Nameless +1

Uesugi Hara returned to his dorm, sent a message to Kushida Kikyo, and collapsed onto his bed. Dealing with that pack of little (?) foxes had drained every ounce of his energy.

Before long, a knock sounded at the door.

"It's unlocked," Uesugi Hara called out toward the entrance.

With a soft creak, the door pushed open, and Kushida Kikyo's voice drifted in ahead of her: "Good evening, Uesugi-kun."

"Good evening." Uesugi Hara propped himself up on the mattress.

"What's wrong, Uesugi-kun?" As soon as she stepped inside, Kushida Kikyo caught the weariness between his brows, her tone laced with concerned inquiry.

"Just busy with your affairs." Uesugi Hara's tone held a vague, lazy fatigue, though there was no real complaint in it.

"Hehe, then thank you so much, Uesugi-kun." Kushida Kikyo's voice was wrapped in a light, cheerful smile that made it impossible to stay truly annoyed.

"Sigh," Uesugi Hara slumped back against the headboard and exhaled. "The second-hand platform is basically set; we're partnering with the Student Council. I'll build the website tomorrow, and you'll be in charge of operations. As for the profits, we're splitting them fifty-fifty with the Student Council, and between the two of us, it's also a fifty-fifty split."

Kushida Kikyo's eyes lit up. She stepped lightly to the bedside, hands behind her back, and leaned in slightly. "It's really settled? That's amazing! To think you could partner with the Student Council, and they actually agreed to a fifty-fifty split? Uesugi-kun, you're so impressive."

Uesugi Hara glanced at her, as if to say, Keep it down, what's there to be so surprised about?

"Wow—" Kushida drew out the syllable, leaning in closer on purpose, her voice tinged with mischief. "Uesugi-kun, you really do have so many secrets. But regardless, it's great that things are moving forward smoothly. Is there anything you need my help with?"

"No," Uesugi Hara shook his head, pulled his phone from under his pillow, and swiped a few times. "I can build the basic framework to support a few hundred users tonight; tomorrow I'll just need to fill in the content. If you're free tomorrow, you can promote it within your network. The Student Council will do their own promotion, but you can start building some hype beforehand."

"Leave it to me!" Kushida nodded vigorously, her short hair bobbing with the motion. "Oh, right, should we start a temporary group now? We can ask the others if they have anything they're eager to sell."

Watching the spark of excitement in her eyes, Uesugi Hara suddenly felt the exhaustion from dealing with those people fade a little. He shifted to the side to make some room. "Suit yourself. Sit down, aren't you tired of standing?"

Kushida sat down on the edge of the bed with a giggle and pulled out her phone, her fingers flying across the screen. The light from the Terminal reflected on her face, making her look more serious than usual.

"By the way, I edited the proposal in your notebook: I marked the ones that won't work with an 'X', and the ones with question marks are feasible but risky. Remember to take it with you when you leave; it's on the desk." Uesugi Hara added.

Kushida Kikyo paused, turning to look at the corner of the desk. The notebook lay open, its edges frayed from being thumbed through, and sure enough, several lines were marked with crisp, scarlet X's and question marks in a decisive hand.

"Thanks," Kushida Kikyo walked over and closed the notebook. "I thought you'd lost patience with these plans long ago."

Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow and rubbed his temple. "It was just on the way. I couldn't just watch you jump into a pit."

Kushida hugged the notebook to her chest, gently twisting the corner of the cover, and let out a soft, low laugh. "Uesugi-kun, you're clearly very thoughtful, yet you insist on pretending you don't care."

"Cut it out." Uesugi Hara kept a straight face. "Hurry up and start your group; you're disturbing my rest."

"I know, I know~" Kushida Kikyo drew out the words, but she didn't actually speed up; instead, she tilted her head to study him. The dorm lighting wasn't particularly bright, softening the contours of his jawline, and the gaze that usually held a hint of detachment didn't seem quite so sharp right now.

She suddenly remembered when they first enrolled, how she had always felt Uesugi Hara was like a stone that couldn't be warmed—a loner who remained indifferent to everyone.

But after interacting with him these past few days, she realized he simply couldn't be bothered to deal with irrelevant people or matters; when it came to actually getting things done, he was more reliable than anyone.

"What are you spacing out for?" Uesugi Hara's voice pulled her back to reality.

"Nothing at all," Kushida quickly composed herself and held up her Terminal, shaking it. "The group is set up! I've already added a few girls I'm close with; they said they have plenty of idle cosmetics and novels they want to sell."

Uesugi Hara glanced at the screen. She had renamed the group "Kikyo Shop Reserve," and the icon was a cartoon fox wagging its tail. He twitched his lips. "The name is childish enough."

"It is not!" Kushida immediately retorted, then leaned in closer, lowering her voice. "It makes it feel more approachable, that's all. By the way, Uesugi-kun, do you have anything you want to sell? Like... hidden manga?"

"I don't have things like that." Uesugi Hara's face darkened. After two seconds of silence, he suddenly reached out, pinched her cheeks, and pulled them outward. "One more word and I'm docking your share."

"Wuwah—" Kushida's cheeks were stretched into a cute pufferfish shape, her voice distorted. She swatted his hand away, rubbing her reddened cheeks as she pouted. "You can't do that! I protest! Uesugi-kun is abusing his power to bully people!"

"If there's nothing else, get going. Don't ruin my rest." As Uesugi Hara spoke, he gave her back a light, airy push, the force as gentle as dusting off a coat.

Kushida stumbled forward half a step, but she didn't actually leave. Instead, she turned around, leaned against the wardrobe, and tilted her head to wink at him. "Is Uesugi-kun chasing me away? You just told me to sit down a moment ago; you change your mind faster than turning a page."

"Less chatter." Uesugi Hara sank back into his headboard, half-closing his eyes. "I have to rush to build the framework tonight; I don't have time to waste on you."

"Got it, Mr. Workaholic." Kushida drew out the words, picked up her bag, and wound the strap around her fingers twice. "Then I'll treat you to lunch tomorrow as a thank-you gift, okay? Consider it an early celebration for our successful partnership~"

Uesugi Hara didn't open his eyes, only letting out a hum from his throat.

Hearing his tacit agreement, Kushida's eyes curved into crescents. She stood on tiptoe to gently pull the door shut, not forgetting to toss one last line before leaving: "Don't stay up too late."

The door clicked shut, and the dorm fell into instant silence. Uesugi Hara opened his eyes, stared at the blurred patterns on the ceiling for a while, then got up and went to the desk. The light from the computer screen illuminated his face; the previous fatigue had mostly vanished, and his fingertips tapped out a rhythmic, brisk sound on the keyboard.

Less than ten minutes later, his phone vibrated. It was a message from Kushida, accompanied by a screenshot—the temporary group was already buzzing with conversation.

[Look, everyone is so enthusiastic!] followed by a smug little fox emoji.

Uesugi Hara took one look and replied with an "Mm."

He ignored the rest, continuing to tap away at the keyboard to construct the platform's framework. Moonlight from outside the window slipped through the gap in the curtains, casting a long, thin beam of light across the floor.

He had a busy night ahead.