Chapter 9:

Yakumo was doing her usual routine of making breakfast. As she had suspected, Harima had come home late again. What they were doing that needed them to stay until such late hours was beyond her. It wasn't as if she knew the workings of rich people after all. It wasn't her business so she wasn't going to interrogate Harima about it, though there was a sliver of curiosity in her mind that wanted to know.

Not her business but the circumstances did raise some questions.

The story she read last night still lingered in her mind. If she didn't forget her dreams so quickly after waking up, then she would've believed she dreamt it.

After a while, she saw Sarah enter the kitchen. "Good morning Sarah." She greeted her politely.

"Mornin'." Sarah greeted back and sat on a chair. The blonde looked at Yakumo and smiled. "You look chipper this morning. Did something happen last night?"

"Not really."

"Come on." Sarah leaned an elbow on the table and rested her chin in her palm. "Something must have made you happy if you're using cold water to make tea."

Yakumo quickly looked down, genuinely perplexed. What was she saying? She peered into the cups she was preparing and noticed the tea leaves weren't dissolving as they should be. They just floated innocently on top of the water. The electric kettle hadn't been turned on this whole time.

Oh.

"So how's the manga?" Sarah asked. If Yakumo was this sloppy then something was definitely on her mind. "It seems you liked it."

"Of course," Yakumo calmly replied while pouring her cold tea down the drain. "I'm in it." She nearly dropped the cups in the sink when she heard crashing sounds behind her. She turned around and saw Sarah standing up straight, her palms flat to the table.

"You are!" Sarah exclaimed, her sparkling eyes wide like saucers. Yakumo was quickly reminded of her sister. It was still early morning but that had never been an excuse to stop them from being this energetic. "So how did it go?! Are you now like a main character in his story?"

"Yes, it's like that. I think." Yakumo said quite unsure, her eyes darting sideways.

"You're like a romantic interest for the hero, right?"

With that kind of a question, Yakumo couldn't help a blush from forming on her cheeks. "Uhm, Harima told me it was like a sidekick for the hero." Sarah slumped back in her seat as if she had been handed a winning lottery ticket but only got 300 yen from it.

"Well I guess that's a step forward at least." Sarah said and shrugged. "So did he say anything about you?"

"His character noticed my eyes," Yakumo answered. "He thought they were beautiful." Sarah's eyes widened again.

"He did?!" Sarah nodded to herself and went silent for a few seconds. Yakumo was reminded again of her sister, having multiple mood swings in one conversation. The nun then looked straight at her. Her face was quite stern and Yakumo readied herself for the great words of wisdom she was about to receive.

"This is it Yakumo." Sarah said with all seriousness. "He's practically flirting with you now. This is your chance." As if an answer to her proclamation, they then heard footsteps coming. It only told them that Harima was on his way to the kitchen. Yakumo suddenly got nervous as she was not ready for this sort of activity this early in the morning.

The former delinquent entered the kitchen groggily. Whenever he came back home from one of Eri's appointments, he always looked haggard and stressed out. His hair was jutting in all directions even with his hairband on. He sat heavily on a chair and greeted the two with a strained smile. "Good morning." He greeted weakly.

"Good morning Harima." Yakumo greeted back. She felt she was being scrutinized by Sarah for every move she made. "How was last night?" It seemed like that was the worst question she had ever asked in her entire life when she saw Sarah frown a little.

Harima sighed. "You know, same old, same old: Eri asking me to say this and that." He leaned on his chair and put his hands on the back of his head. "Seriously though," he said, looking in Sarah's direction. "Speaking English all night was so tedious. I can't imagine how you put up with that language when it has so many inconsistencies."

"It isn't half bad when you get used to it." Sarah replied in perfect English, seemingly mocking Harima with how easy it was for her to speak it. "Anyway, Harima," she said, returning to Japanese. "Do you want to hear Yakumo's feedback of your manga?" And just like that, the conversation was directed away from anything related to Eri - and in the process putting an unprepared Yakumo in the hot-seat.

Harima's sullen aura quickly evaporated as he perked up in interest. It was like he had shed and grown a new skin upon hearing Sarah's words. "Of course!" He quickly paused. He cleared his throat and spoke again in a controlled manner. "Well, let's talk about it while having breakfast. I don't want to inconvenience Imouto-san this early in the morning."

