While most students would be glad to escape the confines of their classroom and go home or out with their friends, Kyouske Munakata was not one of them. He enjoyed spending his afternoons in the classroom, cleaning it until it was spick and span for the next day. In fact, it annoyed him how careless everyone in his class was. While most of them didn't carelessly litter, Kyouske could see all of the little specks of dirt and dust everywhere! It was just unsanitary for them to use all of the facilities as they do without cleaning it properly beforehand.
How could she have rested her head on such a dusty table! The Super High School Level Housekeeper scoffed as he sprayed more of the solvent on the table, then quickly spreading the liquid out with a rag. He remembered how Yukizome had been so careless as to rest her head on her desk during class. Kyouske knew that she was tired from all the work she had on her plate as she was the Super High School Level Council President, but that was no excuse. She could have just excused herself to the clinic, or go home early if she was that exhausted. Then again, he mused, had never actually seen Yukizome go on a break or absence before. She was always pushing herself to her limits. Seeing her work so hard was both admirable and terrifying at the same time.
"Munakata-kun, it's time to go home. Don't push yourself too hard!" A sweet voice had startled the housekeeper, which consequently made him drop the bottle of cleaning solvent. Quickly, Kyouske picked the bottle up before all of its contents spilled on the ground.
"I would say the same to you, Yukizome-san. I don't believe I've ever seen you take a break from the student council." He said calmly as he placed the bottle on the table, ignoring his quickened heart rate due to the earlier shock. Chisa silently wondered how he remained so composed despite being startled by herself just a moment ago.
"I guess you're not wrong…" The student council president replied, looking down. He didn't mean to upset her, Kyouske's thoughts resounded. But before he could do anything to fix the situation, Chisa had suddenly brightened up.
"But anyway, let me help you with that!" The student council president said as she clasped her hands together and smiled.
"You don't have to–"
Chisa had already headed off to grab a mop before the housekeeper could stop her. Sighing in defeat, the both of them cleaned the room in companionable silence.
"Hah… H-how are you not tired?" The student council president asked as she gracelessly plopped herself on a chair, exhausted from cleaning the room. Glancing around the area, she had only noticed how clean they managed to tidy the classroom; it was practically sparkling.
"I suppose I'm used to it." Was Kyouske's reply. He had then taken a seat next to Chisa and observed her. Just from this distance, he could see how tired she looked. Her face was quite pale, her eyes looked as if they could close at any moment and her skin had faint creases, a testament to how much work she always did.
"Are you… alright?" The housekeeper asked, not giving much of a thought to his words.
"I just need time to catch my breath, but I'm fine! Don't... worry about me," The student council president replied, although her energy faded the more she tried to keep her usual enthusiasm. Kyouske nodded at that, and the two had fallen into silence once more.
The houskeeper had never had the chance to get to talk to the student council president until now. While he was mostly reserved, Kyouske had no problems getting along with almost everyone in the class, although he never had the opportunity to talk to Yukizome– unless it was due to school related work. It must be tiring, having to manage the student council like she does and keep up with academics at the same time, he thought as he looked around the room, his gaze fixated on open window, the orange and purple hues of the sky catching his attention.
In the midst of his thoughts, a faint noise of shuffling could be heard not too far from him. As the housekeeper averted his gaze from the window, he saw Chisa standing up and gathering her things. He did the same, noting how graceful the student council president was in doing so, and how her long hair flowed ever so gently every time her body moved.
"Ah, it's quite late, isn't it?" The student council president said as she faced Kyouske, snapping the housekeeper out of his thoughts.
"Quite." Was his simple reply before continuing. "Would you like to walk home together?" Kyouske asked, not quite sure what motivated him to ask such a question. He had never walked home with anyone before given how late he finishes his cleaning.
"If it's fine with you then sure!" While she was slightly shocked with the question the housekeeper had asked, the student council president was also happy that he had offered to do so at the same time.
Chisa had never walked home with a friend before. She was always the last one left in school because of all the work she had to do. Not that she didn't enjoy her work– she loved being in the student council– but it definitely did feel lonely sometimes, despite all the people she met through being a part of the council.
"Are you ready to go?" The housekeeper asked as he glanced at the student council president. Chisa had put her earlier thoughts aside as she shook her head in affirmation. The two then headed out of the room and walked home side by side. Their walk was spent mostly in silence, with some small talk here and there, but both of them certainly didn't mind.
