I firstly want to thank everyone who has read my story and a big thank you to those who already added my story to their favourites even though I'd only posted the first chapter! :D it means a lot to know people are enjoying it so far.
One other note: it appears when I write '! ?' together it changes it to '!' and removes the question mark. I have tried editing the chapters to correct it but it won't change...so my apologies if the grammar looks a little strange at the end of some sentences.
Anyway, enough baffle and on with chapter two! :)
The Velvet Lake
Chapter Two
Akihiko chuckled at Akari's words. "I don't think you'll become as strong as me for a little while yet."
"Then I'm just going to slow you down."
"Not at all, I'll be teaching you so being as strong as me is irrelevant. By the way, what are your plans for dinner tonight?"
"Um...nothing special. I'll probably just make some pasta since that's quick and easy."
"You...cook?"
"Not from scratch; it's pre-made pasta. I just boil it and add sauce..." she admitted timidly. "I just need to buy-"
"You didn't bring any food?"
"I planned to pick something up on the way to the dorm-"
"Why didn't you say! We could have stopped by at a supermarket to grab something!"
"S-Sorry, I completely forgot-"
Akihiko interrupted her by poking her arm softly. "You really are silly. C'mon, let's see what I've got in the kitchen."
He led her down to the kitchenette and began rummaging through the cupboards. After grabbing a wok and a wooden spatula, he placed them on the hob and poured a little oil into it before grabbing some fresh diced chicken from the fridge. It began to cook slowly.
"So...chicken and...?" Akari wondered.
"Chicken and noodles in soup with vegetables."
"Sounds tasty. Um...won't that take a while to make?"
"Nah."
He was already preparing the soup. Akari watched as he added stock and some other seasonings to some hot water he'd boiled before starting to cook the chicken. Once he mixed the seasonings and stock well into the water, he added some udon noodles and began to boil them.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Akari asked, feeling bad.
"Don't worry, the chicken is done and we're just waiting for the noodles to float. If you really want, you can grab some bowls from that cupboard up there and some chopsticks from the drawer underneath."
"Chopsticks? Um...do you have any forks?"
"Oh, can't you use them? Everyone here at the dorm doesn't usually use anything else, so we've never really needed any...but it's okay, I can teach you."
"Thanks," Akari replied gratefully, even though she knew she had no choice since they had no forks. She presumed she'd need to learn eventually, anyway.
Finally dinner was served. Akihiko sat at the dining table and grabbed his chopsticks. Akari was unsure whether to sit opposite him or beside him.
"Come and sit down," he beckoned, patting the chair next to him. "So with chopsticks, you just hold them like this."
Akari studied how he held them and picked up her pair of chopsticks, attempting to mimic how he held his. She struggled a little, but eventually got them in a similar enough position.
"That's great," he commented. "Now, just move them together and pick up some chicken."
She watched him pick up some chicken and noodles before having a go herself. "You make it look so easy."
Akihiko laughed. "Well, I grew up using chopsticks. Have you ever used them before?"
"Only a couple of times..."
"Wow, I guess I really need to help you practise then. I'll treat you to some ramen at the Beef Bowl one day. The food there is the best."
Akari smiled. "I'll look forward to that."
Akihiko turned back to his food but watched her try to pick up some chicken from the corner of his eye. She had managed to poke one chopstick through the chicken as if it was a skewer and steadied it with the other one; happy with herself, she ate it.
"It's delicious," she said in appreciation.
"I'm glad you like it. I noticed you stabbed the chicken, however. Here..."
Akihiko got up and stood behind her, placing his hand on hers. He moulded it to the position he had his in earlier and helped her pick up another piece of chicken, this time with some noodles. She was blushing furiously in surprise at his body's closeness to hers and tried to ignore how awkward she felt. He gently took his hand away from hers and sat back down.
"Eat up."
She obeyed and ate it. "T-Thanks..."
"No problem. Now, go ahead and try again."
