Chapter 3 – Understanding (part 2)

Afterschool, Saito decided to wander around the marketplace near school.

He went with Shisei, through countless stores, from Udon restaurants, to Western clothes stores, to general shops.

Shisei was munching on her meat dumpling she bought along the way. Even though her body was as small as a cute bird, she ate a lot.

“It’s been a while since I went on a walk with Bro. I’m happy.”

Or so she said, with an emotionless face.

“There’s always war in my house, I can’t relax”

“Did you make peace with Akane yet?”

“No end in sight…but I’m here to buy some reconciliation gifts.”

“This?”

Shisei rubbed her thumb and index finger together to do the money gesture.

“Giving money as gifts is bad faith, be realistic.”

“Not money, superballs.”

“I don’t think she’s so childish as to be happy to receive a superball.”

“Shise will be happy.”

“Next time, I’ll grab you plenty at a festival.”

“Hooray. Promise.”

Since Shisei was already devouring the napkin that came with the dumpling, Saito had to take it out for her.

He couldn’t forget the time when Shisei was young – well her body still looks small now but that’s irrelevant – she ate so much paper she had to go to the hospital. It was some origami coloured paper. Shisei pestered him for some at the stationery, to which he optimistically thought that she just wanted to fold some origami.

But, to his horror, he caught Shisei chewing on the final origami paper. Saito immediately took her to the bathroom to get her to puke out the paper, and was luckily found by their relatives due to the ruckus they’re making.

First of all, he wanted her to realize that she’s a human, not a goat.

“I’m planning to buy some cakes as a gift. I’m not sure, but aren’t sweet shops popular with girls?”

“I don’t understand women’s emotions.”

“Didn’t you just talk about understanding the maiden’s heart the other day?”

“Understanding the maiden’s heart is one thing, but Shise is shoo’ed away when trying to talk with others about sweet food….”

Dark clouds gathered around Shisei.

“Aahhh…”

Saito was convinced. She was judged as not having a sweet tooth and fashion sense due to being an alien.

“That must be sad. Shise must want to talk with your friends about sweet food right?”

“No. Shise wants to spread the religion of cannibalism.”

“That’s why you are thought of as an alien.”
Saito regretted pitying her.

When they reached the food court area, there’s an aroma ahead.

The two walked forward as if charmed.

A store painted with a bright shade of yellow met their eyes. Though it’s a small store, there was a long line of people waiting. The menu was hung outside, depicting pictures of pancakes and cupcakes.

“This should be fine. Let me order some home.”

“Shise wants to eat inside.”

“It would take a while for an empty table.”

“I wanna. You are terrible, always go on and on about Akane. Shise also wants Bro’s treat.”

Shisei used both her arms to pull on Saito’s chest. She was like a cat, Meowing for food.

“I’m giving up on you… what do you want?”

“A gateau cake. Huge.”

“How is that going to fit! You literally just had a dumpling earlier!”

Saito stopped her.

But 30 minutes later, Shisei sat at the table and cleared the huge sized chocolate gateau. Not only that, she finished her yakisoba and her fruit juices.

“Done!”

Shisei looked proud.

“I thought there wasn’t yakisoba on the menu….”

This was a sweets shop.

“I pestered the employees saying I wanted to have Yakisoba at all costs so they made some for me.”

“The employees are too easy!”

But he could understand her yearn for being spoiled. Shisei’s figure with chocolate stuck on her cheeks looked innocently cute, just like a descended angel.

“Where did that huge gateau go…. Is your stomach a blackhole or something?”

Shisei used her fingers to wipe the chocolate off her mouth, then licked those fingers.

She asked Saito shyly in a whisper.

“Do you want to try and get eaten by Shise?”

“Spare me.”

If he was so easy as to agree, there was a high probability he would be devoured in the real world.

When Saito returned home, it was already twilight.

A long, thin veil of darkness covered the entire street, save for a single house.

