Episode V - Interlude - Home Sweet Home

Kazuma and Komaki, after a few weeks of searching, finally found a two-story house in the northern suburban area in the Kichijoji district, west side of Tokyo. Their home had a simple stone pathway leading to the patio and backyard that Komaki was planning on turning into a little garden. Little sharp stones with protective Slavic symbols, a gift from Komaki's babushka before they left Krasnodar, were laid under the threshold as a painted protected sign was above. Kazuma wasn't completely sure if Slavic symbols would work against Japanese evil spirits, but he was willing to give it a shot since Komaki wanted to at least try. Besides, neither of them knew Japanese protection symbols anyway.

Holding the last box under his arm, Kazuma opened the door, but before he could step in, heard a chorus of high-pitched "Ohayo gozaimasu!" He turned around to see a duo of young mothers pushing brightly colored baby strollers walking by from across the street. Kazuma made sure that he wasn't standing in-between the threshold before closing the door (Russian superstition. Komaki would be freaking out if she saw him) and waved at the young mothers. They both tried, but failed, to hide their obvious flirtatious giggles as they continued their stroll. Kazuma shook his head and entered the house, closing the door with a soft 'click.' He took off his shoes and easily slid into a pair of plain blue slippers. Kazuma stepped out of the genkan and turned a corner, heading towards the kitchen.

The Fuujutsushi set the box down on the wooden kitchen counter and let out an exhausted huff, "There's the last of it." he said, wiping the sweat off of his brow. He went over to the sink and washed his hands to get the outside germs off - a habit he picked up while staying in Russia, because of the repeated demands from Komaki's Babushka - before opening up the box and checking if the newly brought dishes weren't broken, he did set the box down a bit roughly.

"Kazuma, you didn't break anything, did you?" Komaki asked him from the living room. She was donning one of her favorite sweaters, rosy pink with Snow White eating the infamous poison apple. Finishing the vision of coziness was a long white, flowing skirt and a pair of sunshine-y yellow slippers, contrasting his own worn-out jeans and black Star Wars sweatshirt.

"No," he responded, inspecting a blue and white bowl. "No, I don't think so."

"Alright then." she said distractedly. Komaki's tone changed, now packed with excitement. "Come here, look! I think I'm done with the living room."

Kazuma placed the bowl down on the table and walked into the living room, which was just right next to the kitchen from a very short distance. He saw his lovely girlfriend smiling proudly as she presented the newly decorated living room with her arms gesturing towards walls and windows. Komaki even said, "Ta-da!"

He saw several frames of small paintings that Kazuma remembers Komaki painting on tiny MDF boards. He would always watch her paint, completely mesmerized by her concentrated, yet calm eyes, her fluid and gentle hands, how easily those hands moved across the easel with a flick and a stroke. She always made painting look so simple. Most were Impressionist works, one of her favorite art movements. One painting was a garden of hydrangeas caught in a light drizzle during a starless night. Another one was a loving couple enjoying a boat ride on the lake. The sun was shining as the woman, dressed in a soft blue cotton dress and holding a white parasol, was laughing with the man, who had an impressive handlebar mustache, and wore a dark green waistcoat with his sleeves rolled up. His mustache was slightly curled upwards, showing his amusement. He was rowing the boat as a bouquet of daisies peeked over the edge.

Kazuma's personal favorite was one with tired ballerinas enjoying tea and sweets, sitting outside of the café on a warm afternoon. One ballerina had her pointe shoes on the table, her feet were faintly red and was clearly frowning from pain. Another one had her hair bun messy and out of place, her auburn hair strains framed and curled around her face. She was sipping out of her teacup, rather irritated, glaring at her other friend who was happily eating a Russian cottage cheese pastry known as a Vatrushki. Her head was tilted back, letting out a bark-like laugh. In the background, people were just walking around enjoying their day, one couple was holding hands and walking a small, Pekingese dog. Just the amount of detail she put on each and every painting impressed him, especially since the paintings were quite small.

Along with her paintings were their nerd stuff. There were her Funko Pops' of the Disney Princesses, particularly her favorites, Snow White and Cinderella as well as his own. His were the ones she got him for his birthday last year of the Star War characters, especially Darth Vader, Darth Maul, and the recently brought Mandalorian. He even saw their figurine of the beloved Godzilla that they brought back from Hong Kong. Covering the windows were black silk curtains that they brought yesterday along with the dishes and bathroom items.

The living room was currently barren of furniture. Their new bed, kotatsu and TV, along with a pair of speakers won't be coming in until tomorrow. But other than that, the living room was already brimming up with a homey atmosphere.

"It looks good, babe. But," Kazuma said, eyeing a certain painting on a wall with a curled downward lip. "did you really have to put that right there?"

"What's wrong with it?" Komaki tilted her head, confused. But Kazuma could see a sly glint in her blue eyes. "I like it. You painted it for me."

"It looks as if a raw chicken and a human blob had a spawn and that spawn was trying to be a ballerina. Just put up one of your paintings."

"But I don't want to. You made it for me and that's what makes it special, even if it looks..." she paused, trying to find a nice word to describe...whatever that thing was. "like that."

