I Just Want A Single Ending!

"Alright, Saku-senpai, let's hear it."

Without hesitation, Kita Ikuyo agreed to Saku's plan.

After all, there was no harm in just listening to an idea, right? If it turned out to be impractical, she could always reject it.

If it was something she could pull off, though, she was more than willing to try.

"Alright then. Since your mom's main concern is that the band might hurt your grades, we just need to convince her it won't, right?"

Saku laid out his reasoning based on what she'd told him so far.

"She'd never buy that, not for a second. She knows I've been distracted during classes, mostly just thinking about practice," Kita admitted, laughing awkwardly.

Her grades were decent, but trying to balance the band, friends, and academics without dropping her grades? Nearly impossible.

And convincing her mom it was doable seemed just as far-fetched.

"You might be right… on your own, that would be tough."

Saku gestured to himself, raising his eyebrows pointedly.

"But what if you had me helping out? Let's not forget—I'm still first in the grade."

"Wait, Saku-senpai… are you saying you'd tutor me?" Kita perked up, realizing his idea.

"Tutoring you sounds like the perfect solution, but realistically, it's tricky," Saku clarified, shaking his head.

"We're in different bands, and our practice schedules don't always match up."

"There might be times when I'm free but you have practice, or you're free but I'm tied up with band work."

"Plus, we both have other things to do."

After thinking it over, Kita nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's true."

"So what do you mean by 'adding you'?"

"Simple. I might not be able to tutor you all the time, but we just need to make your mom think I can."

A small smile crept up on Saku's face.

"Are you suggesting we just tell her you're going to be tutoring me?" Kita finally pieced together his plan.

"Exactly."

Saku downed the rest of his coffee, taking a deep breath.

"When we meet her, I'll introduce myself as your band's manager and assure her that I'll be monitoring your studies."

"I'll let her know that if your grades slip, I'll personally step in to help you catch up."

"Being top of the grade should help make that believable."

"That's the basic idea. I'll work out the details later, but for now, just think it over—do you think this would convince her?"

"It… just might."

Kita's eyes lit up as she considered it.

The fact that her band's "manager," who also happened to be first in the grade, was willing to tutor her would probably make her mom hesitate.

After all, parents loved the idea of their kids hanging out with high achievers.

"If you think it'll work, let me remind you of a few things so you're prepared."

Saku's tone grew more serious.

"Go ahead."

Kita sat up a little straighter, her expression turning thoughtful.

"As I said, this plan involves tricking your mom, and I won't actually have time to tutor you," Saku began. "I can't be your personal home tutor, and I wouldn't be able to take on that responsibility."

"At most, I'll hold study sessions here and there, like for midterms, or do a last-minute review with you before exams."

"Most of the work will be on you."

"Your grades need to stay stable at least, and if they do drop, it can't be by much."

"That way, I can help you cram before tests and convince your mom that being in a band isn't affecting your academics."

"If you're committed to maintaining your current grades, I'll be glad to lend my 'top student' status to try and sway your parents."

"But if you can keep your grades up without my help, you don't even need me to talk to your parents."

"All you'd need to do is promise your mom that the band won't hurt your grades, then prove it with your end-of-term scores."

"That'd be way more effective than me, an outsider, trying to talk her into it."

"In the end, having me as backup just adds a little extra reassurance with my grade rank, though it's not a guarantee she'd buy it."

"The best approach is to sit down and talk to her openly about it, rather than relying on me."

"If you're not confident you can keep your grades up, though, just ignore my suggestion altogether."

He reached for his coffee mug, only to find it empty, and set it back down.

"…Give me some time to think it over."

After hearing his detailed explanation, Kita fell into deep thought.

"Take all the time you need. It's a big decision."

With that, Saku waved over the server to order a tea.

Truthfully, he could have made her a solid promise right then.

A simple "I'll tutor you, so don't worry—focus on the band and forget about your grades," would have been enough.

It would solve everything in an instant and definitely boost her opinion of him.

But he knew he couldn't make such a promise.

Saying something so serious required accountability, and he wasn't prepared to shoulder that responsibility.

So he opted to hold back, offering only the kind of help that a friend could provide.

Besides, he'd always been wary of the whole tutor trope, especially given its recent popularity in romance manga.

Where the guy tutors a bunch of girls, and after countless heart-throbbing moments, ends up with one of them.

So even if it was just for Kita, the idea of becoming her tutor felt like walking into a trap.

If the romance meter went overboard, it could end up in disaster.

He wasn't about to let that happen.

Staying single was his goal, after all.

A few moments later, his tea arrived.

