Sakayanagi Arisu was still sitting in the same chair, holding the notebook he had casually tossed onto the corner of the desk last night. It contained a few rough ideas about personal points.
When she saw him come out, she gently closed the notebook with her fingertips and put it back where it had been. Her tone was casual. "Uesugi seems pretty invested in points."
Uesugi Hara's heart gave a jolt. He walked over and pushed the notebook beneath a textbook. "Well, at this school, points are your lifeline." He glanced at the glass on the desk. It was about half empty. "Hope you weren't thirsty. Want me to get you some more?"
"No need." Sakayanagi Arisu raised a hand to smooth the loose strands of hair by her ear. Her gaze swept over his chin, still beaded with water. "It seems you're much faster at washing up than tidying your room."
"Of course." Uesugi Hara tugged at his collar, trying to change the subject.
But Sakayanagi Arisu didn't give him the chance. She lightly tapped the desk with a fingertip. "I noticed the names 'Katsuragi' and 'Sakayanagi' in your notebook. Were you thinking about the class leadership?"
Her fingertip remained on the desk, tapping out a soft knock. Her gaze rested on his face, as if she were examining an interesting subject.
Uesugi Hara cursed inwardly. So she did see it. His hand paused on his collar, and he decided to be direct. "I was just scribbling. It's obvious enough that the two of you don't see eye to eye on a lot of things."
He neither admitted it outright nor denied it completely. Picking up a textbook from the desk, he set it on top of the notebook as well. "But it doesn't really concern me. I just need to keep track of my own points."
Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to see right through him, the corners of her mouth curling into a faint smile. "Does it really have nothing to do with you? Since you can come up with strategies for earning points, you must understand that the people and affairs of your class have always been tied to personal points."
She raised a hand to tuck her silver hair behind her ear. The morning light fell right into her eyes, making her expression hard to read. "For instance, Katsuragi cares more about stability within the rules, while I think that occasionally breaking them can open up more opportunities. Which approach do you think is better for earning points?"
Uesugi Hara looked at her. She wasn't asking about points at all; she was asking where he stood. He rubbed the tip of his nose and deliberately laughed it off. "I wouldn't know. For me, any way of getting points is a good way."
With that, he hurriedly turned toward the door. "Let's not talk about that. Miss Arisu, have you eaten? If not, we can grab something together."
A faint laugh came from behind him, as light as a feather. He knew the little girl had no intention of letting him off the hook.
Uesugi Hara bit into the ham sandwich he'd just bought, crumbs scattering as he chewed. Sakayanagi Arisu walked beside him, lightly tapping the ground with her cane. Her pace was unhurried, just enough to keep up with his. She had eaten breakfast before coming over.
"Uesugi, you can eat more slowly. No one's going to steal it from you." She glanced at him wolfing down his food, a trace of barely concealed disapproval in her voice. "You're about to get crumbs down your collar."
Uesugi Hara mumbled, "Mm," and stuffed the last bite into his mouth. He wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "Otherwise, I won't make it in time for homeroom. Didn't you know? Katsuragi sent a message last night saying there'd be a class meeting before class." Uesugi Hara spotted a trash can nearby, walked over, and tossed the wrapper away.
As soon as Uesugi Hara returned, someone gently hooked an arm through his. Sakayanagi Arisu's movement was already so familiar it seemed she'd done it a thousand times. He glanced sideways without thinking. The morning light fell on her temple, where tiny beads of sweat were sliding down along her hairline. A few stray strands clung to her cheek.
"Let's walk faster." Uesugi Hara's tone was calm, but he quietly adjusted his pace. This little girl really has no stamina. She's only been walking on her own for ten minutes, and she's already like this. "Keep dawdling and we'll really be late."
Sakayanagi Arisu rubbed her fingertips against his sleeve, as if wiping away her sweat. "What's the rush? Katsuragi's class meeting will probably just be a lot of irrelevant preliminaries." Though she said that, her grip on his arm tightened, and her white cane began tapping the ground a little faster.
Uesugi Hara could feel the warmth of her arm against his, a little hotter than yesterday. He didn't say anything else. He simply shifted his bag to the other side so it wouldn't brush against her arm and steadily led them toward the school building. The sunlight was growing stronger; it would be better to get inside soon.
