Chapter 13: First Reveal
Top Ten: Cloudy out tonight. Can't say I'm going stargazing, and I usually don't go out on Friday nights for anything else.
On the Ice: Your aunt would find it suspicious, is that right?
Top Ten: Yeah, but I really want to meet tonight. Can I come over?
On the Ice: I don't think we should risk it.
Top Ten: It's not that big of a deal. I'll just give her some excuse and be on my way.
On the Ice: Wait. Listen to me.
Jurou groaned as he waited for her next message. Kirisu was just as polite and formal on Line as she was when speaking. Normally, he found it a cute quirk but right now the delay between messages was killing him.
On the Ice: We've done very well at staying secret, but that's only because of our strict adherence to our rules. We can't risk any suspicious behavior.
On the Ice: If we want to meet more often, we need to do change our habits in a slow progression. Your aunt has mentioned worries about you being a shut-in, I believe she'll make note of behavior like this.
Top Ten: Come on, you're being paranoid. It's been a week and we've hardly seen each other.
On the Ice: I know, but we'll spend plenty of time together tomorrow. I'm sorry but be patient.
Top Ten: Fine. I'm going to be busy the next few hours so I might not answer again tonight.
Jurou tossed the phone onto his bed and opened his computer. Truthfully, he didn't have anything to do besides watch anime or read, but he didn't feel like talking to her right now.
Okay, maybe he was being petty. Kirisu had a point, it was best to play safe.
That proper, distant tone in her messages though. He might not have felt this way if he'd discussed it with her in person but it was like she wasn't even all that upset.
Jurou scowled and forced himself to stare at the computer screen.
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The next day, Jurou had a tutoring session. It was still cloudy, but that didn't matter. He'd messaged Kirisu and confirmed that they'd spend the afternoon and evening together. Aunt Hikari's late shifts really worked to their advantage too, allowing them to extend their 'study sessions' by hours.
He arrived in front of her door and knocked.
Kirisu called out from the other side. "Yes, who is it?"
"It's me, Jurou," he announced.
"Kita-kun! What are you doing here so early?"
"Um, I'm only early by five minutes," he said. Although if he could have gotten away with it he'd have come a good deal earlier.
A pause, probably to check a clock. "You're right! W-well, I'm sorry, but I'm unprepared at the moment. Can you wait a few minutes? We'll go to the library."
Jurou frowned. "The library? Why there? You promised we'd do it here."
"I know, but there are certain-Eeek!"
The door flew open and nearly hit Jurou in the face. Kirisu came running out, her face an image of terror. It was so surprising that he barely even registered the fact that she was wearing a red tracksuit instead of her usual clothes.
"Kita-kun! Kita-kun!" She clutched his arm and pulled him down with unexpected strength. He stayed upright but she didn't make it easy.
"What is it?" Confusion and concern were at the forefront of his mind.
"Th-that insect! I saw that insect!"
"Insect? A bug? You're freaking out over a bug?"
Kirisu was so scared that she wasn't even offended. "You have to get it!" She pointed inside, shaking with fear.
"Alright, I will. Calm down." With more than a little regret, Jurou pulled his arm free. When he'd realized that it wasn't anything serious, he'd noticed the softness of her chest against his arm.
Jurou walked inside and came to a stop. "Kirisu-sensei, what the hell happened?"
All over her apartment were bulging black garbage bags with even more trash lying around. Bottles, cans, empty food containers. Somehow, a shelf had tipped over and spilled its contents on the floor. Books and papers were piled almost a meter high in some spots.
While he processed the bizarre sight, Kirisu had recovered a bit and said in an embarrassed tone. "Never mind that, the insect is what's important."
"Really? I think finding out who set off a trash bomb in here is more important."
"Kita-kun . . ." It was impressive that she achieved a menacing tone even though she'd clung to him for dear life a few seconds ago. She hadn't even entered her apartment.
"Okay, but you gotta tell me where you saw it. Searching through all this for a bug is impossible."
"My room," she said with a shudder. "It was in my room."
He walked inside her bedroom and was greeted by more of the same. Garbage and disorganized clutter. He grabbed a magazine from a pile and rolled it up. It took a few minutes of poking and probing, but he found a cockroach and smacked it.
Jurou walked out. "Don't worry, it's safe now." Pretending as if he'd just come out of a life-or-death battle.
She entered the apartment with a slow, wary steps. "Are you sure?"
"Well I killed the cockroa-
"Don't say it!"
He gave her a questioning look, really?
Her serious expression stayed steady.
