Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokidoki Bosotto Roshiago de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san or any of its characters...

Despite the growing intensity that Yuki possessed from her gaze alone, Alisa didn't flinch. In fact, she matched the former's cold stare with one that showed conviction.

"Yes. I'm sure. Whatever it is you wish to tell me, Suou-san, I am prepared to take it."

The tension in the atmosphere rose and it seemed like the direction this was heading to was an inevitable altercation between the two girls…

That is, until Yuki pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed in exasperation.

"To be clear, I don't exactly hate you, Alya-san. I hate what you did to Masachika-kun and Ayano, and the only reason why I never spoke up about it is because I didn't want to add to our group's problems."

Alisa continued to stare at her with an impassive look, listening to everything that came out of Yuki's mouth and facing all of it head-on.

Letting out another sigh, Yuki shrugged carelessly. At the same time, the tension between them began to dissipate which allowed everyone else to feel relieved.

"But it seems that my brother has already made amends with you, in spite of that. And Ayano has already moved on from what happened. Therefore, I'm willing to overlook everything just this once, as long as you don't make this mistake again."

She offered the silver-haired girl her hand, which Alisa took without hesitation, ending the tension between them for good.

"Words are nothing but false promises, Suou-san. Therefore, I won't say anything and simply show my answer through my actions. That being said, I wish to express my deepest apologies for taking out my frustrations on you unjustly. It was wrong of me and I regret my actions."

Yuki blinked in surprise, before shaking her head in amusement.

"Ah, just forget it. Honestly, I don't really care about it anymore because it happened so long ago. Just keep the things I told you in your mind, Alya-san."

Masachika watched the interaction between the two with a tiny smile on his face. He was also surprised from this turn of events, and that's because of the little conversation he had with Alya prior to this.

"Before you go, you'll do what I want, right? You said you'll follow whatever order I give you."

Masachika raised his head to look at his half-Russian pet, who supposedly swore she would follow whatever he tells her and that she would never betray him.

While she was putting on her underwear, Alya turned to face the bed where he was sitting at with a curious look.

"Yes. Is there something you want me to do, Masachika-kun?"

Now may be a good time to put that loyalty to the test.

"I want you to start eating with everyone again. It's about time that you stop with the lone wolf schtick, Alya."

She nodded without hesitation. "I understand what you want me to do, but will everyone accept it without any violent reactions? I can't imagine that they will only sit back and watch without saying anything…"

"If something goes wrong, I'll step up to protect you. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

The girl felt her chest swell up in joy as she smiled. Of course Masachika wouldn't let such a thing happen, just like how he never took his eyes off her when she closed herself off from everyone.

Alya trusted him fully, and she would gladly leave her fate to him if it came down to it.

"But not just that. I want you to apologize to Ayano as well. I don't believe I have to explain why," he stated firmly.

"I understand."

"And fix things with your sister already. I'm not kidding when I said that this rift between you two has done a big hit to her morale. She cried to me about it, even. It honestly hurt seeing Masha-san in that state and I wished I could have done something to help her."

"...okay. I'll talk to Masha right after I apologize to Ayano-san."

Masachika was slightly baffled at how quick her responses were, but perhaps it's only proof that she will indeed follow his orders no matter what.

"You better be prepared to make it up to her. You owe Masha a lot, especially with how much effort she put into reaching out to you, only to get ignored by the younger sister whom she loves."

Alya nodded, painfully aware of her own actions and how it impacted her older sister over the weeks.

It was only after sorting things out with Masachika that she was hit with the gravity of her actions, and she felt nothing but remorse for everything that happened.

She could already tell that it won't be an easy task — getting Masha's forgiveness, but failing to accomplish what Masachika asks of her isn't an option.

"I didn't expect her to apologize to Yuki too, but this is a good thing, nonetheless," he remarked in his mind.

"Well then, I guess the only thing left to say is 'welcome back', Alya-san. You really had everyone worried for your well-being, you know?"

"I do have to admit, being surrounded by other people again is better than being alone."

Yuki smirked, "Even though Onii-chan spent his three everyday meals with you the entire time? You must have missed us, Alya-san."

Alisa returned her expression with one of her own, "Mayhaps."

Even though it was never part of Masachika's orders to make amends with his sister, Alisa still felt compelled to do it. Though she was unaware of her own feelings on the matter, it was the siblings' unbreakable bond that led to her thinking that Masachika was going to leave her.

