"Suspicious. Way too suspicious!"
The five Nakano sisters sat exchanging looks as the sounds of chopping and sizzling drifted in from the kitchen. Except for Yotsuba, everyone wore the same furrowed expression.
They'd been sitting there for twenty minutes, tossing theories back and forth, trying to figure out the mystery.
And yet, they were no closer to an answer.
"I don't get it!"
Ichika, uncharacteristically frustrated, slumped back onto the couch like a salted fish, rubbing her forehead. Her pale feet dangled lazily over the edge of the cushion.
"Are we sure he didn't investigate us at school?" Itsuki asked, puzzled.
"Impossible," Nino said at once. "If he had, we'd have heard at least one rumor. Don't forget—he's practically a celebrity among the girls."
Miku and Itsuki exchanged uncertain glances, then fell silent.
Both had initially suspected Shirase of quietly researching them, but Nino's logic held up. They couldn't find a hole in it.
"Ichika, nothing from you?" Nino turned to the lounging "salted fish."
"Nope." Ichika gave a helpless laugh. "Honestly, before today, I didn't even know I had a knack for studying."
Nino's face stiffened slightly—because she'd felt the same.
It was like Shirase somehow understood exactly how each of them learned best—what worked, what didn't.
"Why are we even worrying about this?" Yotsuba blinked, all innocence. "Shouldn't we just be happy our grades might finally go up?"
Nino chuckled. "That part, I'll agree with."
Miku spoke up quietly. "Still… I want to know how he's doing it."
"Shirase-kun must have his own methods," Yotsuba said earnestly. "He's a top student. I heard his scores even beat Hayama-san's."
That shut everyone up. None of them could argue with that.
Unaware, Yotsuba continued cheerfully, "He even said he's aiming for first in the whole school! With his talent and effort, it's obvious he has his own way of teaching. We don't need to overthink it. We should just thank him properly."
The other four blinked in surprise.
Ichika sat up, smiling. Her sleeve slid down her arm, revealing smooth white skin—though she didn't seem to notice. "Yotsuba's right. We should thank him."
"He is making us lunch right now," Itsuki added.
Nino bit her lip, sighing softly. "Fine. I've got nothing either. I'll admit it—he's amazing."
"Mm." Miku nodded, eyes flicking toward the kitchen.
"Nino."
Ichika suddenly called out. When Nino looked at her suspiciously, Ichika gave a sly little wink. "Go give him a hand."
Nino blinked, then rolled her eyes with a sigh—but still nodded.
The other three exchanged curious looks.
After a moment, Miku realized what Ichika was up to.
Itsuki and Yotsuba hadn't caught on yet, while Nino didn't bother explaining. She stood up and headed for the kitchen.
"Honestly," she muttered, tying on an apron, "Ichika still hasn't given up."
Ichika's wink had been obvious—go use your cooking as an excuse to find out what he's hiding.
Truth be told, Nino was curious too. But Yotsuba had a point: whatever the reason, Shirase's help was working. And since Nino was closest to him, she'd been trying to keep her curiosity in check.
When she stepped into the kitchen, a warm, rich aroma enveloped her instantly.
Before she could even speak, Shirase's calm voice drifted over. "What's this? Couldn't figure it out, so Ichika sent you in to snoop?"
Nino froze, her face turning bright red. "W-What makes you think that?" she stammered.
"It's obvious." Shirase looked back with a faint smile as he stirred a pan. "Anyone would be curious. I managed to make all of you focus on studying without realizing how—it's natural you'd want to know why."
He added, "And since you're the one who came, that means Ichika sent you. Otherwise, you'd still be in the living room pretending not to care."
"You're the one pretending!"
Still blushing, Nino glared at him, then moved to his side, pretending to inspect his cooking. Trying to look casual, she picked up a knife and began chopping vegetables.
She muttered, "Why couldn't it just be that I came here on my own?"
"Because our relationship's different," he said simply.
Nino froze—knife in midair. Her wrists went rigid, and her breath caught.
Some girls could stay composed even after a kiss on the cheek.
Others—just from a single offhand line—turned red and forgot how to breathe.
Nino was definitely the latter.
A deep blush spread across her face as her eyes darted away in panic.
Before she could retort, she heard the soft click of the stove being turned off.
Then—his hand landed lightly on her waist.
Her whole body went weak. Instinctively, she lifted her hands in protest, stammering, "W-What are you doing?"
"I was just thinking," Shirase said with a teasing smile, "you came into a kitchen with only me inside. Doesn't that make you a little lamb walking right into the tiger's den?"
"You're no tiger…"
Her voice came out faint, breathless—completely lacking conviction.
And when she saw the teasing glint in his eyes, any shred of resistance melted away. Her hands fell helplessly to her sides.
The warmth of his touch seeped through her skin, straight into her chest.
Her gaze softened, trembling somewhere between irritation and surrender. Forget it, she thought. He's stronger than me anyway.
The next instant, his arm tightened around her waist.
Their bodies pressed together, and his low voice brushed against her ear, warm and wickedly amused:
"This is what they call a lamb walking into the tiger's den."
Nino bit her lip, eyes glistening with shy defiance—her gaze hazy, like melted glass.
---
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