alone?”

Luckily, Kirishima-san’s house occupies a lot of space. If the neighbors are living nearby, they’ll definitely call the cops after hearing our anguished cries.

☆

In the end, because of Hideyoshi’s contributions, the mock test could only be cancelled. We then continued to study for a few hours. After midnight, it was time for bed.

“Kinosheeta-kun. If something happens, please make such to call out.”

“..This is a bell and a taser. You can use it if Yuuji has any ill intents to you.”

“Muu..is Akihisa’s sister the only one who was able to correctly identify my gender?”

“Aki, I suppose you should be clear. If anything..”

“I, I got it! I won’t do anything bad!”

Because Hideyoshi strongly insisted, we could only split up into ‘guys and Hideyoshi’ and ‘girls’ rooms. Based on how nothing happened during the training camp before, the girls specially allowed us, but..in that case, they didn’t need to take out tasers or threaten us already, right? Am I the only one who thinks that?

And so, it’s finally time for bed.

~Conversation in the girls’ room~

“Arre? Where did my hairclip go? I definitely left it here.”

“Is your hairclip missing?”

“Seems that way.”

“..I’ll search for you.”

“Ah, no need. I’ll find it once we get up tomorrow morning and tidy the beds.”

“..Understood.”

“Speaking of which, it’s like you’ve been wearing that hairclip all the time, Mizuki.”

“..What kind of memorabilia is it?”

“Nfufuf~, according to my guess, that hairclip is given to you by someone you like, right, Hime-chan?”

“Nope, it’s just a normal hairclip I bought for myself.”

“Oh my..I actually guessed wrongly.”

“But it can be considered some kind of memorabilia.”

“Eh? What is it? It sounds interesting.”

“Unfortunately, that’s my own secret. More than that, I’m more mindful about Kudou-san’s matter.”

“Eh? Me?”

“Yeah, I’ve been wondering too.”

“Fufu. Are you two that interested in hearing me say pervy things?”

“Nope, we’re not talking about that.”

“It’s about the relationship between you and Tsuchiya-kun.”

“EHHH!?”

“..I’m wondering about that too.”

“WHA, WHAT ARE YOU THREE RAMBLING ABOUT!? WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP WOULD I HAVE WITH MUTTSURINI-KUN. THERE’S NO SUCH THING!”

“Even the way you strongly deny that is suspicious.”

“..Normally, Aiko would definitely laugh it off.”

“THA, THAT’S NOT TRUE! I HAVE NO SUCH THOUGHTS AT ALL, WHETHER IT’S ABOUT ME OR MUTTSURINI-KUN!”

“Who knows? Maybe Tsuchiya’s saying the same thing as you in the guys’ room now, you know?”

“..This is something we have to talk about when camping overnight.”

“That’s right. The guys must be talking about the same things as us.”

“Yeah. Those guys may be interrogating Tsuchiya, so you better answer honestly.”

“..It’ll be easier on you if you say it out.”

“Just tell us, please?”

“THAT’S WHY I SAID THAT I HAVE NO INTEREST IN SUCH BIG-HEADED GUYS AT ALL!”

~Conversation in the guys’ room~

"Sakamoto Yuuji will start." (Yuuji himself)

"""Yeah~!""" (Me, Hideyoshi and Muttsulini respond in rhythm)

" 'Past and present'!"

"""Yeah~!"""

“The names of Akihisa’s lovers that’s rumored amongst some students!”

..Heh?

Pa pa (clapping hands in rhythm)--> Yuuji's turn

“<Toshimitsu Kubo>!”

“PROTEST! I PROTEST! KUBO-KUN’S A GUY!”

Pa pa (clapping hands in rhythm)--> Muttsurini’s turn

“..<Sakamoto Yuuji>.”

“I DON’T WANT IT! I ROUGHLY KNOW ABOUT IT, BUT IT’S REALLY DISGUSTING WHEN YOU SAY IT! NO!”

“I’M THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE DISGUSTED, YOU IDIOT!”

Pa pa (clapping hands in rhythm)--> Hideyoshi’s turn

“Eh, ermmm..then, then me!”

“..”

