"I meant," Shuichi Hayashi said, emphasizing his point, "can't you cut back on the makeup, clothes, and beauty treatments?"
"How can a girl not buy clothes or makeup? Or skip beauty treatments?" Yukiko Fujimine stared at him like he was an alien.
"Eri's a girl too, and she barely bothers with that stuff," Kogoro Mouri piped up. "Right, Shuichi?"
"Yup," Shuichi nodded firmly. "Eri's parents give her fifty to sixty thousand yen a month for pocket money. She saves most of it for studying abroad."
"That glasses-girl…" Yukiko muttered, pursing her lips. "I'm not like her. I'm aiming for the entertainment industry—acting! Spending on my appearance is non-negotiable. Right, Mouri-kun?"
"Totally!" Kogoro nodded eagerly. "Fujimine-san's got a point!"
Whose side are you on, man? Shuichi shot his friend a withering look.
"I've been looking for part-time jobs since school started," Yukiko said, putting on a pitiful expression. "High-paying ones are so hard to find. Come on, Hayashi-kun, let me work here!"
"With a cute poster girl like me, you'd be crazy to pass me up!"
"Shuichi!" Kogoro added, his tone suggestive. "Keep Fujimine-san. She's bringing in way more customers."
Shuichi thought it over but shook his head. "Let's wait until tomorrow when Eri's back. I'll see what she thinks."
"You're the manager!" Yukiko said, baffled. "Why do you need glasses-girl's approval?"
"Because she's my childhood friend," Shuichi said, glancing at her. "I'm not going to upset her just because you want to work here."
"So," Yukiko mused, "if glasses-girl agrees, you're fine with it?"
"Exactly," Shuichi confirmed with a nod.
"Heh, just wait. I'll convince her tomorrow!" Yukiko said, grinning confidently.
In a classroom at Teitan High, Shuichi sat at his desk, helplessly watching two girls bicker on either side of him. The room was empty except for the three of them—everyone else had vanished somewhere.
"I said, you're not staying!" Hiiro Eri snapped, her face taut. "Shuichi will listen to me!"
"Hayashi-kun already said I can work at the izakaya!" Yukiko Fujimine shot back, indignant. "What gives you the right to say no?"
"Because I say so!"
"The more you fight me, the more I'm staying!"
As their argument escalated, Shuichi opened his mouth to mediate, but a sudden cool sensation on his forehead jolted him. His eyes snapped open.
The noisy classroom vanished. In its place was a familiar brown-yellow dog's head.
"Woof!"
"Wan-chan?"
"Woof! Woof!" The dog barked excitedly, nuzzling against Shuichi's side.
It was just a dream… Shuichi exhaled in relief, then froze. Wan-chan was a dog. There was no way it could've found its way here and gotten into his apartment on its own.
Which meant…
"Onii-chan, it's nine o'clock, and you're still in bed!"
With a scolding tone, the curtains were yanked open, flooding the room with blinding sunlight. Shuichi squinted, barely able to see.
"Reiko?"
He scrambled out of bed, spotting the girl by the window. Her twin pigtails framed a cute, round face, and she stood tall for her age, dressed in a Teitan Elementary uniform with a "Discipline Committee" armband.
It was none other than his eleven-year-old cousin, Reiko Kujo.
"Onii-chan," Reiko turned, glaring disapprovingly, "you're sleeping in again!"
"It's the weekend," Shuichi said with an awkward chuckle. "I stayed up late last night, so…"
The izakaya had closed near midnight. Yukiko had shot down Kogoro's eager offer to walk her home, giving Shuichi a pleading look instead. With no choice, he'd escorted her to her apartment, not getting to bed himself until nearly one.
"No excuse! Nine's way too late!" Reiko said, her face stern. "You've only been living on your own for five days, and you're already this lazy. You should move back home so I can keep an eye on you."
"Whoa, hold on, Reiko," Shuichi cut in, redirecting. "How'd you get in?"
"I've got a key," she said, dangling it from her neck. "Auntie Mouri said I could keep it."
"Of course she did…" Shuichi's mouth twitched.
Great. There goes my weekend lie-ins.
"Get up and wash up, Onii-chan. I bought your favorite meat buns and strawberry milk at the convenience store on the way. They won't taste good cold," Reiko said, shooing him off the bed and starting to fold his blankets.
"I can fold those myself—" Shuichi began, but a sharp glare from Reiko stopped him.
"You've said that a million times before," she said. "And what happened?"
"…I forgot, haha…" Shuichi gave a sheepish laugh and bolted from the room.
His little cousin was pretty and smart but fiercely strict, molded by her prosecutor parents into a stickler for rules. Shuichi, on the other hand, was laid-back outside work, always cutting corners when he could. Back at the Kujo household, his slacker habits had earned him endless lectures from both his aunt and uncle and Reiko. That clash was part of why he'd moved out.
"Woof!" Wan-chan trotted after him, its tail wagging furiously after days apart.
"You dumb dog," Shuichi said, crouching to grab its neck playfully. "Didn't I tell you not to lick my face?"
"Woof?" Wan-chan tilted its head, its face the picture of innocence.
"If it wasn't you, then what's this wet spot on my forehead?" Shuichi demanded.
In the bedroom, Reiko, mid-blanket-fold, froze. The next moment, she said casually, "Don't worry, Onii-chan. I'll scold Wan-chan later. Go wash up."
Wan-chan glanced between its young mistress and Shuichi, lowering its head with a pitiful whimper.
"Ha, learning to play the victim now?" Shuichi chuckled, ruffling the dog's head.
He'd found Wan-chan as a stray, and no one could pin down its breed. It had the size of an Akita, the sly face of a Shiba Inu, and the gentle, easygoing nature of a Chinese street dog.
"Onii~chan!" Reiko's voice rose from the bedroom.
"Alright, alright, I'm going!" Shuichi said, heading to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.
(End of Chapter)