A New Semester with the Angel

When Amane woke up early to get ready for the first day of the new

semester, he was just a little disappointed to find no one lying beside him.

Calling the last day of summer vacation eventful would have been an

understatement, but Amane wouldn't say it was all bad. He'd learned a great

deal about Mahiru, and he'd even gotten a chance to meet with Mahiru's

father, Asahi. It was a relief to finally have a better idea about how the man felt,

even if only a little, since Mahiru's father had been wrapped in mystery until

now.

The whole experience had only convinced Amane more than ever that he

wanted to stay by Mahiru's side and protect her for the rest of his life.

And as far as he could tell, Mahiru wanted the same thing. They hadn't made

any definite promises yet, but he wanted to believe that when the time came,

she would say yes.

The night before, he had teasingly asked her if she wanted to stay over, but

ultimately Mahiru went back to her own apartment.

Amane might have insisted if he had gotten the sense that Mahiru was in

danger of being crushed by unbearable anguish, but she had simply looked

reassured by Amane's words and had answered him with a fleeting smile that,

while a little frail, was far from heartbroken.

…As long as she's not pushing herself too hard.

While he changed into his uniform, Amane recalled how Mahiru had been

acting the day before. She had settled down considerably after hearing what

he'd had to say. It was a little embarrassing when he thought about how much

he meant to Mahiru, but he also knew that she needed something more.

Amane grimaced as he wondered what he should do if Mahiru was still feeling

out of sorts today.

Just as he finished fastening his belt, he heard the sound of the front door

unlocking. It was the first school day after summer vacation, so Mahiru must

have gotten ready earlier than usual.

When he stepped out of his bedroom, necktie in hand, Mahiru was there

tying her apron on in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Good morning."

Amane was quietly relieved to see Mahiru wearing her usual smile.

"Morning. Did you sleep well?"

"I'm not as upset as you think, Amane. Really, I'm all right. It's all done now."

"Maybe, but how you're feeling about it is a whole other can of worms. Well,

I'm sure it'll annoy you if I fuss too much, so just let me know if things get

tough. I'm here for you."

"Thank you… I'm counting on you."

He could see in her small smile of embarrassment that she really did feel that

way, so Amane gave her a little smile in return and then headed for the vanity

to straighten up his outfit.

They ate Mahiru's home-cooked breakfast, and just as they were about to

leave the house, Mahiru turned to Amane. "Not forgetting something?" she

asked.

Amane had pretty much gotten everything ready ahead of time, so he

couldn't think of anything. His bag was packed, and he had even double

checked it, so no issue there.

"Not really, I don't think so."

"Really?"

"Why do you sound so skeptical?"

"…You weren't going to leave this behind?" Mahiru asked, sounding

exasperated as she held up Amane's school-issued necktie, the one that he had

decided to put on after breakfast, since it was so stifling in the heat. As soon as

she said it, Amane remembered that he had left it behind on the sink when he'd

gone to wash his face.

"Ah." He groaned in spite of himself and heard Mahiru sigh.

"We have the opening ceremony today, so we should look our best."

Chiding him, Mahiru started to drape the necktie around his neck, so Amane

crouched down, feeling somewhat sheepish.

Of course, he could have tied it himself, since this was something he had done

basically every day prior to summer vacation, but if Mahiru was going to do it

for him, he wasn't going to stop her.

He smiled a little as he watched her fasten his necktie with such focus.

…I bet she's going to blush when it dawns on her later.

He was amused that they were acting like a newlywed couple.

Amane was grateful she was doing this for him like it was the natural thing to

do, and even more than that, he was glad he would get to see Mahiru looking

bashful when she realized it later, so he had no complaints.

As he was gazing down at her diligently fixing his necktie, Mahiru must have

sensed something different in the way he was looking at her, and she peered up

with questioning eyes.

"Is something the matter?"

"No, nothing. Just thinking about how lucky I am."

