What’s wrong with a little sisterly love?

"I'm home," announced Alisa after opening the front door to her apartment. Her older

sister, Maria, poked her head out from the living room and welcomed her with a cheerful

grin as gentle as a flower. Unlike the usually expressionless Alisa, Maria was almost always

full of smiles.

"Welcome home, Alya."

She approached hersister while smiling from ear to ear with arms wide open, then kissed

her on her right cheek, then left, then right again before bringing her into a tight embrace.

The sight would make yuri fans around the world squeal like pigs with delight.

"Hey, Masha."

Alisa patted her sister on the arm to get her to drop the passionate embrace, and while

Maria did let go, she suddenly turned her smile into a disappointed pout.

"Come on, we're in Japan now. Call me big sister like they do here."

"Not happening."

Maria puffed out her cheeks even more at hersister's cold reply. In Russia, people would

usually call their older siblings by their name, unlike in Japan, where they would call them

big brother or big sister. Therefore, Alisa, being born in Russia, would call her sister by her

nickname despite Maria's frequent requests to be called big sister.

"Sniffle… You can be so cold sometimes, Alya…"

Realizing her pouting face wasn't going to work, Maria put on an even more pitiful

expression, but Alisa promptly looked away and sighed. This wasn't anything new, but she

always felt bad whenever her sister made this face. That still didn't mean she would call her

sister big sister, though. After all, she was more of the serious type, unlike her easygoing

older sister. It didn't help that Alisa was taller, and they were only one year apart. She had

even been the one to look after Maria over the years as if she were the older one. That was

why Alisa hardly thought of Maria as her older sister.

Calling her big sister would make it sound like I was dependent on her, to boot…

There were other things Alisa might have been willing to call her, but Maria was not

having it. At any rate, Alisa decided to ignore hersister asshe took off hershoes and swapped

them for her slippers, but Maria immediately tilted her head curiously and blinked a few

times.

"Alya, are you in a bad mood?"

"No…?"

Alisa eyed Maria dubiously to hide how she was really feeling, but such tactics didn't

work on her older sister.

"Uh-huh… Does it have something to do with him again? With Kuze?"

Alisa walked right past Maria and headed straight for the bathroom, aggravated by her

sister's prying and the sparkle in her eyes.

"Nothing happened."

"You know you can't lie to me. I can read you like an open book. So…? What

happened?"

Maria followed her sister around like a duckling and continued to pry. It wasn't until

she made her way into Alisa's room, plopped herself down on a cushion on the floor, and

begged that Alisa finally gave in. Alisa took a seat, still dressed in her school uniform, and

confessed with aggravation:

"It really isn't a big deal, but…we had a little fight. That's all."

"Oooh! A fight!"

Maria's eyes lit up with joy, even though it wasn't the sort of thing one would normally

be happy about.

"…What?"

"Hee-hee! It's not every day you get into fights, after all! And with a boy, too."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Wow… There's finally a boy who has braved the frozen tundra around your heart."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Alisa furrowed her brow at her sister's vague implications until Maria replied with a

knowing smirk:

"You like him, don't you? This Kuze boy."

"…Excuse me?"

Alisa sent her sister a piercing glare as if to clearly say, "What is wrong with you? Did

you hit your head as a child or something?" before shaking her head with a sigh.

"I don't know where you got that idea…because there's nothing like that going on here.

We're just…"

Alisa suddenly remembered the confused look on Masachika's face the previous day at

lunch when he said they were friends.

"Yeah… We're friends." The memory made hersmile with smug satisfaction. That made

Maria's smirk grow even further.

"Oh, you are, huh? But why? I thought you hated laid-back slackers like him?"

"Because, uh…"

Maria's assumption was correct. Masachika was not very motivated and didn't take

things seriously. He was just like the kind of people Alisa usually disliked. So why did she

consider him to be a friend? Alisa began searching her memories for the answer.

