After training ended, Shirase showered, changed, and stepped outside—only to find Hayama Hayato waiting by the door, casually holding a bag. He looked like someone waiting on purpose, so Shirase asked, "Waiting for someone?"
Hayama flashed his usual gentle smile. "You."
Shirase eyed him suspiciously. "Don't tell me you've been hiding your true preferences at school all this time."
It took Hayama a second to process that. Then, caught between laughter and exasperation, he said, "What are you even talking about? I was waiting to invite you to hang out."
"I don't recall saying anything about hanging out," Shirase said flatly.
Though he and Hayama got along fine, their lifestyles couldn't have been more different—one was a model riajuu; the other just wanted to stay home and relax.
Seeing his confusion, Hayama smiled and gestured behind him. "You're really going to make a girl wait this long without offering dinner?"
A girl?
Following his gesture, Shirase turned—and saw Miura Yumiko standing a short distance away. He'd noticed her after practice, but now there was another familiar figure beside her.
"Itsuki?"
"Yep. Nakano Itsuki-san," Hayama said, leaning back against the wall with practiced cool. "I came out first, and Yumiko mentioned she was waiting specifically for you. Didn't say why, though."
Shirase nodded slowly. He already had a good idea.
He remembered mentioning "tutoring" during home economics earlier. Nakano Ichika had warned him that her sisters were pretty resistant to the idea—borderline hopeless cases, in her words.
So if Itsuki was waiting for him, it probably had something to do with that.
"So? Want to grab dinner and walk around a bit?" Hayama asked lightly. Seeing Shirase wasn't refusing outright, he pushed his advantage.
"Why do you keep trying to drag me into your riajuu circle?" Shirase asked, giving him a side look. "You already have, what, seven people in that group?"
Hayama's smile was effortless. "You can never have too many friends."
Shirase sighed. "Fine. Just for today."
Since Itsuki was involved, agreeing wasn't difficult.
When the two of them stepped out, both girls turned toward them. Before Itsuki could say anything, Hayama exchanged a quick look with Yumiko, who grinned knowingly. "Shirase, you agreed?"
"Yeah," Shirase said, then turned to Itsuki. "You're here about what I mentioned earlier, right?"
Itsuki froze, not expecting him to see through her immediately. Her cheeks flushed. "You guessed it already?"
"Not hard. Ichika gave me a heads-up."
"Eh? Ichika, you traitor!"
Itsuki puffed her cheeks, glaring at no one in particular. Yumiko, overhearing, looked completely lost but amused.
Itsuki didn't seem opposed to the idea of hanging out—in fact, she looked kind of excited.
Noticing her mood, Shirase leaned slightly closer and said in a low voice, "Since you're so energetic, how about we stop by the library afterward?"
Her face fell. "Why the library?"
"I can give you an early one-on-one tutoring session."
"...I refuse."
Itsuki made a dramatic face, let out a little "hmph," and hurried up to walk beside Yumiko.
Since none of them would be going home for dinner, they each sent messages to their families before leaving school.
The others finished quickly, but Shirase had barely hit send when his phone buzzed—Kojima Kana was calling.
He gestured apologetically to Hayama, stepped aside, and answered. "Kana-nee, you got my message?"
"Of course!" Kana's voice was brimming with excitement. "Have you finally decided to step out of your own world and hang out with friends? Nee-san is so proud of you!"
Shirase was almost speechless. "Do Nino and the others not count as people in your eyes?"
"I didn't say that! Don't twist my words, you brat. I just meant—Kirisu-sensei told me you hardly talk to anyone outside club activities."
"Fine, fine, whatever you say. I might be home late, so you'll have to handle dinner on your own."
"What's that tone? Even if my cooking can't compare to yours, Nee-san's food is still delicious, you know."
After chatting a bit more, Shirase hung up.
"All settled?" Hayama asked.
"Yeah," Shirase nodded. "But just to be safe, I need to send another message."
"Another one? Why?" Hayama asked, puzzled.
Shirase gave him a rare smile. "To make sure a certain reckless woman who calls herself my elder doesn't start imagining weird things."
Hayama only blinked in confusion.
As the four of them headed off for dinner, Kojima Kana, back at home, tied on her apron and pondered what to make for herself.
But as she thought, her mind drifted toward Shirase again.
"Wait… if that kid really turns into a riajuu, won't he start getting tired of me?"
The idea made her anxious.
TV dramas always showed teens growing closer to their friends and drifting away from family. The more adults nagged, the more annoying they seemed.
"No, no, this won't do! If he gets sick of me, our relationship will fall apart!"
Resolved, Kana decided she had to act.
Just then, her phone buzzed.
She picked it up, opened the message, and all her anxiety melted away—replaced by warmth.
The message was short:
[Kana-nee, you're probably starting to overthink things, aren't you? If so, that proves I was right about you. Relax—I'll never get tired of you. Besides, didn't I tell you before? I'll always like Kana-nee.]
Holding the phone tightly, Kana's cheeks turned redder and redder until they burned.
"Seriously… why send something like this? I wasn't overthinking—I was just worried about you," she muttered softly, smiling all the while.
With a blissful look, she set the phone down, finally at ease.
…Until another thought struck her.
Shirase wasn't a little kid anymore. Maybe it was time to start her "private education plan."
If nothing else, she should at least teach him some adult knowledge—something that showed her maturity and reinforced her authority as his elder.
Also, he really shouldn't throw around the word like so casually.
With that in mind, Kojima Kana completely forgot about dinner. She rushed back to her room, booted up her computer, and—with her face flushed bright red—started carefully drafting her new "lesson plan."
---
T/N: ...SOMEONE GET THIS HORNY WOMAN AWAY FROM SHIRASE
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