Chapter 96

Pulling open the wooden door of Oono-Tei, the first words heard as usual were the shop owner Oono's "Welcome!"

Then, after clearly seeing who had entered, Oono greeted the two with a smile, "It's Aoba-kun and Yamawaki-san!"

"Good evening, boss," Aoba and Yamawaki Natsu said together.

"Good evening," Oono replied.

At this moment, two more voices of greeting came from inside the shop.

"Uesugi-kun, Yamawaki-san, good evening!"

"Good evening!" Aoba and Yamawaki Natsu responded.

And those two were Kobayashi Masahiro, who had celebrated his birthday here, and the yaoi fangirl with glasses, Kurokawa.

"What would you like to eat today?" Oono asked with a smile.

Aoba and Yamawaki Natsu, who had taken their seats at the counter, began to think.

"I'll have plum wine and tonkatsu! What about you, Aoba-kun?" Yamawaki Natsu asked after ordering for herself.

"Me? I'll have the same," Aoba said.

"Got it, plum wine and tonkatsu," Oono called out and turned to prepare the order.

"Aoba-kun? What's this? Yamawaki-san is already calling Uesugi-kun by his first name?" Kobayashi Masahiro asked curiously.

"Right, right, the atmosphere between you two today is different! Could it be that you finally started dating?" Kurokawa asked with a gossiping tone.

"You're overthinking it," Aoba said with a smile, shaking his head.

"Then why are you calling each other by your first names?" Kurokawa, with her relentless spirit, continued to press.

"Well, I guess you could say our relationship has progressed! We're more than friends but not quite lovers!" Yamawaki Natsu summarized.

"Oh, I see!" Kurokawa nodded in understanding, and Kobayashi Masahiro, who had been listening with interest, also looked enlightened.

"Wait, that's not right! If you're already more than friends, why aren't you dating?" Kurokawa, realizing this, asked again.

"Ask Aoba-kun. I, a girl, already confessed, but I was rejected. I don't understand it either!" Yamawaki Natsu said, feigning a pitiful look.

"What? Yamawaki-san already confessed? Why did you reject her, Uesugi-kun?" Kurokawa looked at Aoba in surprise, and Kobayashi Masahiro also looked at him with surprise.

Even Oono, who was preparing the food, raised his head and gave Aoba a surprised look.

Clearly, everyone was puzzled as to why Aoba would reject a girl like Yamawaki Natsu, who not only has a good family background but is also very beautiful.

"Because of various reasons," Aoba said ambiguously.

Just then, Oono brought the plum wine, and Aoba poured himself a glass and took a sip.

Kurokawa and Kobayashi Masahiro exchanged glances, clearly unsatisfied with Aoba's answer but not wanting to press further, so they turned to other topics.

"But if you were rejected, why are you two acting like nothing happened? And your relationship has even improved? Even Yamawaki-san said you're more than friends but not quite lovers?" Kurokawa asked again.

"Being rejected, what can I do? The women of the Yamawaki family don't give up halfway! Sooner or later, I will make Aoba-kun like me," Yamawaki Natsu replied.

"Yamawaki-san is amazing," Kurokawa said admiringly, and Kobayashi Masahiro nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Oono brought the two servings of tonkatsu and placed them in front of Aoba and Yamawaki Natsu.

Yamawaki Natsu was the first to take a bite and praised, "The boss's cooking is still as good as ever!"

Oono immediately smiled.

"By the way, isn't Uncle Ooishi here today?" Aoba, who didn't see the bathhouse owner Ooishi Saburo, asked curiously.

"I find it strange too! Uncle Ooishi isn't here today," Kobayashi Masahiro also said, puzzled.

"His family has had some issues recently," Oono, who was temporarily out of work and drinking beer, interjected.

"What issues? What happened?" everyone asked curiously.

"I heard his son is sick and hospitalized. I don't know the specifics, but he has to go to the hospital every day, so he doesn't have time to come here and drink," Oono explained.

Everyone fell silent for a moment, not knowing what to say, and after a while, they started a new topic.

Chatting and drinking, the pleasant time passed quickly.

First, Kobayashi Masahiro said he had to work the next day and left.

Then, Kurokawa said she had to draw more manga and left.

Finally, Aoba and Yamawaki Natsu stayed for a while longer and then left Oono-Tei.

"Are you not going to call your driver to pick you up yet?" Aoba asked Yamawaki Natsu as they walked down the alley outside Oono-Tei.

"Let's wait a bit more! We'll call when we get to the main road," Yamawaki Natsu said with a smile.

"Do you really dislike Fubuki that much?" Aoba suddenly asked.

"Aoba-kun is mine, and I won't give you to anyone else, no matter what!" Yamawaki Natsu turned to look at Aoba and said with a smile.

"So, you're targeting Fubuki because of that?" Aoba sighed.

"Yes! To get Aoba-kun, I have to eliminate her," Yamawaki Natsu said with a smile.

"Do you know? Every time I see you with Fubuki, it feels like you become a different person, like you're not yourself anymore," Aoba shook his head and sighed.

"It's okay, if it's for Aoba-kun, I don't mind changing myself," Yamawaki Natsu said with a smile.

Faced with Yamawaki Natsu's twisted declaration of love, Aoba felt only helplessness.

Just then, Yamawaki Natsu said, "And, Aoba-kun, don't you think it's unfair?"

"Unfair?" Aoba was puzzled.

"Clearly, she was the one who drew her sword against me first! Clearly, she was the one who started this conflict! Why does it seem like I'm the bad guy now? She really wanted to kill me back then. Now, Aoba-kun keeps defending her, which is unfair!" Yamawaki Natsu looked at Aoba with bright eyes, tears glistening in them.

"Sorry, but I really don't want to see you two continue like this," Aoba sighed.

"I understand. If this is Aoba-kun's wish, then I will restrain myself," Yamawaki Natsu said slowly after a while.

Aoba shook his head and said no more. The two walked silently under the neon lights of the night, walking for a long, long time.

Just as Aoba was about to urge Yamawaki Natsu again, a smell carried by the wind caught his attention.

Aoba put his hand on Yamawaki Natsu's shoulder and said, "Be careful."

Yamawaki Natsu immediately became alert and asked, "What's wrong?"

******

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