"<And the winner of award for excellence is…Team B!>"

The classroom filled with applause. There was only one person, a little girl, in the crowd

who was biting her lip with her head down. It was Alisa. She was in the fourth grade at an

elementary school in Vladivostok at the time. This was the moment she truly realized that

she was different from the others, and it was all because of a research presentation her class

did. The students in her class were put into groups of four or five, given a topic to research for

the following two weeks, and asked to post their findings on a trifold presentation board that

they would then present to the class. The topic for Alisa's group was local jobs. They had

interviewed local shops and family businesses and learned about their lines of work. It was

the sort of innocent, simple project typically done in elementary schools. However, Alisa had

always put everything she had into her tasks, no matter what they were. She'd always had a

strong fighting instinct, even at a young age, and had alwaysstrived to be the best. It was only

natural that she would aim for the award of excellence, which was essentially first place for

best presentation. Therefore, she put a tremendous amount of effort into the project in order

to win. Every day after school, she interviewed local shops until dinnertime and ended up

filling out an entire notebook after only her first week. She took every possible measure she

could to make sure she was ready for the group meeting to discuss their findings. But when

the day finally came around, she was astonished by what the other three group members said.

"<Oh, sorry. I didn't interview anyone.>"

"<Thisis a bakery. Thisis clothesshop. Huh? What do they do? A bakery makes bread,< p>

and a clothing store sells clothes. Duh.>"

"<Sorry, I've only interviewed half of my shops so far. But we still have another week,< p>

right? It'll be fine.>"

Their research seemed totally half-assed from Alisa's point of view. Even if they were

to combine their findings, they still wouldn't have half as much information as Alisa. But the

fact that they expressed absolutely no appreciation or worry made her more dumbfounded

than mad. What really made her angry was when the three of them looked at Alisa's notebook.

"<Ew. What is all this? It's just a stupid project.>"

"<This is way too detailed. Yeah, we're not going to use even half of this.>"

"<Alya… Do I have to read all of it?>"

They stared at her with astounded gazes and forced smiles asif they couldn't believe her.

Wait. I'm the bad guy here?

Right after that thought crossed Alisa's mind, anger began to well up from the pit of

her stomach.

No, I didn't do anything wrong. All I did was take my assignment seriously. I shouldn't

feel bad. They should feel bad.

She was instantly filled with rage and disgust, and she was still far too young to suppress

those feelings.

"<Could you guys take the assignment a bit more seriously?>"

The sensitive elementary-school children responded defensively to her piercing gaze

and hostile tone. It wasn't long before it developed into a full-blown argument. They were in

the middle of class, so the teacher almost immediately stepped in to stop them, but that brief

moment was enough to sour their relationship to the point that it was clear Alisa wouldn't

be able to work with them any longer.

"<If you don't like how I'm doing it, then do it!>"

It was this response from one of her male teammates that had pushed Alisa over the

edge. She decided that she would use the final week to create the best possible presentation

according to her standards. But there was only so much one person could do in a week, and

she hadn't been able to finish the project with the amount of care she'd intended. And as a

result, another team had received the award for excellence. Alisa could not understand why

her classmates didn't take the project seriously. She could not understand how they could

smile and laugh, not caring that they had just lost.

We wouldn't have lost if the others had worked as hard as me. In fact, we wouldn't have

lost if I had just done the entire project all by myself from the very beginning! I'm not like

them. I'm the only one who took my assignments seriously and put forth the effort. I'm the

only one who wanted to win.

The moment Alisa realized this was the moment she stopped expecting anything from

others.

Nobody is at my level. Nobody has the passion or motivation to do what I do. That is why

I'm going to do things the way I want from now on. I'm not going to lose to the unmotivated.

I'm not going to lose to people who didn't work for it. I'm going to reach new heights nobody

has ever reached before while you all just fool around the whole day. I don't need anyone's

help. I can do everything myself. If you are going to half-ass something or if you are only

doing it because you must, then you are only going to slow me down.

Even after the years had gone by and Alisa had become slightly more skilled socially,

her fundamental view had not changed. If anything, these beliefs had only grown stronger.

Every time she saw how unmotivated or academically challenged her classmates were, her

disappointment in her peers grew until one day, she started unconsciously looking down on

others. Once she realized this, she distanced herself from her peers to avoid any unnecessary

friction. It was a lonely world. It was the sort of loneliness only felt by someone who had

been born with the talent and fighting instinct that made them different from everyone else.

After Alisa finished her second year of middle school, her father was sent to Japan for

work and brought the family with him. Following her parents' advice, she ended up

transferring to Seiren Academy, which was known as one of the best schools in all of Japan.

