She Comes And Goes As She Pleases (Part 37)
by BrDPirateMan

The paperwork was done, the deposit had been paid, and we even had the keys… Now it was just a matter of moving in and enjoying our new life together. Except it's not quite that simple. There was a bunch of things that needed doing first. For starters…

"I think it could use a fresh coat of paint," Eri commented.

Looking around, I had to agree with her. "The walls are pretty dark for a light brown. It makes the whole place seem moodier than it should."

"It doesn't fit with my image either. What do you say we roll up our sleeves for a little DIY?"

"You mean like painting and stuff? You're surprisingly eager to get your hands dirty for someone who likes trimmed nails."

"But of course! It's important to make our love nest nice and cozy. Crucial, even. Oh yes… Hee hee…"

"You're drooling, Eri. And it's scary."

That Saturday, early in the morning, we went to a home improvement store near our new apartment and pooled our money to buy various supplies – two cans of white paint and a couple of rollers to name a few. We'd also brought along a bunch of old newspapers to line the floor with. To prepare myself for the great task, I took along a set of my oldest, most ragged clothes to change into so it wouldn't matter if the paint got onto me. Much to my surprise, however, she brought nothing of the sort. In fact, she went dressed in her favourite top and shorts. Did she intend to paint wearing that?

"You'll get it ruined," I pointed out, flinging the windows open for ventilation purposes. "Do you want to borrow my clothes? I've got a spare set."

I fished them out of my backpack. A crumbling, moth-eaten T-shirt. And a faded pair of baggy trousers with so many patches sewn into it, very little of the original cloth remained. Hey, I liked them because they're comfortable. But Eri took one glance at them and she immediately twisted her face in disgust. She even took two steps back. I figured as much. She's the resident fashionista around these parts. She wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything she deemed hideous, and what I had was, in her book, the stuff that nightmares were afraid of.

"Oh, eww! I know you mean well but I am not wearing that, thank you very much!"

"But who's gonna look?"

"You will!"

I half-laughed. "I'm not gonna mind…"

She's vain to a fault! As she watched me change into my own clothes, she cringed even more, as though she was allergic to them. Her fussiness was cute any other day, but here it was impractical.

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you," I said. "This is going to get messy."

She snorted and brushed my words aside. "Hmph, you worry too much, Neku. Did you think I would come unprepared?"

Before I had a chance to answer, she grabbed the hem of her top with both hands and peeled it off and over her head in a flourish. She wasted no time following up with her shorts, and I just gawked at her as she stood proudly before me in the bikini she had been wearing underneath. For a moment I lost myself staring at her amazing curves, but shook my head in a hurry to clear it out.

"Alright!" she chirped. "Let's get to work."

"Whoa, whoa, hold up! Do you seriously intend to work in that getup?!"

"What's wrong with it?" The devil was giggling. "Afraid you wouldn't be able to concentrate when I'm dressed like this? Someone's in puberty… That's so cute!" She even poked me in the cheek.

"Th-Th-That's not it! I mean, uh… that's not the sort of thing one would wear when painting the house… right?!"

"This is a really old bikini that I've been meaning to toss out. Even if I get it soiled, I don't need to clean it 'cause I can just throw it away once I'm done with it. It's perfect for the job! And it's the only way to beat the heat. There's nothing I hate more than being sweaty and having your clothes stick to your body. It's gross."

My head was reeling as I watched her tie her hair up in a ponytail. "Okay, fine, but the paint will get all over the rest of your body. You're better off wearing at least a shirt. Paint is difficult to scrub away once it touches your skin, you know."

"Then I'll just spend time more in the bath until I do wash it off. Hee hee… you'll help me with that, won't you?"

Going 'hands-on' with Eri… scrubbing her up…

"Don't be ridiculous," I stammered. "Do what you want, but – "

"Your nose doesn't think it's such a ridiculous idea at all."

Another nosebleed? Gah!

"Careful," she smirked. "You don't want to paint the walls red instead of white."

No amount of reasoning convinced her to put on an extra layer. What's a guy got to do to pound some sense into her? I just gave up and let her be. I did my best to stay on track, but you couldn't really blame me for peeking at her here and there all too often. Damn you, Eri… doing your work just fine the way you were while I was fending myself against these stupid hormones!

Despite the distractions, we managed to settle into a slow but even working pace. Neither of us had any experience with painting before, but we did a little research beforehand and it helped us somewhat. Today was shaping up to be another strangely hot day, though, and as we worked we began to grow tired and move like molasses. We had a stand fan running and the windows open, but it didn't help much.

All the repeated actions of lowering the roller into the paint can, and then hoisting it back up onto the walls, put a lot of strain on my muscles. They burned like fire. The combination of heat and paint fumes made me dizzy. Eri fared no better. She was slowing down, wiping her forehead too often. My keen eye saw her limbs quivering with fatigue. The poor girl. I know she wanted to do this, but…

"Eri! Time out! We need a break."

"Y-Yeah, I can get behind that. Let's take five before I drown in my own sweat!"

