Chapter 117: Study Group

Sora sat across from Tsukasa Aoki, one hand propped on the table while the other held a spoon, aimlessly poking at her meal. Her large, slightly narrowed eyes were fixed on him in a quiet, observant gaze.

Tsukasa clutched his porridge bowl, burying his face almost entirely into it as he slurped down the contents with genuine relish.

"Silly... it's going to burn you." Sora could not help but let the corners of her mouth curl upward, a hint of joy flickering in her eyes.

Tsukasa finished the bowl in one go. Whether it was purely psychological or truly effective, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and felt noticeably better.

"Delicious!" Tsukasa gave Sora a thumbs-up. "I never expected you to be such a good cook, Sora!"

"I just followed a recipe online... it's just porridge." Sora lowered her head, her cheeks flushing a faint pink. Her silver-white hair nearly fell into the bowl as she moved in a fluster, and she hurriedly tucked the strands behind her ears.

Tsukasa nodded earnestly at her. "No, it really is delicious! It’s the best thing I’ve eaten since I arrived here."

At least, in his current state—famished and physically exhausted—this warm bowl of porridge was truly better than any delicacy. He stood up, ladled another serving for himself, and despite the heat, began to drink it in small, careful sips.

Watching him, Sora couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from rising again, her delicate brows arching like crescent moons.

*Ding-dong!*

The doorbell rang suddenly.

Tsukasa looked up, only to see Sora’s expression revert to her usual blank facade. She spoke softly, "I’ll get the door."

She peered through the peephole, and the large face of Tora Maeda appeared on the other side.

"Tora Maeda?" Tsukasa pulled the door open.

"Boss!" Tora exclaimed in delight the moment he saw Tsukasa.

"Tsukasa-kun..." "Good evening, Boss!"

Behind Tora stood Hiroshi Fujiwara, Takeo Matsuzaka, and Kokomi Teruhashi!

What were they doing here?

Tsukasa blinked and stepped back. "Hey, why are you guys here?"

"To check on you, of course!" Fujiwara and Tora exchanged a subtle glance before flashing bright, cheerful smiles at Tsukasa.

Takeo held up a plastic bag filled with snacks and chuckled, "Boss, we even brought you some treats."

Kokomi merely nodded shyly, her face flushing a deep crimson, and she dared not look up at him.

"Welcome." Tsukasa gave them a helpless smile and turned toward the kitchen, calling out, "Sora, Kokomi is here too. Won't you come say hello?"

Sora poked her head around the corner, gave a blank nod to the four people taking off their shoes in the entryway, and murmured, "Oh."

Without waiting for them to reply, she turned and headed up the stairs to her room.

"Sorry, Sora is a bit shy," Tsukasa apologized with a wry smile. He led them into the living room, finished the rest of his porridge, and placed their bowls in the sink.

They seemed to have known of Sora’s existence already; they showed little surprise and simply nodded in understanding.

As the group set the snacks on the coffee table, Fujiwara looked around and asked, "Boss, where are your aunt and uncle? Not home from work yet?"

"They’ve been away for a while," Tsukasa replied with a smile. He brought out tea cups and began boiling water.

"Boss, why do you call them Aunt and Uncle?" Tora asked, scratching his head in confusion. "Isn't this your home?"

The sofa wasn't large enough to seat all four of them comfortably, so Tsukasa simply sat down on the floor.

"Ah, this is Sora’s house; I’m just staying here for a bit," Tsukasa explained calmly. "I had planned to move out on my own once I earned enough money, but since my aunt and uncle have some matters to attend to, I’m staying here to look after Sora."

Tsukasa didn't intend to stay forever. While it was comfortable, it was, after all, the Kasugano family's home. As an outsider, he had no choice before, but now that he was earning decent money, renting a place was well within his reach. For now, he needed to take care of Sora; he would reconsider once she was feeling better and her aunt and uncle had returned after settling her grandfather’s affairs.

"Tsukasa-kun..." Kokomi looked at him with an apologetic expression and gestured toward Tora and the others.

Tora might have been thick-headed and impulsive, but he wasn't entirely oblivious. He laughed heartily, steered the conversation away, and asked, "Boss, what's wrong? Did you catch a cold?"

"I think so. I had a fever this afternoon, but the medicine helped," Tsukasa said, pulling his athletic jacket tighter. The weather had turned cold lately, and he worried if it might be too chilly in Sora’s room. She was so frail; if she caught a cold, it would be a much bigger problem than his own.

"How did you guys end up coming together?" Tsukasa asked, looking at them with curiosity. It was normal for Tora, Fujiwara, and Takeo to hang out, but how did Kokomi get mixed in with them?

Fujiwara gave a sly grin. "We reached out to her. We heard you were sick and decided to come visit together."

*Why would you contact her?* Tsukasa shot Fujiwara a look, feeling that his motives were far from pure.

As if suddenly remembering something, Kokomi pulled a notebook from her bag and placed it on the table. "Oh, right! The mock exams are coming up soon, and you must be worried, Tsukasa-kun. These are my lecture notes; feel free to take a look."

In truth, Kokomi wasn't in the habit of taking notes—the material was easy enough for her—but she had specifically written these out for him.

Tsukasa stared at her blankly, wondering how she knew he was worried, but he didn't refuse her kindness. "Thanks, Kokomi. I'll take a good look at them. I'll return them to you on Monday."

"It's no trouble at all. If I can help you, I'm happy. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me on Line." Kokomi lowered her head, her face turning bright red as she silently cheered, *Yes! My favorability must have gone up!*

Thinking of "favorability" reminded her of how she had nearly fainted in front of him yesterday, and her face burned even hotter.

Seeing Kokomi’s visible blush, Fujiwara nudged Takeo with his elbow and signaled to Tora.

Takeo gave a cough to grab Tsukasa’s attention and offered a suggestion with a smile, "Boss, I have a proposal!"

"Exactly, exactly!" Tora nodded like a bobblehead. *You’re already acting like this before he even says anything,* Tsukasa thought, *do you really think I don't see that this was all planned?*

But curious to see what they were up to, Tsukasa nodded. "What is it?"

"Let's start a study group!" Takeo looked at him with a straight face. "To get good grades on the upcoming mock exams and the final exams, and to make sure we're in the same class next year, we decided that we should all study hard together!"

Tsukasa looked at the three of them, dumbfounded. "Huh?"