Hoya sometimes let his intentions show in the way he looked at her. It was a little unnerving, but he only glanced at her now and then rather than staring nonstop. And when they were taking care of business, he didn't let his eyes wander. Overall, he didn't annoy her.
"Why do you insist on brushing your teeth with me?"
"Because I feel like it. What are you going to do about it?"
The bathroom wasn't very big. One person standing at the sink was no problem, but with both of them in there, it felt a little cramped.
"Did you just buy this?"
"Yeah. Judging by the way you're acting, I doubt you'll be going back to your dorm anytime soon. What's so great about my dorm?"
"There's someone who'll clean it without being asked."
"Fair enough."
It looked like he'd become her meal ticket. That was a real headache.
Her meaning was clear: there was alcohol here, someone to wait on her, and someone who could do the laundry and clean the room. Why would she want to live alone in her own place?
Of course, maybe she'd been lonely for so long that she wanted someone around to talk to. All right, that was unlikely.
Knowing Ryuen Shoko, it was more likely she wanted a servant to rub her shoulders and massage her back.
Honestly, her hands felt nice, but getting Hoya to do things instead of just letting him touch her was a real hassle. A massage took some effort; without pressing down, it was like scratching an itch through clothing. Did it feel good? Sure, but not enough.
"Not bad."
"You're picky about toothpaste flavor, too?"
Unlike Ryuen Shoko, who was still looking around, Hoya had already started washing up. He'd finished rinsing his mouth and was about to wash his face.
Everyone had different habits. Some people liked to wash their face before brushing their teeth, while others did the opposite. Hoya and Ryuen Shoko were clearly in the latter group: they preferred to brush first.
While Ryuen Shoko brushed her teeth, Hoya washed his face. After using facial cleanser, he wiped his face with the towel beside him.
"You bought an extra towel, too?"
"Yeah. I bought two of pretty much all the basic necessities."
"Two?"
"Yeah, one for you and one spare."
"Who do you plan to use the spare for?"
Ryuen Shoko's words made Hoya narrow his eyes. Come on, sis, you're going to police that, too?
"I don't know. I just thought it might come in handy someday."
"You don't know? Then I hope you never need it."
Ryuen Shoko splashed the water from her toothbrush cup into the sink, then nudged Hoya aside. "Move over. You're in the way."
"Oh."
He'd only been standing at the edge of the sink. If she'd been washing her face properly, he wouldn't have been in her way at all. Was she getting moody again?
Why did her mood get so weird whenever she was on her period?
"By the way, how are you feeling? Got any energy?"
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing. Just asking."
"What's it to you?"
Well, judging by her current air, she was recovering from a serious illness and was still a little weak.
"Nothing. Just checking that you're feeling better. What do you want to do today? Stay in the dorm or go out?"
"What else would I do besides go out? Sit around in the dorm until I grow mold?"
Hmm... Actually, growing mold in the dorm didn't sound so bad.
Hoya was usually a lazy bum, too. Sure, he had money now, but he didn't have any close buddies to go out and have fun with.
You might ask if he had a lot of female friends. Nonsense! They were all just friends! And they definitely had more important friends to hang out with!
So in the end, Hoya left the decision to Ryuen Shoko and let her figure out what they were doing that weekend.
"So when are we heading out? Where should we get breakfast?"
"The cafeteria. Let's see if there's anything good."
Hoya's dorm could make breakfast, but after being cooped up in the dorm all day, she wanted to get out and stretch her legs. So they set off right away.
The two of them walked out of the dorm together. Hoya even spotted his neighbor, Shibata Sou, and greeted him.
"Hey, Shibata. Going out this early?"
"Hey..."
Shibata Sou stared blankly as Ryuen Shoko and Hoya walked off. He felt like his brain wasn't big enough to process what he'd just seen.
He hadn't imagined it, right? Those two had both come out of Hoya's dorm, hadn't they?
So she'd spent the whole night in Hoya's dorm?!
(No, actually, two nights.)
Hoya had no idea how much damage his (fake) social-butterfly behavior had inflicted on his neighbor. He simply followed Ryuen to the cafeteria.
Well, there weren't many places open in the cafeteria in the morning, so there wasn't much to eat.
He casually bought two rice balls and a boiled egg. As he ate, he watched Ryuen Shoko choosing her rice balls.
Her poor health had dulled her appetite, so she took ages to pick one.
By the time Ryuen had bought her rice balls, Hoya had already finished both of his. Now he was eating the boiled egg.
