Chapter 4: My wife – part 2

Saito woke up lying on his bed.

Some tiniest glimpse of morning snuck past the window curtains, but dawn was still some time to come, and the night’s chill was lingering around.

Saito became confused. Why did he wake up at this time, thought Saito as he tried to take the clock next to the bed to check the time.

However, he found himself unable to move. He briefly thought he was constricted by Akane’s interrogation tools, but no. Akane was just clinging on to Saito during her sleep.

–And here she was, saying she would snap my fingers off if I was to touch her in the slightest!

This world is unfair. However, he wasn’t angry about it.

With only a thin layer of clothing wrapped around her, she was like a fluffy dream.

Her smooth and bare legs were wrapped onto Saito’s, while her hand was gripping on his shirt.

Her chest heaved up and down matching her breath. 

The sweet aroma from her skin and the flowery scent from her hair assaulted Saito’s sense of smell.

That attack, to a boy in puberty like him, was super effective. For a moment, he completely forgot that she was someone he despised.

–If I were so to move…she, will wake up right…?

It was like the guilt of waking a cat sleeping on your lap. He braced himself and stayed still.

Akane had an angelic sleeping face up close. Her half-closed lips had an innocent charm to it.

Saito unconsciously touched her defenseless cheeks that would normally be off-limits to him.

Just as he touched it with the tip of his finger, Akane opened her eyes.

She unfocusedly looked at Saito. With a hazy consciousness, she rubbed her cheeks on his chest, just like a cat.

It tickled him both physically and mentally, and Saito spoke out loud.

“O, oi…”

“………!”

Akane was pulled back to reality.

She sent Saito flying away. Blood drained from her face, she hugged her pillow in place of a shield.

“Y,y,you planned to attack me?”

“You were the one that hugged me out of your own volition!”

“I’ll never do anything like that!”

“You did! I was like a hugging pillow for you!”

“I’d rather have a porcupine as my hugging pillow than you!”

“So you want to get skewered alive? I am absolutely confident I did not do anything to you! I was just staying still to not wake you up.”

Saito explained.

Akane looking at her phone frightened him. It would be really troublesome if she called the police now. They would have to explain why two highschool students were living together first and foremost, which would complicate everything.

Akane’s innocent sleeping expression earlier was now completely gone, replaced with one of utmost caution glaring at Saito.

“You said you didn’t do anything? Liar. Didn’t you want to use your fingernails to drill a hole in my cheek?”

“Why would I want to do something so violent?”

Saito got chills down his back.

“So what did you do?”

Akane hugged the pillow tight and looked straight at Saito. This wasn’t the time to play dumb.

Saito breathed a heavy sigh.

“….Your sleeping face was so cute, and I was lost looking at it. I couldn’t resist the urge to touch your cheeks. Sorry.”

“What~…”

Akane furiously blushed.

She hid her face behind the pillow, and said with a tiny voice.

“R, really,…?”

“Aah”

“C, cute, to what extent…?”

“To the point one couldn’t stay sane looking.”

Saito couldn’t keep insisting his innocence so he confessed everything honestly.

Akane trembled, maybe to her anger.

She peeked out from her pillow, and whispered.

“…If it’s just a tiny bit, then fine.”

“Eh?”

“I just told you! My sleeping face! I said you can look at it for just a tiny bit!”

Akane plopped down the bed. She turned to face Saito, and shut her eyes. Just as she had declared, apparently she wanted to show him her sleeping face. Ridiculous, but also responsible to a fault.

Saito laid down beside Akane.

But the sound of his beating heart made him unable to go back to sleep.

And it seems Akane was having the same problem, wiggling around. She seemed tense as well.

The atmosphere inside the futon was stuffing, and neither could go back to sleep after that. Dawn gradually came.

When they were about to fall asleep, the alarm clock rang and snoozed. This repeated several times until it was 30 minutes later than usual.

Saito was the one to stop the alarm. Akane, sleeping next to him, was pulling the futon to cover her shoulders. Her pyjamas disheveled, revealing her collarbones.

“G, good morning…”

A flustered smile.

