Tetsurou Kuroo adapted to the new environment incredibly fast.
He not only made new friends, but also smoothly broke into the inner circle, becoming a member of the between-class soccer squad.
There was no trace left of his former shyness.
“Little Black Cat is so lively now.”
The Class 1-2 classroom was right next to the sports field. Yoriko Arisu rested her chin in her hands, watching the black and white ball darting around the field.
“It’s like he’s a different person.”
“……”
“Playing soccer in this blazing sun, I feel like I’m about to melt.”
“……”
“I want to eat ice cream. The School Store said a few days ago they’re launching new flavors.”
“……”
“Kenma, are you listening to me?”
At the sound of his name, the black-haired catboy finally reacted, lifting his head from his arms in a daze.
“…Is class starting?”
Yoriko Arisu: Stare…
She couldn’t even sleep because of the heat, yet Kenma looked like he was about to drift off any second.
Something was definitely off.
Yoriko Arisu thought for a moment with her clever head, then reached out her hand.
She cupped Kenma Kotsume’s face.
Suddenly having his face cupped, Kenma Kotsume’s eyes widened in alarm, looking instantly more awake.
He leaned back, trying to escape Yoriko Arisu’s hands, but she held his face firmly, cheeks puffing out and lips jutting forward, making his expression look rather odd.
Kenma Kotsume, speaking like a duck, said, “Let go.”
Yoriko Arisu ignored him, carefully examining Kenma Kotsume’s eyes, especially under them, where she noticed faint blue shadows.
Yoriko Arisu said, “Ah, you really do have dark circles.”
Getting no response, Kenma Kotsume swatted her hands away, turned his head, and rubbed his own face.
“Did you stay up late gaming again?”
Yoriko Arisu persistently moved into his line of sight, staring at his face without blinking.
Kenma Kotsume guiltily averted his gaze again, letting his hair fall to hide his expression.
“……”
“Not talking means you’re admitting it.”
Yoriko Arisu crossed her arms helplessly, sighing like a little adult.
“You’re going to get scolded by your mom again, you know?”
“I’m controlling myself,” Kenma Kotsume fiddled with his messy hair, “I’ll stop once I finish the game.”
He had bought a new game just a couple days ago, and was totally hooked.
“You said that last time too! I’m telling your mom!”
“No way!”
Kenma Kotsume’s eyes turned into vertical cat slits, cheeks puffed in protest.
“You promised you’d keep it a secret.”
“We even exchanged tokens of affection,” he emphasized.
Yoriko Arisu was stumped by that, mumbling a few times, then worriedly said, “But you won’t get enough sleep this way.”
In her mind, nothing was more important than sleep.
With two doctors at home, Yoriko Arisu paid extra attention to health matters, but for the moment couldn’t remember what lack of sleep could do—after all, she always overslept herself—so she just gave up and said, “Anyway, it’s bad for your body!”
“Oh right! And you won’t grow taller!”
“I don’t care about that,” Kenma Kotsume muttered quietly.
As long as he could play games, he was happy.
Namazawa Misaki: “Are you two fighting?”
Yoriko Arisu, squatting on the floor, looked up and saw her deskmate’s long, slender legs.
Looking up further, she saw her deskmate’s pretty face.
After the umbrella incident last time, their relationship had improved.
“No, not at all. Did the teacher need you for something?”
Yoriko Arisu stood up, finally noticing the form in her deskmate’s hands, with “Sports Day” written at the top.
Namazawa Misaki was the Class Representative of Class 1-2, and the most well-informed person around—she always knew when there was a test or when school would let out.
“Sports Day is next week. The teacher asked me to go to the Faculty Office to get the Competition Registration Form. Are there any events you guys want to sign up for?”
Namazawa Misaki returned to her seat, took out her mechanical pencil, and absentmindedly clicked the cap.
“Oh~ Sports Day.”
Yoriko Arisu leaned in with interest, scanning the form from top to bottom.
The basic events were things like running and high jump, and the group events included the Relay Race and Three-legged Race.
Yoriko Arisu turned her head.
“Kenma, I want to do the Three-legged Race with you.”
“No.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Yoriko Arisu turned back to the form, eyes landing on the last column.