When Saito came through the door, he could smell the aroma of food through the hallway. He could hear the sounds of the kitchen utensils bouncing off each other, and Akane’s footsteps around the room. That girl was actually pretty serious.

Saito felt nervous holding the elegant box.

He prepared a gift thinking it could make her feel less annoyed, but wasn’t this too straight? Won’t she hate it if she found the cake disgusting? That’s his worries right then.

He wanted to check on the way home if the cake was tipped over or not, but he stopped himself. The box was sealed with a nice looking seal, it would be a waste opening it.

Saito went to the kitchen and gave Akane the box.

“I bought some gifts. It’s the gateau you like so much.”

“Eh….A gift? For me!?”

“Aah.”

“How do you know what I like?”

“You wrote it in your essay back in the first year.”

Akane received the box, looked down and whispered.

“So you remember something like that, that’s a bit creepy….”

“Don’t say it’s creepy!”

Saito didn’t want to stay here anymore. He shouldn’t have done this, something that he wasn’t used to. Poking his head where it didn’t belong might’ve widened their distance.

“Because, it was just written in a corner of the essay, and… even thought I wrote it, I don’t even remember it now…”

“Sorry then! My memory is just too good!”

Even within the genius Houjou family, Saito was special for his memory. He never forgets something he reads, even if it’s just once.

“B,but,…”

Akane’s cheeks were dyed in a shade of red just like an apple.

From those lips came some flustered words.

“…….Thank you.”

And, she gently hugged the cake box.

-Kuh~………That’s adorable.

Saito flinched since he felt that attack directly.

Akane was a demon, there’s no way she could make that kind of expression. He thought if it was the Akane he knew, she would’ve returned the box along with some complaints.

But no, the expression she was showing him now carried a huge destructive power.

Saito was confused on who this person actually was.

Akane in her joyful expression brought the box to the kitchen table. She gently removed the seal, opened the box and exclaimed happily.

“A delicious looking gateau! The cream layer looks so fluffy~! And the strawberry is huge!”

“Rest, then enjoy it.”

Saito was about to take the fork from the cupboard for Akane, but she used her arms to hold his waist back and scolded.

“You can’t, we still have dinner. It would be troublesome if we couldn’t eat the food that I prepared, right? Wash your hands and wait for me a bit.”

“Roger”

Her way of scolding him was a bit different than usual, the thorns in her words were nowhere to be seen. Akane joyfully closed the box and placed it in the refrigerator. It seemed like his plan of giving a present was a success.

Saito was surprised, he went to wash his hands and put his bags away.

While he was waiting on the sofa, Akane brought the food out.

Today’s dinner was Omurice with cream topping, vegetable soup and herbal baked chicken. The olives fragents linger around the room.

“So today is Western styled…. It seemed like you put a lot of effort into it.”

“I’ll let you understand my skill. Let’s eat.”

Akane observed Saito’s reaction.

—She didn’t put poison in, did she…?

Saito scoop up a spoonful of the omurice and put it in his mouth.

The runny egg blended into the cream sauce, resulting in a delicious taste.

The rice was enriched by thyme and pepper, and not some cheap ketchup. 

The dish was a masterpiece, unrivalled even by professional restaurants, and the fact that this was made by a high school student made it even more unbelievable.

“So? Did you fall yet? To my cooking? It’s good right? Delicious?”

Akane leaned on the table and brought her face to point blank, and asked.

“……Very good.”

That was his honest opinion.

“T,that so…. That’s great.”

Akane held her chin up with the arms on the table and gave him a blinding smile. The gentle aura from that smile once again assaulted Saito.

“Who….are you?”

He suddenly asked that question.

It made the girl blink.

“What do you mean who? It’s Akane, Sakuramori Akane.”

“No, it’s strange. That girl is someone who’ll say something like ‘I don’t like being praised like that’ and flip the dish on my face when praised!”

