That evening, Sakayanagi Arisu made her way to Shikime Natsu's dormitory room, following the message he'd sent her not long before.
Of course, even without that message — unless Natsu had explicitly told her not to come — Sakayanagi would have shown up at his door anyway. She had something she needed from him, after all.
Even now that the scheduled maid service hours had technically passed... she still would have come.
Lately, that man had been summoning her less and less for maid duty. Which made sense, she supposed — the shameless "heartbreaker" now had three official girlfriends: Kamuro Masumi, Sakura Airi, and Shiina Hiyori.
With that many beautiful girls surrounding him and his schedule packed full, why would he need her — a mere "maid" — adding to the crowd?
This feeling of being shelved, left on standby... it gave Sakayanagi Arisu — a girl who had always thought very highly of herself — a strange, inexplicable sense of defeat.
Like a toy the owner had grown bored of and tossed aside, only to be picked up again on rare occasions when the mood struck.
"This time... he went out of his way to call me over. What is he planning now?"
Sakayanagi mused quietly to herself, her fingertips absentmindedly tracing the top of her cane.
But whatever her inner state, she quickly composed herself on the surface.
She drew a slow breath. The exquisitely doll-like face rearranged itself into that familiar expression — elegant, poised, carrying its usual faint smile of graceful composure.
Whatever happened, Sakayanagi Arisu would not allow herself to show any sign of weakness in front of Shikime Natsu. That would only encourage the man to torment her all the more.
Her gaze settled on the lock of his dormitory door, a faint, unreadable light passing through her eyes.
Kamuro Masumi and the others all had keys to this room. They could come and go as freely as if it were their own.
And herself?
She was the first girl to have ever set foot in this dormitory. She'd left behind no small number of... humiliating memories within these walls. And yet — not even a spare key.
She didn't care to dwell on those memories, but still — she visited this room regularly, and she didn't even have a spare key. That disparity left a hollow feeling she couldn't quite shake.
Then again, perhaps Natsu had deliberately withheld one because he was afraid she might find something incriminating if she could come and go as she pleased.
Sakayanagi quietly soothed her own irritation with that thought, adjusted her expression back to flawless, then drew out her phone. Her fingertip tapped lightly across the screen, sending him a message: [I've arrived.]
A moment later, a soft click — and the door swung open.
Shikime Natsu appeared in the doorway, dressed in casual loungewear, expression unhurried. He stepped aside and gestured for her to enter.
"Good evening."
Sakayanagi inclined her head in a polite greeting and stepped inside.
The moment she crossed the threshold, those sharp violet eyes swept the room in a swift, practiced survey.
Quiet.
No trace of anyone else.
Kamuro Masumi — absent. Sakura Airi — absent. Shiina Hiyori — absent.
Only Shikime Natsu.
Having confirmed this, Sakayanagi turned back around, the corner of her mouth curving into an ambiguous little smile, her tone carrying a note of theatrical surprise.
"My, my... how unusual."
"Shiki-san's girlfriends... are all absent tonight?"
She tilted her head slightly, watching him, a glint of playful mockery in her gaze.
"Could it be... that in order to spend this evening alone with me, Shiki-san deliberately sent them all away? How unexpected. I'm almost... flattered."
No matter how many times Shikime Natsu had gotten the better of her, no matter how consistently she found herself on the losing side of their exchanges, Sakayanagi Arisu always maintained this particular style — "even if I lose the battle, I will not lose face."
In short: never let herself be put on the back foot.
Strike first. That was her creed.
Yet faced with her teasing, Natsu's expression didn't shift even a fraction. He gave a quiet laugh, those pale golden eyes shimmering with a maddening, unhurried amusement.
"Whatever do you mean, Sakayanagi-san?"
He strolled over to the sofa and settled himself down, his tone easy and relaxed.
"I simply considered that Sakayanagi-san has always had tremendous passion for her maid duties — yet lately, with how busy I've been, there's been so little opportunity for her to demonstrate it."
"So out of the goodness of my heart, I've specially carved out some precious time so that Sakayanagi-san can practice and refresh her maid skills."
He paused for effect, then added in the magnanimous tone of a superior looking out for a subordinate:
"After all — practice makes perfect. If it's been too long, Sakayanagi-san's supposedly impressive maid service might get rusty. And that would be a real shame, wouldn't it?"
At those words, a flash of irritation crossed Sakayanagi's violet eyes.
As expected.
