Time flew by, and soon, only a single day remained of my time in Gehenna.
My legitimate vacation was officially ending today.
It felt like I'd spent as much time running around on external business during this week-long break as I had actually staying in Gehenna.
So, I had decided to dedicate my last day entirely to Hina.
.
"Hina, it's already 10 AM. Don't you think it's about time to get up?".
"Nngh, too much trouble...".
Of all the days, it had to be today that Hina's laziness decided to explode.
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my arm serving as Hina's pillow. Deciding there was no helping it, I hugged her from behind and closed my eyes again. "...Ngh. Mika, watch the horns.".
"I'm pretty tough, so a little poke should be fine… Ahaha, probably☆".
I pulled the blanket up over us and buried my face in Hina's hair.
I'd grown so used to sharing the same shampoo scent that the fragrance now brought a sense of calm.
Come to think of it, it happened the day before yesterday and yesterday, too. I've been waking up with my lips feeling strangely dry.
That never usually happens. Why, I wonder. I should make sure to put on some lip balm later.
"Hina, should we just stay like this all day?".
---
"As much as I'd like to, that's not possible. We have to brush our teeth… *yawn*.
And eat…".
"You honestly want to just stay here, don't you?".
"…Yeah".
Well, as Hina said, we couldn't just stay like this forever.
no matter how cozy this bed was or how much I didn't want to let go of Hina, who was using my arm as a pillow.
.
Still, a little more laziness couldn't hurt, right?.
*Click*.
"…Hm?".
Wait. What was that sound….
"…".
My hand couldn't have taken a picture without me knowing.
One of my arms was occupied by Hina, and the other was wrapped around her waist.
And if you asked whether Hina took the picture, the answer would also have to be no.
Hina, with her subtle but low self-esteem, taking a picture of herself looking disheveled? Unthinkable.
Which meant… there was someone else in this room with us….
"…Ako. I'm going to count to ten".
"Prefect Head, I will not run away like a coward.
If it means I can immortalize this photo…!".
"I see… I'll respect your resolve. You've worked hard until now, Ako".
Wait, Ako knows the passcode to Hina's house? And if we didn't even know she was in the room, that means she must have been here for a while.
---
"…So, Ako-chan. How long have you been there? And you'd better send me that picture before you die.
Got it?".
"Since two hours ago. As for the photo… sigh, I suppose I have no choice.
The Prefect Head isn't just mine anymore…".
"?!".
For some reason, my attention was drawn to Hina, who flinched the moment Ako said "two hours".
Was she just surprised that Ako had been watching us for that long…?.
"More importantly, Prefect Head, I'm glad to see you're taking what you're due.
I was worried that Mika-ssi might push you to the backburner because of your school, but I see that was a needless concern".
"…Ako, you don't need to come to school tomorrow. Not that you'll be able to, anyway".
"P-Prefect Head. Could we perhaps compromise with, say, one hundred pages of apology letters?".
"Die".
It seemed her reason for being startled wasn't so trivial after all, judging by how Hina instantly slipped out of my arms, grabbed her gun, and aimed it at Ako.
.
With Hina's wings spread wide, the sound of gunfire hammered at my ears, forcibly chasing away my sleep.
It was a perfectly normal morning in Gehenna.
…But seriously, what happened during those two hours?.
***
Somehow, Ako ended up joining us, and I had to cook curry for three for our brunch. Even so, I had a few ingredients left over from my last grocery run.
---
but our relationship wasn't exactly a secret, so I figured I'd just come by every so often and use them up.
Ako would take care of any minor incidents that might arise in the process. I didn't have to worry. After all, this was all for Hina.
Ako, the ultimate Hina devotee, would gladly clean up any mess. What's that? You say she wouldn't? I'm pretty sure she would.
In any case, my final day, which I had originally planned to spend alone with Hina, was now being spent with Ako as well.
Our plan to stay cooped up at home naturally veered toward a trip downtown, and a ruthless shopping marathon began.
And that's when an incident occurred that was not just a little, but completely beyond my comprehension.
We happened to run into Haruna, who approached me without a word, gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
said, "I'll see you next time," and then simply continued on her way.
Hina and I were equally stunned at this turn of events.
but Ako alone chewed Haruna out, calling her a problem child who was constantly trying to hit on the Prefect Head's girl.
By the time the nearly four-hour shopping marathon was over, Hina was a completely drained, mentally exhausted wreck.
I suppose even the indomitable Prefect Head has her limits, especially when it felt like she had tried on every single piece of clothing at my and Ako's hands.
