All of a Sudden… a Maiden Appears and a Bachelor Opens Up
Knock. Knock.
What is this? A joke? A girl with fawn hair thought after knocking on the apartment door twice.
She had been waiting for someone to answer the door for several minutes, but no one had come out. Shortly afterward, one of the neighbors came out and glanced at the girl's direction.
"Oh?" It was a woman who was about ten years older than her. "Are you looking for Mr. Kougami?"
The fawn-haired girl looked to her left. Her solemn expression soon became a heartwarming smile. "Yes. I was wondering where he was since no one had opened the door after I knocked on it. Would you know where he would be?"
The woman's eyes widened in surprise, which soon turned into a somewhat apologetic one. She placed her left hand on the side of her face and tilted her head to the side. "Oh, I'm sorry. Mr. Kougami isn't home at the moment. He left to go to work about an hour ago. If I had known he was expecting a guest to arrive, I would have informed him sooner."
"Eh…?" The woman's words immediately struck the girl. Then, she blinked and suddenly had a sad and slightly wrecked expression on her face. "He's not here…? Then, where is he?"
The woman frowned. "To be precise, all I really know is that he works at an all-girls high school. Perhaps you can find a way to meet him later?"
"Oh." There was a frown etched onto her face when she heard those words. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time, Ma'am. I'll see if I can contact him later."
The woman smiled with her eyes closed. "You don't have to think of it that way. I'm sorry I couldn't help you." She gave a light bow with her head. "Then, I'll be going back inside now. It was nice to meet you, though."
"Yes," the fawn-haired girl nodded. "It was nice to see you, too."
After that, the woman went back to her apartment, leaving the girl all alone outside.
The girl sighed and took out her cell phone. "Guess I'll have to call Kun Kun, then." She dialed a number listed under the name 'Kunihiko Aikawa' and hit the call button. Immediately after she placed the phone next to her ear, the person on the other line picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hello?" the girl said. "It's Mashiro. Yamato's not at home right now, so can I come visit you right now? I don't have anywhere else to go, so…"
Kunihiko chuckled slightly. "I see. Well, you're welcome to come over anytime. I'm free right now, so I'll be waiting for you over at Long Island."
"Alright. I'll be there in a few minutes," Mashiro nodded.
And like she told the man named Kunihiko Aikawa, Mashiro had walked all the way to a nearby sports bar called Long Island and opened the door, walking into the building.
"Kun Kun?" she looked around. "I'm here~!"
"Oh! Mashiro! You're here!" a man with shaggy purple hair exclaimed as he walked up to Mashiro.
"That's what I just said," the fawn-haired girl told the older man.
Kunihiko held out a key in front of the girl. "Anyway, here. Have this."
Mashiro blinked. "What's it for?" She held out both of her hands as she looked at the key.
"Hmm?" Kunihiko smiled. He placed the key gently onto Mashiro's palms and put his hand into his pocket located on his pair of shorts. "I got this for you since you said Yamato wasn't home. It's an extra copy to his apartment door."
Suddenly, a delighted smile formed on the fawn-haired girl's face. She then looked at Kunihiko with her hands still held out. "You mean I can go into his apartment now?"
"That's right," Kunihiko confirmed. "But before that, how about I get you something to eat first? You must be hungry after coming here."
Mashiro nodded excitedly. "Un! I'll make sure to help you clean up after I'm done, Kun Kun! Can we eat together?"
"Of course!" the purple-haired man beamed. "I haven't seen you in a while, so let's have our first meal together (after meeting up again) to celebrate our reunion! It's been a long time since we ate with each other! I'll even tell you everything I know after this! So what would you like to have?"
"Hamburger!" Mashiro shouted happily. "And an omelet! Actually, I'm starving, so let's eat a lot today!"
Kunihiko laughed wholeheartedly. "Hamburgers and omelets, and everything we can eat, huh? You haven't changed one bit. Let's think of this as a late lunch/early lunch. I'll get everything together and teach you as much as I can about the area. Then we can go to Yamato's apartment together and make something for him before he gets home. How about it?"
Mashiro nodded once more. "Yeah!"
"Hmm… But for hamburger…" Kunihiko began to think about what to prepare first as the two of them were getting into the moment.
After several hours had passed by, Yamato had finally gotten off work for the night. He took out his house key and unlocked the door. Once he stepped inside, he was greeted by his "pet," which was a small robot vacuum cleaner by the name, Roomba.
"I'm home, Roomba," Yamato smiled when he saw it come up to him. "You seem happier today. Did something good happen while I was away?"