I sat on the floor, trying to fan cool air into my shirt. The sweat gushed off of my skin in rivers and my clothes stuck to me like glue. I actually envied Eri now. She had a point dressing lightly for this kind of work. It must be less stuffy in that bikini of hers.

She stood slouched comically in front of the stand fan, arms hanging loose, talking into the draft so that her voice would sound warped and funny.

"I… am… an… alien…"

"Welcome to Earth, then. Hey Eri, I'm going to head downstairs to the convenience store to buy some bentos and stuff."

"Huh? Okay, I'll come along."

"Nah, it's alright. Stay put and rest; I'll be back real soon. And for your safety, please keep the doors locked after I'm out. Call me if you need anything."

"Gotcha. This deep fried alien will be waiting for you in the meantime. Get me some OJ if you can."

Painting was hard work! We'd barely completed one wall, let alone one room, and here we were on the verge of collapse. What hope did we have of finishing it over this weekend? I was as impatient as she was to move in, but to be completely realistic, we'd need at least another weekend or two to get the job done.

But let's forget about that for a second… because I gotta say, this was a nice neighbourhood.

Within walking distance was a healthy selection of shops. We had a couple of 24-hour convenience stores, a hardware shop, the florist's, some eateries… even the barber's wasn't far. There were a couple of boutiques, but nothing that I felt would satiate Eri's palate. They were too small and they seemed to sell primarily clothes from the Wild Boar brand, which she wasn't a fan of.

According to my Reaper buddies, it was relatively safe around these parts. It helped that there was a police box just round the corner. That was good, because Eri was absurdly pretty and a magnet for male attention, which gave me no small amount of worry. It made me cringe to think that every time she walked down the streets in her usual skin-baring clothes, every guy who saw her might have lustful thoughts about her. I simply had to relocate her to somewhere safer. That's not to say that people around here wouldn't look at her and go, "Man, I'd like a piece of that"; they certainly will. But hopefully it wouldn't be so bad here, especially when they get accustomed to seeing me by her side.

Basically, almost everything we wanted was here. I sure was glad we landed this place when we came across it! I haven't even begun to thank Kariya and company properly, and here they had helped some more. I wondered what I could do for them in return… I'd be sure to think of something.

With bentos and miscellaneous snacks in hand, I climbed back to the fifth floor.

As I approached our front door, I heard voices from inside. Initially, I thought it was Eri talking on the phone, but when I clearly heard a second voice, I grew alarmed. It's easy to play it off as her using speaker mode on her phone, but it just didn't feel right somehow…

I braced myself and unlocked the door with my spare key.

"Eri, I'm back."

"Did you get the OJ?"

"Yeah, and – "

To my surprise I found Uzuki lounging on the sofas with her. So that's where that second voice came from. Well, that's a relief. Apparently she came to visit and my girlfriend let her in for a chat. Nothing wrong with that.

There's one thing that was, though.

"Eri," I groaned, "you got us a guest. Why're you still dressed like that?"

She lay lengthwise on the biggest couch, her limbs hanging limply all over the place. "It's still too hot to put on anything. Gimme a break."

Uzuki passed a hand through her hair and sighed. "You know, Neku, I take back what I said about you guys being shameless. Now I'm convinced you're super-shameless."

"Aw, c'mon," said Eri heartily. "We're friends! Right? It doesn't matter if we're friends."

"That logic is hard to wrap my head around."

I handed the OJ over to the considerably less covered up girl, much to her delight. She downed half of the bottle in one go.

"What brings you here?" I asked Uzuki. "Need a drink, by the way? I got soda. Lychee flavour."

"Nah, 's okay. I gotta get back to work soon, so I don't have a lot of time to spare. I just came to see how you two are holding up."

"We're doing fine, I guess. Thanks again for getting us this place. It's a big help."

"Yeah!" quipped Eri. "Thanks again. You're the best! You and Kariya."

Uzuki just waved it off, cool as a cucumber. "Uh-huh, no sweat. Just be sure you like it and we're even."

"We got that part down pat," I said. "This place is definitely an upgrade worth investing in."

Eri raised her hand suddenly to demand attention and her question was directed at Uzuki. "I don't mean to change the topic but I'm curious! Are you living together with anyone at the moment?"

"No. I live alone."

"So you're not, like, an item with Kariya?"

This caused the Reaper's feathers to ruffle slightly. Her reaction was barely noticeable but it was there. I saw that flinch.

"N-No. He's my partner, that's all." Then, just in case she was misunderstood, she clarified further, "Work partner, that's what I mean."

"You wouldn't consider him as a lover?" pressed Eri. Eager to dig up details, she now sat up ramrod straight, at the edge of her seat. She did love a good round of gossip.

"No."

"Not ever?"

"No."

"…Not even for a quick fling?"

"No!" Uzuki said this a little more forcefully, but having realized she'd raised her voice, she coughed it back down to her usual volume and repeated, "I mean, no. Seriously, what is with you?"

Eri was a living mass of giggles. "I told you. I'm just curious, you know? We girls love to talk about this sort of thing."

