They had a delicious nabe dinner.
Chihiro Sengoku asked Hozuki Nozomi to help settle Shiina Mashiro into her room.
Luckily, Kamiigusa Misaki had an empty room next to hers on the third floor, so Nozomi decided to place Mashiro there. Misaki-senpai was absolutely thrilled about it.
Originally, she had been considering moving to the second floor, but she preferred the third-floor view. Now that Mashiro was her next-door neighbor, she wouldn't feel lonely anymore.
After dinner, Ogiwara Sayu forcibly pushed Shiina Mahiru out of the kitchen and took over the cleaning.
"If you keep doing all the housework, Mahiru, I'll feel like I'm slacking," Sayu pouted, rolling up her sleeves. "Besides, this is my chance to show my girlfriend power!"
Mahiru had no choice but to retreat from the kitchen, left with nothing to do.
After escorting Mashiro to her new room, Nozomi returned to the second floor and collapsed onto the sofa in the common area, letting his food digest.
Tomorrow was another school day.
Now that he thought about it, he hadn't contacted Sanshokuin Sumireko in the past two days. He wondered what that sharp-tongued, self-proclaimed 'ojou-sama' was up to.
Nozomi grabbed his phone and quickly sent her a message.
"Sumireko, still awake?"
Across town, Sumireko, who had been watching him through her telescope, clicked her tongue before pulling out her phone.
Her fingers danced across the screen as she replied.
"What do you think? Sleeping right after dinner—do you take me for a pig?"
Nozomi smirked. "Heh, what a coincidence. I just finished dinner too. Now I'm just lazing around, bored."
Sumireko: "So? Did you successfully coax Shiina-san?"
Nozomi: "Of course not. Who do you think I am? Mahiru and I are getting along just fine now."
Sumireko: "Oh? So close that you're calling her by her first name now?"
Nozomi: "I'd say we're close enough that hugs and kisses wouldn't be an issue."
Sumireko pouted at her screen. What was this guy saying?
Sumireko: "Who are you?"
Nozomi: "Huh? I'm Nozomi, obviously."
Sumireko: "No, you're not. My future boyfriend wouldn't be shamelessly hugging and kissing another girl!"
Nozomi: "Sumireko, let me introduce myself again. I am the legendary light novel protagonist!"
Sumireko: "Baka! That's just embarrassing!"
Nozomi: "By the way, there are now two Shiinas in Sakurasou."
Sumireko: "Oh, you mean the one you brought back today? I saw you holding hands."
Nozomi: "You saw?"
Sumireko: "Of course. She's cute. What's her name?"
Nozomi: "Shiina Mashiro. She's Mahiru's cousin. Funny how their names are so similar."
Sumireko: "How lucky for you, huh? One Shiina on each arm."
Nozomi: "Sumireko, you can always sit in the middle."
Sumireko: "Excuse me, officer? I'd like to report a pervert! He's flirting with multiple girls at once!"
Nozomi: "Funny you should say that. A police officer actually invited me to join the force after graduation. Said I didn't even need to interview—just show up and they'd make me a captain."
Sumireko: "Pfft, let me guess. You got reported for being too much of a playboy?"
Nozomi: "Nope. I actually got into the police station by being a hero. Some punks were bothering Shiina and her classmates, so I stepped in."
Sumireko: "Did you get hurt?"
Nozomi: "Unfortunately, they didn't hurt me. Otherwise, I would've totally taken the chance to pretend to faint and get a nice lap pillow as a reward."
Sumireko: "A lap pillow? That's what you guys are after?"
Nozomi: "I mean, I can't speak for everyone, but personally, I'd love one. It's not often you get to rest on a girl's lap so defenselessly."
Nozomi: "Sumireko, can I reserve your lap for tomorrow?"
Sumireko: "Hmph. First, you flirt with Shiina-san, and now you want my lap? Why would I agree to that?"
Nozomi: "Maybe I'm just greedy. I know you'll say no, but I still want to try my luck."
Reading that, Sumireko's lips curled into a small smile.
Fine. Since he knew how to coax her, she'd let him off the hook for now.
Sumireko: "Meet me on the rooftop tomorrow."
Nozomi: "Yatta!"
After finishing their chat, Nozomi couldn't help but grin.
Something to look forward to tomorrow.