“A, Akihisa! I’d feel troubled if you remain silent and blush!”

Pa pa (clapping hands in rhythm)--> My turn

“<Sh, Shimada Minami>!”

“““AKIHISA HAS TO BE PUNISHED!”””

“WHY~”

Since Kubo-kun and Yuuji are allowed, why is it that my kiss with Minami is deemed out! Isn’t this outcome way too weird!?

“Alright, Akihisa, draw one.”

“Uu..I just don’t feel relieved here..”

“Relaxed. Everyone’s relieved other than you.”

In such a bothersome situation, I could only grab onto a piece of paper into the bag Yuuji handed over to me. Let’s see, what’s written on it..

“<Go to the girls’ room and return Himeji-san’s hairclip to her>..eh, isn’t this what I wrote?”

I actually drew the punishment I thought of. I really don’t know whether this should be a good draw or a bad one.

“What the heck, Akihisa. Your punishment’s way too light.”

“Eh? Really? We have to enter the girls’ room here.”

Actually, I panicked and took Himeji-san’s hairclip along as we panicked and ran away just now, which was why I wrote such a punishment, but this punishment’s rather severe, isn’t it? Besides, I might lost my life if I’m careless when entering the room those girls are sleeping in.

“Speaking of which, what did everyone wrote.”

“Mine’s <Go to Shouko’s room and get the marriage certificate back>. Of course, the person must get that marriage certificate no matter how many times he fails before completing the mission.”

“Mine’s <take an album full of photos in female outfits>. I’d have to make you guys feel my pain.”

“..<Take photos of all sorts of goods>. It’s hard to capture them in some special poses.”

Obviously, everyone wrote down their punishment of this game to satisfy their own aim.

That’s great. It’s great that I drew what I wrote..

“Alright, let’s spend time talking before those girls sleep.”

“I’d say, that’s a good idea. Those ladies should be tired, so they should be asleep in an hour.”

“..What should we talk about?”

“Well..oh yeah. Let’s talk about ‘the most embarrassing thing we’ve done in our lives’. There’s a deck of cards here. I’ll be hearts, Hideyoshi will be diamonds, Muttsurini will be clubs, and multiples of 1 will be Akihisa. How about it?”

“““OK!”””

Eh, WAIT! WHY IS IT THAT MY CONDITIONS ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE REST?

“Spade 4. It’s a multiple of one, so Akihisa will answer.”

“THAT’S WAY TOO WEIRD! IT’LL BE ME NO MATTER WHAT IF YOU USE MULTIPLES OF ONE!”

“No no no, you’ll be fine if the joker appears.”

“THAT’S TOO MUCH! WHY ARE MY CHANCES WAY TOO HIGH!!?”

“..The chances are 52 out of 53.”

“Well, no matter what, since spade appeared, you have to answer, Akihisa. I’d say, you better give up and say your most embarrassing past.”

“Gu..got it. Let’s see, it should be when I was in first year of middle school—”

......

....

..

“Alright, Akihisa. It’s about time.”

“WHY DID IT END UP LIKE THIS!? WHY IS IT THAT I JUST SAID ‘MY 16 MOST EMBARRASSING THINGS IN MY LIFE’, AND YOU GUYS DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING! ISN’T THIS TOO UNFAIR!”

“If you have to blame something, blame your draw luck.”

“..You’re so weak it’s scary.”

Yuuji was the one who started drawing, but the cards drawn were all spades. I suspected him a cheating, so I drew them myself..but the cards I drew were all spades. How unlucky can I get?

“Stop yapping. Alright, hurry up and go.”

“Uu..got it—wait, you’re going too, Yuuji?”

“Yeah. I have some things I have to finish.”

As he said that, Yuuji took out the glass cutter he borrowed from Muttsurini and showed it to me. He must be aiming to steal that marriage certificate back, but since that glass is so thick, it’s probably impossible to break it with such a small knife.

“In that case, Muttsurini and I’d follow you onto the corridor.”

“..I’m looking forward to seeing some interesting mishaps.”

“What mishaps? Stop joking around.”

I put down the poker cards and got up, making sure not to make too much noise as I opened the door.