A cool breeze stirred beneath the trees at the entrance to the school building. As they reached the covered walkway, Sakayanagi Arisu loosened her hold on his arm and gave his sleeve one last rub with her fingertips, as if wiping off the remaining sweat.
"Phew." She let out a soft breath. Her voice carried a hint of breathlessness, though she still maintained her usual composure. "It seems a morning stroll should indeed be kept to a reasonable length."
Uesugi Hara glanced at the loose strands of hair by her temple. The damp spots caught the light faintly in the shade. He didn't reply, merely giving the little girl a calm look.
"Why have you stopped?" Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head slightly and tapped her cane lightly against the ground.
"I'm waiting for you to catch your breath." Uesugi Hara watched students hurry toward their classrooms and checked the time. It was 8:17. "Besides, if we go in now, Classmate Katsuragi probably won't have started yet."
Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled and raised a hand to smooth the loose strands at her forehead. Her fingers were very pale, and they seemed almost cool against her cheek. "Uesugi, you're unexpectedly considerate today~"
"So you won't look too exhausted when you walk into the classroom and give yourself away." Uesugi Hara said it matter-of-factly, but he took his bag off his shoulder, unzipped it, rummaged around, and pulled out an unopened packet of tissues. He held it out to her. "Wipe off the sweat."
Sakayanagi Arisu's fingers paused before she accepted the tissues. She opened the packet delicately and folded one. Her knuckles took on a faint pink tinge from the pressure. "Thank you."
Rather than wiping her cheek directly, she first dabbed her fingertips, then slowly pressed the tissue to her temple. "Come to think of it, Uesugi, you don't usually carry things like this."
"I picked them up at the convenience store this morning." Uesugi Hara kept his eyes on the noticeboard inside the school building, as if he were reading the announcements. "Let's go. If we wait any longer, we really will be late for the meeting."
As he turned and headed down the hallway, he heard the footsteps behind him slow for a moment before catching up. This time, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't hook her arm through his. The taps of her cane simply followed his pace, trailing a short distance behind.
As soon as they entered the classroom, a wave of commotion swept through it.
Questions like "Uesugi, you rascal, did you really score that quickly?" and "Classmate Sakayanagi, are you and Uesugi really dating?" came rushing at them.
Uesugi Hara didn't say a word. He merely glanced back at Sakayanagi Arisu, as if to say, Look what you've stirred up.
Sakayanagi Arisu only smiled faintly at the questions. "Yesterday, we just happened to be going the same way. Uesugi helped me out because I have trouble getting around, and along the way we played a little joke on Classmate Yamamura. To thank him, I bought Uesugi a drink. There's nothing romantic between us."
Sakayanagi Arisu's voice was soft and clear, but like a stone dropped into water, it quickly quieted the chatter that had just risen. She held the packet of unused tissues between her fingers, lightly rubbing the edge of the wrapper. Her smile was just right—not so deliberate that it seemed like an excuse, but with a hint of helplessness at being misunderstood.
Uesugi Hara had already reached his seat at the back. He was just about to set down his bag when he heard someone near the front mutter, "But I saw you two walking in together just now..."
He glanced over, and the person immediately pulled their head back.
"Is it strange to walk into the school building together?" Sakayanagi Arisu had just reached her seat and leaned her cane against the desk leg. "Uesugi Hara waited for me at the entrance for two minutes. He couldn't very well go in without me, could he?" She turned toward Uesugi Hara as though speaking to him, but her voice carried just far enough for everyone nearby to hear. "He's a gentleman, after all. Right?"
Uesugi Hara pulled out his chair and sat down. He didn't answer, simply taking a textbook out of his bag.
Hashimoto Masayoshi, seated in front of him, couldn't resist turning around with an expression that said, "I get it." "Hey, Uesugi, was it really just a coincidence?"
"What else?" Uesugi Hara's fingers paused on the page. "You want Sakayanagi to set her sights on you?"
Hashimoto Masayoshi said enviously, "With Sakayanagi's background, if you can get her as your backer, what is there to fear at this school?"
The classroom gradually quieted down. Katsuragi Kohei was already standing at the podium, flipping open his notebook.
"All right, let's begin the class meeting." Katsuragi Kohei's gaze swept over the class with his usual sternness.