Chapter 6.1

"One pair of Jacks"

"Ohoho, a full house!" (Note*: poker term, it's a hand with a pair and 3 different cards. A hand is 5 cards)

After school had ended, a welcome party for Masachika and Ayano was held in the student council room. They ate a quick early dinner in the cafeteria, then moved to the student council rooms for snacks and juice before dividing into two groups to deepen their relationship. Masachika, Toya, and Kayasaki were at the office table, while the remaining four moved to the sofas to play cards. However, only Alisa and Yuki were actually playing.

In the beginning, there was an awkward atmosphere, but as Yuki talked positively, it gradually normalized. She was able to get along and was now playing poker with friends.

"…I'll fold. I'm out."

"Oh really? I usually force, but I guess I'll have to bluff my way out of this one."

"…Eh?"

"Oh Alya-chan, I'm sorry."

They were playing poker by betting snacks, which were distributed to each person. Although, because of the difference in experience, Yuki had won thus far. The contents of Alisa's pouch were mostly under Yuki's control by now.

Maria, seeing the situation, laughed a little, which garnered a glare from Alisa. On the other hand, Ayano was the dealer, passing cards with the usual expressionless face. Somehow, she was surprisingly accustomed to being the dealer.

"As I though from when we played board games before…it seems that Suou is one step ahead of me in tabletop games."

Masachika nodded at the evaluation of Toya, watching the situation alongside Kayasaki.

"I'm not sure if it's a good thing that she's from a family of diplomats or not…but that kind of bargaining power is Yuki's specialty."

"Hmm…that may be true, but isn't Alya also simply too easy to understand?"

"Sarashina-senpai…something I never thought would be said!"

Masachika collapsed on the desk at Kayasaki's blunt assessment.

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay…but it's true that Alya hasn't made a poker face at all."

"You have no mercy, Kuze."

"No, because…hey?"

He put his arm on the back of the chair, turning around to view Alisa, who had just been dealt a card by Ayano. Her eyebrows jumped up in a jerk, lips pursed in a tight line.

After she thought for a few seconds, she bullishly made a bid, but Yuki immediately raised with a double push and folded. Both had forced, but Alisa won by the strength of her cards in hand.

"…Well, if you look like that, it's easy to tell your cards are weak."

"The Kujou sisters are surprisingly expressive, eh? I had the impression that she was much less emotional than her sister…hmm, if this is the case, maybe the older one's expressions might be harder to read."

"Oh…surely."

Masachika nodded in agreement when he saw Maria watching over the game with a fluffy smile. Kayasaki agreed with a bitter smile.

"I've known her for over a year now…to be honest, I still can't read her thoughts. She's a very nice girl, but occasionally does strange things."

"…You have a unique sensibility."

"What?" (Note*: what?)

Kayasaki, who spoke mercilessly again, was very close to Masachika. Toya laughed happily when he saw such a relationship.

"Don't react so well, Kuze."

"Haha…by the way, why do you call Masha and Alya that way?"

"Hmm?"

"I meant, calling them Kujou-senpai and Kujou's sister."

"Ah…"

Regarding Masachika's question, Toya stroked his chin and returned with a grinning smile.

"What about it, isn't it cool?"

"…What?"

Masachika unintentionally reacted to the unexpected reason. However, Toya felt a little shunned, so he followed up in a hurry.

"Oh no! It's just, I think it's better to call them like that, but I don't think that can be said with such a serious face."

"Oh yeah. Yeah…you understand?"

To follow Masachika's thinking, he cleared his through and focused his mind. Kayasaki simply set the tea down with a grinning smile.

"You're simply too embarrassed to call them by name, aren't you?"

"Uh, uh…well, that sounds like something you would say?"

"Bullseye?"

Masachika couldn't help but tease Toya as he swept his gaze at the latter's lover. Then, Toya spoke to Masachika with an unnecessarily crisp face.

"Rather, I wouldn't' hide my surprise from you, the one who normally calls the Kujou sisters by nickname."