“What kind of terrible person is that! I don’t want to do that kind of stuff even if it’s just once!”

Akane angrily held up her dish.

“See? You’re trying to do it! And there’s hot soup in there!”

“There’s no difference eating it from the plate or from your face.”
“There is a huge difference! Alright fine, drop your weapon, I want to enjoy your meal in peace.”

Listening to Saito’s plea, Akane placed the plate down.

She turned away, her shoulders shrugged anxiously.

“Er, erm… If you really want to eat it, then hurry up. Or it will go cold.”

“Oh, yeah…”

He wasn’t exactly sure who he was talking to. Maybe there was an illegal trespasser wearing the skin of Akane.

—If so, then Akane must’ve…

Saito was cautious, and looked down at the vegetable soup. Bubbles were forming in that heat-sealed bottle of tomato soup.

He used his spoon to scoop some soup up and put it in his mouth.

The taste of onion blended in well with the sourness of tomatoes. The different kinds of vegetables were cut neatly and evenly, giving the body all the nutrients it needs.The crispy pork belly also gave a satisfying feeling.

“…this is also delicious.”

“Right? I’ll never let you say ‘normal’ ever again!”

Akane looked victorious, took a big sip of soup and got burnt.

“Hot~”

And she drank some water. She was also rushing that, and the result was the water flowing out of her nose.

“Are you alright?”

Akane glared at Saito who was getting worried.

“Of course I am! Don’t think you’ve won!”

“I’m not thinking about anything…”

But her hate to lose personality was still unchanged.

And Saito was relieved to see that it was still the Akane that he knew.

The rare dinner ended in peace.

Saito planned to return to his room for reading, but he suddenly realized something stepping out to the hallway.

He recalled back when they were talking, Akane was mad that he left the washing piled up. He really wanted to relax after dinner, but he also wanted to improve his relationship with Akane.

Saito sighed softly and stepped into the kitchen.

Unlike his previous life filled with cauldrons and flasks, cooking normally required more utensils. Looking at the heaps of dishes and bowls made him go overload, but his will pushed him forward.

Saito let the water flow and washed, as Akane walked into the kitchen.

“It’s your washing duty today, but I’ll give you a hand.”

“What are you planning?”

Her unexpected kindness gave him suspicion.

“I don’t have any! I was just thinking that it looked tough for you having to handle so many!”

“Are you the type to care what others think…”

“You are saying something very rude, you know that!?”

“Ah no, I get it. You lost your motivation to throw the dish earlier on, so you want to take revenge now and throw it at me now… pointblank.”
“I won’t throw it at you! Just obediently accept my goodwill!”

Akane gripped the sponge and glared at Saito. She looked like she genuinely wanted to help. It seemed that even Akane was also trying to be closer to Saito.

This unexpected goodwill from someone whom he argued with ever since first year made Saito tear up.

“Hey, wait, why are you crying!? I’m, I’m not doing anything bad! I’m just stating my goodwill!”

“So you’re the type who can do it if you try…”

“How were you looking at me before?”

“Nothing much. Let’s try our hardest from now on.”

“You are definitely looking down on me!? If you don’t want it, I won’t force my help on you anymore!”

Saito giggled.

“You’ve helped me out. Thank you.”

“Fu fu~, it’s fine!”

Akane proudly smiled.

The only face this lady ever shows him was her annoyed face, but when she was smiling, she looked really cute. Her eyes were sparkling, and her cheeks were faintly red.

She was a beauty when silent, and very popular in the school.

But now, Saito knew, that this girl was the cutest when she smiled.

He was shown such, after all.

“Let me wash it with soap, you just need to rinse it. The bubbles you made look annoying. If you leave some dishwashing liquid inside you’ll get sick.”

“Ah, okaaay.”

Saito gave his spot to Akane who’s now standing next to him.

The kitchen area was big, but if two people stood at the sink at once, it would be cramped. Faced with the situation of standing in the touching distance of the girl who’s washing the dish, this was the first time Saito realized that he’s “living together with this lady”.