It was difficult to keep her hand in the position Akihiko had put it in after she had to move the chopsticks up and down to grab the food and then eat it. She tried not to show how much she was struggling and stabbed the chicken again, hoping he wouldn't notice but suddenly found a flaw in her plan. She could successfully eat all of the chicken this way, but would then be left with the noodles, vegetables and soup. She looked to her left and noticed him watching from the corner of his eye. Blushing immediately, Akari ate the chicken and silently stared into her bowl.
"Having problems?" Akihiko asked, easily picking up some chicken and noodles. "Don't worry; it takes time to get used to."
Akari attempted to pick up a bit of carrot and some noodles, feeling slightly humiliated.
"Want me to help you again?"
Her cheeks heated up a few more degrees as she reluctantly nodded once. Akihiko stood up to stand behind her again, bending over slightly so his body was almost hugging hers and rested his head on her shoulder, unaware that Akari felt it was inappropriately intimate. He moulded her hand again, but this time he moved her hand to pick up some chicken, noodles and bean sprouts. After gently letting go of her hand, he stayed put and watched her carefully eat the food. Akari was surprised at how well she was able to stop her hand shaking.
"Now, you try once more."
Akari swallowed nervously, focusing on holding the chopsticks and moving them without un-positioning her hand. She delicately tried to pick up a piece of chicken and succeeded but seconds after she began to move it to her mouth it slipped out of the chopsticks, splashing soup on her face; the impact shocked her, making her drop the chopsticks onto the table. One rolled onto the floor, but Akihiko picked it up quickly and stared at her flushing face.
"It's okay, you'll get used to using them eventually," Akihiko assured her with a smile. "Everything takes time. I guess I can let you skewer it all for now."
Akihiko sat back down and continued to eat his food. He looked at her. She appeared to be just grasping how to use her chopsticks. He felt satisfied with his successfulness in showing her how to use them and Akari was grateful for his instructions. Although they were helpful, she needed more time and practice to be able to use the chopsticks properly.
"So," Akihiko started, almost finished with his food already. "What's the project you're working on for?"
"Oh, Gekkoukan want me to make a something similar to a portfolio in preparation as I'm transferring. I've been asked to write an article about the school and its history."
"Wow," Akihiko said with a frown, sipping some soup from his bowl. "I never realised transfer students had to do that."
Akari noticed him drink some more soup and looked back to her own bowl. She had hardly eaten much of hers compared to his, so she tried to pick up a lot of food in one go with her chopsticks. She succeeded and carefully ate it. "They want me to have some background knowledge of the school, just to get an idea of the kind of things they do here and teach me a little about the culture..."
Akihiko finished his soup. "That sounds like a lot of hard work to do before starting a new school."
"Not necessarily. I doubt it will take me long."
Akihiko stared. "How much do you have to write?"
"Only one thousand words. It shouldn't be that difficult for me once I have a little more information. Besides, I already know a fair bit thanks to you."
"Oh, of course." Akihiko placed his chopsticks neatly over his bowl. "Aren't you hungry? You don't seem to have eaten much."
"Oh...um, it's not that."
Akihiko's cheeks flushed pink slightly. "D-Does it taste bad?"
"No!" she exclaimed, grabbing some food. "It's tasty, I promise. I just take longer to finish my meals than most people."
"Won't it be cold now, though? I'm sure it doesn't taste great when it's not hot."
"Senpai, you're worrying too much. It's fine. Why don't you go and train or something whilst I finish this and wash up?"
At first it sounded like a very plausible suggestion in his head, until he remembered how difficult it was to persuade her to take his bed for the night. He rested an elbow on the table and leaned his cheek on his hand. "I'll wait for you."
Akari's heart skipped a beat. "O-Okay..."
He smiled and silently watched her eat the remains of her dinner. She repeatedly told herself not to blush but it was too difficult with Akihiko watching and so she quickly drank the dregs of her soup.
"Thank you, it really was delicious."
"Good, I'm glad." Akihiko swiped her bowl and chopsticks away before she could even stand up and took them to the sink.
