Entry 55: Déjà vu
May 17th: Morning
A small yawn escaped my mouth as I finally got to the Nakano apartment door. Stretching myself out, I laid my hand on the doorknob and opened the door. And for the first time in a long time, I felt it. A strange feeling that raised the hair on the back of my neck. It was familiar... Ugh, something really annoying just happened, didn't it? Sure enough, the five Nakano sisters were all sitting in the living room, silently staring at a piece of paper that sat on the table that laid in the center of the room. "Morning." Even my voiced entrance didn't get any reaction from their pale faces. "What's-'' Unable to keep my curiosity checked, I walked over to the girls and got a glimpse of the paper they were staring at. "Of course. How annoying."
What the five girls were staring at was a paper that read "Notice of Contract Termination." The absolute last thing that anyone who rents wants to see. I picked up the piece of paper and read over it. The notice detailed how after over forty years of operation, the building had gotten into such a state of disrepair that the landlords had decided to demolish the building. Damn landlords. This kind of practice is the reason why Yakuza are able to recruit and use people so easily. You make money for so long on a property and just abandon it? Just fix it, dammit. If there was a Family in this city, they would have pounced on this opportunity. Letting out a sigh, I put down the notice and turned to my friends. "Well, it's not all bad. At least they're giving you guys six months to move out."
Itsuki was the first to speak, after sighing to herself. "Six months from now, we'll be in the middle of exam season." Of course. Can't exactly blame the landlord on that one. It's not exactly normal for highschool students to be living alone nowadays. "What do we do? I doubt it's going to be easy to find a new place... Especially since we still have a few weeks of school left."
"Well, you can-"
"Good luck, but it looks like I'm moving in with Ku." Nino interrupted me with a smile. "You've got room, right?"
"I barely fit in my apartment."
Ichika was the next to seemingly come back to life, a grin spreading on her face. A kind of grin that I unfortunately knew. "Well, you'll have to get a new bed first of all. I doubt that all three of you all could fit." Celery, Ichika just meant that as a joke. But, all her joke did was remind me of that night. And of course, it reminded Nino and Miku as well, who's faces lit up like a fireworks show. "...hey wait a minute."
"A-Anyway! That's not gonna happen, especially since Maruo would kill me a million times before he accepts that reality." I shook my head as I walked over to the kitchen, trying my best to defuse the situation. "So, what's our best options?"
"Well, unfortunately, we don't exactly have a lot of money between the five of us.'' Itsuki took the lead and made her thinking face. Resting her chin on her hand. "Even with the five of us all working now, we won't be able to find an affordable place so easily. It took Ebata months to find this place." True, especially with the fact that summer's now upon us, so is the move in season. This is the best time for new movers or usually couples moving in together. So the market is going to be quite competitive. Not the best time to get a cheap apartment. "Could your brother help?"
"As much as I would like to think he can, Library is actually really busy right now. They're still cleaning up the whole Omi dissolving along with making sure no new families are popping up. Plus the whole Senjo situation."
"Senjo?" Yotsuba tilted her head in confusion, reminding me that I didn't personally explain what happened to her, Itsuki and Ichika. "Oh! You mean the demon!" Now it was my turn to be confused so I turned my gaze to Miku and Nino.
"I may or may not have gone on a rant..." My headphone wearing girlfriend said as she turned her gaze down to her hands. "S-Sorry."
"I think she went a little soft..."
"Soft?!" Itsuki practically yelled. "Nino, I'd never heard Miku curse in such a manner in my entire life! I thought she was possessed by a sailor!" Jeez, just how angry did she get? That makes me love her even more~ "Disregarding my sister's... angry rants, I understand Kuro. Thank you anyway." The whole mood of the group went down once more. Not that I could blame them. They don't know where they'll be able to stay six months from now. I'd love nothing more than to get them a place to stay but even with how much money I have saved up, it'll be a hassle. If only we had a back-
"Hey... can't you all just move back into the apartment?"
"HELL NO!" My suggestion was rewarded with a glare from my girlfriend. "And do what, prove dad right? I'd rather eat glass!" So much pride from someone just suggested to freeload off of me. But she did have a point. The whole reason why the girls moved out, other than to get Taro back into their lives, was to show their father that they could live on their own. That they didn't have to rely on him forever and they were they're own people. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Look, I get it, but it would only be temporary. Only until we're able to find a place for you girls to stay once again. Okay?"