This was an amazing feeling. This wasn’t their first day cohabiting, but, maybe because of their daily arguments, he could never see her as a member of the opposite sex.

But, once he was made aware of it, the change was very apparent.

He silently glanced at the side profile of Akane while she’s washing the dishes. Akane was seriously concentrating on the dishes, while blushing a little. This girl always gave her all for everything she did.

“….What?”

Realizing Saito’s gaze, Akane glared at him with suspicion.

“No… I just thought that you were pretty adept at housework.”

“So so. My parents are always busy so I’m the one who’s in charge of all the chores and cooking. I could even make curry since my first year in elementary school.”
“That’s cool.”

Getting praised by Saito, Akane’s ears flushed.

“W, what do you mean cool? Curry only involves chopping the vegetables, and cooking them all together. Even an ape can make it.”

“How can apes cook? As a matter of fact, I can’t make it.”

“You are worse than an ape then.”

“Don’t over exaggerate.”

“That’s not an exaggeration. An ape can even peel its own banana.”
“Damn they’re smart.”

They spoke while continuing to work.

This might be the very first time he could speak normally with Akane that doesn’t involve any form of quarrelling. If they can keep this up, their time together might not be as painful.

–Contrarily….

While Saito was thinking about this, the dishes were already fully cleaned.

“It appears two are better than one.”

Facing the sparkling clean dishes, Akane affirmed with a satisfied face.

Saito recalled. Even at school, Akane would always responsibly do her duty work. Whenever she finished thoroughly wiping the black board, she always gazed at it with satisfaction.

While others only half-assedly did their duty work, he had never once seen Akane shirk from hers.

–This girl is quite responsible huh.

Saito once again felt it.

For someone with such a hot-blooded personality, she always made others around her get angry. But for someone who knows of all her good points, like Himari for example, they can enjoy their time with Akane.

After reorganizing the dishes, Saito could finally spend time on his books.

He didn’t understand why, but today, he was reading in the living room rather than locking himself in his own room. It may seem that he didn’t mind staying a bit longer in this shared environment.

And Akane entered that environment.

She held her hands behind her back and peeked at Saito.

“H,hey. That book, do you, really have to finish it tonight?”
“I don’t exactly have a plan for it…But why?”
Saito looked up to meet Akane’s face.

Akane nervously shrugged her shoulders.

“E,etto… like? I found an interesting disk at the movie rental store, so I kinda rented it…”

“You want to use the TV? If you mind me then I’ll just return to my room”
Saito stood up.

“Aa~, it’s not that! You can stay here no problem!”

Akane pulled him back.

“I can’t concentrate with a movie playing.”

“That’s why, like, etto,…this!”

Akane held out the bluray for Saito to see. Her momentum was so great she almost smashed Saito’s nose in half so he took one step back.

There almost was a disaster. Saito’s heart was beating loudly.

“No, unless… you want me to watch together with you?”

“I, it’s not like I want you to watch it together with me or anything!”
Akane turned away.

“So, what? I don’t understand.”

“But~, it’s important for us to understand each other, right~? If you watch the movie that I like, you might be able to understand me more, you may even be able to drive my stress level down? We don’t exactly have to watch together, but since I’m watching it now anyways, wouldn’t it be more efficient if we both watched it separately?”

“That’s what they call ‘watching together’.”

“Uwuuuu”

Akane’s face reddened, and she hugged the box tight. She seemed embarrassed to have invited Saito to watch the movie together.

But, this was a huge growth in her, for thinking about spending some time together to deepen their bonds. Good-will must be met with good will.

Saito excitedly closed his books.

“Alright, let’s watch it. Also, what film is it?”

Akane handed Saito the bluray box.

“It’s “Follow! 24 hours with the kitties~ the uncut version”

“……….~”

Saito shuddered.