"Don't talk to me like I'm some sort of communicative hermit…" (Note*: introvert ig?)

"Kuze, don't forget…don't forget, until a year ago, I couldn't even properly speak to a girl."

"That's right…"

"You were a bumkin for a short time, right? It took you quite a while to be able to call my name now that I think about it."

"That's true. Anyways, I don't plan on calling other girls by name, so there's no issue."

"…What's wrong with you all of a sudden?"

"Hahaha…I'm shy, I'm shy!"

Toya laughed with a dry smile while holding his ribs after Kayasaki elbowed him. Ayano stood behind them without a sound.

"Sarashina-san, how about a drink?"

"Woah!?"

Kayasaki exaggeratedly bounced her shoulders and looked back at the voice from behind her, giving Ayano a stiff smile.

"Oh, haha…that's a great way to get rid of signs. It's not easy for me to find something out, you know?"

"What kind of swordswoman are you!?"

"Well, Kuze, Kayasaki is an actual swordswoman. On second thought, more like a brawler."

"What an apocalyptic sound…"

When Masachika said so, she tilted her neck in confusion while Ayano poured a drink into the cup.

"Wait that's enough, I can't drink anymore…"

"Is that so? What about Kenzaki-sama?"

"Hmm? Oh, thank you."

In response to Ayano's gaze, Toya drank the contents of the glass and presented the empty cup to Ayano, to which she refilled. Even though it was carbonated, it hardly foamed.

"Thank you. By the way, you really are a skillful one. It seems you are a servant of Suou. Is it a skill as a servant to avoid making noise?"

"Yes, I picked it up from my grandparents."

"How?"

"Chairman, Ayano's grandfather is Yuki's grandfather's secretary, and her grandmother is also a servant of the Suou house."

Toya and Kayasaki both seemed to be interested in Masachika's explanation.

"If that's the case, then are Ayano's parents also servants?"

"No, my parents are office workers."

"What? How is that?"

"Well, I am only a servant because I of my choice. It is not necessarily the family business."

"Then…when did you start working as a servant?"

When asked by Kayasaki, Ayano maintained composure and kept the expression on her face.

"Hmm…to be honest, I am not exactly sure when. I believe it was in second grade of primary school that I decided to start."

"At such a young age?"

"It's just, I admired my grandparents so much…and they were really worthy of serving Yuki-sama."

"I see…"

There was an unnatural interval, but Toya and Kayasaki nodded without any particular concern.

"Hey, Ayano."

When Masachika's eyebrows furrowed lightly as he beckoned her over, Ayano quietly moved to his side. She then apologized in a whisper for almost misspeaking.

"(I'm terribly sorry, Masachika-sama)"

"(No, it's fine, just be more careful…wait)"

"(…?)"

(You're not mad at me anymore?) Was what he was going to ask. Masachika, however, swallowed his words as he looked into Ayano's eyes.

The cold gaze from lunchtime were gone, replaced with a completely loyal look.

(Her eyes changed complexion…why? Where the hell did I get her likeability?)

Masachika, puzzled by the fact that Ayano was suddenly acting friendly towards him, even though he did not do anything to garner such respect. Toya then returned to the subject.

"So, is it considered manners for the servants to stay silent, not disturbing the master?"

"Yes. I was always told by my grandparents that as a servant, we should strive to be like air."

"…What? That doesn't make much sense, does it?"

Masachika agreed with Kayasaki's question.

In fact, Ayano's grandparent's intentions were different. While it certainly was not wrong to act natural, what they meant was that they should try to create a comfortable environment for the master without the master being aware of their actions. However, the child Ayano took the words too literally. "I see, like the air!"

Since then, Ayano had become devoted to acting invisible. When she first started behaving carefully and politely as to not make a noise, her grandparents were smiling while watching, "Oh, are you imitating us?" "Oh, good job."

Ayano did not even react to the praise, garnering concern from her grandparents, who questioned, "is something wrong?" By then, it had been too late.