To put it simply, she was jealous of Yuki. Even after years of being the sole person whom Masachika supported,and even after knowing that they were siblings the whole time, Alisa still had the lingering feeling that she was behind Yuki when it comes to who he will prioritize more when it came down to it.

Now that she was reassured by the young man that he would never leave her side, and because of their current 'arrangement', Alisa didn't feel any anger nor envy towards his sister anymore.

"This doesn't mean we can forget about everything Kujou-san did before this…"

Sayaka Taniyama watched them with a frown on her face, looking unconvinced about all this.

Were they supposed to just forget about the things that the younger Kujou did up until now? Like slapping Kimishima and injuring Kuze intentionally?

She may have realized her mistakes, but it doesn't erase what she's done…

Nonoa patted her friend's back, "Come on, don't be such a stick in the mud, Sayacchi. The good thing is that Kujou-san isn't going to cause trouble moving forward. Isn't that what matters more?"

Taniyama stared at the blonde as she processed those words in her mind, but not entirely convinced just yet.

"Besides, like what Yukicchi said, it's been weeks since all of that happened. Kujou-san hasn't done anything wrong since then. Do you really think bringing up the past would do us any good?"

"I suppose…" the bespectacled girl muttered under her breath, choosing to leave this issue behind… for now.

Breakfast went by relatively quickly and as a gesture of goodwill, Alya volunteered to wash the dishes, despite Ayano's insistence that she can do it instead.

Everyone got off the table at the same time, and Alya quickly went to work by gathering the used dishes and utensils then taking them to the sink.

"Ayano-san, can I speak with you? Before I wash the dishes," she called out to the maid before the latter could leave to assist Yuki with her work.

"Certainly, Alisa-sama."

Ayano nodded without hesitation, before walking towards her as everyone else left the house.

"Out of all the people that have been affected by my behavior, you were the first one. I want you to know that I am sorry for my outburst back then, and I hope you can forgive me for slapping you. There is no excuse for what I have done."

Alya finished her apology with a complete bow, while Ayano looked on in slight surprise before slipping back to her stoic look.

"I acknowledge your apology, Alisa-sama, and I have already forgiven you. Please do not feel too bad."

"It does not justify hurting another person, especially one who has been very integral to our survival. You don't have to be so forgiving. I know I did a horrible thing and it's fine if you're angry at me," Alya pointed out.

However, Ayano shook her head. "I do not harbor any ill will towards you, Alisa-sama. I understand that you were not in the right state of mind when it happened. I was more worried for your well-being than anything else."

"If you're sure about it, then I certainly have no right to make you think otherwise. Even if I feel that I shouldn't be forgiven that easily," she sighed before bowing out of gratitude. "Thank you, Ayano-san."

"It is no problem, Alisa-sama. Is that all you wish to tell me?"

"Yes. That's all I wanted to say, Ayano-san. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me."

And just like that, the interaction between them ended as Ayano walked off to help Yuki with their water supply, leaving the silver-haired girl on her lonesome.

Alya didn't expect things to be over that quick, but perhaps it's to be expected from a maid like Ayano who only wants to serve. This was one weight off her shoulders, at least.

Now, the only thing left for her to do is to make amends with Masha… and all she could do is hope that this goes well, because she knew that everything she had done up until recently can't be overlooked.

…Masachika made her realize that the hard way.

After breakfast was over, Chisaki invited Masachika to catch fish with her on the raft for at least two hours, which he immediately agreed to.

Their raft was a major breakthrough, as it enabled them to double their food supply in the long run. No longer will they have to survive solely on vegetables, because they now had a source of meat as well.

Getting a successful catch was easier said than done, though. On most days, they'd be lucky to even get one and the most they've gotten at one point was only three.

That said, it was still a good thing that they had another food source aside from the farm and the few traps they set up within the forest.

The pair sat on opposite sides of the raft with their makeshift rods, completely silent as their full attention was directed to the water, waiting for a possible catch.

"You know, you actually made a miracle happen, Kuze-kun."

Hearing Chisaki's voice was enough to snap the young man out of his little trance, and causing him to turn around slightly.

"What do you mean, Sarashina-senpai?"

She turned her head lazily, "You want me to spell it out for you? You actually did it. You did what you set out to do. Wooo…"

Masachika raised an eyebrow at her strange tone. Was she being sarcastic or was she trying to tell him something? Either way, his attention wasn't directed towards catching fish anymore.

"I thought we were going to move past this already?" he asked.

"Oh, we are. I'm saying it's a good thing that you dealt with the problem, that's all."