“What? So you don’t want to watch it after all”

Akane instantly turned gloomy.

“N,n,no, It’s not that I don’t want to watch it…. But surely they didn’t record the entire 24 hours in here right?”

“Of course they did. It’s a steal at 100 yen.”

“That’s 1440 minutes in total!!”

Akane squinted looking at the disk.

“Ah~, they also included a best selection. It’s 3 hours long with the significantly cute scenes.”

“Then please play that instead…”

Even then, it’s still terrifying to know that it lasts for 3 hours.

Saito and Akane leaned on the sofa and began watching.

What was shown on the large screen in front of them? Cats, cats, and lots of cats.

The title of the disk said everything, there wasn’t any plot or acting, it was a faithful record of a day of a kitten. There were no signs of humans.

—-This was a movie…?

Saito questioned, while looking over to Akane. He could see her eyes sparkling, as she was fully concentrating on the TV.

“The one with his ears down back then was so cute, but this American cat is also adorable! I wonder which cat they’ll show next!? I can’t wait!”

She was on the edge of her seat waiting for the next scene.

It’s literally just a movie with cats walking and jumping around, how could she ever feel nervous waiting for the next clip. Far from understanding Akane more, he found it harder to know what’s going on inside of this girl’s mind now.

This was their rare time together, so Saito took the gateau out and brewed some tea. It’s been a while since he had some tea that didn’t come prepared from a bottle.

Akane used the fork to gently cut a small slice and put it in her mouth.

“Fuwa~, yummy~! The cat is so cute~! I’m in bliss~!”

A smile bloomed on her face, with the force great enough to melt him. This was the first time Saito saw Akane this happy, and he felt great about himself for buying the cake.

Akane ate the gateau while watching the movie, but she left the strawberry behind. She carefully avoided the area under the strawberry.

“That strawberry, if you don’t like it, I can eat it for you.”

Saito held up his fork to pluck away the strawberry, but Akane quickly covered the dish.

“I didn’t say I don’t want it! I just want to leave the best for last!”

“But shouldn’t you eat the more delish parts when you’re hungry so you can feel it more.”

“For food you like, it will taste better if you’re not in a rush. Even looking at it would make you satisfied.”

“You looked at it for long enough, I’ll have it then.”

“Don’t you have a heart? I’ll kill you here and now!”

Because Saito was reaching over with his fork, Akane extended her arm holding the dish away. She must like strawberries a lot, because she’s now fully on alert.

The screen was indifferently playing kitties running around.

They were chasing butterflies, or playing with petals, a peaceful scenery.

He was awake while eating the cake, but now that it’s gone, he felt extremely tired/

But, he couldn’t doze off here. If that happened, trying to be closer to Akane would be pointless. It would make Akane disappointed and angry.

—Welp, this leaves only one choice.

Saito bit his lips, using pain to fight drowsiness.

“Wait up? Your mouth is bleeding?”

“No worries. It’s just blood.”

“I’m definitely worried. What’s wrong? Allergies?”

“There’s a pin in the cake.”

“But I ate the entire cake!?”

Akane was flustered, but his sleepiness was worsening making her voice feel further and further away.

It may be of the momentary peace in their rocky relationship that made him feel so relaxed like this.

“Damn it~, how can I sleep here like this! Wake the hell up me!”

Saito pierced his left hand with the fork he’s holding.

“What are you doing!? Did your brain finally go heywire?”

And Akane nabbed the fork away from Saito’s hand.

It had been 3 hours since the movie started, and Saito was deep in his sleep.

But, to his unyielding conviction, his eyes were wide open. His eyeballs were now dead dry.

“Ha~, that was interesting~. Let’s watch the full 24 hours next time!”

“……~”

Instincts told him some horrible words entered his ears, knocking Saito wide awake. Due to his relentless biting on the lips, now his mouth tastes iron.

“W, where is this…? The Alpha Centauri constellation….?”

