My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend - Volume 7 - Chapter 4

Because You Watch over Me

Returning Pride with Pride

Yume Irido

With October coming to a close soon, we were now exactly one week away from the second semester midterms.

“Starting tomorrow, the student council will be off for a week,” President Suzuri Kurenai declared. “I want all of you to throw yourself into your studies and achieve results that will not bring any shame to the student council. On a related note, if you’d like to use the student council room for studying, you may submit an application to our adviser. It’s one of our many perks.”

“You can, but don’t. It’s a pain and a half...” Our adviser, Mr. Arakusa, groaned from his seat in the corner.

He only made appearances when he absolutely had to. Apparently, being an adviser didn’t come with a pay raise, so he wanted to put in as little effort as possible.

“Hey, Arekusa! Can we come during lunch too?”

“If you can find me, sure. And it’s Arakusa.”

Despite his lazy attitude, students, especially Aso-senpai, really got along with him. The idea of a teacher who was open about only working as hard as he was paid, despite being employed at such a strict school, had its appeal.

After hearing his answer, Aso-senpai giggled. “How ’bout it?” she asked, moving to sit next to Hoshibe-senpai, who’d yet again come here to play with his phone on the couch. “I’d love it if you could help me study again, Senpai.” She flashed him a side glance while rubbing her shoulder against his.

“Huh? I already taught you how to study. You should be good to go,” he said, pocketing his phone and swinging his bag across his shoulder. “Later. Good luck with midterms.” With that, he casually left the room, leaving Aso-senpai by her lonesome.

“Why can’t you just have one ulterior motive?!” she exclaimed towards the door that his huge body had vanished behind.

The fact that she didn’t let this get her down was what made me look up to her as my master in romance. Asuhain-san let out an exasperated sigh, but President Kurenai walked up to Master Aso and put her hand on her shoulder.

“I can teach you if you’d like, Aisa.”

“No.” Aso-senpai pouted. “You’re too smart. I can’t understand you.”

“Last time I taught you, your average score should’ve gone up by fifteen points, though.”

“Let me be clear: I hate the way you teach, so never again!”

President Kurenai wryly smiled and shrugged. Maybe I should ask her to teach me. I’d heard that people who were truly intelligent were good at teaching others.

I noticed that Asuhain-san was restlessly glancing up at President Kurenai. “If you want her to teach you, you should ask her, Asuhain-san,” I said warmly, admiring how cute she was acting.

“Huh?! N-No, there’s no point if I don’t achieve my desired results on my own...”

President Kurenai turned towards us. “I think that being able to ask for help is a skill. Behold, exhibit A, Aisa. All her life, she’s only ever relied on the help of others.”

“Are you callin’ me a rafflesia who’s only able to live by leeching off of others like a parasite?!” Aso-senpai barked.

“Has someone actually called you that?” President Kurenai blinked.

Asuhain-san averted her doe-like eyes. She looked conflicted about what to do, but after a moment, she shut her eyes and opened them again, seemingly making up her mind.

“I... I’m going to study by myself,” she said, flashing me a sharp look from across the table. “And this time... This time for sure, I will stand above you, Irido-san!”

The serious, fiery look in her eyes told the whole story: she was intent on winning and didn’t want to stay on the back foot any longer. This reminded me of how I’d looked at Mizuto during the first semester midterms.

Usually, I’d just casually accept her challenge without taking it too seriously. But I knew that this was a battle of pride for her. Thinking of it like that, I was aware that I owed her a real response. So, for the first time, I decided to face her challenge head-on.

“Sure. Bring it on.”

Virtual Study Session

That being said, I had a huge advantage. After all, I lived with the guy I’d been fighting with for the number one spot. Excluding the time that we’d studied together with Higashira-san and Kawanami-kun, we’d always been stubborn about studying alone. But things were different now!

I could still remember how the two of us used to study together when we had dated. It’d been so...sweet, so innocent. We’d pretend to look at textbooks while trying to brush our shoulders against each other’s or put our hands on the other person’s lap. It’d been so fun getting physical contact in! Well, of course, it went without saying that consequently, our grades dropped. That being said, I had changed.

I wasn’t as love-addled as I’d been back then, and I knew tricks for self-control to boot. The new, improved Yume could not only efficiently gather knowledge in order to fight for the top spot but could also flirt at the same time! 

Well, that had been my plan, at least.

“Yo! My camera on?”

“Yeah. What’s up with your hair?”

“Oof. It looks rather deflated. You’re reminiscent of an old-school delinquent.”

“Shaddup! I just got outta the shower! Of course my hair’s not gonna look like it usually does!”

Four familiar faces were crammed on the small screen of my phone—Kawanami-kun, Mizuto, and Higashira-san, the ones who were speaking, respectively, along with Akatsuki-san. Each of their faces were tiny, not any bigger than a spoon you’d eat ice cream with.

Mizuto looked calm and collected as usual. Uh... We live together. Why aren’t we in the same room? I internally posed this to myself despite already knowing the answer. We had an agreement to refrain from going to each other’s room at night while our parents were home. Well, even if we didn’t, I couldn’t flirt with him regardless since all our friends were on a call together.