"And that's fine, but you can be so absent-minded sometimes, Amane."

"You're not wrong. I guess I get careless because I have you around."

"Honestly. What am I going to do with you?"

Mahiru sounded both exasperated and happy. She finished tying the necktie

with a satisfied expression. They were doing this all in the entryway of Amane's

apartment, so Mahiru looked just like a wife sending her husband off. But

Amane knew that if he said that, she would definitely be embarrassed and not

talk to him for a little while, so he kept quiet.

Instead, he stroked Mahiru's head once and then offered her his hand.

"All right, ready to go?"

"Yes."

He smiled when she took his hand without hesitation like she had so many

times before. Amane opened the door, carrying her bag for her. Mahiru had

tried to carry it herself, but since she did so much for him, he wanted to at least

do this for her.

Seeing that Amane wasn't going to give the bag up, Mahiru broke into a

happy smile and head-butted his upper arm gently.

"What is it?"

"…Nothing."

"In that case, I guess there's no problem then."

Amane wasn't so thickheaded that he didn't know what she wanted to say,

but if Mahiru wasn't going to say any more, he was fine with that.

"Okay, we're off," Amane said to nobody in particular.

Mahiru stared at him for a moment, then quietly repeated his words, "We're

off."

The thought that Mahiru considered his apartment home made him feel

embarrassed and happy, and he felt his face soften into a smile, but Mahiru

didn't hound him about it.

Mahiru was also smiling happily, not to mention blushing a little, so she didn't

have a leg to stand on. She looked happy, and when Amane squeezed Mahiru's

hand again, she squeezed his right back.

Despite it being the beginning of September, the summer heat didn't show

any signs of retreating just yet. Though it was morning, the air was hot, and the

sun was dazzling.

However, once they arrived at school, as a matter of course they found that

the air conditioning was already turned on.

"…Are you trying to give us heatstroke with your red-hot love first thing in the

morning?"

"What are you talking about?"

After making it to his seat in the classroom, Amane was talking with Mahiru,

when for some reason, Itsuki spoke to him with an uncomfortable look on his

face.

Every classroom in their school had an AC that could heat or cool, so the

temperature outside never bothered them.

"Come on, this…you're flirting like you're trying to show off, man."

"Trying to show off? We were just having a normal conversation."

"Sure, yeah, your conversation was technically all regular school talk, but, like,

I'm talking about the vibe. The way you two are around each other, that look in

your eyes."

After arriving in the classroom and greeting their classmates, Mahiru and

Amane had started reviewing for their post-vacation tests together, but

apparently their behavior had come off as flirting.

As far as Amane was concerned, he was very serious about test preparation,

so the accusation didn't sit well with him.

"Dude, whenever Miss Shiina is involved, you just start getting sweeter and

sweeter without even noticing. You've gotta knock it off. In public, at least."

"I wasn't doing anything. All we even talked about was what the tests were

going to cover and then I just quizzed her a little."

"…That's what I'm getting at, Amane."

"I'm not following."

Amane looked at his friend in confusion, but for some reason, he got the

same exact reaction.

"Look around you."

When he did as he was told and checked the room, he discovered that he was

receiving murderous stares from all the other boys in class. The girls seemed

charmed and somewhat jealous. Even Yuuta, Kazuya, and Makoto, who had

been chatting among themselves, were now giving him stiff, awkward smiles.

Amane's cheek twitched a little.

"You know how hard it's been for everyone to keep their eyes off the two of

you lately?"

"…You and Chitose are literally the same, though."

"Uh, rude. We're always flirting on purpose, in the open. That's completely

different compared to the married-couple vibes that you and Mahiru give off."

"I'm not sure that's true."

In Amane's opinion, doing it on purpose seemed far more problematic, but

apparently the class did not agree.

In reaction to Itsuki's words, Mahiru blushed slightly and looked

uncomfortable, so she probably felt self-conscious. Amane wished she had said

something earlier.