His gaze shifted toward Mahiru, who had just walked out of the kitchen. He waved her over.
The girl's cheeks tinted red, but she hesitated. She had seen him holding hands with Mashiro earlier, and her lips instinctively formed a pout.
"What?"
"Come sit with me."
"What if I don't want to?"
"Come on, Mahiru."
"No."
"Really? You won't come?"
"I really won't." She nodded firmly.
"Okay, fine. Then I'll just come to you."
Nozomi suddenly stood up, closed the distance between them in an instant, and scooped her up in a smooth motion.
"H-Hey! Put me down!"
Ignoring her protests, he swiftly carried her back to the sofa and sat down, keeping her in his lap.
Mahiru's face turned crimson. "Idiot!"
"Mahiru, your face is as red as a tomato. You sure you're not catching a fever?"
She buried her face in his chest in embarrassment, too flustered to respond.
Nozomi just chuckled.
"How can you be like this?"
"I can't help it. Who told you not to come over? Since you refused, I had no choice but to take action myself."
Hozuki Nozomi rested his chin on her delicate shoulder, breathing in the soft, comforting scent unique to her. He couldn't help but ask with a touch of concern, "What were you thinking about just now, Mahiru? When we were eating hot pot, I noticed you kept glancing at Mashiro, and you seemed a little out of it."
Shiina Mahiru's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and warmth filled her heart. Without even realizing it, her arms moved on their own, gently wrapping around his neck. "Nozomi, you noticed?"
"Of course I did. I care about you, Mahiru. How could I not notice?" His words were so natural, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Mahiru felt her cheeks grow warmer, and she let out a small sigh. "It's nothing... It's just... Nozomi, you already know about my family situation, don't you?"
She had already realized that this guy wasn't just some airheaded troublemaker—he was always quietly paying attention to her, understanding her in ways others never did.
If he didn't already know about her strained relationship with her parents, he wouldn't have reacted so naturally or comforted her so instinctively. But back then, she hadn't even thought about that. She had simply let herself lean on him when she was feeling weak, and he had been there for her without hesitation.
"Yeah, I know. Mahiru's parents... aren't exactly the warmest. I asked Chihiro-sensei about it, and in exchange, I bought her a dozen beers as a bribe."
Mahiru blinked in shock before an exasperated chuckle escaped her lips.
"That shameless cousin of mine... selling me out for a dozen beers..." she muttered. But deep down, she couldn't bring herself to be upset about it. If Chihiro hadn't spilled the truth, would Nozomi have known to care about her like this? Would he have looked at her with such gentle eyes?
Thinking about it, her eyes grew a little misty. Compared to the cold indifference of her parents, even her cousin cared more about her.
"I'm sorry if I pried too much," Nozomi said, his voice soft. "But I couldn't stop thinking about that night in the park. The way you stood there in the rain... refusing to go home. It bothered me."
Mahiru frowned slightly and gave him a pointed look. "You have the audacity to bring that up? You, the guy who could have just dragged me under his umbrella and taken me home, but instead chose to walk off in the rain, getting yourself sick in the process?"
Nozomi let out a chuckle. "What else was I supposed to do? We weren't as close back then. If I had dragged you along by force, you probably would've kicked me."
Mahiru huffed, but she couldn't exactly deny it.
"So, my only option was to guilt-trip you into going home," Nozomi continued with a smirk. "I figured if you saw me getting drenched because of you, you'd feel bad and finally head home yourself. Smart, huh?"
"No! It was a stupid plan!" Mahiru shot back immediately. But despite her words, she leaned in closer, rubbing her cheek lightly against his chest. "Still... thank you for being such an idiot."
"And thank you for being so kind and cute," Nozomi murmured, tilting her chin up slightly. His lips inched closer—
"Wait! You pervert! Do you still want to hear my true feelings or not?" Mahiru yelped, slapping her hand over his mouth.
Nozomi sighed dramatically. "Fine, fine. I'll listen first. But I'm putting the kiss on pause, not canceling it."
Mahiru relaxed in his arms, her eyes drifting off slightly as she gathered her thoughts.
"Ever since I was little, I was always the 'good girl.' The well-behaved, diligent, perfect daughter. And there was a reason for that..."
Her voice was quiet, almost distant, as she continued.