"Then why are you speaking as if you're still bothered by it?"

"Bothered?" she snorted. "Pfft, hahahahaha! You actually cracked me up that time, Kuze-kun!"

"Sarashina-senpai, you're not convincing anyone. Kenzaki-senpai would have called off your bluff immediately if he ever saw it."

The two locked eyes for a brief moment; Chisaki tried to maintain her amused look, while Masachika stared at her with a stern expression.

…ultimately, it was Chisaki who gave in.

"Sorry about this, Kuze-kun I guess it just left a bitter taste in my mouth that I couldn't do anything to help Alya-chan all this time, but you did."

"Why would you even be bothered by that sort of thing, Sarashina-senpai?"

"Just ignore me. I'm being ridiculous, anyway."

"If you wanted me to ignore you, then you wouldn't have said anything."

Masachika shook his head and set down his fishing rod, before turning around completely to face the former Kendo club captain in a proper conversation.

Chisaki observed him as she weighed the possible options in her mind. She could put an end to this now by simply denying him, or she could finish what she started by opening up with what she feeling inside…

She sighed in defeat and did the same as him, setting down her rod before facing the young man.

"Fine. In truth, I had no idea what to do after Alya-chan assaulted you weeks ago. I didn't even think she was capable of hurting you but when Ayano-chan told us about it, I guess I sort of blanked out. It was just so hard to believe."

Masachika nodded slowly to show that he understood.

"But as soon as I snapped out of it, all I could think of is that Alya-chan needed to be punished somehow. I thought about putting her in her place the old-fashioned way, but I couldn't do such a thing to Masha's little sister."

"I don't even want to know what you mean by 'putting her in her place'," he murmured.

"Hey, what was I supposed to do?! She wouldn't listen to any of us no matter what we say!" she cried out, taking offense to those words.

"I don't know, maybe put in a little more effort in understanding Alya and why she was acting the way she was?"

Chisaki sighed again, "I know, and that's on me. Even so, I wasn't going to hurt her. I have enough self-control over my emotions to not give in to impulse."

"What matters is that the problem got resolved, right? There's really no reason for you to feel bothered by this now," he implored.

"It might be, but it doesn't change the fact that I could have done more."

For a moment, Masachika felt as if he was talking with Maria because of how similar this issue was to the older Kujou's situation.

The only difference is that he could understand why Maria would feel devastated over this, while there's no reason for Chisaki to be affected on a personal level.

"I think you're being too hard on yourself here, Sarashina-senpai. It's not your fault that there was nothing else you could do. Sometimes, it's just how it is."

"No, you don't get it. Ever since Touya left with everyone else, the responsibility of watching over the rest of you was placed on me. There's no way I could disappoint him, so I tried my best to look after everyone's well-being."

"But you did exactly that. There's no way we could have gone this far without you at the helm, senpai."

"Hah, and yet I couldn't even do anything to help one of you when they desperately needed it. All I thought about was that Alya-chan did something horrible and nothing more…"

Upon seeing the disappointed expression on her face, Masachika thought hard about what he could say to ease this burden on her, but it seemed like he was reaching a dead end on his responses.

However, Chisaki surprised him when she spoke up again.

"Kuze-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for… being there for Alya-chan. I didn't know how to handle her at all. I'm not her sister, and we were never really close or anything. But you were there for her, and you never gave up on her."

He nodded, "Your thanks isn't necessary but I appreciate it, senpai."

"I guess I should apologize to her too… for making a threat about leaving her to survive on her own," Chisaki sighed, before palming her face out of frustration. "Looking back at it, what I said to her was really cruel… even for a punishment. No wonder she got angry with me…"

"I'm sure Alya would appreciate it. She's doing her best to make amends with everyone, even if she's aware that she won't be forgiven so easily."

"Nah, I'd rather forgive and forget at this point. Better to just think of everything that happened as one bad dream that we woke up from."

"You're right on that, senpai," he nodded again, showing that he agreed with that statement.

Masachika had no doubts that Alya will be able to patch things up with Ayano and while it came as a surprise to him, she made amends with Yuki as well.

Now all that's left were Chisaki, Nonoa, and Sayaka. The former student council vice president seems to be planning for a talk to Alya later on, which would leave only Nonoa and Sayaka.

But before them, one other person takes precedence over everything and Masachika could only hope that the interaction between the other pair of siblings will go well.

It has to, as he didn't want to see Masha's tear-streaked face and hear her cries again.

MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*

-Lance