Even on the way home from school, Hayakawa Shiro refused to waste time. As they walked, he quizzed Ogata Rizu on the notes he'd forced her to copy yesterday. Though her answers stumbled and faltered, it was obvious she'd studied them seriously the night before.
"This one's a tree… and, um, that one's also a tree…"
Her muttered responses soon left her dizzy and confused, while Shiro kept hammering her with questions. Mid-sentence, he suddenly realized Furuhashi Fumino was lagging behind, strolling with her head tilted back toward the night sky.
"Furuhashi, hurry up and keep pace," he called over his shoulder.
"Ah—sorry!" Fumino apologized, quickening her steps.
But only moments later, she drifted behind again, once more gazing dreamily at the heavens.
Shiro's patience snapped.
"Hey! Furuhashi!"
He stopped in his tracks, crossed his arms, and glared at her. "Why do you keep staring at the sky?"
Don't tell me she's pondering the countless, glittering masterpieces of literature sparkling like stars above…
If so, that was utterly unforgivable. She had chosen science, yet here she was, distracted by the arts. A betrayal beyond imagination.
"Ahhhh! I'm so sorry!"
Fumino jolted to awareness, her cheeks blazing red. She bowed over and over. "It's awful of me to keep spacing out! I'll just close my eyes and follow you from now on!"
"…What's with her?" Shiro muttered, frowning at Rizu.
"Fumino really likes stars," Ogata explained simply, pushing up her glasses. "On clear nights, she often stares at the sky like that. It's normal for her. After all, she chose the sciences so she could study astronomy."
"Oh, so you like stars, huh, Furuhashi," Shiro said flatly. "Why?"
"Well… I've loved stars ever since I was a kid."
At first, Fumino's voice carried a trace of shyness, but soon grew steady. "Whenever the night is clear and the sky is filled with countless stars, I can't help but look up and search for my favorite one. That's why I often get lost in thought staring at them."
Her bright eyes shimmered as she lifted her gaze to the endless twilight sky. The countless glittering stars reflected in her pupils, as if she were lost in an eternal, cherished memory.
Shiro: "…"
What the heck is she even talking about…? None of this makes sense. Clearly she hasn't been working hard enough—her head's full of weird nonsense.
"S-sorry!"
Noticing Shiro's blank expression, Fumino blushed even harder, waving her hands in embarrassment. "I can't believe I said something so silly!"
"…Anyway."
Shiro turned to Rizu instead. "Ogata, did you hear what Furuhashi just said?"
"I heard it." She tilted her head. "Why?"
"Then answer me this."
Expressionless, Shiro asked, "What emotion did her words convey? Four points."
"Eh?! W-wait, just like that?!"
Rizu's eyes spun like spirals as she stammered, "Uh… umm… it's… uh… that she likes stars?!"
Shiro's face instantly darkened. His eyes went flat and hollow. "Utterly baseless. Zero points."
Rizu's face went pale as if her very soul had deflated.
"…Honestly," Fumino muttered, exasperated. "I thought it was a perfect answer."
"Hmph!"
At that, Rizu perked right back up, her eyes sparkling again. She tilted her head proudly toward Shiro, her tiny face radiating smug satisfaction.
"Your opinion doesn't matter," Shiro shot back, glaring at Fumino. "Reading comprehension questions are about second-guessing the test writer's intent—imagining what answer they want you to write, not what the author actually meant. Nobody cares what the author really thought. Don't you approach them that way?"
"I don't, actually."
Fumino blinked innocently. "I always imagine what I'd be feeling if I were the author writing that passage. Then the answer just comes naturally."
"…Eh?"
Shiro froze, his chest tightening.
In that instant, he felt the crushing reality of the gap between them. Fumino's perspective was something he could never reach, something he couldn't even comprehend. That was why she always scored perfect marks, while he never could.
Rizu was probably the same—both of them were the very pinnacle of natural talent in their fields. Meanwhile, Shiro could only grind endlessly through problems, scraping together enough patterns and tricks to approximate their results.
But it was precisely that insurmountable difference… that made defeating them worthwhile.
Hayakawa the Great would bow to no one!