A sweet atmosphere, polar opposites to their usual cat and dog relationship.

–What are we, newly weds?

Or so Saito thought, but in actual fact they were a new couple. 

For someone so inexperienced with love, Saito didn’t know how to respond to this sweet atmosphere.

“….Good morning.”

First of all, to get himself fully awake, he went to the bathroom to wash his face. He had a vague feeling he would lose himself if he kept staying in the bedroom like this.

Saito turned the tap, and splashed the cold water on his hand to his face, but couldn’t correct the sloppy expression wearing on his face right then.

“Kya—–!?”

“What’s wrong?”

Hearing the scream, Saito darted to the kitchen.

Akane was holding the rice cooker, with tears in her eyes and trembling hands.

“The rice…isn’t cooked yet…. I forgot to push the button…”

“Can’t be helped. We also bought some toasts.”

“That… I wasn’t careful so they were all burnt…”

The toasts were on fire being put directly on the gas stove.

“It’s not that burnt!”

Saito was planning to take the bread and put it into the sink to douse it, but the flames on the bread were too strong to hold directly.

He also found mushroom and bamboo shoots being cooked, or rather burned. Did she plan to have a party?

Saito took an empty pot and put it upside down over the burning toast.

The fire was put out, but the smoke spread across the entire kitchen. Caught in the smoke, the two coughed.

“What’s wrong with you? You have been acting strange since morning!”

“Aren’t you also acting weird? You aren’t wearing any clothes!”

“What are you talking about, how can I walk around the house without wearing clo…”

Saito looked down on his body. His entire upper half was completely naked. Well, completely naked except for a tie, which made it look even more ridiculous and perverted. 

“First off… let’s hold off on breakfast. We are both acting weirdly so there’s a good chance we might burn the whole house down.”

Akane nodded solemnly.

“That’s true… I accidentally spread butter on my clothes trying to iron them…”

“Please calm down!”

Akane was acting really strangely for someone who was normally very serious.

She connected a hose to the tap and started to spray water onto the gas stove.

“What are you doing!”

“Putting the fire out.”

“The fire was already out ages ago! You’ll flood the kitchen!”

“Even then. I won’t change what I’m doing.”

Akane said with an unyielding expression.

“It’s better if you don’t do anything for now! Stay still over here.”

Saito led Akane to the living room and told her to sit.

“It’s rude to tell me around like this…”

Akane pouted and hugged her knees, but strangely enough, she obediently stayed put.

Noticing his own exhaustion despite it being only morning, Saito quickly finished cleaning the kitchen. He put the burnt and now wet toast in the trash bag, and dried the wet stove and sink.

By the time he finished, it was time for class.

Saito and Akane held their school bags, and just to be sure, they checked one another’s uniforms.

“No problems here, your uniforms are fine.”

“Yours, too.”

“Why are we doing this again…”

“It can’t be helped when the both of us are this sleepy. There’s no helping it.”

However, Saito had a feeling it might not have anything to do with sleepiness.

There was no time to quarrel, so they hurriedly left the house.

When passing by the convenience store, Akane slowed down. She looked longingly at the poster hanging at the front. It depicted an image of the new strawberry cake.

“Are you hungry?”

“Yeah…. But, there’s no time to buy it and savour it.”

“You can’t concentrate on studying without breakfast, can you?”

Ignoring Akane trying to stop him, Saito went into the store.

He took a strawberry cake and vegetable juice, and hurriedly checked out and left the store. It wasn’t expensive, and it’s 3 times bigger than the normal gateau.

“I can’t finish it if it’s this big!”

Akane widened her eyes. It looked a lot bigger than advertised.

“Then, let’s share it?”

Saito split the cake into half and gave one to Akane.

“Half…”

“…The cream looks artificial. It doesn’t look like strawberry at all. The manufacturer has no love for strawberries.”

“If you have time to say something so useless, just let me eat it.”

Sensing Saito reaching for her cake, Akane held it far away from him.

“This one is mine! I won’t give it to you even for just a bite, Saito!”

“But I was the one who bought it!”

“It’s mine when you gave it to me. You don’t have the right to take it back.”