"You do this everyday!?" Was Chisa's reaction to Kyouske's reply that yes, he does clean the classroom after classes every single day. She thought seeing him yesterday for the second time that week was just mere coincidence, but seeing him here yet again and getting this reply from him proved otherwise.
"Munakata-kun, there's no need to do this all the time. You do a spectacular job at cleaning the room, so I think you can cut the cleaning down to thrice a week, and the classroom would still be clean!" The student council president said as she rested her hands on her hips, determined to persuade the housekeeper to rest more often.
"You don't have to attend and conduct student council meetings all the time either, so I think you can cut your meetings down to thrice a week, and the school would still be intact." He replied, crossing his arms.
"..Touché," The student council president replied. "But," Just when Kyouske thought that he had won in their exchange, she suddenly spoke with renewed vigor. "I guess we'll have to create a compromise then!" She clasped her hands and locked her gaze to the housekeeper's.
"A compromise?" He asked, his eyebrow arching as he did.
"Yup! Since we're always here so late, let's grab a snack and walk home together from now on. That counts as taking a break, am I right?" Chisa said, her head tilting as she smiled. Kyouske sighed at that. It can't be that bad... He thought to himself. It wasn't that he didn't like Yukizome's presence– in fact he quite liked having her around– he just preferred spending his free time on his own.
"Perhaps… You aren't wrong," Was his simple reply.
"Then it's a deal!" The student council president said as her eyes brightened. "Let's go, I know this cafe near the school. My friends say their food tastes wonderful!" Almost immediately, Chisa grabbed the housekeeper's arm, dragging him out of the classroom.
"Aren't you supposed to go to a café for the coffee?" Kyouske asked as they walked, ignoring the fact that she was still tightly holding onto his arm, It wasn't like he was going to run away from her if she lets go, the housekeeper mused.
"Hmm, yeah, but I prefer tea myself," Chisa said thoughtfully, as if there was nothing wrong with what she had just said.
"Then what's the point!" Kyouske raised his voice, shocking the student council president with his sudden change in demeanor. Unbeknownst to herself, Chisa's hand quickly covered her mouth to suppress her reaction.
"Munakata-kun…" Chisa managed to mumble out with glistening eyes and shaking shoulders.
Grey eyes focused on the student council president. Did I say something wrong? The housekeeper silently mused before voicing out his thoughts.
"What is i–"
"Hahahahahaha!" Chisa guffawed, her expression hysterical and the volume of her laughter uncontrollable. She had thrown out all of her earlier poise out of the window.
"What's so funny?!" Kyouske practically yelled just to hear himself, his voice cracking in the middle of his sentence. This caused the student council president to inhale sharply, causing another flurry of laughter to erupt from her mouth.
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
Weeks had gone by without a hitch. Chisa and Kyouske had gotten along quite well. They continued to walk home together, occasionally visiting a café when Chisa's schedule was less busy. Most of the time, however, they would share the snacks that the housekeeper prepared for the both of them. While the student council president insisted that he didn't have to do such a thing, Kyouske insisted that it was a more practical and also a healthier alternative to the places they'd go to. With that, Chisa decided to do the same as a way to return the favor when she had the time to.
"Kyouske-kun, sorry for the wait!" The student council president said as she approached the housekeeper, who was standing outside of the student council meeting room. Kyouske looks great today, her mind mused. It's not like she hadn't found him attractive before, but there was just something that made him stand out today. Although she couldn't tell what it was.
"Don't worry about it," He replied as he combed through his bangs with his fingers, making sure all of the wayward strands were combed back in place. "After all," he continued, "I'm the one who always makes you wait," He said, recalling how much more times Yukizome patiently waited for him to be satisfied enough with the cleanliness of the classroom to leave it be for the day. The houskeeper felt guilty with how much times she used to wait for him, so he had made it a point to speed up his cleaning so that he would finish at the same time her meetings ended.
"That's true," Chisa said as she handed him a snack from her bag. "I mean, after all this time, you still don't want to call me by my first name," The student council president playfully nudged the housekeeper as she spoke, then flashed a playful smile at him.
"That's… for another time," Kyouske said as his face turned the slightest shade of pink.
"But you call Sakakura-kun by his first name! Does that mean I've lost to him already!?" Chisa remarked, clutching her chest with both of her hands as she did.
"What?! There's no–" Before the housekeeper could even finish his reply, one of their classmates had cut into their conversation.
