The next day I was once again walking to my workplace. Another day, another yen, as my dad would say. I walked up the hill to the house, opened the gate with my key, and stepped to the yard. I headed straight to the mudroom to get changed into my work clothing, after which I walked over to the lobby to look for Saitou. I mean, yeah, I found Saitou. Not the old man, though, but the young servant girl, Saitou Sumire. Almost as if she's been expecting me.
"Ah, there you are. Good morning," she greeted me, bowing respectfully.
"Oh, yeah, morning," I said, answering the gesture. "Where's your uncle?"
"Ah, he's out doing some errands, so I'll be your supervisor this morning."
Getting supervised by a gal clearly younger than me, huh… Better swallow my pride, even though the thought doesn't taste so good.
After thinking about it for a bit, I nodded. "Okay, sure. So, any tasks for me?"
"Actually, yes. Today is laundry day. Follow me up to the laundry room, and I'll show you the procedures," she instructed me, and began heading towards the stairs, me tailing right after her.
I spent my morning doing the laundry. Dirty ones in, clean ones out to dry, pretty simple. And while waiting for the wash cycle to be complete, I decided to grab the vacuum cleaner and clean the upstairs hallway. At first I did it just to earn some extra points, but after a few minutes it began feeling relaxing, just like yesterday. When the cycle was done, I carried the laundry over to the clothesline outside where I hung them up to dry. Now I only had to find something else to do while I waited for the clothes to dry, and… Hold on, this isn't me. I'm beginning to lose myself. Maybe I'll just head over to the mudroom to relax a bit…
"Oh, you're already done, great."
I'm not sure where Sumire appeared from, but her talking caught me completely off guard. I somehow managed not to flinch.
"A-ah, yeah," I muttered, trying to hide my nervousness.
Sumire smiled a bit. "And good job on cleaning the upstairs hallway. Speaking of which, the rugs up there could use some airing. You can hang them on the patio's railings. Oh, and get a carpet beater, so you can dust them a bit."
Her tone of voice… Almost if she knew I was thinking about slacking off. Better be more careful with my thoughts. As instructed, I headed upstairs, rolled up the rugs covering the hallway's floor, and carried them out to the patio, where I laid them down on the railing. After a bit of searching, I managed to find the carpet beater. I used it to give the rugs the beating their dads never gave them. The hours passed as I did a few more tasks, and it was already lunch time. I still wasn't sure what I ate, but I think it was some kind of a fish or something. After finishing my meal and returning the dishes to the sink, I headed upstairs towards the library. As I got to the hallway, I spotted Sumire a bit further away, next to what I assumed to be her room's door.
Noticing my presence, she asked: "Oh, you're going to the library again?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "There's not much else to do here."
Sumire seemed to think about something for a bit. As I was reaching for the library's door, she suddenly spoke.
"Would you like to come into my room?"
It caught me completely off guard. "A what now?"
Sumire processed her words for a few seconds, until she flinched. "A-ah, no, I mean… The library doesn't really have anything for teenagers, and I have some manga and light novels, so…"
I tried my best to hide my grin as she embarrassedly explained her true intentions. She's all professional and ladylike when she's being a servant, but behind all that she's just a normal girl. Obviously, she's just offering me more suitable reading, nothing else. Actually, I wouldn't mind checking out some light novels.
"Alright, sounds good," I said, pretending to not have noticed her embarrassment.
It took her some seconds to react. "…oh! Um, come on in, then."
I walked over to her, and she opened the room's door, waiting for me to step in first. As I did that, I wasn't very surprised about the room itself. A bed, wardrobe, desk, bookshelf, and a pinch of femininity here and there… Just a regular girl's room, or as far as I know, at least. Only abnormal thing was a mini fridge under the desk. Man, I've always wanted one of those, would save me a trip to the kitchen.
"Sorry for the lack of seating, you can sit on the bed," Sumire said, a bit sorry looking, before also stepping inside and closing the door.
As instructed, I walked over to the bed, taking a seat on its edge. Right across from it was a bookshelf. And sure enough, it indeed held a wide array of manga and light novels of different kinds, enough to fill many rows. One wouldn't expect a servant girl to own such a collection, but as I stated earlier, her profession hardly defines her nature. As I was eyeing the shelf, Sumire walked through the room, pulled out a chair from under the desk, and took a seat.