"You're really enjoying that."
"Yeah."
"I'll take this."
"Huh?"
Ryuen Shoko casually reached over, dug the yolk out of the boiled egg in Hoya's hand, and popped it into her mouth, leaving him utterly bewildered.
Come on, sis, were you that desperate?
Her behavior nearly short-circuited Hoya's brain, and the passersby gave them looks of unmistakable respect.
Damn, the new students had only just started school. They'd already gotten a girlfriend?
I haven't! I don't have one!
No matter how much Hoya's eyes showed his confusion and innocence, the older students all seemed to think he was impressive for finding such a beautiful girlfriend.
One guy even gave him a thumbs-up.
Well, Ryuen Shoko had just recovered from a serious illness, and she'd lost her usual hostility. If she didn't speak, you couldn't sense her intimidating presence at all.
"All right, breakfast is over. Where to now?"
"The shopping district."
"Sure."
What was there to do in the shopping district so early in the morning?
Hoya might have underestimated how hardworking the shopkeepers were. Even at nine in the morning, plenty of stores were already opening.
The two of them wandered around aimlessly, looking to see if any shop caught Ryuen Shoko's interest.
He wondered which unlucky shop would manage it.
Hmm... An arcade?
Looking at the various game machines inside, Hoya couldn't help rubbing his chin.
How should he put it? He'd never played anything like this before, so seeing it now was pretty novel.
"Want to play a few rounds? I'm pretty good."
"But I'm terrible."
"That's fine. You being terrible is the point."
"Huh?"
So you were happy as long as I got beaten up? What kind of bully was she?
No matter what Hoya thought, he was definitely going to play this time.
They spent some points on game tokens, then found a King of Fighters machine and sat down.
"Hmm... How do you play?"
"You've never played before?"
"Of course not."
"Fine, I'll teach you. Do this, then this, then this."
Ryuen demonstrated as she explained, and Hoya got the general idea.
Basically, it was a hybrid of a controller and a keyboard. Didn't seem too hard.
After giving it a quick try, Hoya nodded. He felt like he was getting the hang of it.
"Your grip's all wrong. Hold it here and press here."
But Ryuen Shoko wasn't satisfied. Seeing Hoya's utterly amateurish grip annoyed her, so she reached over and adjusted his hands herself.
When Ryuen Shoko suddenly grabbed both his hands, Hoya shivered. That was a bit too stimulating.
Ryuen's hands were soft and delicate. You wouldn't be able to tell how strong her little fists were just by touching them.
So how did she hit so hard? It was weird.
He gave his head a slight shake and focused. If he was going to play games with Ryuen Shoko, he had to put in some effort.
"Okay, shall we start?"
"Sure."
In the first round, Ryuen Shoko defeated him quickly and decisively, just as expected.
"Just as I thought, you're terrible. Great, let's play again."
Normally, beating a weak opponent wouldn't bring much satisfaction, but Ryuen Shoko looked delighted and was ready to play again.
So that was what she was into?
Hoya's lips twitched. Fine, as long as she was happy.
In Hoya's opinion, though, she was... pretty bad.
It wasn't that his mortal enemy was a pushover. He genuinely didn't think she was very good. Hoya just wasn't used to this arcade setup. He'd been a big-time gamer once, though.
Not to the point of speedrunning Souls games or anything, but he could usually beat a game. He wasn't a button masher, and after getting used to the machine, he gradually started beating Ryuen Shoko.
First he had an easy time of it, then he barely scraped out wins. The two of them became evenly matched, until Hoya was beating Ryuen Shoko one-sidedly.
"I'm done. Let's switch machines."
In the end, after Hoya beat Ryuen Shoko without taking any damage, she decided to switch machines.
Her furious expression was a complete change from her earlier smugness. So she'd liked picking on weak players because she was always losing before?
It made sense. When you desperately wanted to win, finally winning felt amazing. Even beating a beginner could make you happy.
Tsk, how pathetic~
Ryuen Shoko figured that even if she couldn't beat him at fighting games, she could at least beat him at racing games. But after three rounds, she realized she was losing there, too.
So she made a snap decision and switched to another game.
Basketball toss: by the fourth round, they tied. Pinball: a tie by the second round. Flying chess... She lost the very first round.
"Ah! No, shooting games! Let's try those!"
Ryuen Shoko's frustrated expression made Hoya laugh to himself. He genuinely hadn't expected her to love playing all these random games so much.
Before you continue