She had vague expectations that she might finally be able to work among her equals and

improve alongside them, but she was instantly let down after taking the school's proficiency

and placement test. She was at the top of her class now. It was the first time she had been in

Japan in five years, and she was a transfer student from abroad with absolutely no idea what

the test was going to be like. And yet even with those disadvantages, she had been placed

at the top of her class.

Huh… This is what they consider a high academic level? I'm all alone, even here.

Right as her heart was slowly filling with resignation, she met him. It was on her first

day as a transfer student on the morning of April 1.

"Your Japanese is really good, Alisa. Did you use to live in Japan?"

"You're so pretty! I've never seen anyone with silver hair before."

"Hey, did you really passthatstupid-hard entrance exam for transferstudents with ease?"

Her new classmates crowded around and made their curiosity no secret. Although she

was a bit daunted by the attention, Alisa tried to handle the situation without being overly

rude. Nothing good would come from getting close to someone when she would ultimately

look down on them. She would only make them uncomfortable, and it would make her

uncomfortable once she realized what she was doing. That was why Alisa was not planning

on becoming friends with anyone.

"Oh, the first bell rang."

"Already? That was fast. Talk to you later, Alisa."

"Let's continue getting to know each other during the next break, okay?"

"Okay."

After watching her classmates sadly return to their seats, Alisa glanced at the seat next

to hers.

"…"

Sitting there was a male student lying sprawled out over his desk as if he didn't have a

care in the world, despite all the noise and excitement that'd been happening right by him.

The boy's free-spirited nature piqued her curiosity, to say the least. Before she realized it,

she was lightly shaking his shoulders. It was the first time she was the one trying to start a

conversation with one of her classmates.

"Hey, uh… The bell rang, you know?"

"Mmm… Hmm?"

An ordinary, young male student with a blank look on his face slowly lifted his head. It

was Masachika Kuze. Kuze and Kujou. They were assigned desks next to each other simply

because their last names were close alphabetically. He turned his blank stare at Alisa, blinked

several times, then tilted his head.

"Ohhh… You're the transfer student who spoke at the opening ceremony, right?"

"Yes. Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou. Nice to meet you."

"Right… I'm Masachika Kuze. Nice to meet you, too."

That was all he said before facing the front once more and stretching his back. A few

moments went by before his eyes widened with realization, and he tapped the boy in front

of him on the back.

"Yo, Hikaru. I had no idea you were here."

"Seriously? Takeshi is here, too, man."

"Oh, wow. You're right. I fell asleep, so I didn't even notice."

Alisa was somewhat taken by surprise to see him pleasantly chatting with his friend and

showing absolutely no interest in her. Alisa knew that she was twice as good-looking as the

average person, and she understood that good looks could be used as a weapon when building

relationships, so of course she was conscious of improving her appearance. Although she

didn't use any makeup, since it was against school rules, she still understood that she

possessed a beauty that rivaled the average TV star. And while she wasn't interested in

attracting the opposite sex, she understood that her appearance, especially her silver hair,

garnered a lot of attention. That was why Masachika, basically the only person who didn't

express any interest in her, made a significant impression. But she soon noticed something

while watching him curiously. It wasn't that he was not interested in girls or other people.

He was simply unmotivated about everything. He would forget his textbook. He would sleep

in class. He would even panic and rush through his homework during the break only minutes

before class started. He would try not to stand out during PE just so he could put forth as

little effort as possible. There wasn't even a hint of motivation being emitted from his lifeless

demeanor.

Even prestigious schools like this have a student like him, it seems.

Alisa completely lost interest in the boy who sat next to her after that. It wasn't until

the school festival in September when that all changed. This would be the last middle school

festival for the third-year students. While some of them were busy preparing for their high

school entrance exams, Seiren Academy was an escalator school. This meant most students

would automatically enter the academy's high school nextsemester,so there wasn't too much

pressure to study hard. In fact, Takeshi, who was on the school-festival committee, suggested

that his class do something huge for their last school festival, so they decided to do a haunted

house. They were only highly motivated in the very beginning, though. Everyone had been

excited during the planning phase, but their motivation dropped significantly when they

discovered how mundane and difficult actually putting the haunted house together was. Alisa

recognized this and was fully prepared to take on most of the work.

"Ouch!"

Alisa was still in the classroom after school and had started making the costumes all by

herself when she suddenly pricked her finger with the needle and dropped everything. As

a drop of blood emerged from the tip of her finger, she placed it in her mouth, sanitized it,

then applied pressure until it stopped bleeding. She then placed a bandage over the wound

so as to not get any blood on the costume she was making. This wasn't even the first prick.