For a second there, it seemed as if a light flashed from Roomba. It was as though the small appliance was beaming with glee.
"Hm? Why are you all hyped up for?" the auburn-haired man asked.
Roomba soon skidded away.
Soon enough, Mashiro hurried out from the kitchen and dining room happily to greet the owner of the apartment. "Welcome home! Dinner's ready, so let's eat together!"
"Huh? Who are you?" Yamato asked. He wasn't sure why, but the fawn-haired girl seemed to have been waiting for him this whole time.
Mashiro kept smiling. "Hmm? I'm Mashiro, of course! I'm your future wife."
"HUH?!"
There were hardly any words to describe what he had just heard. Indeed, Yamato was already in a state of shock. However, Mashiro had the same smile on her face.
"Like I said, silly," she answered. "I'm going to become your wife soon, so it's only natural that I would be waiting for you to return from work. I even had a bit of help preparing dinner for you."
"…"
Soon, Yamato came back to his senses.
"Who told you to come here?" he asked the fawn-haired girl.
Mashiro tilted her head to the side. "? Didn't you say you wanted someone to be your wife?"
Yamato blinked. "Huh?"
"I mean, you told Kun Kun that you needed one, right?" Mashiro continued. "So he asked me to come here and live with you."
Right then and there, it was all coming back to him.
"Ah!"
A few days ago…
"Hey, Kuni," Yamato began. "There's something I need to ask you."
Kunihiko glanced at the auburn-haired man in front of him and smiled. "What can I help you with, Yamato?"
"Well…" Yamato looked to the side as if something was troubling him. "At the interview today… they asked me if I was married. I lied and told them that I was, but I need someone to become my wife. If word gets out that I'm not actually married, they'll fire me in the blink of an eye. So… I need you to help me out here and find someone who'll agree to marry me."
Kunihiko rubbed the back to his head. "Ooh… That's… a tough one there. I'm actually in a bind myself here, Yamato. You see, the others have already asked me today to help them find someone, as well. They all came at different times, and I couldn't refuse them all. In fact, you're the last one to come to me for help on this."
"Darn…" Yamato had a depressed expression on his face. "I don't know if I can find someone before they find out about my marital status. Keeping this job is really important to me right now, Kuni."
The bar owner smiled again. "Look, Yamato. I'll let you in on this. I'll try to find someone who can help you out, but try not to be rude to her. I have someone in mind right now, and it looks like she's in need of a place to go. So if you promise me that you'll help her out, I'll contact her and ask if she wants to come here and live with you."
"You really mean it?" Yamato asked. He was astonished by Kunihiko's offer.
Without a doubt, the purple-haired man nodded. "Of course. All you have to do is accept my offer and I'll phone her right away. What do you say?"
"Alright!" the auburn-haired man exclaimed. "Thanks, Kuni!"
"No problem," Kunihiko replied. "Be nice to her, okay? She's a nice girl, so I don't want you to hurt her feelings."
"Don't worry," Yamato assured him. "I'll take care of her like she's one of my own relatives."
Kunihiko looked at Yamato and smiled warmly. "A deal's a deal. I'm counting on you to make her happy, Yamato. And… thank you."
"I see," Yamato remembered. "Well, that part's true. I do need someone to be my wife, but what I meant was that I wanted you to become my fake wife."
Mashiro tilted her head to the side. Again. "Not a real one? You don't want to actually marry me?"
"Uh…" Yamato trailed off, having a conflicted expression on his face.
Shoot. He entered his thoughts. I forgot to tell Kuni that I wanted to have a fake marriage, not a real one! Argh!
He sighed and stared at the fawn-haired girl in front of him.
Guess I have no choice, then. I'm going to have to commit to this relationship that I've started with her.
"Look." His gaze was intense as he kept staring at Mashiro. "I don't know what Kuni told you beforehand. But about getting married to you… I want to make things clear about this. I—"
The fawn-haired girl saw his expression and smile. "Um… How about we have dinner first? Anyway, let me introduce myself first." She placed her hands on the lower half of her apron and bowed before looking straight at the auburn-haired man in front of her. "My name is Mashiro Tsuneha. I am twenty-two years old, and I have come here to fulfil Kunihiko Aikawa-sama's request to become your wife. I hope to get along with you from this moment on, Yamato. I also know about your situation, so I'll do my best to show you and everyone else around you that I am a perfect housewife, and that I truly love you with all my heart no matter what. Even if the situation becomes difficult for the two of us, I will continue to support you as your one and only wife. Oh, and…" She kept smiling sincerely as she added the rest. "This is not only an introduction, but also a vow to you. I am not just saying this because of our circumstances; I am a maiden who has fallen in love with you without knowing what you looked like before I came here. I did not even know much about you but what Kunihiko-sama has told me about you. However, your genuine acceptance to provide a place for me to stay had touched my heart since no one else would take me in easily."