Before Nino could yell at me again, Ichika spoke up. "Kuku's got a point. Getting a new palace is gonna take a while, and who knows how long it'll take with our salaries. Plus, we'll be able to save up for the next place as we stay there. It's a win-win." Pure logic, that was the actress's argument. So I still didn't get why everyone's faces looked so dissatisfied. "I know girls, but it's fine. Just for a bit, alright?"
"Care to fill me in? Did you all find a rat when I left or something?"
"N-No. It's just..." Yotsu was uncharacteristically shy as she looked between all of her sisters. "You know..." No, I don't.
"Whatever. I suggest you all start packing but don't go overboard. We still have a few weeks of school left so it'd be inconvenient to go between school and moving homes. I'll help with the move as soon as summer begins, alright?" All I got was hesitant nods from the girls. This feels uncomfortable. I guess for a bit, I'll have to go back to doing my job again. "I'll go and check to see if the apartment is in a livable state. While Library and Maruo are still on working terms, our contract is quite different so I doubt that we have anyone keeping the apartment in peak condition. Unless Ebata was keeping it nice periodically, I may have to clean it." Cracking my knuckles to get ready for the job ahead of me, I went to walk to the door. "I'll see you later."
"Ah, Ku-'' Without waiting for a response, I left. Sorry, but knowing you all, you'd refuse my help. Jeez, I know I'm not your butl- I mean bodyguard anymore, but I can still help you. Ugh, that doesn't mean that this work isn't a hassle.
Same Day: Afternoon
Sure enough, I was right on the money. It seems like this place was mostly forgotten. While Maruo technically lives here, I doubt the man has stepped foot in the apartment in months. Whenever the man wasn't sleeping either in his office or in his hospital, he was passing out at an apartment he had within walking distance of his work. That man is the definition of workaholic. So I suppose it makes sense that Ebata, his personal butler, would forget about this place. Even if he has a special place in his heart for the sister. Doesn't help that for the better part of five and a half years, I was the one doing all the cleaning. It's only natural he'd forget.
Moving my mind from my former boss and future father-in-law (Hopefully), I turned my gaze to the apartment. Honestly I expected worse. While everything was caked in a layer of dust, at least the last person who visited had the foresight to keep the windows slightly open so the air in the apartment didn't stay stagnant. The floor that used to be so clean I could see myself in they're reflection was unfortunately now a strange shade of brown. This was just the living room and kitchen too. The individual rooms will undoubtedly be a huge hassle. "Ugh, I should really think more carefully before I volunteer myself." Making my way to the broom closet, all of the necessary items were there. In fact, it looked like an armory compared to the cleaning supplies I had in my apartment. "Welp." rolling up my sleeves, I pulled out the broom and took my phone out of my pocket, putting on some music before carefully placing it on the dusty dinner table. "No time like the present." What a way to spend my weekend.
"Take me far where the stars are still asleep~ You and me, we'll live forever more. I will follow you, my destiny~ Won't you get my feet back on the ground. I'm getting played by you-"
"Déjà Vu~'' I silently sang along with the music as I cleaned up the apartment. Having to put on a mask as well as open the windows further to stop myself from breathing in too much dust and grime. The mess was worse than I thought. This is going to take the whole day to clean up, and it's just the first floor. The upstairs and the rooms will probably take multiple days. Ugh, I don't know whether to blame my brother for this or Maruo. Dammit, I coulda been watching a movie with Nino and Miku! "Me and my big mouth." But I can't lie, doing this did bring me a strange sense of nostalgia. Being back in this apartment after so long, doing the job that I used to do all the time. I guess it kinda is like a feeling of déjà vu.
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Which almost immediately gave way to a voice. "WOAH! It's so dirty here!"
"Yotsuba, you're being too loud. You'll make the neighbors mad at us again.'' Walking into the Living room were Miku and Yotsuba. The two girls made immediate eye contact with me as I stopped brooming. Is that the right word for it? "Kuro, hard at work."
"Yo, pleased to see you, Lady Miku. Lady Yotsuba." The two girls cringed at my joke of a greeting. "What? Not even for old times sake?"
"Please never call me that again. It physically hurts to hear." Miku's exaggerated sigh almost made me feel bad about bringing back the naming convention. "Makes me not want to help..."
"Please help me. I really doubt that I can clean this entire place alone." The amount of time it would take me to do this, there's no way I wouldn't go insane before I finished.
