In the early morning, Shichen opened his eyes, pushed an arm off his chest, then sat up against the headboard and looked out at the window—everything outside was a white blur.
It was getting colder. The chill outside felt like it wanted to seep through the glass.
Of course, none of it could get in. The room was warm, and Shichen even had a "bed-warmer" right beside him.
"Time to get up. Careful—Yukina might find out," Shichen said without the slightest hesitation, lifting his hand and smacking the round curve of the person lying next to him.
Smack—!
The sound was crisp, and the pale curve instantly turned red.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Kirasaka Sayaka shot up, glaring at Shichen with a face bright red.
"Wasn't it you who told me to wake you up in the morning?" Shichen fired back confidently. "You even said you were scared Yukina would find out… If you're that scared, why did you come crawling over here?"
"You know Yukina gets jealous easily…" Sayaka muttered, her voice shrinking as she spoke. "And… we've known each other for so long, and we still haven't… you know…"
Her last words got so quiet they were barely audible.
Good thing Shichen's hearing was excellent.
"Ohhh, so you were the one thinking about it. No wonder you were so proactive last night," Shichen teased with a grin.
"You're so annoying! It's because you're never proactive—so of course people get anxious…" Sayaka shot back in a small, embarrassed huff.
"I see." Shichen's tone softened instantly, turning almost tender. "Sorry I kept you waiting."
If he could make someone as tsundere as Sayaka take the initiative, then yeah—he probably had been neglecting her a bit.
"Why are you suddenly being so gentle…?" Sayaka looked a little thrown off.
"You don't like me being gentle?" Shichen asked.
"It's just… I'm not used to it…"
Shichen's eyebrow twitched. "Wait. Don't tell me you're into that."
"Of course not!" Sayaka's face went even redder.
"Yeah, fair. You were about to cry last night. If you were into it, you'd probably have been thrilled… though you were pretty happy later—"
"Shut up! Don't talk about last night!" Sayaka couldn't take it anymore. She lunged at him, covering his mouth with both hands.
Shichen didn't resist—he just wrapped an arm around her slim waist.
Mostly because the pressure against his chest felt… really nice.
"Why can't I talk about it?" Shichen muffled through her hand.
"Because it's embarrassing! Who says stuff like that out loud? Are you a pervert?"
"It's something we experienced together—and it's just the two of us here."
"Still no!"
"Fine, fine." Shichen shook his head.
He still didn't understand exactly where women's embarrassment switches were, but he was more than willing to humor them.
"You're really not going to say anything?" Sayaka still didn't trust him.
"I won't." Shichen smiled. "Mostly because you were so cute last night I couldn't help thinking about it."
"C-cute?!"
"Yeah. Otherwise why would I have been that excited?"
"Ugh…" Sayaka buried her face in his chest, too embarrassed to look at him.
That mix of pride and shyness—that was the real charm point. Shichen thought Sayaka was insanely cute right now.
…And, unfortunately, his body was reacting to "morning" in the usual way.
"Ugh… don't tell me you're going to—?" Sayaka noticed and looked up, panic flickering in her eyes.
"Am I that scary?"
"You tell me. My throat is still hoarse," Sayaka shot back, rolling her eyes.
"Yukina wasn't as loud as you," Shichen said, comparing it to Yukina's night.
"Don't think about Yukina right now!" Sayaka complained immediately.
"Okay, okay. You talk big about being super close with Yukina, but you still get jealous at times like this," Shichen teased.
"It's different…"
"Sure, sure. Come on—let's get up. If Yukina comes looking for you and can't find you, you'll be in trouble." Shichen reminded her with a grin.
Sayaka knew Yukina already knew about them, but she still insisted on sneaking around anyway.
Shichen didn't really get it—but he played along. Honestly, it was kind of fun.
"We have to get up… ow—ugh, it hurts!" Sayaka tried to rise, then immediately froze, frowning.
"I'll heal you," Shichen said, reaching toward her.
