"…………She got away, huh."
After Rika sprinted off at full speed and escaped the scene, she walked down the hallway drowning in self-loathing.
No matter how much she hated men, she shouldn’t have handled it like that.
Besides, she had been the one who bumped into him in the first place. The fault was hers.
And yet she had ignored his concern and run away...
"Haa..........."
Rika let out a long sigh.
But even her gloomy mood drew a burst of cheers from the girls around her.
Rika hated men........... or rather, whenever a man came close to her, she would instinctively shrink back.
A chill ran down her spine. Her body went rigid.
Because the truth was, she didn’t actually hate men at all...........
"...........I have to go apologize to him."
She really didn’t want to go looking for a man on her own, but she also didn’t want to become a vicious woman. Guilt would crush her if she kept running from it.
In the end, I really do have to find him myself and apologize...........
"Haa..........."
Rika sighed again.
Behind her, a girl was closing in.
Then she pushed off hard and leapt at Rika.
"Ri-----ka-----chan!"
"Wah...........!"
Rika's eyes flew wide when she was hugged from behind.
At the same time, a soft, springy pressure pressed against her back.
It was a huge chest Rika herself did not have.
She recognized who was hugging her by the feel of those breasts and by the voice, and the gloomy look on her face immediately eased.
"...........Mei."
"Yeeees, it's me."
Mei was rubbing her cheek against Rika's.
It made her feel ticklish and nice, but...........
"Sniff, sniff, haaah........... Rika-chan smells so good..........."
"...........Don't sniff me. It's embarrassing."
Mei buried her face in Rika's neck and inhaled her scent, and that made Rika's face turn bright red.
Then Mei, seemingly satisfied, let go of her.
"Aww, sorry. I just really wanted to snuggle up to Rika-chan no matter what."
Mei gave a cute little "hehe" laugh.
Her beautiful black hair, still untouched by dye, was tied to one side in a side ponytail.
Unlike Rika's sharp eyes, Mei had soft, downturned eyes that gave her a gentle look.
Her cute, well-bred face and Rika's sparse expressions stood in stark contrast, which only made Mei look even cuter.
She wore the school uniform well, and even through the fabric you could see how full her chest was; it drew not only the boys' eyes, but even the male teachers'.
Rika did her best not to let people see her chest, but Mei seemed delighted by the fact that she attracted men's attention.
In that sense, she was the complete opposite of Rika.
Her name was Terui Mei. If Rika was the most popular girl among the girls, then Mei was the most popular among the boys.
They were the two campus idols of Tendo Academy, and best friends. And then...........
"Still, it shouldn't be strange that we're a couple, right?"
"...........Yeah."
Mei whispered in Rika's ear, and Rika gave a small nod.
That's right, they were a couple. Even though they were both women, they were a lesbian couple bound together by love.
That was precisely why Rika didn't want Mei making any gestures or poses that would catch men's eyes........... but Mei seemed to enjoy that kind of attention, so Rika couldn't stop her.
"...........But we can't let it get out. So don't say things like that in a place like this."
"Yes, yes, I know. Even I understand that much."
After hearing Rika's words, Mei nodded several times in quick succession.
Japan had become more accepting of same-sex love these days, but that still didn’t mean people wouldn’t look at them with curiosity.
And if word got out in the closed-off world of the academy that they were a lesbian couple, something bad might happen.
So this was a relationship they absolutely could not make public.
"...Huh!?"
"Hee-hee."
Even though she had just said how careful she was, Mei still gave her a tiny kiss.
Blushing, Mei smiled at Rika, who was staring back in shock.
"J-just now I already said..........."
"Hee-hee. Because Rika-chan is so cute. And if it's only this much, it should be safe, right?"
"...........No."
With that, Rika walked off toward her classroom alone.
Mad........... but that wasn’t really it. Mei knew her too well to mistake it.
Her blond hair fluttered in the wind, and if you looked closely, you could see that her ears were red too.
"Ah........... she's really adorable after all~..........."
Mei wriggled around all by herself in the hallway.
And the boys watching that lush body sway back and forth could not help but swallow hard.