“Sakura~”
“Hmm?”
The moment the class dismissal bell rang, Akiba Sakura wanted to go continue bothering Yuuma Tsugumu.
She never expected Momoka Aoi to suddenly grab her wrist with a mysterious look on her face.
“What’s wrong, Little Aoi?”
“Um, well… are you free right now?”
“?”
Seeing the usually sunny and cheerful girl acting so hesitant and bashful now, Akiba Sakura immediately sensed something was off.
“Uh… me right now…”
Akiba Sakura was just about to say she was busy, but she met Momoka Aoi’s intensely expectant gaze.
“…”
‘Would saying I’m busy make me seem like I don’t value her as a friend?’
Apart from having different tastes from normal people, Akiba Sakura placed great importance on everything else, including how she treated her friends.
So when it didn’t involve ‘NTR’, she wasn’t really any different from an ordinary person.
Therefore, seeing Momoka Aoi’s puppy-dog eyes constantly shifting between ‘expectation’ and ‘pitifulness’, Akiba Sakura finally gave in.
“Alright, alright, I’m free. What’s up, Little Aoi?”
“Great! I want to go to the restroom. Can you come with me?”
Yuuma Tsugumu, who was listening nearby, almost spat out the water he had just taken a sip of.
He pulled out a tissue to wipe the corner of his mouth, his exaggerated movements catching the attention of Momoka Aoi and Akiba Sakura.
“Hmph, Yuuma, it’s not right to eavesdrop on girls’ conversations, you know? Sakura, you tell him!”
“That’s right! That’s right!”
Hearing Momoka Aoi’s words, Akiba Sakura quickly puffed out her cheeks, looking like an angry little hamster, and glared up at Yuuma Tsugumu.
Yuuma Tsugumu put down his water bottle, the tips of his ears slightly reddening.
He rarely showed a trace of fluster, hurriedly averted his gaze, and pretended to calmly organize the textbooks on his desk, explaining in a flurry:
“I wasn’t eavesdropping… I just happened to hear it.”
“Just happening to hear it isn’t allowed either!”
Momoka Aoi put her hands on her hips, righteously backing up Akiba Sakura, but for some reason, a hint of sly calculation was hidden in her eyes.
“Anyway, Yuuma, you’re not allowed to eavesdrop on my and Sakura’s private conversations!”
Akiba Sakura stood to the side, watching Yuuma Tsugumu’s rare embarrassed state, feeling secretly pleased.
She lifted her chin, wearing an expression of finally having regained the upper hand.
However, she didn’t say much more, just let herself be pulled by the wrist by Momoka Aoi, half-dragged and half-willingly heading out of the classroom.
“Come on, Sakura, let’s go quickly and come back quickly!”
Only after the two figures disappeared around the corridor corner did Yuuma Tsugumu quietly look up towards the doorway.
He touched his water bottle, the earlier fluster of being caught fading away, replaced by a faint trace of confusion.
‘Something’s off. It’s just going to the restroom. Why use that mysterious tone?’
He always felt that when these two got together, it definitely wasn’t for anything simple.
On the other side, the moment Momoka Aoi confirmed they were far from the classroom, she immediately pulled Akiba Sakura to a quiet corner of the corridor.
Her large, round eyes were sparkling.
Lowering her voice excitedly, she said:
“Sakura, Sakura! I have something super important to tell you—I’m the group assignment person for the School Sports Meet! I have the privilege of assigning partners!”
As she spoke, she proudly puffed out her small chest, like a little cat seeking praise, completely not noticing the strange and varied expressions on Akiba Sakura’s face.
“I’m all prepared! No matter what event Yuuma signs up for, I can directly assign you to the same group as him! Then you’ll have to train together, pass the baton together, there will be tons of chances to be alone!”
Momoka Aoi counted on her little fingers, happily detailing her assistance plan, her tone full of anticipation.
“This way, even if Yuuma is really dense, he definitely won’t be able to refuse you, your feelings will absolutely heat up rapidly! I’m your ‘Exclusive Love Strategist’, leave everything to me!”
‘So the explanation on the rooftop last time was completely useless?!’
Akiba Sakura stood rooted to the spot, the corner of her mouth twitching, roaring internally.
‘Damn Momoka Aoi, don’t you know ‘Pure Love Warriors’ and ‘NTR’ are mortal enemies?!’
It was true Akiba Sakura wanted to get close to Yuuma Tsugumu, but what she wanted was Yuuma Tsugumu’s expression of despair, not to be treated by her friend as some pure-hearted romance and have her head forced together with him as a couple!!
Looking at Momoka Aoi’s sincere and enthusiastic expression, Akiba Sakura opened her mouth, unable to say a word for a long time.
‘Dammit, it seems no matter what, there will be an extra variable in the future… Since it’s already like this, I might as well accept her help to conquer Yuuma Tsugumu first, then later find a way and opportunity to hide it from her and cheat on Yuuma Tsugumu…’
On one side was a friend who genuinely cared for her, on the other was her long-planned evil ‘NTR Plan’.
Akiba Sakura felt like crying but had no tears.
She had worried about this kind of variable before, but now that it was really happening, there was no way to change it.
Having a ‘Pure Love Warrior’ become her ‘Love Strategist’ meant that after successfully conquering Yuuma Tsugumu, if she then tried to cheat on him with Yellow Hair, ‘Momoka Aoi’ would become this variable.