The corridor with only the night lights switched on showed a trail of still and serenity.

(Alright, let’s go.)

(Okay.)

Yuuji and I nodded at each other, and we tiptoed down the corridor.

That’s weird. It’s like I’m used to doing such things recently..

(Are you ready, Akihisa?)

(No problems.)

I took out Himeji-san’s hairclip which I put in my pocket.

It’s just putting the hairclip back to where it was. Nothing hard.

Giii..

Maybe the door’s locked only when no one’s inside, right? I turned the door handle, and the girls’ room door immediately opened. Looks like I didn’t need Muttsurini’s help this time.

(I’ll go that side. You have to be careful.)

(Got it. Make sure you don’t get caught too, Yuuji.)

The moment we entered the room, Yuuji immediately went over to the table, and I snuck around and went near the mattress. I remember I found this hairclip somewhere around here..

I searched my memory as I stood beside the pillow, looking for where I put the hairclip.

“Nn..”

—ACK!

Someone seemed to flip around, causing me to nearly jump. Is she awake? She’s not awake yet, right?

To be cautious, I turned around to look. If she’s awake, she should be screaming, so they should be sleeping now..

“..Akihisa-kun?”

Unfortunately, my optimistic guess was completely debunked as Himeji-san was already sitting up from the side of the bedding, looking straight at me.

(H, Himeji-san! Yo, you’re mistaken! I’m just..erm..returning the hairclip you dropped!)

I handed the hairclip over and tried to explain it to her. And, well..I’m a little sorry to her!

““....””

The unbearable silence continued for a few seconds.

During this blank period of time, Himeji-san seemed to be thinking about something.

“..(waves hand)”

In the midst of the darkness, Himeji-san waved at me slightly. What? Is she thinking of punishing me now?

I got mentally prepared to get my joints snapped, and can only move closer to her no matter how unwilling I am.

After going closer, Himeji-san noticed the surroundings, and whispered to me,

“Akihisa-kun, the hairclip you mention. Is it my bunny hairclip?”

(Ah, un, yeah.)

That’s weird? She’s not angry?

(I see..)

Himeji-san seemed to be happy for some reason, but looked a little troubled as well as her face showed a complicated expression. She’s probably happy that she found the hairclip, but couldn’t let go of the boy who snuck into the girls’ room in the middle of the night easily.

(Well, Akihisa-kun..)

(Yes!)

I subconsciously straightened myself and knelt down in front of her.

(That hairclip..can you please..put it on me?)

(Eh?)

On hearing Himeji-san state such an inexplicable request, I could only feel confused and bothered. What does she want?

(Can’t you?)

(Ahh, no, I can if you want me to put it on.)

In this situation, I already had no right to refuse.

So, I followed Himeji-san’s request and put the hairclip in my hand onto her hair. Thi, this is really awkward..

(How, how is it? Does it suit me?)

(Ah, no, I don’t mean putting it on your head, Akihisa-kun. I hope that you clip it on me..)

THIS IS WAY TOO EMBARRASSING!!

(So, sorry! That, that’s right. Guys normally won’t wear such things.)

(It suits you, you know?)

(I’m sorry, please forget about just now..)

I apologized as I brought the hairclip in my hand over to Himeji-san. During this time, my heart started pounding around like crazy because I touched Himeji-san’s hand.

(Will this do?)

(Yes. Thank you very much.)

Wasn’t she sleeping just now? Why must she clip her hair? Are girls like that? Nee-san has short hair, and there’s no need for her to clip her hair, so I’m not sure.

Uu, that’s likely the case. Anyway, I’ll just leave it as that and don’t pursue on.

(I’ll be going then.)

Since I returned what I wanted to return, it’s not good for me to stay, so I better retreat earlier.

(..Please hold on.)

—At this moment, Himeji-san suddenly reached out and grabbed a corner of my shirt.

(? Is there something else, Himeji-san?)

She still wants to punish me, isn’t it?

(Does this bunny..suit me?)

(Eh? Ah, un, of course. I’ll think of bunnies when Himeji-san’s mentioned, and I’ll think of Himeji-san when bunnies are mentioned. The bunny hairclip really suits you, Himeji-san.)

