Four Women in One Room

On a weekend afternoon, Hoshida No's dorm room received a rare visitor.

The first to knock was Karuizawa Kei. She held a delicate paper bag, wearing a deliberately casual expression.

"Brother No, are you there? I was passing through the shopping district and saw they had a new limited-edition pudding flavor, so I bought two... I thought I'd bring you one."

When the door opened, she lifted the bag. Her voice was a little faster than usual, betraying a hint of nervousness.

Even though they had known each other for three years, coming all the way to the boys' dorm to see him took courage.

Hoshida No stepped aside to let her in. The room was as tidy as ever. Aside from the necessary furniture and a large number of books and documents, there were hardly any personal belongings.

"Thanks." He took the bag and set it on the table, his tone calm.

Karuizawa Kei glanced around the room, unconsciously twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "Brother No's room is still so... tidy. Oh, right. Class B and Class C are holding a joint study session next weekend. Honami asked me to see if you'd like to come. Hirata and Kikyo seem to be in favor of it, too."

She sat naturally on the small sofa Hoshida No had indicated, trying hard to find something to talk about.

Just then, there was another knock at the door.

Hoshida No opened it to find Ichinose Honami standing outside.

Seeing Karuizawa Kei inside, she didn't seem surprised. She smiled warmly. "Kei, I thought you'd be here. Brother No, sorry to bother you. About the extended applications of that mathematical model you mentioned last time, I put together some questions and wanted to ask you about them. Is now a good time?"

She held a notebook, and her reason for coming was perfectly proper.

"Come in." Hoshida No moved aside.

Ichinose Honami nodded to Karuizawa Kei, then naturally sat down in the chair beside the desk and opened her notebook.

Her eyes passed over the pudding bag on the table and flickered slightly, but she said nothing.

Karuizawa Kei straightened up a little as she watched Ichinose Honami and Hoshida No start discussing boring mathematical symbols. She felt a little disappointed, but listened quietly, occasionally glancing at Hoshida No's focused profile.

Halfway through their discussion, a third knock sounded.

This time, Kushida Kikyo was outside. She wore a radiant smile and held a neatly bound set of documents.

"Hoshida! Sorry to bother you! Oh? Kei and Honami are here, too?"

She seemed a little surprised to find so many people in the room, but quickly smiled again.

"Great, I was looking for you all anyway. This is the preliminary plan and a summary of the key questions for next week's study session. Hirata asked me to bring it to you and see if anything needs adjusting."

She came in and naturally stood on the other side of the desk, handing the documents to Hoshida No with a smooth gesture. Her gaze, however, quickly swept over everyone in the room, lingering especially on Karuizawa Kei and Ichinose Honami. A shadow passed through her eyes.

With a third person joining them, the small dorm room felt cramped, and the atmosphere grew subtly complicated.

Each of the three girls had her own thoughts, but all maintained a natural appearance.

Hoshida No took the documents and skimmed them quickly, unaware of the strange atmosphere in the room.

He pointed to one section. "The difficulty progression in this practice set is off. The concepts covered in questions three and five are too far apart. You need to add something in between to bridge the gap."

"Oh, you're right! Hoshida, you're amazing—you spotted it at a glance." Kushida Kikyo clasped her hands together, looking grateful. "I'll make a note of it and revise it as soon as I get back!"

Then, the unexpected happened. To get a better look at the part Hoshida No had pointed out, Kushida Kikyo leaned forward and accidentally knocked her elbow against a water glass on the corner of the desk.

"Ah!" The glass tipped over, spilling the half cup of water that remained inside. Most of it splashed toward Hoshida No and Ichinose Honami, who were closest to the desk.

Hoshida No reacted instantly, stepping back as soon as the water spilled, but some still splashed onto his arm and the hem of his shirt.

Ichinose Honami was a beat slower. Her notebook and sleeve were both splashed.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I was really careless!" Kushida Kikyo apologized repeatedly, fumbling around for something to wipe up the water. A flash of satisfaction passed through her eyes.

Karuizawa Kei sprang to her feet, too. "Tissues! I'll get some!" She hurried toward the bathroom Hoshida No had indicated.

Ichinose Honami looked at her dampened notebook and sleeve and sighed softly, but still wore a forgiving smile. "It's okay, Kikyo. It's just a little water. I can wipe off the notebook."