"Pick anything you like," she told me.
I nodded for an answer, and kept eyeing the shelf for a while, until I stood up, and walked over to it. I began browsing the collection more closely. Alright, let's see here… Nope… No… Nah… Ugh, it's all so bland! School romances, junior high students with super powers fighting each other, a fantasy world catgirl café… I mean, she's not wrong when she said these would be more suitable for teenagers. Teenage girls going to junior high, that is. A drop of cold sweat ran down my brow as I was trying to figure out how I'd tell her that her whole shelf was full of shit… Wait a minute, that's… That's Warriors of Lotus, the very first volume! It was tucked away on the lowermost shelf, almost as if trying to be hidden. Well, a bit of rereading wouldn't do me any harm, so I ended up picking it.
Sumire seemed a bit surprised due to my choice. "Uh, you're going to read that?"
"Yup," I nodded, sitting back on the bed. "Or, actually, I've read it once before."
"Oh? I got it as a present some time ago, but it seemed so bland I never bothered even opening it," she muttered.
You're the one to speak with your bookshelf full of blandness, gal… Actually, back when I got my own copy, I thought exactly that about it. And I guess I would've never even touched it if it wasn't for that one day when the internet went out, and I was in dire need of some entertainment. I flipped the book open, and began reading. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sumire picking some light novel from the shelf. We spent the next minutes just reading in silence.
As I was reading, I switched positions from time to time, and ended up laying on my stomach. Me being focused on the text and one of my hands holding the book, my other hand began moving around, and found a gap between the bed and the wall. The gap was big enough for my hand to fit through, and it wasn't long until my fingers reached the floor… No, wait, that's not the floor. It feels like… a cardboard box? Fiddling around with it a bit, I determined for it to be a shoebox or similar. Now, why would a teenage girl have a box hidden under her bed? It caught my interest. Maybe, with enough force, I could slip it out from under the bed. Though, I could also just—
"H-hey!" Sumire suddenly yelled out.
I immediately stopped from fiddling with the box, but didn't pull my hand out of the gap. Instead, I acted surprised, and turned to face her.
"Huh, what's up?" I asked, as if I didn't know.
She kept quiet for a while, confused a bit. She quickly realized she was just making herself look suspicious, and was desperately scanning around the room, looking for an excuse. A few seconds later she suddenly reached for the mini fridge.
"U-um, would you like something to drink?"
"…sure, why not," I said with a shrug.
She opened the fridge, grabbing two small boxes of juice, and handed one of them over to me. First I'm invading her privacy by fiddling with that box, and now I'm drinking a juice I don't deserve… I guess I should feel bad, but a free juice is always a free juice. Regardless, I can't help but wonder what's in that box. Drugs? Weapons? A vibrating massage tool that's definitely used only on the neck? Though, invading her privacy might get me fired… Ugh, I'll figure it out later.
Hours passed, and my shift was almost over. I was working on the front yard, raking the leaves and such, when I saw an expensive looking car driving to the yard, and parking in the garage. As the driver stepped out of the garage, I recognized him as Saitou. Huh, he's been gone all day. From what I've heard, even though he's a butler, he also handles some business stuff for Kotobuki-san. He spotted me, and immediately walked over to me.
"Ah, Sugimoto-san. I have an important task for you," he told me.
Thinking for a bit, I raised the rake in my hand. "Um, I'm kinda in the middle of something here."
"Oh, don't worry about it, I'll have someone finish it up for you," he said with a slight smile. "Get your shoes cleaned and come to the kitchen, and I'll explain the task."
So the task's that important, huh? Well, better not keep him waiting. Stopping by the mudroom to clean my shoes, I immediately headed to the kitchen, where I found Saitou standing next to the sink. And on top of the sink was a fancy looking tea set.
"So, let me explain: the family's daughter will be arriving home this evening. And this is her favorite tea set," he explained.
I quickly got what my task would be; "Ah, you want it cleaned?"
Saitou nodded with a satisfied smile. "Yes, exactly. Capital." However, he became a bit more serious. "I'd like for you to be extremely gentle with these. They're custom work from Austria."
"…oh?" I managed to mutter out.