I'd been through it myself, so I definitely understood how she felt.
"Mika, you didn't have to pay for my clothes, especially after you lost money on the stock market…".
"Ahaha! Hina-chan, this is something I'm doing just because I want to. And you really don't have to worry about the money. It wasn't a huge loss, and this is from a different account anyway…".
---
"…Oh? Mika-ssi, what happened with your stocks?".
As Ako asked, I answered truthfully without much thought.
.
"…That one? I cut my losses after it hit the lower limit for two days straight".
"Don't tell me it was the Kaiser stock…?".
"Yeah, that's the one. What, you know about it, Ako-chan?".
"Well, I timed it with the day you were carrying out your plan and shorted it… ahem".
For a moment, I couldn't believe my ears.
I, through my own fault, had been forced to experience the life of a small-time investor.
But Ako had been part of the raiding party and had confidently taken her share?.
A thought occurred to me that Ako probably wasn't the only one who had profited in a similar way.
There were a lot of smart kids who knew about this operation, and the target of the attack was essentially the entire Kaiser Group.
It was like we had presented them with a swimming pool filled with cash.
"…Somehow, this feels empty. It's not that I'm jealous, but I wonder why".
"Ako, don't speak of this in front of others. Even if you weren't directly involved, you shouldn't reveal any connections".
"Yes, Prefect Head".
Leaving the bitter conversation behind, we went to a board game cafe after we finished shopping.
It's a simple fact that more games are available for three people than for two.
.
Even the simple card games Hina and I enjoyed.
became much more fun with more people.
"I'm feeling quite emotional. If it weren't for you, Mika-ssi, I never would have dreamed of bringing the Prefect Head to a place like this".
"Well, the Hina-chan I first met was pretty intense".
---
"…Still, I think it was a good thing I was like a blank slate, knowing nothing.
Because of that, every moment with you has been more enjoyable than ever before".
Gasp… Hina, you can't say something so bold in a public place.
You'll make my heart explode…!.
"R-right. Hina-chan, is there any game you want to try?".
"Just show me some with simple rules, and I'll pick from there".
It seemed that on top of being in 'day-off mode,' the shopping had drained her energy, and she wasn't in the mood to learn complicated rules while playing.
After picking out a few games, at some point Hina started deliberating between Halli Galli, Uno, and Jenga.
They were all definitely simple enough to enjoy without much thought. But then Hina ruled out Jenga.
on the grounds that I might start crying.
…Who said I would cry? Honestly.
The game that was almost chosen was Halli Galli. You deal out cards with four types of fruit, from one to five, then you take turns flipping your cards, and when the total of any one fruit on the table hits five.
you have to ring the bell in the middle… but.
"If we play that, Ako-chan's hand might get shattered".
"…Excuse me? Let's play another game".
I knew Hina was pretty durable, but Ako… even if I controlled my strength….
hmm.
And if I hit it fast and hard, could the bell even withstand it?.
In any case, for that reason, Halli Galli was put on hold until we could find a suitable alternative rule, and we started a game of Uno.
---
You play cards from your hand that match the color or number of the card in the center.
then when you have one card left, you call "Uno," and the first person to get rid of all their cards wins. It's a simple game.
In addition, there are special cards like reverse, skip, wild.
and attack cards that add cards to the next player's hand, which add to the fun of the game.
I won the first two games that started that way, during which Ako forgot to call "Uno!" and had to draw a card, and Hina, right after calling "Uno!".
got hit with a Draw 4.
But after that, I was hit with a continuous string of bad luck and kept losing, and eventually I waved the white flag and suggested we switch to Jenga.
At least with Jenga, there was the thrill of pulling out the blocks; with Uno, the complete lack of luck was sucking all the fun out of it.
With three people, the dynamic was different from when I played one-on-one with Hina.
First, I now had a companion in Ako to share the weight of defeat.
And second, I had learned how to mess with Hina's rhythm by deliberately pulling out wooden blocks haphazardly.
.
"…Mika, if you keep pulling them out like that, it's going to be a problem".
"Hmm? I don't know what you're talking about".
Hina stared at me in disbelief as I slyly pulled out a middle block and stacked it on top of the side where many blocks were already missing.
No, I had only lost until now because I had been too purely focused on pulling the side blocks.
That must have been it…?.
*Clatter…*.
"Whoa".
---
…Hey, it was perfectly stable when I placed it.
Why did it have to collapse after a delay?.
This must be it. The board game itself is out to get me.
There's no other explanation.
Still, I didn't cry. Really.