The reactions around us
“Aisa, you’re in a great mood, huh?”
“Huh? I-I guess so?”
At lunch, as usual, we gathered in the courtyard, spreading out our bentos despite all the chaos.
The girls were Aisa, Yuuki, Touno, Akitsu, and Kanou. The guys were Akito, Hayato, and Makoto.
Some of the club members might skip out for midday practice, Touno might be busy with student council, or Kanou and Yuuki might miss school entirely for outside activities, but other than that, we usually end up hanging out here during lunch break.
“Huh, looks like Yuuki knows something?”
Yuuki flinched for a moment when Akitsu called her out, but as expected, now that we’ve been hanging out together so much, she’s stopped hiding things so obviously and answers more openly.
“Hmm, I heard Manami-chan’s plotting something, but I don’t know the details.”
“Really? Well, even if you’re trying to play it off, Aisa and Kouki-kun’s bentos are practically identical, so it’s pretty obvious you’re all giddy about something.”
I wasn’t expecting Yuuki to be out of the loop too. When I glanced at Aisa, her eyes screamed, Don’t say anything! Alright, alright, I get it…
“Well, just looking at Aisa-chan, it’s kinda… obvious, right?”
“Haha, I mean, Aisa’s so bubbly she’s practically defenseless. Poke her a bit, and we might figure out what’s up!”
The moment those words hit, Aisa stiffened and slid behind me to hide, her face beet red, glaring at everyone like she was trying to scare them off.
“Haa… that was supposed to be my job.”
“Hehe, isn’t it fine? It’s cute.”
Touno popped a wiener in her mouth, defending Aisa.
“That’s the confidence of someone who’s already got a boyfriend…”
“Hey! It’s not like that!”
Touno’s face flushed at Akitsu’s counterattack. Meanwhile, Akito, who’s supposed to be part of this whole thing, just munched on his yakisoba bread, watching the scene unfold like it was none of his business.
“From where I’m standing, you all seem pretty giddy.”
“Don’t drag me into this.”
While Makoto and Hayato bantered, I couldn’t help but notice Akitsu. She’s always the mood-maker, but today she was chattier than usual… or maybe I’m overthinking it.
As I thought about how our group’s dynamic would probably shift even more after the school trip, I let myself soak in the lively, comfortable chaos of our lunch break.
◇
Heading straight from school to the Takanishi house with Aisa felt surprisingly fresh.
Stopping by the nearby supermarket on the way home was thrilling in its own way, but having Aisa next to me, her face redder than mine, helped me keep my cool somehow.
“Today’s katsu… and tomorrow…”
As usual, Aisa wouldn’t let me anywhere near the kitchen, but seeing her in her apron, looking so happy, made it hard to complain.
Her cooking, including the bentos, is ridiculously delicious, so I’ll let it slide…
That aside, it’s still too early to start prepping dinner, and there’s something we need to do.
“Aisa? Since we’re here, wanna knock out our homework together?”
“Huh? Oh! Math!”
“Yep… wait, did you forget?”
“Well…”
The more excited Aisa gets, the more my heart races. Maybe I need to be the one to keep things in check here.
“Ugh… fine, I guess. I’m just… happy, okay?”
Aisa, blushing and pouting just a little, was ridiculously cute.
◇
“Aisa, can you tell what’s wrong here?”
We settled in her room to tackle our homework together.
Aisa had changed into casual clothes—a baggy T-shirt that made it hard to know where to look. One wrong move, and I might catch a glimpse of something…
“Where?”
And yet, she leaned in close, completely oblivious, peering at my work.
The glasses she only wears when studying were a new look, and there was just so much to take in… Focus, Kouki, focus on the homework.
“Right here.”
“Hmm… oh, Kouki, your calculation’s off. You dropped the minus sign here.”
“You’re right.”
It’s weird how you miss stuff like that when you’re doing it yourself…
“That’s the kind of mistake Manami would make. Kouki, are you starting to pick up her bad habits from teaching her too much?”
“No way… but yeah, I do end up pointing that out to Manami a lot.”
“Hehe.”