He kept the serious expression on for some seconds, until that same slight smile returned. "Well, I'm sure you'll manage. When you're done, you're free to leave."
And then he left, leaving me by myself. I kept staring at the tea set for a while, until I swallowed nervously, and began digging around the cabinets, gathering some cleaning equipment. If I fuck this up, I'll have to work as their slave for some decades until I've repaid the damage.
Half an hour later I finally got home. I managed to clean the tea set without breaking a single thing, hooray for me. As I stepped inside and began taking my shoes off, I noticed something: Two familiar pairs of shoes.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Tamiko peeking from the kitchen. "Ah, welcome home."
Right next to her was Ui. "Hey, Eiji-kun!"
"Oh, Eiji-kun's home?" I could hear Jun shouting from the living room.
A bit confused, I scratched my head. "Oh, hi. We're having visitors again?"
As I slowly walked further, I noticed that the two girls in the kitchen were preparing some tea and snacks.
"Yes, again," Ui answered, chuckling embarrassedly. "My parents came home this morning, and they brought a lot of foreign snacks as souvenirs for sis and me, so I thought about sharing them."
Wait, your parents? So you do actually have parents? And they're currently at your home? Just like that? Just chilling there?
"Huh…" I muttered in the midst of the thoughts racing in my head.
Taking a few steps more, I saw Jun in the living room, lazing around on the couch. I don't think the tea will take that long to be ready, so I might as well stay downstairs. I walked over to the couches, crashing on the vacant one, and spent my time staring at the ceiling. Huh, I can't actually remember the last time I've stared at the living room's ceiling. Actually, I think I've stared more at Ui's living room's ceiling than at this one. I glanced at Jun, and noticed her doing the same. As I looked at her, something came to my mind.
"Where's the cat girl?"
Jun turned to look at me with an amused snort. "Ah, you mean Azusa? I think she's currently on a trip with her club."
"Oh, that's right," I murmured, having completely forgotten about it.
Ui peeked from the kitchen. "Actually, they're currently on their way back home, and should arrive later today."
"Huh, what a coincidence…" I muttered after remembering the Kotobuki family's daughter. After seeing the girls' confused expressions, I waved my hand vaguely. "Nothing, just talking to myself."
Indeed, tomorrow I'd meet the daughter. I wonder what she's like? Heh, probably some stuck up bitch or something. Oh well, better keep my head cool and stay polite, no matter how annoying she'd get.
The next morning came sooner than I expected. Just like before, I got through the gate, headed to the mudroom to get changed, and headed to the lobby to look for Saitou. But no one was there. Should I stay and wait? Or would it be seen as being lazy? Maybe I should grab a feather duster and make myself look busy… Oh, wait, there's Sumire. She walked in through the door leading to the backyard. And as she noticed my presence, she quickly walked over to me.
"Morning," I greeted her, and a second later remembered to bow.
"Good morning," she greeted back, answering the gesture. "I actually have something for you to do right away."
She then beckoned me to follow her, so that's what I did. She led me to the kitchen, where I saw a serving tray with a tea set. I've got a bad feeling about this.
"So, uh, I'm supposed to serve tea?" I made a guess.
Sumire nodded. "That's right."
"To whom?" I asked, even though I already knew, since I cleaned that same tea set myself yesterday.
"To Kotobuki-sama's daughter," she answered. "She's currently on the patio. Don't keep her waiting, and remember to be polite and professional."
Polite and professional, right, sure… I felt like asking something, but Sumire was already gone, leaving me by myself. Nervously glaring at the serving tray, I let out a deep sigh, and grabbed it. The walk from the kitchen to the patio felt heavy. I mean, the tray wasn't heavy at all. It was the price of the tea set that was heavy. Thankfully, Sumire had left the patio's door open, so I could just walk through without breaking my pace. The bright forenoon sun blinded me for a second, the backyard slowly fading into my vision. The daughter didn't seem to be sitting on the right side. Slowly and nervously, I turned my head to the left. And there she was, sitting at one of the tables. Light hair, blue eyes, and a white sundress…
Wait just a damn minute.
I recognized her. I knew her. And judging by her expression, she also knew me. She's Tsumugi, Yui's club's keyboardist. I… Fuck, I just thought the same last name was a coincidence! No way in hell would've I expected for her to be some millionaire's daughter! Damn it, I'm going to have a mental breakdown over here!
