"I'll See You Around"

Sometimes Kinshiro wondered what went on through Yumoto's head.

He hadn't really approached any of the other Defense Club members aside from Atsushi ever since… Everything. But out of all the other four, Yumoto seemed like the most enigmatic.

Kinshiro would've thought En would be the one he would have the hardest time understanding, but he couldn't wrap his head around Yumoto. How could someone be so careless and cheerful? He couldn't help but sometimes wonder if Yumoto ever worried about anything.

But how do you approach something you don't understand? Something you can't predict?

He certainly hadn't expected Yumoto to just show up at the Student Council office during lunch, basically glaring at him while holding a lunchbox in his hands.

"Do you want something, Hakone?" He asked.

"Ibushi-senpai said you weren't gonna have lunch!"

Kinshiro was silent for a second, trying to comprehend Yumoto's reasoning. (He should have already learned that it would be useless. But his instincts wouldn't allow it) "Well, yes. I have some extra paperwork today. I'll just have something later."

"But you've gotta eat!" Yumoto forced the lunchbox he was holding onto Kinshiro's hand. "Here, have half of my lunch! It's better than eating a snack."

Kinshiro looked down at the lunchbox for a moment, then sighed. "I can't accept this, Hakone. Your brother made this for you , didn't he?"

"Oh, I'm sure he won't mind it if I explain it to him. Plus, he'd always tell me to do nice things for my friends."

"Friends…?"

"Yeah…? Why are you surprised?" Yumoto seemed to find his confusion genuinely weird.

Kinshiro wondered just how many times he would question the way Yumoto worked. Friends? The two of them? Kinshiro didn't know how to feel about Yumoto seeing them that way.

On one hand, he felt a little bad for Yumoto for having such low standards of friends. The two of them had barely ever talked to each other properly.

But on the other hand… Part of him seemed to like the idea of them being friends. Even if he didn't see it that way yet, maybe Yumoto's initiative was a good start?

He sighed, thinking about it was already giving him a headache. "Okay, I'll eat it… Thanks for worrying."

"Don't worry about it." Yumoto giggled with a smile.

His smiles were another part of Yumoto that he found weird. He would always smile so often, and yet they always seemed so genuine. Kinshiro couldn't say for sure if Yumoto ever hid his emotions, but if he did he was very good at it.

"My brother's food is very good, so I bet you'll enjoy it."

"We'll see…" For just a moment, Kinshiro couldn't help but smile back at him. "I'll see you around, Hakone."

"Yes! See you later, Kin-chan-senpai!"

"Kin-chan-!?" Kinshiro's face burned when he heard that, but before he could question him, Yumoto was already hopping down the hallway.

Kin-chan-senpai. He had probably picked that from Atsushi… He tried to stop his face from burning so much, maybe eating and concentrating on his work again would help.

But he still had some thoughts lingering in his mind. He couldn't remember ever actually saying "I'll see you around" to Yumoto before… It felt like some sort of promise to actually talk to him more often… If he was already giving Kinshiro nicknames, then maybe it would be fine to start calling him 'Yumoto'.

Yumoto was definitely right about Gora's cooking being good. He had barely noticed when he had finished all the food.

But that was also when he realised he would have to return the lunchbox to him… Maybe he had been too embarrassed by his childhood nickname to have thought about it earlier. The fact that Yumoto hadn't even mentioned anything about it was just as weird to him, although he was not at all surprised.

Well, returning it would definitely count as 'seeing him later'...

Maybe one day he would understand Yumoto, or maybe he wouldn't. But that was already enough of a reason for him to at least try.