On a Saturday afternoon after school ended, Misaki visited Endou's house alone. Kazuto couldn't join because he was still busy with his club activities.

  "...I did say you could help me ter, but that doesn’t mean you had to come this week. And you should’ve told me beforehand so we could’ve go home together."

  Endou said while scratching his eyebrow, not expecting Misaki's sudden arrival.

  "Ta-da... surprise!"

  With cheerful sound, Misaki said thay while raising her arm in the air. She came to Endou's house because she didn’t really have anything to do at home. And since she had agreed to help Endou with gaming, she ended up coming here.

  "You’re two minutes te saying that. I’m not surprised anymore."

  He replied with a faint smile.

  Endou then invited her to come in.

  "By the way, how did you get here?"

  Endou asked.

  "With taxi. It’s impossible for me to walk this far alone, right?"

  "...Are you really okay?"

  Looking into Endou's eyes, Misaki realized he was worried about her communication issues. Especially after the previous incident that had left her slightly traumatized.

  "I’m fine. As long as it’s not a crowded pce or some stranger suddenly approaches me, there is no problem."

  "I see, good to hear that."

  Endou had noticed that she had been holding back from communicating too much with others since she was hospitalized, whether it was with her cssmates or close friends like Sakura and Shinomiya. He was afraid she would become the old Misaki again. But it seemed Endou was just overthinking it.

  "How about the injury on your head? Has it healed?"

  "Yeah, more or less. But the doctor said the crack in my skull hasn’t fully healed and advised me to be careful not to bump to it."

  Misaki expined while scratching the back of her head.

  "Well, at least they didn’t have to cut my hair short for the surgery, so it’s fine!"

  She said with a small ugh.

  "Somehow, I feel like you’re worrying about something lighter than your own life..."

  Endou could only stare at her with a wry smile.

  "Want to rex and eat something?"

  "No. I’m not that hungry."

  "Alright, let’s head to my room and start pying then."

  Endou felt a bit impatient about what Misaki was going to teach him. Was there some secret technique or move that made her so good at fighting games? He was really curious about it. And soon, he would find out.

  "..."

  All those feelings vanished the moment he stared at the TV screen.

  "Mmm, Misaki."

  "What?"

  At Endou's call, Misaki answered while munching on the snacks that had been prepared. There were crumbs around her mouth, which looked cute, but Endou wasn’t going to fall for that right now.

  "You said you were going to teach me how to py Extreme X: Hardcore."

  "Yeah."

  "Then why did you only give me a few words before leaving me alone? And didn’t you say you weren’t hungry? Then why are two bowls of my snacks empty without anything left?!"

  After entering the room and turning on the game console, Endou was only told to memorize every move of the character he was pying and then left alone as Misaki entered her own world, which involved finishing Endou's food.

  It’s so fun to eat someone else’s food. She thought, then snapped back to reality, realizing she was at Endou's house.

  "Ohh, is there more?"

  "Yes, there is—don’t be so shameless, hey!"

  After finishing his tsukkomi, Endou, panting, stared at her. He then sighed, took a tissue, and wiped Misaki's mouth.

  "You’re dirtying my soft carpet."

  "Ohh, sorry. Want me to add more decorations down there?"

  "No, thank you. I’d rather you give me more happiness like Peter Pan."

  "Oho, too bad. Only children can join me. You’re already a teenager, so you can’t."

  "Hmm, then give me an adult happiness."

  "Like what? Let me think about it. Ahh, like getting a sary and then paying taxes?"

  "Ugh, you’re ruining the fun."

  They fell silent for a moment before ughing together. They had run out of words to py in this impromptu role-pying game.

  "I think I’ve been too stressed tely. Handling a small part of my father’s work is making me dizzy. It makes me wonder how heavy the workload will be once I inherit it."

  Endou said as he threw the tissue into the trash.

  "I guess staying a child forever like in Peter Pan’s story isn’t so bad. Wake up, eat, py around, then sleep and wake up to do the same activities—that would definitely be fun."

  He added with a tired sigh before sitting back down next to Misaki.

  "Unfortunately, this isn’t that kind of fantasy story. This is reality. But not everything is bad, right?"

  She knew her friend had been frustrated for the past week. And the reason was easy to guess—whether it was because of his family or because he didn’t get something he wanted. Since this issue was reted to his father, it was likely the first one.