She kept looking at me, a small but warm smile on her face, almost as if she's waiting for something… Oh, shit, I'm supposed to serve tea to her. I took a second to quickly get a grip, and walked over to her, gently setting the tray on the table. I took another second to brace myself for what I was about to say.
"Your tea, Miss Kotobuki," I said as professionally as I could.
"Why, thank you," she said, cocking her head with a smile. "Though, a servant is supposed to pour it for me."
My heart skipped a beat. "A-a-ah, r-right, o-of course, I just—!"
She interrupted me by gently giggling into her hand. "Oh, don't worry about it, I'll later ask for Sumire to show you how to do it."
It took some seconds for my panic to ease off. "…right, thanks."
I was just about to head back inside, when Tsumugi asked: "Actually, why don't you sit down? It won't take long for me to finish this tea."
I, however, just kept standing, not even turning to face her. As seconds passed, I nervously cleared my throat.
"I… I'm not supposed to be too friendly with you," I said to her under my breath.
"Oh?" she muttered, and soon smiled gently. "But we're already friends, aren't we, Eiji-san?"
We are? Or, I guess we are, since we're on a first-name basis.
"…good point."
After hesitating for a few seconds more, I finally turned to face her, pulling out a chair right across from her, and taking a seat. Satisfied with her successful persuasion, Tsumugi poured herself a cup of tea, and began drinking it. Meanwhile I was just sitting there, glancing around the backyard, a small bit of nervousness still lingering in my mind.
"So…" Tsumugi spoke, and I quickly turned to face her. "How have you liked your time here so far?"
Man, tough question, this is only my third day here.
I thought about it for a bit. "…well, honestly speaking, I can't really name anything that would've been wrong. It's actually been kinda easy and relaxing."
She nodded for an answer, sipped her tea, and asked: "I assume Sumire has kept you company?"
"Uh, yes," I answered, a bit confused.
Tsumugi snorted amusedly. "I thought as much. We've had a few other part-time employees during the past years, but they've all been college students or butler trainees. This year my father thought about employing a high schooler for a change."
She set her tea cup down, hinting she had more to say. "Do you know why you're here?"
Now what kind of a question is that? Is this some trick? Eh, guess I'll bite for now.
"Uh, because of my summer job?"
"Because of whom?" she asked.
Seriously, what the hell? "Because of… your father, right?"
She didn't say anything, but just kept looking at me, that same smile still on her face. Huh, was I wrong? Wait… No, it can't be… But, why else would she ask those questions? She can't possibly mean…?
It took me a few seconds to figure it out. "…you?"
She chuckled a bit. "You know, there were many other applicants besides you, but I managed to convince my father to pick you."
…
"…wha…?" was the only thing I managed to blurt out in the midst of my confusion.
As I was busy trying to make sense out of all of this, she continued: "Last spring, I happened to stop by my father's study one day. He was going through the summer job applications, so, out of curiosity, I also took a peek at them. To my complete surprise, I happened to recognize your name in one of them. My father, having difficulties choosing between three applications, asked me to pick one randomly. And so, I 'randomly' picked you."
This… I mean… Just, what!?
"…why?" I managed to ask after a bit of processing.
"Why not?" she said, cocking her head with a smile. "You're a good person, at least according to Ui-chan."
Now it was my turn to cock my head, this time out of confusion. "According to Ui-san?"
"Oh, yes. We meet from time to time, and most of the time she has something to tell about you," she explained. "And I can tell she really enjoys your company."
"That so…?" I muttered, feeling a slight blush forming on my cheeks. "So, uh, what does she tell about me?"
Tsumugi put her fingers on her cheeks. "My, my. Interested, aren't we?"
Oh, for fuck's sake, could you stop making me more embarrassed!? Regardless, I tried my best to keep my cool.
"I don't like when people talk about me behind my back."
It was a lie. Honestly, I don't give a shit about something like that. But, for some reason, she had managed to pique my interest, so I was a bit curious.
She still kept the smile on her face. "Well, let's see: She says that you're nice, patient, a good friend, a great listener, and that it's fun to talk with you. Oh, and she also praises your interest towards literature."