"Akihiko-" Akari started as she stood up and rushed over to the sink too. "Please, let me-"
"I've practically done everything now," he informed her, washing the chopsticks. Akari appeared next to him. He looked at her and compared their height, noticing there were a fair few centimetres between them.
"You're too nice...why didn't you let me do anything?"
His cheeks felt strangely warm. "You're a guest today; I can't let you help out in a place that isn't home to you yet."
Akari bit her lip. She wanted to tell him that'd he'd just proved what a kind person he is, but felt far too shy after already subconsciously giving him a compliment. She couldn't see a tea towel to dry the dishes with and after Akihiko's constant refusal against her helping out she didn't try and offer to dry up. However, she did watch him grab a tea towel from a cupboard under the sink to dry his hands with and made a mental note to remember where they were for future reference.
"Now that's out of the way, what do you want to do?" Akihiko asked, stifling a yawn. Akari wanted to yawn after she noticed him trying not to. She couldn't hold it in though and closed her eyes as she yawned sleepily. "Maybe we should go to bed, it is almost nine o'clock."
For some reason, she didn't want to. It felt too early to sleep. Akari was used to much later nights, but the journey had finally ended and she was in her new home for the next couple of years. She tried not to think about that in case it made her homesick already but felt as though it was going to kick in soon anyway.
"You look far too tired to do anything, Akari."
Her eyelids felt heavy. "Maybe...I'm sure I could stay up a little longer-"
"I'm not sure you could keep your eyes open. What do you suggest doing?"
"I don't know...watching something or reading a book, perhaps."
"Hmm…why don't we get ready for bed and see what's on TV? There might be an anime on that's interesting."
Akari looked happy and seemed to have woken up a bit. "Oh, I didn't think you would be the kind of person to watch anime!"
"I don't watch it that much, but I thought you're the kind of girl that would."
She grinned sheepishly and scratched her head in discomfiture.
"Don't be embarrassed."
Akari felt slightly zombie-like and unusually more confident than normal as they parted ways into their respective bathrooms, agreeing to meet back outside the doors in ten minutes. The girls' bathroom was basic, white and shiny. It was also kept very clean and tidy. There were a few flowers in a vase on a shelf and a picture on the wall of a local beach scene. Although it was bare and sound bounced off the walls, it was warm and homely. She started to undress, but suddenly realised her pyjamas were back in the lounge in her backpack so she grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her and went back out.
"Akari...? W-What are you doing!"
Akari jumped and blushed furiously at the sound of a stunned male voice. She froze mid-step and looked to her right, seeing Akihiko sitting on a sofa. "A-Akihiko...u-um…I forgot my backpack and my pyjamas are in there..." she avoided eye contact and stared at his feet, then rushed over to the sofa where he was sat and tripped over her own feet, resulting in a loud thump.
"Are you okay!" he asked fearfully, not moving from his spot on the sofa and holding the arm of the chair tightly.
"Y-Yeah..." she replied quietly, even though her right knee burned and her nose was sore.
"Do you need any help?" he asked nervously, hoping so badly that she was fine.
"I'll be okay...just give me...a few minutes..."
He anxiously waited, now with his eyes closed. It seemed to take forever for her to stand up, retrieve her backpack and then head back to the girls' bathroom, but Akihiko wondered if he was just feeling apprehensive due to the biggest of a few factors: Akari wearing nothing but a towel. He made a noise of surprise when he opened his eyes to check on her, though; she was just standing up and balancing herself, clutching the towel close to her chest.
"Y-You could have told me you were getting up!" he exclaimed, turning away to face the doors that led outside with a bright red face.
"Sorry...!" Akari's cheeks matched the colour of Akihiko's as she hurried across the lounge, making sure her towel didn't slip with her brisk pace. When she entered the bathroom, she accidentally slammed the door shut and dropped her backpack, leaning against the door. She panted for breath and closed her eyes, feeling a bit faint.