This man... he really could say the most infuriating things without so much as a twitch.
He was getting a free service and had the audacity to dress it up as a favour to her!
Even so, Sakayanagi drew a measured breath and forcibly suppressed the indignation rising inside her, smoothing her expression back into place.
"In that case..."
She spread her hands, the picture of composed regret.
"What a pity. That's a bit inconvenient, I'm afraid."
"You see — I didn't bring my maid outfit with me today."
"After all... Shiki-san only told me to come over. There was no particular instruction to wear the maid outfit."
She let the words hang, then pivoted — her eyes sparkling with calculated, suggestive mischief:
"However..."
"If Shiki-san really insists on seeing me in the maid outfit..."
"I suppose I could go back and retrieve it?"
As she said so, she leaned slightly forward, those violet eyes fixing directly on him, her voice dipping into something with just a touch of playful temptation.
"So? Shiki-san... would you like that?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Sakayanagi felt a twinge of regret — because the person standing before her was Shikime Natsu, a man with absolutely no shame, and a man like that was entirely capable of actually sending her back to fetch the outfit.
And indeed — true to her prediction — Natsu responded in the most insufferably natural tone imaginable.
"Sure."
"Then please do go back and get the maid outfit, Sakayanagi-san."
"No rush. I'll wait here."
His expression was perfectly placid. That faint smile — the one that made people want to throw something at him — never left his face. Not a shred of embarrassment anywhere.
This man... he truly had absolutely no shame.
He was actually willing to send a girl with a bad leg trekking back to her room in the middle of the night just to fetch clothes — so she could come back and serve him?!
No matter how many times she had witnessed just how awful Shikime Natsu could be, every single time, he still managed to set a new low that shattered her expectations.
Every time she tried to tease him, she ended up being the one who got hurt.
But of course, Sakayanagi Arisu was not the type to give up easily. If this path was blocked, she'd take another.
Her eyes shifted.
"In that case..."
Sakayanagi looked at Natsu and suddenly made a new proposal:
"Rather than having me run back and forth all that trouble..."
"Why not... Shiki-san simply come to my dormitory instead?"
She let a brief pause follow, her tone taking on a meaningful undercurrent.
"Come to think of it... in all the time we've known each other, Shiki-san has never once been to my dormitory."
"It's always been me coming to Shiki-san's room and being so... generously entertained..."
She placed deliberate emphasis on the words "generously entertained."
"This time... it really ought to be my turn to play the gracious host."
On her own turf, it would be her home ground. And on her home ground — who'd be getting the upper hand was anyone's guess.
Besides... going to a girl's room was something most boys would at least hesitate over, or feel at least a little embarrassed about, wasn't it?
Especially with Natsu now having three girlfriends.
If he showed even a flicker of hesitation — she won.
And yet...
"Sure."
Natsu agreed without a moment's pause.
"Then let's go to Sakayanagi-san's dormitory."
"...?"
This time, it was Sakayanagi who froze.
He... actually agreed?
Not even a flicker of hesitation? Not even a trace of awareness that he was a man with three girlfriends?
Watching Sakayanagi's expression go momentarily blank — the look of someone who hadn't quite caught up to reality — Natsu rose from his seat, walked over to her, and with an amused half-smile, turned the question back on her:
"What?"
"Were you just saying that to say it, Sakayanagi-san? You don't actually want me to come?"
Sakayanagi snapped back to herself at once.
She drew a breath and forcibly reset her expression, burying that split second of stunned disbelief beneath the surface.
"Of course not."
She reclaimed her elegant smile — though one might detect, beneath it, a faint edge of gritted teeth.
"I simply hadn't expected... that Shiki-san would agree so readily."
"But... since Shiki-san is so graciously willing to honour me with his presence — right this way, please."
She turned and gestured for him to follow.
The moment they stepped out of his room, Sakayanagi paused, glanced back over her shoulder at the young man behind her, and let another teasing curve appear on her lips.
"Oh, by the way, Shiki-san."
"Following me like this late at night... to the dormitory of a sweet, delicate little thing like me..."
"Shouldn't you... perhaps let those three girlfriends of yours know?"
She blinked, her voice taking on an air of exaggerated concern.
"Otherwise, if they were to find out..."
"Those three girlfriends of Shiki-san's... might get jealous, don't you think?"
"And if that sparked some terrible scene... I'd really feel just dreadful about it."
That ought to make you squirm, at least a little.
But Shikime Natsu said nothing.