She already had five bandages wrapped around her fingers because she was inexperienced at

sewing. And yet she continued working as she fought through the throbbing pain. She wasn't

going to let something as insignificant as this stop her. If she was going to do it, she was

going to do it right. That was what gave her the determination to pick up the needle once

more and continue her task.

"Oh, hey. I figured you'd still be here."

The door to the classroom rattled as it suddenly opened. It was Masachika, who had

almost immediately disappeared after homeroom was over.

"Kuze… What are you still doing here?"

"Eh. You know me," he replied evasively, glancing down at the documents in his hands.

Alisa curiously followed his gaze, but she couldn't figure out what the documents were.

"Anyway, Kujou, you can go home now. We can finish that up tomorrow with the

others," he added with a shrug, which slightly annoyed Alisa.

We're not going to finish in time if you keep putting it off like that. Besides, I wouldn't

have to be doing this all by myself if everyone else actually helped.

"Don't worry about me. I'm going to work a little more on this before going home."

Alisa sternly refused, letting her irritation get the best of her.

"Oh… All right. Cool."

After Masachika took a seat at his desk and his eyes wandered a bit, he scratched his

head a few times and casually said:

"I talked to the handicraft club, and they agreed to help make the costumes, so we should

let them take over from here."

"Huh…?"

"And check this out."

Masachika handed Alisa the documents he was holding while she sat in a daze.

"I got permission to use the boardinghouse. I figured if we made it into an overnight

event, it'd help motivate our classmates who are kind of losing steam."

"…?! But how did you…?"

"I talked to the student council. I used to be the vi— Ahem. I know the former president,

so I asked her for a favor."

Alisa shot him a quizzical gaze as he corrected himself, but Masachika continued talking

before she could ask him about it.

"Anyway, I promised to have a few of our guys help the handicraft club with some

manual labor,so they agreed to help us. There are plenty of guys eager to show off to all those

girls, so I'm sure we'll be fine there. Now, about preparing for the overnight workshop…

Well, I suppose Takeshi can take care of that stuff."

"Huh?"

"Anyway, just go home already, okay? There's no point for you to be working hard all

by yourself like this."

Masachika's casual comment caused Alisa's pent-up emotions to instantly explode.

"There's 'no point'? Excuse me?"

Alisa was extremely stressed out after working so hard sewing, despite being a novice.

She felt as if all her hard work was being made light of after Masachika, a slacker she looked

down on, suddenly provided her with a solution. It tore down the barrier protecting her heart.

Before Alisa realized it, she had slammed the half-made costume in her hands onto her desk,

swiftly stood up, and glared sharply at Masachika.

"If I—! If I'm going to be a part of this, then I want to do a good job! I don't want to

go to the school festival with a half-assed haunted house! And I don't want to compromise

no matter what!"

Even Alisa realized she was mostly just taking her anger out on him, but she couldn't

stop herself.

"But…but I know this is me being selfish! I know nobody takes things as seriously as I

do! That's why I'm working twice as hard to make up for it! Are you trying to say I'm wrong

for wanting to do a good job?!"

She snapped at him as she allowed her feelings to get the best of her. It was the first time

she had done something like this since elementary school. She was expressing raw emotion

—something she usually hid. Masachika's eyes widened before he bluntly replied:

"You're dumping all your effort in the wrong places."

"Huh…?"

Alisa was taken aback by his unexpected, straightforward objection. Masachika looked

her right in the eyes and quietly continued:

"You don't prep for the school festival on your own. You work together as a team, yeah?

If you wanna contribute something good, then you don't just give up all because no one else

seems motivated. You think of ways to get them motivated, y'know?"

"…"

Alisa instinctively wanted to look away from his unwavering gaze and indisputable

argument, but her pride would not allow her. Instead, she glared right into his soul as if she

wasn't going to back down. Before she could say anything else, however, Masachika swiftly

averted his own gaze.

"…Uh, I guess I could've phrased that better. Sorry if I upset you. I know you've been

working hard, and I'm not trying to downplay that at all."

"Ah…"

When Masachika slightly lowered his head, Alisa no longer knew what to do with her

anger. He responded to her misdirected fury with an apology, leaving her raised fist with no

place to go. But what strangely flooded her with emotions and took her breath away was that

single phrase: "I know you've been working hard."

