The apartment was your typical 1 room appartment with a combined living room and kitchen. It had been thoroughly cleaned and was very presentable. It wasn’t messy at all, and everything was neatly organized. I'd heard that a person's home reflects their personality, and it seemed to be true here. In addition to beeing very tidy, the room was overflowing with stuffed animals... Yeah, this was definitely Koyanagi-senpai's apartment. “Could you bring my things to the kitchen, please?” Koyanagi-senpai asked. “Sure.” “Thanks. I’ll take it from there, so you can relax in the living room.” “Uh, okay.” I moved to the living room as I was told and sat down on the sofa. It was a large L-shaped sofa, perhaps for when Koyanagi had friends over. A fairly large TV stood across the other side of the coffee table. Several game consoles where lined up on the TV stand. “Koyanagi-senpai, you play games?” I asked. “Yeah. I really like them.” “That’s a bit of a surprise.” “Did I look that uptight?” The thought that recent games were too difficult for kids, stayed in my head. “Ah” I spotted a copy of Fan-Nex on the shelf between all other games. Could it be that Koyanagi-senpai was also a Fan-Nex player? Maybe we’d crossed paths somewhere, or maybe we’d even fought together. ...No, that was probably too much to hope for. “Um, this one goes here... and this one goes over there... Yuuki-kun, just hold on a sec. I’m sorry to make you wait.” “Oh don’t worry about me... Huh?” My phone was ringing. On the screen I saw that it was a call from Suzu. Why was Suzu calling me right now?! Should I answer? Should I not answer? Normally, I’d choose not to answer, but... if I didn’t, she’d probably grill me about it later. Suzu had a knack for picking up on strange things, so if I lied to her, it would probably come back to bite me in the ass later. “…Hello,” I finally answered. “Oh, Naoto-san? Is this a good time?” “If you can make it quick, then sure.” “Hm? Are you busy?” “Well, I guess I am.” “Really? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was just thinking that maybe we could hang out tomorrow, so I wanted to ask if you had time.” “Oh, no, it’s fine. Where do you want to go?” “…?” “Suzu?” “You’re suspicious.” Suddenly, Suzu’s tone became serious.

“Wh-what do you mean...?” “It’s suspicious that you agreed to my invitation right away. The real you would make me wait by either hesitating, or teaseing me. The fact that you gave me an immediate answer... it’s like you’re trying to end our conversation as quickly as possible.” What a great detective. This was bad. I wasn’t sure why it was bad, but it was. A strange sweat was running down my back. My heart was beating faster. “Naoto-san, what are you hiding?” Suzu asked. “No, I am not...” “If you don’t give me an answer, I’ll tell Papa and Mama that you said you wanted to play doctor with me!” “No, no, no, that’s cheating!” “Well, then, next time we’re walking around town together, I’ll make myself look like I’m about to cry. Then I’ll whisper in a low voice, ‘Help me,’!” “That’s even more cheating!” Suzu was using the fact that she was a little girl to her advantage. She was truly a little devil in disguise! “So, tell me what you’re hiding,” Suzu demanded. “Um, well... I wouldn't say I'm hiding anything, it's just that this happened by chance... I'm not up to anything suspicious. Please believe me...” “Which do you like better, Yuuki-kun? Japanese or black tea?” “Ah!” “Huh?” Koyanagi-senpai popped her head out from the kitchen and asked me that question. Koyanagi’s voice was loud enough for Suzu to hear it clearly… “Naoto-san... You CHEEEATER---!!!!!!” The call ended. “Ugh, uhhh...” I covered my ears, cowering in pain. How can such a small body produce such a voice...? At this rate, my eardrums might burst. “A-Are you okay..?” “Ah... Yes. I'm fine... No, maybe I’m not.” “I must have asked you at a really bad time... I'm sorry.” “No, you don't need to apologize... Ugh...” My ears hurt. They were ringing. Suzu had probably misunderstood the situation and thought we were having a rendezvous. Given my attitude and Koyanagi-senpai’s voice. “I can't believe she ended up with that conclusion. I don't think a normal person would think of that, but... I've said this before, but is she really an elementary school girl?” “What did you say?” “Oh, nothing.” Thank goodness. Koyanagi-senpai didn’t seem to have heard what I’d just said. If she’d found out that Suzu was still in elementary school, things would have gotten even more complicated. “I’m sorry... it's all my fault that your girlfriend got the wrong idea, right? I could hear the word 'CHEEEATER' over here.” “She’s not my girlfriend... Well, I guess we’re not on the best of terms now.” Suzu and I had only known each other for a little over a year. Even when we played games together and met up in real life, we’d never had a single fight. Which means this was our first time ever. ...How am I supposed to make up with her?