She Comes And Goes As She Pleases (Part 1)
by BrDPirateMan
She took a deep breath to take in the aroma of the kitchen.
"Mmmm… Nothing like the scent of a good breakfast in the morning."
At that time I was busy cooking at the stove. "Oh, 'morning," I mumbled over my shoulder. "Slept well, Eri?"
With shocking gracelessness she ruffled her unruly pink locks. "Eh, kinda. But the hangover is terrible." She slumped in a seat at the kitchen table, groaning and clutching her head. I took five seconds off the stove to pour her a glass of water, which she graciously took and gulped down in one go.
"Is it very bad?" I asked, returning to the miso soup that was simmering.
"Well, you know how hangovers are like, Neku. Ain't the prettiest thing ever."
"If you're not a fan of splitting headaches," I muttered flatly, "then just stop drinking."
Eri grumbled and made a face. "Don't wanna… Beer tastes great. You should try it too."
"Nah, I'll pass." Now, how was the soup? I took a clean spoon and scooped some up to taste. It was perfect. "Hey, breakfast is gonna be ready in a few. Why don't you go freshen yourself – "
I was startled to see that she had sidled up right beside me, gazing at the soup and sniffing at the wonderful briny smell. Her eyes were closed as she took it into her system to appreciate the scent, and judging from the smile on her lips, she liked the way the soup had turned out.
"Miso soup today?" she breathed. "My favourite. You sure know how to cook 'em, Neku."
It was nice getting positive feedback on my cooking, but…
"Um, l-like I said," I coughed, "breakfast will be ready in a bit, so why don't you go and freshen yourself up… And while you're at it, put on some clothes, will you?"
The whole time we were talking, Eri was clad in only her underwear. It's a habit of hers to take her clothes off before she goes to sleep; goodness knows why. But like so many mornings after, having gotten up straight from bed, she would absent-mindedly walk around in practically nothing. The kitchen was hardly the place to appear in just a bra and panties, but… that's exactly what she did. And no matter how many times I had seen this, it was still distracting at best.
She glanced down at herself but hardly showed any signs of surprise, if at all. In her life, such a thing was common. Her only reply was a cheeky one, "Well I'll be darned, I forgot to get dressed."
As she shuffled in the direction of the bathroom, cursing and clutching her painful head, I called out, "Towel's in the usual place. And your clothes are in there too, washed and ironed."
"Washed and ironed? Thanks! You're awesome, Neku!" Hmmm, in a good mood today as usual, was she? "I'll join you for breakfast after my shower, so wait for me, 'kay? And Neku…"
I turned back and leaned to look into the small hallway where her head was poking out of the bathroom door. "Yes?"
Her voice was mock stern. "No peeking, got it?"
"I'm not that evil…"
She just giggled and shut the door. Over the quiet burbling of the soup I could just about hear the hiss of the shower. She had better not use up all of the hot water again like she was prone to… I always took my own bath after cooking in the kitchen and getting sweaty – it could be hard work – and the last thing I wanted was a cold shower. I hated those.
XOXOXOXOXO
To understand why Eri was spending the morning having breakfast at my place instead of her own – and in her underwear no less – I need to wind back time and talk about our origins.
I'm Neku Sakuraba and I just entered college. This was my second semester and while things have been steadily growing more hectic, it was still fun. Graphic design's where it's at.
Eri is a friend of mine, but to explain how my friendship with her started, I'd have to first explain about another friend I know. Her name is Shiki Misaki and I knew her from school, back during our teenage years.
Shiki and I… we were like peanut butter and jam. The two of us had a strong friendship, and as luck would have it, I started to fall for her.
I could never confess my feelings for her, though, for a number of reasons, chief among them cold feet and unforeseen circumstances. It's like a cruel joke. It's been three years since I met her and not a single attempt that I made to get closer to her worked. Sadly, she was still oblivious to my growing feelings.
As if things couldn't get any worse, I was now faced with a mountain of unavoidable hurdles. We went to different colleges, stayed far away from each other, and our tight conflicting schedules made it hard to get in touch. Somewhere along the line, the magic just disappeared: we're not that close anymore. We're growing apart, and I didn't want that.