But still! He was on the other side of my wall, so why did I have to see him on such a minuscule screen?! I’d never wanted a tablet or laptop as badly as I did right now. I held back a sigh and looked back at the screen.

“Are all of you good to go? Hm? Akatsuki-san?” For someone as boisterous as she was, she was being surprisingly quiet. I looked closer and noticed that her lips were, in fact, moving. “Akatsuki-san, your mic is muted.”

She’d let her hair down from its usual ponytail, giving off a feel that she was in full relaxation mode. She tilted her head, furrowing her brow with confusion. Suddenly, she reached out her hands and the screen began shaking.

“Hey, don’t shake it! What are you, some kinda grandma?! Fine! Fine! Sorry, hold up. I’m gonna help her,” Kawanami-kun said before disconnecting.

After he left, the individual windows resized themselves, making the faces of the remaining three people slightly bigger.

“If I remember correctly, they’re neighbors, aren’t they?” Higashira-san asked. “His instincts as a promiscuous boy must have activated if he is heading to a girl’s house at this time of night.”

“I feel for him. Gotta be impossible for him to ever have a moment’s rest.”

“Aren’t our rooms right next to each other, Mizuto-kun?” I huffed. “What’re you trying to say?”

“Take it as you will.”

Rrgh! You think it’s impossible for you to ever feel a moment’s rest?! Hm? Wait. If I pretend to have technical difficulties, wouldn’t that force Mizuto to come to my room? My eyes were drawn to the mute button. If... If I press this... Just as I was within centimeters of pressing the forbidden button, I saw Kawanami-kun appear on Akatsuki-san’s screen. He was looking at her screen and was fiddling with it.

“For real? You had yourself muted. That’s it.”

“Oh, you’re right.”

“How much of a klutz are you? Sheesh, you couldn’t have made a more basic mistake. I don’t get how you didn’t realize what the problem was immediately. What’d I even bring all my stuff here for?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m so sorry for the trouble! Why don’t you just study here? There’s enough space for you...on the floor.”

“There’s tons of space at the table!”

Akatsuki-san kicked Kawanami-kun away, off-screen. “Sorry ’bout all that!” she said, moving close to the camera.

“So, ultimately, you will be sharing the same space as that promiscuous boy during this study session,” Isana observed. “This is my earnest request, but please refrain from giving him a hand. There are others on this call, after all.”

“Hm? What would I be giving him a hand with, exactly?”

“A hand with...you know?”

“No, I don’t. Finish that thought. Please.”

“I-I take it back. My apologies!”

Higashira-san’s attempt at a dirty joke failed in the face of Akatsuki-san’s pressure. There’s no way I can admit that I had the same groundless concern as Higashira-san...

“More importantly, Yume-chan, you’re wearing glasses today?!”

“Hm? Oh, yeah... I usually wear contacts, but not when I study at home.”

“They’re so cute! Really has a relaxation mode vibe!”

“I think having your hair down really suits you too, Akatsuki-san. It gives you a really neat-and-tidy vibe.”

“Aha ha ha. Thanks!”

I noticed that while we were complimenting each other, Mizuto let out a small yawn.

“Oh, now that I look, you’re wearing glasses too, Mizuto-kun,” Higashira-san said.

Well observed. He certainly is.

“These are the ones that block blue light. I always wear them when I use the computer.”

“Ooh! They suit you very much! May I take a screenshot?”

“You may not.”

“Why not?! You’re simultaneously cute and cool!”

“’Cause you’re creeping me out.”

It may have been my imagination, but I could’ve sworn I saw Mizuto’s eyes flit towards something. Our eyes didn’t meet, but I had a feeling he was looking at my video. Wait, was he looking at me when he said he was being creeped out?! Okay, sure, I may have gone a little bit crazy with the pictures when I first saw you in glasses, and yeah, even I’d classify that as creepy, but I couldn’t help myself! It’s your fault for being a hottie! Okay, yeah, I’m acting like a creep.

“I guess we should start studying soon...” I said, trying to put my weird actions of the past behind me. “Don’t feel pressured to stay on the call if you start to get tired. Let’s keep this chill and help each other out.”

“Okay! Oh, right. Maki-chan and Nasuka-chan said they might join, so make sure you don’t get anywhere near the camera, Kawanami.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“I haven’t told them that we’re neighbors! Are you dense?!”

“Ow! Don’t kick me!” Kawanami complained off-screen.

Higashira-san seemed dispirited. “As a single person, it’s truly painful to have to endure a video feed of two people flirting,” she exhaled dejectedly.

I can’t agree more. I want to be in the same room as Mizuto! This isn’t fair, Akatsuki-san!

“Mizuto-kun,” Higashira-san continued, fidgeting, “may I sleep over at your domicile in the near future?”

“No,” he responded immediately.

“Why not?!” she whined.

“The thought of you trying to shoot your shot creeps me out.”

“You’ve grown so much. At first, you would simply shoot me down, but now you go so far as to say that my actions creep you out.”

I stayed quiet as Higashira-san stated my own desires so plainly. I’m so sorry for wanting to shoot my shot.

Numerous Experiences Made Him Grow

Mizuto Irido

Hearing a strange sound, I looked up from my math textbook and realized that Isana, one of the people in the five windows in the video chat, was nodding off.