"You must be the one," a slow, mysterious and very young-sounding voice said.
Her heart stopped for a second and her eyes darted open. She stared in front of her at a small boy wearing black and white striped clothes. He had jet black hair and bright blue eyes, and was staring at her with a curious smile.
"Who...are you?" she inquired with fright obvious in her tone.
"Time will eventually reveal the answers to the many questions you are destined to ask."
"But...how did you...get in?"
The boy merely smiled. "If you want to proceed, you must sign the contract."
She was frowning in total perplexity. "Contract?"
"There's no need to be scared," he told her after seeing the look on her face. "It only abides you to taking full responsibility for your actions. Don't worry; I have a pen right here."
Her eyes stared widely with raised eyebrows and her mouth frozen slightly open. She blinked once and swallowed hard, closing her mouth. After mentally slapping herself, Akari stepped forwards and took the contract.
I chooseth this fate of mine own free will.
The paper was violet-blue with a metallic, white scrawl. It more or less read what the mysterious boy had told her. Akari was so confused, but felt herself subconsciously signing her name.
Akari Rose
She handed the contract and pen back to the mysterious boy, who took only the contract and folded it up, leaving the pen in her other hand. The next thing she knew, she blinked and the mysterious boy was gone.
"What...was that?" she murmured to herself, deeply inclined to believe she just hallucinated.
Following her decision to ignore what just happened, she dropped the towel and changed into her pyjamas. They consisted of a cotton t-shirt and shorts in pastel blue, dotted with sweet little pandas, all with cute, happy faces. She grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste from her backpack and began to clean her teeth whilst staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were fairly flushed and she still had a frightened expression so she tried to calm herself down. She closed her eyes whilst she brushed, letting her mind wander. The mysterious boy immediately appeared in her thoughts. His monotonous voice echoed in her head and so she opened her eyes again to try and make him disappear. After rinsing her mouth out with mouthwash, she thought about Akihiko and began to wonder why she got so nervous around boys. The only reason she could think of was her lack of experience with them, thus explaining her uneasiness when boys were present. One thing she never understood was how she felt more comfortable around them than girls and felt as though she connected better with them, even though she was always more tense in their company.
She noticed there weren't any toothbrushes, toothpaste or mouthwash bottles hanging around the sink or cupboard so she put all of her belongings back in her backpack before stuffing her clothes in there too and slung it over her shoulder. As she opened the door she stood on something and bent down to pick it up; it was the pen the mysterious boy left behind. Akari wondered if she dropped it in astonishment as he'd disappeared. Regardless, she closed the bathroom door and took it with her.
"Are you okay, Akari? You look a little...dazed."
"Don't worry," she said, not wanting to lie or say she may have just hallucinated.
Akihiko put her expression down to stress and tiredness from the journey. He led her to his bedroom, appearing more confident about it this time. Akari put her backpack on the floor at the end of his bed and noticed the pen in her hand. Akihiko didn't, though so she quickly stuffed it in the front pocket. She stood up straight and stretched as she yawned again, seeing him sat against the wall on his bed, resting against a pillow. He patted the space next to him on his bed for her to come and sit. She reluctantly did as requested even though she felt awkward about it.
"So," Akihiko started, turning on his television. "What kind of anime shows do you like to watch?"
"Um..." Akari began, but felt embarrassed to say and stared at the television.
"I'm going to guess...romance, fantasy and ones with cute animals?"
She nodded and attempted to pay attention to the advert that was on screen. Akihiko chuckled to himself and pressed a button on the remote, bringing up a guide to what programmes were showing.
Akari blinked a few times. "That advert had a cute Labrador puppy!"
"Oh, really?" Akihiko said, not looking at her and continuing to scroll through the guide.
"Yeah..." she said quietly. "It reminded me of the Andrex adverts from back home."
This time he turned to look and saw her staring reminiscently at the wall. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" she said hastily, giving him her best fake smile in hope that he wouldn't worry.
"Akari, you can tell me if something's bothering you. I won't mind."