Eri was Shiki's bosom buddy, and where there was Shiki, there would always be an Eri. One of her mottos was "Any friend of Shiki's is a friend of mine", and since she knew how the two of us went way back, she recognized me as a rightful pal of hers too.
She lives close by, along the same street as my apartment – just a few houses away – so we would wait at the same bus stop together. Eri and I naturally got to talking, and before long we went from acquaintances to surprisingly close friends.
The rather ironic upshot was that while I was drifting away from Shiki, I was growing closer to Eri. Funny how life works and screws you over.
But don't get me wrong… I wasn't saying that befriending Eri was a regretful thing or what – the opposite is true, as she's a really nice person in all truth. It's just… at the end of the day, my goal of spending a life with Shiki was growing farther and farther from my grasp.
Enough about Shiki and my own dreams for now, though. By now everyone's probably itching to know exactly why the heck I had a girl over for breakfast, and she was in her underwear. Well… that in itself is quite the story.
Eri was famous for her beauty, her carefree fun-loving attitude, as well as being a little bit eccentric – she's a fashion genius and I imagine that all geniuses have quirks of their own, so it makes sense that she's a little… strange.
I'm not even going to go into details but what I can say is that she has a weird, almost perverse sense of humour; a tendency to get overexcited over the tiniest of things; as well as an acute level of shamelessness. She squeals out loud when she lays eyes on the latest clothes in her favourite line. She devours fashion with such a passion it's genuinely scary. Did I mention she doesn't mind undressing or walking around half-naked in front of me? If she truly doesn't care being seen by me with so much of her body exposed, then maybe that's a strong testament to how close we really were: I may be a boy and she a girl, but she's perfectly comfortable around me. At least that's what I figure. Or maybe she doesn't see me as much of a man?
Even though she's fine with it – and I for one certainly don't mind – my hormones always have a hard time. It's hard for a normal guy like me to not look at her attractive face and be wowed by her gorgeous toned body. Having to suppress my urges is such a challenge, especially when Shiki was my main goal in the first place!
But all that still doesn't explain why Eri was over at my place, so I've got another anecdote to share…
XOXOXOXOXO
Eri's quite the drinker, and every so often, she would go out and have a good time with her gal pals getting plastered on draft beer at some sushi bar. She usually manages to get back home somehow, but one night, much to my surprise, she showed up at my doorstep.
"Eri?" I had to squint at that disheveled face to make sure it was her.
The alcohol reeked in her breath as she spoke. "Hi, Neku. You free for a bit?"
For a few seconds I didn't know what to say. But before I could even mutter anything else, she continued in slurred speech, "I'm so tired… And walking back home like this is a real drag. Hate to bother you, but… could I crash at your place?"
I wasn't interested in having a drunkard over for the night – tipsy people could be a whole heap of trouble – so I tried to talk her out of it. "But your house is only a few blocks away. It's not too much of a stretch to walk there."
"Please?" she pleaded. "I'm really in no condition to do anything right now. I just need to… lay down and rest a bit."
She did look terrible. In her state she was probably unable to do much. If anything, she looked ready to drop to the floor and sleep right then and there. Reluctantly, I let her in. She graciously entered my home. The moment she did, I regretted it.
She took scarcely a few steps into the living room before she started peeling clothes off of herself!
It's useless to reason with a drunk person, but by instinct I almost yelled, "Eri, what the heck are you doing? !"
"I gotta sleep," she mumbled, flinging her crop top onto the couch, "an' when I sleep it gets hot at night, so I jus' sleep in my undies. Y'know what I'm sayin', right, Neku?"
Seeing her terrific body in that skimpy strapless bra must have completely dazed me, because, rather stupidly, I said, "Um… I dunno about that…"
She hadn't even gotten her mini-skirt down her thighs before she suddenly looped her arms around me in a sloppy hug. I recoiled in shock, but couldn't escape her embrace.
"Whassat you say?" she purred, her hot breath tickling my ear. "You don' sleep in your underwear, Neku? So you, like, sleep naked?"