"I-I'm not interested. And for the record, being in a relationship is the last thing on my mind. I've got work and stuff to take care of."

"You don't need to settle into a relationship right away. These things take time. Neku and I started out as really close friends, then we became kissing buddies and – "

I spluttered, "Wh-Why did you have to mention that?!"

"Kissing buddies?" Uzuki was totally confused. "What does that even mean? You guys kiss and stuff before you even go out?"

Eri nodded. "Mm-hmm! Exactly!"

"You… You really are strange, Eri."

"Hmmm… kissing… buddies… okay, noted."

Huh? That last voice wasn't any of ours.

Whoa! Why the heck was Kariya here?! He was standing beside me, scribbling something in a little notebook. He must have snuck up on us when we were engrossed in all that talk. Quite the stealth expert. Uzuki was far from being impressed, though. She recoiled in shock.

"Kariya?!" she blurted. "How did – ?!"

"Your front door is unlocked," he replied, tapping in his notebook with a pen. "Thought I'd pop by and check up on our lovebirds. Then I heard you guys talking about getting into relationships and I found it so intriguing I couldn't help but listen in. Sorry for the intrusion, by the way."

Unfazed by his sudden appearance, Eri gave him a big wave. "It's no big deal at all! What's with the book, though?"

A look of surprise crossed his face when he got a proper look at her and her svelte bikini-clad body. Then he turned on the charm, as he was so fond of doing whenever he came across an attractive member of the opposite sex.

"I was taking notes. I so want a girlfriend for myself, and your conversation proved most helpful! By the way, mademoiselle, that swimsuit looks really good on – BLEARGH!"

He couldn't finish his sentence. Uzuki teleported in front of him and dealt a painful-looking sucker punch to the stomach, and he just flopped over her fist like a pancake, completely unconscious. That was quite an impact! I even heard the "thud" that went with it! Even Eri didn't seem so… unfazed now. Uzuki knew this was her cue to leave.

"Not to worry," she said with a forced laugh. "I'll just clean out the trash and be on my way."

"Oh, s-sure," I gulped. "L-Let me get the door for you."

She wedged the poor fellow in the crook of her arm and walked towards the door, unhindered by his weight. For her to carry him so effortlessly, she must have been doing this on a regular basis… and that in itself was a scary thought.

"By the way," she added, "if you guys ever need me, just remember I'm staying at Unit 6-B."

"6-B?" In a moment of realization, Eri gasped in delight. "Cool, you're right above us!"

"Yup, that's where you can find me. As for this idiot…" – she nodded towards Kariya – "…you can find him in the other building."

Like a zombie, he snapped back to life and almost made me jump out of my own skin. "Room 305!" he called. "If you want a fun time with Koki Kariya, look no further than – GWOH!"

"You, quiet."

"Y-Yes… ma'am."

Then he slumped over for the last time and was finally out cold. Uzuki bid us goodbye and we watched her walk off with Kariya in hand. Frankly, it was hard to tell if they were friends or not. He loved to get on her nerves, and she killed him frequently. I had no idea what kind of relationship this was supposed to be.

"I knew it." Eri broke into a little chuckle. "They really do match each other, don't they, Neku? To a tee, even. You know what they say, opposites attract!"

"Whatever floats your boat, I guess… Now, please get back inside already. You're still half-naked."

XOXOXOXOXO

Let me tell you the truth about us.

Eri and I…

…were actually aliens.

"I… come… in… peace…" She was in front of the stand fan again, and this time, I joined her. It's evening now, and I was so zonked from working the whole day that I just wanted to cool myself down and do nothing else. Might as well act like a fool while I was at it. No one's looking, so it's fine to goof off.

"E.T… phone home…" I drawled. "Destroy… all… humans…"

"I don't think we can finish this by tomorrow," lamented Eri. "There's so much we haven't covered."

"Yeah, and I sure as heck ain't gonna pull an all-nighter for this one…"

We'd painted the entirety of the living room and half of the kitchen, but there was the other half we had yet to cover, as well as the two bedrooms. Between the two of us, we weren't even halfway done.

"At least we're getting somewhere!" I said, looking at the bright side. "Right?"

"That's for sure! We should call it a day."

I started to gather up our supplies into my bag. "We'll come back tomorrow for round two. Now, let's hurry. Don't wanna miss the bus."

"I seriously need to do something about this sweat though."

She tugged at the straps of her bikini top, trying to fan air beneath. It didn't help much, as I expected. It just gave me a rather acute case of arousal.

Once we were ready to leave, Eri piped up, "Hang on. Let's take a shower first. I'd hate to walk about all sticky and stinky like this."

I had been stuck to the hip with her for so long I knew where this was going.

"What, together?"

"Are you a psychic, Neku?" she sniggered. "Or is this the power of love?"

"Please don't say clichéd things like that… Come to think of it, I've… I've never taken showers with you before."

"It's not a bad thing, you know. I've said this before, but from an economical standpoint, it saves both time and money. So, what're you waiting for? Let's save us some money!" She took my wrist and pulled me towards the bathroom, all the while nursing that grin.