She wondered how he could see through her lies so easily. "Um..."
"Don't worry, there's no rush. Tell me when you're ready."
"I-I think...I think I hallucinated when I was in the bathroom."
"What did you see?" There was worry in Akihiko's expression.
"A boy."
"A boy?" he queried, frowning.
"Yes, he was wearing striped clothes like a prison uniform and his eyes were vibrantly blue."
"That is strange...did he say anything?"
"All I can remember is signing a contract."
"A contract for what, exactly?"
"I...don't remember..."
"Hmm..." he murmured. "Perhaps you're just really tired. You have had a long journey, after all. Why don't we see what's on the TV guide? It might take your mind off of it."
"Okay."
Akihiko read through the guide. "Death Note...Lucky Star...Emma – A Victorian Romance-" he stopped there. "Well, that has the word romance in it-"
Akari stared at him and blushed. "W-We don't have to-"
"It's all right; I don't mind trying something new." He selected the show and there was an advert playing. "Are you comfy?"
She nodded and lifted her legs onto his bed to curl up, careful not to be too close to him. "Are you?"
"Yeah. Are you warm enough?" She almost replied with an automatic nod, but didn't when she realised she was actually a little chilly. "You've got goose bumps. Here, get under the covers."
"Thanks." She climbed under the duvet, noticing Akihiko did as well. "You didn't look cold."
He silently shrugged, giving her a charming smile. The anime started with a short introduction by an announcer, so they both turned to the screen to watch it. A dark-haired brunette maid was cleaning the steps outside a large townhouse. She'd just finished sweeping them and began to polish the rails when she looked up towards the houses on the opposite row and saw their chimneys puffing smoke, and then a long opening sequence began, depicting various scenes of Victorian England. The anime finally started with the same maid cleaning a lounge.
"This is where you're from," Akihiko noted. "Right?"
Akari nodded in response, slightly puzzled. "How-?"
"Your accent."
Her puzzlement disappeared but she was instantly distracted and gasped as a grey cat was shown curled up on the steps outside the house. "Aw, that's so cute!"
Akihiko looked at her in the corner off his eye, smiling. He soon turned back to the television to see the cat wake up as a young man stopped by in a horse-drawn carriage. He walked up the steps and was about to knock. Akari appeared to be mesmerised by the cat with an adoring look on her face. The young man took a deep breath, but couldn't muster up the courage to knock. He turned and walked back down the steps, the cat watching interestedly, but a moment later he was back at the door taking another deep breath. He was about to actually knock this time, but the door opened and he was knocked backwards, almost falling down the steps. The maid immediately apologised and ran off to get his hat, which the cat was now dragging away. Akari let out a small giggle. Akihiko just smiled, glancing at her for a second. She was now watching with a dreamy expression as the young man watched the maid serve tea and scones.
Akari gradually continued to get sleepier as the episode reached halfway, but she still emitted small squeaks of 'aw' and a few giggles now and again; as the anime ended with the credits scrolling across the closing scene, her head was slowly drooping to the side, finally falling softly onto Akihiko's shoulder. He made a noise of surprise and asked her if she was asleep; since she didn't respond, he assumed she was in fact deep in the land of nod. He gently supported her head and body with his hands and shifted forwards, laying her down carefully. After making sure she was tucked under the duvet, Akihiko turned off the lamp on the bedside table and got comfy on the floor. "Goodnight, Akari. Sleep well and sweet dreams."
The first few hours of the night passed by peacefully. Akari was naturally good at sleeping; so good that it seemed like her speciality, but at about two o'clock in the morning she started to have a horrific nightmare.
"W-What...?" she murmured under her breath, clenching her fist lightly. Her foot twitched and she scrunched her fist tighter. "No, that can't be...r-right..."
Akihiko stirred in his sleep as her mutterings became a normal speaking level. "Ngh..."
"W-What...are you doing...? Why are you...tying me up? No...!"
He opened his eyes a little, squinting due to tiredness and wasn't really with it.