Akane ate the cake with enthusiasm. Despites her grumblings, she looked like she enjoyed every bite.

Next to Akane, Saito was also eating the cake.

“So? It’s not that good right?”

“It’s definitely not.”

However, it wasn’t terrible. Sharing a cheap cake, and criticizing it while walking together wasn’t a bad thing.

While the two were walking to school,

“Are? Saito? Akane?”

They heard a surprised voice. Himari with her charmingly long blond hair ran up to them.

“”—————–!””

Both Saito and Akane froze.

“This is rare~, seeing you two together outside of school like this. Are you two going to school together? What’s wrong what’s wrong~?”

Her innocent eyes looked at them questioningly with enthusiasm.

–This is bad…!

This was a critical error. Saito could feel his cold sweat gushing out and his lifespan shortening.

Thanks to the chaotic morning and his brain missing all the required screws, he absolutely forgot to go to school later than Akane. He had always been careful about this, but it’s all meaningless thanks to today.

Looking at his walking partner, Akane’s face was also pale. She was like a mermaid on land, gasping for air. Whenever Akane was pushed to this point, she always acted dangerously.

“There’’s, there’s no way we would go to school together! This is, this is. This is Saito stalking behind me! Please call the police for me!”

“Hold on.”

The accused, Saito, voiced his objection.

Himari tilted her head.

“This doesn’t look like a stalking situation~…. You two were talking together happily, and even shared a cake with one another.”

“Kuh~….”

Akane let out some indiscernible noise. The only thing he knew was that she received some heavy mental damage.

“This, this, this is, is,…”

Akane was deep in thought. Her brain processing power was way faster than the rest of her body. She could only manage some incoherent blabber, her eyes darting around, hands trembling.

“That’s, that’s right! This, this is just my leftovers thrown to the side, and Saito picked it up to finish it!”

“Saito…?”

Himari looked at Saito with concern in her eyes.

“I’m not a dog.”

“Right, Saito isn’t a dog…. He just enjoys things like that… Everytime I throw something away, his urges take over.”

“Can I sue you for slander?”

Saito was disappointed. It was as if their peaceful moments together was just an illusion.

Himari fliced Akane’s forehead.

“Oi~”

“Hya~!? W, what are you doing…”

Akane held her forehead with teary eyes.

–She is going to scold this girl as her best friend for bad-mouthing me? That’s great, be brutally honest.

Saito was looking forward to it, however.

“You can’t throw food on the street like this. You should finish your food. Else, the crows, wild dogs, or Saito will pick it up.”

“I’m sorry.”

Akane stood in a daze.

–That’s not what I meant!

Saito wanted to retort to defend himself, but they managed to change the topic away from them walking together, so he endured it.

Thanks to both of their efforts, their life together was taking a term for the better.

They regularly went shopping together, divided the chores properly, and even had time for recreation, making their time less stressful.

Though they couldn’t fully stop quarrelling, the frequency of the heated ones was way lower than what it used to be before, and they managed to enjoy life much more.

And thanks to that, Saito was able to see something for himself.

That was Akane’s usual expression, feelings, and her strengths. Things he couldn’t observe before in their battlefield.

Another thing he realized was her conviction.

If it’s past midnight and Akane still hadn’t returned to the bedroom yet, chances were she’s in her study room. The door used to always be locked, but it’s opened slightly tonight, light spilling through the doorway.

“It’s already late. What are you doing?”
Saito peeked inside.

The room used to be filled with a wooden smell just like all other rooms in the house, but now a girly fragrance could be felt inside it. Reference books and thick encyclopedias lined up neatly on her table, alongside a teddy bear.

Akane turned around to see him.

“Revising. We have a quiz coming soon so I want to revise all the topics we’ll cover in the test.”

Saito shrugged.

“It’s just a quiz, there’s no point in learning. You should save your efforts for the real one.”

“So you say, but you always get a perfect score for those quizzes.”

“I just did the quiz normally, I didn’t revise for it.”

“Urghhh… How can you get a 100 so easily…”

Akane bawled her hand into a fist.

