At ten on Saturday morning, sunlight slipping through a gap in the curtains fell right beside the pillow. Uesugi Hara finally kicked off the covers and sat up. If not for his body clock nagging him, he could probably have stayed in bed until noon.
As he washed up, he opened his Terminal. Kushida Kikyo's chat was still sitting in his messages from yesterday—the matter of Ayanokoji asking her to invite those three idiots to Horikita's study group.
His finger paused when it reached Karuizawa Kei's profile picture. Her latest message was from a week ago, and it had been nothing important.
Should I spend some points to get someone to "look after" her? The thought had barely surfaced before he squashed it. He pursed his lips at his reflection. "Better to leave things as they are for now. I'll see how things go once the plot moves along."
As he turned to dry his face, his Terminal vibrated. He opened Kushida's chat and typed, "You agreed?"
Just as the screen lit up with a new-message notification, Uesugi Hara was draping a towel over his shoulder. Kushida Kikyo's reply had her trademark cheerful tone, the smile practically shining through the text. "Of course! I couldn't turn down a request from Ayanokoji!"
His finger paused over the screen before he typed, "Horikita Suzune's study group? Do you think it'll work?"
The reply came faster this time, almost instantly. "Horikita may seem a little serious, but she's very diligent about her studies! And with Ayanokoji helping coordinate things, it should be fine~ What about you, Uesugi Hara? Want to come too? It might be more fun with a few more people."
"No." Uesugi Hara barely hesitated. "Those three idiots would be lucky to sit still for half an hour." He remembered the scene from the original story where the red-haired gorilla had blown his top.
"Oh, don't say that." Kikyo sent a winking emoji. "Maybe this time will be different! By the way, Horikita specifically said she wanted to review math, so I've prepared some notes too."
Looking at the screen, Sugihara suddenly remembered the scene he'd glimpsed in the hallway yesterday—Horikita Suzune walking by with a workbook in her arms, the ends of her hair gleaming a cool white in the sunlight. He casually replied, "Oh," and as he left the chat, the corner of his eye caught Karuizawa Kei's profile picture. Her gray chat window looked like an old eraser someone had forgotten.
"I'll keep an eye on things for now," he murmured to the empty room, slipping his Terminal into his pocket.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The sudden sound of someone knocking shattered the quiet in the room. The force was just right—not too casual, but not disruptive either. The three knocks were evenly spaced, as if timed with a stopwatch, and even the angle of each one seemed carefully practiced. There was a deliberate steadiness to it.
Uesugi Hara had just hung up his towel. At the sound, one eyebrow lifted almost imperceptibly. He vaguely recognized that knock.
The moment he opened the door, a clear, slightly sly voice slipped inside. "Good morning, Uesugi."
It was a certain white-haired little girl. Uesugi Hara looked down at her and twitched the corner of his mouth. Someone showing up this early couldn't possibly have anything good in mind.
"Good... morning." Uesugi Hara stepped aside to let her in, his tone as flat as if he were reciting a line from a textbook. "What brings you to my place today, Miss Arisu?"
His gaze passed over the empty hallway behind the girl. "Your little maid isn't with you? You two are usually inseparable."
Sakayanagi Arisu walked in, leaning on her cane. She paused at his words, then chuckled softly. "Kamuro deserves a little time to herself. She can't follow me around everywhere."
Sakayanagi Arisu walked over to the desk and sat down as naturally as if she owned the place. Her fingers gently traced the patterns on her cane.
Uesugi Hara closed the door behind him and leaned back against it, looking at her. As if something had just occurred to him, he said, "Is that so? Kamuro gets time off?" There was a trace of curiosity in his voice. "Come to think of it, she's always running around for you and buying things. Do you pay her? Or at least reimburse her expenses?"
After all, he'd seen Kamuro Masumi so many times carrying snacks she'd bought for Sakayanagi or being sent off to complete some task. She was like a little wind-up toy that never stopped moving. He really did wonder whether this pampered young lady had ever considered the matter of "compensation."
At that, Sakayanagi's fingers paused, then she smiled, her eyes curving. "Of course I pay Kamuro as agreed. I didn't expect you to be concerned about that, Uesugi." She tilted her head, silver hair slipping over her shoulder. "Or do you think I'm the sort of person who would mistreat those around me?"
"It was nothing. I was just curious." Uesugi Hara walked over to the water dispenser and poured himself a glass, tapping the side of it with a finger. "You know how those stories go. When a young lady goes shopping, she doesn't have to pay out of pocket. Her attendants take care of the bill."