Aisa’s cheerful mood the whole time was just too adorable.
“Hey, Kouki.”
“Hm?”
She stopped working on her homework and looked at me, her cheeks pink, fidgeting a bit.
“Um… so, like… tonight too, can we…?”
Her gaze drifted to the bed.
“If it’s okay with you, Aisa…”
Looking at her or the bed made me feel awkward, so I desperately tried to look anywhere else while managing a reply.
She seemed satisfied with my answer, her face visibly brightening.
“Really?! Then let’s hurry and finish this homework… and then…”
Aisa got so excited she started rushing through her homework, even explaining answers to me to speed things up, and I had to work hard to calm her down.
◇
“Ehehe…”
Nighttime.
Aisa sat in front of me, her cheerful expression unguarded as she closed her eyes.
This all started when I came back from the bath and noticed her wet hair, saying something that sparked this moment.
◆
“Havin a long hair looks like such a hassle.”
“It really is… It takes forever to dry, and the hairdryer’s such a pain…”
Even after I got out of the bath, Aisa was still sitting on the sofa with a water-absorbing cap on her head, which made it pretty clear how much of a chore it was.
“I kept it long because I thought you liked it, Kouki…”
“That’s sweet of you, but…”
I felt a little guilty hearing that.
Aisa’s right—I probably do prefer long hair. Even when we grew apart, I couldn’t help but follow her with my eyes because of it.
“Manami and Yuuki don’t have hair this long, so I thought maybe I should…”
“Well… uh…”
What do I even say to that? Oh, wait.
“How about I dry your hair for you today and tomorrow?”
“Really?!”
Her enthusiasm caught me off guard.
“Then, please!”
Almost instantly, Aisa turned around and plopped down in front of me.
“Please, take care of it.”
She tilted her head slightly, looking back at me, and her cuteness made me so nervous I could barely touch her hair at first.
◇
“Looking at it up close, your hair’s really long.”
It’s so long it almost touches the floor when she’s sitting. Running my fingers through it feels silky and smooth.
“Having my hair touched… it feels kinda nice.”
“Really?”
That’s good to hear, I guess.
But while I was thinking that, Aisa dropped this bombshell.
“Manami’s always getting her hair petted, but I only get it once in a while.”
“No, that’s not—!”
“Ugh, it feels like Manami’s the one getting all the attention. And I’m supposed to be… your girlfriend…”
Her voice trailed off as she got embarrassed, which only made me blush harder.
But Aisa wasn’t done.
“Maybe if I called you ‘Onii-chan’ like Manami does, you’d pet me more?”
“Come on, Aisa…”
“Kou-nii? Pet me?”
“…Fine.”
“See!”
“No, that’s not fair!”
What was that just now?!
When she looks up at me with those eyes and calls me Kou-nii, I feel like I’d do anything she asked.
This is dangerous…
“Now I get why Manami gets all the attention.”
“That’s not true…”
But I couldn’t completely deny it, which was the scary part.
“Hehe. Well, if anything, you feel more like the little brother, Kouki.”
“Little brother, huh?”
“Want to try calling me Onee-chan?”
“Nah, that’s… kinda embarrassing.”
“I did it, though!”
Aisa pouted, but when I hesitated, she seemed to give up on the idea and switched gears.
“Oh, your hair’s still wet too, Kouki. Let’s switch—I’ll dry yours. Kinda big-sisterly, right?”
“Is it?”
I handed her the hairdryer and turned around. As she looked at my back…
“You’re so big.”
“Well, yeah…”
“Even though you’re the little brother…”
“You’re sticking with that, huh?”
She let out a slightly grumpy sound but started drying my hair, gently running her fingers through it.
This… is way more embarrassing than I thought.
“Hehe, you’re all stiff, Kouki. So cute.”
I was too flustered to say anything back.
“Any itchy spots, sir?”
“That’s not the vibe we’re going for.”
“Haha!”
Aisa dried my hair with the hairdryer, clearly having fun.
Yeah, it’s embarrassing, but… it’s kinda fun too. And so, we ended up taking turns drying each other’s hair, getting lost in this weirdly sweet moment.