“I always remember what I was taught in class. It’s actually harder for me to forget about it.”

“Are you mocking me? You want to say that someone who spends effort in learning like me is just dumb right?”

“I didn’t say that… But it looks tough huh.”

Saito wanted to pay his respects for her efforts, but it had a negative effect.

“…..~~!! Get out now! Don’t bother me!”

Akane threw the teddy bear to shoo Saito away.

Saito thought “crap” while scrambling out. He let his guard down since their relationship was a lot better recently. But it appears he stepped on Akane’s landmine somewhere.

The door to her room was slam shut, and locking noises can be heard. If he didn’t do anything, tomorrow’s atmosphere would be unbearable.

–I have to do something…There must be a way to improve Akane’s mood….

Easier said than done. If he knew of such a way, he wouldn’t be fighting with her for 2 years straight. The path to Akane’s heart is way more twisted than some simple studying.

While Saito was pondering, he suddenly remembered the strawberries he just bought.

He confirmed it by opening the fridge.

All the strawberries were still there. It might be fine to give this to her, but there was a decent chance she would tell him off for the unprepared strawberries.

It would be better if he made it more presentable. Akane liked strawberry cakes the most, so he should be making something of the like.

There was some emergency bread in the fridge. Saito thought he could use this with cream and strawberry to make some strawberry sandwiches, but there wasn’t any cream in the fridge.

–Is it possible to replace cream with well-shaken protein?

Saito had a sudden bright idea.

However, he could immediately hear Akane’s angry “stop”, so he put the protein shake back in the fridge. On second thoughts, protein was prone to become clotted so it’s hard to recreate the smooth texture of cream in your mouth.

He did another sweep of the fridge, and found yogurt. The colour and the texture fits the requirement, so this was ideal as the replacement of cream. In actual fact, there was some sour cream in real life made by letting cream ferment with acid lactic.

Saito poured the yogurt into a big bowl, added sugar, and whipped until it’s thoroughly mixed. Then, he spread it on the bread slices and put the strawberries on top.

He put the now finished sandwich on a plate, and planned to decorate it with some mint, but ….there was none. No herbs for decorating purposes, aside from parsley.

There was no other choice so Saito put some parsley on the sandwich. The green from the herb, the white of the yogert-cream and bread, and the red from the strawberries mixed together, creating a very appetizing dish.

Saito was satisfied with his creation, and he brought the sandwich to Akane’s room.

There was a cute looking wooden board with the words “Akane’s room” hung outside the door, but there was nothing cute about it constantly being slammed shut. It wouldn’t be hyperbole to say there was a demon queen living in here.

Saito sighed, then knocked on the door.

“What?”

Akane hadn’t cooled off from before, so she replied with a curt voice.

“I made you some midnight snacks, how about having some while studying?”

“Midnight snack…?”

The door opened slightly and Akane peeked out from behind it.

There was a slight chance she would get annoyed and say ‘I don’t want it, stop wasting strawberries!’. And if that happens, their relationship would get a lot more strained.

Saito worriedly presented her the dish.

“Strawberry sandwiches!”

Akane’s eyes widened with glitter.

Good, it seemed like she liked it. And that made Saito relieved.

“Why, why did you make this for me…? Do you have a hidden motive…?”

“No schemes, no nothing.”

“There definitely is a scheme here. If not, you’ll never do anything like this, especially not after a quarrel.”

Akane suddenly exclaimed.

“I got it! You put some sleeping pills in this sandwich didn’t you? You think you’ll make me get a 0 by not letting me revise, don’t you?”

“I didn’t put anything in. However, if you think you’ll get a zero just for not revising, then you should reconsider your studies in class.”

Akane was full of suspicion. She glared focusedly at the sandwich.

“So….what….? Is it some kind of plastic sample, and my teeth will fall off with a bite..? You want to shatter my heart along with my jaws trying to eat something I like…?”

“I’m doing nothing so complicated. It’s just a normal strawberry sandwich. Eat it.”

“Kya~”

Saito handed her the plate as if tossing it away, and Akane hurriedly caught it. No matter how suspicious she was of the dish, she was a serious person, who wouldn’t waste food no matter what.