He set the glass down beside Sakayanagi. "Besides, Kamuro's busy with you every day, running errands and sorting things out. It looks exhausting." He looked away, his tone unreadable. "If she even has to pay for your shopping herself and wait to get reimbursed, that's a pretty raw deal."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sakayanagi traced a circle around the rim of the glass with her finger and suddenly laughed. "You're quite thoughtful when it comes to other people, Uesugi. But don't worry. I settle Kamuro's expenses every time and give her extra on top of that. I can't have her working for nothing, can I?"
"And besides," Sakayanagi Arisu said, resting a finger against her chin, mischief glinting in her ice-blue eyes, "if you really think Kamuro's overworked, you could offer to help her out. For instance, you could run an errand for me and buy me a coffee?"
Uesugi Hara immediately took half a step back, waving his hand as quickly as if he were swatting at a mosquito. "I think I'll pass." He pictured Kamuro rushing around after her, then replied with firm conviction, "Rather than bothering me, you can keep making Miss Kamuro work hard. She looks like she's used to it by now."
"You're so cold." Sakayanagi covered her mouth and laughed softly, her silver hair swaying with the movement. "Then again, you can't even be bothered to worry about your own affairs, Uesugi. Why would you care about someone else's troubles?"
When Uesugi Hara saw the conversation turning toward him, he quickly waved a hand to cut her off. "Anyway, Miss Arisu, you didn't come all the way here just to chat, did you?"
He deliberately drew out his words, making the second half sound almost like he was coaxing a child. "I still have to go to the study group this afternoon. I don't have time to play with you."
Sakayanagi Arisu was twirling the silver strand of hair that fell beside her ear. At his words, she looked up at him, amusement rippling in her eyes like a breeze across water.
She slowly straightened, the legs of her chair scraping faintly against the floor. "Are you trying to chase me away, Uesugi?" Her voice rose at the end, teasing him with a question she already knew the answer to. "Still, this study group—is it the one for your class, or one you found on your own?"
"Of course it's the class study group. Do I look like the sort of person who'd go looking for opportunities elsewhere?" Uesugi Hara sounded unconcerned.
He made "looking for opportunities elsewhere" sound casual, but from the corner of his eye he caught Sakayanagi Arisu's fingers pausing. The white-haired girl had probably heard the dismissiveness in his words.
But it didn't matter. As long as he could keep the conversation focused on the study group, that was better than letting her drag him into some other pointless topic.
"Is that so? Then, about the study group..." She lightly tapped the desk with her fingers, her eyes passing over the open workbook before turning to Uesugi Hara with a playful glint. "Would you like me to help you, Uesugi?"
Uesugi Hara paused and lowered his eyes, thinking for a moment. He seemed to be weighing whether the idea was practical—or perhaps considering how much to trust her offer.
"You're sure?" He looked up, his tone still cautiously uncertain.
"Of course." Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head slightly, the amusement at the corners of her eyes growing more pronounced. "Would I lie to you?"
"I can take you with me. But once we get there, you'll have to do as I say." Uesugi Hara traced a faint line across the desk with his finger, gently shifting the terms.
Sakayanagi Arisu had been twirling her cane with one finger. At his words, she paused, then stopped. "That's fine."
Her answer came so readily that Uesugi Hara was taken aback. He looked up at her. She had a hand resting on her over-the-knee socks, her fingers still on her cane, and there was no sign of teasing in her eyes. He couldn't help asking, "Really?" The disbelief in his voice was almost impossible to hide.
"Of course." Sakayanagi Arisu gave a slight nod. As her eyelashes lowered, they cast a faint shadow beneath her eyes. Her voice was soft but clear. "Since you're taking me, Uesugi, I should follow your lead."
Uesugi Hara stared at her for two seconds, unable to find the slightest crack in her calm expression. In the end, he only rubbed his fingers against the edge of the desk and mumbled, "All right."
But he couldn't help wondering to himself: Somehow, this obedient side of her made him feel even less certain than when she was being prickly.
"It's about time to eat. Let's go grab something first." Uesugi Hara glanced up at the time changing on his Terminal screen and tapped the edge of the desk with a finger. His tone betrayed no emotion, but his suggestion left no room for argument. (I'm serious about eating!)
"Thank you for the trouble, Uesugi." Sakayanagi Arisu replied warmly, a hint of amusement lingering in her voice.
After speaking, she made no move, only looking up at him. Her eyelashes cast delicate shadows beneath her eyes, and her gaze silently beckoned him closer. It clearly said, "Come help me."
Uesugi Hara paused, then remembered that she rarely got around on her own.
As he stood, the chair legs scraped softly against the floor. When he reached her, he heard her add in a quiet voice, "Since I'm supposed to follow your lead now, I can't keep you waiting too long, can I?"