"Jeez, Kurorororo. I told you not to go in over your head! You're off your game." With what could count as a smug grin from Yotsuba, the girl came up to me and patted my back. Only to be surprised when dust flew off as she did so. "Oh no! You're turning into dust!"
Another sigh came out of Miku's mouth. "What can we do to help?" So, after instructing them to put some spare handkerchiefs over their mouths, we began the power clean. Yotsuba volunteered to take on the kitchen while Miku decided to help me first sweep the floor clean of dust before moving onto dusting the sofa and tables. "Why don't we mop before then?"
"Well, we could. But I don't like the thought of getting a single speck of dust on the floor. I pride myself on being able to eat off the floor!" Not to mention, I don't know if Itsuki would do a repeat of the Incident. I still can't believe she really... you know what. Nevermind. It's rude for a guy to think too much about a girl's eating habits. "Sorry, I know I'm weird like that."
"Hm, it's fine. I know you take your work seriously." Giving me a firm nod, my girlfriend took the right side of the living room while I took the left. Take my work seriously, huh? I mean, I suppose I did. Was that weird? I suppose people my age don't usually have that kind of work ethic, I guess. Thinking back on it, I tried to mentally list what I'd do on a normal day when I was their bodyguard. Well, first I'd wake up around 5 am and do my morning routine. Take a shower, brush my teeth, do a short work out, etc. Then make breakfast, do a bit of cleaning before everyone wakes up and serve them their food. Afterwards, go to school. Pretty normal, right?
"Or was it..." I mean, what kinda kid wakes up at 5 am willingly? I know I for one definitely won't do that nowadays. So, was I weird? These thoughts permeated my mind as my body moved on autopilot. I was able to sweep the left side of the room and clean the couches and coffee table in what felt like record time. It was as I closed the garbage bag filled with dust, grime and first that I woke up, for a lack of a better word. Looking up at the girls, I noticed that Miku was still sweeping while Yotsu was dusting the cabinets. "Need help guys?"
"I'm fine~" Yotsu's song like response was fine enough for me. But Miku didn't response. Sure enough, she had her headphones on and was listening to music. I don't need to baby them. They've been living together for six months already. I need to stop worrying so much.
"Alright. Call me when you two are done so I can mop the floor. I'll start with the upstairs now."
It felt like my mind and body were in two different places. As my body began cleaning the Girls rooms on auto pilot, my mind was racing. Summer vacation is just around the corner, but will Senjougahara wait that long? I can't say for sure whether or not she's a patient human being. But I'd wager impatient if she went so far as to spread rumors just because I said no to her once. Or was that simply another manipulation to make me think that? I've got to say, she sure is a smart woman. "Mental warfare, huh?" It's one thing to beat someone until they can't move. But it's a whole other thing to end a fight and control someone's actions before a single punch is thrown. "Tch, that pisses me off."
What am I doing? Why am I wasting my time thinking about this anyway? It's almost like I'm obsessed. No, that's not right. What could it be... it's like this sense of dread. That woman reminded me so much of them that... Wait, that's right! She reminded me so much of that old family. Could she have some sort of connection to them? No, stop. Don't think about that right now, man! "I need to stop thinking so much..." As I said that, I came right back to attention. Realizing that I had finished cleaning out Nino's room, I went to move onto the next, only to catch my eye on a familiar door. At the edge of the hallway, stood a door that was slightly smaller than the others. It sat right between Yotsuba and Ichika's room. It was "my room. Can't remember the last time I saw it..."
Opening the door, it was... not at all how I remember leaving it. When I lived here, my room was simple. It was much smaller than the other girls' rooms, leaving me with not a lot of room to walk around. But I didn't care so much at the time. From the designer's point of view, it was supposed to be a guest room. Anyway, from what I could remember, my room was as bland as they could come. I remember having a desk along with a dresser and a bed. That's it. Even then, when I moved out, the only thing that I left behind was the desk. So was said desk decorated? Walking into the room, I looked over the dust covered desk. Sitting on it were multiple dusty framed photos of myself and each of the Nakano sisters. Pictures I don't really remember taking. "When did... oh yeah. Ichika did drag me to an arcade..." Looking through the photos, the memories slowly did come back. The one with me and Ichika was from around the second year of middle school. She dragged me with her to an arcade because she wanted to experience it so she could play a role in the school play better. Of course, that experience included going to a photo booth. My emotionless face contrasted with Ichika's brought smile.