"Mm!"
Shiro clenched his fist, his spirit reigniting. The flames of determination roared inside him once more.
Ganbare, watashi! Yoshi! No matter how underhanded the methods, so long as victory was his in the end, nothing else mattered!
He thrust his arm skyward, cheering himself on.
"…Um, Hayakawa-kun?"
Fumino peered at him curiously, her delicate features tinged with confusion.
"I'm psyching myself up," Shiro explained with a smile. "Starting tomorrow, I'll be teaching you both with an even harsher Spartan approach. Prepare yourselves."
Fumino: "…"
"Eeeek!!!"
Later that night, Shiro sat yawning in his room, preparing review materials for the two girls.
Teaching such blockheads drained him of energy, but it wasn't without reward. Explaining the basics forced him to confront gaps in his own memory. He realized that some concepts he thought he'd mastered weren't as solid as he believed. That alone was a huge gain.
And then there was Fumino's comment from earlier.
When teaching Rizu literature and Fumino science, Shiro clearly held the upper hand, force-feeding them knowledge one-sidedly. But if their roles were reversed—Fumino teaching literature, Rizu teaching science—the balance would flip entirely. Suddenly they would be the ones pouring knowledge into him.
Yes, they could flood him with knowledge.
That thought was… tempting.
If he could absorb their strengths and add them to his own, he'd only grow sharper. He was certain the girls wouldn't refuse if he asked. It could be a true win-win.
But…
"…Forget it."
After a long moment of hesitation, Shiro shook his head.
Their grades were already abysmal. His free time after school was barely enough to teach them, let alone carve out extra hours to learn from them in return. If they couldn't show progress by the next monthly exams, his "fallen genius" plan would collapse entirely.
For now, he had to focus on pushing them forward.
"Phew…"
Rubbing his eyes, Shiro swayed with drowsiness. Still, he shook his head, determined to finish writing out the notes before going to bed.
The night grew deep.
By the time he finished everything, it was already two-thirty in the morning. Yawning, Shiro reached for his phone—only to notice several unread messages from Fumino.
Furuhashi: Sorry about earlier, Hayakawa-kun! I said such weird things!! ∑(′△｀)?! Please don't take it to heart!!
Furuhashi: But… that's actually the reason behind my dream. I want to live a life connected to the stars. That's why I absolutely have to get into a science university. No matter how hard it is, I'll overcome it and study astronomy properly!
Furuhashi: That's the motivation pushing me. I felt like I had to tell my mentor—you—so I sent this late-night message. I hope it doesn't trouble you (┯_┯)…
Furuhashi: Aaaah, it really is childish, isn't it? Just forget it!!
"…So many emoticons. Annoying," Shiro muttered, expression blank.
That was just how Fumino texted—peppering every line with cutesy symbols and stickers, her messages as animated as her face in real life.
After a moment's thought, he typed back:
Shiro: Do your best. I'll make sure you get into a science university.
And watch your literature scores plummet, heh-heh-heh…
Grinning with malice, Shiro hit send, then flopped back onto his bed and drifted into sleep.
In his dream, he and Fumino sat together on an endless grassy plain, gazing side by side at the infinite starlit sky.
Another drowsy day began.
Shiro staggered into class with dark circles under his eyes, slumping forward on his desk, half-asleep. Just as he was about to doze off, a commotion erupted near the back door.
"Look over there!"
"Isn't that Class 1's Sleeping Beauty of Literature?"
"Furuhashi Fumino?! What's she doing in our class?"
Perking up at her name, Shiro straightened and glanced toward the door. There she was—Fumino, cornered by a group of overeager boys. They bombarded her with questions and invitations, their chatter almost an interrogation. She stood awkwardly, visibly flustered.
"…What's she doing?"
Shiro leaned back, amused, with no intention of rescuing her.
But she spotted him anyway.
"Sorry, sorry~"
She raised a hand sheepishly, scanning the room. "I'm looking for someone in your class. Hayak—"
Their eyes met. Shiro wore a smug, entertained grin. Fumino's expression immediately darkened, her temper flaring.
"Excuse me."
