He ran a hand through his messy, tousled hair, then picked up the phone beside his bed to see if anyone had messaged him.
"Are you awake? I heard from Tatsuya that you have the day off. We're going to watch the matches together. Want to come?"
"Are you awake? I'm going to get breakfast. Want to join me?"
There were two unread messages. One had come from Chiba Erika at eight that morning, and the other from Saegusa Mayumi just ten minutes ago.
Without hesitation, Kudo Mitsunobu ignored Chiba Erika's message and replied to Saegusa Mayumi.
"Give me ten minutes."
Saegusa Mayumi had clearly been waiting for his reply. Only a few seconds after he sent his message, she responded with an OK hand gesture.
Since he was already awake and they'd settled on a time, Kudo Mitsunobu wasn't the sort to dawdle in bed.
He got up, changed his clothes, made his bed, and went to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.
He moved through the whole routine in one smooth sequence. Just as Kudo Mitsunobu had finished getting dressed and was wiping his face, there was a knock at the door.
"The door's open. Come on in!"
Kudo Mitsunobu had worried Saegusa Mayumi might arrive early, so he'd left the door ajar before going to wash up. She only had to turn the handle to open it.
"I'm coming in."
The room that greeted Saegusa Mayumi was neat and clean. The bed, which she'd expected to be a mess, looked nothing like she'd imagined.
The room was spotless, and the blanket lay smooth and flat on the bed, without a single wrinkle.
Kudo Mitsunobu was wiping his face with a towel, already dressed in his school uniform. His blond hair looked soft and