…Ui just doesn't know when to shut up, does she?
"I, uh, see," I said, nodding slowly.
Something about it amused Tsumugi. She grabbed her tea cup, took a sip, and set it back down.
"Now, your turn," she said.
"What?"
"What do you think about Ui-chan?" she elaborated.
I frowned a bit. "Why do you ca—… I mean, why you ask?"
"Oh, just interested, that's all," she explained, resting her chin on her fingers. "I've heard so much about you, but not so much from you."
I looked at her for a while, and turned my gaze elsewhere, scratching my cheek. Well, maybe I can talk a bit more openly with her. We know each other well enough to be considered friends, but not so much that she'd be able to make fun of me.
"…you know, I'm not really sure how to answer that," I answered honestly.
It seemed to surprise Tsumugi. "Oh? I thought you'd just say that you two are friends."
…fuck it, I'll just let her be my therapist for a minute. "Yeah, well, I guess it's not that simple, you know."
I gave her a quick glance, noticing her interested expression.
"It just doesn't feel like friendship anymore."
"Maybe something greater?" she asked, complementing my thoughts.
After thinking for a second, I nodded. "…yeah, I guess you can put it that way. But, I'm not sure if you could talk about anything 'serious' just yet. It's like in between two feelings. Like I'm stuck in a gap; it's hard to keep going forward, but it's also hard to go back where I came from… if that makes sense."
Tsumugi kept listening to me, her smile getting a bit wider. "Well, then… let me ask you a simple question."
I gave her all of my attention.
"Do you like Ui-chan?"
…
"Uh, in what wa—?"
She quickly raised her hand to interrupt me, and shook her head. The smile was gone, she actually looked serious. "Simple question, no elaborations. Just answer, yes or no?"
…
"…yeah."
And just like that, the smile was back on her face, like nothing happened.
"Then, I'm sure you'll eventually find your way out of the gap," she told me.
I thought I'd lose my sanity. I thought I couldn't say anything out of nervousness. But, I just blurted it out. Just like that, without a second doubt, without regret. And… I actually feel a bit relieved. I think this was exactly what I needed, just someone to talk to. As I was processing the situation, Tsumugi finished her tea. The sound of the tea cup clinking against the saucer made me wake from my thoughts.
"Thanks for the tea."
"…oh, right, sure," I muttered, standing up and grabbing the platter
It caused Tsumugi to giggle into her hand. "You're not supposed to answer that."
…and there goes my confidence down the drain once again.
Couple of days went by, and it was already Friday. Only next week left, and my summer job will be over. Besides Sumire, Tsumugi has also kept me company during those couple of days, though I always try to make our conversations brief, since I wouldn't want to give the wrong impression to my employer. During those short conversations, I've come to learn that she takes the same train as my sister whenever she goes to school, though they hardly talk much, save for some casual greetings. I also heard something rather surprising; I've attracted some attention at the Sakuragaoka High School. Some students there have seen me hanging out with the Hirasawa sisters, and thus the rumors have started to spread. I'm not sure how to feel about that, since I'm planning on visiting their festival again later this year… Eh, I guess we'll see.
Before I knew it, my work day was over. After having a quick discussion about my progress and work quality with Saitou, I was free to leave. I'm not sure what I'm going to do this weekend, I don't really have any plans. I guess I could spend the rest of the day eating snacks and playing games. Luckily, I had a bit of money with me, so I could stop by the store on my way home. A bag of chips, soda, maybe something microwaveable… There, I think I'll manage with these. I stepped out of the convenience store, and began heading home.
"Yo, Sugimoto."
I halted. The sound wasn't familiar, but since it was calling my name, I decided to turn around to face it. A few meters away, at the convenience store's corner, stood a guy, leaning against the wall. It took me a few seconds to recognize him. It was Tsukuda, the guy who was fighting Ichiro back at the Winter Festival. I looked at him for a couple of seconds, turned my gaze away from him, and resumed walking.
"Hey, what's the hurry?" he called out for me.
I halted again, but I didn't face him.
"The hell do you want?" I asked.
I could hear him walking a few steps towards me. "I just wanna talk."
"I don't have anything to say to you."
I heard him clicking his tongue, and sighing right after. "Man, why all the hostility?"