Her grandparents, who had accidentally instilled this behavior into Ayano, apologized to her parents. However, Ayano herself seemed to be content, as was Yuki, who was suffering from a slight case of loneliness at the time. She would constantly go, "this expressionless maid is so cute!" so her parents could not say anything much.

Ayano continued to follow this slightly deviated maid path…until now.

She hoped she could become Yuki's secretary in the future, and was constantly being caution to not overstep her boundaries yet.

"Ah, Ayano-chan, could I get some juice?"

"My apologies. Here you are, Maria."

Maria walked over with an empty cup.

"Alya told me to shut up."

Sticking out her tongue in mockery, Maria sat down next to Masachika. Glancing at Alisa, she saw her brow furrowed, staring at the cards with a serious expression. With only three pieces of snacks left in to "bid", it seemed she was turning even more serious.

"Hey…will she be okay? They won't start fighting?"

Toya expressed his concern over the tense atmosphere, but Masachika and Maria shrugged at the same time.

"It should be fine, Alya looks like she's having a lot of fun."

"It's not too bad, it's just that…she seems to be having a lot more fun than usual."

"That's right."

"Oh, you understand?"

"Yep."

The duo looked at each other, giving a small smile. Toya and Kayasaki, sitting opposite of them, said, "you're excited…? That's it?"

They were tilting their heads, flabbergasted.

Masachika would see that Alisa was having fun at a level he had never seen before. From every action and word, it was obvious that she was enjoying the game with a friend of the same age and gender, something she probably hadn't experienced in years.

For example, the way she looked at her few remaining sweets was not a look of impatience and frustration and the looming loss, but rather regret and sadness that the game was almost over. " Masachika only saw expressions of "I want to play more!" "I almost don't have anything to bid, the game will be over!"

(What is this "loneliness" …)

Masachika warmed after thinking of the two personalities of Alisa. He didn't think she was such an inaccessible person from the get-go, but seeing her enjoy playing cards with such passion, he still felt indescribable.

"Oh no~, was that it?"

When Masachika whooped around at the sound of Maria's voice, he saw that Ayanos' pitcher was empty. Ayano immediately tried to get it refilled, but paused when she realized they were completely out.

"Excuse me, I shall go downstairs to get some from the vending machines."

"Then I'll go too…"

"It's okay, Ayano-chan is the heroine of the day."

"Eh?"

Disregarding Ayano, Toya and Kayasaki tilted their heads in confusion at the remarks of a heroine, while Masaschika managed to guess the meaning.

"Well, you and I are the protagonists of this welcome party, so you're a heroine, right?"

"That's it~. Then, Hero, thank you for your escort?"

"Why?"

As far as he could tell, Maria's thoughts were out of his imagination. However, he then thought of how difficult it would be for one person to carry all the drinks, so he decided to accompany Ayano and left his seat. Ayano notified Alisa and Yuki, who were still seated, continuing their game.

"I shall get some drinks from the vending machine downstairs, what would you guys like?"

"I'll have some cider, please?"

"Coke for me…er, actually, I'll take ginger ale."

"Um, I'll have lemon tea."

"I'd like a café au lait, please. The brown one, not the white one."

"Oshiruko, please." (Note*: some sort of red bean soup drink, google for more info)

"I'm fine with water."

"No, you're not Prince Shotoku, you don't have to carry that at once. I'll go with you."

"Oh, that's right~"

While laughing wryly at Maria, Toya searched for something to write on to make a list of things to get, but Masachika spoke before that.

"Hmm… cider, ginger ale, lemon tea, a brown café au lait, and water."

"Huh!?"

While being sent off by the surprised faces of Alisa, Toya, and Kayasaki, Masachika and Maria left the student council room. When he entered the corridor, the motion sensor reacted, turning on the lights. As they walked side by side to the the school courtyard, which was dyed red from the sunset, Maria spoke to Masachika in a calm tone.

"Thanks again, Kuze-kun."

"Huh?"

Instead of the usual fluffy smile, Maria stopped with a calm and gentle expression, causing Masachika to leak a word.

"Could it be…?"

"Hmm?"