"We don't even have any towels. How're we supposed to dry off?"

"Oh shoot!" she cried, slapping her forehead. "I totally forgot about that…"

I sighed. "Oh well, then we'll just have to – "

"…is what I'd like to say. Heh."

"Huh?"

Eri picked up her fanny pack and fished out a bath towel from inside of it, greatly surprising me.

"That's not all." And as she listed out the things she hoarded in that little bag, she took them out for me to see. "I've also got soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, moisturizer, bubble bath solution, a toothbrush and toothpaste, mouthwash… As you can tell, they're all miniature versions so I can fit it all in – oh, lookie here! I almost forgot to mention about my spare set of underwear! Drumroll please… Aaaaand…

"Ta-da!"

She whipped them out of her bottomless fanny pack. Sounds hard to believe on paper, I know, but yes, there was a bra and panties dangling from her fingers, right before my eyes. It definitely came from in there!

"I keep all of my essentials in this here bag." She patted it affectionately, like it was a good friend. "It's really handy."

I held up my hands. "There's something I don't get. That towel alone should take up much of the space, and you've even got underwear in there. Even if all of your other things are small, how did you manage to fit all of it in that little bag?!"

But she just sniggered.

"Magic," she replied. "I'm Japan's answer to David Copperfield."

Magic or not, it's true what they say: a woman's handbag holds many secrets. Well, fanny pack in this case.

Cradling all of her necessities in the crook of one arm, she clutched me by the wrist and pulled anew. There was no escape.

"Now then! Let's have that shower."

XOXOXOXOXO

"Uh… how's it going, Neku?"

My nose refused to stop bleeding and it's already been some time since the shower that Eri made me take together with her. It's in her nature to have fun, but you know me: I was hopelessly allergic to frontal nudity, and she gave me more than just an eyeful of it. That's a recipe for disaster right there.

"Sorry, Neku," she gulped, apologetic. "I thought it'd be nice if we could share a shower."

One whole day of hard work and I capped it off with a massive nosebleed… The resulting dizziness rendered me largely inactive. Damn, why was I so weak?

"It's fine, Eri… but I don't think I can do anything yet. If I could just lie down for a bit, then I should be good to go."

She shook her head. "In your condition? No chance, pal. It'll be better we stay for the night so you can rest up properly."

"Huh… staying overnight? Well, I know this is gonna be our home soon, but we don't have any of our stuff here. It'll be a bit of hassle."

"I beg to differ," she corrected me with a dramatic wave of her finger. "Everything that we need is here. Electricity, running water, a bed to sleep in – heck, two beds! – and if we ever need to eat, there's a couple of 24-hour convenience stores downstairs with all the snacks we could ever want. Don't forget the supplies I have stashed in my fanny pack! They're good if you need another bath."

I allowed my lips to curl up into a weak smile. Her preparedness was a useful habit, though how she could stuff everything down that little waist bag of hers was still beyond me. It just defied all forms of science and common sense. But that's the magic of magic, I guess.

"Fair enough," I said. "Let's stay. I don't think I can move much even if I wanted to, anyway."

"I'll get us some more bentos from downstairs, and no," – I was about to get up to join her, but she pressed one hand on my chest and coaxed me back onto the couch – "you stay here. Let me go this time. I insist."

"Don't stay out too long. And, Eri?"

"Yes?"

"Try not to get distracted. You can always go shopping for clothes another day."

"Tch… busted." I could see straight through her. She always had that shopping itch to scratch, but this wasn't the right time for it. "Alright, fine, I'll be a good girl."

"You'd better."

XOXOXOXOXO

Time for sleep. It's at least two hours before our usual bedtime, but we were too sleepy to care. Even the perpetually energetic Eri was starting to feel the burn and couldn't deliver the usual amount of playful lewdness.

We laid one of Eri's extra towels on the mattress of one of the beds. No bed sheet, you see, so we had to improvise. The paint fumes were still strong in the living room, so we kept our bedroom door closed and stuffed rags into the gap at the bottom. Lastly, we left all of the windows open to let fresh air in. No risk of any break-ins from cat burglars here: we're too high up and we had faith in the window grilles to keep the nasties out. If all else failed, well… we could use our rollers to, um, paint the baddies to death, I guess!

Eri cuddled up close and we watched the night sky through the open window, waiting for sleep to consume us.

"You know, this is actually kind of fun," I admitted. "It's a lot like camping, but without the annoying vampire insects."

"Or the dangerous animals."

"No poisonous plants either."

"And there are shops nearby! Talk about convenience!"

"…It's totally not like camping at all."

She tittered lightly. "I guess not."

Then we were beset by a fit of contagious yawning. No more talking; the time had come for some major shut-eye. We were darn tired, enough said. Today was one heck of a lactic acid rush on our muscles, but tomorrow's a new day and we'd be refreshed and ready to take on another mountain of labour. Each stroke of our paint rollers brought us closer to the completion of our new home; this made great incentive for us and we were excited to finish the repainting quickly.