Two years ago, Itsuki was craving true, New York style pizza. While I tried to temper her expectations, Maruo went in the exact opposite direction. He flew in a famous chef all the way from America. I was then forced to accompany her to her dinner. But it was more like a bloodbath! I don't know how a girl of her size put down so much pizza. The photo was of Itsuki downing what I'd say was her twentieth slice with a gigantic smile on her face. I stood behind her, absolutely flabbergasted. But man, nothing makes that girl happier than some delicious food. Almost makes me want to cook her something to bring her.
Yotsuba. Oh Yotsuba. This photo seemed to be the only one where I was smiling. The two of us were absolutely covered head to toe in mud, yet the two of us were smiling as we held up a dirty trophy. If I remember correctly, two years ago the girls had decided to go to a traveling fair that had made a stop here. Immediately, Yotsuba fell in love with the torment that they were holding and wanted nothing more than to get first place. Of course, seeing as none of her sisters wanted to do any physical activities, I was dragged into it. I don't remember much of what we were forced to do, but the last event was definitely memorable. We were to race through a track of mud, all of that for a juicy, juicy two thousand yen coupon. Course, we didn't win. Are you kidding me? We got second, but... it was still fun. Huh, to see such a wide smile on my face from back then. Yotsuba's energy really is contagious.
Just as I went to look at the next photo, the door opened. "-ro. Oh, there you-!" Almost as soon as the door opened, the frame I was about to grab had disappeared and reappeared in Miku's hands. "I-I forgot..." The young woman had hidden the frame behind her back and slowly began walking back into the open doorway. "I-I think I forgot-"
"Miku. Let me see." Her face went completely pale and she let out a sigh. "Come on, it can't be that bad."
"It is..."
"What, it's not like you took a photo of me sleeping or something."
"No, this isn't that-" Catching herself, Miku shook her head. "I mean I'd never do that." Hey, that was really suspicious, Miku! What the hell do you mean by that? But I decided not to push the issue further... at the moment. Instead, I put my hand out and made a beckoning motion. "Mou... fine. Just don't make fun of me."
"I won't." hesitantly, Miku handed the photo to me and I got a good look at it. It was... it was a photo of Miku and I sitting on a bench right outside the hospital. I remember it perfectly. This was a few days after I got stabbed. "Miku..." Sitting on the bench, I had my eyes closed and seemed to be sleeping, while she sat next to me, also sleeping. The two of us resting our heads on each other. Her head resting on my shoulder and mine resting on hers. "I... don't really remember this."
"Course not. I found you taking a nap in the hospital garden. At first I was worried but then I figured out you were just sleeping. So...I kinda fell asleep on you. Nino took the photo and wouldn't let me live it down for weeks!" Even though the events around it were uncomfortable to say the least, Miku had a bright smile on her face as she described it. "Sorry..."
"Don't apologize. It's cute, in a weird, creepy way."
"Mouuu, you said you wouldn't make fun of me!" Her cute tantrum made the punch to my arm totally worth it. "I forgot I put that photo here."
"I get that this is supposed to like celebrate or acknowledge our years together, but this totally feels like I died or something."
"No it's... it kinda does look like that! Oh no! Sorry!"
"It's fine, it's fine." Waving off her concerns, I caught a glimpse of the last photo. I recognized it as the last time we went to visit their grandfather. It was around three years ago, right before the school year started. In the photo stood myself and a disguised Nino, right beside the bell. This was right after she asked me to ring the bell with her. No wonder she's all red here. I remembered Maruo finding us just after ringing the bell and he was glaring at me pretty hard. After a minute, he calmed down and decided to take our photo. Now that I think about it, he probably dismissed the thought of us meaning to ring the bell quickly. Man... he's gonna kill me. Something I noticed was that the photo was the one furthest away from the door and was slightly turned away. So if you just popped your head in, you wouldn't really see it. Nino... so you really were just going to hide it all, huh? "Damn idiot."
"Hm?" Miku walked closer and got a good look at the photo. "... that sister of mine can be a real idiot sometimes, huh? Hmph, she owes me so much more now!"
"Owes you? Come on Miku, no need to be so dramatic about it." I shook my head at her wild statement.
Yet, she was still charging on. "She does! If it wasn't for me, she'd still be holding back and everything! Remember how she tried to run away from our conversation. Honestly, she can be a real coward sometimes." My girlfriend let out a huff as she stared at the photo. "Why didn't she tell me..."