"Oh, never mind…"

After saying it partly unconsciously, he hesitated, wondering if such a question should be asked. Although, prompted by the gentle gaze of Maria, who had stopped and looked back at him, Masachika found himself saying the rest of the sentence.

"Maybe, but…Masha, do you deliberately avoid acting serious in front of Alya?"

Maria blinked slowly, as if struck by the emptiness when asked such a question.

And when she snapped back into focus, she showed a stunningly mature smile.

"I don't want to compete with Alya-chan."

She returned words that seemed unanswered as she heard them. Her solitude flowed in the corridor of only two people.

"Alya-chan is a very hard worker. She's always working so hard…I love her."

"So you're playing the laid back sister so Alya won't see you as a competitor?"

The question went straight to her heart, yet Maria giggled and laughed.

"I'm not pretending. You'll get tired if you live with your shoulders stretched all the time, right? If you don't relax properly…well, I can't deny that I'm loose in front of Alya-chan.

"Pfft…loose?"

"Fufu, because Alya-chan makes me spoil her. I can't help but relax some, you know?"

"…So that's how it is?"

Masachika smiled wryly, thinking that it was usually the opposite for sisters.

(I wonder how serious it is)

He looked up at the ceiling while thinking whether to be firm or loose with this senior. Maria's whisper then arrived.

"I just don't want Alya to be alone."

When he looked down again, Maria was there with a shockingly serious expression. Masachika was shocked at the gaze that looked straight him. Then, Maria suddenly relaxed her face again, and said to herself.

"Not just sisters…siblings in general are difficult. They are closer than anyone else, but we can't help but be aware of each other."

"…Ah"

This was something that Masachika understood painfully well. He had abandoned the Suou house where he was born…for himself. He hated his mother, rebelled against his father, and decided to run away, before realizing…that he was empty.

He had nothing to do. He did not want to become anything, even pushing everything to his sister and becoming free.

It was useless as it was. He needed a purpose, something he couldn't do at the house, or else his escape would be for naught.

He was in a hurry, yet in the end, it was no good. Not sure of what do, he was simply a little kid who ran away from home because of temporary emotions and could not pull himself together.

The younger sister often followed in the footsteps of the elder brother, growing to be the oldest child of the Suou family. She did not make use of the talent she had been blessed with, instead simply decaying. She had the talent to do anything she wanted, but did not try anything, lacking the meaning of existence.

Masachika couldn't help but compare himself, the empty and good for nothing trash, to his sister, who continued to strive with boundless love for her family.

Even so, the fact that they were close siblings not tormented by the feelings of inferiority was mainly due to the efforts of his sister, Yuki.

Yuki was the same as she used to be and conveyed her love in a straightforward manner. She said that Suou Masachika and Kuze Masachika were both her favorite older brothers.

Masachika could also be the older brother who loved his sister after such an act.

If not…Masachika surely would have distanced himself from Yuki. She was not shy about telling him this, which allowed him to honestly convey his thoughts and feelings.

(She really is a good sister.)

The moment he thought that, he suddenly realized that the nerdy, outlandish character that Yuki showed was also a deliberate attempt to show him something silly as to not make him feel inferior.

(No, that would be impossible…right?)

He thought that he was overthinking it, yet was worried that there was some truth to it. Understanding this, he felt like he understood more of what Maria was thinking.

It wasn't that she was acting for fun. There was just some aspects that were rather kept hidden to keep the status quo. Many want to look cool in front of those they liked. It just so happened that it was the opposite for Maria.

"Masha is…a good older sister/"

"Hmm, that's right. I'm actually a good older sister who looks like this."

Maria proudly bent over, drawing her breasts closer and made a sloppy face. She quickly smiled mischievously, closed one eye and raised a finger to her lips.

"Now, that's a secret to Alya, okay?"

Masachika's heart beat wildly at Maria's previously unknown seductive gestures, laughing ironically to try and deceive himself.

"I'm not going to say anything…even If I did, I doubt she would believe me. She wouldn't believe her sister is actually a serious adult."

