably a lunch box sat at the edge of her desk. A three-tiered one, and quite large. "Wh-what is that..." The words slipped out before she could stop them, her voice cracking. "Preparations for the first round of our date battle." Mito smiled sweetly. It was a different face from the serious expression she'd shown on the rooftop yesterday. But it wasn't the honor-student smile she wore on streams, either. It was like the eyes of a cat stalking its prey. "W-wait a minute! I haven't even given you an answer about yesterday yet!" "An answer? I told you yesterday. You don't have the right to refuse." "That's just tyranny!" "Tyranny or whatever else, I don't care. Because I've decided — I'm going to make you choose me, Kaede." Mito's voice was perfectly calm, but the content of her words was anything but. Kaede clutched her head. (*Why does it turn out like this?*) The students in the surrounding seats were stealing glances their way. But Mito didn't seem to care at all. As always, with an utterly serious face, she was looking only at Kaede. Lunch break. In front of the school store "Polka," there was a long line as usual. Students chattered noisily as they queued up for the famous Lucent Melon Bread. Kaede found herself practically dragged by Mito to a nearby bench and made to sit down. "Now, let's open it." Mito carefully untied the blue *furoshiki*. What emerged from inside was a three-tiered lacquered lunch box. When she opened the lid— "Whoa..." The sound escaped her involuntarily. In the first tier, colorful side dishes were arranged like jewels. *Tamagoyaki*, fried chicken, spinach with sesame dressing, fried shrimp, cherry tomatoes. Every piece was perfectly shaped, as if they'd leaped right out of a cooking magazine photo. The second tier held rice sprinkled with *furikake*. The third tier was an assortment of fruit. "Well? It's a work of confidence." Mito's voice was buoyant. Her face remained as composed as ever, but her narrow, elegant eyes seemed just a little wider than usual. Maybe she was embarrassed. "I started making it at five in the morning. I practiced the *tamagoyaki* last night and picked the one that turned out best." Five in the morning. Those words pierced Kaede's chest. (*This girl... just how serious can she be?*) Mito did everything perfectly. Stream preparations, test prep, her duties as class president. Cooking, though — that was different. Kaede knew that very well. "...Before I eat, I gotta ask. Did you taste-test this?" "I didn't taste it. Because I want you to be the first one to eat it, Kaede." She said it with a straight face. Resigned, Kaede picked up her chopsticks. First, the *tamagoyaki*. It looked perfect. A golden color without a single scorch mark, plump and thick. She put it in her mouth. In that instant— "Sweet?!" A sound almost like a scream came out. Something detonated inside her head. This wasn't *tamagoyaki*. It was a lump of sugar. She'd probably mistaken sugar for salt. She must have put in tablespoons and tablespoons of sugar. "Wh-what the heck is this?! This is way beyond sweet!" Her Kansai dialect wouldn't stop. Mito's expression shifted instantly. "Th-that's strange. I followed the recipe amounts exactly..." "Next, next!" Kaede brought the rice to her mouth. It had *furikake* on it. —Sour. "Sour?! What is this, did you put vinegar in it or something?!" No, this wasn't on the level of vinegar. There was a more pungent, chemical smell. Almost like... detergent. (*No way.*) Kaede shook her head, banishing the thought. "I heard that adding a little vinegar to rice makes it taste good..." Mito's voice grew smaller and smaller. Fidgeting with her braid, she hung her head. Finally, the hamburger steak. When Kaede split it with her chopsticks, the inside was pitch black. Only the surface was nicely browned; the inside was carbonized. Just how high had she turned up the heat to make this? She took a bite. Bitter. And the smell of burnt food assaulted her nose. "...This ain't something you feed to a person." Her honest feelings finally came out. Mito caught her breath. Those deep violet eyes grew moist right before Kaede's eyes. Kaede noticed that her lips were trembling slightly. (*Oh crap.*) She'd said too much. But the words couldn't be taken back. Mito kept her head down, clutching the *furoshiki* tightly. So tightly that her delicate fingers turned white. A sharp pang shot through Kaede's chest. (*Ah, geez, why am I like this at times like these?