"Let's work hard again tomorrow," she purred. Then, when she suddenly remembered that I was still recovering, she toned down the urgency in her voice and offered kindly, "Uh, if you're still not up for it, then leave it to me!"

"I'm not glass, Eri," I huffed. "A single nosebleed won't break me. I'm gonna go strong for tomorrow too. Let's do it together."

"Cool. That's good, real good. You know, while we're on the subject of home improvement, do you think we could add scented candles on the TV cabinet?"

"Scented candles? How does that even work?"

"Trust me, it's awesome. People will look at them when they come and visit and be like, 'yeah, that's purdy darn sweet!'"

"I… I don't know about that. It kind of clashes."

"Only a conventional mindset would have you think that, Neku. To the non-conformist, it's heaven on earth."

She had latched onto a chain of ideas in her head and now she wouldn't let go until she had blurted every last detail. Left to keep talking, she'd gladly do so for a long time.

"Got a suggestion," she continued. "I say we replace the curtains with a more delicate-looking lace version. Or satin, that works too. Yeah! And while we're at it, we might as well place potted plants in every corner of the house. You can't go wrong with a jungle atmosphere, 'cause I love jungles, see? Anyway, maybe a jukebox in the corner of the living room would be – "

I tapped her on the forehead gently. "Calm down. One thing at a time. First we get the house painted. Then we talk."

"Hee hee. Sorry. But it's true that a little planning goes a long way. When everything's in order, and our place looks just perfect five months from now, I can see you going, 'I'm glad I had that bedtime talk with Eri about interior design five months ago!'"

"Uh-huh. Good work with the monologues, by the way."

She pretended to be offended by my lack of enthusiasm. "You are not listening."

"And you're still not sleeping. C'mon, let's catch some z's already."

XOXOXOXOXO

Sunday night finally came to a close and the only room that had yet to be painted was one of the two bedrooms. Although the plan was to return next Saturday and finish it off, I didn't see why we had to wait that long.

The room was of a manageable size; I bet I could handle the repainting myself. Besides, wouldn't it be great to surprise her, before next week was even halfway through, that refurbishing was complete and we could already move in?

I made plans in secret to show up after tomorrow's afternoon classes. Heh, I couldn't wait to see the look of pleasant surprise on her face when I told her the good news!

Come four o'clock, I was ready to hit the road. The adrenaline felt like lightning rushing through my bloodstreams. Perhaps it was the anticipation of doing something good behind her back, like a caped crusader who wallops the bad guys and ties them up for an easy arrest, then slinks into the shadows just before the police arrive. Then the next morning would be spent gloating to himself about last night's success.

Maybe I've read too many superhero comics. The spirit of justice must have been ingrained in me since young.

But whatever, I was going ahead with this.

A quick visit to the convenience store left me well-stocked with supplies to last the evening and some. I liked being prepared. This was going as pl–

Huh? What's that I hear coming from behind the front door? It's faint, barely audible… but it sounded like voices.

Did someone break in? Did Teddy have unfinished business and come to haunt us? What the heck… I locked it down tight and good yesterday!

Recklessly I barged my way in, completely forgetting to take into account the fact that I may be dealing with an armed assailant. I was just hoping to catch the culprit in the act. But I had already stepped inside, and whoever it was would have heard me. I had little choice but to wing it.

"Who's there?" I bellowed.

There was a dull clatter that sounded like plastic, coming from the short hallway that led to our bedrooms. The soft pitter-patter of footsteps followed, quick and light. I braced myself for the unwelcome visage of a punk looking to burgle our house… except, what was there to steal in the first place? Paint? Newspapers? There wasn't anything of real value!

Suddenly a familiar face popped out to greet me.

"Oh! Hiya Neku, what's up? Why're you here?"

The tension left my shoulders immediately.

"Damn, Eri, it's just you. Thank goodness." Ooh, she's wearing a bikini again today. A pink one, too, with polka do– no wait, now's not the time for that! "Hang on, that's my line! What're you doing here?"

"Aww, now you've spoiled the surprise I had planned for you."

"Huh?"

Without another word, she took my hand and led me back to the bedroom she had apparently been spending time in. The floor was lined with newspapers and there was an opened can of paint sitting nearby, with a paint roller dipped into it.

It wasn't too hard to tell that what was going on. "You're… painting?"

With one hand on her hip, she flicked her head in a haughty way, looking very proud of herself.

"I had some free time after classes today, so I came here to put it to good use. To tell you the truth, I wanted to finish it up early and surprise you." Then, in a more exaggerated manner, she said, "And then you'd pat me on the head and be like, 'That's a girl!' …Well, that was the plan anyway, before the cat got out of the bag."

As the truth sank in, I became increasingly amused at this coincidence and found myself chuckling, much to her confusion.

"Neku? Oh, and I believe it's your turn to tell me why you're here."

I didn't answer her right away, instead reaching out to ruffle her hair gently.

"That's a girl."

"Wha…?"

"Actually, I had the same idea. That's why I'm here…"

"You mean you're here to do some painting too?" Her eyes went wide.

