Hello everybody, I hope your all having a much better year then the last one and if not then I hope it gets better soon. Once again updating this fic before the year is out. hopefully completing it before the year is out as well so I can get started on the other pile of fic ideas I've been sleeping on starting. I've been feeling a bit more motivated a bit more to both write and do more in general so I'm not climbing the wall out of boredom. This is honestly an interaction I think I see the least in fics and a friendship I'm interested in making more of in other works. Hope I do them justice.
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"Limits don't exist unless you set them yourself!"
Kaito couldn't remember where he originally heard this phrase for the life of him but he was likely very little when he heard it.
When little kaito first heard that term he imagined those cartoons where characters despite whatever injury they had would strive past their pain limits to win. The thing they'd win was either a sports trophy, a fight, respect, or another person's heart. When he became slightly bigger he tried applying that logic to a game of middle school soccer. He hurt his ankle pretty badly the day before while trying a cool trick he saw in a video. Not only did his team lose that game but all he won was his ankle in a cast for 3 weeks.
Contrary to what some people believed he actually could tell the wishful expressions he tended to quote like that one were exactly that. They were simply wishful expressions. Even so, just because people didn't get anywhere with just wishes alone didn't mean they didn't have value. Without wishes no one would ever dream or care to try for much in life, right? There was a mega talented guy in one of the higher up classes who really needed a comb along with motivation of some kind for life. Despite all his talents the guy was constantly bored because he didn't want to do anything. A good example of someone with no wishes if there ever was one right there.
Failure to achieve what you wish like a limit didn't mean you were a failure. Kaito would rather try something and fail instead of never trying at all. All the same that day did teach kaito the difference between a cartoon characters limit and a human one. His mother gave him a good scolding when he got home that night from the hospital. Not accepting his limits made people worry and almost made him lose a foot. Having gotten a better hold of his temper and making friends who had more sold sense of their limits had helped him some. Occasionally he'd still had his moments of wanting to push the odds but he'd become a bit more selective with it. That didn't make every selection the smartest but at least ended with no hospital trips.
Okay, at least slightly fewer trips but still.
The phrase and its impact on his ways of limit testing came to mind within this moment as he watched Kirumi Tojo. A hardworking maid and friend of his that currently should be chilling in front of the TV while resting her wrist. According kaede she was had been looking a bit green earlier in the week but claimed it was nothing. Kaede had been in the library reading when she heard the loudest "AAACHOOO!" ever heard to mankind followed by a crash. Kirumi had been balancing on a ladder to retrieve some heavy books at the request of Kiyo. It was mystery how the maid only hurt her wrist and nothing else. Still it was clear she was in no condition to be doing any other requests that day. Thankfully one of the ultimate butlers that also attended the school took her list of requests to give her piece of mind.
After not seeing her for three days some people started to worry until Kaede filled them in on the event. When everyone flooded her phone with get well wishes she told them not to worry. Kirumi promised that she would be taking her time to heal. Kaito had volunteered to bring everyone's get well cards to her and check on her. He was surprised when he found her campus dorm room unlocked but only slightly surprised to see the kirumi attempting to clean. Attempting being the key word as he watched her awkwardly holding a mop shaft under her armpit while moving the mop head over what looked like spilt food. Apparently she had both tried to cook and clean alone with no assistance. With her back turned to him she didn't seem to acknowledge him there.
He was partly angry that she had lied about resting but could sympathize since he sometimes did the exact same thing when sick. Not cleaning per say but just ignore being sick or hurt and pretending it wasn't a big deal. Both his sidekicks would tear into him upon learning this.
Kirumi let out a frustrated moan as she knocked over the bucket of soap and water. It was rare to see her frustrated and even rarer to see her in anything casual like cute bunny pajamas. His initial anger at her for not resting was replaced with amusement at the scene. Despite wanting to help her, Kaito couldn't help himself with a perfect joke sitting right there. He chuckled to himself before speaking.
"I think you missed a spot." He laughed a bit louder at the way her back bristled in alarm but was impressed she could keep her voice even despite being caught. She turned to look at him and if she were embarrassed at all about what he saw she did a great job of not showing it. Also to her credit she was able to hide some lingering of the sickness in her voice as she spoke.
