Living in Tokyo, all I want to do is laze around.

Kai Uesugi turned over in his sleep, which startled her even more; her whole reaction was like that of a frightened rabbit.

------

The next morning.

Kai Uesugi woke up in bed and sat up.

He glanced to the side.

Hanabi, who looks like a little rabbit, is still sleeping. She is hugging a shark and has her little hand on the shark's belly.

After covering her with the blanket and taking the opportunity to kiss her cheek, Uesugi Kai quickly got up and washed up.

After getting dressed, I went out for my morning run.

He ran along the streets and riverbanks, birds gliding across the water, their outstretched wings brushing past the treetops that extended over the river, casting patches of warm sunlight from the clear sky.

Kai Uesugi ran onto the overpass and glanced at Tokyo, where the weather had cleared up.

Skyscrapers stand tall, and countless glass windows reflect the prosperity of the metropolis.

He lingered there for a while before continuing his run home.

Upon entering the bedroom, Uesugi Kai found Ai, who had taken off her shoes, kneeling beside Hanabi Hanamaru.

"Brother, Sister Hanabi is a big lazybones."

"You're lazy too."

"I'm not!"

"Why didn't you comb your hair properly? It's all messy."

Ai pouted: "It's to wake up Hanabi-neechan."

Kai Uesugi said, "Come out first, let me comb your hair first, and let your sister Hanabi sleep a little longer, she keeps talking in her sleep."

"Oh right, Hanabi called out my brother's name just now."

Upon hearing that she was to have her hair combed, Aiyi quickly got out of bed.

Uesugi Kai took her to the bathroom, first running hot water, then wringing out a hot towel and applying it to her face.

When I wash her face, she makes incomprehensible noises like "woo woo woo".

This is probably what makes little girls so adorable.

"Where's your sister?" Uesugi Kai put the towel back in the basin and picked up a comb to help her comb her messy hair.

"My sister has finished washing her face and is getting ready to make breakfast."

Aiyi looked at herself in the mirror and asked, "Can my brother braid my hair?"

"Braids? No, I learned how to comb my hair from your sister Hanabi. I never comb my hair."

Kai Uesugi continued, "You've never worn braids before; your hair has always been straight."

Aiyi has good hair quality, and being a child, it's easy to straighten with just a couple of combs.

Kai Uesugi put the comb back in its place and took a hat from the rack next to her and put it on her.

And that's how the standard Little Aiyi was born.

“Some of the braids are really pretty, and Aiyi wants to try them, but her older sister doesn’t know how to do it.”

"Don't make things difficult for Qian Aiyi. She's still learning everything. Let your sister Huahuo help her with the weaving."

"Aiyi already asked! Even Hanabi-neechan doesn't know either."

Don't know how to braid hair?

Kai Uesugi sensed that something was wrong.

But think about it carefully.

Except for when she was a child, Hanabi Hanamaru usually has short hair, only occasionally leaving two strands of hair in front of her chest and tying them with hair accessories.

Kai Uesugi had never seen her braid her hair, and even Mrs. Hanamaru had hardly ever seen her braid her hair.

Perhaps... it's really not true.

With three girls in her family, Uesugi Kai felt she should perhaps try to learn from them.

After helping Aiyi wash up, I let her go to the living room to watch TV.

Chii was almost done with breakfast, but Hanamaru Hanabi still hadn't gotten up.

Kai Uesugi had no choice but to go back to the bedroom again.

On the large bed, in the morning sunlight, are white legs and white feet.

Kai Uesugi sighed, walked over, grabbed a tiny, milky-white foot, and began to vigorously scratch its paw.

The little toes first blushed a cherry red shyly, and the five pink and white toes adorably tucked inwards. Then it got worse and worse, and finally the whole leg was pulling back, as if trying to break free from its restraints.

Uesugi Kai scratched her while watching her reaction.

She turned over on the large bed, her face delicate and lovely, her lips parting to utter a soft, hesitant voice, broken and ambiguous:

"Kai-kun...you can't...you can't go there..."

?

What are you saying?

This is just tickling you.

Kai Uesugi put her feet down and walked to the other side of the bed.

He pinched her nose with one hand, propped himself up on the bed with the other, and brought his face close to her lips.

"Still sleeping so soundly."

Gradually, Hanabi Hanamaru began to have difficulty breathing and started exhaling through her mouth.

However, she still felt uncomfortable. She turned her head and found that she could not get rid of the suffocating feeling, so she opened her eyes and subconsciously tried to get up.

But as soon as she stood up, her view was blocked, and suddenly her mouth was covered by his.

Hanabi Hana's purple eyes darted around in alarm, and after realizing who it was, she quickly pushed him away with both hands.

"Kai-kun... Kai-kun starts causing trouble as soon as he wakes up..."

"You kissed me yourself."

"Not yet—" Hanabi Hanamaru hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

"Anyway, it was Kai-kun who did the dirty work..."

"Okay~ It's my fault. I came to wake you up for breakfast. Qian Aiyi has prepared it."

"It's bad!"

Kai Uesugi smiled: "But Hanabi likes it... Why do you look a little tired...? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw a shark flying towards him with its gaping maw.

He caught it in one go.

Then he peeked out at the girl on the bed, who was burying her face in her hands.

"what happened?"

"Kai-kun... is a bad guy..."

--------

For the next two days, Hanabi Hanamoto really ignored him.

She avoided him in everything, even sleeping with Ai Yi and the others at night.

Kai Uesugi was alone in her room at night, gazing at the bright moonlight outside the window, feeling utterly lonely.

what's wrong?

I don't quite understand.

Or perhaps it's just that girls' thoughts are hard to fathom.

Uesugi Kai didn't pay too much attention, only thinking that she was throwing a tantrum because he had been bullying her all along.

It'll be fine once the anger subsides in a few days.

Today happens to be their Group C match, and Uesugi Kai went to the dojo this morning.

On the way to the martial arts gym with his equipment, Senior Brother Nan struck up a conversation with him again:

"Junior brother, you're quite famous now!"

"It must have been those reporters who did it?" Uesugi Kai felt he was pretty much right.

"Yeah, everyone online says you're unpredictable. You gave up being a proper archery champion to learn kendo." Senior Brother Nan laughed, looking very happy.

"Well, let them say what they want. I'll just focus on playing my game well."

Nanmyu Maru smiled and changed the subject:

"By the way, junior brother, have those people from before come looking for trouble again?"

My senior brother was talking about the night he encountered thugs and gangsters.

Actually, a few days later, the police station told him that he could settle the matter with compensation.

Taking money? No shame in it.

But who was giving instructions from behind?

Kai Uesugi cares more about this than money.

But that yakuza was very clever; he said nothing and did nothing.

The claim that they were fighting was simply due to personal grudges.

Since the police cannot use torture to extract confessions based on unfounded clues, the only option for now is to make him pay money to settle the matter.

Kai Uesugi took the money first, 86 yen.

As for this clue...