"…but you beat me to it. No fair, Eri."

The sledgehammer shock of unexpectedly seeing each other – as well as finding out we shared the same goal – quickly gave way to mirth and we shared a good round of laughter.

"I brought snacks," I said, hefting the plastic bag I was carrying in my hand. These were meant for myself, but I guess now we'd just have to share. "I don't have OJ, I'm afraid, but there's coconut water if that works."

"Hee hee. It's the thought that counts."

Overjoyed by my presence, she lunged at me in a big hug that brought our faces close. I instinctively stiffened a little when our lips came dangerously near. Almost dropped the bag too. Then, as though she had made a mistake, she hurriedly disentangled herself and held me at arm's length.

"N-No, not now, Neku. Not… now."

"Huh?"

A light dusting of red covered her cheeks as she blushed and smiled bashfully. "You being here put me in a really great mood, but I can't spoil our celebratory kiss just yet. Let's you and me spruce this place up and good first… Once we move in and we're really gonna stay for the long haul… then we kiss. And we'll make it a big one."

Damn, she freaking adorable! Frankly, it was hard to resist the urge to hug her back and crush her half to death.

I snorted jokingly. "You're going to make me die with anticipation."

"Sorry." She merely giggled and that's all I'd get out of her.

"A promise is a promise. Don't back out on it." I tried to sound seductive, and what do you know, it worked. She was blushing harder and giggling a little goofier.

"I wouldn't." She held out her pinky in front of my face. "Make it official?"

With a broad knowing smile, I hooked my own little finger around hers.

That afternoon, we worked more energetically than usual.

Love is powerful.

XOXOXOXOXO

The entire unit was fully repainted. The new white colour was a lot cheerier than the old drab light brown one. It was tough work, but we got it done and it looked perfect.

The rest of the week was spent packing up. Our hands were tied up as we rushed to get everything ready for the big move on Sunday, and we couldn't see each other much. It didn't help that Eri still had her butler duties. But I told myself we'd be alright once we started living together. This was our final trial, and boy was I going to pass this one with flying colours!

As the big day drew near, the excitement grew in my gut like a sci-fi virus, rapid and uncontrollable. We were about to take a very important step in our lives so I wanted there to be no mistakes. I double-checked whatever I had already packed into boxes to make sure I didn't miss anything. Then I checked again anyway.

Pretty soon my home had been stripped clean, save for the bare essentials, such as a pot to cook food and a few kitchen utensils that I intended to pack at the last minute. The emptiness was surreal. Echoes bounced off the walls whenever I spoke.

It's Saturday evening now as I speak and way past ten at that, and I was looking at all of the boxes I had herded into the living room, ready to be loaded onto a moving truck. Nothing was missing. Excellent! I couldn't be more proud of myself.

Now, how was Eri faring? I contemplated giving her a call, but before I could even finish contemplating, my cell rang and it was her on the other end of the line. Speak of the devil.

"Help!" she cried. "I'm in a bit of a situation here!"

Her voice was very urgent and panic overtook me for a second. "What's the matter? Did you get attacked?!"

"No, silly! But I miscalculated and now I don't have enough boxes to store all of my stuff."

I breathed a long sigh. That was one heck of a scare! For a moment I thought she was at the mercy of some perverted street punk.

"Oh geez, Eri, don't scare me like that. Look, I've got a few spares here. I'll head over to your place now and bring them along."

And that's how I showed up at her doorstep with four flattened boxes.

"You're a lifesaver!" she gushed. "This is exactly what I need at this eleventh hour."

I maneuvered my way around a mound of boxes placed near the entrance. "Sounds like you're cutting it close. Need a hand with packing?"

"Yeah, I'm running out of time. Come with me."

I carried the boxes to her room and was immediately assaulted by the sight of stacks upon stacks of clothes on her bed. Eri was meticulous to the point of being almost obsessive-compulsive, so I wasn't surprised to see that they were neatly arranged into different groups: tops, shorts, skirts, and the like. To say there were a lot of them would be an understatement to their sheer volume.

"Wow. So these are your clothes, huh, Eri?"

"No, these are the last few that I couldn't fit in. The rest have already been packed."

"You mean this is just a fraction of your entire wardrobe? Holy hell." My head was spinning. "You could open a boutique with this much."

She smilingly ignored my gaping mouth and instructed me to start packing the remaining clothes while she went to work on clearing out what was left of her room. I etched out a space on the floor amongst the boxes she had done that were already there and got down to business. Everything was folded, which simplified my job greatly. Just pack it all in and we're good – whoops, dropped that piece. When I picked it up, it unraveled in my hands and I held it up, partially curious to see what it was. It was a mini-skirt, which should be nothing out of the ordinary, except…

"Eri," I gulped, "wh-what's this? It's in pretty bad shape."

She twirled round and her face lit up with recognition. "Oh, that? That's the ripped denim skirt that I designed by myself."