"Thank you Kaito. How did you get in if you don't mind me asking?" Kirumi asked.
Kaito moved to put the cards he brought on the nearby coffee table before answering. "Your door was unlocked. I think the cold is knocking you off your game today. I can help out if you want." Despite saying it like she was getting an option in the matter both of them knew he was going to do it even if she said no. He met very little resistance as he took the mop out her hand and shooed her to the couch.
Looking down at ruined meal she was cleaning up he couldn't really tell what she was making. There were noodles, chucks of meat, and some tomato sauce which could of been multiple things besides just plain spaghettis depending. Kirumi rarely made simple dishes and he had a feeling this would of been no exception if not for her spilling it. Kaito's grandparents weren't five star chefs but they taught him a thing or two about food and how to prepare it.
"A man needs to know how to not only put meat on the table but how to cook it." Grandpa would say.
The views of their generation were pretty out dated in some departments but that one seemed at least the most sensible out the batch. Looking through her fridge and cabinets without permission his eyes bulged almost out his sockets at the amount of food she had. The school really provided her with enough stuff to feed an army and an international one at that with the variety. He wasn't sure if the quantity or the fact it was all alphabetized was the most jarring thing of it.
"Damn, you got a lot to of stuff here Kirumi. I can make you some spaghettis or millet porridge with plum and honey if you want something sweet." He suggested. There weren't many chances he got to show off his knowledge of foreign foods but he loved when he could.
"Spaghettis is fine. You can make that porridge? I didn't know you could cook in general. No offense, though you really don't have to go through the trouble." She was looking through the cards as she spoke. He could detect a bit of strain in her throat from soreness. A bit of tea should help that.
"None taken, and its no trouble at all for the luminary of the stars! You work your ass off all year for us doing stuff you don't need to even if you say its your duty as a maid. Its only fair to return the favor. Plus your my friend here just like everyone else. I'm doing this cause I wanna." Kaito stated. As he got to work he took note of a lot of things in the room that told him a bit about Kirumi he never knew. First being she seemed to really like bird with the various tropical bird themed things in the kitchen. A calendar of phoenixes, measuring spoons with little peacock feathers designs as decorations, and a clock on the wall with various birds per hour on it. He assumed it was the kind that tweeted the specific call of said bird when it landed on its hour.
"This might be the most one on one time I've spent with her. Shuichi mentioned she doesn't talk about herself much or share her personal side." Kaito thought. He ignored the tiny voice that sounded suspiciously like Maki whispering the word "hypocrite" in his ear.
Kirumi had jeopardy playing by the time he was done with the food and sat beside her as they waited for the tea. She took a few small bites with a look of joy he found cute as she put the plate and bowl down with a bit of hesitation like she wanted to keep going. "It was very good but I don't want to over do it a have no room for the tea." Kirumi explained when she noticed his questioning look.
"You know you don't have to be that way all the time Kirumi." Kaito said
"Pardon? Be what way?"
"That way, I mean overly proper about stuff. I can tell you wanted to pig out some more then that and I wouldn't mind if you did. While I was cooking I was thinking about how I really don't know much about you from what you like or dislike." His made a sweeping jester with his arm to the kitchen. "At least I know what some of your favorite animals are now but I'd rather not only learn about you when your sick. Do you have board games or just watch game shows in your spare time? Don't tell anyone but I like cheesy soap operas cause of my grandma getting me hooked on a few. There's one with a spy maid protagonist I think you'd like. We can play something while watching it as the tea finishes. No pressure though." Kaito suggested.
"Your not the first person to say that to me but at this point I've been this way for so many years with honing my skill its more of a reflex to be proper. I know none of you you and at least most the others wouldn't judge me its just difficult to break my habits." Kirumi paused for a second before blowing her nose in a tissue.
"Do I ever come off as a snob when I do this? I've been told this by few people before but they weren't people known for being the nicest." Despite not naming names for the sake of privacy the astronaut trainee had a few ideas of the people she was talking about.