“This is Earth. Are you seriously fine?”

“Really…. I was saved then…?”

Saito wiped the blood from his mouth. He accidentally fell asleep, but luckily Akane didn’t realize it. Akane joyfully took the disk out of the player.

“You watched a film that I like, so I’ll watch yours next time.”

“If it’s not a film, but the game then it’s fine by me.”

He couldn’t take it anymore just watching the screen without doing anything.

“But I rarely play games…”

“What did you play?”

“Some pre-installed games on the computer. The mine sweeping game.”

“Then you might as well say you don’t have any experience.”

Akane furrowed her eyebrows.

“I always detonate the mines on my first try, so I hate it. It always startles me.”

“It won’t be fun if you knew when it would explode.”

“I know, but I don’t like it. I don’t like when games play me.”

Same old Akane. Only she could antagonize a game.

“Try some other games maybe. I’ll show you some that you might like.”

“Even if this world was flipped upside down, I wouldn’t get sucked into games.”

Akane giggled as if looking down on games.

30 minutes later.

“W,wait! You just played dirty! Shooting me while I was climbing up is cheating, foul play! Fight me with dignity!”

Akane was directing 100% of her focus on the controller.

The game that’s playing on the TV was a fighting game where different characters from many different series came together and fought in a chaotic battlefield. The swordswoman Akane chose was shot by a gunman and was knocked out of the board.

“In a cruel battlefield like this, there’s no rules or reason. Give up.”

“…..~~!!”

Akane trembled with tears in her eyes. The controller she was holding looked as if it was going to break any time soon.

“You’re tearing up, I think it’s time to rest.”

“I’m not crying! It’s low trying to leave after winning!”

“I’m not trying to leave, but you don’t have a chance to win against me.”

“Don’t talk from your arse! One more! One more round!”

Saito tried to take the controller away from her but she didn’t bulge. Even though she confidently declared that she wouldn’t get sucked in, how the turn tables.

Him beating her up black and blue like this might make their husband and wife relationship take a turn for the worse so Saito gave her a tip.

“This game has items. Pick the ones that spawn next to you and use it.”

“I can’t do it if you pick them up first! Let’s divide the items so it’s more balanced.”

“Nono…. It’s no longer a game if we divide it. Also, new players should use stronger characters, with stronger abilities and mobility. There are those that can take others out in one punch.”

Akane pouted.

“There’s no fun in winning with an advantage. You must win through your own skills.”

“It’s precisely because you have none that I’m offering you the chance!”

“I, I have skills! It just hasn’t sprouted yet!”

She angrily rebuked and continued fighting him.

Even after 1 and 2 hours have passed, she couldn’t win but one match, and her mood is taking a turn for the worse.

“hic ~..hic~… I, I’m not giving up yet…”

She used her sleeves to wipe her tears, with no intention of stopping.

“Ne~, do you plan to continue this until morning skipping sleep…?”

“How can I sleep like this… How can I do that if I’m beaten up like this…”

“Seriously…”

Saito was at his limits, he was the one to suggest playing games, so he couldn’t just unreasonably end it midway.

His vision blurred for looking at the screen for too long, and drowsiness attacked.

His consciousness wandered away for an instant.

When he came to, Akane’s character was shining rainbow and was rapidly comboing Saito’s character.

No, this can’t be called combo-ing.

It was some rage button mashing. Carried by the torrent of rage.

She mashed all the buttons together, performing attacks that while simple, has escalating damage.

“Kuh~, since when!”

“Too slow!”

Saito tried to block, but Akane’s character’s sword glowed and swung the last slash in the combo. Saito’s character was blown away onto the screen, and fell down with a glorious fire.

“Hooray~! I did it! I finally won! I won!”

Akane excitedly jumped around. She was like a kid celebrating a birthday.

“What terrifying conviction…”

Saito gave a bitter smile. He didn’t feel annoyed after losing. More like, he felt relief. He’s finally saved, he can finally go to bed now.