“Isana.”

“Wha? I-I’m awake...”

“Sleep if you’re tired. There’s no point in forcing yourself to study. You’re not gonna retain any of it.”

“Mmnnmn.”

What kind of sound is that, even? She must really be at her limit.

“Wow, what a gentleman! I might’ve misjudged you, Yume’s little brother,” one of Yume’s friends, who had joined partway through, chimed in. Her name’s...Maki Sakamizu. I still remember it. She had short hair and was incredibly energetic. “You’re, like, usually kinda cold, but deep down, you’re actually a pretty nice guy, huh? Especially to Higashira-san,” she said, resting her face in her hand while twirling a mechanical pencil.

“Not really. I’m just a bit overprotective of her ’cause she’s bad at existing. Also, I’m not Yume’s little brother.”

“Oh, right, I hear you two have the same birthday. What a coincidence,” a girl with a bob cut leisurely said, slightly yawning. She’s...Kanai. Right. Nasuka Kanai. I remember her. She always looked like she was one second away from passing out, but the way she was rubbing her eyes only made that look even more like the case. “Ah, I can’t take it anymore. I’m about to pass out. I think I’m gonna log off.”

“Huh? Then I’m gonna dip too. We still have a week to study anyway,” Sakamizu said, stretching.

Yume dryly smiled. “Be careful. Time’s going to fly by before you know it.”

“Yeah, I know, I know.”

Shortly after, Sakamizu and Kanai dropped off the call. In the meantime, Isana had already passed out on her desk.

“Isana, sleep in your bed.”

“Mmmm.”

“Higashira-san? Ugh, she can’t hear us.”

I sighed, then muted my mic and began calling her. I watched as Isana, mostly out of reflex, inched her arm to her phone and put it against her head.

“Yes... Who is it...?”

“I guess you don’t care what’s gonna happen to you if you don’t properly sleep in your bed, do you?” I whispered in a low voice.

“Hwaah?!” Isana shot up.

“Good girl. Now end the call and go to your bed.”

“O-Okay. I understand...” she said, getting ready to end the call in a half-asleep state.

“Night.”

“Okie...”

I hung up. “All done.”

“What did you say to her?” Yume asked, half frightened and half exasperated.

Nothing in particular. Just to go to bed.

Minami-san had her head resting on her hands and her eyes seemingly focused on me. “Aren’t you getting a little too good at sweet-talking women? Maybe it’s ’cause Higashira-san’s such an easy mark.”

“I know what does and doesn’t work on her. Simple as that. This is the only method I can think of to control her unpredictable actions.” It also made her happy for some reason.

“She deserves nothing, Irido!” Kawanami, who’d been silent while Kanai and Sakamizu were on the call per Minami-san’s orders, yelled out off-screen. “You’re just gonna feed her ego! She’s gonna start acting like you’re boyfriend-girlfriend even though you guys aren’t even dating!”

“She already does that, actually, but I don’t care. She can tell the difference between reality and fiction. As long as the two of us know what our relationship is, it doesn’t matter how others interpret it.”

“Hm... I don’t know about that,” Minami-san remarked while shoving Kawanami to the side. “What do you think, Yume-chan? Is there anything different you’ve noticed about Irido-kun since he became friends with Higashira-san?”

“Huh? Uh... I’m not sure. I don’t think there’s anything in particular...”

“So, then...you’re saying that Irido-kun’s always been a lady-killer?”

I saw Yume glance at a corner of her screen, most likely at me. “Yeah, maybe...”

Why are you acting like some kind of know-it-all? I don’t recall ever pulling any moves on you when we were dating. I do remember, however, you getting hot and bothered all on your own. If I was good at that kinda stuff, maybe I’d be able to be more decisive.

“Oh? In that case, do you mind telling us exactly what kind of situation he—” Kawanami started.

“Okay, I think we’re done for today,” Yume interrupted. “Time for a bath! Bye!” And then she disconnected.

“Oh, she ran away,” he observed. “Well then, Irido, do you have any idea what she might be—”

“Later.”

“Hey, wait!”

I left the call. Doesn’t that stupid voyeur know not to kick the hornet’s nest?

The Person I Love

After our virtual study session ended, I grabbed my textbooks and headed down to the living room. I still hadn’t reviewed as much as I’d wanted to, so my plan was to take a short break and then get back to reading.

I boiled some water in the electric kettle and added a tea bag. Drinking tea at this time of night would normally make it hard to sleep, but I was already a night owl, so caffeine didn’t mean much in my case.

I sat down on the couch and brought the hot cup of black tea to my mouth, waiting for my brain to reboot. When I felt ready to dive in again, I opened a textbook. A few minutes later, just as I was turning to the next page, I heard the living room door open.

“Oh, you are here.”

A pajama-clad Yume appeared in the doorway. She was no longer wearing the glasses she’d had on during the study session, and her hair was now tied into two tails that draped over each of her shoulders.

“Uh-huh...”

Yume made her way to the kitchen. “You aren’t gonna take a bath?” she asked.

“I will in a bit.”

“’Kay.”

I tried focusing on my textbook while she filled a cup with water. After a bit, I heard her place it down and then start approaching me, her footsteps growing louder with each step.