“That’s that. If you don’t want it, just throw it away.”

“W, wait! Don’t leave it behind on your own accord.”

Saito left the room and Akane’s complaints behind and walked away.

Finally, Akane could continue with her studies after the troublesome guy left. She noted down the scope of the quiz in her notebook, memorized it, restructured it in her head and printed it deep so as to not forget it.

She couldn’t forgive anyone not taking studying seriously. She had to beat that indifferent guy who didn’t even study for the quiz – Saito.

However, she couldn’t concentrate at all.

She placed the sandwich dish on the table since she didn’t have the heart to throw it away. She kept glancing at it from time to time, losing some precious concentration in the process.

–It looks so yummy…

Akane gulped.

But, it’s strange. With how coldly she treated Saito, he still made her some midnight snack. That kindness didn’t seem plausible for him.

Or, he was targeting her suspicion, and let the hunger assault her. It was psychologically impossible to endure not eating your favourite food sitting next to you. If that was his plan, Saito was a devious schemer.

–Just, just a tiny bit. It will be fine if it’s just a small bite right…?

Akane carefully bit a sandwich.

The cool and sour cream, and the juicy strawberries were swirling in her mouth.

Mixed with the fluffiness of the bread, creating a refreshing taste straight down her throat.

“…..It’s delicious.”

Akane whispered, unbelieving.

She couldn’t feel the effects of the sleeping drug, or any protein shakes inside it. It’s a completely normal midnight snack, made with Saito’s thoughtfulness of her likes and dislikes.

What if this was something he made after regretting over their quarrel, and wanted to give her this to make up?

When she thought about it like that, Akane felt a strange feeling in her chest. It was warm, ticklish, and made her unable to calm down… however, it wasn’t a bad feeling.

“If, if it’s like this, I won’t give you any mercy in the quiz.”

With flushed cheeks, Akane ate the sandwich.

Delicious.

With her energy refilled, her motivation was overwhelming.

It was higher than it had ever been.

— I have to try hard till morning!

Akane once again grabbed her pen and faced the notebook.

Akane suddenly lost her consciousness walking in the hallway.

“Akane? Are you alright?”

Akane heard a voice, and realized she was being held by Himari.

“Ah…I was just dozing off.”

“What do you mean dozing off! It’s dangerous falling asleep while walking.”

Himari could feel her cold sweat.

“Sorry. Next time I feel sleepy, I’ll just sit down beforehands.”

“Passing out while sitting is also nothing to write home about… Akane always seems weird recently. And your complexion isn’t good, are you alright?”

“I’m staying up late every day to revise so I’m not getting enough sleep, that’s all.”
Himari led Akane into the cafeteria.

There were a lot of students in the cafeteria today. Usually, Akane never used the cafeteria, but there was no other choice today since she didn’t have time to prepare bento.

The two took their trays and stood in line.

“There should be a limit to your studying~? Else your body won’t be able to stand it”

“Even if my body crumbles, it’s a fine price to pay for getting top 1 of the grade…”

“It’s not fine at all! Akane’s body is more important than those achievements! And regardless, you aren’t Saito’s opponent~!”

Akane pinched her eyebrows.

“Not… Saito’s opponent…?”

“Ah~”

Himari covered her mouth.

“I’ll definitely win against Saito! Even if it takes hundreds, no, thousands of years. I’ll definitely have him experience crushing defeat against me and accept that I’m above him.”

“It doesn’t matter if you spend another hundred years training, you’ll graduate way before then~… You only have one year of highschool left…. Let’s say you won’t be able to beat him before then, will you chase after Saito to university?”

“I, I’m not chasing after anyone! If I do that, won’t I be admitting that I have feelings for him?”

Akane’s cheek felt hot. She also felt it’s hard to breathe, was it because the cafeteria was too crowded?
Himari got omurice, while Akane got some strawberry. Then they searched for available seats.

Saito and Shisei were sitting by the entrance. Those two were really close. Their atmosphere and even appearances resemble each other, so it would be easier to mistake them as blood siblings than cousins. Saito was stopping Shisei while she was trying to cut steak with her bare hands.