"Bye Munakata-kun, Chisa-chan! I'll be going now so, Munakata-kun take care of your girlfriend, okay?" Their classmate waved at them with a mischievous grin as she dashed away, not giving any time for the both of them to react nor reply.
Kyouske's ears felt like they were burning, while Chisa had suddenly gone silent. Not wanting to drown in awkward silence, the student council president forced herself to speak.
"Well, ahaha, you know Kanna-chan, always saying things without thinking about them. Come on, let's go," The student council president said as she began to walk. Kyouske followed suit shortly after. They silently ate their snacks along the way.
"Kyouske-kun, why don't you join the student council?" Chisa suddenly brought up as they were seated in the nearby puppy café that Kyouske had recommended.
When he offered that they go there, the student council president was, admittedly, shocked at first. She didn't think he liked dogs, nor did she think that he'd be fine going into a cafe that could be unsanitary given that customers would eat alongside puppies. Then again, I did tell him that I loved puppies the other day… Could it be because of that? Chisa's mind sidetracked until Kyouske had spoken up.
"I don't think I'd be suited for that kind of work." The housekeeper bluntly stated as he sipped on his coffee.
"I think you'd do just fine, Kyouske-kun. You have all the hard work and dedication, I think it'd be a great opportunity to put that to use. Other than in cleaning and cooking, of course." Chisa said as she clasped her hands together, much like how she would when discussing important matters during meetings.
"Even if you say that, I have the classroom to clean, mind you." Kyouske said, although not immediately shooting down the idea from his mind.
"Then we could propose a program that makes the students clean the classrooms more often, or something to that degree. We could keep things in order together." Chisa proposed, determined to convince the housekeeper. "You'd work less by having other people to help out, and I'd work less too since you'd be helping me out." She continued, already feeling victorious as she sipped on her tea.
"Don't you have a whole council to help you out?" The housekeeper said as he arched his brow.
"That's different. The rest of the council have their own assigned workload to deal with. You wouldn't be part of the student council per se, you'd be my assistant, sort of." The student council president explained, slowly running out of reasons to persuade him. Why does he have to be so difficult, she mused.
"You have a secretary and vice president for that." Kyouske countered, revelling in his temporary victory before taking another sip from his drink.
"True but–"
"You just want me to be in the student council," He bluntly stated before Chisa could think of another excuse.
"I guess you caught me red handed..." The student council president admitted, redirecting her gaze down to her cup of tea before looking back at Kyouske and continuing, "But I think you'd still do a great job of–"
"Fine," The housekeeper answered, not letting Chisa finish herself yet again. After all, her asking for help– although in such a roundabout manner– was rare. Yukizome wouldn't have gone this far if she wasn't in need of assistance, Kyouske mused.
"What?" She was dumbfounded. With the way he was answering just a while ago, Chisa didn't think he'd actually say yes. The student council president blinked, staring at the housekeeper.
"I'll help you out. But only because you're so insistent," Kyouske said, a small smile growing on his face. In a vain attempt to hide his expression, he sipped on his coffee once more.
"I knew you'd come around, Kyouske-kun!" Chisa said happily as she clasped her hands together. The student council president was supposed to end it at that, but she supposed that daring to add a bit more wouldn't hurt. "I knew you loved me!" She exclaimed, hoping that what she said came out in a joking manner, like her usual self. She then quickly sipped on her cup of tea, hoping to get rid of the butterflies in her stomach.
"Yes I do, Chisa," Kyouske said as he looked straight at the now red-faced student council president that had almost spat out her tea if not for her impressive self-control.
"Y-you finally called me by my first name," Chisa mumbled out as she bit her lip, her whole body ready to just die right then and there. She wasn't usually this meek, but with Kyouske being like this all of a sudden, she couldn't help it. She couldn't believe that this was real; that this was actually happening.
"Mhmm," Kyouske smirked as he drank his coffee. On the inside, he wanted to give himself a high five for whatever gave him the confidence to say such a thing, although he had to admit that he didn't think that his attempt at flirting would actually be successful. The two of them had stared at each other briefly before starting again.
"I didn't think that would work," The student council president said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"To be honest, I didn't think that would work," The housekeeper said at the same time.
The two of them locked gazes, in realization of what had just happened. Almost instantly they both laughed at the same time.
Yes, they both thought, we could definitely keep things in order together.