  Well, having a wealthy family comes with its own problems. Misaki thought.

  That’s why she took the initiative to come and help her friend, because she knew this would happen! After all, she had promised Endou to teach him how to py a game, so it wasn’t wrong for her to visit.

  "You’re right. It might get really monotonous if I just lived as a child doing the same things every day on a small isnd."

  Endou said, reconsidering.

  "Right?"

  Misaki replied softly while leaning her back against Endou, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her chin on his shoulder. This surprised him a little.

  "Let’s start the lesson now."

  She said while maintaining her current position.

  "Ahem... you better give me a meaningful lesson."

  Endou coughed lightly, keeping his voice from trembling due to the surprise.

  "Endou. You know every character is programmed to move according to the rules set by the game’s creator, right?."

  "Yeah. Doesn’t every game have its own movement characteristics?"

  "If you know that, then it’ll be easier to expin. Every character in Extreme X has unique movements to showcase the different techniques each character has learned. Let’s take the character Kiva as an example."

  Taking the controller from Endou's hands, Misaki entered the costume mode, which dispyed every combo of the selected character. This mode was usually used to learn about each character’s abilities and combos. But this time, Misaki used it for a different purpose.

  "Pay attention to the character’s movements when I’m about to attack, perform a combo, jump back, forward, and so on."

  As she said this, Misaki performed the mentioned actions. From basic movements to T1 through T6 combos, which should have been quite difficult to execute, but Misaki did them without breaking a sweat, leaving Endou amazed.

  "What did you notice when I performed each move earlier?"

  "Umm, you’re really good at executing every move?"

  That answer was immediately met with a pinch on Endou's cheek, making him groan in pain.

  "Seriously, Endou, pay attention again. This time, I’ll just do the basic moves."

  She scolded.

  "O-Okay."

  Endou answered in a frightened voice because Misaki's pinch was painful. So, this time, he seriously paid attention to the movements Misaki made.

  But he still couldn’t figure anything out, which earned him another scolding from Misaki.

  "Geez, Endou. Your observational skills are really cking, you know."

  "Ugh..."

  He couldn’t argue with the obvious evidence.

  "Alright. I’ll give you a hint now. Pay attention to the initial movement when the character starts moving. You should understand with this."

  She said.

  After that, Misaki performed the basic moves again.

  And not long after...

  "Ohh, I get it!"

  With a little hint from Misaki, he finally understood.

  "Before performing the main move, the character does a preparatory motion. Whether it’s for attacking, jumping, or whatever."

  Endou expined excitedly.

  "Now you get it. It’ll be easier to expin from now on."

  As Misaki had expined earlier, every character has programmed movements. And in Extreme X: Hardcore, which was released just a few months ago, every move has its smallest details. For example, before throwing a punch, the character will swing or pull back their arm as they would in real life. Or when jumping, the character will bend their knees and ankles. Though these are small things, the impact they can have is huge, depending on who notices them.

  "Ohh, so that’s what you wanted to teach me? That’s really cool, but... isn’t it too hard to memorize because it’s too... umm, fast?"

  Hearing Misaki's expnation made Endou excited. But that excitement quickly faded when he realized how difficult it was.

  "It’s true, the basic moves are too fast to stop because the pause between the preparatory motion and the main move is too short."

  Unfortunately, for basic moves, there’s a 0.5-second difference between the preparatory motion and the main move, so even if you memorize it, it won’t help much. There’s a limit to that, even for Misaki.

  But combo moves are a different story because the pause between the preparatory motion and the main move is mostly around 0.8 seconds at the fastest and 1.2 seconds at the longest. It might still seem fast, but it’s easier to avoid and stop.

  "Umm... Misaki, don’t tell me you’re going to make me memorize every preparatory motion of every character in this game, right? There are 54 characters, you know."

  Endou said, sweating coldly.

  "You guessed right. You have to memorize all of them. This will be part of your homework now."

  Misaki said with a devilish smile. Without even looking at her, Endou was already shuddering because this was completely insane!

  Who could memorize and pay attention to every move of every character to anticipate them!? No, Misaki and Kazuto might be able to do it... but they’re not normal!

  Endou screamed in his heart.

