The Pet Girl of Sakurasou

Chapter 2: Part 4

Just as she said, Mashiro didn't let Sorata sleep that night.

Until five AM rolled around and Mashiro fell asleep, Sorata lay on top of the bed, doing as he was told and occasionally getting more actively involved as he helped Mashiro perform her various investigations.

Because of that, he was able to witness what happened when that being called Shiina Mashiro fell asleep. After all, he couldn't help but wonder how she ended up sinking under the desk like that every night.

Mashiro stayed at her desk, working diligently on her manga, until the moment right before she fell asleep. As she worked on and her limit slowly crept up on her, she would instinctively roll deftly onto the floor. And then, wanting to escape from the light of the fluorescent lamps, she would use the last of her power to crawl along the floor, sinking under the desk while rolling herself into a bundle of clothes and underwear.

It wasn't as if she just spontaneously fell asleep. Call it a trait or a habit, but it felt more animalistic. She probably fell asleep like that every day. She would put her all into her manga until her HP approached zero, and would leave herself with insufficient energy to even reach her bed. Geez, even the way she got her sleep was ridiculous.

Looking down at Mashiro as she slept there in the fetal position, Sorata dropped his shoulders.

"Don't sleep so carefree right in front of a guy... geez..."

She looked completely at peace as she slept. Her face was hidden but her butt and her legs were not. Sorata tried to cover her with a blanket, but she seemed to find it itchy and resisted.

Sorata wanted to air his grievances, but it would be sad for him to just talk to himself, so he dragged himself languidly out of the room.

The crystal-clear feeling of early morning permeated the hallway of Sakurasou.

But, given how sleep-deprived he was, Sorata had no time to stop and appreciate the refreshing atmosphere.

He tottered unsteadily down the stairs. The holidays were already over, and he would be starting school that day, but Sorata could think of nothing other than returning to his room and sleeping. Anybody would sympathize with him if they knew what he'd been through, right? So, nobody could blame him if he slept the day away.

But Sorata suddenly stopped when he heard voices.

The possibility that it was a thief crossed Sorata's mind, but in his current state he couldn't even muster up the energy to be alarmed. He followed the voices and poked his head into the dining room.

"No, I'm pretty sure I've told this to you already, but Misaki doesn't work on group projects. She's the kind of person that just draws the storyboards out in her head and then suddenly decides to draw it all out on paper. No, it's not like I'm trying to monopolize her. You can ask her directly yourself. Also, I'm not Misaki's manager or anything, so don't contact me about things like this!"

The one sitting at the round table and raising his voice was none other than Jin.

He cut off his phone call, and then tossed his cell phone nonchalantly onto the table. He tilted his chair back and threw his head over the chair, at which point he saw Sorata.

"What's wrong? What are you doing at this hour? You look terrible."

"Shiina wouldn't let me sleep."

Sorata gave off a single yawn.

Jin followed.

"Wow, you work really quickly. I'm surprised."