“Saito and Shisei are sitting over there~. Let’s eat together!”

“No we cant!”

“Why?”

“No matter what!”

Akane and Saito’s interactions recently were too suspicious, even for Himari. If they sat at the same table, one mistake may lead Himari to figuring out the truth.

The fact that she married a boy in the same class, and even slept with him on the same bed every night needed to stay a secret. If Himari was to know it, she would most definitely be disillusioned. Akane didn’t want to lose her only friend.

Akane and Himari searched for another open seat away from Saito.

The cake on her plate was well baked. There was plenty of cream and decorative chocolate. Akane loved the perfection of the cake that seemed out of place in the cafeteria’s menu.

However… She didn’t enjoy it as much as she did before. Whenever she thought about Saito’s midnight snack, it was several times more delicious. 

“Akane is so admirable~”

“Eh? What for?”

“If it was me, I couldn’t stand studying every day. Even I know that I should be more focused on studying because my grades are always below average. But I always lose my focus on random videos on my smartphone.”

Akane placed her fork on the plate.

“Erm, I don’t particularly dislike studying. Also…There’s someone rooting for me this time”

“Who who~! Is it a guy? Did you get a boyfriend?”
Himari leaned over the table with sparkling eyes. She was very interested in this story.

Akane realized she left some unnecessary words slip.

“I, it’s not like that! That person just made me some midnight snack while I was studying.”
“Your mom?”

“It’s not my mom.”
“Then your father?”

“My father can’t cook.”

Himari put her hands on her chin, mimicking the pose of a legendary detective.

“Not a guy, not your parents, but willing to make you a midnight snack as a form of encouragement…?”
Then, she pointed her index finger in the air.

“I got it! The culprit is Miss maid!”

“Good deduction. Yes, it’s the maid that I hired to fully support me in my studies.”

Akane relaxed her shoulders and laughed.

“Mou~, you’re teasing me aren’t you~. You can’t teasing me just because I’m dumb okay?~”

“I’m not teasing you.”
“Then tell me~ Akane~”

Himari shook Akane’s arms.

–I didn’t expect Saito to be the one supporting me like this.

Thinking back about it, Akane became flustered. Never did she envision this, considering her interactions with him consisted solely of arguments and quarrels.

To not waste Saito’s effort supporting her, she will absolutely beat Saito in this quiz.

That was what Akane swore.

Akane kept studying past midnight. Akane collapsed on the bed, waking Saito up. When he checked the clock, it was already 3AM. And this happened again and again.

Saito thought that her studies would get worse and worse the more she let her fatigue accumulate, but it would be easy if she listened to his advice.

This evening, he was also preparing strawberry sandwiches for Akane.

He knocked on the door, but there was no reaction.

“I’m bringing your snacks.”

Saito called while opening the door.

Akane had collapsed on the desk, with no sign of waking up.

“Are you sleeping? If you are, lie down properly…”

When he drew closer, he noticed Akane’s attire was very strange.

Her breathing was irregular, with every breath looking painful.

Her forehead was drenched with sweat. Some dripped down to the chair.

“….Are you feeling unwell?”

“It’s fine… I’m completely fine… I’m just resting…”

Her voice was deprived of energy.

Saito put his hand on Akane’s forehead. Akane didn’t push that hand away, and let him measure her temperature. Her forehead was burning.

“You have a bad fever… Go to bed tonight.”

“Er, okay…”

Drained of her usual vigor, her reply was honest.

She fell onto the bed after Saito led her to the bedroom.

Her head was placed on the pillow, all limps laid straight. Though usually acting tough, she was now exhaling some painful breaths.

Saito covered Akane with a futon.

He went down to the living room to get the thermometer from the first-aid box.

“It’s better if you check the temperature properly.”

“……………….”

Despite being in front of Saito, Akane was trying to unbutton her pyjamas.

However, she didn’t have the strength to do it.

“Open your mouth.”

Listening to Saito’s words, Akane slightly opened her mouth.

Saito gently put the thermometer in the slip between her lips that was giving off some weak breaths.