Akane leaned on the sofa, satisfiedly gasping for breath.

“Haa! … That was fun…”

“How does it feel, having fun playing games.”

Getting teased by Saito, Akane made a ‘whoops’ face.

“I, I didn’t have fun! I only felt miserable!”

“Then, it would be better if we didn’t play anymore from now on?”

“We must absolutely play some more! Until our next battle, I’ll research new tricks, practice my combos solo, and will become so strong that I will hand you the perfect lost the next time we play.”

“Do you want to break my heart?”

“I want to shatter it. To the point you can’t even stand up anymore.”

Akane stretched her shoulders. Her cheeks were radiating excitement.

Saito collected the controllers.

Despite being treated horribly, the controllers were still fine. No wonder why they advertised it as unbreakable even after getting rolled over by a tank. Just that, the controller had the bite mark of Akane when she was annoyed and bit on it.

Akane brought the cake dish into the kitchen.

“I’ll wash the dish.”

“I can do it if it’s only that much. You can take a bath.”

“I take a bath so you can peek?”

“I have no intention to do that!”
“Who knows? Not just peeking, you even barged into the bathroom once…”

Akane narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
“That was an emergency!”

Saito felt miserable. He was completely innocent, but his mind was now reliving the image of the naked lady, making him incredibly disappointed in himself.

Akane looked annoyed and shrugged.

“About that…well…”

“Well what?”

“N,nothing~!”

And Akane scrambled away. Her ears were now crimson.

Washing the dish at the sink, Saito was surprised seeing himself humming a tune.

The fact that he had to play games with Akane another day made him feel anxious, but he wasn’t displeased. Seeing an Akane that was a sore loser smile after winning made him look forward to her next match.

He didn’t expect to have such a good time with his arch enemy like that.

It was a new discovery – a rather scary one, for one way or another.

The bedroom was illuminated with an orange light.

Saito suddenly opened his eyes, unfocusedly looking on the ceiling.

He could hear Akane’s gentle breaths next to him. It seemed like she was tired out from the movies and the enthusiastic gaming session, that Akane immediately fell asleep when she laid down on the bed.

He had finally started living together with his classmate, even though it had only been a short while, their time spent together would increase from now on to the rest of their lives.

He directed his gaze over to Akane, and found that her body was not fully covered by the futon. Her small hands looked cute. Normally Saito would leave her to her own devices, but today,

—Won’t she catch a cold like this?
Or so he thought.

To not wake Akane  up, he gently covered the futon over her body. He turned away, his back facing hers, trying to fall back into the world of dreams.

But, then, he could hear a shy whisper coming from behind him.

“…….Thanks.”

“Y, you’re awake?”

“…uhm. For a while now.”

“That so…”

Embarrassed of getting caught doing things he normally didn’t do, Saito’s face felt hot.

Both were now shyly wriggling on the bed.

—Today was a weird day…

Saito could feel his heart beating faster.

Aside from Shisei who he considered a sister, he was sure this wouldn’t ever happen with someone like Akane. He wondered if some of his internal screws were loosened due to his tire.

And apparently Akane felt the same way, this was a crazy situation.

“I’m thirsty. Want some water.”

She whispered, as if throwing a tantrum.

“Ah, sure.”

Saito sat up on the bed, went to the water tap and filled a glass.

Akane sat on the edge, and stroked her bare feet on the floor, seemingly bored.

Her hair was disheveled, and she was wearing a pyjamas with a button opened to let some air in.

“Here. Don’t let it slip.”

Saito sat down besides Akane and gave her the glass.

Akane received it with both hands and drank the water.

He heard the water being gulped down by his classmate.

The night was utterly silent.

In this large bedroom, Saito was made even more aware of Akane’s existence beside him.

“Why, are you staring at me like that.”

“No…nothing.”