"…Was I being really obvious?" he asked.

"I don't know what I'd call it," Itsuki replied, "but there's a world of difference

in how you act around me for sure… Like, we can tell how infatuated you are

just by watching the way you look at her and talk to her."

"…We can't really deny the truth of Mister Akazawa's words," Mahiru

admitted.

"That bad?"

Naturally, when they were at school, Amane was careful to not interact with

Mahiru like they usually did. But from the way Mahiru was currently looking

anywhere else, he knew now that he hadn't done a very good job. He touched

his own cheek, wondering if he was really making such a sappy face, but he

couldn't really tell.

It was the first day of school after summer break, so after the school assembly

was over and each class finished meeting with their homeroom teacher, the

students were free to go home.

Normally, there would be nothing strange about having class after an

assembly, but since they were preparing for tests they'd be taking tomorrow,

school was dismissed early.

After homeroom wrapped up and they were finished for the day, Chitose

came over to Itsuki's seat and flopped onto the desk, grumbling in

wholehearted misery.

"I don't wanna take any tesssssts!"

"You don't? As long as you've been studying regularly, all you need to do is

review. And we get to go home earlier than usual, so we can take it easy,"

Amane replied.

"That's just what honor roll students like you and Mahiru say. Normal people

don't like tests! Right, Yuuta?"

"Ah-ha-ha. Well, I guess I understand both sides," Yuuta answered. "I don't

have track practice on test days, so that makes me feel a little lonely, but I do

get to take it easy and rest, so that's kind of nice. I guess I don't worry too much

about the tests themselves."

"Tch, I forgot you were an honor student, too…"

Yuuta actively ran as the ace of the track and field club, and sports wasn't the

only thing he was good at. He excelled at studying, and in the class rankings, he

placed in the top third.

Chitose wasn't a part of any clubs, but there was a time when she was in track

and field as well. She was someone who preferred exercising her body over her

brain, and apparently, she didn't do very well on the kinds of tests that

demanded a lot of time spent sitting at a desk. She didn't like studying in the

first place, which was probably the main reason she struggled.

"Itsuki, everyone's ganging up on me!"

"Not sure what I'm supposed to do about it. You're just going to have to try a

bit harder, Chi."

"Itsuki, you traitor! You've been secretly studying all break."

"Of course I have. I'll lose my freedom if my grades are too bad." Itsuki

laughed cheerfully.

He said his father had been pestering him to get his grades up.

Itsuki had always been clever and intelligent, but he had a tendency to

prioritize Chitose, so he ended up with relatively average grades. That did not

sit well with his father.

As Amane was preparing to head home while sympathizing with his friends'

various domestic struggles, Mahiru walked over with her bag in hand, looking

ready to go.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I was talking with the teacher…"

"It's fine, I was chatting with Itsuki and Chitose. Well, it was mostly Chitose

complaining about our tests tomorrow."

"She's a hopeless case, even for me."

"I've been forsaken!"

"You have to know that it's crazy to try to memorize everything the night

before. Some might even say impossible… It begs the question of what you

thought that long vacation was for."

At Mahiru's very reasonable remark, Chitose lifted her head and looked at her

pleadingly, then flopped down on the desk again.

Mahiru shot Chitose a pitying glance that said You brought this upon yourself.

Of course, there was nothing Amane could do about Chitose's studying

problems.

But Mahiru, who had delivered the harsh truth despite her concern for her

friend, pulled a clear folder out of her bag with an uneasy smile and stealthily

handed it to Chitose.

"I thought it might come to this, so I've put together a list of only the most

important things that I think are likely to turn up on the tests. I think you can

avoid failing with this."

"Mahiru, my angel!"

"Please stop squeezing me so tight…"

Mahiru smiled awkwardly when Chitose jumped to her feet and threw her

arms around her.

