Which Is Better?

"Shido, let me feed you." Origami said with an expressionless tone.

Realizing what she intended to do, Shido couldn't help but smile wryly as their classmates started to notice something amusing brewing. The most exaggerated ones were of course, the dumb trio, Ai, Mai, and Mii who were now talking among themselves and spouting misleading things that could cause a misunderstanding.

"Look, look, Itsuka-kun was being fed by Tobiichi-san even though he already had Yatogami-san." Ai, the boyish female student with spiky blonde hair that spikes at her bangs, commented on the side while one of her hands covered her mouth as if she looked shocked by what she was witnessing.

"Wow, I can't believe he's already two-timing," Mai added, her tone carrying a mix of ridicule and genuine amusement. Her lips curled into a teasing smirk, clearly entertained by the scene unfolding before her.

"That's so lame," Mii chimed in, delivering her signature deadpan remark with an unreadable expression.

Hearing the ridiculous discussion of the three, Shido could only smile bitterly as whenever those three were within sight, they always focus their attention on him.

Shido sighed and decided to ignore the three gossip-loving troublemakers. Getting caught up in their nonsense would only make things worse, and he already had enough chaos on his plate.

"I can feed myself." Shido tried to persuade Origami gently. Even though she had fed him once after their first time together, being fed surrounded by people, especially their classmates left Shido sighing. Instead, he turned his attention back to Origami, who was still looking at him eagerly waiting for his reply.

"Let me feed you." However, Origami wasn't fazed by Shido's words and maintained her stance of feeding him.

"Origami, I-"

"Let me feed you."

Her face was unchanging as if she wasn't bothered by their classmates' strange gaze.

Yet, even though she was not bothered by it, Shido felt it was a little uncomfortable as if they were an attraction.

Shido still tried to reason with Origami but she seemed to be so fixated on feeding him.

But looking at Origami's deadpan yet eager face, Shido could only let out a helpless sigh and raise his hands in defeat.

There was no really any harm in being spoon-fed by Origami since they had already done it before and he knew that Origami might be jealous of Tohka since she could spend time with him every day while Origami was far away from Shido.

After exhaling deeply, Shido finally nodded and smiled in defeat at Origami causing her eyes to shine as if there were stars on it.

Origami silently unwrapped the bento and opened the lid with an expressionless face, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

However, Shido was completely speechless by the appearance of the bento.

Among the beautifully arranged food in the bento, there was one glaring detail he couldn't ignore, a huge heart drawn on the rice, with his name "Shido" written inside it.

The sheer boldness of it made him momentarily freeze.

Tohka, who had just taken a bite of her melon bread, nearly choked. She coughed and quickly gulped down some juice before pointing at the bento with wide eyes.

"Sh-Shido! There's a—! A huge—! W-Wha—?!" she stammered, her face flushing red as she struggled to form words.

Shido let out an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his head.

"O-Origami… This is…" He looked at her, unsure whether to feel touched or embarrassed.

Origami, still maintaining her usual stoic expression, responded in a completely serious tone.

"A love-filled bento."

Shido almost choked on his own saliva.

Shido felt his headache intensify. Origami's way of expressing her love was always this direct and overwhelming.

"Say ahh," Origami repeated in the same monotone voice, completely unfazed by his reaction. She moved her chopsticks held a piece of karaage closer to his lips as she looked at him with an expectant gaze unwavering.

Shido sighed in defeat. He knew from experience that Origami wouldn't back down.

Resigning himself, he opened his mouth.

Just as he was about to take a bite—

BAM!

A hand slammed onto the desk beside him.

Shido jumped in surprise and quickly turned his head, only to see Tohka, staring at them with a puffed-up, jealous expression.

"Th-That's unfair!" she protested, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel. "If Origami gets to feed you, then I should get to do it too!"

Although, she was still wary of Origami considering she had the same intimate relationship with Shido, Tohka wasn't that hostile with Origami anymore as Shido was smoothening things between them, nevertheless, they still argued most of the time.

Tohka grabbed an untouched Yakisoba bread on her table filled with various kinds of bread and held it up with both hands, looking determined.

"Here, Shido! Say ahh!" Tohka mimicked Origami's tone, though her face was slightly red from embarrassment and expectation.

Shido let out a tired sigh. "Tohka, I can eat by myse—"

"Ahh!" Tohka insisted, leaning in closer.

Shido glanced between the two girls. On one side, Origami was calmly holding a piece of karaage near his lips. On the other side, Tohka was pouting, her brows furrowed in jealousy. Yet, the two were glaring at each other as if competing which one would Shido eat first.

He felt a drop of sweat roll down his temple.

'What am I, a baby bird?'

Shido let out a silent sigh, feeling utterly drained by the sheer energy radiating from the two girls.

He knew that if he chose to eat one of their food first, the other would undoubtedly sulk. Tohka would likely pout and make a fuss, but Origami… she was the more unpredictable one. Even though she had opened her heart to him, Shido still found it difficult to fully grasp what went on inside her mind.

Realizing there was no easy way out, Shido made up his mind. In one swift motion, he took a bite of Origami's karaage while simultaneously sinking his teeth into Tohka's yakisoba bread.

"Mmgh… see?" Shido mumbled, barely able to chew. "Thish way… both of you… happy… right?"

Tohka's eyes widened before sparkling in admiration. "Whoa! Shido, you're amazing!"

Origami was simply nodded after a moment of silence. "...Acceptable."

Shido finally managed to swallow, feeling like he just barely escaped a landmine. 

"So? How does is it?" Origami asked. Although her face was still her usual expressionless face, her voice carried a hint of expectation on it.

"Yeah! How does my yakisoba bread taste? It's good, right?!" Tohka chimed in excitedly, puffing out her chest and shooting a smug look at Origami.

This only further Shido's speechless.

"What are you so proud of? You just bought it from the cafeteria, and now you're acting like you made it yourself?" Origami said bluntly, her words hitting like a well-placed jab.

Tohka flailed her arms in frustration. "H-Hmph! I don't care! It's not like you made that karaage yourself either!" she fired back, pointing at the bento on Shido's desk.

"I did, actually."

Origami's obvious response struck Tohka like an arrow to the chest. She staggered, clutching her heart dramatically.

"K-Kuh! I-It's not over yet..." she muttered, trying to recover from the heavy blow to her pride.

Meanwhile, Origami ignored Tohka's antics and turned her attention back to Shido. "So? How is it?"

Shido couldn't help but let out a small, weary smile. These two were as chaotic as ever. Still, he took a moment to consider the mix of flavors in his mouth before giving his honest verdict.

"It's actually really good. The combination of karaage and yakisoba bread enhances the flavor." Shido said honestly. Truthfully, he thought that the taste would be contradictory to each other but he was surprised that it's actually not that bad.

Origami gave a small, satisfied nod at his answer, while Tohka, who had been sulking moments ago, suddenly sprang back to life, grinning triumphantly.

"Hear that, Origami? Shido said mine was better!" she declared, crossing her arms confidently.

"You might be hearing things," Origami responded flatly. "He said my karaage was the best."

"Can we just eat in peace?" Shido sighed, already sensing another long argument brewing. He should have known better, putting these two together was like mixing fire and water. Completely incompatible.