Getting caught staring by Akane, Saito turned away. That action earlier was something even he himself couldn’t explain. It was rare for someone like Saito to be flustered at his own actions.

“Thank you, for the water.”

“Yeah.”

Then the two returned to the futon.

Their backs overlapped, but Akane didn’t complain once tonight. Through the futon that was wrapping them both, her warmth and aroma was being transmitted to him.

The light from the smartphone went out. They could hear the sound of water in the tap.

It seemed like they wouldn’t be able to fall asleep immediately, Saito said something to break the silence.

“Next time, you can buy a game that you like. I’ll also find a film that I enjoy.”

“….Not ‘you’.”

She said, dissatisfied.

“Eh?”

“I feel being looked down upon for being called ‘you’. Call my name…properly.”

“Sakuramori?

“Not my surname.”

Saito took a gentle breath. He felt hard to breathe for some reason.

“…Akane.”

“What, Saito.”
Her voice was filled with part sweetness, part embarrassment.

“…Nothing.”

“…Okay.”

Their backs were touching, it was hot.

During break time, Saito was sleeping on the desk.

Even with others around, he was sloppy, drool was coming out of his mouth. From the corner of the notebook on the desk, pencils and erasers were falling down.

Without a word to describe that sloppiness, Akane came over and picked them up. With a bit of annoyance, she used those pencils to poke Saito up.

“You dropped this.”

“Un~….? Ah, thanks.”

Saito blinked and said thanks.

“……”

Akane said nothing, passing over Saito and returned to her desk.

She couldn’t calm herself down.

Recently, when thanked by Saito, no clue why but her heart kept fluttering.

The first time being thanked by Saito, the one whom she kept arguing with, she felt strangely comfortable. And she wanted to be thanked by him more and more.

She definitely hates him, but what’s up with this emotion. Akane couldn’t even understand herself, and she used her hands to cover her burning cheeks.

Himari sat down in front of Akane.

“Akane, have you quarrelled with Saito yet?”

Even though they were arguing less than less, that was a strange question.

“Nothing changes if we just keep on arguing like that…”

Akane’s confused answer made Himari think.

“No~, no it’s not like that~. I had a feeling that the few recent arguments were different from normal. Akane, I felt like you are poking at him less and less. Didn’t you use to hate even talking to him?”

“Ah…”

Because they normally were always fighting, they would raise suspicion if they stopped. Something completely unimaginable. Akane felt guilty for not arguing with him everyday to stop suspicion.

“No…It’s not that I hate him or anything, it’s not like that…”

“So you two became close?”

“No, I definitely didn’t get closer to S, Saito~!”

“Then, what’s wrong with you? Did you get a fever?”

Himari put her hands on Akane’s forehead to check. It was a bit much to be thought of as being sick, just for not arguing.

Realizing that her own face was definitely hotter than Himari’s cool hand, Akane covered her forehead and took a step back.

“I don’t have a fever! Now…That’s right! I’m saving up for our next quarrel! It looks peaceful on the surface, but it’s actually just a cold war period!”

“So what do you plan to do the next time you argue?”
“I haven’t decided yet… I’ll let him taste all the depths of despair for ever being born!”

“Saito, run~!”

Himari paled.

—Somehow or another, she managed to fool Himari…

Seeing Akane breath a sigh of relief, Himari tilted her head.

“Wait…? Akane, have you always called Saito by his name?”
“………!!”

This time, it was Akane’s turn to go pale.

“What suddenly happened with you? Something with Saito?”

“N,n,nothing at all…”

“There definitely is something? Unless, the thing earlier about someone you want to grow closer to, it was with Saito after all?”

“No~…eto…erm~…”

She used all of her brain power to find an excuse, but came up with nothing. Her head was spinning, her body temperature was rising, breathing was difficult.

“I, I’ll go home now! See you tomorrow!”

“Akane? The first period just ended~!?”

Leaving Himari’s words behind, Akane ran out with her full speed.