Akane didn’t even have the strength to hold the thermometer properly so Saito supported it for her. The thermometer displayed a number that was slightly higher than 40 degrees after no time.

“40 degrees is tough… Give me a moment.”

Saito found the fever sticker and some fever medicines from the first-aid box. He then pasted the fever sticker on Akane’s forehead. Then he went to get some water.

She was too weak to take the medicine, so he supported her to sit up, then pushed the pills into her mouth. His fingers touched her tongue and were slightly wet as a result.

Saito held the cup at Akane’s mouth and let her drink the water. It was hard to let her drink it all so he gradually poured water in through the cracks in her lips.

“Haa~…haa~…..haa….”

It seemed even drinking water was too exhausting for Akane, as she leaned on to Saito and breathed heavily. This level of powerlessness was unusual. 

“It’s sweaty… uncomfortable.”

Akane’s nape was drenched, her pyjamas were also soaked with sweat. If she’s left like this, she would also catch a cold and take a turn for the worse.

Saito wetted a towel in the bathroom, and returned to the bedroom.

“I’ll help you wipe.”

“Okay.”

Akane’s eyes were now unfocused. She undressed her pyjamas, her bare slender waist was in full view, then her bra also became visible.

“Wait wait wait, you don’t need to take it off.”

Saito hurriedly stopped her. Though it would be easier to wipe her off naked, when Akane was fully conscious again, god knows what Akane will do to him.

Saito used the wet towel to wipe Akane’s nape.

“Uhn~…”

Akane let out some comfortable noise.

Saito also used the towel to wipe the sweat away from her face. He rolled her sleeves up to wipe her arms. He put the towel into her pyjamas and wiped her belly and waist.

“Mou~…that place….hngg~…”

When Saito’s hand was touching her bare skin, Akane let out a ticklish sound.

A rare defenseless Akane.

This act of putting his hand into a maiden’s shirt made Saito’s heart beat faster.

After wiping her body, Saito let Akane sleep on the bed.

Due to the terrible fever, Akane couldn’t sleep.

It was already late, but Saito was debating against sleeping. He was inexperienced with having fevers of over 40 degrees like this. If it was a serious one, he couldn’t stay calm.

–Why am I panicking like this…..?

Even Saito himself was surprised.

This girl was his archnemesis, someone who would make him angry just by meeting her at school.

She’s always rude, could turn everything into a taunt or competition, without a shred of honesty.

Or so he used to think.

But now, Saito was in this quiet room, watching over the girl on the bed. Unlike his usual self, he was tending to her carefully.

Akane whispered annoyedly. 

“Study… I have to study, but…”

“It’s because you studied too much that you fell ill like this. You always stay up late, it’s not good to try too hard.”

Saito was shocked. Ever since the day they lived together, he hadn’t once seen Akane turn away from her studies.

“Even if it’s pointless… I have a dream I must achieve no matter what.”

“A dream?”
Saito asked.

Akane said with a weak voice.
“I…want to become a doctor. Someone who can help others when they are hurt. I hate myself who couldn’t do anything. I want everyone I love to always be healthy.”

This was probably her honest thoughts, without a single lie and deceit.

Saito patiently watched as Akane opened her heart.

“But, my family isn’t wealthy enough for me to pursue a career in medicine. And I was told that if I agreed to marrying you, then all the fees would be paid, so…”

“So that’s why…”

A dream – The adults would surely laugh at such a feeble dream.

But to Akane, and to Saito, even, a dream is worth even a life’s gamble.

Even if that would result in part of their lives being constricted, like having their partners decided.

Even if they had to sacrifice freedom and romance, something that almost everyone strived to protect.

Saito married for the sake of his dream.

Akane married for the sake of her dream.

The two of them were fundamentally similar.

“You are remarkable. Always indifferent, but still getting good scores. I couldn’t beat you no matter how hard I try. It’s vexing, but I can’t win at all.”

Akane was more talkative tonight, due to her fever.

“Each person is good at a different thing.”
“I don’t like that!”

Her glare wasn’t as sharp as usual.

And she let out some words.