"Oh, isn't that a lot of overestimations? Although it's true that I'm a lot more relaxed than Alya-chan. And…"

From an embarrassed smile, Maria's eyes pierced Masachika.

"Isn't Kuze also hiding a serious side?"

"…"

Masachika immediately tried to fake ignorance…and soon realized that it was meaningless, giving up.

"…In my case, it's not for a big reason like Masha-san's."

It wasn't for anyone. The reason Masachika took a sloppy and playful attitude was to hide himself.

"After all, I'm petty and scum."

"That's okay, I am too."

Not expecting Maria to understand, he spilled his words out.

Masachika was aware and fully admitted that he was trash yet was still afraid of letting others know such a fact.

He was constantly fooling around so people wouldn't realize his true nature. It was easier for him to be viewed as a lazy, carefree idiot than as a piece of shit. He didn't take anyone seriously and didn't let them figure him out.

It's just a way of protecting his own petty pride. It was because he lived like that that he was inexplicably dazzled by people who live straightforwardly without pretending to be themselves. He was really disgusted with himself for not being able to live the same way as them.

"… Well, in short, I just want to have fun, so I'm just sticking to the unscrupulous character so that no one can rely on me. Don't worry."

And so, today, too, he would be fooling around. Don't let anyone step in, don't let anyone notice.

Why did he tell her this in the first place? He had never revealed his true feelings even to his family before.

(Why is it that… my guard is strangely relaxed when I'm dealing with Masha?…)

Is this a kind of receptive power? Regretting the fact that he had given his senior, whom he had only known for a short time, a glimpse of his true feelings, Masachika gave a wry smile and averted his gaze.

Mariya quietly walked up to Masachika and… gently lifted her hand.

"Good"

"Eh!?"

"You're trying, you're doing your best. It's okay. You'll be fine… Kuze, you'll be fine."

Mariya said gently while stroking Masachika's head.

"Oh, I'm not…"

(I'm not doing my best. What's okay in the first place?)

A sudden thought came to him. Yet he couldn't put them into words, so he just looked down.

He couldn't help it, his chest was shaking and he couldn't get the words out. The gentle and somewhat nostalgic feeling that mysteriously unraveled his heart, he felt as if he would burst into tears if he slacked off even a little… Masachika had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure.

"You're a good boy. Yeah, yeah…"

Mariya gazed at Masachika with the kindest eyes she could make. It was as if she was comforting a wounded child, or soothing a limp baby.

Shortly thereafter, Masachika moved his head down uncomfortably. Mariya immediately sensed the intention and released her hand.

"…I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm a senior, and Kuze is a junior. I feel like this is the first time I've done something like a senior in the student council. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that you're not the only one who's had a bad experience.

"Haha, that's right."

Mariya's cheeks puffed out in frustration as she smiled her usual fluffy smile. Masachika also smiled slightly, grateful for her senior's concern as usual.

"Well, I also… I don't show this kind of thing too much."

"Oh, really? You should be more lenient with your seniors."

"No, I have pride as a man… and it would be bad if your boyfriend saw this."

"Hmm… Well, that's right… but it's okay. He's not the kind of person who gets angry at this."

"Huh…"

Masachika nodded vaguely to Mariya, who was proud of her breasts. Is that really acceptable?

"…Shall we go now? If you take it easy, everyone will be thirsty."

"Is that so…"

Nodding to Mariya's words, Masachika once withheld his thoughts and headed back to the vending machine on the first floor. After purchasing drinks for everyone, they returned to the student organization room with a can.

"Oh, did you come back? Took you so long."

"Yes, hey…"

"I'm sorry ~? I was talking to Kuze-kun ~"

"Is that so? Well, good. I'm just finishing up my preparations…"

When he opened the door to the student council room, he found Toya waiting for him with some kind of fearless smile on his face.

"Preparation?"

When Masachika tilted her head, Toya's smile deepened and he said with a pompous attitude.

"Ah. I'm ready for the best intellectual game this student council has to offer…"