"If there's one thing that idiot loves, it's her family. " So much so, she'd sacrifice her own feelings for them. "I'm totally gonna give that girl a big smooch next time I see her."
"Gimme one to." hearing her say that makes me way too nervous to do it now! She's so damn straight forward! "Are you blushing? It's hard to tell with the mask..."
"A-Am not."
"You're so cute when you're nervous. Kuro... did you clean my room already?"
Hm? Why the change of subject? "Yeah, but all your beds need to be dusted and aired out. So I'll do that tomorrow."
"Oh. Next time then." Huh? Next time? What- Then I knew what she meant. I could feel my entire face get hotter. Something that Miku didn't ignore as she gave me a cute laugh but with the most seductive eyes I've seen on her. "Plus Yotsuba's here. She'd get suspicious."
"K-Keep it in your p-pants." Ugh, even my comebacks don't sound as good against her. She really is my weakness.
Same Day: Evening
"Finally! We're done!" Yotsuba fell onto the clean floor and almost melted into it. "Ugh, I've never been more pooped in my entire life!"
"Well, that's what happens when you don't do chores for all your life." I commented as I placed an ice cold bottle of water next to her fallen form.
"Whose fault is that?" I ignored her jab and sat next to her to drink my own water. My eyes scanned the living room as I did. It looked good as new. The white tiles shining in the moonlight, the sweet aroma of citrus from the soap filled the air, and the couches looked as comfy as ever. Something Miku must agree with, given that she's taking a nap on it right now. "Ooof, didn't think she'd knock out like that!"
"Well, she's even more unsuited to long chores than you. At least you have stamina from running around so much."
"Shishishi! If there's one thing that I got, it's energy!" Yotsu's wide smile was infectious, it was basically impossible to stop myself from slimming along with her. "Same time tomorrow?"
"Hm? Oh no. The only stuff left is airing out the beds and a few other small things. I'll be done in less than three hours." With a shrug, my orange haired sister-in-law (kinda) relaxed more into the floor. "There's plenty of space on the couch, you know."
"Meh, I'm more of a floor girl, myself!" What does that even mean? "By the way, Kuro...can I ask you a question?"
"You just did." She puffed out cheeks and gave me a slight glare. "Sure, what is it?"
"...do you miss it? Living here with us?" I took my water away from my lips as I thought about it. "I know we were annoying and all but-"
"Oh yeah. You five were some of the most annoying, bratty, spoiled and downright rude girls I've ever met in my entire life." I mean seriously. With how these five act, you'd expect them to be real life princesses. I did their laundry for god's sake. "But even so, it was definitely the best five years of my life so far."
"...you didn't answer tho!"
"You want it straight? Hell no. Who in their right minds would miss cleaning Ichika's room every two days? Making Itsuki whatever strange craving she had at the drop of a hat? Cleaning up after every mess you made? Being belittled by Nino every single second that I was in her presence? Or even spending thousands of yen on Miku's music and headphones? Holy shit, I mean come on."
"..." Yotsuba looked like she was about to cry. "T-That's really how you see us?"
"You girls broke my very psyche. I mean seriously, I must be crazy to still love you girls." Any other person would hate their guts. Dealing with their shit? "What's wrong with me?"
"KUROOOO!" Just as I was about to slam my palm into my face, I was tacked to the ground by a crying Yotsuba. "Wahhh! Don't leave usssss!"
"H-Hey, I'm not going anywhere! Calm down!" Her bunny-like ribbon smacked into my face as she rubbed her tears onto my chest. "That's exactly what I mean. I really can't leave you girls alone." But, then a thought came to me. "Do you miss-"
"Of course! It's still weird waking up everyday not seeing you in the kitchen. Plus, I miss you taking care of us!"
"Hmph, you better. I put my ass into taking care of you."
"No wonder your ass is flat!"
"Hey, that is just straight up not factually true!" Did I just get offended at that? "Anyway, are you girls going to pay me for helping you move?"
"You're charging us?!"
"How many times in the last month have I treated you girls to food, sweets and drinks?"
"...but big brooooo!" Ugh, not this again! She even went so far as to give me the full on puppy dog eyes. Stay...strong!
"Fine...but you all owe me one."
"Yay!" Nevermind. It's not just Miku or Nino I'm weak to. It's every one of these idiots.