“…And, I admire you a little bit as well.”

“Admire…..?”
Saito couldn’t understand its meaning.

He didn’t expect her to feel that way considering that she usually despised him.

Akane jolted.

“W, wait! I don’t feel anything about you now! I’m definitely not admiring you or anything! If any, I actually despise you!”

Her panicking made her earlier statement even more real.

Saito felt a loud beat in his heart.

Seeing the true face of the girl whom he used to think of as an enemy, his body felt hot.

Akane was flustered, and turned away from Saito, covering her face with the futon.

Then, she had a severe coughing fit. Every breath sounded painful.

“Was the medicine effective?”

“…..No idea.”

When Saito put his hand on her forehead, Akane wriggled.

“It’s even hotter than it was before. We should call an ambulance.”
“Stop. Don’t make a huge showing. An ambulance is reserved for emergencies.”

“A 40 degree fever should qualify as an emergency. You should know this, considering you are aiming to become a doctor.”
“I know… but if another sick person passes away because of me, I won’t be able to forgive myself.”

“You…”
Even when she’s being sick and uncomfortable, she still thought about strangers. This girl may seem selfish on the outside, but she was scarily benevolent.

Saito used his smartphone to search for the taxi’s number and called.

However, for some reason, the call didn’t connect.

They must have their hands full driving the late night party-goers home.

He would have much preferred them to drive a sick person than some wasted people.

“Damn it~, this line is dead too!”
Saito hurriedly put his phone away.

The nearest hospital was 10 minutes away by bus. But, there were no busses operating at this hour.

Akane said.

“It’s fine, just go to bed. You have classes tomorrow.”

“I can’t.”

“Kya~!?”

Saito lifted Akane from the bed.

He felt like the princess carry training with Shisei was worth it in the end. He didn’t envision it would be effective at a time like this.

“Y, you…. What are you doing…”

“I can’t ignore my wife in pain.”

“….~.W, wife….”
Akane’s eyes wavered.

Saito carried Akane and darted out of the house. He could feel Akane’s warmth in the middle of the cold night. If taxis weren’t available, the only choice was by foot.

“You are stronger than I thought, huh…”

Akane whispered, and held on tight to Saito.

Saito ran along the dark empty street.

The night encroached the two.

The only things he could hear were his own steps and Akane’s ragged breaths.

Her body was lighter than what he initially thought.

Her arms slender, and her legs frail.

As if she would shatter being dropped to the ground, like a customly forged glass.

She always challenged him with this petite body of hers. In his eyes, she looked like a giant, purely from her abundant energy and mental fortitude.

But the reality is… this girl was much frailer than she normally behaved.

If she wasn’t held like this, if she wasn’t watched carefully, she could easily disappear. Her soul was like firecrackers, bright and explosive, but dangerous.

Saito lifted Akane up.

“……That was, the first time I listened to you talking about your dream.”

“You must be mocking me because of how impossible my dream is.”

“Why should I do that? If it’s you, I have no doubt it’s achievable.”
“Why?”

“You try your utmost best for whatever you do right?”
“Ah… yeah. Right. I, hate giving up midway.”
Akane smiled in his arms.

Until now, Saito had never told Akane of his dreams, or the future he envisioned sleeping inside his heart.

Ever since the start of highschool, or them living together, he didn’t understand anything about Akane. Something laid beneath her that was even more beautiful than her looks.

If he lost Akane here, everything would end with him being in the dark. If you lost a book when you had just barely read the first page, your curiosity would kill you.

–I want to know more. About Akane.

That’s what Saito felt.

He poured all of his motivation into his legs and ran.

He could feel the air thinning as he breathed, so he opened his mouth wider.

His heart was racing, his lung hurt as if threatening to burst.

His arms were sore from carrying Akane, and his legs ached.

But Saito didn’t slow down. Rather, he can’t.

He even had more motivation, the more tired he grew. He held Akane tight and headed to the hospital.

Saito’s white breaths danced in the frosty night.

I married a girl whom I really dislike.

Even then, even if it was unfortunate.

But for sure, one day, I would turn this marriage into one with a happy ending.