“Well then…”
Akiba Sakura took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the collapse in her heart, forcing out a smile more pitiful than crying:
“Thank you, Little Aoi, you’re really too thoughtful…”
What could she do?
She couldn’t possibly tell this Momoka Aoi, whose eyes were full of ‘romance’—that she was getting close to Yuuma Tsugumu not because she wanted to date him, but to ultimately cheat on him hard and see his despairing look, right?
If she did that, Momoka Aoi would probably cut ties with her on the spot, and might even righteously expose her, telling Yuuma Tsugumu all about her ‘evil plan’.
‘If that happened, wouldn’t all the efforts I’ve made so far, putting aside my dignity, be for nothing…’
“Hehe, so you’re not denying you like Yuuma anymore?”
“…Uh…”
“Well, I could tell on the rooftop. Does unrequited love feel really bad?”
“Uh… probably?”
‘Oh my god, how am I supposed to answer this?!’
Akiba Sakura’s face was about to crack.
After turning it over in her mind, she still didn’t know how to reply, so she could only remain silent, silently calculating in her heart—
‘Forget it, forget it, there’s no other good way. For now, I can only use Momoka Aoi’s privilege to legitimately get grouped with Yuuma Tsugumu and speed up the conquest progress… After he completely falls in love with me, then find an opportunity to avoid Little Aoi, find a Yellow Hair to stage that good show—if I do it discreetly, I probably won’t be discovered, right?’
“Sakura? What’s wrong? You don’t look very happy!”
Momoka Aoi noticed her oddness, tilting her head and leaning closer, gently shaking her arm with her small hand—
“Or… do you think I’m a third wheel getting in your way? You want to conquer Yuuma yourself?”
“No, no!”
Akiba Sakura quickly snapped back to reality, shaking her head vigorously, afraid Momoka Aoi would come up with some even more ‘amazing’ wild idea.
“I’m very happy! Thank you, Little Aoi, you’ve thought of everything way, way, way, way, way… too thoroughly!”
She could only brace herself and accept this ‘kindness’, while in her heart she continued to plan how to hide her plan from Momoka Aoi to keep it from being ruined.
Momoka Aoi had no idea what Akiba Sakura was thinking, still enthusiastically explaining her assistance plan.
“Anyway, no matter what event he signs up for, I’ll secretly assign you to the same group as him!”
As she spoke, she gestured on the wall with her finger,
“During training, I’ll intentionally make an excuse to leave first, letting you two practice alone; then on the day of the competition, I’ll help you prepare a love towel and warm water. When you hand it to him, you have to be gentle, your eyes have to have a bit of ‘tender affection’~ That way Yuuma will definitely be moved!”
Akiba Sakura felt her scalp go numb as she listened.
The corner of her mouth twitched uncontrollably, and she complained silently in her heart:
“Tender affection? I just want to hook him quickly and then watch him fall into complete collapse and despair!”
But on the surface, she had to pretend to look full of anticipation:
“Okay! I’ll listen to you.”
“Great!”
Momoka Aoi put her arm around Akiba Sakura’s shoulder on her own, looking at Akiba Sakura excitedly as she continued:
“Don’t worry! Sakura, with me here, this time we’ll definitely make Yuuma fall for you! Let’s go confirm what event Yuuma plans to sign up for right now, then we can work out the details based on his answer!”
“Wait!”
Akiba Sakura abruptly grabbed Momoka Aoi, who was about to charge back to the classroom—
“Don’t ask directly later, that would be too obvious!”
Momoka Aoi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood, patting her own head and lowering her voice:
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I got it!”
The two exchanged a look, reaching a surface-level ‘united front’.
Then they adjusted their expressions and walked into the classroom as if nothing was wrong.
At that moment, many classmates in the classroom happened to be discussing the School Sports Meet, which also gave them a perfect excuse.
Momoka Aoi pulled Akiba Sakura, slowly approaching Yuuma Tsugumu’s desk.
She deliberately raised her volume a bit and said to Akiba Sakura:
“Sakura, what event are you planning to sign up for for the School Sports Meet? I heard this time there’s a Mixed-Gender Relay, and a Two-Person Jump Rope, both super suitable for good friends to sign up for together~”
“I don’t know either, still hesitating. What about you, Little Aoi? Oh right…”
She changed the subject, pretending to casually look at Yuuma Tsugumu,
“Tsuguo-kun, you’ll probably sign up too, right? What event are you planning to sign up for?”
“I’m not signing up.”
“…”
“Huh????????”
Just a moment ago, Akiba Sakura was internally hoping Yuuma Tsugumu wouldn’t sign up for those individual events.
But what Akiba Sakura never expected was—Yuuma Tsugumu just looked up, gave them a faint glance, and said in a tone so calm it held not a single ripple:
“I’m not signing up.”
“Huh????????”
Akiba Sakura wondered if she heard wrong, reflexively asking back:
“What did you say? You’re not signing up?”
Hearing this, Momoka Aoi also froze.
The smile on her face instantly stiffened, the earlier excitement vanishing without a trace.
She stepped forward, looking at Yuuma Tsugumu’s face hidden under his bangs with an expression of disbelief:
“Yuuma, are you serious? The School Sports Meet is so lively, you’re really not signing up for any event?”
“Not interested, don’t want to sign up.”
He paused, then seeing the two of them looking dumbfounded, a flicker of amusement passed through his eyes.
“If you two want to sign up, just sign up yourselves. No need to ask me.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.