“ARE you sure you’re all right?” Shindo asked yet again, earning an exasperated chuckle from Satsuki.
“I’m fine. Seeing as I’m already here, I’d like to begin attending classes starting with third period,” Satsuki told him.
Alice came to check on her at the end of first period. She wasn’t able to return to class until well into second period after undertaking the noble task of serving as Satsuki’s conversational partner. Shindo accompanied her back to the classroom and explained the situation to the teacher lecturing during that period, so the tardy wasn’t held against her.
When Alice left the private room to return to class accompanied by Shindo, she looked overjoyed. Satsuki found herself unable to look her classmate directly in the eye.
It was the middle of second period now. Satsuki insisted on attending classes from the next period on.
“I believe it would best if you returned to the mansion. You should call it a day... Especially considering what happened this morning,” Shindo insisted. Rather than push herself, he wanted Satsuki to take it easy and rest. He was incessantly rejecting the arguments she posed to attend class.
“It’s not as though he injured me. Wouldn’t I only cause everyone unnecessary concern if I went home early?” Satsuki shot back. From her seat on the sofa, she looked up at Shindo standing at her side with a disapproving scowl. Lightly pressing her fingertips together before her lips as if praying, she gave him the sad puppy-eye look.
“Please! Shindo!”
Shindo couldn’t possibly turn Satsuki down when she looked so cute begging for something. That was genuinely how he felt.
“Very well,” he conceded, caving to that feeling. “But please be certain not to overexert yourself. We’re expecting company this evening.”
“Company? Coming to see me?” Satsuki asked, her eyes drawn wide. This was the first she heard of company tonight.
“It’s Master Manabu,” he added.
“Manabu?”
“Yes. I heard he has business with Master Tsujikawa, but apparently he requested your presence as well.”
“...I wonder what it’s about...” She recalled the parting promise he made when he came to wish her well the other day. He said that he would return soon to discuss something important.
Lately Manabu was coming to see her father an awful lot. She originally thought they were planning a big spectacle for her birthday, but Manabu skirted around Miharu’s probing, claiming, “It’s just small talk.” Despite her promise to “weasel it out of him,” Miharu came up empty-handed.
“I think it’s related to the birthday party. If Manabu has his hands in it, I’m sure it will be amazing,” Satsuki wrongly assumed.
“Are you excited?”
“I suppose I am.”
Satsuki was curious what Manabu was planning for her. As her one and only cousin, she grew up loving him like a brother. And now he was planning something for her. The thought was so exciting, she couldn’t wait to see what it was. Filled with that excitement, she grabbed the hem of Shindo’s suit jacket and gave it a good tug.
“How about you?” she asked.
She made such a cute face when she asked him, it left Shindo momentarily dumbstruck. But he quickly recovered, answering with a smile, “I’m also excited. All the more so if it proves beneficial to you.”
All of the nagging irritation from earlier seemed to disappear with his smile. “Hey, Shindo. I’d like to ask you something...” Satsuki began now that her emotions settled down. “Does anyone beside you and my parents...know about my powers?” she asked in a grave tone.
The blow dealt by the surprise Shindo took was so great, his eyes popped wide open. “No one else should know. It’s outright impossible for anyone aside from your mother, father, or I to know of your powers. Not even Master Manabu is privy to this knowledge,” Shindo asserted more forcefully than intended.
Realizing how he sounded, he clamped his mouth shut. However, this was a precious secret he fervently protected alongside Satsuki’s parents. Shindo in particular served as a restraint on her powers. He was always watching at her side to ensure she could enjoy a normal life that wasn’t overrun by them. Part of his duty included keeping tabs on Satsuki to prevent her from casually using them in everyday life or opening the door to her heart indiscriminately. He was also constantly vigilant about making sure no one ever discovered the truth about her...
“Why do you ask?” Any fear of discovery was unfounded. With that in mind, Satsuki’s question from out of the blue left Shindo somewhat baffled.
After a moment’s hesitation, Satsuki struggled to force the words out. “That boy...knew.”
“Knew what?”
“...Takemi Kaido,” —at the sound of his name, Shindo’s face tensed— “he knew that I have...powers...”