"Please, let me go...!" Akari pleaded loudly, sounding as if she was about to cry.
"Huh...?" he wondered in absolute confusion, waking up a little more.
Her fist was clasped in a ball even more tightly now and her head shook from side to side. "Untie me! Please!"
"Untie...? What the...?" he mumbled, pulling the blanket off of himself and standing up. He stumbled around in the darkness trying to find the bedside table.
"I'll...do anything..." she said, crying a little.
"Akari, calm down, I'm here-" he started as he found the lamp switch and flicked it on before rushing to his bed. She was sweating a little and fidgeting vigorously. "I'm here."
"P-Please...l-let me go..."
"It's okay, the bad people have gone. It's just me," he assured her, taking her clenched hand.
"Y-You have to u-untie me...so we can get t-to the airp-port, without-"
"Everything's all right now." He felt her hand loosen slightly. "Just take a few deep breaths and relax."
She breathed slowly, doing as he said but her lungs stammered a bit on the intakes. He adjusted his fingers so his hand held hers properly and wiped the tears from her face with his other thumb. Her eyes suddenly opened, though and she blinked lots due to the blurriness from her watery eyes.
"Who are you?" she wondered quietly, unsure who the indistinct figure was. "Where am I?"
"It's Akihiko...and um...you're in...m-my room..."
"Huh...?" she said in confusion with a sniffle. It only took a few seconds for it all to hit her. "O-Oh..."
"Are you all right now?"
"Apart from feeling scared…that dream felt very real."
"How about we see if there's another anime on to help you forget about it?"
"No, it's okay. Thanks, though. You should go back to sleep, senpai."
"Will you be okay to sleep, then?"
"Eventually. Don't worry, okay? Y-You-" she cut off to yawn. "You've helped me enough already."
"Yesterday doesn't count," he reminded her.
"Why? You did so much for me-"
"You were a guest yesterday. In fact, you're a guest now. Until you've moved in properly, you're a visitor to this dorm."
Akari wondered if this was another one of those times she wasn't going to win. She decided to say nothing more about it and closed her eyes. "I'm so tired..."
"Then sleep," he told her with a smile. "It is nearly half past two in the morning and school starts tomorrow."
"Oh, I forgot about school..."
"Not looking forwards to it?"
"Um...not really."
"You'll be okay. School may not be fun, but-"
"Oh, it's not that," she interjected.
"Well you'll make friends easily."
"You don't know that."
"Look how quickly we became friends."
Akari paused before responding, remembering the first time he'd said they were friends. "That's true...okay, well you'll be the only person I know."
"For now, yeah, but tomorrow I'm sure you'll meet Mitsuru and Yukari."
"Maybe so, but you'll be my only friend," she said, emphasising 'friend'.
Akihiko sighed with an unenthusiastic smile at her stubbornness. "You're too nice a person to not make any friends. I have no doubts about it. Just try not to be so stubborn and negative."
"I-I'm sorry..."
"It's all right. Why don't we try sleeping again?"
After giving him a nod, she moved about to try and get comfy. "Okay."
"You sure fidget a lot," he noted, watching interestedly. She let out a nervous chuckle and turned to face the wall, deciding to try lying that way. Suddenly his bedroom went dark, making her gasp. "Are you okay?"
"Mmm," she said sleepily. "Goodnight, Akihiko."
"All right...goodnight, Akari. Sleep well and sweet dreams."
She heard him getting comfy, which didn't take long and closed her eyes, progressing into a deep sleep almost instantly. It took Akihiko at least five minutes before he began to drift off himself.