“Hey,” she called out, causing me to finally look up. She leaned over the back of the couch and looked at me from the side. “Is it okay if I...study here with you a bit?”

Suddenly my mind was struck by a whirlwind of different interpretations. The first was that she had some questions she wanted to ask me about the material. The next was that she wanted to continue the study session. And the last was the most simple and straightforward one—she didn’t have a reason; she simply wanted to spend time with me.

Out of the storm of thoughts came these three simple words: “Knock yourself out.” I gotta say, I’m good at playing it cool.

Yume seemed relieved. Her lips relaxed. “I’ll go grab my textbook,” she said, jogging out of the living room. Before I knew it, she had gone upstairs and returned with her stuff, taking a seat right next to me.

And thus, our study session began anew. It certainly wasn’t as lively as our virtual one. All I did was read my textbook while Yume solved practice problems in her notebook. We didn’t have any questions for each other or topics of conversation. The only sounds filling the room were the scratching of her mechanical pencil against paper, pages flipping, and the clock ticking.

Sometimes I’d glance over at Yume’s profile as she stared at her notebook. She didn’t seem nearly as desperate as she had during the first semester midterms. She seemed calm yet focused as she worked on the practice questions.

Suddenly, Isana’s words played in my head. “I believe that the person you love is the one whose side profile you find yourself looking at the most.” This simple definition made me incredibly conscious of the meaning behind what I was doing right now. All I was doing was glancing over at her, but it felt like I was doing something embarrassing. Even if I wanted to avert my gaze, before I knew it, I was looking at her again.

But I guess that’s just how things go. As much as I hated to admit it, it was. Agh. Dammit. It’s getting really obvious that I’m doing a crappy job of hiding my thoughts. It took a lot of effort to refocus myself on my textbook. This wasn’t the time for me to be slipping. There was an important date in November, pretty much right after we finished midterms.

After a while, I noticed that it was midnight. I should take a bath. It’s starting to get cold. I began to close my textbook when I caught sight of Yume glancing at me.

“What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing...” she said, her eyes flitting back and forth between me and her notebook. “All I was thinking was how you have the same expression whether you’re reading for pleasure or for school.”

Isana’s words echoed in my head again for some reason. “I believe that the person you love is the one whose...” I immediately stopped myself from trying to interpret why they had. It was a steep path that might lead me to a world of hurt if I wasn’t careful.

“Whatever I’m reading for, it makes no difference,” I said, giving an extremely dull, lifeless answer.

Then I told her that I was gonna take a bath, and left the living room. Am I...scared? Of course I am. I absolutely can’t fail this time.

The Only Way You Know How to Live

Yume Irido

Our virtual study sessions had yielded better results than expected. The remote aspect of it was very beneficial. It would’ve been hard to concentrate if we were all in the same place; in all likelihood, we would’ve just fooled around. It also placed restrictions on us all—the biggest being that we couldn’t play around on our phones while on the call. In my opinion, it had been a huge success.

Studying had been going well over the course of the week, but then one day, I went to the student council room to do some studying. To my surprise, there were already two people there.

“Hello...” I said in a low voice, but they didn’t respond.

Or rather, they couldn’t respond, because they were asleep. Hoshibe-senpai was on the visitor’s couch, as usual, with an open textbook splayed over his face. His appearance was to be expected. What surprised me, though, was the other person napping. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to see Asuhain-san fast asleep at the meeting table.

I quietly approached her and glanced at her face, which was glued to a page of her open notebook while she peacefully slept, cute as a kitten. She was still holding her mechanical pencil, so I figured she had passed out while studying. I can only imagine how tired she is.

Ever since we’d entered test week, I hadn’t seen Asuhain-san as much since student council activities had been put on hold. I’d sometimes pass her in the hallways, and I was able to tell at a glance how tired she was. She must’ve been putting a lot of effort into her studies, or at least that was my guess considering how fired up she had seemed for midterms. It really was like looking at a past version of myself.

I brought out a blanket that Hoshibe-senpai had left in the documents room and gently draped it over Asuhain-san’s shoulders. I’ll let her sleep for a little longer. I quieted my breathing and began studying. After around twenty or so minutes, Asuhain-san began to stir.

“Mm...” As she got up, the blanket slid off.

She looked at it in a daze, not completely understanding what’d happened.

“Morning,” I said.

This really seemed to perk her up because in the next moment, Asuhain-san’s eyes widened, and she gasped as she looked at the notebook she’d been using as a pillow.

“W-Was I asleep?!”

“Yep. Fast asleep.”

“Oh...” Her childlike face filled with regret. “Did you...” she began, picking up the blanket.

“Yeah, you looked tired, so I thought it’d be best to let you sleep a little longer.”

“Thank you, but...I’d have preferred it if you’d woken me up.” She frowned when she glanced at the clock.

“You were only asleep for about twenty minutes... Well, since I came in, at least.”

“Every minute counts. If I’m going to beat you and be top of our class, then I can’t spare even a second.”

I knew exactly how she felt. Back in the first semester, I had pushed myself so hard to maintain the number one spot. I understood all too well the crushing pressure of making every second count and realizing that you need more time. It had gotten to the point that I had begun cutting sleep to give myself more time.