(..! Is, is that so..that, that’s really great..)

(???)

At that moment, Himeji-san seemed to be suppressing some hidden emotion within her. Did I say something I shouldn’t have said?

(Well, Akihisa-kun..can you please, come a little closer..?)

(U, un. Sure.)

I knelt down, moved my knees and went near to Himeji-san. Unexpectedly,

(Akihisa-kun..)

(—!!!???)

She suddenly wrapped her arms around me. What’s going on?

(So it’s impossible..hearing you say such words that shake my heart, I really..)

I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT SHE’S SAYING AT ALL! WHAT IS IT!? IS THIS SOME HUGE COMEDY THAT MESSES WITH ME!? IS MUTTSURINI HOLDING A CAMERA AND HIDING SOMEWHERE?

(Just now..when I talked about the hairclip with Minami-chan and the rest, I remembered a lot of things in the past, and my heart’s all fuzzy..and out of a sudden, Akihisa-kun, you appeared right in front of me..)

I don’t exactly know what’s going on, but is Himeji-san saying that I came at the wrong time? No no no, hold on! She might be praising me in this situation! It’s not the right moment to come over, but the timing’s perfect, isn’t it?

“Uun..”

GASP!

The person sleeping beside suddenly twitched, and Himeji-san and I were shocked.

“....”

“....”

I held my breath and peered over at the source of the sound. Did, did someone wake up?

“Suu, suuu..”

Soon after, I again heard the sound of rhythmic breathing. That’s great. I managed to escape a calamity here..

(Ah, sorry, Himeji-san! I’ll immediately get away now!)

(Eh? Ah, no, I should be the one apologizing to you.)

After both of us calmed down, I hurriedly got away from Himeji-san. What in the world am I doing!

(A, Akihisa-kun. I hugged you because I thought Minami-chan woke up. Well..I didn’t mean anything at all!)

Himeji-san frantically explained it to me.

I see, so that’s how it is. Himeji-san’s really a kind person, hiding me for fear that I was discovered.

(Thank you. I should be leaving now while I’m not discovered.)

(Ah, okay. That’s right. I feel that this is for the better.)

I raised a hand and said goodbye to Himeji-san, and tiptoed my way out of the girls’ room.

“Right now, it’s the important time for Akihisa-kun to surge before the tests, so I can only endure..but, if there’s another chance..I’ll definitely..”

I heard a voice as I walked out from the girls’ room. It’s likely Yuuji’s wail as he got caught by Kirishima-san while working, but it soon disappeared.

☆

On the following afternoon,

Having ended the study group at Kirishima-san’s house, I went home.

“Oh yeah. I think I have to eat dinner with nee-san tonight.”

Nee-san said that she’ll be done with work before noon, so she should be on the way home now. If she stays at home, I can’t just drink water for dinner tonight.

“Even though she said so, I guess I should cook Japanese food for her, I suppose?”

It seemed that nee-san didn’t have any other arrangements and deliberately said such words because she didn’t want to bother me. If that was the case, I would be really happy. But while both siblings could have a rare chance of having dinner together, I still want to prepare a piping hot dish to make nee-san happy. Thanks to the study group, I more or less grasped the concepts tested for the end-of-term tests, so there wouldn’t be much problem if I spend some time cooking.

If I want to cook, what should I cook to make nee-san happy? Speaking of Japanese food, I suppose it should be potato and meat curry, right? I suppose cooking some chowder rice would be good. But that doesn’t seem special in some way.

“Hotpot..it’s not the season now..and it’s too hot to eat tempura now..”

I continue to think about tonight’s dinner as I walked home. But no matter how much I think, it doesn’t seem to work..oh well. If I go to the supermarket to see what they’re selling, I should be able to think of something good.

I walked into the lobby on the first level, and took the lift up.

I was worried that I had to carry lots of ingredients then, so I decided to put my books and stationery at home first before going out shopping.

“I’m back~”

“Welcome back, Aki-kun.”

The moment I opened the door, nee-san came to the corridor to invite me in. It seemed that she was doing well with her work, and didn’t end up with some unexpected situation where she had to change her schedule and is unable to go home. In that case, we can have dinner according to what I planned.