I was beginning to get annoyed. The reason for my reluctance was my survival instinct: No way I'm going to stop and talk with a guy I beat up half a year ago. For all I know, the second I turn to face him, I'll get a punch to the face.
It was quiet for a few seconds, until I could hear him sigh again. "Alright, look, dude. There's a security camera right up there, and we're next to a busy road. Why the fuck would I fight in a place like this?"
…honestly, he made a good point.
"…and besides, if I wanted to beat you up, I would've already done it."
I thought about it for a bit. Taking a deep breath, I once again turned around to face him.
"…okay. What's up?"
A pleased grin on his face, he walked back to the wall, and squatted down in front of it. I decided to follow his example, and also squatted down next to the wall, but kept a two meter distance to him.
"Well, that would be my line. What's up with you?" he asked.
"The hell you mean?"
He chuckled a bit. "That psychopath from Yukinokawa. That's what my buddies call you."
I just glanced at him, but didn't say anything. He kept waiting for my answer, but when he realized I wouldn't give any, he decided to continue.
"I'm from the western part of town, so I didn't have the pleasure to go to the same junior high as this so-called 'psychopath'. I didn't even know about your existence until last winter, when I got a taste of your fist. Everyone seemed to know you, everyone else except for me. So, of course I got curious. Why the fuck haven't I ever heard of this 'psychopath' before?"
He turned to face me, a curious expression on his face. "From what I've heard, you used to be one angry little bastard. Even one wrong word, and a guy would get his ass beaten up by you."
I frowned a bit. "Yeah, so what of it? You're not one to moralize me."
"No, I'm not moralizing anyone here. It's just that all I hear is you doing this and that in junior high…" he said, and turned to face me. "…but not a single thing in high school."
I glanced at him, not saying anything, and turned my gaze back to the road, watching the cars driving by.
He snapped his fingers, and shook his head. "A person doesn't just change like that in one spring break. What made you go soft? Parents? Religion? Who the hell are you trying to impress here?"
Unamused, I slowly turned to face him. "People do change."
"The hell they do…" he muttered, clicking his tongue.
He then stayed quiet for a while. I was just thinking about making my leave, when he continued on talking.
"…but anyway, back to my original question. I know about pretty boy Nishikawa and that little bitch Makino."
My grip on the plastic bag tightened as I listened to him talking shit, but I tried my best to keep calm. Yeah, I wanted to slam his head against the wall, but as he earlier stated, this place is not optimal for fighting.
"One has a dead mom, and the other one has daddy issues. You know, just your basic sad shit that people use to justify their delinquency," he said, making vague movements with his hand as he explained. "But you? What's up with you?"
I'm not sure where he had got that information about my friends. Regardless, I guess his curiosity about me was understandable. I live with both of my parents, and I have a good relationship with them. So, why would I feel the need to disrespect the rules of society?
"I guess I just don't like assholes," I muttered, keeping my gaze forward.
He chuckled, and leaned towards me, whispering: "That's it!" His whisper sounded excited, as if he found the answer he was looking for.
"That's fucking it, you just don't like assholes! Unlike every other dickhead out there, it's not your environment that makes you do what you do," he said, swiping the air with his hand.
He then turned to face me, and pointed his finger at his head like a gun. "It's in your nature."
His eyes… They were the ones of a madman. I remember seeing those same, crazed eyes back at the Winter Festival when I fought him. Those eyes were accompanied by that manic laughter. I wasn't sure about it back then, but now I'm certain of it: This guy is attracted to violence. In an unhealthy way, that is.
He dragged himself a bit closer to me, a grin on his face and his eyes wide open. "You realize? We're the same, you and I. We don't fight because the world is unfair. We fight because we want."
…enough.
I stood up, and turned to glare at him.
"We are not the same."
I then began walking away. As I did that, I could hear Tsukuda chuckling, but he didn't say anything. My heart was pumping, I was clenching my fist in my pocket. Yes, I admit it, I was a total degenerate piece-of-shit back in junior high, but unlike Tsukuda, I'm not mentally ill. I fought only because I was angry. I was angry for so many years, but not anymore. But… Tsukuda almost got one thing right. I 'went soft' thanks to someone. Thanks to a certain gal.
A gal… that I like.