Chapter 166

“I’ll take care of you, Ryou,” said Fushimi. She was giggling, but her eyes were dead serious. “I won’t let a fellow class rep fail.” I was reminded of the time she tutored me before. Fushimi was always true to her word, and the ability to get things done was one of her strong points. That said, she sometimes went too far, especially when it came to tutoring me. I guess it’s back into the trenches… Usually, I’d be ecstatic at the chance to spend time alone with her. So why did I feel like crying? “Why don’t we make the Christmas party into a kind of post-exam celebration?” said Torigoe. “I agree with Shizuka,” said Himeji. “Besides, the twenty-fifth is during winter break.” If you failed your tests, you’d have to take supplementary lessons over the break. …Is Himeji trying to avoid the twenty-fifth because she expects to fail? “You’ve got way too much pride, Himeji,” I said. If she had to take extra lessons on the day of the party, she wouldn’t just feel left out—everyone would realize that she’d failed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She turned away. Torigoe’s eyes met mine, and she shot me a wry smile. She must’ve been thinking the same thing. As our tests loomed ever closer, and with Christmas party discussions still ongoing, my after-school study sessions with Fushimi began. “I’ll be studying on my own while I wait, so tell me when you’ve finished the problem.” At first, I’d assumed we wouldn’t get much done. I figured that since we were dating, we’d start flirting as soon as we sat down together. But I’d underestimated Fushimi—she was much more serious than that. “How did it go with the agency?” I asked as I worked. It had been a couple days since their scheduled meeting. “We’ll talk about it later.” She was always standoffish during study sessions like this. Unless it had to do with schoolwork, she wasn’t going to engage. We had one week left to study. It felt like a lot of time to me, but apparently, Fushimi didn’t agree. She glanced at the clock, then at my work, and frowned. “Mmm… We might not have enough time, at this rate,” she said. “No way, there’s still plenty.” “Ryou, you’ve only done about ten percent of the problems covered on the exam.” All progress was good progress in my book. We only needed thirty points to pass, so I only had to cover 20 percent more. Pretty good, right? “We need you to get an eighty, at least.” The light disappeared from my eyes, and I fell headlong into despair. I had a good chance of achieving my humble goal, but Fushimi wasn’t going to accept a small victory. I sighed. “Back to what you asked earlier,” she said. “I decided to join them.” We were on the train home when she finally answered my question. “Oh. So you don’t mind that they’re focused on local work and all that?” “I can’t say I don’t mind, but apparently, it’s pretty normal not to get big jobs like Ai’s right from the start. I guess that makes sense, right? They said they’ll look for acting jobs, and I want to try doing whatever they’re able to offer me.” Himeji’s big break was mostly thanks to her stint as an idol. She and Fushimi had both reached the final stages of the audition, but it would have been very unusual for someone without experience, like Fushimi, to end up being chosen. It was already impressive that she’d made it as far as she had without an agency. She clearly had the looks and the potential. “Since I seemed open to joining, Mr. Mori even brought an offer with him.” “Oh, wow!” Apparently, the guy who scouted her would become her manager. And if he’d already gotten her a job, he must have been pretty competent. However, Fushimi would be just one of the people he managed. “I’m gonna be a hair model for this beauty parlor’s ad in the free local newspaper.” “I can already imagine it.” Himeji would probably make fun of her if she found out. “We’re having a shoot on Sunday.” “Your first job, eh?” “Yup. I’m pretty nervous!” I wondered if they would cut her hair for the ad, but it sounded like they’d just be styling a wig for her to wear. This means I’ll be spared from studying on Sunday. I exhaled, but my relief didn’t last long. “So, since I’ll be away on Sunday, we’ll have to make up for it the day before.” “Hey, no fair.” “Don’t try to get out of studying just because I have work. You’ve gotta make an effort on your own, okay?” “Have mercy, please. When do I get to rest?” “After exams are over, of course.” Don’t look at me like I’m asking stupid questions. You’re being way too harsh. …And so Fushimi arrived at my house early on Saturday morning. “Good morning, Ryou!” She came into my room, walked up to my bed, and started shaking me. Then she ripped off my blanket and began trying every method imaginable to wake me up. “C’mon… What time is it?” I checked my phone. It was eight. “It’s like I have school…” “No, it’s not. I’ve given you an extra thirty minutes.” Not enough. When she said we’d be studying, I didn’t realize it would feel like I was in class even on the weekend. …Wait. Does this mean we’ll be at it for five to six hours? “Unbelievable…” I tried to pull the blanket back over me, but she grabbed it before I could. “Mana made breakfast. Come downstairs, and then we’ll study.” “I’ve heard the world ‘study’ so many times over the last few days that it’s losing all meaning.” Stuhdee? Whassat? Fushimi got me up and pushed me out of the room. I was finally getting to live the dream of having my childhood friend wake me up, and yet I didn’t like it one bit. Mana had breakfast ready in the dining room when I arrived. “Hina’s here really early,” she said. “She wants me to study.” “Ah…” From the look in her eyes, I guessed Fushimi had woken her up, too. “Gonna keep each other warm?” said Mana, taking a sip of her miso soup. “Good thing I’m going out today.” “Looks like it’s gonna snow.” The TV was turned on to the weather, and I could see a snow mark next to today’s date. “Cool.” I think it’s gonna be a little colder than that. “Have fun studying. I’ll be singing karaoke with my friends. We’re having an early Christmas party.” “Karaoke? In the morning?” “We’re aiming for the before-noon special. We’re gonna hang out at a café until then.” “Oh.” That sounded kind of pricey for a bunch of kids. Oh yeah, I need to start shopping for presents once exams are over. I stared vacantly at the TV while I ate breakfast, still half-asleep. Mana finished quickly and washed her dishes before leaving the dining room. “It’s already snowing!” she called out. “Bubby, c’mere!” She beckoned for me to join her, but there were windows in the dining room, too. “I can see it from in here.” Once I was done, I went upstairs and headed back to my room. After turning on the heat, I set up a folding table and opened my workbooks and textbooks. “So we’re picking back up from yesterday?” I asked. “Oui,” Fushimi replied. I thought I deserved praise just for coming back and not running away. Fushimi said we’d study for an hour, then take a break, and that was exactly what we did. Then we did it again, and again. “It’s like we’re studying for college entrance exams…,” I muttered, lying listlessly on my bed during one of our breaks. “Just think of this as practice for the real thing,” said Fushimi with a smile. How could she be so positive? I checked my phone and saw I had a text from Mana. She told me to warm up whatever I found in the fridge for lunch and that she was heading out. You could’ve come up to say good-bye. Maybe she didn’t want to get in the way of our studies. Just like last time, I’d had a tiny speck of hope that we might flirt again, but at this point, that didn’t seem very likely. We ate a simple lunch, then got back to work. Then we had another break, followed by more studying. “What in the world am I doing…?” I was starting to lose my mind from all this schoolwork. “We’re studying, Ryou.” “Right… I was starting to think I was being tortured.” “Ha-ha. No way.” Fushimi thought I was joking, but I was at least half serious. Time wore on, and the sky turned dark. I could see snowfall through the cloudy window. I pushed it open and took a look outside. The snow from this morning had been piling up all day. “It’s been a while since we had snow that didn’t melt around here.” “Whoa! You’re right!” Fushimi popped her head out beside mine. She exhaled, then jumped around excitedly like a little kid. I got a text from Mana reading, I’m gonna be out all night. “…Guess we’ll have to order something,” I said. Mana’s text had arrived just before dinner, meaning she hadn’t prepared anything and I’d have to fend for myself. “Mana’s not coming back?” “Nope. The gyarus are partying all night.” “What a delinquent…” I wasn’t sure staying out all night made someone a delinquent, but apparently it did in Fushimi’s book. “Why don’t we have a little party ourselves?” she suggested. “Wanna get some pizza?” “Yeah!” After staying in my room with Fushimi all day, I’d begun to feel like it was the only place in the world. We were looking online, trying to decide where to get our pizza, when Fushimi was reminded of something. “Ryou, what about your mom?” “She texted me earlier. Her work got snowed in, and she’s going to stay there overnight.” “…I see.” …She’s stopped talking about studying. Does that mean we’re done for today? Relieved, I chose a pizza and placed our order. “Look at you, getting delivery by yourself. You’re such a grown-up, Ryou.” “Am I?” I didn’t do stuff like this that often, but it wasn’t anything special. The pizza arrived, and we shared it in my room. I felt a little bad about making the delivery person come all the way here in the snow. “Oh, right. I gotta pay for my share,” said Fushimi. “Don’t worry about it. Consider it your fee for tutoring me.” I still had plenty of money in my wallet, and if I didn’t make up a good excuse, Fushimi would never give in. “Aww, but…” To keep her from insisting, I immediately changed the topic. “So tomorrow’s your first job, huh?” “Yeah. I have to leave at the same time I normally would for school.” That’s early. Fushimi talked about the agency and her work, then asked about my job. The pizza vanished as we chatted, and before we knew it, it had gotten pretty late. Snow was everywhere outside, but thankfully, the Fushimi residence was only five minutes away by foot. “I’ll see you home,” I said. “Thanks.” I handed Fushimi her coat, then put on a down jacket—the warmest thing I owned. I couldn’t be bothered to put on boots, though. I slipped on a pair of sneakers