"…I'm going home."

Those were the only words she managed to get out before she grabbed her bag and

briskly left the classroom.

I can't… I can't believe him!

She desperately tried to suppress her countless whirling emotions as she headed for the

school gate…and she pretended not to notice the grief, regret, and the hint of joy in the depths

of her heart.

The next day.

"All right, you punks! Who's ready to have some fun?!"

The meeting for the school festival began with Takeshi's overenthusiastic holler. As his

classmates stared at him in confusion, he excitedly explained that Masachika had gotten them

permission to use the boardinghouse.

"We can prepare for the school festival during the day, then use the old schoolhouse at

night to play a scary game of hide-and-seek! It will be like our very own private pre-pre-prefestival party with all sorts of fun! Yeaaahhhhh!"

The classmates smirked at his untamed enthusiasm while saying things like "The

festival's not for another week" and "It feels like this has more to do with having fun than

actually preparing for the festival," but his excitement was contagious, and they became

animated as well. It didn't take long for them to come up with a schedule for the day of

the event, and even when the meeting finally came to an end, everyone was still eagerly

hashing out the details. They were even more elated now than they were when they were first

discussing what to do for the school festival.

Some time went by, and it was finally the day they needed to prepare for their night

festival. The boys were working extra hard and quickly because they were looking forward

to not only that night's activities, but a home-cooked dinner made by the girls as well. The

boost in morale continued even after the night at the boardinghouse, and they managed to

complete the haunted house at the level of quality Alisa was after. In fact, it was even better

than what she could have ever imagined. In the end, their haunted house made more money

than any other booth, and they were awarded for their hard work.

"Ah…"

"Thanks for all your hard work, Kujou."

The late-night celebration party had finally begun, and the students were folk dancing

in a circle around the schoolyard. Alisa was heading to the school building as she walked

by her dancing peers when she ran into Masachika sitting on the stairs. He was resting his

cheek on his palm, a slight smile on his face as he watched the others dancing. Alisa followed

his gaze to find Takeshi hitting on every single girl he could approach, while Hikaru, on the

other hand, was being asked by girls one after another to dance.

"Ha-ha… Must be rough."

"…You're not going to dance?"

He raised an eyebrow and shrugged at Alisa's question.

"Hmm? Nah. I don't have a partner to dance with anyway. This school can be so oldfashioned at times. Folk dancing at the night festival? Who does that anymore? At least

there's no campfire, too."

"…Mind if I sit next to you?"

"Hmm? Uh, sure… You're not gonna dance? I bet there's tons of guys who're dying to

ask you. Oh, hang on—do you not know how to folk dance or something?"

"Rude. I used to do ballet when I was little, for your information. I can do what everyone

else is doing easily. I just didn't feel like dancing, so I turned them all down."

Alisa snorted with contempt and flipped her hair over her shoulder, then took a seat right

next to Masachika.

"Oh… Sounds rough."

"Not really. I'm used to it."

"Uh-huh. Guess I should've expected as much from the solitary princess."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Alisa furrowed her brow quizzically.

"What? You don't know? That's what everyone's been calling you lately," replied

Masachika, a surprised look on his face.

"…Hmph."

"Uh…you don't seem too thrilled about that."

"I guess that's because I'm not."

"Why? Because they're pointing out how much of a loner you are?"

"No, that's not it. Also, could you not insult me for once in your life?"

"Sorry."

He flinched under her piercing glare.

"Struck out again," joked Masachika while pouting. Alisa sighed.

"It's the whole 'princess' thing that bothers me," she told him.

"Why? It's a compliment."

"Is it? It makes me sound like someone from a fairy tale who's never worked hard a

day in her life."

"Oh, huh… Never thought of it that way."

"I admit I'm better-looking and more gifted than the average person, but I've never taken

that for granted. Not even once. I don't like people thinking I was just born with what I've

worked so hard for."

"Makes sense," agreed Masachika. "I won't call you that, then."

"Okay," she replied as if she didn't care. But after a moment went by, she turned to face

him and added, "…Thank you, Kuze."

"Hmm? For what?"

"This might be the first time I've ever enjoyed myself after a school festival."