But in reality, essentially putting my life on the line like that wasn’t nearly as important as I’d thought. It was all thanks to Mizuto taking the top spot away from me that let me see that.

“Asuhain-san...why is it so important that you beat me?” I couldn’t help asking her this after seeing my past self in her.

I’d obsessed over maintaining the top spot in our grade in order to keep my image of being the best. But what was Asuhain-san obsessing over so much that she wanted to be number one?

“Because that’s all I have,” she said firmly, taking up her pencil again and flipping through her textbook. “I’ve always been the runt. Weak in every fight. Because of that, I could never get back at the boys who made fun of me for my name. That’s why, at the very least, I thought I could get back at them and win out in intelligence.” Her hand didn’t stop writing even for a moment as she spoke, like it was second nature to her. “Even if I got full points on everything, they’d praise others for being fast or being good at games and say how obsessed with studying I was. The bitterness from all that has never faded.”

“That’s why you’re still studying hard? To get back at them?”

“No... Honestly, I don’t really know if that’s the reason anymore, but...” she trailed off before continuing. “Despite everything, it didn’t discourage me. I kept getting full points on tests, believing that studying was everything.”

“What fueled you that much? If you weren’t getting the recognition you wanted, what was it?”

“No, actually, there was a time my efforts were recognized,” she said in a soft but firm tone. “One of the many times I got full points, a guy said something...I think.”

“What did he say?”

“I don’t really remember, but it was something like, ‘Wow...’”

Though she’d been using vague words like “think” and “something like,” I was almost certain that it was all just a way for her to pretend like she didn’t remember it vividly. The proof was how she could remember something that hadn’t been said emphatically, emotionally, or intentionally.

Whether that boy remembered what he’d said didn’t matter; it had had a huge impact on her. Though it’d been nothing more than a whisper, that one word of his had saved Asuhain-san. So she studies this hard keeping that in mind...

“Anyway, that’s my only way to fight those around me. I have to keep being the best when it comes to grades.” She raised her head to look at me. “But then you appeared in front of me, Irido-san.” I felt overwhelmed by the pressure behind her eyes.

After placing first on the entrance exam and becoming the new student representative, I couldn’t differentiate between all the different faces in the audience. At best, I barely made out Mizuto, mom, and Mineaki-ojisan. Back then, everyone just blended together, but in that sea of faces, she was there. Asuhain-san had been in that crowd, looking up at me as her sworn enemy.

“This is all so dumb.” Suddenly, a voice called out, interrupting our conversation. In the next moment, Hoshibe-senpai got up from the couch. He’s awake? He let out a yawn and looked at Asuhain-san while resting his head in his hand. “Do you know how dumb it is to say that all you have is studying? Humans are nowhere near that one-dimensional.”

Asuhain-san’s eyebrow twitched, and her pencil stopped moving. An angry aura emanated from her small body, making me freeze up, unable to stop her from doing what she did next. “What gives you the right to unilaterally decide that my way of living is wrong, Senpai?” she snapped, turning to face him. “People like me exist. You’re just ignorant of that fact, plain and simple.”

“Can’t be ignorant of something that doesn’t exist. Maybe you’re just ignorant of the fact that studying is something only students do. What’s your plan here, get held back and be a student forever?”

“That’s not my point, and you know it! What I’m trying to say is that there are people who can only live by obsessing over one thing.”

“And you’re willing to sacrifice anything to achieve that goal? Whoa, we got a real-life protagonist over here!”

If Asuhain-san was a raging fire of emotions, Hoshibe-senpai was a lofty cloud. He wasn’t even looking at her anymore and had begun using his phone. “You’re not long for the world if you keep livin’ like that.”

“Everyone dies someday...”

“That’s not the point. Sheesh, you really don’t get it. I guess I’m just a third-year brat, so maybe I don’t have the right to say this, but if you’re working so hard that you’re gonna put yourself in an early grave, isn’t it better to work less and live longer?”

Though he wasn’t looking at her, he wasn’t ignoring her one bit. Sure, his demeanor wasn’t ideal, but I got the feeling that he was concerned about her. But none of that was picked up on by Asuhain-san, who was still in a rage.

“A-All you do is take naps, put in little to no effort, and then easily snag a college recommendation at the end of it all! That’s who you are! You don’t know what it’s like to be me, someone who has to be desperate. You don’t get me at all!” Asuhain-san screamed, angrily stuffing her textbooks and notebooks into her bag.

“Asuhain-san!” I tried to stop her, but she swung her bag onto her shoulders and quickly exited the room.

I exhaled and glanced at Hoshibe-senpai as he aimlessly fiddled with his phone. “Senpai...I understand that you’re worried about Asuhain-san, but you could’ve said all that in a better way.”

Hoshibe-senpai lightly scratched his head. “Yeah, I kinda messed up, huh?”

“You did. You should have Aso-senpai teach you how to treat girls.”

“That’s a pretty hefty fine you’re giving me.” Hoshibe-senpai exhaled and looked at the ceiling. “Sorry, Irido. I got a little heated. Wasn’t like me at all.”

“You...did? What got you so worked up?”

