After Doctor Maruo Nakano finished his IV drip and left, they closed the door.
Mahiru and Morishita Ai finally settled down, sitting obediently by Akasaka's hospital bed.
They neither argued nor made a fuss.
Morishita Ai suggested, "Let's make up, for the sake of our man."
Mahiru reminded her, "He's my man! Not yours!"
Morishita Ai pouted gloomily. "At a time like this, you're still arguing with me over that..."
Morishita Ai picked up an apple from the table and began peeling it.
Sunlight shone through the window into the room, carrying a faint yellow hue.
It was clearly dusk, and the sun was about to set.
It was around 5:10 in the afternoon.
Morishita Ai split the peeled apple in half and handed one half to Shiina Mahiru. "At least until Akasaka wakes up, let's make up. Don't disturb Akasaka while he's resting."
Morishita Ai turned her gaze toward Akasaka, who lay on the hospital bed.
Akasaka looked somewhat thin and frail, and he was still receiving a nutrient IV drip.
"Look at him. Can he really withstand us carrying on like this?"
Mahiru stared blankly at the peeled half-apple Morishita Ai was offering her for a long while.
Who said Morishita Ai wasn't smart?
Though she was usually a little ditzy and prone to acting up, when she got serious, she was no pushover.
Using the excuse that they shouldn't disturb Akasaka, she used him as leverage to force Mahiru into compromising.
After all, she was the big sister who openly managed Akasaka's twenty-seven women for him.
Without a few tricks and some real ability, she wouldn't have been able to keep twenty-seven love rivals in line and make them obediently listen to her.
Morishita Ai took a bite from the other half of the apple in her