Chapter 208: Kyoko Wants to Steal Miyahito Away (Misunderstanding)

"So....." Sitting backward on his chair and leaning on the backrest, Tooru looked at the yawning Miyahito in the seat behind him with a complex gaze. "You suddenly got a whim and wrote songs all night?"

"Wake up, bro. Even though your name sounds similar to 'Miyani', you're not him."

Tooru casually threw out a roast, but he didn't notice that the moment he finished this roast, Miyahito's action of rubbing his eyes paused unnaturally for a second.

However, the next second, Miyahito casually dropped his hand, shrugged his shoulders slightly, and played along perfectly.

"A guy's gotta have dreams, right? Maybe one day the songs I write will be even more popular than that so-called 'Miyani'."

"I can't just pretend I didn't hear that, Miyahito~"

"Yoshikawa."

Patting Tooru's shoulder as a greeting, Yoshikawa Yuki clasped her hands behind her back, leaned her upper body forward slightly, and looked at Miyahito seriously.

"Miyani-sama's songs are the best! No one can surpass Miyani-sama!!"

"...." *Thank you for liking Miyani's songs so much, but why does it feel so subtly off?*

*His classmate and male best friend is a fan of his alter ego... and it seems, a latent hardcore fan at that.*

"Is... that so?" Clearly feeling a faint sense of pressure from Yuki, Miyahito's expression stiffened slightly as he leaned back a bit, his tone a bit forced. "Mhm, mhm, I got it. Miyani-sama is the best—?"

"Question marks are prohibited!"

Straightening up with her hands on her hips, Yuki put on an 'arrogant and domineering' tsundere attitude. Puffing out her chest and raising her head, she looked scrutinizingly at the 'insolent' little Miyahito and stated methodically.

"Miyani-sama! Is invincible!"

".....Ah, yes, yes, yes, everything you say is right. Right, Tooru?"

"Yeah, Yoshikawa-sama is always correct."

"Seriously! You're just brushing me off again!" Puffing up her cheeks in anger, Yuki glared annoyedly at the sleep-deprived Miyahito and the bitterly smiling Tooru. Then, she turned her head and shouted loudly to Utaha and Kyoko, who were chatting happily about something in the hallway outside Class 1-B.

"Utaha! Hori! Look! Miyahito and Tooru are brushing me off again!"

Before the wide-eyed Miyahito and Tooru could reprimand her with *'Yoshikawa, you're tattling again!'*, the very next second after Yuki finished speaking.

"You two boys! Don't bully Yuki!"

The two voices ringing out simultaneously instantly scared Miyahito and Tooru into tensing their entire bodies. With unnatural, sheepish grins on their faces, they humbly nodded toward the two girls outside the classroom, who were united in their stern, glaring expressions.

*No, no! How could we possibly bully Yuki~~~*

*Right, Aibo?*

Seeing the three clowns in the classroom become well-behaved, especially with Yuki acting all high and mighty while talking to Miyahito and Tooru, Kyoko shook her head with a mix of amusement and helplessness.

"Yuki really... we're already in high school, why is everyone still acting like a child."

Utaha narrowed her wine-red eyes slightly, looking at Hori Kyoko with a teasing smile on her beautifully curved lips.

"The ever-worrying Hori-mama? Mhm, mhm, Kyoko will definitely be a strict *okaasan* (mother) in the future~"

Hearing this, the worried smile on Kyoko's face suddenly stiffened, and she shot a flat, exasperated glare at the smiling Utaha.

"You're making fun of me again. I think whether I'm a strict mother or not is something that will take some time to prove."

"But Utaha, you've already proven yourself to be a virtuous wife right now."

Saying this, Kyoko, with her arms crossed, playfully looked Utaha up and down. However, the moment her gaze swept over a certain part of Utaha's body that was the complete opposite of her own, her line of sight suddenly felt a bit awkward. *(Kyoko: Tsk, too heavy! No wonder Utaha's PE grades are at the bottom.)*

Watching Kyoko scrutinize her with gritted teeth, the effortless, faint smile on Utaha's pretty face gradually became a bit forced. She subconsciously raised her hands, crossing her arms to cover her chest.

Seeing this, Kyoko, who couldn't help but compare their body differences in her heart, unnaturally averted her gaze. After a dry, light cough, she continued the previous topic.

"This is how my family makes omurice. You can try it when you go home."

"Mhm." Seeing Kyoko avert her gaze, Utaha breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, nodded, and her expression returned to its previous relaxed and natural state.

"Thank you, Kyoko."

"You're welcome." Kyoko waved her hand nonchalantly, then, as if thinking of something, she asked Utaha curiously, "By the way, why did you suddenly want to learn how to make omurice?"

"About that."

Hearing Kyoko's question, the image of Ayase suddenly flashed in Utaha's mind—that cute little girl acting spoiled, saying she wanted to eat omurice the next time she visited.

The smile at the corners of her lips involuntarily gained a few more shades of doting affection, gentleness, and fondness.

This tender expression, so completely different from the cold and aloof demeanor Utaha usually put on at school in front of anyone other than her close friends and Miyahito, couldn't help but make Kyoko even more curious.

*Oh my, who is Utaha thinking about right now?*

*This doesn't look like she's thinking about her lover. Because if she were thinking about Miyahito, her smile should have more of that sweet, romantic flavor.*

"Earlier, Ayase, um, Miyahito's little sister."

"Mhm, I know. Miyahito's super cute little sister."

Seeing that Kyoko knew, Utaha nodded and continued to explain with a smile.

"Last weekend, when Ayase came to visit Tokyo, she said she wanted to eat omurice. But I didn't know how to make it back then, so I just took her out to eat."

"However, she probably didn't like what the restaurant made, so I thought I'd learn how to make it before she comes to visit Tokyo next time."

"..."

*Where did this virtuous wife come from? You're a high school student, right? You're a high school student, right?! You're a high school student, right?!*

After the triple shock, Hori Kyoko wore a defeated expression. She looked at the bewildered Utaha with eyes full of 'resentment' and clicked her tongue in regret.

"Tsk, that guy Miyahito got off too easy!"

"?"

Hearing this ambiguous remark, Utaha couldn't help but tilt her head, resting her cheek on her right hand, and looked at Kyoko inquiringly.

"Sigh... Why am I not a boy, damn it!"

Amused by Kyoko's inexplicable muttering about her boyfriend, Utaha not only had no intention of defending him, but even linked arms with Kyoko, nodding in deep agreement.

"Exactly! If Kyoko were a boy, I'd dump Miyahito~~"

Hearing this, Kyoko turned her head to look at Utaha in slight shock, then said to her in a complex tone.

"Utaha, you know? What you just said sounds incredibly scummy."

"Hmm? Does it?"

"Uh... the head-tilt trick doesn't work on me, you know."