"Forget those jerks then, and I think I can speak for all of class 80 that we'd love to help you just like you with that just like you help us. None of want to see you work yourself into an early grave before you hit 22. So what board game do you wanna do? Its your dorm so your choice and TV show." Kaito said assuringly..
"Well I honestly can never take series with spy house keepers seriously but it does sound amusing so we can watch the one you mentioned. Also I still have a good enough hand to play connect 4 if you don't mind. It should be short enough a game till the tea is done." Kirumi replied.
After a few minutes of playing connect 4 and much head shaking at absurd plot of the show on TV something unexpected happened. The protagonist had to fill in as entertainment for a party. Out of no place she jumped on stage wearing a cow head mask. While still wearing her maid dress she started free style rapping in the most horrible squeaky voice possible. This wasn't completely the thing that took Kaito off guard as it was Kirumi bursting into laughter. Once in a blue moon he'd heard her snicker or giggle but this was a full belly laugh the likes he never heard from her followed by a few coughs. He was so distracted by her face he didn't notice he had dropped his checker piece.
For a short while he had crushed on her but quickly squished the concept as anything beyond physical attraction and maybe appreciation. There were better chances of him discovering aliens on his first space trip compared to someone as usually clean, cool headed, and classy as her returning feelings after all. Other then the desire to care for those around them there wasn't a lot they had in common. She probably thought him as a slob anyway which wasn't entirely wrong as anyone who'd seen his dorm could confirm. Possibly impossible. Even with this logic he couldn't help the small smile on his face at the noise despite the way it sounded in between coughs. Kirumi's face started to turn a shade of pink as she looked away from the TV and down at her hand with a look of both joy and embarrassment. Clearing her throat kirumi's face went from pink to red but not in a sick or in pain way.
"Wait, why does she look embarrassed?" Kaito wondered this before looking down at where his hand was meant to be. As soon as he looked down both their faces matched the red checker pieces. On top of dropping the checker, Kaito had laid his hand on top of her own. Kirumi made no move to take her hand back which despite all earlier thoughts made his head feel like it was steaming from the mildly almost intimate intertwining of their palms. Using her casted hand Kirumi point to the stove. This informed Kaito that the high pitched screeching sound was in fact not rising body heat popping from his own head.
"SHIT THE TEA!" Quickly and reluctantly Kaito removed his hand from the maid to turn off the kettle. They sat in an awkward silence as he poured their cups. They both pretended at this point to still pay attention to the soap opera like that moment didn't happen until the tea cooled. The silence was finally broken by something other then the tv when Kirumi sipped her tea before speaking.
"This tea is nicely done. Thank you for making it along with doing everything else for me today. I've never really liked the idea of other people doing things for me. One of the reasons I became a maid was because no one else around made much effort in keeping things clean or as organized as my mom. I'd help her with the housecleaning business when I could and it stuck from there. Its a new experience but one I think I can get use to with time." Kirumi mainly looked at her cup as she spoke.
*Tap Tap Tap Tap*
A sudden knocking on the door stopped further conversation. Both stood up at the same time to get it before noticing what they just did and chuckling.
Kaito beat her to the door and found Angie yonaga standing there. "Hiya! I was told you might be over here Kaito. Shuichi asked if I could find you to help him with moving some type of big package from the lobby to his room. I can watch Kirumi while your gone." Angie explained.
"Oh, sure thing I mean if Kirumi doesn't mind. You don't mind me coming back to hear the rest of your story later right?" Kaito asked
"No problem at all." Kirumi said with a bright smile.
As he left down the stairs it struck him that she actually told him something about herself that he didn't think others knew. She did it freely without it being a request. That and how she never moved her hand away back then. Another one of the wishful expressions he loved came to mind but with the possibility of being more then a wish.
"The impossible is possible sometimes...all ya gotta do is make it so."
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This not only took longer then I meant it to but damn did I make this one a lot longer then I meant it to. I'm basing each interaction now on prompts and this one was suppose to be on sleep/naps. How did it instead turn into a sick fic rare pair one-shot? I honestly couldn't tell you. My fingers just hit the keys a lot and here we are. Next up is the boy who cried cryptid troll: Kokichi Ouma.