On the inside, Hana felt like she could break out into song and dance. On the outside, she cackled as she carefully placed her precious ticket inside her bag.
She could use it to have a girls’ day out with Hazuki, Suzu, and Kikyou. It was sure to be a delight, and just imagining it made Hana smile.
Before they knew it, the food arrived. Saku’s promise had set some high standards, and sure enough, every dish was delicious.
“So good!”
“Glad to hear it.”
Saku was a bit irked by Hana’s focus on her food, but he still watched her eat with a gentle gaze. Meanwhile, Yukizasa watched Saku with amusement before grinning and stepping in.
“Hey, listen, don’t you wanna hear about Saku’s love life back in high school? The guy was a hit with the ladies, I tell ya.”
Hana’s exquisite cutlery stopped in their tracks.
“Wait… I totally wanna know.”
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“You stupid—! Yukizasa, don’t go saying stuff she doesn’t need to hear!”
Saku blew up at Yukizasa for some reason, but his scrambling only made Hana even more curious.
“So were Saku’s high school days wild enough to get worked up over?”
Hana had heard before that Saku’s time as a student was pretty rough-and-tumble, so she imagined he must’ve gotten up to no good with women, too. Saku winced at how icy her glare had become, and he turned his frustrations onto Yukizasa.
“Yukizasa, seriously, go home!”
“C’mooon, I’m saying nothing but the truth.”
Hana could tell that Saku was really getting peeved about Yukizasa’s playful jabs.
“Don’t tell me your acts were downright unspeakable…”
“I wasn’t that bad!”
Saku tried to deny the accusations since Hana was growing increasingly disgusted, but by the time he noticed his slip of the tongue, it was already too late.
“So if you weren’t that bad…that means you were still pretty awful.”
“Guh.”
“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Saku was at a loss for words, but Yukizasa started howling with laughter and slamming the table.
“You guys are too funny. Oh man, I can’t breathe…”
“Good, don’t!” Saku growled at his friend, who was now suffering from a busted gut.
Now that she was getting hints about his history with women, a bit of anger flared up within Hana. She tried to explain it away—perhaps she’d gotten carried away and eaten too much—but she knew the real reason it was there. It would’ve pained her to admit it, because Hana hadn’t accepted that she could feel jealousy over him just yet. And she knew that if those feelings showed on her face, Saku would never let her hear the end of it. That’s why she decided to keep it in her heart for now, tie it down with firm chains many times over, and seal it with a heavy padlock.
As Hana wrestled with her thoughts, Saku and Yukizasa continued their banter. Saku was angry, but Yukizasa was having the time of his life.
“Wanna hear the story about how Saku almost got trapped in the infirmary with one of the lady teachers?”
“Absolutely.”
Hana was leaning forward, on the edge of her seat, when Saku flicked her on the forehead. He then hurled a wet towel at Yukizasa. It landed spectacularly on his face, but his grin remained in place.
“What’s the big deal? I’m just trying to entertain your dear, precious bride with some old stories.”
“Yeah, it’s no big deal!” Hana chimed in to gleefully take Yukizasa’s side.
She had some complicated feelings about Saku’s love life, but she was still dying to know just how much of a disaster he had been.
“Nobody asked. And you, stop going along with him, you idiot!”
Saku reprimanded not just Yukizasa but Hana as well.
“What’re you calling me an idiot for? Well, I’m rubber, and you’re glue, so everything bounces off of me and sticks to you!” Hana retorted.
“Are you a toddler?”
“It’s your fault for having such a potty mouth. I’m amazed women saw anything in you. You sure you weren’t imagining it? You know, with how egotistical you are.”
To Hana, Saku was an arrogant jerk. Sure, he was handsome, but his personality left a lot to be desired.
Saku winced at Hana’s response.
“Poor thing, you can’t even comprehend my charms. Maybe I ought to give you a physical demonstration?”
With that, he approached Hana, and with his hand cupping her jaw, he drew her face close to his. Hana’s face instantly turned beet red. They were close enough to kiss, and Yukizasa was still right there. His over-the-top attempt to come off as sexy just made it creepier.
“Wh-wh-wha—? Wait a second!”
Seeming to sense the effect he was having as Hana stammered, Saku looked smug.
“Yukizasa, look away.”
“Okey dokey.”
“Don’t ‘okey dokey’ that! And wait— Why are you staring at us?!”
Hana snapped back at Yukizasa, who not only didn’t look away but in fact stared intently and smiled at them.
“Oh, you think you’re in a position to care about him, do you?”
“Gyah! Waaah!”
At the absolute last possible moment, Hana’s cranium moved faster than its contents. She fended off Saku with an impressive headbutt.
“Ooh…”
Saku let out a pained wail, which gave Hana the opening she needed to escape his vile clutches. Relieved, she pivoted to pour salt onto her shameless assailant’s wounds.
“Idiot! Dirty old man! Zero conscience!”
“That’s really the first thing out of your mouth, huh…? I thought my teeth were going to get knocked out.”
“It’s your fault anyway!”
Hana spat out insults with her face still flushed. The embarrassment of being nearly kissed was part of it, but the other was just how hot Saku was.
As much as it pained her to admit it, he had good looks, if absolutely nothing else. She couldn’t deny it; his popularity with women back in his high school days was surely no joke. As terrible as his personality was, he was the legitimate heir to the Ichinomiya clan, a highly skilled practitioner, and quite the looker to boot, so of course the girls couldn’t keep their hands off him.
And yet Saku had come to like Hana, which continued to strike her as more and more of a mystery. She didn’t think she’d done anything special; if there was something about her that struck a chord in Saku’s heart, only Saku knew what it was.
“I swear, having such a bashful wife sure is hard on a husband…”
Saku seemed mildly annoyed as he returned to his seat, but the wife he was mildly annoyed at stared daggers back at him.
“I’m the one who ought to be complaining!”
Suddenly, Yukizasa started laughing again after watching their antics. The sort of stifled chuckles that he could barely keep to himself. The other two looked at him, puzzled.
“You really have changed, Saku. I bet anyone who used to know you would say the same if they saw you now.”
Saku scowled like he’d just tasted something bitter, but he couldn’t say anything back.