Chapter 548

The wide Main Gate, and the warm, familiar scent drifting from it.

Miyuki flinched, pulling her nose away from the grass-scented door.

'I—I can't do this...'

Setting aside how perverted she was acting, she needed to calm her constantly racing heart.

She flicked her forehead a few times to snap herself out of it, cleared her throat, and pressed the doorbell.

Ding-dong!

Hearing that chime for the first time in ages sent a surge of joy through her.

Doorbells in older houses usually came with a crackle of static, but Matsuda's rang perfectly clear. It was a nice feeling.

Rattle!

The sound of a sliding door opening echoed from behind the Main Gate.

Miyuki smoothed her eager expression. When the Main Gate unlatched and Matsuda stepped out, she flashed him a bright smile.

"Hi."

"Yeah, hey."

A hint of bewilderment colored his face.

He looked as if he couldn't believe she had actually shown up just because he'd told her to come over.

He scratched his damp hair—he must have just showered—then eyed her heavy backpack. Smacking his lips, he stepped aside.

"Come in."

"Thanks. Excuse me."

She made a show of pretending to push the door, laying it on thick that this was her first time here, tossed a polite apology his way, and stepped inside.

Untended grass grew wild around a winding stone path.

It possessed the exact same charm as it had a year ago, washing a fresh wave of nostalgia over her.

The untended flowerbed was a pity.

She had put so much care into maintaining it before... but that was fine. She would just have to tend to it again.

"Where do I take my shoes off? Here?"

"Yeah. Take them off there and shove them under the engawa."

"What if it rains?"

"There's a shoe rack inside."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"That's so nice."

"That was completely soulless."

She had tried to give a good reaction, but since she already knew this house inside and out, her acting must have fallen flat.

"No, I meant it. It was a genuine compliment."

"Sure you did."

Pouting at his dismissive response, Miyuki stepped up onto the engawa.

Peeking into the interior through the sliding doors, she dialed up her fake awe.

"Wow, your house is huge! But it feels really cozy, too."

"You think?"

"Yeah. Do you sleep on this futon?"

She pointed to the white bedding laid out in the corner of the living room.

Matsuda nodded.

"Yeah. I prefer the floor over a bed."

So did she.

Though she had only changed her mind about that after spending time with him.

Before, she hadn't cared whether she slept on a bed or the floor.

"Really? Very atmospheric."

"What aesthetic? Just put your bag down."

"Where?"

"Anywhere."

"Got it."

Without hesitation, Miyuki leaned her backpack against the living room wall, then pointed at the bathroom.

"Is that the bathroom?"

"Yeah."

"Can I take a look?"

"No."

"Huh...? Oh, sorry."

"I'm joking. Go ahead."

He flashed a grin at the flustered Miyuki and opened the bathroom door for her.

Getting the distinct feeling she was being toyed with, she continued touring the house she already knew perfectly, letting out little gasps of fake amazement at every turn.

*

Basking in the blast of the air conditioner, she finally felt like she could breathe.

Actually, it was almost chilly. At times like this, it would be nice to lie down on the futon with Matsuda and curl up in his arms for warmth...

"What's with that look?"

Caught daydreaming, Miyuki quickly feigned ignorance at the question from Matsuda, who was slouched over his workbook.

"What look?"

"That look in your eyes was a bit indecent just now."

"My eyes?"

"Yeah."

"Not at all. Why would you even think that?"

"Whatever. Check if this answer is right."

"You're supposed to say, 'Please check it.' I'm the teacher here."

"A teacher? That's quite the fetish."

"Wh-what...?"

"Never mind."

The old Matsuda had a real knack for baffling people with his utter lack of a verbal filter.

Even when they had been on bathroom cleaning duty, he had startled her by casually dropping that students used the stalls for sex on weekends.

The fragments of memory bubbled up one by one, filling her with joy.

"What are you doing now? Are you into that sort of thing too?"

At his follow-up, Miyuki suddenly realized she had been giggling behind her hand.

"N-no, that's not it... I just... I've never heard that word used before, so it sounded a little funny..."

"You've never heard the word 'fetish' before?"

"Not in person. This is the first time I've heard someone say it out loud... A-anyway, don't say things like that."

"You were just laughing at it, and now you want me to stop?"

"Just be quiet."

Slash.

Acting like an elementary school tutor, Miyuki slashed a huge cross through his answer with her red colored pencil and slid the workbook back to him.

"It's wrong. Try again."

"It's wrong?"

"Yeah."

"You barely even glanced at it before crossing it out. You're just guessing, aren't you?"

"I can tell it's wrong just by looking at the scratch work Matsuda-kun wrote at the bottom."

"As long as the answer's right, who cares?"

"But the answer isn't right. Plus, even if you managed to guess it by luck, you'll just get stuck on the next one anyway. Hurry up and try again."