as we stepped outside, holding hands. I shrank back at the cold wind, but the snowy scenery was gorgeous. “Everything’s all white,” I said. “Wow! It’s snowing!” “We already knew that.” I chuckled at Fushimi’s excitement. I might’ve acted the same if I was alone. I could hear the snow crunching under our feet. “It doesn’t feel so cold when we’re holding hands,” Fushimi remarked. “Yeah.” We’d just left the warm house, so I wasn’t sure if we’d be saying the same thing in another ten minutes. “So, have you decided what to call me?” This was something I’d been thinking about in the back of my mind for some time. I’d run several simulations and finally decided on something simple. “Not ‘Fushimi’ and not ‘Hinapi,’ okay?” she said. “I know… Is ‘Hina’ all right?” “Good.” I felt like a dog getting their owner’s permission. We stopped by the park, and Fushimi crouched down to play with the snow. …Wait a minute, is she…? “Take this!” As I’d expected, she chucked a snowball at me. “Ah, wait!” “Ah-ha-ha-ha!” I managed to dodge and began making some ammo of my own, but Fushimi was faster. “Fire!” “Bweh?!” A ball even bigger than the last one hit my head. “It’s freezing!” “Ah-ha-ha!” I was an easy target, crouching down. Fushimi held her sides and cackled. “Hey,” I said. “What if you punch today’s studies out of my head?” “That’s easy. You’ll just have to relearn it all.” “Can’t you come up with a better alternative?” She might be talking about academics, but her answer was so straightforward, it was almost stupid. “Hup!” I threw a snowball at Fushimi. Slam! She slapped it down. “What are you, the final boss?” I cried. “Call my name, Ryou.” She threw the next ball gently, like we were playing catch. I caught it and threw it back. “Hina.” “Nice. One more.” Our white breath melted into the air, our voices echoing in the silent neighborhood. “Hina.” “Hee-hee. Good.” Hina trudged over and wrapped her arms around me. “Ryou… I know we’re already halfway there, but I don’t wanna go home.” I brushed the snow off her hair and responded with a kiss. She sighed and smiled, and then we wrapped our cold hands together. After that, we traced our steps back to my empty house, this time in silence. We kept holding hands as we went upstairs. Back in my room, we sighed as the leftover warmth from the heater greeted us. Hina slowly closed the door. I reached for the light switch, but she caught my hand and held it, stopping me. The room should’ve been pitch-black, but the snow was reflecting the streetlights, creating a glow a little different from moonlight. Hina seemed like she wanted to say something but didn’t. I pulled her waist to mine and took off her coat with one hand. Just before it hit the floor, our lips met. The rustling of my jacket as I took it off sounded incredibly loud. Our cheeks touched. They were so warm, despite being out in the cold only moments before. I could see Hina’s damp eyes even in the darkness. Her expression got me even more worked up, and I left all reason behind. My lips brushed against hers, and then my tongue slipped inside. “Mmm…!” Hina responded in kind. We didn’t know what we were doing. It was an awkward, grown-up kiss. My mind and body went numb, except for the feeling of her lips and tongue. I slid my hand from her waist up to her chest. For a moment, Hina froze. She seemed to come to some decision, however, and in the end, she gave in to my touch. I gently pulled her clothes away, and she covered her chest. “…Don’t stare too much,” she said. “I can’t see very well in this light anyway.” “But you can see.” “Yeah.” “Not like there’s much to look at…” “They’re cute.” “Idiot!” I touched her gently, and Hina stiffened up. I could hear her breathing heavily. She couldn’t keep standing, and she sat down on my bed, pulling me after her. Even in the darkness I could tell she was blushing as I slowly positioned myself over her. Suddenly, I was hit by a sense of déjà vu. Maybe Hina had been ready for this ever since that last time. She reached her arms around my neck and drew our lips back together. I woke up to the sound of a cat’s meow. “Oh, nonononono!” Or at least, I’d thought it was a cat. It was actually Fushimi. I opened my eyes and saw her beautiful white back. “What’s wrong…?” I asked. My brain was still booting up as I watched her desperately fishing for her underwear. “Ahh! It’s bright, don’t look!” “But I saw last ni—” A tissue box hit my face. Hina finally found her underwear and put it on under the sheets so I wouldn’t see. She hurriedly put on her clothes, ruining all the work she’d done carefully folding them the night before. “Why’re you in such a hurry…?” “Work! I’m late!” Her first job. It was today. “S-seriously?! Shoot!” “Do you understand why I’m screaming now?! Gosh, now what? Dad isn’t home, so I’ll have to run to the station!” Hina finished getting dressed and grabbed her bag. She was about to run outside, but then she turned back. “Ahh, I almost forgot! Good morning, Ryou!” She gave me a kiss. “Stop wasting time!” I said, finally fully awake. Hina was putting on her shoes at the entrance when I rushed downstairs and grabbed the key to my bike. “Wait! I’ll take you,” I said. “But it’s all snowy outside.” “We can ride over the packed parts.”