It was worth mentioning that Amane had also had a hand in the creation of

the reference material. He was familiar with the teachers who were writing the

tests and had discussed it with Mahiru before helping pick out what was most

likely to be covered. Of course, their predictions could be wrong, but even if

they misjudged their teachers, they had included some material they knew for

certain would be on the tests, so passing grades should still be a possibility.

"Amane helped me make it, so you should thank him as well, not just me,

okay?"

"Oh, Lord Amane, I'm ever so grateful. Tell me, which would you prefer: a

photo of Mahiru stuffing her face with a crepe so excitedly that she gets

whipped cream on her cheek, or a photo of Mahiru with big tears in her eyes

watching a horror movie?"

"Chitose?!"

"Ooh, both sound good."

"You too, Amane?!"

Mahiru turned red and her eyebrows shot up at the thought that she had

been photographed in secret. Amane laughed.

"Just joking."

"…Really?"

"Well, if I can have them, I will, but—"

There was no real crime in having the pictures themselves, and if he could

acquire a few that captured Mahiru's casual cuteness, Amane couldn't be

happier.

Mahiru made a disapproving face, but since Chitose was cackling with

laughter, her anger already had the perfect target. "Chitose, you dummy!"

"Now, let's all play nice and get along, Mahiru. Amane just forgot himself

because he desperately wants pictures of his sweetheart."

"That's one thing—this is another," Mahiru declared, and turned away in a

huff.

Both Amane and Chitose laughed, which just made Mahiru pout even harder.

"You got them in the end, didn't you?"

As soon as they got home, Mahiru started sulking.

It sounded like she didn't actually mind the fact that the photos had been

taken but wasn't very keen on Amane seeing them.

"Oh? I wonder…," Amane remarked.

She looked at him with daggers in her eyes. "…I'll mix a huge helping of

wasabi into your soba broth before I serve it to you, if you're not careful.

Enough to make you cry."

"I said sorry! I didn't get them."

She was holding his lunch hostage, so he meekly confessed instead of evading

the question.

Since Mahiru seemed uncomfortable with it, he had given up getting the

photos without her permission. Of course, he was planning to have Chitose

send them to him if Mahiru ever allowed it.

Mahiru was visibly relieved by Amane's words. "That's good to hear," she

answered in a tone that told him she had gotten some of her cheer back. She

started tying back her hair in preparation for cooking.

"Do you hate your pictures that much?"

"I—I don't exactly hate them, just…I'm making embarrassing faces in them,

and it's awkward… They're not cute at all."

"I doubt that. I think you look great no matter what you're doing."

"…There you go again."

Mahiru turned away in an embarrassed huff. When she finished getting her

hair into its bun, she put on her apron and began washing her hands.

Amane intended to help assemble the dishes of condiments and sides, so he

started washing his hands beside her, but when he glanced sidelong at Mahiru,

he saw her face was slightly red.

"What would you do if Mister Akazawa sent me embarrassing photos of you,

Amane?" she asked.

"Mm… Depends on what kind, I guess, but unless they were pictures that you

couldn't show in public, I think I'd be okay with it. Although, I can't imagine

Itsuki sending anything too terrible or even taking a picture like that in the first

place. Plus, I don't remember ever making a fool of myself."

"…Would you let him send a picture of you with cat ears?"

"Like when he put them on me at karaoke? Sure, why not?"

She must have meant a picture from the time when the three boys had gone

to karaoke together, and Itsuki had made him wear a pair of cat ears that he'd

had with him for some reason. Itsuki and Yuuta had barely been able to hold

back their laughter, so Amane remembered taking the ears off immediately, but

it was beginning to sound like the moment had been preserved in a stealthy

photograph.

Amane wasn't particularly bothered by it, but Mahiru's eyes were downcast,

and she seemed uncomfortable.

"…I'm one to talk. Sorry for getting your picture without your permission."