Yakumo couldn't help but marvel at this. It gave her time to gather her thoughts. Also, it once again showed how he was not forceful when it came to her. Sarah looked surprised as well.

Feeling the conversation to be over, Sarah stood up and insisted she prepare the tea. Since they were friends, Yakumo didn't take it as if Sarah was mocking her for the earlier cold brew. She went on to prepare their usual breakfast instead.

While they were eating, Yakumo narrated her review of his manga. There were grunts or nods of approval from the tall boy, all the while Sarah kept quiet and listened intently to their flow of conversation. There were occasional questions about this and that and Harima explained how it came to be. Most of the time, she didn't know what they were talking about to be honest. But what really interested her was that Yakumo didn't sit in front of him like she usually did and instead sat by his side. It was quite strange though when they were talking since they needed to glance to their side whenever someone said something.

However, this made the nun think Yakumo was now moving closer to him, literally in the sense of personal space. They were close, true, but only in terms of being friends. But being able to be comfortable around the presence of a person physically was something else. It was a precursor of a forming relationship, for what person would not want their beloved actually at their side? They must develop this connection first if they were to be together.

Then again, she might be overthinking it - Yakumo probably didn't know what she was doing and Harima likely took it as a friendly gesture. Whatever the case, it was a needed step forwards. Sarah mentally commended Yakumo on her move. And it was the same Yakumo who was using cold water to make tea earlier.

After they finished breakfast, their chairs were turned to face one another. Harima had laughed about something Yakumo said about her character looking like a cat. He pointed out he didn't mean to insult her. He thought that in manga, people who had cat-like eyes were beautiful. At that moment time froze for Yakumo, while Harima continued spouting about eyes and their impact on a character's design. It was the second compliment she had heard and 24 hours hadn't even passed yet. What brought her back to reality was Harima telling her he needed to prepare for school as he was still looking quite disheveled.

Harima left the kitchen but not before thanking Yakumo for the great breakfast (third compliment) and Sarah for volunteering to wash the dishes. Harima's compliments were quickly overcrowding Yakumo's mind and so she set out to help Sarah with her chore before her mind short-circuited again.

"Good job, Yakumo." Sarah said, congratulating her best friend while washing the dishes. "You exceeded my expectations."

"Thank you?" Yakumo said with uncertainty. She had no idea what Sarah was referring to. Sarah could have laughed at how her best friend always seemed so naive.

Thinking she was indeed correct that Yakumo wasn't aware she was moving closer to him, Sarah clarified: "You made him compliment you personally. What he says usually comes from his heart, if not from his mind."

Yakumo was slightly surprised how Sarah had technically insulted Harima for being dumb. Though the significance of her words did not escape her.

Harima usually said things that weren't very well thought out. Just like her sister, he would speak what in his heart first before he had time to process it in his mind. However, sometimes this allowed moments of brilliance to shine through; like when Yakumo had asked him about the meaning of going steady. She hadn't felt any pretense or nervousness in his tone. He spoke out fluidly, not revising any words or confusing himself with their meaning. He was so sure of what he was saying until he reached the end. Then he realized what he had said and retracted it.

It was better for him to trust his heart first, than let his mind give him a chance to doubt himself. He was like Tenma who became completely dazed and perplexed when she thought about something too much.

Maybe that was one of the main reasons why Harima was so successful with his manga. Knowing he wasn't that smart to begin with, he did it from the heart; and the result was an excellent piece of work made with his true feelings.

She, on the other hand, had the brains, talent, and capability, and thus excelled at everything she did. Academics, physical fitness, her part-time job, household chores, sculpting, acting, cooking, sewing, drawing, inking, handicrafts, hanetsuki, board games, playing cards, and the list went on.

Except skiing and ice-skating.

No matter how hard she tried, her body seemed to reject those activities. She usually had a good sense of balance but it was all forgotten whenever she got on those contraptions. Whenever she was on skis and started going downhill, it felt like she was traveling 100 miles an hour and couldn't trust her trembling knees to help her. Skating too was a trial of handling anxiety. She wondered how people could move around on a very slippery surface with only two thin blades of metal underneath their feet. She might fall and crack her head or something.