I tried to fathom how one could go out wearing something like this. Anyone who wore this would have her panties show through the gaps! "You mean these rips were made on purpose? I've heard of ripped jeans, but a ripped skirt…"

"It's one of my many fashion experiments, Neku," she said, obviously proud of herself. "I'm always looking for that one design that'll knock the socks off of everyone and be the next big thing in years to come! I don't want to settle for safe, samey traditional stuff. I'm a fashion designer! Creativity is both my friend and tool!"

"H-Have you tried wearing it?"

She snorted like I had just said something stupid. "What are you talking about? Of course I have! I even wore it to town last month! Neku, fashion is the sort of thing you have to experience first-hand to appreciate and see where you can improve!"

A half-second pause later, she added regretfully, "Unfortunately, that's how I almost got arrested. This piece apparently isn't popular with the cops… Indecent exposure and all that crud, they said…"

W-Well, you kinda brought it upon yourself…

The next several minutes went by uneventfully. Aside from the odd smattering of small talk here and again, we were hard at work. The big move was going to take place early next morning, so it was just a matter of hours away with little time to spare. We couldn't afford many distractions. The normally boisterous Eri was at her quietest.

Thankfully, the four boxes I brought along with me were enough for all of her remaining belongings. In fact, we had some difficulty squeezing in the last of her things; there was that much. But it was eventually done and we had the pleasure of inducting the newest additions into her big family of boxes.

"Thanks for helping out," she said, handing me a glass of iced tea.

"Good work yourself," I said, taking it from her. "That's everything, right?"

"Yup."

We found some hilarity in the two-tone duality of the scene before us: the emptiness of the entire house contrasting with the sprawling mound of boxes.

Eri was understandably hyped. "Isn't this great? By tomorrow morning we'll be living together! This'll be so much fun. Every day will almost be like a date!"

"I'm really looking forward to it."

"Now we can totally do strip Snakes and Ladders too!"

"Oh god, this again, huh."

In the naked interior of her soon-to-be-old house, every giggle she made left a bouncing echo in its wake. During a lull in the conversation, our eyes lingered on the boxes before wandering around the bare walls. She wiggled her own glass gently, causing the orange juice inside to swirl round and round like a whirlpool.

"It's funny," she muttered in a moment of introspection. "It feels like it was only yesterday when we discussed about getting an apartment together."

"And now, we're actually moving in. It's really happening, but I still can't fully digest this fact."

"I know, right?"

I wrapped my free arm around her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Makes me want to pinch myself sometimes."

Out of the blue, she posed a different question. "Neku, do your aunt and uncle know we're going to share an apartment?"

"Yes, I told them all about it. But don't worry, they're okay with it. As a matter of fact, they're disturbingly happy."

She smiled, recalling her last meeting with my foster parents and how well it went for her. "I had a feeling they would. …They must want grandchildren a lot."

"Ugh… yeah. I'd rather not think about it." Now it was my turn to pose a question for her. "What about your parents, Eri? Are they cool with us staying together?"

"Hmmm… I wonder."

"No fair, man," I chuckled. "I thought there weren't supposed to be any secrets between us."

"No, I really don't know. Truth be told, I haven't told them that we're going out. Actually, they don't even know you're my boyfriend. Or that you even exist."

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. She must have a good reason to keep our relationship a secret from her parents, and judging from what she told me before about them being strict and overbearing, I could only guess.

"They're that scary, huh."

A low grumble developed in her throat and she rubbed the temples of her head like she had a migraine. Then she regressed into a long-winded complaint. "I'd been at loggerheads with Mum and Dad about my preferred career choice, and they could barely stand my stubbornness on this matter. But relationships are a taboo topic in the Tanikawa household. They absolutely do not want me having a boyfriend, and the few times when they caught me getting close with a guy, they gave me pretty painful punishments. I got scolded, got grounded, and got no allowance for the next three months. Three! How do you expect me to go three months without pocket money?!"

"Ouch, that's harsh. Your folks are kind of uptight."

"That's why I hide all of my relationships from them. They can't know. If they do know, I might as well skewer myself through the head with a pair of chopsticks. Less painful that way."

I winced when I conjured up a gruesome image of her with two chopsticks lodged into her forehead. It was graphic, to say the least.

"So let me guess, Eri. They're the type who tell you to 'wait until you graduate before you start looking for a boyfriend'."

"You know I can't wait that long!" she said, emphasizing her impatience. "It's against the flow of Mother Nature! How else are we supposed to deal with puberty and stuff?! The hormones alone will kill us!"

"Um… ahem, yeah. I… I kinda see your point. Hooking up is part and parcel of what makes growing up so much fun… at least that's what I think."

"Still, no matter how much I protest, they're forever going to be in the 'belated relationship' camp. So you've got to help me keep quiet about us. It's bad enough if they know we're going out, but I swear, once they find out I'm living with you, they'll skin me alive and feed my remains to the dogs!"

"Eew… Walking on eggshells, are we? No pressure, then." Another horrific image plagued my mind. How does someone come up with stuff like that in their heads? Must be all those horror movies she was so fond of watching.

