Comparison is the Thief of Joy

Greeny and Airi studied Ren, who was awkwardly standing stiff because of the unexpected interruption.

"Right, I guess you haven't met yet. This is Yamaguchi Ren, we met in Cooking Club and hit it off. Ren, these two are Fujimoto Airi and Ichihara Haruki, my friends," Reiji introduced them to each other casually.

"Hello, since you two are friends with Reiji-san, you can call me Ren," the cheery boy bowed slightly.

"H-Hi, you can call me Greeny."

Ren tilted his head in slight confusion but didn't think much of it. Airi, on the other hand, was staring at Reiji with shock painted all over her face.

"Huuhhhhh? Reiji-kun is capable of making friends??? Since when???????" she gasped.

"The fuck does that mean? Why can't I make friends?" Reiji glared.

"I mean, think about it. We had to force you to be friends with us, remember? And the others are still terrified of you, so it actually is a little surprising!"

"Well, that's....." Reiji trailed off, unable to counter her points.

Ren chuckled at their exchange and then turned to them with excitement.

"Do you two want to join us? There's a food exhibition just two stations away by train!"

"Food? I'm definitely coming!" Airi clapped her hands eagerly.

"Me too! I'm also g-going!"

"Maybe you two shouldn't come?" Reiji interjected, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Greeny and Airi's faces fell with dismay.

"What!!? Why not?" she asked, her pigtails bouncing with frustration.

"If you guys come along, you might just eat everything. The others won't get to try any food, the poor things," Reiji replied, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"You....."

This time, it was Airi's turn to be speechless, while Greeny scratched his moss-colored hair with a sheepish look.

The oblivious Ren had no idea what was going on. These two looked quite slim, so that inside joke went right over his head.

Reiji, noticing his puzzlement, grinned mischievously.

"No need to be so confused. Don't get fooled by their innocent appearance; they're pigs in sheep's clothing who will basically devour anything in their path."

"DON'T MAKE IT SOUND LIKE WE EAT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!" Airi yelled, smacking his shoulder with a mortified grimace.

"Yeah! We o-only eat like that when you're the one who c-cooked, Reiji-kun," Greeny whined.

"....Can't lie, I'm a little touched."

Reiji held his cheeks in his hands and twisted shyly, though that looked incredibly creepy to the other three since it was coming from a grown-ass muscular man.

"Ew."

"Screw you."

"Um... I don't want to interrupt, but if you guys want to come, we should get going. The exhibition has started already, and the popular stalls run out of food fast," Ren mumbled, trying to contain his laughter.

"Oh yeah, let's go!"

***

(Riku POV)

I sucked on the long stick happily, the slurping noises escaping involuntarily because of how focused I was.

The thin, orange-flavored popsicle was perfect to help stay cool on such a hot day. Add on the fact that I'm accompanied by two unbelievably sexy women, life is pretty good.

"....Riku-tan, you're really going after that popsicle, huh?" Yuzuki-san asked with an odd expression.

"Yeah, it's awesome, you wanna try?"

I held out the icy orange pole towards her, but she stepped back for some reason, leaning away from me.

"Er, no thanks! I'm ok."

"Riku, are you crazy? Why would you offer her the popsicle you licked??"

Hina was looking at me, completely baffled at my proposal.

But all I wanted to do was share, what's wrong with that?

"Oh come on, it's not that deep. Aren't we friends? Something like this doesn't matter," I replied, defending myself.

"It was deep in you, though."

I couldn't quite hear what Yuzuki-san mumbled under her breath, but her smile suggested she wasn't offended by the idea of licking my popsicle.

'Yeah, I knew it. I think she likes me. Maybe she's just shy?'

They each had their own popsicles in their hands, but they were both quite strange flavors that I hadn't even heard of.

'Why on earth would anyone want to eat a Wasabi Chocolate-flavored popsicle???'

As much as I wanted to share with them, the odd name made me almost vomit internally.

"Haruna-chan, isn't this delicious? It's got a sweet flavor that kicks you with a spice at the end!"

"It's definitely not bad, but I don't think I'd get it again," Yuzuki-san responded, analyzing the green and brown stick in her hand.