“What’s the Borrowing Race?”
Namazawa Misaki was unsure too.
“Hmm… You draw a slip from a box, borrow whatever’s written on it, and then run a lap around the field.”
Yoriko Arisu grew more curious.
“What kind of things are written on the slips?”
This time Namazawa Misaki shook her head.
“I don’t know either.”
“The Borrowing Race has all sorts of stuff—like someone with braids, a soccer ball, glasses, and so on.”
A voice spoke up beside them—it was Shinichi Kudo, back from soccer.
He gulped down the water in his cup, finally feeling less parched, and looked at them in confusion.
“Why are you all staring at me?”
Yoriko Arisu clapped her hands.
“As expected of Kudo-kun, you know everything.”
Shinichi Kudo couldn’t help but smile, his face lighting up as he pretended to be modest.
“It’s nothing, really. This kind of thing is easy to find out.”
Yoriko Arisu nodded.
“Sounds really fun, I want to do the Borrowing Race.”
Namazawa Misaki said, “I’ll write your name down, then.”
Shinichi Kudo also signed up for two events.
Other classmates soon gathered around, and the registration list quickly filled up.
“Our class is pretty athletic, huh.”
At the end-of-day meeting, the teacher looked at the filled Competition Registration Form and smiled.
She joked, “The class next door is still worrying about not having enough people sign up. In that regard, we win!”
Kids were easy to excite, and with the teacher’s encouragement, everyone cheered at once, and the class spirit soared.
After a whole day of classes, Yoriko Arisu had already forgotten her earlier argument with Kenma Kotsume.
It wasn’t until the next day, after a night’s sleep, that her memory returned.
On the way to school, she carefully observed Kenma’s expression—it was still that tired look.
Maybe he’d learned his lesson from last time, because he didn’t fall asleep in class, but instead napped whenever he could between periods, flopping onto his desk the moment the bell rang.
At lunch, Namazawa Misaki, sitting at Yoriko Arisu’s table, asked, “Is Kotsume-kun not feeling well?”
He’d barely touched his lunch.
Because of their previous promise, Yoriko Arisu couldn’t tell the truth, so she mumbled, “He just doesn’t have much of an appetite, I guess.”
She gripped her spoon tightly, thinking to herself: Liar, it’s actually because he’s not getting enough sleep.
With things like this, the two of them talked less and less.
Kenma Kotsume was busy napping during the day, and busy gaming at night.
After two days of this, Yoriko Arisu finally couldn’t take it.
She squatted next to Kenma Kotsume, poked his arm, and said softly, “Kenma, Kenma, pay a little attention to me, will you?”
Kenma Kotsume barely opened his eyes.
“What is it?”
“Talk to me.”
“I’m really sleepy.”
“But we haven’t talked in so long…”
Yoriko Arisu looked disappointed.
“You don’t even pay attention to me because of your games. Are games really that much fun?”
Kenma Kotsume frowned, clearly annoyed at being woken up, and replied coldly, “Don’t you usually sleep all the time too, Arisu? Why are you on my case?”
Yoriko Arisu’s eyes widened.
“I’m worried about you! What if you die from lack of sleep!”
Kenma Kotsume buried his head again.
“So annoying.”
A flash of hurt crossed Yoriko Arisu’s face.
“Kenma, you’re such an idiot! I’m not talking to you anymore!”
Yoriko Arisu meant what she said, but Kenma Kotsume, lost in his naps, only found things more peaceful, even looking more relaxed.
That made Yoriko Arisu even angrier.
Even Tetsurou Kuroo, who wasn’t in their class, noticed the strange atmosphere between the two.
On the way home, watching them deliberately keep their distance, he hesitated.
“Did you guys… have a fight?”
Yoriko Arisu huffed, “No way. Who would fight with a game-obsessed dummy?”
Kenma Kotsume frowned and replied coldly, “Sleep Queen, you worry too much.”
“I’m just concerned about you!”
“I told you, I know what I’m doing.”
“You almost tripped while walking!”
“That was because I stepped on a rock.”
“You nearly buried your face in your lunch!”
“…But I didn’t actually bury it.”
Tetsurou Kuroo felt a headache coming on: Isn’t this exactly what a fight looks like!