"Komaki..."

"Please? Pryanichek, can we leave it up?" she pouted with puppy-eyes.

Kazuma sighed, closing his eyes, hoping that she would stop if he just pretended that she wasn't there. But when he opened them again, she didn't. He both loved and hated that adorable puppy-like gaze and the Raijutsushi knew. Whenever he looked into those pretty eyes, it was always like she casted a spell on him. He let out a tsk, "...Fine." Komaki cheered, jumped over and grabbed his face, planting sweet kisses on his jaw. He rolled his eyes, although a bit fondly. "But when people ask, just say we found it on the street, alright?"

The Raijutsushi pulled away and blinked, "So, you want me to explain that you didn't paint it, but that we found it on the street and decided to put it on our wall?" Komaki said slowly, making sure he was hearing himself and finding his words ridiculous.

"Yeah, exactly." Kazuma smiled, smugly, petting her head. "See, you're catching on." he let out a laugh when she playfully swatted his chest.

Kazuma saw Komaki frown suddenly when she began to stare at the other window that was in the kitchen, which led to their backyard. "But I don't know what to put up there, though."

Kazuma turned to look at it as well, thoughtfully. Then his eyes caught a bouquet of freshly cut peonies sitting delicately on their two-person kitchen table. The flowers were given to them earlier by their new neighbor, Matsuyama-San. She was an elderly woman with a hunched over body, stringy daikon-white hair, wide brown eyes that were filled with a quiet kindness and a warm smile that felt genuine.

Matsuyama-San wanted to welcome them into the neighborhood as she saw them moving their belongings into the house. The Obaa-San brought them a bouquet of peonies from her garden as a welcoming gift and explained that if they needed anything they could ask her. Komaki's eyes lit up when she saw the flowers and had a near hour conversation about gardening with the much older woman. When Matsuyama-San was beginning to leave, Komaki promised that the two of them could talk over tea and sweets on a later date, the latter happily agreed.

The Fuujutsushi grabbed the peonies and began to place them on top of the window. He said, "You're planning on making a garden, right?" to Komaki's nod, he continued. "Then what better way to know that you're walking into a garden than with a door filled with flowers?"

"You mean, like a flower arch?"

"Yeah, just like one of those."

Komaki peered up at the window, took a step back and tilted her head with her hand under her chin, clearly observing and thinking deeply. "You know what, I like it. But they'll die though."

Kazuma shrugged, "You can always replace them. Maybe you can ask Obaa-San some more of them or just grow your own."

Komaki let out an unladylike snort, "I don't think Matsuyama-San would take kindly to you calling her an Obaa-San."

"She can't hear me."

The day continued on into the evening with Kazuma and Komaki decorating their house, sharing some kisses and lingering touches. Dishes were properly put in the cabinets and the rest of the silky black curtains were put up. Komaki decided to put her make-up and Lush products on the sink, along with Kazuma's cologne and his own freshly-scented bath items. The toilet and the bathtub were separate from each other in different rooms as the long sink was across from both rooms along with the washer. Their video games and consuls were stuffed into a nearby closet. Their clothes were hung up in their bedroom closet, their shoes were stored in a high cabinet above the genkan. Everything else was out of the boxes and properly put away.

Kazuma dropped down on the floor, letting out a tired huff. Komaki came over, holding all of their blankets and pillows in her arms. She changed out of her sweater and skirt for one of his ONE OK ROCK T-shirts and gray sweatpants.

"Cuddle?" she asked.

Despite how tired he was, Kazuma gave her a simple smile. "Only because you asked nicely."

Kazuma helped her lay and spread out the thickest blanket they had on the wooden floor, a soft gray one with penguins on top and then their pillows. After changing out of his clothes for a simple blue T-shirt and a pair of black plaid pajama bottoms, Kazuma laid down on the blankets, holding the Raijutsushi in his arms. Komaki laid her head on his chest, he entangled his fingers in her black hair, inhaling the citrusy scent and pulled out his Apple iPhone, pressing on the Netflix app. Thankfully, Kazuma has NordVPN on his phone, so they could watch whatever, wherever.

"What do you feel like watching?" Kazuma asked Komaki, making sure she could also see the screen.

Komaki let out a thoughtful hum, scrolling down to see what Japan's Netflix has to offer. "Some of them actually look good." she muttered before pausing and staring at a weird title for a few seconds. She said in an incredulous tone, "'My Husband Won't Fit?'...is his cock gigantic or is her vagina small?"

Kazuma shrugged, "Don't know." then he threw her a knowing smirk. "We for sure don't have that problem. You take me in very well."

The Raijutsushi's turned a little scarlet. "That's only because you're really good with foreplay. Let's watch it. I want to find out what's going on with these two."

He pressed on the video for the first episode. Halfway through the first episode, a deep, grunting growl came from Kazuma's stomach. He looked flatly at Komaki, who chuckled and patted his stomach. When her tummy growled, Kazuma's revenge was laughing at her embarrassed face.

"...I just remembered we don't have any food in the house." Komaki told him, realization sparked within her eyes.