He simply stood there, hands in his pockets, watching Sakayanagi with that same half-amused expression.
After a few seconds under that silent gaze, the confident smile on Sakayanagi's face slowly began to stiffen.
What was this?
Say something.
He was just... staring at her. What was that supposed to mean?
It felt like she'd just delivered a punchline to a joke that wasn't funny — worse, the kind where only she was awkwardly laughing.
The cringe-worthy silence spread through the air between them.
Watching Natsu fail to react whatsoever, another flash of irritation crossed Sakayanagi's violet eyes.
Being around this man... never brought even a moment of satisfaction.
Every attempt at a counterattack ended up like throwing a punch at cotton — no resistance, no feedback.
But... strangely.
Even as she thought this. Even though he drove her half-mad every single time. The moment she laid eyes on Shikime Natsu, Sakayanagi would always find herself drawn toward him — wanting to provoke him, wanting to test his limits.
This almost masochistic impulse...
...made Sakayanagi half-wonder whether she had awakened some deeply troubling character trait she hadn't known existed.
The two of them moved one after the other down the empty corridor.
Before long, they arrived at Sakayanagi Arisu's dormitory door.
She produced her key, unlocked it, and stepped aside.
"Please, come in."
Natsu accepted without ceremony and walked inside.
As the lights came on, Sakayanagi's dormitory revealed itself in full.
It was strikingly sparse — one might even say excessively so.
The furniture was arranged with meticulous precision. The desk held only a few necessary books and an elegant teacup — nothing extraneous cluttered the surface.
The floor was immaculate. The air carried a faint, quiet scent of lavender.
Shikime Natsu stood in the center of the living area and took a brief, casual survey of his surroundings.
Watching those roaming eyes, Sakayanagi — who was still closing the door — gave a soft, wry laugh.
"What?"
"No scattered intimate garments lying about the way Shiki-san might have imagined..."
"Feeling a bit disappointed, are we?"
Natsu withdrew his gaze, turned toward her, and gave a perfectly unbothered shrug.
"Not at all."
"I couldn't care less about that sort of thing."
His tone was flat — as though he genuinely had no interest whatsoever in Sakayanagi's personal belongings.
"..."
Sakayanagi's brow furrowed slightly.
What was that supposed to mean?
Couldn't care less?
Was he saying he had zero interest in her private life? Or was he implying that she, as a girl, held absolutely no appeal for him?
Sakayanagi glanced down at herself.
...She was petite, yes, and certain areas were admittedly on the modest side — but she considered herself quite cute, even genuinely beautiful, by any reasonable standard.
So how was it that in front of Natsu, she seemed to have the presence of a piece of furniture?
Could it be...
The images of Natsu's girlfriends surfaced unbidden in her mind.
Kamuro Masumi — perpetually cold-faced, yes, but with proportions that were impeccably balanced: long legs, a slender waist.
Shiina Hiyori — quiet and bookish on the surface, but not lacking in any of the right places.
And then there was Sakura Airi.
The moment she pictured Sakura Airi's frankly criminal figure — the kind that made you worried she might topple forward — she looked back down at her own perfectly flat chest.
The contrast...
...was rather damning, it had to be said.
A wave of profound defeat crashed over her.
Sakayanagi bit her lip, and in the privacy of her own mind, she slapped Natsu with a brand-new label —
Breast maniac.
This vulgar, shallow man.
He probably only liked women far more "generously endowed" than herself.
While Sakayanagi was still grumbling away internally, Natsu suddenly smiled at her, breaking the silence.
"Alright, now that we're here."
He pointed toward the bedroom with the ease of someone who owned the place.
"Sakayanagi-san ought to go get changed into the maid outfit."
"Since I've obliged and come all the way to your dormitory..."
"...I trust Sakayanagi-san will fulfill her duties as hostess and provide proper maid service."
"...!"
Sakayanagi stared at him, momentarily at a loss.
He was... serious?!
He genuinely intended to make her do maid service in his territory — no, wait, in her own territory?!
This was absolutely...
"Shiki-san... do you not think... that it's a bit... unreasonable... for a guest who's been invited to someone's room to then turn around and demand that the host put on a maid outfit and serve them?"
Natsu simply gave a light laugh. Not a trace of embarrassment. If anything, the picture of innocence.
"What's wrong with it?"
"Wasn't it Sakayanagi-san who invited me here?"
"If you invited me over... surely it was for the convenience of providing maid service, wasn't it?"