"When I was a child, my parents took me to a banquet—one of the only times they ever did. And that's when I saw her. My cousin, Mashiro. She was the center of attention, the one everyone admired. While the rest of us were caught up in meaningless chatter, Mashiro was simply there, painting. Focused, graceful... almost like a princess from a fairy tale.
Everyone praised her. Her parents looked at her with pride, and even our grandfather built a special art room just for her, to nurture her talent.
And I thought to myself... 'That's amazing.'
So I decided—I would become someone worthy of praise too. I believed that if I was excellent enough, if I worked hard enough, my parents would finally look at me the way Mashiro's parents looked at her. That they would finally come home more often, finally care about me the way parents are supposed to."
Nozomi listened in silence, his arms instinctively tightening around her as she spoke.
"But I wasn't like Mashiro. I didn't have some innate genius. So I had to push myself in other ways. Academics, behavior, social interactions—I had to be the best at everything. I had to be the perfect daughter. And I succeeded. My classmates admired me, my teachers praised me, even Aunt Chihiro called me an exemplary student.
I thought... if I kept this up, my parents would finally pay attention to me. That they would come home more often, that we could be a real family.
But I was wrong."
She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, her voice trembling slightly.
"Do you remember the day I got caught in the rain? It was supposed to be a happy day. I had worked so hard—I got first place in the entrance exams, tied with Yukinoshita Yukino. I was chosen to give the freshman speech at Sobu High. I thought, 'Surely, this time... my parents will finally be proud of me.'
So I made a simple request. I asked them to come home and celebrate with me.
But they refused."
Nozomi felt something inside him tighten. Without thinking, he reached up and gently cupped her cheek.
"My mother told me that I was an unwanted child, a mistake they never planned for. She said I should stop doing unnecessary things and accept that they would never want to see me. They had no intention of coming back to live with me."
"I was heartbroken. So I left that house in anger and moved into Sakurasou. You already know what happened after that."
"That day, when I was caught in the rain, my mother called me. But do you know why?"
"She didn't call because she was worried about me or because she missed me. She told me I had to live in that house until I graduated from university, to maintain the facade of their perfect family. After that, she said I could do whatever I wanted. They wouldn't care anymore."
Mahiru laughed bitterly, her voice trembling.
"It was so ridiculous."
"I spent my whole life trying to be the best—being an honor student, behaving perfectly, becoming the angel everyone admired. I thought if I did that, they would finally acknowledge me."
"But none of it mattered. Not even a little."
"The truth is, I was never wanted. From the very beginning, I was just an obstacle. My existence was nothing more than an inconvenience in their divorce negotiations."
"They only had me because of a forced union, for the sake of family benefits."
"They send me money every month, but they never come home. The only times they do, it's for work, pretending to be a loving couple in front of others."
Mahiru's hands clenched into fists as tears welled in her eyes.
"If they didn't want me, then why did they even bring me into this world?"
"To have a child, only to abandon them… what kind of parents do that?"
By this point, Mahiru couldn't hold back her tears anymore. They streamed down her face, her voice cracking with pain.
Telling Sayu had been different.
But telling Nozomi everything made her feel even more vulnerable.
"Hey, Nozomi… do you think I'm stupid?" she whispered, her voice shaking. "For more than ten years, I worked so hard for something impossible. A family that never existed."
"In the end, I realized everything was meaningless."
"I was so desperate that night. I thought no one cared about me. I let myself get caught in the rain, thinking… if I caught a fever, if I just disappeared… maybe everything would be easier."
Hozuki Nozomi listened quietly before lifting a hand, gently wiping away the tears on her cheeks. Then, without hesitation, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Mahiru isn't stupid."
"Those two are the stupid ones."
"They don't know how to cherish something precious. But I do."
"Mahiru, Sakurasou will always be your home."
Mahiru sniffled, a small smile forming on her lips. "Pfft, did you say the same thing to Sayu?"
"Uh… that's not important." Nozomi coughed. "What's important is… you're in my arms now, and I won't let you escape."
"Don't forget, I'm very mean."
Mahiru giggled softly, her eyes still wet but filled with warmth. "Yes, you're the meanest."
She closed her eyes and whispered, "So, mean Nozomi-san, you can continue what you were doing just now…"
Before she could finish, Nozomi lowered his head, capturing her lips in a gentle yet firm kiss.
No more words were needed.