With a warm cup in hand, he watched Kita, who was still mulling things over, feeling a mix of emotions.

Honestly, he had to admit—coming up with a plan to deceive her parents like this was low.

Classic him.

After a quick bit of self-mockery, he glanced out the window again.

Dusk was already setting in.

Finally, Kita broke the silence.

"Saku-senpai, I want to try talking to my mom myself first. If that doesn't work… could I ask you to help convince her?"

"No problem."

Saku turned back, answering immediately.

"Good."

Kita sounded determined.

"Though I do have one question," Saku asked, curiosity in his tone.

"Oh? What's that?"

She looked up, meeting his gaze.

"Well, promising your parents that the band won't affect your grades isn't that hard to come up with, right?"

"True," Kita agreed with a soft nod.

"Did you think of that yourself before now?" he pressed.

"Yeah."

She nodded again, this time with more certainty.

"So why haven't you tried it already?"

"Because I don't think I can pull it off."

Kita looked at him steadily, choosing her words carefully.

"Balancing band practice, friends, and school without slipping… it's too much for me."

"I don't have enough confidence to promise her I can do it all."

"If I made that promise and broke it, it'd only be worse."

"So I figured it was better to keep quiet than to risk failing."

Saku felt a flicker of unease. "Then what's different now? Why do you want to talk to your mom about it?"

"Saku-senpai, you don't have to ask the obvious," Kita teased him lightly. "Isn't it because you just gave me a plan?"

"No, what I mean is that you couldn't balance everything before, but why do you think you can do it now?"

That was Saku's real concern.

"If you're counting on me to make it work, I'd suggest not going through with the plan. My help has its limits."

"No, it's not that… well, yes, I do want your help, but I don't need much—just the bit you're willing to give."

Kita took a moment to collect her thoughts.

"Is that really enough?" Saku asked, still a bit confused.

"It's plenty," Kita answered, her eyes full of resolve.

"As long as I know I'm not the only one working hard, that's all I need."

"Pushing through by myself is so lonely, and I'm not used to that."

"Trying to practice on my own, I already felt like giving up."

"But with you here supporting me, it feels doable."

"I guess that's just who I am—I love hanging out with friends, the noise, the energy."

"So, Saku-senpai, let's go through this together!"

"Please help me out!"

"As much as I hate to spoil this epic vibe, I should point out—I don't actually need to work at this. The one doing all the hard work will be you."

Now it was Saku's turn to counter her enthusiasm.

"Close enough! I know you'll be here for me, even if it's only in small ways, and that's all that matters." Kita didn't sweat the technicalities.

"Right."

Saku had no objections left.

He'd said his piece, given her his warnings.

She'd made her choice, and that was that.

[System Reward: Study Card (Two Hours) Obtained: Greatly increases study ability for two hours at the cost of substantial stamina.]

Yes!

Saku cheered inwardly at the reward display.

Another study card, and a two-hour one, no less—this was a win.

Lady Luck was definitely on his side today.

After mentally stashing his reward, he glanced back at Kita. "So, you've made up your mind. When do you plan to talk to your mom?"

"Next Friday, I think."

She paused to consider before answering.

"Why wait so long?" Saku asked, puzzled.

With her energy and personality, he half-expected her to bring it up tonight.

"Well, I was thinking…"

Kita hesitated, clearing her throat with an awkward laugh.

"If I can convince her Friday, we can celebrate at the couple's restaurant on Saturday."

"And if I can't, I can ask you for help the next day."

"That way, we'll either be celebrating a win or preparing to convince her and have our lunch afterward."

"Plus, it saves Saku-senpai some time."

"If I tried tonight and failed, I'd have to bother you on Sunday instead, and that'd be using up more of your time."

"So, I figured putting everything on Saturday would be better."

"Not bad. You've really thought this through." Saku chuckled, though he couldn't help but feel like she was jinxing it. "But don't get ahead of yourself. I can't guarantee success."

"That's fine. Even if we can't sway her, we'll still get to try that restaurant!" Kita's answer was breezy and decisive.

"That's not the point! If you can't convince her, you'll still have to face the challenge of balancing everything." Saku reminded her.

"Oh, well, I'll just deal with that if it happens." Kita waved a hand dismissively. "At least I have a plan now."

"Can't argue with that."

Saku nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, Saku-senpai."

Now that the tension had lifted, Kita offered him a genuine smile, her voice sincere.

"No need to thank me."

Recalling his earlier awkwardness, Saku responded with a quiet nod.

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T/N: GAHHH I LOVE THE MOMENTS WHERE SAKU SHOWS HOW HE REALLY FEELS ABOUT HIMSELFFF