"Saki-chan, are you sure you're okay? You should rest longer in the infirmary."
"Umu, I heard from your brother that you fainted in front of the school gate this morning. You shouldn't push yourself too hard."
During lunch break, on the balcony where they usually eat, Sakura and Shinomiya met Misaki, who had missed morning csses. They were clearly worried about her, and it showed on their faces.
"Don't worry, I'm fine now. I was just a little tired this morning."
But Misaki reassured them with a cheerful smile to ease their concerns.
"Come here, I made some cookies for you."
She added, inviting them to eat.
"You really worried us, you know. We barely get any screen time tely."
Sakura compined to her.
"Oi, oi, what's with that fourth-wall-breaking comment?"
"Just ignore her, Saki-chan, she's just messing with you."
Shinomiya said ftly before sitting down.
"Hey! I deserve to sit next to Saki-chan! Move over!"
"No, it's my turn today. You can sit next to door."
"Nooo! Shino-chan is rebelling! Could it be that Shino-chan is finally growing up— Ouch!!"
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Shinomiya sighed, clearly tired of Sakura's antics.
"So you're all here."
From the door leading to the balcony, Endou walked in, followed by Kazuto.
"Ohh, hello Kazuto-senpai, Endou-senpai!"
"Hello Shinomiya-chan, Sakura-chan, still full of energy, I see."
Endou greeted them back, while Kazuto nodded with a smile.
"Misaki, weren't you sick? Are you feeling better now— Guakh!"
As Endou was about to sit next to Misaki, Kazuto grabbed his colr from behind and pulled him away.
"Hey, that's my spot!"
Endou compined.
But Kazuto replied sarcastically, "What kind of cim is that?"
"What kind of deja vu is this..."
Misaki, who had seen this happen twice before, didn't know what to say.
"Are you feeling better?"
Kazuto asked as he sat down.
"Umm, I just fainted this morning because I stayed up too te, but I'm fine now."
Misaki expined with a smile to reassure Kazuto. However, he didn't seem convinced as he stared at her with a skeptical look.
"If you say so. But if something like this happens again, I'll be really angry because I'll be worried, you know. And don't push yourself too hard like you did this morning."
He said while patting Misaki's head.
"Ehehe."
"Why are you ughing?"
"Sorry, I won't do it again. Hehe."
"..."
"Am I being forgotten again even though I'm right here?"
Endou compined, feeling invisible. In the end, he had to sit across from Misaki, next to Sakura.
"Endou-senpai, you should know how we feel, barely appearing in the test chapters!"
Sakura joined in with her own strange compint.
"What's with all these fourth-wall-breaking comments?"
Endou looked confused.
"Seriously, stop with all the deja vu already!!"
And to everyone's surprise, Shinomiya smmed the table and shouted, clearly fed up with the repeated events.
"Gyahaha, I finally managed to annoy Shino-chan today!"
Sakura said proudly. But her expression quickly changed when Shinomiya pinched her cheeks.
"Congratutions, you've managed to do that since we met in kindergarten."
Shinomiya said with an expressionless face.
"Ow! Ow! I'm sorry! Don't pull so hard, my skin might peel off!"
Sakura pleaded with teary eyes.
"Shino-chan seems a bit more impatient than usual today."
Misaki chuckled as she watched their interaction.
With all the conversations going on, their lunch was quite enjoyable.
Misaki then remembered the conversation she had with Endou yesterday, which was cut short because she wasn't feeling well. She decided to bring it up again.
"Oh, right, Endou. About yesterday, what did you need help with?"
Endou quickly recalled after Misaki asked.
"Ah, about that. Well, it's a bit embarrassing to say, but I actually need you to teach me how to py Extreme X: Hardcore."
He expined while scratching his head.
"Oh, are you pnning to join the local tournament?"
"How did you know?"
Endou looked surprised that Misaki guessed correctly.
"Well, for someone with average skills who's proud of it to suddenly ask for lessons, isn't it easy to figure out?"
"You make it sound like I'm a bad pyer..."
"Oops, that was meant as a compliment."
"Thanks for the compliment, but it doesn't make me feel any better!"
"Hahaha."
Ignoring Endou's frustration, Misaki knew he wanted to join the tournament because, in the past, Endou had participated before, though he was quickly eliminated in the early rounds. After all, he wasn't particurly skilled when facing pro pyers.
"Alright, I'll help you."
"Really?!"
Hearing Misaki's positive response, Endou became excited.
"Yes, but only if Onii-chan agrees. Besides, I'd have to visit your house."
Endou's gaze immediately shifted to Kazuto, who was finishing his drink. Of course, he had heard their conversation.
".... If you run 20 ps around the field without stopping—"
Whoosh!
""...""
Before Kazuto could even finish his sentence, Endou was already sprinting down the stairs like a madman, leaving everyone speechless.
"Kazuto-senpai, I can't believe you're that cruel to Endou-senpai..."
Sakura said in disbelief.
"Onii-chan..."
Misaki frowned at him.
"..."
Shinomiya pretended not to hear or see anything and quietly finished the cookies Misaki had brought, even taking Sakura's share to vent her frustration from earlier.
"I-I didn't even finish my sentence. Besides, I was just joking. I didn't think Endou would take it seriously."
That was Kazuto's excuse. He actually intended to let Misaki go because he had been keeping her at home for too long due to a past incident.
"Well, for now, just let him be. I want to see how far he can run."
"Saki-chan, you're just as bad!"
Ignoring Sakura's disbelief, Endou managed to finish his st p just before lunch break ended. And that's how he managed to invite Misaki to his house more often, as she would come over to coach him... Or so it seemed.
---
Time to give Misaki more interactions with Endou, nguehehehe...
