Can't We Skip Dating?

"The doctor said you should rest for at least four or five days, so what are you going to do about tomorrow's presentation?"

After closing the door and confirming that no one was eavesdropping outside, Akira asked calmly.

Nanami grabbed the tiger plush by her pillow and buried her face in it, feeling embarrassed for accidentally revealing too much earlier. 

Her muffled reply came through the fabric: "I'm going."

"I figured you'd say that."

Akira gently ruffled her hair. Since he'd already carried her, a little more contact didn't really matter.

But Nanami clearly thought otherwise. 

Her head shrank back nervously, and she let out an involuntary "Eep," before pressing the plush even more tightly against her face.

"In that case, I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. If you don't want the others to worry, leave early.

Also, I'll have someone send over some soup later—it might help your recovery a bit. You don't have to wait up for it, just rest. Drink it when you wake up."

Nanami instinctively refused. "N-no, you don't have to go that far…"

"You can think about how to repay me later, but don't reject help that might affect success or failure. 

That's being irresponsible toward your own future. Remember: if you truly need it and are sure you can pay it back, it's okay to owe a little."

After a pause, Akira added, "At least, with me, it's okay."

After a moment of silence, Nanami nodded.

"All right, if you have nothing more to say, I'll head out."

Another few seconds passed, and Nanami nodded again.

"Then see you tomorrow." Akira patted the tiger plush pressed to her face. 

"Once I'm gone, stop smothering yourself with that thing. You're going to knock yourself silly."

He left the room, letting the door creak slightly but deliberately not closing it all the way, leaving a thin gap.

Sure enough, right after that, he heard a loud gasp—"Puhah!"—followed by heavy panting.

Akira chuckled silently and was about to leave when he suddenly heard Nanami's voice.

"Hey, Torajiro… was everything that happened today really real?"

What followed was a deliberately roughened voice in an exaggerated Kansai accent.

"Of course it was real! For example, getting bawled out with no mercy and making the ugliest crying face ever!"

Surprised, Akira peeked through the crack in the door and saw Nanami clutching the tiger plush—talking to it?

"That's not what I meant! Okay, yeah, that part was… was really bad! But what I meant was…"

She stretched out her arms, waving the plush wildly in protest, then suddenly spun it around so its back faced her. Instantly, her tone turned sly and mocking.

"Ohh~ so what you're talking about is how you got cradled in someone's arms, pretended to be asleep like a good girl, and totally used that chance to act all spoiled~?"

Then she spun it back, desperately defending herself.

"That was just a coincidence! A coincidence! I was sick, I couldn't help it!"

Back to the other side, taunting again.

"Now that there's been a first time, there'll definitely be a next~! The next time you 'can't help it,' you'll do it again~! 

Who was that girl who nearly reached out and grabbed his clothes when she was being put on the bed, hmm~?"

"That wasn't on purpose!"

"Stop making excuses! Hurry up and go be someone's maid already! Wahahaha, an obedient little maid~! Who knows, maybe someday you'll get pushed down! Hahahaha!"

"What are you even saying, Torajiro?! That's not happening! Mr. Ogiwara is definitely not that kind of person!"

Outside the room—

A rare look of blank disbelief appeared on Akira's face. Slowly, he leaned back.

—If she finds out someone was listening at the door, she might actually kill me.

No, with her personality, Nanami probably wouldn't smile while holding a knife… She'd more likely just silently jump out the window and vanish from the world.

Thinking that, Akira tiptoed away.

But before he got far, he heard another line from "Torajiro."

"So? You hopelessly love-struck, pathetic woman—how are you going to face Kanda-kun now?"

"Huh? Ah… That's different! Mr. Ogiwara is like a senpai, like an older brother! Those are completely different things…"

…

In the living room, seeing the empty seat and the tea cup placed there, Akira gave a friendly and approachable smile.

"Yo, were you all waiting for me?"

For some reason, the upperclassman named Jin, who Akira remembered as being fairly socially adept, immediately pulled his legs back under the chair at the sound of Akira's voice.

It looked like a subconscious sign of submission—a physical reflex of intimidation.

Something must've happened here earlier?

Akira glanced at Utaha, who sat there calmly as if nothing had happened, and had a feeling she was involved—probably talking behind his back again.

"Please, have a seat," said the teacher among them, who was now uncharacteristically enthusiastic. 

"Thank you both for bringing Aoyama back. May I ask what happened today?"

From what Akira remembered, this teacher usually stayed in a passive observer role, acting like the adult only when needed. 

The rest of the time, she exuded a certain tragic energy of a woman left behind by time.

Like… this current enthusiasm.

Akira sat down, keeping a careful distance from the teacher. A young man should always protect himself when outside.

"It's simple. We ran into Miss Aoyama while she was working at an ice cream stand and saw her nearly collapse. So we took her to a hospital, then brought her back here."

Akira raised a few fingers and counted them one by one. 

"She's somewhat malnourished, sick from overwork, and still forcing herself to work in this heat.

If I hadn't pulled a trick to stop her, she probably would've kept pushing through at that stand. Any thoughts on that?"

"Little Nanami…" Misaki lowered her head guiltily. "We didn't take good care of her…"

Jin wore an expression full of helpless guilt. 

"We all knew something like this would happen eventually, but there wasn't much we could do. Aoyama's too stubborn—she never lets anyone help her."

Kanda Sorata, the one who should've been the protagonist here, opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, a small, quiet, almost emotionless voice cut in.

"Because of me."

The small, animal-like girl, Shiina Mashiro, lowered her head and spoke softly.

"Because of me, Nanami… got too tired."

"Let's hear it," Akira said.

Of course, he already knew the situation. 

But he couldn't just act like he did—just like how Nanami, despite clearly resenting Shiina, had complained about it to a complete stranger on their first meeting.

Shiina Mashiro, who lacked basic life skills, had originally been cared for by Kanda Sorata. 

After Nanami moved into Sakura Dorm, she took over that role and tried to teach Mashiro how to care for herself. But dealing with this alien-like girl had left her utterly drained.

Like putting a watermelon in the oven, or starting the washing machine on spin cycle right from the start…

But in truth, this was just the final straw—the real cause went much deeper.

"That's enough. I didn't come here to hear your regrets or apologies. No one here has done anything wrong. 

Even this attempt to teach Miss Shiina to be independent was something Aoyama took on herself—it's not your fault."

Akira tapped the table lightly with his fingers, cutting Shiina's words short. His gaze slowly swept across the room.

"What I want to say is—since none of you can really do anything about it, I'll be taking this girl in."

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