To top it all off, the snow seemed to not agree with her. She always got sick come wintertime and so she always stayed at home. Maybe this year she could break the cycle by getting out and finally learning how to skate or ski.

She also needed someone who would literally lend a hand to her, much like a toddler learning how to walk.

Maybe Harima could teach her? She didn't know if Harima could skate. If not, they could even learn it together. Last year, she wasn't well so it would be good if she could ask Harima out this year's winter season. People had their own special occasions to attend too so hopefully Hanai would not invite himself this time.

If she were going to invite Harima to an outing, maybe this summer break would be a good opportunity. She didn't have any problems with swimming, unlike her sister. Tenma didn't know how to swim because she was afraid she might drown or some predatory fish would eat her whole. The only thing about swimming that bothered Yakumo was the people.

Last summer she declined when Tenma asked her to go to the beach with her friends. She knew Hanai was going and the sight of her in a swimsuit would only make the boy drool over her. Harima wasn't like any boy she had encountered so maybe she would be okay around him. It didn't matter if it was the beach or a simple picnic but she wanted an outing that wasn't full of awkwardness and weirdness this time. The last time she went out with everyone, they ended up needing a whale to save them from certain death. It would be a nice change for once if they could just enjoy the moment without any accidents happening.

In the middle of her thoughts, Yakumo felt a tapping on her shoulder, breaking her out of her daydream.

"Thanks for helping me out." Sarah said with a grin. "That single dish you washed is surely spotless by now." Yakumo looked down at the now empty sink and found she was still clutching the very same dish she had grabbed at the beginning.

Sarah left a blushing Yakumo alone in the kitchen, giggling as she did so. Something big was definitely eating at Yakumo if she was being absent-minded multiple times in a day.

x-x-x

Saturday was meant to be a day of recreation but for the three, they were out doing some necessary errands. Yakumo and Sarah had their respective part-time jobs while Harima was going to hand his manuscript to the publisher. It didn't take him long so it meant he was back and alone again in the house.

After doing the everyday necessities like basic cleaning, he found himself having too much free time on his hands.

It was late noon and he was now out of chores to do. It was a relief he didn't have to clean the storage room since Yakumo had informed him it was only cleaned quarterly. The backyard wasn't a mess this time with Shiba acting more like a decorative statue rather than a guard dog. The dog was quite big and maybe that was enough to scare petty thieves away. If a thief had the gall or even thought of robbing them, Iori was more than willing to scare them out.

And so Harima treated the day as a sort of vacation. He still hadn't recovered from Thursday. Eri had needed to go home early but he had to stay for whatever reason. She had told him it would make him look busy and interested if he stuck around. He didn't know who she was fooling. Looking at the paintings didn't make him busy and interested because they were so abstract, he couldn't get any ideas from them. And seriously, those displayed paintings cost more than a house? Rich people would have to be incredibly stupid to fall into buying some squiggles and splodges that some famous artist had accidentally poured onto some canvas. He was an artist himself and it was a cringing realization and outright disappointment how so many vague paintings like these caught the attention of rich folks (bidding thousands of dollars for it), whereas other more talented and yet obscure artists had their masterpieces plagiarized on the internet.

Attending Eri's functions wasn't exhausting physically, but it demanded all his mental faculties to keep up appearances. He would gladly move heavy furniture instead of acting so uptight in front of people for the sake of making good impressions.

His first meetings had been more of a culture shock to him. Even though they were in Japan, he needed to adopt Western-style etiquettes and avoid traditional manners. He was called by his first name "Kenji" instead of his surname. The honorifics were omitted too, though he didn't usually use them in the first place.

He was told to build an image of one who could adapt to whatever situation he was in and still stay "classy", having an air of absolute superiority as if he was born into it, though sometimes it was a practice of futility and vainness.

On some occasions, all day he would be handshaking people with different nationalities and greeting them "Nice to meet you" or other greetings in barely recognizable English. They didn't mind though since they couldn't pronounce it right either. But with Eri's tutelage on the language, his vocabulary greatly expanded. It was just tiring for him to speak English all day long, and hearing so many different accents that he started to wonder if they were still using the same language. It seemed English was not hard enough already, and people needed to slur their words or fake an accent to make it almost impossible to understand.

