The next morning.
Shiina Mahiru woke up early and quietly slipped out of Hayashi Maki's arms. Seeing Mashiro cuddled up peacefully against his back, she was speechless.
"When did you scoot over, Mashiro-nee? You were clearly on my side last night… total sneaky kitty."
Muttering under her breath, Mahiru bit her lip and headed out to wash up. She still had to make breakfast and prep lunch boxes.
What she didn't know was that the moment she left the room, Mashiro opened her eyes. She glanced toward the door, a hint of resolve flickering in her gaze—then quietly burrowed under the covers.
…
Hayashi Maki suddenly felt a chill.
He opened his eyes on reflex—and saw Mashiro, prone at his waist, holding a pair of scissors and gauging… where to cut?
He looked down at himself.
Great.
Where were his pants?
"Mashiro, what are you doing?"
He hastily yanked the blanket up to cover the part of him that was, well, greeting the morning. Seeing the scissors in her hand, a stab of fear ran through him.
Mashiro said very seriously, "Hayashi Maki, there's a big bug there. It bites!"
"I noticed last time when you were holding me."
"I'll help you cut it off, then it won't bite me anymore and you'll feel better."
"Cut your head off—It's not a bug!" Hayashi Maki, normally pretty even-tempered, snapped. Thank goodness he woke up when he did or it would've been bye-bye to the little brother.
Mashiro, Mashiro! "Truly pure" on the outside, pitch-black inside?
How could she talk about something so terrifying with such an innocent face? She actually wanted to snip it off—yikes!
Blinking at his outburst, Mashiro stared, puzzled. "If it's not a bug, what is it?"
"You're lying. It looks scary when it changes—it's a big bug!"
"Uh—how am I supposed to explain this? Didn't you have any health class?"
Hayashi Maki rubbed his temple. He was getting a headache—and then Mashiro began pouting at him.
"How would I know if you won't tell me? And what is a 'health class'?"
"…," Hayashi Maki groaned. Honestly, he wanted to haul that roommate Rita in here and give her a spanking. How did she raise Mashiro? Wasn't she afraid Mashiro would get led astray by some creep who'd take advantage of her innocence?
"Are you mad, Hayashi Maki?" Mashiro set the scissors aside and, looking pitiful, tugged at his shirt. "Fine, then I'll let the bug bite me once. Please don't be mad at Mashiro."
Great—she'd learned to act spoiled. And chatty with it.
Well, pets do come with the built-in "acting spoiled" skill.
"I'm not mad. I'm thinking how to explain that it's not a bug."
"It is a bug. A big bug."
"I just said it isn't!" His voice rose despite himself.
Mashiro's lips puffed. "See? You are mad."
"I—… You… you little gremlin, you've got me beat. Fine, I'll teach you."
Out of patience, Hayashi Maki pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. Mashiro blinked, then very naturally slipped her arms around his neck. She didn't dislike kissing him.
After a long moment he let her go, leaned to her ear, and gave her a quiet "lesson." Mashiro nodded foggily—did she really get it? The doubt on her face said otherwise.
Annoyance flared again. She hadn't been listening carefully! She'd tried to cut him, for crying out loud—too far.
"No, you need a proper lesson. Come here and be good—I'm going to teach you some new knowledge. First off—no teeth. If you use teeth, I'll smack your butt."
"Eh? Why? What did Mashiro do wrong?" She clutched her backside, eyes pleading.
"I said if you do something wrong. Enough fuss—I'm teaching you now." He ruffled her golden hair and set a hand on her head.
Mashiro stared at him with wide eyes, grumbling inwardly: Big bug… became bigger big bug…
…
At the table, Mahiru eyed Mashiro's rosy cheeks and looked at Hayashi Maki, puzzled. "Maki-kun, what's up?"
Hayashi Maki just shook his head; it was hard to explain. Mashiro, hand raised like she was tattling, blurted, "Hayashi Maki made the big bug spit on Mashiro. Mashiro used teeth and he hit Mashiro."
She covered her backside with a wounded look. Hayashi Maki facepalmed.
Mahiru was speechless. If you two are going to… don't announce it at breakfast! Mashiro—you did that on purpose, didn't you?
Mahiru took a breath and fixed Hayashi Maki with a stern look. "Did you hit her? You can't be rough with girls."
"I just gave a little pinch," Hayashi Maki sighed. "I couldn't bear to actually hit her. Also, maybe Mashiro should sleep in her own room from now on. You don't know—first thing this morning she was holding scissors, saying she wanted to cut off the 'bug.'"
Mahiru's face froze. "Mashiro-nee… that true?"
Mashiro, unrepentant, didn't deny it—she doubled down. "A big big bug!"
"…"
Conclusion reached: Mashiro deserved a spanking. A pinch was too lenient. A good swat or two would drive the lesson home. Their happiness had nearly been… compromised.
Mahiru set her jaw and told Hayashi Maki, "Next time Mashiro-nee picks up scissors and talks about cutting a bug, call me."
Hayashi Maki went green. "Mahiru, you hate the 'bug' too?"
"No. I mean call me when you're spanking Mashiro. You'll go soft; it won't hurt. I'm a girl—spanking another girl is no problem."
Mashiro: "…"
Should I even be here right now? Both keepers wanted to spank her?
She hunched her shoulders, head drooping.
After breakfast, they were about to head to school when Mashiro tugged Hayashi Maki's sleeve. "Hayashi Maki, Mashiro knows she was wrong."
"Oh? And where were you wrong?" he asked, amused.
Mashiro thought for a moment. "Next time the bug spits, Mashiro won't use teeth."
Hayashi Maki: "…!!!"
…That might actually be acceptable.