It was all I could do to save myself from choking. "What? ! No! L-Look, Eri, you've had a bit too much to drink…" – she was so close… – "…I'll get you some water…" – her firm breasts were pressing against my chest – "…then you can get to bed and rest, and – "
Without warning she threw her body weight onto me and the two of us stumbled onto the couch, where I ended up trapped beneath her. And she was giggling.
"Hee hee hee… Yer so cute, Neku, when yer blushin' like that." Her grip on me never faltered, and as her overexposed body lay full-length along mine, I began to wonder what terrible fate might await me if she suddenly became sober right then and there, only to misunderstand the situation and think that I had stripped her with my own hands.
But she remained as drunk and hopelessly oblivious as ever. Depending on how I perceived my current situation, it was either the best thing ever, or the worst. Eri was a babe, a total knockout; that much I could attest to. I would be lying if I didn't enjoy the feeling of her fantastic body on mine. However, at the same time, I felt really uneasy. The girl I loved was Shiki, not her, and with each sinfully enjoyable second that passed I felt all the more like I was cheating on her, even when we weren't even going out. It was one heck of a quandary.
My feelings about this matter notwithstanding, one thing was for certain: I couldn't budge. Eri had me pinned down. Where a lithe, delicate and supposedly weak person like her got her strength, I didn't know, and seriously, did it matter at a time like this? I needed to get out fast. She continued to snuggle up against me and rub her head in my chest much like how a cat might rub against its owner's leg.
"Eri," I stammered, "c-could you get off of me? I need to find you a place where you can sleep."
She mumbled incoherently, "But I wanna sleep here. Yer gonna be my bolster." Dammit… she could be so kinky when she's drunk!
"Come on, Eri. I'm serious." …Or so I said, but the fleshy softness of her chest squashing against mine took a lot of the firmness out of my words.
Her droopy eyes flashed with mischief as she lifted her head to look at me.
"Heh… Neku…"
"What?"
She brought her mouth to my ear, so closely I almost thought her lips would touch it, and her warm breath billowed onto my skin. My hair stood on end. And then, obviously in jest, she whispered:
"You're making a tent in your underwear."
Oh dammit.
"I-I'm sorry!" I blurted. "I didn't… I mean it wasn't…! It was just…" What was I supposed to say to explain myself for something like that?
Fortunately I didn't have to say anything more, because when she didn't reply or retort anything back, I knew she was sleeping. Like a log, even. It made me feel silly to get worked up over her lewd comment.
After a great effort to pry myself free from her python grip, I found myself wondering what to do with her. I had never had a girl over at my place – not even Shiki – so I was at a loss. Not only was this the first time this has happened, it was also the first time where said girl was drunk and naked… That chest of hers… it was so nice to the touch… and that body was like heaven personified… And the perfume she was wearing was intoxicating… Mmm… vanilla…
No! I had to focus! I'm so sorry, Shiki! The quick slap to my own cheek stung, but it did well to bring me back to my senses.
Now let's see… At the very least, she should have a good place to rest, and it definitely shouldn't be a couch. Luckily, as my home was a two-bedroom apartment and I was the only occupant, there was a spare bedroom that she could use. Soon she was snoozing like a lamb and seeing her look so comfortable as she slept gave me a sense of chivalrous satisfaction, a feeling that, despite all the odds placed against me, I had done well as a gentleman.
That was that, and it was high time I went to bed myself, but for some reason I couldn't stop staring at Eri's sleeping form. She was pretty enough to demand second glances. Whereas before she may have seemed like a drunken idiot, now she actually looked like an angel. I loved Shiki, but Eri's beauty was so mesmerising that I allowed myself, albeit guiltily, to examine her facial features in greater detail. After a thousand apologies to Shiki, I knelt at the side of the bed to take a closer look.
Words couldn't describe her loveliness enough, so I wouldn't. All I knew was that I couldn't tear my eyes off of her face.
I found myself whispering unconsciously, "She's so pretty…"
She stirred in her sleep, making me think that she had heard me. My panic disappeared when she simply rolled over to her side. Still asleep… That was close.
Then I realized that her blanket had somehow crumpled in such a way that her back, which was facing me, was now exposed. And I really mean it: the whole of her back. For some reason, the hook of her bra had come loose and detached itself, so her back was now in full view, that meadow of skin looking so pristine.
