Eclipse

🌸 💀chapter 25🐲🌸

Sakura stared at the seniors with wide eyes, before slowly nodding. Umemiya, meanwhile, flashed a grin at her answer as if content with that.

“I’m counting on you too, Kaji. Teach them everything you wish you had known—or done—back in your first year," Umemiya said, still grinning like a Cheshire cat, leaning back to eye the second years who were awkwardly hanging back.

"Yessir," the second years chimed in in unison. Sakura shot them a confused look, her eyes locking with Kaji’s. He looked like he was having an inner debate about whether to do something drastic or just take a nap.

"What?" Sakura asked, clearly confused by his intense staring. Kaji stayed quiet for a moment, then pulled out a lollipop and pointed it at her, as if she had just solved a mystery he couldn’t quite put together.

"You’re basically handling everything on your own, there’s not much I can do," Kaji said, his voice soft and strangely serious. Sakura stared at him, her brain processing the new information: 'Wait... is he as clueless as I am?' No, that can’t be right. He’s got more experience in this field!

"And in the first place, I’m not your big brother. I’m an only child," Kaji added matter-of-factly, popping the lollipop back in his mouth, looking way too pleased with himself. Sakura felt a sudden urge to smack him on the head.

"I’m VERY well aware of that," Sakura replied flatly, crossing her arms. One brother is enough, and it’s definitely not this noisy music enthusiast.

"That’s prrrobably not what he meant," Enamoto teased, nudging their class captain, Hiragi, who immediately joined in with an exaggerated eye-roll.

"You’re a role model now, Kaji. Try to think before you speak," Hiragi said, nudging the silent senior as the two younger boys snickered. Sakura watched them bicker, and an absurd thought crossed her mind—'compared to the two... Kaji looks a bit like....'

"Why are you smiling like that?" Kaji asked, noticing her grin that she had been trying to hide. Sakura’s smile wobbled a little as she tried not to laugh.

"Nothing, just... when you three stand next to each other, I can’t help but compare your heights," Sakura said, trying not to snicker. The others, now noticing the odd trio of heights, lost it. Hiragi laughed so hard he almost fell over, while Enamoto was half-choking on his breath trying to contain his laughter.

"What?! I’m still growing!" Kaji yelled, pointing at Sakura dramatically. "And besides, you’re shorter than me! You don’t get to say anything!"

"My height is perfectly normal for a girl my age, thank you very much! I’ll be taller next year!" Sakura shot back, her voice full of indignation. The others were howling with laughter at this bizarre height debate.

Hiragi, still grinning widely, stepped between the two like some sort of peacekeeper, his presence immediately halting their bickering. "Alright, alright, enough of the back-and-forth, you two."

He placed a hand on each of their shoulders, and just like that, both of them instinctively turned away from each other, acting like the stubborn siblings they were when told to stop fighting. The others couldn’t help but laugh at the sight—it looked exactly like an older brother trying to prevent his younger siblings from tearing each other apart over something ridiculous.

"Ah, that’s right, Sakura, I nearly forgot," Umemiya’s voice cut through the tension, pulling her attention away from the stand-off. She turned to see him digging around in his pocket, clearly searching for something. The others glanced at him, confused.

"What?" Sakura asked, her tone a mix of curiosity and wariness. But a part of her already had a feeling this had something to do with a cat. And sure enough, Umemiya pulled out his phone, tapping it rapidly before turning the screen toward her.