KARMA!!: absolution | book 1 | uta no prince-sama

Chapter 10: Okaerinasai, Sora!

Sora　天

She giggled as she stood before the school gates, not yet over the the border of Saotome Academy. Sora could feel her brother's eyes on her and gave him another excited smile, identical to the ones she had been throwing his way for the entire trip back to the school. A few days after her friends had visited her, she had been discharged with a warning not to strain herself with too much physical activity. She had wanted to take the opportunity to walk back to school and stretch her legs from being cooped up for most of the week but Subaru didn't want to hear it, insisting he call a taxi.

And now she was back, ready to give back to everyone who had supported her thus far.

One step. Two steps!

"Tadaima!" She called out happily the moment she shuffled past the gate, eyeing the main school building from afar. It was after class and the sun was descending slowly, leaving the sky with a deep pink blush.

Subaru ruffled her hair as he joined her, her bag in tow, unwillingly to let his sister carry it. "Let's get you to the dorm."

Her eyes widened. "But you said... that we can't go to each other's rooms!"

There was that familiar tide of guilt again - she hadn't been a particularly tidy tenant and it wouldn't be an overstatement to say the last time she had been in her room, it appeared as though a bomb had hit it. Subaru was a neat freak and would probably die if he saw the room how she had left it.

She felt his eyes on her as they headed towards the girl dorms, while she mentally sorted through her book of plausible excuses she could use to stop him from coming in.

Obviously the roommate excuse was out.

Then... how??

She wracked her brains as they headed inside the dorm building, and even more so when they entered the elevator to her room floor.

Finally, just as Subaru had placed her key in the door, she stopped him.

"You can't come in!" She told him. He raised his eyebrow at her, "Why?"

"B-because," Would this really work? "Because otherwise you'll ruin the surprise!"

Subaru blinked. "Huh?"

She stood her ground, crossing her arms and playfully shoving him away from the door, "That's right! My super amazing, wonderfubble surprise that I'd been planning just for you! So, you can't come in because then it will be ruined and I spent a lot of time trying to sort it out."

"Wonder-what?"

"A word I made up-- ah it doesn't matter, you just can't come in."

"Are you talking about our birthday next week?"

It was their birthday next week? With everything that had happened she'd completely lost track of time.

"Yeah! Yeah, that! So you can't ruin my hard work, 'kay?"

"That's fine," he said. "Onee-sama's health is better than any other present."

Why is he such a nice person?! Why is he so perceptive!? WHY?! SUBARU !?

It only made her feel worse about what would happen if he saw the state of her room. She could just see him as he spent the rest of the night cleaning up her mess until everything shone, sacrificing his sleep so she could have a nice environment. No! She couldn't cause him more trouble.

"Su-chi," she had to stop herself from giggling when she saw him give a double take from the cutesy nickname. "I am your Nee-san! You wouldn't want to disrespect Nee-san's wishes, right?"