It was here that the world was privy to an amazing feat of the human body: the infamous Crimson Fountain of Death…
…also known as an explosive nosebleed.
Oh god! I'd never seen a naked woman before… I'd never even dared to look at a men's magazine… and now there was an insanely sexy girl dressed in panties and plenty of air sleeping in my own home? ! I couldn't take it. My nose bled so much that I had to retreat to the bathroom sink.
Now I felt even guiltier! This wasn't happening (in both a good and bad way)!
Shiki, I'm so sorry! ! !
XOXOXOXOXO
The next morning, as I was cooking breakfast, there was an almighty scream. Oh boy. That was Eri's voice coming from the spare bedroom. I could more or less guess what was up. I threw all caution to the wind, said a prayer for good luck and charged right in.
"Eri," I called, "what's wrong? !"
Upon my intrusion, she gave a start and screamed again. "Neku? !"
The girl was in a sitting position, her hair all in a mess, and the blanket pulled up coyly to her chest. My sharp eye caught a glimpse of the rear strap of her bra dangling precariously behind her back. She hadn't even bothered to hook it closed yet? ! I had to fight back another nosebleed.
Her eyes were wide with fear and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and her entire frame was shaking like an earthquake. She tried to speak, but her voice was hard to find. At last, in one breath, she blurted, "N-Neku! What's going on? ! I'm… I'm in your house? ! What am I doing here? And most importantly, why am I naked? !"
I had to clear my name, and quickly. "You're mistaken, Eri!" I spluttered. "You came here drunk last night and had to stay over. But I didn't do a single thing to you!"
She twitched in pain, seemingly from a hangover, and clutched her head. Nevertheless, she was still flustered. "Th-Then why am I not wearing anything? !"
"You took off your clothes by yourself!" Last night's memory of her brief stint as an amateur stripper threatened to spill my nose over anew.
"I… I did?" Her panic petered out and she regressed into a calmer state. "Oh… um…"
Wait a minute. Why was she calm about this anyway?
"I really didn't do anything, Eri," I repeated, not knowing what else to say. "I swear, I did not a single thing." In rapid-fire detail I went on to reiterate the fact that it was she who came into my home and stripped herself stupid, but I cleverly chose not to disclose about how she tried to seduce me in while she was drunk. She listened and clung onto every word with widening eyes that threatened to outgrow her own eye sockets.
"And that's pretty much it, Eri," I said at last. "Um, I know this isn't exactly the right thing to say at a time like this, but breakfast is almost ready. I thought you might be hungry, so I made an extra portion for you."
I was about to high tail it back to the kitchen before the awkwardness settled in too much, but she stopped me in my tracks. "Wait."
"Huh?"
"Neku… I get that I took off my clothes on my own accord, but…"
"B-But what?"
"But I don't remember a thing from last night…"
"That's because you were drunk." Perhaps it was better she didn't remember everything that happened…
"I see… So, um, about last night…" She started to blush and refused to meet my eyes. Then she asked the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard in my life. "Was it… enjoyable?"
WHOA? !
The thought of me and Eri doing… Well, there were a number of things she could have meant, but the only one that seemed to make sense in this context was… But there was no way she could… I could… we could… and then there was… Well, again I say, WHOA? !
"Wh-What are you saying, Eri? !" I stammered.
"Neku," she muttered softly, "if what you've told me is the truth, then I'm so sorry for barging in last night. My… deepest apologies. But at least tell me if… if we… you know… and if… if you, um… enjoyed it…"
My head was spinning just from imagining that highly unlikely scenario. "Eri, you need to chill out! We didn't, um, hop into bed and have… you know!"
"Huh?"
"The current circumstances make it look like we did that, but the truth is we didn't! What makes you think we did? !"
Her eyes grew wider, followed by a slight frown and some surprisingly calm words, although she was looking away in embarrassment as she talked. "Neku… I wasn't talking about that."
"Eh?"
"I was just wondering if we were somehow playing strip poker last night, and whether you found it… enjoyable. I mean, I was drunk…"
Eri's logic was so skewed I didn't know what to think. And she was sober too.