Preparing for school festivals had always stressed Alisa out. She always had to

compensate for her classmates, and when the festivals were finally over, she felt more

exhausted than accomplished. But this time was different. She had fun working together and

preparing as a team. The sense of achievement she got from succeeding with her classmates

wasfar greater than anything she ever felt when she succeeded alone. Although she wastired,

she felt a sense of exhilaration as well.

"I was wrong," said Alisa, averting her gaze. "I probably would have never been able to

enjoy the school festival like this if I had tried to do the entire project alone… I'm sorry for

taking my frustration out on you." Masachika uncomfortably wrung his hands.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, all I did was a little extra paperwork. You and Takeshi

still worked the hardest."

Takeshi was the one who had actually led his fellow classmates, but it was Masachika

who had set everything up and encouraged Takeshi to do that. Plus, despite appearing to be

an unmotivated slacker, he was the one who actually created the positive work environment

and always made sure that everyone was okay. While Masachika himself may have claimed

he didn't do much, Alisa knew that none of this would have happened without him.

"I can't 'not worry about it.' I want to apologize for snapping at you…and I want to

thank you for everything you did. Is there anything in particular you want?"

"Something I want? Uh…"

"You can't say 'nothing.'"

"Mmm…"

Masachika racked his brain for a few long moments, since Alisa had just blocked his

path of escape.

"I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that people in Russia called each other by their

nicknames as a term of endearment, instead of just their first names. What was your

nickname?"

"What? Why do you care all of a sudden?"

"Alesha? Wait. Aleshka? That sounds like a Russian pet name, right?"

"…Alya. My family calls me Alya."

"All right, then. You can thank me and apologize to me by giving me the right to call

you Alya from now on."

"What? How would that be a reward of any kind?"

Masachika wore a nihilistic smirk as Alisa furrowed her brow in bewilderment.

"I'd be the only guy in school who could call the class idol by her pet name. Booyah!"

"Were you dropped on your head as a baby?"

"Sounds like we have a deal! Thanks!"

"Ew," she spit out with a disgusted look on her face. That was when one of the guys

from the group of male students who had gathered around her suddenly spoke up.

"H-hey, uh… Would you like to dance?"

"Hey! Who do you think you are, bro?! I was here first! Alisa, I've always loved you!

Please dance with me!"

"What the…?! Who do you think you are?! You're not the only one who feels that way

about her! I…"

Six guys suddenly crowded around Alisa after the first student spoke up. It must have

been time for the last dance, so they'd all mustered up the courage to ask her.

"I'm sorry. I can't dance."

"Don't worry about it. I'm a good dancer. I can teach you."

"You? I'm a way better dancer than him. Come on, you'd rather dance with me, right?"

"Who cares who's better? All you have to do is move your body to the beat!"

Despite Alisa apologizing and declining their offers, the male students showed no sign

of backing down. But as they slowly closed in on Alisa, she narrowed her eyes and suddenly

stood up.

"Do you people—?"

But right before the merciless words rolled off her tongue, someone suddenly grabbed

Alisa by the hand and pulled her to the side.

"Sorry, butshe already has plans with me. Come on, Alya," said Masachika as he walked

toward the schoolyard while still holding her hand.

"Hey…?!"

Alisa tried to protest, only to quickly follow him in a fluster. Under normal

circumstances,she would have pulled her arm away and slapped him, but to her own surprise,

she went along without making a fuss. Alisa's heart was pounding. She couldn't take her eyes

off Masachika's broad back in front of her. When she really thought about it, she realized

that this was the first time someone of the opposite sex had ever held her hand and whisked

her away.

Yeah… I'm just a little confused because this is the first time this has ever happened to

me. It doesn't mean anything more than that!

Right when Alisa began convincing herself of that, Masachika stopped in an opening in

the circle of students, and the last song suddenly began to play.

"You said you used to do ballet and could folk dance easily if you wanted to, right?"

"Huh? Oh… Yeah. And?"

He smirked provocatively as she tried to calm herself down.

"Then let's see it, princess," Masachika teased. His intentions were obvious considering

their conversation from a moment ago.

"You've got some nerve challenging me. Good luck keeping up with me and not

embarrassing yourself."

"Don't get so into it that you step on my foot, okay, Alya?"

"Hmph! Bring it on!"

Alisa arched her eyebrows and frowned at the aggravating,smug grin playing on hislips.