Jurou sighed. "Alright, well I killed one of them. Though I wouldn't be surprised if more were hiding in this mess."
Kirisu tensed. Her eyes went around as if just realizing that the garbage would attract and hide insects.
"You're looking dangerously close to burning this place down," Jurou commented.
Through her terror, she managed a frown. "Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't do such a thing, but . . . would you help me clean this up?"
"Sure. Can I get an explanation for what happened first?"
Kirisu looked at the ground, her face pink. "I . . . am not very good at cleaning."
Jurou waited for her to continue, but that was it. "'Not very good at cleaning?' This is more than that, it's unbelievable. If someone had shown me a picture of this-
He held his tongue. Her head hung low and had gone lower as he'd spoken.
Shit. His first instinct had been to say something hurtful. He had to work on that, especially around her.
He began again. "It's messy, but nothing we can't clean up. Let's get to work."
They spent the next hour cleaning up her apartment. The goal wasn't to get it pristine, Jurou hardly ever cleaned anything to that extent. He just wanted it to be reasonable, cleaner than he kept his own bedroom but not necessarily by much.
Kirisu, like she'd said, wasn't very good at cleaning. She was clumsy. When he hadn't been looking, she'd tripped over the vacuum and sent papers flying. However, those were only minor setbacks, not things which would have continually stopped her from cleaning. She could carry trash bags and reorganize things fine.
"How did it get this way in the first place?" he asked.
"I don't know." She said it like it was one of the greatest mysteries in the world. "Sometimes I say that I can put it aside for a little while and clean it up then, but every time it turns into an unmanageable nightmare!"
Jurou recalled the ridiculous amount of games she'd bought and the contents of the trash they'd sorted through. He had an idea why.
"It's because you're buying so much stuff and letting all the packaging pile up. Seriously, what's with all the novelty items?"
"They provide useful functions! This, for example, was rated highly as a backscratcher." She held up some long weirdly shaped instrument with spikes at the end of it.
"Yeah, well you need to throw out all the garbage from stuff like that. Not just those, but all the food containers too. I noticed a lot of delivery and convenience store food. How much do you cook?"
"Cooking . . . is not something I excel at."
Jurou tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing, I'm just surprised. You usually seem like a woman who could do anything."
She frowned. "Well, I'm not. Are you disappointed?"
"No, it's just unexpected. Like your clothing, I never would have expected you to wear a tracksuit."
Kirisu tensed and looked down at herself regretfully. "I would have preferred you to see me dressed as usual."
"Is that what you usually wear at home?"
"Yes."
"Then it's fine. If you're comfortable in it, then I want you to wear it. Also, there's a really hard to describe appeal to it."
Her current appearance was a good deal different from her usual polished look. Her hair still had its side braids so she must have worked on it this morning but it wasn't completely neat and combed. The stray strands of hair around her shoulder and face made her look slightly disheveled and cute.
Damn, he was lucky. How many people could say they'd gotten to see her this way?
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"I'm sorry, but I won't be able to see you tomorrow," Mafuyu said as Kita was packing up to leave. "I have plans with your aunt."
He smiled. "That's fine. I had a lot of fun today."
"Then . . . I'm glad." Was her uncertain reply. Goodness, today had been humiliating. Kita-kun seeing the usual state of her apartment, helping her clean, and even cooking a meal for them. It had been a simple dish, but he'd made enough to last her for days.
She'd known it hadn't been feasible to hide how she really was, but she'd hoped to keep up the charade for a while longer. That insect had ruined everything.
"We'll still talk tomorrow, right?" He waved his phone.
"Of course."
"Then I guess I'll see you around at school." Kita came in for his usual goodbye hug.
She spread her arms. Before him, she'd rarely engaged in such close physical contact even with close family members. Mafuyu valued her space, but she'd come to enjoy embracing him.
However, instead of hugging her, he stopped short by several centimeters. Then, he leaned down, his mouth slightly open.
Mafuyu froze for a moment but recovered and met him partway into the kiss, tilting her head so their noses wouldn't bump. His eyes were open and nervous. She closed her own to make it less awkward.
He was still. Expected from a teenage boy and it was reminiscent of the few kisses she'd had from her dates when she was younger. She held his chin and adjusted the angle of his face to make it more comfortable. He made a surprised sound and tasted of mint.
Had he prepared for this? How adorable.
Mafuyu ended the kiss, moving back with a smile on her face to show he'd done well. "I'll miss you, Kita-kun."
He was bright red. "U-uh, yeah. Me too, I'll miss you too." He walked out the door in a hurry.
Mafuyu chuckled. Goodness, he could always make her laugh.