"You're so mean, Neku," she huffed quietly, "saying that I would do such dirty things…" Well, you've done plenty of crazy things already, Eri; I just thought that it would only be natural of you to take the next step…
Defeated, I decided to just let her win this round. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Sorry for having such a dirty mind. I'll clear it out with bleach afterwards." I spoke those words with a deadpan, but hoped that my veiled humour would cheer her up.
To my surprise, she actually smiled. It was a small insignificant one, but one that showed how relieved she was. There was also a hint of amusement. "Add in some detergent while you're at it."
I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "Ah… yeah."
It looked like everything was returning to normal at last… although a girl talking so nonchalantly to a boy with only a flimsy blanket for protection hardly qualified as normal. But at the same time, there was this strange feeling starting to grow within me… Even when this conversation was incredibly weird, even perverse, why did I find myself enjoying the interaction I was having with this girl who wasn't even my love interest? It was only a tiny fraction of a feeling, but one I couldn't ignore.
Did I actually like talking to Eri this much before?
Her meek voice came through to me. "N-Neku?"
"Oh! Um, yes?"
"Wh-Where are my clothes?"
Her clothes, that she flung all over the place last night? "I, uh… Well, the smell of the alcohol on your clothes was very strong, so I washed them last night and hung them in the bathroom to dry. Last I checked, they're still damp, so… uh…"
"You washed them?" she gushed, impressed. "For me? Gee… thanks. But…"
"Y-Yeah…" I gulped. "That means you'll be stuck here till it dries. Well, no matter, I'll bring your breakfast to you – "
My sentence faded midway as I watched her kick her blanket away and get back on her feet, fiddling with her undergarments. There she stood, looking disheveled yet remarkable as she fixed up her bra. When she was done, she had this to say to me.
"No need to go out of your way for that, Neku. I'll just eat at the table as is. Breakfast in bed is just too much trouble, you know? The crumbs and stuff just get everywhere." One final once-over at herself and a quick hand through her messy hair to smoothen it out, and she was ready to paint the town red. With the blood from my nosebleed. I could only gape and tremble as she strolled out of the room past me like walking around in underwear was as common as eating or breathing.
"Can I borrow your bathroom for a bit, Neku? I'm gonna need a shower."
I nodded stupidly and showed her the way.
As she showered I found myself collapsed against the nearest wall, wondering how someone as strange as Eri could even exist in the first place. She was a peculiar one, to be sure. Nudity was hardly a cause of concern for her. How was this possible? !
Shortly afterwards, as I was still in a daze, the bathroom door opened and out poked her head, hair dripping with water. "Oh yeah, Neku, you got any towels? I just finished showering and I'm naked but can't find anything to wrap myself in."
N-Naked… how could she say such a word so easily? ! "L-Look at the rack above the sink," I mumbled, turning away to hide the blood gushing out of my nose, "it's hard to see, but it's there."
A moment later she announced that she had found what she needed. "They were here all this time. Silly me!"
One final giggle and the door closed blissfully behind her.
God… This was all so much to take in. Especially for my poor nose. After this episode was over, I might need to make a trip to the hospital for a blood transfusion…
XOXOXOXOXO
That was an extremely long-winded way of saying just how carefree and downright strange Eri was. After that incident, she started coming over to my house more often, and every time it was because she was drunk and needed a convenient place to crash. Think of all the money I could rake in if I charged her for all those times she treated my house like an inn! I could earn my first hundred thousand yen like this…
I always had breakfast alone, but that night heralded the start of many days where she would share the dinner table with me. We had reached a point where she was almost like she was a housemate or something.
At first, she seemed like a pest. But over time I got used to her presence, and now, well, I didn't really mind.
It's just… why…
Why couldn't it be Shiki instead of Eri? ! We could have become so much closer! Argh, just the thought of it could kill me in more ways than one! If it was Shiki frolicking around in a bra and panties instead of Eri… what a fantastic thing it would be…
"Neku?" came Eri's voice over breakfast. "You're getting your nosebleed in your miso soup. Are you okay?"
My trials were pretty daunting as they were, but nothing could prepare me for what was to come in the near future…