  It did sound insane because it’s easier to say it than do it. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. For Misaki, this was the best way to teach Endou if he wanted to win his tournament. Yes, he needed to go through hell.

  "For today, let’s set a target and memorize 6 characters’ combo preparatory motions. Remember, cadet, no breaks until you’ve memorized all of them! Understood!?"

  "Sir, yes sir..."

  And so, Misaki became the temporary coach, and Endou began his hellish training.

  Fortunately, with a little push, Endou managed to memorize the 6 characters as instructed before dinner started. He didn’t know how he did it. Whether it was because Misaki kept hugging him from behind while resting her head on his shoulder make him feel motivated, or because he really wanted to win the tournament. Whatever it was, everything went well, at least.

  "Let’s take a break and have dinner. After that, I’ll take you home."

  Endou said, exhausted. His eyes hurt from staring at the screen. At least he was using anti-radiation gsses, so the strain was reduced. He looked full of intellect just by wearing them. Unlike when he was acting silly. Misaki sometimes complimented him whenever he wore them, followed by a jealous look, for some reason. So, he wore them more often in front of her. And since he was asked to memorize the character movements, which automatically made him stare at the monitor more longer. He didn’t know if that was good news or bad news...

  "Actually, I’m staying over tonight. I already asked Onii-chan for permission before coming here. Hehe."

  "Ohh, is that so? Let me call Kazuto first, then."

  "Eh, why? I already got his permission. Why bother calling him?"

  "That’s so I don’t get beaten up by him ter for not informing him about you being here, dummy."

  "That’s a shame, then."

  "Stop making me as a punching bag, okay!"

  Misaki just giggled at his tsukkomi.

  This wasn’t the first time Misaki had stayed over, so Endou wasn’t surprised. These siblings did sometimes come to his house and stay over to py with him. So, he was somehow used to this behavior.

  "Now, let’s have a dinner. I’m sure the dining table is already filled with dishes."

  Endou said as he stood up.

  "Mmm... yeah, let’s go."

  Misaki followed, though she seemed to be struggling, so Endou helped her.

  "Are you okay? You’ve been moving a bit strangely since school."

  Endou asked with a worried tone.

  "Well, you know. The usual troublesome things women go through."

  Endou think for a moment before figuring it out.

  "You mean your period?"

  "Yeah. But don’t worry, I can handle it. It’s not like the first time. But this time, it hurts more than usual, so it’s a bit harder."

  Misaki expined.

  "Hmm, no wonder you’ve been so irritable..."

  "What did you say?"

  A sharp gre was immediately directed at Endou before he could finish his sentence. Making him realize he was in an emergency situation and needed to change the topic.

  "N-Nothing. Say, how painful is it? I’m kind of curious because most girls I’ve talked to in your situation have quick mood changes and things get troublesome."

  And it seemed to work as she answered his curiosity.

  "...How should I expin it? My stomach feels sore and heavy. Even moving a little feel hurts. Sometimes, I get severe pain. And it can st for 3 to 5 days. You can imagine how that feels."

  Thinking about it himself, all those experiences sounded really painful. And she had to go through it regurly. Just thinking about it made him shudder.

  I am getting used to it... but it still hurts!!!

  "Wow, somehow I feel like being a guy is such a blessing now."

  "You better think so. Otherwise, I’d beat you up."

  Yeah, as you know. Misaki used to be a guy who reincarnated as a girl, who is her own sister. So, of course, she’d be sensitive about this.

  Damn, my mood is really messed up right now.

  "So, you’re in pain when walking, right?"

  Misaki's attention shifted from her period back to Endou.

  "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

  Misaki asked, not knowing why he had to emphasize it.

  Endou then answered while opening the door.

  "Why? Of course..."

  After that, he walked over to Misaki and did something that surprised her.

  "Kyaah!"

  Standing behind Misaki, Endou suddenly wrapped his arms around her knees and back, lifting her up in a princess carry. Misaki was shocked by how sudden it was.

  "Of course, I have to carry the princess like this if she’s having trouble, right?"

  He said with a big smile.

  "Y-You really know how to surprise me now, huh. Fine. Do whatever you want. Just don’t bme me if you get back pain."

  Misaki was still half-stunned, giving a stiff smile as she answered.