*) She hated how she couldn't be honest with herself. Mito had worked so hard from five in the morning to make this. Even if the taste was hellish, if she just thought about how many hours it must have taken to make it look like this, she'd understand. Kaede picked up her chopsticks again. She shoved another piece of *tamagoyaki* into her mouth. Sweet. It was sweet, after all. But— "...But still." She swallowed it down and spoke. "I'll eat it all to the end. Leaving food someone made for me — that ain't my style." Mito looked up with a start. Tears were welling up, but they hadn't spilled over. Yet those eyes, looking ready to burst at any moment, stared intently at Kaede. "...Kaede." "I-it's not for your sake or anything! It's just wrong to waste food, that's all! Yeah, this is purely out of eco-consciousness!" Making excuses desperately, Kaede shoveled in the rice. Sour. She bit into the hamburger steak. Bitter. Another piece of *tamagoyaki*. Sweet. She felt like she might cry. Whether it was because of the taste or something else, even she didn't know. Mito just watched Kaede silently. From those violet eyes, a single tear spilled over, trailing down. "...Thank you, Kaede." Her voice was trembling, but the corners of her mouth were smiling. "I knew my data wasn't wrong. You really will accept my home cooking." "N-no, I won't! I'm not accepting it! Don't ever make this stuff again!" "'Don't ever make it again' — meaning this will be the first and last special dish. That, too, is meaningful as data." "What's with that positive spin?!" The moment Kaede shouted— "Oh my." A voice came from right beside the bench. When she turned, Tokunaga Sachiko, the shopkeeper of the school store "Polka," was standing there. Fifty-eight years old, her gray-streaked hair tied back in a single bunch — a kindly older woman. Tokunaga beamed, looking back and forth between the two of them. "So, are you two from Derokae dating? Is that a loving wife's lunch box? Young people these days are so forward, aren't they?" Her voice was *loud*. The students lined up in front of the school store all turned around at once. A murmur spread like rippling waves. "Wait, seriously?" "Derokae? As in, *that* streaming Derokae?" "So it was true they were going out." Kaede felt her face turn bright red. "N-no, no, no, no!! We're not!!" She stood up and denied it with all her might. But Tokunaga just kept beaming. "Now, now, no need to be shy. Being young is wonderful, isn't it? I'll be rooting for you, dears." With that, Tokunaga went back inside the school store. But the rumors had already taken on a life of their own. "The Derokae duo really *were* dating after all." "So it's like, officially recognized within the school?" "I wonder if they'll talk about it on today's stream." Whispered voices reached Kaede's ears like waves. Having lost the will to argue anymore, Kaede slumped back onto the bench. Head hanging low, she stuffed the remaining hamburger steak into her mouth. It tasted like charcoal. (*Why does it turn out like this?*) Her mind went completely blank. Beside her, Mito had returned to her usual composed expression. But Kaede didn't miss the way the corners of her mouth had relaxed ever so slightly. "Just as planned." "What?! Don't tell me, you did this on purpose?!" "It wasn't on purpose. But rumors, at times, can become stronger bonds than the truth." Mito stood up. Her braided pigtails swayed softly. "Now you can't run away anymore, Kaede. Because everyone in the school is watching us." The words she'd said on the rooftop at dusk resurfaced in Kaede's mind. *"You can't escape my confession."* That hadn't been a threat or a joke. Mito seriously intended not to let Kaede get away. "...You're really scary, you know that?" "I'll do anything to be chosen by the person I love. Whether it's class president, or a runaway express train." Saying that, Mito smiled softly. It was the most beautiful smile Kaede had ever seen. But Kaede's stomach didn't settle down even seeing that smile. The *tamagoyaki*, the rice, and the hamburger steak were rioting in her belly. (*What's going to happen from tomorrow onward?*) Monday's confession. Tuesday's lunch box. The third day hadn't even come yet, and she was already exhausted. The rumors had p

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Episode 2

Name: After School with Her～My Virtual Senpai is a Tsundere Girlfriend～
Author: Novelia

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