The endearing look on Mashiro face made Yamato's heart skip a beat as he saw how earnest she was. He couldn't help but blush as he kept looking at her face.
At that instant, he averted his eyes away from hers and had his arms folded against his chest. "Uh… Yeah. Whatever. Let's just have dinner together first. Anyway, I'm Yamato Kougami, your h-husband-to-be. I hope to get along with you as well, Mashiro."
Hearing those words come out of Yamato's mouth, Mashiro couldn't help but smile happily. She placed her fingers together in front of her, expressing both directly and indirectly how much joy she felt towards the auburn-haired man.
"Un!" She nodded as her feelings overflowed from within her chest.
While Mashiro was taking a bath, Yamato stood in front of his house phone. He stared at it for a moment as he sorted his thoughts out.
I'm gonna have to call Kuni and talk to him about this. It was because of me that I got Mashiro involved. And that they both believe that we're going to get officially married.
He picked up the phone and dialed Kunihiko's bar number. Within a few seconds, the call got through.
"Hello?" Yep. It was definitely Kunihiko on the other end.
"Kuni?" Yamato breathed. "We need to talk."
Kunihiko smiled casually. "Hmm? Is this about Mashiro?"
"Yeah," Yamato nodded. "Look, I… I didn't properly explain everything to you when I asked for your help on finding someone to be my wife." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "What I forgot to tell you before was that I wanted to have a fake marriage with her, not have her come here so that she would actually get married to me. That's all."
Kunihiko's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh? That's what you wanted to tell me?" A somber smile spread across his face. "To tell you the truth, Yamato… I knew you wanted that when you came to me for help not too long ago. I just didn't say that I would have you unofficially marry Mashiro. Instead, I actually wanted you to go through with this marriage with her. In fact, you're scheduled to get married to her a week from today."
"Wait, what?!" Now, it was Yamato's turn to be surprised. "Kuni, what do you mean by that?!"
Kunihiko blinked. "I meant what I just told you, Yamato. After you promised to take care of Mashiro and make her happy, I called her and told her there's someone who was willing to take care of her and provide a place for her to live in. I also told her that you wanted to marry someone, and that it would be her. You just happened to strike a deal with me that day." Clever yet somewhat deceiving, Kunihiko relayed the truth of this ordeal to the auburn-haired man who was still beginning his career and new life.
Yamato's anger was now flaring up from inside. "Kuni, you—"
"However, I don't mean any harm in this, Yamato," the sports bar owner continued. "The reason I did this was for you two to find happiness from this marriage, and not just any happiness—I wanted you of all people, along with Mashiro, to find true happiness from each other's company."
Yamato listened quietly. He was currently confused. "…True happiness…? What do you mean by that?"
"You'll see one day, Yamato." Kunihiko smiled on the other side of the phone call. "For now, just try to get through this marriage together with her. That's all I can really tell you right now."
Yamato sighed and complied to the latter's request. "I understand. I won't question you about this for now, but did you really get everything ready for next Saturday?"
"?" Yamato could hear a chuckle on the other end of the line. "Do you even have to ask me that? Of course I did. Well… I only filed in the marriage certificate. You two can just wear casual clothing next week. It's not like I was going to set up a whole wedding reception at a restaurant or anything for you to get married right there in a tuxedo, Yamato. Just find some suitable clothes and do whatever's comfortable for you when the day comes."
"That's easy for you to say," the auburn-haired man muttered under his breath. "I've only got a week to get ready for this! And it's not just me, but Mashiro has to participate as well!"
"Don't sweat the small stuff! It'll be fun!" the purple-haired man beamed. He quickly returned to his usual expression and smiled lightly. "Anyway, take care of Mashiro for me, okay?"
Yamato nodded with exhaustion all over his body. "Alright. See you later, Kuni."
"Oh, I forgot to tell you this, Yamato," Kunihiko mentioned. "We're meeting up tomorrow, so make sure to bring Mashiro with you. Bye!"
He hung up, leaving Yamato standing alone in the living room. Yamato sighed and put the phone down in its place. He turned towards the direction of the bathroom afterwards.
"Guess I better check up on her," he told himself.
He walked towards the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Mashiro? You in here?"
No answer.
"? Is she in the bedroom or something?" He looked towards the inner section of the hallway and walked towards his bedroom. Then, he opened the door. "Mashiro?"