Switching gears to a sad tone, she said, "It's really too bad, though. Wouldn't it be nice if I could introduce you to my parents, and we got along with them for once instead of fighting to the death? I'd like that. It'd suck for you and me to have to elope to stay together."

The looming specter of her parents' control freak tendencies tainted what was otherwise a quiet little evening for us. Eri was like a free range chicken, born to be wild and free to do as she pleased. Clamping her down with social restraints was not her idea of a fun life.

I patted her on the shoulder. "Of course I'd like to get on your parents' good side. We'll work something out, but until then, we should probably look at more urgent matters."

"Yeah. I don't really wanna think about them now. My head will hurt. Anyway, I think we're done packing. Thanks for everything, Neku."

"Don't mention it. Right, I'd better head back. We're going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and I want to get enough sleep."

Pleased that everything went smoothly, we bid each other good night and I made a brisk walk back to my apartment, my mind lingering on thoughts of her relationship with her authoritarian parents. Having endured years of disagreeable treatment at their hands, the time spent here in Shibuya must be a godsend. Were her parents really that inflexible? Was this a taste of the problems a generation gap can cause?

I was curious to know more, but like I said, we had other important things to take care of first. The heavy stuff could wait.

But you can bet I'd be happy to shoulder the burden for her sake when it came to the crunch.

XOXOXOXOXO

Parting with someone or even something you've spent a long time with is always an emotional event. You can't really bear to leave them behind, but you've got to grit your teeth and do it.

With all of my boxes taken away by the movers, I took one last look around my apartment. It's weird seeing it completely devoid of anything. The silence roared in my ears till it hurt. Looking at the state it was in, I felt a sense of loss, like I was seeing off a close friend at the airport, knowing that he was going abroad for good. I needed to give the place a short but proper farewell, even if such an action looked utterly stupid to anyone else. It just felt right.

"Well, old buddy," I said aloud to the air, "I don't like goodbyes as much as you do, but it looks like this is my last day here. How long has it been since I moved in? I can't even recall… You have served me well in the few years I was here, and for that I'm happy. It's sad, but I'm sure in time you'll find a better tenant than I ever was. So, uh… bye."

Only when I tossed one final salute did I feel like I had done my part. My heart, while still sad, weighed a little lighter, which helped me to refocus my thoughts on the main event of the day.

Satisfied with my farewell speech, I turned around… only to find Eri right nearby with a wry grin on her face. I jumped, not expecting her to be there. Then the embarrassment quickly took over.

"Eri?" I gulped. "W-Were you here the whole time?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "Relax, I only just got here. I didn't see much."

"Only just, huh… When would that be?"

"Starting from the time when you called your house 'old buddy'."

"Th-Then you saw everything?!"

She laughed at me, and I just stood there cursing myself for being an idiot. Remind me to be more mindful of my surroundings next time…

"Okay, that aside," she coughed, bringing her episode of laughter to a close, "all of our stuff has been accounted for. The movers are ready to hit the road, so enough dilly-dallying, Neku! Roll out!"

"Alright, I'm coming. You don't have to pull."

I'm just going to go ahead and fast forward our story because I don't like to dwell on unnecessary details. Here's the long and short of it: Eri and I finally moved in. We established ourselves as the proud tenants of our new apartment. The unpacking would take up the rest of the day, but we saw fit to have some fun first.

"So how shall we celebrate?" I said cheerily. "It's my treat."

Before she could say anything, she yawned widely, shielding her mouth with her hand. She leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder sleepily.

"If it's okay with you," she mumbled, "I'd like to take a nap first. I was so excited about the move that I woke up too early, so I didn't get much sleep at all."

Suddenly all the stress and anticipation and adrenaline from the morning activities took their toll on me. It was like they had been kept in check all while we went about our business. Now said business had been taken care of and my body ached for rest, so heck, I might as well join her. I must add that I didn't sleep enough either. I took too long getting to bed because I was so anxious. Everything turned out fine, though; it's funny how we often get anxious over things that will work out eventually.

"I'm sleepy too, actually," I said, stroking her head lazily. "I think I'll accompany you."

Sleepiness was no barrier to her consistent penchant for jokes. "Accompany me, you say? Is that your idea of propositioning me?"

I had just enough energy in me for one last jab. "Wouldn't you like to know."

She chuckled weakly into my shoulder. "You're getting better with that sense of humour of yours, Neku."

We made a beeline for one of the beds and, not bothering to tuck in a bed sheet, we flopped onto it and almost dozed off on the spot. Before my eyelids closed, I recalled something important and pointed it out to her.

"You owe me a big kiss." I held up my little finger. "Pinky promise, remember?"

Without opening her eyes, she smiled and replied, "I told you, Neku. I never forget a promise. But we'll get to that after we're up."

We fell asleep in each other's arms, contented that a new chapter in our lives had begun. I couldn't wait to see the exciting changes as well as whatever new challenges that lay in store for us.

All of that, however, I'll have to cover some other time. I couldn't think right now. I'd booked a ticket to La-La Land and I intended to enjoy the ride.