While the last dance was usually reserved for couples, there was not even a hint of sweet love

in the air as they provoked each other. They began to dance just like those around them, but

Alisa's steps gradually began to deviate from the norm. She elegantly spread her long limbs

as she effortlessly danced under the night sky of the schoolyard. Although she was moving to

the beat of the song, what she was doing could no longer be called folk dance. Nevertheless,

Masachika managed to unwaveringly follow her speedy movements. He wasn't dancing at

the same level as her, but he wasn't being completely shown up, either. His movements were

good enough to not get in her way, and he skillfully managed to keep her dancing from

getting too wild as well. Their match ended up miraculously working as a dance because they

had clearly defined roles. One of them was obviously the lead role while the other played

the supporting role.

Oh, right… This is just the kind of person you are.

That was when it finally hit Alisa. This dancing and skillful maneuver defined

Masachika. He was a paragon of self-effacement. He would help others, not himself. He hid

in the shadows to make others shine. That was the kind of person Masachika was.

"Hee-hee… Ha-ha-ha!"

Before Alisa even realized it, she was smiling. She had been unconsciously enjoying the

dance from the bottom of her heart, though she had started it as a competition. However, it

didn't last long. The song soon came to an end, and their dance ended along with it. Alisa

eventually let go of his hand and bowed, albeit reluctantly.

"Man, I'm impressed. It took everything I had just to keep up with you."

"I had a lot of fun."

Masachika blinked with a dumbfounded expression. He seemed shocked by her honesty.

"…Well, I guess I should be heading back."

"Oh? You're not going to escort me?"

"Give me a break. Do you know how jealous that'd make all the other guys? They'd

kill me."

"Uh-huh… Thanks for letting me know."

Her lips curled into a playful smirk as she suddenly wrapped her arms around one of his.

"Hey?! What are you—?"

"Walk me back."

"You're asking me to die for you. You know that, right?"

"It's payback for calling me 'princess.'"

"Ack…"

His face hollowed with despair, and yet he began to walk with her arms wrapped around

his without even attempting to break free, so Alisa smiled in the highest of spirits, having

finally gotten the upper hand. It was only then thatshe realized whatshe was doing and began

to blush, but her good mood drowned out the embarrassment. She was walking side by side

with someone, and that made her unbelievably happy. As they headed down the short path

to the school building, Alisa felt the vague sense of loneliness and alienation that she had

carried with her ever since that day in elementary school slowly melt into nothingness.

And yet the next day…

"Morning, Alya. Sorry to ask you this, but could you share your Japanese textbook with

me?"

…Masachika had returned to his ordinary, unmotivated self.

"…"

"H-hey, uh… Alya? What's wrong? You're staring at me like I'm a piece of garbage."

"Because you are."

"What the…?! That's harsh," Masachika shouted.

"Haaah…" Alisa sighed as if for show before suddenly looking away from him with

a pout.

"<And to think he was so cool yesterday…,>" she whispered.

Masachika still didn't change after that. He continued to amaze Alisa in all the

wrong ways, and yet you could always depend on him more than anyone when help

was needed. He would consistently be there by someone's side as if it was nothing.

His behavior seemed bizarre to Alisa, who always saw others as competition, but

she felt relieved as well. The fact that she didn't have to compete with or compare

herself to him eased her mind. And ever since then, she found herself able to

interact with Masachika without feeling like she had to prove anything. She scolded

his lazy behavior and teased him because she was frustrated by how laid-back he

was. She was almost annoyed by how he seemed to watch out for others as if he

was a cut above the rest, so she opened up in Russian and laughed at his ignorance

and the absurdity of it all. The days went by like this until one day…

"You fell in love! Awww! That's wonderful!" exclaimed Maria, clapping her hands

together.

"Were you even listening to what I said? I didn't fall in love." Alisa sighed.

"What? Thatsounded like the beginning of a love story, no matter how you try to spin it."

"Stop twisting my words to fit your narrative. I told you we were just friends.

Remember?"

"Yep. From friends to lovers. It's very common. Sah and I were the same. Right, Sah?"

Maria snickered while gently smiling at the picture inside the golden locket she had just

pulled out from deep within her cleavage. She was so in love that there were practically

hearts popping out of her head like in a comic book. Alisa coldly glared at her sister, who

had switched into her usual maiden-in-love mode.

"But, well… I do recognize his skills, and I trust him," admitted Alisa reluctantly,

looking anywhere but at her sister. Maria nodded while she continued to admire her

boyfriend's picture.