“Sorry, nee-san. Can you help me put my bag inside.”

I didn’t step into the house, but handed my bag over to nee-san as I was going to go out shopping. Nee-san looked like she had something she wanted to say, but grabbed my bag.

“I’m fine with that..but Aki-kun, you’re still going out now?”

“Un, I have to buy ingredients for dinner.”

Oh yea, every Sunday, the sashimi at that fish shop near the station seemed to be cheaper. I wonder how much the hand-made sushi would cost? It won’t be cheap, and I have to give up on some games that will be coming up in the market recently..but I can only spend it for nee-san’s sake. I’ll then boil some soup—un, nee-san should be happy in that case.

That’s what I planned, but—

“Aki-kun, do you have the time to even worry about that now?”

Unexpectedly, this was my sister’s answer.

‘Ahh, no, I’m not really that free. It’s just that it’s rare for nee-san to come back..”

“You’re mistaking your priorities here.”

Nee-san mercilessly interrupted me before I could even finish.

“Listen, nee-san doesn’t know what you’re mistaken about, but your sister here specially came back here just to check on your living lifestyle and studies, Aki-kun. And you’re always thinking of such useless things. What is that about? If you can’t improve your grades, it would be meaningless, wouldn’t it? Let me ask you again, Aki-kun; do you still have the spare time to prepare dinner?”

“Tha, that’s true..”

But nee-san’s explanation really infuriated me.

Why is it that she’s so by the book and wouldn’t change a bit? It’s rare that I would want to cook for this sister of mine that I never met for a long time, but to her, it’s just a ‘that kind of thing’. She said that it was ‘something unnecessary yesterday’, but is my intention to make something for nee-san something worthless and trivial? Is a reunion with her brother something minor?

Thinking about this, I couldn’t control the restlessness inside me.

Talking about deducting points time and time again, and even pulling pranks on me that made me unhappy right in front of my friends..she never even did anything for me.

Ever since she came back, everything she did just infuriate me. What nee-san said just now is the final fuse that blew me up emotionally.

“You have tests tomorrow, and yet you have the mood to cook. Nee-san will be bothered when you get bad results and say ‘I was busy with cooking and didn’t have time to study’. You—”

“YOU’RE TOO NOISY! YOU’RE ONE BIG IDIOT, NEE-SAN!”

I yelled out and interrupted nee-san’s words.

WHAT THE HECK! DOESN’T THIS MEAN ‘NEE-SAN WILL BE BOTHERED IF YOU CAN FIND AN EXCUSE BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T DO WELL FOR THE TESTS’? I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING FOR HER, AND SHE FEELS THAT IT’S JUST AN EXCUSE TO SLACK? IS IT THAT I CAN HAVE A PLATFORM TO STAND ON WHEN MY EXAMS RESULTS COME BACK DISASTROUS!? SHE’S LOOKING DOWN ON ME LIKE THAT! IT’S RARE THAT I WANTED TO MAKE HER HAPPY AND EVEN WONDERED WHAT TO COOK FOR DINNER..

“SO NEE-SAN FEELS THAT TEST RESULTS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN TALKING WITH ME, RIGHT!? I GOT IT! I’LL DO WHAT YOU WANT TO STUDY HARD, FINE!? I’LL GET GOOD GRADES AND SEND YOU OVERSEAS!!”

I’M REALLY STUPID TO RELAX OVER SUCH A SISTER HERE! I DON’T WANT TO BOTHER MYSELF WITH SUCH A PERSON!

“..Is that so. It’s great that you can focus on your studies like that.”

“YEAH, YOU’RE RIGHT! I’LL FOCUS ALL MY EFFORTS ON STUDYING! SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO BOTHER ME! BYE!”

I left these words and rushed into my room without looking back, slamming my room’s door shut.

At this point, there’s no need to play along with her. No matter what, I must work hard to make up for those deducted points and live my happy lone life and not stay with such a sister under the same roof!

I took out my textbooks and notes from my bag, sacrificed my school and spent all night studying.

Current score [-390 points]