The rest of the night was tranquil. Morning soon arrived, though; the sun's rays shone brightly through the gap in the curtains, waking Akihiko up. He stretched, stood up and grabbed his phone to check the time. It was seven o'clock. He pulled off his t-shirt and sprayed on his deodorant before putting his school shirt on. Akari made a noise in her sleep, alerting him to her presence. He hadn't noticed her because she was just a small lump under the covers and had thus forgotten all about yesterday, but it all came back very quickly; it was as though he'd frozen for a second halfway through changing his underwear. With great speed he finished pulling on clean ones and his heart raced as he put on his trousers, tucking in his shirt. He slipped his red waistcoat over his shirt and tied the ribbon under his collar. After the spare covers he used that night were tidied away neatly, he checked his phone again. It was five minutes past seven and Akari was still fast asleep.
"Akari..." he murmured, shaking her shoulder softly. "It's time to wake up."
"Ngh..." she muttered, still snoozing serenely.
He gently poked her arm. "C'mon, sleepy head."
"Aki...hiko...?" she muttered.
"Yeah, it's me," he confirmed, thinking she was waking up.
"N...gh..."
"C'mon, you need to get up. We need to have breakfast-" he cut off when he looked at her. She was still far away in the land of nod. "Akari!"
"Ahh!" she screamed, waking up with a start as he pounced on her.
"Good morning," he greeted. "How are you feeling?"
"W-Who are you? Where am I?"she stuttered in shock.
"It's Akihiko," he said with a frown, feeling déjà vu. "…And you're in my room at the Iwatodai dorm."
"What...? Oh, that's right...um..."
"You don't remember?"
"I do now...it's just...I'm not used to being here yet so I was confused..."
He positioned himself so he was now sat next to her instead. "Ah, I see...so, how are you feeling?"
"S-Sleepy..."
"I gathered that," he said with a chuckle. "But you're okay, though?"
"I think so. How about you?" she replied politely, sitting up.
"Glad to hear it. I'm fine, thanks. You should get ready and meet me downstairs for breakfast in ten minutes."
"Ten minutes?" she queried as he got up and walked to the door.
"Yeah, since we leave for school at eight that gives us less than forty-five minutes."
"School! Oh, crap..."
"What's wrong?"
"My project...I still have to finish it."
"When's it due?"
"At some point today, before school ends."
"I'll help you during lunchtime, then you can hand it in after school."
"Really! Thank you so much-"
"Don't worry about it. You should hurry and get up if you want some egg rice, though."
With that, Akihiko left Akari alone in his bedroom, closing the door behind him. She felt a bit dazed after what just happened; an extremely handsome guy she'd only met yesterday let her sleep in his bed for the night and was now making her breakfast. Akari's eyes scanned his bedroom as she pulled the covers away and hung her legs over the edge of his bed. It smelled strongly of him, she noted as she stood up and stretched her whole body. She undressed, grabbed clean underwear and her school uniform, beginning to change. Once she was ready, she grabbed her purse from her backpack which was a cute, white cat face and stuffed her phone, a pen and USB stick inside before slinging it over her shoulders and making an exit from Akihiko's bedroom. Just as she was about to open the door she saw a photo on the back of it of what looked like a younger Akihiko and an even younger little girl. She had similar silver hair and chocolate eyes. Akari smiled fondly back at them.
A sudden rapping on the door scared her. "Akari?"
Akihiko's voice on the other side made her nervous. "O-Oh, hi senpai, I'm just coming-"
"Good, because the rice is ready and the two girls who live here want to meet you."
"Wow that was fast..." she commented, trying to ignore the part about meeting strangers.
"Rice doesn't take long to cook."
"That's true..."
The door abruptly opened and Akihiko peeked his head through the gap. "You know, we might as well be talking on the way to the kitchen."
She silently agreed and pulled the door open further, grinning at him. "H-Heh...l-let's go."
Akihiko stood back to let her go ahead so he could lock his door. "You need to come out of my room first."
Realising what he'd said was true, she felt her cheeks heating up and quickly exited his bedroom. After he locked his door they went downstairs where two pretty girls were sat at the dining table eating rice and chatting energetically. Akari was immediately jealous of their looks; the one with long, wavy wine-red hair whom was facing them averted her matching maroon eyes from the light brunette opposite her and noticed their arrival.
"Good morning," she welcomed in a formal voice, making the other girl turn around.
