"What's with all the noise this early in the morning?"

Akira groaned groggily as his mom's voice rang out from the hallway.

Though he was complaining, his eyes stubbornly refused to open. His body was still heavy with sleep, and memories of his late-night pillow fight and quiet talk with Shouko made him yawn again.

Outside, Shizuka Miyamura seemed to hear him muttering and lowered her voice. But if you listened closely, you could still faintly make out her conversation.

Still, since he was already awake, Akira figured he might as well check what was going on before falling back asleep.

He gently slipped his hand out of Shouko's, lifted the blanket halfway, and sat up.

(Why was Shouko in his bed, you ask?)

Sorry—he just woke up. His brain was foggy. He didn't have the energy to ask that yet.

Opening the sliding door, Akira poked his head out. Shizuka noticed and quickly covered the phone's receiver.

"I'll be right down," she whispered. "You go back to sleep. It's nothing urgent."

With that, she headed downstairs. Akira slowly closed the door and sighed.

He turned back to look at his bed—now completely occupied by a certain someone—and hesitated for 2.5 seconds.

Then, without a word, he walked over to Shouko's original bed and laid down instead.

Pulling the quilt over himself, he fell back asleep almost immediately.

Time passed.

The room was bathed in warm sunlight.

Knock knock knock!

"Akira? Shouko? Time to get up for breakfast!"

Shizuka's voice echoed from the hallway, accompanied by several firm knocks on the door.

When no one responded, she frowned slightly. "Weird… how late did those two stay up last night?"

Just then, Daiki Miyamura walked out of his room.

"Strange. I was knocking here—why did your door open?" Shizuka asked, turning to him.

Daiki rubbed his head sleepily, then quickly stopped her from knocking again.

"Let the kids sleep. It's not like they have school today. They can eat after they wake up."

Shizuka paused, thought for a moment, then nodded. "You're right."

And so, the two of them headed downstairs—Daiki yawning all the way.

Back in the room...

"...Hmm?"

Akira stirred in his sleep. The room felt too warm, and the sunlight was harsh even through closed eyelids.

He blinked groggily, frowning as he tried to lift his right hand to shield his face—but something soft was holding it down.

Instead, he raised his left hand to block the sunlight.

Once his eyes adjusted, he looked down.

Sure enough, Shouko had somehow migrated into his bed—again.

("...Why is this becoming a habit?")

"Mmm…"

She groaned softly and rubbed her eyes, slowly waking up.

The moment she opened her eyes, she met his.

Still half-asleep, her first words were:

"Akira, why are you in my bed?"

Before he could reply, she scooted closer, threw her arms around his waist, and snuggled against his chest—sniffing softly like she was chasing some scent.

Akira looked down at this cuddly little rebel and sighed.

He could feel her slowly crossing a line.

"Do you even hear yourself? This is my bed. You rolled over here, not the other way around!"

He reached out and gave her cheek a playful pinch.

"Ow! No way." Shouko slapped his hand away and sat up. She looked around for confirmation and spotted her small cat-shaped pillow beside her.

"See? My bed," she huffed, glaring at him.

Akira paused.

Oh, right. This morning, when he came back to sleep, she'd already taken his bed—so he laid down in hers instead.

Now the beds were swapped.

Like stepping in mud: even if it's not poop, it still looks like it.

Shouko saw his silence and doubled down, "See! You're the one who doesn't sleep properly and rolled over!"

Truth be told, she was more annoyed she didn't get to finish sniffing that faint scent on him from earlier. She'd asked him several times what body wash or shampoo he used, but his answers were always too generic—nothing matched that subtle scent she liked.

She even tried comparing him to others: his aunt, his uncle, even her own family.

Still, that scent only lingered on him. She didn't understand it—and that just made her more curious.

Before she could continue sniffing, however, Akira stood up abruptly.

"I'm brushing my teeth!" he declared, and bolted out of the room.

Shouko reached out after him, disappointed.

"I wasn't blaming you! Why'd you run away so fast?!"

But he was already gone.

Left alone, she pouted, then scooped up his pillow and hugged it to her chest.

She buried herself under the blanket again, legs wrapped around the pillow, and tried to go back to sleep.

Meanwhile downstairs…

"Akira, you're awake? Want breakfast?"

Shizuka was chatting with Mito Junko's mom in the living room when she spotted her son walking over in a rush.

Without missing a beat, she teased him.

Akira turned to make sure Shouko hadn't followed him, then replied deadpan:

"Yeah. I want the full luxury breakfast. Shizuka-chin, bring it to my room later or I'll file a formal complaint."

His serious tone made Iori Mito, Junko's younger brother, laugh out loud.

"I think what you want is a knuckle sandwich!" Shizuka raised a playful fist in his direction.

Knowing when to quit, Akira grinned and scurried downstairs.

Better safe than punched.

"Morning, Akira." Junko greeted him with a small wave and a light smile.

"Sis, it's almost eleven. What kind of 'morning' is that?" Iori deadpanned.

SMACK.

Junko whacked him lightly on the back of the head.

"Shut up."

Iori immediately zipped his lips and sulked.

Akira just chuckled and greeted the Mito siblings at the counter.

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