Without hesitation, she brushed past two boys asking her to karaoke, striding straight to Shiro's desk.
"…What?"
He blinked in confusion as she suddenly seized his wrist.
"Come with me. We need to talk."
Before he could resist, she dragged him out the door in full view of the entire class.
"Hey—?!"
The door slammed shut behind them. Silence fell over the room.
Seconds later, the place erupted in chatter. Rumors would spread like wildfire, soon engulfing the entire grade… if not the whole school.
Thud.
Furuhashi shoved Shiro against a deserted corner of the hallway, slamming a hand beside him in a perfect kabedon.
"What's your deal?"
Shiro stared wide-eyed. Her posture, her expression—so forceful, so unlike the meek "small fry" he usually toyed with. The reversal left him unsettled.
"Hayakawa-kun…"
Keeping one hand braced against the wall to block his escape, Fumino pulled her phone from her pocket with the other. Smiling sweetly, she held the screen up to him. "Care to explain this?"
It was their message log from last night. His reply sat glaringly at the bottom.
"…Uh."
Shiro tilted his head. "What about it?"
"I just want to ask…"
Her smile remained gentle, yet her eyes burned with quiet pressure. "Why did you reply so late?"
Shiro: "…"
What kind of absurd reason was that? Just because he answered late, she dragged him out here like some interrogator? Did she really think they were that close?
"…Wait. Furuhashi," Shiro muttered, seriously considering it. "Are you saying we're… dating?"
It was the only explanation. Only lovers got that upset about late-night replies.
"N-no!!"
Fumino's face went crimson. "Well, yes, but—not like that!"
"…Which is it?"
Her cheeks burned hotter as she jabbed a finger at the timestamp under his message. "What I mean is—why were you still awake at two-thirty?! Didn't you sleep at all?"
"Oh… yeah. What about it?"
His casual, matter-of-fact tone nearly drove her insane. She clenched her teeth, glaring like she might tear him to shreds.
After a long pause, her anger softened into worry. Her voice grew gentle. "…Do you always stay up that late, Hayakawa-kun?"
"Not always." He thought for a moment. "Usually just past one. Two's pushing it, honestly."
"One is still way too late!"
Her voice rose as she locked eyes with him, guilt flickering in her gaze. "Tell me the truth—you stayed up preparing notes for me and Rizu-chan, didn't you?"
"…"
Shiro blinked. "Oh, so that's why you dragged me out here."
"Of course!"
She bit her lip, her face clouded with guilt. "When I saw your reply that morning, I just… I felt terrible."
"…Then why storm in here acting like you were about to punch me?" Shiro muttered, recalling her kabedon. "I thought you came to beat me up."
Her cheeks flushed pink again. "W-well, you made that weird face and said weird things…"
"Honestly…"
Shiro sighed and waved a hand. "Don't overthink it. I pulled plenty of all-nighters before you two showed up. Prepping your notes doesn't take long."
"That doesn't make it okay!"
She shot back instantly. "Do you know the minimum healthy sleep time for a sixteen-year-old? Six hours! You're not even close!"
"…I catch up on weekends," Shiro muttered, looking away. "I sleep in plenty then."
"That doesn't fix it!"
Her brow furrowed as she gripped his shoulders, forcing him to meet her eyes. She could see the dark circles under them, proof of his exhaustion. Her voice softened to a whisper. "Hayakawa-kun… if you don't take care of yourself, I'll feel guilty using those notes. I know Rizu-chan would feel the same."
Her sky-colored eyes glowed with sincerity, brimming with kindness, guilt, gratitude—and fragile concern so unlike the envy and malice festering in Shiro's own heart.
"…Tch."
Scratching his head, Shiro muttered, "Fine. I've been tired lately anyway. I'll try to sleep more, otherwise it'll mess with my focus in class."
"Exactly!"
Fumino's face lit up with relief. But then she narrowed her eyes, pointing a finger at him. "Don't you dare brush me off. I'll be monitoring you whenever I can."
"…You're overdoing it," Shiro said flatly.
A stalker, huh? Who else monitored someone's bedtime? Not even a normal stalker would go that far.