Inside of Yamato's bedroom was the sleeping figure of said wife-to-be. She had changed into a different set of clothes than the ones she wore that morning. The blanket was only covering up the lower half of her body; Yamato walked up to the bed and pulled the blanket over to where it was nearly over Mashiro's shoulder. When he pulled away from her body, Mashiro turned in her sleep, now lying on her back. Yamato couldn't help but notice how beautiful the fawn-haired girl's face was, and came closer. His face was now close to Mashiro's and soon enough, his lips had touched hers for approximately three seconds before he pulled away.
As he looked at her, the auburn-haired man smiled tenderly. Before he knew it, a bundle of novel feelings were beginning to sprout from within his entire being like a chemical reaction.
"Goodnight, Mashiro," Yamato said, staring at the sleeping girl once more.
After that, he turned around and walked out the door, parting ways with Mashiro for the night.
The next day, the two of them entered Long Island and were greeted by everyone.
"Good morning, Yamato, Mashiro." There was Kunihiko with his typical smiled plastered onto his face. "Did you have a good night together yesterday?"
Mashiro smiled cheerfully. "Yes! It was nice having dinner together with Yamato yesterday."
"Looks like you had a lot of fun in your new home," the purple-haired man noted. "That's wonderful!"
Takao Maruyama smiled. "It sounds like you've gotten used to living with Yamato."
"So the newlywed life must be working out for you two, huh?" Yuta Kajima asked. "Bet there's gonna be a lot of exciting things to do once you start having kids."
"Wha—" Yamato's face became a bright shade of red at that second.
Takamasa Saeki smirked. "Don't encourage them, Yuta. Or rather, don't courage Yamato, that is. Who knows what he'll do to her later on."
"Oh. Right." Yuta turned away, a little disturbed from Takamasa's suggestion.
Ren Shibasaki stared intently at Yamato. "…"
"Anyway," Yamato said, "let me introduce you." He glanced at Mashiro and had a smirk of his own to rival Takamasa's. "This is my soon-to-be wife, Mashiro."
…
There was an uninterested silence that filled the entire bar. Just like the indifferent expression Ren had on his face, the room had a dead atmosphere surrounding the entire area.
"What's with the air here?" Yamato inquired. "Why aren't you guys saying anything?"
Takao's eyes widened, surprised at the auburn-haired man's obliviousness. "Yamato, do you really not know?"
Yamato turned towards Takao. "Huh? What?"
Yuta now had a puzzled look on his face. "Seriously, man? We already knew about Mashiro before you introduced her to us."
"What?!" Yamato was taken aback by what he just heard. "You guys already knew about her?!"
Takamasa sneered. "Looks like Yamato over here didn't get the clue after all."
"Sometimes, a man can be dense about the situation," Ren commented nonchalantly. "It was unusual in Yamato's case."
Kunihiko laughed enthusiastically. "Anyway, how about we all celebrate for the upcoming bride and groom? They seem to be getting along well, don't you think?"
"It's nice to see a couple in a group," Takao smiled again. "Congratulations, Yamato. You as well, Mashiro."
Mashiro smiled elatedly. "Thank you, Takao-san!"
"Hopefully they're not getting along too well," Takamasa teased. He enjoyed getting on Yamato's nerves, and everyone knew it.
Yuta frowned. "I think you're going a little too far there, Saeki."
"I don't know~," Takamasa smiled in an oddly pleasant manner. "Yamato might have done something to Mashiro while she was asleep last night. There's always a chance of something like that happening nowadays, Yuta."
"Err… You do have a point there," Yuta admitted.
Takao blinked with an astonished look on his face. "Wait, so are we calling Yamato a pervert?"
"It could be possible, given the circumstances," Ren pointed out. "So there's a chance of it happening."
"I bet Yamato here wouldn't think twice about trying to force himself on Mashiro once they're alone in the bedroom," Takamasa smirked. "He does seem like a dangerous and possessive guy."
Yamato's face flushed incredibly. "Wha—That's not something I would do, Saeki!"
Suddenly, they heard something drop on the floor. When everyone turned around to see what it was, they saw a girl who had a shocked expression on her face. She had long, turquoise hair that reached past her knees and icy blue eyes. She was holding onto her luggage with her right hand and her left hand was empty. What she had been holding in her free hand was now on the floor as she stared at the group of men far from her.
"Wh… Wh… Wh… Wh… What are you all doing?!" she yelled furiously, having heard the last bits of the conversation when she came in a few minutes ago. Her face was still flushed as her anger soared to the top of the ceiling.