“Well...” He trailed off for a bit while opening and closing the hand that he’d been resting on the back of the couch. “I can’t raise my right arm past my shoulder.”

“Huh?”

“Things falling into place now?” He didn’t look at me. His expression didn’t show any emotion, but I felt like I understood.

I was beginning to understand why someone as whimsical and prone to nap-taking was so admired by both Haba-senpai and President Kurenai, and why his body looked as if he’d done some kind of sport in the past. It felt like I was a tiny step closer to seeing him for who he really was.

“Watch over her for me, Irido, will ya?”

“Me?”

“I could talk her ear off, but nothing I say, no matter how much wisdom there is to it, will matter. Not unless it comes from the right person.” Though it was for just a brief second, Hoshibe-senpai finally looked at me.

Because You Watch over Me

“Yume, Mizuto-kun? We’re going to bed, okay?”

“Don’t push yourselves too hard. Got it?”

“Okay!” I said.

Mom and Mineaki-ojisan left the living room to go to their room. Mizuto, who was sitting next to me, gave a small wave. Every night after our virtual study session ended, Mizuto and I came down to the living room to continue studying on our own.

If we kept going to each other’s rooms to study night after night, that might create some suspicion, but if we met up in the living room, then we could keep studying without raising any flags. This wasn’t something we’d discussed and decided beforehand, but it was almost like we’d found a loophole to spend our nights together.

If this had been me in the first semester, I wouldn’t have been able to focus on studying at all. But now, I could sit next to him like this without even giving it a second thought. I didn’t feel overly conscious—if anything, I felt comfortable and calm. I even found that I could focus on work even more easily than I had in the past. Thanks to that, studying had gotten pretty efficient.

I wonder if Asuhain-san is still pushing herself. Hoshibe-senpai had said it was important for her to hear the right thing from the right person. Sure, I’d been like her once, forcing myself to my limits to try and stay at the top, but then I lost to Mizuto. After that, I didn’t study like I was possessed for the finals and managed to reclaim my spot. That being said, telling her to just be like me and to take it easy would only sound like I was belittling her. What can I do? What could someone like me, who’d gone through the same process of working myself to the bone, do? After all, it was only because I’d gone through that process that I’d become who I was now.

“Hey,” Mizuto suddenly called out. “You okay?”

“Huh? Oh...” While I was deep in thought, my hands had stopped moving, and he’d apparently noticed.

He shifted his gaze from his notebook to my face. “Something happen?”

“Nothing really... Not to me.”

“With the student council, then?”

How did you guess? Then again, he was probably able to narrow it down by thinking about things and people in my life that weren’t in his.

“Yeah, something with one of the girls.”

“Wow, so you finally have the leisure to worry about someone else? I’m glad.”

“Yeah, thanks to you.” I giggled.

But wait... I didn’t have any basis for this. It wasn’t as if he’d telegraphed it with the way he’d been acting, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d been waiting for me to confide in him.

“If...you have spare leisure too, then...”

“I have five times as much leisure as you.”

“Is it okay to tell you about something that I’ve been worrying about, then?”

Mizuto looked back at his textbook without saying a word. This meant that he was only going to listen, and that he could do so without interrupting his studying. So, I summed up everything that had happened today at the student council, about Asuhain-san and Hoshibe-senpai’s opinion. After I was done, Mizuto concisely laid out his thoughts without looking up.

“I agree with the ex-student council president. He makes a good point. It’s definitely better to work less and live longer.”

“Yeah... I think so too.”

“If you dig in your heels about something, then it’s hard to hold on when the ground disappears beneath you. Remember what almost happened to you in the first semester? You weren’t living a very balanced life. It’s like that.”

When I lost to Mizuto, I learned that I wouldn’t lose my friends even if I wasn’t at the top of the standings. I realized that I didn’t need to keep clinging to my little piece of the earth and that there were plenty of other places I could walk. But...

“It makes sense logically, but for someone amped up on emotion, it won’t mean a thing. To her, it’s like being backseated in a video game,” Mizuto added.

“That’s...a good point. No matter how logically sound your argument is, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t get through to the other person.”

“This reminds me of when my homeroom teacher looked at me like I was crazy when I told them I wanted to not only go here, but that I wanted to get a scholarship too.”

“Oh, that happened to me too! I didn’t care what they told me. I just knew that I had to go to Rakuro to avoid being in the same high school as you.”

“It was amazing how quick they flip-flopped after finding out I passed.” Mizuto chuckled.

Ultimately, both of us passed and got into Rakuro, which initially made me feel pretty depressed, but now I could look back on it and laugh.

“Back then, I realized that no one but you can be convinced that you’ll succeed. The only way to find out who’s right is by going for it. If the girl you’re talking about loses the support of the ground she’s standing on, she might get discouraged, or maybe she won’t. She could also be one of those rare people who defy logic and don’t even know how to be discouraged.”

“Are there...even people like that?”

“Isana Higashira.” Oh... Okay, I’m convinced. She certainly fell into that category since she essentially remained undeterred even after Mizuto rejected her. “Ultimately, nobody’s exactly the same.”

So because everyone has their own way of living that works for them, we can’t say anything about it? “That’s...kinda sad to think about.”

