The Heroines Want to Confess

Unexpectedly—

"I'm sorry."

That was the first thing Nakano Itsuki said to Sakurai Saku.

Sakurai barely acknowledged her, continuing to eat.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Why are you apologizing to me?"

Itsuki hesitated, then gathered her courage.

"About yesterday… I really regret it. I misunderstood you. So… if possible, could you still—"

She fidgeted, intertwining her fingers nervously.

Her anxious expression almost made her look pitiful.

But Sakurai was unmoved.

He set his chopsticks down, looking directly at her.

"Continue being your tutor?"

He chuckled.

"Alright, let's put this in perspective, Itsuki-san."

"Let's say I take YOUR schoolbag and throw it off the 30th floor."

"How would you feel?"

"Would YOU forgive ME?"

Fujiwara Chika, who had been holding her chopsticks mid-air, froze.

—Wait.

—What?!

—THAT happened yesterday?!

—WHO did that?! That's SO mean!!

Itsuki—visibly shaken—gritted her teeth.

Then, her voice softened.

"If throwing my bag would help you vent your anger, I don't mind."

"If it makes you feel better, you can even insult me—I won't fight back."

"Because… all of this is my fault."

"You didn't deserve to be treated that way."

Her tone was genuinely remorseful.

Sakurai—momentarily stunned—didn't respond immediately.

Honestly—

He didn't expect her to say something like that.

"If you just need a tutor, Tokyo is huge. You don't need me."

He leaned back.

"Go find someone else."

This girl—

Might actually be the dumbest of the five sisters.

With this kind of attitude, how was her grades still so bad?

She seemed serious about studying—so why was she struggling so much?

"…It's different."

Itsuki's voice was barely audible.

Sakurai waited.

But after a few seconds—

She said nothing else.

"…You don't even know why you're saying that, do you?"

Sakurai smirked.

He read her like a book.

"Let me guess."

"You feel guilty for getting me fired."

"It's eating you up inside, so now you're trying to apologize."

"Hoping that if I forgive you, your conscience will feel lighter."

"Am I wrong, Itsuki-san?"

Itsuki's lips trembled.

She looked down, hands clenching.

…He won't forgive me.

Sakurai continued, tone unchanged.

"Honestly? I didn't really care that much about this job to begin with."

"I wasn't planning to do it long-term."

"So you don't need to feel guilty."

"You didn't do anything wrong."

Itsuki—

Lowered her head further.

Her grip tightened on her skirt.

"Actually," Sakurai mused, "I didn't even care about what you said at first."

"This had nothing to do with you, really."

"It's your sisters who were the problem."

"Compared to Ichika, who ignored me completely, and Nino, who threw a tantrum…"

"You're actually the most reasonable one."

He leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his palm.

"At least you know how to apologize."

Itsuki—still silent—felt a strange mix of emotions.

Was this… a compliment?

Sakurai picked up his chopsticks again.

"It's still early in the semester. There's plenty of time before midterms."

"If you actually want to fix your grades, there's still a chance."

Itsuki knew this.

At Shuchiin, there were five exams per year.

The "red line"—the threshold for failing—was set at half of the average score.

So, if the average score was 60, then anything below 30 was failing.

There were no retests.

If a required subject was failed twice—you lost that credit.

And if you lost enough credits… you'd have to repeat the year.

That was why their father had hired a tutor in the first place.

Because the five of them had been barely scraping by.

Constantly dancing on the edge of failure.

"…Go back to your sisters, Itsuki-san."

Sakurai sighed.

"I heard you. I accept your apology."

"But as for tutoring?"

"Forget it."

He reached for his drink, planning to end the conversation.

"Let's study at the library."

Itsuki suddenly blurted out.

Sakurai paused.

"…Huh?"

He turned to look at her like she was insane.

"Today's study session—let's do it at the library."

"I'll convince my sisters to come too."

"So… please?"

She looked desperate.

Sakurai—

Was getting frustrated.

"Itsuki-san, I told you already—"

"I want to study."

Itsuki cut him off, voice firm.

"I want to improve my grades."

"So please—"

"Be my tutor."

She bowed deeply.

Fujiwara, witnessing this—

Felt her heart race.

—Wait, wait, wait!

—Is this… a dramatic training arc?!

—Like in a shounen manga, when the protagonist begs the master for guidance?!

Sakurai, however, barely hesitated—

"I refuse."

—and rejected her instantly.

—Wow. That was fast.

His patience had run out.

"You don't listen."

"You do whatever you want."

"It's exhausting."

Itsuki—

Lifted her head, staring into his eyes.

Then, with absolute determination—

"Sakurai-kun."

"After school, I will be waiting in the library."

"Until closing time."

"If you don't come today, I'll wait again tomorrow."

"And the day after."

"I won't stop."

Then, without waiting for a response—

She turned and left.

Sakurai watched her go.

Then—

"Idiot."

He muttered under his breath.

Fujiwara, still processing what just happened, finally spoke.

"…Sakurai-kun, are you going?"

"Of course not."

Sakurai immediately shut it down.

"My heart isn't that soft."

"Especially after getting hit by that crazy chick earlier."

Fujiwara glanced around—

The students around them had definitely overheard.

And their expressions said it all.

—Oh, no.

—They're misunderstanding the situation.

—I can already hear the rumors forming.

Something along the lines of—

"After school today, Nakano Itsuki will confess to Sakurai-kun in the library!"

…Yeah.

Itsuki's dramatic exit definitely made it sound like that.

Sakurai, completely unaware of this—finished his meal.

After lunch, he and Fujiwara took a brief detour to check out the club recruitment booths.

By the time he returned to class—

Something felt off.

The atmosphere had changed.

…Why does it feel like everyone's glaring at me?

Sakurai glanced around—but found nothing suspicious.

Until—

He spotted Hayasaka Ai, chatting with her friends.

"Yo, Ai-chan."

"What did you have for lunch?"

"…Bento."

She answered without much emotion.

—Wait.

Why does she seem upset?

…Is it just my imagination?

'He should notice that I'm in a bad mood.'

Hayasaka thought to herself.

If Sakurai instinctively tried to comfort her—

Then maybe, just maybe—

It would prove he had feelings for her.

…However.

"Oh, I had curry. It was pretty good."

Sakurai responded casually.

Hayasaka: "…"

(You IDIOT!!!)