"We can just order take-out." Kazuma said. "And some alcohol. This is our first night in our new home, so we should celebrate."

"You know what," Komaki smiled. "We should. If they have any Mead, get that too."

"Already ahead of you, babe."

Kazuma and Komaki took some time to look through the choices of alcohol and pick out a few bottles for delivery. Sadly, there wasn't any Mead, but Komaki did seem happy to see some Hokkaido-based wine. Kazuma also added Yamazaki Whiskey, even though Komaki was concerned about how it was a bit more expensive than she thought. Along with the alcohol, they both agreed to order Itameshi with some dessert.

When the second episode of 'My Husband Won't Fit?' was halfway finished, the evening turned into night and soon their food and alcohol arrived. Komaki spread out the food on the floor as Kazuma popped open the wine bottle and poured the wine in two glasses.

Kazuma raised his glass up towards his girlfriend with a gentle smile. "A toast to us and our new home."

Komaki raised her glass towards him, smiling sweetly, "Yeah, and a toast to making good memories."

The couple clinked their glasses together and sipped the drink, tasting a delicious flavor similar to white peaches with mild acidity and a refreshing citrus-like taste. As the night continued on with drinking and eating, and watching the dorama with growing frustration by the actions (or the inactions) of the two main characters, Kazuma couldn't help but to feel like he was truly at home. The home he made with the person he loved. It wasn't the biggest house with a large courtyard or servants roaming around like at the Kannagi Compound, but it was his. It was theirs. His and Komaki's.

Finishing his second glass of wine, he was beginning to wonder what was taking Komaki so long in the bathroom. With a small grunt, Kazuma got up from the floor and went down the hall to the bathroom. Before he had a chance to knock, Komaki came out with red eyes, crying.

Seeing her tears, Kazuma immediately asked in a worried tone, "Komaki, honey, what's wrong?"

She sniffed, wiping one of her eyes, "It's nothing."

"Come on, honey, you can tell me." Kazuma replied, caressing her arm, in hopes of comforting her.

"I-I'm just really happy." Komaki said. "I-It's our first house together. The first one we bought. We're not-we're not just staying with a friend or with my Babushka. It's truly ours."

"Yeah, it is." Kazuma said, realizing that she was just a little drunk. Relief washed over him. "You drank too much wine, babe."

Komaki pouted, another tear went down her cheek. She wiped it off. "I-I know. It was just really good. A-and I'm just expressing myself now."

"Yeah, I can see that. Let's put you to bed."

Komaki shook her head, "No, not now." She stepped back a bit when he tried to touch her shoulder. "I-I'm just saying I'm going to love this house, because we're going to create new memories. A-and no matter where we are, we're always going to have a new adventure. I'm just, I'm just really happy, pryanichek."

"I know. I'm happy too."

"W-we're just going to have a good time here." Komaki took one of Kazuma's hands, caressing his knuckles with her thumb. "A-and even though we might end up in a shithole or on the side of the road, I-I'll be fine with that, b-because, because-"

"We'll be together." Kazuma finished, squeezing her hand. "And you don't have to worry about being on the streets. You won't have to go through that ever again. I'll make sure of it."

Komaki nodded, "I-I know you will." she wiped her face. "And thank you for coming with me."

"What?" Kazuma exclaimed, completely taken aback. "I'll always be there with you, babe."

"I know. W-when I said that I've never been to Tokyo, all you said was, 'do you want to go then?' I did, but I didn't want you to be sad, because of your family. I still plan on slapping your parents."

The Fuujutsushi chuckled, "And I can't wait to see that."

She sent him a watery smile, "I'm really happy, Kazuma."

"You said that a million times." he playfully snarked. "Come on, let's go to bed."

"Okay. I'm tired now."

"That's what happens when you drink too much."

After the food was put away, the alcohol was placed in the floor cooler, and the glasses were in the kitchen sink, Kazuma and Komaki laid in their temporary bed, their minds drifting away into the Land of Sleep and Dreams, their limbs entangled together, holding each other in their arms.

Babushka means Grandmother in Russia.

Krasnodar is in the Southern part of Russia.

In Russia, if you have been outside, you should wash your hands to get the germs off.

Even though Russia converted to Christianity more than a millennium ago, there are some pagan rituals still lingering on like using threshold charms to protect the home from evil spirits. Sometimes it would be sharp objects that would be an amulet like a knife or in Komaki's case, small stones with symbols. Other times it would be a horse's horseshoe, garlic, a sprig of wormwood, etc. It's bad luck to basically do anything over the threshold, like accepting gifts, talking, and even standing.

The dorama (Japanese drama) My Husband Won't Fit is based on a true story and from what I heard about it (I'm planning on watching it) it's frustrating to get though, because the two main leads are either passive or just plain stupid. I want to see what it is just from the title alone.

Itameshi is basically the Japanese version of Italian food.

Kotatsu are those tables with heaters underneath and a blanket. You know what they look like, you've seen them in anime.

Genkan is the front of the Japanese house. It's where you take off your shoes.

Next chapter is the Misao Arc!