  Honestly, she wanted to get down immediately because this position made her stomach feel even more uncomfortable. But seeing her friend’s eyes filled with energy and enthusiasm made her change her mind. He looked radiant in Misaki's eyes. Endou's fantasies about certain things made Misaki think he might develop some weird fetishes... but that wasn’t her concern, so she didn’t care. It’s not like Endou would develop personality issues.

  And so, Misaki was carried through Endou's rge house like that.

  "Hello~"

  "Hello, Miss Misaki."

  "Miss Misaki."

  "Ah, hello~"

  "How are the flowers in the garden?"

  "Not as vibrant as in spring, but some are blooming, Miss Misaki."

  "Thank you for your hard work~"

  Misaki met a few maids and gardeners along the way. So, she greeted them and was greeted back warmly. Misaki was familiar with them, so she had no problem calling them. This pce could be considered her second home because of how close she was to the people here. Whether in the past or now, the people working here had always been kind to her, making her feel comfortable.

  "Ah, Raphael. How are you?"

  Finally arriving at the dining room with a long table, Misaki met Raphael, who was preparing the meal.

  "...Same as usual, Miss Misaki. Please make yourself comfortable."

  Raphael noticed how they arrived and answered with a slight pause. Still, the old butler was as elegant as ever.

  "Gd to hear it."

  Misaki replied, finally getting down from Endou's arms and sitting in one of the chairs. On the other hand, Endou seemed to regret the loss of the weight in his arms.

  "Please enjoy your meal. Call me if you need anything else."

  With those words, he quickly retreated to the back.

  Looking at the dining table, there were many homemade dishes served. It seemed they were tailored to Misaki's taste since she didn’t like expensive food much. Endou himself preferred junk food over these decorative dishes and often ordered out instead of sitting down to eat here. But because Misaki was here, he didn’t do that and treated her well. Not that he didn’t want to, but his father had explicitly told him to entertain guests like this, no matter who they were, even if it was his friend. Whether to show off their status or how they respected her, Misaki didn’t know. She only knew that Endou had to do it.

  "Want me to feed you?"

  "No, stop trying to spoil me. Besides, I’m just on my period, not completely paralyzed."

  "Ugh... right."

  Dinner continued like that and ended quickly. Nothing special happened during that time except for Raphael, who seemed to understand something after Misaki refused Endou's offer to feed her and whispered something to him at the end of the meal. Misaki couldn’t hear what Raphael said, but Endou's face turned worse as he looked at her.

  What was that? Is someone going to throw dirt in my face by coincidence?

  Misaki didn’t know. Only that Misaki was carried back by Endou from behind this time. Though still a bit uncomfortable, her stomach didn’t hurt as much as before. After greeting a few more maids she hadn’t seen today, she took a bath before joining Endou in the pajamas she brought from home.

  "Misaki... I've wanted to say this for a long time. Actually, I've liked you for a long time."

  "I-I like you too, Endou. Actually, I've liked you since the first time I saw you."

  Under the light of the endless stars, a man and a woman hugged each other in the cold of the night.

  Their faces flushed, embarrassed and happy with the situation they were in because they finally managed to express their feelings for each other.

  And it all ended when their faces slowly approached and they shared their first passionate kiss.

  -THE END-

  ...

  The cut scene turns dark after that and shows the board of directors in charge of the TV show.

  ""...""

  Meanwhile, Endou stared at Misaki awkwardly while Misaki, still with a towel on her head, looked suspiciously at the TV, the broadcast of which had ended and been repced by a new show.

  "Tell me, Endou. Is it a coincidence that our names were used in a romance drama on television, then you happened to turn on the TV when I arrived here and we ended up watching their awkward scene, all by coincidence, right?"

  Misaki asked, staring directly at Endou with sharp eyes.

  "I-I don't know either. I just turned on the TV to py the movie I wanted and ended up seeing this instead."

  Endou replied awkwardly.

  "Hmm, I guess it's just a coincidence then."

  Misaki said, still suspicious.

  Anyway, she had never seen the show in the past. It was probably because she didn't pay much attention to soap operas before. So, she ended up ignoring it.

  "Well, whatever. What movie did you want to watch?"

  Endou simply gave her a silent answer and only needed to show her the DVD case for Misaki to know.

  "Ohh, a horror movie? Interesting. I want to watch too."