It was almost as if he was saying that understanding others was impossible. No matter how much you thought you were on the same page, people were ultimately different, and because of that, they fundamentally couldn’t understand each other. Was that what he meant?

Mizuto fell silent and began thinking, before suddenly pointing to my notebook. “If you feel that way, you should study.”

“Huh?”

“Dive in with everything you got and find out who’s right.”

This didn’t sound like an answer Mizuto would usually give. It was so simple. But then again...maybe it is like him. There was a lot of reasoning behind the answer he’d come up with—plain and simple, whoever won was right.

Asuhain-san couldn’t prove that her thinking was right unless she beat me. So I had to keep beating her until she eventually became discouraged and could take a step back and realize what she’d been doing. Maybe only then would my words reach her. Until then, all I could do was watch over her as a friend. It was a little vexing, but maybe this was the only thing one could do to influence someone else’s life.

“Tell me if things ever get too hard for you. I’ll keep the number one spot safe.”

Oh, you’re on. Do you really think you can get away with that? “Thanks for your concern, but I think second place suits you best.”

“Hmph.”

I began to understand why having him here felt so comfortable. It’s because, just as I’d been watching over Asuhain-san, he’d most likely been watching over me.

Learning How to Live

And thus, the second semester midterms came upon us and ultimately, I was confident that I’d aced the two-daylong test. I wasn’t sure how Mizuto did, but at the very least, the other people in our virtual study session didn’t look like they were in deep depression or anything. They’d probably done okay.

The biggest problem was Asuhain-san. Now that the midterms were over, the entire student council had gathered together. It was the first time I’d seen Asuhain-san since she’d stormed out of the room.

“I’m feeling great.” Asuhain-san puffed out her large chest, a wide smile brimming with confidence on her face as she looked up at me. “I’ve never felt this good about a test before. I’d be hard-pressed to find any questions I actually struggled with. Irido-san, your reign is over.”

Seeing Asuhain-san’s confidence, Aso-senpai chimed in. “Heh. The loser always says stuff like that.”

“Senpai! That’s in fiction! This is reality!”

“But...” Aso-senpai pouted like a child as she ate spoon after spoon of the pudding she’d bought from the convenience store. Apparently it’d been a little gift to herself for completing the midterms.

I looked at Asuhain-san, flashing a cocky grin back at her. “If you’re so confident, how about a little wager?” I had a plan, and I was ready to bust it out.

Asuhain-san didn’t hesitate even for a second. “Hmph. You’re on. You can make me do anything if I lose.”

“Hm? Anything?!”

“Butt out, Aisa,” President Kurenai said, pulling Aso-senpai back.

“In exchange, when you lose, what will you do?” Asuhain-san asked.

“Hm... How about I share my notes and textbooks with you? I bet they’ll come in handy as references.”

“I see. So you’ll show me your inner workings, so to speak. Fine. We may be enemies, but we’re students in pursuit of the same goal—education. I guess it’s decided; the loser will show their notes and textbooks to the other.”

“Oh, no. If I win, I’m going to have you get eight full hours of sleep every night.” As soon as I declared this, the room fell silent.

“Hm? That’s it? That’s so normal,” Aso-senpai remarked, tilting her head.

Yes, it is...or it would be, if she were normal.

“Wh-What?!” Asuhain-san took a step back and glared at me as if I were some sort of monster.

“Eight hours every day?! That’s so much time I’d be losing! Are you trying to steal my study time away from me? You’re trying to solidify your rule at the top?! How dirty! Such a dirty trick!”

“Huh? Hold up. How long do you usually sleep, Ranran?” Aso-senpai asked.

“About four hours!” she boldly answered.

Aso-senpai’s jaw dropped. “Four hours? Every day? Seriously? You’re gonna die!”

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m the type of person who doesn’t need much sleep.”

You really think so? People who don’t need much sleep don’t take naps.

“Well, that’s what’s on the line,” I said, digging my heels in deeper. “You’ll only have to do it until the next test. We can do another bet, and if I win, I’m going to have you sleep eight hours again. It’ll mean you’ll lose four hours or so of study time every day! Like this, I’ll never lose my spot at the top!”

“It doesn’t matter... After all, I’m going to win. Your dirty plan will never come to fruition. You should get your notes ready for me now, while you have a chance!”

I was at the top of our grade.

After school on the day that the rankings were announced, Aso-senpai, President Kurenai, and I peeked at Asuhain-san, who was sleeping on the couch in the student council room. Aso-senpai poked her cute face.

“Phew, I was so scared. I thought she’d faint when she saw the rankings.”

“Most likely, when she saw the results, all the stress that she’d been carrying instantly disappeared and was immediately replaced by fatigue,” President Kurenai said as she put a blanket over Asuhain-san.

The rankings had shaken out with me at number one, Mizuto at number two, and Asuhain-san at number three. The difference between second and third place was ten points. It was a big enough difference that it couldn’t have been written off as a fluke. Mizuto had explained that sleep deficiency puts a huge strain on the brain. He was right. There was no way that either of us would ever lose to someone who was essentially fighting with one arm tied behind their back.

“I hope she actually sleeps eight hours a day...”