"After all — I went out of my way to make this trip to accommodate you."
"..."
At this breathtaking display of bandit logic, Sakayanagi opened her mouth —
— and found she had absolutely nothing to say in response.
She was in her own dormitory.
This was supposed to be her home ground.
And yet...
Looking at this man who had waltzed in and immediately taken charge, issuing orders as if he owned the place —
Sakayanagi felt, with dawning despair, that she was still the one in the absolutely subordinate position.
Whether in psychological sparring or actual action, she didn't seem to have ever won against him.
This Shikime Natsu in front of her... was simply too much. Too outrageous.
Sakayanagi shot him a furious glare — one brimming with indignation and wounded pride.
But in the end, she conceded defeat once more.
"Fine."
She squeezed the words through gritted teeth.
Then she turned, walked to the wardrobe, and rummaged through it until she found the maid outfit.
Clutching the clothes, she marched toward the bathroom, thoroughly disgruntled.
A few minutes later.
The bathroom door opened.
Sakayanagi Arisu stepped back out, now dressed in the maid outfit.
Black-and-white lace-trimmed skirt, delicate headpiece — paired with her silver-white bob and violet eyes.
It had to be said: no matter how unwilling she felt inside, the look suited her remarkably well. If anything, the sulkiness made her even cuter.
She walked to the back of the chair where Natsu sat and, with practiced naturalness, rested her hands on his shoulders.
She began to knead and press.
Her technique, however, remained exactly as it always had been — thoroughly clumsy, with a pronounced undercurrent of grudging perfunctoriness and barely disguised resentment.
Natsu didn't seem to mind. He sat with his eyes closed, looking entirely at ease and content.
After a little while.
Sakayanagi stared at the back of his head, and eventually the question she'd been holding back pushed its way out.
"Shiki-san... coming all the way to my dormitory at this hour — surely it can't just be for the maid service. That would be too simple."
"Of course."
Natsu answered with an easy laugh.
"Then..."
Sakayanagi's hands paused. Those violet eyes narrowed slightly as she ventured the question:
"What is Shiki-san's real purpose... exactly?"
Natsu didn't answer directly.
He turned around to face her, a slow, meaningful smile curving his lips as he turned the question back on her.
"What does Sakayanagi-san think..."
"...my reason for coming to your dormitory might be?"
At that, Sakayanagi's expression darkened.
This man...
He really was the most infuriating riddle-speaker alive.
She had been the one asking a question, and now he'd batted it right back at her.
"How would I know what Shikime Natsu is thinking?"
Sakayanagi replied with undisguised exasperation.
"After all... Shiki-san is a thoroughly inscrutable person with a thoroughly terrible personality."
"How could I possibly guess?"
At this criticism, laden as it was with barely contained grievance —
"In that case..."
"I'll stop beating around the bush."
At those words, Sakayanagi held her breath, waiting.
Finally... was he going to say what this was actually about?
Natsu looked at her and said, word by deliberate word:
"I'll have to trouble Sakayanagi-san..."
"...to hand over all of your current personal points to me."
"!!!"
At those words.
Sakayanagi went completely still.
Those violet eyes went wide, flooded with pure disbelief.
This...
Was that actually something a human being could say?!
He had gone out of his way to summon her...
Had come all the way to her dormitory...
Had been enjoying her maid service...
And then — on top of all of that —
He wanted to take every last personal point she had?!
Was this what people meant by "squeeze everything out and take the leftovers to go"?!
This was too... too shameless!
Watching Sakayanagi's utterly thunderstruck expression, Natsu maintained his gentle smile — and had the nerve to add, with every appearance of warm concern:
"What?"
"You're not willing, Sakayanagi-san?"
"..."
Sakayanagi genuinely could not fathom how any person could be so brazen — so utterly unabashed — as to make such an outright demand, and then have the audacity to ask the victim if they were "willing."
But after the initial shock began to ebb —
Sakayanagi's sharp mind began to turn.
After a moment's thought.
Something seemed to... click into place.
He suddenly needed this many points...
Could it be... for her treatment?
If that was the reason...
Then this price — perhaps — was not entirely unacceptable.
With that thought settling in her mind —
Sakayanagi drew a slow breath. The shock on her face receded, replaced by an expression of quiet understanding, and... a trace of barely concealed anticipation.
She looked at Natsu and gave a small nod.
"I'm willing."
____
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🔥 New history: Oshi No Ko: Co-starring with Kana Arima
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