"I feel bad for your tongues. Why would you subject them to such torture? I feel like puking just looking at you two," I laughed, making a disgusted face as they took a bite.

Hina and Yuzuki-san both gave me different looks. The former rolled her eyes while the latter looked.... mad?

'Why does she look pissed? Ah, maybe she really does dislike the flavor and only bought it for Hina's sake? That makes so much sense. Thank God her sense of taste isn't completely whack.'

Before I could think about it a little more, the hot blonde brightened up and pointed to something behind me. I turned to see a carriage ride pulled by two large horses parked nearby with a man holding a sign that offered people rides.

"Guys, let's do that! It looks fun! I've never ridden one before!" Yuzuki-san chirped happily.

"Yeah, I don't mind!" Hina replied.

I didn't really feel like doing that; it looked kinda boring. But for some reason, it felt like I had no choice. I decided to be gracious and agree, hoping it would earn me bonus points for when I ask them out in the future.

"Can the three of us get a ride?" I asked the man with the sign.

He studied the three of us and said, "The carriage is only big enough for two of you. I also have the time to offer only one ride because I have to leave soon, so if you kids are still interested, you should discuss which of the two of you want to go."

The three of us exchanged dismayed looks, wondering what we should do.

'Hmmm, there are three ways we can go about this. Since these two wanted to go more than me, I can let them ride it, but..... Isn't that a waste? This might be the perfect chance for me to get closer with Yuzuki-san! I've been so busy lately that we haven't hung out much, and I'm sure Hina won't mind. Letting those two ride would leave me out, and going with Hina would be a waste since we're already close.'

My thoughts raced furiously as I tried to think of the best combination, and finally decided to go with Yuzuki-san. Those two were still wondering what to do, so I made the choice before they could do so.

"Yuzuki-san, want to go with me?" I asked confidently.

Her green eyes widened in surprise, and she turned to Hina who didn't seem happy at all.

"Hina, remember we rode the carriage when we were young? Yuzuki-san said she hasn't done it yet, so it makes sense for me to go with her!" I explained hastily, not expecting her to look so upset.

"...Then wouldn't it make sense for me to go with her? We're closer with each other, after all," Hina countered.

I shut my mouth, speechless at her reasoning. I tried to think of a way to justify my choice without exposing my intentions with Yuzuki-san, but nothing seemed concrete enough to do so.

"I... Er...."

"Sir, the two of us would like to go!" Hina addressed the man, pulling Yuzuki-san with her.

The Gyaru had been quiet the entire time, probably unsure of what to say. I frowned as they got on, annoyed at the unfairness of it all.

'Why should they get to ride it??? I was the one who proposed to come to the park!'

I watched as the carriage pulled away, the horses clopping their hooves on the concrete road as they slowly walked off with the two women looking like they were enjoying themselves a little too much.

'Tch, so selfish.'

***

(Haruna POV)

Haruna, while having quite a bit of fun with this novel experience, was also glancing at Hina with worry. She had a smile on her face, but it was clear that it wasn't a real one.

"...Hina-tan, can I ask you a question? Please don't get mad," she whispered.

"I probably know what you're going to say. I won't get mad, so go ahead," Hina chuckled softly.

"Why are you friends with him? I don't know him as well as you do, but he really doesn't seem like a great guy."

"....I don't know how to explain it without sounding incredibly naive. When we were younger, we were a lot closer than now. We always used to play with each other since we lived next door and our parents were college friends. But.... in middle school, he started hanging out with people who played some video games and became really close with them. I didn't mind that, but he started to spend less time with me, became more obsessed with those games, and even the people he called his friends weren't very nice."

Hina sighed as she crossed her arms and leaned back.

"But I still like him, which you probably already know. Though not much different, he used to be much sweeter, and I guess I'm holding onto the small hope that he'll mature and realize how he's been acting. I tried talking to him, but he never listens," she continued despondently.

Haruna just listened quietly.

She would probably have sympathized with her before.

Maybe understood Riku's situation a little more.

But only if a certain man's image didn't keep popping up in her head.

'Comparison really is the thief of joy,' she thought, smiling as she recalled the kind goofball that seemingly torpedoed into her life out of nowhere.