Hoshida No didn't look at his wet clothes. Instead, he took a few tissues from Karuizawa Kei and handed them to Ichinose Honami. "Wipe off the notebook. The important parts might have blurred."

Only then did he turn to Kushida Kikyo, who was still apologizing. His tone was even. "It was an accident. Don't worry about it."

His calmness caught Kushida Kikyo's apology in her throat.

She looked at the hem of his shirt, damp enough to faintly reveal the shape of his body, and at his utterly unruffled expression. That strange feeling inside her welled up again.

Just as Karuizawa Kei helped wipe up the water, Kushida Kikyo picked up the glass, and Ichinose Honami carefully tended to her notebook, a fourth knock sounded. This time, the knock had a distinctive rhythm.

Hoshida No opened the door to find Horikita Suzune outside.

Seeing the lively scene inside, she visibly frowned.

"Looks like I came at a bad time." Her tone was blunt. "Hoshida No, I have a few ideas about our strategy for the next exam that I need to discuss with you. But if you're busy right now..."

Her gaze swept over the three girls, each with a different expression. Her frown deepened when she saw Kushida Kikyo.

She felt an unmistakable aversion to Kushida Kikyo, always sensing that her personality was an act.

"Come in." Hoshida No saw no problem with having four girls in his dorm room at once. "We've more or less finished dealing with everything."

Horikita Suzune hesitated, but still came in. She chose to stand near the door, keeping her distance from the other three, and adopted a strictly businesslike air.

The small dorm room now felt especially crowded.

Karuizawa Kei stood awkwardly, Ichinose Honami smiled warmly as she tidied her things, Kushida Kikyo had put on her smile again, though her eyes flickered, and Horikita Suzune looked stern.

Hoshida No was the only one in the room who seemed completely at ease.

Once Ichinose Honami had finished tending to her notebook, he turned to Horikita Suzune. "The key to the strategy is identifying the type of exam and allocating resources early on. My initial guess is that it'll be either a team cooperation exam or a survival competition."

He went straight to the point, as though the accident and the delicate atmosphere hadn't happened.

Horikita Suzune's attention was immediately drawn to the subject. "Based on what?"

"An analysis of the previous exams' formats. The school tends to alternate between promoting class unity and exposing internal weaknesses. The last exam was a war, so this one is more likely to focus on cooperation or survival under adverse conditions."

Hoshida No walked over to the White Board, one of the room's few unusual fixtures, and picked up a pen to write.

"If it's a team cooperation exam, the key will be assigning roles and building trust. If it's a survival competition, we'll need to manage supplies and prepare contingency plans for emergencies..."

He explained calmly, his gaze moving from one person to the next.

Karuizawa Kei understood some of it, but tried hard to concentrate. Ichinose Honami nodded thoughtfully and occasionally asked a question or two.

Kushida Kikyo kept smiling, but her eyes followed Hoshida No's writing as her mind raced.

Horikita Suzune was fully focused, pressing him with questions from time to time.

By the time the discussion paused, dusk was approaching.

"I understand. I'll refine my part."

Horikita Suzune was the first to take her leave. Before going, she looked at the other three as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately just nodded to Hoshida No.

"I should head back, too. I still need to revise the study session plan."

Kushida Kikyo smiled as she picked up the documents, then waved to Karuizawa Kei and Ichinose Honami. "Kei, Honami, see you next time!"

Only Hoshida No, Karuizawa Kei, and Ichinose Honami remained in the room.

"Brother No, your shirt's wet. You should change before you catch a chill," Karuizawa Kei reminded him softly, concern in her voice.

"Mm." Hoshida No acknowledged her, but didn't move right away.

Ichinose Honami added warmly, "Sorry to have bothered you today, Brother No. The discussion was really helpful. And thanks for the tissues." She pointed to the sleeve, which had mostly dried.

"You're welcome."

Karuizawa Kei looked at Ichinose Honami, then at Hoshida No. Gathering her courage, she asked, "Brother No, would you like to go to the cafeteria for dinner together?"

Ichinose Honami smiled. "I can come, too. There are some class matters I'd like to ask Kei about while we're at it."

Hoshida No checked the time, then looked at their expectant faces and nodded. "Sure."

At his simple reply, both girls' eyes lit up at the same time.

As she left the dorm room, Karuizawa Kei instinctively glanced back at the untouched pudding.

Ichinose Honami gently smoothed the last wrinkle from her sleeve.