“She will. Isn’t that right, Joe?” she said, passing the buck to Haba-senpai, who was sitting at the meeting table.

He glanced at us and nodded. Maybe, despite essentially blending into the background and never really saying anything, he’d been concerned about Asuhain-san, who’d been pushing herself so hard. According to President Kurenai, he observed others more closely than anyone else.

“Maybe she’s so short because she doesn’t sleep? You know what they say, sleeping children grow.”

“That’s an interesting thought. Maybe this is why I haven’t been able to grow at all. Hm, what a conundrum.”

“How much do you sleep?” I asked.

“Three hours. I’m the type who doesn’t need much sleep,” she said plainly.

Aso-senpai and I shot her cold looks. There wasn’t a single sign of fatigue in her face. If anything, she looked healthier than the average person. Who are you, Napoleon? There really were people who defied all logic, just like Mizuto had said.

That being said, if you convince yourself you’re like that when you’re not, you’ll chip away at your life. Everyone has their own way of living, but whether their body could put up with it or not was a different story.

“Oh? The gang’s all here. That’s rare.” Hoshibe-senpai walked into the room and saw the three of us admiring Asuhain-san as she slept.

He looked rather awkward, perhaps from seeing his underclassman fast asleep on the couch that he usually slept on, but eventually he let out a sigh of relief.

“You did it, Irido.”

“I’m not sure if I did. I don’t know if she’s really taken your words to heart.”

“Hm. Yeah...”

In the first place, he’d told me to look after her, and that’s exactly what I’d done. Nothing else.

“Hm?” Aso-senpai, hearing our conversation, rubbed against Hoshibe-senpai, smiling. “Oh, did it happen again? Were you being a busybody, Senpai? I bet you made Ranran mad! You care so much about your underclassmen despite not having any way with words!”

“Ah, shaddup. I gotta do something or else I’ll just be a former member who sticks around and takes up space.”

“Isn’t that exactly what you are?” President Kurenai chuckled.

“You don’t think you are, Senpai?” Aso-senpai smirked.

“Hey, come on, you two!” After being mercilessly dissed by the two second-years, Hoshibe-senpai walked towards the table by the couch and put a paper bag on it.

“What’s that?” I asked.

Hoshibe-senpai looked away awkwardly. “An apology for being rude. Give it to Asuhain for me, would ya?”

“What’s inside, Senpai?” Aso-senpai asked.

“Dorayaki. Everybody loves red bean paste.”

“That’s not true, Senpai,” Aso-senpai said.

“No... You’re kidding.”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but my little stepbrother doesn’t care for it,” I said.

Hearing my real-life example, Hoshibe-senpai began to sweat.

Seeing this, Aso-senpai looked up at him and kept on the attack. “Senpai, you’re really insensitive at your core, aren’t you?”

“Argh, dammit! Fine! If she doesn’t want it, you guys eat it! I don’t have anything else!” he cried, quickly exiting the room after Aso-senpai continued to poke fun at him.

“Aw, you’re pouting!”

Even if Asuhain-san disregarded the bet we made, if she pushed herself too hard again, I was sure that our kind upperclassmen would give her a good talking-to. This cycle would teach her what it meant to overwork herself. Even if this was the only way she knew how to live, she could learn how to work hard without working herself to death.

No matter how hard Asuhain-san wanted to push herself, no one here would let her get away with it. After all, who couldn’t love this cute girl who was so straightforward and stubborn?

Also, as it turned out...Asuhain-san loved the dorayaki. She looked like a chipmunk with the way she stuffed her face with it. It was really soothing to watch, so I couldn’t help but mention it.

Just Two Words Aren’t Enough

That night, I felt obligated to give Mizuto a report before I talked to him about a separate matter. Mizuto, now with a book in hand instead of a textbook, listened to my report until the very end.

All he had to say in response was, “I see.”

I’d expected this exact response from him. I hadn’t been deluded into thinking that he’d show some relief or talk at length about his impressions. Hoshibe-senpai asked me to watch over her, but honestly, it didn’t have to be me. Someone else might’ve been able to do something.

Aso-senpai, who’d known her the longest, might’ve been able to force her to sleep. President Kurenai could’ve maybe had the incredibly perceptive Haba-senpai figure out a solution. If I hadn’t gone to Mizuto for help, there was no way I could’ve made that bet.

Simply winning would’ve just boxed her more into a corner, making her study even harder, leading to her collapsing. Thinking about what would’ve happened if I hadn’t gone to him for help made me feel a little uneasy but also...supported. It really made me realize how much I’d been relying on Mizuto.

“Hey...” I said as he continued to read.

I need to thank him. But before I could, I found myself swallowing my words. Is it okay to wrap things up like this? To summarize my feelings in merely two words? When I thought about it like that, another idea popped into my head.

“There’s a day that I’d like you to keep open.”

After saying this, Mizuto finally looked up from his book. I’d been thinking about this day for a long time. I’d been thinking about it before midterms and even before the sports festival...probably way before even those.

“When?”

“The next holiday.”

Mizuto’s eyes slightly widened. The day in question was a special one for both of us, and probably our parents too. It was a day that was more than just a simple holiday for everyone in this house. It was the first holiday of November—the third.

“Keep the day of our birthday open, okay?”