Chapter 132 - Intuitions Sharp As A Blade

Since I told Yuna to not talk about my plan with anyone, I decided to drop subtle hints about my involvement in the sudden change that occurred. Naoto is quite perceptive, so I'm sure somewhere in her mind, she'll pick these subtle indications.

Looking over my shoulder, I pointed at Ryuhan with my right hand and asked, "Oh, I also noticed Ryuhan Senpai is back… you two on good terms again?"

She nodded her head and sighed, "Not even close… he hasn't talked to me for once since he returned." And under her breath, she muttered, "Immaturity"

That's kind of ironic coming from her. A person who decided to shut herself from everything but not completely and is making other people a part of her problem and influencing their lives, too.

"That's weird." I said, because from her perspective she doesn't know I did something, nor does she know about Yuna's deeds.

After a bit of thinking, she looked at Yuna, and said, "And the fact that Ryuhan changed his mind means Yuna must have said something to him."

"What?"

She sounded quite confident and assured about her claim. Well, she has been friends with them for a long time now, so it was plausible. 

Her eyes glanced at me, and she said with a chuckle, "Ryuhan always listens to Yuna."

I looked over to Yuna, who was red as a tomato now and was looking towards the floor rather than looking at either of us. With a bashful voice she said, "Don't say it like that."

"Why?" I asked, as it seems like she likes Ryuhan, or maybe it's the other way around. But I'm sure someone likes someone.

As Yuna didn't answer my question and kept the silence between us, Naoto answered instead, "Well, which boyfriend won't listen to his girlfriend?"

"Wait… they are dating?" As she said that they shared that type of relationship, some things made sense. Also, I knew someone like her can't be single.

"Ahhh… yes… we are dating." She quickly bursted out herself and confessed. With embarrassment on her face, Yuna didn't look like a person to get easily flustered.

"Damn.. I was wondering if you're single or taken a few days." I said, as I really thought about this a few days ago.

Yuna leaned towards me with both her hands on both sides of her waist and scolded me, "Hey, you should keep your loyalty to Naoto."

"Yuna…" Naoto yelped, as there was a very slight tint of blush on her face too. It was for such a short time, she again returned to her poker face.

Shaking my head from left to right, I said, "Senpai, we aren't even dating."

The corners of her lips rose as a sly smile formed on her face. "Naoto is quite interested in you though."

Naoto's hands clenched into a fist as she scolded her again, "Yuna!"

Yuna raised her hands in the air and laughed, "Ooof… just telling the truth."

Yuna was sure enjoying this, and it was indeed good for my progress with Naoto, so I wasn't complaining, but I had to pretend like it was a lame joke. 

With a bored expression, I sighed, "Yeah… an interesting character."

Naoto turned towards me, as I could see her eyebrows raised in a questioning manner, "Did that rub you the wrong way?"

"No, I'm good." I shrugged.

A smile formed on her face as her dark eyes blinked momentarily at me. In a sly voice, she said, "You seem to be stuck at that thing for quite some time now."

"No no… I seriously think little about this." I answered honestly, as it indeed pissed me off to some extent, but I didn't have time to think about it all day. 

To change the topic, I noticed their casual uniform, so I asked, "You guys are not going to train?"

Yuna shook her right hand from left to right and said, "No no… we were just going to change."

"Oh… alright, then I'll be on my way." I said, considering the fact that they needed to train. In my head, I knew that Naoto won't need that much training, but as for Yuna, I have never seen her spar.

As I turned around and was about to leave, she called out to me, "Tell me one thing, why are you so interested in me?"

"What?" I turned around and looked at her in confusion.

There was nothing but silence between us, as both of us were looking at each awkwardly. To break the silence, Yuna glanced at me for a second, and with a soft smile she left, "I'm leaving alright, you can join later."

Yuna went inside the room behind me, and Naoto again asked in a more persistent tone this time, "Tell me?"

"What do you want to hear?" Narrowing my eyes, I asked. There was a strange sense of tension around us.

"Your reason." She replied, crossing her arms on her chest with a slight smug.

"I already told you." I shrugged.

"You clearly lied." She answered almost instantly and looked me in the eye. I stood there in silence waiting for her to continue as she did, "You are a lot more than you show others."

I was a bit surprised as she said that since I wasn't expecting her to look through me so quickly. That too, without even talking with me properly. I had to say that her observation skills were at their peak.

"Aren't everyone like that?" replying casually, in my usual tone. I glanced at her, but she appeared as unfazed as ever. Added, "We are what we decide to show others."

The corner of her lips curved into a slight smile as she nodded, "Well, that's true… but there are genuine people, right?"

"You mean to say… I'm not genuine?" I asked, and she replied instantly, "Pretty much…"

"And what led you to conclude that?" I was now intrigued to know her reasoning behind this conclusion.

She narrowed her eyes, which were as dark as the night sky, and stared at me, "The way you talk… the way your eyes move… it all seemed far too calculated."