"Yeah, there's nothing cooler than a guy who gets things done in times of need. Sah's

the same. I can still remember when he swooped in to rescue me from that dog—"

"If you're just going to gush about your boyfriend, then get out."

"Oh, Alya! You're so cold!"

Alisa turned a chilling glare on her sister, who was puffing out her cheeks.

"And for your information, I like people who are hardworking."

"You still have a lot to learn, Alya. He's usually so laid-back and low energy, but all of a

sudden, bam! He shows you how much of a real man he is! That's a good trait if you ask me!"

"Sounds like we don't have the same tastes, because it honestly annoys me how much

of a slacker he usually is."

Alisa began to ramble on and on about his character traits and failings:

"He forgets his books all the time, he sleeps in class, and he doesn't even seem to care

when I tell him to get his act together! He always just laughs it off like it's nothing, and…

Well, I guess that's why I can say whatever I want without having to care…"

"Right? In other words, your relationship is built on trust."

"What in the world makes you think that?"

"Because he won't leave your side, no matter what you say. Isn't that why you can talk

to him without a worry in the world? And he is fine with whatever you say. That sounds like

a relationship built on trust if you ask me."

Alisa was lost for words after her sister's unexpected, insightful comment, but she

quickly recovered and argued back.

"No, it's nothing like that. I can scold Kuze without having to care because everyone in

class knows he needs to be set straight. That's all… But I admit he's easy to get along with.

Getting along with others doesn't mean you're in love with them, though, right? Besides,

having feelings for others means…you want to go on dates together and kiss and that kind

of stuff, right? I've never even thought about doing anything like that…," mumbled Alisa

while bashfully looking away.

"You're so cute, Alya." Maria smiled gently and clasped her hands together.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"No way. Alya, listen. You don't have to go on dates, kiss, or do anything special. If

you care about him, then simply talking to him or touching him would feel special," boasted

Maria with her large chest puffed out with pride. Alisa's eyebrow twitched.

"Could you be more specific?"

Astonishingly, Alisa had taken the bait instead of simply ignoring her sister like she

usually did, causing Maria to blink with slight surprise. She stared into the distance.

"Hmm… The easiest example I can think of is holding hands. You don't even have to

do that. If it's someone you like, even the brief touch of your hands would make your heart

race. It would make you blush and want to scream, but not because you don't like it. It fills

you with happiness and…," rambled Maria as she excitedly explained what love was while

staring at the picture of her boyfriend and bashfully shaking her head.

"It makes you blush and want to scream…"

Alisa quietly looked down at her legs, then slowly extended her right foot toward Maria.

"What's wrong, Alya?"

"Sorry. Do you think you could help me take off my socks?"

"Huh? Why?"

Maria blinked in bewilderment at the sudden, bizarre request, but after seeing the look

on Alisa's face, she had a good idea of what was going on, and so she scooted across the

carpet and placed a hand on her sister's leg.

"Hmmm…"

Alisa watched with a slightly stern expression as her sister smoothly pulled off her sock.

"All done. Uh…want me to take off your left sock, too?"

Maria quizzically pointed to the knee-high on Alisa's left foot.

"No. Just put my right sock back on," replied Alisa with a crease in her brow.

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

"If you say so."

Puzzled, Maria slowly slipped the knee-high back on her sister's foot while Alisa's

grimace gradually deepened.

"Okay, all done. So…?"

"…"

Maria hesitantly looked up at Alisa's face, but Alisa was simply frowning at her leg

without even glancing in her sister's direction. Before long, she sighed and stood up.

"This isn't working, Masha. You're no help."

"What's that supposed to mean?! That hurts, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah. Are we done here? Because I need to change, so I need you to get out."

"Sniffle… Is Alya going through her rebellious stage? Is that what this is? Sah, what

should we do? Alya's become a rebellious teenager."

With drooping shoulders and a miserable expression, Maria was then kicked out of the

room. Alisa gazed back down at her right leg and slowly traced her finger across her bare

skin, but embarrassment caused her to look up, where she was instantly faced with her faintly

blushing cheeks in her full-length mirror.

"Hmm…"

Alisa frowned as if to deny the fact that she was blushing, then imagined a certain young

man and, grimacing, whispered:

"<It's not that.>"

Her Russian whispers drifted off into the air before ever reaching another soul.