"My head hurts. Let's take a break."

"You've only solved one problem—stop being such a baby."

"It seriously hurts. But hey."

"What?"

Screech!

Matsuda shoved the low table toward Miyuki.

The legs scraped against the tatami mats, leaving marks, but he didn't care in the slightest. He just stared intently at her.

"Wh-what is it...?"

As the tabletop pressed near her stomach, Miyuki reflexively sucked in a breath, tightened her core, and stammered out the question.

He answered smoothly, "What exactly did you come here for?"

"What do you mean? We agreed to study."

"I'm the guy who told you to get expelled, and you came to my house just for that one reason?"

"I saw Matsuda-kun's true nature, so I thought you could change..."

"Let's say there's room for that... But where'd your little lapdog go?"

"Lapdog?"

"Miura."

"Ah... could you maybe not use such strange words?"

"It's accurate, so why not?"

"There are nicer ways to say it."

"Minion? Underling?"

"...No."

"Lackey?"

His idea of "nicer" was calling him a lackey.

This was seriously going to be a problem.

"Sigh... I meant 'friend'."

"I know. Just messing with you."

"If you're done resting, solve the problem again."

"I forgot the formula."

"..."

"Just kidding."

Matsuda chuckled at her dumbfounded expression and pulled the workbook back over to his side.

Even later in their relationship, he would occasionally drop jokes that left her speechless, but seeing him do it completely unfiltered like this was a little baffling.

Still, she liked it. It felt like she was catching glimpses of his boyish side.

In the past, whenever Matsuda had said cheap things, she would frown. Not anymore.

She was probably just completely blinded by love at this point.

"Done. Look."

Lost in thought, Miyuki snapped back to reality when Matsuda held the workbook out to her.

She graded it. He had gotten it right this time.

His method was a little roundabout, but he had applied the formula perfectly.

"You got it right this time."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. But don't let it go to your head. It's the easiest question—middle school level, really."

"That's harsh."

"Not as harsh as Matsuda-kun."

Matsuda's expression shifted into something bordering on... satisfaction.

What was that about? Was he acting like that because she had firmly drawn a line?

Ever since she had returned to the past, Matsuda's words and actions occasionally seemed off.

'No, don't read too much into it.'

He was probably just satisfied because he had solved the problem correctly.

No point in overthinking things and giving herself a headache. Right now, she just needed to enjoy this alone time with him.

"How long were you planning on studying, by the way?"

"I don't know. Maybe another hour or two?"

"You're going to study that much?"

"This isn't even a lot."

"Short from your perspective, maybe. Anyway, let's just do a bit more and call it. I have to head out this morning."

"Where to?"

"I have someone to meet."

"Who?"

"A senior."

A senior? He couldn't be talking about Inoo-sunbae...

Did he mean the senior from the Superi circle?

Shortly after she, Matsuda, and Tetsuya had started studying together, there had been a day when Matsuda had shown up with his face beaten to a pulp.

That had probably been when that senior had called him out and beaten him up.

His name had definitely been... Shimoyama something.

She distinctly remembered him getting beaten because he had refused an order to go pick fights with students from a rival Academy.

But that event was still a ways off.

That hadn't happened until after Matsuda had accidentally groped her at the secondhand bookstore.

Apparently, because of her actions since returning, the gears of fate had shifted far more drastically than she'd expected.

First, to make sure of the facts, Miyuki decided to press Matsuda a little deeper.

"So, which senior?"

"You wouldn't know him if I told you. A guy named Shimoyama."

'No...!'

She'd been right.

With her eyes wide open, she couldn't just send Matsuda straight into danger.

She hated the idea of him getting taken down by some scrub not even fit to be an extra.

No, more than that, she just hated the thought of Matsuda getting hit.

"But I came here intending to study all day today...?"

"All day? You just said we'd do another two hours or so."

"Seeing you try to slack off changed my mind."

"Who's slacking off?"

"Besides, it doesn't even sound like you planned this out in advance, so breaking your promise to me is completely unfair."

"I didn't think studying would take this long. I figured we'd be at it for an hour, tops... But what's with that look on your face?"

"What look?"

"Why are you pouting?"

"When was I pouting?"

"You're doing it right now."

"Am not."

"Are you not? Then let's do a little more and call it."

"Alright, for now."

"Why are you adding 'for now'?"

Shimoyama was a bad person who would harbor an even deeper grudge and beat Matsuda if he refused to go.

Wouldn't it be better if she just tagged along?

She wanted to hurry up and take care of the evil crowd surrounding Matsuda.

Her hidden sense of justice was welling up wildly inside her.

"Hurry up and solve the new problem. Once you finish that one, I'll teach you another formula."

Tap, tap.

Miyuki tapped the workbook, wearing a stern expression.

Chuckling at the sight of her, Matsuda obediently picked up his mechanical pencil.

'''