He could already see the swelling.
"No. It's fine—small problem. Yukina can't find out. Everyone's waking up."
Sayaka forced herself up through the discomfort, picked up her pajamas from the floor, and started toward the door.
But when she reached the doorway—limping—she turned back and looked at Shichen, then at the bed.
"What?" Shichen asked.
"I get it now," Sayaka said, suddenly enlightened. "I finally understand what Yukina was hiding last time. No wonder."
"Huh?" Shichen didn't understand at all.
"Get up." Sayaka walked back over.
"What are you doing?" Shichen stared.
"I have to take the sheets and wash them—destroy the evidence!"
"There's no need. I can clean it up in seconds."
"No. I'm washing it. Get up."
"…."
With a sigh, Shichen got out of bed and started pulling clothes on while she folded the sheets.
Sayaka was weirdly meticulous. The sheets were a complete mess, but she folded them like something precious, even making sure that little red "flower" ended up right in the center.
Come to think of it, Yukina still hadn't returned the sheets she'd taken a few days ago.
Good thing he had plenty.
Sayaka hugged the folded sheets to her chest and limped back to the door again.
"You sure you don't want me to heal you? Limping like that makes you more likely to get caught," Shichen said.
"I'll be fine. My recovery's strong—should be able to walk normally soon enough," Sayaka replied breezily.
"'Should'?"
"Just… I don't need healing. It's not a real injury."
"…Sayaka, you're not secretly into it, are you?" Shichen couldn't help asking again.
"Of course not!" Sayaka snapped—then yanked the door open and hurried out, moving a bit faster than she should have.
Maybe she really did heal fast.
Shichen stood there, frowning at the open doorway, mind spinning.
He seriously hoped Sayaka hadn't been corrupted by Darkness.
One person like that around him was already enough…
…Then again, they weren't the same type.
A "cute" one like Sayaka was a totally different flavor from Darkness's… enthusiasm.
So, whatever. Fine.
After he got dressed, Shichen headed downstairs to the dining area. Plenty of people were already eating—there were a lot of students, so mornings started early.
"Shichen! Over here!" Tohka waved frantically the moment she saw him.
He went straight over and sat beside her.
"…Why are you here?" a cold voice asked from the other side without even looking at him.
It was Tohka's older sister, Tenka.
"Not happy to see me?"
"…." Tenka stayed silent.
"Tenka, you should get along with Shichen~" Tohka urged brightly.
"…Mm." Tenka nodded, reserved.
"Shichen, Tohru's cooking got even better! Try this~" Tohka ignored everyone watching and held a bite up to his mouth.
"Yeah." Shichen nodded and ate it.
"Tohka, he has hands. Eat already—we need to get to school. Today it's our turn for cleaning duty," Tenka reminded flatly.
Tenka was attending school with Tohka now.
"Oh right!" Tohka snapped back to reality and started shoveling food faster.
"You jealous?" Shichen asked Tenka via telepathy while he ate.
"Hmph. Jealous of what? I'm thinking of you. Everyone's watching—be fair to everyone," Tenka shot back.
"They don't care about little stuff like that. You're jealous."
"Why would I be jealous?"
"Who knows."
"Ridiculous."
Tenka stopped replying. Once she and Tohka finished eating, they stood up to leave.
"Bye, Shichen~!"
"Bye. Pay attention in class."
"Ehhh—"
Once they were gone, Shichen noticed a lot of eyes on him, especially toward the now-empty seats on either side.
Then a snow-white figure entered and sat right beside him.
"Shichen, there's something I want to discuss with you."
"What is it, Iri?" he asked.
The person beside him was Aliceviel, flawless and saintly as ever.
"Should we go back for a visit?"
"Go back?"
"Yeah. We're still short on kitchen hands, so I was thinking we could bring Leysritt and Sella over to help."
The two she meant were the homunculi who had always cared for and supported her and Illya—and who had also taken care of Shichen before.
In other words… she wanted to return to her world for a trip.