  She might be afraid of the dark, but that has nothing to do with ghosts. So, she can certainly confidently say she won't be trembling with fear. It's just....

  "Uwaaa! Scary!"

  "..."

  Endou, who wanted to watch, was instead easily frightened by every horror scene that came out. And now he's hiding behind Misaki's small back for protection. On the other hand, she boredly stared at the TV screen because the story was not interesting to Misaki, who had watched it in the past. Having a good memory has some drawbacks in some ways because of the difficulty of finding pleasure in something that she has enshrined in her memory. Well, sometimes it's not like that. But it's only sometimes, not all the time. What's interesting right now is the fearful expression of Endou who keeps watching from behind her back. The rest? She mostly yawned. She wondered when she would fall asleep out of boredom.

  And time passed just like that until the end of the movie.

  "Phew. It's finally over. I didn't expect the main character would've cursed to death even after completing the ritual. Ohh, yeah. What do you think, Misaki? Ohh..."

  Asking how interesting the movie was, Endou looked at Misaki, who had apparently fallen asleep. He also didn't realize that Misaki had been leaning on him all this time because he was focused on the movie.

  "Sorry, I seem to be just having fun by myself."

  He said while making her sleeping position better. He looked at the clock and realized it was already te. So, he finally lifted Misaki in a princess carry again.

  "It... hurts."

  "Misaki?"

  "..."

  Misaki seemed to be just mumbling in her sleep while her eyes were still closed. Her forehead furrowed, perhaps because of how Endou was carrying her.

  "I'm indeed a man who doesn't understand how a woman's body works. Sorry, this will only be for a moment."

  When they finished dinner earlier, Raphael said that Misaki would feel uncomfortable being carried in that position when she was menstruating, which made him a little shaken. If he had known that, he wouldn't have done it.

  "You should be able to feel comfortable saying no to me, you silly girl."

  Endou said as he reached the room across from him and lowered her into the bed gently. After that, he covered her with a bnket before stroking her head. For a moment, it crossed his mind to give Misaki a goodnight kiss, but he immediately erased it.

  "That's not how a gentleman does things, buddy."

  He said in a faint voice.

  "Sweet dreams."

  In the end, only those words were left by him in the room before he left.

  ---

  The next day.

  "Onii-chan, I'm home!"

  Misaki finally returned to her house and was greeted by Kazuto who was watching TV.

  "Welcome back. How was your day at Endou's house?"

  Kazuto asked with a gentle smile. Not to miss, he came to her and gave her a gentle pat on the head.

  "Ehh, fun? I guess it's the same as usual."

  Misaki replied.

  "How about Endou? He's not depressed or wanting to throw himself off the top of a building, is he?"

  "He should be fine now. His mood wasn't as bad as before when I saw him."

  Actually, Kazuto was also secretly worried about his friend. But he himself was busy with club activities until he also asked Misaki to take care of him when she went there.

  Truly a true friendship! Misaki excimed.

  "Thank goodness then. But, he didn't do anything weird to you, did he?"

  "Emm, not really. We just pyed games and had dinner. After that, we watched a movie."

  "Hoo, I see. Can you expin more specifically."

  "When teaching him how to py games, I rested my head on his shoulder. When we were about to have dinner, he carried me in a princess carry. When we watched a horror movie, he hugged me from behind because he was scared—em? Onii-chan, where did you get that notebook?"

  While Misaki continued to expin, Kazuto somehow took out a book and started taking notes.

  "Ohh. Just ignore me. I'm just calcuting."

  "Calcuting?"

  "Yeah. Calcuting how much I have to beat up Endou."

  Kazuto expined with a smile.

  Well... friendship sometimes comes from how much physical strength you can endure. Whatever it is, good luck for tomorrow, Endou!

  "Do it with spirit, Onii-chan."

  "Ouu..."

  Meanwhile, Endou in his house.

  "Hatchuu!"

  "W-Why am I suddenly getting chills? Does someone happen to have a grudge against me!?"

  He was just focusing on studying every character's movement breaks as Misaki taught him before he suddenly felt sick.

  "I guess I won't go to school tomorrow."

  Whether it was because of luck or a premonition, Endou managed to get out of the clutches of the problems he had to face for that Monday.

  ---

  Help with the transtion if you think it's wrong. Bye-bye