The meetings were always more about outside appearance than anything else and sometimes he wanted badly to leave and get back to his life. However, he was a man of his word. He had promised to help Eri in return for her opening his eyes when he was sliding back to being a delinquent.

It was always so much harder to repay an act of kindness when you couldn't simply pay them money.

Lately though, what made it more bearable (and Harima himself would not admit this to anyone) was Eri herself. Over the course of their meetings, Eri had shown different sides of her personality. The rich blonde seemed to have a pile of personas to wear depending on the situation. At school, she acted like a typical high school girl. At home, she behaved like a lonesome person aching for company. At functions, she was focused and stern, always having this unperturbed look. Her personality when he was alone with her though was what surprised Harima the most.

Eri, for all her declarations saying she was so repulsed by him, wasn't afraid nor ashamed to be with him in front of so many affluent people of high standings. Harima wasn't born to a rich family or any prominent figure and so he had a fair share of scrutinizing eyes glaring all around him. He could hear whispers and gossips that all boiled down to his unworthiness and lack of achievement. They wondered how a man like him got the attention of a rich and beautiful heiress. He did not need to hear the specific words from their mouths since their eyes had told him multiples times now. Eri was well aware of all the slander, yet she was completely unmoved by it.

Standing by his side with steadfastness and pride, Harima's uneasiness was lightened by her mere presence. She would hold her own whenever she was indirectly insulted by some girl who had too much makeup on. Eri knew what she had gotten herself into and it would take a lot more to make her regret it. This steely resolve was enough to frighten any would-be mockers from saying anything to her face.

At the other end of the spectrum, Harima didn't find himself particularly gifted in the looks department but some of the ladies he met, young and old ones alike, were rather flirty with him. Their predatory eyes were unnerving and their racy compliments were borderline creepy. Was that how rich people flirt with one another? Gesturing suggestively and bragging how rich they were? Eri though, whenever she got wind of it, would get mad and look mightily pissed, be it to the women or at him. She would cling to his arm tightly and lead him away from those sly foxes.

Their ride back was the confirmation Harima had that it was all over; but there were times when, after leaving from such engagements, Eri would lean her head against his shoulder and would sleep. They needed to make it look as if they were engaged of course, but Eri continued to behave like that even away from the prying eyes of people. There were no reasons to act like they were engaged any longer when they were on their way home and this made Harima freak out a little. He initially chalked it up to fatigue, but when she continued this gesture from time to time, alarms in his head started to blare endlessly. He started wondering if it was still the same Eri beside him as the one who had been domineering him all day.

For reasons he couldn't fathom, he didn't disturb her or nudge her away. Seeing her so peaceful, the record time that he actually thought she was not a totally selfish, shallow, crazy, spoiled, manipulative, insensitive, egocentric girl; was starting to lengthen. There was something about this gentle side of Eri that made him overlook the outrageousness of her mood swings.

Those moments in the limousine felt like that time he was on that imaginary galactic train with Tenma, back when she had asked him for help with choosing a gift for Karasuma. He could almost imagine the one beside him was not Eri, but Tenma, leaning and sleeping soundly on his shoulder again. She felt secure beside him, and he in return, felt comfortable in her presence. It was like a dream that he wished would never end.

Until Nakamura opened a window and poked his head through, instantly waking Eri up, who would then strongly deny anything had happened between them. And just like that, Harima's only positive thought of her was abruptly cut off.

Sometimes, he wished Eri had more control of her actions like Yakumo did.

Realizing he'd suddenly started comparing the two, and wondering why, Harima went to sit on the house's veranda to clear his head. The spot had an excellent view of the surrounding scenery. They weren't living in the countryside but the simple view of sparse trees and shrubs made him feel like he was far away from civilization. Another added bonus was that it was spring. The scent of blooming flowers wafted through the air. A cool breeze would occasionally blow past and send a wind-chime ringing with a hypnotic tune. All of this was very calming to his nerves.

He could not remember ever feeling as comfortable as he did right now, on the veranda of the Tsukamoto's house. Out of all the places he had lived in, this was by far the most soothing and relaxing. A much more luxurious house would be Eri's mansion, but he hadn't felt the same atmosphere when he had stayed over. True, he had enjoyed his time there when he helped Eri collect the class's school trip photos, but now that he had been there multiple times, the magic had worn off.