"Itsuki's to blame for that one. Anyway, he must have sent it as soon as he

took it. He can buy me a hamburger or something, and we'll call it even."

It was frightening to consider that there might still be other photos lying in

wait in Itsuki's collection, but Amane didn't think there was anything too

terrible.

As he dried his hands on a soft towel that he had just pulled out, he smiled at

Mahiru, who was looking apologetic.

"Come on, you don't need to worry about that. Instead of looking sorry, it'll

make me happier if you prepare plenty of little side dishes and condiments."

"…Even wasabi?"

"Balance in all things, please."

He answered with a very serious look on his face, and Mahiru smiled a little,

probably feeling relieved, as she spooned up larger-than-usual portions of the

preprepared side dishes.

"The tests are tomorrow, but I don't think things are looking much better for

her," Amane mumbled as he rubbed his belly in satisfaction after they finished

eating their soba noodles.

Amane actually enjoyed studying, and he put in a fair amount of effort on a

daily basis, so he wasn't worried at all about the tests themselves. Chitose's

grades were much more concerning.

"Yeah, you're probably right. These are the kind of tests where you just have

to try your best, so…"

"If Chitose heard you say that I bet she'd whine and say, 'You're only saying

that because you're an honor student.'"

"Heh-heh. It's even worse because this time there are some subjects that she

really struggles with. I tried so hard to teach her the other day."

I bet Chitose complained the whole time, Amane thought, but he stopped

before he spoke the thought aloud and stared at Mahiru, who was so calm,

even the day before a round of tests.

"That reminds me, what do you want as your reward this time?"

"Huh, reward?"

"It goes without saying that you're going to take the top slot, so you need

some other reward, right? I'll do anything, as long as I'm able."

"Last time I let you lay in my lap for your reward, didn't I? In that case, don't

you need a reward too, Amane?"

"My reward will be making you happy."

"…That goes for me, too, so it's not fair to say that."

Mahiru pouted just a little bit and slapped her thighs. With a wry smile,

Amane squeezed her hand gently.

"I want to do something for you, so let me give the reward this time."

"Hmm… W-well then, there's something I want."

"Something you want?"

Generally speaking, Mahiru wasn't a very materialistic person, so it was

unusual for her to say she wanted something, and especially rare for her to ask

Amane for it. He peered into her caramel-colored eyes, and she looked away

bashfully.

"…So, in your room, you have a cushion, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I want that."

Her request for such an unexpected item made him blink repeatedly in

surprise. Mahiru must have been embarrassed, because she squirmed in her

seat without even trying to hide her red-hot cheeks.

"I usually use that when I'm sleeping, so it's pretty worn out. Is that all right?"

"It's actually better if it's worn out, I mean…um…listen, your scent calms me

down, so…"

"…Mahiru, do you maybe have a thing for smells?"

"I-it's not a fetish or anything! I like you, Amane, so I like the way you smell,

and it makes me feel happy, that's all!"

"O-oh."

He got the feeling that she had told him something embarrassing. Somehow it

was worse than if she had come right out and said that she liked him. Amane

scratched his cheek while he thought about the cushion in his bedroom.

Now that she mentioned it, he realized that whenever Mahiru went into

Amane's room, she usually held onto that cushion. He'd assumed it was just

because she found it calming to hug something, but maybe she had been

holding it precisely because it belonged to Amane.

"You don't have to use a stand-in for me like that."

"It's, well…holding you directly is too exciting."

"Really?"

"Yes, okay?! Come on, you smell nice, and you're warm, and your body is firm

and manly… It makes my heart pound so hard. If I just want to relax, it's not

helpful to be so focused on you."

Mahiru squeezed the nearest cushion. She seemed aware that she had a

tendency to grab pillows whenever anything happened.

She wrapped her arms around the cushion with a loving yet somewhat

embarrassed look on her face, like she'd been caught hugging a stuffed animal.

Amane chuckled quietly and gently stroked her head.