"Oh, hey! Good morning!" she greeted cheerfully.
Akihiko nudged Akari. She looked at him and he motioned towards the girls. "G-Good morning."
"This is Akari," Akihiko informed them, walking to the kitchenette. "She's the transfer student."
"I'm Yukari," the cheery girl told her. "This is Mitsuru-senpai."
"It's nice to meet you both."
"It's nice to meet you too."
"I heard you two got acquainted fairly early yesterday afternoon," said Mitsuru.
Akihiko blushed at the memory as he spooned rice into two bowls."Yeah...um, Akari, do you want anything with your rice?"
Akari instantaneously diverted her attention to him and food. "What do you have?"
"Soy sauce, honey, teriyaki sauce…you should choose quickly though. It'll go cold."
"Honey," she finally decided in a rush and took it from his hand as he held it out for her. She squeezed it all over the rice, letting her love for sweet things take over.
"That's a lot of honey."
"O-Oh..." she murmured, giving the bottle back to him. "I love sweet things..."
"I think you'll fall in love with the Sweet Shop, then."
Her eyes lit up as she followed him to the dining table and Mitsuru stood up as they both sat down to take her empty bowl to the kitchenette. "Heh...I'm sure I would."
"I'll have to take you there one day."
"I'd love that!"
Mitsuru had already washed up her bowl and grabbed her bag. "I'm leaving now; I'll see you all later."
"But it's only twenty to eight, we didn't plan to leave for another twenty minutes-" Yukari began.
"I know, but I have a meeting with my tutor before the assembly today. Please accept my apologies, it was arranged just before we ate breakfast."
"Okay..." Yukari said hesitantly, finishing her own rice and then she too left the table to wash up.
Akari nervously watched Akihiko eat his rice with satisfaction, picking at her own bowl. Her first bite was delicious, but she didn't feel that hungry.
"So, Akari-" Yukari started at the same time as Akihiko spoke.
"Akari, aren't you-" he cut off at the same time. "Go ahead, Yukari."
"No, it's okay, you can go first, senpai," she said sweetly as she dried her hands. "Little miss popular already, huh?"
Akari blushed a little and forced down a second mouthful of rice so she didn't have to reply.
"It's all right," Akihiko told Yukari, watching Akari eat. "It seems my question has been answered."
"Oh, okay...well, then...I was going to ask you if you wanted to come to school with me, Akari but it seems you've got Akihiko-senpai to show you around-"
"I've already given her a short tour," he informed Yukari. "However, I also have a tutor meeting except mine's during the assembly. You should go with Yukari."
She really didn't want to since she didn't know Yukari well enough to converse with her confidently and felt too shy to ask if they could all go together, but it seemed the matter wasn't open for discussion and had already been settled.
"So," Yukari started as Akihiko cleared up his and Akari's dishes.
"Thanks," Akari said to him. He looked at her directly, making eye contact with a friendly smile and nodded once.
"How did you two meet?"
"Um..." Akari began timidly. "I was walking to Gekkoukan to take a look around and we...bumped into each other-"
"Not literally, right?"
"Um...y-yeah..."
Akihiko blushed, remembering everything and accidentally dropped the chopsticks he was drying up.
"Awe!" Yukari squealed. "And then what happened!"
He interrupted their conversation in embarrassment. "I'm off now, I'll see you later Yukari. Akari, I'll meet you in the library at lunchtime."
Akari and Yukari called goodbye to him as he grabbed his coat and bag. Akari pleaded him not to leave without her with her eyes. He simply smiled as he was closing the door, but his eyes seemed to be apologising for leaving her alone with someone she'd only just met.
Yukari was rummaging through her bag and Akari grabbed her phone from her purse, checking the time. If they left at eight o'clock like planned, they had fifteen minutes before they left. A part of her wanted to leave now and find her own way there, but something stopped her and she patiently waited for Yukari to get ready.
"What are you looking for?" Akari finally forced herself to ask.
