"Now?"
Kaito looked down at his phone. It was just past nine o'clock, "Wouldn't that be too early?"
Going to bed at this hour… people who don't know might think you're living some kind of health regimen.
"How is it early? It's always been this time."
Mortis was still wrapping her arms around his waist, rubbing against her Onii-chan's chest with justified confidence, "Besides, going to bed early and waking up early is good for your health! I'm only doing this because I care about you, Onii-chan."
'Then you sure care a lot.'
Kaito twitched the corner of his mouth but didn't crush her enthusiasm. He just turned to look at the blue-haired girl beside him.
"There's still an extra guest room in the house. I've been keeping it clean, and the bedding is fresh too. If you'd like, Sakiko, you can stay over for the night."
"Ah… ah?"
Originally still hoping to share a room with the president like last time, Togawa Sakiko froze.
'Isn't the development of this situation going in the wrong direction?'
'How did I suddenly get banished to the guest room?'
Although even if she did share a bed with the president tonight, Sakiko didn't plan on doing anything. Just smelling the scent of the president and feeling his warmth would already be more than satisfying.
'But… this isn't the script I imagined at all!'
Actually, Kaito had no choice.
His bed was only so big. Three people was already pushing it. If they added the little secretary, there might not even be enough space to roll over.
Maybe in the future, replacing the bed with a bigger one would solve this issue. But for now, Sakiko would just have to suffer a bit.
Faced with missing out on an employee benefit, the stubborn little blue octopus still refused to give up.
She couldn't say it herself, to avoid letting the president discover her wolfish ambitions, so she turned her pleading gaze to the silently sitting childhood friend at the side.
'Mutsumi, my most trusted half-body, my unbreakable ally, my emotional comrade, my bestie, save me!'
Wakaba Mutsumi: "…"
The girl with pale green long hair silently looked away.
'Can't help you. Good luck. Goodbye.'
She simply had no strength to help.
There was only so much space on the bed, it simply couldn't fit more.
Either Mortis gets swapped for Sakiko, or she herself gets swapped for Sakiko. There's no way they were going to kick the Onii-chan out.
She couldn't convince Mortis to give up the chance to sleep beside her Onii-chan. She couldn't bear to give it up herself either, 'So… sorry, Sakiko.'
After waiting for quite a while and still not getting the help she prayed for, Togawa Sakiko finally realized she'd been heartlessly abandoned. She bit her lip, on the verge of tears.
'Mutsumi, why are you just watching?'
'Could it be… even you have betrayed me?'
'Not to mention that inherently evil Gremlin Mortis, and my bullying, seniority-abusing mother…'
The little blue octopus was devastated.
'Clouds in the sky, water in the vase, no loyal ministers, only treacherous ones.'
———
[Next Morning, Early Dawn]
Kaito opened his eyes. His first reaction was, something was pressing on his chest: warm, soft, and a little damp.
"...", He lowered his gaze slightly. The first thing he saw was an adorably illegal face.
The girl was sound asleep, her lashes trembling lightly with each breath, casting butterfly shadows over her porcelain cheeks. Her cherry-pink lips slightly parted, with faint traces of drool visible at the corners of her mouth.
Two dimples peeked out faintly, and her cheeks were pressed with faint red imprints. Her face was snuggled tightly against his chest, emitting even breathing.
Mortis's sleeping posture was, as usual, a disaster.
By contrast, Mutsumi, who was sleeping on his left side, was much more well-behaved. She lay slightly on her side, carefully clutching a corner of his shirt. Even her peaceful sleeping face was beautiful like a porcelain doll, with a chilly, fragile elegance.
Although they were indeed adorable, staring so intently at the sleeping faces of the sisters like this… made him feel kind of like a pervert.
Kaito shifted his gaze away and didn't stay in bed any longer.
Carefully moving the girl sleeping on his chest to the side, he got up from the bed and glanced down at his pajamas, wrinkled.
Not surprising, really. Given the ordinary material and how much Mortis had tossed and turned all night, it'd be weird if they stayed intact.
He didn't mind. With a thought, his messy clothing flew off his body like a Kamen Rider de-transforming in a tokusatsu show.
With another wave, the school uniform not far away flapped over like it had wings and began dressing him by itself.
As for the pajamas he took off, they weren't just tossed aside, an invisible pair of hands folded them neatly and placed them squarely on the nightstand.
Without waking the still-sleeping girls, Kaito left the bedroom. He was planning to head to the bathroom to wash up, but on the living room sofa, he saw a familiar figure.
"Sakiko?"
The long blue hair wasn't tied with ribbons like usual, but softly draped behind her. The girl sat on the sofa with knees tucked up, and upon hearing footsteps, weakly looked over.
"It's the president, huh? Good morning."
"Good morning."
Kaito nodded slightly, but felt a little confused, "You didn't rest in the guest room last night?"
Togawa Sakiko was silent for a moment before shaking her head.
Last night, after saying goodnight to the president, she did go to the guest room, but didn't stay long.
If she hadn't known, it'd be fine.
But once she realized the president was just a few steps away, being shared by her split-in-two childhood friend, while she had to stay in the guest room all alone… lonely, cold, and miserable… Her mood became indescribable. She couldn't fall asleep. Simply couldn't.
She counted sheep up to two thousand, and still couldn't feel even a shred of drowsiness. She tossed and turned on the bed for over an hour before she couldn't take it anymore.
So she came to the living room, at least this spot was closer to the president's room. If anything happened in the middle of the night, she'd know immediately.
The good news was, the night was calm. No strange noises emerged.
But Sakiko paid the price for it too. Now she was so tired she could barely open her eyes.
She thought staying up half the night, sitting in the living room and eavesdropping at the wall, only to hear nothing in the end, might've given her a disease or something.
Thinking about how she still had school in a bit, with no time to catch up on sleep, the girl felt a rush of existential despair.
But even if she had the chance to do it all again… she probably still would.
Sakiko's thoughts drifted aimlessly. Having stayed up all night, it felt like her eyelids were fighting each other.
Even after finishing breakfast and getting on the train to school, she still looked dazed, like she was sleepwalking.
———
"The next stop is Oniyokami Shrine-mae. Passengers getting off, please do so in an orderly manner. Thank you for your cooperation..."
The moving train gave a slight jolt. Accompanied by the pleasant announcement, Kaito looked down.
Morning light spilled in through the windows. The girl tilted her head and leaned on his shoulder. Her indigo hair flowed down like spreading seaweed, cascading over the uniform skirt, its ends brushing lightly against his curled fingertips, bringing a faint tickle.
After a moment of silence, he reached out and gently tapped her forehead, so that the girl could have a good dream during this brief commute.
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