Eri's mansion struck him as kinda hollow. Despite the numerous expensive decorations hanging from every nook and cranny, he felt so alone and out-of-place in the middle of it. Its vast halls and intertwining chambers were overwhelming to a simple person like him. Why would they need so much space anyway? Also, he barely saw anyone, save from the mansion's army of butlers and maids. There were no close relatives of Eri, even her mother or father, currently staying there. There were so many rooms and yet of almost all the ones that were occupied, they were by people who kept the house pristine and nothing else. As far as he could tell, those people were there just to clean and maintain a house that no one lived in. So huge a mansion; so few people living in it.

The house he was currently staying in was more to his taste: traditional but never compromising practicality; simple and yet elegant in its own way. It might be bigger than the average Japanese house and that storage room might be a little creepy but he liked it regardless since it wasn't opulent and extravagant and its architecture had a traditional Japanese design. A house feels more like a home when it's close to one's heritage. He thought that this would be the type of house he would get for himself in the future. Before he had started living in it, it hadn't even occurred to him what kind of house he would like to have. No wonder he had instantly slept so soundly in Yakumo's room, which was arguably the room most associated with the house's style.

Well, if I could ever afford it maybe. A small depreciating smile on his face. He couldn't even afford rent for an apartment much less purchase a house this big, so he might be wishing for the impossible. He also forcibly shrugged off the thought of sleeping in Yakumo's room again. It was those kinds of accidents that got him thrown out the first time and he couldn't afford for that to happen again. Until the time came when he would have to leave the Tsukamotos' perfect house, he had better enjoy it while it lasted.

Harima laid down on the wooden floor and closed his eyes. He hadn't gotten much sleep yesterday either. Revising some dialogues, inking new layouts, and praying the chief editor would like it. Without Karasuma as their star artist, the chief's focus had fallen onto Harima. It's not like he would refuse it but the expectation and attention given to him were daunting and quite terrifying.

Good thing Yakumo was his assistant. His editor at Dankosha said he liked the first issue of his manga continuation after he had reviewed it. He liked the new character that was based on Yakumo saying the chief had always had a soft spot for her. Harima couldn't possibly imagine Mr. Gotou having a fetish for high school girls but Yakumo was the only person who had the courage to look the chief in the eye without quaking in fear. The hulking editor affectionately respected her for her bravery. He had even extended that respect into wanting her projects to do well. Maybe the reason why his manga was still being published was because of Yakumo.

And safe to say, it was.

His manga had improved by leaps and bounds from her feedback. Her skill with inking also now surpassed even his, so he made her do the inking exclusively. He wouldn't let anyone other than Yakumo ink his manga. And yes, that included even Tenma, after that disastrous attempt when she almost inked the whole page instead of staying within the lines.

Without Yakumo, he could only grimly imagine where he would be right now, literally or otherwise. If it hadn't been for her, he would be in a decrepit apartment slowly starving to death with an overdue rent hanging over him like a vulture. His manga would be nowhere near as decent without her help.

If he hadn't decided to visit the cafe on that fateful day, he would never have seen Mangoku walking down the street - and Yakumo would never have found out about his manga. In hindsight, giving her Mangoku's autograph was nothing since he got Yakumo's assistance in return. Well, it was something, but that was all he had at that moment.

It was so hard being broke – having to resort to giving away your idol's rare autograph just to pay back an act of kindness.

His contribution towards the bills wasn't that big and doing the chores still didn't feel enough as repayment. Maybe he should treat her to dinner someday. Sarah, too, if she wanted, though he suspected she would never refuse.

Harima woke up after napping for a few hours. The sun was still fairly high in the sky meaning his two other housemates would not be arriving home for another hour or two. He sat up, stretching his arms. Despite how comfortable the veranda was, it was always a terrible idea to sleep on a hard floor. His head then perked up towards the front gate. There was someone standing there again. He went up to the gate and began to greet his guest.

"Oh, it's you again. Please come in."

The young girl nodded, her long hair covering the sides of her face, and walked forwards.

Author's Corner: I will be gone for a while. Two weeks or a month at most, but I guarantee I will come back to this story. Something's up so I apologize for any inconvenience. I don't want to disappear all of a sudden without informing like last time.

So until then, my dear readers, I'll see you when I have a new chapter.